We Asked 5 Master Gardeners What Plants They’ll Never Use in Their Own Homes — Here’s What They Said

Lush gardens and botanical gardens are, oftentimes, a mix of inspiration and aspiration. Sure, there are plenty of ideas to steal (take this easy plant styling idea from the New York Botanical Garden, for example), but there are lots of ideas to skip, too. 

If you go to a botanical garden or university garden for inspiration, for example (or even see a photo of a celeb garden — hello, With Love, Meghan), you might be wondering which of your inspo plants you can reasonably grow at your own home — and it can be helpful to narrow down that list. I’m no pessimist; I just want to help save you time, energy, and money whenever possible, so I asked the masters themselves. 

Master Gardener is an official certification given to gardeners who have completed horticultural training required by their state program, and I tapped several of these experts to share their experiences with plants they will simply never touch again. Whether they’re invasive, need certain climates to thrive, or take the green thumb of a master to get right, these are the plants that five gardeners say they wouldn’t go for in their own homes (or yours).

Although orchids are structurally stunning with striking colors, Missy Gable, director of the University of California Master Gardener Program, says planting and maintaining orchids isn’t worth it. 

“As much as I have tried time and again to keep orchids happy in my home and encourage them to re-bloom, I just haven’t been successful,” she says. Why? “The light, water, drainage, and humidity have to be just right, and I inevitably have the balance off every time.” Instead she loves to re-home orchids to friends with larger greenhouses once they’re done blooming.

Jon VanZile, master gardener and author of The Flower Garden Deck, agrees — especially when it comes to dyed orchids. “These electric blue or pink phalaenopsis don’t belong anywhere in nature or in a home,” he says. “If you manage to bloom one again, it will be standard white. Orchids are pretty enough without the dye.”

Although ferns are one of the most common garden and house plants, VanZile doesn’t suggest them for home growing. “I love ferns, but many species are harder-than-advertised to keep looking good,” he explains. “If you can’t get the right balance between humidity, temperature, sunlight, and water, you’ll be lucky if just the leaf tips are brown. More often than not, they die a slow, crispy death.”

State Master Gardener Coordinator at PennState Extension, Erin Kinley, says all gardeners should be aware of plants that are constantly being added to the invasive species list in your local area. Japanese Barberry is one of those plants in her area.

It’s “been intentionally planted in landscapes for decades, but we’ve since learned that the seeds have been taking over Pennsylvania’s forests and other natural areas, pushing out native species,” she says. Some good alternatives to this plant include inkberry holly, ninebark, and oakleaf hydrangea.

If you visited a mall anytime in the early 2000s, you probably stopped by a kiosk to admire a bonsai tree. But Wambui Ippolito, landscape designer and horticulturist, says to skip these for your home garden. “Bonsai need a lot of time and dedication, which I don’t have,” she says. “It is an art that needs years to perfect. I enjoy looking at them in other people’s homes, especially when they are decades-old.”

Nothing is more stunning than a colorful iris in bloom, but Lorraine Ballato, instructor at the New York Botanical Garden, horticulturist, and hydrangea expert, says they’re just too difficult to maintain at home. 

“If you don’t divide them about every three to four years, they die out,” Ballato says. “And you must remember to cut them back in late August (when it is very hot) to prevent the iris borer [a caterpillar pest that lives in irises] from taking up residence and eventually destroying the plant.” All this adds up to far too much work, even for Master Gardeners. “There are so many other perennials I can use for color and vertical interest that don’t demand this kind of attention,” Ballato adds.