Nursery owner Flora Grubb singled out for shine.yahoo.com the ten most common mistakes when buying plants. She also offered a solution to avoid them, writes Net.hr.
1. Buying only flowers, without thinking about leaves
Every plant looks beautiful while it’s in bloom, but you should think about how your garden will look the rest of the year. You should take into account what kind of leaves it has, and give opportunities to decorative bushes and grasses that look interesting.
2. Buying an insufficient amount of one variety
“If you take one or two jars of each type of plant, you’re on the right track to make your garden look ‘chunky,'” says Flora. She advises that it’s important to get at least three pots of the same variety to get a unique, well-designed garden look.
3. Buying a sick plant
Leaves can tell you a lot about a plant’s health, so avoid buying plants with brown, yellow or wilted leaves, which can be a sign of poor health or neglect. At the same time, check whether the plants have pests on them. Look for plants with lush, brightly colored foliage.
4. Choosing flowers in full bloom
Don’t be fooled by jars full of blooming flowers. Instead, look for budding plants that will peak in bloom in your garden.
5. Choosing plants with poor roots
Make sure that the roots are not tangled, which you can see if they come out at the bottom of the container, because such roots can ‘suffocate’ the plant and prevent it from reaching nutrients. Also, make sure that the roots are not underdeveloped.
6. Ignoring declarations
In addition to the fact that the declarations contain important information about the plants, such as how much water and light the plant needs, they also contain information about how much the plant will grow. It is a very common mistake to plant tall plants in the first row and dwarf plants in the back of the garden.
7. You don’t know the dimensions of your garden
It would be helpful to bring a photo of the garden so the nursery staff can help you buy the right number of plants, choose the right size and find colors that go well together.
8. You don’t plan the color combination
Although all plant colors can be beautiful, not all of them look beautiful in combination. It would be best if you pick one scheme and stick to it.
9. You waited too long to plant plants in the garden
Try to plant the plants in the ground as soon as you get them home, but if you have to delay planting, put them in the shade or in a shady area where they won’t dry out and plant them as soon as possible.
10. You try to do everything yourself
Seek expert advice, nursery staff can help you a lot because they know what works best in your area.