Basically, plant swapping is as simple as it sounds.
In one fashion or another, folks involved in gardening initiate some sort of trading. The swaps show up steadily as informal, one-on-one trades between gardeners or organized events open to the public.
The swaps blossom from a sense of sharing and friendship, but also can be the root of problems for unsuspecting gardeners.
Those involved in them express a fondness of this commerce of camaraderie, but they also warn about some dangers that can show up.
Margie Radebaugh, director of education and horticulture at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Oakland, says it is important to be aware of the threat of invasive plants.
"When we have a swap, if we see anything that looks invasive, we just get rid of it," she says.
Sandy Feather from the Allegheny County branch of Penn State University's extension service says the problem can be nasty because it takes time to develop.
"People tend not to call me until after it's a problem," says the consumer horticulture educator. "It can take a couple years to see a plant spreading, and then people come back to me."
But even with the care that needs to be taken, swaps tend to be viewed with fondness by hobbyists and professionals.
"It is just wonderful to get this kind of discussion going," says Renae Geraci, who has been working on the Pittsburgh Garden Swap at the Frick Environmental Center in Squirrel Hill since it began eight years ago.
An action rooted in informality
Plant swaps can range from simple trades to dealings with a form of currency.
For instance, Feather says master gardeners in the extension service swap all the time. Radebaugh says she will sometimes use a swap as a way of getting volunteers more involved and to let them learn more about plants.
Jane Miller, president of the Garden Club of McKeesport, says every May the group will hold a "bring a plant, get a plant" meeting.
Diana Dale, president of the Greensburg Garden Center, says that group tries to have a swap once a year, generally in the fall.
Similarly, Linda Hyatt, program coordinator at the Penn State extension service office in Westmoreland County, says they will have a swap at a fall picnic.
"Some people will bring what they have a lot of, just as a way of getting rid of it," she says with a laugh. "But some people will bring some pretty impressive stuff."
Most of the swap organizers say the events are dominated by perennial flowers, but some people bring shrubs or even trees.
Frick's swap is more organized and growing every year, Geraci says. She believes that points to the interest in gardening and the desire for more knowledge.
She helped organize the first Frick event in 2000, the year after she and her husband, David, moved to their home in Carrick. They had been living in the top of Temple Sinai in Squirrel Hill and had a rooftop garden there.
When they went to Carrick, they realized they could have a bigger garden. That led to some visits to the Frick center, where she got involved in putting together the first swap.
In that swap, participants bring plants, shrubs and gardening materials for which they are awarded a ticket, sometimes more for bigger items.
They can use the tickets to buy items on display. They, and visitors without plants, also can purchase tickets for cash.
Geraci says they don't like to sell too many tickets "because that weakens the value of the currency," namely, the price of participation.
Knowledge begins to bloom
The whole day "gets discussion going," Geraci says and leads to an exchange of knowledge about plants and their growth.
Ginger Steimer, volunteer coordinator in the master gardener program at the Armstrong branch of the extension service, says she would like to organize a program like that. Right now, the swaps generally are informal among the master gardeners.
She agrees fall would be a good time to have it, but says that also presents a problem.
"You almost have to have an educational effort to let people know what this plant is going to look like in the spring when it is pretty," she says.
Diana Knapp says education is part of every swap. She is a member of the Acorn Hill Garden Club in the North Side and works at Hahn Nursery Garden Center in Ross.
"A person will find a new plant and say, 'What is that?' and 'What kind of care does it need?'"
That exchange of knowledge helps even a person such as Radebaugh, who obviously knows a fact or two about plants. Nonetheless, at one swap she came across a plant she didn't know.
"I got an iris I didn't know, and now I really love it," she says
Knowing about invasive plants also is a vital piece of knowledge.
The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources defines invasive plants as those that "grow quickly and aggressively, spreading and displacing other plants. Invasives are usually introduced by people, either accidentally or on purpose, into a region far from their native habitat."
With aggressive growth, plants can take over a garden, making use of all the nutrients in the soil and pushing out other plants. Some well-known invasives are Japanese knotweed and wild parsnip.
Radebaugh says they watch closely for invasive plants at Phipps events.
"If we see one, we pull it out," she says.
She recommends this list for more information about invasives.
Other swappers are concerned with invasives, too -- with varying degrees of seriousness.
"We discourage the use of invasive plants," Geraci says. "We separate them and destroy them."
McKeesport's Miller is a little more open about those matters.
"We'll take anything we can get, even if it is invasive," she says. "But we warn them."
If a swapper misses the warning, "They can get a little upset about getting an invasive plant."
Pick the right plants
Early-blooming perennials that already have finished flowering are your best bet for a mid-summer plant swap. Although some might go into dormancy after transplanting, your chances of success are best with the following choices.
Perennials
• German bearded iris
• Siberian iris
• Lungwort
• Poppies
• Wood phlox
• Bleeding heart
• Primrose
• Lily-of-the-valley
• Solomon's seal
• Columbine
• Brunnera
Ground covers:
• Bugleweed
• Sweet woodruff
• Myrtle
• Mazus
• Creeping phlox
• Candy tuft
Divisions or cuttings of favorite houseplants are another good idea. Gardeners can grow these plants in patio containers for the remainder of the season and then move them indoors when autumn arrives.
-- Garden expert Jessica Walliser
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