Knowing Your Plants

• Know what site conditions your plants need:
• Choose plants recommended for your USDA Hardiness Zone.
• Choose plants appropriate to your sun/shade patterns (Full sun, partial shade, or shade).
• Choose plants that match your site’s water availability (require wet/moist/dry).
• Know the mature height and width before you choose your plants - remember to choose plants that won’t block windows, walkways and views as they mature. You’ll save time on pruning later.
• Avoid the urge to overcrowd or over-plant to make a landscape look mature faster. It causes disease and increased maintenance in the long run.
• Choose low-maintenance plants suited to your site that require little pruning to maintain the desired form. Consider dwarf varieties.
• Choose a diversity of plants. Your site will be less prone to pests and diseases, and you’ll provide a more diverse wildlife habitat with seasonal interest.
• Turfgrass can be the right plant for some places just like any other plant. Plan turf areas to be functional and easy to maintain (e.g., play area, erosion control, and nutrient uptake).
• As trees mature and produce more shade, reevaluate the understory plantings based on this change in the site conditions to ensure future success. Healthy trees provide significant ecosystem services and should take precedence over most understory plant material and groundcovers.

Purchase

• Purchase healthy insect and disease-free plants.
• Purchase plants not too large for their container. They may be rootbound.

Placement

• Group plants according to their water needs
• Use groundcovers where turfgrass is difficult to grow or maintain
• Plant foundation shrubs so that the main leader of the shrub is at least 2.5’ from the foundation of the house