PlantAmerica's Plant Care Sheet
Deer Tolerant
No plant is 100 percent deer resistant, but some are less favored than others. The list of plants avoided by deer varies not only by region, but also by season; in hard winters deer are usually hungry enough to try anything. Typically, they sample everything available and return for the plants they like best.Fencing is the best defense against deer. Consider a single, very tall fence (7-8 ft.) or a pair of fences 4-5 ft. apart.
Pollution Tolerant
Plants are damaged by absorbing pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, ozone, peroxyacetyl nitrate, ethylene, and nitrogen dioxide through their pores. Cell membrane damage may result in leaf drop, blotched or burnt looking leaves, or off colored tissue between veins. Vehicles and industrial processes are the key culprits and conditions worsen on hot summer days. Your cooperative extension service can provide a list of the plants that seem most pollution tolerant in your area.
Slope Tolerant
Plants with a fibrous root system, a wider-than-high profile and a preference for good drainage often make excellent candidates for slope or hill plantings. These plants help to control erosion by holding the soil on slopes intact, while presenting minimal wind resistance.
Wind Tolerant
Plants that are wind tolerant usually have flexible, strong branches and are not brittle. Wind tolerant plants often have thick or waxy leaves that control moisture loss from wind whipping. Native plants are often the best adapted to not only wind, but also soil and climate.
Erosion Control
Plants that help control erosion have fibrous root systems that bind soil. Leaves and the overall form of a plant can prevent erosion by breaking up water droplets before they hit the ground, lessening splashing and runoff.
Site Conditions
When setting criteria for site conditions, check boxes that apply to the area you wish to implement the plant you are looking for. Naturally, you’ll need to select a USDA Hardiness Zone. If you know what AHS Heat Zone you live in, select that too. Please note that the AHS Heat Zone system is new: though a wonderful tool, all plants may not be entered at this time. Failure to enter a Heat Zone will not affect your search. Selecting soil type and pH are just as important as light and water conditions because they enable a search that will find plants best suited to your site.
Fungi:
Rusts
Most rust is host specific and overwinters on leaves, stems and spent flower debris. Rust often appears as small, bright orange, yellow, or brown pustules on the underside of leaves. If touched, it leaves a colored spot of spores on the finger. Caused by fungi and spread by splashing water or rain, rust is worse when weather is moist.
Prevention and Control: Plant resistant varieties and provide maximum air circulation. Clean up all debris, especially around plants that have had a problem. Do not water from overhead and water only during the day so that plants will have enough time to dry before night. Apply a fungicide labeled for rust on your plant. The most successful fungicide will be one that contains propiconazole.
Leaf Spots
These brown or black spots and patches (ragged or circular, with water soaked or yellow-edged appearance) can be caused by a variety of bacteria and fungi. Insects, rain, dirty garden tools, or people can spread bacteria.
Prevention and Control: Remove infected leaves, water plants at the base, and avoid spraying foliage when watering. Use sulfur spray on woody plants in winter.
How-tos:
Making a Hedge
Hedges can be trained to be informal with only occasional shaping or to have a more formal shape with judicious pruning. To build a formal hedge, plant one or three gallon container plants in a row eighteen inches apart or about half the recommended distance.
Shear off the tops 2 to 6 inches several times during the first two seasons. Shearing of the tops and sides will promote branching. A common mistake people make is to cut the sides at a 90 degree angle. In this case the top growth shades the bottom resulting in a leggy open canopy. It is best to cut the sides at an angle so that they flare out at the bottom. This will ensure healthy and compact growth all the way down to the bottom of the shrub.
Fertilizing Young Plants
Young plants need extra phosphorus to encourage root development. A starter fertilizer such as 6-18-6 or sterilized bonemeal helps satisfy this need. Apply recommended amount for plant per lable directions at time of planting or at least during the first growing season. Phosphorus does not ”move” in the soil like nitrogen or potassium, therefore most fertilizers have lower middle numbers. The second growing season, switch to a 16-4-8 or other comparable fertilizer with a 4:1:2 ratio.
Fertilizing Established Plants
Established plants benefit from a yearly fertilization. If you have a sandy soil, fertilizing twice per year may be in order. Apply a 16-4-8 or 4:1:2 fertilizer according to label directions, but do not forego the soil test. Organic mulches greatly benefit all plants, keeping roots cool, weed down, moisture in, and enriching the soil. Never fertilize just before frost; this encourages new growth that will be burned by cold weather. The safest time to fertilize is early spring or when you know that new growth will not suffer damage from late frost.
Pruning Flowering Shrubs
It is necessary to prune your deciduous flowering shrub for two reasons: 1. By removing old, damaged or dead wood, you increase air flow, yeilding in less disease. 2. You rejuvenate new growth which increases flower production.
Pruning the deciduous shrub can be divided into 4 groups: Those that require minimal pruning (take out only dead, diseased, damaged, or crossed branches, can be done in early spring.); spring pruning (encourages vigorous, new growth which produces summer flowers – in other words, flowers appear on new wood); summer pruning after flower (after flowering, cut back shoots, and take out some of the old growth, down to the ground); suckering habit pruning (flowers appear on wood from previous year. Cut back flowered stems by 1/2, to strong growing new shoots and remove 1/2 of the flowered stems a couple of inches from the ground) Always remove dead, damaged or diseased wood first, no matter what type of pruning you are doing.
