After three years of working with horticultural businesses like plant growers, retail centers, and landscape professionals, the PlantRight campaign is now reaching out to home gardeners! We are excited to share the easy ways that gardeners can protect California wildlands by using non-invasive plants in their yards and landscaping.

Please share the PlantRight brochure with friends neighbors and learn how to Spread the Word about this collaborative effort.

PlantRight manager Terri Kempton of Sustainable Conservation starred in a news brief on Cable TV 20 about horticultural invasive plants. Watch the video on Cable TV 20's website!

PlantRight played an important role at the recent symposium held by the California Invasive Plant Council. Bob Falconer, one of the people behind PlantRight and representative of the nursery trade organization CANGC, was given the 2007 Invasive Plants Policy Award for "exceptional contributions to wildland weed management and the protection of California ecoystems."

Cal-HIPster Betsy Peterson, representing the seed and cut flower industries, gave an engaging and informative presentation to members of the California Invasive Plant Council at their annual symposium in San Diego. Attendees also participated in a workshop to learn new, supportive techniques of interacting with nurseries to prevent invasive plant introductions. This phase of outreach is great preparation for extending the PlantRight campaign to the gardening public in the spring of 2008.

PlantRight is now entering a critical phase: educating weed workers and resource managers on how they can support nurseries in their local area to participate in PlantRight! During the summer Cal-HIP meeting on August 15th, the group discussed new ways for weed workers to interact with local businesses that support the horticultural industry during their transition away from invasive species. The meeting was hosted by Goldsmith Seeds in Gilroy, CA, where the group learned about plant breeding and selection.

PlantRight has received international attention this month in an article from the Associated Press! Three PlantRight partners are featured in a story about horticultural invasives: Bob Falconer of CANGC, Doug Johnson of Cal-IPC, and Terri Kempton of Sustainable Conservation. The article highlights the efforts of the California horticultural industry to prevent invasive plant introductions. As the article says, PlantRight "can be good for business, and it will be good for the environment."

More than 40 regional, national, and international news publications picked up the story, including CNN.com, USA Today, Forbes, The Boston Globe, and the San Francisco Examiner. Read the article here.

Thank you for visiting the new home of PlantRight on the web. We hope that you will learn and be inspired by the information on the site, and that you will engage your community in the dialogue about invasive species. Together, we can take steps to protect California wildlands from the threat of invasive plants.

Visit this page for regular updates on invasive plants and new recommendations for non-invasive alternatives. We will also post results from scientific research on invasive species and answer questions from visitors like you!