Spacing plants before planting?

This is my first post so hi everyone anyway onto my question im currently studying L2 Horticulture at the isle of wight college and i'm trying to complete some of my assignment work and im not sure what to put for one of the questions, basically i have to give some reason's why it is so important to space plants when planting them.
So far i have come up with

1. Crossing branches could rub together and cause damage to both or one of the plants
2. Plants could potentially compete for nutrients and root space

Can anyone think of anymore problems which could be caused by plants being too close together?

thanks in advance:thumb:

 

Hello K-L :thumb:
Plants well spaced aid air circulation which helps prevent disease and pest problems.

Good Luck with your studies

 

Thanks i hadn't thought of that:D

 

Each plant needs space to develope.

 

I guess light could come into it too?
Always assumed that the root space/nutrients issue is the main one though...

 

Claire, giving a plant space to grow is very important, So is light, if you dont create the right conditions they will search for the light and grow spindly and not grow to there potential..and maybe even die, depending on what your growing..The same go's for shade lovers, you wouldn,t put them in a sunny border, so light and shade are very important...so if you plant too close together your creating different light conditions, depending what your planting, eg, tall medium small...

 

Wow thank you I've got lots to put in now

 

did you know that if the plants compeating are the same its called Intraspecific competition and if different its Interspecific competition :D

 

Oh and ive been waiting 5 years to tell someone that lol

 

Spacing also depends on aesthetics and your garden policy. When a project is young, such as the Eden project when it started, many more plants than were finally needed were planted and much closer than normal. As the plants grew the excess could be removed. If they didn't do that it would look very bare for several years till the plants fully established themselves.

In my garden I lift perennial Lobelias, such as 'Queen Victoria' and overwinter them in a cold frame because they are borderline hardy. When I replant them, I plant them very close as I know that they will be lifted at the end on the season and don't need any space to expand.

You might also plant a group of similar plants at a certain spacing in a permanent border, but increase the spacing between different groups. This is purely aesthetic, to emphasise the grouping. Ultimately all gardening is about aesthetics.

 

As a newbie gardener, I planted some pretty vigorous shrubs close together - well, they were small then and I was in a hurry to fill up my new (empty) borders as the family were all coming en masse to admire my new home!

I ended up putting in a 4' square corner space the following

Vibernum (ultimate height 10')
Pyracantha (ultimate height 6' spread 4')
Ceanothus (ultimate height 4')
Lilac (ultimate height 3' 6")
and a Spirea (ultimate height 3')

Needless to say, by the time I realised what I had done, moving them was somewhat problematic.

But I mean - who thought they would ever grow so big!

 

As well as horticultural and aesthetic reasons for spacing. Don't forget cost. A farmers primary consideration is his return, even if that means the plants are so close together that individually they suffer.

SpudBristol - I am amazed at that piece of information, I will happily wait for another five years for the next gem! :D