Want to try a new plant? Follow these steps to ensure success in North Texas gardens.

I’ve been at this game for 52 years. That’s just the time I’ve spent here in the Metroplex. I’ve been an avid gardener in Texas since I was 9 or 10 years old. I’ve learned a lot of lessons, and most of them have come the hard way.

As renowned musician Wynton Marsalis is quoted, “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying.” Well, I’ve tried, and I’ve made mistakes. I just try not to make the same mistakes more than once.

Some of the most painful disappointments have come in learning that new plants, highly touted and theoretically tested, have let me down. I’ve become just a little bit cynical. Let me explain.

When I came to North Texas in 1970 a virus disease called St. Augustine decline (SAD) was sweeping across Texas. It had come into the state through the Lower Rio Grande Valley. It made its way through San Antonio and was killing lawns all across Fort Worth and Dallas. St. Augustine was the predominant lawngrass back then, but we had no way to control the disease. It was spread on lawnmower blades, and it also came in with sick sod.

Florida and Texas A&M found a resistant strain and fairly quickly introduced it to an eager population of gardeners. Known as “Floratam,” it was expensive, but we (I was included) rushed to buy it. We thought we had no other option.

To our horror, Floratam wasn’t hardy enough to survive even average winters in College Station and northward. We lost it the very first winter. While it’s still the choice along the Gulf Coast and in San Antonio, Floratam cost us dearly in colder parts of the state. We all learned a valuable lesson — get more tests before we promote.

So, it’s from that rocky beginning that I have developed an informal and unwritten process by which I consider new plants for my own landscape and for which I’m willing to speak. Here are my steps.

▪ I want to know first how long a plant has been around in my area. I put more faith in an old heirloom plant someone has found growing in a cemetery or around an old homesite than in a new species or variety just now being pushed toward me. (I could live the rest of my life without ever hearing another claim for “a lilac that can handle that Texas heat.” No, it won’t! I’ve heard it already. 20 times over.)

University research tends to be objective. For 30 years Texas A&M horticulturists have had the Texas Superstar® program. Plants given that designation have been tested in gardens across Texas. They have proven their durability to widely varying conditions.

Contrast that with recent proprietary commercial introductions. Some seem to be rushed into sale before they’re really ready. Before long they’re quietly pulled from production, apparently due to poor performance for customers. That’s why I want to know how long a plant has been around — how long it’s been in people’s landscapes and gardens.

▪ I look for reviews. Most of us do it when we’re going to movies. We do it when we’re seeking out restaurants. Now we can do it with plants. See what others are saying about it. People are more than willing to express their opinions, good, bad or otherwise. If you see common trends, make mental notes of how the plant has done for gardeners in your community. They’ll come in handy when you start planning your next plantings.

▪ Look up the plant’s Hardiness Zone ratings. The past several winters have proven that North Central Texas needs to be counted as USDA Hardiness Zone 7. Their latest revised map (2012) put us into the warmer Zone 8 following the balmy winters of the early part of this century, but we now know better. Unless you’re in the urban heat zone of downtown Fort Worth or some other city, you’d better stick with plants suited to Zone 7 or colder (lower Zone numbers).

▪ Avoid plants with descriptions saying, “prefers acidic soils.” We do not have acidic soils here in the Metroplex. Nor do we have acidic irrigation water. Those are things you’ll find in the Piney Woods of East Texas, and that’s where you should use plants that have requirements of acidic soils — not here. Unless you’re willing to give them “heroic” bed preparation prior to planting, landscape plants like azaleas, loropetalums, camelias, dogwoods, wisterias and blueberries need to be left for our neighbors to the east. Pines, water oaks, pin oaks and sweetgums need to be left out entirely.

▪ From the other direction, xeriphytic plants (from desert beginnings) aren’t native to our area and there are reasons. We may get too cold, but usually it’s because we get too wet during those rainy seasons. Our soils are tight clays, and they hold water longer than those plants can withstand.

▪ If you’re in doubt about a specific plant, or if you’re just wanting to see the best-suited plants available for your landscaping selection, talk to a Texas Certified Nursery Professional at a local independent retail garden center. That man or woman will have studied long and hard hours to pass a difficult exam covering all aspects of horticulture. You know their advice will be timely and reliable. And the next step up is a Texas Master Certified Nursery Professional. Great help is out there if you’ll just seek it out.

You can hear Neil Sperry on KLIF 570 AM on Saturday afternoons 1-3 p.m. and on WBAP 820 AM Sunday mornings 8-10 a.m. Join him at www.neilsperry.com and follow him on Facebook.