Bad Advice - Garden Center Edition

I checked out a new-to-me garden center recently.  The grounds were nice, the selection of plants decent, prices normal for around here.  On one of the perennial tables I saw a dark colored plant with deeply cut leaves and pinkish-white umbrel shaped flowers.  

There was no information on growing conditions or size or anything.  So I found a staff member and asked him.  Full sun (dark foliage plants usually require lots of light so no surprise there), normal watering, size about an average sized perennial.  The lack of specificity there should have warned me.  The plant was tagged and the name sounded vaguely familiar but I couldn't place it.  So I thought about it.  Where I could put it depending on the size (3 foot?  Is that average for perennials?).  Oh, and they were in small 5 inch pots so they couldn't be something really big, right?

I gave up and bought it.  Actually three of them.  I had several possible places to plant them and I figured I would check on the Internet when I got home and pick one of those spots.

I wish I had a smart phone so I could have looked it up at the time (this isn't the first time I bought a plant, got home and went Hey!  That's not what I thought I was getting!  I WANT a smart phone.  Can't justify the monthly fees.  Have been known to carry books in the car so I can look things up but not this time).  I probably wouldn't have bought the plant if I'd known what I was getting.

What was it?  Sambucus Black Lace.  For those of you who can't put a plant to that name (like me) it's an elderberry.  A shrub.  It gets to be between 6 and 8 foot tall.  

I don't think that counts as an "average size" for a perennial in anyone's garden. 

Argh.

Fortunately I have a spot for these three not-going-to-stay-little guys.  The Mad Side1 of the house has a large blank area that can use a good sized plant to fill it.  I think a dark colored foliage would look extra nice here.  I had been contemplating options but now it looks like the Sambucus will go here.  I'm not too upset.  I think they'll be nice plants and the wildlife will like the fruit but I would have liked to choose the plant myself and put it in at a good time.  Did I mention that the house is being painted next month?

So I can't plant them until after the house gets painted.  For now they are in a pot where I will try to keep them going until I can get them in the ground and then I'll have to nurture them carefully through the heat of the summer.

Nope, definitely wouldn't have bought them if I'd known.  Also, not planning on going back to that garden center.  They may have gotten me to spend about $20 on plants I wouldn't have bought normally but they lost my continued business.  I am not impressed with staff that clearly doesn't know the plants they have for sale and, worse sin, won't admit to it and find someone who does know.

Here endeth the Rant.

1.  Hamlet is but mad North by Northwest.  This side of my house is West Northwest so it's not REALLY the right direction but it's a fun nickname so I'm going to play fast and loose with the quote.

The Season of Bad Advice, Ants

Even if I were shut in a cave with no access to the outside world except via television commercials I would know it was Spring.  The Lawn Care commercials are popping up everywhere and the Gardening commercials are starting to bud out and lets not forget the Weedy Pest Control Commercials that crowd out the Lawn of Rational Thought About Insects all summer long (Whew, I had to work to keep that metaphor going).

Lately I've noticed one particularly egregious commercial advertising what good advice could be found at a Big Box Store (you know the one, the Blue one).  A couple comes in with a jar of ants and asks for advice.  The clerk (who probably has a high school diploma and does this job between modeling stints while waiting for her big break) identifies the ants by color (really?) as "Wood Ants" and suggests a pesticide (the bag reads Grub Control so I'm not even sure it would work on ants).

There are ants, Carpenter Ants, that will nest in the wooden walls of houses and I have no problem with homeowners wanting to get rid of them but ants in the garden are NOT HARMFUL (ok, unless they are Fire Ants in which case you need to avoid the nests because they are so aggressive but I live in New England so no Fire Ants here!  One of the few gardening perks of this region).

Most garden ants are Beneficial Insects.  They build elaborate underground nests and tunnel systems.  This aerates and loosens the soil.  As gardeners we know that a loose soil allows better water penetration, makes it easier for roots to expand and allows air into the root zone of plants.  We all know not to step on garden soil.  Turns out that there is an inverse relationship between concentration of ants and soil compaction - less ants means more compacted soil.  Starting to be convinced?

Benefit number 2:  some ant species are carnivorous.  That means natural pest control.  Ants will eat other insects including caterpillars and the eggs of some insect species.  Ok.  So this is not true of all species.  Yes, some species are associated with aphids.  I guess whether ants are a plus or a minus when it comes to pest control depends on the species.  Call it a wash.

Benefit number 3:  Interactions with plants.  Native plants sometimes work with ants to get their seeds planted.  (This is cool)  The seeds have a added layer of ant food so the ants will carry it into their nests.  The ants get the food and leave the rest of the seed where it is, protected from seed eaters, "planted" in a nice stable environment just right for germination. 

So really the best benefit from ants is to the soil but the soil is the foundation of the good garden.  Good soil equals healthy plants equals a nice place to garden.  Bad soil and you are not going to have much success without more work on the Gardeners part.

Whew.  A whole rant about ants.  And that's only part of the commercial.  With that much bad advice in the first 15 seconds why should I take ANY advice from them?  [Silence]