Lacebark, Inc., P.O. Box 2383. Stillwater, OK 74076 Much has been written in recent years about the need to plant only "native" species. But the key questions are often overlooked. Is a plant best adapted to where it is "native"? Once urban soils have become homogenized and modified with all sorts of construction debris, is any plant "native" to that site? Are all introduced species "bad"? Shouldnt adaptation of a plant to a site or region be considered instead of just "native" vs. exotic? Just because a plant is "native" to an area, does that mean that the location/conditions are where is grows best? All these are questions that need to be considered. Our focus should be on plants adapted to a site and with acceptable "manners" relative to the desired purpose. The plant that grows best on a site may or may not be the most desirable and it may be a native or it may be an exotic. In many instances I feel requirement is often confused with tolerance. For example, my research that created the micronutrient fertilizer, Micromax, was done with tomato and pyracantha only. That was in 1978. Micromax has been the number 1 selling micronutrient fertilizer in the world for years. How can it be that research data from one vegetable and one woody shrub relates to thousands of species worldwide? I believe it is because all or nearly all plants have the same requirement for optimum micronutrient nutrition. To study this question I have grown an array of species of plants with a wide array of micronutrient levels. Azaleas were dark green and thrived in a narrow band of micronutrient levels. The same was true for African violet and blueberry. On the other hand, juniper, arborvitae, marigold, and crabgrass were green and attractive over a huge range of micronutrient levels, hundreds of times wider than for the azalea. BUT all of the test species grew best with the same level and combination. These data support the view that plants have vastly different degrees of tolerance, yet for optimum growth, about the same requirement. Now consider the initial questions raised: Is a plant best adapted to where it is native? If a plant grows faster, produces more flowers and seeds which germinate readily and establish new plants more rapidly in a new location vs. where it is native to which site is it best adapted? The new location of course! This is exactly the situation with the Melaluca leucadendron or punk tree in south Florida vs. its native habitat of Australia. In its native range in Australia, it is not an aggressive, invasive tree. A striking reverse situation exists with Pinus radiata, Monterey pine, native to the California coast where it grows at a moderate pace and is not especially vigorous. Yet in New Zealand and South Australia, Monterey pine grows vigorously and creates magnificent timber. A study of fossils reveals that many plants were "native" to locations far removed from were they are currently "native". Conditions change and with the change plant species shift or adapt. Just because a plant is "native" to a site does not necessarily mean that site and conditions are optimum for its growth. Once urban soils have become homogenized and modified with construction debris is any plant "native" to that site? No, other than crabgrass and then only because it has, perhaps, the widest tolerance of all species. On the other hand, many species have such a wide tolerance that they can grow reasonably well under such adversity. For example, southern wax myrtle, Myrica cerifera, is native over a wide range of conditions throughout the southeast USA. It is native to the almost pure sand soils of the Ocala National Forest in north central Florida, to stream banks where flooding frequently occurs, to alkaline soils along limestone outcroppings and acid soils along the swamps of southern Georgia. This is a species with a huge tolerance for growing conditions, and it does well in nearly all urban conditions. In order to have successful plantings on highly disturbed urban sites, we must look to plants with a wide range of tolerance. Along with wax myrtle, one of the most tolerant and adaptable shrub species that works well is Nandina domestica, native to China. Nandina would be at the very top of my list of broadleaf evergreen shrubs with many attractive qualities and good mannersÂnative or non-native. Nandina has attractive foliage, flowers, and fruits, is nearly disease- and insect-free, produces few invasive seedlings or rhizomes, is easy to maintain, and grows well in a huge range of conditions. Are all introduced species "bad"? Absolutely not. Nandina, lacebark elm, Chinese pistache, Pittosporum tobira, and on and on are introduced species that are well adapted to much of North America that have good manners and make good "citizens". On the other hand, melaluca, tree of heaven, Japanese honeysuckle, kudzu vine, and many other species are too well adapted: grow too vigorously and reproduce too freely so as to be undesirable in the view of current day society. The bottom line is that just because a plant is growing "native" under certain conditions, does not mean that it is at its peak or optimum. It simply means that it is able to tolerate the current conditions and survive. Further, relative to the evolution of the species and the changing local site conditions or site conditions of a much larger region, the species may be relatively "new" and will become more vigorous and aggressive in the future as conditions become more favorable or it may be on its way out because it has reached its limits of tolerance and will eventually become extinct. At this point in time no one knows. However, we get a "feel" for the answer from various experiences. Because of the positive plant response and adaptation to such an array of conditions, southern wax myrtle appears to be still expanding its "native" environment. On the other hand, black cherry, Prunus serrotina, appears to be less and less tolerant to environmental conditions and may become extinct in another century or two. In my view, it would be simplistic and foolish to plant only natives. Likewise, it would be foolish to plant only introduced species. Our focus should be on species adapted to the site and with acceptable manners regardless of where they happen to be "native at a particular time in the glob al picture. ------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carl Whitcomb is author of ÂKnow It and Grow It: a guide to the identification and use of landscape plantsÂ, 820 pages, 8.5 by 11 format, hard cover, over 2000 black and white photos of most of the woody plants, native and exotic, that can be grown east of the Rocky Mtns. $60.00 + shipping. Also, ÂEstablishment and Maintenance of Landscape PlantsÂ, 630 pages, 6 by 9 format, hard cover and many photos. $35.00 + shipping. Phone 405-377-3539 or Fax 405-377-0131.

