Where to Buy Trees and Shrubs

There are generally three main places to shop for trees and shrubs: local nurseries, mail-order catalogs, and the internet.

Local nurseries are often the best place to buy trees and shrubs. No plant is a good match for you unless it can survive in your climate, and few people know what will survive in your area better than the people at a local nursery. Good nurseries grow most of the plants they sell, so the plants will most likely be dependable and disease-resistant. It’s still always important to inspect the plants before purchasing them. Avoid buying plants that show any of the following characteristics:

Mail-order catalogs generally offer an astounding variety of plants, including all kinds of trees and shrubs. However, they don’t offer much firsthand expertise or specific advice about what will grow well in your particular area. For this reason, order only from catalogs that tell a lot about each plant, and read these entries carefully to make sure the plant you’re considering is suitable to your location.

Keep in mind that the trees and shrubs you order will generally arrive in a bare-root, dormant state, ready for planting. Some suppliers also offer these plants in pots of various diameters—a 4" pot is one common size. The individual product descriptions for each tree or shrub explain how they should be planted. To find some of the popular mail-order retailers, search online for “mail-order gardening catalogs.”

If you feel comfortable shopping on the internet, online shopping is a good alternative for finding trees and shrubs. The vast majority of mail-order tree and shrub catalogs have websites as well. Browsing through these websites allows you to select from a wide variety of choices in just a little time.

Trees and shrubs are available from many other internet sources besides the standard catalog retailers. Nonprofits such as the National Arbor Day Foundation (www.arborday.org) sell plants, as do all kinds of specialized suppliers. As with mail-order catalogs, internet vendors don’t always offer the same specific expertise and advice that local nurseries can provide, but the variety and selection online is unmatched.