Comprehensive Plant Database
Search and filter by soil pH, sunlight, functional traits, ecology, and safety, covering every plant type.
| Name | Scientific | Family | Form | Height | pH | Zones | Sun | Water | Difficulty | Conservation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chervil, French Parsley, Garden Chervil | Anthriscus cerefolium | Apiaceae | herb_non_graminoid | 1-2 feet (30-60 cm) | 6–7 | 3a-10b | Partial Sun, Partial Shade, Full Shade | Maintain constant, uniform soil moisture; drought or dry soil triggers instant bolting. | Easy | LC |
| Common Chicory, Wild Succory, Blue Sailors, Coffee Weed | Cichorium intybus | Asteraceae | herb_non_graminoid | 2-4 feet (60-120 cm) | 5.5–7.5 | 3a-9b | Full Sun, Partial Sun | Extremely drought-hardy once established due to extensive taproot; requires virtually no supplemental irrigation in field conditions. | Easy | LC |
| Chinese Wisteria, Sweet Wisteria | Wisteria sinensis | Fabaceae | climber | 25-40 feet | 6–7 | 5a - 9b | Full Sun, Partial Sun | Deep, infrequent watering during establishment; moderately drought-tolerant once extensive root systems are formed. | Moderate | LC |
| Chives, Wild Chives, Schnittlauch | Allium schoenoprasum | Amaryllidaceae | herb_non_graminoid | 10-15 inches (25-38 cm) | 6–7 | 3a-9b | Full Sun, Partial Sun, Partial Shade | Keep evenly moist but not waterlogged; water deeply when the top 1 inch of soil is dry. | Easy | NE |
| Cilantro, Coriander, Chinese Parsley | Coriandrum sativum | Apiaceae | herb_non_graminoid | 1-2 feet | 6.2–6.8 | 3-11 (Grown as a cool-season annual) | Full Sun, Partial Sun | Keep consistently moist but not waterlogged. Approx. 1 inch per week. Avoid overhead watering to prevent fungal diseases. | Easy | LC |
| Clematis, Virgin's Bower, Queen of Climbers, Leather Flower | Clematis viticella | Ranunculaceae | climber | 8-15 feet | 6.5–7.5 | 4a - 9b | Full Sun, Partial Sun | Deep, consistent watering (1-1.5 inches weekly). Roots must be shaded by low companion perennials, mulch, or flat stones to prevent root-zone thermal stress. | Moderate | LC |
| Collard Greens, Collards, Tree Cabbage | Brassica oleracea | Brassicaceae | herb_non_graminoid | 2-3 feet (60-90 cm) | 6–6.8 | 3a-11b | Full Sun, Partial Sun | Provide 1 inch of water per week; very tolerant of brief dry periods once deeply rooted. | Easy | LC |
| Common Boxwood, European Box, Box Tree | Buxus sempervirens | Buxaceae | shrub | 5-15 feet | 6.5–7.8 | 5a - 8b | Full Sun, Partial Sun, Partial Shade | Water regularly during the first 1-2 growing seasons to establish the shallow root system. Mature plants require deep watering during prolonged summer droughts. Avoid overhead irrigation to minimize foliar fungal pathogens. | Moderate | LC |
| Woodbine, Common Honeysuckle, European Honeysuckle | Lonicera periclymenum | Caprifoliaceae | climber | 15-25 feet | 5.5–7.5 | 4a - 9b | Full Sun, Partial Sun, Partial Shade | Moderate moisture; keep the root zone consistently cool and mulched while allowing climbing vines to reach full sun. | Easy | LC |
| Common Lilac, French Lilac | Syringa vulgaris | Oleaceae | shrub | 8-15 feet | 6.5–7.5 | 3a - 7b | Full Sun, Partial Sun | Provide regular deep watering during the first 2 seasons. Mature shrubs are drought tolerant; irrigate during extended dry periods. Avoid overhead sprinkler irrigation to reduce foliar fungal pressure. | Easy | LC |
| Common Sage, Garden Sage, Culinary Sage, Dalmatian Sage | Salvia officinalis | Lamiaceae | subshrub | 30-60 cm (1-2 feet) | 6–7.5 | 5a - 9b | Full Sun, Partial Sun | Water deeply but infrequently. Allow soil to dry out between waterings. Established plants are highly drought tolerant and are susceptible to root rot in constantly moist soil. | Easy | LC |
| Common Thyme | Thymus vulgaris | Lamiaceae | subshrub | 6-12 inches (15-30 cm) | 6–8 | 5a - 9b | Full Sun | Water deeply but infrequently. Allow soil to dry out completely between waterings. Overwatering is a common cause of failure. | Easy | NE |
Beans: Soil pH, Planting Depth and Spacing (Green, Bush, Fava)
The three bean records in this database, green bean, bush bean and fava (broad bean), all sit in the same narrow soil window: pH 6.0 to 7.0, well-drained, and neither waterlogged nor droughted through pod fill. That window is not a preference, it is a biological constraint. Rhizobium nodules (the reason a bean feeds itself) stop fixing atmospheric nitrogen below about pH 6.0, and fava shows aluminium and manganese toxicity on acid ground before the common beans do. Lime to 6.0-6.5 if a test comes back under 6.0, then re-test: the correction takes months, not weeks.
| Bean | Sow depth | Spacing | Soil temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green bean | 1–1.5 in (2.5–4 cm) | 3–4 in in-row, 18–24 in apart | 60°F (16°C) or warmer |
| Bush bean | 1–1.5 in (2.5–4 cm) | 3–4 in in-row, 18–24 in apart | 60°F (16°C) or warmer |
| Fava bean | 1–2 in (2.5–5 cm) | 4–6 in in-row, 24 in apart | 40–50°F (5–10°C) |
Depth. Sow bean seed at about three times its own thickness and no deeper: 1 to 1.5 inches for green and bush bean, 1 to 2 inches for the larger fava seed. Sowing shallow is the safer error. Common bean will not germinate in soil still below 60°F (16°C) (seed sits and rots instead of swelling) while fava is the opposite and goes in four to six weeks before the last frost, which is why it also works as an autumn sowing. Neither wants a presoak: hydrate the bed, not the seed.
Spacing. Bush types are determinate and stop growing on their own, so 3 to 4 inches within the row and 18 to 24 inches between rows gives a canopy that closes without crowding; thinned stands dry out and crack their pods. Fava is taller and stiffer, so it takes 4 to 6 inches in the row with 24 inches between rows, and it benefits from a stake on exposed ground. Pole types are a different question: they need the trellis before the seed goes in.
After sowing. About an inch of water a week, held evenly through flowering and pod set: a dry week at first bloom drops the flower set, and a waterlogged week at harvest splits the pods. Inoculate seed if the bed has not grown a legume in the last four years, keep fresh manure out of the hole (it delays nodulation) and feed phosphorus and potash from a soil test rather than by habit. Full sun for all three. For the pH side of that, start from the soil pH by crop reference table and work out the rate with the lime requirement calculator.