About the Wild Plant Nursery
The Wild Plant Nursery is a unique resource for ecological restoration in the greater Washington, DC area. Established in 2001 in Springfield, Virginia, under an agreement with the Fairfax County Park Authority, the Wild Plant Nursery is the region's most comprehensive source of local, wild native-plant material (“local-ecotypes”). The use of local-ecotypes is a standard best practice in ecological restoration to safeguard genetic diversity and local adaptation in the species planted. Every year we propagate between 250-320 species, some of them rare in the wild in this region, and many of them in decline. For many of these species, our nursery is the DC area’s only source of production — local-ecotype or otherwise. All plants are grown from seed (or spores) that we ourselves collect, from over 50 local natural areas. (We collect only with permission.) The nursery serves our own planting programs, as well as those of area governments, schools, businesses, and other conservation nonprofits. We rely on volunteers to run the nursery! To join us, check the Volunteer page for our Field Schedule.
Location: Hours:
6100 Cloud Dr. Sundays 9-1
Springfield, VA 22150 Mondays 9-1
Wednesdays 9-1
Parking: When you enter Grove Point Park, park in the main lot and then walk down the gravel road and you'll find us behind the community garden plots. Please note that our nursery and office addresses are different.
Our office is located in Annandale, but is not open for plant sales.
How to Buy Plants:
In-Person Shopping Hours:
Sundays 9-1
Mondays 9-1
Wednesdays 9-1
Please note: The Wild Plant Nursery only has gravel/mulched paths. For customers with limited mobility, our staff is happy to help carry plants or waive our pick up fee for online orders.
Online Orders:
In order to better focus on our conservation projects, we're limiting online orders for private lands to orders of 30 pots or more and assessing a $25 fee per order. (There is no minimum order or fee for online orders for public lands.) Online orders can be picked up outside of our regular shopping hours, however we generally need at least a week's notice. If you have any questions about online orders, please email orders@earthsangha.org.
Old Pots?
We can reuse quart and gallon sized pots, plug trays, and carrying trays in good condition. Please feel free to drop them off in our Pot Drop Off Bins adjacent to our pot storage area.
Pricing:
Trees, shrubs, and woody vines: 1-Gallon Pots
Because our stock is mainly used for restoration work, our woodies are typically 1-2ft tall.
Non-member $20
Member $15
Public Lands $10
Herbaceous: Quart & 1-Gallon Pots
Non-member $8
Member $6
Public Lands $4
Herbaceous: Plugs (Plugs are purchased by the tray (38 or 50 cell trays) and cannot be purchased individually.)
Non-member $2/plug
Member $1.50/plug
Public Lands $1.00/plug
Discounted pricing: Earth Sangha members qualify for a 25% discount on all plants. Anyone who has donated a minimum of $35 in the past year qualifies as a member. You can become a member at the nursery, or use our Donate page. (Parks, schools, HOAs, libraries, etc qualify as public lands. Fairfax County-owned properties qualify for further discounts. Please email us at orders@earthsangha.org.)
Gift Certificates: Give The Gift Of Native Plants
Resources:
Earth Sangha's Native Plant Compendium: Aren't sure where to start? To better refine plant selection, check out our Native Plant Compendium – an online resource that lists all the species we have in propagation at our Wild Plant and where best to plant them. The data we used to create our Compendium is from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Natural Heritage Natural Communities of Virginia program. You can find all the raw data online at (www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-communities/). We also strongly encourage you to consult other resources. Glenn Tobin, an Arlington Regional Master Naturalist, also has an excellent data-driven resource working from this data set (www.novanaturalcommunity.com). Descriptive habitat notes and the introduction on natural plant communities from the Flora of Virginia (Weakly, A.S., J.C. Ludwig, and J.F. Townsend. 2012. Bland Crowder ed.) are also excellent resources. For more information on individual species, we recommend using the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (vaplantatlas.org). On a more regional level, the NatureServe Explorer (explorer.natureserve.org) and Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the southern Appalachian Mountains & Piedmont by Timothy P. Spira may also be useful to consult.
Earth Sangha's Wild Garden Manual: We wrote our Wild Garden Manual with educators in mind. It covers everything from how to get started, how to plan your native garden, species lists for various growing conditions and more!
Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora: We use the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora to identify if a species is truly native, introduced, or invasive. It also gives useful habitat descriptions of where species are found in the wild.
Flora of Virginia Mobile App: For smartphones only, this paid app includes a dichotomous key and a graphic key to identify Virginia native plants in the field.
Plant NOVA Natives: Plant NOVA Natives is the all-volunteer, joint marketing campaign of a grand coalition of non-profit, governmental, and private groups, all working to reverse the decline of native plants and wildlife in Northern Virginia. They are a great resource for those just starting out on their native plant journey!
Northern Virginia Bird Alliance: There’s no replacement for assessing a site in person! For restoration sites, we are always happy to do site visits, but our small staff and busy schedule make it difficult for us to meet the demand for visits to private property. Luckily, the Northern Virginia Bird Alliance operates a Wildlife Sanctuary certification program for homeowners, HOAs, schools, places of worship, commercial properties, and other garden spaces. You can request a visit by WSP Ambassadors – many of whom are experienced Master Naturalists or Master Gardeners – at the link above to give you recommendations about plant selection and how to manage your garden for native flora and fauna and how to achieve Wildlife Sanctuary certification. Once you have completed a site visit and have an initial plant list in hand, you can refine the list through our Compendium.
Virginia Native Plant Society - Potowmack Chapter: The Virginia Native Plant Society is a fantastic resource for all. They regularly host talks from local and state wide experts, lead nature walks, and are a great way to get connected with other local native plant enthusiats.
Banner: Customers at the Wild Plant Nursery during the 2013 Fall Open House and Plant Sale. Photo by Chris Bright.
