It would be easy to have a Native Wildflower Policy of never selling wild-dug plants. But is such a stance a necessity? This is a controversial area for sure but, drawing from my 25 years of work with conservation groups, I think I can serve everyone's interests.

With few exceptions our native plants are grown from seed or propagated from nursery stock. In a few cases we buy, from other knowledgeable sources, native plants which may be dug from the wild under circumstances which would see the plants wiped out by development projects. These plants are 'rescued' and can, under appropriate conditions, be replanted in gardens or site rehabilitation projects.

We do not approve of wholesale habitat destruction before construction begins on a site. Where development is environmentally sound, we encourage environmentally sensitive construction. This means maintenance of wetlands, ravines and forested corridors for life forms ( birds, mammals and amphibians) to maintain their interconnections with the natural areas which supply all their survival necessities (breeding sites, feeding sites, cover for predation protection, etc).

With this environmental focus, we still allow for the trade of many native plant varieties.

Many native plants are common and digging from the wild, if done with care, will not decimate a local species’ population. Where plants, even if they are rare or endangered, are going to be destroyed in any case by 'planning committee-approved' human activities, it makes sense to allow for their transfer to another site where they have a chance to become re-established. Our role will be to assure that the plants are properly potted and our soil mix includes some soil from the originating environment to provide soil micro-organisms needed by the plants. Where these plants require very specialized garden conditions for their survival, we will provide this information prior to the sale of the plant. As a business, we only succeed if our customers succeed. We do not benefit from a plant that dies due to improper garden preparation.

We are, however, very aware that some of the choice native plants, like trilliums and orchids, do not often survive the move from the wild to the garden. For these, our advice is ‘If its in the wild - leave it there for others to enjoy'.

The White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) is very slow to mature, needing 5-7 years to reach flowering size when grown from seed. They need 3-5 years when propagated by division or from cuttings. Most nurseries just don’t have the time or space to carry stock for this time. If you find trilliums at a nursery, ask about where they come from. If the plant is the same price as other plants, be especially wary. If you don’t see stock beds containing developing trilliums, you are likely buying wild-collected plants of questionable origion.

The Pink Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) is an orchid family member with a complex life cycle. It is definitely best left in the wild where it will survive. To produce viable seed requires insect pollination. Few insects visit the flowers in the wild and few viable seed is produced. In a home garden there is little chance of pollination or survival past the parent stock.

Please be environmentally responsible when buying native plants.

Further information on Gardening with Wildflowers.