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How to Purchase Plants

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Have you ever gone to purchase plants only to be overwhelmed at the large number available? Garden centers provide many flowers, plants, shrubs, grasses and other foliage for your landscaping needs. However, many beginning gardeners are intimidated by the vast selection and don't know how to buy plants. Here are some things to keep in mind as you buy plants and houseplants.

Purchase plants that are not wilting and do not have yellow or brown leaves. If flowers, plants or greenery has only one or two yellow leaves, it is probably acceptable to purchase, but always select the healthiest greenest plant available.
Buy plants with damp soil. Even if a plant looks ok, dry soil may mean that it hasn't been watered in a while. It may be on the brink of dying, but you won't know for several days.
Go to garden centers that offer a money back guarantee. Some garden centers provide refunds or exchanges if a plant dies within a certain time frame.
Purchase flowering plants that have many buds as opposed to many blooms. The flowers on a plant will sometimes wilt slightly after you transplant them to the ground or a new container at your home. Buy plants with many buds so that this wilting doesn't occur. In addition, plants with buds are earlier in their growing cycle, which means they will last longer than plants that have already flowered.
Read the label on each plant to determine the amount of sunlight, water needs and cold hardiness of plants. These three factors are the most important things to keeping a plant alive and healthy. Don't place a plant in direct sunlight if it prefers shade; it will die. This applies to house plants as well.
Another important item in determining which plants to buy is found on the plant tag. This is the height and width of a full grown plant. This information is especially important when purchasing small, young plants and seedlings. Keep this size in mind and don't purchase a small shrub that will eventually grow to crowd out surrounding plants.
Decide on which types of plants to purchase: annuals or perennials. Annuals live for one growing season and then die. Perennials grow back year after year although they may appear to die during the winter months. Note that this is dependent on the plant's cold hardiness and the zone in which you live. If you live in a warm southern state, annuals may actually grow year after year because it never gets cold enough to kill them.

Following these guidelines when deciding to purchase plants will ensure they are healthy and will thrive one you plant them.