Landscaping Ideas - Finding Cheap Plants For Your Landscape

Landscaping Ideas

Finding Cheap Plants for Your Landscape

One of the main elements of the landscape is the use of plants. Plants provide interesting places for the eye to dwell, as well as providing soothing scenery and even contributing to the energy efficiency of a home. Unfortunately, the costs associated with purchasing plants for use in your landscape can be rather steep. In order to save money and use you landscape budget wisely, it is important to buy cheap plants.

Just because a plant is cheap, however, does not mean that it is quality. Be sure that the plant you are buying is free of disease, and that it is in generally good health. Purchasing a plant for a rock bottom price may only result in you having to go out and buy another plant if your wilted or diseased “find” dies shortly after planting. Planting can be a traumatic thing, so you want a plant that will survive and then flourish. Another thing to keep in mind when purchasing inexpensive plants is to think about the maintenance costs on down the road. A cheap plant may in actuality end up having a great many care needs. You may spend more taking care of the plant than is worth the savings of an initial bargain.

Inexpensive plants can be found in a variety of places. Most people buy them at big box home improvement stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot. There are even plants available at some WalMart and Kmart stores. These plants are often very cheap, but many of them have not received proper care, and may not be healthy enough to survive planting. One sliver of peace of mind that stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s offer is that these places offer guarantees of up to one year, so if your plant dies, you can be compensated.

Nurseries are great places to find healthy, professionally cared for plants. These are a little more expensive, but they are often of a higher quality. If you are looking for a bargain at a nursery, they can still be found, however. Many nurseries have a clearance table full of unpopular plants or plants that they plan to discontinue carrying. These are often discounted dramatically. Additionally, going to end of season sales can help you find good prices on the plants that nurseries have to offer. Most nurseries also provide plant guarantees, and you can receive expert help and advice if you are a novice.

The Internet also offers cheap plant deals. It is possible to order online and have your plants shipped. Online providers often provide a variety of seeds and starts that can be shipped without incurring too much damage, and that are very inexpensive. Check to see if your online plant provider has a guarantee, however, and make sure that the costs of shipping do not make the plants more expensive.

Other ways that you can reduce your plant buying costs is to choose plants that are seeds or starts. These are available online or in stores and nurseries. A packet of seeds costs less than a start, and starts cost significantly less than plants that are already growing. Choosing smaller plants not only reduces the amount of money that you pay up front, but it also reduces the amount of money you pay later in maintenance. Mature plants require more care when they are first planted, and they also require more water and maintenance. So, while you do not have to purchase tiny plants, you can purchase plants that are off to a good start but that have not reached maturity.

Related to the idea of choosing plants that are smaller, is selecting slower growing plants. While these may take longer to fill in your landscape, if you plan accordingly you can save a great deal of money and still have an attractive yard. Rapidly growing plants require more care and the maintenance costs are often much more than the costs associated with their slower growing counterparts. Choosing slow growing plants is a great way to save money in the long run.
Looking for cheap plants for landscape can be a fun adventure as you search for the best deal. Just remember that the best deal is not always the cheapest plant. The best deal is a plant that is reasonably priced, healthy, and has low cost maintenance requirements.

You can check out The Comfortable Lazy Garden - Gardening and landscaping with native plants

Landscaping Ideas

Landscaping Ideas - Planting Trees

Landscaping Ideas

Do-it-Yourself: Planting Trees

Trees are a beautiful and desirable part of almost any landscape. They provide comfortable shade, protect against soil erosion, and can even contribute to the energy efficiency of a home. Additionally, trees are beautiful and can make any landscape attractive. Any home with a nice, attractive, well-maintained tree on its property enjoys increased property value. But in order to enjoy a tree, it must first be properly planted. There are three main ways that plantings can be bought; subsequently, there are different ways to plant them. You may plant a bare root tree, a container tree, or a ball and burlap tree. Each of these types of seedling set-ups requires a different technique in planting. However, it is very possible to do this planting yourself, saving money and keeping within a reasonable budget.

Planting a bare root tree. This is a tree moved from one location to another (dug up and transplanted).

The first thing you should do is make sure you have the proper tools: a garden fork, a shovel, two wooden stakes, tree ties, and mulch. Use a shovel to mark out the area of the planned hole. This hole should be at least twice the diameter of the tree’s root system. Once you have the area marked out, with a shallow hole already dug within the markings, use the garden fork to scarify the edges of the hole. This action loosens the soil and will make it easier for the roots to properly expand.

In the center of your hole, build a small mound. Then place the two stakes into the ground on opposite sides of the mound. The stakes act as stabilizers and supports to the tree as it works to establish itself. You should try to make sure that you plant the tree at the same depth at which it was planted before. Spread the roots over the mound. Next, add enough soil to support the tree (but not fill up the hole) and then spray the area with water. Backfill the hole with a little more soil, add water again. Then repeat two or three more times, completely filling in the hole.

Tamp the soil down to get rid of air pockets surrounding the tree’s roots. If your climate is dry, or if water drains away quickly, a moat should be dug around the tree to retain water. Fasten the tree ties to the stakes and the tree, not too tightly, to ensure that the tree receives adequate support for its first year in the new area. Two to four inches of mulch should be applied around the planting area, but be sure that the mulch does not touch the tree trunk. The tree should be watered well and the soil kept moist for the next year.

