The Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Grow Native! program, in partnership with the Specialty Crops Program at Lincoln University Cooperative Extension, is seeking input on the availability of ferns that are native to the lower Midwest, as well as consumer preferences. Data is being collected via two surveys – one for plant suppliers (growers and sellers), and one for gardeners and other plant consumers.
The surveys, which are available online, are part of the “Growing Native Ferns as Specialty Crops in Missouri” grant to the Specialty Crops Program at Lincoln University Cooperative Extension, funded by the Missouri Department of Agriculture. Ultimately, the goal of the grant is to promote native ferns as specialty crops and to make native ferns more readily available in the nursery trade. Future components of the project will include workshops, demonstration plots, field days, garden tours, and publications.
We would appreciate a few minutes of your time to complete the online survey that is applicable to you by April 30:
If you are a plant consumer, including a home gardener or a plant professional such as a landscape architect or landscape designer, please complete the survey here.
If you are a plant supplier, even if you also offer other services, please complete the survey here.
Your responses will help further LU’s research, and you will be entered into a drawing to receive a guided tour (at a location where native ferns grow) and a Grow Native! cap.
Photo of frogs on native fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) by Randy Tindall