Examples: Minimal: Amelanchier, Aronia, Chimonanthus, Clethra, Corus alternifolia, Daphne, Fothergilla, Hamamelis, Poncirus, Viburnum. Spring: Abelia, Buddleia, Ceonanthus, Datura, Fuchsia, Hibiscus, Hydrangea, Hypericum, Perovskia, Spirea douglasii/japonica, Tamarix. Summer after flower: Buddleia alternifolia, Calycanthus, Chaenomoles, Corylus, Cotoneaster, Deutzia, Forsythia, Magnolia x soulangiana/stellata, Philladelphus, Rhododendron sp., Ribes, Spirea x arguta/prunifolia/thunbergii, Syringa, Weigelia. Suckering: Kerria
Planting Shrubs
Dig a hole twice the size of the root ball, and deep enough to plant at the same level the shrub was in the container. If soil is poor, dig hole even wider and fill with a mixture half original soil and half compost or soil amendment.
Carefully remove shrub from container and gently separate roots. Position in center of hole, best side facing forward. Fill in with original soil or an amended mixture if needed as described above. For larger shrubs, build a water well. Finish by mulching and watering well.
If the plant is balled-and-burlapped, remove fasteners and fold back just the top of burlap, tucking it down into hole, after you’ve positioned shrub. You do not want to fully remove the burlap as you may break up or damage rootball. Make sure that all burlap is buried so that it won’t wick water away from rootball during hot, dry periods. For larger shrubs, build a water well. Finish by mulching and watering well.
If shrub is bare-root, look for a discoloration somewhere near the base; this mark is likely where the soil line was. If soil is too sandy or too clayey, add organic matter in the form of compost, soil conditioner, peat, or pulverized bark compost, which will add both drainage and water holding capacity. Fill soil, firming just enough to support shrub. Finish by mulching and watering well.
Pruning Flowering Hedges
Careful selection, planting and initial pruning is critical for a uniform formal or informal hedge. The safest time to prune most flowering hedges is immediately after flowering. This way you do not prune away newly forming buds if you wait until later in the year. Initially, cut back leaders and laterals by one third to one half on planting. In second season, once flowering is complete, cut back again by about one-third.
A hedge can provide privacy and shelter from wind. Hedges should be sloped at a gentle angle to a wider base to deflect wind and avoid snow damage. Stretch a line between two stakes for a level top. Cut a template from heavy cardboard for a consistent shape and move it along the hedge as you cut. Shears or an electric trimmer should be held parallel to the line of the hedge.
Rejuvenate Freeze-Damaged Plants
Freeze damaged plants often recover if pruned. Cutting back the dead tissue and surviving buds (even from below the surface) may rejuvenate the plant. Frost damaged foliage, especially new growth, turns black a few days after being “”burnt.”” You can tell if a stem is alive by scraping the bark off a bit. If the tissue is alive the green cambium layer will show. If the tissue is brown, test the branch a little further down. Cut when you hit green.
About Pruning
Pruning is one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of plant care maintenance. Pruning does not hurt plants; rather it is often necessary to prune in order to maintain plant health. On the other side of the coin, not all plants must be pruned. Prune to remove weak, diseased or dead branches; to correct damage from wind and ice storms; to thin dense growth; to reduce the size of a plant that has gotten too big for a landscape; to cut down on water loss after transplanting; to give a plant a special shape such as a hedge or topiary; to remove dead flowers and seed pods; to encourage flowers and fruit; and to rejuvenate a tired old shrub.When pruning first think, then cut. Look at the plant from all angles. Visualize the outcome before you cut. Start with obvious problems like diseased and dead wood, or crossing and crowded limbs. Avoid damaging bark and leaving too much exposed cut surface. Cut close buds without injuring them. Cut at a 45 degree angle unless buds are opposite, in which case cuts may be perpendicular to the branch. Prior to pruning, make sure that blades are sharp so wood does not tear and split. This prevents dieback and wounds where disease and insects may enter. Recent studies show that wound sealant does not enhance healing.
Reduce Watering
This plant requires less watering during winter months, so reduce watering from late November through early March.
Pruning Flowering Shrubs – Past/Present Growth
For deciduous shrubs that flower on either this or last year’s growth and need minimal pruning, do so in late winter or early spring while the plant is dormant. Remove only crossed or wayward shoots. Example: Magnolia soulangiana
Pests:
Scale Insects
Scales are troublesome pests related to mealybugs that infest an enormous variety of plants. They can appear as stationary teardrop-sized lumps of brown, cream, or black on stems and leaves, or as cottony masses, but there are many variations. These visible signs are actually the adult females, which lose their legs, lay eggs, and die … leaving the shells of their bodies to protect the eggs. When the young hatch, they crawl along the stems and leaves until they find a good feeding site, then settle down and repeat the process. Scales weaken plants by sucking sap from its tissues with their piercing mouthparts, leading to yellow foliage and leaf drop. They also produce a sweet substance called honeydew (coveted by ants) that can lead to an unattractive black surface fungal growth called sooty mold.
