Bona Terra Seedling Tray Plant Grant

Help support the Plant Grant with the gift of seeds to produce seedlings for our giveaways. By gifting us seeds, you know exactly where 100% of your donation dollars are going.

Below is a list of species we are accepting and some retailers that sell seed. If you know of any local seed sellers that carry species listed without a retailer, we would love to hear about them!

If you’re interested in gifting seeds to Bona Terra to support the Plant Grant, email us at plantgrant@bonaterradc.com with the species and quantity you want to gift and the retail source. We will check against our Plant Grant seed inventory and send you the shipping address and a confirmation of whether we are in need of those seeds.

If you’re interested in donating seeds you have collected, call Jeremy at (703) 407-0718 or hang tight while we work out a system that ensures that any donations meet our ecological standards.

Species Name	Common Name	Ernst Conservation Seeds	Brandywine Conservancy	Prairie Moon	Roundstone Native Seed
Ageratina altissima	White Snakeroot			X
Allium cernuum	Nodding Onion	X	X	X
Amorpha fruticosa	False Indigobush	X	X	X	X
Andropogon gerardii	Big Bluestem	X	X	X	X
Aquilegia canadensis	Red Columbine	X	X	X
Aruncus dioicus	Goat’s Beard
Asclepias amplexicaulis	Clasping Milkweed
Asclepias exaltata	Poke Milkweed			X
Asclepias incarnata	Swamp Milkweed	X		X	X
Asclepias quadrifolia	Four-leaved Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa	Butterfly Milkweed	X	X	X	X
Asclepias variegata	Redring Milkweed
Asclepias verticillata	Whorled Milkweed			X
Asclepias viridiflora	Green Milkweed			X
Baptisia australis	Blue False Indigo	X	X	X	X
Baptisia australis var. minor	Dwarf Blue Indigo			X
Boltonia asteroides	False Aster		X	X
Carex lupina	Hop Sedge	X		X	X
Cephalanthus occidentalis	Buttonbush	X	X	X	X
Cercis canadensis	Redbud	X	X
Chamaecrista fasciculata	Partridge Pea	X		X	X
Chrysopsis mariana	Maryland Goldenaster		X
Coreopsis lanceolata	Lance-leaved Coreopsis	X		X	X
Doellingeria umbellata	Flat-topped White Aster	X		X
Eragrostis spectabilis	Purple Lovegrass	X	X	X
Eryngium yuccifolium	Rattlesnake Master	X	X	X	X
Eupatorium album	White Thoroughwort
Eupatorium altissimum	Tall Thoroughwort			X
Eupatorium capillifolium	Dogfennel
Eupatorium hyssopifolium	Hyssop-leaved Thoroughwort			X
Eupatorium perfoliatum	Common Boneset		X	X
Eurybia macrophylla	Big-leaved Aster	X		X
Euthamia caroliniana	Slender Goldentop
Eutrochium dubium	Coastal Plain Joe-Pye Weed		X
Eutrochium fistulosum	Hollow Joe-Pye Weed	X	X	X	X
Eutrochium maculatum	Spotted Joe-Pye Weed	X		X
Eutrochium purpureum	Purple Joe-Pye Weed	X		X	X
Gamochaeta purpurea	Spoonleaf Purple Everlasting
Helenium autumnale	Sneezeweed	X		X	X
Helenium flexuosum	Purple-headed Sneezeweed	X		X
Helianthus angustifolius	Swamp Sunflower	X		X	X
Helianthus divaricatus	Woodland Sunflower			X
Helianthus strumosus	Pale-leaved Woodland Sunflower			X
Heliopsis helianthoides	False Sunflower	X	X	X	X
Heuchera villosa	Hairy Alumroot		X
Hibiscus moscheutos	Swamp Rose Mallow	X	X	X	X
Hieracium gronovii	Hairy Hawkweed
Hieracium venosum	Rattlesnakeweed
Hypericum prolificum	Shrubby St. John’s Wort			X
Hypericum pyramidatum	Tall St. John’s Wort	X		X
Ilex verticillata	Winterberry	X		X
Ionactis linariifolia	Flax-leaved Whitetop Aster
Kosteletzkya virginica	Virginia Saltmarsh Mallow	X
Lespedeza frutescens	Shrubby Bushclover	X
Liatris pilosa	Shaggy Blazing Star
Liatris scariosa	Eastern Blazing Star
Lobelia cardinalis	Cardinal Flower		X	X	X
Lobelia elongata	Elongated Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica	Great Blue Lobelia	X	X	X	X
Monarda clinipodia	Basil Beebalm
Monarda fistulosa	Wild Bergamot	X	X	X	X
Monarda media	Purple Bergamot	X
Monarda punctata	Spotted Beebalm	X		X	X
Packera anonyma	Small’s Ragwort
Packera obovata	Roundleaf Ragwort
Panicum amarum	Coastal Panicgrass	X
Panicum anceps	Beaked Panicgrass	X	X
Penstemon digitalis	Foxglove Beardtongue	X	X	X	X
Penstemon hirsutus	Hairy Beardtongue	X	X	X
Pycnanthemum incanum	Hoary Mountainmint	X		X	X
Rudbeckia fulgida	Orange Coneflower	X	X	X
Rudbeckia laciniata	Cutleaf Coneflower		X	X	X
Rudbeckia triloba	Brown-eyed Susan	X	X	X	X
Sambucus canadensis	Elderberry	X		X
Schizachyrium scoparium	Little Bluestem	X	X	X	X
Senna marilandica	Maryland Senna	X		X	X
Sisyrinchium atlanticum	Eastern Blue-eyed Grass
Smallanthus uvedalia	Hairy Leafcup
Solidago caesia	Wreath Goldenrod	X	X	X
Solidago erecta	Slender Goldenrod
Solidago flexicaulis	Zigzag Goldenrod		X	X
Solidago gigantea	Giant Goldenrod	X		X
Solidago nemoralis	Gray Goldenrod	X	X	X	X
Solidago odora	Anisescented goldenrod	X		X
Solidago puberula	Downy Goldenrod
Solidago rugosa	Wrinkleleaf Goldenrod	X		X
Solidago speciosa	Showy Goldenrod	X	X	X	X
Solidago squarrosa	Stout Goldenrod
Solidago uliginosa	Bog Goldenrod			X
Spiraea alba	White Meadowsweet			X
Spiraea corymbosum	Shinyleaf Meadowsweet
Spiraea tomentosa	Steeplebush			X
Symphyotrichum dumosum	Rice Button Aster
Symphyotrichum lanceolatum	White Panicle Aster			X
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae	New England Aster	X	X	X	X
Symphyotrichum patens	Late Purple Aster
Symphyotrichum pilosum	Hairy White Oldfield Aster	X	X	X	X
Symphyotrichum puniceum	Purple-setmmed Aster	X		X
Symphyotrichum racemosum	Smooth White Oldfield Aster
Symphyotrichum shortii	Short’s Aster
Symphyotrichum undulatum	Wavy-leaved Aster
Tradescantia subaspera	Zigzag Spiderwort	X
Tradescantia virginiana	Virginia Spiderwort	X	X	X
Verbena stricta	Hoary Vervain	X		X
Vernonia gigantea	Giant Ironweed	X		X
Vernonia glauca	Broad-leaved Ironweed
Vernonia noveborancensis	New York Ironweed	X	X	X	X
Yucca filamentosa	Adam’s Needle Yucca

