Trip Report: Native Texas Nursery

— by Cindy Chrisler

native plant nursery
Native Texas Nursery field trip. Photo credit Kristie Thompson.

Nearly thirty NPSOT-Williamson County members and guests toured Native Texas Nursery on the morning of February 5. Staff at the nursery were pleasantly surprised by the number of interested attendees, as they expected fewer than ten to turn out.

The group broke into two smaller groups to tour plastic shrouded greenhouses to see flats of seedlings, rows of “dry” plants such as agaves, and trees and shrubs in large containers. This impressive business supplies several NPSOT chapters, as well as landscaping services, with perennial forbs, shrubs and trees.

We were treated to an explanation about bringing native species from seeds or clones to outdoor-hardened plants ready for permanent homes. We watched employees preparing clones for propagation and loading trucks for transport, and learned quite a bit about running a thriving plant nursery.

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See photos from this field trip and others in our album==>

See field trip plans on our Home page.

NPSOT Undergraduate Scholarships

News students can use… The full text of NPSOT’s announcement is here:

The Native Plant Society of Texas is offering two undergraduate student awards: the Dr. Alfred Richardson Undergraduate Scholarship and the Kate Hillhouse Undergraduate Scholarship.

Both scholarships are available to biology, ecology, or related studies, students who will be juniors or seniors at a Texas university or college in Fall 2025, and meet the below criteria:

  • The Dr. Alfred Richardson Scholarship is a tuition scholarship funded by an endowment created by Harry and Marilyn Kirk. The award is $2500-$5000 per year for up to two years and will go to a student who plans to pursue an academic or research career focusing on the study, conservation or utilization of Texas native plants.
  • The Kate Hillhouse Undergraduate Scholarship is a $2500 award and will go to a student who is planning a career that furthers the use or conservation of Texas native plants.  This award is renewable if funds allow.

Applications are now open and and close on March 15, 2025. Scholarship(s) will be disbursed prior to the 2025 Fall Semester. The Grants & Scholarships Committee administers all student awards. For more information or questions about the research grant, please contact [email protected].

Apply at this link https://www.npsot.org/our-work/grants-scholarships/scholarships/

Thank you,
Amy Birdwell
Vice President, Education

Meeting Reminder February 13, “The Tree Collectors: Tales of Arboreal Obsession” with Amy Stewart

Join NPSOT-Williamson County on Thursday, February 13, 2025, when our featured topic will be “The Tree Collectors: Tales of Arboreal Obsession” with NYT best-selling author Amy Stewart.  Free and open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM.  The guest presentation begins after a short business meeting.

  • Please note:
    • Our guest speaker will be joining via Zoom.
    • This month’s presentation will NOT be recorded for YouTube*.

==> This month’s in-person location is the Georgetown Public Library, 2nd floor, 402 West 8th St, Georgetown, TX 78626. Come early (6:30 PM) for expert advice, to check out the seed swap board, or just to visit.

==> To attend via Zoom, register at https://npsot-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/A_RDWrA4Qr2WIFIDHNRSiw#/registration

Read about this month’s topic and speaker in this meeting announcement.


At every meeting, we give away a book — about native plants or the meeting topic — to one randomly chosen in-person attendee!


* If we have permission from our guest speaker, we record the presentation for our YouTube channel. (list of past topics)

Have an idea for a speaker?  Let Program Leader Susie Hickman know via  email to [email protected].

NPSOT-Williamson County meetings are free and open to the public. We hope you attend!  Meetings may be in person, virtual, or both, so be sure to check details in the meeting announcement. Meetings are announced on our website, our calendar and Facebook. See upcoming topics on our page Wilco Home or the Calendar.