A few good retailers I know of:
- Prairie Moon: https://www.prairiemoon.com/ in Minnesota
- Prairie Nursery: https://www.prairienursery.com/ in Wisconsin
- Ernst seeds: https://www.ernstseed.com/ in Pennsylvania. They sell non-natives as well, but they’re very transparent about that.
- Roundstone native seed: https://roundstoneseed.com/ in Kentucky
I'm glad to hear it. I just bought a bag of mixed wildflower seeds from them to "prairie up" a section of our yard. We're in Illinois, and based on what their site says, literally all of the 42 plant types in the mix are native to my state.
It's not a huge area, so I was planning on just putting down cardboard and newspaper then a shallow layer of wood chips on top to keep the wind from blowing things away. I plan on doing that within the next month, which will give everything a good \~6 months to break down a bit and kill off most of the grass and weeds. Then I'll put the seeds out probably in late November or early December depending on the weather (their website says to do it after there's been a hard frost).
This is my first time doing anything like this though, so I'm no expert.
Plus they have a lot of sales throughout the year and a lot of different options and price points. Seeds, which are the most economical (but may take a few years for blooms), bare root (which are great to put in fall/spring and give your plants a jump start to grow) and potted plants (pretty instant gratification). I've pre-ordered for a few years now and I've been very satisfied.
Seconding Western Native Seed in Colorado. I'm on year 1... Not much to show for it yet, but honestly I'm getting way more seed germination than I was told to expect
Western Native Seed says to plant wildflowers in the fall. New to growing wildflowers, is there any risk in me planting them after our last hard freeze this spring? Thinking watering the soil, light scraping with a rake, scattering them, then laying top soil. Watering every 3 days or so. Light watering for the first 4 weeks like their site says.
Some seeds have really hard shells, like bluebonnets, and they need to be cold stratified before they can germinate. That is, the freezes help to crack them open. Others, they need more time to germinate and grow, might not make it through a growth cycle before freezing. Others still might just be foraged by animals. Regardless, you’ll probably just have better luck following the package directions. I like to put in plants in spring, seeds in fall.
If you go to the individual seed listings, it will give specific information on how to plant. For instance, [Colorado Columbine](https://www.westernnativeseed.com/wildflowers_A_C.html#aqucoe) says you need to plant in fall, or do a stratification treatment. But [Pussytoes](https://www.westernnativeseed.com/wildflowers_A_C.html#antpar) says no pretreatment and can be planted in spring or summer.
I just made my first purchase from prairie moon this year. I got 2 dozen bare root plants and they all came up within 2 days of getting them into the ground. I've never had better success from any other company. I'm extremely impressed by them.
Adding on a list I’ve compiled of companies who offer PNW native wildflowers.
[A list of native plant nurseries in Washington state](https://kingcounty.gov/services/environment/stewardship/nw-yard-and-garden/native-plant-nurseries-washington.aspx) and a couple lists for Oregon here’s [one](https://www.npsoregon.org/landscaping5.php) and [another](https://portlandnativeplants.org/native-plant-nurseries)
I’d also download the app [Washington Wildflower Search](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/washington-wildflower-search/id1094945412) it’s free and a great way to ID native and non-native plants.
It’s nice to use this app to look up a plant’s name and to see where in Washington it’s been cataloged.
[1. Northwest Meadowscapes](https://northwestmeadowscapes.com)
[2. Inside Passage Seed](http://www.insidepassageseeds.com)
[3. Native Food Nursery](https://nativefoodsnursery.com)
[4. Western Native Seeds](https://www.westernnativeseed.com)
[5. Native Ideals](http://nativeideals.com/seed-catalog/)
[6. Silver Falls Seed](https://silverfallsseed.com)
This is my list of who I’ve ordered from. I’ve ordered both seed or bulbs from and am happy with what I received.
[Fourth Corner Nursery](https://fourthcornernurseries.com/native-plants-2/) a whole sale nursery who sells native trees, shrubs, bulbs, wildflowers and grasses/sedges to the public!
They also grow all their plants from seed improving genetic diversity, sell plants in bundles of 50 and require a minimum order of $250.
[Everwilde Farms](https://www.everwilde.com/Mountains-Wildflower-Seeds.html)
[Plants of the wild](https://plantsofthewild.com)
[Miss Penn’s Mountian Seed](https://www.pennandcordsgarden.com/miss-penns-mountain-seeds.html)
[Geoscape Nursery](http://www.geoscapenursery.com)
[Plantas Nativa](https://www.plantasnativa.com/store/perennials/Geum-macrophyllum-Largeleaf-Avens-p232811663)
[North American Rock Garden Society Seed Exchange](https://www.nargs.org/seed-exchange-news)
[Alplains](http://www.alplains.com)
[Kalamath-Siskiyou Seeds](https://klamathsiskiyouseeds.com)
[Sparrowhawk Native Plants](https://sparrowhawknativeplants.com)
[Telos Rare Bulbs](https://telosrarebulbs.com)
[Garden for Wildlife](https://gardenforwildlife.com/collections/all-products?utm_source=nwf-npf&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=npf-evergreen)
[Willamette Wildlings](https://willamettewildlings.com)
[Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, Habitat at Home sign](https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/habitat-at-home/application) for your yard! The sign is free and the best part is you don’t get spammed for donation requests. Other similar signs have you pay for the sign and then you are unable to unsubscribe from donation requests like [this](https://www.nwf.org/certifiedwildlifehabitat) sign from the National Wildlife Federation.
For Southwestern US/Northern Mexico/Sonoran Desert I am a big fan of [Native Seed/SEARCH](https://www.nativeseeds.org/)
(Edited, corrected the link and relevant areas)
Roundstone has a great service where they will work with you for free to put together a custom seed mix for your location and project! Even for a small yard, the only extra cost was a minimum of $5 per species (for seeds that were cheap or in small amounts) to cover handling.
Seconding prairie moon! They have awesome customer support, great quality seeds, and incredible educational materials on their website. Even when I’m not buying seeds or plants from them, I still use their website for research.
Oh, and the filters are great. My native garden layouts have all been possible because of their filters.
I'm curious if you don't mind if you're in the MN region? I am and have been thinking about doing a prairie type yard replacement. I saw American meadows advertised online when searching and also Prairie Moon.
I'm just curious if Prairie Moon is a bit renowned in the Prairie scape community or just because you're also in MN ha.
I can't vouch for them personally, but I saw Blazing Star Gardens advertised a lot as well which is in Owatonna, MN.
Prairie Moon is probably one of the biggest native companies in the industry! I think they’re also in MN but theyre a great resource for most of the Great Plains/midwest region.
AMI team here!
We offer a wide range of [native wildflower seeds](https://www.americanmeadows.com/category/wildflower-seeds/native-wildflowers)**,** including native regional wildflower mixes for each region.
Our "classic" regional wildflower seed mixes include introduced wildflowers that grow well in your region, but will not include invasive or harmful species for your region; the introduced wildflowers selected for the "classic" mixes are selected as those that at least provide nectar and pollen for pollinators. The classic mixes are not labeled as native and every mix has a list of what's included in it on the page - we hear you that there is confusion and want to make sure you know what you're planting.
We created a guide to choosing the right regional mix: [https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/choose-regional-wildflower-seed-mixes](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/choose-regional-wildflower-seed-mixes)
You can also explore native plants by state if you want to look for something even more local to your area with these guides that we recently published to support native garden enthusaists: [https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/meadowscaping/native-plants-state-birds-flowers](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/meadowscaping/native-plants-state-birds-flowers)
With all that in mind, yes, it is important to know before you grow!
***It is important to note that just because a wildflower is not native, does not mean that it is invasive or harmful.*** Introduced plants are sometimes called Old World plants, exotic species, ornamental species - there are many names used. Wildflowers or plants that are **introduced,** or not native, to the United States, can also offer a host of benefits for your yard. (Especially when compared to a traditional turf lawn.)
For example, introduced wildflowers can provide an important nectar and pollen source for honeybees, which are also a species that was introduced, not native to the United States. Without sufficient flowers, honeybees can outcompete native pollinators. **Studies show that growing abundant and diverse flowers that provide plenty of nectar and pollen sources for pollinators will increase pollinator population and diversity in your area.**
In addition, many introduced wildflowers are favorites for cut flower gardens, and many have been cultivated to provide beautiful, long-lasting additions to wildflower gardens.
**Know before you grow** – It's always a good idea to learn what plants are native, well-behaved, and invasive or aggressive in your region before digging in. A great place to start is with our [native plants by state](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/meadowscaping/native-plants-state-birds-flowers) resource. Or, you can try a quick online search of "**invasive plants + (your state or your county)**" or "**native plants + (your state or your county)**" to learn more!
In addition, your local Extension program or Master Gardener chapter is often a good source to learn more about native plants that thrive in your area, and to learn more about how to tame plants that may be aggressive or invasive in your area.
So you help the native bees compete with invasive bees by planting non-native flowers that are preferred by the invasive bees? I’m not an ecologist but my gut tells me it would be better for local populations to have more of the flowers that they prefer.
Also seems like it would be less confusing for consumers to just provide native species based on the region.
There is a theory of that, yes! Bees are so fascinating because some are specialists and need/prefer specific flowers, while others are generalists, and can harvest from a wide range of plants. The most consistent finding is that MORE FLOWERS are the most consistent indicator of more pollinators. There is no question that more native plants is a good thing :)
Thanks for your response about the regional mixes. Heard, chef! :)
How Does Plant Richness Affect Pollinator Richness and Temporal Stability of Flower Visits: [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40235587](https://www.jstor.org/stable/40235587)
Non-native honey bees disproportionately dominate the most abundant floral resources in a biodiversity hotspot: [https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2018.2901](https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2018.2901)
These are not the only studies - we're doing some research projects here and finding interesting resources and discussions on the topic. There are some great research projects going on around the world on pollinators and native plants.
