Sex and the single zucchini, help for floppy hydrangeas, and the gardener's three-year rule

Plus, your weekly gardening tip

Hi, guys!

Are you familiar with the three-year rule? It’s a gardening truth set to a cute rhyme (to help people with Swiss-cheese brains like mine remember), and it’s a lesson in patience:

1. The first year, they sleep

2. The second year, they creep

3. The third year, they leap

Perennials, including natives, don’t usually grow very much in their first year (they sleep). They grow a bit — or creep — during their second season. And things really get interesting during their third year, when they typically take off and spread (leap!) It’s only after their third birthday that perennials are considered mature plants.

Of course, they’ll continue to grow, in most cases to the point of requiring division. And they’ll be with you for many years to come.

This is to say that if you planted new perennials this past spring and they’re still small, don’t despair. Perennials don’t provide the instant gratification that annuals do, but they’ll be around for the long haul, so it’s worth the wait.

You might be tempted to plant young plants close together to achieve a lush look, but that would be cheating, and we all know you’d only be cheating yourself. By their third year, they’ll be crowded, necessitating early division (more work!), and they will be susceptible to mold, mildew and fungal diseases. Insect infestations are likely to follow.

Do your future self a favor by always taking note of perennials’ mature sizes — and observe the spacing recommendations on their plant tags.

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