Front Yard Landscaping Ideas

Landscaping Ideas: Buying Healthy Plants

When buying plants for your garden it really pays off to do some homework and be absolutely sure what you're buying. The tips can help you a great deal with your decisions.

Always analyze the leaves and stems to make sure they don't have plagues nor diseases: stained leaves, holes in the leaves.. the purchase of an ill plant will result in infection of the rest of your plants in your garden.

Avoid plants whose roots come out through the drainage holes of the flowerpots; it's an indication that they've been waiting too long for a transplant; the same can be said of plants that have slight root formation on the surface of the soil.

The plant must have perfectly taken root. Verify that the plant is well stabilized by giving the stem a slight pull; it shouldn't come out with ease. This can happen when plants are removed from the soil too soon and put in a pot to be sold, without it having taken root properly.

Avoid plants that display an unequal development on each side.

Winter it is not a good time to buy interior plants because the house is heated, and has dry air and less luminosity. These are conditions very different from those in let's say a gardening center. The change can kill them.

Inspect the leaves and stems to be certain they don't have insects or suspicious spots.

Remove the root ball from the pot to watch the roots. It shouldn't fall apart when removing, because that would be signal of bad rooting.

The roots must be abundant, with a nice clear color which indicates good health and growth, and not blackish, which indicates rottenness.

But if there are roots in excess, it means that this plant has spent too much time in that pot and should have already been moved to a larger container.

Avoid buying plants if they have roots showing outside the pot..

Is it's a flower plant you're buying, choose those that still have lots of closed buds.

Remember, garden care takes a lot of patience; especially if you want to have a garden that stands out.

For more info and gardening tips please visit The Landscaping Ideas Blog, and The Lawn Maintenance Blog.
About The Author

Timothy Eisden runs two blogs related to gardening. The Landscaping Ideas Blog, and The Lawn Maintenance Blog.