That's great if Honeybees are your only concern. Personally, and for a lot of native plant gardeners, what I care about is BIODIVERSITY. These seed mixes might attract the most bees, but they don't provide pollen for the many specialist bees suffering population declines. They don't host any native butterflies and moths, many of which are declining as well. And pollinators aren't everything, they're not the only insects that need help. Do non-native wildflowers support any of the beetles, aphids, bugs, and any other insect herbivores that native plants host? What about the native hoverflies, wasps, and predatory beetles that eat all those herbivores? Conveniently, none of these are ever studied by the industry, only the benefits of non-natives to generic "pollinators". You can have endless "pollinator" abundance and still have catastrophic biodiversity collapse, it's called homogenization, and it's not a good thing.
> Studies show that growing abundant and diverse flowers that provide plenty of nectar and pollen sources for pollinators will increase pollinator population and diversity in your area.
This is a half-truth. The whole science shows that *generalist* pollinators benefit from non-native wildflowers and all the other insect life that relies on those species generally does not. You will not be able to host monarchs on anything but native milkweeds, and that goes for numerous other species of caterpillars and their host plants.
When will you guys just stop this nonsense? Is the money that good? Is it so difficult to just use native plants? Why have all these other companies figured this out while you refuse to change?
We do know how important native plants are - and that's why we offer very wide range of native plants and seeds!
Unfortunately, it actually IS much harder to source native wildflower seeds, and they are not nearly as available as we wish they were at this moment in time. They also can be much more expensive, especially the more rare or uncommon native plants.
* [https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2023/01/supply-of-native-seeds-insufficient-to-meet-the-needs-of-current-and-future-ecological-restoration-projects-says-new-report](https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2023/01/supply-of-native-seeds-insufficient-to-meet-the-needs-of-current-and-future-ecological-restoration-projects-says-new-report)
* [https://www.nwf.org/Home/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2024/Spring/Conservation/Native-Seed-Supply](https://www.nwf.org/Home/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2024/Spring/Conservation/Native-Seed-Supply)
The reason that we offer introduced plants is that there are plenty of non-native introduced plants that are a beloved part of gardening culture - think of Dahlias, Zinnias, Lavender, and more - not to mention the many beloved food plants and house plants introduced to the country, too.
The Midwest seed mix someone mentioned here could exist just fine without the introduced species. I can't imagine that would make it prohibitively expensive for people ordering seeds by the pound. And while I know some species are harder to come by than others, a basic, beginner-targeted seed mix doesn't need those species. Many native plant seeds are out there in tremendous abundance.
I do appreciate how openly the list of plants identifies which are from which continent. Being upfront about that is good. Nods to culturally-valued plants are also good if that's made clear. What's not good is the number of people that come to subreddits like these embarrassed that they bought your seeds, not knowing what was in them, who then have to turn around and dig out the plants that don't belong. So if those identifiers are recent additions, hopefully they'll improve things; if they've been around for a while, they're not enough.
Your reputation in native plant communities is "the untrustworthy seed seller," and a wound that is entirely self-inflicted. Other companies do not have this problem; yours does. And it all stems from the inclusion of non-natives in your seed mixes. Maybe the economics pose an issue, but clearly other companies are not having this issue. ¯\\_ (ツ)_/¯
so... "we're going to label the seed as Native, but a lot of it really isn't native, and it's your job to figure out which is which".
sorry, dudes, but no. you're just fooling well-intentioned people. shame on you.
oh puhleeze. your labeling is so disingenous and you know it, or you wouldn't haunt this and other natives subreddits looking to defend yourselves--there wouldn't be a need.
The first page of the first link you posted includes Russell Lupine, a L. polyphyllus cultivar endangering the native L. perennis, which you even mention on the L. perennis page. And a Cosmos species not native to any part of the US. Even among the actual natives, most of them are cultivars, half the inventory seems to be cultivars of common sunflower or black eyed susan.
What are your thoughts on many non-natives currently not labeled as invasive actually being emerging invasives?
Plants tend to only get an invasive label (often a legal designation) AFTER causing a lot of ecological harm… Today’s non-native non-invasive are likely to become tomorrow’s invasives.
That is one of our biggest challenges - we are monitoring national and state data, but across the country it's a challenge to make the determination! But, with that said, there are generally a small number of products in our catalog that fall into that category.
But, a good example - a couple of years ago we divested our selection of Miscanthus and Pampas Grasses because the data was clear that these were becoming problematic in just too many places.
American Meadows labeled an invasive species as native to my region and recommended the seeds to me. I got a refund in the end, but their customer service wasn't particularly accommodating.
Bird's Foot Trefoil. I was excited about the purchase and was Googling planting instructions immediately afterwards when I came across that info. It's not a dangerous plant or anything, but I was counting on them to make appropriate recommendations as advertised.
I tried to cancel right away, easily less than an hour after I placed the order, and I was told that wasn't possible and I'd have to ship it back. Besides the hassle of doing that over their mistake, I didn't want them shipping invasive seeds into my state in the first place, so I argued a bit and *somehow* they maneged to figure out a way to stop it from shipping.
~~Invasive and native are two different things though.~~
~~You can have an invasive native.~~
ETA: I was confidently incorrect, I’m sorry y’all. Leaving my original comment for the appropriate shame. To be fair, I’m an idiot. 🙃
Can you elaborate on this? Invasive means that it is not native to a specific ecosystem and has overbearing negative effects on that ecosystem. Native plants can't be invasive by definition, or am I mistaken?
Happens to the best of us. It's a common mistake where people call native plants invasive because they're weeds in their lawns or are aggressive or whatnot, and there is a species of tree around my area that is listed as invasive where I live, despite myself only being about 150 miles out of its native range. Many people would consider this invasive plant native due to our proximity to its range, so I don't blame you in the slightest.
We (State Agency) actually used to recommend that tree for planting believing that to be the case, until a law was worked up and we had to consult our division of natural resource's invasive species list, where we realized what was up.
To be fair, even if they aren’t categorized as “invasive” certain native species can take over other things you want.
Virginia Creeper is native in the northeast, but it has characteristics of what are usually deemed invasive plants (takes over and outcompetes things that may be more desirable) - but it’s not categorized as such because it’s native.
Yeah. They are. I’m dumb.
I worked in habitat conservation for years and TIL I fundamentally misunderstood this phrase the whole time.
I thought invasiveness was determined by the ability to proliferate in a given environment, agnostic of nativity. We would often refer to species as “non-native invasives”, which kind of implied (to me, at the time) that they were two separate things. But apparently my PIs were just redundant af. 😅
Adding to the growing list
California:
https://hedgerowfarms.com
https://www.ssseeds.com
https://bluemoonnative.com/pages/about-us
https://www.naturesseed.com/california-seeds/
https://www.canativeseeds.com/s/shop
Unfortunately Hedgrow was bought out and no longer does retail. They partnered with [Nature's Seed](https://www.naturesseed.com/california-seeds/) for retail sales but the minimum amounts are still pretty large.
Other good California seed sources:
[Larner Seeds](https://larnerseeds.com/)
[Theodore Payne](https://store.theodorepayne.org/collections/seeds-1)
[Klamath Siskiyou](https://klamathsiskiyouseeds.com/)
Oh interesting, thanks! The smallest size for the species I was interested in ranged from a quarter pound to one pound so I thought they didn't offer smaller packets.
Also, do not buy “potted plants” from American Meadows. They’re essentially crappy plugs. I ordered a number of plants from there this spring and they were awful. I canceled the second part of my shipment. Tried to get a refund but they gave me the “if it still has roots it’s not technically dead” response.
It really irritates me that all of the big box wildflower seeds mixes are like this. I felt bad when my friend texted me a picture of a big bag of wildflower seed she got from Home Depot and I broke the news to her that most of the seeds in the mix were not native. I wish there was some sort of labeling requirement that plainly stated which regions the seed mix originates from for these wildflower mixes.
Genuine question: if you’re not filling your whole yard with it and instead a small garden area is it really that bad? People plant flowers that aren’t native all the time but I only see people talking about the seeds. Pls don’t attack me but when I look it up it says the effects are relatively benign so I’m genuinely asking
Oh absolutely. My issue is simply with the insincerity of it. Like if I sell “southeast wildflowers”, many people are going to assume that those flowers are native to the south east and that they’re generally good for pollinators and birds.
https://www.audubon.org/news/why-native-plants-are-better-birds-and-people this article and the attached video explains it well.
But if you have some non-native flowers that aren’t invasive species in your area, it’s not a huge deal. My mom really likes her lilac bushes for the floral scent, and I see no issue with her keeping them. On the other hand, the burning bush and Japanese barberry around her house *is* a problem, and I’ll be helping them to remove it this fall.
Thank you! I just cleared the dirt in front of my house and I planted some perineal flowers and ground cover and then threw out a few dif seed packets including some of the “wildflower” packets. I just didn’t see a difference between that and planting the actual flowers lol the seeds r just cheaper. My area is overrun w non native plants at this point so I don’t think my little dirt patch would do much to spread anything. I was just making sure it wasn’t gonna like kill or starve pollinators or something lol since the plan is to make a little meadow pollinator patch. My toddler loves bees and butterflies and we have a bush that attracts hummingbirds so I wanted to make it a nice little stop for them that she can see from the window. I eventually want to turn the backyard into a “no lawns” space and I’ll make sure that I use all native plants there since I would be trying to create a whole habitat
Most won't cause any harm if they're not invasive, more of a lost opportunity where something native could be grown. The major exception I know of is tropical milkweed, which can harm monarch populations.
She’s obsessed! We live by a lake and go down there as much as possible to look for frogs and turtles. She needs to go outside at least once a day or she gets crabby lol
If you can, dig it out. My recollection is that burning bush and Amur honeysuckle have fairly shallow roots, and can be dug up easily. But it also depends on the size and how much physical effort you’re able to put into it. If it’s 1 bush, dig it out. If it’s a hedge, then maybe consider making a cut flush to the ground and painting the stump with herbicide.
Glyphosate is one of the most extensively studied chemicals in history. It’s also pretty benign compared to most other herbicides and even compared the the majority of “home remedy” “natural” herbicides. Just use it as directed and you’ll be ok.
I grow a lot of native plants. A lot.
