There are so many reasons why native plant specialty nurseries are the best places to buy native plants, and I was recently reminded of one particularly important reason.
In the spring, native woodland plants started to appear at regular nurseries under the label “Ontario Natives.” I didn’t get picky about the fact that some of them weren’t Ontario natives (e.g. yellow trillium, Trillium luteum). But I was intrigued because many of the plants for sale with the “Ontario Natives” label are species that are hard to find for sale even at native plant nurseries: woodlanders such as trilliums, Jack-in-the-pulpit, hepatica, blue cohosh, turk’s cap lily, etc. Most importantly, these are species that are often wild-dug, in the U.S., a practice that depletes wild populations.
So, going into Nancy Drew mode, I started to investigate.
What I found out—or, rather, didn’t find out—spoke volumes.
The “Ontario Natives” line is distributed by Sipkens Nurseries to a number of nurseries in Ontario (not to specialty native plant nurseries, as far as I know, but to general nurseries). When I contacted Sipkens with very specific questions, I was given general answers.
I asked if the plants were grown in the U.S. and potted up here, and was told, “Some are grown from seed and division in our nursery while others are purchased from another nursery grower. None are from wild harvesting.”
I followed up three times (April, May and August) re-asking my question about specific species they sell and whether or not they come from a U.S. sourse.
Sipkens didn’t answer. Yet knowing the answer is of interest and importance to native plant gardeners who 1) don’t want “native plants” grown in Texas, for example, with genetics that might make them less fit in Ontario and might cross with locally adapted species; 2) want a meaningful guarantee right from the source (“another nnursery grower”) that the plants are not wild-dug.
Sipkens didn’t answer.
One more reason to buy your native plants from local native plant nurseries! They will answer your questions about source and genetic provenance.
For a list of local native plant nurseries, visit the North American Native Plant Society website, www.nanps.org or join the Facebook group Ontario Native Plant Gardeners, or check out the Halton Master Gardeners’ list: https://haltonmastergardeners.com/2020/03/28/native-plants-nurseries-in-ontario/