Jeera, Buy from a reputable LOCAL nursery such as Garden Shop, Moana, Dry Creek (my favorite), Moana,G&G etc. Much of what is brought into the box stores is from Colorspot, and it sometimes can have a rought time of it adjusting to this climate, as it is either greenhouse started/finished, or from a more coastal area in calif.
If you are not doing any soil prep, using mulch, and are hand-watering vs drip irrigating, especially in this heat, i don't think your plants will have 1/2 a chance, but good luck anyways!

Jeera, HD has about the worst plants in town, plus, as kmac mentioned, a lot of them aren't suitable for our climate no matter WHAT you do.

However, the only fussy one on the list you gave is Delphiniums. The rest should have made it given a tiny bit of shade during the very hottest part of the afternoon, and a bit of water on every day you are allowed to water.

Delphiniums and Columbines are strange to grow here. I finally got it mostly right: they want it drier than you would think, but not arid. They definitely want a gravel or rock mulch around their crowns. They also want more shade than anywhere else in the country. Most Salvias want more water than you would think, but they like the good drainage, too.

As for snapdragons, they are surprisingly hardy in this area. Again, perfect drainage, especially in winter, and less water than you might expect, but not arid during the growing season. Mine overwinter reliably, as do snapdragons I've seen over by the university.

My recommendation for a local nursery is Dry Creek Gardens. The rest of them carry a higher percentage of plants that won't do well here.

If you MUST shop at a box store, I recommend Lowe's once you know what is reasonable here, what *might* make it with some TLC, and what is completely out of the question (e.g. tree ferns).

If you have a more alpine climate (e.g. Galena Creek/Montreux), you might want to visit Tahoe Tree Company in Tahoe City and The Villager Nursery in Truckee. Okay, so if you are a plantoholic, you will want to visit anyways :-)

It also depends on where in Sparks you live--"old Sparks" is about two climate zones warmer than Spanish Springs. I'm in "old Sparks", so I get away with all sorts of horticultural insanity. Exposure to wind and weather is another issue--if you are up on a hill, subtract a full climate zone from the colder areas in the valley.

Lisa

I have had the same experience as all of you. Most of the stuff from Dry Creek has done well (good and helpful also) and most or all of the stuff from the big chains has not (walmart, home depot, lowes) I donÂt even waist my time with the chains any more because I cant think of a single plant that has survived. the other local nurseryÂs have been good too. I have had good luck with seed as well.

http://www.seedsofchange.com/default.asp

http://www.territorial-seed.com/stores/1/index.cfm

Dustin