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.

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. Purple coneflower takes one 60-day period 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.

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.