Our events are announced at least 2 weeks in advance to our email list subscribers. To join our email list, please contact aznpsphoenix@gmail.com.
Our activities are open to Chapter members as well as the general public, unless stated otherwise. If you’re interested in becoming a Chapter member, please view the Membership page. Yearly membership is just $30 for individuals, $15 for students, and $35 for families.
Saturday, January 29th at 4:30 PM
Chapter Meeting: Continuing to Grow Together
We have a growing community of native plant lovers and supporters! So, we’re starting the new year with an interactive meeting to get to know each other better and help shape our vision for the future. During this virtual meeting, we will have our annual Chapter election and productive discussions on the following topics:
Member interests, skills, and availability
Planning of Chapter meetings and field trips
Creating a Chapter logo
Public engagement and outreach about native plants
Volunteer activities in the community
If you would like to participate, register via Zoom at this link to join us in our virtual meeting space. Please note: This meeting will not be recorded.
Additional Events
View the AZNPS Events Calendar to learn about upcoming events hosted by other Chapters throughout the state. Also, recordings of many presentations are available to watch on the AZNPS YouTube page.
Join our virtual community!
To stay up to date on our meetings and other activities, please join our email list.
Follow the AZNPS Phoenix Chapter’s Facebook page for more information about local native plants news, research, and events!
We also invite you to follow our Chapter on Instagram and use the hashtag #aznativeplants to help us raise awareness of Arizona’s amazing native plants!
Seeking native plants to use in landscaping?
Native Landscaping Plants
Fall is the ideal time to add native plants to your yard or patio!
If you would like to learn which plants are native to our area, we invite you to view our Chapter’s List of Recommended Native Landscaping Plants (draft version). It highlights plants that are: 1) native to the Phoenix metro area, 2) beneficial to wildlife, 3) low-water-use, 4) relatively easy to care for, and 5) generally available at local nurseries or seed suppliers.
We’ve compiled a list of metro Phoenix nurseries that generally offer a selection of native plants. Some have more variety than others, and inventory changes frequently or may be seasonal. So, it is best to inquire with a few nurseries by phone or email to determine which one suits your needs. Due to precautionary measures currently in place, please contact a nursery directly to determine if they have special operating hours or procedures.
In addition, several local organizations hold plant sale fundraisers in the Spring and Fall. We’ll update this announcement when local native plant sales take place.
Wildflower Seeds
Monsoon season and fall are terrific times to add wildflower seeds to your landscape, assuming it rains! For a wide variety of Arizona native plant seeds, we recommend the following sources:
Maricopa Native Seed Library – This new local project offers native seeds for free! Similar in format to other seed libraries, the public may obtain up to 3 seed packets per month. Available at several Maricopa Community Colleges libraries.
Little Free “Seed” Library – A Phoenix Chapter member offers free native plants and wildflower seeds as part of a Little Free Library in front of their home in Tempe.
Native Seeds/SEARCH – Purchase seeds online from their conservation farm in southern Arizona.
If you feel there’s a local nursery, native plant fundraiser, or seed supplier we should add to our list, please let us know!
Additional Chapter Announcements
Invasive Species Alert: Fountain Grass
Fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum) is a popular landscaping plant, but a dangerous invasive weed. Its seeds easily spread and invade roadsides, washes, and natural areas. As a result, Fountain grass pushes out native plants and wildlife, disrupts water flow and availability, and increases the risk and severity of wildfires. Therefore, it was listed as an Arizona noxious weed in early 2020 and is no longer sold by the nursery trade.
The Arizona Native Plant Society, along with several partners, created an informational pamphlet to help the community learn how to identify and control Fountain grass. Please download, read, and share this important information with others!
Fountain grass is a popular landscaping plant, but a dangerous invasive weed. If you have it in your landscape, please remove it.
Chapter Leadership
Name
Role
Contact
Lisa Rivera
President
aznpsphoenix@gmail.com
Pam McMillie
Vice President
Danielle Carlock
Treasurer
Kathy Balman
Secretary
Volunteering Opportunities
Want to get involved? We've got just the thing!
Outdoor Opportunities
If you are interested in volunteer activities related to restoration, invasive species control, gardening, conservation, or scientific research, we recommend contacting the following organizations.
These are citizen science and community science projects you can participate in on your own at home, during a walk in your neighborhood, or while visiting Arizona’s public lands.
An iNaturalist project focused on plants found in urban environments. There are also monthly EcoQuest challenges that focus on certain species. Add your photo observations to the project. Or, if plant identification is your superpower, help to ID what others saw!
If you see milkweed plants or monarch butterflies, eggs, or caterpillars while outdoors, take a photo and submit your sighting to this regional project.
Monarchs need milkweed and nectar plants, so hopefully you have these growing in your yard or neighborhood! Join this monarch “tagging” project to help document Western monarch migration.
Access digitized natural history data online to help transcribe and decipher field notebooks, photographs, museum labels, and data sheets from around the world.
Visit one of six local libraries loaning out citizen science tools and supplies.
Chapter News
Be on the lookout for Stinknet!
Posted on Jan 04, 2022
Responding to the copious December rains, Stinknet (Onchosiphon pilluliferum) is currently emerging in the Phoenix area. This annual plant emerges in winter when there is moisture (either due to rain or irrigation). It goes to seed and dies starting in April, posing a fire risk.
AZNPS has produced atrifold printable brochure with descriptions of this invasive plant, its growth, and its control. Please review the brochure and then take action to help control the spread of Stinknet!
Stinknet emerging in a parking lot.
It is best to control Stinknet as soon it emerges, so the plant will not have a chance to go to seed.
Comments and questions about Stinknet can be addressed to our Conservation Chair at aznps.stinknet@gmail.com.
Happenings – Winter newsletter
Posted on Nov 29, 2021
The Winter edition of Happenings is now available! Download a copy to learn more about activities of Arizona Native Plant Society chapters around the state.
Videos from 2021 AZNPS Annual Botany Meeting
Posted on Nov 21, 2021
With nearly 200 registrations, you might say our annual meeting was quite a success. But don’t take our word for it… watch some videos!
Take a look at the YouTube playlist here and pick something you’ll enjoy. Or gather your family and friends and have a watch party!