Group Plant Grant

The Bona Terra Group Plant Grant is an integral part of our overarching plant grant initiatives. Together with the Individual Plant Grant, our in-house Seedling Giveaway events, and our forthcoming Community-Led Satellite Seedling events, the Group Plant Grant is a vital component of our mission to annually place one million seedlings into the hands of our community members and in turn, put these seedlings into the ground to support our ecosystems.

Eligibility Criteria

The Plant Grant program is open to a diverse range of applicants who share the common goal of enhancing their communities with native plants. Eligible groups include not-for-profit organizations, garden clubs, schools, scout troops, gatherings of friends and family, or any collective with a sincere desire to introduce native flora into the local landscape.

Community Outreach Aspect

To qualify for the Group Plant Grant, the project must incorporate an element of community outreach. This can take various forms, such as planting on public land, maintaining demonstration gardens accessible to the public, or having a plan to plant on more than six private properties. For example, a group of friends can canvas a neighborhood and offer to plant one or more plants at each residence.

Location Requirement

Applicants should be located within a 150-mile radius of Washington, D.C. to participate in the Plant Grant program.

Experience and Plant Care

While prior experience in seedling division and plant maintenance is not mandatory, it can increase the likelihood of receiving the full requested allocation of plants.

Accessible Native Plants

Our aim is to make native plants accessible to as many people as possible, thereby contributing to the revival of our imperiled ecosystems. For this purpose, we are offering community pots in quart-sized containers containing tens to hundreds of seedlings for your group to divide and plant. Our belief is that returning native plants to their rightful place within our ecosystems is a vital part of solutions to the current ecological crisis.