Planting a container tree. This type of tree is often found at nurseries, coming in a pot or other plastic container.

Like with a bare root tree, it is necessary to have a shovel, garden fork, stakes, tree ties, and mulch. Then, using the container as a guide, mark out the planting using the shovel. The hole will need to be right around three times the width of the container. The hole should be about one and a half times as deep as the height of the pot. After the hole has been properly dug, use the garden fork to scarify the hole’s sides.

Pound the two stakes (preferably cedar) into the ground angled outward. There should be enough room between the stakes for the root ball to fit. Water the tree in its container, and then gently lay it on its side. Remove the pot and gently tease the roots out with your hands. A small cultivator would also work. Backfill some of the soil into the hole. Place the tree in the center of the hole. Make sure that the edge of the hole is level with the height of the container. It may be necessary to add soil until this level is achieved. After the tree is at the correct height, fill in the hole with soil, tamping it down as you go. Dig a moat if needed. Use your tree ties and apply mulch in much the same manner as the bare root tree. The tree will need to be kept moist for a year while it establishes itself.

Planting a ball and burlap tree (root ball surrounded by burlap sack).

This planting technique requires only a shovel, garden fork, mulch and scissors (or a knife). Dig a hole, much like with the container tree, of three times the root ball’s width. The hole should only be as deep as ball, however. Scarify the hole’s sides. Place the tree in the hole and use the scissors to remove twine or wire from the ball. Remove the burlap altogether if it is synthetic. If it is natural, loosen the top layer and roll it down to the base of the ball. Fill in the hole and mulch, caring for it as other newly planted trees.

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Landscaping Ideas

Landscaping Ideas - Caring for your Plants

Landscaping Ideas

Caring for Your Plants

One of the best things you can do to save money on your landscape is to properly care for your plants. This is very important to keeping a healthy yard and an attractive landscape. If you properly care for your plants, you will save money in maintenance costs, and you will save money in having to replace plants that succumb to disease or other problems associated with poor care. Caring for your plants is not only good for the plants, but it is also good for you. You can get good exercise, escape from the stale air of your home, and get a little bit closer to nature. Not only do these things have positive physical benefits, but they have mental and emotional benefits as well. When you care for your plants you are saving money, helping your over all well being, and preserving a beautiful landscape.

Keeping your soil in good condition is essential for the care of your plants, whether the plants are part of the lawn, or whether they are trees or flowers. Having good soil is essential, as good soil provides nutrients to the plants and also offers moisture, as good soil preserves water and can act as a reservoir of moisture. Keeping your soil healthy is the beginning of caring for your plants. You can keep the soil healthy in a number of ways. Check the acid and alkali contents and make sure that they remain at levels that are good for your plants.

Also, it is a good idea to add organic material to your soil at least once a year. Using organic mulch is a good way to keep your soil in good shape. In shrub and flowerbeds, and around trees, wood chips can help the soil retain moisture and they will break own and provide nutrients as well. Reducing compaction is also important, as it allows air down into the soil and frees up room for beneficial organisms like earthworms. There is also more room for the roots to grow (any kind of roots — grass, tree, flower, etc.), giving them a firmer foundation and better health. Annual aeration will help your grass and the trees and shrubs that you have planted on your lawn. Turning the soil each year and adding special potting soil to the garden and flowerbeds at fall planting can also help.

Efficient watering techniques are also very helpful with plant care. These techniques include things like watering deeply and not terribly often. For the most part, people water their lawns too frequently. This keeps the roots shallow (shallow roots mean less healthy grass) and much of the water either runs off or evaporates. Watering in the early morning (before 10) and in the evening (after 6) can reduce losses to evaporation and increase the amount of water that is actually absorbed into the soil. When watering flowerbeds and trees and shrubs, make sure that rather than simply letting a sprinkler run, you take care to use the hose to water deeply. For established plants, there is no need to water more than once a week. Even the lawn does not need to be watered more than once or twice a week. This type of watering schedule forces the roots to go deeper into the soil, looking for moisture and creating healthier plants that are more tolerant of drought conditions.

Other good care practices include pruning woody plants and inspecting for pests and diseases. Not only does this help with the health of the plants, but it also contributes to their attractiveness. You can help your plants look fuller (especially evergreen shrubs) by pruning yearly. Blossoming plants also benefit from such care, as they will have more blooms when properly pruned. Additionally, when you inspect regularly for pests and diseases, you can catch problems before they get out of hand. You can properly treat the issue as needed, and save time and money in replacing the plants later.

While many people make use of fertilizers, pesticides, and weed killers, these are not necessarily essential for good plant care. It is true that these chemicals can contribute to the health and the look of your landscape, but if they are used improperly they can also cause damage. Make sure that you carefully read the instructions in full before applying any such product. Then, make sure you fallow the directions exactly. Too much of these chemicals can actually harm your plants.

For more information on Plant Care you will want to check out: Answers to Almost AnyHouse Plant Question - Who Else Wants The Happiest and Healthiest House Plants In The Entire Neighborhood?

Landscaping Ideas