The most important decision you can make when planning your landscape is where you ask your plants to live. This decision can make the difference between a peaceful coexistence and a life of confrontation with plant choices.

In the past, we looked at plant selection and placement in the following order: AESTHETICS > SIZE > MAINTENANCE > ENVIRONMENT.

This method of planting prioritizes our needs and desires without regard for the plant's genetic requirements. In other words, we often change our planting environment to match plant choice, when in reality the opposite should occur… Try to choose plant species as dictated by the environment in which they must grow. It would look something like this: ENVIRONMENT > SIZE > MAINTENANCE > AESTHETICS.

Make sense??? To clarify we'll look at our four categories closely. Trial and error has proven this method reduces plant loss, poor health and leads to the myriad blessings we share with an adult garden.

ENVIRONMENT

What is your soil makeup? Is it native or interrupted? How about water table, debris, contaminants, pH, salinity, compaction, aeration, organic matter and your soil's ability to hold nutrients and moisture?

What are your sunlight requirements? Sun, shade, intensity and duration. Remember things may grow in both shade and bright sun, but different environments may cause your plants to grow with a different look. For example, evergreens become "leggy" when grown in shade.

In what temperature zone will you be planting? What is the plant's heat/cold tolerance/hardiness? Are there separate macro/microclimates to consider?

What about air movement and wind velocity? Think about your broadleaved evergreens on windy knolls during cold winter days.

Have you considered topography? Elevation and slope may have a great deal to do with where runoff occurs or where excess water remains.

What is the existing vegetation? Can that be a guide to your planting? Will there be root competition or allelopathy; the toxic affect one species can have on another while sharing the same root zone. Can you think of a species where this may occur?

Now take a look at the above environmental considerations. How reasonable would it be to change any of these situations? These environmental factors are constant and will more that likely remain the same, with some exception. So why fret over things we cannot control when we can make good decisions about each and every plant we install. The choice is ours to do the right thing. With forethought, planning and education, we can make the difference. That too is a choice! And… here's an interesting physiological point. In general, those plants that like wet areas will usually do well in a dry site, but to reverse that situation is taboo.

Let's look at SIZE.

How big the plant is when you install it is almost meaningless! Ask yourself, "How big will this plant be in 10-20 years"? Let the plant's future be your guide. As Arborist and ASCA Consultant, Edward Milhous always says, "If you are pruning your plant out of your way every year, you have the wrong plant". Plant size below and above ground as well as height and spread is important now and into the future. I often hear, "I can't believe how large my plants have become"!

What is the plant's growth rate, and how will environmental considerations affect its growth?

How much root space is there between curb and sidewalk? How close to the foundation do you really want to be, and how big is that Nellie Stevens holly going to get? We can't move the house but we can adjust our plant selection and location.

Plants do one thing better that any other organism on our planet, they get BIGGER every year.