Garden Talk: Your Garden Mistakes

Working with herbs, etc. is a tricky thing. I don't mess with them, but have found jewelweed to be helpful with poison ivy.

If you're new to gardening in the south (especially if you're used to gardening in the north), I'd highly recommend buying the Southern Living Garden Book. It tells you what will and won't grow in your area.

We recently moved to Mobile, AL from Boston and the things that won't grow here are kind of weird: we can grow irises, daffodils and narcissus, but not tulips. To my sorrow, we can't sustain peonies, lilacs, most columbines, almost any hostas, crocuses, or lily of the valley - but we can grow bougainvillea, camellias, hibiscus, crape myrtles, even papyrus - which are all new and fascinating!

The few times I've varied from the book's recommendations, the plants have struggled, not grown at all, or not even germinated from seed!

- Wyfe of Ent

Sounds like a wonderful book...I usually plant a little of everything..if it survives..wonderful..if not, oh well..guess as I become a more knowledgeable gardener..I'll be more specific in what I plant...

not enough can be said about bamboo-there is clumping bamboo,and there is running bamboo.you should be completely aware of which kind you are planting. if you err in this decision-we're not talking about pulling up errant plants-it can become heavy open warfare...

This is amazing...this thread is 6 years old and still going strong !
It would take me 6 years to list all the mistakes I've made.

I pulled up my parsley thinking it was an annual ... did the same with my first batch of butterfly weed!

I planted yellow loosestrife three years ago ... I pulled it up the first year but I'm still pulling out babies ...

Too many mistakes to mention!

Well it looks like ti's time for this thread once again!
I have been gardening veggies for several years but it became very clear to me when my husband and I got married that he really had no idea.

I told him that the grass and weeds needed to be killed off first and them we could till and plant.
He tilled and told me that that method would kill it all off.
Spent many days that summer weeding and pulling grass.
The next year he was going to kill the grub worms we were finding so be poured grub X all over the area where we had planted tomatoes and peppers.
Couldn't eat those now.

Last year while I was at work he decided to surprise me and plant the garden for me.
When the tomatoes grew up, we had a tangled jungle out there.
Now I have volunteer tomatoes everywhere.
Bless his heart.
Just wish he would listen! Funny as this is now, still breaks my back to think about it!

LOL....

I have enjoyed reading this long thread. One big mistake I made was to carefully tranplant wild violets from my mother's house when we moved here in the woods. She had just lawn and mowing took care of the violets. Here we have no lawn and many flower beds. Those lovely violets have tried desperately to take over. I have pulled and pulled - but every spring thousands of dust-like seeds fly all over, so it goes on. I decided I just have to enjoy the flowers and pull the plants when they absolutely can't be where they decided to grow, but not to get too stressed. They will be here when I am dead and gone. I made the situation worse by transplanting also some Confederate violets that were given to me (before I realized what was happening). So now I have two types which are quite lovely in the spring, but a pain the rest of the time. Oh, well.

Well, I see that there are far more invasive plants than I ever dreamed. How can a person know which ones are and which ones are not? I know I planted one thing that is tagged as invasive - Lily of the Valley. For the first two years I got nothing then this year there are 20 plants. But that is not much. It only takes up about a 2' x 2' area. I feel rally hesitant to plant nay new plants now ! !

This thread is GREAT. I started at the beginning (2oo1) and read through. Just tooooo funny!

I see mint mentioned a lot. I love mint. My mom use to have a lot of mint and she loved it. I never thought of it as invasive, although I could pull up roots to move to another place or give away.

This thread is hilarious! I started reading last night and finished this morning--learned so much, even after years of gardening.

I'm newly back after a hiatus of several years after I sold my house on the east end of LI. My mistake is meeting a man with a very old and wonderful garden. When I first saw it 4 years ago I thought Oh no, I can't get sucked into this-- but of course now I'm hooked. The place was overrun with raspberries, tradescantia- (carefully collected in many colors by a pro gardener in the 30's and 40's) it comes up in the middle of Siberian iris!- ferns, huge clumps of hosta and a really hideous vine with running pod-like roots that spring right back up from wherever you break them off, as well as all the regular run of weeds...goldenrod, moneywort, deer tongue and all the rest.

After many gallons of roundup and several forays by strong men armed with shovel, pitchforks and whatever else it takes, much of the worst has been cleared from the areas closest to the house and in the direct view.

To fill in without completely blowing the budget, I've been dividing what's good, buying single goodies and trying to multiply them, and seeding like mad.

