Plant experts have seen it time and again. What is hot today (monsteras, anyone?) could just easily be forgotten tomorrow. Sonya Harris is the founder and CEO of New Jersey’s The Bullock Garden Project Inc. and a Master Gardener. And she has noticed a definite plant pattern. “There are so many plants that cycle in and out for various reasons. I know so many people became houseplant & garden enthusiasts last year who are now not as keen, due to upkeep.” “Due to the intensive maintenance many rose bushes require, they are losing popularity with new gardeners,” Harris says. “I’ve always felt rose growers are a different kind of people who are very devoted to their roses. The propensity to disease and need for constant attention are not a desirable draw to those who wish to maximize their gardening time and efforts.” “Despite their popularity as a classic evergreen, boxwood plants can be expensive and susceptible to disease (specifically Boxwood blight, a fungus that causes rapid defoliation). Blight is highly transmissible, since it’s spread through spores, and even basic irrigation and pruning can easily spread blight to surrounding shrubs. Once a plant is infected, it will likely cause defoliation of the entire shrub in as little as 10 days. Treatment required for blight is tedious, which makes boxwood less desirable than other plants that require less maintenance. American and English boxwood are most susceptible to this disease.” “Are they beautiful? Yes. Are they horribly invasive? YES!” says Harris. “So many landscapers recommended ferns as a great shade garden perennial but failed to mention how the spores from this plant rapidly spread and create rapid-growing rhizomes which WILL take over your outdoor space if allowed. They can also be very difficult to kill/dig up, making gardening feel like a horrible chore.” “Everyone tells me to not plant this, no matter how beautiful it is,” she says. “The reasoning is that it is a prolific grower/spreader/invasive and can destroy your soil’s chemical make-up.” “People don’t realize they are invasive,” she says. “Daylilies need constant maintenance and can be difficult to get rid of, since they spread via tubers, not bulbs, like many may think.” And how does she know this? “I planted one that had been given to me as a gift. If I had known it became invasive, I would have planted it in a different area, not in my kitchen herb perennial garden space. Lesson learned.”
