PLANT SELECTION FOR LANDSCAPE DESIGN a plant fails to survive its first winter.

a plant fails to survive its first winter. A single test, however, rarely is reliable. A
small, young plant may be tender, but may become quite hardy as it grows older.
Well-chosen plantings are necessary to achieve your desired landscape effect. Other conditions also may affect the degree of hardiness. No single winter is
Thousands of varieties of trees, shrubs, vines and perennials are available, but quite average; each differs in suddenness and severity of freezing, mid-winter
remember: plants are not merely ornamental accessories. Their masses define thaw cycles and wind.
space in the yard and, consequently, the silhouettes that produce garden design. There are many ways to develop micro-climates to allow a tender plant to grow
Therefore, when selecting plants, consider both their cultural needs and aesthetic in an otherwise inhospitable zone. For example, you can control soil fertility and
value. water availability to some extent. Windbreaks can provide protection from cold
Plants have great diversity, and as such they must be matched against criteria winter winds. Raised beds allow soil to warm earlier in the spring.
established by the designer if they are to fill their specified roles in the landscape. Factors such as temperature are largely beyond your control but do have predict-
Though not intended to be a complete listing, here are some common factors that able yearly averages. Frost dates, length of growing season and minimum winter
must be considered when selecting a specific plant for the landscape. temperatures are among the least readily controlled of the major factors that
govern plant adaptability.
Selection Factors
Each hardiness zone has an average annual minimum temperature variation of 10
Role Factors degrees Fahrenheit. As the hardiness zone number increases, so does the
temperature minimum.
What function will it serve in the landscape?
a. Is it to be an architectural element serving as a wall, ceiling, or floor Insect and disease resistance
component of an outdoor room? Will it totally or partially control the views into When selecting plants, look for varieties that are insect and disease resistant in
and out from the landscape? Will it add privacy? Will it create an enframed order to eliminate unnecessary applications of insecticides and fungicides. Your
setting for the house or other buildings? local Cooperative Extension Service can provide you with information
b. Is it to be an engineering element that will aid in the solution of problems such
as erosion control, traffic control, diverting winds, retaining moisture, or Rainfall
blocking glare? Total average rainfall has a significant effect on plant growth and development,
c. Is it to serve in climate control by filtering or blocking sunlight, or softening and the distribution of that rainfall is equally important. Some areas receive
the impact of a prevailing breeze ? substantial rainfall. Where summers are dry, plants may need supplemental water
d. Is its role primarily aesthetic, contributing one or more sensory qualities such in order to survive.
as color, fragrance, texture, or taste?
Soil and moisture conditions
Hardiness Factors Good soil and proper moisture conditions are crucial to plants’ survival. Nursery-
One of the most reliable measurements of a plant’s potential for survival is its grown plants are not inexpensive, so provide the best growing conditions
hardiness rating. Hardiness zones have divided the continent into 11 zones. On possible for each species. Group plants of like growing requirements together to
the most detailed maps, every county within the 48 adjacent mainland states is conserve water.
shown, along with its hardiness zone rating. Soil characteristics are a major factor in determining which plants will thrive in
A plant species that flourishes in a USDA plant hardiness zone is likely to be your garden. The ideal garden soil is loam. It is a light, crumbly mixture with
adaptable to zones that are warmer. Some gardeners question a zone rating when approximately equal amounts of sand, silt and clay particles. Good garden soil
includes at least 4 percent organic matter. Organic matter is important because it d. thorns.
holds water, nutrients and air, and is loose enough for roots to penetrate. Garden e. shape or silhouette.
soils can be altered; however, it is important to complete a soil test first to f. texture.
determine what improvements your soil needs. g. leaf pubescence.
h. type of root system.
Degree of sun or shade i. flowering characteristics.
The angle of the sun in relation to the earth varies from summer to winter. The j. seasonal variation.
sun’s angle not only affects day length but also the shadows in a garden. These
shadows determine the amount of sun plants receive and thus may have a
significant effect on their growth. Plant size
Slopes that face south or southwest get more heat during the day than those that Consider the mature size of plants you select for your landscape. A common mis-
face north or northeast. Southern exposure slopes dry out more quickly and often take is to select plants that soon become too large for their location. The drastic
require supplemental water. Taking advantage of different exposures in the pruning that then becomes necessary adds to the cost of maintenance and may
landscape may extend your growing season or even determine whether you can reduce the grace and beauty of the specimen. Overgrown plants that are left
successfully grow certain crops such as fruit trees or warm season vegetables. unpruned alter the balance and accent of a design. In addition, they may partially
hide, or even damage, the house instead of complementing it.
Aesthetic considerations
Texture, seasonal foliage color, flowers, fruit and bark can provide touches of Plant form
beauty. You even can select plants to relate to the exterior house colors. Some common forms of shrubs and trees are shown in Figure 5.
Try to have some color in the yard year-round. Flowering trees provide pastels in Shrubs are woody plants that grow to a height of 3 to 12 feet. They may have one
spring; beds of perennials and annuals furnish vivid hues in summer; trees and or several stems with foliage extending nearly to the ground.
shrubs whose leaves turn yellow, orange and crimson brighten gray autumn days;
the bark and fruit of some species is attractive in winter. Strongly contrasting Common forms are:
textures also can create interesting year-round effects. • Low, spreading (e.g., juniper species)
Select plants with more than one feature during the seasons. For example, choose • Round or upright (e.g., forsythia)
a tree with blossoms in spring and beautiful summer or fall color. Amur • Vase (e.g., bridal wreath spirea)
chokecherry (Prunus mackeii) is often selected for winter interest because of its • Pyramidal (e.g., upright junipers and dwarf spruce)
golden, exfoliating bark. • Columnar (e.g., arborvitae)
Trees are woody plants that typically grow more than 12 feet tall. They usually
Physical Factors have only one main stem or trunk, but multi-stemmed specimens of birch are
Closely associated with the role of a plant are its physical features, which often planted. The canopy, or leafy portion of the tree, develops a typical form
enable it to either fulfill the role or perhaps make it unsuitable. Some of such as:
the features of plants that determine their suitability for particular uses • Round or oval (e.g., maple and pine)
include • Vase
a. mature size and rate of growth. • Pendulous (e.g., weeping birch)
b. density of the canopy, with and without leaves. • Pyramidal (e.g., spruce, fir and young hemlock)
c. branching habit. • Columnar (e.g., columnar poplar cultivars)
Mature shrubs and trees usually are more open and spreading than young plants. HOW LANDSCAPE PLANTS ARE SOLD
Trees are long-lived and relatively inexpensive in terms of initial cost and
maintenance when compared to lawns, flower beds, hedges and many other Woody plants grown in nurseries are sold in one of three forms: bare rooted,
landscape features. In the past, many builders committed costly errors by balled and burlapped, or containerized. Each form has certain advantages and
destroying trees when establishing new residential subdivisions. Real estate disadvantages that landscapers should be aware of before selecting plants for
developers should appreciate the value of trees and attempt to save them when installation.
land is graded before house construction. However, trees that are old and A bare-rooted plant is one that has been dug from the nursery field, then had the
diseased or improperly located should be removed and replaced with more soil washed away from the root system. To prevent excessive drying of the roots
suitable specimens. until the plant is purchased and installed, the root system may be wrapped in
Groundcovers such as turf, low-spreading shrubs and creeping plants are damp moss and inserted into a plastic bag, or the roots may be dipped in wax.
essential landscaping materials. Many designs no longer include turf. Plants sold in bare-rooted forms are usually deciduous species that are small and
Groundcovers are grown on banks that are too rough or steep to mow and under are dormant at the time of harvest.
trees where grass does not grow satisfactorily; however, groundcover choices for
Alaska are limited.

