Shopping for Plants at Big Box Stores: What Gardeners Should Know

I'd searched every nursery and garden center within 40 miles for a specific petunia without success—then found it at Lowe's!

Big box stores sometimes offer unexpected treasures at reasonable prices. If plants are healthy, common annuals are a safe bet. Perennials can be trickier, as can lesser-known annuals. Being an informed shopper pays off.

Know the Limits

Know your hardiness zone. Scrutinize perennial tags at big box stores. If you garden in zone 5 and the tag says hardy only to zone 6, don't buy it unless you're experienced with microclimates. I've found azaleas, coreopsis, hibiscus, salvia, and penstemon varieties sold in zones 4 and 5 with labels indicating they're not hardy there.

Other considerations exist. Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery puts it well from his newsletter:

I always check other retailers, especially box stores, to see what they offer. This spring, 50% of their perennial offerings weren't adapted to our climate. As usual, I found both good and bad. Delphiniums shouldn't be sold in our part of North Carolina in late May—even as annuals. Same for fuchsias unless heat-tolerant types, which these weren't. In ornamental grasses, annual varieties were mixed with perennials. Only reading the fine print on tags reveals certain plants can't drop below 30°F. They had a nice display of Colocasia 'Black Magic'—which was actually Colocasia 'Burgundy Stem' with a leaf that never turns black. They did have great vegetables. As always: shop with folks you trust or be a vigilant consumer.

One pet peeve: overuse of growth regulators to make retail plants look like something they're not. While growth regulators have a place in production as labor-savers, they're often used to misrepresent plant performance. Growers selling to garden centers and box stores must keep plants at certain heights to fit shipping racks and look nice in displays. Most growth regulators wear off later, but check tags for mature height to see if the plant truly fits your needs. A recent conversation from nurseryman Lloyd Traven:

Conversation at Lilytopia among 10,000 stems of incredible Oriental lilies, many with 12 flowers each a foot across, 4+ feet tall: "What growth regulator can I use to get these under 18" tall, including pot?" Response from bulb breeder: "WHY would you want that? Flowers will shrink to 5", won't last, and customers will think they're short varieties." Blank stare from box store grower: "I need to fit these on a shipping rack, 3 layers minimum, all same height, size, and bloom stage." "Maybe you should look for another product to force into a mold. We worked hard to make these magnificent, and you will make them ordinary."

Reading plant labels at any store is crucial—especially at big box stores. At a well-regarded local nursery, you have knowledgeable staff. That's usually not the case at big box stores.

Finally—true wherever you shop—flowering perennials have limited bloom periods. If already in bloom (most are for sales), you may get little bloom time in your garden. If a perennial naturally blooms for weeks in summer but you buy it blooming in spring, flowers will be gone by summer.

Being a knowledgeable gardener is the key to becoming a more successful gardener.

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Endnote: The author's photo of Supertunia 'Raspberry Blast' above was taken in his garden after finding it at Lowe's.