Growing Native Plants From Seed

The Master Gardeners of Montgomery County will be hosting a seminar “Growing Native Plants from Seeds” next Monday, Oct. 2.

Come and learn more about raising native plants by growing from seed with Bill Daniels, Native Seed Communities Coordinator with the Indiana Native Plant Society. Daniels has been with the Indiana Native Plant Society since 2021 and has given talks promoting growing native plants. He retired in 2019 from a work-life spent primarily in horticulture and environmental, health and safety, and now spends much of his time collecting and preparing native plant seeds for propagation. Restoring native plant habitat is vital to preserving biodiversity.

By creating a native plant garden, each patch of habitat becomes part of a collective effort to nurture and sustain the living landscape for birds and other animals. Native plants form the foundation of habitat for pollinators by providing them with pollen and nectar for food, cover from the elements and predators, and places where their young can grow. The best way to attract beautiful butterflies, busy bees, speedy hummingbirds, and other pollinators is to fill your yard with native plants.

Most are familiar with the milkweed plant for the beautiful Monarch butterfly. The Monarch lays her eggs on the leaves of the milkweed plants allowing for the eggs to hatch into larvae and they consume the leaves and stems of the milkweed plant growing over the next couple of weeks. Once the caterpillar is old enough, it will leave the plant looking for a place to form a pupa and after about two weeks a beautiful butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, thus continuing the lifecycle of the Monarch butterfly. Besides the Monarch, there are many other beautiful butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, and insects that require native plants to complete their own lifecycle. In addition, many other birds take advantage of the native plants when their seeds are produced thus eating them and depositing the remnants across the land creating new plants.

The seminar will take place Monday, Oct. 2 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Exhibit Hall on the 4-H Fairgrounds in Crawfordsville. Reservations are requested by sending an email to [email protected].

And be sure to attend the annual Plant Exchange, Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Exhibit Hall on the 4-H Fairgrounds. Bring a plant, trade a plant, need a plant, take a plant!