I do planting designs for a living in Europe and usually supervise the planting myself. A local nursery which is rather more into shrubs and trees sells a lot of perennials in awfulli large post (though I think, smallish compared to stuff from the hard ware store. And what really annoys me when they offer very short lived stuff like Gaura oder Verbena bonariensis in bigger pots because I find that they hesitae to put out roots from the cosy blubb of substrate.

I really prefer hardy, smallish plants with proper roots. I pointed it out to the owner, he showed me his production green house, and we discussed lavender qualities.

I pointed to -in my view overfed, "under-lighted" plants of Lavandula angustifolia, and he said that landscaper would need those to cater to private garden owners (amateurs)

those Lavenders are the ones that are most likely to die in the first summer as their roots cant keep up with the exaggerated foliage

you cant buy root mass

As a general rule, younger is better. The root system of a small plant can spread into the surrounding soil vs being pot-bound/wrapped.

I've slowly became my own nursery, and most things I grow from seed. I'm far far happier with these plants than what I would have bought....plus I save money and get more plants!

I'm another one who wants small plants, especially for woodies, and even more so for trees.

When I first started gardening (about 30 years ago, 25 seriously) I did mostly mail-order, and that was for selection, cost, and time saving. Plus at that time I was a catalog junkie (somewhat reformed now - I look a lot but purchasing is much more restrained lol).

Anyway, my go-to was Bluestone. You think the plants are small now? In those days, you got three-packs! The pots were about 2-3 inches, if even. But the plants were always healthy, the pricing was amazing, and the customer service was great.

Since my garden is more established now I don't buy as much, but I still do mostly mail-order. I didn't buy from Bluestone for quite a few years. They went to the single plants, charged more for a single than a three-pack,and I also don't like those coir pots they use. But lately I have started buying more from them, as their prices, while very high compared to their own past prices, are still fairly competitive, the plants are still healthy, and the customer service is almost as good as it used to be. And I just take off the coir and compost it. And there are some other mail-order sources I use, which again have the smaller plants.

So I have always been a small-plant gardener. It started as a financial necessity, but while I miss the instant gratification, I do like planting the smaller plants. It's, as you say, much easier to physically plant them.

And I have to say, many times I've bought a larger pot locally only to find a smaller plant potted up in the larger pot - when I unpot it the soil falls away and there is the rootball in a little square mass from being in the smaller pot. So why pay for soil and a bigger pot?

Once in a while I will splurge and get a large pot of something - usually a shrub like an ilex or rhodie, etc. - but for the most part I am willing to pay the smaller price, get the smaller plant, and wait for my gratification lol.

:)

Dee

It depends (like so much in life). I have been buying quite a lot of plants at the moment and have been wanting to get a decent size plant which has already made some rootmass. This is because I am planting in the middle of summer. I have also been transferring my own seedlings to the ground as well...and it has been much harder, keeping the juvenile plants alive than the larger ones. They just don't yet have the resources available to withstand even half a day of being left unwatered. It isn't about instant gratification, but of course, it is also nice to have a fair-sized, blooming plant.

At any other time of year, smaller is better. Absolutely.

For me, the main change has been to go from growing everything from seeds or cuttings, to actually buying plants grown in a nursery by someone else. This is because I am acutely aware of the passing of time and have become less keen to put in the necessary 3,4 5,6 year investment in time, when I can buy an established plant which may have been growing on for several years - paeonies, for example. I used to grow a lot of plants for customers and offspring, growing my own was a canny use of time and (limited) money, but if I only want a single specimen, I may as well buy it.

I get frustrated with local nurseries who almost exclusively sell 3 gal shrubs; for big shrubs/ small trees it’s lucky if only 3 gal, often larger. Perennials also, 2-3 gallon. And even most of there are root- bound.

I cruise the box stores because sometimes they will get shipments of 1-gal shrubs of types I want. And recently found quart sized hardy ferns, that are establishing much better than the large ones from nurseries.

I can get some things through our Native Plant society semiannual sale , not “ on sale” but sourced from nurseries a few hours away but local free pickup. These are usually quart.

