{"id":516,"date":"2026-07-24T16:26:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T16:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/karnerblue.ca\/?page_id=516"},"modified":"2026-07-24T18:26:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T18:26:16","slug":"faq","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/karnerblue.ca\/?page_id=516","title":{"rendered":"FAQ"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Won’t native plants attract a bunch of unwanted bugs to my yard?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yes and no–it depends what your definition of “unwanted” is. If you don’t want any insects at all or have a phobia of or severe allergy to bees, a native garden might not be the right choice for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally, yes, you’ll have more insect activity in your garden. Most of those insects will be “wanted” in the sense that they are native and they have a deep ecological relationship with your plants. They’re part of the increased biodiversity of your garden and rely on those plants to survive. Admittedly, my garden has many wasps and bees that buzz around all day long. The secret is that they’re so busy stuffing their faces with nectar and looking for the next juicy flower that they don’t notice you at all–unless you trap them or threaten their nest, of course. I’ve been bumped into by many giant digger wasps, and all kinds of bees from bumbles to tiny miner bees while disturbing my plants and I’ve yet to get stung. There are also many native wasps that are very gentle like the grass-carrying wasp which collects bits of grass to stuff in a hole to build her nests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If by “unwanted” insects, we mean many invasive or nuisance insects like mosquitoes, the answer is generally no! The increased biodiversity attracts predator insects like dragonflies which hover around all day eating a ton of other insects and mosquitoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Won’t native plants attract rodents into my house?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

No! In fact, we’ve found that the increased biodiversity in a native yard also attracts predators like snakes and birds which eat any rodents that might already be there. There’s also generally better nesting materials and sites for native critters which means those seem to have no interest in coming inside! Unless you’ve got a ton of fruit bearing shrubs, the native plants themselves generally feed native birds and insects rather than provide rodent food sources like bird feeders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aren’t native plants difficult to keep in a garden?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Quite the contrary! Native plants in the right environment are incredibly hardy. Once established, they don’t require much if any maintenance or watering. They don’t typically need special soil amendments. They are cold-hardy which means they don’t get killed by frost. Many are perennials and\/or self-seeding, which means re-planting is not necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some species can be aggressive, i.e. they propagate easily and quickly. These plants are better suited for large space like prairie restoration projects. We typically don’t recommend these plants for small gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aren’t native plants and wildflowers ugly?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so we can only provide our opinion here. I personally think they’re so beautiful. I love the vibrant almost glowing purple of the Blue Flag Iris, the intoxicating marshmallow-smell of the Swamp Milkweed, the showstopping flower of our only native hibiscus the Swamp Rose Mallow, the fairy bell and wind-chime flowers of Wild Columbine and Early Meadowrue, the graceful unfurl of Bloodroot’s unique leaf from a single flower, the dainty little flower peeking from under the stunning leaf of the Mayapple. There’s so many things to love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, it’s up to you whether you find them beautiful. I hope we can show you some of their beauty here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Swamp Milkweed (Ascelpias incarnata) with a monarch caterpillar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Swamp Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Wild red columbine (Aquilegia canadense)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Early Meadowrue (Thalictrum dioicum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadense)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea)
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Anemone (Anemone spp.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Sharp-lobed Hepatica (Anemone acutiloba formerly Hepatica acutiloba)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Great White trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tall Bellflower (Campanula americana)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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New-England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cylindrical Blazing Star (Liatris cylindracea)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Scarlet Bee Balm (Monarda didyma)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Morningstar Sedge (Carex grayii)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why do you put the latin scientific names behind plant common names?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Common names for plants can be deceiving! They often refer to many different plants, which can make googling a pain. Scientific names are exact and refer only to a single plant. Using the scientific name when discussing and shopping for plants makes sure that you’re getting the plant you’re actually looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commercial nurseries have started carrying a small quantity of native plants (yay!). Unfortunately, some are not upfront with what they stock and will label tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica), which can kill monarchs if not pruned correctly, as butterfly milkweed. The “butterfly milkweed” native to Ontario is Ascelpias tuberosa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can I get cultivars of native plants aka “nativars”?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes–it’s good to know the pros and cons of native cultivars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, cultivars have been shown in studies [ADD REFERENCES] to decrease the ecological benefit of a plant. Native bees, butterflies, and birds get less nutrition out of these plants and visit them less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s not great to get cultivars of plants that are highly susceptible to cross-breeding: wild red columbine, wild blue lupine. These plants hybridize (i.e. produce via offspring) readily with non-native species. Hybrids have properties of both parent plants, which means they take on properties of the non-native parent plants. This is detrimental to their ability to support native wildlife. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Otherwise, it’s generally fine to have cultivars as some do still have some ecological benefit, just not as much as the straight species. It can also be great to have cultivars that are bred to reduce some of the less desirable behaviour or some native plants like aggressive propagation. If you want a native plant in your yard but you only have access to cultivars or are worried about managing an aggressive plant, go for a nativar! It’s better than no native at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perfect is the enemy of good enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Won’t native plants attract a bunch of unwanted bugs to my yard? Yes and no–it depends what your definition of “unwanted” is. If you don’t want any insects at all or have a phobia of or severe allergy to bees, a native garden might not be the right choice for you. Generally, yes, you’ll have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-516","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnerblue.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnerblue.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnerblue.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnerblue.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnerblue.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=516"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/karnerblue.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":548,"href":"https:\/\/karnerblue.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/516\/revisions\/548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnerblue.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}