Thread by @UrsulaV

Hmm, you know, it occurs to me—for all you new gardeners out there, you know not to trust the plant tags, right?

...maybe we should talk about that.

Plant tags are super useful when they are accurate! But they are also there by someone who is Trying To Sell You A Plant.

We live in a capitalist hellscape. Trust no one.

I recently picked up a variegated Agastache, “Crazy Fortune.” Attractive plant. The tag said it liked full shade.

This struck me as odd, because Agastache generally likes sun, and while variegated plants are more delicate, full shade is a lot.

So I went online and looked at the plant description on about five different websites. All of them said “full sun, maybe some shade in the afternoon in hot climates.” The tag was simply wrong.

There is also what we shall call “nursery optimism.” It is in the interests of the person selling the plant for you to believe that it will grow in your zone. And while I do not say that people lie, there is, in all gardeners, a streak of optimism.

“This plant once overwintered in zone 6, against a south facing wall, with a ten foot pile of mulch over it” becomes “Hardy to Zone 6!” on both the labels and the mind of the gardener, who is always trying to pretend that they can grow stuff from a zone warmer, really.

Now, this depends entirely on your nursery. A good nursery will show you a sign that says “possibly even Zone 6 with winter protection?” but that’s hard to fit on a tag.

A big box store will just lie to your face.

This is also true for the size of plants! If I buy a hosta at Lowe’s (and I do because I’m weak) the size listed is usually wrong. Sometimes by six inches, occasionally by three feet. Go online and check it.

One of the most tragic things I heard recently was a very nice person saying “ Well, they wouldn’t have it out if I couldn’t plant it now, right?” about plants at the big box store. It was ages before their last frost date. I went in like the Angel of Death.

If the tag says it has attractive berries, does it require a male plant to do that? Many hollies do.
What kind of soil does it like? The tag will just say “moist well-drained” which yeah, no shit, I’d grow in moist well-drained too, does it want sand, clay, loam?*

*Hardly anything WANTS clay, but a lot of things will tolerate it grimly.

How tall does this tree REALLY get? Everything’s an “attractive small tree” if you prune it hard enough.

Is it “vigorous”? How vigorous? Is that code for “will eat your yard, your pets, and any small children who hold still for too long?” (Pro-tip: Google “plant name” + “invasive” and see what comes up.)

This is also a good one, though be careful because people get positively histrionic about the wrong plants being toxic. Check like five websites and be skeptical.

https://twitter.com/libbycutts/status/1392899742665949186?s=21

Aconite and oleander and castor bean will absolutely kill you dead! Pointsettias might make the cat barf. Maybe.

Finally, particularly when you start getting into more specialized plants, tags are frequently wrong through no malice of the seller. Plants get introduced and the wrong name gets on them and that error is propagated forever.

Anything where you get a lot of plant breeders will often get problems like this. Elephant ears, roses, hostas, fruit trees...stuff happens.

Anyway, plant shop with your phone in your hand, and always check the label against the internet. Preferably a site that’s in your area and can tell you how it grows for YOU rather than someone in a wildly different climate.

And just remember that the plant doesn’t read the tag.