Did you read the label?

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Did You Read the Label?
When you're browsing the nursery or garden center it's easy to get caught up in the appearance of a plant. Especially if it's in bloom or has colorful foliage. The next thing you know you're putting the plant in the basket or on the garden cart and heading for the checkout counter. What you've acquired is an impulse item where appearance and possible price convinced you to make the purchase. Did you read the label that came with the plant? Or did you just look at the plant's common name and possibly the genus and species without reading any of the fine, yet important, print? It's easy to do, especially for avid gardeners who don't mind "experimenting" to see what they can grow in Tucson's climate. I've been guilty of testing plant hardiness on an occasion or two and then find myself adding dead or dying plants to my compost bin more often than most. But I do read the labels and know the plant I'm purchasing may be a candidate for marginal success in my Tucson garden.

If you take the time to read the labels you might not have so many dead plants in your garden when the next hard winter freeze hits town. Most labels give you an indication as to what low temperatures the plants can withstand before they are subjected to the less than perfect growing conditions. Few labels tell you what kind of heat the plant can take although there is an American Horticultural Society Heat Tolerance Zone that has begun to show up on some plant labels. The heat zone indicates the average annual number of heat days. That heat day is defined as a day the temperature reaches or exceeds 86 degrees. In Tucson 86 degrees is a good indication of spring, not heat. A summer heat day for us, and the plants we grow, would be in the mid nineties and on up. Now that's heat.

Labels also give you an indication of whether plants grow in full sun, partial shade, or full shade. Tucson's summer full sun can be a killer to some plants if they go from a shady spot where they were held in the garden center to a sunny spot in the homeowner's garden. Many plants may suffer severe sunburn causing drastic foliage damage to a plant and it may be months before it recovers, if at all.

A sample of a few different plant labels. Be sure to look on both the front and the back side for pertinent plant information.

Plants may need a period of time to be hardened off, or acclimated to their new environment before they can withstand Tucson's full sun exposure. This means you need to give them time to adjust to the new growing conditions.

I start a lot of plants in a shaded greenhouse and it takes several days of varying degrees of sunshine before they build up a tolerance to a new environment. If I were to take the plants from the greenhouse and move them to direct sun they would severely burn. Young plants don't always recover when subjected to harsh conditions.

So next time you plan on adding a few new plants to your garden make sure to take the time to read the label for some of the information listed below.

You'll want to know how large the plant can get so you can be sure to allow plenty of room for growth without crowding the new plant or other plants in the area.

You'll want to know how cold hardy the plant will be. Can it take temperatures down into the 20's without dying? On occasion it gets that cold and colder in the Tucson area. If you know which of your plants are cold sensitive then you can be ready to cover or move container plants when the threat of freezing temperatures occur.

Look for the plant's best location to be planted whether it's full sun, partial shade or shade.

Look for planting instructions such as how deep to plant and whether the plant needs soil that has good drainage.

Finally, consider the plant's water requirements. Once established will the plant be drought tolerant or is it going to need regular watering.

By reading the label and following the instructions you'll be sure to give your new garden addition its best chance for survival. (2004)