14 CapitalPress.com
August 18, 2017
Native plants restore damaged habitat, thrive in urban yards
McCALL, Idaho — A
hunch to supply the niche
market of native plants has
paid off for Jim Crawford and
Margo Conitz at Buffalo-ber-
ry Farm.
“We originally thought
we’d set up a greenhouse to
grow conifer trees for refor-
estation but realized it was
such a competitive market,”
says Crawford. “We chose to
pursue the native plant market
instead.”
Conitz recalls their first
growing season in 1994 on
their land in mountainous
west-central Idaho south of
McCall.
“We had a demand for our
crop of local native shrubs for
fire restoration near McCall,”
she says. “Things built from
there.”
Their farm specializes in
growing native plants of the
Intermountain Northwest in-
cluding perennial wildflow-
ers, wetland and upland grass-
es, conifers, trees and shrubs.
While native plants have
long been used for restoration
projects, they are becoming
increasingly popular with
consumers wanting beauti-
ful, drought-tolerant plants
in their yards. In some ar-
eas, thirsty lawns are being
replaced with low-mainte-
nance native perennials.
“We’re seeing increasing
demand for native plants
from retail consumers liv-
ing in low, dry areas,” says
Crawford. “Several cities
in Utah require residents to
grow native plants for land-
scaping to conserve water.”
To keep up with de-
mand, Crawford and Co-
nitz tend to plants in their
4,000-square-foot climate-
controlled greenhouse and
a 10,000-square-foot fenced
area for large containers. To
help them, they hire three
or four seasonal, part-time
employees during the spring
planting season and during
the fall packing season.
“Our plants are used for
habitat improvement, mining
reclamation, erosion control
projects and campground
Courtesy of Buffalo-berry Farm
To supply a variety of markets, Jim Crawford and Margo Conitz
raise native plants at Buffalo-berry Farm in west-central Idaho near
McCall.
improvement,” says Craw-
ford. “We’re also a source to
landscapers and other nurs-
eries for native plants.”
They strive to match seed
sources, elevations and soil
types to produce plants best
adapted to certain sites.
To help their plants ab-
sorb nutrients, “we inoculate
seedlings with species ap-
propriate mycorrhizal fungi,”
says Conitz. “The plants carry
that association into the field,
giving them an advantage
when planted in harsh sites.”
As they gather seed in the
fall, they find one of their fa-
vorite shrubs, the Russet Buf-
falo-berry and namesake for
their business.
Refrigeration
ULTURAL PERLIT
C
I
T
R
HO • PROPAGATION, SOIL MIX AND PLUG GRADES • E
• 100% natural
• light-weight
• in bags or bulk
Complete Systems For
Dormant Storage
• Ethylene, Temperature
and Humidity Control
aids drainage •
and aeration
holds moisture •
• Microbial, Endophyte
Management
TRADE ALLY ENERGY
TRUST OF OREGON
SUPREME PERLITE COMPANY
for distributor information call
N17-3\#6
www.perlite.com
(503) 286-4333
info@perlite.com
“It’s an interesting shrub
because of its unique growing
places,” says Crawford. Na-
tive Americans used it for me-
dicinal purposes and whipped
the berries with water to make
a frothy dessert.
As they look over the
plants in their greenhouse,
Conitz says, “It’s gratifying
to know our plants are being
used for many purposes, espe-
cially helping to restore wild
areas.”
Crawford says, “We en-
joy working with our agen-
cy friends on their projects
and showing individuals and
groups the process of grow-
ing plants started from native
seed.”
N17-3/#T3D
For the Capital Press
N17-3/#8
By DIANNA TROYER
503-475-7046
carbontech@frontier.com