How much money do they want?
 

Okay, how much would YOU pay? We stopped today at the local Publix Grocery Store to check on their specials. Stacked around one of the columns out front were some 30" tall tomato plants in 2-3 gallon black nursery pots. Naturally, my curiosity had to look.

They were listed on their tags as "Better Bush". Most had several smallish 1-2" tomatoes already set. The plants were stocky and almost looked "Rugose" in their stockiness. I looked for a price tag and didn't see one right away. Then, shoved down in between a couple of the pots was the magical piece of cardstock. They wanted $12.98 each for the plants. Another local grocer last year had similar plants for $2.50 each, and they had 12 varieties to choose from.

A bit later, the garden department manager at the Oakwood, GA Walmart told me he was ordering additional tomato and pepper plants every two days and his delivery time was 48 hours from the time of the order. He also said that this was a most unusual year for his vegetable plants. One of his workers made the comment that the plants are "flying off the shelf as quick as we can put them on the shelf."

My wife was a bit irked when two ladies trying to buy some pepper and tomato plants began asking me questions about how to grow tomatoes on patios. I did my best to please both my wife and the curious questioners. But, as you all know, there was no way for me to win this one.

Anyhow, this has sparked my curiosity about how much plants are costing in YOUR neck of the woods.

Ted

Standard Bonnie's 12 OZ cup plants were $3.50 here a month or two back. A friend of mine in College Station reported the same prices there after weather killed the first two batches of plants I gave him. He ended up buying a couple of six packs of small plants for $3 at his Co-Op store. I figure the drive cost him another $2 in fuel. The lowest price I've seen in Houston was 95 cent for single pitiful dying plants at a grocery store. They had plenty of those dying plants too. :surprised:

Ken

This year all my plants came from seeds sent to me from friends like you Ted. :yes:

I have not priced tomato plants this year but my daughter told me to send her some info at work plus a few pics of the tomato plants and she'd post them on the bulletin board. I hemmed and hawed around trying to decide what to ask and finally about 3 p.m. I sent the email. Within half an hour, I had an order. I asked 3.00 each or 4/10.00. The guy bought 4 and that was at the end of the day. My daughter said several of the people had already left for the weekend. So who knows, maybe I'll sell a few more next week?! :)

we went to a garden center near Tri-County mall in Cincinnati, and they wanted $4.50 or 2 for 7 (as my DF recalls), and then we went to Jungle Jims (awesome international market/grocery complex) and they had 4-cells for $1.95 tomatoes and peppers! (and a few double cells, we got about 6 plants for that!)

Ive paid $2-3 for quart size plants (about 6 true leaves) for heirlooms at a local place, but theyre liquidating
this year....

I've visited 2 garden centers this season. At one, their 4" pots were $3.99. At the other, they had only cell packs, which were $6. They said they're potting up next week (I assume to 4") and that they will then be $6/each.

i haven't bought plants in a long time maybe 18 years. i prolly wouldn't spend more than 2 or 3 bucks for a single plant. sure wouldn't spend 12 for a big plant. i was raised thrifty. not gonna do it. i'd be going for a 6 pack or 4 pack for $1.95 or whatever the price may be.


keith

Robin303, thank you for your kind words. I, too, have bought no plants this year. I'll send you some pictures of my wonderful pepper plants that have come from seeds from your garden.

Ted

My experience has been if you buy a 4-pack for 1.29, or about 35 cents per plant, you can pot them up to 4" square pots, hold them 2 weeks and have a better plant than Bonnie sells at Walmart or Home Depot for 3.99 - or ten times your investment.

I would have to say that this is so true Travis, except for strawberries, I have not been able to find a good price on them so I went ahead and bought 3 bonnie plants from the dreaded HD.
But I would not buy anything else from them. I also scooped up some plants at the local swap meet for 3 for $4. So you can always try places like that.
Sammie

About 3 weeks ago I saw some 2-3 ft tomato plants at Costco, they wanted 11 or 12 dollars for them, no way I was going to pay that for root bound plants (they already had blooms on them too) but people were buying them up.

Looked at several plant places today - the local mom and pop wonderful places - .79 for a maybe 3" x 3" pot and .99 at the other place - mostly hybrids, very limited heirloom selection. Piegirl

Wow, I could have made a mint this year.

I picked up a couple 18'' Talledega Plants from Bonnie that were $3.50 each. But they had the larger plants for 12.50 too, I think they were all cherry though. Only heirloom was Mr. Stripey. :(

I'm in Los Angeles county, in the San Fernando Valley.

Laurel sells plants for $5-8 each, and sold more of her available stock in one day than she thought she would in 3 weeks at those prices. She has 4" pots. She has weekly plant sales along with her web sales, and she had to shut down for 2 weeks, her first day was that busy!

I sold a jaune flamme today at my yard sale for $5, also in a 4" pot.

The Hollywood farmer's market has a guy selling seedlings for $1 - $2.

The WalMart near me doesn't seem to have a problem stocking the plants, but maybe they're just quick. Standard wallyworld prices. (still trying to wash the wally-ick off. They sucked me in to look at cheap tomato cages)

The nursery 2 blocks from me sells a decent variety, some basic heirlooms and hybrids. They're a pretty good indie. I'd say I see about 30 or so varieties. The vast majority of their large vegetable and herb area is tomatoes. They sell 4" pots for $1.29, small 6-packs for $1.49. I bought a Cherokee Purple from them 2 days ago at that price. :) They are very likely conventionally raised, though. They get you on the tomato cages and fertilizer, also!