Northeast Pollinator Wildflower Seed Mix Analysis

The wildflower mix advertized by the American Meadows as "new" (10 June 2017) is described as follows.

The Northeast Pollinator Mix is carefully formulated with annual and perennial varieties to help a wide variety of pollinators in the Northeast region, including Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia. This mixture is also great for the Province of Quebec, Newfoundland, Labrador, PEI, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The colorful, easy-to-grow wildflowers bloom from spring until frost, when many pollinators are on their migration journey and need nectar most.

Here are all the 18 species included in the described mix with comments on their origin taken from the Flora of North America and Massachusetts County Checklist [1] (obviously, the percentage of native plants would somewhat vary for different areas within the "Northeast" as it is specified at the web site).

• Siberian Wallflower (Cheiranthus allionii) — native in Eurasia and North Africa
• Four O’Clocks (Mirabilis jalapa) — native in Mexico
• Blue Flax (Linum perenne) — native in Eurasia
• Lance-Leaved Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) — within New England native only in New Hampshire
• Sulphur Cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus) — native in Mexico
• Sweet William Pinks (Dianthus barbatus) — native in Eurasia
• Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella) — native in New England outside Massachusetts
• Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) — native in Europe
• Perennial Lupine (Lupinus perennis) — native in Massachusetts
• Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) — native in eastern North America yet alien in Massachusetts, reported only as waifs in central MA counties
• California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) — native on the West Coast
• Red Poppy (Papaver rhoeas) — native in Europe, Southwest Asia, North Africa
• Catchfly (Silene armeria) — native in Europe
• Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) — native in Massachusetts
• Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) — native in eastern North America yet alien in Massachusetts; var. pulcherrima naturalized in every Massachusetts county
• New England Aster (Aster/Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) — native in Massachusetts
• Plains Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria — native in eastern North America yet alien in Massachusetts, not even introduced to eastern MA, except for the islands
• Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) — native in Massachusetts

As one can see, only four of the listed species are considered native in the state we have used as an example, Massachusetts. (The native status of New England aster in the eastern part of Massachusetts is debatable: Massachusetts Checklist, 1999 presented this species with a note "probably alien in much of eastern Mass.") The other 14 species are alien here. Of these, seven are known to have the invasive tendency outside their natural range, i.e., could be described as potentially invasive.

Here are some references regarding each of these potentially invasive plants.
• Lance-Leaved Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) — Naturalized in MA. Considered invasive in Japan. According to our own observations (2015-2016), this aggressive plant has been spreading into fragments of the native sandplain grassland at Tidmarsh Farms in Plymouth.
• Sulphur Cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus) — Has not been naturalized in MA. Reference: [3]
• Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) — Naturalized in MA. References: [3] [4] [5]
• Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) — Naturalized in MA. Reference: [3]
• California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) — Naturalized in MA. Reference: [3]
• Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) — Naturalized in MA. Reference: [4]
• Plains Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria) — Naturalized in MA. Potentially Invasive. References: [4] [6]

Even if none of these species have yet been formally black-listed in any of the states or provinces mentioned in the advertisement, one should think twice before introducing them anywhere outside their native range. When we are about to make a decision that could impact the surroundings, we cannot merely rely on buzz-words used in advertisements, such as "Northeast," "pollinator garden," or even "native" and omit reading the small font and doing other homework.

1. Sorrie, B.A. and P. Somers. 1999. The Vascular Flora of Massachusetts: A County Checklist. Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Westborough, MA.
2. Cullina, M. D., B. Connolly, B. Sorrie, and P. Somers. 2011. The Vascular Flora of Massachusetts: A County Checklist. First Revision Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Westborough, MA.
3. Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council. 1996. Invasive exotic pest plants in Tennessee (19 October 1999). Research Committee of the Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council. Tennessee.
4. Southern Weed Science Society. 1998. Weeds of the United States and Canada. CD-ROM. Southern Weed Science Society. Champaign, Illinois.
5. Whitson, T.D. (ed.) et al.. 1996. Weeds of the West. Western Society of Weed Science in cooperation with Cooperative Extension Services, University of Wyoming. Laramie, Wyoming.
6. Stubbendieck, J., G.Y. Friisoe, and M.R. Bolick. 1994. Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains. Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. Lincoln, Nebraska

---

Salicicola.com admins (AZ & IK) 11 June 2017
Salicicola Home