Tending Native Plants

Text and photos by Bhavana Padiyath, GEAS Guest Blogger

Golden Eagle Audubon volunteers were back at Comba Park on May 27 to re-pot native plant seedlings. The plants, just an inch or so high, were carefully moved from the germination trays into cylindrical conetainers that have ample room for root growth. The work is organized by the Native Plant Network, a community collaboration led by Golden Eagle Audubon.  This year’s crop is destined for GEAS’ very large habitat restoration project along the Boise, the Boise River ReWild Project. Long roots are critical to allowing the plants to access water in the soil after they are planted.

ReWild Project Coordinator Danae Fails oversaw the re-potting of about 2,300 seedlings on that balmy Saturday morning. These seedlings will be planted at ReWild plots in the fall to restore and enhance the native plant communities on 50 acres along the Boise River. This project is crucial for maintaining the river’s ecological health, supporting wildlife habitat, and improving water quality.

“We planted 13,000 plants in 2022. Our target for 2023 is 20,000 plants,” explained Project Lead Sean Finn. “So far, this year, we are at around 3,800 potted plants, almost 20% of our goal!”

Volunteers Needed to Tend the Native Plants

There are thousands more tiny seedlings to transplant into roomy conetainers. Upcoming shifts are June 10 from 10:00 - 11:30 and 11:30 - 1:00, June 13 from 1:00 - 4:00 and June 17 from 9:00-10:30 and 10:30 to noon. This work is suitable for ages 8 years and up, and there’s a great playground nearby for kids to play at too. The job doesn’t include lifting or stooping and can be done standing or sitting. Learn more and sign up. You will need to register as a Golden Eagle Audubon member first, then sign up for your desired shift.

Project Lead Sean Finn, above left , with conetainers. Project Coordinator Danae Fails, above right, works with a volunteer to mulch seedlings

Germinating Seeds Proves Challenging

Some of the volunteers were among the 70 growers who planted seeds in trays in the winter and waited patiently for the tiny sprouts to appear. Of course, survival isn’t guaranteed. Growers reported mixed success.

Krystell Finato reported some success with the trays of milkweed and bitterbrush she planted in January. Unlike his positive outcome last year, Jon Mathew had “zero success” with the milkweed and coneflower seeds he planted. Christine Floor, similarly, was unable to produce any seedlings from the Globe Mallow and Mexican Hats she planted in her trays.

Nevertheless, they were all excited to re-pot the seedlings that did germinate and survive and they are looking forward to planting and tending to them as part of the Boise River ReWild Project, benefitting both wildlife and the overall health of the river. The big planting effort comes in the fall when volunteers will take the plants to the assigned plots along the river and plant, mulch, water them. Volunteers will monitor the progress of the native plantings over time and assess their effectiveness in restoring the riverbank habitat.

Tiny seedlings are re-potted by volunteers from the germination trays into cylindrical conetainers

Growing From Seed vs Cloning

Unlike nursery plants that are cloned (or reproduced asexually) through methods such as rhizomes, runners, bulbs, tubers, or cuttings, plants grown from seeds (reproduced sexually through the fusion of male and female gametes) are more difficult and time-consuming to grow. It involves preparing and planting seeds, germination, and nurturing seedlings until they reach maturity.

Cloning produces genetically identical plants to the parent plant. This method allows for the preservation of desirable traits and characteristics without the uncertainty of genetic recombination. The lack of genetic variation resulting from cloning can be a disadvantage in a habitat restoration project like ReWild. If the cloned plants are exposed to a new or changing environment, they may be less able to adapt compared to seed-grown plants.

Plants grown from seeds have the potential to adapt better to different environmental conditions like heat, drought, flooding and cold since they have a range of genetic traits to draw from. The outcomes, however, may be unpredictable. Native plants grown from seed will have large variations between individual plants since each one adapts differently to environmental factors and may not have the exact same traits as the parent plant. There is also no guarantee that all the seeds of a certain variety will germinate uniformly. It is not uncommon for seeds that did not germinate that year to sit in a tray and sprout the following year.

“Plant to breathe

Plant to cool down the earth

Plant to heal yourself, physically and mentally

Plant to regain balance

Plant to live.”

― Noora Ahmed Alsuwaidi

Bhavana Padiyath has lived in Boise since 2004. She’s an avid naturalist and conservationist with an interest in sustainable urban food gardens.