Looking for a native plant sale? Here are 30+ in Michigan

Native plants provide benefits to gardeners and to the environment
More than 30 sales are already scheduled across Michigan
Some notable plants native to Michigan are purple prairie clover, butterfly weed, spring beauty and prairie smoke

There may still be snow on the ground in Michigan, but soon native plant sales will be popping up alongside spring wildflowers.

Some have already arrived. Gardeners across the state will seek out the plants, which come with many benefits.

Native plants are uniquely qualified to be in Michigan because they’re from here.

“This is where they evolved, this is where they grew up,” said Carolyn Miller, president of the Wildflower Association of Michigan.

Being from here means native plants sometimes provide special services to the insects they “grew up” alongside (think monarchs and milkweed), but it also means they learned how to adapt to their environment.

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A lot of Michigan native plants came from prairie land, where they had to sometimes endure months without rain. As a result, they commonly developed long roots.

“Some of these root systems go down nine feet,” Miller said. “So they can tap into the water, the moisture, that might be down that far.”

Those long roots help hold soil together, creating channels for rainwater to flow downslowly, which mitigates flooding, and they can actually store carbon and help cool the climate.

In addition to providing benefits to the environment, native plants can help gardeners out, too. Once established, many are drought tolerant, which can make them easier to care for.

Carolyn Miller loves prairie smoke because, once it goes to seed, “it literally looks like a little puff of smoke.” (Courtesy of Carolyn Miller)
Carolyn Miller likes purple prairie clover because its tiny flowers are popular with small, native bees. (Courtesy of Carolyn Miller)
The spring beauty mining bee will only take pollen from the buds of the spring beauty plant, pictured here. (Courtesy of Carolyn Miller)
Monarch butterflies will lay their eggs on butterfly weed, the orange flower pictured here behind echinacea, but Carolyn Miller says it doesn’t spread as much as common milkweed. (Courtesy of Carolyn Miller)

Click through the photos above to see some native plants recommended by Miller.

Below, you’ll find a list of native plant sales happening around the state this spring and summer. The list was put together with some help from Bridge Michigan readers and is not a comprehensive list. If you don’t see a native plant sale listed near you, we recommend you reach out to your local Conservation District.

SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN

Now through May 1: Pre-orders available for Bowers School Farm, East Michigan Native Plants and Master Gardener Society of Oakland County Michigan Native Plant Sale online. Pick up plants and shop a limited selection on June 6, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Bloomfield Hills.
May 15-16: Fair Lane Plant Sale, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Dearborn.
May 29: River Raisin Watershed Council second annual Native Plant Sale, 2 to 7:30 p.m. in Tecumseh.
May 29-30: North Oakland Wild Ones Spring Plant Sale, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Rochester Hills.
May 30-31: Matthaei Botanical Gardens Native Plant Sale in Ann Arbor, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on May 30 and 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on May 31.
June 6: Washtenaw County Conservation District Native Plant Expo & Marketplace, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Ann Arbor.

SOUTHWEST + WEST MICHIGAN

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April 18: Muskegon Conservation District Spring Seedling Overstock Sale, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Twin Lake.
Now through May 1: Pre-orders available for Kent Conservation District Spring Native Plant Sale online. Pick plants up May 30 in Grand Rapids.
May 9: Newaygo Conservation District Native Plant Sale, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Fremont.
May 16: Calvin Ecosystem Preserve & Native Gardens Native Plant Sale, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Grand Rapids.
May 20: Berrien County Conservation District Spring Native Plant Sale, noon to 4 p.m. in Berrien Springs. Pre-sale order available.
June 6: A Few Friends for the Environment of the Worldand Mason County Garden Club Native Plant Sale, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Ludington

MID-MICHIGAN

Now through May 8: Pre-orders available for Montcalm Conservation District Spring Native Plant Sale online. Pick up plants on May 15 in Stanton.
Now through May 15: Pre-orders available for Saginaw Conservation District Native Plant Sale. Pick up plants May 28-29 in Saginaw.
May 15: Michigan Wildlife Conservancy and Bendy Stem Farm Bengel Wildlife Center Native Plant Sale, 4 to 7 p.m. in Bath.
May 16: Michigan State University Horticulture Gardens 2026 Plant Sale, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in East Lansing.
May 30: Chippewa Nature Center Native Plant Sale, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Midland.
June 27: For-Mar Nature Preserve & Arboretum Native Plant Sale, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Burton.

NORTHERN MICHIGAN

Today: Benzie Conservation District Spring Native Seedling Sale online pre-orders end. Pick up plants May 1-2 in Beulah.
Now through March 31: Grand Traverse Conservation District Spring Native Seedling Sale pre-orders available online. Pick up flats April 17-18 in Traverse City.
Now through May 15: Alcona Conservation District Native Plant Sale pre-orders available online. Pick up plants and shop surplus stock on May 23 in Harrisville.
May 16: Grand Traverse Conservation District Native Plant Sale in Traverse City (times not listed yet).
June 13: Gruler Gardens Native Plant Sale, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Petoskey.
June 27: Golden Sun Botanicals Native Plant Sale, 10 a.m. in Cheboygan.

THE UPPER PENINSULA

May 8: Bay College Native Plant Sale, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Escanaba.
May 30: UP Native Plants and Moosewood Nature Center Plant Sale, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Marquette.
June 6: UP Native Plants and Dickinson Conservation District Plant Sale, 8 a.m. to noon in Iron Mountain.
July 23: UP Native Plants Bay Mills Plant Sale, 4 to 7 p.m. in Brimley.
July 31: UP Native Plants and Gogebic Conservation District Plant Sale, 4 to 6 p.m. in Ironwood.
July 26: UP Native Plants Hessel Farmers Market Plant Sale, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Hessel.
July 29: UP Native Plants and Alger Conservation District Plant Sale, 5 to 7 p.m. in Munising.

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