In light of the growing interest in native plants across Prince Edward Island, the Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project will be hosting a new workshop on native plant propagation on Saturday, September 12. The workshop begins at 10am at the nursery on the Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead in Orwell.

There is a wide range of trees, shrubs and wildflowers that can be grown from a variety of methods. Presently, the nursery is growing most of our native trees and shrubs, everything from white ash and ironwood to witch hazel and hobblebush. Over the past few years the nursery has also expanded to grow native wildflowers, including painted and nodding trilliums, jack-in-the-pulpit, yellow coneflower and blue flag iris.

The workshop will cover proper seed collection, cleaning methods and storage. Many trees and shrubs are presently in seed and participants will be able to collect seeds of witch hazel, common elder, bayberry, white ash, spruce and other native species. There will also be a demonstration on how to prepare and grow cuttings, as well as information on proper transplanting of young plants.

If you are looking to enhance the diversity and value of your forest, improve the area around your home for wildlife, or just enjoy growing plants, this workshop will be of interest. It will provide an excellent opportunity to not only learn more about plant propagation but also plant identification and where to use native plants. Admission is free and registration is not required.

The workshop is part of an extensive series of outdoor activities at Macphail Woods, a project of the Environmental Coalition of Prince Edward Island and the Sir Andrew Macphail Foundation. For more information on this or upcoming tours and workshops, please call 651-2575.