Plant labels usually tell you whether the plant is an annual or perennial, if it needs sun or shade. Sometimes, however, the most critical piece of information--the mature size of the plant--may be missing. Knowing a plant's eventual size is critical to proper placement. You may discover years later that the plant gets a whole lot bigger than you ever thought possible.
Nowhere is this problem more prevalent than in the case of trees. If you plant a young tree in or near a bed that's full of sun-loving perennials and in 10 years that tree gets to be 20 feet high and just as wide, you may find yourself replacing all those sun-lovers with plants that require shade. Or if you plant a sapling in a lawn full of grass that requires shade, in a decade or so you will be forced to replace the lawn with a shade-tolerant turf.
So before you buy a plant, make sure you know how big it will get when it reaches maturity. Ask the folks at the nursery, call your local extension service or do some research.
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