Toronto gardening all year round: January 2010

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

[Photo: Thompson and Morgan wildflower seed packets, California Mix and North American Mix.]

Thompson and Morgan sell a California Mix (obviously not native here) and a North American Mix. The California Mix includes:

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.

[Photo: Some of the natives I'm trying to grow from seed (left to right): Aquilegia canadensis, Gaillardia aristata, Tradescantia ohiensis, Verbena stricta.]

I've finished stratifying my native plant seeds and am starting them extra early under the grow lights, to hopefully get them big and healthy before they have to contend with the garden, and the kids and dogs who frequent the garden.

The natives I'm doing this year are all ones I attempted last year, with varying degrees of success (some of them I attempted wintersowing in peat pellets with no cover and they all dried out.)