My friend in Atlanta said native plants are overrated for city gardens

I mean, I've always pushed for local species in my own yard, but she argued that in a concrete-heavy area, some non-natives handle pollution and poor soil way better. She specifically mentioned how her lantana and butterfly bush thrived where her coneflowers just gave up. It made me wonder if being a purist is always the right call. Has anyone else had a non-native plant save a tough spot?

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the_ray7mo ago

Honestly, I was a total native plant snob for years. But my buddy runs a community garden in a rough downtown lot, and his knockout roses and russian sage are the only things that survive the salt and exhaust. Tbh, seeing that made me rethink the whole thing.

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leo_park217mo ago

Totally get what @the_ray means. Sometimes you just need a tough plant that works.

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clairer796mo ago

That's a fair point about survival, but native plants are tough in their own way. They're built for the local pests and weather, so they often need less work once they get going. It's more about picking the right native for the right spot.

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