"Chris S." wrote in message
...

Hi All,

Wondering if anyone has experience in buying shrubs or perennials at a
place like lowes verses a nursery. The stuff I see at nurseries is about
twice as expensive, but looks much healthier.

Should I stick with a nursery? Where do you buy plants at?

-Chris Swartz

I start most of my own shrubs from cuttings that I get from friends,
neighbors, and members of our garden club. I also start a lot of additional
shrubs along with annuals and perennials, which are sold at our garden club
spring sale as a fund raiser. Occasionally, when I can't find something
locally that I want, I make a list of "must haves" and check at Lowes and
other garden centers in Springfield, MO, on our occasional runs there. (Love
their Barnes and Noble Book Store!) The items I've purchased there have all
survived and done well. In fact, I purchased a Glowing Embers Hydrangea in a
gallon pot from Lowes this past spring for $6.95 that was a quality looking
plant at purchase time has since doubled in size. The same is true of a
blueberry plant I purchased at the same time. I've always had good results
with items purchased from them.

My least favorite method of purchase is through mail order, mainly because I
can't see the quality of the plant material before ordering. Most of the
time it's reasonable, but I find that I usually have to some babying in
order to get ordered plants to survive. This is even true of Bluestone that
has quality products. Even so, I occasionally lose a plant. I don't know
about other people, but I find it a pain to have to contact the service
department and receive a credit for plants that don't survive. It also irks
me that I don't have the plant I ordered in my yard this year and will have
to wait another year before it can be replaced.

John