How to Buy
Plants
Your amateur consumer advocate working for you!
You might think that a plant is a plant and you can buy plants anywhere in spring, right? Well, unfortunately with all products, there is the good, the bad and the ugly. There are high quality plants and low quality plants and it's all about where you shop. Here is a summary of the main
caveats of plant shopping - full-sized and in miniature.
No to Big Box Stores = Costco and Safeway does it every year. They bring in garden plants just for a quick buck. Heck, they do it Christmas time too, don't they? You'll find garden plants at any big box store, Fred Meyers, Home Depot, Lowe's and even Kmart proclaims to
have "the best selection" of plants. Really? Think about it for a moment, do any these stores specialize in plants? Nope. They are in it for the impulse sales or lost leaders only but what makes it more frustrating, is that they sell you something that is less than standard or simply won't work.
What happens to the plants at these big box stores is that they are groomed to look good on the shelf in the store. They are well-fertilized to push out more blooms so you'll buy it - if this is the case, you probably won't be able to keep up with whatever fertilizing schedule the plant is used to, and it will die quickly once it wears off.
What also happens is that the grower that supplies these stores are cultivating the fastest and easiest growing plants so they can keep up with the demand - how many stores does Home Depot have in your area? So, you end up with run-of-the-mill plants that will
never stand out in your gardens - if they survive.
And lastly, lack of knowledge. Most big box stores tend to hire "warm bodies," which may or may not care about plants or gardening much less know something about it. You
might find the odd employee that does know something about plants, but I've found it to be very rare here in the PNW.
Yes to Independent Garden Centers =
Like us! :o) We're online so you can access our Miniature Garden Center Store anytime and anywhere!
But it's also worth the drive to your local independent garden center for several reasons:
- they connect with the smaller, local growers who know what works,
- these growers treat the plants kindly, they want you to be successful,
- they have an eye for great plant material,
- they are
always on the forefront of what's new,
- they know how to care for plants and they don't over-fertilize,
- they will know what is exciting and new
- AND they know about growing plants and gardening!
What to look for = Beside the right store that knows what they are doing, look for:
- Well-rooted plants but not excessive roots growing out the holes in the bottom of the pot. Some stores frown on you inverting the pot to take the pot off to look at the roots so if you can't do that, you
"should" see some roots through the holes in the bottom.
- Plants not necessarily in bloom - but hopefully they'll show you a photo of it. Some flowers only bloom once and if you buy it in bloom, that might be it for the season. Ask about long bloomers or repeat
bloomers.
- Look for healthy leaves with no marks or blotches that indicate poor care.
- Pick up the pot and feel the weight
of it. If it's super-light the roots have dried out completely. The root ball should be nice and moist or at least really damp.
- Pick up some organic potting soil for your pots while you are there - NOT Miracle Gro - it's horrible and it kills our miniature garden plants. (Yes, we know it works for some, but we still don't recommend it mainly because
our plants don't need the excess fertilizers nor the water-retaining polymers. AND it's made by Scott's of Montesanto. Ick.)
We know you can't drive to us - we're online only - but we have all the details in each
of our plant listings to provide you with all the information you need to
find the right plant. If you ever need any help choosing tree from our online store, just let us know ~> Hit the reply button or email us Steve@TwoGreenThumbs.com
