Monday, April 10, 2023

Did You Know Who Coined the Term "Nativar"?

 Posted by: Linda Langelo, Horticulture Specialist, Golden Plains Area Extension


                                                Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Allan Armitage, author of Armitage's Garden Perennials, horticulturist and 
professor at Georgia University coined the term "nativar" "to show customers
that the industry was offering what they wanted: garden plants developed
from documented native sources, known in the scientific community as 
genotypes" from "What's in a Nativar?" by Carol Becker. A nativar is a
cultivated variety of a native plant that some ecological value in the 
environment. Nativars can be a native plant that is a genetic variant found in 
nature. That plant is then selected and propagated to retain a particular or 
unique aspect. Nativars can also be obtained through the process of artificial
selection in which plant breeders grow plants with desirable characteristics and
eliminate those with less desirable characteristics according to Wildones.org.

According to Ryan McEnaney, Bailey Nurseries' Communications and Public
Relations Specialist, "Nativars allow us to retain the ecological benefits of native
species while making them adaptable and accessible for a modern landscape.
Whether that means a more compact size, cleaner foliage, better color, or a tidier
appearance, nativars solve problems that can arise with the genotype." At your 
nurseries and greenhouses, you may be finding more compact sizes of favorite
native plants with bigger blooms and better color with more disease resistance.

The next question is to plant or not to plant? According to Mary Phillips of the
National Wildlife Federation, it is good to plant 80% native plants and 20% 
cultivars or nativars so that specialist feeders still get what they need to survive. 
Doug Tallamy, American entomologist, ecologist,conservationist and author 
recommends that using  70% native plants and 30% cultivars or nativars is good.
Though Phillips and Tallamy might differ in percentages, the higher the percent 
of native plants the better. 

Let's look at Echinacea purpurea 'White Swan' for a moment. It is a nativar
because it is a cultivated variety of the native species with a white flower. It
is a plant that lives a long time. Another new nativar of Echinacea is
'Snow Cone' another white flowering coneflower with a compact size 
up to 2 1/2 feet for the front of a perennial border. With Echinacea 
alone there are many new nativars to choose to add to your perennial areas. 

                                            Photo credit: Mt Cuba Center

With some nativars, they will feed the indigenous pollinators while being 
resistant to fungal issues, disease and insects. The cultivated plants 
have larger, more color-saturated corollas which are more enticing to 
insects and hummingbirds according to Catherine Winter of 
Morningchores.com in her article, "What are Nativars and Are They 
Beneficial or Detrimental?"

The key to a healthy landscape is the same thing the doctor might say to 
you about moderation and balance in your diet. (Too bad chocolate 
isn't a vegetable.) Apply that in the landscape. Doing so brings about
diversity. If you have all lilacs and daylilies, if a disease or an insect
comes on your property and attacks the daylilies, then you have lost
a great deal of your landscape. Using a variety of plants keeps your 
landscape healthy. Every plant has a purpose and a place. 



 



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