Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
Not Yet Rated

Tuesday - April 04, 2006

From: Gt. Barrington, MA
Region: Northeast
Topic: Seed and Plant Sources
Title: Sources of native herbaceous plants for Massachusetts
Answered by: Nan Hampton and Joe Marcus

QUESTION:

Hi, I am looking for sources of native herbaceous plants, ideally in plug form, and wondered if you had a list you could send me. Thanks.

ANSWER:

You can visit the National Supplier Directory and search for nurseries in your area, by state or by region, that specialize in native plants. On the page for each business you can information about what the nursery offers, including "Delivery Formats" where you can check to see if the nursery sells plugs. In a preliminary search of the Northeast Region I found Natural Attraction Project, Inc. in Griswold, CT and Native Sun Natural Landscapes in New Preston, CT.

Just as a note, our expert horticulturist advises that plug size plants are more difficult than root ball plants to grow. They tend to dry out more quickly and are more susceptible to predation since they are smaller with fewer roots. In fact, the small size of the root ball makes them more sensitive to any sort of change (e.g., water availability, temperature, etc.).
 

More Seed and Plant Sources Questions

Purchase sources of Buffalograss from Corpus Christi TX
March 17, 2012 - I've heard a lot of good things about Buffalograss, but no one in my area seems to carry it. One grower actually told me it didn't grow well here and recommended St. Augustine Floratam instead. Is ...
view the full question and answer

Source for Orbexilum from Hempstead TX
July 22, 2010 - I am looking for a source of plants or seed for a Texas native plant: Mountain Pea, orbexilum sp. (nova). Thank you,
view the full question and answer

Source for Hickory in Texas
March 25, 2015 - I'm looking for a nursery in Texas that sells hickory trees. I've used your supplier links and gone through many, many websites of suppliers. However, the only nut tree anyone sells is pecan. I'...
view the full question and answer

Source of seeds or plants for 5 regions of Virginia
August 22, 2015 - I am a teacher and am planning a lesson about regional plants of Virginia. I would like to create a type of planter where we can plant seeds from each of the 5 regions in Virginia (Appalachian Platea...
view the full question and answer

Native plant nursery
July 07, 2005 - I want to grow wildflower starts for tough-to-grow plants for retail and commercial sale. And I prefer organic, but, jeez, one step at a time. Any guidance on the ins and outs of this business? D...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.