You may have noticed by now that Shasta Chapter CNPS is not having a fall plant sale this year. It is sad, but we simply don’t have the volunteers to keep plants healthy and watered during the long, hot Redding summer. We will be working through the winter, however, so that we can have a plant sale in the spring. The season’s first propagation session will be Sunday, at 10 AM on November 5, at the Shasta College Greenhouses. See our article, Plant Propagation Update: October 2023, for details and to sign up!
The good news is that gardeners looking for native plants now have year-round local options at their disposal.
- Turtle Bay Garden Nursery. On October 7, I tabled at the Turtle Bay Nursery Plant Sale. They have a large inventory of California native plants still in stock. As an example, they offered 8 varieties of buckwheat and 6 different California fuchsias for sale! Most of their plants are in gallon pots and have extensive root systems.
- Ghost Pine Native Plant Nursery. This is a newer, non-profit business in town founded by one of Shasta Chapter CNPS’s own members, Doug Mandel. Doug is a Master Gardener and offers expert gardening advice. Ghost Pine promotes and follows CNPS-backed Best Management Practices to grow healthier plants and prevent introduction of pathogens into the landscape. They have many species available in their inventory, and you can shop online.
While purchases from the above nurseries do not financially benefit Shasta Chapter CNPS, they do further our goal of getting native plants out into gardens. This supports local insect and bird populations, and mitigates the impacts of non-native landscape plants in our region.
Come to a propagation session and help us grow. And see you at our spring sale! ~John Springer, Shasta Chapter CNPS Treasurer
