Gardeners who are interested in growing native plants should be aware that those packages of "wildflower" seeds you see everywhere usually include many flowers not native to our area. Here are some "wildflower" seed mixes I have found on sale in Toronto: Liberty Garden seeds (Page Seed Company) produces a so-called North American Wildflower Mixture. It's hard to be sure what species are included, since they're listed only by their common names, but they include many plants which are not native to North America. Here's the list:
Plant | Native to NA? | Native to TO? |
---|---|---|
white yarrow (Achillea millefolium, achillée millefeuille) | yes | yes |
alyssum (could be a few different species, but most likely Lobularia maritima (alysson maritime) | no | no |
Calendula (species not identified) | no | no |
cornflower: Centaurea cyanus (bluet des champs) | no | no |
wallflower (Erisymum spp.) | no | no |
Coreopsis, species not identified | yes | maybe |
Cosmos, species not identified | probably | no |
sweet Wiliam: Dianthus barbatus (œillet de poète) | no | no |
Gypsophila, species not identified | no | no |
blue flax: could be Linum lewisii (lin de Lewis) or Linum perenne (lin vivace) | yes or no | no |
flax: probably Linum usitatissimum (lin cultivé) | no | no |
evening primrose: Oenothera, species not identified | yes | maybe |
black-eyed Susan: probably some kind of Rudbeckia | probably | maybe |
catchfly: could be some kind of Lychnis or Silene | maybe | maybe |
Mexican hat: some kind of Ratibida | yes | maybe |
Plant | Native to California? |
---|---|
Oenothera missourensis (bigfruit evening primrose, onagre de Missouri; now goes by the scientific name Oenothera macrocarpa) | no |
Layia platyglossa (coastal tidytips, je ne peux pas trouver le nom commun en français) | yes |
Gilia capitata (bluehead gilia, je ne peux pas trouver le nom commun en français) | yes |
Nemophila insignis (baby blue eyes, némophile) | yes |
Eschscholzia (California poppy, pavot de Californie), species not identified | yes |
Clarkia elegans (elegant Clarkia, Clarkia élégant) | yes |
Phacelia campanularia (desertbells, phacelia cloche bleu) | yes |
These actually are all California species, except for the very first species listed, bigfruit evening primrose, which is native to south-central US, not California. I'm wondering if, as with food ingredients, the first listed is present in the greatest quantity?
The so-called North American Mix contains:
Plant | Native to NA? | Native to TO? |
---|---|---|
Gilia capitata (bluehead gilia, je ne peux pas trouver le nom commun en français) | yes | no |
Nemophila insignis (baby blue eyes, némophile) | yes | no |
Nemophila maculata (fivespot, némophile) | yes | no |
godetia (probably Clarkia amoena, fleur de satin) | yes | no |
alyssum white (probably Lobularia maritima (alysson maritime) | no | no |
Delphinium consolida (larkspur, dauphinelle) | no | no |
Rudbeckia, species not identified | yes | maybe |
Linum rubrum (scarlet flax, lin rouge annuelle) | no | no |
Eschscholzia (California poppy, pavot de Californie), species not identified | yes | no |
Clarkia, species not identified | yes | no |
Iberis umbellata (globe candytuft, ibéris à ombelles) | no | no |
Papaver rhoeas (corn poppy, coquelicot) | no | no |
The Ontario Seed Company (OSC) has a few different wildflower mixes. Their Semi-Shade Mixture includes:
Plant | Native to Ontario? | Native to TO? |
---|---|---|
Aquilegia 'McKana Giant' (columbine ,ancolie) | no | no |
coneflower: could refer to some kind of Echinacea, Rudbeckia, or Ratibida | maybe | maybe |
candytuft: some kind of Iberis (ibéride) | no | no |
catchfly: could be some kind of Lychnis or Silene | maybe | maybe |
dwarf coreopsis: might be Coreopsis auriculata 'Nana' (coréopsis auriculé) | no | no |
forget-me-not: could be some kind of Myosotis or Cynoglossum amabile | no | no |
Ozark sundrop: Oenothera macrocarpa (onagre de Missouri) | no | no |
Shasta daisy: Leucanthemum × superbum | no | no |
Shirley poppy: Papaver rhoeas (corn poppy, coquelicot) | no | no |
