Most large chain stores get very good plants.
The trick is to buy them when they first come in
before the store employees have a chance to
kill them.

I agree wholeheartedly with this. Even in our local garden
centers, it pays to buy & install plants soon after they
arrive in inventory. They don't get better as they year goes
on. Even with GOOD care, they become increasingly potbound.

I find that it also pays to visit the garden centers before
the season starts to see what has overwintered (in order to
avoid buying it later). I have bought a few plants that had
suffered in pots, and although with TLC they became healthy
and strong, a year or two of growth was lost as they
recovered. The time loss isnpt worth it to me, even if the
price is reduced. But often, the price is the same, and it's
buyer beware.


Mike Prager
Beaufort, NC (on the coast in zone 8a)
(Remove spam traps from email address to reply.)

Most large chain stores get very good plants.
The trick is to buy them when they first come in
before the store employees have a chance to
kill them.

I agree wholeheartedly with this. Even in our local garden
centers, it pays to buy & install plants soon after they
arrive in inventory. They don't get better as they year goes
on. Even with GOOD care, they become increasingly potbound.

I find that it also pays to visit the garden centers before
the season starts to see what has overwintered (in order to
avoid buying it later). I have bought a few plants that had
suffered in pots, and although with TLC they became healthy
and strong, a year or two of growth was lost as they
recovered. The time loss isnpt worth it to me, even if the
price is reduced. But often, the price is the same, and it's
buyer beware.


Mike Prager
Beaufort, NC (on the coast in zone 8a)
(Remove spam traps from email address to reply.)