Redbud Chapter's fall native plant sale is Oct. 3

Homeowners can create homegrown habitat with native plants available through the Redbud Chapter of the California Native Plant Society's annual fall plant sale on Oct. 3. Plants can be purchased online via our online Redbud store. Special hours for current members are 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and the store opens to everyone from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The sale will feature a wide range of native plants which support local pollinators and other wildlife. Native plants are critically important for butterflies, moths and other insects, with 90 percent only laying eggs on a specific native plant. It's easy to shop online. Go to the Redbud website (chapters.cnps.org/redbud/plant-sale-fall/) and click on the online Redbud store button for the plant list. There you'll find all the plants that are available for sale and learn what insects they support and what they're growing preferences are. Once you've decided what you'd like to purchase, you can click on the online Redbud store and make your purchases conveniently and safely. The store will only be open during the sale. Once you complete your plant purchases, you'll be prompted to sign up online for a time to pick up your plants. You'll also receive the address of the pick up location in Grass Valley. You'll pick up your plants at the scheduled appointment time on Sunday, Oct. 11 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The journey of Redbud native plant from seed to your garden is a long one. How is it done? Volunteers collect local seed in the fall from locations that are available (volunteers can't collect in public parks like the Auburn State Recreation Area).The seeds are then dried and cleaned. Then Redbud Chapter volunteer propagators plant the seed in tiny containers and nurture them at the Chapter's nursery or at their own homes using strict protocols. It takes a lot of love and volunteer hours to bring a baby plant to maturity. Volunteers then transplant the babies to increasingly larger pots as they mature. At the Redbud Chapter Native Plant Nursery in Grass Valley, volunteers employ Best Management Practices (BMP) and help home propagators set up their own BMP's. There are 28 home propagators. The Chapter starts from seed and cuttings and then shifts them up as needed and sell them to the public primarily at its spring and fall sales. The largest size pot sold are one-gallon plants. If they are not sold at the fall and spring sales, then those plants become an asset for schools and community groups who receive them at a discount or as a donation. "We are so delighted to sell the native plants we propagate ourselves first and foremost, because we know the seed is local," the Chapter stated. To provide you with a wide variety of choices, the Chapter purchases from other nurseries to fill gaps in the diversity of what is grown for these plant sales. Money made from the sale goes back into the community through the Chapter's scholarship program at Sierra College and community grants to non-profit organizations and schools.