Beware of False Economy in the Garden

If I had to define the type of gardener that I am, I would use terms like project-oriented (vs. maintenance-oriented), frugal and lazy. I'm not ashamed of any of those traits, by the way. Spending unnecessary money or doing unnecessary work is not, in my mind a virtue.

I will do a large project on the front end if it means less maintenance over the long term. Thus, my minibed gardens on plastic. That was a huge project for my family, and there was definitely some expense.

I will spend a little more money on a disease-resistant or low maintenance plant if it means that I get to spend more time enjoying it (or reading, or drinking a cup of tea) rather than maintaining the plant's health. I buy own-root roses rather than grafted roses because if they die back due to frost, the root stock is still what I bought rather than some hardy but less attractive rose.

And I will generally scout all available sources for a plant that I want until I find the best possible price for it. But sometimes, I fail to consider all angles before making a purchase. Case in point:

Yesterday, I purchased 1 gallon creeping phlox plants from two different garden centers. One place charged $10 per pot, the other was $8 per pot. I purchased from both places (the colors that I can't find everywhere from the more expensive source, the more common colors from the less expensive source). I figured that I would be able to divide the plants when I put them into the ground, and get more coverage for the slope where they were planted.

1 gallon pot yielded 4 plants

What I failed to do, was to inspect the less expensive plants before purchase. The $8 pots contained one large (and quite healthy) plant with a single main stem. The $10 pots had 3-4 places where I could cut the plants apart. So the $8 pots cost me $8 per plant, whereas the $10 pots cost me $2.50-$3.33 per plant. If I had paid attention, I might have found some pots that contained multiple stems that would then have cost me $2.00-$2.67 apiece. But it's just as possible that they were all single plants.

Now, the $8 plants are obviously larger, and will make a nice large mound of ground cover and blossoms, sooner than the plants that I was able to divide. Eventually, I will be able to divide those bigger plants and spread them to other areas. But that will mean future work for me.

Since I have a fairly large slope to cover (and protect from erosion), I need the maximum amount of plants for the least amount of money, now. I can more easily afford the time that it will take the smaller plants to fill in, than the time it will take for the larger plants to be ready to divide. After a year or two, it probably won't even be obvious which plants started out bigger and cost me more.

Sometimes, the less expensive option isn't the best value. And sometimes, you just have to pay attention.