GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Gardeners, rejoice! The Florida Museum of Natural History’s fall plant sale returns Oct. 1 to 3.

Visitors may select from more than 100 species of edible, accent, host and nectar plants. The plant sale will be held outside the museum from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 1 and 2 and 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 3. It was moved to a curbside format in 2020, and this will be the first fully in-person plant sale since 2019.

“We were excited to be able to offer our plant sale online for our customers over the past year. That being said, I think plant sales are best conducted in person, and I am looking forward to being able to do it live once more,” said Ryan Fessenden, manager of the museum’s “Butterfly Rainforest” exhibit. “Being able to see and hold your plants as you browse is a great thing; being in person also doubles the number of species we can offer, so customers will have a lot more to choose from than our online sales.”

The sale is first come, first serve and prices range from $4 to $20, with proceeds benefiting the “Butterfly Rainforest” exhibit. Some of the species on sale are on display in the exhibit, such as the rattlesnake calathea and pink shasta begonia; while there are also new species available, including the common boneset and ovateleaf Indian plantain.

Four species of milkweed will also be available as well as other native and pollinator-friendly plants aimed at attracting these important but threatened insects to homes and gardens in the area.

“The healthiest habitats are diverse ones, and we at the museum feel it is very important to support the building of habitats for pollinators wherever possible,” Fessenden said. “In fact, the more diverse one’s yard is, the more and varied pollinators that can be attracted.”

Visitors can pay via cash, credit or debit card at the museum’s Collectors Shop or at a register located adjacent to the plant sale. Masks are recommend for attendees.

For more information about the plant sale, visit www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/event/plant-sale.

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Writer: Nikhil Srinivasan, nsrinivasan@floridamuseum.ufl.edu
Source: Ryan Fessenden, rfessenden@flmnh.ufl.edu
Media Contact: Kaitlin Gardiner, kgardiner@floridamuseum.ufl.edu