Third of Seven Gardening Mistakes - Plants In Right Place

Wild columbine has a tendency to grow in places where it can easily be damaged.

There are a number of mistakes we as gardeners make, sometimes not knowing it's bad. Then there are those mistakes that take a little change of habit to have better results. Understanding the size of the plant when it grows to maturity is one of those.

Know Mature Plant Size

When we buy plants, they tend to be small or smallish. It's easy to think that's the final size of the plant unless one looks at the tag or, better yet, researches the plant characteristics. One of the best places to get information about Missouri plants, including wildflowers, is the online library at Missouri Botanical Garden: mobot.org.

In the meantime, when buying plants look at the enclosed tag and place the plant in your garden where the size will fit.

Think Through Best Place

Now I have a tendency of planting vertically. By that I mean I plan plants on top of bulbs so that once the bulbs die off, the perennial takes over for the rest of the season. Sometimes, however, the plants are too big for the space so I have to make a note and carefully dig it up to place it in a better location. Every time a plant is moved, the trauma can damage it so try to minimize any unnecessary garden travel.

A little advanced planning, and reading, will help you settle the right plant in the correct space.

Four more gardening mistakes to cover, can you guess what they are?

Charlotte