Sterile

I have two Eastern Redbud trees, gorgeous plants with pink blossoms on their bare stems in spring.

One is the straight species, purchased at a native plant nursery. The other is a cultivar called Forest Pansy that has eye catching, purple leaves. I love them both.

Over the past few years I noticed something. The straight species plant is covered with seed pods in fall. The cultivar has none. Not one.

Biologically I don’t know what it means that the cultivar doesn’t produce seed. It is sterile, but why? And how does that lack of fertility impact my backyard ecosystem? Does it not have pollen in its flowers, and who might eat that pollen? Who eats redbud seeds, and might they go hungry on a tree without them?

I have also wondered about those beautiful purple leaves. Do all the creepy crawlies that live on leaves eat them? Or has the color also changed their appeal, taste, or nutrition?

The real question for me is whether the beauty of the sterile tree makes up for its lack of ecosystem services. Some plants do, without a doubt, in my garden. Peonies. Daffodils. Lilies.

For now I’m not cutting down Forest Pansy, but it will get a good haircut that allows the red twig dogwood a little more space.

I do wonder how many other of my nursery-bought native plants are not functioning as they might. I’d have to be an insect to know for sure.