Which Types of Plants Grow Least Effectively in Michigan?

When concerning yourself with lawn care in Ann Arbor MI, you want to start with the best ingredients. That’s going to include the soil, plant food and sunlight — but don’t forget the plants, themselves! Choosing the best plants for your garden and lawn will help your landscaping efforts pay off while choosing other plants can be a certain failure for your lawn. There are literally tens of thousands of plant species which thrive in Michigan — we will detail those in other articles. Here, our focus is to point out a select few species of plant which pose the greatest challenge for gardeners and botanists trying to push boundaries in Michigan. Consider these plants to be so difficult to grow in the cold, northern climate that they should be all together avoided for most gardeners.

• Orchids: For lovers of tropical plant life, the lack of tropical plant and flower species in Michigan can be upsetting. While Orchids could theoretically be grown anywhere in a controlled microclimate, putting Orchids in the ground in Michigan is not wise. Due to the harsh ground temperatures and the high price of Orchid seeds, the chances of having any flowers survive is too low to justify the cost. An excellent alternative would be to import Orchids from other areas and house them indoors, while also accepting that they will not live and thrive as they would in a different, more suitable climate.

• Blueberry: Local Michigan natives will also want to include Huckleberry and Bilberry in this mix. While it’s not specifically the cold temperatures that make it impossible to grow these species, it is a matter which relates directly to the Ann Arbor MI microclimate. The problem in growing these species stems from pH balance troubles with regards to the natural soil climate. Fortunately, there are countless alternatives in the berry family which are native to Michigan and can withstand the natural soil pH composition.

• Needle Palm: This last entry in our list is a bit tricky in so far as it really can grow in Michigan, but we still don’t advise it unless your irrigation and your overall budget is top-notch. The hearty, cold-resistant palm species are known to survive much farther north than other species of palm, but getting these to live continually for years in Michigan soil, will still be very difficult. If you are the type of person that loves a real challenge, you might consider planting the Needle Palm. If you do, it would pay for you to look up your specific zip code’s microclimate. The humidity, average temperates and rainfall can vary rather greatly in just a matter of miles.

If you are a garden or lawn care enthusiast and you live in the Ann Arbor MI area, you’ll want to ensure you don’t invest in any of the plant species mentioned above. If you have a second home somewhere deep in the south, that’s where you can try some of these species. However, with the harsh winters and long cold season, these plants are just off-limits for gardening in your local area.