Great Plant Picks Selection Criteria
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Plants are selected in the following categories:
- Perennials and Bulbs
- Shrubs and Vines
- Trees and Conifers
All plants should:
- Be hardy in USDA zones 7 and 8 (0° to 10°F/-18° to -12°C)
- Be long lived
- Be vigorous and easy to grow by a gardener of average means and experience. Plants requiring specialist knowledge should not be considered
- Be reasonably disease and pest resistant
- Have long season of interest and preferably multiple seasons of interest
- Be available from at least two retail plant sources in Canada and the U.S.
- Be adaptable to a variety of soil and fertility conditions
- Not require excessive moisture (with the exception of aquatic plants)
- Not be invasive or overly vigorous in colonizing the garden or larger environment
Perennials should not require staking, continuous deadheading, or frequent division.
Trees and shrubs should require little pruning and nominal training to achieve their best form (excluding plants used for hedges).
Bulbs should persist in the garden, without being lifted, for at least three years.
Variegated plants should be stable and not revert.
© 2009 Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden
Funded by the Pendleton and Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation
Administered by the Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden
Funded by the Pendleton and Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation
Administered by the Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden