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Imagine… lush, vigorous wildflowers, blooming in their first season. It’s possible with RPM-produced native perennials! 

HOW DO YOU IMPROVE ON A NATIVE? 

Give it a headstart! Our all-natural RPM-production method yields twice the results in half the time. Studies show our RPM plants grow, flower and fruit two times faster. Faster growth comes in part from unsurpassed lateral root mass. Greater root mass improves transplant success and helps plants grow faster and with greater vigor! 

The vigor to survive like champs. More than 95% survivability on even the toughest sites. 

Forrest Keeling’s proprietary soil media also contributes to our stellar plants. See, better plants don’t come from more fertilizer. They come from unlocking your plants’ natural ability to access nutrients. Healthy soil makes nutrients available as needed by plants. Over time, it continues to help plants thrive after planting and through the life of the plant. 

 Forrest Keeling specializes in native plants. You could say, ‘native is our brand’. Of 380 different native species in  production, 107 are perennials and grasses. The balance, 273 trees and shrubs, includes caliper trees up to three inches in diameter. 

We also produce native cultivars and hybrids that offer exceptional features. ‘Robin Hill’ serviceberry cultivars are native species selected for consistent outstanding color, heavy fruiting or compact size. 

Hybrids exhibit desirable traits of two or more species. Oak trees cross-breed, or hybridize, with ease. These hybrids produce fertile offspring with ‘hybrid vigor’. Many white oak hybrids offer benefits like faster growth and heavier acorn crops. Some produce earlier crops or larger acorns. 

Characteristics like these can benefit wildlife especially. Faster growth allows seedlings to grow seven feet or more in their first growing season. This can increase survival and speed acorn production on conservation plantings. All oaks tend to be disease and insect resistant. But, hybrids offer higher resistance and natural vigor. 

WHERE TO BEGIN 

From small to large, native landscapes are a natural, resilient choice. Native landscapes can conform to meet requirements of community ordinances and more. They help purify and infiltrate stormwater, build soil, and reduce your work and resource use. And, they help preserve native pollinators and other wildlife, too. Every native plant you add is a vital oasis for wildlife. 

The best way to begin the process of designing a landscape is to know your site and decide what you want from its plants. Want to solve a landscape challenge? Create a specific benefit? See native plant list to the right for your landscape challenge solutions. 

PLANNING YOUR NATIVE LANDSCAPE 

Natives provide unique alternatives to commonly used and sometime invasive non-native species. Invasive plant species crowd out native species that support our wildlife and healthy soils. 

Start with your site plan. Consider how you want to use the area, now and in the future. Use trees and shrubs to create the main structure. Then add work-horse perennials to fill in spaces and build in more beauty and benefit. 

Plant selection – Choose from our list of favorites, or use our website’s ‘Plant Search’. Sort available plants by characteristics like mature size, preferred site and seasonal color. Then, use FKN calculators to take guesswork out of how many plants will be needed.

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