Home & Garden
What you need to know to choose the best plants at the nursery
For a green thumb, there’s perhaps nothing more pleasurable or exciting than choosing new plants to go into the garden. However, it pays to be a smart shopper and not just pick the prettiest or cheapest pot on display. Here’s our guide to choosing the best and healthiest plants for your garden.
What to look for:
- Green and healthy foliage
- Leaves that are uniform in colour
- Unopened buds or plants with only a few flowers blooming
- Plants with foliage on most of branches
- Shape that is consistent with the specie and cultivar of plant
- Solid root ball that is moist and firm
- Properly wrapped and tied plants, not too tight nor too loose
- Only one seedling per pot. More seedling make the pot looks lush but they are all competing for nutrients
- Moist and firm soil
What to avoid:
- Full-flowering plants. While they look pretty they aren’t producing the sturdiest of root systems
- Diseased looking foliage such as those with dark or pale spots on the stems and leaves
- Plants that look disproportionate to the size of the pot, which could indicate the plant is root-bound
- Pest-plagued plants. Look for distorted leaves or holes chewed through foliage
- Plants that look different, such as paler, to the same variety around them
- Leaves or needles that are turning brown or curling
- Broken or limp-end branches
- Tightly bound plant
- Large roots coming out of container or roots exposed on the surface
- Healthy foliage on top, but yellowing and brown foliage underneath. This could indicate the plant was unevenly watered.
Related links:
Common gardening mistakes you can avoid
The 10 commandments of tree planting
How much sun do plants really need?