browsing: native selection — nativar

In addition to growing straight native perennials, shrubs, and trees, we also offer “nativars” – native plants selected for their smaller size or other urban/suburban garden-appropriate habit while maintaining their environmental value and low-maintenance local adaptability. Our feeling is that it’s better to landscape with native plant selections when straight natives can’t be used over choosing non-natives, hybrids, and cultivars. For example, a nativar might be less attractive to pollinators because of it’s lower stature but still offers foliage for caterpillars.

While the term “nativar” can be used to label native plants that have been hybridized by plant breeders, we do not include them in our nativar group. For our purposes, we identify and label straight native plants separately from nativars to distinguish those native selections which are naturally occurring. All other plants are grouped together as hybrids and non-native plants. For example, we do not include plants from the series Baptisia ‘Decadence’ under our “nativar” label because although the parent plants are natives, these descendants were manipulated by plant breeders. 

Some nativars are better than others when it comes to supporting wildlife, and as research becomes available we will try to update our information on this website.

It should be noted that there are non-native plants that are beneficial to wildlife. To search these broader groups use our “Special Traits” filters (at left) to find plants that attract pollinators, butterflies, songbirds, and hummingbirds, butterfly host plants, and a list of wildlife food source plants that includes mammals.

Click to read more about Nativars.