“An analogy I often use is with children — if you discipline and train them from the time they are young they will generally turn out the way you hoped they would. If you let them become wild with little direction, they get permanently out of control.”
At Smithfield Gardens in Smithfield, Va., horticulturists Ann Weber and Jeffrey Williamson encourage homeowners to pay attention to the information on plant tags before buying pieces that will outgrow their spaces, and cause crowding problems earlier than needed.
“Shrubs never pay attention to their tags so a plant may end up being a little larger than you thought,” says Williamson. “Some maintenance pruning may be necessary but most gardeners can handle it. No landscape is ever maintenance free.”
Eric Bailey of Landscapes by Eric Bailey in Yorktown, Va., agrees you need to allot time for any yard.
Make sure you have the time and resources to maintain your landscape,” he says.
“I would say four hours a week depending on the size of your landscape.”
To keep your expectations realistic, Bailey recommends you “plan, plan, plan” your landscape, choosing the right plants for the right places. For example, don’t plant a white-flowering Natchez crape myrtle that grows 30 feet tall when you have a place that should accommodate an eight-foot-tall plant.
“If plants are selected for the correct sun/shade exposure and planted according to their ultimate size, in three to five years you will have a full lush landscape without overcrowding or the need for excessive trimming or pruning,” adds Tish Llaneza of Countryside Gardens in Hampton, Va., www.countrysidegardens.biz.
“But every landscape requires tweaking periodically, whether it’s a color-scheme change, compensating for the ever increasing shade canopy, or the sudden loss of a shade tree,” she says. “Most perennials benefit from root division every three years, and some will even decline in vigor if left to their own devices. Vigorous vines and deciduous shrubs benefit from rejuvenation pruning after years of neglect. Rejuvenation pruning takes three years if done correctly.
“For traditional foundation planting bed, it’s sometimes just easier and cost effective to start over from scratch. This allows you to change your bed lines, try new plants and take advantage of new trends in landscape design.”
©2014 Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)
Distributed by MCT Information Services
