How Many of These Top 10 Garden Foulups Will You Do This Year?

March 25th, 2025

   Not to insinuate that you’ve been lousing up your yard and garden, but from my travels over the years, it’s apparent that a lot of people are.

This is what happens when you’re not paying attention to ultimate plant sizes.

   I’ve seen some sorry stuff going on… plant-killing stuff, work-generating stuff, money-wasting stuff, and just plain trouble.

   Most of it is due to, as they say in the nuclear industry, “operator error.”

   But hey, it’s understandable. How many people learned anything at all about gardening in school? How many have ever had lessons in shrub-pruning? Is anybody born with an innate sense of when to spray for borers?

   Until you learn the fine art of yard-keeping, it’s basically a wing-it proposition. And that’s when the plant-killing, work-generating, money-wasting stuff happens.

   Maybe we can eliminate some of that this year by having a quick look at the top 10 things that go wrong in the landscape and how to sidestep them.

   1.) Planting too close. This is hands-down the most common goof, and it includes planting plants too close to one another as well as too close to the house.

   A local landscaper once told me that three-quarters of his work involves ripping out overgrown plantings and starting over. Save yourself work and expense later by spacing well – even if things look too far apart at first.

   Don’t go by how plants look now. Go by the “mature” sizes on the plant tags. If a shrub is going to grow to a spread of six feet, plant them six feet apart or at least three feet away from buildings or other objects. (A six-foot spread means the plant will grow three feet out from the center in all directions.)

   When in doubt, add some extra elbow room since plants never stop growing and can go beyond those plant-label listings. Think of the plant-tag sizes as “maintenance sizes,” and figure on trimming/pruning when they reach the space you’ve allotted.

   If the bare space bugs you early on, put in annuals or easy-to-move perennials between those young evergreens and shrubs.

   2.) Wrong plant in the wrong place. This one’s critical, too. The same exact plant may either thrive or struggle depending on where you put it. Most ferns, for example, do well in the shade but fry in the sun, while roses love the sun but get spindly and bloom poorly in shade.

   Start by considering the intended planting site (sunny? shady? damp soil? exposed, windy area?) and then do your homework to match plants to that site.

   Plant tags and garden books can help you zero in on good choices, or ask garden-center staffers or gardening friends for suggestions.

   Also helpful is my 19-page “Survivor Plant List of Pennsylvania,” which gives siting and other details on hundreds of my favorite landscape plants. It’s available as a $4.95 download on my Buy Helpful Info page.

   3.) Planting too deeply. This kills more trees and shrubs than bugs. Only the roots should be underground – not the trunk. Buried trunks mean root rot and bark rot. Those are fatal.

Trees should be planted slightly above grade with the root flare visible above ground.

   Go wide with those holes, not deep. Most roots spread out near the surface, so dig holes that are at least two to three times as wide as the root ball and almost as deep as the height of the root ball. That way your plant will end up on solid ground, keeping it from sinking as the soil settles underneath.

   When planting, the top of the root ball should actually be one to two inches above the existing grade. And don’t forget to fray out the circling roots of container-grown plants. Slice them vertically if you must, but it’s essential that the root balls have a “bad hair day” before going in the ground.

   4.) Overmulching. Yes, it’s possible to overdo it. Two inches of mulch is good, but when you start stacking much more than that on top of the soil, it impedes water from getting to plant roots and interferes with the exchange of soil gases.

   Thick mulch layers have the same effect as planting too deeply, especially if you pack mulch right up against the trunk.

   5.) Cutting grass too short. A lawn looks just as neat after it’s cut with the mower on its highest setting as it does after scalping it an inch above the ground.

   But more importantly, taller blades shade out weeds, retain soil moisture better, and encourage deeper roots. Taller grass also tends to be healthier and more vigorous because there is more leaf surface manufacturing food through photosynthesis.

   Cut high, and keep those mower blades sharp.

   6.) Pruning miscues. Pruning seems to mystify gardeners more than any other yard job.

   One of the biggest goofs is trimming the flower buds off shrubs before they bloom. Rule of thumb: For spring-blooming shrubs and trees, wait until they’re done blooming to prune. For shrubs and trees that bloom from mid-June on, prune them going into the season (i.e. late winter or very early in spring).

   Reason: The buds that turn into blooms on early-spring bloomers are formed the year before. Late bloomers form their flowering buds the year in which they bloom.

   Another goof is indiscriminately shearing off all branches into a neat ball instead of removing old and wayward branches and then heading back to buds that fit in with the shape and size you’re trying to achieve.

   And third, some people are so perplexed at pruning that they skip it altogether, allowing branches to grow from everywhere and in every which direction. Then you end up with an overgrown mess that’s hard to correct without drastic action or a multi-year effort.

Junipers won’t regrow if you cut them back too far. Note the bare sections here from pruning.

   7.) Butchering hedges. Heavy shaping of evergreens is best done in early spring before new growth starts. Neatening can be done throughout the summer, but knock it off by fall so you don’t open up new wounds that will increase drying over winter.

   Also, some evergreen species won’t regrow if you cut so far that you’re back into bare wood. The way to prevent that is by pruning regularly lightly and never cutting off all of the foliage that’s growing toward the ends of the branches.

   In a hedge situation, hedges should be narrower at the top than the bottom, not the other way around like many people shape them. That way sun can reach the whole plant, and your shrubs will be stronger and better able to shed snow in winter.

   8.) Staking trees to death. Most new trees don’t need to be staked unless you’re planting a big tree in a windy area or on a slope.

   If you do stake, use wide bands or wide, soft materials – not thin ropes or wire that will cut into the bark. Be sure to remove the staking within one year. Research has found that unstaked trees develop stronger roots.

   9.) Digging wet soil. If a handful of soil squishes together instead of crumbling in your hand, don’t dig or till it. You’ll force out the tiny air spaces and destroy the soil structure. In clay soils, that’s a good way to create something akin to concrete.

   Wait until drier days to dig. Or better yet, do your soil preparation the fall before.

   10.) Penalty for early withdrawal of bulb foliage. Resist the urge to cut off, tie up, or braid spring bulb foliage right after the plants have bloomed. The foliage needs to absorb sunlight and make food to “recharge” the bulbs for next season.

   Wait until the foliage begins to yellow to remove it – no matter what Martha says.