The Eucalypt is here to make gardening easy and enjoyable. To this end, we have developed two classification systems to help home gardeners design a beautiful, thriving and interesting landscape. These classifications are included in the informational write-ups for every plant we offer.
Design Group
Our design group numbering specifies what portion of the landscape a plant will most often inhabit – the foreground (or border), mid-ground, and background. Plants are designated as a 1, 2 or 3 based on height and spread. Border or edging plants are Group 1. Plants in the middle of a bed are Group 2. Back-of-bed plants are Group 3.
Appetite for Neglect
Most people do not emerge from the womb with trowel and secateurs in hand (thank god). Many of us are terrible plant parents. For those gardeners, or those who are looking for a low maintenance garden, we have developed three levels to reflect our various plants’ appetite for neglect. Level 1 consists of plants which will require attention throughout the year, whether in the form of ongoing fertilizer application, treatment for pests or disease, or specialized pruning. Level 1 plants include famously finicky species such as blue poppies and roses (which are actually dead easy once you get the hang of them, but that’s a different article). Level two plants are pretty easy, but will require attention at some point, such as staking, lifting in the fall, or special attention to water. This group is made up of many plants, including dahlias (many of which which may need staking and all of which should be lifted), and hydrangea and filipendula, which require consistently moist soil at root level. Level 3 plants fall into the “treat ‘em mean and keep ‘em keen” category. They require no attention, apart from water and maybe a handful of fertilizer flung in their general direction some time, if you're feeling maternal. Level 3 includes plants such as buddlejas, cosmos and lilacs.
Please note that no plant is tolerant of neglect when it comes to water during its first summer. Newly-planted specimens must be kept well-watered while they get their roots down into the soil, or they haven’t got a chance. See below for more finger-wagging on this topic.
The great majority of plants available at The Eucalypt are Level 2s and 3s. There are a few true gems that are worth the fuss, but as a rule we don’t offer any species that’s more trouble than it’s worth.
Water needs and “drought tolerance”
We note in our plant profiles if a plant is particularly tolerant of dry conditions, but we do so with some apprehension. This is because every plant, even the heat-loving desert-dwellers, must be well-watered during the first summer of its life. No plant is drought tolerant until it has been in your garden for at least a full growing season. After that first year there are some that can get by in our climate with very little additional water. With that said, while there are plants that will survive if you don’t water them for the whole of August, there are precious few that will look good while they’re at it. That is why the term is “drought tolerant”, rather than “drought thriving”.
There are species that require much more water than most and species that require very much less. This doesn’t mean you need to pick between a regularly irrigated garden and a xeriscaped one. Unless you have heavy clay soil that retains moisture for weeks, the drought tolerant plants won’t suffer for being watered alongside the roses and hydrangeas.
The bottom line is that if you’re investing in your garden, be sure to plan ahead for how to keep everything appropriately hydrated throughout the hottest months.
The third element of a great garden is design. More on that here.
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