The MT Native Seed Network

Summer 2023: Wildland Seed Collection

Nursery staff and seed collection contractors identify and map wild plant populations for potential seed collection. Those populations are then re-visited at the end of summer/ early fall for seed collection.

Fall 2023: Seed Cleaning and Testing

After the seed collection season, staff will take the collected seed and clean it (remove all plant material until only seed is left). The seed will then be sent away for testing by the Montana State University Seed Lab. The seed lab will confirm that the species collected is the species we identified it as. They will also test the percentage of pure live seed, the germination rate, and if there is any contamination from another species seed for each collection submitted. The seed will then be sent away to our partnering nurseries who will grow the seed into seedlings.

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Summer 2024: Field Establishment & Wildland Seed Collection Continued

The seedlings propagated from last year’s collected seed will then be planted in our foundation fields.

The species planted during the 2024 growing season will be,

Achillea millefolium - Common yarrow

Arnica cordifolia - Heart leaf arnica

Balsamorhiza sagittata - Balsamroot

Symphyotrichum laeve - Smooth blue aster

Gailardia aristata - Blanket flower

Lupinus sericeus - Silky lupine

Penstemon albertinus - Alberta beardtongue

Solidago missouriensis - Missouri goldenrod

The nursery will be busy transplanting and caring for the first round of live plants installed in our foundation fields. Staff will continue to locate and map potential wild seed collection populations and collect seed when it is ready.

Fall 2024: Seed Cleaning and Testing Continued

Nursery staff will continue cleaning and testing collected seed from the growing season for future propagation.

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Summer 2025: Field Establishment & Wildland Seed Collection Continued

Tentatively the list of live plants to be installed during the 2025 growing season is,

Agastache urticifolia - Nettleleaf Giant Hyssop

Erigeron speciosus - Showy fleabane

Geum triflorum - Prairie Smoke

Grindelia squarrosa - Curlycup gumweed

Heterotheca villosa - Hairy golden aster

Monarda fistulosa - Wild Bergamont

Phacelia hastata- Silverleaf phacelia

Solidago canadensis - Canada goldenrod

Achnatherum nelsonii - Columbia Needlegrass

Agrostis scabra - Rough ticklegrass

Bromus marginatus - Mountain brome

Calamagrostis canadensis - Northern redgrass

Elymus glaucus - Blue wildrye

Elymus trachycaulis - Slender wheatgrass

Festuca idahoensis - Idaho fescue

Koeleria macrantha - Prairie Junegrass

Pascopyrum smithii - Western wheatgrass

Poa secunda - Sandberg bluegrass

Pseudoroegneria spicata - Bluebunch wheatgrass

The nursery will be busy transplanting and caring for the second round of live plants installed in our foundation fields. Staff will continue to locate and map potential wild seed collection populations and collect seed when it is ready.

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Fall 2025: Seed Harvested and Extracted

Staff will continue cleaning seed collected from wild plant populations for banking and future use. The seedlings planted during the 2024 growing season should produce a small crop of seed to be collected. A crop of wildflower seed will be harvested, cleaned, tested and tentatively available for purchase in Spring 2026.