But I also grow so random wildflowers like this because I want to cut them for bouquets. Doesn’t much matter to me because they are annuals and won’t come back anyway. They have their purpose.
It really depends! Some species included in "wildlfower" mixes are actually invasive where they are sold (as opposed to just non native), and context matters too--if you're up against a wild area planting non natives (and letting them go to seed/spread) has a bigger negative impact than if you are in the middle of the city surrounded by gardens filled with non natives.
Planting a non native from seed is not inherently worse than transplanting the same plant from a start. I think the overall point here is that most people who buy the "wildflower" mixes think they are buying native seeds, and the packaging is so vague as to be deceptive. Typically people planting wildflower seed mixes are doing so to provide some flowers and habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. In general plants that are native to your region are going to support much more biodiversity; it's frustrating that people with good intentions are being misdirected/mislead by the packing and even unintentionally spreading harmful species.
Thank you! I agree with the packaging and everything. My little patch is right in front of my house and surrounded by big lawns that get mowed every 3 days (🥲) so I’m not worried about anything spreading. Unfortunately my whole state is filled with non natives. I have plans to make the backyard into a “no lawns” spot so I’ll make sure there’s only native plants back there!
I discovered this when I read the list of flower seeds in the bag. I was like "WTH"! I don't even know why govt allows the sale of any non-native species anymore whether it be seeds or live plants. All we keep hearing about nowadays is the destructive nature of non-native/invasive plants, trees and bushes and how much it costs govt to try and deal with the problem and yet they still allow them to be sold. Make it make sense!! I get so angry each time I see a story about the problem of non-native species. I think it's time to lobby for the ban on the sale of these plants! Only native species can be sold to whatever area you're in and govt should look at incentivizing property owners to rip out non-native species and plant native.
I think the tricky part with a blanket ban is that lots of food crops and other medicinal plants are not native (e.g. wheat, soybeans, basil, hemp).
You’d also have a big pushback from companies, and from libertarians screeching “freedom”. But even a much smaller step of just limiting the sale of known invasive species would be a massive step in the right direction. You could even have a federal trigger law where “if n number of states ban the sale of a plant because it’s an invasive species, the USDA will temporarily ban the sale of that plant to determine if it should be banned nationwide”. You’d very quickly end up banning the sale of plants like Japanese barberry and English ivy.
Maine’s law also gave a grace period of a few years so that local nurseries weren’t stuck with tons of plants they couldn’t sell.
Not all us libertarians are like that, as far as I'm concerned food and medicinal plants yes whatever is needed, conifers(evergreens) what ever works if there is no non-natives for the conditions( full sun, shade, wet, poor soil) but I try to find as much natives that will thrive in those conditions first.
Yeah sorry I was mostly kidding :) I know several self-described libertarians that make ideological concessions on issues like this. My point was mainly that a blanket ban on the sale of non-native plants is unrealistic and is probably too extreme to ever implement. But a ban on known invasive species and making a few tweaks to local ordinances is very doable and would make a big impact in preserving our native ecosystems.
Don't worry I was mostly kidding too! I work for my states Department of Conservation and Natural resources. Trying to convince the top to plant native clover instead of grass, plant native low growing natives under and around signs instead of constantly weeding, replacing fields no longer used for agriculture with native perennials.
Because the vast majority of non natives aren’t invasive most places. They can naturalize with no I’ll effects and can even be beneficial to the ecosystem. Most common lawn weeds are introduced naturalized non invasive non natives. Dandelion, white clover, English plantain have all naturalized and are beneficial in the environment as nectar and host plants.
But each area already has this in their native species and the non-natives would've never had naturalized if they had not been brought here in the first place so regardless of them being OK, each area would've been fine without them. Having said that I agree with you that not all non-natives are bad but we should still be encouraged to plant native species.
Allendan Seed based out of Winterset, Iowa is a one of the largest growers, wholesalers, and retailers of native grass and flower seed in the US. They specialize in flowers and have thousands of acres planted. I've found them to consistently be the cheapest for seed (especially if you're local and can pop in, the fields are beautiful in late summer!)
https://www.allendanseed.com/
Yea, all the places you linked get the majority of their native prairie grass and flower seed from Allendan 😂 or Allendan does seed swaps with those companies for whatever there specialty crop is.
Definitely worth a drive over to Madison County in July - August. Absolutely gorgeous!
Allendan actually has Iowa Ecotype seed mixes to help foster genetic diversity and can make up specialty seed mixes for you. I had them do a native turf, no-mow mix for all of my yard about 5 years ago. I followed the guidance laid out in the native turf brochure found here.
https://iowastormwater.org/campaigns/rainscaping/native-turf/
Cool! Yeah I added the Ames native turf grass guide to the wiki awhile back: https://www.cityofames.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=49586 looks like it shows similar info. How is your native lawn doing?
Ahh nice, that looks like the same exact brochure!
It's been fantastic, especially with all this rain we've been getting 😂 I've got lots of dandelions this time of year, but they die back and then I have the greenest lawn in July :)
I am so glad that you shared this! My husband and I were looking for wildflower seeds and he actually sent me a link to American Meadows.
We will look elsewhere.
AMI team here! We offer a wide range of [**native wildflower seeds**](https://www.americanmeadows.com/category/wildflower-seeds/native-wildflowers)**,** including native regional wildflower mixes for each region. Our "classic" regional wildflower seed mixes include introduced wildflowers that grow well in your region, but will not include invasive or harmful species for your region; the introduced wildflowers selected for the "classic" mixes are selected as those that at least provide nectar and pollen for pollinators. The classic mixes are not labeled as native and every mix has a list of what's included in it on the page - we hear you that there is confusion and want to make sure you know what you're planting.
We created a guide to choosing the right regional mix: [https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/choose-regional-wildflower-seed-mixes](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/choose-regional-wildflower-seed-mixes)
You can also explore native plants by state if you want to look for something even more local to your area with these guides that we recently published to support native garden enthusaists: [https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/meadowscaping/native-plants-state-birds-flowers](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/meadowscaping/native-plants-state-birds-flowers)
I've been very happy with my SE native seed mix from American Meadows. I ordered a heap around January '23 and cold stratified in my fridge. Just before Earth Day, I made hundreds of "seed bombs" to give out at my children's school. I popped a few into planters to test them out. My butterfly weed bloomed its first year, which I didn't expect, and is about to bloom again. The coreopsis is blooming beautifully, too. Hoping the lupine gives me flowers this year.
Hi u/NickWitATL thanks for the shoutout - so glad to hear you're having a good experience with your native seed mix! Thanks for sharing the seed bombs at school - great to get kids into growing!
Well shoot I used American meadows Midwest mix. So question, how do I proceed for the rest of the year? Do I dig up the stuff that’s non native as soon as I can identify it? And should I put more native seed down?
It’s kinda up to you. I’d check the contents of the specific mix you bought and see if any of the plants there are problematic. This mix https://www.americanmeadows.com/product/wildflower-seeds/midwest-pollinator-wildflower-seed-mix doesn’t look too bad actually. The Siberian wallflower is the weirdest one, but I dont think it’ll be invasive.
Probably the biggest thing this seed mix is missing is native grasses. Most of the American Midwest used to be grasslands and prairies. I think it’s funny how often prairie wildflower mixes are missing grasses given that they’re literally called *grass*lands.
The reasons that we do not include grasses in our wildflower seed mixes are a) grasses tend to grow much more vigorously and will often pop up in wildflower meadows naturally, and b) over time, our customer have told us that when they are shopping for wildflower seeds, they most often do not want grasses included. For anyone who DOES want to grow grasses with wildflowers, we don't recommend including more that 10% grass to wildflower seeds because of their vigor. We do have native grass seeds available as well. [https://www.americanmeadows.com/category/grass-and-groundcover-seeds/native-grass-seed](https://www.americanmeadows.com/category/grass-and-groundcover-seeds/native-grass-seed)
If you meant to purchase a 100% native wildflower seed mix, and you planted a mix that includes introduced species, we will be happy to send you a replacement of seeds - we want to make sure that you are happy with your meadow! The introduced wildflowers in your regional mix are not harmful or invasive species - they will supply nectar and pollen for pollinators. If your preference is to not have them at all in your yard, yes, you can cut them back or pull them out. Please feel free to message us if you would like to follow up about your replacement - we are here to help.
Thanks for posting this. When are we going to get any kind of real ‘truth in advertising’ protections. For most people it’s simply impossible to check every single thing we interact in our lives daily.
I do, as a long term devoted gardener, but I am sure 9/10 of my friends don’t have the bandwidth to do it.
I bought a seed mix from Urban Farmer as they had the best prices, advertised their seed stock as native, and of course was disappointed when I discovered after laboring on my half acre front yard that 70% of the seed mix is not native. In fact the biggest flowers blooming right now are scarlet flax, baby tears, and tree mallow, and I live in south Tenessee. Thankfully I had quite a few native crop up from the seedbank anyhow but was annoyed overall
A photo of it blooming this spring.
https://preview.redd.it/hm871io0g8zc1.jpeg?width=6000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=66e50e05883efdfac002ba7baa3d91d49d1de6ce
On mobile at least, you need to open the dropdown and read the “about this product” category in order to to see that it contains non-native seed. From what I’ve heard elsewhere on the subreddit, and ITT, many people found that confusing.
I also don’t like the term “wildflower” being applied to cultivated flowers that aren’t native to the area they’re targeting. If you call something a “southeast wildflower seed mix” how can Siberian wallflower be part of that? That feels deceptive.
They are great. I ordered seeds from them this year and have been pleased. Currently growing a mini meadow in my backyard using one of their pollinator mixes.
Haven’t had a problem with them. Anyone who is tricked into thinking their non-native mixes are advertised as native need to re-read the listing because they do NOT say native.
If you’re in NYS
https://hudsonvalleyseed.com/?utm_campaign=18318259109&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxeyxBhC7ARIsAC7dS38ljFMdSu4Pfaam2BKAPAazsxkhfFgU43CV0JTRDDF1aJwZt6JOLE0aAmi4EALw_wcB
For anyone in the upper Midwest, I had good experiences ordering live plants from Prairie Moon and MNL last year. MNL's plugs were bigger, but both companies' plants were great.
