The Case for Buying Younger, Smaller Plants
Less mature plants are more economical, are easier to plant and often grow more quickly
If you’ve been to a plant nursery lately, you’ve probably seen plenty of grasses and flowers growing in 1-gallon containers. It’s the most commonly available size for containerized perennials at most nurseries.
But before you pick up a bunch of gallon containers for your garden this year, consider starting with younger, smaller plants — either in 3-inch pots or as plugs in a tray. You’ll quickly see benefits in your garden, including quicker establishment, healthier specimens and a maximized budget. Read on to learn why young plants can be key to a successful garden.
But before you pick up a bunch of gallon containers for your garden this year, consider starting with younger, smaller plants — either in 3-inch pots or as plugs in a tray. You’ll quickly see benefits in your garden, including quicker establishment, healthier specimens and a maximized budget. Read on to learn why young plants can be key to a successful garden.
2. They’ll compete against weeds better. If you go the route of purchasing more plugs or small pots instead of one or two larger plants, you can plant the garden more thickly, as you’d see in nature. This tight-knit community of young plants will establish in the space more quickly than more mature plants, competing against weeds sooner while shading the soil and conserving moisture within it.
Think how this strategy is especially important if you just ripped out your lawn to make way for a garden. Another benefit to having more plants? An even more stunning garden.
Think how this strategy is especially important if you just ripped out your lawn to make way for a garden. Another benefit to having more plants? An even more stunning garden.
3. They’ll establish quickly. Younger plants are in an aggressive stage of growth, putting out as many roots as they can. This means they will generally grow up sooner than a larger, older plant, which has already put on that root growth in a pot — this is why you often see so much root circling in those larger pots.
Since the plants are growing quickly underground, you can expect that in the same season or next they’ll put on a healthy amount of top growth — further covering the soil and helping the garden look more established sooner.
Tip: If you are planting a flower that takes longer to mature, you might want to buy a year-old specimen in a larger container so it keeps pace with your other younger, newer plants.
Since the plants are growing quickly underground, you can expect that in the same season or next they’ll put on a healthy amount of top growth — further covering the soil and helping the garden look more established sooner.
Tip: If you are planting a flower that takes longer to mature, you might want to buy a year-old specimen in a larger container so it keeps pace with your other younger, newer plants.
4. This works for woody plants too. While this article has mostly been about grasses, sedges and flowers, the same rule often applies to shrubs and trees. Smaller plants benefit from getting accustomed to your soil and site sooner than those in larger pots. Imagine how helpful that would be for a tree that commonly comes in a 10- to 20-gallon pot, root bound and pampered.
I once bought a $200 tree with a 1½-inch-caliper trunk (trunk diameter) and a $10 sapling that was about 2 to 3 feet tall at the same time. It’s been about seven years, and both trees have the same height and trunk caliper.
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I once bought a $200 tree with a 1½-inch-caliper trunk (trunk diameter) and a $10 sapling that was about 2 to 3 feet tall at the same time. It’s been about seven years, and both trees have the same height and trunk caliper.
More
How to Find the Right Native Plants for Your Yard
How to Have Your Own Mini Wildflower Meadow in the City
Find a landscape designer on Houzz
For the price of one larger plant, you can often get anywhere from three to 15 smaller plants — either in 3-inch pots or as plugs in a tray (young plants, only a few months old at most). Plugs are where the savings are, and a growing number of retailers and wholesalers are making available to homeowners what once was offered only to professional landscapers.
Plugs often come in trays of 32, 50 or 72 plants. Their small size makes them easier to plant, especially if you have clay soil, as you only need to dig a small hole. Researching smaller, local nurseries as well as mail-order growers should be your first step in maximizing your budget.