Mistakes abound:

'Rescued' pretty pale pink fower from weeds by the street. Turns out it's Bouncing Bet- flops all over, impossible to get rid of! Oops!
Killed a huge clump of white physostegia trying to get rid of tradescantia and other thugs strangling it and equally huge clump of white baptisia, which also suffered some but thankfully survived
'Rescued' white physostegia from wild area about to be cleared then lost it in the spring- forgot where i put it and weeded it out, I think. That has happened more than once!
Started seeds inside without enough light and heat, had miserable germination and planted a few spindly things.
The next year I used capillary matting, a T5 light, heat mat and frost blanket over all of it. We're only there weekends...spring was unusually warm. LOTS of damping off!

This year I'm starting extra early in the city- determined to at least get petunias for hanging baskets, hoping if they're far enough along they'll cope with not quite enough sun once they're put up...time will tell...

I could go on and on....

LOL Pfg ........ another good story. I'm sure you will make it beautiful again!

Ok, I have my own newbie garden mishap to share -

several years ago, when I had moved from apartment living into my first House, I was excited to finally start growing flowers in my small (but still more wonderful than an apartment balcony) backyard.

I took a trip to the local garden centers and bought up every discounted and clearanced plant they had. One particular flat was a pretty red flowered plant labeled 'salvia'. I had no idea what Salvia was, nor most flowers for that matter, and bought it.

I proudly planted all 9 starts in a bed underneath my bedroom window, carefully watered and weeded, and nurtured the small 2-3 inch plants over the next couple of months. And did they grow! into huge 2ft X 3ft shrubs that prolifically produced seed! at first it was exciting, because I had also newly joined DG and was happy to have my own source of seed to share, but soon, I got overwhelmed with trying to keep up with collecting that most of the seeds hit the ground before I had time to gather them for trades - not that there wasn't a more than sufficient amount previously collected!

needless to say, the next Spring, I was mowing, digging and eventually spraying whole sections of lawn that had become nothing but Salvia seedlings!

I learned my lesson for sure - as 4 years later, I an STILL trying to rid my lawn of Red Salvia!

Update: The petunias are blooming in the city, the tomatoes are raring to go, but the ground at the house is frozen solid as a rock and still has snow on a goodly portion of it. About the timing: Oops!

Pam

Oh fun!

Lets see, I grew up in the north and moved to the south several years ago. I've gardened in containers and didn't have the problems of weeds.

Well last year we finally bought a house. Yay! One of my first projects was turning a slab of grass into a 16' x 24' x 1' deep raised bed garden. We built the walls with landscape timbers and I started turning over the grass with a shovel from the inside. There were some grass clumps with long white roots mixed in but I didn't pay it any mind. I assumed whatever weeds were there would be smothered by the dirt.

That my friends, was my very first introduction to bermuda grass. And oh, they grew. The soil I bought wasn't that great (another garden mistake) so my veggies didn't do that well, but oh the bermuda grass did. Last month I spent a whole week digging up wheelbarrows full of runners but keep finding new bits peeking up. I have a long battle in store.

Oh ya..... dontchajustluv bermuda grass? It looOoOOoOoves that fresh turned soil. Grows everywhere except where you want it to. UGH!

And to think, we plant lawns of it here! Just goes to show- one mans weed is another mans lawn!

It probably crawled here all the way from flordia!

Hahaha! I wouldn't doubt it! That stuff is pretty darn resilient!

I found garlic mustard mentioned in this thread so I thought I'd post this here. I am suddenly all jazzed up about this plant I've been cussing for almost a decade.

I heard on NPR recently that this is the MOST nutritious green ever tested. It is terribly INVASIVE here. I have hated it for years. I will continue to hate it where it doesn't belong. Yet since I have learned how nutritious it is, I plan to grow it in containers where it can't escape, keep it deadheaded, and chow down! I've been needing to find a food crop that would be prolific and strong here in zone 5.....

Beans and greens, baby. Beans and greens. FREE FOOD!

The worst thing I ever planted in my yard was a seedling elm about 25 feet from the house. It's roots are everywhere. Also, never plant field peas between okra and corn, even with extra space. The pea vines will crawl on both. Also, never plant tomatoes in that rich spot of ground that has no air circulation. All I had this summer was rotten tomatoes. Don't plant 1/2 runner beans close to butterbeans if you are not going to stake the 1/2 runners. And NEVER, NEVER let someone garden with you. They won't keep up with the weeds and you will have to start all over getting rid of weeds. Remember, one year's seed, seven year's weeds. These are serious gardening mistakes and I hope all will learn from my experience. Luciee {;0)

This message was edited Aug 26, 2011 8:18 AM

I just found this thread! I cannot believe that it is not constantly posted to!
Here are my mistakes (not in any particular order):

