4 Good Reasons To Kill A Plant

Sometimes you must kill a plant for the good of the garden

When was the last time you killed a industrial plant — on purpose ? Sure , we make heroic efforts to keep our plants alive , protecting them from the elements and drizzling them with potions to help them fly high . But occasionally , the best matter you’re able to do for your garden is to pour down something . In my world , not all green thing are sacred ; it ’s all right to speed the demise of a plant if a greater good results from ship it to the compost pile .

Unlike a carving or other work of nontextual matter , garden are not thing we conceive , create , and declare “ done . ” Gardens are a perennial workplace in advance , driven by evolving personal gustatory sensation , changing motive , and well - intended - but - sometimes - misinformed plant selections .

Take a sober feeling at your garden , and consider the opportunities that expect from feeding that misshapen , pest - riddled firethorn ( Pyracanthaspp . and cvs . , USDA Hardiness Zones 6–9 ) into the brush chipper . Sure , you ’ll feel pangs of guilt disposing of a plant your great auntie Mabel gifted you — or worse , you ’ll inquire if the notion that plant life possess spirit is true . But in the farseeing run , the benefits of starting over will far preponderate your momentary misgiving .

1. Wrong plant, wrong place

2. Failure to thrive

In the gardens I contrive , I do n’t need flora to just grow — I expect them to prosper . So it does n’t make common sense to hang on to plant that are scarcely hang on . Poor performer only leave holes in a landscape . Perennials that fly high in a young sunbathed garden will needs decline as trees maturate and extend their umbrella of shade . Finicky roses continually harassed by beetles , mold , or rust are enjoin you that it ’s metre to throw in the towel . Is it really worth digging in your heels and shower them in spray and powder ? Their superscript replacements may be as tight as a neighbour ’s railway yard : Find out what ’s thriving next door under like circumstances , and start arise the same sure bets in your own garden .

3. Less than lovely

What if all your plant are growing like gangbusters , but they just do n’t ram you wild ? Perhaps your tastes have changed or you do n’t visualise the cactus that a previous home owner planted outside your Tudor - inspired cottage . Just as finding the double-dyed pillows for a sofa can take a few effort so can finding the right plant to flank a walkway . flush that look beautiful on a plant label or seed parcel might not execute as expected , and life ’s too short to put up with plants that you do n’t wish . sentence to whip and shop .

4. Untapped potential

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