On this morning of a frost-filled night, there is but one thing to say, “Plants gonna die.”
Most of my clients will credit themselves with killing half the plants in Western North Carolina. And, if you consider the number of plants they have purchased and planted, they may not be too far off in their accounting. But, there is this odd notion held by almost all garden center-goers: They do not think plants die (unless at their hands). They have this tricky thought that if not for them and their lack of ability in the garden, plants would live forever. They most especially believe this regarding trees. To most novices, trees just don’t die.
Case in point. My favorite, hand’s-down-question-so-far-this-year:
What can I do for my dead tree?
A very kind gentleman, about 40-ish with a small child, grabbed me in the parking lot, wondering if we had anything to help his dead tree. A chainsaw? We don’t sell those.
He was serious.
They also think they are at fault for plants refusing to bloom (here they are generally right), or they go in the opposite direction and do not understand why plants don’t live in their standing water? Can’t I just put gravel in the hole? Or why don’t we have vines that grow in full shade, bloom all summer and are evergreen? See (they show me a picture on their phone)? I have a trellis right there.
Geez. If I had the plant that was evergreen and bloomed all summer and grew beautifully in dense shade, I’d be counting money instead of days between paychecks.
Listen up: Plants are living things and like some of the people we know, they will disappoint us. They will refuse to meet our expectations. As I will discover shortly when I venture outdoors, some of the more tender things I already planted (I know, I know, last frost date is Mother’s Day weekend), will have met their maker. In other words, some plants gonna die, or I should say, all plants gonna die sooner or later. It is a part of the circle of life. (Lion King, anyone?)
I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite quotes from garden-center goers.
I have 4 crape myrtles and none of them bloom. I’m here to buy another one.
So you want 5 non-blooming crape myrtles? Okay. Let’s go pick out a pretty one.
I need a plant that stays 4’10” tall, is yellow and evergreen.
Amazingly, we generally find these “specific-plant-or-no-plant-folks” something that will work.
Do you make perennials that don’t lose their leaves and will bloom in winter?
I’ve yet to make a plant, which is why I’m counting days instead of money, but I can show you the silk department.
What do I do with the dead leaves from my perennial plants? Do I need to leave them there so the new leaves will come up?
Might as well. I haven’t cleaned up my garden in years. Sort of the case of the cobbler with no shoes, but hey, aside from the diseases and pests, everything is doing great.
If I buy 1 rose, will it split into 2?
That explains the roses that are popping up all over my yard. The darn things are splitting themselves in half when I’m not looking, and propagating everywhere.
Lastly, What is wrong with these plants. They keep dying.
What can I say? Plants gonna die.
The mangled roots (poorly planted, roots should not look like that coming out of the ground, but that’s another blog), of a Japanese Magnolia, removed by Erica, our amazing grounds-keeper/designer. All I’ll say is, someone who knows better planted that. So sometimes, even the experts kill trees (or shrubs).