Are wildflowers heirlooms? I don't think so,

But I'm wondering what forum would be right for "I found a really cool seed vendor of rare, wild, high-altitude seeds".

ALPLAINS seems to work by the owner and others traveling every year and collecting seeds from wild flowers. Many of their lstings include notes like "Churchill, NV, 6000ft". I think that is COOL.

And the names are all foriegn to me. I know there are a million plants I never heard of, but this is the exact opposite of Parks or Burpee. Rare, to say the least!

I'm not associted with them in any way, and I can't really endorse them since I just mailed an ordfer and have no idea how good they are on delivery. But their catalog is impressive!

http://www.alplains.com/

I have not ordered from them, but last year NARGS bought seeds for the swap from them.
They seem to have a good reputation among alpine growers.

I've gotten seed from Alplains for years. The catalogue has germination help as many of the plants have special needs to germinate them. There is also a nursery called Laporte Avenue Nursery that carries wildflower, rock garden, and alpine plants. I'm not sure how you define heirloom, but if it comes true from seed thats seems to me kinda like a heirloom.

I thiink "heirloom" gets used many different ways.

I'll call any stable strain "OP", but it has to be classy, interesting, historical or family-maintained for me to call it an heirloom. But I will settle for a cute story ...

Heirlooms tend to be in the family for a long time.
Heirloom plants and seeds are those which have been in the gardening family for a long time-usually 50 years or more.

Perhaps wildflowers belong with Native plants of a region?

>> Perhaps wildflowers belong with Native plants of a region?

I would agree with that as a definition. Maybe there should be some clause indicating that "native" excludes feral escapees from cultivation, and excluding imported plants.

I think it's cool that many of the varieties he has can only be found by climbing mountains!

I think that they are responsible people.
There are some seed vendors who are not as responsible, and pillage every slope they can climb.

When someone says they are sticking to "native plants", I always want to ask: Native when?

Yup some are found in europe/eurasia other parts of the world. but were brought over in the 17th... 18th centuries. otheres co evolved here for milliuons of years. all wildflowers are wild but not all are native.


purple loosetrife and garlic mustard are 2 such plants that should have never set foot in mn.