I've found out the hard way that most of the nurseries here are no longer offering a guarantee on their plants. I love going to Nick's.. they've got some wonderful plants, not the normal plants and have one of the largest selections of coneflowers in town. However, they only guarantee their shrubs & trees.. and then they give you the 3rd degree as to why the item died. Paulino's, the largest nursery in the state I believe, doesn't guarantee any of their plants. Tagawa's, the nursery closest to me, does guarantee all their perennials/shrubs/trees for 1 year and don't fight or fuss if you bring something back, but they cost 1.5-3x what the other places cost. And it's kind of funny as Tagawas also has a wholesale nursery where they supply plants to other nurseries & big boxes! In fact, I was at Nick's this past weekend and saw a plant that had a Tagawa's tag of $14.99 right below the Nick's tag of $8.99.
Go figure. I was able to buy one of those 1gal hex pots of liatris (also known as gayfeather or blazing star) for $18.99 and Tagawa's sells those for $24.99. And sells OUT.
That's why I love the big boxes.. same exact plants, 1/3rd the price, better guarantee. Unless it's something unusual, then I will go to the nurseries. I try to keep a running tab in my head as to how much X store sells X plant and in what condition X plant is at. 2 weeks ago, I got a whole van full of plants for about $52 from Lowes. The plant vendor was there and was clearancing out a TON of plants. I got 5 coral bells (I think Stoplight, but I'm not 100% sure) for $1.22/ea, a purple mist salvia for $4.77, 3 purple flowered ice plants for $0.88/ea.. if they croak, I'm out, what, 2 bucks? LOL! I have NO idea why the coral bells were on clearance.. they were in beautiful shape! Too bad roses are rarely clearanced.. and those that are are usually Knockouts.
