Download Choosing Plants for the Landscape

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 singlestemmed 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
O
O
O
O
O
one
Determine ornamental characteristics, mature size and
form, hardiness, and environmental requirements
Hardiness zone is the average annual minimum
temperature for an area
A map provided by the U.S. Dept. of Ag. Provides this
information
Consider purpose or function of plant
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, 8- 14 alkaline
O Most plant prefer 5.6- 7.0
O Moisture level