State Laws, Proclamations, and Resolutions
Native Plant Laws and Proclamations by State
Before 2023, several states had laws, proclamations, or resolutions dedicating a day, week, or month to the importance of native plants. But given the importance of native plants, fewer states than you might expect.
Ohio was the first state to pass a law in July of 2019 recognizing the importance of native plants for an entire month by making April, Ohio Native Plant Month (www.OhioNativePlantMonth.org). In March of 2023, Mississippi became the second state to pass a law recognizing the month of April as Mississippi Native Plant Month. California passed a law making April Native Plant Month on 4-27-23. Currently Missouri and Oklahoma are working on similar state laws.
In the fall of 2022, The Garden Club of America launched an initiative to request proclamations from all 50 Governors to make April 2023 Native Plant Month in every state! Below are the proclamations received from each Governor, or information about existing state laws or proclamations.