Bulk seed source?

Can anyone recommend a good source for bulk purchases of native wildflower seed? I'm thinking of plants like monarda, physostegia, and would love other suggestions.

The roadside perimeter of our property has steep banks with erosion potential, and had a ton of junk growth all over them. We've had them cleared and sprayed (the banks are infested with poison oak and ivy, and manual cutback hasn't done a thing to deter them). We want to go with seed for replanting the banks, rather than plants, for two reasons: one, DOT comes through every few years and clearcuts the roadsides, and I'd cry if they did that to costly plantings; and two, I'm terribly allergic to the poison oak and ivy, and can't afford to work up close and personal with it. I'm looking for native wildflowers that will do fine on their own and self-seed/spread to their hearts' desire.

Any suggestions would be welcome and appreciated: thanks!

Native American Seed (Wildflower Seeds and Native Prairie Grasses) sells by the pound. I've used them before and was very satisfied with their service and quality of their products. They would have some good plants for your steep bank.

Looks like they have a good list of suppliers to start with here http://www.ncwildflower.org/natives/sources.htm

I'd love to see how it turns out. Periodic cutting back should just encourage new growth, I would think.

Good luck,
Kathleen

Thanks to both of you for the suggestions: I'm on my way to check them out. And you're right, Kathleen; periodic mowing down of the junk growth just rejuvenates it, especially the poison vines and all the ailanthus seedlings that sprout in drainage ditches around here. Grrr. I really don't like to use herbicides, but there are times and circumstances where nothing else works.

Don't you just love neighbors like that, Kathleen? Ours have their far property line defined with ailanthus, the tallest darn trees of heaven I've ever seen; so the seed bank is endlessly replenished for everyone around them. Truly the gift that keeps on giving....

Oh I feel for both of you! We used to have such neighbors in our old subdivision. Now we live out in the country where everyone has 5 to 20 acres lots. The biggest contributor of unwanted seeds is Mother Nature who kindly shares lots of tree seeds. But, at least we can take care of those by mowing. All our neighbors are pretty good about keeping their lots mowed. Spartacusaby, don't know why I didn't think of it earlier--have you considered creeping thyme? It forms a dense mat and might be a good option for your problem. Things like that aren't real good at sharing space with weeds.

The creeping thyme is an interesting thought, NatureLover; thanks! I wasn't thinking of groundcovers at all for this application, though they certainly make sense. I've made a few much-regretted mistakes with ground cover - still pulling thready vinca minor roots years later - and I've gotten a bit gun-shy. Out on the perimeter banks, where stuff won't get much supervision or help, I don't want to turn anything loose that could become a problem.

Here's a list of the companies that sell native/wildflower seed in the Garden Watchdog:http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/advanced.php?category=30&submit=Go

It's a big list; unfortunately, you can't narrow it down to just those that also sell wholesale, but here's a second list of those that sell wholesale and retail, that have native in their name: http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/advanced.php?state=xx&country=XX&category=43&search_text=native&sorter=company_name&submit=Search
and those that have wild in their name:
http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/advanced.php?state=xx&country=XX&category=43&search_text=wild&sorter=company_name&submit=Search

Thanks, Terry; that's a great resource-

Ruth

You're most welcome ;o)

After I found those links, it made me think about finally getting a restoration/reclamation seed category set up. I did that today: http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/advanced.php?category=153&submit=Go

If you know of any other GWD companies (or mail order companies not yet in the GWD) that specialize in reclamation/restoration native seed, please let me know and I'll add this category to their listing (or help you set up a listing for them.) A note of caution: let's be a judicious in adding companies to this list: just because they sell "wildflower seed" doesn't qualify them as fitting this specialized niche category. (We still have the original natives/wildflower category for all those companies.)

Here are some more for the restoration/reclamation category:

Everwilde Farms, http://www.everwilde.com/
Hazzard's Greenhouse, http://www.hazzardsgreenhouse.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=Hazwho
Prairie Moon Nursery, http://www.prairiemoon.com/
Southern Tier Consulting, http://southerntierconsulting.com/

They all sell in bulk, by the ounce or pound, and they all have wildflowers as well as other plants.

Thank you! I added this category to the first three, and added Southern Tier Consulting to the Garden Watchdog, bringing the number of vendors in this category up to 33: http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/advanced.php?category=153

Thanks, Terry! This is a great category. I've learned about a number of sources I hadn't come across before, some of which carry species I'd been looking for & couldn't find.

Equilibrium has just contacted me about Hazzard's Greenhouse. Apparently they sell a "wildflower mix" that contains invasives like Baby's Breath (gypsophila) & dianthus barbatus. They told her that they didn't know what's in the mix! (Equilibrium was able to find their source for the product online, she can send you the details.) She thinks they should not be listed here until they pull this product, and I'm inclined to agree. However, they do have a wide selection of individual native species, so hopefully they will be as disconcerted as we are when they discover what's in their wildflower mixes.

I *can* remove them from the category, but I see where they sell a lot of bulk native seed (which is what led me to side with your recommendation to begin with - I was unaware they carried that many native seeds, to be honest.) Leading more customers to them as a source should encourage them to continue to offer those items. That seems like a good reason to list them.

In my (truly humble) opinion, anyone with enough knowledge to grasp the implications of the terms "reclamation" and "restoration" aren't likely to be buying a generic wildflower seed mix, even if a vendor listed in that category offers it.

And a final reason I'm reluctant to start down the path of de-listing vendors from certain categories to "punish" them for other products in their line-up: it sets a dangerous precedent for our role in maintaining the GWD.

Will we also refuse to allow vendors to list themselves under organic products if they sell both organic and non-organic items? If a rose vendor sells both modern and antique rose varieties, will we force them to choose one category or the other?

Up to now, we usually allow vendors to select any/all categories they wish to be included within, as long as they have a decent number of items that fall into that category. (It's frustrating to start looking for a peony vendor and have to "weed" through a bunch of general sellers who have one measly variety available ;o) This vendor seems to qualify for this category, based on the seed available on their site.

Perhaps the better course of action is for their would-be customers to contact them about the wildflower mix, and ask them to consider dropping it. They may be swayed by that type of public opinion, or they may not - it comes down to a business decision for them.

Yeah, I've never bought a wildflower mix of any kind from anywhere, & I too would hope that others undertaking native landscaping projects would be wary of such products. FWIW, I've had good experience with Hazzard's so far in terms of getting my seeds, etc., so for the moment I will just contact them politely about the mixes they sell.

That sounds like a great first step. Who knows? It may take only a little persuasion from a few loyal customers for them to decide to move away from carrying the mixes.