Plant Spread (grown, grass, Maple Trees, backyard)

[OnlyWhnChasd]

I know this is probably a dumb question but I'm a novice gardener so here it goes: Is plant spread measured from center or is it the total width? For example, if the spread is 18" does it mean 9" from center in each direction or 18 in each direction? Does the question even make sense?

[TinaMcG]

That isn't a dumb question. Plant spread is the diameter. And it is always an estimate.

[OnlyWhnChasd]

Thank you! That was what I was hoping. I planted some astible and liriope and then got to thinking that maybe I was wrong about how spread was measured. I was envisioning having to dig up all 14 plants. Eek! Thank you for saving my afternoon.

[TinaMcG]

Make sure the astibe get enough shade and water! I killed untold numbers of astilbes over the years because I didn't give them enough to drink! They do like some sun, but dappled is best.

[J&Em]

Originally Posted by TinaMcG

Make sure the astibe get enough shade and water! I killed untold numbers of astilbes over the years because I didn't give them enough to drink! They do like some sun, but dappled is best.

It usually depends on where you are. I had a "lively discussion" with a friend who lives a lot further north and fairly close to the Atlantic Ocean, making for milde winters and very mild summers. She insisted Astilbe could grow in full sun, as long as it was watered enough. She has not gardened in the south and could not get how much more intense the sun is and how much the heat can beat plants down. I learned that lesson very quickly when I began gardening here. I had them up in a borderline zone 5b garden in 3/4 day sun and they thrived and bloomed for long periods. Here I have them in complete shade from the house by 2PM causing them to scald on occasion and they need a lot of watering. As the trees nearby mature they should do better. The long and short is anywhere with hotter summers and more intense sunlight the Astilbe needs protection from at least afternoon sun, but anywhere where you seldom get more than a few hot days strung together they can take sun all day as long as they get deep watering.

Originally Posted by OnlyWhnChasd

Thank you! That was what I was hoping. I planted some astible and liriope and then got to thinking that maybe I was wrong about how spread was measured. I was envisioning having to dig up all 14 plants. Eek! Thank you for saving my afternoon.

Don't worry too much about the exact distances, since they will vary with sun and garden soil conditions anyway. The Astilbe generally will take 2 years to get to full size but because they are so feathery they can easily mingle with other plants, making the distances less critical. Usually when planning a garden from scratch you would make a circle whose diameter is representative of the mature width to lay out how close or far away plants need to be from each other. You can overlap like plants just a little to create a "mass" affect or add a little extra space if you want a more spare and open look. Most gardeners will dig out and move plants as they grow in anyway, only a few plants can't handle being moved once grown.

There are two kinds of liriope. The clumping kind will do well at the distances given for spacing but the other kind it won't matter because it will spread and grow where it wants.

[OnlyWhnChasd]

I'm hoping the Astible will work well in the area I planted it. The soil in our backyard is constantly moist due to a high water table and the area is shaded during the summer once the maple trees leaf out. We only have a small strip of open space in back (most of the yard has a ground level deck because it's so marshy). We put down stepping stones and planted some irish moss since grass never seems to take (I'm assuming because of the shade and wet). The stepping stones are in sort of an "S" so I planted the Astible and Liriope in the open space of the "S". Vision in Pink Astible and dark green clumping Liriope (don't remember the name). It looks great in my head. Hopefully once it grows in it will look just like my vision!

[Rizwan Khan]

how can we measure the canopy of a plant plzz send me the formula?