Buy your plants at the best moment
Although you may be tempted to buy your end of March pelargoniums or your Spring bulbs in the January sales, you should ask yourself if this is the right time to buy. To give your plants the best chance of succeeding you should buy them at the best time.
Beware of out of season sales ! When the good weather comes, don't be tempted by what's on the shelves in the garden centres, which are already filled with annuals in flower taken straight from the greenhouses.
The good time to buy:
- Spring flowering bulbs : at the beginning of Autumn.
- Summer flowering bulbs : at the beginning of Spring.
- Annuals or perenials grown like annuals : from the end of April to June, as soon as the risk of frost is over.
- Shrubs in pots : outside Summer and frosty periods.
- Trees and rosebushes with exposed roots : from November to February, before vegetation starts again.
Ecological considerations
Plants sold out of season are more often plants which are imported or which have been produced in heated greenhouses. Ecologically speaking, you should ask yourself how much carbon was used in this type of production (transport distance or use of a fossil fuel for growing). On top of this, their growing conditions are much different from yours, which minimises their chances of success.