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the best buy

My best buy was and is the bay tree I got for £1.5o in a small pot some 10years or more ago. I thought I would lose it in the winter and the hard ones of late I thought would see it become weak and die,not a bit of it ,it still is doing fine and I did take some cuttings from it once.I think perhaps because it is next to the patio and in a dip,that this has given  it shelter.As always it is the bargain plant that I find so interesting,to see it thrive and survie is always a thrill.Many chuck out plants at the supermarket I have brought back to life and seems more than if I bought a expensive one.what s your favorite buy or find.

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  • waterbuttswaterbutts Posts: 1,269

    I don't have a particular favourite as a lot of my plants are rescues. It just made me laugh to remember one neighbour in London who was a member of the RHS and was forever going to Wisley and buying the creme de la creme of plants. All her super-duper, top of the range, cost-a-mint plants died while my knock-off, near-as-dammit copies ran riot.

    There's a lesson in there somewhere but I'm not sure what it is.image

  • I think your right.even indoor plants that i rescued are bargains ,in away I suppose the nursing back to health is what I like ,since that was my job(humans) .image

  • I'm always raiding the Plant Rescue stand at garden centres and have had quite a lot of luck.It's a very cost-effective way to buy perennials, which should come up the following year with a bit of TLC.  A few years ago I bought a Brunnera "Jack Frost" which was close to death in Homebase and I have divided it several times since - the silvery leaves look fantastic pretty much all year round. People are always asking me what it is. On another rescue mission,  I saved a wonderful Astrantia with variegated leaves which is stunning - the flowers are pretty but the leaves look like they have been dipped in white paint. (Sounds horrible but looks great next to purple heuchera leaves). I took a bit of a leap of faith in spring, buying what looked like a pot of soil. The label promised me a Solomon's Seal and I could see healthy roots in the compost. I planted it and it has romped away. And this summer I bought a rather crowded Veronica which had gone over, but hopefully will give me lovely white flowers next summer. I divided it into three and it looks like I may need to divide them again before I plant them out this Autumn. So, not just one plant for half the price, but possibly six or more!

    We have to be patient, we canny money-saving plant rescuers, but it sure is worth it. I'm sure I have saved hundreds of pounds over the years, as it really is only worth growing perennials in my shady garden and they can be very expensive

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