The 2017 Annual Meeting, previously scheduled for September has been rescheduled to Saturday, November 4- please stay tuned for further  information.

Photo Contest

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 The Pennsylvania Native Plant Society invites you to submit your nominees for our annual photo contest. 
The winner will be selected by our Board and will be featured in our upcoming newsletter.

The photo above was last year's winner:  American White Waterlily - Nymphaea odorata submitted by Kathleen Engle 

To enter the contest: Post your favorite native plant photo in the comment section of this event on our Facebook Group, identifying the native plant, photographer, location and date. 

Get Involved!

Becoming a member of PNPS helps to support our mission of advocating conservation of native plants and their habitats and promote the increased use of native plants in the landscape
   Your help is needed!!
You've probably noticed that exotic shrubs are increasing in abundance in deciduous forests and tend to have a different leaf phenology than native shrubs. We're starting a citizen science data collection effort called Shady Invaders through the National Phenology Network to track these differences regionally.  For more information, or to participate, contact:

Erynn Maynard, PhD Candidate,
Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology  eem212@psu.edu

Volunteer Opportunity

The Penn State Arboretum at University Park is seeking volunteer stewards to help with the development of their Hartley Wood Wildflower Trail -http://arboretum.psu.edu/programs/conservation/

All Interested should contact:
Colin Grube  crgrube@gmail.com
Shari Edelson ske13@psu.edu

Why Natives?

Because native plants are adapted to the growing conditions where you live, they are often easier to grow, and less susceptible to challenging conditions than non-native plants.  Many Non-native plants are also invasive, and threaten out our native plant species.

Read More....

What is a Native?

A native plant is one that occurs naturally in a particular region, ecosystem, or habitat without direct or indirect human intervention. We consider the flora present at the time Europeans arrived in North America as the species native to the eastern United States. Native plants include all kinds of plants from mosses and ferns to wildflowers, shrubs, and trees. 

Because native plants are adapted to the growing conditions where you live, they are often easier to grow, require less maintenance such as watering, and are less susceptible to challenging conditions than non-native plants.  Many Non-native plants are also invasive, and threaten to crowd out our native plant species.  Incorporating native plants in your home landscape will encourage birds, pollinators, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. 
Read more.

In Bloom:

 Brown Eyed Susan - Rudbeckia triloba
 
Sporting abundant golden yellow daisy-like flowers with black centers that fade to brown, R. triloba blooms in August and continues until frost.  The cheery  flowers are 1-2 inches across and bloom on branching stems, forming a mass of color.  Typically seen along roadsides, in breaks in wooded areas, and open meadows or fields,  R. triloba tolerates most conditions and is relatively  drought tolerant.  It is a biennial, blooming in the second year, but readily self-seeds so you are never in short supply.  Plants are 3-5 feet tall and bushy unless crowded out.  It makes an excellent cut flower – one stem is a whole bouquet.  It is great for naturalizing, or in the garden where it pairs nicely with native grasses and asters for fall  color.  Easily propagated from seed, it is also a good pollinator plant.


If you have a favorite plant or photo, send it to webmaster@panativeplantsociety.org for a future publication.

Photo courtesy of Diane Albright

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Join our Facebook forum to share photos, events and opportunities related to natives plants and our mission. Our group is closed and you must submit a request to join. We do this to help us keep out spam and maintain this group as a respectful forum for people interested in native plants.

We are over 1,000 members strong and growing!
We accept financial donations by check. Please send to our mailing address:
PO Box 807, Boalsburg, PA 16827.

PNPS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.