Many large retailers sell “wildflower” seed mixes that are not actually native to the area they are sold in. It’s not uncommon for the majority of these mixes to be non-native annuals. These plants might look pretty, but they often do nothing for local wildlife which need very specific native plants to survive.
American meadows is a company known for this online. Their advertising is disingenuous about what they’re selling. Here is their “southeast seed mix” https://www.americanmeadows.com/product/wildflower-seeds/southeast-wildflower-seed-mix I wouldn’t blame someone from thinking that the majority of this seed mix would be native to the southeast, and yet it contains 10 species that aren’t even native to North America. I don’t see any break down of percentages either, so it’s hard to know which seeds you’re getting more of.
This is a big subreddit and not everyone is focused on growing wild gardens (that’s ok). But it’s important for people to know what they are buying. If you are gardening for wildlife, focus on planting wildflowers that are native to your area.
Also, if you know of retailers in your area that are good about selling native seeds, post in comments!
by CharlesV_
7 Comments
A few good retailers I know of:
– Prairie Moon: https://www.prairiemoon.com/ in Minnesota
– Prairie Nursery: https://www.prairienursery.com/ in Wisconsin
– Ernst seeds: https://www.ernstseed.com/ in Pennsylvania. They sell non-natives as well, but they’re very transparent about that.
– Roundstone native seed: https://roundstoneseed.com/ in Kentucky
In the Palouse part of the inland PNW, Tapteal Native Plants is pretty great.
American Meadows labeled an invasive species as native to my region and recommended the seeds to me. I got a refund in the end, but their customer service wasn’t particularly accommodating.
Native American Seed for Texas: https://seedsource.com
It really irritates me that all of the big box wildflower seeds mixes are like this. I felt bad when my friend texted me a picture of a big bag of wildflower seed she got from Home Depot and I broke the news to her that most of the seeds in the mix were not native. I wish there was some sort of labeling requirement that plainly stated which regions the seed mix originates from for these wildflower mixes.
I discovered this when I read the list of flower seeds in the bag. I was like “WTH”! I don’t even know why govt allows the sale of any non-native species anymore whether it be seeds or live plants. All we keep hearing about nowadays is the destructive nature of non-native/invasive plants, trees and bushes and how much it costs govt to try and deal with the problem and yet they still allow them to be sold. Make it make sense!! I get so angry each time I see a story about the problem of non-native species. I think it’s time to lobby for the ban on the sale of these plants! Only native species can be sold to whatever area you’re in and govt should look at incentivizing property owners to rip out non-native species and plant native.
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