Great Grow Out

The Great Grow Out program is designed to empower volunteers to grow native plants in the comfort of their own homes. This is a great program for individuals, families, civic groups, corporate teams, student clubs, or scouts! Volunteer growers are given packets of locally collected prairie seeds and asked to grow these plants in pots. Plants are then returned to the Coastal Prairie Conservancy and staff nurture the plants until they are ready to be planted. Seed packing parties, seed collecting field trips, and nursery volunteer days are also an important part of this program. This program helps the Coastal Prairie Conservancy grow thousands of plants annually for use in Coastal Prairie Conservancy restoration sites, Pocket Prairies throughout our community, and to support other restoration efforts in the region.

Don't forget to keep a few for your garden!

NEW! Great Grow Out has expanded to include the entire plant growing cycle: Join us also to collect seeds, to clean and pack seeds, to take care of the potted plants at the Coastal Prairie Conservancy Native Seed Nursery, and to put these plants in the ground on our planting days. See our Great Grow Out Year-Round Activity flyer for more information.

Special 2024-2026 Project: CPC Volunteers are 1) collecting seed, 2) growing out seedlings, and 3) planting 20,000 milkweed plants for Monarchs across the Katy Prairie as part of a special pollinator program! Join us in this exciting endeavor! Email Lan if you’d like to help scout for and collect milkweed seed or grow out milkweed plants.

Email Bethany to register for an upcoming Great Grow Out Workshop. We are happy to schedule workshops for your club or group!

Seeds Available NOW!

If you'd like to be a part of this year's Great Grow Out, you can pick up seeds at a number of different locations. Email Lan Shen or call 713-523-6135 to let us know you will be picking up seeds at any of these locations; we want to make sure we have them ready for you.

  1. Coastal Prairie Conservancy Main Office; 5615 Kirby Drive, Suite 867; Wednesdays from 2 - 5 p.m.

  2. Coastal Prairie Conservancy Field Office; 31975 Hebert Road; Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

  3. Houston Museum of Natural Science, Earth Day Event (April 2024); check back for more information.

If you have any questions, email Lan Shen or call 713-523-6135. Each seed packet has enough seeds for 18, 4"X4" pots. 

Available seeds are listed below. To view photos and information about each plant, click the corresponding link.

When your are ready to return your seedlings for use in a restoration project, email Lan or give us a call at 713-523-6135.

 
 

Learn To Grow Plants

Don't have a green thumb but want to try growing natives? Take a look through our handbook or watch the videos below to get started!

Resources

We welcome comments from our growers!

Sent by Mary Hawkins who grew out rattlesnake master:
I … [researched] and found the following information which was helpful. The seeds grow best when planted in the fall and over wintered in a protected environment. Also, rattlesnake master seedlings grow at glacial speed, and some seeds can take more than twelve weeks to sprout… I planted several seeds in each pot, and germination stretched over a six month period!

Sent by Doreen Gallevo who grew out longspike tridens:
The Tridens strictus was pretty easy to propagate. I used the starter tray filled with ProMix that you guys gave away when CPC spoke at a monthly NPSOT meeting, and I followed the instructions in the Growing Prairie Natives videos linked on your webpage. I had multiple seeds germinate in most cells. It did take some time to separate them into individual cones. I'm sure I lost a few of them (I probably didn't water them often enough) but that 96-cell cone tray is a little more than half full and some of them are probably 9 inches tall. They were in my backyard where I only get part sun, so they may have grown a little slower than in full sun, but it's the space that worked best for me.

Coastal Prairie Conservancy's policy on working with minors

To review our policy on working with minors, please visit our Volunteer page.

Volunteer Forms

Please complete our Waiver of Liability, Release & Indemnity form available on our Volunteer page.

Pick-Up Form for Great Grow Out Seeds

Please click the button below once you’ve picked up seeds to help us keep track of active volunteers and seed supplies. Thank you!

Return Form for Great Grow Out Plants

Please click the button below once you’ve returned plants. Thank you!