Purchasing plants for the Plot

 

In general the majority of us will buy and sow are own seeds of vegetables, but what about fruit stock? Fruit shrubs and trees, perennial herbs, the odd flower, or hedging plant? Invariably we may opt for the garden centre or the market, perhaps a D.I.Y store, wherever you go we all want to get the best product, and it always helps if the costs are low, so where and who are best to buy from?


 Mail Order

With online buying becoming even more popular you may find yourself opting to buy over the internet. Suppliers such as Crocus for example enable mail order purchases to be made on specific varieties you may not find as easily. The internet enables us to compare prices, plant size and variety and the regular catalogues are always a treat to look through. Buying online is becoming more popular, I find, for equipment for the allotment. It is amazing what new and innovative pest control or frost control products are about and you may be getting better value for a large sheet cloche than buying a smaller one from the garden centre. Of course sometimes we open a package and the product we have brought isn’t what we’ve expected, this is a drawback of mail order. Moreover, your plant may have experienced possible damaged in transit, a variety you have ordered may be out of stock and you don’t get the joy of choosing the exact shape plant you want which you may do at a nursery or garden centre, so always bare this in mind when shopping online.

The Nursery

 Nurseries seem to be becoming a little scarce these days, often overtaken in price and appeal by large conglomerate garden centres, or even superstores that now branch out into selling some horticultural products. But the nursery is at the heart of horticulture and has a long standing tradition. If you want to buy in bulk nurseries will often cut you a deal or suitable prices that can be a lot cheaper than any garden centre. Nurseries, more often than not, are family run or have a close-knit community so the if you require horticultural knowledge about a plant you want to buy, or even about a pest or disease of one of your existing plants nursery staff are often very knowledgeable because they work continuously with plants, and unlike garden centres, often grow and produce plants from seed, cutting and grafting. Also, if you go to a nursery for a plant out of season they are still likely to have it stored away and under cover in another glass house. Nurseries often do not have ‘offers’ like garden centres though, this is usually because plants are cheaper so do be aware of this. Market stools are also similar; they may have a few offers but are unlikely to have offers like large garden centres because the overall price is cheaper. Nevertheless the quality of the plant is likely to be as good, I often find better. Nurseries also offer a variety of plants and unusual species. If you are looking for specific plants it is worth searching nursery catalogues or purchasing the RHS Guide which includes a list of nurseries in your area and what they stock, often specific nurseries will specials in a specific plants e.g. alpine. 
                                                                                                   
                                                                  The Garden Centre

                                                                                      Garden centres are becoming ever more popular and seem to be growing in size, offering a wide variety of products, from vegetables, perennials, trees, cards, animals, with cafes even selling clothing, but do they take away from the love of true gardening? Often garden centres can become somewhat cluttered, and during busy periods one does not always know where to look because there is so many products. On the other hand the variety of plants and equipment for the allotment can be very alluring. Often there will be a number of offers on products and these can be a good deal but do the centres just make us want to buy more? Luring us with other ‘quick aesthetically pleasing buys’. The advantage of the garden centre is that they do offer a place to get a wide variety of products in one go, rather than trailing various places, everything is ‘under one roof’. There is generally a degree of horticultural expertise if a customer does need help or knowledge on a product, plant, pest or disease and delivery is available on larger items. However, unlike nurseries garden centres do tend to throw out old stock that is no longer aesthetically pleasing, even if the plant itself is likely to rejuvenate once planted, reductions may be made but often than not plants do get dumped so if you’re an environmentalist you may want to shop elsewhere. The garden centre also enable you to see and purchase the exact product, you can check for quality and buy container plants, rather than balls like mail order but plants in pots are often more expensive and the varieties that are in store are often those that are popular so if you are looking for an unusual or specific plant you may wasn’t to look elsewhere.

Of course, if you already have a plant and you want more of it, the best bet, and cheapest alternative is to take cuttings or collect seed. Remember, always look around, price, quality, variety and knowledge are all aspects one should look for before making a purchase.