Important information on native plants

The interest in native plants has grow exponentially over the last few years.  There is a wealth of information available to help understand how to use native plants for landscaping, identify and to help reverse the loss of biodiversity on the community level.  To help folks educate themselves about native plants, I have provided some website links and planting instructions for you use.

Enjoy

 my.spokanecity.org/publicworks/water/water-wise-spokane/spokanescape/   

www.wildflower.org/plants  

homegrownnationalpark.org/ 

www.wnps.org/ 

wildones.org/ 

nativeplantfinder.nwf.org/ 

saveplants.org/ 

xerces.org/ 

www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/wildflowers/links 

www.audubon.org/native-plants 

green2.kingcounty.gov/gonative/Plant.aspx?Act=find 

https://burkeherbarium.org/imagecollection/plantquest.ph

https://plants.usda.gov

PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS

Ground Prep:

 Carefully remove all competing vegetation down to bare ground 2-4 inches deep and at least 3 feet in diameter. Create a trough around the plant for the collection of rain water.

Planting:

 Dig a hole slightly larger than the size of the pot. Do not augment the native soil with any compost.

 Carefully remove the plant from the pot by laying the pot on the ground and applying pressure to the sides of the plastic pot. While supporting the top of the growing media, tip the pot upside down and allow the plant to gently slip out of the pot using gravity. DO NOT REMOVE THE PLANT BY GRABBING THE PLANT BY THE STEM AND PULLING!!

 Gently tease and massage the roots on the outside of the root wad apart. If any of the roots are circling, especially on the bottom of the root wad, use a sterilized pruner to cut away the circling roots so that no roots are circling. This step is important.

 If any potting media has fallen from the root ball, simply mix the media in with the native soil. This step will help the roots migrate to the new soil.

 Place the plant into the hole about ½ inch below the surface of the soil. Back fill with the native soil. Water the soil to remove any air pockets and add any additional soil to the hole. Cover the potting media with ½ inch of soil so that the top of the root wad is level with the existing soil. Make sure that none of the potting media is exposed above the surface of the ground, otherwise the plant roots may dehydrate.

Even though the species of native plants are drought tolerant once established, you will need to make sure that the specimens are well watered the first growing season until late fall of the year of planting. However, do not over water!