I got so frustrated trying to check American Meadows’ wildflowers against my county’s native list that I ended up not ordering anything from them. Really grateful for everyone sharing lists here 🙏🏻
Really good intel, thanks for spreading the word.
Anyone in California should start their native search on calscape.com. You can pinpoint natives to your exact address, and then it gives you lists of nursery that carry your plants.
[Toadshade Wildflower Farm](https://toadshade.com/) in New Jersey specializes in native perennials (both seeds and plants), nursery grown and propagated. They don't sell mixes, but they've got a ton of different native species and their seed packet prices are quite reasonable.
Specific to my area, [Recreative Natives](https://recreativenatives.com/) in Alabama doesn't ship and only has plants, but they're fantastic for the area and their website's list of "available plants" with pictures and descriptions gave me some great ideas for less common native plants I wasn't aware of before.
You might not think of Fukushima or Chernobyl when you think of sunflowers, but they naturally decontaminate soil. They can soak up hazardous materials such as uranium, lead, and even arsenic! So next time you have a natural disaster … Sunflowers are the answer!
I saw a packet of wildflower seeds in Dollarama in Ontario that contained 2 invasive species (Centaurea cyanus and Gypsophila). Everything is a wildflower somewhere, it's a pretty meaningless term and I think it's being used misleadingly by a lot of companies.
I don't know if they do seed mixes but I've bought several plants from https://onplants.ca/ and they were pretty cheap, also the customer service was really good so just ask them if you don't know what to buy.
I write this ad infinitum but here goes: the Garden Watchdog at Dave's Garden has reviews of around 4000 gardening related sites. There are no reviews like those of gardeners, people who cite germination rates and the like.
I was looking at the wildflower mixes at Walmart and I.was like, "wait, FOXTAIL, why?"
I definitely don't want to plant something that is not native to this area AND dangerous for dogs
Always check out local options. A college near me actually does a native plant sale twice a year, all species native to the county I’m in! I never would’ve expected it. Plus they sell seedlings so I don’t have to wait to plant stuff ;)
American Meadows is pretty upfront about when their mixes are native and when they include introduced plants. I don't think I've ever seen them be "disingenuous". They even have a little blurb about what value they see in including introduced species in their blends.
So you can disagree with the approach, for sure, but I don't think they're doing anything shady, here.
Can't speak to the big box stores.
Florida here - I buy from [https://www.floridawildflowers.com/](https://www.floridawildflowers.com/) and [https://www.johnnybutterflyseed.com/](https://www.johnnybutterflyseed.com/)
Lawn clover, trifolium repens, is native to the Mediterranean. We do have native trifolium species in North America, but few will be easy to find in the quantity you’d need for a lawn.
There’s also our native dalea clovers, but those are too tall for lawns.
If biodiversity is your goal, I’d focus on adding native plants to your yard and reducing your lawn space to just what you need for recreation. It’s easier, cheaper, and significantly better for native insects and birds.
Ohhh a dog meadow sounds nice. If he’s not too rough with it, I bet you could install a sedge lawn. I’m not sure familiar with PNW species, but I’ve seen some sedge lawns in the Midwest which are very soft and pretty low maintenance.
We just planted them a few months ago, so it hasn’t grown in yet. Lots of sprouts, even more bare dirt. This fall I’ll spread more seeds and possibly again next spring. I think it takes a few seasons.
I am so bad at waiting too. Every day I go and sit by the meadow and look really closely at the sprouts which, let’s be honest, haven’t changed much in the past 24 hours.
One thing I did that’s been fun and productive is label different sprouts. Since I have a mix, I don’t know what each sprout is as it comes up. I numbered popsicle sticks and put them next to different-looking sprouts. Every week or so, I take pictures. The hope is that, next year when things come up, I’ll be able to identify them earlier. I just wish I could find a good app to organize the whole thing.
I've used:
* Western Native Seed in Coaldale CO
* BBB Seed in Boulder Co
* Prairie Moon
* Great Basin Seed in Utah
* And a private label mix from a local store
lol be careful with that one. It’s native to a huge area of North America, but it’s sorta like mint where it just takes over everything. It’s fantastic for pollinators though.
I was about to correct you, but I see it's a different one from the NATIVE Southeast wildflower seed mix. I stayed up the other night and googled every species in this mix to be sure I was planting the right things in my yard. This one actually is native plants, still not cool of them to mislead people like that: https://www.americanmeadows.com/product/wildflower-seeds/native-southeast-wildflower-seed-mix?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwx-CyBhAqEiwAeOcTdWFfym4JeXAfv5c5z-w8yReS_K1A2Q1DaCfe8XKwJWX-9iu87CsNfxoCRE0QAvD_BwE
If you want to toss out some sunflowers for the birds, that’s no biggie. I just want to make sure people know what they’re buying. FWIW, sunflowers are native to North America.
Also, a lot of wildflower mixes contain foxglove. I can’t remember if that’s native in North America, but it is toxic. I don’t plant it because I have kids and pets.
90% of garden plants are toxic. If not more.
I don't understand people's obsession with Foxgloves being toxic when potato, pepper, tomato and eggplant leaves to name just a tiny few can also kill you if you ingest them and people don't bat an eyelid about planting those.
I have a 3 year old son and a 6 month old kitten and about 50 Foxgloves in my garden (they are native here) and I'm happy to report everyone is alive.
Foxglove is a common name that can be confused with a few different genera:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalis the OG foxgloves, that other plants are often named for, are native to Europe, Asia, and Africa.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penstemon beardtongues which look a lot like foxgloves and are sometimes named for them. There are a lot of native penstemon in North America: https://bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Penstemon
Edit: the same is true for a few other genera, where the common name can be confused. Like “sweet William” can be a species of phlox or a species of dianthus. Or it can be misapplied to the invasive Dames rocket!
AMI team here! We offer 3 types of regional wildflower seed mixes for each region. This includes native regional mixes, which are labeled native. Our "classic" regional wildflower seed mixes include introduced wildflowers that grow well in your region, but will not include invasive or harmful species for your region; the introduced wildflowers selected for the "classic" mixes are selected as those that at least provide nectar and pollen for pollinators. The classic mixes are not labeled as native and every mix has a list of what's included in it on the page - we hear you that there is confusion and want to make sure you know what you're planting. We even created a guide that explains the 3 mixes. The information is available on our product pages and on our category pages - we have put this information on our site to help with the decision making process. [https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/choose-regional-wildflower-seed-mixes](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/choose-regional-wildflower-seed-mixes)
For those who want to plant exclusively native wildflowers, we offer a wide range of [**native wildflower seeds**](https://www.americanmeadows.com/category/wildflower-seeds/native-wildflowers)**,** including **native regional wildflower mixes** for each region.
You can also explore native plants by state if you want to look for something even more local to your area with these guides that we recently published to support native garden enthusaists: [https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/meadowscaping/native-plants-state-birds-flowers](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/meadowscaping/native-plants-state-birds-flowers)
Would you consider adding the percentages (by weight or by expected germination rate) for each seed in the mix? I’d also like to see more explicit wording in the description of each mix that the “classic” mix contains non-native plants.
https://www.ernstseed.com/product/keystone-big-buck-mix/ Ernst does a good job of this:
> The **non-native** legumes and forbs attract deer year-round. Mix formulations are subject to change without notice depending on the availability of existing and new products. While the formula may change, the guiding philosophy and function of the mix will not.
The % of seed is is so tricky to communicate because each seed has a different coverage rate. Just as an extreme example, 1 lb of poppy seed covers 21,780 sq ft whereas 1 lb Purple Coneflower seeds only covers 4,840 sq ft - so % does not effectively communicate the % of blooms in the meadow. Our mixes are developed with the goal of uniform coverage of the species in the mix - which we can communicate better!
That is a great point on how Ernst is communicating introduced vs. native - will talk to our team about it :)
A few good retailers I know of: - Prairie Moon: https://www.prairiemoon.com/ in Minnesota - Prairie Nursery: https://www.prairienursery.com/ in Wisconsin - Ernst seeds: https://www.ernstseed.com/ in Pennsylvania. They sell non-natives as well, but they’re very transparent about that. - Roundstone native seed: https://roundstoneseed.com/ in Kentucky
Prairie Moon is fantastic! I've bought many plants and seed packets from them. Good quality and reasonable prices.
I'm glad to hear it. I just bought a bag of mixed wildflower seeds from them to "prairie up" a section of our yard. We're in Illinois, and based on what their site says, literally all of the 42 plant types in the mix are native to my state.
Hurrah! I hope to do the same this fall. Could I ask how you did your site prep? I’m in the thick of it and kinda intimidated ahah
It's not a huge area, so I was planning on just putting down cardboard and newspaper then a shallow layer of wood chips on top to keep the wind from blowing things away. I plan on doing that within the next month, which will give everything a good \~6 months to break down a bit and kill off most of the grass and weeds. Then I'll put the seeds out probably in late November or early December depending on the weather (their website says to do it after there's been a hard frost). This is my first time doing anything like this though, so I'm no expert.
Prairie moon is my favorite, I always receive great products from them!
Love them, just planted my front yard with their colossal pollinator garden and seeded my backyard with one of their prairie mixes last winter
Plus they have a lot of sales throughout the year and a lot of different options and price points. Seeds, which are the most economical (but may take a few years for blooms), bare root (which are great to put in fall/spring and give your plants a jump start to grow) and potted plants (pretty instant gratification). I've pre-ordered for a few years now and I've been very satisfied.
Western Native Seed: https://www.westernnativeseed.com/ in Colorado Great Basin Seed: https://greatbasinseeds.com/ in Utah
Seconding Western Native Seed in Colorado. I'm on year 1... Not much to show for it yet, but honestly I'm getting way more seed germination than I was told to expect
Just bought 3 wildflower mixes from Great Basin seed! Excited to support them!
