Hatton: Gardening mistakes, part 2
Last week I discussed the lack of proper soil preparation as possibly the most common mistake that gardeners make. Having made many, I am as qualified as anyone to write about garden mistakes. The mistakes I’m writing about, however, are those that are more serious or have a long-term impact on the garden and the gardener, not small or inadvertent mistakes that we make periodically in the conduct of our gardening.
Plant choice and placement are high on my list of things that need more thought. It is all too common to see large shrubs or trees that are covering windows or encroaching on driveways and sidewalks. Inevitably in these situations you will see that part of the offending plant has been pruned to keep it away from whatever it is crowding. This results in a strange, misshapen plant that is not esthetically pleasing.
It is difficult to envision large plants at their maximum size when they are in a small container sitting in the location where we want to plant them. This is where we must trust the plant tag information and give it the room it needs to grow.
Alternatively, many large plants have different sized varieties from which you might choose or perhaps a different plant should be used in that spot. Some plants can be effectively pruned to keep them smaller than they would normally grow, but this becomes an ongoing chore that adds to garden maintenance over the life of the plant. Not the best scenario.
Irrigation is another topic that requires far more attention than it gets from many of us. The amount of water, timing of its application, and attention to the system used for its application are all important for the best stewardship of this resource. In the absence of better information, the rule of thumb of one inch per week is better than nothing when watering.
But many things, especially native and adapted plants, do not require that much water. It also depends on the weather – whether we have gotten any moisture, how hot, cold, or windy it has been, and if plants are actively growing or are dormant. If you use a soil probe to check soil moisture periodically, all the guesswork is removed. Using the probe takes only a few minutes and the results are conclusive.
Watering when it is cool and calm is important. If it is hot and/or windy, there is significant water loss to evaporation and water blowing where it is not needed or used. Likewise, if the system or hose end devices are not adjusted and aimed correctly, uneven watering and waste occurs.
Early morning is an excellent time to water. It is generally calmer, cooler, and better than evening or night which leaves plants wet and more susceptible to diseases. If you water early, remember to test your irrigation system periodically during the day to be sure that it is working properly. Malfunctions are often difficult to detect without seeing them
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Hatton: Gardening mistakes, part 2
