What NOT To Do - Plant Outside Your Zone

Why is it that we always want what we can't have? Down in the Deep South where I live it's possible to plant far more plants than my friends to the North. I'm far enough south to be able to plant large numbers of tropicals as well as most temperate plants, so I should be more than satisfied. But what do I do instead? I long to plant those lovelies that won't grow in my area! Why won't those fragrant lilacs and oriental lilies (pictured above) grow here? Why can't I get peonies and Japanese maples to thrive for me? It's because those plants don't like it here! They are not meant for zone 8B. My advice is to just quit trying and instead plant those that do well in my climate conditions. This does not mean I will quit trying to stretch the zones - my ignorance is persistant. Nevertheless, I would save myself needless trouble if I heeded my own advice to not plant outside my zone. Live and learn!

What NOT To Do - Plant Prima Donna Plants!

Look at this beautiful rose cluster. Who can resist such a gorgeous rose? This is the David Austin rose, Golden Celebration. It is fragrant, makes wonderfully full blooms, and has that deep golden color that I love so well. BUT, it's a very particular and picky plant. It demands lots of water, needs to be sprayed religiously to avoid the dreaded blackspot, and still may not thrive. This perfectly illustrates the point I am making with this post - if you are not willing to put lots of time and effort into a plant, then be sure to plant ones that need little care. If you are the type to plop a plant in the ground and then forget about it, do NOT plant a David Austin rose. For that matter, don't plant any hybrid tea roses either. If you live in the South you will be far better served instead planting one of the Knockout roses or one of the teas or china roses. They will be care-free and still look like champions. I went into this David Austin thing with my eyes wide open. I knew they would take a lot of care and I planted them anyway because I love them so much. You many not feel the same as me. Live and learn!

Below is a picture of my plant right now as it shows off blackspot-ridden leaves instead of golden blooms.

What NOT To Do - Over-water

See how great this hanging basket of impatiens looks? This was before I got obsessed with making sure they did not run out of water. I was so careful to make sure they got enough water, that I wound up over-watering them. This caused them to get diseased and nasty, developing black leaves and root rot. They eventually recovered after I slacked off on the watering. Dan Gill with the LSU Ag Center says that people actually do this more during droughts than normal times. You actually wind up drowning plants during a drought! People with irrigation systems are also prone to over-watering. Not only is this bad for the plants, but it's irresponsible stewardship of water supplies and money. Find out what is ideal for your plants and water accordingly. A little less water is better than a little more because it forces the plant to form a better root system. Live and learn!

What NOT To Do - Plant without research

Isn't this a beautiful Four O'clock? What could be wrong with this? Here's what's wrong with it -- it has no fragrance whatsoever! The very reason I planted four o'clocks was for the fragrance. I wanted more than just the yellow ones that my mom had, so I simply ordered another variety that came in multiple colors. I falsely assumed that all four o'clocks had fragrance. Wrong! I cannot imagine any reason to plant a non-fragrant variety of this plant unless you don't like the smell. True, they are pretty, but the fragrant ones also are. Do me a favor and plant only fragrant four o'clocks! This variety I have is called "Tea Time."

This same lesson applies to any other plant or seed purchases. If you're looking for something specific, then take the time to do a little research before making an impulse buy. This is especially important when buying expensive shrubs such as roses. All this being said, also leave room to experiment and try something new! Live and learn.

What NOT To Do - Plant the wrong companion plants

Portulacas ("moss roses") are wonderful annual plants that take dry conditions very well. They are also wonderful companion plants with the right companions. Last year, I did something that you should NOT do. I planted my portulacas at the base of roses. Why not? Aren't they commonly called "moss roses" anyway? The trouble is that portulaca don't drink nearly as much water as roses. In order to keep my roses happy I had to water them way more than the portulacas appreciated. The roses looked wonderful, but the portulacas under them became straggly, ugly, and developed root rot. The above picture was taken before the portulaca started looking bad. The moral of the story is to do your homework and plant compatible plants together. Live and learn!

What NOT To Do In Your Garden

In the midst of hot summer and while I'm offshore at work, this is a good time to start a new series that I intend to be on-going on my blog. There are various things I have learned NOT to do in my garden. In an effort to share this knowledge and document it for myself, I'll begin posting these learnings.

Since my moonflowers are blooming so well now and look so beautiful, it's a good time to share something I learned last year about them. I made the mistake of thinning my moonflowers too early. Why was this a mistake, you say? Well, bugs in my area particularly love baby moonflower seedlings. Since I thinned down each group of moonflowers to only 2 seedlings each, the bugs happily ate them all up before they got big enough to still live. The result was that I didn't have any moonflowers last year. This year, I planted at least 6 seeds per spot and didn't thin any of them until they started getting lots of growth. The bugs couldn't eat them all and I now have lovely moonflower vines like the one above growing everywhere I want them. This could equally apply to many other seedlings and is a lesson to don't get anxious and thin seedlings too early. Live and learn!