Broccolo Garden Center has updated our inventory to show you all the plants that we carry. If it
isn’t in stock, most likely we can get it for you. Click Here to View.
You want to Do the right thing to help pollinators, but how? We will make it easy, and not stock any invasive plants. You might love burning bush for the fall color and did not know it is on the invasive plant list but some garden centers still sell them. Broccolo carries native viburnums, aronias and iteas, which will set your fall colors on fire plus, have beautiful flowers and berries for the entire season.
You can scroll through plants by category for shrubs or perennials.
Each plant should show the sun and soil conditions, if it is deer or black walnut resistant and if it is a pollinator.
Is it a Native, or Nativar? Can a non-native be beneficial? What is the difference between aggressive native plants and invasive plants! Broccolo can help you choose what is right for your gardens.
You can click on any plant, and it will show if it is a native, or nativar. Nativar? What is the difference, you ask? Natives are plants that are found in the wild. Plants naturally evolve different traits and an interesting anomaly such as a variegated leaf may occur. These plants are tested to reproduce in nursery conditions and can become available to purchase. If so, they are given a name in addition to the regular species.
For instance, the native elderberry; Sambucus canadensis is a common plant and a variety with superior characteristics was found, then named after the person who discovered it. Sambucus canadensis ‘Adam’ was discovered by William Adams in NY. This cultivar has larger fruit and higher yield, plus it is very beneficial to pollinating insects and feeding birds. It was found in nature and therefore is a native
Other cultivars of natives may have been created in a lab with human intervention by cross pollinating different varieties. An example is the native purple coneflower; Echinacea purpurea. Mellow yellows is also a native that was found with yellow flowers in the wild and is grown by American Beauties which only cultivates true natives.
There are many varieties with distinct color variations from yellow to orange and reds. Most have the same shape as the original native and function the same for pollinating insects. We refer to those as
Nativars; Echinacea Cheyenne Spirit was created by Kieft Seed and we refer to it as a nativar, because it functions similarly to the natives found in the wild.
Raspberry truffle echinacea has a double flowering petal arrangement that is useless to pollinating insects as they cannot reach the nectar. Therefore, it is an attractive cultivar garden flower but will not be found in the Broccolo Garden Center.
There are non-native plants that are great pollinators and are beneficial if they do not escape into the wild and become invasive, displacing our natives. An example of a beautiful, but invasive
pollinating plant is purple loosestrife which we battle in our meadows right here at the B-Friendly Farm located at the Broccolo Garden Center.
Butterfly Bush; Buddlei is an example of a favorite garden plant that has become invasive. The original plants will escape through seeds into the wild. There are new sterile flowering butterfly bushes that still provide nectar for butterflies but do not form seeds. Those cultivars are the dwarf
pugsters and lo and behold which are suited for smaller gardens or the beautiful large “Miss” series such as Miss Ruby, Molly or Violet. The flowers look similar to Rochester’s favorite but non-native lilacs. They extend your flower and butterfly season from the end of spring lilacs until all of the butterflies have finished the season to lay eggs, go dormant or migrate.
