Media contact:
Misti Preston
Phone: (573) 751-8596
Misti.Preston@mda.mo.gov

For Immediate Release: September 15, 2006

Fall into a Better Routine for Planting Native Plants

(JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.) – Missouri is home to many beautiful native plants that do extremely well when planted in the fall months. That is why Grow Native!, a joint program between the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) and Department of Conservation, has teamed with Superior Garden Center, 3100 Old Highway 63, Columbia, to promote fall as the optimum time of year to plant natives through a Butterflies and Blooms garden and Hummingbird Haven at the garden center.

“Many people start planning Spring and Summer gardens in February anxiously awaiting the garden centers to open and the ground to be ready for planting, but fall is typically a better time to plant many drought sensitive species,” said Tammy Bruckerhoff, business development and marketing specialist for Grow Native!. “Since the soil is moist and warm, conditions for root growth are more favorable during the fall.”

Native plants have extensive root systems and work hard the first two years to establish those systems. Planting before Oct. 15 can provide ample time for most species to get their roots down below the frost line before winter.

Superior Garden Center now has designs of the Butterflies and Blooms garden as well as the Hummingbird Haven garden ready for interested planters and gardeners to take home as a guideline for planting as well as selected native plants making the guide even easier.

For more information on the Superior Garden Center, visit www.superiorgardencenter.com or call (573) 442-5211. For more information about Missouri’s native plants, visit www.grownative.org.

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