The term “native plant” seems to have entered the lexicon of horticultural speak in a big way over the past few of decades. As a lifelong nurseryman and native plant grower, the question of what is a native plant comes up with great frequency around my office. It seems everyone knows what a native plant is, but we don’t all agree on the same definition.

This seemingly straightforward word “native” creates enough controversy to cause some real confusion. A simple web search will quickly demonstrate the problem, and a good place to start is this Wikipedia definition which states: “Native plant is a term to describe plants endemic (indigenous) or naturalized to a given area in geologic time” (Wikipedia). Continue reading →

Fourth Corner Nurseries is a wholesale native plant nursery located on 77 acres in the coastal lowlands of Whatcom County, Washington. Our customers are primarily other wholesale native plant nurseries that rely on our propagation skills. Incorporated in 1982, we have a small self-directed workforce of approximately 15 full-time employees.

We produce two/three million direct-seeded, field-grown, bare-root plants every year, with approximately 500 species from nearly 1500 individual seed sources of trees, shrubs, grasses, perennials and emergents. Typically we direct seed into seedbeds and harvest the plants after one or two years. We began propagating native plants in 1987 as an experimental diversion from our then B&B production of ornamental trees and shrubs. The timing of our startup was coincidental with the developing market for native plants.  What followed became a farming operation to supply an emerging demand for native, bare-root plant material. We sell our plants to other nurseries for resale as potted material and/or directly planted in the natural environment. In our region the bare-root planting window occurs in early spring, late fall and winter. Continue reading →