Long Island Nursery

Similar to the watchfulness that people receive from caregivers who understand their needs, expert care at plant nurseries does the same thing for young plants. Starting even earlier with seeds, they provide a place where germination can occur. Horticulturalists grow new plants from cuttings and divisions as well as seeds. Retail nurseries sell seedlings and bigger plants to the public, businesses, commercial gardeners, institutions or private estates.

Development of the new growth starts in small containers that provide a nutritious growing environment. As plants grow larger, experts move them from trays to 4” pots or gallon containers that accommodate specific needs. Some nurseries offer plants that homeowners can transplant while others use them as stock for budding or grafting, complex horticultural methods of development that require knowledge and expertise.

The abundance and variety of plants available today allows homeowners to choose several different ways to obtain greenery for luscious landscapes that complement a home and increase its value. Homeowners can find a variety of plant life, including annuals or perennials, saplings, seeds, fruit trees, bulbs and flowers at three different types of nurseries depending on their needs. The three different nursery categories are wholesale nurseries, retail nurseries, and mail order suppliers.

• Wholesale Nurseries - Price and quantity considerations usually influence buying decisions that lead homeowners to wholesale nurseries. More likely to specialize in smaller starter plants than in specimen trees, wholesalers at a plant nursery provide access to larger quantities of plantings to landscapers and developers.
• Retail Nurseries - Homeowners who appreciate the guidance that retail nurseries provide can find higher-end or larger specimen plants at garden centers that specialize in understanding clients’ needs. Retail nurseries may please valued customers by offering accessories that include birdbaths, window boxes or garden tools.
• Mail-Order Nurseries - The convenience of mail order may encourage some homeowners to decide to use nurseries that offer at-home delivery, but some inconveniences may impact the decision. Mail-order companies often avoid shipping any heavy containers by selling “bare-root” plants. They may also offer specialty plants that local nurseries do not provide.

The process of growing plants in a nursery starts with putting seeds in flats with wire bottoms. In germination, the seeds produce roots that grow through, dry out and die to encourage more root production. They are then moved to half pint containers that allow the roots to grow through air holes to repeat the cycle of letting the root tips die to develop a strong, fibrous root system, a key to helping transplants thrive. Environmentally responsible nurseries avoid chemicals and use post- or pre-emergent herbicides as well as organic or inorganic fertilizers instead.

Bags create a damp and warm environment for plants and encourage healthy growth. They serve other purposes as well by making plants easy to handle and transport. By taking up less space than rigid pots, they allow nurseries to enjoy the economies of storing many plants in a small space. The bags can provide a greenhouse-like environment that prepares them for transplanting without disrupting their root systems.

While it may sound like a place to rest, a nursery bed more specifically provides a protected growing spot for selected plants without concern for design. Gardeners may put seedlings, cuttings or seeds in the bed until they can find a place in the plot. Its primary purpose makes it a place for plants to demonstrate their growth habits, color and resistance to disease before taking a place in a garden. Usually out of view where no one other than the gardener can see it, a bed can work equally well for ornamental or edible plants. Vegetable gardeners who practice succession planting can use the bed to prepare crops to take the place of earlier ones when they exhaust their productivity.

Home gardeners can choose from three types of plants that complement different areas in a landscape.

• In-container - Plants that nurseries offer in containers may include perennials and annuals as well as shrubs and small trees.
• Bare-root - Garden centers often offer bare-root roses and some large hedge plants that make transplanting a convenient process. Nurseries may dig them from a field during the dormant season and put them in cold storage until spring arrives.
• Balled and Burlapped - Large shrubs and trees that may exceed the size of containers for convenience or weight factors may have a protective covering wrapped around their root balls. Dug from the field, they may lose a significant portion of their root systems, but they recover with proper planting and watering.

In a warm, humid and protected environment, greenhouses provide the perfect place for plants to propagate. Used mainly by botanists, dedicated gardeners, and commercial plant growers, they allow sunlight to enter a glass-enclosed space while preventing heat from escaping.

Plant nurseries are very similar to greenhouses in that they provide ideal growing spaces for plants as well, but they are not usually closed in and typically are used in a commercial setting. Nurseries often encourage customers to buy the plants that they’ve developed by arranging them in open air settings. At our garden center, we welcome everyone to admire our plants, savor the seasonal aromas, and learn about the techniques needed to grow your own garden at home.