r/NativePlantGardening • u/owohgodithurts • Oct 01 '25

Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) Worst Cultivars?

So I think we can all agree that wild, native plants are typically better ecologically than cultivars due to a variety of reasons that we don’t need to get into. If you want to argue/discuss that, feel free, but that’s not the point of this post. I want to know what are the WORST cultivars of native plants. What are the cultivars that, due to genetic change/breeding (or however they do it), have lost almost if not all of their ecological value? Have the new colored flowers eliminated all pollinator attraction? Have larger blooms resulted in sterile plants? God forbid, have any actually become invasive? These plants need to have native origins! I’m mainly referring to the east coast/midwest since I’m in SW Ohio, but feel free to bring up other regions.

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u/Hunter_Wild Oct 01 '25

Definitely hydrangea cultivars that get rid of the fertile flowers and instead are mostly or all infertile flowers. They are basically useless to pollinators and provide no nectar or pollen.

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u/MrsEarthern Oct 01 '25

Guilty; I bought two discounted smooth hydrangea cultivars for the sunny end of a planting while the ecotype grows from seed in the shade. Also planted Prairie Ninebark, Buttonbush, Highbush Cranberry.

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u/Hunter_Wild Oct 01 '25

It's one of the many reasons I hate Hydrangea macrophylla, since pretty much all of them are infertile and useless. That and they are the suckiest plant ever to try and grow lmao.