Part 2 of my post on the top 10 plants to stop planting in Pacific Northwest gardens.  Although a number of these apply pretty much anywhere!  If you missed my first post, see the first 5 plants on my list to stop planting in Pacific Northwest gardens. And read on for the next 5!

• 
• Grass (as in your lawn) We’ve been hearing this for years and sorry but it’s true – the cost and impact of a lawn are tremendous: water, fertilizer, gas, oil, pollution, lawn mower repairs, blade sharpening, bags for grass cuttings and extra fees if you fill up your yard waste bin – and that’s just what it takes just to have one of those lawns that goes brown during the 3 months of summer when you’re most likely to be out on it!  Time to get creative people!

• Heuchera- (Coral Bells) The varieties of new Huechera that have been available the last few years are amazing. These are truly beautiful plants, but it’s time to keep them out of garden beds and only use them in containers or as annual color spots. Two reasons: they are really susceptible to cyclamen grub – if you’ve ever tugged on one while pruning off a spent flower only to have it pop out of the ground like it was just sitting on top of the soil – well, that was because all the roots were eaten off by cyclamen grub. Also the newer varieties are fragile and won’t live through most winters.  Don’t pay for perennial plants that die in the winter.

• Plants pruned into boxes, shapes, and square hedges -This is what they call “Shear Madness”.  Formal hedging should be used only at the entries to court buildings, libraries, college campuses and at DisneyWorld. The time required for proper maintenance is costly, especially if done right and not just chopped at with an electric or gas hedge trimmer.  If you plant the right plant in the right place and give it the proper space you will only  need light seasonal pruning.

• In the vegetable garden - Zucchini, Corn and Potatoes- These vegetables require a ton of space and water – and are just not worth it unless of course you have a huge vegetable garden with all the space in the world. But for the small backyard gardener (who has wisely ripped out most of the lawn and turned it over to being a small back yard vegetable patch!)  these vegetables are not worth your precious space.  Since they are so cheap to buy use your beds to save you money by planting things that will produce a lot of food in a small space like bush beans, lettuce, spinach, herbs, carrots, beets, radishes,  and cabbages. And don’t forget the vining plants that you can grow vertically in the same beds like tomatoes, pole beans, peas, cucumbers and grapes.

• Bamboo – This amazing plant is just too dangerous to let get loose in your backyard garden.  Even clumping varieties with proper barriers installed can cause problems eventually.  Bamboo can be an excellent addition to the garden but keep it in a pot on a deck or patio so it never gets free.  Or you can insert pots of bamboo into the garden for texture – just be sure to lift the pot a few times a year and cut off any roots trying to sneak out.  Bamboo planted in a pot will live for years and you can divide them every few years in 4ths and double your pots of bamboo in no time – creating that grove you always wanted – just on your patio!

Do you have plants you feel aren’t worth the investment?  I’d love to hear ‘em!  Post a comment and share your thoughts…

Tags: bamboo, coral bells, corn, grass, heuchera, high maintenance plants, pacific northwest gardens, potatoes, top plants to stop planting, vegetable gardens, zucchini