Buying and Growing Native Plants

The use of native plants is on the rise across the country as more people discover their many benefits. An ever-widening selection of vigorous, nursery-propagated native plants is available from specialty growers and many larger nurseries because of this increased demand. Purchasing native plants from such nurseries is preferable to taking them from wild places. The collection of wild plants threatens the existence of native species by causing net losses in population size and genetic diversity It also leaves the collector or purchaser with highly stressed plants that are less likely to survive. These problems are multiplied when the plants are collected from a distant-source population and then planted in a new location with different environmental conditions.

Land managers, landscape designers and homeowners benefit from using local growers and nurseries that offer nursery-propagated native species, especially plants propagated from local populations. Once a good source of native plants has been located, the next step is choosing appropriate plants for a project. One of the greatest benefits of designing with native plants is their adaptation to local conditions. However, it is important to select plants with growth requirements that best match conditions in the area to be planted.

If you are planning a project using native plant species, use our native plant finder or printable brochures to learn which plants grow in your region of Virginia. Next, study the minimum light and moisture requirements for each species, noting that some plants grow well under a variety of conditions. Native plants help wildlife and are ideal for horticulture and landscaping, and conservation and restoration. Of course, many of the recommended species are well suited to more than one of these categories.

For more information, refer to field guides and publications on local natural history for color, shape, height, bloom times and specific wildlife value of the plants that grow in your region. For help in designing native plantings with combinations of species that would occur together naturally, visit a nearby park, natural area preserve, forest or wildlife management area to learn about common plant associations, spatial groupings and habitat conditions. For specific recommendations and advice about project design, consult a landscape or garden design specialist with experience in native plants.

For a list of nurseries that propagate native species, visit:
Virginia Native Plant Society
vnps.org/conservation/plant-nurseries/