Cool spring temperatures have delayed the arrival of transplants to some area garden centers. Before the rush to pick young flower and vegetable plants, some pointers from a horticulturist might be helpful in selecting plants that improve plant growth and production.
The survival strategies of the plants you choose impact their growth and affect how they fit with plants already in the soil. Dr. Jared Barnes teaches horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas. He says ecologists have learned different ways plants deal with stress and disturbance in their environment as they grow.
Stress reduces plant vigor. Examples include inadequate light on germinated plants, waterlogging seedlings, and air temperatures near freezing.
A disturbance harms plant tissues above or below ground. Examples include high wind, attacks by herbivores, and human trampling. Annuals have one season to produce, and perennials additionally overwinter to grow and produce.
Plants have 3 strategies for countering stress and disturbances in their environment. Barnes says determining which strategies a plant uses can tell a lot about how it will grow in your garden.
1. “Competitors rule when few stressors or disturbances are present.” The herbaceous perennial Joe Pye weed dies back to the ground in fall and grows to about 8 feet each summer. Its height and leaf canopy, which shade other full-sun plants, are unmatched in the flowerbed. Another competitor in our yard is catmint. It also dies back to the crown in the fall, and the small mound enlarges with horizontal growth over the summer.
Other competitors in this region are obedient plants, canna, goldenrod, and bee balm.
2. “Stress-Tolerators take tough growing conditions in stride.” The ephemeral daffodil survives spring frosts with a boost from its bulb, goes dormant in the summer heat, stores energy for spring in its bulb, and divides for some bulbs to bloom again. Drought-tolerant yarrow expands its clump in low moisture and heat of summer while many plants wither.
Examples of other stress-tolerators that grow in this region include Baptisia, prairie dropseed, and Liatris.
3. “Ruderals pop up when the odds are favorable for growth.” A tiny ephemeral bulb survives crabgrass preventer lawn application for some years and blooms. Pasque flowers bloom some years in the native plant meadow.
Examples of other ruderals that grow in this region are common roadside sunflowers, Cleome, spider flower annuals that re-seed, and some columbine.
Barnes looks at his garden and flowerbeds to determine each plant’s primary strategy. The Joe Pye weed competitor in the first photo requires some pruning as its base crowds other plants in mid-summer. As he selects other plants to share this bed, he needs to find other competitors.
Some plants have multiple strategies, such as the coneflower in the first photo in front of the Joe Pye weed. The native Echinacea can reach three feet in height and grows from an efficient, modest crown that withstands low moisture. It fits the competitor and stress-tolerator strategies and is known as a successful perennial in this region.
Controlled burns of native plant areas encourage ruderal wildflowers to emerge and flower from the seed bed. This disturbance increases plant diversity.
Barnes’ ideas and photo examples are featured in the February 2024 Fine Gardening magazine, which is available at the Yankton Community Library for browsing.
Consider plant survival strategies as a way of gardening from the plant’s point of view. Work with the plant’s survival strategies. Give competitors room to grow. Include stress-tolerator plants that can withstand summer’s low moisture and heat and perennials that can overwinter. Observe some native plant areas to see what grows that wasn’t there before.
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