Whether you are keen to expand your collection of garden plants, introduce fresh greenery to an apartment balcony, or add some exotic specimens to your assortment of indoor plant babies, deciding to buy plants online can be an ideal solution.
After all, while your local garden centre may have a limited selection of plants on offer, online nurseries can have hundreds of different plant species to choose from, divided into helpful categories so you can pick and mix.
However, before you start filling your virtual basket full of foliage, there are some important tips and techniques to take on board that will help your plant-buying quest. Follow this advice and not only will you improve your chances of buying the right plants online, but you will also know exactly what to do to keep them thriving once they arrive!
Choose a trusted online seller
The most important thing to do when you buy plants online is to find a reputable and trusted seller, ideally with years of experience in providing customers with healthy plants. Tried-and-tested companies such as Plants2Gardens provide a wide range of plants that can be packaged and dispatched quickly and will also offer expert advice to help you care for your orders.
A good way to check whether an online seller is trustworthy or not is to search for independent customer reviews – on Trustpilot, for example. Plenty of positive reviews indicate you are in good hands; an assortment of complaints, on the other hand, should prompt you to steer clear and look elsewhere.
Make your selections with care
Anyone who has spent any time caring for plants – whether in the garden or indoors – will know how important it is to give each type of plant the unique care it needs. What suits a sun-loving perennial won’t suit a shade-loving shrub.
When you spend time and money ordering plants online, you want to know they will have a good chance of flourishing once they reach you. To help improve their chances, it’s a good idea to do some research on the kinds of plants you’re interested in, to be sure that you can give them the environment they require. When ordering garden plants, also be aware of the season in which you’re ordering them.
Another tip to bear in mind is that some plants are hardier than others, and therefore more likely to cope with being transported across the country. These include the likes of perennials and bare-rooted trees such as apple or pear trees. Of course, if you buy seeds, you don’t need to worry about transportation stresses.
Keep your plant in quarantine when it arrives
Once your exciting shipment has arrived, it’s recommended that you keep them away from your other plants for at least the first week or two, even if each specimen looks healthy.
Some mail-order plants may come with more than just a clump of compost attached, and you don’t want to introduce any little pests or diseases to your existing garden or house plants. Learn to identify any pests just in case, and work to irradicate them quickly.
Last but not least – follow the instructions!
This may sound obvious, but if your online plants come with a set of instructions, it’s best to follow them as closely as possible – whether that’s advice on watering upon arrival, what fertiliser to use, and if they need hardening off.
Following this practical advice will help to improve the chances that your new plant babies not only survive but thrive in their new home.