I think it depends on your patience, risk factors, and budget. Yes, it's cheaper to offer/purchase plugs as they haven't had all the potting up/growing that fuller sized plants have had before being placed out for sale. So, in effect, you are acting as that in between time, growing the plug into a larger-sized specimen. My experience here in Canada was that the mail order plug system was not as common as in the States. I had my first experience with a Canadian seller just before the pandemic, and it was mostly good, except for the odd plant. But the next year I ordered and it seemed to be a bad year because his sources were hit with a bad growing season; his inventory sent was in very poor condition - and he had to cancel/refund many orders (including mine - he did send part of it, but they were really not growable). I think it drove him out of business.

Not a new practice at all although it was originally used primarily by wholesalers to grow on large quantities of plants rapidly without any additional propagation delays (seeding, cuttings, etc.) For the retail market, they offer an inexpensive way to acquire and plant a quantity of the same plant far faster than if by growing from seed and without the 3-4 times expense of purchasing retail ready specimens. Landscapers use them extensively.

As with all mail order situations, there are good suppliers and less desirable ones as well as plants that are better offered in this format ad those that are not. Ornamental grasses, groundcovers and natives tend to be the plant types most offered this way.

They are great value and, as others have commented, have been around a long time. Try a small order and see if you are happy with their growth. I always have been.

I've haven't seen this too often. I'm thinking when I have seen it, it's usually annuals - am I mistaken?

Also, does anyone have any recommendations for a reputable vendor?

:)

Dee

It depends… plants that devlop tap roots are often easier to transplant and get established as plugs. Plugs ship with less soil which means less weight and lower shipping costs. They catch up with gallon sized perrenials pretty quickly too.

I've found that plugs often end up the same size as bigger plants in a year or two. They are easier to plant in soil that is rocky or rooty. And you can cover a big area with far less money. I get mine from the Pollen Nation. They've been consistently high quality and quite affordable.