Gardening Alert: Now is the Time to Shop for Deals At the Nursery!

What are you doing indoors at the computer? Now is the time to be shopping for great deals at the nursery. Gardeners should be able to find some steals at this time of year. The nurseries need to get rid of inventory to make way for fall plants and the increasingly early holiday merchandise.

The same advice holds for selecting healthy plants mid-season, as at the beginning of the season. In addition, plants at this time of year may have suffered a bit more stress. That’s why it’s better to shop at a reputable nursery. You want plants that have been watered and cared for, even at half price.

Here are some tips for buying mid-season marked down plants:

• Check the plants for resident insects and disease and die back from lack of water. These you can pass by.

• A pot with lots of weeds in it hasn’t been well cared for.

• Lanky growth and pot bound roots will correct themselves in the ground.

• Don’t be afraid to buy trees at this time of year either. Perennials and deciduous trees are going to loss their current leaves come fall anyway. So if they are growing reasonably well, they should do fine with your TLC.

• Give new plants plenty of water, but don’t feed them right away. Let the roots make themselves at home before forcing new growth.

Those of you in warmer Zones or the Southern Hemisphere are probably going to have to pay full price right now, but you’ll be getting fresh, new stock and probably new varieties we northerners are only seeing in magazines. Where ever you are, get the gardening juices flowing with a visit to the nursery.