1) Encourage growth of what you already have!
A) Easily identify what native plants you have in your yard by taking a picture with your phone and using plant identification apps:
iNaturalist:
- Pro: Free
- Pro: Your entries allow scientists to know the distribution ranges of each plant.
- Con: Need to wait for other members to identify the plant.
Picture This:
- Pro/Con: Free if you click “x” on the top right corner of the paywall every time (yearly subscription is $30).
- Pro: With internet access, it instantly provides detailed information on each plant, including: a world map of its native range, how to care for the plant, and interesting background information about the plant (scroll down on the result page to see all of the above information).
- Con: Not always 100% accurate, showing significantly reduced accuracy with young sprouts/ seedlings. Still, it provides highly accurate results overall.
Google Lens:
- Pro: Free, installing app is not necessary.
- Pro: Open your picture in Google Photos, click on the Lens icon at the bottom.
- Con: Gives you a variety of possible results instead of one reliable result.
B) Remove invasive plants (plants that are not native to our region, and which spread aggressively). This gives native plants more room to grow, and will sometimes allow native seeds lying dormant in your soil to sprout. If invasive seeds sprout instead, eliminate them and add natives.
2. Buy Native Plants
We have listed sources below that do not use neonicotinoids, a pesticide that persists in the soil for many years. This is important because we are planting natives to promote the biodiversity of insects and other wildlife!
Unfortunately, the use of neonicotinoids is common among plant suppliers of big-box stores. If in doubt, a good non-confrontational way to inquire with nursery staff is to ask how their plant suppliers manage insect damage.
Nurseries:
- Hewitt’s Garden Center (locations in Queensbury, Wilton, Ballston Spa, Clifton Park, Albany area)- Look for green pots with the brand “American Beauties”.
- Dawn’s Wild Things Rescue Nursery in Valley Falls, NY – A hidden gem well worth a day trip, as it is the biggest nursery in our region that specializes in native plants!
Annual community plant sales:
- NY DEC Seedling Sale– order by phone/ mail, pickup in Saratoga (Jan – mid May)
- Warren Cty Soil & Water Conservat. Sale– order by phone/ mail, pickup in Warrensburg (Jan – early March)
- Warren Cty Master Gardener Plant Sale– in Warrensburg (Fri & Sat, mid-May)
- Thatcher Park Plant Sale– in Voorheesville (Saturday, mid-May)
- Green Thumb Pollinator Plant Sale & Swap– in Warrensburg (Saturday, late May)
- Pollinator Palooza– in Gansevoort (Saturday, end of May)
- ADK Action Plant Sale in Lake Placid (Saturday, early June) – June 7, 2025!
Online Suppliers of Native Plant Plugs & Bare Roots:
- Example: Prairie Moon Nursery:
Spring pre-orders: Bare root, Potted trays: early Dec – mid May
Potted 3-packs: early Dec – mid June
Fall pre-orders: Bare root: mid Aug – late Oct
Potted 3-packs: mid Aug – early Sept
Other online retailers:
- Prairie Nursery
- Hilltop Hollow Farm– Offers both native and non=native plant plugs; research each plant to determine if it is native to New York state.
3. Grow Native Plants from Seed
A) Sources of Seed:
Avoid:
- Big-box “wildflower mixes” such as Earth Science, Pennington Wildflower, etc. Most of the species they contain are not native to the US Northeast.
- If you order from American Meadows, choose the Northeast Wildflower mix, not the Northeast Pollinator Wildflower mix, which contains non-native species.
Preferred:
- Prairie Moon – specializes in American native plants (filter by region and your site/ soil conditions!)
- Prairie Nursery – specializes in American native plants (filter by region and your site/ soil conditions!)
- Wild Seed Project – specializes in Northeast-native plants
- Northeast Seed Collective – specializes in local ecotypes of Northeast-native plants
- Free: Crandall Seed Library in Glens Falls, by appointment. You can get native seeds donated by us from Nov – April. They also offer seasonal vegetable seeds year-round.
- Free: Warren Cty Soil & Water Conservation District – Plot for Pollinators – Warren County Soil & Water Conservation District! If you’ve missed the timeframe of that grant program, they also offer a $15 wildflower seed mix on their annual pre-order plant sale form.
B) How to Grow Native Plants from Seed:
- Follow instructions from the supplier. Pay attention to the “Germination Code” if it’s listed. There are many codes that explain special treatment some native seeds will need for germination. For example, one common code for Northeast-native plants is code C(30) or C(60), which means they require 30 or 60 days of cold/moist stratification.
- Research Winter Sowing (WS)! It is an easy and economical method for growing many native plants in cold regions. The Crandall Seed Library will offer a free WS workshop in December 2025, and Wild Ones Southern Adirondacks will offer free WS workshops in January-February at different venues, to be determined. (You can stay updated on our upcoming events by re-visiting our website, following our Facebook page, or emailing us at [email protected] to be added to our monthly email newsletter.)