Michael's Bulletproof Plant List For Zones 10+
Beginning gardeners are faced with a huge problem: data! They can find anything about anything, but the problem they face persists: exactly which plant should they research?
Towards that goal, I offer my Bulletproof Plant List.
This list is part of my book project. The book is intended to help with the huge problem of picking plants that will live and and with minimal maintenance commitments.
Some hints/ suggestions that will help the causual gardener:
Using the List:
- First, look no further for candidate plants than this Bulletproof List. As it stands now, the List does not help find the Right Plant, but it does present plants that are successful under a very wide variety of conditions.
- Plant monocultures: find the right plant for a spot and use it. Make beds with a single plant, and space them so that at maturity they form a solid mass that requires no mulch and much less water.
Do keep in mind that Planting Design is a process:
- First, identify each spot that has unique cultural characteristics;
- Next determine what you want of your plant in terms of height, or drama;
- Then, make a list of candidate plants that fit the site. Choose from this list of plants according to your own design goals, but you always start by finding every single plant that will work in each spot. Why spend time on plants that won't work?
So, be open to new plants and do not force your favorites into homes that they will not appreciate: if you do not have full sun, do not plant Bougainvillea, for example.
Download MSA_Plants
Comments are welcome.
