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Friday 9am - 4pm Saturday 9am - 12pm

Wild Ridge Plants

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Alpha, NJ
Wild Ridge Plants

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We're a 100% native plant nursery located in Alpha, NJ. Visit our plant shop during seasonal hours. We offer in person shopping, shipping, and gift certificates.

Our plants are 100% native straight species
Nursery-propagated on our farm
Grown from genetically diverse, local ecotypic seed collections
Grown using all natural methods, in an organic potting mix

Our family-run nursery propagates and grows over 100 species of native plants – right here on our farm. We run the day-to-day operations of the nursery. We do it all – collecting local eco-type seed, potting up plants, and hauling bales of soil. Our hands are in the dirt, and we like it that way!

--Nursery-propagated Native Plants--
We grow only native plants, only straight species. This means our plants are grown from wild, open pollinated seed. All plants are nursery-propagated on our farm in Pohatcong, New Jersey.

--Plants Grown from Wild, Open Pollinated Seed--
We hand-collect seed from wild populations primarily in New Jersey, southern New York state, and eastern Pennsylvania. We believe plants of local provenance are best suited for restorations and gardens. All Natural Growing Practices

We use all natural, chemical-free practices to grow our plants. Our container plants are grown in an organic potting mix with organic fertilizers and amendments. Certified River Friendly Farm since 2018.

10/29/2026

How many times have you been asked to vote in the midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3? Our mailbox has multiple political flyers each day. Text messages are coming through the line.

Wild Ridge Plants is also asking you to vote in the midterms. Here are just a few good reasons why:

In our county (Warren County, NJ), voters are being asked to decide if open space funds can also support stewardship of preserved lands – there will be no tax increase to accomplish this. The town of Old Bridge is looking at raising taxes to contribute to their open space fund. West Amwell voters in Hunterdon County can vote on a variable open space tax rate. This represents just three ballots – perhaps your state, county or town has something similar on the ballot.

Many states within our shipping zone are voting for a governor in mid-terms – Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin.

In addition, Congressional seats are up for vote, specifically all 435 seats of the US House of Representative and over 30 of the 100 Senate seats.

Governors, Congress, and local offices have a tremendous influence on issues like open space, stewardship, historic preservation, parkland, farmland, environmental justice, and more.

Make sure you vote on Tuesday, November 3!

10/22/2026

Long slanting sunlight in autumn makes the grasses sparkle.

Side Oats Grama -- look how the seedheads light up once they've matured. The foliage remains green until truly cold weather arrives, and the base of stems turn a reddish-purple.

Side Oats Grama is perfect for well-drained, dry and average soil in sunny spots. It's a great companion for Nodding Onion, Late Purple Aster and Dotted Horse Mint -- each of these plants thrives in our rocky soil, especially in low-competition gardens.

Meanwhile, Woodland Brome prefers at least a touch of shade. Plant this natve grass in average, rocky, or otherwise well-drained soil. Part sun to part shade will do well for it.

Woodland Brome foliage stays a bright green until the cold settles in. The upper parts -- the seedheads -- turn a pretty straw-like color. We add Big Leaf Aster, Sweet Joe Pye, and Upland Boneset to native plantings with Woodland Brome.

If you're assembling woodland restoration or garden, a canopy of Black Birch, Northern Red Oak and Shagbark Hickory is a great start. Add shrubs like Spicebush to support bees (early spring blooms), birds (autumn fruit) and butterflies (host plant for the Spicebush swallowtail).

Make sure to add grasses to your ecological garden plantings and restoration plans. You'll enjoy their beauty!

10/16/2026

Now you can search our native plant catalog by color. The whole rainbow is there, plus white and pink. Most people have preferences and associations with colors. Ultimately, color can affect how we feel. In fact, creating the color categories and exploring the catalog in that way was really enjoyable for me!

Many of our client gravitate towards or away from certain color palettes. It's fascinating and fun. Red can have particularly strong associations. In the Red category, you'll find wildflowers, trees, and shrubs that feature red blooms, red fruit, scarlet fall color, and even red branches.

Of course, we have the essential reds - Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) and Bee Balm (Monarda didyma). Let's go beyond the essentials and explore:

It's now mid-October, and red fall foliage is on the rise. Serviceberry species like Canadian serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) have had red foliage for weeks. Soon, Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) will have radiant burgundy red leaves.

Autumn is spurring on red fruit - Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), Hearts-a-Bursting (Euonymus americanus), Virginia Rose (Rosa virginiana), Solomon's Plume (Maianthemum racemosum), and Spikenard (Aralia racemosa).

Many landscapers love to work with the brilliantly red Red-osier Dogwood. However Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomum) is a great choice for more subtle red. Silky Dogwood is hardy, fast-growing, commonly occurring native shrub of wet/moist shores and shrublands. Birds love Silky Dogwood fruit.

Lastly, we have the autumn flush of Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) flowers.