Plant texture
A plant’s texture depends on the size and arrangement of its foliage. Plants with
large, widely spaced leaves have coarse texture. Plants with small, closely spaced
leaves have fine texture. Texture can vary by season, depending on whether a
plant is deciduous or evergreen. Some variation in texture is needed to make a
landscape interesting.

Cultural Factors
The requirements for the growth and maintenance of plantings are their cultural Balled and burlapped (or B&B) plants are dug at the nursery with a ball of soil
requirements. Some plants establish easily, require minimal maintenance, and intact around the root system Once the root ball is dug, it is wrapped with burlap
grow satisfactorily in a variety of locations and under assorted conditions. Other and tied or pinned to prevent the soil ball from breaking apart. A more recent
plants can be successfully transplanted only within a narrow window of time harvest trend, especially suited for larger plants, replaces or supplements the
each year. burlap with a wire basket around the root ball.

Still others have very exacting requirements for growth and/or maintenance if This gives added strength to ensure that the soil ball remains intact around the
they are to make their maximum contribution to the landscape. The more soil roots. Plants sold in B&B form are heavier and more cumbersome to handle, but
conditioning, spraying, pruning, thinning, weeding, fertilizing, or other the technique allows plants of nearly any size and type to be successfully
requirements that are necessary to sustain a planting, the more costly it is to transplanted. B&B soil balls are nearly essential for the successful transplant of
the client. The cost may appear at the time of installation or it may not become all types of evergreens and large deciduous woody plants.
apparent until after a season of growth, but it is nonetheless an expense in the
form of materials and labor.
Containerized plants are grown and sold in containers such as metal cans,
plastic buckets, bushel baskets, plastic bags, and wooden boxes. Because they are
sold in the same containers they have been grown in, there is no loss of roots.
Therefore they transplant readily, with little or no transplant shock and no growth
time lost. Containerized landscape plants are young plants, seldom more than
three or four years old. Although usually smaller than balled and burlapped
plants, containerized plants can also be installed at almost any time of
the year because their entire root system is intact.