Wildseed Library FAQs

The WNC Wildseed Library is a unique seed library that focuses on distributing wild, local, native seeds. We accept donations of native seeds of any kind (including “nativars,” cultivated varieties of native plants) as long as the donor can identify them by full Latin name, they are native to the Southern Appalachians, and the seeds have been sustainably collected with permission from the landowner. Please see “Can I Donate Seeds?” below if you are interested in donating seeds.

Please note that we do not currently have any seeds. This is a new program, and we are hoping to have seeds available by the winter of 2025 or early spring of 2026, but we need your help to do it! See “How Can I Support the WWL” below to learn more. We will develop a virtual catalogue of our current stock and species selection. Seed selection will increase as the project grows! If you are interested in certain seed types, please email Skye.

The benefits of gardening with native plants are numerous for both gardeners and wildlife! 

From a gardening perspective, native plants are quite low maintenance. Since these plants are native, they are used to living in the conditions here. Whatever soil you have, there is a native plant that wants to grow in it without amendments, from sunny mountain clay to shaded waterlogged bottomlands! They also require less supplemental watering than exotic plants, and will thrive without fertilizer. The deep roots of native plants draw nutrients up to the topsoil where other plants can use them, and filter pollutants out of runoff water before it reaches our creeks. Native plants form relationships with fungi that improve the health and resiliency of the soil and the other plants around them. Together, the fungal network and plant roots form a net that physically holds soil in place, which reduces erosion and improves soil aeration. 

From a wildlife perspective, gardening with native plants is the best way to support wildlife on your property. Native plants and native animals have “grown up together” through time. Since they evolved together, they have formed special relationships, and rely on each other for support. Many of our native animals, especially insects, rely on particular kinds of native plants, and are not supported by nonnative plants. When the insect population thrives, they support other creatures, like by pollinating plants or feeding birds. 

Take, for example, the beloved monarch butterfly. Adult monarch butterflies can feed from any old flower- zinnias, peonies, even the zucchini vine in your veggie garden. Monarch caterpillars, however, are specially adapted to eat plants of the Asclepias (milkweed) genus. This is more than being a picky eater- the caterpillars will die if they eat any other plant. Nonnative plants may provide the monarch butterflies with nectar, but they cannot feed monarch caterpillars. We see this same pattern again and again with native versus nonnative plants. A nonnative plant may support a particular creature for one moment in its lifetime, but native plants support them consistently throughout the seasons. Birds may love the berries of the nonnative, invasive autumn olive plant, but native insects will not feed on autumn olive leaves. Adult birds can eat the autumn olive berries a few weeks out of the year, but baby birds need proteins and fats, which are not abundant in fruits. A native chokecherry shrub provides the birds with similar tasty fruits, and over 400 species of native moths and butterflies will chow down on its leaves! Those caterpillars are prime baby bird food, and so a native chokecherry shrub will feed the birds throughout the year. Read Doug Tallamy’s A Chickadee’s Guide to Gardening to further expand your understanding of the link between native plants and native animals (pamphlet provided by Saving Birds Thru Habitat.

• A donation doesn’t have to be monetary- donating native seeds to the WWL counts, too! If you use the WWL, we hope that you will donate seeds from the plants you grow to help keep our library stocked. You can donate any native seeds you have, as long as you can identify them to their full Latin name. 
• The WWL is volunteer-driven, so your time and energy is a valuable way to support this program. Duties range from identifying mother plants or collection populations, checking on seed maturation, collecting seeds, and cleaning and processing seeds for storage. No experience is required, we will teach you everything you need to know! Click here to learn more about our volunteer opportunities and fill out an interest form. 
• We are also seeking volunteers who are willing to establish seed increase plots– special gardens installed for the purpose of growing seeds- on their property. Email Skye to inquire about this opportunity. 
• If you have a large population of one of our target species on our property and are willing to allow Mainspring staff and/or volunteers to collect seeds from it, please email Skye.

Take a look at our target species list, then keep an eye out for a large population (50+ individuals) on public land, particularly Forest Service land in the Nantahala district. Email Skye if you find one; we may be able to collect seeds from it!

Yes, please! We strongly encourage community members to donate native seeds to the library! This allows us to offer a diversity of genetic types and a wider range of species. 

