Do Landscapers Listen to Our Own Advice? Plants We’d Never Plant at Home (Part Two)


In part one, I discussed some of the beautiful and useful plants that landscapers recommend or maintain for clients, that we wouldn’t plant in our own home gardens. Whether hard to maintain, prickly, or just overused – these are perfectly good plants in many ways – but often have one fatal flaw us pro-gardeners just don’t want to deal with in our downtime. Here’s the rest of that list:

Mayten Tree/ Maytenus boaria

Mayten Tree or Maytenus boaria

Maytenus boaria is actually one of my favorite plants if we’re only talking about looks, but it’s a nightmare to maintain because it delights in sending up a constant barrage of suckers from the ground. In every garden we care for with a mature Mayten Tree, part of our monthly maintenance is cutting out the suckers within a 15’ radius from the trunk.

That said, it’s a beautiful plant. I love the way the leaves rustle in the breeze and the graceful weeping habit. But pulling up Mayten suckers isn’t my idea of a great way to spend the weekend.

If you’re going to plant a Mayten Tree, here’s one tip I’ve had success with. Water very, very deeply and regularly the first three years as it’s establishing its root system. The idea is to encourage the roots to grow as deeply into the soil as possible, because roots that are traveling along the surface of the soil sucker more readily.

Many rose varieties

Every Thorn Has Its Rose by peasap on Flickr Gardener Monica Milla says, “I would (and have) never planted roses in my own garden. Too much work, too prickly, and I’m not wild about them.”

My own home garden has a ban on thorns and prickles. As a pro gardener, I am so OVER getting sharp bits lodged in me. And the way that many roses have been overbred for giant frankenflowers makes for some ugly, disease-ridden plants – with flowers like lollipops on sad thorny sticks.

That said, there are a HUGE number of breathtakingly beautiful roses – fragrant, interesting colors, and disease-free – you just need to choose the right varieties.

We have a local place, Fickle Hill Old Rose Nursery, in which the proprietor grows all kinds of old-fashioned roses which have been chosen for their beauty, fragrance, and resistance to disease. (See the owner Cindy Graebner’s suggestions for disease-resistant old-fashioned roses in the comments to this post, and if you’re not a Humboldt County local, try the friendly and reputable Regan Nursery to order bare-root.)

I’m going to be hitting up both places soon for some tough thornless roses for my own garden.

Buddleia davidii

Buddleia photo by ndrwfgg Flickr

Buddleia has just been put on the “invasive species” list here in Humboldt County because it spreads so quickly in managed forests and disturbed areas like roadsides, but it’s been on my do-not-plant list for some time for another reason.

When you prune or deadhead them in late fall, the darn things disperse this horrible whitish fuzz into the air that is easy to inhale and makes anyone within 10 feet cough violently. I got my first sinus infection ever after pruning one of these stinkers without a mask on, and I was coughing for days.

Even though they’re unpleasant to prune, they do need to be deadheaded and shortened every year because of both their lanky habit and their invasiveness in wild areas. If you’re going to prune a Buddleia, wear a really good mask (I mean a crazy good mask), eye protection, and make sure your skin is covered so you don’t get a rash.

Any time I’m feeling seduced by their pretty purple flowers and the fact that they attract hummingbirds, I just remember how “fun” it is to prune them and my attraction fades.

Lawn

Lawn in the garden

Among the most contentious answers from other landscapers was lawn. I have to say, I personally love a patch of lawn in a garden. It’s cooling, fun to walk and play on, cheaper to install than stone or concrete, and the fresh green color shows off garden beds really nicely.

The anti-lawn movement has a lot of great points about how the perfectly green, weed-free ChemLawn so many Americans strive for is unsustainable – using a lot of water, synthetic fertilizers and chemicals, and gas to mow and edge them. Plus, there are so many interesting things you can do with garden space besides a boring old lawn!

And that’s all true, but instead of eliminating lawn, it’s more important to choose the right size of lawn for how you’re going to use your garden space, and then maintain that lawn as sustainably as possible.

