Failure to Thrive

As we approach winter – a time of cold, short days with dormant plants – this is certainly a gloomy topic. Still it is one that needs to be explored and understood, especially for those just starting to use native plants. Using native plants is not a panacea for the garden: they don’t magically thrive when we plop them into the ground.

I have learned from some of what has happened to me and share that in the hopes that you might have better expectations and ideas of how to get more success out of your efforts. 

In my experience there are 3 main categories of plant failure: critters, suboptimal growing conditions, and lack of follow up. To help mitigate the first two issues, monitoring your new plants can rectify some mistakes.

Critter Defense

Squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, moles, voles, and deer don’t magically leave native plants alone. On the flip side of that statement, they also don’t automatically gravitate towards native plants either. Their behavior is strictly driven by how they live: looking for food, living their life, trying to get the fuzz off their new antlers … don’t take it personally. Your best defense is a good offense!

Strategies for protecting our plants include:

• Physical deterrents to tunneling critters like sharp rocks in the planting holes. I like to use an expanded slate product call Permatill. Place a handful (or more) at the base of each planting hole for perennials and bulbs to protect the roots. Other small rocks like pea gravel may also work. I lost six native lilies over the last two years because of voles.
• When planting perennials that might be disturbed by squirrels, I stick a utility flag through the rootball (careful if this is a bulb!) for a few weeks/months to help anchor the plant against light disturbance. Seeing the flag when I’m outside also helps remind me to check on it.
• Physical deterrents to browsing include fencing (the only reliable defense against antler rubs on small trees) and smelly sprays and granules. I use Liquid Fence, but there are many products out there.
• Fences and electric wire are more expensive options for deer (but do not protect against small critters).

 

You can buy blank flags in many colors to help mark plants

Smart Planting

Gardeners are obligated to do the work of determining where new plants should be placed. Mother Nature drops seeds and beguiles critters and birds into helping to disperse her bounty. If seeds end up in ideal conditions, they grow and thrive; if they land in poor conditions then they die. Gardeners take grown plants and place them into chosen spots. If we pick the wrong spot, our plants will not thrive. You must do your homework for native plants just as we would have done for any exotic plant.

•  Light and Moisture - I explain in detail how to evaluate the light and moisture in your yard in this post. Match the plant to your conditions. Consider moving plants when conditions change (a tree falls down and brings more sun or trees fill out and cause more shade).
• Regionally Appropriate - choose plants that you know are native to your area whether it is the Piedmont region or the Coastal Plain or the Mountain eco-systems. These plants evolved with the insects in your area and, in the case of butterflies in search of larval hosts, will likely support what’s flying around. For example, gardeners in the Piedmont aren’t expecting to have the deep south-based Palamedes swallowtail butterfly visit so would not plan to include red bay (Persea borbonia) as one of their host plants.

Monitoring New Plants

Gardeners are obligated to care for newly installed plants: water them, put them back after the squirrel dug them up looking for an acorn, and evaluate how they are growing. Here are some care tips:

• Follow up – plants grown in nursery conditions with perfect soil, plentiful water, and nutrients need help adapting to their new home whether they are native or not. Sticking them in the ground and thinking that they’ll instantly adapt because they are native may lead to failure. You should monitor any newly installed plants for a full year (more in the beginning, less towards the end); did you get the light and moisture right?
• Water them as needed in the absence of natural rain. If you have sprinklers, make sure they are in the spray zone.
• Address damage from critters or humans (did a delivery truck run over your new perennial bed?).
• Move them if appropriate.
• Replant them if they were dug up.
• Cage or spray them if they are being eaten. Cage them if there is antler damage on woody saplings; take heart, rubbing is not always a fatal injury.

Understand that growing takes time! This article talks about the sleep, creep, and leap phases of plant growth. While the article focuses on perennials, this absolutely applies to woody plants as well.