Wow! You can buy the same plant at Kartuz for less than $10 (even though it will be a smaller plant). I bought one at the Atlanta Flower show 2 years ago for $10 and it was a lot larger - at least an 8 inch pot. I have started many from leaf cuttings and given those away as well.

BTW, I'm not the winner of this auction. :-)
Linda

People do stupid things at auctions. I am speaking from experience, of course.

That's why I haven't succumbed yet! (The stupid things, that is.) I've been to live auctions and paid too much--tho' not $75! Yikes! It'd have to be something I just couldn't find anywhere else and really wanted! And I prefer smaller plants, not just to save money ('cause I don't, I just buy more plants!) but I think smaller plants adjust to new conditions better and faster, and anyway, I like to feel like I grew it myself!

Fact is, plants are the only place I know of where you can buy time. I was just looking at a catalog that came today, and they explained that the smallest size is about a year old, and the next is two years, and then three to four. And not that much more expensive. Well, except for shipping naturally.

I agree on smaller plant size especially when it comes to trees and shrubs. Not only are they a lot cheaper but they seem to grow faster. Japanese maples are a good example - a gallon size is around $15 but a 2 gallon may be $35. There is probably one year difference between these two sizes and they really grow quickly. In 5 to 7 years you could have a fine specimen (if you buy the largest size at the nursery it would probably be around $1,500 and still be smaller in the container than what you have grown). Same thing for azaleas and conifers. Now if I could just dig up my Japanese maples and native azaleas at my old house and not kill them, I would be in garden heaven or the hospital from all the digging.

I picked up a plantlet [well, it's a happy little plant now, seven months later!] from a black-leafed begonia that looks a bit like Black Taffeta, but has a slight sinus curl. Any ideas on the name?

Rh

I work in a garden center, and I'm always having to explain why certain plants cost so much, and it's usually because of availability or slow growth habit.

For instance, a 3 gallon native Florida coontie can go for anywhere from $30 to $50, while most of our 3 gallons are $10. It's because it takes 2-3 years for the plant to get that size.

I've got about a 1000 plants (minimum, too scary to actually count). If I sell all of them for 10 times what I pay I can probably afford to buy a bigger lot so that I can buy more plants. E-Bay here I come.
Nancy