Wild Ginger Woodlands Frequently Asked Questions

Plants, Nursery Supplies, Prices:

What are the sources of your plants? Do you grow them from seed? Do you ever wild dig your plants?

This is a great question and it can be an important one. We have several species that are grown from Michigan genotype plants. In general, seeds have been collected from private land and grown out in our production beds until they are producing seed. We then use this seed to grow more plants.

Some of our plants come from seed or spore sources outside of Michigan. These are from upper midwest sources like Prairie Moon Nursury and Prairie Nursery with very similar climates to Michigan.

Sometimes we do dig plants from the wild, but always with permission from private land owners in the most careful way possible. This allows us to put plants into our production beds to grow more. For example, Sally’s sister has a nice woodland property and she has allowed Sally to take some Plantain-leaf Sedge and White Bear Sedge so that she could put them into a production bed. Seeds from the plants go straight into the production bed and when the tiny plants emerge in the spring, they are dug out and put into pots.

If you ever have questions about the sources of our plants, don’t hesitate to reach out! info@wildgingerwoodlands.com

What kind of pots, containers and potting mix do you use?

In general, we currently sell plants in 2.5 inch pots in trays of 32, 4.5 inch pots (quart pots) in trays of 15, and gallons of some species. We also use some pots that are recycled and in fact, these are our favorite kinds of pots! We encourage customers to return their used pots and trays so that we can use them again.

We currently use a potting mix that includes peat, ground bark and perlite. We do fertilize our plants and have begun using compost tea to see what kind of results we can get with that.

Why are woodland plants more expensive than other plants?

If you’ve shopped for woodland plants, you might already know that they tend to be more expensive than grasses and prairie plants. This is for a few reasons:

First, some woodland plants have seeds with double dormancy. If you are familiar with the need to stratify native plant seeds in order for them to grow, that is a single dormancy. New England Aster takes 60 days of cold, moist stratification. A plant like Bellwort on the other hand, takes a cold period, followed by a warm period, another cold period, and finally seeds will germinate once they are subjected to warmth again.

Second, quite a few woodland wildflowers do germinate the first year, but they either grow only underground (hypogeal germination), like Blue Cohosh, or just send up a strip of green material the first year. Trillium also sprout underground the first year, send up a cotyledon leaf the second year and are only big enough to sell after three or four growing seasons (you’ll see the iconic three leaves in the fourth year.)

Finally, the ferns. There is quite a learning curve involved with growing ferns from spore. There is lots of careful prep of materials and containers, with special attention to keeping things as sterile as possible. Then, we wait with patience as they complete their life cycle. Some ferns are also quite sloooowww growing.

Do you have this plant?

We get a lot of requests through our contact form asking if we have certain plants that are not listed on our website. These are always fun messages to get because you can see what plants people are thinking about. The answers to that question are interesting too.

Sometimes we’ve tried growing something and it hasn’t gone well. I got a request for Partridgeberry which I had struggled with growing and had given up. This message made me decide to start again and it seems to be going ok, so they are now listed on the website. Another request for Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia) got me looking into it and realizing that it does grow in part-shade, so it should be listed on the website soon!

Sometimes the requests are for plants that are really hard to grow, like orchids. I got a message yesterday asking about Downy Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens) While there are people out there growing orchids, it’s difficult and the success of the gardener who buys one is in question since orchids have very specific fungi and soil requirements. I’d love to successfully grow orchids, but I’ve decided to enjoy the as much as possible when I’m out hiking.

Another scenerio is someone asking for a plant that isn’t listed on our website, but we do actually grow it and sometimes take it to sales. One example of this, is Wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis) Sally loves to grow these from fresh seed. They aren’t usually available early spring so they haven’t been listed on the site (until now). We are often growing a variety of plants, simply because we love to grow plants! Additionally, people do like to “one stop shop” and we get that.

Always feel free to ask about species you are looking for and we may have it or be able to source it for you to cut down on your plant shopping travels!

When is the best time to plant the woodland plants?

 Most people know that getting native plants (or any plants/trees) established takes some time. Native plants should be watered for the first year to ensure good leaf and root growth. This gets them ready to succeed on their own the next season—barring drought when lots of plants need extra support if you want them looking good. For this reason, both spring and fall are good times to plant. In the middle to late summer, during drought periods, it is very difficult to keep up with the right amount of water. And some plants, like ferns, rely on humidity, which is not usually available during drought.

Fall can be an ideal time since there are cooler temperatures and some periodic rain. Do keep in mind that you want the roots to begin establishing before the ground freezes. In recent years, that has been later and later into the fall, but our weather is also unpredictable enough that having a date to have things into the ground makes some sense. A conservative date would be October 15 and if you are living on the edge, you could go until November 1.

Orders & Taxes:

When I make an order online, how long will it be until I can pick the plants up?

If you order when sales go live in late winter, plants will be first come, first served and since we don’t have control of the climate, we don’t know when we can begin to offer pick-up appointments. A general rule would be May 1-May 15 when the first plants are ready for pick up.

For picking up your plants, you will need to email us to schedule a time to pick up within one week of your online order. (wildgingerwoodlands@gmail.com)

What about sales tax?

Sales tax is currently part of the price of each plant. Eventually, it will be added during the checkout process. Rest assured, we are paying sales tax to the state of Michigan for our sales!

I’m looking for larger sizes, do you sell gallons?

We do offer many plants in gallon-sized pots. If you are interested in gallon-size pots, you may email to inquire if they are available in the species you are looking for. Plants in gallon pots will be available for pick-up only. Additionally, if you are looking for larger sized for a project, let us know ahead of time and we can make sure they are ready for you.

Why don’t you ship plants?

Shipping plants is a very time consuming activity. We tried it in 2023 and 2024 and found that we just didn’t have the time/energy for it. There are only two of us and a LOT to do. So, even though we’d really like to get the plants into hands further from us, we just can’t at this time. Additionally, since it’s not something we do often, it tends to be pretty stressful wondering if plants are packed carefully enough and if they will survive etc.