culvers root queen of diamonds sterile? - Ask Extension
Hi there I planted 2 queen of diamonds culver's root plants before I knew there were problems with nativars. Are these plants sterile or should I get ...
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culvers root queen of diamonds sterile? #865396
Asked April 22, 2024, 10:57 AM EDT
Hi there
I planted 2 queen of diamonds culver's root plants before I knew there were problems with nativars. Are these plants sterile or should I get rid of? I've also got a 'ruby sippers' supposedly native hydrangea. Same question. It's not going to survive where it is anyway, but I thought I'd ask.
Thank you!
Stuart
Cook County Illinois
Expert Response
Hi Stuart,
The problems associated with "nativars" are mostly a matter of opinion. There is very little research on the impact of cultivated native plants. Likely if there were viable seed from the Culver's Root nativar the seedlings would revert back to their parentage.
In a perfect world, each cultivar of a native plant would be evaluated comparing pollinator visits and invasive characteristics to their original wild species, but that doesn't happen. Queen of Diamonds was introduced in 2020, so it would be unlikely to have published research on this particular cultivar at this point.
However, I did find a study where they compared pollinator visits of wild species to cultivated versions they did look at Culver's root. Following is the quoted text:
Veronicastrum virginicum and V. virginicum ‘Lavendelturm’
We observed a total of 616 pollinators foraging on Veronicastrum virginicum and 1,347 pollinators foraging on V. virginicum ‘Lavendelturm.’ Bumble Bees (42.0%) and Honey Bees (39.8%) were the predominant pollinator groups visiting the species. Honey Bees (50.3%) and Other Native Bees (31.5%) were the predominant pollinator groups visiting the cultivar (Fig. 2.6). All Pollinators exhibited a significant preference for the cultivar over the species (F[1,20] = 6.65, p = 0.018). Honey Bees did not exhibit a significant preference (F[1,23] = 3.58, p = 0.071), nor did Bumble Bees (F[1,18] = 0.23, p = 0.064) (Figs. 2.6 & 2.7, Table 2.2).
This came from the paper: From nursery to nature: Evaluating native herbaceous flowering plants versus native cultivars for pollinator habitat restoration
It is the same situation for Hydrangea 'Ruby Slippers'. However, I am not able to find any data on seed viability and pollinator preference for this particular plant.
Typically, I would dissuade people from using nativars in restoration projects, but currently feel comfortable recommending the use of nativars in ornamental landscape plantings.
The problems associated with "nativars" are mostly a matter of opinion. There is very little research on the impact of cultivated native plants. Likely if there were viable seed from the Culver's Root nativar the seedlings would revert back to their parentage.
In a perfect world, each cultivar of a native plant would be evaluated comparing pollinator visits and invasive characteristics to their original wild species, but that doesn't happen. Queen of Diamonds was introduced in 2020, so it would be unlikely to have published research on this particular cultivar at this point.
However, I did find a study where they compared pollinator visits of wild species to cultivated versions they did look at Culver's root. Following is the quoted text:
Veronicastrum virginicum and V. virginicum ‘Lavendelturm’
We observed a total of 616 pollinators foraging on Veronicastrum virginicum and 1,347 pollinators foraging on V. virginicum ‘Lavendelturm.’ Bumble Bees (42.0%) and Honey Bees (39.8%) were the predominant pollinator groups visiting the species. Honey Bees (50.3%) and Other Native Bees (31.5%) were the predominant pollinator groups visiting the cultivar (Fig. 2.6). All Pollinators exhibited a significant preference for the cultivar over the species (F[1,20] = 6.65, p = 0.018). Honey Bees did not exhibit a significant preference (F[1,23] = 3.58, p = 0.071), nor did Bumble Bees (F[1,18] = 0.23, p = 0.064) (Figs. 2.6 & 2.7, Table 2.2).
This came from the paper: From nursery to nature: Evaluating native herbaceous flowering plants versus native cultivars for pollinator habitat restoration
It is the same situation for Hydrangea 'Ruby Slippers'. However, I am not able to find any data on seed viability and pollinator preference for this particular plant.
Typically, I would dissuade people from using nativars in restoration projects, but currently feel comfortable recommending the use of nativars in ornamental landscape plantings.
