By Carrie DeJaco reporting for Native Plant News Spring 2025
What are cultivars and nativars, anyway? These two terms are related and there is some overlap of their meaning. All nativars are cultivars. However, not all cultivars are nativars. So, let’s start off with the definition of a cultivar.
What is a cultivar?
When a grower encounters a certain individual plant that has special characteristics they like, they may give that plant with those characteristics a cultivar name. The cultivar name will be added onto the plant’s scientific name; for example, if the plant is an Echinacea purpurea, the particular plant chosen for its special characteristics may now be known as Echinacea purpurea ‘Lovely Lucinda.’ The grower may clone this plant to produce many genetically identical individuals. Cloning of plants has been done for centuries and is common practice in horticultural production to achieve many copies of the exact same plant. Though there are many ways of cloning, most commonly cloning is achieved by simply growing roots on plant cuttings. When clones are produced, they will all have the same name as the original cultivar. The cultivar name is always in quotations after the scientific name.
Sometimes, plant propagators will grow closely related species near one another in hopes that the species will interbreed and produce offspring with interesting, new characteristics. When this happens, if the two parent species of the offspring are not known, a cultivar may have an abbreviated name, such as Echinacea x ‘Superb Susanna.’ The “x” here indicates that this plant is a cross between different species of Echinacea but the exact parental species are unknown.
What is a nativar?
A nativar is simply a cultivar of a native species. Someone fused together the words “native” and “cultivar” to use this new term to refer specifically to cultivars of native species.
What plants are not cultivars?
Plants that have not been cloned from others are said to be the “straight species” or “wild type.” Within any species, there is variability. Among plants of the same species, for example, some individuals may be taller or spindlier, have varying abundances of flowers, or be better able to tolerate certain environmental conditions, pests, or pathogens. Variability within a species is what enables it to persist through tough times. In the event of a drought, heat wave, viral outbreak, or excessive damage by herbivores, some individuals may be better able to withstand or bounce back from the challenging circumstances.
Both plants pictured here are the straight species (wild type): Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) on the left and one that shows some natural variability in Eastern Yarrow on the right (Achillea gracilis). Photos by Carrie DeJaco
Why would I want a cultivar (or nativar)?
Having cultivars provides uniformity. If you want all the plants in one area of your garden to look the same, then (assuming the area is uniform in terms of the soil type, fertility, drainage, and sunlight) planting cultivars will help you achieve that uniformity. Because all the plants of a certain cultivar are genetic clones of one another, they are, in theory, identical to one another in every way—they will be of the same height and fullness, have the same floral characteristics, and so on. They will also be equally susceptible or resistant to drought, late freezes, plant viruses, blights, and other challenges.
Why would I want to avoid cultivars (or nativars)?
Avoiding cultivars maintains genetic diversity, maximizing the likelihood that there will be individuals able to withstand any stressor that pops up, whether biotic or abiotic, natural or anthropogenic in origin. If you want your native garden area to be hardy and resilient, using straight species is the way to go.
If you have planted individuals of the straight species, it is likely that the individuals differ from one another somewhat in their appearances and in their characteristics attractive to pollinators and other wildlife. Some might be a bit shorter/taller/leggier/fuller/produce more or fewer flowers, or have flowers of shades a bit different from the others. A plant that is taller than the others or produces a stronger scent may be easier for pollinators to see or smell from afar. That one individual may not provide as many flowers or as much pollen as the others, but its presence is what draws the pollinators to your garden. Other individuals of that plant species may be shorter or less fragrant, but they may provide more flowers and pollen for the visiting pollinators. Thus, the plants of the same species but slightly different characteristics have all played their role in contributing to the success of the species and the ecosystem. Important to note is that genetic variability within a species (and among species) extends to things that we humans are not able to sense, such as palatability of leaves to leaf-eating bugs and nutritional content of nectar that may be very important ecologically.
Another factor to consider when thinking about whether you want cultivars or not is the plant’s reproductive capacity. Some plants (such as many Coreopsis, Echinacea, and Helianthus) are self-sterile, meaning they will not fertilize themselves to produce viable seeds. In self-sterile species, clones (cultivars), which are genetically identical, will not fertilize themselves or others of the same cultivar as themselves. The unfertilized ovules of these plants are able to recognize pollen that has the same genetic make-up as themselves and reject the “advances” of those pollen.
Why does it matter if the plants are able to produce viable seed? You may want the plant to self-seed in your yard (especially if it is an annual species that lives only for one season). You might want to collect seeds to plant in other areas of your yard or to share with friends. Perhaps you enjoy watching the birds forage on the seed heads. If your plants are self-sterile cultivars, there will be no seeds produced.
More than ever before, there are nurseries selling straight species seeds and plants. Check Native Plant Nurseries – North Carolina Native Plant Society (ncwildflower.org). But some species can still be tough to find. In this case, you might reach out to others in the Native Plant Society who might be able to share seeds with you! If your attempts still prove fruitless, you could purchase one each of a variety of cultivars of the species and gain at least a bit of genetic diversity, however limited, in that way.
If you want uniformity in your garden, you probably want to stick to cultivars because they will provide that uniformity. However, if you want to maximize genetic diversity and the ability of your plants and their offspring to be more resilient in the face of challenges and provide more to the food web, stick with the straight species—that’s the way to go.
Carrie DeJaco, Ph.D., is a community ecologist and a member of the Southern Piedmont Chapter of the NC Native Plant Society. A college professor for almost 20 years, she loves nothing more than teaching others about plants and the ecosystems in which they live. Carrie operates a small native plant nursery and consultation service, For the Birds and the Bees.