[MAIPC] Native Garden Friend Challenge

[Muth, Norris (MUTH)]

Like politics, and so many other things, conservation changes move like bus lines. If there's a single bus going directly to your final destination, good for you! More often than not, this won't be the case, so we get on the bus going the right direction and move forward from there.

If you find a close or regionally meaningful provenance for your plants, good for you! If not, I'll be happy to help you plant whatever native species you can come by.

There is very little evidence demonstrating negative impacts of planting native species from distant provenances. Nor is there much evidence to suggest that plantings will be less successful when using distant provenances. There is a strong lure that, by the logic of natural selection, local provenances are the best, or only way to go. This is demonstrably untrue. The very existence of non-native invasive plants, on the surface, seems to run counter to the idea that locally adapted populations are the most fit in those environments (something Darwin recognized and explained). Successfully applying what we've learned from decades of painstakingly hard work researching invasive species will require more than using simple models or working from basic premises. It will require the humility to listen to unanticipated data when it tells us that our elegant theories should occasionally be set aside or buried in the ground.

Norris


—

Norris Z. Muth, Ph.D.

Professor of Biology


Juniata College

1700 Moore Street • Huntingdon, PA 16652

Office: 814-641-3632 | 1054 VLB

muthlab.org<http://muthlab.org/>


________________________________
From: MAIPC <maipc-bounces at lists.maipc.org> on behalf of Richard Gardner <rtgardner3 at yahoo.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 11, 2020 11:33 AM
To: MAIPC Listserve (maipc at lists.maipc.org) <maipc at lists.maipc.org>; Nathan Hartshorne <nshartshorne at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [MAIPC] Native Garden Friend Challenge

CAUTION: External Email

I collect local wild seeds and plants because I am more comfortable with them than nursery bought for two reasons. The first reason is if I am in a minimally managed wild area I am fairly certain the seeds are from locally native plants that were not originally from seed catalogues. Even though the plants species may be native where I live the "native" plants may have come from up to hundreds of miles from my home. The species may be native but the genetics are not. The second reason is that regardless of a nursery's intentions it will cull out genetic variability by saving seeds from specific plants which meet the characteristics desired. This may be unintentional but after a few generations this will begin to show.

To me the biggest question is are domesticated native plants native? I do not think so.

I did a PPT on this subject: https://www.slideshare.net/rtgardner3/using-ecological-utility-to-define-native-plants-nenhc-2017

                                               Richard Gardner

On Sunday, October 11, 2020, 09:29:12 AM EDT, Nathan Hartshorne <nshartshorne at gmail.com> wrote:


We all have friends who would be interested in a native garden, but the effort and cost feel prohibitive, even though they really aren't.  Last year, I decided to start experimenting with growing the plants myself and giving them away, even planting them at friends'.  Obviously we don't want to take business away from the local native nurseries, but this creates a push that many people need.  And once they see the bees going nuts over bee balm, goldenrod, etc. they can really get into it and then support the native nurseries.

So now that we're well into fall, consider buying seeds online and preparing for next spring.  Packets can have a couple hundred seeds and cost a couple dollars, so it's not difficult to get started with a wide variety.  Just make sure that the native seeds you purchase are native to your region, some local regions can be very specific.

If you do decide to do this, please let me know.
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