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05-01-2022 07:09 PM
I live in the pacific northwest and typically you want to wait until Mother's Day weekend to plant annuals. I decided to take a risk and purchased a few geraniums (at Costco), alyssum and purple salvia at Fred Myer's garden center. Everything puchased, about 150 plants are planted. Also sprinkled some Irish Spring soap around some of the plants in an effort to keep the rabbits away. Crossing fingers this works.
The prices at Costco only went up a bit for the geraniums but at the garden centers at Home Depot, Lowes and Fred Myers the prices have doubled and tripled from last year. What cost 69 cents last year is offered at $1.99 and $2.49 for 6 inch pots...just the regual annuals, not event the more expensive ones, like Proven Winners. I purchased some 9 packs offerings that reduced the unit cost to around 65 cents (used to be about 35 cents a plant in the 9 packs).
The cost increases means I will be changing up how and what I plant. No more overstuffing the planters. I'm going to do a lot of pots this year w/ just one type of plant. No more thriller, spiller and filler planting for every pot. Sigh.
How are the rest of you handling the price increases on flowers and veggie starts?
05-01-2022 07:31 PM
I have a big garden and a few years ago I started taking it to be mostly perennials, shrubs, and trees. This wasn't a cost move, but age action for an aging achy gardener. Given perennials' ability to multiply, increase in size, and spread every year, there is less room on the ground for annuals now. The containers are all annuals, but that isn't too bad. With the price increases for plants and garden supplies, the plan comes across as more ingenious than when it was originally implemented.
Good luck to all the gardeners this year. May your plants be beautiful and your fruit and vegetables delicious.
05-01-2022 07:39 PM
I'm recycling more than ever - re-using pots from last year, transplanting from existing plants and getting cuts from other family members. Using more succulents and ornamental cactus than ever. I have window boxes and for the first time I'm not totally using new potting soil but buying the cheapest and mixing with the old. Trying seeds again. I picked up petunias and couple of other pops of color but I'm splitting them a lot. Time will tell...
Good luck and good growing !!
05-01-2022 08:07 PM - edited 05-01-2022 08:08 PM
We live in the PNW too (dry side) and we're planning on direct-seeding zinnias, etc. in many of our pots to cut back on those spendy annuals. I'll still buy plants though... it's a terrible weakness! I've also been adding perennials thru the years, trying to out-maneuver the deer.
05-01-2022 08:23 PM
@WRXtoo Good luck fending off the deer. The only plant I know off the top of my head that they don't like is sage. It is a perennial. The one we plant in New Mexico is Russian Sage. I do know from experience they love petunias. They can plow through a bed of those in record time. I seem to remember they don't like marigolds. We planted the dwarf marigolds in a gold color, and they were beautiful. We have been asked to use no water for landscaping in New Mexico because of the drought, so it has been quite some time since we tried the marigolds. The sage is hearty and can handle dry conditions.
05-01-2022 08:57 PM
05-01-2022 10:06 PM
Yesterday I spent $150 on plants at HD. That's only half of what I usually buy. I was surprised at the prices as well. A 4 inch pot tomato plant is $5. A pot with four 4 inch trailing petunias is $10. Other plants that were $6 last year are now $8. Next week I'll go to a nearby nursery. I plant perrenials sometimes hoping they will come back up but I don't have much luck with them. Our soil is hard clay. I do have many iris that do well.
My flower beds are a huge amount of work this year. Some tall grass has gotten into the beds and took over. I've had to dig everything out, turn over the soil to get the grass out, I added manure/compost to the soil, and replanted. I have 3 more to do. The feral cats in the flower beds presents another issue.
05-02-2022 08:53 AM
Two years ago, the resident rabbit decided to expand her diet to the hosta plants close to the house. Decided to salvage what was not eaten and allow the new growth a chance to survive.
Found and used the plant center's recommendation: Plantskydd. It was under $20 but it definitely worked. You do need to rinse the spray device so the product doesn't clog afterward. I still have considerable product left and use it each year.
( Pardon the photo placement....this iPad seems to have a mind of its own today ! )
05-02-2022 08:43 PM
@On It I agree about Russian sage. We grow it here and the deer won't touch it. It also self-seeds for us and mostly that's a bonus (I pull it when one pops up where I don't want it). The other plants they leave alone are the lavenders and hyssop. Those deer... I have very few charitable thoughts for them. Good luck with all the critters!
05-03-2022 09:20 AM
Plant prices started to skyrocket in 2018. And it's only going to get worse. In 2017 you could easily find four and six-packs for under $1 locally. In 2018 they were $1.49 and up. They keep going up every year. Last year I was paying closer to $3 per pack. With rising energy prices, the cost to heat greenhouses will rise and prices will go even higher. Seed prices have gone up also, but not as much as the plants. I try to grow almost everything from seed these days to keep costs contained.
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