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Maximus flora phobia - true or just a tall story?


I’m not quite sure whether or not this is an officially registered phobia, but it seems to be one I see people suffering from frequently, so I thought I’d invent a Latin name for it. Maximus (large) flora (plants) phobia, creeps up on people slowly and its more common than you may think.


Maybe it’s not as serious as Botanophobia, the official phobia for people who have a genuine phobia of plants, but this pseudo-phobia is specifically related to selected members of the plant kingdom which grow taller than humans.


I first discovered this was an issue


when I planted a Rowan tree in my back garden at the age of 18. “How big will that grow?” my mum would ask me every spring, and each year I would reply with my standard answer “oh, not much bigger than that!”


I’m not sure if it’s the fact that humans are generally control freaks and like to be able to reach the top of the plants (for maintenance I can only presume), if they feel over whelmed by the sheer size of a large tree, or perhaps are overly concerned about it growing too near to the house.


There are ways to manage the growth of large trees and plants, such as pollarding (cutting off the branches to leave a trunk with a stumpy top), or ‘balling up’ as it’s known in the industry (the act of trimming shrubs into spheres). In my opinion both are hard work,


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and generally leave ghastly looking results, with the exception of topiary of course!


A much better idea is to select the correct tree or shrub in the first place. If you have a border just 2 feet wide, plant a small shrub such as a Hebe that only wants to grow to 2 feet wide. A little research should throw up some good varieties.


Trees such as Amelanchier ‘Robin


Hill’ and Acer griseum, or Sorbus ‘Joseph Rock’ are ideal. Try Prunus ‘Amanogawa’ for a flowering cherry, or Crataegus persimilis ‘Prunifolia’ which will grow in any location and any reasonable soil.


If you’re a plant-nut like me, then it will probably frustrate you when people over trim plants to within an inch of their lives, or hack bits off trees, making them look like alien forms. If you live with a ‘sufferer’ and as a last resort, you could try introducing a pause in your words, as a good friend of mine did when asked how large the Eucalyptus in the front garden would grow …. “Oh, only four-t- five feet darling’. She actually got away with that one … until the following summer that is anyway!


Enjoy your garden!


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