There are cool irrigation timers which aim to reduce water use by sensing the weather and adjusting accordingly, eco-friendly mowers which reduce emissions and noise, organic fertilizers such as Dr Earth which reduce groundwater pollution – and even some simple adjustments to how you care for your lawn can reduce weeds and water needs (trim grass on the highest setting, use a true mulching mower which cuts the grass into finer pieces then usual mowers, etc).

So anyway, if you’re going to have an old-school, perfect golf course lawn with all kinds of nasty chemicals on it, then I don’t want one of those, either. But I definitely like a cheerful place to play some frisbee and frolic with the cats, and a small sustainable lawn fits the bill for me.

Some other plants mentioned by landscapers?

From Mark Atteberry, Atteberry Landscape and Irrigation, Dallas, TX

Eleagnus – puts 2 ft long sprouts overnight, maintenance nightmare.
Red Tipped Photinia – eventually all will get fungal leaf spot in our area.
All Euonymous – eventually all will be infested with scale and spraying is a never ending task.
Bradford Pear trees – problems with blight and when they’re older the high winds rip them apart

From Claire Brown, Plantpassion – Surrey UK

Aucuba japonica crotonifolia – why, because although it’s easy to maintain and has all year round colour, I think of it as the Men’s toilet plant, – because it’s used outside gentlemen’s conveniences all over the UK

From Lorene Edwards Forkner, Planted at Home, Seattle, WA

Dwarf mugho pine. Great contrast with heathers and ornamental grasses; fabulous inky green color; nice, dense form…but really? A mugho pine?!!?

From Elizabeth Hoffman, West End Florist and Garden Center, Evanston, IL

Impatiens, I love to recommend them to customers because they flower like mad, if given a little maintenance, but I will not plant them at my house because we have very little shade and I work too much during the season to be kind enough to water them. The “you’re on your own” mentality really doesn’t work for them.

From Anna Looper, Flowergardengirl/ Decorate a Garden, NC

‘Stella d’Oro’ (Daylily) because every landscaper both public and private uses them by the truck load here in NC and I’m sick of them. They’ve been over planted as a quick sale so that landscapers don’t have to use their brains anymore. Any time a new hi-way project is planned you can bet it’s the standard stella d’oro mix with crepe myrtles and same old boring stuff.

Plants mentioned in the Landscape Leadership Forum:

Maribeth: I don’t hate many plants but boy do I hate shearing. In Texas they love to turn everything into a meatball or a lollipop. Heaven forbid that you allow it to have a natural shape. And clients look at you like you’re crazy when you tell them some plants actually have flowers or scent that their lawn guy or husband has been cutting off with those power shears any time a little leaf growth occurs.

Liporace: For me, it’s boxwood. First of all my garden doesn’t lend itself to boxwoods but they are so over used here that I cringe almost every time I see them, even if used properly. It’s the ‘go-to’ plant that every landscape contractor uses without even considering any other plant. Need a shrub for your foundation planting – how about a boxwood! (this spawned some good discussion in the forum as it was argued that well-used boxwood is such a classic, classy plant – but they ARE overused!)

JShilan: I would like to also add “landscape boulders” to this list since they are often used to replace planting knowledge.

What about you? Which plants and garden elements do you think are all right for other people, but not something you’ll ever want in your garden? Tell me in the comments below.

Photo credits: Rose thorn by peasap on Flickr, Buddleia by ndrwfgg on Flickr


14 responses to “Do Landscapers Listen to Our Own Advice? Plants We’d Never Plant at Home (Part Two)”

  1. Great article, Gen! I must say, I don’t tend to hate many plants, but after reading so many from the other contributors, I find myself nodding in agreement with them! I think it usually ends up coming down to putting the right plant in the right place – many problems are avoided that way, and the plant is allowed to ‘shine’…

    And thanks for the information on the irrigation timers – one of my many New Year’s resolutions is to replace my own irrigation with something more efficient, so your timing was perfect (no pun intended!)….

    p.s. thanks for linking to my ‘reducing your lawn’ article… 😉
    .-= rebecca sweet´s last blog ..My favorite gift this holiday season….all of you! =-.

