5. Look up catalogs on the Web: Many catalogs that are available in print can also be browsed on the Web. Often different vendors who charge for their catalogs in print have the same offerings online with secure shopping. These websites sometimes offer discounts not found in their printed catalogs.
6. Shop locally: Although it might not be as exciting as shopping via a catalog or the Internet, try to buy plants at a local garden center. You can see them, smell them, and get a better "feel" for these plants by viewing them in the flesh. You will often find that there is a greater availability of larger plants than is found in catalogs or on the Internet. You will also save on shipping charges. Try to buy the more common varieties locally. If you can buy a Stella D'Oro daylily at your garden center, it makes no sense to buy it through the mail or on the Internet. Try to reserve catalog and Internet shopping for those items that you can't get locally.
7. If possible, check the source of your plant material: It is better to buy stock from a vendor who has growing conditions similar to your own rather than buying from a grower many miles and climates away. For example, a saucer magnolia grown in Southern Lower Michigan will generally perform better in Northern Ohio or Northern Indiana than one grown in California. Now, I don't mean to slight the great growers around this country, but if you can find a plant that is already acclimated to conditions similar to your own, buy it. It makes more sense to purchase that plant over one grown in conditions foreign to your own home garden. However, the flip side is that many retailers do not grow their own material. Many vendors buy their plant material from a few wholesale sources for resale to their customers. Sometimes retailers who do buy from a few select wholesalers will grow them on a bit longer at their own establishments, but not all of them do. Try to find vendors in your region or those elsewhere who have similar growing conditions to your own. Ask if they grow their own plants, or if they grow them on. Generally if they grow their own, they will announce the fact. These vendors are well worth doing business with.