To donate to the library, donors must be able to follow certain guidelines and provide certain information. If you do not feel confident in working your way through the steps below, we invite you to volunteer with us! We will teach you all about the process of plant identification, seed collection, cleaning, and harvesting. Conservation Outreach Director Skye is happy to answer any questions or provide clarification on the donation process. We understand this is a more complex donation process than most other seed libraries, but we don’t want that to discourage you from donating. 

1: Seeds collected from the wild must be sustainably collected with permission from the landowner. Please do not wild-collect if you are unsure of how to do so responsibly and with appropriate permissions! Overharvesting wild seeds can hurt plant populations and leave wildlife (like birds) without food. Collecting seeds from captive populations, like those in your garden, does not have the same sustainability considerations. 

2: Donors must be able to confidently identify the mother plant to its full Latin name (ie Lobelia cardinalis, Gillenia trifoliata, etc.) Do not rely solely on plant ID apps to identify the mother plant, as they can make mistakes. Please do not guess; this information is crucial to ensuring that the seeds we are distributing are truly native. 

3: Donors must fill out a donation form for every seed type donated. We recommend printing this form and submitting it to Mainspring at the same time you donate your seeds. This information helps us to keep our seed library organized and useful for a range of projects, from personal gardening to stream restorations! At the bottom left hand corner of your screen, you will see two tabs; “Donation Form” and “Donation Form Key.” The Donation Form is what you will print and fill out alongside your seed donation. The Donation Form Key includes helpful information, definitions, and an example completed form to help you fill out your own form. 

4: Not every native plant’s seeds are suitable for inclusion in the WWL due to the technical constraints of our storage system. Take a look at our Target Species List. If your plant is listed here, we will gladly accept a donation without prior confirmation! If you would like to donate a seed type that is not on this list, please reach out to Conservation Outreach Director Skye to ensure we can properly store and germinate that seed. Seeds must be mature and plant material fully dried before donating. Seeds do not need to be cleaned and processed.

We’d love to hear from you! If you are willing to allow Mainspring staff and/or volunteers access to your property, we will gladly collect seeds from your plants ourselves. Please reach out to Conservation Outreach Director Skye to learn more.

We love tomatoes and marigolds as much as the next gardener, but our seed library is reserved for native seeds only. The Sylva Seed Library within the Jackson County Public Library accepts seeds of all kinds.

Our seed library is open to anyone who lives within a 50-mile radius of our service area (Macon, Jackson, Swain, Cherokee, Clay, and Graham Counties in NC, and some of Rabun County, GA). Please see this map to determine if your town is within our target radius. Though most plants that live in our service area are native to other areas, our focus is on hyper-local ecotypes, and dispersing seeds more than 50 miles from our service area does not meet the mission of the WWL.

Currently, the WWL is located within our Franklin office at 557 E Main Street. Our office is typically open from 9am-4pm, Monday-Friday. We suggested making an appointment with our Outreach Director Skye. She can help you pick appropriate seeds for your habitat type, provide learning resources, and answer questions. If you are coming from out of town specifically to visit the WWL, please call our office at 828-524-2711 to ensure a staff member will be present to let you into the building. As this program grows, we hope to establish satellite locations inside other establishments like public libraries.

Due to capacity constraints, we are not able to ship seeds. As this program grows, we hope to establish satellite locations inside other establishments like public libraries.

Seed library users can take up to 3 packets per month, unless they have special permissions. If you are working on a larger project in a public space- such as a pollinator planting at a public school, “rewilding” your town’s ornamental plantings, or establishing a vegetative buffer along a creek in your neighborhood. Reach out to Skye to inquire about requesting an abundance of seed packets.

Seed packets are free! As a small, local nonprofit, we always appreciate donations. If you wish to support the WWL by making a donation, the suggested donation is $5 per seed packet. Donations are not required or expected. Our only stipulation is that you plant what you take. These seeds are precious, and a lot of time and energy is channeled into sourcing and distributing them. Additionally, native seeds need some special care in order to germinate. Germination information and instructions will be provided with each packet you take.

We are working to develop an online seed catalogue that will be updated with our current stock and species selection. This page will include information such as light preferences, wildlife associations, bloom time and color, and water requirements.

Store seeds in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight. We recommend planting seeds as soon as possible (while still abiding by germination instructions), but most species offered through the WWL can be stored in paper packets at room temperature for a year before viability is significantly affected. If you wish to save seeds for a long period of time, you may place them in an airtight container (such as a plastic baggie) and store them in the fridge. Ensure the seeds do not freeze or get wet.

How do I germinate native seeds?