Where can I get a plant?

Every plant named also has the name of a business associated with the plant. Most of those businesses don’t offer retail sales. So why include this name? Because if you ask at your garden centre and offer them this name, they should be able to tell you if they’re getting the plant or possibly order it for you.

In a simple plan, there are four levels of businesses between you and a new plant. There are the breeders, who develop new varieties by crossing and recrossing those that currently exist. Then there are the dealers and brokers, who narrow down new varieties from the breeders – maybe half of what is new for sale in a year gets selected by brokers and dealers. They sell to growers, who choose maybe two-thirds of the plants to grow. The growers sell to the retailers, who will choose around half of what’s on offer. The retailers are the garden centres and big box stores. They sell to you, the consumer.

The problem is that the plan is not so simple. There are growers who are also retailers, and breeders who are also dealers, and retailers who are sometimes breeders, and everything in between. For example, Syngenta is a breeder which employs its own brokers and has growers as well. Proven Winners employs its own breeders and works with smaller breeders; they are also growers and have started to sell to the public through mail order. You can also buy Proven Winners products at Home Depot and numerous other garden centres and box stores.

If you are truly at a loss finding a plant that you really want, contact the business we’ve listed and ask them where in your area you can get it. They will either know or know who you can contact to find out.