Choosing Plants for the Landscape Ms. Gripshover Landscaping Unit 10

Our Objectives O Define the categories of landscape plants. O Describe why plant names are important. O Identify factors to consider when selecting woody plant material for the landscape. O Explain how the environment affects plant selection.

What are the common categories of landscape plants? O Plants are divided into different groups based on size, growth habit, and purpose O Woody- develops bark, usually single- stemmed and stand over 12ft O Ex: tree O 2 types: O Deciduous- lose leaves in the fall O Evergreen- keep leaves year round O Trees are usually used to provide shade, frame a house, or ornamental purposes

What are the common categories of landscape plants? (cont.) O Shrubs- no more than 20 ft. tall, multi stemmed, can be evergreen or deciduous, used for borders or screen an area O Groundcovers- under 1 foot, used in place of grass, ties elements together, can climb/ creep O Flowers- add a burst of color, can be annual or perennials

Shrub & Groundcover

Why are plant names important? O Names fall into 2 categories: O Common name- varies throughout the world O Latin name or scientific name or Botanical name

More About the Latin Name O The scientific name was developed by a system known as the Binomial Naming system developed by Carl von Linne O His system uses the Genus and species and sometimes even the variety and cultivar

Genus & Species Defined O Genus- plants that are closely related and may contain one or more species O Usually determined by the flower structure O Always capitalized and italicized O Example: all maples genus name is Acer O Species- plants that have similar characteristics which are more distinct than the groups in the genus O Written in lower case and italicized O Example: Japanese maple is Acer palmatum while Norway Maple is Acer platanoides

Variety & Cultivar Defined O Variety- a difference within a species O Difference is passed sexually from one generation to the next O Follows species, lower case, italicized O Cultivar- plants within a species with a very distinguishing characteristic O The characteristic only remains if using asexual propagation O Written with single quotations and capitalized

What factors should be considered when selecting woody plant material for the landscape? O Millions of plants to chose from O Become familiar with plants to select the appropriate one O Determine ornamental characteristics, mature size and form, hardiness, and environmental requirements O Hardiness zone is the average annual minimum temperature for an area O A map provided by the U.S. Dept. of Ag. Provides this information O Consider purpose or function of plant O Specimen plant- used particularly attractive and adds accent

What factors should be considered when selecting woody plant material for the landscape? (cont.) O The best plants have a four- season appeal O Plants can be either deciduous or evergreen O Consider all parts of the plant, foliage, flowers, fruit, etc. O Consider mature size O Correct hardiness zone, there are 11 zones in the U.S. O Cultivars are good to use because they have proven to have consistent outstanding characteristics and they are also very disease resistant

How does the environment affect the selection of plant material? O The perfect specimen can be selected; four season appeal, correct size, hardiness zone, etc. but if the environment is pour, the plant may not survive O 2 major environmental factors: O pH- measure of acidity or alkalinity O 1- 6 acidic, 7 neutral, alkaline O Most plant prefer O Moisture level