The community is invited to come out for the eighth annual Long Island Native Plant Initiative Plant Sale and Benefit, a major fundraiser and educational event, which will take place on Fridays and Saturdays, June 3, 4, 10 and 11 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Greenhouse on the Eastern Campus of Suffolk County Community College in Riverhead.
This fundraiser provides an opportunity to purchase 100% native plants that have been propagated using 100% local, native seed. Long Island Native Plant Initiative team members collect, store, stratify, germinate and grow out locally harvested seed from wild plants that have flourished on Long Island for millennia.
Genetically native plants, referred to as ‘ecotypes’, are the most ecologically, environmentally, and economically appropriate plant species for use in Long Island landscape projects. They are naturally adapted to Long Island’s most challenging growing conditions, from sandy soils to salt spray; from hot, dry summers to cold and soggy winters. Homeowners and professional landscapers alike have learned that ecotypes tend to survive extreme weather events and require less care than old fashioned choices in ornamental plants. They also provide unequaled ecosystem benefits, like forage for essential insect pollinators and food, cover and nesting material for birds.
The sale will offer herbaceous and wood natives available to the public at this year’s plant sale, including the region’s only native cactus, the Eastern Prickly Pear.
For more information about the plant sale, or the initiative’s mission, contact Polly Weigand or Chris McHugh by email, call 631-560-9945 or visit the initiative’s website.
Source: Long Island Native Plant Initiative press release dated May 18, 2016.
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