ALCLA Native Plants

10/19/2026

After seven years of searching, we are thrilled to announce that Wood Lily (Lilium philadelphicum) seed is available for the very first time at ALCLA!

Wood Lily is one of Alberta's most beautiful and iconic native wildflowers, with brilliant orange-red blooms standing out against the prairie grasses.

Over the past seven years, we have searched for opportunities to collect Wood Lily seed. Most seasons, we found none at all, and before this year, we had only ever found a single seed pod!

One of the biggest challenges is that Wood Lily flowers in July, but its seeds don't mature until September. This long ripening period makes seed collection difficult in areas grazed by cattle and deer, including public lands and protected areas, where plants are often eaten before they can produce mature seed.

This year, we finally found a population along an ungrazed roadside adjacent to logging activity, where lilies appear to be doing particularly well in disturbed areas. For the first time, we collected enough seed to make a small quantity available!

It's an important reminder that conserving native plants also means allowing them to complete their reproductive cycles. Flowering is only part of the story. Plants need the opportunity to produce and disperse seeds to sustain future generations.

And here's the exciting part: Wood Lily has excellent germination potential! Research from northeastern Alberta reported 90% germination, while Royal Botanic Gardens Kew documented 94–100% under laboratory conditions. We've experienced similarly high germination rates ourselves.

Our seed was collected just a few weeks ago and has only recently been cleaned. Each packet contains a minimum of 10 fresh seeds!

The catch? Wood Lily is exceptionally slow growing and can take five to seven years to flower. We recommend direct sowing in full sun to partial shade, in average to moderately moist, well-drained soil. We've also found that rodents love eating the young leaves, so some protection may be helpful.

We are sowing some of this seed in our own garden, but producing Wood Lily as a live plant means dedicating growing space for years before it is ready to sell.

Growing Wood Lily reminds us that the beauty we admire in our native landscapes depends on complex ecological relationships and years of growth that we can easily take for granted.

For us, growing native plants is about more than gardening. It's about building relationships with the species we share this landscape with, understanding their needs, and taking responsibility for their care.

A note for cat owners: Wood Lily is a true lily, and all parts, including pollen, are extremely toxic to cats.

Want more stories like this? Join our newsletter! We share detailed plant information, growing advice, research, and behind-the-scenes stories from our nursery, delivered to your inbox weekly or biweekly throughout most of the year.

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09/18/2026

09/14/2026

We’re putting more of our energy into something we genuinely love making: our newsletter.

As a very small business, we have limited time and capacity, and we’ve made the decision to spend less of it on social media. We also have growing concerns about the impacts these platforms can have on the environment, mental health and meaningful human conversation.

So if you really want to keep up with ALCLA, our newsletter is now the place to be.

And honestly, we think it’s pretty special.

We share personal photos and videos from the nursery and prairie, stories from more than 30 years of growing native plants, fascinating things we’re learning, plant knowledge, behind-the-scenes moments, new species, events and exclusive offers. We put a tremendous amount of care into every issue.

One reader recently wrote:

“One of the best newsletters landing in my inbox, time after time. You all share new and unique information and the integrity of the business and the passion for plants within the employees shows with every single letter. I enjoy each one and read them to the very end, clicking on every link — even though, as a US citizen, I can’t even order! That is a successful newsletter!”

If you enjoy what we do, we’d love to have you there.

Sign up here: alclanativeplants.com

09/11/2026

Our Fall Sale is on now: save 20% on all live plants through September 30 with code FALL20.

Fall is also a great time to plant native perennials, grasses and shrubs. Cooler temperatures mean less stress on newly planted roots, while the soil is still warm enough for plants to begin to establish before winter.

A few tips for successful fall planting:

• Plant as early in the fall as you can, giving roots time to settle in before the ground freezes.

• Water deeply after planting and water well before freeze-up.

• Don’t worry if leaves yellow, brown or disappear soon after planting. Many native plants are already beginning their natural fall dormancy.

• Mark where you plant your new plants so you can find them easily in the spring.

• Continue watering next spring, as your plants will still be establishing.

Fall planting gives native plants a head start for next spring, and right now you can save 20% on all live plants.

