Each year, many people ask us for recommendations on which plants to purchase and where to find them. We are fortunate to have several good garden centers in Tulsa and always encourage Tulsans to support their local garden center. But we must admit the Tulsa Master Gardeners once a year plant sale fundraiser is our favorite for obvious reasons. This year is no exception. Here’s why.

The Tulsa Master Gardeners have been working overtime to get the plant sale ready for you. This year is not without challenges since many growers are facing challenges acquiring not only the supplies they need to grow their plants, but seeds for those plants as well.

However, despite these challenges, we are excited to offer you, what we feel is our best selection of plants ever.

In this year’s plant sale, you will find not only flats of annuals, but individual pots of annuals, perennials, herbs, milkweed, ornamental grasses, tomatoes, and other assorted vegetables. We also have various groupins of the plants so that you can view them by category such as sun, part sun, or shade. This is a big help when you are looking for plants for a specific area of your yard.

In addition (and this is one I am particularly excited about) we now have a native plants section. Native plants are gaining in popularity for a variety of reasons. First of all, native plants are plants that are well adapted to our growing conditions. They have grown here naturally for years and years. And local pollinators are well acquainted with native plants tending to seek them out when looking for food rather than being attracted to plants that are not native to the area. In addition, native plants encourage biodiversity in insects. Biodiversity can contribute to better pest management practices by helping minimize the use of pesticides in your garden. Native plants are also well adapted to our heat and sometimes drought-like conditions in NE Oklahoma. In other words, they are survivors. If you are interested in creating a more natural/native habitat for pollinators and other insects, check out our native plant category.

If you are wanting your garden to support migrating Monarch butterflies, we have 7 different types of milkweeds available; four of which are natives. As you may know, milkweed is the sole food source for Monarch butterfly caterpillars. Milkweed is always an interesting addition to your garden but don’t get too attached since you are growing it to be eaten by Monarch caterpillars.

We also have a selection of 13 different tomato plants; some of which are heirloom varieties. And, we have vegetable plants like cucumbers, peppers, and watermelon. Twenty-four different types of herbs are also available.

Now that we have talked about the plants, why do we have this plant sale? Well, this annual plant sale is our primary fundraiser for the year. Funds raised through this plant sale make many of our educational programs possible. These programs include our MAGiC program which stands for Master Gardeners in the Classroom. Each year Tulsa Master Gardeners teach classes to elementary school students throughout Tulsa County on topics such as worms, soil, trees, pollinators, and more. In a typical year we are in front of almost 18,000 students.

We also have our Exploring Insects event in which 3^rd graders from around town get to participate in an immersive insect exploration. They get to taste cooked meal worms and paint with maggots as well as get to participate in a variety of other activities. This event takes about 200 Master Gardeners to put on but a good time is always had by all.

Master Gardeners also landscape the new homes for Habitat for Humanity, helping make sure these new homeowners have a home and not just a house.

And don’t forget our Diagnostic Center at the OSU Extension here in Tulsa where we are available 5 days a week to help you solve your plant diagnostic dilemmas.

Our plant sale is unique in that it allows you to shop online from a selection of 256 different plants. The online store will close on March 12^th as we began to prepare for plant pick-up day. Plants can be picked up on April 14^th at the Exchange Center on the Tulsa County Fairgrounds. Pick-up will be from 7:00 am till 7:00 pm and pick-up could not be easier for you. All you need to do is navigate yourself to the fairgrounds, stay in your car, and get in line. Master Gardeners will greet you and direct you to where you can pick up your plants. You don’t even need to get out of your car. Just pop your trunk and we will place your order in your car for you. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

One word of caution, I would encourage you to place your orders early since several of our selections such as the milkweeds have limited availability.

So, that’s the lowdown on the Plant Sale. You can find the plant sale online site by visiting our website (www.tulsamastergardeners.org) and clicking on the Plant Sale graphic. We appreciate your support and look forward to meeting you April 14^th on plant pick-up day. See you in the garden!

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org.

Photo by Bill Sevier