PlantRight’s Spring Retail Nursery Survey Re-launches in 2020

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Plants on display at a local nursery, with aloe and other succulents.

PlantRight is bringing back its annual Spring Retail Nursery Survey for 2020. Photo: ©PlantRight

What's in store this spring? That is exactly the question on PlantRight's mind as the program launches its 9th Annual Spring Retail Nursery Survey. PlantRight's spring survey helps keep a pulse on the sale of invasive plants in California.

The Spring Retail Nursery Survey began in 2009 under the management of the 501(c)3 non-profit Sustainable Conservation. After development of a comprehensive program and eight successful surveys, Sustainable Conservation transferred the management of the PlantRight program to Plant California Alliance in 2019. Plant California Alliance, an association of horticultural industry professionals, is a great fit to host the PlantRight program. Now, under the new leadership, PlantRight is excited to announce that they are re-launching the survey.

The nursery survey has come a long way from its debut year in 2009 when it included 75 stores in 27 counties to its most recent survey in 2017 which included 332 stores in 45 counties. With almost half of all invasive plants in the state being introduced through the horticultural industry, the nursery survey is an important source of information on the prevalence of invasive plants in California's gardens and landscapes. PlantRight looks forward to continuing the legacy of successful data collection.

The survey would not have had the success it has had so far without the hard work of UC Master Gardener volunteers. Each spring, the nursery survey is conducted throughout California through the participation of volunteers from the UC Master Gardener program and a few other conservation groups.

Woman at a nursery holding a clip board, looking at plants to see if they are on the invasive list.

A UC Master Gardener volunteer participating in a previous PlantRight - Spring Retail Nursery Survey. UC Master Gardener volunteers check for the sale of invasive plants at nurseries across the state. Photo: ©PlantRight

How PlantRight Uses the Data

The information gathered during the survey allow PlantRight to:

Collaborate effectively with thousands of plant retailers, wholesalers and growers;
Provide gardeners with information about invasive plants and choosing beautiful non-invasive alternatives for their gardens;
Inform our strategy, measure our progress, and keep our plant list relevant.

PlantRight works in partnership with the nursery industry and only releases aggregated data that protects the identity of, and data from, the stores that are surveyed.

To view past survey results visit this page.

The last Spring Retail Nursery Survey was able to include 332 stores in 45 counties, helping provide critical information about the availability of invasive plants in retail nurseries. Photo: ©PlantRight

Interested in participating?

UC Master Gardener Program counties may offer volunteer and continuing education hours to UC Master Gardener volunteers who participate in the Spring Survey and visit local nurseries to help PlantRight track the availability of invasive plants in California. Check with your local county coordinator to see if your county will be participating this year. Participation in the 2020 Spring Nursery Survey is easy, educational, and fun!

Volunteers will:

Register
View a training video online and pass a short quiz
Download required survey materials (e.g. survey form & plant ID key)
Sign up to survey a store in their county
Visit the store and record information about any invasive plants sold
Submit information to PlantRight

The survey process takes approximately 2.5 hours to complete. Volunteers start by RSVPing to participate on PlantRight's website. When it becomes available, volunteers will be notified and be able to view a training video. once completed, volunteers will take a short quiz and be able to claim nurseries to survey.

Nurseries will become available to claim on PlantRight.org: