TAG! You're IT!
While wrapping Christmas' gifts and adding 'tags' I remembered the year they all fell off the gifts due to some really cheap tape! We guessed as to which gift belonged to which person as best we could based on the gift wrap and sizes of the gifts. When my father opened 'his' gift the look on his face was priceless when he saw the box of makeup intended for my niece.
I ruminated (yes I looked up that word to make sure it really is a word and not a mountain expression as I have a few of those and people look at me oddly when I use them) on the fact that this is a lot like plant tags. Often plants are mislabeled and incorrect information is provided so you get that consternated look on your face when the 'dwarf' you bought is over the top of your roof.
Plants don't read the books or their own tag information, just like gifts.
Who are you going to trust? Information on plant tags is a little like information on the internet. Don't believe everything you read! Plants and tags come from all over the country and what is hardy for Northern Oregon may not be what is hardy for Southern Texas. If a plant has had its head glued onto a stick to become a topiary, it is usually still going to have the same tag as it's brother who hasn't been fancied up. But there sure are going to be very different in growth and development!
The tag isn't going to tell you if it is a good 'fit' for your landscape. Remember 'dwarf' is a relative term. It only means it will not grow to be as big as the original. If humans got 20ft tall then a dwarf would be 7ft tall.
The tag isn't really going to list all the negative aspects of that plant. It isn't going to tell you that birds eat the seeds from a Variegated Ligustrum and then 'plant' the seeds of Privet all over the countryside which will invade the native species habitat and crowd them out and reek havoc on the ecosystem.
So of course the BEST way to find out the real truth of the matter to support your local independent garden center or nursery because they will have the best information on the plants they carry that will actually live in your climate and zone.
I ruminated (yes I looked up that word to make sure it really is a word and not a mountain expression as I have a few of those and people look at me oddly when I use them) on the fact that this is a lot like plant tags. Often plants are mislabeled and incorrect information is provided so you get that consternated look on your face when the 'dwarf' you bought is over the top of your roof.
Plants don't read the books or their own tag information, just like gifts.
Who are you going to trust? Information on plant tags is a little like information on the internet. Don't believe everything you read! Plants and tags come from all over the country and what is hardy for Northern Oregon may not be what is hardy for Southern Texas. If a plant has had its head glued onto a stick to become a topiary, it is usually still going to have the same tag as it's brother who hasn't been fancied up. But there sure are going to be very different in growth and development!
The tag isn't going to tell you if it is a good 'fit' for your landscape. Remember 'dwarf' is a relative term. It only means it will not grow to be as big as the original. If humans got 20ft tall then a dwarf would be 7ft tall.
The tag isn't really going to list all the negative aspects of that plant. It isn't going to tell you that birds eat the seeds from a Variegated Ligustrum and then 'plant' the seeds of Privet all over the countryside which will invade the native species habitat and crowd them out and reek havoc on the ecosystem.
So of course the BEST way to find out the real truth of the matter to support your local independent garden center or nursery because they will have the best information on the plants they carry that will actually live in your climate and zone.
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2 of 6 comments
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have been in the nursery garden center industry for 20+ years now and I always told my customers that "plants cant read". Shop your independent garden centers because a good one will have knowledgable personnel to give you answer to all your questions.
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@Tracy Gilmore, I have interupted the sales clerk before. I love dirt digging and I feal "protective" over the plants. I didn't want the plant to die because of the wrong information. lol I also didn't want to owner to get discouraged about gardening and decide it wasn't for them or that they had a "black" thumb. If just one in four households enjoyed gardening then this planet woud be so much better off.
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