Like to propagate or cultivate native plants?
Seed Starters East works from a recently constructed hoop house at Portsmouth Ag Innovation, an Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District property with connections to local school departments. Our primary purpose is to learn about propagating native plants, and an added benefit is that we supply many plants for the RIWPS plant sales.
We use multiple propagation methods, such as rooting cuttings and dividing mature plants as well as starting from seeds, usually via winter sowing, and seeking out suitable sources for seeds or cuttings. In some cases we purchase seedlings/plugs from plants or bulbs from wholesale sources to grow out. A few of our favorites to propagate regularly from seed are jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) and the native (sundial) lupine (Lupinus perennis). There are multiple species that we need to cultivate for several years in order to reach a size suitable for our sale.
We’ve also collected and packaged seeds of some popular species, such as milkweeds, to make available to RIWPS members. Some members also tend seeded containers over the winter or care for tiny transplants at home. Several participants undertake significant propagation of plants totally at home to contribute to the plant sales.
Our regular schedule is the second and fourth Thursday mornings of each month. In the spring and summer we meet weekly. For additional information contact Susanne Theriault.
Seed Starters West, like SSE, began in the early 1990’s. Seed Starters West’s new home is in South Kingstown on SKLT property. Our SEEDS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION – A CAPITAL CAMPAIGN is helping fund the infrastructure needed for this relocation! We meet year-round on Tuesday mornings to learn about native plants throughout the seasons.
We begin our year with winter sowing, plants grown from seeds offer the greatest biodiversity. All of the seeds we use originate from our (or a nearby) ecoregion, all are native to our ecoregion, and many are grown on seed increase plots, protecting our wild plant populations. SSW runs the May sale, we grow mostly spring-blooming plants and plan all year, so spring is always exciting! In summer we begin to pot up the seedlings that we sowed in winter. We continue to plant seeds and grow out our seedlings throughout the summer. In autumn, many of the SSW team help with the seed harvest at nearby ReSeeding RI foundation plots. We also clean seeds and volunteer at the fall sale. We learn a lot about our native plants working so closely with them throughout the year – and we have a lot of fun! For additional information contact Kate Rakosky
Learn more: How Seed Starters Started by Sue Theriault. This article first appeared in our publication WildfloraRI