Why is this event name different this time? Propagation is a year-round activity, and as we move into summer, propagation of native plants shifts to starting new plants from cuttings rather than seeds. You’re still welcome to bring seeds to exchange, but we encourage folks to bring cuttings too. Join us on Saturday, May 18 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm at the Peninsula Conservation Center (PCC), 3921 E. Bayshore Road in Palo Alto.

This free event provides an opportunity to share and receive both cuttings and seeds of native plants. Browse the diverse offerings, ranging from easy-to-grow to hard-to- find, and go home with cuttings and seeds of new native plants! We will provide coin envelopes for seeds but bring containers in which to carry cuttings home.

If you have native plant material from your own garden to share, we encourage you to bring it. Label your cuttings to make them easy to browse – some gardeners attach helpful hints about growing; others display photos of plants in bloom. You may find it convenient to use www.calscape.org for this – there is a link on each plant’s information page to make a printable sign for most native species and cultivars.

If you bring cuttings, keep them cool and moist in a bucket of water. Don’t have native plant material to share? No problem, as there is usually enough for all.

Several popular gardening books will be available for sale during the event, including Seed Propagation of Native California Plants (2021 ed.), by Dara E. Emery; California Native Plants for the Garden by Carol Bornstein, David Fross, and Bart O’Brien; and California Native Gardening, A Month-by-Month Guide, by Helen Popper.

Our Wildflower Ambassadors will be giving out free seed packets and information as well.

Limited Online Plant Sale

There will be an online plant sale at california-native-plant- society-santa-clara-valley-chapter.square.site, starting on Sunday, May 12. The store will close when we reach our pickup capacity. In addition to plants, the nursery’s online store includes Chapter T-shirts, books, labels and plant signs.

Orders from this sale will only be available for pickup before and during our Seed Exchange at the Peninsula Conservation Center on Saturday, May 18. We will not have nursery pickup or delivery, and there is a minimum order of $40.