I am frequently asked, “Where can I get native plants?” As a result, I thought it might be helpful to provide some basic information, pointers, and advice on the different sources of native plants--something that might be especially helpful to beginning native plant gardeners.
Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS)
Local Chapters: Presently, there are 35 FNPS chapters scattered throughout Florida and most chapters engage in some form of activity whereby members can obtain native plants. The Palm Beach County Chapter, for example, has monthly plant raffles, an annual auction, and a vendor's table at the John D. MacArthur Beach State Park Earth Day celebration known as NatureScaping. Some chapters go beyond merely hosting a vendor's table and, as one example, the Paynes Prairie Chapter sponsors a very popular native plant sale every spring and autumn.
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Silphium asteriscus seedlings were unexpectedly obtained during a native garden tour sponsored by the Palm Beach County Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society. |
Local FNPS chapters also promote, and are a source of information regarding, plant sales in other ways: chapter newsletters may carry advertisements from local businesses selling native plants; monthly speakers, especially nursery owners, may bring plants for sale; and the local FNPS chapter is a great way of meeting like-minded people with whom to trade plants, cuttings, and seeds. Even events that do not seem to be in any way connected with obtaining plants can yield new treasures. This spring, I went to the Palm Beach County Chapter's garden walk of native gardens. At one garden, the owner allowed me to collect Silphium asteriscus seedlings out of his yard and, in a little out-of-the-way corner, he had potted plants for sale, including Scutellaria havanensis, a compact-growing, state-listed endangered member of the mint family that bears masses of violet-blue flowers in late winter and spring.
The Annual Conference: FNPS has an annual conference and, to many attendees, the highlight of the conference is the numerous and varied plant nurseries with native plants for sale, often with fairly unusual or rare plants available. To obtain the most up-to-date information on the annual FNPS conference, go to the FNPS home page and click on the word Conference in the navigation menu on the left side of the page. The next annual conference is scheduled for May 19–22, 2011, in Maitland, Florida, and it's not too early to start your plans for attending the conference.
Association of Florida Native Nurseries (AFNN)
AFNN has a website with a complete listing of its members as well as a search engine for locating specific plants that AFNN members are growing. AFNN also publishes a very useful and informative Guide for Real Florida Gardeners. The latter is an all color publication with inspirational photographs of native plants used in home, commercial, and institutional settings. It also has advertisements from each member, ranging from a simple business card to full page spreads, that provide additional information about the nurseries that belong to AFNN.
Although the AFNN member nurseries and the AFNN website are invaluable resources for the native plant gardener, you should bear in mind that the plant lists on the website are not always up-to-date. Thus, some listed plants may no longer be in stock and plants that are not listed may very well be in stock. The only way to know for sure is to contact the various nurseries. Also, most of the nurseries tend to focus on specific groups of native plants, such as butterfly plants, wildflowers, trees, wetland plants, etc. By way of example, imagine that you are seeking Acer negundo, an uncommon tree of north and central Florida. It is unlikely that you would find it by making inquiries at AFNN member nurseries in South Florida that specialize in wetland mitigation plants. However, your chances of finding it will increase substantially if you make inquiries at AFNN member nurseries located in northern and central Florida (where Acer negundo naturally occurs) and if you focus specifically on nurseries that specialize in woody plants (trees and shrubs).
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Opuntia triacanthos, a tiny 3-inch tall prickly-pear, was found at the nursery of the Institute for Regional Conservation. |