  2. Yes, we follow our own advice at home. However, customers have their own ideas on what they like and what they are willing to take care of. Some enjoy trimming, others don’t. I generally try to ask the right base questions to lead them towards the best plants that fit their lifestyles and gardens. There are some plants I will not carry, just not in me to continue nurturing bad plants. There are a few I would prefer not to carry but, I do give some education with purchase!! I am rethinking Buddleia, interesting info!
    .-= Lynne Phillips´s last blog ..Wagon’s First Snow outside in a 100 years? =-.

  3. You know, I think I’m going to (wait for it) plant (don’t be shocked) a rose in spring. If I can find a sunny enough spot. It’s really all Sweetbay’s fault for showing too many roses that don’t look ugly to me. We had a local rose place very much like your Fickle Hill, Great Lakes Roses. They stocked hardy, disease-resistant, easy-care, fragrant roses well-suited to the Michigan climate. But I never bought a rose there and now they’ve closed shop and retired to Thailand! (Great for them, of course!) One of the ex-owners, Nancy Lindley, has a book, Roses for Michigan, so I’ll be able to choose one… I just have to figure out where to buy it!

    I love butterfly bush and have a few. They are common here, but I wouldn’t say overused… and certainly not invasive. I actually trim off the spent blooms before they get floofy (didn’t even realize they did, LOL!) to encourage more blooms. I suspect ours don’t get as many blooms as yours because ours die back every year… I wait until spring to cut them back to maybe 6 inches and they bloom off new wood each season. And they are late to re-grow. *Every* year I think it’s died, but it hasn’t! Also, maybe because I don’t have optimal sun, mine don’t get too large by the end of our growing season.

  4. Every time I say I will NEVER, EVER use a certain plant – I end up using it, even if it’s just to see if I really hate it as much as I think I do. There was I time when I didn’t design with succulents, because I thought they were so obvious in Southern California – what was I THINKING? Now I can’t imagine a succulent-free garden.
    I am one of those who’d never plant lawn unless a client absolutely HAS to have it. Like if they have small children – a lawn is a must. And I agree with you, lawn is gorgeous, and nothing sets off a beautiful planting like a swath of emerald green. But like all things horticultural, I think climate is the big issue – if you live in a zone that gives you plenty of rain, and irrigation is a supplemental, then cool! But for those of us who live in climates where 7 months can go by without a drop of rain … well, large front lawns start looking like garden versions of Hummers or Chevy Suburbans.
    So even though I won’t plant one, I like that lawns be small and sustainable, and then used for picnics, touch football, and lying down to daydream. Nothing gets me like an unused lawn!
    Thanks for the great post!

  5. So interesting (and informative) to see people’s likes and dislikes revealed. Never had a notion that buddleia could be irritating, useful to know.

    Cecile Brunner would be a nice choice for a thornless old rose; not as scented as some but they do have a delicate fragrance and the beauty of the little buds just can’t be beat, in climbing or bush form. There’s always Zepherine Drouhin, too, and I guess this would fall in my category of plants I’d recommend to others but not to myself: it’s thornless, by all reports vigorous, it’s a reliable rose that’s been around for a bit, it’s fragrant – but, for me, the purple-pink-red keeps it out of my garden. Just not a color I want around much, though it may be just someone else’s cup of tea.

    Plants I think should be in NO ONE’s garden? Periwinkle, major or minor, which takes over everything with its coiling shiny-leaved tentacles. The only good use I know of for periwinkle is to make vinpocetine (as in vinca), but you will notice you have to crush and destroy the plant to do that!
    .-= Pomona Belvedere´s last blog ..Brugmansia Miracle =-.

  6. Hi Rebecca! I’m also inspired about those timers. I’m really keen to test them out in my moist climate and see if the moisture in the air throws them off, or if they really and truly work the way everyone says they do. Susan Morrison seems to like them, so that goes a long way in my book.

