Garden

[StylishLady]

No noticeable price increases here. Even The Home Depot had red mulch on sale for $2 a bag.

[mousiegirl]

I have been shopping on line for a month for Hostas, Irises, roses, and perennials. Not only is there a ton more variety than at the garden center, the plants are less expensive.

[Sweetbay magnolia]

On 4/2/2015 phoenixbrd said:

Spent $114 today....I bought two double delight rose bushes (my fav) that was $40 - 20 each...bought several herbs and a tomato plant, humming bird feeder, and a couple of cleaning products.

Love Double Delight! 4th of July (climber) is another - if Gardenman would kindly plant some of his lobelia with it we'd have a very nice red/white/blue planting.

I haven't been out in the nurseries yet but no industry is immune to price pressures.

I'm planning oak leaf hydrangea on the shady side of the house and I have a hankering for a sweet autumn clematis on a portion of fence (I know, I know - could be considered invasive). Must haves every year are geraniums in pots. There's an old Mom and Pop shop in my area that always has an entire greenhouse of them - heaven.

[JeanLouiseFinch]

I stopped by two Home Depots yesterday, hardly anything is out yet.

[gardenman]

Nationally there's been a lot of consolidation in the nursery business on both the mail order/online and retail sides. The little Mom and Pop nurseries/mail order companies are largely gone.

Automation on a massive scale now takes place at commercial growers. Seeds get started in plug trays and then transplanted into sale packs all through automation. In many cases the trays/pots are even moved by robots lessening the labor costs. Growers spend millions on their automated systems and consumers end up bearing a good portion of that cost. In theory the automated systems reduce plant production costs, but those costs are then offset by the increased transportation costs of getting the plants from the wholesale growers (now even some in China) to the consumer.

Nearly all of our local greenhouses are now gone.They just can't compete with the big guys and when they go, there's nothing to stop the big suppliers from charging whatever they want.

[gonnab]

I was amazed yesterday that our local supermarket, which normally has tons of potted plants available, had nothing. And it's Easter weekend - a time when people traditionally get potted tulips, daffodils, etc. They did have some Easter lilies inside the store. Must be our harsh winter has delayed growth. We still have plenty of snow here in CT although it is melting.

[wildcat fan]

Now that I think about it, I believe our Home Depot and Lowe's have been affected by the bankruptcy of Stacy's Greenhouse which was a major supplier for them. That has probably had an impact on prices and definitely on selection. I used to see Stacy's plants in stores all across the south.

[wildcat fan]

On 4/3/2015 JeanLouiseFinch said:

I stopped by two Home Depots yesterday, hardly anything is out yet.

It's probably on the way! Our Home Depot was full. They even closed part of the parking lot to display trees and shrubs. Inside, they had an Easter lily/potted plant display that stretched from the front of the store to the back of the store right down the middle of the aisle.

[YorkieonmyPillow]

I'm waiting until all this rain stops..............

[joannecha]

Here in West Michigan, the snow is gone, and it's time to rake the yard & plan this year's veggie/herb garden. I agree w/other comments that there are fewer smaller greenhouse/landscape businesses open than in the past. We start our veggies mostly from seed & purchase online from a Michigan business (Annie's Heirloom Seeds). Usually get any potting soil/containers that we need from Menards, Lowes, or the local dollar store. We did make a trip last week to a larger local greenhouse for stakes for our tomato plants that were started inside in February along w/some new gloves, etc. They are always running sales, but the big sales are yet to come for most places. We do need to till in some soil amendments this spring, as our soil in this county is largely sand, so that will probably be our big purchase this spring. Happy gardening to all of you.