As a passionate homeowner with a penchant for gardening and landscaping, you may often find yourself encountering the terms “cultivar” and “nativar” during your visits to local nurseries or while designing your garden layout. While these terms might seem intimidating initially, they simply refer to distinctive types of garden plants.
Understanding the nuances between cultivars and nativars not only allows you to make informed decisions regarding your garden’s aesthetic appeal but also has far-reaching implications for local ecology and biodiversity conservation.
It should be noted, a true native plant is the ideal. Second would be a nativar depending to some degree on why it was “created”. Next, would be a cultivar. Some are OK and some are not. And last, would be an exotic, if at all, but never one that is considered invasive.
We still want to cultivate a landscape that encompasses at least 70% native plants, ideally as close to 100% as possible, while making sure we also don’t have, or add, invasive plants. So, how to cultivars and nativars play into this?
Deciphering Cultivars and Nativars
The first step in our exploration is to understand what these terms signify. A cultivar, cleverly derived from ‘cultivated variety’, represents a plant variety that has undergone selective breeding. This process involves emphasizing specific traits such as size, shape, color, or resistance to diseases, producing unique plant varieties that may offer very little to your local pollinators. This does also include plants that are propagated clonally ensuring desired characteristics.
On the other hand, a nativar is a cultivated variety of a naturally pollinated or created native plant. Although they might showcase unique aesthetic qualities similar to cultivars, nativars primarily maintain the genetic characteristics inherent to native species. However, depending on why the nativar was “created” there may be little to no value to local pollinators. For instance, if the flower was created to have double blooms, it may keep local pollinators from actually being able to extract nectar.
Keep in mind, native pollinators evolved with these plants over thousands to millions of years and some are so specialized, that they can’t utilize some of the nativars produced even though they were produced from native species.
Unearthing the World of Cultivars
Cultivars are born out of selective breeding for some desirable trait. Plant breeders can cross-pollinate plants that possess desirable traits and then attempt to choose the best results that display the preferred characteristics. This process can lead to plants boasting incredibly vibrant colors, oversized blooms, enhanced robustness, or heightened resistance to diseases.
There are some good cultivar stories. This is the reason not all cultivars can be lumped into the “bad” category but they are still very low on the list of preferred plant species in your gardens. It’s important to keep in mind that cultivars do not provide genetic diversity which is very important in plant communities and survival rates.
One success story (and I have two of these planted on my property, is the Dunstan Chestnut, Castanea dentata x mollissima). This is a cultivar of the American Chestnut with a percentage of the Chinese Chestnut that, so far, has allowed the trees to grow free of the deadly blight that caused some 4 billion+ trees to succumb to the fungus.
Understanding the Role of Nativars
Nativars, colloquially known as native cultivars, are selectively chosen from populations of native plants occurring naturally in the wild. They can retain the native species’ genetic composition while offering subtle variations in traits such as color, size, or growth patterns. Nativars serve a pivotal role in forging a connection between the natural ecosystem and the man-made garden landscape if the option is between one of these vs an exotic species. It is still more desirable to choose a true native plant, however.
Nativars are at least a step in preventing a sterile yard full of exotics but there can still be complications. Some nativars have no nectar or pollen and may even have sterile seeds. As we’ve seen from past actions, we don’t fully know future implications. We have too many stories of what can go wrong.
Nativars can have the same characteristics as the native plants in that they are adapted to the same geographic region as the native species regarding disease resistance, ecoregion, and local soils. However, nativars may have less genetic diversity than the same native species, and the genetic changes can frequently cause changes that make the nativar unacceptable to wildlife species that depend on that specific native plant including seeds that birds prefer.
As native plants become more and more popular, (YAY), we can only assume nurseries will start carrying more and more of them. However, it’s much easier for nurseries to sell plants that have uniformity and there is a risk in providing more nativars because they may be easier to sell based on a known size, bloom time, color etc. My take – do your best to source truly native plants and limit nativars as mush as possible.
I do have a few nativars on my property and I am observing them yearly to see if they add as much value as my pure natives.
Native Species: The Heart and Soul of Sustainable Gardening
While cultivars and nativars may provide options for your garden in terms of size or disease resistance, they may not always be the most eco-friendly choice. The spotlight, in many instances, deserves to be on the unassuming yet impactful native species, the heroes of local ecosystems. Here’s why straight native species often surpass cultivars and nativars in fostering biodiversity and sustainability:
Conservation of Genetic Diversity
Native species are the foundation of our ecosystems, carrying within them the genetic diversity that has evolved over thousands of years. This genetic variation is vital for a species to adapt to changing environments and can be diluted when crossing with cultivars and nativars. By using straight native species, we conserve this vital genetic diversity and help preserve the resilience of our natural systems. It’s even better if you can source plants or seed mixes as close to you or your location and ecoregion as possible.
Ecosystem Services
Native species play critical roles in their respective ecosystems, providing essential services that keep our natural environment functioning. This includes services like nutrient cycling, soil formation and retention, water purification, and carbon sequestration. Introducing cultivars and nativars could disrupt these services, as they might not perform these functions as effectively as straight native species.
Native Wildlife Support
Native plants have evolved in conjunction with the local fauna, resulting in a complex web of interdependencies. They provide ideal food, shelter, and breeding habitats for many species of birds, insects, and mammals. Cultivars and nativars, even though they may be derived from native species, may not support local wildlife as effectively. Changes in leaf texture, flower shape, or bloom time could impact the plant’s usability for native insects and animals.
Low Maintenance
Native plants are perfectly adapted to their local climates, soils, and diseases. They require less water, fertilizer, and pesticides than cultivars and nativars, which may have been bred for aesthetic traits at the expense of hardiness or disease resistance. This makes straight native species an economical and lower-maintenance choice in terms of required inputs for the sustainable gardener.
Supporting Local Ecology
Planting straight native species helps to maintain the character and identity of the local landscape. Cultivars and nativars, with their varied colors and shapes, can sometimes look out of place and dilute the natural aesthetics of the area. This is one of the hardest traits we need to rethink in terms of gardening and landscape design. As Benjamin Vogt states, “Rethink pretty”.
Incorporating straight native species on your property offers undeniable ecological benefits. Understanding this balance, and choosing plants wisely, is a testament to responsible and sustainable gardening. When planning your garden, consider the impact of your choices on the wider environment and local ecosystems.
When choosing plants for your garden, always look out for labels indicating whether they’re cultivars or nativars. These almost always show up in parentheses or in a unique name beyond the Latin name. If these are hard to find, ask your nurseries and garden centers to start carrying a variety of native plants, thereby facilitating informed and responsible gardening choices.
Also, be wary, as some plant markers will state something like “U.S. Native.” A native plant along coastal Oregon is not typically the same native plant in rural Iowa.
Where can you find native plants? Here is a post that shows some national sources (seed and plugs) and also ones more local to me in SW Ohio: https://patrickgoesnative.com/where-to-buy-native-plants/
Final Thoughts
Grasping the differences between cultivars and nativars is an indispensable knowledge for the modern gardener. By making wise choices and practicing responsible cultivation, you can create a garden that not only delights the eye and soothes the soul but also nurtures the local environment and its inhabitants.
Go native, with the right plants!
Related Resources
Need Help Going Native?
There are a lot of “rules” we’ve been told over the years and some hard-and-fast beliefs that we’ve developed as homeowners and gardeners. If you’d like help to understand a more eco-friendly, natural, and beneficial method, please reach out to learn more, and we can go native together!