gardeninacity

Based in southeast Minnesota, Prairie Moon Nursery is certainly one of the best known growers of native Midwestern plants and seeds, selling to both the retail and commercial markets. (Full disclosure: I am a frequent and unrestrained customer.)

Bill Carter, the current President of Prairie Moon, was nice enough to respond to written interview questions. Read on for his perspective on the business of native plants.

Q. Please tell us about the origins of Prairie Moon.

A. Short answer is that Prairie Moon began in 1982. That was the first year there was a profit and taxes were paid. Bare root dormant plants were dug and stored under bales of hay to keep them cool prior to shipping. There was no office and most of the work was done on Alan Wade’s porch.

Prior to that there was production here of Illinois ecotype seed to help supply what was needed by Windrift Nursery, which was the first in that state solely producing native plants and seeds. [Note: Windrift Nursery was opened by Doug and Dot Wade in the 1970s. It is no longer open. Their son Alan was a founder of Prairie Moon.]

Before starting Windrift, Doug and Dot Wade worked at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum in the 1930s. [Note: In Wisconsin the Wades knew and were inspired by Aldo Leopold who wrote A Sand County Almanac.]

Q. How did you end up in your current position at Prairie Moon?

A. I moved to Wiscoy Valley Land Cooperative in 1991 where a number of the co-op members were involved with Prairie Moon. I worked in all aspects of the company and expressed my desire to become an owner when Alan Wade first proposed selling part of the nursery to the employees. At one point there were seven equal owners and now there are four of us. I took the role of President mostly because I was willing to be the spokesperson.

Q. What is the connection between Prairie Moon and the Wiscoy Valley Land Cooperative?

A. Wiscoy is made up of 12 separate homes and 450 acres of property. We own our homes but jointly own all the property. Alan Wade and a few other members of Wiscoy started Prairie Moon Nursery. PM is a private venture and only ever involved a minority of people who live at Wiscoy. Out of about 25 full time employees only four of us live at Wiscoy.

Q.Do you think that ordinary gardeners can collectively have a meaningful environmental impact through their choice of plants and methods of growing?

A. More and more wildlife is dependent upon ordinary gardeners due to habitat loss. Choosing native plants will ensure that there are caterpillars and other insects available to feed our diminishing bird population. Bees are now being brought into urban areas and even Common Milkweed is a plant that most people would like to have near their homes.

Q. How does Prairie Moon try to operate in an environmentally responsible manner?

A. I think the biggest thing really is just the promotion of native plants and telling the story of how important it is to have them. We do the basic reuse, reduce, recycling. Our farming practices are low impact and we have been using methods of weed control which do not require herbicide use. We of course do not use any neonicotinoid insecticides.

Q. Have you seen much evidence that the interest in straight species native plants continues to grow? Has it reached a mainstream audience?

A. Prairie Moon is growing despite the fact that we do not sell cultivars.  I think the desire for non-cultivar natives is increasing. Many job specs specify that cultivars cannot be used. Perhaps 100 of the species we offer can now be found in garden centers and general seed catalogs. Sedges are being discovered and some very plain looking plants like Early Figwort are now selling because of their attractiveness to insects.

Q. There has been something of a backlash against native plant advocates. For instance, Prairie Moon’s catalog was quoted disapprovingly as needlessly purist in Alan Armitage’s book about native plants. What’s your reaction?

A. You would think that with the billions being spent on plants each year that some of these folks would be content to let us give accurate information about natives. In the plant world many people make a good income by offering “new” plants. You can’t put a patent on plants unless you manipulate the appearance in some way and make it a cultivar of a native plant.

The industry is always promoting the latest fashon and it is quite profitable. In regards to Alan’s book I think he treated us with respect and I’m sure we were discovered by a few people after reading that. Fortunately there is finally some research being started about the suitability of cultivars. The industry’s response to what they think consumers want can be much different to what the wildlife needs. Let the science sort it out.

Q. How strict are you in your definition of “native”? Could a plant whose native range was in the southeast be considered native in the Upper Midwest?

A. On our website each species has information on native range. We let our customers decide on what is best for their area. If someone plants a species not historic to their region then it may not have wildlife value beyond just being a nectar source.

Q. I’m sure many of your customers  (such as myself) mix native and exotic plants. How do you feel about that?

A. Sorry, Jason. We do not allow mixing our plants with exotics. The PM Plant Police will be there soon. 🙂

Note: As of this writing the plant police have not yet arrived. I’m keeping a low profile, though.