How To Buy Plants

Most gardeners love growing their own plants from seed, or swapping plants and cuttings with gardening friends. But there are occasions when you might want to buy a new plant for your garden. Maybe you don't have the space to grow all your own plants from seed, you only want a couple of plants, or you want something that isn't easily grown from seed. Perhaps you want a particular variety that is only available as a plant, or you want a head start on a plant that's very slow to mature.

If you buy a plant from the garden center, how do you make sure that you're getting a good one? And if you order your plants online or from a mail order catalog, how do you take care of them when they arrive?

1. Make a list. If you're heading out to the garden center, make a list of the plants that you want. If you don't know exactly what you want then make a list of the spaces that you have available - and what type of plants you need (sun-loving, shade-tolerant, etc.). Once you get to the store it's easy to be seduced into buying too many plants, or ones that aren't suitable for your garden. And that means lots of hard work trying to take care of them when you get them home.
2. Pick the ones that look happy. A happy, healthy plant has a good head of foliage and no signs of pests and diseases. Don't automatically go for the ones that are flowering and fruiting - they may have been forced. If you pick one that isn't in flower, it will flower for you once it settles in at home, rather than for the crowds at the store!
3. Get back to your roots. If you're brave enough, carefully remove the plant from its pot so that you can see the root ball. If the whole thing collapses, that's a bad sign. You're looking for a nice, healthy root ball that fills the pot. Too little root could mean that the plant isn't thriving. Too many roots, circling round and round the pot, mean it's been in that pot too long. If you're not brave enough to tip the plant out, lift it up and check whether the roots are trying to escape through the drainage holes.
4. Check for weeds. Weeds and moss growing on the surface of the compost might mean that the plant has been at the store for a while. That might not be a problem if it's a good store and they look after their plants well. But check that it doesn't have any weeds that you don't have at home - you don't want to be importing more weed problems!
5. Think twice about bargain plants. Sad-looking, reduced price plants have been reduced for a reason. They're going to need a lot of care and attention if they're going to thrive. If you have a green thumb then it might be worth the risk, but if you're new to gardening, stick to healthy plants and avoid the problems of nursing a plant back to health.
6. Consider mail order. Mail order catalogs often have a larger selection of plants that your local garden center. There's still a temptation to buy too many plants, though!
   

    

   • Never leave the house. Most mail order catalogs can't supply an exact delivery, and your plants will no doubt be delivered the moment you step out of the house! They'll survive a few hours without you, but if you've ordered plants, then that's not the time to go on holiday.
   • Unpack your plants immediately. Mail order plants are well-packed, but even so they will have had limited supplies of water and light for some time and need your immediate care and attention.
   • Harden them off. Commercially grown plants are often a bit needy. They'll need toughening up before you plant them out in the garden, so make sure you have the facilities to take care of baby plants before you order them. Some may need re-potting before they can be planted outside.
   • Heel in bare root plants. Many fruit trees and hedging plants are supplied with bare roots (i.e. not in a container) while they're dormant over the winter months. Although they're dormant, they need to be kept damp. Unpack them as soon as they arrive. If their permanent planting position is not available, heel them in - plant them close together in a shallow trench or a container of potting compost - to keep them healthy until you can plant them out.

Nurseries and mail order companies are usually very good about replacing plants that did not thrive - providing you took good care of them along the way. If there's a problem, the sooner you let them know the better. Always buy your plants from a reputable supplier and bear in mind environmental concerns such as the use of peat and pesticides and how far the plants have traveled to get to you. Never buy wild harvested plants of an endangered species.