In late winter, before any seeds have germinated in the nursery, we are out in the snow with loppers and clippers in hand. Our objective? Collecting live stakes and cuttings from stands of willows and cottonwoods. A cutting bed at Derby Canyon Natives of McKenzie willow (Salix prolixa), with Hobbes We make these collections while the […]
Collecting conifer cones… and thinking of wildfire
September is the month I collect cones from both Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). I won’t sow the seeds for a few months yet but I need to get the cones before the seeds are dispersed. Doug fir cones I can usually harvest from low hanging branches while still closed. The pine […]
Plant Quality and Containers
Our objective at Derby Canyon Natives is to grow native plants that meet our customers’ needs in both quantity and quality. Most of the plants we grow are planted in restoration projects, often in challenging environments east of the Cascades with little or no irrigation. A quality plant should survive, if not thrive, in these situations. […]
Native Plants for Native Bees
Anthophora bee on phlox A few weeks back I attended a talk by Don Rolfs, who spoke about the over 700 species (!) of native bees we have in this state. Don, who has done fine work and photography on our local butterflies, is now intensely focused on documenting and photographing the native bees in our […]
Endemic Plants: Special Ones from the Wenatchee Mountains
Thompson’s clover (Trifolium thompsonii) Endemic plants are those found only in a limited geographic area. The Wenatchee Mountains of Chelan and Kittitas Counties have the greatest concentration of endemics found in Washington as well as being one of the top areas for endemics in the US. The map below was compiled by Joe Arnett, Rare […]