What Does "Right Plant, Right Place" Mean?

Regardless of your profession, if you've spent enough time putting plants in the ground, there's a good chance you've heard the phrase "right plant, right place". In fact, this phrase is so common that people often take it for granted without fully understanding what it implies regarding your planting strategy. 

In the simplest sense, adhering to the "right plant, right place" principle means selecting plants that are well-suited to the areas in which you'll grow them. 

Although we can provide a simple meaning for the phrase, there are plenty more details to consider when following the "right plant, right place" philosophy. The sections to follow will share details and give you a firm understanding of what this adage means. 

Learning About Your Plant's Hardiness

The first factor you should consider when choosing a plant for your yard is whether it will survive in your region at all. As you'll discover, plant species have specific ranges in which they will thrive. Attempting to grow a plant outside of its preferred region will likely cause it to die, often within a single season. 

The ideal way to select a plant that will survive in your region is to familiarize yourself with the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. This map clearly indicates the different hardiness zones across the entire United States. 

The key on the Hardiness Zone Map also reveals that each zone corresponds to an average low temperature. For example, hardiness zone 4a is present in some of the northernmost areas of the United States and corresponds to an average low temperature between -30 and -25 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Fortunately, the plants you purchase should have tags that indicate the hardiness zone(s) in which the plant species will survive. What makes matters even easier for hobbyist gardeners is that it's relatively safe to assume that the plant nurseries in your area will sell plants that grow well in your hardiness zone. 

Being Mindful of Sunlight and Shade

Every plant you grow will prefer to receive a certain amount of sunlight each day. As is true regarding hardiness zones, information regarding a plant's preference for sun or shade should appear on its tag. 

Sometimes, the information you find will indicate that a plant should receive a specific number of hours of sunlight per day. Additionally, people also label plants as being "full sun", "full shade", "part shade", or "part sun". These labels also indicate how much sun the plant likes each day. 

These labels are a bit more general, and sometimes people disagree about what they actually mean. Still, we can assign some general definitions to each term that will be helpful to you: 

• Full sun: This distinction means that the plant usually requires about six hours of direct sunlight per day or more. 

• Full shade: A full shade plant is not one that needs no sunlight at all. Instead, it means the plant can grow in areas that receive four hours of direct sunlight per day or less. The plants also tend to grow well in dappled sunlight, such as what you would see under the canopies of larger trees. 

• Part shade or part sun: These terms essentially have the same meaning, which is that the plant prefers between four and six hours of direct sunlight. 

Knowing those definitions is a start. The next step is to evaluate how much sunlight is present in your intended growing location. What's also helpful to know is that some plants may have multiple definitions regarding sunlight preferences. For instance, a plant species may survive well in both full sun and part shade. 

Watering Your Plants the Right Way

Plants require different volumes of moisture to grow correctly. While one plant may prefer consistent access to moisture in the soil, other plants adapt well to areas that have very little water present. 

Likewise, the water needs of a plant will depend on its age and whether it has been transplanted recently. In almost every case, a plant that is young or has just moved to a new growing location will require more water than a plant that is mature and well-established in its growing space. 

The amount of water a plant prefers will dictate how often you need to water it. Water preferences may also determine the soils in which the plant can grow. The next section will briefly showcase the vital role soils play in your plant's long-term success. 

Understanding the Foundational Role of Soil

While many beginners fail to recognize the importance of soil characteristics, it's difficult to overstate the impact they can have on your plants. Each soil type will have different qualities that influence which plants can grow in it. 

There are several soil types, and describing each one is not something we'll do here. Instead, just know that some soils are naturally wetter than others. Additionally, some soil particles tend to stick together while other soil particles are looser and fall apart from each other. 

A good example here is the comparison between sandy soils and clay soils. Sandy soils are very loose, meaning that they fall apart easily in your hand or otherwise. It also means that they don't hold a lot of water, which means they won't contain a lot of water for your plant's roots to absorb. By contrast, clay soils are much stickier and hold a significant amount of water. 

Plants usually have a preference for what type of soil they grow in. Learning about the soils present on your property will help your plant selection process. Also, it's possible to change the qualities of your soil by amending it. However, the effectiveness of these efforts can vary greatly. 

Anticipating a Plant's Mature Size

Here's a "right plant, right place" factor that too many people ignore. Whenever you place a plant in the ground, you must anticipate its mature size. Again, information about the mature height and width of a plant should be present on its tag. 

What happens in many cases is that people will attempt to grow a plant that is destined to be too large for its growing location. The reason this happens is that most plants look very small at planting time. This small size does not necessarily indicate that the plant will remain small. 

Choosing a plant with a mature size that will not fit in its growing location can lead to many different issues. Rather than learning what each of those issues is, avoid them by growing plants in locations that can accommodate their mature height and width. 

Analyzing Your Growing Location

This advice is a bit more general, but it remains crucial during plant selection. Beyond what we've mentioned so far, the specific traits of your growing location can affect what plants will survive there. 

Again, this relies on your ability to analyze your growing location. Consider what structures are nearby, what slopes already exist in your growing location, what role you'd like the plant to play, and any other factors that could decide the plant's long-term success. 

There is no one-size-fits-all solution here. Instead, choosing the right plant depends on your ability to evaluate the place in which it will grow. For example, the plants you include in a foundation planting plan may be quite different from the plants you choose for erosion control or for privacy plantings. 

Avoiding Invasive Species

Our final piece of advice when following "right plant, right place" is to avoid invasive species. Discovering which plant species are invasive in your area is easy to do. An online search will quickly reveal whether the plant you want to grow is invasive or not. 

People can point to many reasons why it is a bad idea to plant invasive species. For the purposes of this article, just know that invasive species tend to harm the native ecosystems in which they grow, usually by spreading aggressively and outcompeting native plant species that are better capable of supporting regional wildlife. 

We won't elaborate here, but it's important to note that plants can either be native, non-native but non-invasive, or invasive. Your best option is to select a native plant, or a plant that is non-native but also non-invasive to your region. 

What if You Ignore "Right Plant, Right Place" Guidelines?

By now, it should be clear that following the "right plant, right place" adage is a good practice to follow. Still, it's worth considering what may happen if you choose not to follow this advice. Here are some of the most common situations you can encounter when ignoring "right plant, right place":

• Your plants may quickly die as a result of not growing in their preferred hardiness zone, or because they do not have access to the sunlight, moisture, and soil type they require. 

• Your plants may become overgrown because you failed to anticipate their mature size or because you chose to grow them in a location to which they are not well-suited. 

• Your plants may outcompete native plants because you selected an invasive plant species. 

Ultimately, allowing "right plant, right place" to guide your planting strategy is a non-negotiable if you want your plants to be as healthy as possible. Keep the guidelines we discussed in mind, and you'll have a much better chance of creating a garden that will thrive over the long term. 

Ensure Every Plant You Grow is Perfect for Its Growing Location

Even when equipped with the right advice, some people still struggle to grow plants successfully. The truth is that, whether you have experience growing plants or not, sometimes the best option is to work with an expert who can help inform every planting decision you make. 

If that option sounds right for you, I encourage you to contact me. I’m a landscape designer serving property owners in Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut. Feel free to message me at any time if you want to learn more about the "right plant, right place" principle or if you're ready to start a landscape design project.