K-State Research and Extension

Extension Master Gardener Native Plant Sale

Sharon Ashworth
Horticulture & Natural Resources
Extension Agent 

Extension Master Gardener Native Plant Sale, Saturday June 4^th

Incorporating native plants into your landscape is a great way to provide food and energy for native pollinators, cut down on your water bill, and reduce fertilizer and pesticide use.

Kansas is a tough place to garden with wide swings in temperature, clay soils with high pH levels, wind, too much rain, not enough rain, early frost, late frost, bugs….you live it. Native plants are those plants that have lived with these conditions for thousands of years and supported our native insects and wildlife. Native plants don’t need to be pampered; they are beautiful, they attract bees and butterflies, require no fertilizer or pesticides and relatively little water after the first year. Of course, your yard might not resemble the wide-open prairie and for those with shady environs we’ve borrowed some natives from our more wooded neighbor, Missouri.

If you would like to start a small bed of native plants or add to your existing collection visit our Native Plant Sale webpage (dgemgks.com) to see what plants we’ll be selling on Saturday, June 4^th. The plant sale will take place in the Dreher 4-H building (south room) from 9:00 am and until the plants are all sold or by 2:30 pm. The plants sell fast! We will have Extension Master Gardeners on hand to help you choose plants that are right for your landscape. Representatives from Monarch Watch and the Jayhawk Audubon Society will also be there to give advice about gardening for butterflies and birds.

Here are some popular plants as well as some of the more unusual plants we will have for sale (photos from the Missouri Botanical Garden).

Copper  Iris	Yellow Cone Flower	Blue False Indigo
Monkey Flower	Prairie Blazing Star	Prickly Pear
	Royal Catchfly