Just a few thoughts on native vs. non-native plants
“So, where are you from?” How you answer this sometimes depends on who is asking. If it’s someone from your town, you might answer “We live on the north side of….” If you’re on vacation in another state you may reply with the state you call home. If you’re traveling overseas, you may say America (chances are probably pretty good they could figure it out without asking though).
I was once leading a garden tour with students through Portugal and Spain and our guide asked me this question. I was a little confused and told him we were all from The University of Tennessee. “No, no, where are your people from?” I figured out that with my last name, he wanted to know if my heritage was Spanish, which does indeed make up a small part of me. So, I told him, my dad’s side originated in Spain and my mom’s from Italy. He then told me the importance of finding out from which part of Spain we sprung.
Long intro, I know to a writing about plants but you know by now how I love setting the stage. For the past couple of decades, there has been sometimes heated discussion on which plants to choose for your garden, native vs. non-native. Being somewhat of a non-confrontational sort of guy, I usually step to the sidelines or try to change the subject to the weather. Yes, that’s the chicken’s way out so I’ll go on the record today to let you know where I stand. It depends. (Bawk, bawk!)
For many years I taught a university course on “Native Plants of Tennessee”. I loved this course! Not only did I learn a ton that I didn’t know prior but I also got to take my students on some great outings as we hoofed through fields and forests identifying plants native to our region but we also got to participate in several “plant rescues” where we’d collect native plants from a soon to be developed site.
In my personal garden there are several native plants. But there are just as many that are non-native. So, when exactly is that magic date that determined which is which? Some would say pre-European settlement. In other words, if a plant was growing on our (U.S.) soil then it was native and everything afterward was not. I’m not writing a scientific paper here (whew!) but my main point is that this subject is so foggy and gray that it’s very tough to take a hard stand.
Plants, like weather, do not respect state lines or national borders. Nature is fluid and it’s tough to pull up the draw bridge after all that we like has made it across the sea or land and say to any other plants, “Sorry, we’re full”. I’ll do my best to stay out of the political ditch here but when I think that apples originated in Central Asia and corn from Mexico, I have a hard time drawing clear boundaries. So let me get it back on the rails.
If you visit any Native Plant website, you’ll no doubt soon discover that there are benefits to planting natives. Native plants are part of our natural food web meaning these are important host plants and sources of food for our native animals and insects. But there is also a myth that native plants are low maintenance and carefree. Often just the opposite is true and plants we don’t consider native grow much more easily than those that are local. It is sometimes difficult to replicate the right conditions for native plants to thrive in the subdivisions and developments of today’s environment. Especially after the developers strip and sell all the good topsoil and compact the snot out of the land with the heavy machinery that didn’t exist when older neighborhoods were being planned and built.
So, I’d like to wrap this one up by saying there is no easy answer or position on native vs. non-native plant choices. Oh, wait! There is one simple piece of advice I can shout out to all who read this. “Do not plant invasive species of plants!” Sadly, more folks know these names than they do any native plants. Here are my top 10 “Do nots” in no particular order:
English Ivy
Japanese privet
Mahonia
Wintercreeper euonymus
Japanese honeysuckle
Kudzu (easy one)
Vinca minor and major (annual vinca is ok)
Burning bush
Chinese wisteria
Do not plant this tree!
I’m sure this list could go on for a while but I encourage all to do a little research before buying plants to make sure they aren’t going to be an invasive nightmare.
Till next time,
HAPPY PLANTING!