Plant Conservation Alliance: https://www.nps.gov/plants/
Wild Ones: http://www.wildones.org/
Planting a Native Plant Butterfly Habitat Garden: http://www.wildones.org/wp-con...
Prairie Moon Nursery is a great source of seeds, plants, and information !
http://nativeplants.msu.edu/lo...
June Berry (a/k/a Serviceberry):
http://smallfarms.cornell.edu/...
from http://macphailwoods.org/natur...
Red Osier Dogwood:
Found on wet sites and tolerant of flooding, it is common in roadside ditches, damp areas of fields and on streambanks, although it can grow well on drier sites. This dogwood spreads by suckering and layering, forming dense thickets. It grows best in full sun, but will grow slowly, and with less fruit production, in shade.
One of the easiest shrubs to grow from either summer or winter cuttings. For larger transplants, make cuttings in the summer and plant to a nursery bed when roots are established. Using this technique, our plants averaged 14 inches (35 cm) at the end of the second summer, with the tallest 24 inches (60 cm). Some were even producing seed. Smaller rooted cuttings are useful in stream plantings, enabling you to put in large numbers of plants with little soil disturbance. Cuttings can also be taken in the spring and stuck right in the ground where you would like the plants to grow, although you need moist, protected conditions and can expect less success. Seeds take one or two years to germinate, depending on the hardness of the seed coat, but they are easily collected in large numbers and worthwhile growing. Collect when ripe from late July to the end of August. Crush fruit, separate and soak seed for 12 hours before planting. This dogwood also transplants very well, especially from roadside ditches.
Winterberry Holly
Holly propagation from cuttings is difficult, since they rarely make the vigorous growth needed for good cutting material. Transplanting is also difficult, since they have spreading roots tend to be tall and leggy. The best way to grow new hollies is from seed. The berries can be collected any time during the winter and the seeds cleaned out with a fine strainer and water. These cleaned seeds should be stored in a dry, cool place and planted in early spring spring in a garden bed. They will normally not germinate until the next spring.
Staghorn Sumac
Difficult to grow from seed; spreads prolifically from root suckers.
Wildlife usage: Berries are a preferred food source for ruffed grouse, ring-necked pheasant, eastern phoebe, common crow, northern mockingbird, gray catbird, American robin, wood thrush, hermit thrush, eastern bluebird and European starling. It is also used by over 30 other species, and since the fruit hangs on throughout the winter, is another excellent emergency source of food. Honeybees are attracted to the flowers in spring.
Mountain Ash
Gather berries in late September and remove pulpy flesh by hand. Each berry contains up to 10 tiny seeds. Plant in nursery beds and cover lightly with soil. Seeds will germinate the second spring and grow quite quickly. At Macphail Woods, our first year’s growth averaged 16 inches (40 cm).
Wildlife Uses: Berries are a preferred food source of ruffed grouse, gray catbird, American robin, eastern bluebird, European starling, cedar waxwing, common grackle, northern oriole, evening grosbeak and pine grosbeak. Crops are fairly regular and the ability to hang on throughout winter makes the berries excellent emergency food. See ourAttracting Birds in Winter page for more information. Beaver eat the bark and snowshoe hare browse on winter twigs. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers drill larger specimens for sweet sap.
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