b'the hardiest survive and they adapt over time to their changingspecies and commercial cultivars, Tipping highlights the last 100 environment. years of breeding. Prairie Moon offers over 700 species right now, but Klukas- The commercial prima donnas, you could call them, with Brewer says there are a lot more species that they could add,their beautiful large, long-lasting blooms in vibrant colors are even just from within Minnesota.native plants that have been bred for these traits over a long Its a slow process to harvest seed, determine germinationperiod, he notes. Its incredible what we have been able to methods, grow it out, but we continue to add species, she notes.accomplish with classical breeding alone. Dahlias, for example, We could add hundreds more native species. were a food crop in Mexico grown for their tubers, and there are Siskiyou Seeds in Williams, Oregon, offers a few native plants,now 58,000 cultivars. But with the focus on the prima donna but most of its 225 flower varieties are commercial cultivars thattraits, resilience traits have been overshadowed to some extent. are hardy and locally adapted to the Pacific Northwest. ThisAnd now we see a re-introduction of drought tolerance back into farm-based seed company develops and distributes only open- the commercial cultivars, putting back some of what their ances-pollinated organic seeds, a premium product business modeltors had.which helps support R&D for adding more native varieties inAnd while hes pleased that with all commercial crops in the future.western worldfrom ornamentals to horticulture to field crops Founder and director of operations Don Tipping was recently are gaining genetics that allow them to adapt to periods of in Africa, for example, and is trialling millet and sorghums fromdrought and erratic weather that can come from climate change, there to see if they do well in his region.Tipping mentions another piece to the puzzle. These plants make nice fillers in flower gardens and sparkRegenerative agriculture, which is the other answer to cli-conversations, Tipping explains. Whatever crops farmers growmate change, is now being talked about in mainstream media, in a place like Africa have to survive. They dont have the moneyso thats another big change, he says. I never thought Id see for crop inputs, and they dont have irrigation for the most part.that in my lifetime. So, while its good to see hardier ornamental People here are taking notice of these things, that native plantsvarieties becoming available, hopefully all home gardeners, and are very hardy and resilient. farmers as well, will also learn about regenerative practices and Reflecting on the growing popularity of both hardier nativeuse them.SW12/ SEEDWORLD.COMFEBRUARY 2025'