Educational Materials & Marketing Services
Extension 4-H Youth Bldg.
Ames, Iowa 50011-3630
(515) 294-9915
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Educational Materials & Marketing Services |
1/12/04
Contacts:
Cindy Haynes, Horticulture, (515) 294-4006, chaynes@iastate.edu
Jean McGuire, Continuing Education and Communication Services, (515) 294-7033,
jmcguire@iastate.edu
Yard and Garden Column for the Week Beginning Jan. 16, 2004
By Cindy Haynes
Extension Horticulture Specialist
Iowa State University
By January, gardeners are inundated with catalogs. After accepting the fact that you have been added to yet another mailing list, you begin to flip through the pages of photos, descriptions and prices. While you are drooling over the photos and imagining acres of new plants in your garden, you wonder whether the company is any good. How do you know if a mail-order nursery has quality plants? Will the plants shipped be large enough to enjoy in your lifetime? Will the plants they describe even live in the Midwest?
Sometimes gardeners take the gamble and order a few items. And just like gambling, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. But there are ways to hedge your bets and prevent unpleasant surprises. To know whether the catalog, and ultimately the company, is worth the risk, here are a few tips to consider when browsing its pages.
Accuracy -- One of the most important considerations is accurate information. Does this catalog provide you with enough information to make a good selection? Does the catalog list the scientific or botanical name? (A plant’s scientific name consists of two words, is usually in italics, and is often difficult to pronounce.) Some catalogs maximize the space for pictures at the cost of adequate descriptions. When descriptions are provided, double-check a few with a good reference book. This is where the scientific name helps out. A plant can have several different common names but only one scientific name. Find a good reference book and look up the plant by its scientific name. Take the catalog to the library if you have to. If you find the catalog’s information misleading or wrong, pitch it. If they don’t know what they are selling, you certainly don’t want to buy it!
Hardiness Zones -- Will this plant grow in
Iowa? One of the best ways to know if a perennial or woody plant will survive
Iowa conditions is to check
for a cold hardiness rating in the description. The hardiness rating tells
us the average lowest winter temperature the plant will tolerate. Most garden
catalogs and references use the USDA Hardiness Zone Map. According to the USDA
map, northern Iowa is a zone 4, while southern Iowa is a zone 5. Zone 4 plants
can tolerate temperatures to -30 degrees F and zone 5 plants can tolerate
temperatures to -20 degrees F. The smaller the number, the lower the tolerated
temperature. Therefore, if a plant is described as being hardy to zone 6 or
7, it probably won’t make it through an Iowa winter. While the cold hardiness
rating does not guarantee the plant will survive for years in your garden,
it is a good place to start.
Customer Friendly -- How easy is the catalog to use? Is there
a table of contents or index? Let’s face it, you don’t use a catalog
just once. Many of us go through each one several times. The ones that are
organized
and easy to use are less frustrating and used more often. Many customer friendly
catalogs have symbols instead of text for cultural requirements like water
and light. This allows more space for additional plant information or pictures.
Customer friendly catalogs are durable and last for years. Who hasn’t
gone back to the catalog a year after planting to double-check something? If
a catalog is easy to use, it’s usually a good indication that ordering
the plants will be easy too.
Price -- This section is not about the price of the seeds or plants, but the price of the catalog. (Trust me, the price of the plants will be listed clearly!) Don’t exclude a catalog from your list of preferred companies because it may cost a couple of bucks. Price is sometimes an indication of value. These companies normally do not produce millions of catalogs and only mail one to individuals interested and willing to pay for it. While this may seem like catalog snobbery, sometimes it can be worth it. Often you get a gift certificate equal to the price of the catalog that can be redeemed with your first order. So the catalog really didn’t cost anything in the end. Better yet, after the first couple of orders, you are considered a good enough customer to get the catalogs for free!
Check the Fine Print -- Know what you are getting. Somewhere in the catalog the size and price of each item is listed. Nothing equals the disappointment of receiving an itty-bitty plant when you expected a 5-foot shrub. Remember that mail order plants are often smaller than the same plants from a local garden center. (The smaller sized plants are usually lower priced as well.) The plants have to be smaller to be mailed easily. If you don’t understand the size designations (pot size, grade, etc.), then contact the company and ask. Also included in the fine print should be the approximate shipping time or period, method of shipping, handling costs, etc. Good companies will ship material to you during the best planting time for your area. This may mean waiting a few weeks, but increases the survival chances of the plants. Another fine print item is the guarantee or customer satisfaction policy. What happens if you are not happy with the plant or it arrives dead? Most reputable companies will replace plants if notified as soon as possible. If you are unsure or cannot understand their satisfaction policy, ask a representative prior to placing the order. A customer service representative should have all the answers. If they don’t know or can’t find out, this catalog should be used as a fire starter.
Referral -- Gardeners seldom garden alone. We have friends that also order plants through the mail. So ask your gardening friends where they get their mail-order plants. Equally as important, ask them which mail-order companies to avoid.
Don’t be fooled by glossy cover photos; a good catalog will rely on more than pretty pictures to attract and keep your business. Rather plain catalogs can turn out to be some of the best. Some are even entertaining by including cartoons, stories, jokes, or slapstick humor. While we may wonder about the owners of such companies, everyone loves a catalog that makes us laugh. But we order from the catalogs that are worth the risk!
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ml: isugarden
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Editors: The USDA Hardiness Zone map for Iowa is available for this week’s column. The map file size is 144K. Caption: Iowa Hardiness Zones 4 and 5 |
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