Creating Marketable Native Plant Products
Stephen L. Love
University of Idaho
slove@uidaho.edu
The Situation:
Most home and commercial landscapes utilize plant materials that
are not adapted to Intermountain West climates and soils. The
ultimate result is unsustainable use of critical resources, including
water, fossil fuels, fertilizers, and pesticide to maintain landscapes.
The Solution
In 2005, researchers at the University of Idaho’s Aberdeen R & E
Center initiated a plant domestication project. The goal was to
develop native plant products that can be used to design beautiful,
sustainable landscapes.
Horticultural Constraints:
In the wild, native plant species exhibit considerable variation in
appearance and horticultural performance. They also express
survival traits that make them hard to grow, such as seed dormancy and inability to withstand pot
culture. An acceptable horticultural plant product must be uniform, consistent, and predictable. Only a
strict process of selection can make these “wild” plants into acceptable performers in a landscape.
The Process:
The selection process, although straightforward in concept, has many steps and procedures. The plants
must be collected and imported into the program, successfully propagated, established in the field,
evaluated for horticultural performance, and selections made for further propagation and evaluation.
Ultimately, the best species and accessions must be increased and introduced into commerce.
Collection: Most accessions are collected from the wild in the form of a small amount of seed.
Seed is also purchased from professional collectors who concentrate their efforts on the
Intermountain states. Collections are the basis for domestication and improvement procedures.
Propagation and Establishment: Following collection, seed is cleaned and stored then stratified
in the spring and germinated. Once emerged seedlings reach the 2 to 5 leaf stage, they are
transplanted into pots or cone flats. In late May or early June, all plants are transplanted to the
field where they were irrigated routinely until firmly established.
Evaluation: All native plant species are grown and maintained in a field with minimal irrigation
and without additions of fertilizers or pesticides. Records are kept on horticultural performance
(hardiness, adaptation to climate and soils, attractiveness, bloom habit, longevity, ease of
propagation).
Selection: Seeds collected from superior plants are used to complete at least one additional
cycle of establishment and selection in order to fix desirable traits. If at that point plants show
value and are reasonably uniform, they are placed into seed increase blocks for production of
commercial seed. Otherwise, they are subjected to additional cycles of selection.
Seed Production and Commercialization: Breeder seed is produced at the experiment station for
the purpose of industry transference. To enhance commercialization potential, a partnership
has been formed with Native Roots, a subsidiary of Conservation Seeding and Restoration in
Kimberly, Idaho. Superior selections are being grown by Native Roots in foundation seed blocks
in preparation for a 2014 product launch date.
Research Results:
To date, approximately 2,500 native plant accessions, representing about 940 species, have been
collected and evaluated at the Aberdeen R & E Center. 131 selections are in seed increases and 93 of the
best selections have been transferred to the Native Roots industry partner.
To illustrate the program success, the table below provides descriptions of a small portion of the
superior selections destined for commercial exploitation.
Species
Description
Amelanchier alnifolia
Serviceberry
Shrub -Dwarf selection 30” tall, abundant white spring flowers and
summer purple fruit. Bright orange-yellow fall color.
Sporobolus wrightii
Giant Sacaton
Grass - 7’ tall, attractive light green leaves, large feathery seed heads that
provide nice winter interest.
Poa secunda
Big Bluegrass
Grass - 20” tall, flowers early and remains attractive through the summer,
very drought tolerant.
Hymenoxys acaulis
Sundancer Daisy
Perennial - 8” tall, silver to silver-green mat leaves, bright yellow 2”
flowers, blooms all summer. Very drought tolerant.
Penstemon labrosus
Scarlet Penstemon
Perennial - 40” tall, basal leaves and tall wands, bright orange-yellow
flowers, blooms July-September.
Penstemon cardinalis
Cardinal Penstemon
Perennial - 30” tall, large healthy leaves and tall flower spikes, dark red
flowers, blooms June-July.
Penstemon confertus
Yellow Penstemon
Perennial - 12” tall, dark green mat leaves, upright flower stalks produce
numerous light yellow flowers in May-June.
Eriogonum heracleoides
Wyeth’s Buckwheat
Perennial - 18” tall, white to buff flowers over dark green foliage,
competitive with companion plants.
Eriogonum ovalifolium
Oval-leaf Buckwheat
Perennial - 6” tall, round mats of tightly packed silver leaves, pom-pom
flowers in many colors from white to dark red.
Eriogonum strictum
Strict Buckwheat
Perennial - 18” tall, silver mat leaves give rise in late fall to an umbrella of
intensely white flowers.
Agastache cana
Hummingbird Mint
Perennial - 40” tall, small gray leaves, dark pink flowers from mid-summer
to late fall, nice fragrance.
Aquilegia desertorum
Desert Columbine
Perennial - 15” tall, dark green leaves, dark red/yellow flowers. Blooms in
early to mid-summer. Drought tolerant.
Aquilegia scopulorum
Utah Columbine
Perennial - 6” tall, dark blue leaves, beautiful blue and white flowers on
short stems.
Potentilla thurberi
Thurber’s cinquefoil
Perennial - 20” tall, dark green palmate leaves, dark red flowers over a long
period.