Originally appeared in the Nation Garden Bureau
What’s the difference between a new gardener and an experienced one? The experienced gardener has killed way more plants, the saying goes.
That truism speaks to the fact that gardening is a highly trial-and-error venture – and one where some plants are just going to struggle and die no matter what you do.
The good news is that the more you know and the more “right” things you learn to do, the less mayhem.
In other words, messing up helps hammer home lessons that, if you pay attention, lead to more and more successes. Some of the best gardeners will admit to botching their way to botanical proficiency.
In case you’d rather learn from others instead of foul-up on your own…
Here are 10 of the most common Gardening Gaffes
#1 – Under-estimating how big a plant will get
The lesson: Pay attention to the heights and widths on plant labels and space at least that much. (Even those are estimates at fixed points in time, often 10 to 20 years out.) Then be prepared to start trimming, pruning, and/or dividing once the plants reach their allotted sizes. Don’t wait for them to get way overgrown and then try to whack them back.
#2 – Pruning off the flower buds
The lesson: Wait until right after spring bloomers finish blooming to trim them. Definitely get to it no later than mid-summer.
#3 – Killing plants by not watering enough
New relatively shallow-rooted plants such as annuals, vegetables, and perennials benefit from soakings every two to four days in lieu of rain, while bigger trees, shrubs, and evergreens can go every five to seven days – but with deeper soakings to account for their larger root systems.
The lesson: Your index finger – stuck a few inches into the soil – makes an excellent moisture meter.
#4 – Killing plants with too much water
The lesson: Improve the soil and/or build raised beds before planting in low-lying areas or lousy clay soil (or stick with plants that tolerate wet soil). Those solve threats No. 1 and No. 2 since you can’t regulate rainfall amounts. Use that finger before watering. If the soil at the root level is already damp, put away the hose. For houseplants, wait until the soil is just going dry and the pot is noticeably lighter before watering.
#5 – Accidentally killing plants with sprays
The lesson: Read those labels so you know what you’re using and how to safely use it. Consider dedicating different sprayers to insecticides, broadleaf weed-killers, and kill-everything herbicides – or limit spraying altogether as much as you can.
#6 – Burning the lawn with fertilizer
The lesson: Apply fertilizer according to listed amounts. Or switch to organic fertilizers or fertilizers that are high in slow-release nitrogen – both of which are far less likely to burn a lawn. Fill your spreaders on the driveway or other hard surfaces so you can sweep up spills.
#7 – Volcano Mulching
The lesson: Keep mulch a few inches back away from tree trunks, and limit mulch layers to no more than four inches. Two inches is plenty around perennials.
#8 – Messing with bulb foliage while it’s still green
The lesson: Don’t cut, braid, or otherwise mess with spring-bulb foliage until it’s at least started to yellow – signaling that most of the season’s photosynthesis work has been completed.
#9 – Digging up plants that aren’t dead
The lesson: If you don’t know what’s normal for your plants, at least wait until the end of May or even mid-June before digging them out for dead. You can also tell by scratching a little bark off leafless woody-plant stems. If there’s green underneath, there’s a good chance the plant is still snoozing, not dead.
#10 – Planting too early
The lesson: Know your typical last-killing frost dates in spring, and then wait until at least then to plant frost-tender plants. At least wait until the all-time-late frost-free time is approaching and check the 10-day forecast to be sure nothing is even close to a freeze before planting. Just because garden centers and home centers are selling tender plants doesn’t mean they should go in the ground then.