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Garden Help Desk: Top 10 tips for having success with gardening catalogs

By USU Extension - | Feb 1, 2025

Courtesy USU Extension

Although we can't grow blueberries here, this page is a good example of the information gardeners need before choosing plants for their garden or orchard. Information such as zone hardiness, chilling requirements, etc. are important before committing to a perennial fruit variety.

This week, we’re featuring a guest column by Taun Beddes, USU/Utah County Extension Service horticulturist.

With gardening catalogs arriving in mailboxes, now is the perfect time to plan to ensure your success. Here is a list of practical tips to help you succeed.

1. Research unfamiliar species and varieties before adding plants to your shopping cart. This will help you avoid problems such as overcrowding or inappropriate growing conditions later.

2. Measure the area where you plan to plant. Be aware of the spacing guidelines for vegetables, trees, shrubs, annuals and perennials. Plants don’t stop growing after a few years.

3. Know how big plants will grow several years down the road. Plant tags often give a five- to 10-year estimate of size. However, plants do not stop growing. Use easy references to learn how various measurements are. For example, 2.5 to 3 feet is around waist-high for most adults. Ten feet is as tall as a basketball hoop. The tallest trees in Utah are 50 to 60 feet tall and wide. This will give you a reference as to how big things will get as compared to the space you want to plant them in. This is especially useful for shrubs and trees.

Courtesy USU Extension

Vegetable descriptions don't just help you choose the best varieties for your garden. In addition to information about the quality of the vegetables, the descriptions include days-to-harvest information so you can plan your garden calendar and have a good idea of when you can expect to harvest from each variety.

4. Watch out for “too good to be true” plant descriptions like “grows anywhere, fills in rapidly, rapid shade, instant shade tree and worry-free.” These often indicate that the plant may quickly outgrow its space, be extremely weak-wooded, be very difficult to eliminate and shade out the lawn and other plants growing underneath.

5. Many popular landscape plants nationally struggle in Utah’s soils, low humidity and summer heat. Examples include red maple, silver maple, dogwood trees, rhododendrons, azaleas and bigleaf hydrangea.

6. Plant cold hardiness is expressed in terms of USDA cold-hardiness zones. The Wasatch Front is included in zones 6 and 7, with average lows ranging from -10 F to 10 F. Plant catalogs sometimes push plant cold hardiness to the extreme.

7. If purchasing seeds, know if they must be started indoors or directly in the garden. Starting seeds indoors requires you to supply supplemental lighting and seed-starting supplies like potting soil, trays and inserts. Additionally, not all seeds should be started at the same time. For the Wasatch Front, onions are started indoors in mid-January. In contrast, tomatoes are started in early April. You also need to know when to plant outdoors. Planting times vary from mid-March for cool-season crops to mid-May for frost-tender plants like tomatoes and peppers.

8. It is sometimes fun to be brave and try new things. Many fantastic flower and vegetable varieties never become very popular.

9. Keep a gardening journal to record your past work, thoughts and experiences. Record what you purchased (including the variety), how well it did, how it yielded, any diseases or pest problems, and anything else. Additionally, make maps of where you planted things. This is especially important for your annual and vegetable gardens for rotation purposes.

10. Do not overpurchase seeds. Buying lots of stuff you will not have room for is tempting. I sometimes collect seed packs like baseball cards. My rule is to buy around 20% more seeds than I need. That gives me a buffer if a few seeds do not germinate or some die before I plant them outdoors.

For seasoned gardeners and newcomers alike, these tips can help maximize the enjoyment and productivity of your garden. With some preparation and creativity, you can transform your outdoor space into a flourishing oasis this season.