Varieties, Cultivars and Hybrids
Plants in the wild are genetically diverse, and a single species may produce individuals of varied height, growth habit, bloom time or flower color. For countless generations, people have been taking advantage of this diversity by selecting plants with characteristics they desire. A person might begin by walking through a field collecting seeds from the grasses that have ripened earliest, or digging up and taking home a decorative little plant that blooms pink, instead of white like its neighbors. The process of selection continues over generations as those grass seeds are grown to maturity and again selected for early seed set, and as that little pink-flowered plant is nurtured to great size and then propagated by division or stem cutting to make many new plants just like itself.
Varieties are naturally occurring. They are indicated in the scientific nomenclature as “var.” For example, at Wild Gardens we sell Viola sororia, the common blue violet, and also Viola sororia var. rubra, which is a pink variety of the same species.
Cultivars and hybrids indicate propagation techniques. Cultivars are generally created by asexual reproduction, also known as cloning, resulting in plants that are genetically identical. Division, stem cuttings, and tissue culture are propagation techniques that create cultivars. Most trees and shrubs are propagated by these methods, and some non-woody plants as well. In plant names, a cultivar is indicated by the part of the name in quotation marks. For example, Ilex glabra “Shamrock” is one cultivar of inkberry, and Ilex glabra “Compacta” is another.
Hybrids are created through sexual reproduction. They are a cross between two varieties of the same species, or in some cases, between two compatible species. People create hybrids by intentionally fertilizing one plant with the pollen of another, and growing out the resulting seeds. Hybrids are desirable when they share the best characteristics of both their parents. A hybrid is indicated in a plant name with an “X,” as in Fothergilla x intermedia “Mt. Airy,.” This plant’s common name is Mt. Airy Hybrid Fothergilla.
Because our mission at Wild Gardens is to help people rewild their yards, we try to sell plants that have been relatively unaltered by human activity. The gardening reality is that simply by choosing what plants to grow, people impose their preferences, so there is always some selection taking place. But our aim is to favor plants that are closer to their wild type.