Fall Sale ends September 30. Use code FALL20.

Calgary Horticultural Society

09/04/2026

Fall Sale: Save Up to 60%

20% off all live plants, with deeper savings on select plants through September 30.

Our annual fall sale begins September 4!

Save 20% on all live plants, including plugs and pots. The 20% discount also applies to plants that are already marked down, bringing savings on some select plants to approximately 50–60% off.

Use coupon code FALL20 at checkout.

Sale ends September 30, 2026, while quantities last.

Alberta native plant nursery. Source identified wildflowers, shrubs, and grasses. Seeds and live plants for pick-up or shipping in Canada.

08/28/2026

Things are getting prickly 🌵

Our Plains Prickly Pear (Opuntia polyacantha) is now in stock, and yes, we can ship it across Canada.

This native prairie cactus loves full sun, handles dry conditions beautifully, and slowly spreads into a low patch over time. It is also incredibly cold hardy and stays above ground through winter, simply shrivelling up until spring returns.

Even better, our stock comes from source-identified, genetically diverse parent plants grown from wild-collected seed.

A great choice for hot, dry, water-wise gardens.

08/14/2026

While we’re all waiting for the first prairie crocuses next spring, there’s another native worth watching for.

Canada Buffaloberry (Shepherdia canadensis) can flower in April, often before its leaves even emerge, providing flowers right at the beginning of the growing season.

And underground, something equally interesting is happening: its roots partner with nitrogen-fixing Frankia bacteria.

In our dry prairie gardens, it often stays surprisingly compact, around 1–2 feet tall, while plants in moister parkland and foothills conditions can grow considerably larger.

And eventually, female plants can produce those famous berries that whip into a remarkable pink foam.

A tiny plug with a lot going on.

Be patient with this one. We start seedlings in January or February and they can take until August just to reach saleable size.

08/13/2026

One plant. Almost every garden condition.

We think Twining Honeysuckle (Lonicera dioica) might be one of the most underappreciated native plants we grow.

☀️ Full sun? Yes.
🌲 Deep shade under spruce? Yes.
💧 Moist soil? Yes.
🌾 Hot, dry south exposure? Once established, absolutely.

And its growth form changes with its surroundings. Give it something to climb and it will twine and scramble upward. Give it open space and it can grow as a sprawling, beautiful shrub.

The funny part? A plant this tough is incredibly delicate when it is young. We keep seedlings under a humidity dome for one to two months just to get them established.

Delicate beginnings. Very tough adulthood.

Where would you grow yours: climbing or sprawling?

08/11/2026

Some native plants simply can’t be rushed.

Our Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) is finally ready 🌿

Every plant starts with seed we hand-collect in Kananaskis and sow fresh. Then we wait. Some seeds take two to three years, or even longer, to germinate. Once they finally emerge, the seedlings still need months to grow into a plug we’re happy to sell.

This year, all that patience has paid off. We have close to 200 plants available.

Bunchberry makes a beautiful, slow-growing woodland groundcover with white flowers and bright red berries. It thrives in part shade to shade and average to moist soils. In Alberta’s drier grassland regions, we recommend supplemental irrigation.

One of our top sellers, and absolutely worth the wait.

08/10/2026

Come see the prairie with us during Alberta Open Farm Days! 🌿

On August 15 & 16, we’re opening the nursery for two days of FREE tours, native plants, and prizes.

Come explore the nursery, learn how we grow native plants from locally collected seed, hear about the work behind conserving and propagating Alberta’s native species, and ask us your gardening and native plant questions.

We were also recently featured by Alberta Open Farm Days in “The Prairie at Night: How ALCLA Native Plants Is Keeping Alberta’s Grasslands Alive, One Seed at a Time.” It’s a beautiful introduction to some of the work and stories you’ll encounter when you visit us.

📅 Saturday, August 15 & Sunday, August 16
🌱 FREE admission and guided tours
🎁 Prizes and giveaways
📍 ALCLA Native Plants, east of Carstairs

Read the article here:
https://albertaopenfarmdays.ca/open-farm-days-2026/alcla-native-plants-keeping-albertas-grasslands-alive/

We’d love to see you there.