I was walking the dog the other day, and the warmer weather made me look around and observe what was going on around me. The birds appeared to be singing their spring songs, and the crocuses were pushing up their flower buds.
I also saw how people have landscaped their yards with trees and shrubs. Hey, you can take the man out of the garden center, but you can't take the garden center out of the man.
During the walk, I noticed a row of arborvitaes trying to grow along the edge of a yard. I would guess that the plants had been in the yard for a couple of years. They had sparse growth, and some of the plants looked worse than the others. There were branches of oaks and maples overhanging the area where the arborvitaes were trying to grow.
The reason this is relevant is that arborvitaes need to grow in the sun. During the spring through the fall, the leaves on the trees will shade the arborvitaes all day. This shading is why the arborvitaes are not growing the way they should.
If you are a gardener, you will know that some plants like to grow in the sun, the shade or in partial sun.
When you select plants for your yard, you need to take the light requirements into consideration if you want your plants to thrive. When we get customers who are looking to buy any type of plant, one of the first questions we ask them about is the amount of sunshine the plants will get in the area where the plant will grow.
This applies to trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials and even houseplants. You must always choose a plant based on its light requirements.
Often, people want a particular plant for a location that won't get enough sun for it to survive. Ultimately, the plant will die.
You may be able to move the plant to a new location, but in the case of the hedge row of arborvitaes, the hedge needs to be in that particular area. Sure, you can plant that hedge somewhere else on the property, but now you have to come up with a new solution as to what plant is the best plant for the area.
The unfortunate thing is that once that row of arborvitaes dies, the property owners will probably replace them with more arborvitaes. They will figure that they planted the arborvitaes wrong or they may figure that they didn't water the plants enough. The idea that the plants just won't grow in those light conditions probably will never enter their minds.
Before you get into the planting mood this spring, take some time to observe when the sunshine hits the area where you want to plant. You will also need to figure out how many hours the sun will shine on that area. You should check to see if tree branches would create shade when leaves come out on the trees.
Knowing how much sun will shine on a particular area in your yard will help you determine what type of plant is suitable.
Well, that's all for this week. I'll talk to you again next week.
• • •
Tim Lamprey is the owner of Harbor Garden Center on Route 1 in Salisbury. His website is www.Harborgardens.com. Do you have questions for Tim? Send them to ndn@newburyportnews.com, and he will answer them in upcoming columns.
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