Northeast Pollinator Wildflower Seed Mix Analysis

The wildflower mix advertized by the American Meadows as "new" (10 June 2017) is described as follows.

The Northeast Pollinator Mix is carefully formulated with annual and perennial varieties to help a wide variety of pollinators in the Northeast region, including Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia. This mixture is also great for the Province of Quebec, Newfoundland, Labrador, PEI, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The colorful, easy-to-grow wildflowers bloom from spring until frost, when many pollinators are on their migration journey and need nectar most.

Here are all the 18 species included in the described mix with comments on their origin taken from the Flora of North America and Massachusetts County Checklist [1] (obviously, the percentage of native plants would somewhat vary for different areas within the "Northeast" as it is specified at the web site).

As one can see, only four of the listed species are considered native in the state we have used as an example, Massachusetts. (The native status of New England aster in the eastern part of Massachusetts is debatable: Massachusetts Checklist, 1999 presented this species with a note "probably alien in much of eastern Mass.") The other 14 species are alien here. Of these, seven are known to have the invasive tendency outside their natural range, i.e., could be described as potentially invasive. Even if none of these species have yet been formally black-listed in any of the states or provinces mentioned in the advertisement, one should think twice before introducing them anywhere outside their native range. When we are about to make a decision that could impact the surroundings, we cannot merely rely on buzz-words used in advertisements, such as "Northeast," "pollinator garden," or even "native" and omit reading the small font and doing other homework.

References
  1. Sorrie, B.A. and P. Somers. 1999. The Vascular Flora of Massachusetts: A County Checklist. Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Westborough, MA.
  2. Cullina, M. D., B. Connolly, B. Sorrie, and P. Somers. 2011. The Vascular Flora of Massachusetts: A County Checklist. First Revision Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Westborough, MA.
  3. Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council. 1996. Invasive exotic pest plants in Tennessee (19 October 1999). Research Committee of the Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council. Tennessee.
  4. Southern Weed Science Society. 1998. Weeds of the United States and Canada. CD-ROM. Southern Weed Science Society. Champaign, Illinois.
  5. Whitson, T.D. (ed.) et al.. 1996. Weeds of the West. Western Society of Weed Science in cooperation with Cooperative Extension Services, University of Wyoming. Laramie, Wyoming.
  6. Stubbendieck, J., G.Y. Friisoe, and M.R. Bolick. 1994. Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains. Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. Lincoln, Nebraska

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