There are considerable challenges to propagating certain Eastern North American wildflowers, that fact is undeniable. Mt. Cuba Center has been seeking appropriate methods for over 20 years and has met with success in a number of instances, several ofwhich I will eventually highlight. However, what I would like to do initially, during this brief opportunity, is to identify problems and propose strategies that propagators interested in working with these plants might employ. This information has beenacquired through substantial trial and error and also the unique opportunity to observe life cycles, growth patterns, and idiosyncrasies of the many plants in the gardens at Mt. Cuba Center.While it may be easier to pass over these plants because they are so costly to produce in terms of time and resources, I think it is important that we analyze why this is so. Perhaps better strategies can be developed in the future to overcome present obstacles. From a conservation standpoint, understanding and knowledge are important because these are precisely the plants that disappear when forests are damaged or fragmented. Sadly, once gone, they more than likely won't return on their own.
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