Native Plant Sale

With this post I’d like to highlight several of my favorite plants available in our annual native plant sale here at the Cascadia Conservation District. Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), mock orange (Philadelphus lewisii) and serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) are but three of our 14 plants for sale this year. For a complete list, to make an order or to get more information please visit our website.

Quaking aspen is a deciduous tree characterized by its trembling, nearly heart shaped leaves. The effects of the slightest breeze on an Aspen grove in the fall is spectacular. Quaking aspen have smooth white bark, grow up to 80 feet and have green, chartreuse or yellow leaves depending on the time of year.  

Quaking aspen are unique in that an entire colony shares a single root structure, and each tree is genetically identical to the next within the colony. Quaking aspen can grow in most soil types, but does best in soil that is moist most of the year. It’s useful along rivers and streams as a bank stabilizer, provides nesting places for many local bird species and its foliage is browsed upon by mammals.

 Mock Orange

Mock orange is a lovely little shrub in the late spring when it dawns fragrant, showy white flowers. It grows 6 to 12 feet tall, but typically doesn’t exceed 6 feet east of the Cascades. It grows in abundance in a variety of habitats including riparian zones along gullies and streams, forested bottomlands as well as upland sites. Mock orange acts as soil stabilizer and food for many insects like moths and butterflies.

Serviceberry

If you’re looking for a shrub with attractive fall foliage, look no further than serviceberry. Serviceberry is ubiquitous throughout the western United States and Canada. It even has a town in Saskatchewan named after it (Saskatoon). Like mock orange, it dawns showy white flowers in the spring. It grows in a variety of climates and habitats either as a small deciduous tree or upright shrub. Spreading via underground runners, serviceberry often grows in large thickets. It can grow in full sun or shade and on steep or level terrain. In terms of conservation, serviceberry is used for soil stabilization and enhancing wildlife habitat (food for birds, rodents and bears).

Today’s snowpack as a percent of average is 73%.