by Jeanne

Busy lizzy or impatien? Impatien or impatient?

Gardeners often call plants by their common names, but common names are like nicknames – they can change from place to place, from town to town, and even from family to family. In my family, we had nicknames for many of the flowering shrubs in the yard. It took me years to learn that my favorite “ant bush” was actually a peony, var. Festiva Maxima.

Plants have a first name and a last name just like you or I have. Most people know the Genus and Species name, and often the Variety name, too. Think of the plant’s genus as its last name, and the species name as its first name, and the variety is its very special nickname.

Why should you bother learning the Latin names of plants? First of all, it makes plant shopping a lot easier. When you walk into the garden center or you sit down to talk to your landscape designer, you’re not fumbling for the right words to describe that beautiful pink flowering tree. “I’d like Cornus florida var. rubra” means a lot more to a landscape designer than “I’d like that pink tree my grandma had that she called Heaven’s Pink.” It means that your gardener, garden center expert or landscape designer can select the exact variety you’d like to have in your garden.

It also makes looking up growing conditions, fertilizer requirements, pests and diseases easier, too. Some varieties are better able to withstand the unique growing conditions in your gardening zone or specific area; these are the ones often recommended the the local Cooperative Extension office. Hybrids, or new varieties created from cross-pollinating species within a genus, are often bred for specific hardiness and resistance to diseases and pests, and it helps to know which varieties are less susceptible to certain pests in your area.

The next time you flip open your favorite gardening catalog, take a closer look at the funny-sounding name in italics. That’s actually the very specific designation for the plant you’re looking at. Busy Lizzy, Busy Lizzie, impatient, impatiens…..what’s in a name? Everything, especially to gardeners!