Often red is a fleeting part of the native garden. You can enjoy longer lasting reds with Coral Honeysuckle (blooms in the spring/early summer and again late summer through fall). The ruby-red Virginia Rose hips stick around from summer through winter months. Depending on bird migration, we've sometimes had Spicebush fruits persist. The red arils of Hearts-a-Bursting can stick around, too. Lastly, the red branches of Silky Dogwood are a year-round feature.

10/09/2026

Life came full circle when ABC No Rio wrote us to see if Wild Ridge Plants would custom grow native plants for the green roof on their new building.

We both hung out at ABC in our teens. Like every Saturday. For me, the community and the music are one of the best sets of memories I have.

We grew a mix of native plants for both full sun and also for the shady conditions under the solar panels, based on wild plant communities of rocky ridgelines as well as deep forests.

Locally native species from black cohosh and foamflower to pearly everlasting and wild columbine are all part of the palette of species we’ve been growing out, all plants we propagated ourselves from local wild seeds.

We can’t wait to get planting with the green roof collective! Big thanks to Rudi for reaching out to me this spring!

So looking forward to seeing some familiar faces from way back when.

Jared (Kaboom!, The Bad Form)
&
Rachel (An Oxygen Auction)

…Now making plants as Wild Ridge Plants
& music as Hollow Howl
& art as .mackow.art

Check out ABC No Rio and the new building taking shape at 156 Rivington in NYC if you wanna be involved or offer support!

10/08/2026

We ship our native plants every Monday, and sometimes Tuesday (by request), too.

You can visit our native plant shop on Fridays from 9AM - 4PM / Saturdays from 9AM - 12PM.

10/06/2026

At the moment, we grow six species of native asters --
Late Purple Aster (Symphyotrichum patens)
Smooth Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve)
Blue Heart-leaved Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium)
New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
White Wood Aster (Eurybia divaricata)
Big Leaf Aster (Eurybia macrophylla)

What these native wildflowers share is that asters host a variety of Lepidopterans (butterflies and moths), including the Pearl Crescent butterfly, as well as, the many moths.

Generally, we find that asters can be very flexible in garden situations. In the wild, the plants display varied habitat preferences.

Dry to average / sun to part shade: Late Purple Aster, Smooth Aster and Blue Heart-leaved Aster are great for average and well-drained to dry soils. Late Purple Aster and Smooth Aster will do best in full sun. Blue Heart-leaved Aster is often found in sunny meadows to partly shaded wood's edges. All top out at about 2 feet to 3 feet tall. Late Purple Aster is the slowest to colonize, while the other two will settle in and get to spreading in a season or two.

Dry to average / part sun to shade: White Wood Aster and Big Leaf Aster are for your part sun to shade gardens. We've seen White Wood Aster used often in tough urban spots with lots of sun -- that's too extreme! White Wood Aster prefers a bit more shade than that. While this nicely spreading aster has a reputation for being overly abundant, we don't experience that in our gardens. If you do, plant White Wood Aster with other spreaders -- Blue Heart-leaved Aster and Bottlebrush Grass would do it!

Big Leaf Aster does really well in our upland woodland plantings among Wreath Goldenrod, Purple Joe Pye W**d, and Upland Boneset. We love the low, broad, heart-shaped foliage. It's an excellent groundcover.

Average to moist / sun to part sun: In a category all alone is New England Aster. Give this wildflower good soil and sun, and you'll have radiant PURPLE blooms in abundance. Give this tall plant a stake... or Blue Heart-leaved Aster to lean on.

10/02/2026

Black cohosh (Actaea racemosa) grew beautifully at Wild Ridge Plants in 2026. Whether in our woodlands or in containers at our native nursery, Black Cohosh grew full and lush.

In the pictures, you can see the dark brown seed capsules. We'll harvest the seeds for future grow outs.

We conduct a yearly winter effort to pull Vinca in this patch of microforest. Over the past ten years, it's rebounded and Black Cohosh is just one of the many plants that now thrive here. We offer tours in the spring and by request.

09/30/2026

Let's get our forests looking like this. White Wood Aster (Eurybia divaricata) is a great woodland wildflower for average / mesic / dry soil. This plant creates really pretty drifts.

For pollinators -- Solitary bees love it. White Wood Aster is a host for Pearl Crescent butterflies -- pictured here on a Rudbeckia.

09/29/2026

Our native plant shop is open Fridays and Saturdays in October. We're located in beautiful Pohatcong Township in New Jersey.

Exit 7 off of Route 78... 😀

We're equidistant between Clinton, NJ; Stockton, NJ; and Easton, PA.

It's peaceful and pretty. Come visit!

address for directions:
Wild Ridge Plants
170 Mountain Rd
Alpha, NJ

908-235-7622 // [email protected]

Address

170 Mountain Road
Alpha, NJ
08865

Opening Hours

Friday	9am - 4pm
Saturday	9am - 12pm

Telephone

+19082357622

Website

http://www.wildridgeplants.com/, https://ser-rrc.org/cerp-directory/

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