Native plants are in fashion these days, and they should be. I follow and occasionally comment on several native plant Facebook pages, and I see that a lot of novice gardeners are trying to decrease the number of exotic species in their gardens and replace them with native species. Confusion often arises over which plants are invasive and which ones are simply native to another country or continent.
A North American native plant is one that existed on this continent before European settlers arrived. Every state and region of a state has its own specific native plants. This means that plants native to our coastal region are not necessarily native to the Piedmont, Shenandoah Valley, or mountainous regions of Virginia. Native plants are more likely to thrive in their natural habitat without excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, but it doesn’t mean that such plants should never be grown in Coastal Virginia.
Non-native plants are those that were introduced, intentionally or accidenta...