5 easy ideas for buying the best plants

When you begin with the best-quality care-free plants you can find, you can look forward to excellent results from your efforts in the garden. Here's what you should look for when buying plants.

It is wise to buy plants in the proper season, which is spring for most annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees. In areas with mild, rainy winters or hot, dry summers, many plants are best set out in the fall.

In any season, shop early, when the selection is good, even though you may be buying plants that are just emerging from, or going into winter dormancy.

Purchasing plants that have already gone dormant, and planting them in early spring, is a smart investment. As plants begin their most active season of above-ground growth, they are also poised to develop vigorous new roots over the long, upcoming growing season, and a strong root system will carry them safely through their first winter in the ground.

Study plant tags carefully before making your selection, because the tags often contain useful information about plant size, spacing, and requirements for sun or shade. Plants that are purchased from mail order catalogs or online catalogs often come packaged with detailed instructions for planting and care. Set aside a place in your home where you can keep all your plant tags or instruction sheets so that you can refer to them in the future, should you need to order more of the same variety, or review the cultural information.

Waste no time in getting your new plants planted in the ground. If you must make your plants wait for a few days, set them in a sheltered outdoor spot, out of the blazing sun or drying wind, and make sure that their roots do not dry out. When rainy weather forces you to delay planting of dormant bare-root plants or hardy bulbs, make room for them in your refrigerator if you can, or put them in an unheated garage or basement. Cool temperatures help to keep these plants dormant until you are ready to plant them in your garden.

Following these steps will ensure you have the best quality of plant and that will save you headaches later in season when lesser quality plants would need to be replaced.