Why fall is a great time to go all in on Kansas’ native plants

Stacia Stelk gets it: Native plant sales can be foreign to gardeners.

“It can be so overwhelming to get started,” said Stelk, executive director of Deep Roots, a Kansas City collective impact organization that focuses on native plant landscaping.

Deep Roots is one of numerous native plant cheerleaders who will be at sales event throughout Johnson County this month. After all, this is prime time for planting native.

“Fall is a great time because it gives the plants an opportunity to establish roots in the winter, which gives them a jump start in the spring,” Stelk said.

Native plants, simply put, are species that favor a geographic area. They like the local soil and climate. They usually are less work.

There will be a bounty of native plant sales in Johnson County this month:

• Sept. 6 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Lenexa Farmers Market, Lenexa Civic Campus, 7101 W. 87th St. Parkway, Lenexa.
• Sept. 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the City of Prairie Village Municipal Offices, 7700 Mission Road, Prairie Village. There also will be a habitat garden tour offered from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in conjunction with the sale.
• Sept. 27 at the Shawnee Indian Mission Foundation, 3403 W. 53rd St., Fairway. Pre-orders must be made by Sept. 23.
• Sept. 27 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hasta Luego Monarchs – Pollinator Prairie event, 320 S. Blake St., Olathe.

Lenexa first hosted a native plant sale in 2018. After a pause during the pandemic, there are now native plant sales in both spring and fall.

“It really follows along the idea of supporting local growers and vendors,” said Lenexa Market Manager Hailey Tassone.

Tassone said the native plant sales often put gardeners in front of experts.

“I feel a lot of people might not know where to start,” Tassone said.

In fact, Stelk said her best advice to those shopping native plant sales is to seek advice.

Native plants are, in essence, designed to succeed in gardens here, Stelk said. The experts, she added, want the gardens to be even more successful.

“Ask questions because people love to share their expertise,” Stelk said.

To help, it’s good to have a garden plan with a list of ideas for the native plants. Bring photos and know how much sunshine an area gets. And know the space available because native plants will be growing year after year.

“You are planting for the long term,” Stelk said. “For the novice, it’s good to start with a design and space recommendations.”

Gardeners also need to expect some work with native plants, Selk said.

“Gardening is never no maintenance,” she said. “Sometimes you have to clean them up even though they behave pretty predictably.”

To help gardeners newly interested in native plants, Deep Roots’ website has a list called Sweet Sixteen. These are plants that are most likely to succeed here in Johnson County.

Expect variety.

“People will be surprised flowering species to choose from,” Stelk said.