Purchasing Online versus Local Plants

16 years ago

Hi Everyone,

I am researching the above topic and I was wondering if anyone in the forum would mind giving me their input by answering the following 8 general questions.

1. Do you believe you get the same quality of plants online as you do locally?

2. Where do you get a better selection Â and why?

3. Have you ever purchased from one of the following:

Gurneys, Nature Hills, Spring Hill Nursery, Park Seed, Flower World USA, Molbaks, or Home Depot?

4. If so what was your experience?

5. Would you purchase from them again?

6. Overall, do you have a preference between online or local for purchasing your plants; and if so, why?

7. Do you go to one place for all your plants, or do you go to different places depending on what you are looking for?

8. Do you have a favorite online source, if so what is it Â and what makes it stand out so that it has become your favorite?

Thank you for the time youÂve taken to help me with this project for my English class.

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Comments (3)

marlingardener
16 years ago
Glad to be of help. Good luck with your project.
1.Generally, the plants we buy locally are bigger and more adapted to our climate--a big consideration in Texas.
2.Of course there is a better selection on-line. No nursery can carry the hundreds of plants available on-line, nor should they.
3. I have bought from Gurney's, Spring Hill, and Home Depot.
4.I was dissatisfied with Gurney's--plants arrived in poor condition and some didn't survive. I haven't ordered plants from them for several years. Spring Hill was all right--haven't ordered recently because I have found better alternatives. Home Depot I only buy plants that I know. Customers pick up a tag, read it and stick it in the wrong container, and the staff is not knowledgeable about plants.
5. From Home Depot, yes. Not from Guerney's nor Spring Hill.
6. I prefer local. The money stays in the community, the plants are adapted to the Texas climate, the nursery staff are usually knowledgeable about the plants they sell, and if I have a question later, I know who to call.
7. If a place has a plant, I'll stop and probably buy it! I shop all over three counties and have a favorite rose nursery and a favorite tree supplier.
8.No favorite for plants, although I love PineTree Seeds because they offer a great variety of seeds in amounts handy for the home gardener, and also have a very informative web site.
mekales
16 years ago
I've replied to several of this same question... I think in general we are SO wow'd by the pretty pictures in on-line and paper catalogs, that we become over enthusiastic about buying "sight unseen".
1. I've rarely received plants via the mailbox that compare with those offered by local growers!
2. The selection offered in the local greenhouses are the plants that they know grow well in your local climate. The cataloga are vague and general when giving hardiness and growth conditions. They don't care that the plant USUALLY dies in zone 5 - and there is no official control of these hardiness numbers. Micro-climate also dictates the actual hardiness as well.
3. See above - and if you buy NEW deliveries at the Big-Box stores, you may be in good shape. The problem lies in that they don't "care" about the plants they sell... JUST SELL AS MANY AS YOU CAN! (I worked for a big-box) - the point is that they dont' care about fugus-fly or white fly infestations and if the plants are in their yard for more than a day or two, they are stressed and usually mass soaked or not watered at all. When they look bad, they just dispose of them!
4. Yes, miserable poor little stressed out plants! Again, a great point for a locally owned businesses. They take pride in what they are selling being tagged correctly and that the plants are properly tended daily!
5. Never wasting money on mailbox orders again!
6. 1-5 abaove!!!
7. Once I had built a relationship with my local greenhouse, I was able to learn their ordering process. I tell them what I'm looking for, they watch their availability lists and can usually find what I am looking for. Sometimes it may take a couple of weeks because their growers are not offering something specific, but I've been able to find 99% through them. Agian, they know I'm a good customer and that I LOVE my plants!
8. I've come to use on-line as only a resource. If I find something I WANT (never NEED any of it!) I talk to Brenda or Jim at the local greenhouse and they can tell me the pros and cons to the plant - and ususally find it if I can't live without it! They LOVE the plants they sell - they LOVE that I LOVE the plants they sell! It's not just another flat or another pot of merchanidse to them like it is at Big-Box or mailbox businesses.
I hope everyone can find a local independent greenhouse like we have here in Bedford, MI We are lucky! I guess not everyone has this kind of business in there area! Go find one! It's worth it!
Happy Gardening!
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hairmetal4ever
15 years ago
Most local nurseries are touch and go - you can have excellent quality stock or very poor or anywhere in between, and this is whether you're talking a mom and pop or a Home Depot.

The biggest negative to buying locally is you almost always have trouble finding a tree that's not a Callery Pear, Japanese Maple, or Red Delicious apple - in other words, selection.

That's where I venture online.