Im trying to find a few local species. Specifically I am looking for Prunus nigra and American Hazelnut. I have not been able to find anyone who knows where to find them. I have tried the regions conservation authority, the local master gardeners association and the college and they all dont reply to my messages. Anyone know who to contact to find specific local species?
Go through the listing of growers (PDF) compiled by the Society for Ecological Restoration - Ontario? Looks like quite a few wholesalers, but there also seem to be some people who sell directly to the public.
Hey Daniel long time! Glad the forums are up again.... I have never seen these sites before. The "listing of growers" is a great start. The only thing is that the closest city is north bay, which is roughly 12 hours away. Ill have to contact some of them . My interest is to collect localy. Most people have no idea that we have wild plums or hazels around here. Most people are shocked we can grow apples plums and sour cherries. If you remember my first post "pushing the limits of cold gardening" from all the way back to 2006, I ended up planting roughly 100+ species in my small urban lot including bamboo, rhododendron and roughly 14 fruit trees. Im experimenting with hickory, kentucky coffee tree, magnolia and absolutely anything that I think I can get away with. However, I did bite the bullet and ordered a P nigra from hardyfruittrees.ca. Mom and pop nursery which has some very interesting plants from quebec, which seem to be local "secrets".
Forums never really closed, just portions. Another alternative is to contact the Thunder Bay Field Naturalists for localities. I see they've produced a Vascular Plant Checklist for the area (available from Lakehead U bookstore). You should also be able to visit the Claude Garton Herbarium and look at the specimen labels. If anyone is making modern collections, the location info on the labels should give you some guidance on where to collect seed (of course, done ethically with permits if necessary). I've eaten both wild plum and hazelnuts from the area I grew up near in Manitoba. I think it's great you're experimenting and pushing the bounds. I guess this past winter will be a real test of hardiness!
Why am I just hearing about these places? lol Thank you so much for the lead... I wouldnt think of collecting anything if I thought I would/could harm the area. I am just interested in a few seeds, cuttings or maybe if need be collecting a single small plant, with permission of course. This past winter, while colder then its been in the last twenty years was anything but record breaking. If anything it was typical of the area, minus the warming trend recorded wince the 70s. This is exactly what I remember winter being as a kid. You are right though, if my trees and plants survived this winter, then I can be confident that they will survive in the long run...
