THERE IS A LONGING for perfection in the human heart. Every gardener knows this feeling. In our mind's eye we see the plant perfectly placed in the garden or landscape, its satisfaction with its spot written in the happy toss of its leaves and its thrifty demeanor, the beauty of its flowers and abundance of its fruits.
We plant our stock with such hope and expectations, but there almost always comes a reckoning.
This strawberry may be unscathed, but that strawberry, growing next to it on the same plant, has been half eaten away by...what? Pillbugs? Earwigs? Turtles? Yes, even turtles. I grew up on a five-acre piece of property mostly covered with wild strawberries (Fragaria virginiana), and it was always a race to see who got to the ripe berries first-me or the box turtles.
It seems that disappointment always accompanies accomplishment for plant lovers. On my Pennsylvania property, I planted 'Alden' grapes on a wooden fence. Black rot took all the fruit and Japanese beetles ate the leaves. I never did get to taste a single grape. I also planted two apricot trees, a 'Goldrich' and 'Moorpark'. Never got to taste a single fruit due to brown rot.
The fungus could have been controlled with fungicides, but we were rearing two kids at the time and didn't want them exposed to agricultural chemicals. My personal rule became: "If insects or diseases prevent me from successfully growing any plant, rip it out and try something else."
This story is from the September - October 2022 edition of Horticulture.
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This story is from the September - October 2022 edition of Horticulture.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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JARED BARNES is an award-winning professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. He also hosts The Plantastic Podcast and publishes a weekly e-newsletter called plant ed, both of which can be found at his website, https://www.meristemhorticulture.com. At home, he gardens with wife Karen and daughter Magnolia.
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