How to Buy Healthy Trees and Shrubs: A Nursery Inspection Guide

Spring nursery fever is real. But buying on impulse — or price alone — risks planting problems that last years. Learn to read a plant's health before you buy.

Missouri Botanical Garden

Know the Lingo

Tree Types

• Conifers: Needled, cone-bearing, wind-pollinated (firs, pines, hemlocks)
• Broad-leaved: Leaves, not needles; insect/bird-pollinated flowers
• Deciduous: Lose leaves/needles in winter (e.g., bald cypress — a deciduous conifer)
• Evergreen: Foliage year-round (e.g., southern magnolia — broad-leaved evergreen)

Billinkoff Architecture PLLC

Sizing & Availability

• Caliper: Trunk diameter — for single-trunk shade trees (e.g., 3" caliper littleleaf linden)
• Height: For multi-stem trees, shrubs, low-branched conifers
• Container size: Soil volume (1–100 gal). Large containers common in warm climates; cold climates favor field-grown B&B.

Same species may come in different forms — e.g., southern magnolia as height (multi-stem) or caliper (single-trunk).

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Packaging Types

• Bare-root: Roots exposed, wrapped in plastic/burlap. Early spring only. Economical for saplings, mass planting. Limited species/sizes. Tap-rooted species transplant better bare-root.
• Container-grown: Most retail availability. Risk: root-bound (large roots circling pot). Minor circling = normal. Major circling = diminished root structure — avoid unless you'll root-prune.
• Balled-and-burlapped (B&B): Field-dug, root ball wrapped in burlap/twine/wire basket. Robust, season-long availability. Great for large specimens.

Falon Land Studio LLC — bare-root

Container-grown root binding example

Falon Land Studio LLC — B&B

Nursery Inspection Checklist

Pull candidates aside. Check:

• Strong form: No canopy gaps, asymmetry. Single-trunk = one leader. Multi-stem = full, no crossing branches.
• Healthy foliage: Uniform color/shape, no major insect/wind damage.
• No pests/disease: Avoid mildew, fungus, suspicious bugs. Beneficials (ladybugs, lacewings, some caterpillars) = fine.

Elise Landscapes & Nursery, LLC

Buying Multiples? Match Uniformity

Allées, hedges, grids demand uniform stature, growth, structure. Cherry tree allée success hinges on this.

Urbanism Designs

Want a Specimen? Embrace Difference

One sculptural tree — twisted Japanese maple, curving palm — breaks the mold beautifully. Distinct form/color = focal point.

Vinci | Hamp Architects — two Japanese maple cultivars, distinct forms & colors

What Drives Price

• Age/size: Small/young = cheaper, less transplant shock, DIY-friendly. Large/mature = expensive, pro install often needed, instant impact.
• Species/stock: Slow-growing, hard-to-propagate, special cultivars = premium. Fast-growing, weedy, potentially invasive = cheap.
• Timing/availability: Spring = peak supply. Native demand now exceeds nursery capacity → scarcity/higher prices.