by Paula Becker, Outreach Ecologist
Redbud and bumblebee. Credit: Elena Gilroy
We all know that using native plants in our human landscapes is great for so many reasons. Native plants provide habitat for our native wildlife, birds, and pollinators. They improve water quality and soil health. They support human physical and mental health. AND they can increase the value of our homes. Getting over the initial barriers to using native plants – unfamiliarity with the plants and finding sources – can be daunting. Now, there’s good news on that front!
In 2023, the Maryland Legislature passed the MD Native Plant Program Act. The goal of this program is to educate, encourage, and support Maryland homeowners and land managers in using native plants. The program is a partnership between the Maryland Departments of Natural Resources (DNR) and Agriculture (MDA), the University of Maryland Extension, and the Maryland Native Plant Society. The act addresses both supply and demand and defines what is included as a Maryland native plant.
For the purposes of this program, a native plant “occurs naturally in Maryland and the surrounding region, ecosystem, and habitat, without direct or indirect human actions, …a plant that was present before colonial settlement.” The list of plants is based upon the Maryland Plant Atlas, as maintained by DNR.
On the supply side, this translates into a Commercial Maryland Native Plant list and certification program. The list is a living document, designed to assist growers, retailers, and landscapers by providing appropriate species for their customers. The current list includes over 650 straight species; anyone can nominate a species for addition to the list.
Some plants will not be included. For instance, no cultivars or hybrids of native species will be added to the list unless the straight species is no longer viable. Examples of these are the American chestnut or American elm. Since those two species are no longer able to reach maturity and fill their ecological niche due to disease impact, hybrids are considered as acceptable replacements for the list.
This commercial plant list is also used as a yardstick to certify growers and retailers. Growers can earn bronze, silver, or gold certification based on the percentage of their inventories included on the commercial native plant list. Certification earns growers access to marketing tools, the Maryland Native Plants logo, and a place on the MDA Native Plant Growers guide. This guide as well as the Commercial Maryland Native Plant list can be found under the Maryland’s Best initiative website. (marylandsbest.maryland.gov/maryland-native-plants-for-consumers/).
University of Maryland Extension is leading the charge on native plant education. Their website will host expanding information for growers, home gardeners, and landscapers.
And, of course, the DNR Wild Acres page continues to offer native plant strategies for gardens of all sizes and eco-regions.
Currently, the consortium of agencies is working on regional native plant guides for each of the three ecoregions in Maryland: the coastal plain, the piedmont, and the mountains. Look for a Piedmont guide by the end of summer 2025, with the other two guides to follow. An interactive online native plant search database will be ready by the end of the year. This handy tool will allow anyone to enter site conditions, state regions, and gardening goals (pollinators, birds, rain garden, etc.) and provide a list of plants appropriate for each particular garden. All these new resources will continue to expand and provide additional information and inspiration to gardeners around the state. Grow native!
Monarch butterfly on Goldenrod. Credit: Elena Gilroy
Mud Turtle. Credit: Charles Ruff
Bloodroot. Credit: Martha Johnston
