Choosing Plants

Plant Use | Advance Planning | Maintenance Requirements | Plant Size | Seasonal Interest | Pests | Hardiness Zones

Plant selection is essential in creating a beautiful landscape. Along with landforms, buildings, and structures, plants constitute the major components of a landscape as they organize space and solve issues and problems. When choosing plants for your landscape or garden, consideration must be given to its use, the proposed site, maintenance requirements, size of plants at maturity, seasonal interest, and susceptibility to pests

Plant Use[Back to Top] Besides the visual qualities that plants possess, they provide many other functions within the landscape. Plants can be used to create outdoor spaces, stabilize steep slopes, screen unsightly views and modify the exposure to wind and sun. Additionally, plants provide ecological benefits by cleansing the air, modify air temperatures, preventing erosion and providing habitat for birds and animals. Consequently, its use should be determined prior to choosing and purchasing plants for your landscape.

Advance Planning [Back to Top] Because trees, shrubs, and perennials, can live for many years, it's essential to choose plants that are appropriate for the proposed area within your landscape. For example, is the site in the sun or shade, is it wet or dry, and what is the soil type. Some plants prefer moist shade with acidic rich soil, while others prefer dry, hot, sunny areas with poor soil. By choosing plants that are well adapted to the conditions in your yard or garden, your plants will flourish without much maintenance or special care.

Maintenance Requirements [Back to Top]

How much time and energy do you want to spend in your yard or garden? This is an important question to consider as all plants require different levels of care and maintenance. For example, roses require much care and attention. They must be pruned, sprayed, watered, and dead-headed regularly to produce favorable results. While many people are willing to dedicate their time and energy to get these gorgeous flowers, others are not as enthusiastic about yard work. For that reason, before purchasing plants for a desired location, be aware of their maintenance requirements.

Plant Size at Maturity [Back to Top]

Plants purchased from nurseries are –for the most part–always smaller than at maturity. However, people often forget this and plant too many shrubs and perennials in beds to look more complete right after planting. However, over time the plants crowd each other out and have to be either removed or pruned extensively. As a result, a plant's size at maturity and proposed location must be carefully considered prior to its purchase.

Seasonal Interest [Back to Top]

Plants are dynamic; they constantly change in color, texture, opaqueness, and overall character with seasons and with growth. For example, deciduous plants found in temperate climates typically have four distinctly different visual characteristics based on the seasons of the year: (1) spring with flowers and lush yellow-green foliage; (2) summer with dark green foliage; (3) autumn with brightly colored foliage; and (4) winter with bare branches and visible trunk bark. While some plants in other climates may not vary dramatically as deciduous plants do, they still alter in response to warm and cool or wet or dry seasons. These dynamic qualities of plants have major implications for their use in landscapes and therefore should be considered in the plant selection process.

Pests [Back to Top]

To ensure the vitality and success of your plants, choose plants that are naturally free of major pests and diseases, and that are well adapted to your climate, and to the specific soil, light and moisture conditions on-site. Plants that require shade, for example, are more susceptible to pests when grown in full sun. The pH level of soil can also affect a plant’s ability to withstand pests.