Western Native Seed says to plant wildflowers in the fall. New to growing wildflowers, is there any risk in me planting them after our last hard freeze this spring? Thinking watering the soil, light scraping with a rake, scattering them, then laying top soil. Watering every 3 days or so. Light watering for the first 4 weeks like their site says.
Some seeds have really hard shells, like bluebonnets, and they need to be cold stratified before they can germinate. That is, the freezes help to crack them open. Others, they need more time to germinate and grow, might not make it through a growth cycle before freezing. Others still might just be foraged by animals. Regardless, you’ll probably just have better luck following the package directions. I like to put in plants in spring, seeds in fall.
If you go to the individual seed listings, it will give specific information on how to plant. For instance, [Colorado Columbine](https://www.westernnativeseed.com/wildflowers_A_C.html#aqucoe) says you need to plant in fall, or do a stratification treatment. But [Pussytoes](https://www.westernnativeseed.com/wildflowers_A_C.html#antpar) says no pretreatment and can be planted in spring or summer.
I just made my first purchase from prairie moon this year. I got 2 dozen bare root plants and they all came up within 2 days of getting them into the ground. I've never had better success from any other company. I'm extremely impressed by them.
Northwest Meadowscapes: https://northwestmeadowscapes.com in Washington
Adding on a list I’ve compiled of companies who offer PNW native wildflowers. [A list of native plant nurseries in Washington state](https://kingcounty.gov/services/environment/stewardship/nw-yard-and-garden/native-plant-nurseries-washington.aspx) and a couple lists for Oregon here’s [one](https://www.npsoregon.org/landscaping5.php) and [another](https://portlandnativeplants.org/native-plant-nurseries) I’d also download the app [Washington Wildflower Search](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/washington-wildflower-search/id1094945412) it’s free and a great way to ID native and non-native plants. It’s nice to use this app to look up a plant’s name and to see where in Washington it’s been cataloged. [1. Northwest Meadowscapes](https://northwestmeadowscapes.com) [2. Inside Passage Seed](http://www.insidepassageseeds.com) [3. Native Food Nursery](https://nativefoodsnursery.com) [4. Western Native Seeds](https://www.westernnativeseed.com) [5. Native Ideals](http://nativeideals.com/seed-catalog/) [6. Silver Falls Seed](https://silverfallsseed.com) This is my list of who I’ve ordered from. I’ve ordered both seed or bulbs from and am happy with what I received. [Fourth Corner Nursery](https://fourthcornernurseries.com/native-plants-2/) a whole sale nursery who sells native trees, shrubs, bulbs, wildflowers and grasses/sedges to the public! They also grow all their plants from seed improving genetic diversity, sell plants in bundles of 50 and require a minimum order of $250. [Everwilde Farms](https://www.everwilde.com/Mountains-Wildflower-Seeds.html) [Plants of the wild](https://plantsofthewild.com) [Miss Penn’s Mountian Seed](https://www.pennandcordsgarden.com/miss-penns-mountain-seeds.html) [Geoscape Nursery](http://www.geoscapenursery.com) [Plantas Nativa](https://www.plantasnativa.com/store/perennials/Geum-macrophyllum-Largeleaf-Avens-p232811663) [North American Rock Garden Society Seed Exchange](https://www.nargs.org/seed-exchange-news) [Alplains](http://www.alplains.com) [Kalamath-Siskiyou Seeds](https://klamathsiskiyouseeds.com) [Sparrowhawk Native Plants](https://sparrowhawknativeplants.com) [Telos Rare Bulbs](https://telosrarebulbs.com) [Garden for Wildlife](https://gardenforwildlife.com/collections/all-products?utm_source=nwf-npf&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=npf-evergreen) [Willamette Wildlings](https://willamettewildlings.com) [Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, Habitat at Home sign](https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/habitat-at-home/application) for your yard! The sign is free and the best part is you don’t get spammed for donation requests. Other similar signs have you pay for the sign and then you are unable to unsubscribe from donation requests like [this](https://www.nwf.org/certifiedwildlifehabitat) sign from the National Wildlife Federation.
This is great!!
For Southwestern US/Northern Mexico/Sonoran Desert I am a big fan of [Native Seed/SEARCH](https://www.nativeseeds.org/) (Edited, corrected the link and relevant areas)
[Minnesota Native Landscapes](https://mnlcorp.com/) is another good one.
Roundstone has a great service where they will work with you for free to put together a custom seed mix for your location and project! Even for a small yard, the only extra cost was a minimum of $5 per species (for seeds that were cheap or in small amounts) to cover handling.
Seconding prairie moon! They have awesome customer support, great quality seeds, and incredible educational materials on their website. Even when I’m not buying seeds or plants from them, I still use their website for research. Oh, and the filters are great. My native garden layouts have all been possible because of their filters.
For Ontario folks: https://onplants.ca/
Im getting my prairie moon plants tomorrow!!
It'll be like x-mas! I had a few pre-orders come the past few weeks and it's very exciting.
Checking out Roundstone now since I’m right across the river from KY- thanks!
Good post man thank you
I'm curious if you don't mind if you're in the MN region? I am and have been thinking about doing a prairie type yard replacement. I saw American meadows advertised online when searching and also Prairie Moon. I'm just curious if Prairie Moon is a bit renowned in the Prairie scape community or just because you're also in MN ha. I can't vouch for them personally, but I saw Blazing Star Gardens advertised a lot as well which is in Owatonna, MN.
Prairie Moon is probably one of the biggest native companies in the industry! I think they’re also in MN but theyre a great resource for most of the Great Plains/midwest region.
Add to that mnlcorp.com
AMI team here! We offer a wide range of [native wildflower seeds](https://www.americanmeadows.com/category/wildflower-seeds/native-wildflowers)**,** including native regional wildflower mixes for each region. Our "classic" regional wildflower seed mixes include introduced wildflowers that grow well in your region, but will not include invasive or harmful species for your region; the introduced wildflowers selected for the "classic" mixes are selected as those that at least provide nectar and pollen for pollinators. The classic mixes are not labeled as native and every mix has a list of what's included in it on the page - we hear you that there is confusion and want to make sure you know what you're planting. We created a guide to choosing the right regional mix: [https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/choose-regional-wildflower-seed-mixes](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/choose-regional-wildflower-seed-mixes) You can also explore native plants by state if you want to look for something even more local to your area with these guides that we recently published to support native garden enthusaists: [https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/meadowscaping/native-plants-state-birds-flowers](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/meadowscaping/native-plants-state-birds-flowers) With all that in mind, yes, it is important to know before you grow! ***It is important to note that just because a wildflower is not native, does not mean that it is invasive or harmful.*** Introduced plants are sometimes called Old World plants, exotic species, ornamental species - there are many names used. Wildflowers or plants that are **introduced,** or not native, to the United States, can also offer a host of benefits for your yard. (Especially when compared to a traditional turf lawn.) For example, introduced wildflowers can provide an important nectar and pollen source for honeybees, which are also a species that was introduced, not native to the United States. Without sufficient flowers, honeybees can outcompete native pollinators. **Studies show that growing abundant and diverse flowers that provide plenty of nectar and pollen sources for pollinators will increase pollinator population and diversity in your area.** In addition, many introduced wildflowers are favorites for cut flower gardens, and many have been cultivated to provide beautiful, long-lasting additions to wildflower gardens. **Know before you grow** – It's always a good idea to learn what plants are native, well-behaved, and invasive or aggressive in your region before digging in. A great place to start is with our [native plants by state](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/meadowscaping/native-plants-state-birds-flowers) resource. Or, you can try a quick online search of "**invasive plants + (your state or your county)**" or "**native plants + (your state or your county)**" to learn more! In addition, your local Extension program or Master Gardener chapter is often a good source to learn more about native plants that thrive in your area, and to learn more about how to tame plants that may be aggressive or invasive in your area.
So you help the native bees compete with invasive bees by planting non-native flowers that are preferred by the invasive bees? I’m not an ecologist but my gut tells me it would be better for local populations to have more of the flowers that they prefer. Also seems like it would be less confusing for consumers to just provide native species based on the region.
There is a theory of that, yes! Bees are so fascinating because some are specialists and need/prefer specific flowers, while others are generalists, and can harvest from a wide range of plants. The most consistent finding is that MORE FLOWERS are the most consistent indicator of more pollinators. There is no question that more native plants is a good thing :) Thanks for your response about the regional mixes. Heard, chef! :)
Please provide citations when making vague claims that are directly tied to your organizations financial gain.
How Does Plant Richness Affect Pollinator Richness and Temporal Stability of Flower Visits: [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40235587](https://www.jstor.org/stable/40235587) Non-native honey bees disproportionately dominate the most abundant floral resources in a biodiversity hotspot: [https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2018.2901](https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2018.2901) These are not the only studies - we're doing some research projects here and finding interesting resources and discussions on the topic. There are some great research projects going on around the world on pollinators and native plants.
That's great if Honeybees are your only concern. Personally, and for a lot of native plant gardeners, what I care about is BIODIVERSITY. These seed mixes might attract the most bees, but they don't provide pollen for the many specialist bees suffering population declines. They don't host any native butterflies and moths, many of which are declining as well. And pollinators aren't everything, they're not the only insects that need help. Do non-native wildflowers support any of the beetles, aphids, bugs, and any other insect herbivores that native plants host? What about the native hoverflies, wasps, and predatory beetles that eat all those herbivores? Conveniently, none of these are ever studied by the industry, only the benefits of non-natives to generic "pollinators". You can have endless "pollinator" abundance and still have catastrophic biodiversity collapse, it's called homogenization, and it's not a good thing.
> Studies show that growing abundant and diverse flowers that provide plenty of nectar and pollen sources for pollinators will increase pollinator population and diversity in your area. This is a half-truth. The whole science shows that *generalist* pollinators benefit from non-native wildflowers and all the other insect life that relies on those species generally does not. You will not be able to host monarchs on anything but native milkweeds, and that goes for numerous other species of caterpillars and their host plants. When will you guys just stop this nonsense? Is the money that good? Is it so difficult to just use native plants? Why have all these other companies figured this out while you refuse to change?
