Best place to buy new garden plants
Fall is the best time of year for transplanting your landscape and adding new plants to your garden, but where's the best place to buy new garden plants?
Consumers' CHECKBOOK magazine surveyed local customers, and did price checks on everything from the big chains to the independent nurseries down the street.
"For the most part, the firms that rated highest in the Puget Sound area were the independent firms. Some of them are quite big garden nurseries, but they're independents," said CHECKBOOK President Robert Krughoff.
CHECKBOOK collected customer feedback on more than 100 local nurseries, including the nursery departments at the big box hardware and discount grocery stores.
If all you care about is price, as you might expect, the big box stores are at the top of the list.
"Their prices were about 25 percent lower than the average prices for comparable plants," said Krughoff.
But many specialty nurseries also had competitive prices. In fact, the CHECKBOOK price survey found enormous differences among all nurseries.
The price for six one-gallon Hosta plants ranged from a low of $30 to a high of $78. A two- to three-foot Common Lilac ranged from $11 to $50.
For three Dwarf Burning Bush plants, I found a low of $21 and a high of $120.
But don't shop based on price alone. Garden nurseries are one area where price is not as important as quality and service. Look for quality of the plants, quality of advice, and the degree to which nurseries will back up their products.
Regardless of price, CHECKBOOK's survey found if you want the best overall quality, independent specialty nurseries win, hands down. The one exception was McLendon's Hardware, which got higher than average ratings for overall quality.
The highest ratings for overall quality and advice went to "Seasons Nursery," a small neighborhood nursery in Seattle that got 100-percent positive ratings for quality and service.
For both quality and price, the top customer ratings went to Sack' Feed and Garden and Savage Plants and Landscape - both in Kingston. And Stroh's Feed and Garden and Sunnycrest Nursery and Floral are on the Kitsap Peninsula.
CHECKBOOK's ratings are typically only available on a subscriber basis, but I've arranged for KOMO viewers to get online access to the full nursery report for the next seven days.
To view the full report and ratings on local Garden Nurseries, sign in to the CHECKBOOK Web page and enter any e-mail address. The link will expire on Thursday, Oct. 22.
Consumers' CHECKBOOK magazine surveyed local customers, and did price checks on everything from the big chains to the independent nurseries down the street.
"For the most part, the firms that rated highest in the Puget Sound area were the independent firms. Some of them are quite big garden nurseries, but they're independents," said CHECKBOOK President Robert Krughoff.
CHECKBOOK collected customer feedback on more than 100 local nurseries, including the nursery departments at the big box hardware and discount grocery stores.
If all you care about is price, as you might expect, the big box stores are at the top of the list.
"Their prices were about 25 percent lower than the average prices for comparable plants," said Krughoff.
But many specialty nurseries also had competitive prices. In fact, the CHECKBOOK price survey found enormous differences among all nurseries.
The price for six one-gallon Hosta plants ranged from a low of $30 to a high of $78. A two- to three-foot Common Lilac ranged from $11 to $50.
For three Dwarf Burning Bush plants, I found a low of $21 and a high of $120.
But don't shop based on price alone. Garden nurseries are one area where price is not as important as quality and service. Look for quality of the plants, quality of advice, and the degree to which nurseries will back up their products.
Regardless of price, CHECKBOOK's survey found if you want the best overall quality, independent specialty nurseries win, hands down. The one exception was McLendon's Hardware, which got higher than average ratings for overall quality.
The highest ratings for overall quality and advice went to "Seasons Nursery," a small neighborhood nursery in Seattle that got 100-percent positive ratings for quality and service.
For both quality and price, the top customer ratings went to Sack' Feed and Garden and Savage Plants and Landscape - both in Kingston. And Stroh's Feed and Garden and Sunnycrest Nursery and Floral are on the Kitsap Peninsula.
CHECKBOOK's ratings are typically only available on a subscriber basis, but I've arranged for KOMO viewers to get online access to the full nursery report for the next seven days.
To view the full report and ratings on local Garden Nurseries, sign in to the CHECKBOOK Web page and enter any e-mail address. The link will expire on Thursday, Oct. 22.