One of the secrets to success with plants is simple—look at the conditions where the plant has evolved in the world and then duplicate those as close as you can. This is true of both species and the cultivars and hybrids that are derived from them. By knowing whether they grew in damp or dry climates, in high mountain sun or deep forest shade, you’ll be able to approximate those environments in your greenhouse or garden.
So, what’s the best way to get accurate information? Online, look for reliable sources, established places—not just popular ones—such as Great Plant Picks in the Pacific Northwest, the Missouri Botanical Garden, RHS Find a Plant or Better Homes & Gardens’ website. Some online nurseries will also include plant origin information.
Botanic gardens near you are a great place to find out a plant’s geographical beginnings. You can also see them in their mature form. It’s worth a day of discovery to visit glass houses that feature various growing situations, and to see what’s flourishing outdoors in a climate like your own.
For print sources, Fine Gardening and Horticulture magazines make a point of telling you what part of the world a plant comes from. So do encyclopedias, such as the American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers, or the last edition of the Sunset Western Garden Book, which is suitable for a wide growing range in the US. Encyclopedias for specific plants, such as daylilies, apples, or woody shrubs and trees are also available.
For example, zinnias are easy to grow in the right conditions, but they don’t respond well to lower soil temperatures. if you know that they evolved in the hot areas of Mexico, you will have success starting them from seed in a warm (70 degree) greenhouse, or by using a supplemental heat mat until they emerge.
A popular houseplant that’s a snap to grow in the greenhouse is Monstera deliciosa. This huge- leafed vine evolved as an understory plant in the tropical climates of Mexico and Central America. So, it prefers lower light and higher humidity with soil that holds water but is not high in nutrients, just like on the jungle floor.
And your research pays off when you can find out, for instance, that not all hellebores are the same. Corsican hellebores, as the name implies, can be found in drier, rockier, well drained positions tolerating more sun than their hybrid brethren, which prefer more shade and richer soil.
Gathering that geographic information can make you a better gardener by allowing you to make plant choices based on your own situation and the knowledge you have discovered.