Maryland’s Best Native Plant Program

Maryland’s Best Native Plant Program encourages all nurseries to sign up (for free!) and participate in a voluntary marketing program across the state. Our partner nurseries in the Mid-Atlantic, but outside the state, can also participate.  Participating nurseries inventories’ must be comprised of at least 20% Maryland native plants in order to qualify.

To sign-up, you need to compare your inventory list to the “Commercial Maryland Native Plant List” to determine your percentages. For easier comparison, printable PDFs have also been created:

PRINTABLE SIMPLIFIED LIST BY TYPE, NAME ALPHA 

PRINTABLE SIMPLIFIED LIST BY NAME ALPHA

1. Your total inventory includes everything EXCEPT vegetables, herbs, house plants, agricultural crop plants, and cut flowers (not the entire plant).
2. When counting natives, please include straight species and NOT CULTIVARS or HYBRIDS (as per the law, cultivars and hybrids of natives cannot count towards your percentages with certain limited exceptions – please see Commercial Maryland Native Plant List for reference).
3. To determine your percentage, divide your total number by your native plant list. Example: 400 total plants, 100 natives = 100/400 = 25%
4. When attaching your inventory sheet, please upload it as a spreadsheet whenever possible and make sure the plant names are the only item in the column. This will expedite your certification process.
5. Nurseries that are required to be licensed by MDA must have a license in good standing to be accepted into the program. If you are unsure you need to be licensed or if you are unsure your license is up to date, please call PPMW at 410-841-5920 or email them at ppwm.mda@maryland.gov.

There are also suggested best practices below that should be followed by the nursery:

• Utilizing Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
• Pollinator Friendly Plant Production 2: Controlling Insect Pests
• Identifying the sources of seeds, plants or plant propagules for consumers
• Actively marketing native plants with signage or social media

APPLY NOW FOR THE MARYLAND’S BEST NATIVE PLANT PROGRAM.

Applications will be reviewed by the Maryland Department of Agriculture while the list and percentages will be certified by the University of Maryland Extension. Please allow up to thirty business days to be approved. Once you are approved, the Program’s marketing materials will become available for you to use in your nursery, online, or however else you would like to promote your sale of Maryland natives. 

Certification renewal will be required every two years after MDA notification via email.