Editorial Policy
TreeAndShrubGuide.com publishes practical and research-based articles about trees, shrubs, landscape plants, plant selection, plant care, regional suitability, pests, diseases, and related yard topics.
Our aim is simple: give readers information they can actually use.
How We Research Our Articles
Reliable plant advice often requires more than one source.
Depending on the subject, our research may include:
- university extension services;
- government agriculture and forestry agencies;
- botanical gardens;
- arboreta;
- scientific journals;
- established plant databases;
- regional invasive-species resources;
- professional horticultural organizations;
- respected nursery and landscape resources.
Primary and expert sources receive priority when an article covers plant biology, disease, invasive status, legal restrictions, or regional recommendations.
Regional Advice
A tree or shrub can behave very differently across climates.
For that reason, we avoid broad claims when location matters.
Hardiness zone, rainfall, humidity, soil type, local pests, winter conditions, summer heat, elevation, and regional regulations may all affect a recommendation.
Articles should make major regional limits clear whenever reliable information is available.
Personal Experience
First-hand experience can make plant advice more useful.
Our authors may refer to work with plants, nursery customers, home landscapes, their own yards, professional contacts, or lessons they have learned over time.
Such experience should always appear as personal experience.
We do not use a personal anecdote as proof of a broad horticultural claim when stronger evidence exists.
We also do not invent customers, conversations, professional events, plant failures, or personal stories for dramatic effect.
Plant Identification
Plant identification can be difficult through text or photos alone.
Many species, cultivars, diseases, pest symptoms, and nutrient problems can look similar.
When correct identification matters for treatment, safety, or plant survival, readers may need help via a local extension office, certified arborist, qualified horticulturist, nursery professional, or another suitable expert.
Accuracy
Names, hardiness zones, mature sizes, growth traits, toxicity information, invasive status, regulations, disease details, and pest information should be checked before publication.
Plant taxonomy and official recommendations can also change.
When new evidence or new rules affect an older article, we may revise the article.
Invasive and Restricted Plants
A plant can be legal in one state or region and restricted in another.
Some species may also remain available for sale despite ecological concerns.
When we cover such plants, we aim to separate:
- legal status;
- invasive status;
- ecological evidence;
- nursery availability;
- regional recommendations.
Readers should always check current local rules before they buy or plant a species with a known invasive history.
Sources and Claims
Important factual claims should have a reliable source.
Scientific claims deserve scientific or institutional support whenever possible.
Commercial descriptions can help confirm cultivar details or product specifications, but manufacturer or nursery claims should not replace independent evidence when better sources exist.
Corrections
Plant information should be accurate.
If we identify an incorrect species detail, outdated regulation, wrong hardiness zone, inaccurate measurement, broken source, or misleading explanation, we may revise the article.
Important corrections may also receive an editorial note when context helps the reader.
Editorial Independence
Our editorial decisions should reflect accuracy, relevance, and reader value.
Advertising, affiliate relationships, partnerships, or commercial interests should not change factual conclusions about a plant, product, or horticultural issue.
Sponsored material should have a clear label.
Our Standard
A useful TreeAndShrubGuide.com article should answer the question a reader came to ask.
It should also explain enough context to help that reader avoid a poor plant choice later.
A tree or shrub may remain on a property for decades. Good advice should reflect that fact.