All About Home and Garden

Buying plants from grower or nurseries is an easy way to start or enhance your garden. But, you don't want to buy problems. Taking a few minutes when you are picking out your plants, can save you lots of time and money. Buying unhealthy plants can either be a waste of money because they don't survive the transplanting, or they can bring insects and disease to your garden and cause you more time and expense to treat these on all your plants. Take a few minutes and look at these 7 areas to make sure you are getting healthy plants for your garden.

1. Leaves - This is the first and easiest area to look at to tell how healthy your plant is. Look for well formed leaves, a compact bushy growth is best. Yellowing leaves can be signs of pests, disease, or nutrient deficiency. Wilted leaves could be a temporary condition, possibly stressed by lack of water, but it could also be from regular neglect from nursery staff.

2. Color - A healthy plant should have consistent color across all the leaves. Look for the proper color for the plant. Not all plants leaves are green all year round. Do some research ahead of time and compare with other plants of the same variety at the nursery. Yellow or discolored leaves can be signs of pests, root problems, fungal infections and others. Avoid plants that don't have fresh properly colored leaves.

3. Stems and Branches - Check for scars or nicks in branches or stems. This can show damaged plants that could be future sites of disease or weakness. For bushy plants, you want to see lots of short stems and lots of leaves. Plants with spindly growth are indications of poor light conditions, poor pruning, or it has outgrown its pot.

4. Roots - A healthy plant should have a good set of roots, but not too many for the current pot. Don't be afraid to look at this before buying the plant, most reputable nurseries will be glad to help you with this if you are not sure how to check. Roots should always be firm, well formed and hold the soil together. There should be a good balance of roots to soil. Too much soil and little roots, means recently repotted. Very little soil and mostly roots means the plant has outgrown its container. Either case will put increased stress on plant when it is transplanted.

5. Soil - The soil for a healthy plant should be moist. Poke your finger into the soil about 1 inch and check below the surface. If the soil is too dry or too wet, you may already have root damage. As mentioned in the roots section, you need to make sure of a good balance of roots to soil. Avoid plants that are either 25% or less soil as this is a sign of too many roots and 75% or more soil as this is a sign of too few roots.

6. Pests and diseases - Look for signs of pests or disease like chewed leaves, sticky residues, webs, or leaf distortion, spots and mushy leaves. These are all signs of stressed plants that will not transplant well, but they can also bring these bugs or diseases back to your garden.

7. Buds or Flowers - Ideally, you want to buy your plants before they start to flower. Plants expend a lot of energy to create the flowers, so transplanting them during this time will create additional stress on the plant. The best time to buy these plants is just before they start to bud, or with a few buds.

With these tips, you should be able to find strong healthy plants that will quickly adapt and be a welcome addition to your garden. If there is any doubt put it back and keep looking. This advice will save you money and time and allow you to enjoy your garden for years to come.

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