Yesterday we went to the annual Native Plant Sale at the Pocono Environmental Education Center here in north east Pennsylvania. Back in 2008 I wrote about one of our earlier visits, noting the remarkable number of plants from around the world being sold as natives. These included Aquilegia ‘Biedermeier Mixed’ and Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’.

Well, this year we went again to support their educational work by buying a few plants. And, frankly, I was keen to see if they now had a clearer idea of what constitutes a native plant. But three years later it's the same old story. They may have a huge sparkling new building in which to hold the sale but, again, there were some remarkable "natives" on sale.

The top prize goes to the plants labeled "native orange daylily". Step forward, all the way from China - Hemerocallis fulva (above, click to enlarge). This is often seen on roadsides as well as in wilder areas in these parts, sometimes in its double form. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has a Fact Sheet on the plant headed Invasive Exotic Plant Tutorial for Natural Lands Managers. It reports that these daylilies "… infest natural areas where they pose the greatest threat to meadows, floodplains, moist woods and forest edges." Not exactly the sort of “native” that an environmental education center should have on sale.

The second “native” that stood out at this “native plant sale”, apart from the ‘Victoria’ rhubarb, was Corydalis flexuosa ‘Blue Panda’ (above, click to enlarge). This was collected in China in 1985 by American horticulturalist Reuben Hatch. A lovely plant, well worth growing, but not many of those scattered through Pennsylvania’s forests.

Now, just in case you think I’m being unnecessarily harsh, there were quite a few genuine native plants on sale as well. We bought a few natives, as well as a 'Blue Panda'. Also, I wrote to them about this issue years ago, after our first visit. When I blogged about them in 2008 I didn’t mention their name, but I sent them a link to my post and invited comment. But they didn't comment.

They specialize in environmental education for kids – I wonder what they’re teaching them about native plants?

Thank you for images to:
Hemerocallis: GardenPhotos.com
Corydalis: Terra Nova Nurseries