Plottings: Your Garden Now

Plant buying tips

With so much colour and choice, plant centres are full temptation in May. Here are some tips on how to buy plants that will perform well in your garden in the long term.

  1. Before your visit, think about the areas of your garden you will be planting and what you would like to see there, and perhaps do some online research.
  2. If you are uncertain about the suitability of a plant for your soil/situation, read labels carefully and if still unsure, ask staff for advice & recommendations.
  3. If you have large areas to plant, consider buying small plants – remember they grow! Or choose plants suitable for division, and you can fill large areas within a year or two.
  4. Don’t be afraid to gently slide the plant out of its pot so you can check the roots. There should be healthy roots visible; some circling is ok (you can gently tease them out before planting) but avoid plants with such a solid mass of root that no compost is visible.
  5. Look for plants bearing the cup symbol of the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM). These plants have all been rigorously tested for hardiness and pest and disease resistance.
  6. If you could benefit from advice as to which plants are suitable for different areas of your garden, always ask staff, who will be more than happy to help. All Plant Centre staff are knowledgeable, but if you want to be sure of expert help, call us before your visit, and find out which days our Horticulturalist, Tanya will be here ... she is an absolute mine of information as well as being lovely – if we could have her 7/7 we would!

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