Kim (aka blackswampgirl) over at A Study in Contrasts recently wrote about ordering plants from Plant Delights Nursery. I have love the plants I’ve purchased from PDN. But I had some advice for her that I will also share (slightly edited) here:
I started reading the PDN catalog in the laundromat Saturday. (Our dryer is down. Can’t help but think how many plants I could buy for what it will cost to replace it.) Two pieces of PDN advice:
First, set yourself a budget before you start through the catalog. You’ll have to eliminate two-thirds of what you want to come in under budget.
Second, when your plants arrive, keep in mind they’re coming out of a Carolina spring into what we call April. (Remember our Tax Day Nor’easter?)
PDN plants are about the best I’ve ever bought. They bring me to tears when I open the box. But they haven’t been happy when I’ve stuck them right into the ground.
Consider potting them up, maybe even growing them in a nice container the first year and then transplant them in the fall. At a minimum, treat them like your tomato seedlings. Put them in a cold frame. Move them in and out based on the nighttime temps.
Perennials from nurseries in a climate similar to ours don’t get any special treatment here. I usually just slap in the ground on arrival or soon thereafter and they do just fine. But with PDN plants, use a little extra care to protect your investment.
Excellent advice! I got the catalog the other day and am going to set aside time to s-l-o-w-l-y go through it and savor it.
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
Thanks for the reminder about the zone differences, Craig. It sometimes works the other way here in Austin, where plants from other states arrive later in the season than we’d like.
I ordered stuff from Plant Delights when we lived in Illinois [still have a 1992 catalog], along with warmer zoned plants once we moved to Texas. In the North I sometimes put them in temporary containers as you so wisely advised.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
This is great advice, Craig–thanks for reposting it here. I am already having trouble with the first part of this, though…. after eliminating 2/3 of my PDN wishlist, I STILL find myself over budget! *grin*