Who went to the plant sale? I got there a little after 7 and had a lot of people ahead of me in line. There were still tons of plants to look through. I'm not sure it would help to get there earlier unless I could block the entrance after I got in until I had a chance to read all the plant tags. lol I got a geranium Johnson's Blue, monarda 'Rasberry Wine' and a haworthia pearl plant. I need to read up on that last one. I assume it's a houseplant. I'll post a pic below from the web that looks similar. I wonder if it would be happier outside in the summer. Violet - I guess it's a good thing that all the woodland phlox was gone when I got to the shade section. I came home and started cleaning out my old pre-icestorm shade bed and found quite a bit of woodland phlox growing down in the weeds. It just wasn't blooming there because it was being choked out. I dug up several little starts. It was hard to get the roots but I think they'll do ok if I pot them up for awhile. Question Violet - When the Master Gardener's have their meetings to pot up plants before the sale, what do they use for potting soil? Is there a way to get that stuff in bulk or do they just use compost? Here is a link that might be useful:

Hello all, I have frequented the GardenWeb forums for years but forums related to the indoors not the outdoors. We bought a weekend lake place ten years ago and since then my 'grounds' at home have been sorely neglected. We have however restored our shoreline at the other place with native plants - many have been prairie plants because they do well on the steep, dry slope going down to the lake. After about 4-5 years it is really looking good! It has been such a great project I decided it was time I do something to my 'yard' at home. We have a wooded lot except for our backyard which was cleared for the septic system. The backyard was grass but it never did well in the sandy, moley soil so we decided to scrap the yard entirely and replace with native plants. It is sunny and hot part of the day so not conducive to the woodland plants we have elsewhere on the lot. It's not sunny enough for real prairie plants however so we used a native savanna mix - some grasses and some forbs. I just finished seeding today and I'm so excited I had to share it with someone who appreciates native plants! Here's a link to before and after slideshow. I refer to it as a savanna restoration though I know it's really not - it's inserting a little savanna in part of the woodland that was cleared. Here is a link that might be useful:

I'm just north of Dallas (Lewisville). I have both lantana (the confetti version that starts out one color and changes to another as the flower ages) and ruellia on the west side of my house, both in the ground. The lantana is just fine, it doesn't mind being shaded by the house until mid-day, it blooms OK with only what water it gets from the sprinkler system when I bother to turn it on. The ruellia is under the eaves and doesn't get very big but it also doesn't get much supplemental water. It does flower, especially when it gets a bunch of water, and will spread (I suspect it spreads pretty well by seed). It only gets leggy for me if it doesn't die back in the winter, which is only the plants in pots up here. You could also try Turk's Cap, I have one in more shade than sun, it doesn't get very big since it's died back each winter, but it does flower. All three would take being cut back to the ground in early spring pretty well if they get too leggy and don't die back in SA.