sweet Wiliam: Dianthus barbatus (œillet de poète) | no | no |
Viola, species not identified | maybe | maybe |
Their Low-Growing mixture includes:
Plant | Native to Ontario? | Native to TO? |
---|---|---|
Alyssum saxatile (golden alyssum, corbeille d'or) | no | no |
African daisy: could be Arctotis sp., Dimorphotheca sp., Gazania sp., etc. etc. | no | no |
baby's breath: Gypsophila (gypsophile), species not identified | no | no |
California poppy: Eschscholzia, species not identifiedpavot de Californie | no | no |
perennial candytuft: Iberis sempervirens (ibéris toujours vert) | no | no |
dwarf coreopsis: might be Coreopsis auriculata 'Nana' (coréopsis auriculé) | no | no |
dwarf coneflower: might be a cultivar of Echinacea purpurea | no | no |
five spot: Nemophila maculata (némophile) | no | no |
forget-me-not: could be some kind of Myosotis or Cynoglossum amabile | no | no |
mountain phlox: might be Phlox austromontana or Linanthus grandiflorus | no | no |
showy evening primrose: Oenothera speciosa (oenothère rose) | no | no |
Oriental poppy: Papaver orientale (pavot orientale) | no | no |
Ozark sundrop: Oenothera macrocarpa (onagre de Missouri) | no | no |
pinks: Dianthus, species not identified | no | no |
prairie coneflower: probably Ratibida | maybe | maybe |
wallflower: Erisymum | no | no |
Their OSC mixture includes:
Plant | Native to Ontario? | Native to TO? |
---|---|---|
baby's breath: Gypsophila (gypsophile), species not identified | no | no |
bachelor buttons: Centaurea cyanus (bluet des champs) | no | no |
black-eyed Susan: probably some kind of Rudbeckia | maybe | maybe |
Cosmos, species not identified | no | no |
Calendula, species not identified | no | no |
catchfly: could be some kind of Lychnis or Silene | maybe | maybe |
Chrysanthemum, species not identified | no | no |
lance leaf coreopsis: Coreopsis lanceolata (coréopsis lancéolé) | yes | yes |
plains coreopsis: Coreopsis tinctoria (coreopsis élégant) | yes | yes |
scarlet flax: Linum grandiflorum (lin) | no | no |
Rocky Mountain penstemon: Penstemon strictus (penstemon) | no | no |
evening scented primrose: Oenothera odorata (onagre odorant) | no | no |
prairie coneflower: probably Ratibida | maybe | maybe |
purple coneflower: Echinacea purpurea | no | no |
Russell lupines: Lupinus polyphyllus | no | no |
soapwort: Saponaria (saponaire), unidentified species | no | no |
Shasta daisy: Leucanthemum × superbum | no | no |
Shirley poppy: Papaver rhoeas (corn poppy, coquelicot) | no | no |
wallflower: Erisymum | no | no |
Finally, McKenzie Seeds sells Low-Growing and All Purpose wildflower seed mixes, which don't even list the species included. The package states, and I quote, "Annuals, Biennials, Perennials". Well, that really narrows it down, doesn't it? I wonder if they even know what is in these mixtures or if it's just mystery seeds that fell out of the other packets?
Now, just because these plants aren't native doesn't mean that you should never grow them (I have grown a number of them myself), but if you want to get all the benefits of native plants, in terms of providing habitat for native insects and the wildlife that depend on them (read Bringing Nature Home if you haven't already), then you will not be getting those benefits from these wildflower seed mixes. It's not clear to me what "wildflower" even means to these seed sellers, since not only are most of these plants not native, most of them don't grow wild here either. I wish they would label these mixes as "easy-care flowers" or something, and not give them names like "North American Wildflower" mix when there is nothing particularly North American or wild about most of the flowers included.
Rosemary, this is great information! Thanks for doing all this research and printing this wonderful resource. I'm going to link to this in my Best of the Web today at Ecosystem Gardening. It's really important for people to learn how many non-native species are in those blends.
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