# Wild vs cultivated for escaped garden plants

**URL:** <https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/wild-vs-cultivated-for-escaped-garden-plants/30432>\
**Category:** General\
**Tags:** cultivated\
**Created:** [March 18, 2022, 10:11pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/wild-vs-cultivated-for-escaped-garden-plants/30432 "2022-03-18T22:11:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
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**Author:** ![rynxs](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/rynxs/32/22529_2.png) [@rynxs](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/rynxs)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 11:03pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/wild-vs-cultivated-for-escaped-garden-plants/30432/3 "2022-03-18T23:03:27Z")

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If the plant is in a location because humans intended for it to be there, then it is cultivated. If it is in a place humans did not intend for it to be, then it is not cultivated. At this point, I would consider the plant to be “wild” or “feral.” Unless it was dumped with the intention of causing it to spread onto your property, then it exists in a location not intended by humans.

Examples:  
“Wild,” in a loose sense:

1. Seeds from a plant carried in by trucks or trains establish in an area they are not native.
2. A garden plant is dug up by a wild animal and dropped, the plant managing to become established in the area it was dropped.
3. Weeds in a greenhouse accidentally transported with other species.

Cultivated:

1. Plants in a garden, planted by previous or current owners.
2. Planted individuals not cared for in any way, but exist in a location because humans intended for them to be there, such as reforested trees.
3. Seeds spread by humans to establish a prairie (the first generation would be cultivated, but resulting generations would not be, as they spread by means not controlled by humans).

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