How do I choose plants that will actually thrive?

Right plant, right place is the whole of successful planting. A plant in unsuitable conditions needs constant intervention and usually fails anyway, while a well-matched one thrives with almost no attention.

What you'll need

• Knowledge of your site (optional)
• A tape measure (optional)

Step by step

1. Know your conditions before you go shopping.Sun hours, soil type, drainage, exposure, and pH if it matters. Buying first and finding a place afterwards is how plants get put in the wrong spot.
2. Read the light requirement literally.Full sun means six hours or more of direct sun. Part shade means three to six. A plant labelled full sun in a shady corner will be leggy and will not flower.
3. Check the eventual size, not the current one.This is the most ignored figure on any label. A shrub sold at 40cm that reaches three metres will outgrow the space and need removing.
4. Check hardiness for your area.The rating tells you the minimum temperature it survives. Buying something marginal means annual protection or eventual loss.
5. Check soil preference, particularly pH.Ericaceous plants need acid soil and will not thrive otherwise regardless of feeding. It is the one soil property that cannot be worked around easily.
6. Judge quality at the nursery.Look for healthy foliage, no pests, and roots that fill the pot without circling tightly. Avoid anything with roots wound densely round the rootball.
7. Buy smaller plants where you can.Smaller plants establish faster and cost less, and within two or three years they often overtake a larger specimen planted at the same time.
8. Buy in groups rather than singly.Three or five of the same plant looks considerably better than one of everything, and it is more forgiving if one fails.

Tips

• Look at what thrives in neighbouring gardens. It is the most reliable local guide to conditions, better than any general hardiness map.
• Bare-root plants during the dormant season are far cheaper than container-grown and often establish better.
• Check whether a plant is invasive in your area before buying. Some widely sold plants become a serious problem.

Common mistakes

• Ignoring the eventual size — A plant that outgrows its space has to be removed or constantly cut back, which spoils its shape and wastes the years it took to establish.
• Buying plants before knowing where they will go — They end up in whatever space is available rather than the conditions they need, which is why so many purchased plants fail.
• Buying a tightly root-bound plant — The roots continue circling after planting and the plant never establishes properly. Check the rootball before buying.

Questions people ask