Questions Regarding Nursery Plants
Where I answer all your questions about the plants I grow and sell.
Can you tell me about your plants?
Some people get into the nursery business because they see it as the best way to make a living. Right now, with native plants becoming increasingly popular, there will be a lot of people who enter the native plant nursery business looking to make a quick buck. This isn’t hyperbole; I’ve seen them in the nursery and propagation groups asking how to speed up propagation without ever having grown them.
This isn’t how I do things, or why I grow native plants. Growing from seed takes time. This is why The MagiK Garden will be more than just a native plant nursery. Having just started (officially) in Jan 2025, future plans include offering services and selling seeds, as well as continuing to add hand-drawn merch. This way, I won’t feel pressured to cut corners with the nursery plants to make ends meet.
Do you grow all your plants from seed?
The vast majority of my plants are grown from seed. In 2023 I’d sown around 200 different species of plants. Fall/winter 2024, I raised that to just over 300. I love growing plants from seed, including ones some people consider to be a massive time investment. It gives me a chance to learn about the plants in all stages of growth. Flowering stage is really just the end-game.
What plants are not seed-grown?
On occasion I offer plants that are coned (cuttings, division) as opposed to seed-grown. In some cases, it’s because I have too much of it growing on my own property, and I’d rather share them with you. Sometimes it’s because I can’t purchase the seed for certain species. I’ll opt to purchase them in bulk, and order a few extra to add to the shop. When purchasing bare root plants, they get the same soaking treatment that dug-up plants get (see below). This is to avoid the transfer of pathogens. Eventually I will be able to collect seed and grow those from seed as well. I will also sometimes throw in a few non-patented cultivars propagated from ones growing on my property.
Do you offer cultivars?
Sort-of, in very limited quantities. I don’t sell patented cultivars. The non-patented cultivars I am willing to sell come from plants I am growing on my own property that I know to have originated as wild species selections. I am very selective with cultivars in general, and will research to find out where they came from. Initially I wasn’t going to offer any, but since I have some really cool plants that some people may want, I’m willing to add them to the shop.
Why do some of the seed-grown plants have special names (in single quotes)? Are they cultivars?
They’re something between a straight (standard) species and a cultivar, called a seed strain. Cultivars are only propagated by cloning. There are some selections of native species that are seed stable, so they can be grown from seed. However, except with a handful of species (like violets) which can produce cleistogamous (asexual) seeds, seeds are genetically different from the parent plant. That’s why seed-grown plants aren’t considered cultivars in the traditional sense. I don’t know how often I will offer these kinds of seed-grown plants; I wanted to try seeds from Jelitto and included a few of the named mixes with my order.
As a side note, if you collect seeds from violets above ground, those were cross-pollinated. Their cleistogamous seeds are produced in underground flowers. This is why you’ll sometimes find a clump of violets growing from separate rhizomes on top of one another if you dig them up – they’re most likely clonal offspring.
Do you dig plants from your property?
Sometimes. Some plants do much better when I let nature propagate them for me than attempting to grow in pot culture. Part of gardening also includes editing. In order to maintain certain types of habitats, I have to remove trees and shrubs in those locations. I’d rather share and rehome my excess native plants than to kill them off. My plant inspector is aware of this and finds my methods of cleaning them off and potting them up to be sufficient to avoid spreading pathogens or weed seeds.
Do you dig plants up from the wild?
Never.
How do you protect against Asian jumping worms?
Potted plants are de-potted and roots inspected at the start and end of the season, as well as any time they are bumped up to a larger size. Each time, they cleaned up and potted in fresh potting mix. No overwintered plants are sold prior to being checked and repotted.
Any plants that are dug up from the ground are thoroughly soaked and rinsed off in two changes of water and inspected prior to potting. Potted plants are kept on elevated surfaces (wooden pallets) and/or sit on top of outdoor pool rugs (I don’t use landscape fabric) if on a paved surface. Anything on top of soil ready to be sold is elevated from the soil surface.
Potting mix is never left out in the open. The bags remain sealed until needed, and the media is transferred to galvanized metal bins for storage and use. The bins are also elevated off the ground with the help of wheeled stands.
Do you grow in a greenhouse or hoop house?
Other than a tiny handful of plants that I start in my basement over the winter months, everything is out in the open elements. As soon as weather permits, everything from the basement also gets moved outside. Structures tend to attract rodents (because they’re protected) which would feed on the plants inside them. Growing out in the open helps to select for more resilient plants, because any that are too weak won’t make it.
Do you use fungicides?
I use fungicides to sterilize anything I use while sowing spore to grow ferns. I will also sometimes use them on the fern culture if I notice something trying to move in. The environment needed to cultivate ferns is ideal for fungal pathogens to move in, which can kill off everything rather quickly. Most of the time, hydrogen peroxide is sufficient.
Do you use insecticides/neonicotinoids?
I do not use any insecticides (which is what neonicotinoids are) on my nursery plants. On a rare occasion I’ve used neem oil on plants in the garden. For the most part, if there are too many pests, I remove them manually. I’ve never used neonicotinoids.
Is your operation organic?
No, and I’m not seeking organic designation. I do use herbicides selectively to eradicate invasive species – this alone would likely disqualify me. I also use fertilizer in my pots, because I use a sterile potting mix for the plants. They need to get their nutrients from somewhere. If you only grow organically, you can soak your plants in water to dislodge potting mix and rinse off any fertilizer prior to planting.
Why don’t you use organic fertilizers?
There is one organic fertilizer I use because it is predigested, and I’ll use that on plants that are very sensitive to salts. However most organic fertilizers are not immediately available and take time (and an active microbiome) to make the nutrients useful to plants. Potting mix is not soil. Attempting to use compost and organic fertilizers in the past has led to fungal and insect pathogens. Once they’re in the ground you can use whatever you like. Personally, I’ve rarely found the need to fertilize plants once they’re in the ground, organic or otherwise.
What should I do with my pots/tags?
I’ll take them back! If you’re ordering more plants, bring them with you when you pick up your order. Otherwise you can contact me to arrange to drop them off or swing by the next drop point, whatever works for you.
Ready to order some plants and test out the drop-point system?