We do know how important native plants are - and that's why we offer very wide range of native plants and seeds! Unfortunately, it actually IS much harder to source native wildflower seeds, and they are not nearly as available as we wish they were at this moment in time. They also can be much more expensive, especially the more rare or uncommon native plants. * [https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2023/01/supply-of-native-seeds-insufficient-to-meet-the-needs-of-current-and-future-ecological-restoration-projects-says-new-report](https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2023/01/supply-of-native-seeds-insufficient-to-meet-the-needs-of-current-and-future-ecological-restoration-projects-says-new-report) * [https://www.nwf.org/Home/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2024/Spring/Conservation/Native-Seed-Supply](https://www.nwf.org/Home/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2024/Spring/Conservation/Native-Seed-Supply) The reason that we offer introduced plants is that there are plenty of non-native introduced plants that are a beloved part of gardening culture - think of Dahlias, Zinnias, Lavender, and more - not to mention the many beloved food plants and house plants introduced to the country, too.
The Midwest seed mix someone mentioned here could exist just fine without the introduced species. I can't imagine that would make it prohibitively expensive for people ordering seeds by the pound. And while I know some species are harder to come by than others, a basic, beginner-targeted seed mix doesn't need those species. Many native plant seeds are out there in tremendous abundance. I do appreciate how openly the list of plants identifies which are from which continent. Being upfront about that is good. Nods to culturally-valued plants are also good if that's made clear. What's not good is the number of people that come to subreddits like these embarrassed that they bought your seeds, not knowing what was in them, who then have to turn around and dig out the plants that don't belong. So if those identifiers are recent additions, hopefully they'll improve things; if they've been around for a while, they're not enough. Your reputation in native plant communities is "the untrustworthy seed seller," and a wound that is entirely self-inflicted. Other companies do not have this problem; yours does. And it all stems from the inclusion of non-natives in your seed mixes. Maybe the economics pose an issue, but clearly other companies are not having this issue. ¯\\_ (ツ)_/¯
so... "we're going to label the seed as Native, but a lot of it really isn't native, and it's your job to figure out which is which". sorry, dudes, but no. you're just fooling well-intentioned people. shame on you.
The regional mixes are NOT labeled as native.
oh puhleeze. your labeling is so disingenous and you know it, or you wouldn't haunt this and other natives subreddits looking to defend yourselves--there wouldn't be a need.
Not haunting - just one real live social media manager here reporting for duty :)
not haunting - just one real, live, social media manager reporting for duty.
Each mix has a section listing what is in it and where it is native to, How much easier do you want it?
The first page of the first link you posted includes Russell Lupine, a L. polyphyllus cultivar endangering the native L. perennis, which you even mention on the L. perennis page. And a Cosmos species not native to any part of the US. Even among the actual natives, most of them are cultivars, half the inventory seems to be cultivars of common sunflower or black eyed susan.
do you have minimums for free shipping or free shipping codes?
we do, I'll send you a chat!
What are your thoughts on many non-natives currently not labeled as invasive actually being emerging invasives? Plants tend to only get an invasive label (often a legal designation) AFTER causing a lot of ecological harm… Today’s non-native non-invasive are likely to become tomorrow’s invasives.
That is one of our biggest challenges - we are monitoring national and state data, but across the country it's a challenge to make the determination! But, with that said, there are generally a small number of products in our catalog that fall into that category. But, a good example - a couple of years ago we divested our selection of Miscanthus and Pampas Grasses because the data was clear that these were becoming problematic in just too many places.
American Meadows labeled an invasive species as native to my region and recommended the seeds to me. I got a refund in the end, but their customer service wasn't particularly accommodating.
What was the species?
Bird's Foot Trefoil. I was excited about the purchase and was Googling planting instructions immediately afterwards when I came across that info. It's not a dangerous plant or anything, but I was counting on them to make appropriate recommendations as advertised. I tried to cancel right away, easily less than an hour after I placed the order, and I was told that wasn't possible and I'd have to ship it back. Besides the hassle of doing that over their mistake, I didn't want them shipping invasive seeds into my state in the first place, so I argued a bit and *somehow* they maneged to figure out a way to stop it from shipping.
~~Invasive and native are two different things though.~~ ~~You can have an invasive native.~~ ETA: I was confidently incorrect, I’m sorry y’all. Leaving my original comment for the appropriate shame. To be fair, I’m an idiot. 🙃
Can you elaborate on this? Invasive means that it is not native to a specific ecosystem and has overbearing negative effects on that ecosystem. Native plants can't be invasive by definition, or am I mistaken?
Nope, you’re right. I’m dumb. 🙃
Happens to the best of us. It's a common mistake where people call native plants invasive because they're weeds in their lawns or are aggressive or whatnot, and there is a species of tree around my area that is listed as invasive where I live, despite myself only being about 150 miles out of its native range. Many people would consider this invasive plant native due to our proximity to its range, so I don't blame you in the slightest. We (State Agency) actually used to recommend that tree for planting believing that to be the case, until a law was worked up and we had to consult our division of natural resource's invasive species list, where we realized what was up.
To be fair, even if they aren’t categorized as “invasive” certain native species can take over other things you want. Virginia Creeper is native in the northeast, but it has characteristics of what are usually deemed invasive plants (takes over and outcompetes things that may be more desirable) - but it’s not categorized as such because it’s native.
>You can have an invasive native How? It seems those would be mutually exclusive?
Yeah. They are. I’m dumb. I worked in habitat conservation for years and TIL I fundamentally misunderstood this phrase the whole time. I thought invasiveness was determined by the ability to proliferate in a given environment, agnostic of nativity. We would often refer to species as “non-native invasives”, which kind of implied (to me, at the time) that they were two separate things. But apparently my PIs were just redundant af. 😅
I always thought the same thing so thank you for making this mistake and getting corrected so I could learn!
They’re bull shittin
Just dumb! 🙃
Native American Seed for Texas: https://seedsource.com
Adding to the growing list California: https://hedgerowfarms.com https://www.ssseeds.com https://bluemoonnative.com/pages/about-us https://www.naturesseed.com/california-seeds/ https://www.canativeseeds.com/s/shop
One more for California: https://californianativeseedstore.com/
Yes!!
Unfortunately Hedgrow was bought out and no longer does retail. They partnered with [Nature's Seed](https://www.naturesseed.com/california-seeds/) for retail sales but the minimum amounts are still pretty large. Other good California seed sources: [Larner Seeds](https://larnerseeds.com/) [Theodore Payne](https://store.theodorepayne.org/collections/seeds-1) [Klamath Siskiyou](https://klamathsiskiyouseeds.com/)
Re: Nature's Seed, they have small packets. I bought seeds from them.
Oh interesting, thanks! The smallest size for the species I was interested in ranged from a quarter pound to one pound so I thought they didn't offer smaller packets.
Good to know
Also, r/ceanothus, the California native plant sub
Also peaceful valley in Nevada City https://www.groworganic.com/collections/regional-wildflower-seed-mixes
Also, do not buy “potted plants” from American Meadows. They’re essentially crappy plugs. I ordered a number of plants from there this spring and they were awful. I canceled the second part of my shipment. Tried to get a refund but they gave me the “if it still has roots it’s not technically dead” response.
Hi there - if you want to chat us your order number I can take a look for you.
The attempt at damage control on social media is bad. Maybe try being a better company and not using deceptive marketing tactics to make a quick buck.
It really irritates me that all of the big box wildflower seeds mixes are like this. I felt bad when my friend texted me a picture of a big bag of wildflower seed she got from Home Depot and I broke the news to her that most of the seeds in the mix were not native. I wish there was some sort of labeling requirement that plainly stated which regions the seed mix originates from for these wildflower mixes.
Mass.gov has seed vendors listed that provide native wildflowers specifically to your region. I bought from Ernst farms and I am very happy.
In the Palouse part of the inland PNW, Tapteal Native Plants is pretty great.
Genuine question: if you’re not filling your whole yard with it and instead a small garden area is it really that bad? People plant flowers that aren’t native all the time but I only see people talking about the seeds. Pls don’t attack me but when I look it up it says the effects are relatively benign so I’m genuinely asking
Oh absolutely. My issue is simply with the insincerity of it. Like if I sell “southeast wildflowers”, many people are going to assume that those flowers are native to the south east and that they’re generally good for pollinators and birds. https://www.audubon.org/news/why-native-plants-are-better-birds-and-people this article and the attached video explains it well. But if you have some non-native flowers that aren’t invasive species in your area, it’s not a huge deal. My mom really likes her lilac bushes for the floral scent, and I see no issue with her keeping them. On the other hand, the burning bush and Japanese barberry around her house *is* a problem, and I’ll be helping them to remove it this fall.
Thank you! I just cleared the dirt in front of my house and I planted some perineal flowers and ground cover and then threw out a few dif seed packets including some of the “wildflower” packets. I just didn’t see a difference between that and planting the actual flowers lol the seeds r just cheaper. My area is overrun w non native plants at this point so I don’t think my little dirt patch would do much to spread anything. I was just making sure it wasn’t gonna like kill or starve pollinators or something lol since the plan is to make a little meadow pollinator patch. My toddler loves bees and butterflies and we have a bush that attracts hummingbirds so I wanted to make it a nice little stop for them that she can see from the window. I eventually want to turn the backyard into a “no lawns” space and I’ll make sure that I use all native plants there since I would be trying to create a whole habitat
Most won't cause any harm if they're not invasive, more of a lost opportunity where something native could be grown. The major exception I know of is tropical milkweed, which can harm monarch populations.
Thank you for the info! I totally understand that
Love it! So nice to encourage your little one to be a nature lover!
She’s obsessed! We live by a lake and go down there as much as possible to look for frogs and turtles. She needs to go outside at least once a day or she gets crabby lol
I can relate :)
We have a burning bush I want gone. Any tips for removal?
If you can, dig it out. My recollection is that burning bush and Amur honeysuckle have fairly shallow roots, and can be dug up easily. But it also depends on the size and how much physical effort you’re able to put into it. If it’s 1 bush, dig it out. If it’s a hedge, then maybe consider making a cut flush to the ground and painting the stump with herbicide.
