Tips to help you shop for native plants
So you’ve decided to help local wildlife by growing native plants, but you have questions. Where should you buy them? How do you know if they’re the right native species for your part of Canada? Is there anything else you need to consider?
No worries, we got you. Before you shop, check out this guide:
Where are native plants sold?
Start with these resources to look for Canadian native plant growers and retailers near you:
North American Native Plant Society — Commercial Growers
You can also reach out to your local native plant society or naturalist club to ask for suggestions, or visit any nearby nursery or garden centre and ask the questions below to find out if it’s a good place to shop for native plants.
If you live in southern Ontario, eastern Ontario or southern Quebec, native plants may be available at a Loblaws garden centre near you this spring. Look for plant tags bearing WWF’s panda logo to spot these responsibly sourced plants that benefit the environment, sourced through a partnership between WWF-Canada, Loblaw Companies Limited and native plant growers. To receive more information, sign up for the re:grow newsletter.
How do I know which plants benefit my local ecosystem?
Not all plants marketed as “native plants” will provide equal benefits to your local bees, birds, butterflies and other wildlife. Here are some questions to ask while you’re shopping to point you towards the right native plants for your area:
What proportion of the plants in stock are native plants?
The more native plants, the better! If the retailer specializes in native plants, chances are that they share your ecological gardening mindset and operate with those values in mind. To find out, ask staff or consult their stock list and research the species for yourself. If you notice there are invasive species in stock, like periwinkle (Vinca minor) or goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria, sometimes called bishop’s weed or ground elder), consider shopping elsewhere.
Are the species native to the specific region you are in?
Do these plants grow naturally in the local ecosystem (within 200 kilometres of where you’re shopping)? Or are they near-native species from 1,000 or more kilometres away? Are they from the U.S., or from local, Canadian sources? Ecological factors vary across a province or territory, so even if a species is “native” to a province or territory, it may not be well suited to your local ecosystem — dig deeper and find out how “native” the native plants are if you can.
How were the plants sourced?
Try to make sure that the plants were sourced in a way that didn’t harm the ecosystem. It’s a green flag if the retailer confirms that the plants come from seeds sourced locally by trained seed collectors, less encouraging if they don’t know the source, and could be a red flag if the plants were dug up from a natural area. (Exception: digging up plants to “rescue” them from an area that’s about to be bulldozed anyways!)
How are pests managed?
If you’re growing native plants to help support wildlife, you’ll want to make sure the plants that you buy haven’t been drenched in pesticides. Does the grower use neonicotinoids or other systemic pesticides? Not good. Do they strive to minimize pesticide use, or follow an organic practice or Integrated Pest Management approach? Better. If you see a few bugs munching on the plants or bite marks on the leaves, that’s actually a good sign!
Is there genetic variation in the native plant stock?
This is getting into the weeds a bit, pun intended, but maintaining genetic variation (making sure individuals of the same species aren’t all genetically the same) will help the local population of that species stay healthy and resilient to pressures like pests or extreme weather.
It’s a good sign to see “wild-type” plants that look like the ones you’d find out in nature instead of ornamental cultivars — if the plant tag has a snazzy name like Asclepias incarnata “Ice Ballet,” you’re probably looking at a cultivar — and to hear that genetics are refreshed through wild seed collection at least every five years.
If nothing else, remember this rule of thumb — look for natural diversity. At the nursery or garden centre, you ideally want to see lots of different species, individual plants that look different from one another (i.e. that have “varied forms”), lots of bugs, and plenty of knowledge to accompany all of this.
Which plant species will thrive in my garden or growing space?
Check out our free guide “Get to know your space” (login required) on re:grow to explore the conditions in your yard or on your balcony or patio. This will help you narrow down which native plant species to choose for the light, moisture and soil conditions of your growing space.
What if the staff can’t answer my questions?
Native plant gardening is growing in popularity, but hasn’t taken hold everywhere and the horticulture industry is learning.
If staff aren’t able to answer your questions, don’t have native plants in stock, or give you the impression that their native plant advice may not be sound (for example, they don’t distinguish between honeybees and Canada’s native bee species), it can be a teachable moment.
Let them know that you’re interested in native plants and what you are looking for in terms of the best plants to help support your local ecosystem. Showing that there is demand can help drive change.
