They are perfectly acceptable choice. They've been doing this for over 100 years so have it down to a bit of an art form :-)

I prefer to buy veggie starts from my local nursery as they do a lot of their own growing, offer organics and provide the cultivars that do best in my area. But if there was something I wanted that they did not supply, I wouldn't hesitate to sub with a Bonnie Plant choice.

Bonnie really has the plant market sewed up here. Even the small vendors have Bonnie vegetable plants. They have a good selection of popular varieties. I usually start my own plants but a few years back I filled in with some Bonnie plants and introduced TSWV to my patch. Not sure it was Bonnies fault as I bought the plants from a local nursery. They kept the vegetable plants alongside bedding plants which are a magnet for the thrips that carry the disease. I notice most vendors now segregate the vegetable plants.

Bonnie has greatly reduced the choices available in my area, since they have a monopoly, except for a couple large garden nurseries. Bonnie has stopped offering much choices at Lowes and Home Depot, and the grocery stores have the same exact plants. Nothing special about these plants, just less plants for the money.

Now I'm willing to spend money, but I find them to be of poor value, especially compared to choices you had more than 10 years ago. About $4 for one poor looking romaine lettuce plant is ridiculous. $4 for one basic zucchini plant is absurd. $4 for one pepper plant is pretty lame given the choices of a "green bell" or a "red bell" or a banana pepper plant. At $4 I would expect something beyond a basic small plant. I think they are hurting their long term business by discouraging many would be gardeners.

YEAH I think my Bonnie plants do the best. CANT Find much else. but local Wally World has gone with "Expert Gardener" for last year and this year. Expensive. Very few things if multi cells. Most are single pack, Ridiculous one plant for say close to $4.. like what" rbrt" said stated above Duh....

thanks all

That has become a problem. six packs , twelve packs , and flats have disappeared from most vendors. They are catering to urban gardeners who want a single large plant in a pot Instant gratification I guess. Expensive way to buy plants tho. Easy enough to start one's own, just takes time.

They are just trying to upsell and try to get the consumer to spend more money. I guess it is more profitable to sell one $3.79 cup than two multipacks, but they have to sell them in the first place. They are going more for the amateur impulse buyer. Lowe's used to have more choices more than 10 years ago, now it is only Bonnie, and Bonnie has stopped bothering with many varieties.

I can remember, not that long ago, when many gardeners refused to buy anything but basic tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, lettuce in 3 or 4 packs at half the price of what they sell one pot for now, and said that anything beyond that was a ripoff.

heck WW IS SELLING ONE LARGE PEPPER PLANT FOR OVER 8 dollars in the fancy prob 1/2 gallon pot. Ridiculous. they finally got some 4 or 6 pk in of veggies mostly tomatoes. Duh

Bonnie offers 4 varieties of broccoli, 9 varieties of cabbage, 5 varieties of eggplant, 12 varieties of lettuce, 9 varieties of onion, 62 varieties of pepper, 71 varieties of tomato. They also offer plants of most other vegetables, which perform better direct seeded. The local vendor orders what sells best in a particular location. From the sublime to the ridiculous they sell plants for beets and corn.

@farmerdill pretty sure it's not the local vendors that ask for the types of plants sold, they're like seeds packets.. they basically stock/sell the same type of varieties year after year, and is typically what they think grows/sell best.. if you go to all the different local stores, they mostly all sell the same exact plants/seeds. surely not a coincidence ;)

i am also sure that some people have actually called Bonnie and have sent feedback/requested they send a specific variety to a store and they have done it for them.

i recommend looking up local nurseries since they typically have plants for cheaper.

@jeanwedding. zone 6, "Expert Gardener" is Walmart's brand. it's likely just Bonnie plants relabeled for them.