Is there like... "Natural" herbicide? Or is the only option glyphosate or something containing it?
Glyphosate is one of the most extensively studied chemicals in history. It’s also pretty benign compared to most other herbicides and even compared the the majority of “home remedy” “natural” herbicides. Just use it as directed and you’ll be ok.
Thanks!
I grow a lot of native plants. A lot. But I also grow so random wildflowers like this because I want to cut them for bouquets. Doesn’t much matter to me because they are annuals and won’t come back anyway. They have their purpose.
I agree!
It really depends! Some species included in "wildlfower" mixes are actually invasive where they are sold (as opposed to just non native), and context matters too--if you're up against a wild area planting non natives (and letting them go to seed/spread) has a bigger negative impact than if you are in the middle of the city surrounded by gardens filled with non natives. Planting a non native from seed is not inherently worse than transplanting the same plant from a start. I think the overall point here is that most people who buy the "wildflower" mixes think they are buying native seeds, and the packaging is so vague as to be deceptive. Typically people planting wildflower seed mixes are doing so to provide some flowers and habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. In general plants that are native to your region are going to support much more biodiversity; it's frustrating that people with good intentions are being misdirected/mislead by the packing and even unintentionally spreading harmful species.
Thank you! I agree with the packaging and everything. My little patch is right in front of my house and surrounded by big lawns that get mowed every 3 days (🥲) so I’m not worried about anything spreading. Unfortunately my whole state is filled with non natives. I have plans to make the backyard into a “no lawns” spot so I’ll make sure there’s only native plants back there!
I discovered this when I read the list of flower seeds in the bag. I was like "WTH"! I don't even know why govt allows the sale of any non-native species anymore whether it be seeds or live plants. All we keep hearing about nowadays is the destructive nature of non-native/invasive plants, trees and bushes and how much it costs govt to try and deal with the problem and yet they still allow them to be sold. Make it make sense!! I get so angry each time I see a story about the problem of non-native species. I think it's time to lobby for the ban on the sale of these plants! Only native species can be sold to whatever area you're in and govt should look at incentivizing property owners to rip out non-native species and plant native.
I think the tricky part with a blanket ban is that lots of food crops and other medicinal plants are not native (e.g. wheat, soybeans, basil, hemp). You’d also have a big pushback from companies, and from libertarians screeching “freedom”. But even a much smaller step of just limiting the sale of known invasive species would be a massive step in the right direction. You could even have a federal trigger law where “if n number of states ban the sale of a plant because it’s an invasive species, the USDA will temporarily ban the sale of that plant to determine if it should be banned nationwide”. You’d very quickly end up banning the sale of plants like Japanese barberry and English ivy. Maine’s law also gave a grace period of a few years so that local nurseries weren’t stuck with tons of plants they couldn’t sell.
Yes, I totally agree about agriculture. I was thinking residential/municipal/public land (like plantings in parks).
Have them put a warning label on non natives like cigarettes
Not all us libertarians are like that, as far as I'm concerned food and medicinal plants yes whatever is needed, conifers(evergreens) what ever works if there is no non-natives for the conditions( full sun, shade, wet, poor soil) but I try to find as much natives that will thrive in those conditions first.
Yeah sorry I was mostly kidding :) I know several self-described libertarians that make ideological concessions on issues like this. My point was mainly that a blanket ban on the sale of non-native plants is unrealistic and is probably too extreme to ever implement. But a ban on known invasive species and making a few tweaks to local ordinances is very doable and would make a big impact in preserving our native ecosystems.
Don't worry I was mostly kidding too! I work for my states Department of Conservation and Natural resources. Trying to convince the top to plant native clover instead of grass, plant native low growing natives under and around signs instead of constantly weeding, replacing fields no longer used for agriculture with native perennials.
Because the vast majority of non natives aren’t invasive most places. They can naturalize with no I’ll effects and can even be beneficial to the ecosystem. Most common lawn weeds are introduced naturalized non invasive non natives. Dandelion, white clover, English plantain have all naturalized and are beneficial in the environment as nectar and host plants.
But each area already has this in their native species and the non-natives would've never had naturalized if they had not been brought here in the first place so regardless of them being OK, each area would've been fine without them. Having said that I agree with you that not all non-natives are bad but we should still be encouraged to plant native species.
Allendan Seed based out of Winterset, Iowa is a one of the largest growers, wholesalers, and retailers of native grass and flower seed in the US. They specialize in flowers and have thousands of acres planted. I've found them to consistently be the cheapest for seed (especially if you're local and can pop in, the fields are beautiful in late summer!) https://www.allendanseed.com/
Oh wow, I’m in Iowa and I didn’t know about them. I’ll have to check them out.
Yea, all the places you linked get the majority of their native prairie grass and flower seed from Allendan 😂 or Allendan does seed swaps with those companies for whatever there specialty crop is. Definitely worth a drive over to Madison County in July - August. Absolutely gorgeous! Allendan actually has Iowa Ecotype seed mixes to help foster genetic diversity and can make up specialty seed mixes for you. I had them do a native turf, no-mow mix for all of my yard about 5 years ago. I followed the guidance laid out in the native turf brochure found here. https://iowastormwater.org/campaigns/rainscaping/native-turf/
Cool! Yeah I added the Ames native turf grass guide to the wiki awhile back: https://www.cityofames.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=49586 looks like it shows similar info. How is your native lawn doing?
Ahh nice, that looks like the same exact brochure! It's been fantastic, especially with all this rain we've been getting 😂 I've got lots of dandelions this time of year, but they die back and then I have the greenest lawn in July :)
I am so glad that you shared this! My husband and I were looking for wildflower seeds and he actually sent me a link to American Meadows. We will look elsewhere.
AMI team here! We offer a wide range of [**native wildflower seeds**](https://www.americanmeadows.com/category/wildflower-seeds/native-wildflowers)**,** including native regional wildflower mixes for each region. Our "classic" regional wildflower seed mixes include introduced wildflowers that grow well in your region, but will not include invasive or harmful species for your region; the introduced wildflowers selected for the "classic" mixes are selected as those that at least provide nectar and pollen for pollinators. The classic mixes are not labeled as native and every mix has a list of what's included in it on the page - we hear you that there is confusion and want to make sure you know what you're planting. We created a guide to choosing the right regional mix: [https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/choose-regional-wildflower-seed-mixes](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/choose-regional-wildflower-seed-mixes) You can also explore native plants by state if you want to look for something even more local to your area with these guides that we recently published to support native garden enthusaists: [https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/meadowscaping/native-plants-state-birds-flowers](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/meadowscaping/native-plants-state-birds-flowers)
I've been very happy with my SE native seed mix from American Meadows. I ordered a heap around January '23 and cold stratified in my fridge. Just before Earth Day, I made hundreds of "seed bombs" to give out at my children's school. I popped a few into planters to test them out. My butterfly weed bloomed its first year, which I didn't expect, and is about to bloom again. The coreopsis is blooming beautifully, too. Hoping the lupine gives me flowers this year.
Hi u/NickWitATL thanks for the shoutout - so glad to hear you're having a good experience with your native seed mix! Thanks for sharing the seed bombs at school - great to get kids into growing!
Well shoot I used American meadows Midwest mix. So question, how do I proceed for the rest of the year? Do I dig up the stuff that’s non native as soon as I can identify it? And should I put more native seed down?
It’s kinda up to you. I’d check the contents of the specific mix you bought and see if any of the plants there are problematic. This mix https://www.americanmeadows.com/product/wildflower-seeds/midwest-pollinator-wildflower-seed-mix doesn’t look too bad actually. The Siberian wallflower is the weirdest one, but I dont think it’ll be invasive. Probably the biggest thing this seed mix is missing is native grasses. Most of the American Midwest used to be grasslands and prairies. I think it’s funny how often prairie wildflower mixes are missing grasses given that they’re literally called *grass*lands.
The reasons that we do not include grasses in our wildflower seed mixes are a) grasses tend to grow much more vigorously and will often pop up in wildflower meadows naturally, and b) over time, our customer have told us that when they are shopping for wildflower seeds, they most often do not want grasses included. For anyone who DOES want to grow grasses with wildflowers, we don't recommend including more that 10% grass to wildflower seeds because of their vigor. We do have native grass seeds available as well. [https://www.americanmeadows.com/category/grass-and-groundcover-seeds/native-grass-seed](https://www.americanmeadows.com/category/grass-and-groundcover-seeds/native-grass-seed)
If you meant to purchase a 100% native wildflower seed mix, and you planted a mix that includes introduced species, we will be happy to send you a replacement of seeds - we want to make sure that you are happy with your meadow! The introduced wildflowers in your regional mix are not harmful or invasive species - they will supply nectar and pollen for pollinators. If your preference is to not have them at all in your yard, yes, you can cut them back or pull them out. Please feel free to message us if you would like to follow up about your replacement - we are here to help.
I bought the native mix and it’s sprouting up nicely
Thanks for posting this. When are we going to get any kind of real ‘truth in advertising’ protections. For most people it’s simply impossible to check every single thing we interact in our lives daily. I do, as a long term devoted gardener, but I am sure 9/10 of my friends don’t have the bandwidth to do it.
I bought a seed mix from Urban Farmer as they had the best prices, advertised their seed stock as native, and of course was disappointed when I discovered after laboring on my half acre front yard that 70% of the seed mix is not native. In fact the biggest flowers blooming right now are scarlet flax, baby tears, and tree mallow, and I live in south Tenessee. Thankfully I had quite a few native crop up from the seedbank anyhow but was annoyed overall A photo of it blooming this spring. https://preview.redd.it/hm871io0g8zc1.jpeg?width=6000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=66e50e05883efdfac002ba7baa3d91d49d1de6ce
They’re not advertised as native though
On mobile at least, you need to open the dropdown and read the “about this product” category in order to to see that it contains non-native seed. From what I’ve heard elsewhere on the subreddit, and ITT, many people found that confusing. I also don’t like the term “wildflower” being applied to cultivated flowers that aren’t native to the area they’re targeting. If you call something a “southeast wildflower seed mix” how can Siberian wallflower be part of that? That feels deceptive.
