12/26/2007: "Native Plant Sale: Order Now"

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The Annual Native Plant Sale, held yearly for the past 18 years by the San Juan Islands Conservation District and more recently the Master Gardeners Foundation, is an opportunity to purchase a variety of young native plant species at a reasonable cost.

This year, there will be almost 30 different species of plants available for purchase by filling out the 2008 Native Plant Sale Order Form)

•There is a minimum purchase of $25 and a $25 deposit for all orders. Acknowledgement and receipt of your deposit with the balance due at the time of pick-up will be emailed to you. Make checks payable to MGF of SJC and send to: WSU Extension 221 Weber Way, Suite LL Friday Harbor, WA 98250

•Do not mail a check for the total order amount. The balance is due at the time of pickup

“Native plants” is the buzzword of late and planting native plants has merit for many reasons: reclamation, restoration of lost plant communities, erosion control, wildlife habitat development, agricultural uses such as windbreaks, and more simply, beautification.

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The Washington Native Plant Society states the current plant list for San Juan County includes 945 plant species. Of these, 328 have been introduced, leaving 617 native -or seemingly indigenous- plants.

According to the book Plants and Animals of the Pacific Northwest by Eugene Kozloff, (Univ. of Washington Press, 1976) our San Juan Archipelago is located in the Puget Trough similar to the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Thus, our more common “principal vegetational assemblages are coniferous forests, consisting mostly of Douglas fir, scattered stands of Garry oak, riverbank woods composed mostly of cottonwoods, alder and ash; brushy areas with relatively few trees; and grasslands.” We are known uniquely for the “Lodgepole pine (shore), western white pine, paper birch, quaking aspen and Rocky Mountain juniper.” He notes that we are in the driest portion of the region with much of the land in a rain shadow and soils that are rocky, gravelly, or sandy which requires that plants adapt to limited water during portions of the year and rapidly draining soils. It should be noted that some of the introduced species have become well-adapted to these conditions and are even suitable for the San Juan Islands while some are invasive and out compete the native plant species.

There are two schools of thought about native plants and their origins, and the importance of seed sources that should not be underestimated. The first is that truly native plants should be propagated from seeds and cuttings that originate in the same watershed as the planting site. “Provenance” is the geographical origin of the seed or cutting used in propagation and it is important because it can have a direct effect on plant vigor and survivability. Plants with a provenance that is similar to the planting site will often grow better. This is in line with the principle of “right plant, right place.” Ideally, folks can harvest and/or propagate from local plant sources, or do plant salvage from areas that are going to be cleared. If there are willing seed collectors, the San Juan Islands Conservation District can work with the Plant Materials Center (a nursery run by the Washington Association of Conservation Districts) to propagate local native plant species at their facility in Bow, Washington. A minimum lead-time of 3 years is required to acquire the appropriate seeds and grow them to size. The cost of conducting custom seed collections, propagating and growing small site-specific lots result in seedlings that are more expensive and time consuming. There is a certified organic nursery located on San Juan Island that is propagating a small number of native island plants from seed and cuttings. Otherwise such plants can be difficult to obtain.

Another approach to seed sources and plant origin is more broadly based on the ecoregions of the Northwest rather than an individual watershed. This has allowed us to utilize the plants propagated at the Plant Materials Center (PMC) for our source of plants for the Annual Native Plant Sale. “Ecoregions are regions with broad environmental similarities such as temperature and precipitation.” Of the seven recognized ecoregions in Washington, the San Juans are located in the Puget Lowland. The plant material grown at the PMC follows the “ecoregion concept of provenance” thus providing “plant materials that are suitably adapted to the general climate of the planting site, at a reasonable cost, in substantial quantities.” (PMC Website) The mission of the PMC is to provide high quality conservation grade plants, shrubs and services that benefit natural resources. The 60-acre bare-root nursery produces over 70 species of conservation seedlings and cuttings. The seeds, transplants and cuttings are source identified and tracked through harvest; the plants originate from Western Washington, Eastern Washington, British Columbia and Oregon. The PMC does its best to ensure that Conservation Districts and cooperators such as the Master Gardener Foundation are receiving the most genetically suitable plant material possible. For additional information on the native plants and their seed sources, visit the PMC Website at http://www.wacd.org/PMC/.

Our conservation efforts often include working with agricultural lands, and many of the native plants are valuable for creating hedgerows for wildlife habitat and windbreaks from the strong storms that pummel the islands of the Salish Sea. Retaining or adding additional native landscape plants is especially important because documents such as Pasture and Hayland Renovation for Western Washington and Oregon by Steven Fransen (Farming West of the Cascades, WSU Extension, 2002) give advice for agricultural planting of forages, yet the forage recommendations do not include a single “native” species. They are all considered “non-native” with selection based on use such as livestock grazing, hay production, livestock confinement area, or temporary cover. The “non-native” species that are recommended include oats, barley, wheat, red and white clover, alfalfa, timothy, ryegrass, fescue, and Kentucky bluegrass. These “non-native” plants currently make up much of our island landscapes as pastures and lawns but ought to be augmented with the native ground covers, shrubs and trees to maintain a sustainable landscape for all inhabitants.

In the words of WSU Extension Director Tom Schultz “keep in mind that native plants are potentially the best-adapted plants. We know a native plant is not invasive, and it’s by far a better alternative to invasives.”

These are some of the reasons why the San Juan Islands Conservation District and the Master Gardener Foundation of San Juan County have partnered to offer select native plants during our annual sale. We hope to provide the residents of San Juan County with affordable native plants that are tolerant of many conditions and can improve habitat and conservation efforts.

(Co-Authored by Kristina Bayas, WSU Extension and Dana N. Kinsey, ASLA, San Juan Islands Conservation District. For more information contact WSU Extension at 360.378.4414 or the San Juan Islands Conservation District at info2007@sanjuanislandscd.org or 360.378.6621)