Looking for ways to save money in the garden? Wait until you see these spring gardening hacks that will save you big-time dollars at the nursery this year.
SHHHHH!!!
Don’t tell anyone.
But I’ve got a secret that will save you a lot of money at the garden nursery this year.
I’ve shared some budget-saving gardening tips before.
So add these to the list.
Cause it’s a good one.
Wait until you see how you can save yourself a ton of money at the nursery this season.
(Posts on stacyling.com may contain affiliate links. Click HERE for full disclosure.)
Spring Garden Shopping
Now I don’t know about you, but every year, I do a lot of plantings.
Whether it’s annuals or perennials, shrubs or trees, I wind up spending a lot of money at the garden nursery each year.
And now that I moved?
I have even more to buy this season.
So how do you buy plants on a budget?
Spring Gardening Hack #1
For starters, buy smaller and less mature plants.
When I’m purchasing houseplants, perennials, shrubs, or trees, I look for ones that are smaller and less mature in size.
Now I realize smaller plants may not provide the biggest visual impact in the landscape or in a living space, but hear me out.
Younger, smaller plants are easier to adapt to new climates and spaces. So they acclimate better than similar plants in larger containers.
Not to mention they are much less in price.
I’ve purchased many older, more mature plants in the past, only to have them succumb to something where they didn’t make it.
Whether it was my growing conditions or failures as a plant parent, some plants just weren’t loving my space, declined, and did not survive.
This is obviously not a good thing because larger, more mature plants are more expensive to buy. And if you are buying plants, you want them to do well and survive!
Once I realized it wasn’t worth buying similar plants in larger containers, I opted for smaller, younger plants that cost far less money.
Not only do they adapt better to new environments, but if they don’t survive, they cost a lot less.
So that’s a win in my book.
Gardening Tip #1: When in doubt, buy the same plants in smaller containers.
Spring Gardening Hack #2 – And It’s a Goodie!
But what if you can only find large containers of plants that cost an arm and a leg to buy?
See if you can split them once you get them home.
I just purchased violas that were in larger containers that came 8 in a flat for $35. When I brought them home, I was able to split each container into 4 plants. so instead of having only 8 plants, I split each one up to get 32 plants for $35.
Now, isn’t that a bargain?
You can watch what I did in THIS video.
Here’s another example of what to look for.
While at the nursery yesterday, I was perusing the perennials to plant in my new cottage garden.
Because it’s still pretty early in the season, there wasn’t much out yet, but I found some larger containers with perennials just breaking ground.
And you know what I noticed?
Some of those perennials were practically dividing themselves!
Instead of one plant in the container, there were visibly three.
I picked up a midnight salvia that cost $22. However, the plant looked like it could be separated into 3 separate plants.
So I brought it home, divided it up, and now I have 3 plants for roughly $7 instead of 1 for $22.
Isn’t that a deal?
Naturally, this spring gardening hack won’t work on plants that can’t be divided, but many plants can.
Gardening Tip #2: Save yourself some money and divide larger plants when you get home!
Now there’s one caveat to this that you should be aware of.
I only recommend doing this in early spring or late fall when the plants are either just coming out of dormancy and breaking ground OR as they start going dormant for the season.
The plants will take the division much better and adapt easier with little fuss and care from you after.
Pin and Save It on Pinterest
Thank you so much for following along.
Enjoy a beautiful day! xo
