Now is a great time to buy plants and trees on sale. But bargains come at a price. If you like bargains, you’ll love the late-summer/early-fall sales nurseries stage to clear out inventories.
“Fall is a fantastic planting season,” says horticulturalist David Yost of Merrifield Garden Center in Virginia. “You can find plants for a really great price.”
Buying plants and trees now, however, can be a little dicey. Some have lost their blooms, so you don’t know exactly what color you’re buying — fine if you’re adding to a naturalized landscaping plan; a design mistake if you have formal gardens.
However, if you can stand a little suspense in spring, you can save money by buying now. Here are bargains to look for.
- Azaleas and rhododendrons: They won’t have blooms, so you won’t know their exact hue, but their tags will indicate their color family.
- Tropicals: Buy hibiscus and bougainvillea now for a pittance, and nurse them through winter in a sunny place indoors. Then transplant in spring.
- Annuals: They’re cheap now because they’re not cold-hardy and will die at the first hard frost. So be aware that you’re buying a splash of color for the next few months only.
- Broken branches: Like dented cans, plants with imperfections like broken branches often are good bargains. If the plant otherwise looks healthy, buy it.
- Lost tags: Many nurseries put tagless plants on sale. You’ll be able to tell the plant family but not the species or color family. You’re buying a pig in a poke. But if you’ve got space to fill and don’t care too much about the hue, tagless can save you money.
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