Help with Buying Young Garden Plants in the Spring

Many gardeners do not begin to grow their plants from seeds.

Instead, they buy young plants, also called seedling¹ or "starts." These are plants that are grown in a nursery²: a place where plants are grown and sold.

Many gardeners buy seedlings³ in containers for their gardens.

Most nursery seedlings are either plants that last for one growing season or are vegetables. They come in plastic containers holding four to six plants. Many people also buy "starts" in individual containers.

But it is important to pay attention when buying spring starts. A gardener usually cannot go back and begin again in the middle of spring or summer. And a good gardener wants to have plants that perform for the season.

Here is some helpful information to help get good plants:

The first step is finding⁴ a good nursery. A good gardener will ask themselves if it looks like the nursery grows its own plants, or buys them from larger growers. Nurseries⁵ that grow their own spring starts usually take good care of them. The larger growers, or wholesalers, might not be able to do so.

Make sure the plants have been watered correctly. If not, the seedlings will have a hard time developing⁶. If there are lots of half-dead or dried-out plants, it is often a sign to buy elsewhere⁷.

Next, before buying a grouping of seedlings, feel the soil. In addition to being wet but not flooded, it should not be dense⁸. That is a sign of it having been dried out. In fact, the soil should smell fresh.

Look at the holes at the bottom of the container to see the roots. If the roots are too dense, that is a sign not to buy the plant. Look to see if there has been damage from the wind or sun. Damaged plants will take time to repair.

Also look for signs of fungal or bacterial⁹ infection¹⁰. Plants should be free from insects and not have the smell of chemicals.

When buying spring plants in cell¹¹ containers, all the plants in the group should be healthy. If one out of four plants in a grouping is not healthy, the others might not be far behind.

A gardener should also know what plants they are buying. Look for the name of the kind of plant, the color and the height. That information can help gardeners buy the same plants in the future if they perform well.

Many people ask about buying plants that are already flowering. Some plants will flower all season long, so that will not be a problem. However, other plants will flower once and never again. Avoid plants that have already flowered early in the season.

Finally, always have a plan when buying plants. Something that helps gardeners is a simple drawing of their garden and a list of the plants they will buy. Some people even have it on their phone so it is always with them when they are at a nursery.

Words in This Story

garden – n. an area of ground where plants (such as flowers or vegetables) are grown

soil – n. the top layer of earth in which plants grow

fungal –adj. having to do with fungus¹²: a kind of plant-like living things that do not have flowers or seeds

drawing – n. a picture or image that is made by making lines on a surface with a pencil, pen, marker, chalk, but usually not with paint

1 seedling   

n.秧苗，树苗

参考例句：

• She cut down the seedling with one chop.她一刀就把小苗砍倒了。
• The seedling are coming up full and green.苗长得茁壮碧绿。

2 nursery   

n.托儿所；苗圃

参考例句：

• They have decided to start up a nursery in the factory.他们已决定要在工厂里开办一个托儿所。
• Her company ran its own workplace nursery.她的公司开办了内部的托儿所。

3 seedlings   

n.刚出芽的幼苗( seedling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ninety-five per cent of the new seedlings have survived. 新栽的树苗95%都已成活。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In such wet weather we must prevent the seedlings from rotting. 这样的阴雨天要防止烂秧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

5 nurseries   

婴儿室( nursery的名词复数 )； 苗圃； （供游戏的）儿童室

参考例句：

• The two nurseries have 200 children. 这两家托儿所有200个孩子。
• Social services also have responsibility for the regulation of nurseries. 社会福利部门也有责任对托儿所进行管理。

6 developing   

adj.发展中的

参考例句：

• Transport has always been the key to developing trade.运输一直是发展贸易的关键。
• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。

7 elsewhere   

adv.在别处，到别处

参考例句：

• Our favourite restaurant was full so we had to go elsewhere.我们最喜欢去的那家饭店客满了，因此不得不改去别处。
• I have half a mind to move elsewhere.我有点想搬到别处去。

8 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

9 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

10 infection   

n.传染，影响，传染病

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a virus infection.他受到病毒感染。
• White blood cells fight infection.白血球抵抗感染。

11 cell   

n.区，细胞，血球；小室，牢房；电池，光电管；基层组织

参考例句：

• Soap destroys the cell walls of bacteria.肥皂破坏细菌的细胞壁。
• They have locked the prisoners up in their cell.他们已把犯人监禁在小牢房里。

12 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。