Native Plants and Ethics

One wouldn't normally think that there is a connection between growing and gardening with native plants but, surprisingly, there is a very important relationship between the two.

Recently I have been mulling over ethically-grown natives compared to the misinformation that seems to be prevalent in general.

As a member of the North Carolina Native Plant Society (NCNPS), I am constantly learning about the ways that our natives are being promoted for the good, versus the bad side of growing and gardening with natives.

NCNPS has a Code of Ethics that is divided into four categories, the first being Voluntary Codes of Conduct For The Gardening Public. Last updated in 2002, the codes may be found at https://ncwildflower.org/guidelines/gardening.pdf.

Another category covers organized group hikes, or walks, to see and discover native plants in their natural habitats. The NCNPS Guidelines for Walks may be seen at a word document that is linked at https://ncwildflower.org/about/ethics.

The third category is mostly for NCNPS members that participate in plant sales and auctions. That word document link may also be found at https://ncwildflower.org/about/ethics.

The final code is the one that I want to discuss a bit more in depth: Guidelines and Ethics for Collection of Native Plants.

The reason this has been on my mind is the result of a minor incident that I did not witness, but of which I was informed several days later.

As I wrote in last week's blog, I sell my plants through a third party arrangement. I am very appreciative of the opportunity to be able to do so, but it's not always easy for the seller.

Apparently a customer challenged the salesperson on the origins of the American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) trees that are offered for sale.

Because that customer had only seen the Japanese Persimmon (Diospyros kaki) offered for sale elsewhere it was assumed that the trees that were for sale had been poached “from the woods” and put in nursery containers for sale.

Nothing could be farther from the truth and it horrifies me to think that I would commit such an atrocity in the name of commerce.

For the record, that particular crop of persimmon trees that I have been selling were purchased as bare-root seedlings from a well-respected, licensed wholesale native plant nursery. This is true for many other plants that I have been selling. As a still-new producer of native plants, it is necessary to bring in older, more mature seedlings to try to fill the gaps until the plants I am propagating are of saleable size.

At NO TIME have I ever, nor will I ever, dig native plants from the wild in order to sell them. It is highly unethical!
I'll leave it there for now, but this issue may come up for discussion again in the future.

I just want to let everyone know that they can rest assured that any plant offered for sale by Uwharrie Mountain Native Plant Farm has been grown specifically for that purpose and have been grown since seed or cutting in a nursery setting.

The photos are of the 2019 collected persimmon seeds. No puddings were harmed in the collection of these seeds.