“Plant Spacing”, a copyrighted post, was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana
Most of my hostas have finished blooming weeks ago. But the big chartreuse one in the front garden has just started flowering this week. The flowers are large for hostas and are a pure white with a very pale lavender tinge on the outside.
These particular hostas have done very well this year. In fact, one has grown so big that it will have to be moved. I made a mistake when I planted it too close to the edge of the bed. Last year it was fine, but this year it has grown too big for that space. I do not think I will divide it yet, just move it further back in the bed.
I seem to have difficulty in visualizing how big plants eventually get. I always seem to plant things too close together, even when I know exactly how big they will grow. I want my garden to look lush and full, but I don’t want to keep moving things or trimming things back. Maybe I need to put some kind of object that would be the same size as the mature plant when planting to see how close things should be. I could use a bucket or trash can to help vizualize the eventual size. I am going to have to think of something. Am I the only one who has this problem of how far apart to place plants?
Always Growing 
Alexandra said,
July 23, 2008 at 7:41 am
Ya know…I struggle with the same thing. I have a few plants that I ended up planting too close and they have over taken some of my bushes. =/ And then I was watching HGTV this week and learned that your plants need to be so many feet away from your foundation. I didn’t know that! But, now I do. 🙂 Thank you for your blog. I enjoyed learning more.
PLEASE stop by today for a special award that I gave you.
Brenda Kula said,
July 23, 2008 at 9:03 am
No, you most certainly are not! I looked at my huge hosta this morning and was thinking the same thing. Planted it and it looked so lovely! Now everything is getting bunched up together. Yes, I suppose you can have too much of a good thing!
Brenda
Nancy Bond said,
July 23, 2008 at 10:03 am
That is an excellent idea!
Randy said,
July 23, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Jan,
I do the same thing. I think we are so eager to see a full bed that we over do it in the process. We have several things the we will need to reposition.
That amethyst colored evergreen wisteria in the previous post is gorgeous!
fran sorin said,
July 23, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Of course not Jan. I often end up planting too close and know that within a year or two I will have to replant. This year thought, when planting some agastached, dianthus and panicums, I followed the rule of thumb and planted with the appropriate amount of space…and in truth, it looks sparse.
What can I say….except all of this is a reminder that when we garden, we shouldn’t aim for perfection! Fran
Anna said,
July 23, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I completely agree! I need something visual to go by also. I often get things too crowded. That’s a beautiful hosta bloom.
Jan said,
July 24, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Thanks, Nancy for stopping by. I’m still trying to think of other objects to use.
Hi, Randy, for me it is not so much trying to cram too many things in for a full look immediately, it is more of not being able to “see” the full grown plant in that space. I think it is a visualization thing. Isn’t that a great color purple.
Fran, I think you are right about the perfection thing. Maybe, I am just more aware of how plants are spaced now that many are reaching full size.
Hey, AnnA. It is good to know that I am not the only one doing this. Other very experienced ones have the same problem. I guess we are all “always growing” as gardeners.
Jan said,
July 24, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Alexandra, I tried to post a messeage that I would be thinking of you Tuesday night on your blog, but I kept getting the message that Blogger was busy. Just to let you know, I’ve been thinking & praying for you.
Brenda, it seems we are not alone in planting too close. It seems that things go quickly from sparse, to just right, to hurry up and whack that plant back before it takes over the house.