Prevention and Control: Once established, they are hard to control—contact sprays are minimally effective since young are well protected by their shell covering for most of their lives. Isolate infested plants. Where practical, remove scale by hand and apply rubbing alcohol to the area to eliminate the eggs and young beneath. Alternatively, prune all infested branches and destroy—don’t compost. Dormant oil sprays in winter are usually effective at keeping populations under control. Insecticidal sprays labeled for use against scale will only yield good results if used when the young are in the ‘crawler’ stage, the timing of which can be tricky at best. Finally, encourage natural enemies such as parasitic wasps in the garden.
Problems:
Creating a Water Ring
A water ring, sometimes called a water well, is a mound of compacted soil built around the circumference of a planting hole once a plant has been installed. The water ring helps direct water to the outer edges of a planting hole, encouraging new roots to grow outward, in search of moisture. The height of the mound of soil will vary from 2 in. for 3 gal. shrubs to almost 1 ft. for balled and burlapped trees, especially those planted on a slope. Mulch over the ring will help to further conserve moisture and prevent deterioration of the ring itself. Once a plant is established, the water ring may be leveled, but continue to mulch beneath the plant.
Tools:
Bypass Pruners
Bypass pruners have a scissor-like action and are best suited for pruning slightly woody stems such as roses. The convex upper blade cuts against a concave or square lower blade to make the clean cut needed when pruning roses. It is well worth the money to invest in a pair of high quality bypass pruners. Always clean blades with an oiled rag or steel wool. Many gardeners like to swish blades in a bleach / water solution to ensure that no diseases will be transferred to the next plant pruned. Before putting your pruners away, lightly oil them. Once a year, tighten the blade tension and have blades sharpened to ensure a clean cut.
Anvil Pruners
Anvil pruners have a sharp, straight edge upper blade that cuts against a lower, straight edged anvil. Anvil pruners must be kept sharp, or blade will crush stems against the anvil rather than cutting through it. Anvil pruners are relatively inexpensive and can be found in almost any hardware or garden store. Great for cutting soft-stemmed plants.
Watering Aides
No gardener depends entirely on natural rainfall. Even the most water conscious garden appreciates the proper hose, watering can, or wand.
- Watering Cans: Whether you choose plastic or galvanized makes no difference, but do look for generous capacity and a design that is balanced when filled with water. A 2 gal. can (which holds 18 lbs. of water) is preferred by most gardeners and is best suited for outdoor use. An indoor can should be relatively smaller with a narrower spout and rose (filter head).
Watering Hose: Look for a hose that is double-walled, as it will resist kinking. Quick coupler links are nice to have on ends of hoses to make altering length fast. To extend the life of your hose, keep it wound around a reel and stored in a shady area. Prior to winter freezes, drain hose.
Sprayers: Are commonly thought of as devices for applying chemicals, but can really be a step saver for watering houseplants or small pots of annuals rather that dragging out a hose or making numerous trips with a watering can. The backpack sprayer is best suited for this. Take care not to use any kind of chemical in tanks used for watering!
Sprinklers: Attached to the ends of a garden hose, a sprinkler acts as an economical irrigation system. Standing spike sprinklersare intended for lawns, and deliver water in a circular patter. Rotating sprinklersdeliver a circle of water and are perfect for lawns, shrubs and flower beds. Pulse-jet sprinklerscover large areas of ground in a pulsating, circular pattern. Oscillating sprinklersare best for watering at ground level in a rectangular pattern.
Tools for Pruning
Proper tools for pruning may include hand pruning shears for twigs and small branches, lopping shears for thicker branches, hedge clippers, pruning saws for large branches, and power tools. Keep cutting edges sharpened to make clean cuts. Clean tools between uses to avoid spreading plant diseases and lightly oil tools to avoid rusting.
Weeds:
Preventing Weeds and Grass
Weeds rob your plants of nutrients, light, harbor pests, and diseases. Before planting, remove weeds either by hand or by spraying an herbicide according to label directions. Another alternative is to lay plastic over the area for a couple of months to kill grass and weeds.
You may apply a pre-emergent herbicide prior to planting, but be sure that it is labeled for the plants you are wishing to grow. Existing beds may be spot sprayed with a nonselective herbicide, but be careful to shield those plants you do not want to kill.
Chemicals with the name weed killer on the label are designed to kill broad leave weeds, and can often be used on certain lawns. Grass killers will only kill grass. Prior to purchasing a grass of weed killer to be sprayed on the lawn, make sure that the product is labled safe for use on your lawn.
Mulching plants with a 3 inch layer of pinestraw, pulverized bark, or compost will not only look nice and conserve moisture, keeps weeds down, and makes it easier to pull when necessary.
Porous landscape or open weave fabric works too, allowing air and water to be exchanged, but never use black plastic. It inhibits air and water exchange, except for the opening right around the neck of the plant.