The Budget-Wise Gardener. Kerry Ann Mendez
Clearance Tables
Clearance tables are a no-brainer for scouting deals. But like milk in a food market, these bargains are typically located at the back of the store. Usually the first perennials to show up in clearance are spring bloomers that are past bloom. What a goldmine! These perennials are relatively fresh – they have not gone through months of stressful living in stuffy pots. The only reason they were relegated to the sale table was because they’re flowerless, and garden centers know that most costumers buy plants in bloom. Delaying your purchase saves you 25%, 50% or 75% off the original price! Ephemerals (early spring-blooming perennials that go dormant after flowering) are often quickly marked down, before their foliage starts to look ratty and disappears. But don’t be fooled by the shabbiness. Plant them in your garden, mark the location, and they will rise and shine next spring to greet you and early pollinators.
As the season progresses, other perennials will be marked at clearance prices. Again, this is usually because the plant is no longer in bloom. But it may also be that freshly blooming inventory is arriving and space needs to be created. This is good news for shrewd plant hunters!
Given that most plants on clearance racks are not in bloom, and plants tags either don’t show a good image or are extremely faded, it can be difficult to decide whether to swoop or skip. That’s where my friend Allan Armitage’s new app “Armitage’s Greatest Garden Plants” comes to the rescue. It has hundreds of plant images and descriptions so you can quickly type in a plant’s name and bingo, you have a great photo and helpful growing information.
The “Garden Answers Plant Identification” app is another option. Dave’s Garden website also has a plant identification resource: Mystery Plant & Tree ID Forum (davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/plantid/all/).
But be aware… I only have a few red flags to wave when it comes to purchasing clearance plants. Of course plants must be healthy. They can’t have bugs or disease issues. The potting soil should not be soggy and the plant’s crown (where the stems enter the potting medium) shouldn’t look dark brown or rotting. There shouldn’t be a space between the soil and the pot’s edge. This can be caused by inconsistent watering, leading to root stress.
Finally, perennials that have been sitting in their pots for months may have started twirling their “fingers” (I mean roots) in boredom. One sign of a root bound perennial is roots growing through the bottom of the container. Another telltale is when you attempt to slip it out of the pot to plant it in your garden, it doesn’t budge an inch. The roots are crammed in the pot. You may have to gently tap on the pot’s bottom. If that doesn’t work, try banging on it. No? Then put the pot on its side on the ground and step on it, rolling slightly. This adjustment usually does the trick. Sometimes, if I am having a bad day, I’ll throw the container to the ground and then step on it. If all of this seems too harsh, then use scissors, a pruning knife or bypass pruners to cut the container open.
The next step is to break apart the dense root mass. If you transplant the perennial as is, you will likely see a dead plant the next season or one that shows little or no growth. Why? Because the roots are coiling around and into themselves. There is no fresh soil with nutrients, water and oxygen to encourage growth. Use a butcher knife, pruning saw or bypass pruner to cut an X into the base. Gently pry the X open to encourage fresh soil to enter this space. Also, rough up the sides of the root ball to loosen and redirect roots into fresh soil. Then place the revitalized plant into fresh soil and water well.
Perennials and shrubs can become root bound when left too long in a pot. Help direct congested roots into fresh soil by slicing an X in the bottom of the root ball and roughing up the sides, freeing roots to seek fresh soil and nutrients.
■ Should you buy a cultivated variety? If a perennial is borderline hardy in your area and you’re a risk taker, improve the odds of it surviving by buying the species versus a cultivated variety. Many times the species are hardier due to less meddling with genetics. What do I mean? For example, Echinacea purpurea, commonly called purple coneflower, is a wonderful native perennial to North America. Simply stated, Echinacea is the genus name. The next word, usually lower case and italicized, is the species. And if it is a cultivated variety, or cultivar, then the next word(s) will be capitalized and in single quotations. So Echinacea purpurea is a species of coneflower, hardy in Zones 3–9. Echinacea purpurea ‘Hot Lava’ is a cultivar, hardy in Zones 5–9. And another tip for increasing the odds of borderline perennials? I’ve found some white flowering cultivars to be finickier than other colors.
Native Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) ‘Hot Lava’
Nativars
This is a good time to bring up nativars. These are cultivated varieties of a native plant. Thankfully, native plant sales are booming, given the heightened interest of incorporating natives, not only to benefit pollinators but also for their less demanding nature. This new interest, along with increased revenue opportunities for those in the industry, has propelled intense breeding within native families to introduce flowers with new colors, sizes, shapes and abundance. And although these nativars may be more striking to consumers, research indicates that many nativars are less attractive, or beneficial, to pollinators. Research is showing that the more a native plant has been “hybridized,” i.e., looks different in flower shape or color, the less beneficial it is to pollinators. Annie S. White, at the University of Vermont, under the tutelage of my friend Dr. Leonard Perry, has been doing extensive field research on natives versus nativars. To learn more about her ongoing work, visit pollinatorgardens.org.
Annie White, conducting research on natives and nativars while a PhD student in Plant & Soil Sciences at the University of Vermont
■ Pay more, get more? Sometimes it is wise to pay more money for a larger perennial. There are some perennials that grow very slowly and will not bloom until they reach a certain size and maturity. So while I could save money and buy Dictamnus* in a 4-inch square as a first year specimen, it will most likely take four or five years before flowering. If you are a type-A personality like me, or you’re getting up there in years (who isn’t?), it just makes sense to spend