Do you enjoy strolling through the local garden center to see what is new like I do? All the major chains like Lowe’s Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Target all have the garden departments with a wide variety of plants, pots, rocks, soils, fertilizers and garden tools.

As wide of a variety that these chains possess they never seem to carry exactly what I’m looking for. For example, why empty out the wallet on a plant at a specialty garden store when one of the big boxes sells something ‘close’ at about half the price?

I’ve been working on a plant watering project lately and wanted to find some LECA rocks (Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate) to replant some houseplants in. This project will be removing houseplants from soil and completely replacing the media with rock all in an effort to simplify house plant care. Basically creating a simple self-watering container for the plant to grow in.

There is a Super Wal-Mart and Home Depot within 5 minutes of where I live and a Lowe’s 20 minutes away. The Wal-Mart and Home Depot are huge stores. After spending some time in each of the garden departments they do carry a good array of basics. In general the chains carry the top items and best sellers.

However, if you happen to fall into my shopping zone, a specialty store probably fits me better. A store, which carries a variety of, not only tools, pots, fertilizer and media. But a store, which also handles named varieties of plants.

Today so many named varieties are available that it is important to get yourself familiar with them. The Internet provides a wealth of information. For example, many people may be familiar with the common Chinese evergreen – Aglaonema ‘Silver Queen’. The ‘Silver Queen’ has been grown for decades for use in offices and house plant use. However, over the past few years many new hybrids have been introduced with broad leaves and color patterns. Plus they handle cooler temperatures than ‘Silver Queen’ can.

These new hybrids carry names like ‘Amelia’, ‘Silver Bay’, ‘Emerald Star’, ‘Jewel of India’ and ‘Silverado.’ These plants are superior in ease of care, cold tolerance and durability. New improved varieties come in almost every category. From Anthuriums to Spathiphyllum and even the popular Ficus now finds new varieties.

If you are looking to fertilize your lawn or replace your weed eater these big box stores may be fine. As far as a supply of lawn maintenance equipment, garden hoses, tools and other supplies like fertilizers and bags of special soil, the big stores have it covered. You can find some good plants for use indoors at these stores.

Follow these few tips for best results.

Look for an area in the garden center devoted to houseplants
Always buy fresh – Find out what day new plants arrive each week
Make sure the roots look good before you buy any plant
Research the web for new varieties and ask the manager to order them – they can!

Having plants indoors dress up any room. Buying healthy plants will make your plant care much easier. You can find them at the chains but you will need to do some work to find the best value. Value is not always price.

By: Thomas Fyrd