1. Buying on impulse new plants that I know nothing about (check out invasive list first!)

2. Buying cheap garden tools instead of higher-quality - VERY $$$ in all cases

3. Trying to force plants to live in environments that are marginally to their liking

4. Believing that adding soil to low spots will actually add height and NOT SINK (need to add easily twice the amount you think you need

5. Believing the price tag of a small specimen rather than the larger one to be fine - the great outdoors just sucks up size, and you're left with a tiny, puny plant where the larger one would have looked far better

6. Ignoring pests

7. Trying to do all the landscaping work myself - when I hired a local nursery to do my "bed prep" work, I was amazed at how CHEAP this was, considering how it looked in such a short time with the pros working on the beds, and boy my back sure appreciated it! Not to mention, all I had to do was the "fun stuff" like choosing and planting the "pretties"

8. Using chemicals instead of therapeutic and old-fashioned labor for getting rid of weeds (BIG mistake - we're on a well!)

9. Watering tomatoes in the evening

10. Attracting, by using CHEAP feed, "Trash" birds that chase the nice ones away (that love to eat the bugs)

Thanks for the tips. I am guilty of some of those myself. Buying small instead of bigger plants, buying cheap birdseed that is half milo, etc.

What did you have to pay to have them do your flowerbed, if I may ask?

This is a new flowerbed we (mostly DH) just made. I had to take 2 pictures to get it all in, but you get the gist of how it looks. The blue lobelia in front of the lighthouse is suppose to be the ocean, with a few white ones thrown in for the whitecaps. lol Problem is, I think they are getting too much sun where they are and are dying off on me. Have only been in the ground about a week and I'm losing them. I need to find another low growing blue flower, I think. That's not too easy to do.

I'm gonna say buying small trees is a great idea! They grow much faster than big trees and are a heck of a lot cheaper & easier to transport.

Crit- maybe lithodora? Requires perfect drainage though.
Tam

I honestly don't remember, as it was rolled into the work of adding sidewalks, etc., to our cottage. However, I CAN tell you that I was shocked at how little the cost was compared to the work it saved me (and my back!) I suggest that you keep your eye on your local nursery ads, and usually, they have a winter special for landscaping services. TAKE ADVANTAGE. Here in Zone 7a, Winter fluctuates quite a bit, and the landscapers are flexible as to when they will come to do your work. They need to work, and YOU DON'T. Must pick your "fights."

The biggest advantage? I WAS NOT EXHAUSTED and left with a much less-than-prime look.

Here's a tip that I just used with planting a stressed, sale plant - an awkward-looking Thunderhead Pine (could not resist it, and aren't oriental plants supposed to be a bit awkward-looking?):
Make a structure out of old stakes, and get out the burlap. Throw the burlap on top of your newly-made "scaffold," loosely (I used twist-ties to tie it the burlap to the wood). This seems to be a real kindness when planting stuff in the heat of summer. Be sure to leave about one foot of air between plant tops and burlap.
And get those landscapers out with their tonnage of topsoil! Best of luck to you! I hope my burlap tip will help your plants get established. It also helps with the wind.

Tammy - I agree with you, however, in our case, we needed every bit of height possible. You see, down came the two ancient maples trees that were unsafe, but served to shade our cinderblock cottage (we have window air conditioners only - very retro!).
So we instantly became naked. I know that the larger the tree, the more you need to baby it, and the harder it is to establish, but when you have a deal with a landscaper, and are really in need of shade, it is a no-brainer to opt for more height. So we did.
I am filling in with more reasonably-sized Crape Myrtles and such, but our shade trees needed quick replacement so there was no choice!

Sounds good Gracye. I too am in zone 7a. VERY unpredictable weather. Hope you are not suffering in the 100's and no rain as we are here!

My biggest mistake of the last few years is carefully preparing a planting area for very very very expensive terrestrial orchids (3 types of ladies slipper orchids). And not thinking about my chickens. Who love freshly prepared planting beds. Yep. I came back a few days later to find all three dug up and in very rough shape. One made a valiant attempt to come back but died the next year. I know know to put chicken wire over any new bed I want them to stay out of. (True for my flower boxes too).

Good thing I enjoy their eggs and watching them out and about on the property!

Tam

I had purchased them directly from the grower. He'd given my rock garden society group a talk on them. I plan to renovate that planting bed & will try them again when its done. (Its been on my list for several years but other projects & work keep getting in my way!) They require high shade and I've got almost all very strong unfiltered sun. Just not a lot of options but this one area.

