Editorial Process

How guides on this site are written, sourced, and updated.

Writing

Every guide on this site is written by Thomas Joseph. The voice is first-person where I have grown the plant; third-person and source-driven where I have not. AI tools may be used for grammar passes and for finding source material faster, but no guide on this site is AI-generated or AI-rewritten in its substantive content.

Sourcing

Every factual claim in a guide cites a primary source. The hierarchy of sources, in order of preference:

1. University Extension publications. Land-grant universities (Cornell, NC State, Penn State, University of Minnesota, Oregon State, Missouri Botanical Garden, UC IPM, Clemson) are the standard for North American horticultural information. Their publications are peer-reviewed by faculty horticulturists and updated regularly.
2. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). UK-based but globally recognized.
3. The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map and other federal references (USDA, NOAA).
4. Peer-reviewed horticultural research — journals such as HortScience, Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science.
5. Specialty nurseries with published cultivar performance data — Proven Winners, Monrovia, Bluestone Perennials, Plant Delights, Iseli Nursery.

What I do not use as primary sources: Wikipedia, Pinterest, lifestyle gardening blogs without citations, retail garden-center plant tags, or social media posts.

When sources disagree

Extension publications occasionally contradict each other — e.g., Penn State Extension and Oregon State Extension give slightly different USDA zone ranges for Hydrangea macrophylla. When this happens, I either (a) cite both ranges and let the reader make a local judgment, or (b) defer to the publication from the region most relevant to my audience (mid-Atlantic U.S.).

Updates and corrections

Guides are updated when:

• Primary sources publish new information.
• I notice an error in my own writing.
• A reader emails to point out a factual problem and I verify the correction against primary sources.

Updated guides carry an "Updated [date]" line in the byline. Major changes (a corrected claim, a new section) are noted at the top of the article. Minor copy edits are not noted explicitly.

Product recommendations

Gear pages (when added) recommend products under three rules:

1. I have used the product personally, or
2. The product is recommended by a primary horticultural source for the use case, or
3. The product is the only option that meets a specific technical requirement (e.g., a specific Bt strain for fungus gnat control).

If a product I recommend is later replaced by a better one, I update the recommendation and note the change.

Amazon affiliate links may appear on gear pages. The presence of an affiliate link does not influence which products I recommend. Picks have come and gone independently of affiliate availability.

What I will not do

• Sponsored content that isn't clearly labeled as such (and there isn't any on this site as of launch).
• Listicles that include products the writer has never used.
• AI-generated guides published under a human byline.
• "Trick" or "hack" content that contradicts primary horticultural sources for the sake of clicks.

How to flag an error

Email thomas at outdoorplantcare dot com with the specific claim and the source you believe contradicts it. Corrections get verified against primary sources and applied, usually within 48 hours.