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| Morning Glory twining amongst the Ficus |
One of the most difficult things to do in the garden is removing a healthy and happy plant. Last week during one of our gardening meets, I chatted with a fellow gardener who had mentioned that she had to remove several very healthy plants to open more space for her other plants. We also spoke of the survival rate of plants we put into our ground here in Tucson. Both of us came to the conclusion that about half to 75 percents of the plants survived while with some species, the survival rate was under fifty percent. Those percentages equate to money lost and invested into our landscapes so one can only imagine how difficult it is to take out an older or extremely healthy plant from our garden.
The example I will share today is about our little Christmas tree that I put into the ground in 2008. When I began taking over the grounds, I didn't have a lot of money to invest into plants so if people offered me a plant, I would take it and try it out. A neighbor gave me her living Christmas tree and I thought....what the heck, let's try it. Not only did it grow but it was very drought resistant. I tried everything in my power to let it die on its' own.....and it wouldn't. I then took the stance that the tree earned the right to keep that spot, but as the garden started forming in its' shape and size, the pine tree didn't fit at all with everything around it. It stuck out like a sore thumb. It was competing with a mulberry and fig tree which both were of healthy sizes. If all three grew super large in the future, there would be conflict for space and root rights. Today I had to make that tough decision and edit for the second time this year. If I pull a plant from the garden, I pot it and put it in my "nursery" until it recovers, but this pine was too large to pot. It no longer is alive.
I have deduced that this "editing" is common practice for gardeners through our discussions together. If you felt sad just reading that part, join the party. It's not easy to let a plant go....especially when it has been around for awhile. However, it is necessary to do....perhaps a "necessary" evil to keep the balance proper on your own grounds. As things grow, we don't always know what form they will take....we can imagine what they will look like, but they don't always work out that way:) Purchasing plants is expensive and when they die, we figure...darn, but let's try the plant in this spot. But when a plant is thriving and doing well, why on Earth would you touch it? And that question doesn't have a right or wrong answer so please share what you would do in your own garden space:)
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I have a hard time killing off perrenial plants on purpose. I pull annuals that self seed in the wrong spot all the time. If I don't have a place for a perrenial to move to, I offer it to friends or family. Then, if there are no takers, I sit it by the trash bin and advertise it locally as a giveaway and see if someone "out there" is interested. All my plants have found new homes somewhere.
ReplyDeleteThat is great advice. I like to take the seeds and or clones of plants to my gardening friends and let them pick through the fun. Right now I have agaves that I'm giving away. There are 3 huge colonies of them on the property. I've also put plants by the garbage bins and people do come and pick them up...especially if you post them on Craigslist.
ReplyDeleteyes that is very true, we pity any living plant we want to remove. I also removed some trees in our property, the one near the house was a big tamarin tree whose canopy is already big not allowing anything to grow under it, so a big radius is devoted just for it. It is removed and light can now pass thru, but i asked forgiveness from it many times for murdering it.
ReplyDeleteMy brother-in-law had planted an old fashioned lilac bush in the corner of the vegetable garden after their mom had died, and just their dad was living here. I tried living with it there, but it kept spreading. My husband has dug it out at least 2 times. I think it's under control now, but it is still sending up shoots. I did give some starts from it to a neighbor, and now, she doesn't live there. I'm thinking she dug a lot of things up, because it was a Housing Authority house, and they wanted things how they had been when she moved in. How wasteful and ungreen!
ReplyDeleteI have given away lots of thinnings, and put some by the curb, but have also put some on the compost pile to enrich other plants. The lemon balm goes into the garbage.
Yes, it's hard editing, but it does need to be done from time to time.
yes, that was sad to read! I agree that sometimes for whatever reason, something's got to go. My neighbor puts plants out by the curb all the time and they're always picked up. Your tree could have been a cut-your-own Christmas tree for someone.
ReplyDeleteI often think I should do more 'editing' but I too dislike removing healthy plants even if they no longer fit into the garden design. I might try the curb idea but I'm also thinking that plant swap evenings at my local pub might be a fun idea!
ReplyDeleteI am getting ready to edit a few areas of my garden...some whole plants removed, some clean-up. Feels so good to do that, for me!
ReplyDeleteI guess it is the designer in me to say, "experiment over, time to get back on-track!" Plus, gardens evolve, and sometimes need our help.
Plant swap over beer or wine...I gotta move to Tucson!
Since I garden on the edge, putting plants where I want them to live but not necessarily where they want to live, I've killed lots of plants and don't get a chance to edit in the garden. I try to see it as an opportunity to try something new in a hole that's already dug!
ReplyDeleteFYI, Ron Mylar is not a real person, but a site that sells mylar film.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. I've deleted all of it....tonight I got home and found another email from this company....strange. I checked it this morning because I thought it was a new fellow gardener and turns out that it was a company. Thanks for the heads up.:)
ReplyDelete