My worst mistake was to plant two Robinia MopTop trees in our back yard. They were well behaved initially as they grew in the first 3 years. I had to start cutting them back for the next 3 years but they continued to grow and grow. Their roots started to invade our while yard and even started to fill up our raised wooden planting beds. They had to be cut down lasst winter as they started to shade our neighbours terrace. Now the roots still in the ground have started sending up shoots into our yard and over the lack and side fences as well.. Nothing for it but to have my husband bore holes in the stumps and poison them. Fingers crossed this will deal to them.

It has been a while since anyone has posted on here.. but I have some dumb mistakes!

My first plants were gifts given to me, a sunshine blueberry bush and spanish lavender. Well since the plants in our yard were overgrown and apparently thriving in our new house after being neglected for years.. I assumed that if plants were outside mother nature would take care of them. Rainfall and sun would naturally provide for them. I left them in their pots all summer because the yard was so overgrown I did not know where I wanted to plant them yet.. I moved the pots in 20 different spots. By the middle of summer.. the plants were not doing so well.. they looked like they were dying.. so I had my mom come over to diagnose.. she said, it looks like they have not been watered.. the soil is like stone. The lavender was toast and did not make it.. but the blueberry bush was a champ, and still gave me a few blueberries that year! (After I cut off all the dead branches of course..). Anyways.. turns out you are supposed to water plants when they are outside.. oops!

I had mixed a small batch of weed killer (which I normally try and stay away from), but I mixed it in a spray bottle to kill the neighbors blackberry bush on the other side of the fence where the birds kept dropping seedlings onto our side and constant battle with the seedlings action was needed to be done and I couldn't pull an area I could not reach! Anyways.. for some reason the top broke as I was walking down to the area.. and it spilled ALL over the lawn.. My husband and I tried hosing it as much as we could.. but it was hopeless.. that grass was doomed.. we ended up having to remove much of the grass and resoiling and seeding the area to start all over again.. and the weed killer didn't even make a dent on the blackberry bush..

A few weeks ago I saw some caterpillars, and thinking all caterpillars were good, I placed them on my plants thinking the butterflies would be worth a few leaves being eaten.. well then when my mom came over she freaked out telling me I needed to kill all the caterpillars I see immediately, as they are tent caterpillars... Since I did not have the will power to actually kill something on mass genocide scale myself, I ended up plucking them off and drowning them in water.. (where I didn't have to see them die, I put a lid on the bucket and walked away...

I purchased some peony bulbs and thought they could be planted the same as tulips.. close together.. and in a pot.. Looks like it will be a few more years before they flower.. since I will have to move them ..

A mistake that I have made more than once is to impulse buy something that calls out for me to buy it, and then, when I get it home, I walk round and round my 1 1/3rd acres (!), TRYING to find some place to cram it in...
Another is TRUSTING THE PLANT LABELS, and when I find different labels, with different sizes stated at TEN YEARS (as if, the thing suddenly stops growing), I BELIEVE the smaller size.
Another thing, while I'm on a roll, is in direct relation to the above confession. That is, watching plants/shrubs/etc. grow too large, especially near the house, when I have PRIDED MYSELF on being GENEROUS with giving 'em room to ramble...
Oh yes indeedy, these are CLASSIC problems, and ones that I don't seem to learn very well...LOL!

It's 2015 and if I am to believe you guys I made a gardening mistake a couple weeks ago. Is this the invasive Rudibecka (sp)? I certainly hope not.

Oh gee - I did not know there was an invasive Rudbeckia. Where did you hear about it? If there is an invasive one, it is probably the one that I grow - the yellow with the brown center? I have hundreds of them. Maybe hundreds is an understatement.

I think one of my gardening mistakes this year is thinking that the vining nasturtium will easily climb my trellis. I think it is going to be one of those demanding/persistant things I have to work at to get it to climb. No fun!

I read it in this thread. However, it took me the better part of two days to get to all of these posts so I can't reference it. Here's hoping someone else checks in who can tell us the answer. I am so new to gardening, I need all the help I can get. I use trellises for Clematis and morning glories. I never thought about trying nasturtiums. It might still work! Let's be optimistic. Let's just say nasturtiums climb trellises and rudbeckia are noninvasive. How's that?

Thank you for spelling that word for me. VBG

I noticed there had not been activity since August of 2013 until just recently with your post. Gee - It's such a good spot to vent those garden mistakes and maybe prevent others.

I read a bunch of the posts and seems mint is a real issue for a lot of people and the Missouri Primrose. I can see where those can be a problem.

Careful the morning glories - they get a little carried away with reseeding the next year and the next year...... I speak from experience on them,.

Keep gardening every chance you get - It's a GOOD thing, even if it's Rudbeckia. They sure are pretty when they bloom. It is like a river of dasies.