Yes, it's cheaper , BUT.....

So, it's that time of year when things begin to trickle into the chain store garden centers (for us here in Seattle, WA, it's mainly Home Depot and Lowe's) and they're beginning to get deliveries of fresh plant material. So naturally, I find an excuse to go in (usually to replace a burned out light bulb or cheap potting soil) and check out the selection.

Over the past few years, I've been finding top-notch specialty plants such as these Hellebores. In the past, I've obtained 'Ivory Prince', but now you can easily get 'Pink Frost' and, recently, I spotted a clone from the "Gold Collection" called 'Jacob' (which, of course wasn't labeled as so because they feel like no one really gives a fuck) a whole series of H. x hybridus hybrids that were once just pukey colors, but now they're pukey colors with ruffles, spots, picotees, DOUBLE AND ANEMONE FORMS! It was just a few years ago that these were like the holy grail of Hellebores that fetched $40-50 easily, but now you can purchase a small clump blooming its head off for around $10.00.

Think of these Hellebores as the new ORCHIDS. They've been micro-propagated in a laboratory so they can be mass-produced and offered at a lower price to the consumer. Sounds awesome, right?? Yes and No, in my opinion.


YES

Good quality plants, true to type for the most part (regardless of how it was labelled), and good plants get to gardeners much quicker and they're far more affordable. Can't argue too much about that, eh?


NO

Real nurseries and specialty garden centers suffer because of the cost of production and retail mark-ups call for higher prices just to break even, but for the most part, it's a severe loss for the small grower who, honestly, cannot compete with a chain giant. Most of these plants are produced in other parts of the country, travel a long way via truck, are regularly mislabeled, and treated poorly once they're stocked on nursery tables at chains.

As a grower, it certainly hurts to see a plant I've worked so hard to propagate, pot up, grow on carefully, and label for an upcoming plant sale only to find the same plants being sold at Lowe's or Home Depot for less than half of what I'm selling them for WHOLESALE!!

This is definitely an area where I feel quite torn and uncertain as to how to go about deciding which plants to get.

I've always said that there's no shame in shopping at a chain. I'm all about budget gardening and encouraging those who want to dabble in growing plants, but I'm also a plantsman who stresses quality in plant development and introduction and fully support local growers and businesses.

I'd appreciate your comments on this, please.

BTW, I caved and purchased that lower flower that impressed me with it's almost 4" flower, heavy speckling, and just how awesome it looked with the dark purple Phormium I was planning on using for a seasonal container.



Thanks,

R

Another HD boo-boo

NOT a clumping bamboo!!! Grrrrrr

From a disgruntled landscaper...

Had to share this email from a colleague of mine:


"So last week I special ordered some Juniperis chinensis 'Spartan' for a client from a large and reputable nursery. $69.97 for 5 gallon trees about 4' tall.

Tonight at HD they have huge ones in decent shape for $26.88!! They're 3 feet wide and over 6 feet tall and would've totally matched the existing trees.

Bugs me that the real nursery don't have them in any size and any price but the orange guys have huge affordable ones.

There's a lesson in there someplace.

fuckers."

An ongoing complaint

Ok...what's wrong with this photo??? I tried to tell them about it, but they refuse to pull the plants!

There's no shame in shopping at Lowe's or Home Depot, damn it!

I've found myself stopping in at my local Lowe's or Home Depot on the look out, as always, for something new and interesting (yes, it's possible!).

Shopping at these "hardware" stores has always been frowned upon amongst my peers who prefer to shop at the more elaborate, regularly stocked nurseries with a wider selection and, yes, a more knowledgeable staff. They're also frowned upon because so many of their offerings are misleading: incorrectly labeled, poorly maintained and mistreated during production.

So for someone like me, who has to watch his plant budget, going to these stores is actually beneficial IF you know what you're looking at/for. These stores are a great place to find your "tried and true" standards or if you're looking for something quick and colorful, but temporary (ie annuals). But if you're looking for trees, shrubs and perennials, plants have to be closely inspected. However, even if healthy, you have to do some homework to determine if it is even appropriate for planting in our climate?? It annoys the hell out of me to see plants shipped from California in March being offered to Northwest Gardeners who often don't know any better than to see a pretty lush plant and snatch it up thinking that it's going to do everything the nursery worker says (as she sneaks glances at the incorrectly written and generic label).

Occasionally, I run across surprises and score on a few good deals. Here are a few:


Helleborus x 'Ivory Prince' is an exceptional shade perennial that typically retails for around $15-$20. These were well grown, in full bud and bloom and they had a fresh shipment come in so they were reasonably healthy and priced at less than $10 for a gallon plant! Yesssss!


This was a surprising find. Double flowered and Anemone forms (like this one) are still fairly new to the trade. I have this habit of looking at every single Helleborus x hybridus flower to see if the color and form is anything special and when I turned up the flowers on this one, my eyebrows raised. Though not the most spectacular bloom, it was still surprising to see it at Home Depot of all places.

During a recent visit, I found this lovely Clematis that I couldn't find much info on, but it sure is beautiful and FRAGRANT!! (yes, I bought two)


Labelled as Clematis 'South Cross', it is actually 'Southern Cross'. At first, I thought it was a selection of C. armandii, the evergreen sweet autumn clematis, but based on the very little information out there on this variety, it says that it's more shrub like, blooms in early spring and may not be reliably hardy. So, we'll see. I'll take careful note this season!

So there you go, doesn't hurt to peak and check out the garden section when you're at your local Lowe's, McLendon's, or Home Depot. You might just find a special lil' treasure or save a few bucks on your basic plant needs.

R