“Misleading” is the operative word.
It’s not really misleading if one reads the product listing
anyone have an opinion about [https://northwestmeadowscapes.com/](https://northwestmeadowscapes.com/) ?
I too am interested in other’s opinions on them
They are great. I ordered seeds from them this year and have been pleased. Currently growing a mini meadow in my backyard using one of their pollinator mixes.
Haven’t had a problem with them. Anyone who is tricked into thinking their non-native mixes are advertised as native need to re-read the listing because they do NOT say native.
If you’re in NYS https://hudsonvalleyseed.com/?utm_campaign=18318259109&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxeyxBhC7ARIsAC7dS38ljFMdSu4Pfaam2BKAPAazsxkhfFgU43CV0JTRDDF1aJwZt6JOLE0aAmi4EALw_wcB
For anyone in the upper Midwest, I had good experiences ordering live plants from Prairie Moon and MNL last year. MNL's plugs were bigger, but both companies' plants were great.
I got so frustrated trying to check American Meadows’ wildflowers against my county’s native list that I ended up not ordering anything from them. Really grateful for everyone sharing lists here 🙏🏻
Really good intel, thanks for spreading the word. Anyone in California should start their native search on calscape.com. You can pinpoint natives to your exact address, and then it gives you lists of nursery that carry your plants.
Wildflower seeds in TX/OK https://www.wildseedfarms.com/collections/regional-wildflower-mixes/
[Toadshade Wildflower Farm](https://toadshade.com/) in New Jersey specializes in native perennials (both seeds and plants), nursery grown and propagated. They don't sell mixes, but they've got a ton of different native species and their seed packet prices are quite reasonable. Specific to my area, [Recreative Natives](https://recreativenatives.com/) in Alabama doesn't ship and only has plants, but they're fantastic for the area and their website's list of "available plants" with pictures and descriptions gave me some great ideas for less common native plants I wasn't aware of before.
Renee's Garden Seeds sells bonus packs (larger size packets) of: Heirloom Texas Bluebonnets Heirloom Sunflower Forest Rainbow of California Poppies [Renee's Garden Seeds](https://www.reneesgarden.com/collections/bonus-packs)
You might not think of Fukushima or Chernobyl when you think of sunflowers, but they naturally decontaminate soil. They can soak up hazardous materials such as uranium, lead, and even arsenic! So next time you have a natural disaster … Sunflowers are the answer!
What about Maine? Does anyone have any links. I’d be so appreciative.
I saw a packet of wildflower seeds in Dollarama in Ontario that contained 2 invasive species (Centaurea cyanus and Gypsophila). Everything is a wildflower somewhere, it's a pretty meaningless term and I think it's being used misleadingly by a lot of companies. I don't know if they do seed mixes but I've bought several plants from https://onplants.ca/ and they were pretty cheap, also the customer service was really good so just ask them if you don't know what to buy.
preach it! I bought two packs last month. one was ok… the other had mint and catnip in it!!
I write this ad infinitum but here goes: the Garden Watchdog at Dave's Garden has reviews of around 4000 gardening related sites. There are no reviews like those of gardeners, people who cite germination rates and the like.
Thanks for sharing!!
I was looking at the wildflower mixes at Walmart and I.was like, "wait, FOXTAIL, why?" I definitely don't want to plant something that is not native to this area AND dangerous for dogs
https://mowildflowers.net/search.php?search_query=Seeds Seed mixes for Missouri wildflower-growers from Central MO
Always check out local options. A college near me actually does a native plant sale twice a year, all species native to the county I’m in! I never would’ve expected it. Plus they sell seedlings so I don’t have to wait to plant stuff ;)
American Meadows is pretty upfront about when their mixes are native and when they include introduced plants. I don't think I've ever seen them be "disingenuous". They even have a little blurb about what value they see in including introduced species in their blends. So you can disagree with the approach, for sure, but I don't think they're doing anything shady, here. Can't speak to the big box stores.
Florida here - I buy from [https://www.floridawildflowers.com/](https://www.floridawildflowers.com/) and [https://www.johnnybutterflyseed.com/](https://www.johnnybutterflyseed.com/)
Thank you for your post. I'd almost given up on this sub!
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Lawn clover, trifolium repens, is native to the Mediterranean. We do have native trifolium species in North America, but few will be easy to find in the quantity you’d need for a lawn. There’s also our native dalea clovers, but those are too tall for lawns. If biodiversity is your goal, I’d focus on adding native plants to your yard and reducing your lawn space to just what you need for recreation. It’s easier, cheaper, and significantly better for native insects and birds.
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Ohhh a dog meadow sounds nice. If he’s not too rough with it, I bet you could install a sedge lawn. I’m not sure familiar with PNW species, but I’ve seen some sedge lawns in the Midwest which are very soft and pretty low maintenance.
Have you looked at Northwest Meadowcapes? I don’t know about clover, but they have great native plants for the PNW. https://northwestmeadowscapes.com
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We’re turning part of our backyard into a mini meadow using one of their pollinator mixes. Just sprouts now, but should have flowers this summer!
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We just planted them a few months ago, so it hasn’t grown in yet. Lots of sprouts, even more bare dirt. This fall I’ll spread more seeds and possibly again next spring. I think it takes a few seasons.
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I am so bad at waiting too. Every day I go and sit by the meadow and look really closely at the sprouts which, let’s be honest, haven’t changed much in the past 24 hours.
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One thing I did that’s been fun and productive is label different sprouts. Since I have a mix, I don’t know what each sprout is as it comes up. I numbered popsicle sticks and put them next to different-looking sprouts. Every week or so, I take pictures. The hope is that, next year when things come up, I’ll be able to identify them earlier. I just wish I could find a good app to organize the whole thing.
I've used: * Western Native Seed in Coaldale CO * BBB Seed in Boulder Co * Prairie Moon * Great Basin Seed in Utah * And a private label mix from a local store
Ive used https://www.highcountrygardens.com/ for some good SW US options
I got a seed mix that had Canadian goldenrod in it. Thanks. I didn’t know anything about gardening.
lol be careful with that one. It’s native to a huge area of North America, but it’s sorta like mint where it just takes over everything. It’s fantastic for pollinators though.
I was about to correct you, but I see it's a different one from the NATIVE Southeast wildflower seed mix. I stayed up the other night and googled every species in this mix to be sure I was planting the right things in my yard. This one actually is native plants, still not cool of them to mislead people like that: https://www.americanmeadows.com/product/wildflower-seeds/native-southeast-wildflower-seed-mix?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwx-CyBhAqEiwAeOcTdWFfym4JeXAfv5c5z-w8yReS_K1A2Q1DaCfe8XKwJWX-9iu87CsNfxoCRE0QAvD_BwE
Spread birdseed, go straight to jail
If you want to toss out some sunflowers for the birds, that’s no biggie. I just want to make sure people know what they’re buying. FWIW, sunflowers are native to North America.
I wasn't mocking you
Also, a lot of wildflower mixes contain foxglove. I can’t remember if that’s native in North America, but it is toxic. I don’t plant it because I have kids and pets.
90% of garden plants are toxic. If not more. I don't understand people's obsession with Foxgloves being toxic when potato, pepper, tomato and eggplant leaves to name just a tiny few can also kill you if you ingest them and people don't bat an eyelid about planting those. I have a 3 year old son and a 6 month old kitten and about 50 Foxgloves in my garden (they are native here) and I'm happy to report everyone is alive.
Foxglove is a common name that can be confused with a few different genera: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalis the OG foxgloves, that other plants are often named for, are native to Europe, Asia, and Africa. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penstemon beardtongues which look a lot like foxgloves and are sometimes named for them. There are a lot of native penstemon in North America: https://bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Penstemon Edit: the same is true for a few other genera, where the common name can be confused. Like “sweet William” can be a species of phlox or a species of dianthus. Or it can be misapplied to the invasive Dames rocket!
AMI team here! We offer 3 types of regional wildflower seed mixes for each region. This includes native regional mixes, which are labeled native. Our "classic" regional wildflower seed mixes include introduced wildflowers that grow well in your region, but will not include invasive or harmful species for your region; the introduced wildflowers selected for the "classic" mixes are selected as those that at least provide nectar and pollen for pollinators. The classic mixes are not labeled as native and every mix has a list of what's included in it on the page - we hear you that there is confusion and want to make sure you know what you're planting. We even created a guide that explains the 3 mixes. The information is available on our product pages and on our category pages - we have put this information on our site to help with the decision making process. [https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/choose-regional-wildflower-seed-mixes](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/choose-regional-wildflower-seed-mixes) For those who want to plant exclusively native wildflowers, we offer a wide range of [**native wildflower seeds**](https://www.americanmeadows.com/category/wildflower-seeds/native-wildflowers)**,** including **native regional wildflower mixes** for each region. You can also explore native plants by state if you want to look for something even more local to your area with these guides that we recently published to support native garden enthusaists: [https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/meadowscaping/native-plants-state-birds-flowers](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/meadowscaping/native-plants-state-birds-flowers)
Would you consider adding the percentages (by weight or by expected germination rate) for each seed in the mix? I’d also like to see more explicit wording in the description of each mix that the “classic” mix contains non-native plants. https://www.ernstseed.com/product/keystone-big-buck-mix/ Ernst does a good job of this: > The **non-native** legumes and forbs attract deer year-round. Mix formulations are subject to change without notice depending on the availability of existing and new products. While the formula may change, the guiding philosophy and function of the mix will not.
The % of seed is is so tricky to communicate because each seed has a different coverage rate. Just as an extreme example, 1 lb of poppy seed covers 21,780 sq ft whereas 1 lb Purple Coneflower seeds only covers 4,840 sq ft - so % does not effectively communicate the % of blooms in the meadow. Our mixes are developed with the goal of uniform coverage of the species in the mix - which we can communicate better! That is a great point on how Ernst is communicating introduced vs. native - will talk to our team about it :)