[Test Email] Options for buying native plants bloom in Wisconsin

Options bloom in Wisconsin for buying native plants

More native nurseries and sales make it easier to add plants boosting birds, pollinators and other native wildlife; see lists for both

Contacts: Lisa Gaumnitz, SOS Save Our Songbirds coordinator, lisa.gaumnitz@sossaveoursongbirds.org, 608-235-2201

A man installs an insect screen on an outside window at a home

Options for buying native plants are increasing in Wisconsin. Serviceberry is a small native tree that provides 92 different butterfly and moth caterpillars for birds, and fruits in mid-summer. Photo: Ryan Brady

MADISON - Native plant sales and nurseries are growing across Wisconsin, giving people more options to buy plants that will help attract and feed birds, pollinators and other wildlife, state native plant experts say.

“There has been a significant increase in the number of native plant nurseries in the state, which is great news,” says Amy Staffen, a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conservation biologist who advises on native landscaping and ecological restoration. and

“It’s especially exciting to see new nurseries popping up in parts of the state where they were previously underrepresented,” says Staffen, who maintains DNR’s list of Wisconsin native plant nurseries.

Find DNR’s Wisconsin Native Plant Nurseries on its ‘Plant Native Plants’ webpage.

Native plants are those species that existed in an area before European settlement. They’re important to maintain and restore around your home because they feed insects, which are the base of the food web, and along with other animals, pollinate nearly 90% of the world's plants and 75% of food crops. Many native plants have deeper root systems that can help store carbon and keep lakes, rivers and drinking water clean.

An American Goldfinch perches on an Ox-eye Sunflower.

Rough Blazing Star, scientific name Liatris Aspera, attracts a host of wildlife, including monarchs and birds. Photo: Wisconsin DNR

Nature centers, Wild Ones chapters, conservation groups offer local sales

Staffen also notes a growing number of plant sales hosted by nature centers and conservation groups, which are also posted on the DNR webpage. Many of these sales are hosted by Wild Ones chapters.

Wild Ones was founded in Wisconsin in the late 1970s and is a national nonprofit educational organization with a mission to promote environmentally sound landscaping practices to preserve biodiversity. Headquartered in Neenah, it now has 78 chapters, including 13 in Wisconsin, and 30 others working toward that status.

“More and more native plant sales are popping up as well, although that may be a function of our not knowing about them previously,” Staffen says.

She is excited word is getting out about the listings on the DNR Plant Native Plants webpage, and invites new native plant nurseries and sales to contact her with updates. Find her contact information on the webpage.

Growing native plant sales good news for Wisconsin birds

Lisa Gaumnitz, coordinator of SOS Save Our Songbirds, says the growth in native plant options is good news for Wisconsin birds: 96% of land-based birds feed insects to their young, so providing them insects is critical to sustaining Wisconsin’s bird populations.

“Many of the ornamental plants around our homes come from Asia, Europe and South America and provide little or no insect food for Wisconsin birds, especially when compared to our native plants,” she says. “They’re good eye-candy but a food desert.”

Every plant protects its leaves with chemicals, and only leaf-eating insect species that have evolved over time with that plant have developed the adaptations to digest the chemicals in their hosts’ leaves. So when our native insects encounter plants from another country, chances are they’re not able to eat them.

Staffen encourages people who are interested in adding native plants to start small. “Going native doesn’t have to be a big production! Put a small number of plants in your garden first, maybe 3-5 species. Then keep a diary or nature journal noting how things go.”

Include observations on when plants flower, what animals visit them, what their seeds or fruit look like, and if they offer any wildlife benefits in winter. “During this process, you’ll become hooked on growing native plants, and will be eager to expand your garden and knowledge in future years!” she says.

Find six native plants good for birds on the SOS Save Our Songbirds Add Plants for Birds webpage, along with other resources to help get started, and sign up for updates to receive Migratory May discounts from participating native nurseries.

