Native Plant Sale at Locust Grove Nature Center

Thank You for your support of our Fall Native Plant Sale
We’ll see you again in the Spring!  

Online Preorders: Open May 1st, Close May 8th, pickup day May 13th

In Person Sale: May 20th (Sat) and 21st (Sun) 10am-2pm each day at Locust Grove Nature Center at 7777 Democracy Blvd., Bethesda At our Armstrong Cabin (to the right of the tennis center)

Please note that all plants are a limited supply and are first come, first served.  Gates will not open until 10am Saturday and it will be busy- we love how passionate our community is about native plants!  If you come early, bring your coffee and binoculars or be ready to chat with your neighbor.  We will be able to handle both cash and card transactions.

Pro tip- bring a bin or box for your plants- this makes them easy to carry and you can leave us the trays which are in short supply.

The plant list will be updated before preorders open.

How to Pre-Order: (Reopens May 1st for the Spring Native Plant sale)

• You can plan your wish list plants from the list below, then visit the sale link.
• You can speed up your order process by creating an account in the new ActiveMontgomery ahead of time.
• The FIRST Item to choose (and put in your cart) is a Pick-Up Time to ensure you are able to pick up your order on the afternoon of Sunday, September 11th (pro tip: the middle pickup times are usually less busy than the first and last time slots).
• You then need to choose at least $100 worth of plants and check out with your full order.  Due to demand and limited staffing, we are not able to make changes on orders- please be sure you check out with exactly what you want the first time.
• You can use the sort and search features on the left side of the sales page to help you find just what you are looking for- plant info is provided with each plant on the sales page.
• You can review your cart (check one more time that your pickup time is there) and check out directly online- Active will email you a receipt for your purchase and give you the option to send to an additional email if you like.
• You will receive a follow-up email with detailed pickup instructions from us a couple days before pickup (we do this to serve as a reminder for pickup as well as to limit email traffic)
• Come for your pickup appointment, take your new babies home, and get them planted based on or helpful instructions below
• Pat yourself on the back for being a good neighbor to nature and if you didn’t get enough plants, come see us at the live sale the next weekend!

Prices: Quarts are $7 (premium plants priced at $10), Gallons are $10 (premium plants priced at $13), 3 Gallons are $40, 5 Gallons are $60, and 7 Gallons are $80

Prices on Active show up as less, because the even numbers are with taxes included.

For the Fall Sale we also offer Paw Paw Cultivar trees on behalf of Meadowside Nature Center- these 3 gallon size trees sell at the 7 gallon price of $80 as they are hard to find and slow to grow. (pro tip- you can use the search tools for “pawpaw” or add Category “Parks MNC” to have the pawpaw trees show up)

All local Ecotypes unless otherwise noted on Plant information (we offer a few popular cultivars).

*Trees and Shrubs- 7 gallons are pre-order only, limited trees and shrubs at live sale- Fall is the best time to plant woody plants so they establish strong roots before spring!

Plant List- Includes plants we expect to have available for this Fall Native Plant Sale- please use the inventory list below for what is offered during this sale.  We recommend the Native Plant for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping for the Chesapeake Bay Region

Plant List- all plants are local Montgomery County ecotype unless otherwise noted.

Pre-order List for Spring sale posted by May 1st. 

Once preorder closes, we will update the list for the Live Sale.

Planting and care information: We recommend checking that your plant choice matches your location before you order, either using the plant info when ordering or other helpful resources.  When planting, you can give your plants the best start by digging your hole twice the size of the pot, breaking up the bottom of the root ball then planting at the soil surface level to the ground while refilling under and around with a mix of the original soil and compost (we like LeafGro as a MD recycled product).  Be sure to pat the soil in so that it is firm but not compacted and then water in to settle the soil and fill any gaps.  Native plants should be watered every 2-3 days for the first 2 weeks, then every 4-5 days for the next 2 weeks and after that just when they are looking droopy.  Most native plants settle in quickly if planted in the right conditions and are the best for low maintenance plantings.  You are responsible for properly planting and caring for your plants- we recommend planting within a week of purchase and watering or checking on them daily in a partial shade location protected from wildlife while still in pots.  Please be aware that trees and shrubs may have some cosmetic flaws- we use Integrated Pest Management and minimal sprays or treatments as our plants are grown primarily for restoration projects where they receive minimal follow-up care and need to become wild and self sufficient quickly.  We will consider a refund or exchange within a week if the plant is still in the pot and shows an issue of disease, otherwise, they leave the nursery healthy and are in your care so we hope you treat your new ‘babies’ with all the TLC that they deserve as the become homes for wildlife in your yard.