Regardless of where you purchase, examine the root ball of the plant before paying. Pull the ball from the pot, if it has pencil size roots near the surface or it has a large number of roots circling the ball, look for another plant. The development of a sound root system is paramount to survival so starting with a good root system make sense.

It's also a matter of getting to know your local nurseries. Some are great and take good care of their plants, while others are overpriced and not as careful. Ask where the plants come from, as you're better off with ones that are grown in the same climate conditions. I think rhodadendrun are tough to grow, at least in my Chicago climate, so I would pay a little more for a good nursery variety. Some shrubs, like boxwood, are very hardy and we have bought many at Home Depot with good luck.

In my experience, the privately owned nurseries have a much better selection (in terms of variety) than the big box stores. This seems to be true for shrubs, trees, annuals and perennials.

Our neighborhoods are beginning to look like duplications of each other.