    Lynne, you are so right that connecting the right plants with the right people is key.

    Monica, it’s not the blooms, it’s the undersides of the leaves that have that awful fuzz! Maybe you haven’t encountered this – I have found that holding off on Buddleia pruning till it’s damp out helps reduce the flying fuzz and keeps the coughing at bay. My employees are developing the same loathing of Butterfly Bush that I have.

    Germi, you couldn’t be more right that the right size of lawn does depend on your climate as well as usage. In my climate it stays a lot more moist – rains from October through May here, so the worries about water are somewhat less here than in other places.

    And YES about succulents. I’m warming to them as well, in large part because of seeing the gorgeous things you’ve done with them!! Plus my chickens don’t seem to bother them, which is rare for any plant! I’m kind of over fencing off bits of my garden while things fill in – why not just plant lavenders and catmints and succulents and things they don’t care to scratch and peck… Seems easier in the long run. I love their sweet natures and their fresh eggs so more succulents and herbs in the garden isn’t too big a hit to take. And yeah, all the varieties of succulents becoming available is most cheering.

    Pomona, you are cracking me up about the Vinca. Yes!!! I’m going off to google vinpocetine now, if only so I can have one more arguing point to sway clients who wish to keep the stuff!

  7. the plant im sick of seeing is lavender. everywhere in yards, in parks,courtyards,sidewalks…old ugly unpruned ignored plants.plz pull them out and start with new plants…

  8. I am a homeowner in a new home with a small yard that had been a model home; it’s needs are to add to what was already here and to offer privacy from the two story homes that are close behind mine. So, that said, I am researching & learning & considering trees. I have one small area in the northeast corner to plant the RIGHT tree..for needed privacy, can’t be too big, invasive, need much water (after getting established) and not intrude on neighbors and if at all possible, maintain their leaves all year round. Oh, yes, and just a few feet below the planting area is a french drain that runs all around the lot.
    Not alot of choices, right? However, love Mayten, which brought up your site here: what a fun read! Thank you for all the information; my thinking now is second choice for tree: Japanese maple (I know, I know it won’t keep it’s leaves) or an oleander tree. Off I go to do the research. Again..thanks to all of you pro’s out there..!!

  9. I am four for four of these baddies in the yard of my new house. I’m already planning on removing the mayten and the lawn. The mayten has a thousand suckers coming up including under the house and through the sidewalk. Now the butterfly bush is on the chopping block and will be replaced with a beautiful Ceanothus. The roses get a stay of execution because they have no prickles. Thanks for spreading the word about the invasiveness and gnarliness of the Buddleja!

  10. We have a mayten in our front yard, very well established, but I’ve never seen a sucker. We are planning to build our sons a tree fort in it this summer. My only complaint is that it drops a bunch of pollen-y buds in the spring.

  11. I loooove Mayten Trees, I grew up with one in my front yard and now that I have a home of my own wanted to plant one here too. How do you water it “very, very deeply” to avoid the suckers (?) that you mentioned??
    Thanks!

  12. My pet peeve is the planting of Queen Palms along our central California coast. We are not a tropical environment, we are a Mediterranean climate. Those palms look so out of place here in our landscapes. The garden centers sell them and people buy them as a quick landscape tree.

  13. Hello,

    I saw your column re Mayten trees.

    Don’t ever consider planting one of these trees. Yes, they are beautiful – at first.

    My landscaper planted eleven of them around my small (30 x 100) Southern California beach lot. The first couple of years were nice until they became mature.

    They drop seedlings which sprout EVERYWHERE. I could spend an hour a day pulling up these sprouts and then have to do it all over again the next day. They grow very quickly so need to be pruned about every nine months – this becomes quite expensive.

    But, yes, they look lovely like small weeping willows. Don’t be tempted!

  14. We bought a home last year with a Mayyen in the backyard. We didn’t have a clue to what it was, we just thought it was pretty. Now so am so over it!! Yes it drops seeds by the thousands—and it overhangs a corner of our pool. My husband loves it, but it is SO messy I’m ready to rip it out!