Speaker: Benjamin Hoover, associate professor of sustainable nursery production, Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo)

We know that selecting the right plant for a landscape is important, but how do we judge plants? Should we focus on native plants or the newest cultivars? In this session, we will talk about cultivars and plant species. The conversation involves genetic outliers and mutations, grafted plants, plant adaptations to stresses, and how they might affect landscape performance. Plants are diverse and they have a lot to offer; we just need to know how to pick the right fit.