Connecticut Land Conservation Conference

Many have wonderfully embraced native plants for re-vegetation, restoration, and other plantings. What’s missing is ecological synchronization with the local landscape. Plants advertised as native are often not truly native to CT, or are cultivars, which are not as ecologically appropriate as wild type plants. When selecting natives, choices are often based on visual appeal rather than the ecosystem, including wildlife, habitat, gene pool, pollination, and so on. Rather than make plant recommendations, ecologists/botanists Gail Reynolds and Sigrun Gadwa, Connecticut Botanical Society, will review CT ecotypes, including recognized critical habitats, and posit how to use this information to enable appropriate plant choices.