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When to buy and plant perennials

nick.adams11nick.adams11 Posts: 12
in Problem solving
Hi I bought several perennial plants (euphorbia, rudbeckia, salvia, verbena etc)in 1 or 2 litre pots in about mid-March last year from a local garden centre and there was lots of choice at the time. I went to a Hilliers nursery on Saturday and asked if they had any yet and the woman working there looked at me like I was mad and said they wouldn’t have anything like that in until June. So, just to check, when do garden centres tend to get in the types of plants I mentioned above, if I see some online on websites like crocus are they ok to buy and plant up now, and just an aside do Hilliers sell different age plants or something as she seems adamant they wouldn’t have salvia until summer?
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  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    edited January 2021
    Garden centres will probably shift most plants when they're in flower, as impulse buys, so that's what they'll fill most of their sales area with even though it might not be the best time for the plants to be planted out. For online sellers it's much easier to pack and post plants before they've got much top growth on them (and they might have to cut back anything they send out in full growth). And it's usually better to plant perennials in spring or autumn as they'll establish better than in summer when they're trying to put energy into flowering and it might be hot and dry too.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • nick.adams11nick.adams11 Posts: 12
    Thanks that’s useful to know, sounds like it might be ok to buy online from crocus now then?
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I've just bought some plants online but I won't plant them out until it warms up a bit. I have put them in a sheltered place.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,351
    Online shops sell perennials all year round and many of them can be planted all year round (this depends on the plant and its size, your soil and climate).
    I wouldn't buy from Crocus, they are expensive and you can get much better value elsewhere.
  • PerkiPerki Posts: 2,527
    Not everyone who works at the garden centre know what they on about, some work at the checkout / pet shop etc. To many time I've asked about certain plants and had the look like I am talking in an alien language. I would expect most garden centres to have Spring Summer perennials in around March , and later flowering plants around a bit later. But really they should have all those you've mentioned they not exactly rare , plenty of online stores to buy from, they are quite a few threads already for good online nurseries.  
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    If you asked about Salvia specifically she might have thought you meant the red bedding types. If you are after one of the less hardy, shrubby salvias like Amistad, I have noticed they also seem to hit the shelves later in the season. Presumably they are grown on in greenhouses before sale. You would not want to plant them out until the risk of frost has passed. Hardy perennial salvias will be out in March; and you can probably buy them now and they will be fine planted straight away.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    No young plant is going to thank your for planting it out in January in cold wet soil and with 2 more months of dodgy weather to cope with.   If you do buy now you need to make sure you have the facilities to look after them and keep them sheltered while they grow on a bit and conditions improve.

    In spring, long before frosts and bad weather are over, garden centres get their first fresh supplies of plants from the mega nurseries - tho that may be different this year as they're mostly from the Netherlands - who grow under glass.  GCs and supermarkets and DIY shops then display these outside with inadequate protection, inadequate watering and no hardening off process and little care and the unsuspecting customer happily plants them out and wonders why they die.

    By all means buy early and small to save money but be prepared to pot them on into bigger pots so their roots and shoots can grow unchecked and to protect them from the worst of winter weather, especially at night, till they are big enough to cope with life in your borders.   
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • nick.adams11nick.adams11 Posts: 12
    Thanks everyone that’s all invaluable information 
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    I suppose it depends on your soil but I have never had any problem planting things out in winter.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Shrubby salvias usually appear for sale late Spring or early Summer.
    Online suppliers such as Dysons or Middletons have a good selection. 
    https://middletonnurseries.co.uk/
    https://www.dysonsalvias.com/
    Bear in mind that those types of salvia would need protection from frost and (depending on where you are), personally l wouldn't plant out until the end of April at the very least. Mid May is safer.
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