Plant Selection Guides
Choosing the right plant for the right place is one of the most important decisions in gardening. Start with your climate, light, soil, and moisture conditions, then consider mature size, maintenance, and the role each plant will play in your garden.
Start with Climate & Hardiness
Use your hardiness zone to check whether a plant can tolerate your winter lows. Then consider summer heat, rainfall, humidity, wind, and local microclimates, which hardiness zones do not describe.
Match Soil, Drainage & Water
Check your soil type, drainage, moisture retention, and pH. Group plants with similar water needs so drought-tolerant plants are not overwatered and moisture-loving plants do not dry out.
Choose the Right Light
Match plants to the actual light they will receive—full sun, partial shade, or full shade. Remember that light conditions can change through the year as trees leaf out or nearby plants mature.
Plan for Mature Size & Maintenance
Choose plants based on their eventual height, spread, and growth habit—not their nursery size. Also consider how much pruning, staking, dividing, watering, or pest management you realistically want to provide.
Build a Garden with Purpose & Seasonal Interest
Decide what each plant should contribute—flowers, foliage, fragrance, shade, screening, wildlife value, fall color, or winter structure. Native plants can be excellent choices when suited to the site, while well-adapted non-native plants can also perform beautifully. Avoid invasive species.
