EcoMyth: There’s No Special Benefit to Growing Native Plants
When it comes to plant shopping, competition is stiff. Thousands of varieties vie for your attention, wooing you with color, texture, hardiness—whatever it takes to please the judge, aka, you. These plants have to be both visually pleasing and succeed in your space, be it a sun-drenched yard, shady garden, or sheltered porch container. It’s a tall order for any seed, especially when you’re not sure if you should bother going native.
To shed some light on the benefits of native plants, we chatted with three of the area’s foremost experts: Liam Heneghan, PhD, an environmental science professor at DePaul University, Andrew Hipp, PhD, plant systematist for The Morton Arboretum, and Gerould Wilhelm, PhD, co-author of Plants of the Chicago Region. Let’s dig in. (more…)