2023 native plant sales online and in-person

Online sales with local pickup

Franklin

Order deadline: April 29

Friends of Wehr Native Plant Fundraiser; Order due before April 29 for pickup June 3 & 4, 2023, at 9701 W College Ave., Franklin, WI, 53132.

West Allis

Order deadline: May 3

Monarch Trail Plant Sale pre-order. Pre-order collections, special bags and flats ahead of time online with pickup during the in-person plant sale, May 13-14 at Greenfield Park Pavilion, 2028 S. 124th St., West Allis, 53227.

Fall Creek

Order deadline: May 10

Beaver Creek Reserve Native Plant Sale; Order between May 3 and May 10 for pickup May 12-13 at the Wise Nature Center, S1 County Highway K, Fall Creek, 54742.

Green Bay area

Order deadline: May 26

Wild Ones Green Bay Chapter, order a kit of 16 pollinator plants for pickup June 3, 9-2 a.m. at Stone Silo Prairie Gardens, 2325 Oak Ridge Circle, De Pere, 54115.

2023 In-person sales

May 13-14, West Allis

Monarch Trail Plant Sale, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 13 and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 14. Native milkweed species and nectar plants. Greenfield Park Pavilion, 2028 S. 124th St., West Allis, 53227.

May 13, West Bend

Friends of Lac Lawrann Conservancy Plant Sale, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., May 13. Wildflowers for wetland, woodland & prairie gardens, perennials, herbs, trees and shrubs. Lac Lawrann Conservancy, 300 Schmidt Road, West Bend, 53090.

May 20, Horicon

Friends of Horicon Marsh Wildflowers for Wildlife Native Plant Sale, 9.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m., Horicon National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, N7725 Highway 28, 53032. The refuge visitor center is located off County Road Z about 3.5 miles south of State Highway 49.

May 20, Madison

Friends of the Arboretum Native Plant Sale, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or when the plants sell out, UW-Madison Arboretum McKay Visitor Center, 1207 Seminole Highway, Madison, WI 53711-3726.

May 20, Neenah

Wild Ones Fox Valley Chapter Native Plant Sale, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m., Wild Ones Center, 2285 Butte des Morts Beach Rd., Neenah, 54956. Native forbs, grasses, ferns, and sedges. Over 100 different types of native plants available.

May 20, Port Washington

Western Great Lakes Bird & Bat Observatory Native Plant Sale, 9 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park, 410 N Lake Street, Port Washington, 53074.

May 21, Verona

Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society spring plant sale, includes pollinator-friendly 2-inch native plant plugs, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at the West Agricultural Research Station, 8502 Mineral Point Road, WI 53593.

May 28, Town of Sherman, Iron County

Native Wisconsin Plant sale benefitting Town of Sherman Fire Department and First Responders, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Town of Sherman Pavilion, Sherman Pavilion, 3063 Highway 182, 54552.

Entire month of June, Menomonee Falls

Menomonee River, Milwaukee North, and Milwaukee Southwest/Wehr Wild Ones team up with Johnson’s Nursery for a native plant fundraiser for the three chapters. All active Wild Ones members receive 40% off Wisconsin native plants in containers purchased onsite any day in June at the nursery’s Menomonee Falls location, W180N6275 Marcy Road, 53051. Must show a valid Wild Ones membership card to get the discount. Join a chapter today. Basic household annual dues are $40 or choose to give more.

June 3, Antigo

Wild Ones Northwoods Gateway Chapter Native Plant Sale, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Antigo Farmers Market, 420 Field Street, Antigo, 54409.

June 3 & 4, Milwaukee

Friends of Wehr Native Plant Fundraiser, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on June 3, and 9 a.m. until plants are gone on June 4, at Wehr Nature Center, 9701 W College Ave., Milwaukee, 53132.

June 10, Milwaukee

Native Plant Sale, Schlitz Audubon Nature Center, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1111 E. Brown Deer Road, Milwaukee, 53217.