Natives vs. exotics
Care for your garden
The choice between native plants and exotic plants is a perennial gardening topic.
“Exotic” when applied to people and most objects means very different, strange, or unusual; when applied to plants, it generally means coming from another country.
When thinking about gardens, this distinction becomes fuzzy. For eons, plants have used myriad strategies to relocate in new places, with help from winds, waves or birds. In addition, for hundreds of years, plant hunters have brought plants across oceans to markets where the plants either expired, naturalized after a few generations, or found their new environs to be acceptable.
Some of these newcomers liked their new “digs” a lot and flourished with such vigor that they became invasive bullies of the preexisting vegetation. A seasonal example is the “Bermuda buttercup (Oxalis pes-caprae), from South Africa.
Most home gardens include plants from other countries. Familiar examples include roses, most of which have Asian origins, irises from the Middle East, eucalyptuses from Australia, aloes from Africa, and countless others.
While all plants are native to someplace, those that are native to a particular place are best regarded as the first comers. They have become well adapted to that place but are neither the optimal nor the divinely chosen occupants of that location.
Just as a plant’s “native” status could change over time, the concept of “exotic plants” could apply to both foreign imports and plants that are native to a given part of the world. Even California native plants could seem exotic to some California gardeners. About 6,500 species, subspecies, and varieties of plants occur naturally in this state, and many are found nowhere else in the world. It is easy for a gardener encounter an unusual or strange California native.
In a recent New York Times article, Margaret Roach skirted the “native vs. exotic” issue by encouraging gardeners to bring “specialty” plants to their gardens rather than “common” plants that are popular in garden centers and big box stores. You can read her article by Googling its title, “Why Stop at a Speciality Nursery?”
Numerous readers responded to Roach’s article by encouraging gardener to favor native plants because they need protection from invasive plants, are easy to grow in the natural habitat and support wildlife.
These are compelling points, particularly as they apply to insects that have evolved to depend upon specific plants (for example, Monarchs and Butterfly Weeds — Asclepias spp.), and the birds that depend upon those insects for their diets. It’s true that the Monarch population had been declining as Butterfly Weeds are becoming scarce, probably because of weed control in commercial farms.
Birds, however, can adapt to non-native plants. This is dramatically evident during the UCSC Arboretum’s Hummingbird Month during March. There’s still time this month to visit the Arb to see hummers enjoying the Australian plants. (They will still be there next month!)
Insects also can adapt. For example, the most common honeybee (Apis mellifera), a native of southeast Asia, was domesticated in the United States hundreds of years ago, and now pollinates numerous crops, many of which also were once exotic species.
The good news is that gardeners need not choose between native and exotic plants, or between common and specialty plants. Even small gardens can include a mix of such plants. A substantial percentage of California natives are beneficial to the wildlife and the environment.
Important considerations include selecting plants that are suited to local growing conditions, needed by pollinators and compatible with existing plants, i.e., not invasive.
Enrich your gardening days
Gardeners interested in bringing unusual plants into their gardens will enjoy visiting the websites of these mail-order specialty nurseries, most of which Margaret Roach listed. Google the nursery’s name to view their offerings.
Annie’s Annuals and Perennials
Cistus Nursery
Digging Dog Nursery
Edelweiss Perennials
Far Reaches Farm
Flowers by the Sea (Salvias)
Garden Vision Epimediums (Epimediums) Geraniaceae (Geraniums)
Issima (featured by Margaret Roach)
Joy Creek Nursery (Clematis and others)
Keeping it Green Nursery
Las Pilitas Nursery (California Natives)
Nurseries Caroliniana Plant Delights
Sequim Rare Plants Woodlanders
Nearby sources where you can order specialty plants for in-person pickup:
Regional Parks Botanic Garden
UCB Botanical Garden UCSC Arboretum and Botanic Garden
Advance Your Gardening Knowledge
Now that we have maintained
social distancing for a full year, garden-related organizations have organized a growing schedule of webinars, too many to describe in detail. Interested persons can visit these websites for more information.
The Xerces Society has announced a series of webinars to help you turn your conservation dreams into action. On Earth Day, April 22nd, Scott Black will present, “Insect Apocalypse? What Is Really Happening, Why It Matters and How We Can All Be a Vital Part of the Solution.” Future topics include how water quality practices can benefit pollinators, soil invertebrates, and creating community
with our insect neighbors. Visit xerces.org/events to learn more about these events and to register. All the Society’s webinars will be posted to its YouTube channel after the event.
The Sempervirens Fund’s new webinar series, “Under the Redwoods,” explorers the region’s 1,025 square miles of redwood forests and watersheds. Amy Patten of the California Native Plant Society will present “Treasure Hunting in the Santa Cruz Mountains: Fire Followers and Rare Plants,” at 1 p.m. Tuesday. For information on this program and the series, visit tinyurl. com/33pte4dp.
The Santa Cruz Symphony has announced
“Ready, Set, Garden!” a series of seven online presentations to inform and inspire you in the garden
& kitchen. For flexible viewing schedules, each topic will be available for 16 days after its initial presentation. For information on this fee-based series, visit www.ReadySetGarden.org.
The British Cactus & Succulent Society will present Wolfgang Borgmann’s
presentation, “Between Volcanoes and Dragon Trees—My Succulent Highlights of the Canary Islands.” To travel virtually, visit https://society.bcss.org.uk/index.php/ online-talks.html.
Stay safe and enjoy your garden.
Tom Karwin is past president of Friends of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, Monterey Bay Area Cactus & Succulent Society, and Monterey Bay Iris Society, and a Lifetime UC Master Gardener (Certified 19992009). He is now a board member and garden coach for the Santa Cruz Hostel Society. To view daily photos from his garden, https://www.facebook. com/ongardeningcom566511763375123/. To search an archive of previous On Gardening columns, visit http:// ongardening.com.