Let's say you planted a dogwood in your front yard in order to show up the neighbors, but so far you have nothing to show for it. What's wrong with your beloved tree?

"Many plants are site-specific," said Secrest Arboretum Curator Ken Cochran. "For instance, the right place for dogwoods is the understory of an oak forest, not right in front of a house."

Secrest Arboretum — an 85-acre outdoor research laboratory located on the OARDC campus in Wooster — has been promoting what Cochran calls "an ecological approach to landscaping."

"The idea is to select plants according to their natural growing conditions," he said. "Before choosing a plant, you should know where and in what conditions that plant grows better. And if you have a particular site to work with, you should learn what plants are right for that environment."

Many factors need to be considered when looking for the right plant-landscape fit: plant size, exposure to the sun, shade, type of soil and the plant's intended use (decoration, wind-braking, privacy, etc.). When in an urban environment, factors such as pollution tolerance, salt tolerance and limited root space are also important.

Finding the right plant for the place is one way Secrest Arboretum has been contributing to the development of Ohio's booming green industry. In 2001, the state's nursery and landscape operations generated $2.78 billion (an increase of 42.3 percent since 1996), employed over 96,000 workers, and paid $274.9 million in taxes.

For more information on Secrest Arboretum and Ohio's green industry, visit http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/secrest and the Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association's industry Web site, http://www.onla.org.