Where to find Shrubs and Hydrangeas at a more reasonable price

[Anonymous]

Is there a nursery within 2 hours driving distance from the DMV that has cheaper prices on hydrangeas and shrubs. We are doing landscape project for our backyard and prices at the nurseries around the DMW are high. I realize everything is more expensive now but hoping to find a nursery driving distance that may be cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Box stores will be cheaper, but selection is limited. I buy online.

[Anonymous]

There are people that sell plants on FB marketplace.

[Anonymous]

But depending on where you live, It might be further away than your local nursery or hardware store though.

[Anonymous]

Just got sneak and get a clipping from some public park. Propagate for free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just got sneak and get a clipping from some public park. Propagate for free.

My parents came to visit soon after I bought my first house. My mom would take walks around the neighborhood and always came home with plants and cuttings from talking to people she encountered working in their yards. In my new neighborhood no one does their own yard work.

[Anonymous]

In many locations around the DMV you can get discounted/subsidized native shrubs from local watershed organizations. These are likely to be smaller than commercial sizes and some may be bare root, but within 2 years they will be the same size as the retail garden center versions. There are also a lot of local native plant sales in the fall that typically sell plants for around 50% off garden center prices.

Some of the best locally native shrubs you might find offered are:
- American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)
- Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia)
- Sweetspire (Itea virginica)
- Smooth hydrangea (Hydrange arborescens)
- Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia)

[Anonymous]

If you buy biy from a place with 1 year guarantee. Plants die. Cheap plants might not last.

[Anonymous]

Try mail order.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you buy biy from a place with 1 year guarantee. Plants die. Cheap plants might not last.

Most places that offer a one year guarantee do so by charging more for the plants...often charging you for the 2nd plant in advance. If you're a totally novice gardener that might be worthwhile, but 99% of the time plants die because they aren't watered correctly. If you know what you're doing, the less expensive plants are the best deal.

[Anonymous]

I like Bluestone Perennials for shrubs.

[Anonymous]

Cheaper than what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In many locations around the DMV you can get discounted/subsidized native shrubs from local watershed organizations. These are likely to be smaller than commercial sizes and some may be bare root, but within 2 years they will be the same size as the retail garden center versions. There are also a lot of local native plant sales in the fall that typically sell plants for around 50% off garden center prices.

Some of the best locally native shrubs you might find offered are:
- American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)
- Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia)
- Sweetspire (Itea virginica)
- Smooth hydrangea (Hydrange arborescens)
- Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia)

Just a note about mountain laurel - it will be incredibly unlikely you will get it to flourish without a ton of soil prep and even then, it’s unlikely. Mountain Laurel is awesome - but not well suited to domestication.

[Anonymous]

What's wrong with Merrifield? I do not find their prices extravagant?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's wrong with Merrifield? I do not find their prices extravagant?

Not everyone is you, dum-dum.