Shooting Star
Are wild geraniums ephemerals if they go dormant during the summer? – Technically no. Some native plants such as Virginia Blue Bells, Shooting Stars and Dutchman’s Breeches are spring ephemerals. This means they have a short life cycle, typically blooming and setting seed before the trees leaf out, and then go dormant regardless of the weather, only to repeat this cycle the following spring. Other native plants like the Wild Geranium will go dormant after extended dry or hot weather conditions, else the plant persist. It’s one of the ways native plants have adapted.
Some of my prairie plants went dormant during the extreme 2012 drought, but came back in 2013 when weather conditons were back to “normal”. Some non-ephemeral plants which have gone dormant may even green up again if the weather changes to their liking, others remain dormant. For example, my sensitive ferns went dormant during the 2012 drought, but during the end of 2012, with just a few rains they re-appeared, just like magic.
Tall Goldenrod
Some native plants are invasive, aren’t they? – I prefer the words “out of balance” coined by Stephen Packard in his article in the Wild Ones Journal Aug/Sept/Oct 2013 . Native gray dogwoods and Tall or Canadian goldenrod are two examples of native plants referred to as invasive by some. Although I’m not a restoration expert, my opinion is these plants are “out of balance” because we are missing something from the local ecosystems that helped keep these plants “in balance” or have introduced something not found in the original local ecosystems that make them behave “out of balance”, or more likely a combination. One example of something missing that created an imbalance is the American Bison. By re-introducting Bison (often referred to as Buffalo) into local prairies like Nachusa and Midewin, scientists are hoping their grazing will control some of the more aggressive native tall grasses. Read more about this at: “Nachusa Bison FAQs”.
Are native cultivars, “nativars” the same as native plants?
My simple answer is “no”. Native plants have developed over time for thousands of years, through natural processes while “nativars” or “native cultivars” have not. If you had to choose between a native cultivar or nativar and a non-native, I would go with the former. And I have personally used a few native cultivars/nativars in my designs when space and height were an issue. But 90% of the time, I use straight species native plants with local ecotype. What I mean by local ecotype is best explained with an example: You can’t buy a Redbud tree from Georgia and expect it do well in northern Illinois just because Redbuds grow here too, (well mostly a southern IL tree but now with climate change, they’re growing well in northern IL too). Georgia and northern Illinois have different growing conditions. So this means you want to purchase plants grown from seed obtained from plants whose growing conditions are local/similar to our area = local ecotype. If the seed is from another region with different growing conditions, they might not do as well, which is why I think some native cultivars/nativars sometimes fail. To learn more read:
Natives, Cultivars, and “Nativars”
Nativars: Where do they fit?
Why can’t I dig up or forage for native plants , or collect seeds and nuts from natural or common areas, like forest preserves or park districts, especially if they are abundant?
- If a lot of people did this, then we would lose many native species and all the benefits they provide. For example, we have lost many of our beautiful native orchids to poachers, some of which were once abundant in our area. Because we have lost some orchids, some of the pollinators that depended on them are rare or have gone extinct.
- Local wildlife need specific native plants for food, nesting or shelter areas, and most of the wild areas containing these plants have been lost or greatly reduced, so we need to protect what is left.
- The removal process can damage soil causing compaction and erosion, plus any disturbance or empty space is an opportunity for invasive species to take over. Besides poachers probably don’t have the correct conditions (soil, sunlight, insects, specific fungi,…) to grow some of the plants found in the wild, especially the specific conditions needed by rare plants, so why collect them only to have them die?
- A reduction of a plant species in the wild would lower genetic diversity, which leads to their demise over time.
- Lastly, it’s illegal to dig up plants or collect seeds and nuts from public areas! Read more about this under “Ethics and Native Plants”.
One final note: Some of us are fortunate enough to have remnant native plant naturally growing on our properties, the lone survivors from areas that were once prairies, savannas, woodlands and / or wetlands. Since 95% of our land is privately own, I urge folks to preserve and protect these plants too. To learn more about how you can do this, please go to : Plants of Concern.
So I hope I shed some more light on some common questions. Keep asking because I’m learning too and I have many of these same questions!