I'm not sure I'm clear on your use of the term "local genotype" ...

Within a species there is sometimes a difference in genotype enough to warrant a sub species .. often this subspecies is better designed to live in a sub or micro habitat within the main species population.

"If they cross-bred...wouldn't their offspring be more resistant to pests and diseases, and therefore more hardy? "

Crosses in nature along habitat gradients could create "ecotypes" .. plants within a species who's genomes are better designed to live in that fine grade of habitat. This is an even more percise division then sub species ..

... if your yard in theory was the same habitat of a given subspecies or if you lived an area where an ecotype existed then in theory that subspecies or ecotype would do better then a taxa from significantly different area ... but your yard is not "nature" per say it is an artificial environment ... so it is hard to draw simple conclusions. Crossing does not always mean the plants will do better ... just be different. In nature evolution would determine if the cross had some "new advantage" in a given habitat.

"What mileage range are we talking about, for "local genotypy?" 50 mile radius? 100 mile? 2 mile? "

Milage really has nothing to do with it ... check local flora to see what ranges and habitats subspecies and ecotypes live in and go from there ... evolution and geology have shaped the ranges of species .. not milage per say ... there could be many variations in a small area or none in a very large area of habitat.

In other words I'm not up on the best Compas plant per say for your needs but I hope some of the above clears up the theory involved ??

What will work in your yard is really the question ?? .. out here the Creosote shrub is a native that lives only a hundred yards from my backyard ... yet they are very tricky to grow under cultivation.

Good Day ...

If all you are concerned with is the ability of a population of plants to grow in a particular place then you are concerned with the provenance. Provenance is often the same for plants taken from the same latitude and different for plants taken from different longitude (east-west vs. north-south). However, if a plant is grown outside it's natural range for long enough period of time the provinence can change somewhat.

"Local genotype" is often used by conservation biologists. It is concerned with the preservation of regional germplasm. If you are doing restoration work it is considered to be best to use local seed. You'll find various values for the correct distance from which seed should be taken but it really comes down to the closer the better. You're just making an effort to preserve local heritage. At any rate, there is not a major difference between SE WI and NE IL. You're not crossing any major ecological zones there.

Thanks very much, Mohave Kid, and Lycopus.

I am not doing restoration in my backyard, obviously. I'm doing a re-creation. My backyard was originally a swamp. Since the natural gestalt of this area has been severely altered by draining and building...It's no longer a Wetland..though it does still tend to the moist/slightly acidic side of things. I grow lots of wet mesic/mesic plants in my back yard. The back yard floods once a year or so.

I was just using compass plants as an example...some of my compass plant seed was collected from virgin prairie, some plants were bought from a local nursery that claims local genotype. I can't tell the difference from one to the other. April

hello April;
you might find the work of Craig Dremann of interest:(http/www.ecoseeds.com/juicy.gossip.three.html) Many of the contributors to the theory of plant speciation can be found in a compendium of abstracts found at -(google)11th New Phytologist Symposium .I rather like the thoughts of Prof.Gottlieb -re:Stebbins; Clausen.(A review of Stebbins can be found at the National Academy of Sciences Press with an introduction by Peter Raven).If you have the inclination to pursue this further,suggest running a search :The History of Biosystematics. An interest in in plant behaviour/phenotypic expression opens (other) doors :evolution and development(evo-devo themes)ecological consequences of sexual expression,crosstalk,hormonal influences,stresses,plant-plant interactions...

Here is a link that might be useful: dremann link

addendum to the above topics:National Academies Press(Stebbins link)http:www.nap.edu/catalog/9766.html
openbook(left margin) for the Raven intro.
History of the Biosystematists (my typo,apologies)