Do you think there's better quality from the seed companies? I know there are more specific varieties to choose from. But are the ones from the plain old local big box places that much inferior?

I do buy certain things from a lovely little family biz that has great quality stuff, but their offerings are limited.

I'm going back and forth with myself on this! I need some more experienced advice. Your thoughts? Buy plants online?

Thanks in advance for any feedback. :)

trees.. conifers.. etc.. things that dont transport .. nor transplant well ... i would shy away from bigboxstore and pay extra to a quality vendor ...

perennials.. some of both ... depending if there are plant that my life will end.. if i cant get them.. and the local peeps dont carry them .. in my case.. back in the day.. the $100 hosta .. and the rare conifers ....

i simply cant conceptualize why you would pay a premium for a run of the mill annual ...

ken

Regarding seeds, I buy some off the rack and order some. The primary reason I order a lot of seed is because I can get individual colors, plus there is a much wider variety of offerings in seed catalogs, stuff you won't find on the local rack. For run of the mill stuff, I buy off the rack - herbs, vegetables, common annuals (e.g. moonflower, morning glory). Interestingly, I will buy Burpee seed off the rack but will not order seed from them - I have gotten bad seed in past years (packages of broken impatiens seeds, for example), whereas the Burpee stuff off the rack is usually find. Truthfully, though - I'll buy other brands before Burpee.

Regarding annual plants - I choose to support local nurseries not big box stores, even if that means paying more. Enough said.

So far I have resisted. Told myself i wouldn't buy any annuals until I felt like the money spent on lighting/trays etc. for seed starting had paid for itself.

I've been lucky, I guess, in that I've been in the position to make suggestions to privately owned garden centers about annuals that look exciting and promising. I've rarely seen and coveted any annual that can't be grown from seed, though.

I'm really curious about annuals that are so special that they are worthy of mail order prices and shipping.

i collect plants .. hosta... conifers.. daylily .. iris.. etc ...

who collects annuals???? ... so why pay extra ..

but.. the one upside would be.. if you are so location isolated... that you will spend more on gas... to get to a few nurseries.. then mail order might be the way to go ...

i did think of coleus ... some peeps collect them ... but they are actually a perennial, often sold as an annual .. that can be brought in the house for winter in the colder zones ... so .. in my world.. they would be collectable ..

ken

Martha

Though I can't understand the purchase of true annual plants from a far off mail order company, the purchase of specialty perennials from on-line sources is pretty essential for avid gardeners. Many of these plants are simply not available in the local retail marketplace.

Might not be important to the average person, but serious gardeners choose to collect the unusual, the rare cultivar.

I started buying my stuff online because I worried about the diseases and "pests" I would end up with when buying Big Box Store plants. They may be high quality to start with, but then they are transported and come into contact with any number of other plants and produce, which can cause cross contamination. I always ended up with those little nasty gnat things in my houseplants and then had to buy stuff to get rid of them.

The other aspect is that most of these big box stores will not have any kind of guarantee on the plants. You can take them home, plant them and have them die overnight and you will not be reimbursed for them.

That being said, I also had my share of disappointments online (I NEVER had good luck with catalogs at all). But...I've found a good place, with decent prices, a satisfaction guarantee and the best customer service anywhere. They even have a Master Gardener on staff to ask questions of and an extensive blog section (Latest News) with all kinds of pertinent information dating clear back to 2008 (I think!). I won't buy anywhere else now...unless I get too late a start and just want to plop something in the ground and hope for the best :) Hope this helps!

I've never had problems with any of my on-line purchases. I limit my purchases to the harder to find perennials so need a supplier which caters to people like me.

Another example of buying some plants online would be if I couldn't find that specific type locally. For example, some sedums have great foliage and flowers and I'd like them in my yard, but can't get them locally.

Other than that, the other generic annuals from a local store, whether that is box store or family nursery, are fine for me.