University of Vermont Extension
Department of Plant and Soil Science
Winter News
Article
SHOPPING FOR PLANTS AND
SEEDS
Dr. Leonard P. Perry
Extension Professor
University of Vermont
One of my favorite means of getting
through a long winter is to start this coming year's gardening by
looking
through catalogs, books, and shopping online.
Several considerations when shopping early for plants and seeds will
make the process fun and less overwhelming.
You'll end up with more garden successes this season, and fewer
disappointments.
Whether ordering plants or seeds,
keep in mind they will seldom look as spectacular in your garden as
they do in
the catalogs. Thanks to photo
technology, just as with models, plant photos are often
"enhanced". Plus, they are
usually taken under ideal conditions or at professional display
gardens. The printing process, if not done properly,
may alter colors somewhat. Consider the
photos as a useful guide, just don't despair if your plants aren't
quite the
colors shown, and the plants aren't as tall or wide, nor the flowers
quite as
large. I often find this the case in my
North Country gardens where the light isn't as bright, nor are my beds
as ideal
and fertile as those where those "model plants" were photographed.
Another warning for both plants and
seeds is to only order what you can manage to plant and care for.
Remember, you don't just plant and walk away
until bloom or harvest time. The more
you plant, the more time will be needed for watering, weeding, and
other
care.
Speaking from experience, it is too
easy during a long winter to end up ordering a bit here and a bit
there. The final result is way more plants and
seedlings than you have time to plant and care
for, or even space for. I try to figure
just where plants will go in my gardens when ordering. Of course
all may not germinate, or be
available, but you can always buy others later to fill in.
Chances are you'll end up seeing some plants
this season you "must" have, and having a few extra spaces in beds or
the garden for these unplanned purchases is always handy.
Especially with seeds, order only
enough for your needs. Otherwise, you
will be faced with entirely too many plants or with storing the unused
seeds. Ordering just what you can use
and handle is one of the toughest problems most gardeners face this
time of
year, as seeds are so much easier to get too many of than plants.
But, if so, at least you can store leftovers
of most seeds for a year or more under cool and dry conditions ( a jar
in the
refrigerator works well).
When ordering seeds, first figure
how many plants you'll need. Then
consult the catalog description to find the percent germination, and
how many
seeds per packet. The germination is
important, since if the packet has enough seeds, but the germination is
low,
you'll want to order more. Some packets
such as geraniums may only contain 5 seeds, as they are quite choice
and harder
to produce. Others may contain hundreds
of seeds and be enough for several years!
Choose varieties that will bear
fruit or flowers in our short northern growing season. This is
especially important for vegetables,
such as tomatoes or corn. Days until
harvest are usually given in the descriptions.
For instance if your growing season is about 90 days, and you pick a
variety that takes 120 days to bear fruit, you may be out of luck!
When ordering seeds, consider the
All-America Selections. These are new
introductions that have been judged best by horticulture professionals
nationwide. These selections are one
reason to start your own plants, as many are quite good, and can't be
found at
many garden stores or even greenhouses.
You can learn more about this program online
(www.all-americaselections.org).
There are many new annual plants,
often called "specialty annuals", grown from cuttings rather than
seeds. You can read about these in
catalogs and online, but an increasing number are available
at local garden outlets so you may wish to plan now but buy locally
this
spring.
Catalogs and online websites also
may be used for ordering plants that arrive in the mail later in the
spring. This is a good way to find many
new and unusual perennial plants that may not be available
locally. This is especially true if you are interested
in a certain genus, group, or niche of plants such as hostas or aquatic
plants. If you have some complete garden
centers and specialty nurseries in your area, you may wish to check
their
listings first before ordering from catalogs.
More than once I have found and ordered a prized plant in a catalog,
only to find it later cheaper locally, and without having to pay
shipping!
When ordering plants there are
several important points to remember.
Order from reliable sources in order to get good value and plants that
are shipped properly. Such sources are
ones you may have used before, or heard recommended by friends and
neighbors.
Beware of inexpensive plants. Price is
often a good indication of quality and lower prices often reflect poor
quality. These plants seldom resemble
those in the catalog, and they often die.
Finally, with perennial plants
make sure and check their hardiness. Hardiness zones are often quite
variable
among catalogs, so look at several for a particular plant. Then take an
average
or use the more conservative (warmer) zone figures if you want to be
more
assured of a plant surviving.
Return to
Perry's Perennial
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