OUR STORY
ABOUT US
Izel Native Plants developed a unique model in horticulture by consolidating the inventories of several native plant nurseries in a user-friendly website. As our customers, you will have access to a greater selection of native plants in one convenient website than could be found through any individual nursery. This is one-stop-shopping at its best, from the convenience of your home or office, and with plants delivered to your door for free.
Several of our partners are wholesale-only growers whose offerings are now available directly to the end consumer exclusively through Izel Native Plants, without requiring wholesale accounts, or credentials within the horticultural trade. Individually containerized plants may be subject to a “Mix & Match” minimum order requirement to reduce our shipping costs, and in turn, offer the best possible value. There are no minimum order requirements for our flats of plugs, other than they cannot be divided and are only sold as full flats.
Whether you are looking for trees or ground covers, spring ephemerals or late summer bloomers, wetland species or drought tolerant species, IzelPlants.com has them all. We offer many tools for you to filter our species list, and help find what species are best suited to your specific garden environment, and your specific ecoregion.
Izel Native Plants specializes in plants native to the area in green, and ships to those highlighted states.
Plant orders being readied for shipment. Our plants are shipped weekly throughout the spring, summer and fall.PURCHASING PLANTS
Most of our current plant offerings are native to the East Coast and Mid West. Once you’ve found your ideal species, you’ll have the option to select which nursery you want to fulfill your order, but before we show you plant pricing and availability, we’ll ask you to input the destination zip code for your order.
Here's why:
- Some states have quarantine restrictions, and we don’t want to offer you a plant from a nursery that can’t ship to you.
- We sort your buying options by proximity to your location. By choosing the nursery closest to you, you’ll be more likely to purchase a plant with a genotype best adapted to your area. Of course, you are welcome to purchase your plants from any of our nurseries.
- You may add plants from multiple nurseries to your shopping cart. Izel Native Plants offers a convenient single checkout, regardless of how many nurseries you choose to fulfill your order.
OUR SPECIES INFORMATION
Our goal is to be a resource for detailed plant information, including species characteristics, descriptions, cultivation guidelines, county level maps of recorded native range, and more. We are constantly adding new species to our database. Check in with us regularly. Our focus is on quality and accuracy, not quantity.
Because nomenclature and classification may vary from one source to another, we use the USDA Plants Database as our standard.
All the species information on our website is gathered following a rigorous process of cross referencing to ensure its accuracy. However, it should not be considered academic research. Errors or omissions may occur. We welcome any contributions or corrections that are backed with reference material. Please drop us a line. Thanks!
A suburban pollinator garden full of Agastache, Echinacea, Eryngium, Pycnanthemum and Ratibida.
Photo of Vanessa cardui (painted lady) on Symphyotrichum laeve (smooth blue aster)WHY NATIVE?
If you are reading this you must already have a good idea of the answer as well as a sense of environmental responsibility.
It is often said that growing natives reduces the need for watering and fertilizing, that they are more disease and pest resistant. Natives are not a panacea for these problems. Any species, native or not, grown in environment that is less than ideal, will require maintenance. What one person might consider a pest, another person might consider wildlife. Native plants, in the appropriate environment, can offer an important source of food and shelter for organisms ranging from microbial, to insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals. All of which contribute to a healthy ecosystem. Growing plants native to your ecoregion will also help restore seed banks that have been destroyed by development, or overrun by exotics.
At Izel Native Plants we believe, first and foremost, that the top priority should be to do no harm. Our website gives you the tools and information to engage in responsible gardening. Every plant counts, grow natives!
WHO IS IZEL NATIVE PLANTS?
Izel Native Plants, located in Washington, DC, is the brainchild of co-founders Claudio Vazquez and Amanda McClean. Two photographers with backgrounds in advertising and marketing. Both are avid gardeners, who were frustrated with the difficulties they encountered trying to find reliable native plant information and user friendly websites for their purchases.
After years of web development, talking to, and consulting with, gardeners of every skill level, landscape architects, botanists, garden curators, and nurseries, izelplants.com was formally launched in 2014.
Shannon Currey, who came to us after 15 years with Hoffman Nursery, joined the Izel team in 2022 to expand our education and outreach efforts.
At Izel Plants we believe, first and foremost, that the top priority should be to do no harm. Our website gives you the tools and information to engage in responsible gardening. Every plant counts, grow natives!
Left to Right: Claudio Vazquez, Amanda McClean, and Shannon Currey
Left: The pictogram for Xochitl (SO-cheel), which means 'flower'.
Right: The Izel Native Plants logo; the word "Izel" means 'unique'.
ABOUT OUR NAME
Our name, Izel (pronounced eye-ZEL) and logo are Nahuatl (pronounced NAH-what). Nahuatl, used by the Aztecs, is one the oldest written languages “native” to North America. Its origin dates back to the 5th century AD and was used from central Mexico to the southwestern United States.
Izel (pronounced eye-ZEL) means 'unique'. The logo is based on the pictograph Xochitl (SO-cheel), which means 'flower'. The two combine to create... you get the picture.
