The plant catalogs are piling up and now you’re a couch potato plotting your plant purchases! It’s so fun to gaze at all those pretty pictures and ponder where you’ll put them in your landscape. The Garden Scoop has a few tips BEFORE you start ordering.
- Really look at the description of those plants. Are they zone hardy for us “Cold Climate Gardeners”? Do you have the right soil environment for them? The right sun/shade conditions? What about MATURE size of the plant? Will it fit in the space you’re looking to place it?
- Consider returns.
- Where will you get questions answered?
- Can you examine the plants yourself?
- Enjoy the catalogs and then find a local source to buy whenever possible.
- Enjoy the catalogs and then find a local source to buy whenever possible. Check out our Plant Finder.
Know your plant terms!
- Determinate: often used with tomato plants, determinate is a plant that grows to a certain height and stops. They are typically smaller, therefore more manageable in small space gardens or in containers
- Indeterminate: again, with the tomato analogy; these plants continue to grow all season producing fruits, so you end up with a lot of green tomatoes when it gets too cold for them to mature. They take up a lot more space.
- Slow to bolt: this is a good thing, in particular for lettuces. It means slow to flower, which translates to a longer season of picking. Once the flowers come, the leaves become bitter.
- Bareroot: bareroot stock means that the plant comes to you with no soil around its roots. These plants are cheaper but need your attention right away.
- Field grown: refers to a more mature plant that’s been grown in a field for at least a year, they’re usually more expensive but hardier plants.
Ahh, now kick back, takes notes, take a sip of cocoa (or something else!) and plot your vegetable garden, peruse the new shrubs/trees/perennials and annual flowers you’ll be planting.
Remember, our experts are always available to answer your questions!
Happy hunting,
