The first two rules of shopping for landscape plants with garden catalogs are centered around needs, much like shopping for groceries.  The next two focus on the landscape itself in terms of cold tolerance and disease susceptibility of certain plants.

Rule Three.  USDA Hardiness Zones 4 and 5.  In Nebraska, we’re in zones 4 (north and west) and 5 (east and southeast).  Before you get too excited about the description, be sure to note the hardiness zone.  If it is zone 6 or greater, move on to another potential plant.

Rule Four.  Plants with built in disease resistance.  Resistance to diseases such as early blight, verticillium wilt, apple scab, fireblight and rust are great features of a particular species or cultivar.  Big money savings and reduced pesticide applications are the benefits of disease resistance.

John Fech

Horticulture Extension Educator at Nebraska Extension

John Fech is a horticulturist with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and certified arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture. The author of 2 books and over 200 popular and trade journal articles, he focuses his time on teaching effective landscape maintenance techniques, water conservation, diagnosing turf and ornamental problems and encouraging effective bilingual communication in the green industry. He works extensively with the media to extend the message of landscape sustainability, making over 100 television and radio appearances each year.