Mxk, I just so happen to love the opposite, which is watching things grow. i have some seedlings in a bed with mature stuff and going out to check that they are getting enough sun, and watching them grow quickly, is fun for me. I think when I get instant gratification plants I naturally stress about them on hot days for some reason. I’m always concerned that the roots I just slaughtered are struggling to sustain the flowers.

Linaria, your thoughts as a professional are helpful. You’ve confirmed some of my experience, so thank you.

I’ve become my own nursery, too, but when I need something sterile I’m out of luck. I usually start from seeds and design the beds from that choice, but if I go online and see some of these sterile hybrids that are beautiful, that certainly isn’t helpful at all!

The note of shrubs and woodies is another issue. I think this year I’ve realized all those 3-4 foot tall saplings didn’t do well because I overestimated how quickly they establish. They need watering much more than I had thought. Sometimes they just flat out died on me after a couple of years. I’ve got to remember that those roots must develop more slowly and require more tending too.

Digger, I will no longer purchase from a local nursery that put 4” pots in a 1 gallon pot probably the day before I bought them, or it seemed like that. I filmed the dirt just falling completely away to reveal a tiny root and showed it to the owner. His response was, daggumit he’s been telling them not to do that. He wouldn’t do anything else to rectify the fact that I paid for a 1 gallon plant and got a 4” plant. I had given them a lot of business and that was my first official complain, but not my first concern.

Rosa, I’m grateful I have lots of space for mid-summer pots. Our cool and wet summer gave way yesterday to high temps, so planting is over and now all the seedlings are in pots waiting for fall. I’d much rather plant them when they are little (see above) but I have no choice now. I’ve also divided some grasses from nurseries in prep for fall planting. All of that is in the shade now recovering. It’s a large amount because I’m gardening at a new office just finished in May. I should take a picture of the Plant Ward!

Marmie, amen on the shrubs. My back can’t stand digging a doggone hole big enough for that size! Smaller is better and so much easier.

To this note, I have two “mature” trees, a crabapple and tree form Japanese Willow, and I have not planted them because I am petrified, to be honest. I just moved them to much bigger containers and am trying to figure out if they overwinter in the garage to wait for next year’s cool wet spring, or if it’s safe to plant them in fall. We generally have wet falls. What to do with the roots (do I cut, just unwind, how much should they be loosened, when is it too much trauma?) has me shaking in my gardening clogs.

Yes, Deanna, I think I am more orientated to 'watching things grow' than creating a landscape. Planting out is my least favourite aspect of gardening and often, as soon as they are planted 'in the wild', they often get left to their own devices. Tbf, back when I did design and build, I found it all much simpler, getting a budget and a deadline...it was basically thinking, planning, shopping and planting...not even slightly similar to how I garden for myself. However, even then, I still preferred to plant smaller plants (at the right time), as the period of intensive care tended to be much shorter - weeks rather than months/years.

I buy a mix of local and mail order. Mail order has the advantage that I can get them in the ground at the end of April. Local nurseries aren’t even fully stocked up until the end of May. The month headstart is very helpful to get established before the heat of summer. Plus I am also seeing nurseries pushing more perennials in 2 or 3 gallon sizes. Sometimes you can chop them up into 2 or 3 plants, other times not so easy. It’s also a much bigger project to dig a bed full of holes that big.

I have had mixed results ordering online. Great selection, but sometimes the plants are so small. if I plant them out they struggle to survive. Either they can't handle the heat of summer or succumb to winter's cold and don't return, or they take a long time to establish.

I do enjoy watching the progress, but I ordered some clematis online to cover an arbor 3 years ago and they have yet to make much progress. That seems a bit much. I finally broke down this year and bought a clematis, 'John Warren', at a local nursery and swapped it our for one of the online strugglers. It's already scrambled to the top pf the 7 foot arbor.

Some of this is from my own ignorance and neglect, but I've taken to potting up online orders into gallons and holding them for a year.

Senior, for slow-to-establish varieties it is indeed a negative. My Baptisia grown from seed (which would be all of them) are going to take years to get really nice. if they’re not in perfect soil, they take years to even flower. I get excited when a Baptisia has four stalks!