The Ten-Year Story of Plant Growth

How large will this plant grow? That’s the question to ask before you dig a hole for planting a tree. A small specimen seen in a nursery, listed in a catalog or online may look to be just the thing to cover a bare spot beside the front door but it may soon grow and tower over you.

Through personal observation, reading and talking with nurseryman, you learn what to anticipate in the way of plant growth. You find that cultural circumstances not only influence how fast a plant grows but its growth characteristics as well. A tree on a wind-swept hill will have a different appearance from its brother ‘in a glen. You discover, too, that many plants have an amazingly long life and that they look quite different in youth, middle age and old age.

Perhaps the most important factor to realize is that trees and shrubs look best when they can develop naturally. This means that you must give them ample space in which to grow. Shearing will confine them, but the eventual result is an unhappy distorted plant which, especially in a foundation planting, becomes a living horror. Low-spreading or dwarf varieties of shrubs, which do not grow large, are the answer for planting in such confined areas.

Trees and shrubs with a great growth potential are usually best planted along the borders of a property or used as landscape specimens. Even the so-called slow-growing trees and shrubs gain stature in eight to ten years trees begin to cast shade, and shrubs provide a dense, colorful garden background. But for those who do not want to wait even this long for an effect, experienced designers often plant several evergreens or trees with a great growth potential rather close together for an “immediate” effect. Then as these plants crowd, some are moved to other locations or are cut down. Eventually only one may remain, but it will be a specimen that displays its beauty in the way nature intended it to.

The use of “filler” plants is another way to speed up the process of having a planting with an established look. Inexpensive quick-growing shrubs are planted between the more desirable subjects which are to remain in place for years to come. The fillers are removed as they crowd the permanent planting.

by John Rebhan

Related Articles Of Interest:

• Trees in the Home Landscape
• Home Landscaping – What To Know
• Landscaping Plants Should Be Easy to Care for Yet Beautiful at the Same Time
• Give Your Plants a Break Plant Them Right