11 Gardening Rules That Are Meant To Be Broken

Gardening advice is often passed down like gospel, but not every "rule" deserves a permanent spot in your gardening playbook. While some guidelines exist for good reason, many depend on your climate, soil, plants and goals. In fact, breaking a few long-standing gardening rules can save time, money and effort — without hurting your plants.

To help sort the rules worth keeping from the ones you can ignore, we turned to Amanda Thomsen, owner of Aster Gardens, a self-described quirky plant shop in Lemont, Illinois, who has spent 25 years helping gardeners rethink their outdoor spaces. Read on to learn what gardening rules can go (and a few you really should follow).

Daily watering feels like diligence, but it can actually encourage shallow root systems. "That would be the kiss of death for so many gardens," Amanda says. Rather than sticking to a fixed schedule, she suggests reading the plant and the soil instead of the calendar: "You may need to water a hanging basket every day, but very little needs that kind of hydration.” Most plants prefer deeper, less frequent watering that encourages roots to grow deeper into the soil. The only other exception is newly planted seedlings that may need more frequent watering until they're established.

Many gardeners assume "full sun" means plants need intense sunlight from sunrise to sunset. In reality, full sun is more nuanced than that all-or-nothing label suggests. As Amanda explains, "More than 6 hours means full sun, 4-6 is part sun, and less than 4 is considered shady.” To get a clearer read on what's actually happening in your yard rather than relying on guesswork, Amanda uses the Shade Map app to track how the sun's path shifts across different months.

Fruiting plants, like tomatoes, are an exception. They generally perform best with as much direct sun as you can give them.

Tilling can help break up compacted soil, but frequent tilling may disrupt beneficial organisms and soil structure. "New science shows tilling is ruining your soil's structure," Amanda says. "I find it just stirs up weed seeds in my garden." Many gardeners successfully use no-till or low-till methods instead, letting the soil's natural ecosystem do more of the work, though severely compacted soil may still benefit from occasional cultivation.

Some weeds compete aggressively with garden plants, but not every unwanted plant is a garden emergency. Certain weeds can even support pollinators or help indicate soil conditions. "There is no actual reward for the least weedy yard," Amanda says. Her take: Take it easy on yourself, since weeds mainly need to come out before they set seed and multiply, which doesn't happen immediately.

She also cautions against over-eager weeding: "Have you ever pulled something that wasn't a weed because you were going at it with gusto? Less gusto please."

Overfertilizing often causes more problems than underfertilizing. Excess nutrients can lead to weak growth, fewer flowers and even root damage, so it pays to follow plant-specific recommendations and soil test results when possible. Amanda sticks to organic fertilizers in her own yard, since synthetic versions can burn and otherwise damage plants. Organic ones offer more of a margin for error: "If you use too much of an organic fertilizer, the worst that can happen is wasting a little money."

"Plants that are native to your area would beg to differ!" Amanda says, pointing to her own backyard in the Chicago suburbs, where tough clay soil supports plenty of gorgeous native plants that thrive in it.

Few gardeners start with ideal soil. Raised beds, compost, mulch and smart plant choices can help you grow successfully even in less-than-perfect conditions (though extremely poor drainage or contamination should be addressed before planting). For anyone unsure of their soil condition, she adds, "I do recommend a soil test for anyone who wants more information about what they are dealing with."

Plant tags offer useful guidance, but their spacing recommendations are often conservative. "Well, I like to plant them as the tag says, plus a few inches for good air flow," Amanda says, since airflow matters most for disease-prone plants. Plenty of her customers ask for the opposite instead, packing plants in tight for an instant, lush look. That's fine too, she says, even though those gardens will likely turn into "plant soup" within a few years, which she considers just as acceptable an outcome.

Vegetables, herbs and even some fruit can thrive in containers, vertical gardens and small raised beds. (Larger crops like pumpkins and some melons still need significant room to spread.) "The truth is that you need space to grow food, indoors or out," Amanda says. These days, though, that space can be small: Patio versions of nearly every vegetable now stay compact while still producing solid harvests, and indoor grow lights have gotten more affordable than ever. As she puts it, "Nothing is holding you back from growing food. If one method isn't right for you, keep trying!"

Many mulches naturally break down and replenish the soil, so a simple top off is often all that's needed, unless it has significantly decomposed or washed away. "I like to have at least 2 inches of mulch, no more than 4, down at all times. If I have that and it's doing its job, then I skip it for a year, or more," Amanda says. She doesn't mind topping things up occasionally since the breakdown is actively feeding the soil and plants underneath it. She sticks to "a mulch closest to what I'd find in nature, locally."

"That's only true if you've had some insects or disease, or in relation to crop rotation," Amanda says, since repeatedly planting the same crop family in one spot can raise pest and disease pressure over time. Crop rotation is a valuable practice, but it isn't always necessary in every home garden. Outside of food crops, she says to throw the rule out entirely, and small-space gardeners with limited options can still succeed by focusing on soil health instead. Her only caveat: If a plant struggles in a particular spot, she'd rather move it than try the same thing twice and expect a different result.