Primary Goal: Planting Native Species

The core objective of the Group Plant Grant is to empower your group or organization to personally plant native species in the ground. While you may have secondary goals for the granted plants, you must have a primary plan that results in your group personally planting the majority of the seedlings in the ground to qualify. If your group is unable to meet this requirement, for any reason, please look into our individual Plant Grant, which is more flexible on this matter. Should any surplus plants remain after your planned plantings, we kindly request that you share them within your community. If plants are distributed beyond your organization, please accompany them with species-specific notes and information about Bona Terra.

Discouraging Sale of Granted Plants

We discourage the sale of granted plants, as our primary mission is to enhance local ecosystems and make native plants accessible to all. By sharing the life creating qualities and value of native flora, we collectively contribute to a healthier, more sustainable environment.

Secondary goals

Your secondary goals should be centered around community outreach and getting free plants into the community. This can include, but is not limited to distributing among your group members, giving divided and potted seedlings away at an event or other ideas you submit for approval.

FAQs

What if my group will not be personally planting the granted seedlings?

If your group doesn’t intend to personally plant the granted seedlings in the ground and instead aims to distribute plants for others to plant, you have a few options. You can either apply for the individual grant, attend our giveaway events, or apply for our forthcoming Bona Terra Sponsored, Community-led Satellite Seedling Event.

How many seedlings can you be granted?

There is no set limit. Allocations will be determined case by case. Factors we will consider will be, size of the project, your group’s answer to “demonstrate your group’s experience”, potential of your project’s community impact and size of group. More square footage, experience, impact and people involved = more seedlings granted.

Check out our Seedling Division Guide for instructions on how to divide seedlings, mix soil, and important factors to consider for the health and longevity of your native plant seedlings.

Bona Terra General Seedling Division Guide Download

Check out the list of plant species in seedling trays we have available:

Local Ecotypes

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Flat-top Goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia)
Hollow Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium fistulosum)
Seedbox (Ludwigia alternifolia)
Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)
Early Goldenrod (Solidago juncea)

Non-Local Ecotypes

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata)
False Aster (Boltonia asteroides)
Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum)
Lance-leaved Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)
Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium)
Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)
Spotted St. John’s Wort (Hypericum punctatum)
Tall St. John’s Wort (Hypericum pyramidatum)
Stiff Goldenrod (Oligoneuron rigidum)
Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis)
Brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba)
Giant Goldenrod (Solidago gigantea)
Wrinkleleaf Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa)
Showy Goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)
Carolina Lupine (Thermopsis caroliniana)
Adam’s Needle (Yucca filamentosa)

Approval of this grant does not guarantee any specific species or number of plants on these lists. We will do our best to match your group with the best plants for your situation.

Plant Grant Application Form

Group/Organization Name(required)

Group/Organization Location(required)

Point of Contact Information: This is one person in your organization who will be responsible for relaying questions to and from the group, coordinating plant pick-up, and returning the seedling trays.

Point of Contact Name(required)

Point of Contact Email(required)

Point of Contact Phone NumberJeremy will call you if he has questions about your submitted application to go over the details. If you're unable to answer, please be sure to call him back. Otherwise, your application will not be approved.(required)

In a few words, demonstrate your group's knowledge of dividing and maintaining seedlings and plants (for example: a member has nursery experience, a member has previously grown and divided seedlings, etc.).(required)

If no one in your group has experience dividing and maintaining seedlings, you can still apply. We will be holding seedling dividing demonstrations in June and August.

Please describe the primary purpose for these seedlings (for example: pollinator garden, education garden, wildlife support, etc.) and describe the location of where these seedlings/seeded quarts will be planted. List the location and ecosystem of the area you're describing (for example: urban, suburban, rural, etc.) (required)

Tell us about your maintenance plan (for example: each member spends an hour per month maintaining the garden space, your group has a designated horticulture team, etc.) This plan must include at least three people in your group. (required)

Many species of the seedlings may need to be divided and put into pots before being transferred into the ground. Describe the space your group has for the seedlings that need to be grown in before they are planted.

Does your group have a secondary purpose for any remaining seedlings after fulfilling your planting plan? If so, please describe.

Volunteer at our Open Nursery Saturdays!

We are opening our nursery for plant purchases and seedling giveaways every Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm! We would welcome help in giving away seedlings to help get native plants in the ground.

Use the link below to access our Volunteer Sign-up Form!

Volunteer Sign-up Form