Please don’t E-mail the Renegade Gardener with a list of 15 questions.

Jan 4, 2017 | Don't DO ThaT

RENEGADE GARDENER™ The lone voice of horticultural reason Please don’t E-mail the Renegade Gardener with a list of 15 questions.  You know me, I hate to be rude, but as the site becomes more popular, the E-mail traffic has become, at times, extremely high....

Don’t trim hedges into a “V” shape.

Jan 4, 2017 | Don't DO ThaT

RENEGADE GARDENER™ The lone voice of horticultural reason Don’t trim hedges into a “V” shape. I think homeowners do this under the mistaken impression that the great hedges of the world are vase-shaped. They’re not. Clip hedges so that...

Don’t plant evergreen trees without regard to mature size.

Jan 4, 2017 | Don't DO ThaT

RENEGADE GARDENER™ The lone voice of horticultural reason Don’t plant evergreen trees without regard to mature size. This is a very common blunder I see in every part of the country while out on my travels. Evergreen trees, among the most expensive plants...

Don’t install plastic landscape edging improperly.

Jan 4, 2017 | Don't DO ThaT

RENEGADE GARDENER™ The lone voice of horticultural reason Don’t install plastic landscape edging improperly. Such a simple, helpful product, yet so easy to screw up. First off, a few notes: some gardeners don’t like to edge their beds with plastic...

Unless a formal hedge, don’t control the height of deciduous shrubs by topping.

Jan 4, 2017 | Don't DO ThaT

RENEGADE GARDENER™ The lone voice of horticultural reason Unless a formal hedge, don’t control the height of deciduous shrubs by topping.  With most shrubs, it backfires. When dogwoods, viburnums, euonymus, cotoneaster, you name it, get too tall, the...

Don’t raise the soil level over tree roots.

Jan 4, 2017 | Don't DO ThaT

RENEGADE GARDENER™ The lone voice of horticultural reason Don’t raise the soil level over tree roots. New gardeners often don’t realize how exacting are the requirements of tree roots. Most large trees have broad shoulder roots that cut deeply down...