Discerning shoppers know that the best garden sale events are held during specific months of the year such as January "white sales," spring sale, and year-end clearance sales. There are also bargains that gardeners and landscapers can look forward to when they focus on similar events on the calendar. March is a great time to shop for bare-root roses; while in June, annual plant prices are being marked down; spring-flowering bulbs are at bargain prices in July; September is a great shopping moment for roses, spring-blooming bulbs, and perennials; and October is generally the best time to buy fruit trees, shade trees, and shrubs at sale prices.
Annual Bargains
If you are bargain shopping for flowers and vegetable annuals,
look for short, bushy, and green plants.
Avoid buying those that look "stretched out" and arched
dangling lower leaves. Select the most rigid - looking breeds; these will
likely endure the stresses of transplanting the most.
Best Deals in Bulbs
When on the lookout for garden plants for sale, find the
ones that are huge, smooth, heavy, and firm bulbs. Refuse the ones that have
moldy flecks and those that are shriveled or cushy. Also, don't buy bulbs that
have already started to sprout.
