About Prairie Moon Nursery....

The native plant nursery “industry” is said to have had its beginnings at the 1970 Midwestern Prairie Conference (now the North American Prairie Conference). There, Jim Zimmerman put out a call for the creation of “true” wildflower nurseries. Several people at that conference heeded his call. One was Prairie Moon Nursery’s mentor, Dot Wade.

Dot and husband Doug began Windrift Nursery at their Oregon, Illinois, home, experimenting with germination and propagation of an ever-increasing diversity of species. Native plant and seed nurseries served an extremely small niche market for at least the next decade, and while Dot remained positive about the growth she had seen in the native plants business, she was ready to retire by the early 1980s.

Meanwhile, Dot’s son Alan had joined Wiscoy Valley Community Land Cooperative here in rural Winona County in southeast Minnesota. Situated in the rugged karst landscape of the driftless region, the land co-op had few acres suited to consistent heavy farming. By the 1980s even organic field cropping had been abandoned and many Wiscoy community members were selling produce at area farmers markets. Seeking other ways to produce an income through sustainable land use, Alan and some of his fellow community members accepted Dot’s challenge to start a native plant nursery.

Organized in 1976 as Minnesota’s first community land cooperative, the Wiscoy Valley endeavor attracted a colorful group of characters, some who had lived in other rural intentional communities. These included adherents to the 1960s ideals of social justice, collective action and the backto-the-land movement’s respect for resources. This lively cradle was where Prairie Moon was born in 1982.

Over the years Prairie Moon has continued to grow plants from Dot Wade’s Illinois collection along with hundreds of others from throughout the upper Midwest. We also work with a network of small producers who sell their seed on consignment through Prairie Moon. Each year we strive to improve and to provide the highest quality seeds and plants. We are proud to be part of the greater community dedicated to ecological restoration and preservation.

Even if you are cultivating natives on a small corner of an urban lot, you are part of this ongoing experiment on how to assist nature. Twenty-six years is considered a short time in the beginning of a prairie restoration. While we feel the native plant industry has matured a lot in that time, we all still have many lessons ahead.

Thanks for helping us learn!

Driving Directions to Prairie Moon Nursery

Native versus Alien
At Prairie Moon Nursery we handle only native species. These are plants indigenous to North America prior to European settlement.

There are many other companies, however, who sell "alien" species as "wildflowers." These species have come from outside North America. A few examples of "naturalized aliens" that should be avoided are: Oxeye Daisy, Bouncing Bet, Queen Anne's Lace, Chicory, Dame's Rocket, Bird's Foot Trefoil, Crown Vetch and Reed Canary Grass. Once established, they can spread to new areas and overwhelm native plants.

The dangers of planting alien species have been well documented by such tragedies as the loss of wetland areas to Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), an aggressive dominant alien still being sold by some nurseries.

Also entering the native plant trade are horticulturally selected species known as cultivars. Many of these do not have the genetic variations of the plants they were developed from and can be aesthetically less pleasing than their wild relatives. Some have been selected to be larger and more aggressive and take over when planted in a mix with other native species.

In restoration work and native landscaping, we believe alien and naturalized species and cultivars should be avoided, particularly when they might contaminate native gene pools.

With the wide array of true native plants available, why degrade the environment with weedy non-natives?

Plants
We grow our plants organically in outdoor nursery beds here at Prairie Moon Nursery. Since persistent digging of wild plants can deplete and destroy local plant populations, it is important for prospective native plant buyers to be aware of the origin of commercially sold plants.

Seeds
Our original seed sources are centered largely in the unglaciated regions of Southeast Minnesota, Southwest Wisconsin, Northeast Iowa, Northwest Illinois and the area surrounding this "driftless Bioregion."

Almost all of our forb seed is hand collected. Collecting seed by hand is a good way to ensure that seed is ripe and free of weed seed. We also handle seed from a network of producers located throughout the Midwest who specialize in local genotypes.

2007 Prairie Moon Staff

Front row, from left: Carmen Carter, Emma Wade, Kathy Christopherson, Jerry Schroeck, Sarah Felicelli, Becky Klukas-Brewer
Middle row: Wayne Beezley, Ann Casper, Bob Copeland, Steve Haines, Kirsten Kiesel, Gail Testor
Back row: Humphrey Kearns, Bill Carter, Karen Harrison, Dave Seaman
Not pictured: Arnel Remoticado