Why plants come to Garden Centres

  Why plants come to Garden Centres 
  Originally uploaded by AtWaG

Are you one of those people who doesn't really make a distinction between Nurseries and Garden Centres? If you are thinking of buying plants this spring (N hemisphere) and want to get value for money then it's worth getting the difference clear in your mind.

Plants go to Nurseries to grow - Plants go to Garden Centres to die.

The Nursery environment is optimised for plants. Nurseries can be uncomfortable places for people because every effort is made to ensure the plants there thrive. Nursery staff wear Oilskins, Chemical suits, Leggings, Aspirators, Heavy boots, Thick gloves and at the height of summer almost nothing! Nursery people 'suffer' for the sake of their plants.

More and more these days Garden Centres are optimised for People (customers) and it's the plants that have to fit in and that means as soon as they leave the nursery they are on a road that leads to death - unless you buy them - the sooner the better!
Firstly most plants have to endure a period of being on stacked transport trolley shelves for as much as three days if they are traveling long distance from Nursery to Garden Centre. In transport the poor old plants have to endure light levels way below that which they basked in on the nursery and often they arrive at their destination gasping for water too.
Lucky plants get merchandised as soon as they arrive but often the trollies get parked up in a yard, waiting for space on the shop display units or for staff to be available to get them on sale. Once displayed on sale it's not a bed of roses for the plants because Garden Centre staff priority is to tend customers whereas Nursery staff priority is to tend plants. Sadly plants in some Garden Centres don't get the best growing environment or care and so begin a slow decline and if they don't sell they end up as compost.

So why do most Garden Centres have plants that look so good?

It's because they have the cream of the Nursery crops. A typical Garden Centre will buy from ten, maybe twenty different nurseries and their best plants will be gathered together for display for you the customer. The impact won't be diluted by young crops, or those that have just been pruned or those that have just finished flowering. The selection of the best plants has been done for the customers and the display can be impressive. But remember, these gorgeous plants are already doomed - unless you buy them - so take care when picking plants at Garden Centres and get to know the tell tale signs of plants that aren't worth your hard earned cash. Look out for signs of rotting leaves, wilting, damage due to tight spacing and make sure that plants in flower have plenty of buds left to come. If you see plants being picked over (dead-headed and cleaned of rotting leaves) by staff avoid them (the plants that is) they won't be good value unless reduced in price.

Garden Centres are a good place to buy plants even so, just be aware that fresh is best and fresh local even better. Deliveries come in towards the end of the week so the best freshest plants are to be had Fridays and Saturday mornings.

Retail nurseries are great places to shop for plants but you'll spend longer searching for the best plants and the range of seasonal plants won't generally be as good.

Busy people shop at Garden Centres and will get good value as long as they pick up the plants that have hardly begun the road to ruin.

Comments

[Melanie]

This is true here where I live also (Long Island New York). Luckily many plant farms are about an hour east of us on the island and we can drive out there and get freshly potted perennials. With the higher cost of gas we have to try to do our shopping all together but at least the plant material is worth the planning effort.