Implementation of Native Annuals into SER-UW Nursery – Wyatt Mojo (Fall 2023)

The SER-UW Native Plant Nursery is at a deficit for native annual plants. These species would, if allowed to mature, produce reliable seed for the following season, attract numerous native pollinators, and be an aesthetically pleasing plant that is likely to generate higher gross sales during SER-UW’s spring native plant sale. This research project explores the feasibility of implementing three prairie annual flower species often used in conservation projects in plainland areas into a nursery residing in a Pacific Northwest ecosystem; including Clarkia amoena, Epilobium pallidum, and Gilia capitata. The findings begin with an analysis of the typical uses of each species in restoration projects and then a propagation protocol for each species. After calculating Sales Growth Rate (SGR), species that are deemed beneficial conclude with the sourcing and sowing of a number of seeds from one or all of the suggested species utilizing the new propagation protocols.