What Exactly is a Cultivar? ©
Posted: Monday, September 01, 2008
by Arlene Wright-Correll
http://www.learn-america.com
Over the years of creating gardens I have come across words that have sent me flying to the dictionary or to my personal library of gardening books. The other day someone emailed me a question and asked what exactly a cultivar is.
I emailed back saying, "according to the dictionary a ‘cultivar is a race or variety of a plant that has been created or selected intentionally and maintained through cultivation."
Let me give you an example. There currently are over 7500 cultivars of apples alphabetically ranging from A to W.
Furthermore, Cultivars do not propagate from seed. They are propagated from stem cuttings which are referred to as being cultivated vegetatively. When giving a name to a new cultivar the creator will give it a new scientific name and part of that new name will indicate the cultivar itself and will follow with the genus name and then the species name which is then set off by single quotation marks which will allow the purchaser or gardener to have more specific knowledge of the plant.
One can find cultivars of practically any kind of bush, shrub, plant, trees, lawn seeds and basically anything that grows.
The other day when someone asked me about pecan trees I discovered there were over 163 cultivars of pecan trees! These also ranged alphabetically from A to W.
Knowing which pecan cultivar is best for her zone was an important factor when investing in a pecan tree. There were two or three cultivars that would grow in her zone only to find out that one of them was more disease resistant to the pests that may reside in her zone. This gal was going to be investing a lot of money into starting a pecan grove and the research helped her decide which pecan cultivar to invest in.
Whether you are investing a lot of money or a small amount, money is usually the result of your hard labor to earn it and should be invested wisely in anything you spend it on including plants of any kind.
Buying a pretty plant in your local nursery becomes much more exciting when one knows the history of the cultivar of that plant. A rose by any other name is simply not a rose because there has been hundreds of thousands of hours invested by many gardeners, horticulturists to bring a particular rose to you or any other plant for that matter.
I emailed back saying, "according to the dictionary a ‘cultivar is a race or variety of a plant that has been created or selected intentionally and maintained through cultivation."
Furthermore, Cultivars do not propagate from seed. They are propagated from stem cuttings which are referred to as being cultivated vegetatively. When giving a name to a new cultivar the creator will give it a new scientific name and part of that new name will indicate the cultivar itself and will follow with the genus name and then the species name which is then set off by single quotation marks which will allow the purchaser or gardener to have more specific knowledge of the plant.
One can find cultivars of practically any kind of bush, shrub, plant, trees, lawn seeds and basically anything that grows.
The other day when someone asked me about pecan trees I discovered there were over 163 cultivars of pecan trees! These also ranged alphabetically from A to W.
Knowing which pecan cultivar is best for her zone was an important factor when investing in a pecan tree. There were two or three cultivars that would grow in her zone only to find out that one of them was more disease resistant to the pests that may reside in her zone. This gal was going to be investing a lot of money into starting a pecan grove and the research helped her decide which pecan cultivar to invest in.
Whether you are investing a lot of money or a small amount, money is usually the result of your hard labor to earn it and should be invested wisely in anything you spend it on including plants of any kind.
Buying a pretty plant in your local nursery becomes much more exciting when one knows the history of the cultivar of that plant. A rose by any other name is simply not a rose because there has been hundreds of thousands of hours invested by many gardeners, horticulturists to bring a particular rose to you or any other plant for that matter.
"Tread the Earth Lightly" and in the meantime… May your day be filled with…
Peace, Light and Love,
Author's note: This article was originally written for GreenThumbArticles.com
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