By Patsy Cotterill
Gardening season is in full swing, and once again the problem of wildflower seed mixes has surfaced. “Wildflower” seed mix packets are on sale, or are being promoted for give-away. Within this last month also, ENPS became aware that two chain stores in Edmonton were advertising for sale, as “natives”, plants that were clearly not native to Alberta or even Canada. Obviously, there is a good deal of confusion out there as to what constitutes a wildflower and what is native!
What is a wildflower?
A wildflower is simply any plant that is not cultivated by human hand. The popular concept of a wildflower is of a herbaceous plant that has colourful and attractive flowers (i.e., is not a grass, sedge, tree or shrub). Some people call all herbaceous plants that are not cultivated “weeds”, usually when they want to be derogatory, but most people think of weeds as those unwanted plants in the garden or crop field that are to be removed so that the wanted plants can flourish.
In ENPS, we try to be a bit more botanically precise. We don’t use the term wildflower much, preferring instead to make a distinction between native plants and those that are not native. Since all plants that have not been specifically bred or engineered through cultivation are native somewhere, we confine our area of interest to plants that are not only native to Alberta but are native to the Central Parkland region. These plants have had a long history of presence and natural evolution in our region, in contrast to non-native plants that are in cultivation, or those growing wild but which have been introduced from elsewhere more recently, usually through human agency.
“Wildflower” seed mixes
The Alberta Native Plant Council has been very vocal in warning against the dangers of commercial wildflower seed mixes. For more details on the problems, as well as clear definitions of the different categories of plants, see their website at: https://anpc.ab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/wildflower_seeds_guidelines.pdf
The seeds in these commercially produced packets are usually of cultivated plants and/or are invariably not native to the place of purchase of the packet. They are designed to contain mainly annuals which will germinate and grow easily to produce a colourful show that appeals to consumers. However, annuals won’t appear again the following year unless they are self-seeding, an unpredictable process in terms of garden design. Sometimes plants that have been legally categorized as weeds can be included in these seed mixes, which, because they grow and fruit easily, can become invasive. Examples are baby's-breath (Gypsophila paniculata) and Iceland poppy (Papaver nudicaule).
In contrast, ENPS sells seed (one species per packet) and seedlings which are native to our local area. As perennials, once established they should live out their natural lifespans and provide a reliable resource of pollen and nectar for our local pollinators.
The plant–pollinator connection
The increasing interest in growing native plants, along with recognition by the public that pollinating insects (essential not least for food production) are in declining numbers, has encouraged seed and greenhouse companies and stores to jump on the bandwagon of promoting sales of “wildflower” mixes (and arguably “native” plants). Even conservation organizations can fall into the trap of offering these packets of essentially cultivated garden flowers.
The problem of bee competition
When these promotions are designed to support honey bees as pollinators, therein lies another problem. Honey bees compete with native bees for the resources of pollen and nectar. While it has been shown, through observation and research, that native pollinators will use cultivated plants for these food sources, it is not clear whether they are equivalent in value to native sources, and whether they can accommodate specialist bees which are adapted to feeding on particular species. Overall, it would seem logical to assume that native plants do a better job of feeding native pollinators. Further, in a garden situation, as opposed to an agricultural one, it would seem better to be encouraging native pollinators rather than honey bees, which are non-native, albeit important, for large-scale crop pollination or the production of honey. In recognition of the problem of competition, initiatives have been taken to plant strips of native flowers around crop fields, to accommodate native bees while allowing honey bees to pollinate the crop.
A native wildflower garden? There are no shortcuts!
Creating a true native wildflower garden or meadow is a difficult task. ENPS does not even recommend sowing native seed directly into the garden. Rather, we suggest growing the seed in trays or pots, as per standard horticultural practice, and then transplanting (usually via a potting up stage) when the seedlings are robust enough to stand the transplant.
Bottom line, sowing a commercial “wildflower” seed mix is not a shortcut to having an authentic wildflower garden and does not provide a long-term benefit to the local ecology!