Do you prefer growing from seed or buying plants pre-grown/garden ready?

[Fuzzygreenery]

I like buying my plants pre-grown as it fills my home with pretty flowers rather than just pots of soil; however that being said I enjoy growing from seed as it's a lot of hard work but it's very rewarding when it comes to the outcome! Does anyone else do the same?

 

[marlingardener]

We buy starts, and also sow seeds indoors to get a jump on the vegetable garden growing season. We have a limited space, so anything that is easily found at garden shops (like CalWonder peppers, Celebrity tomatoes) we buy as starts. Different vegetables that aren't common we start from seed and grow under lights until they can go outside to harden off.
We start a lot of herbs, simply because they are not easily attainable at shops, and because I like to know what has gone into the growing process.

 

[Beverly]

I prefer to start by seed. I love to see the little heads pop out of the soil. I am also an organic gardener and am never entirely sure how ready-made plants have been treated. Sometimes i buy a plant when i find something i really want, but that is rare and i give them a good root washing before transplanting. I live in a climate that has an all year, every year growing season and things grow fast here so it makes starting by seed a lot easier than in the more northern climates.

 

[Greenhorn]

Seeds as much as possible which is most of the time. I sometimes buy perennial shrubs.

 

[Beth_B]

I would love to grow more from seed (more choices) but am limited by an often-gloomy climate and a small house surrounded on three sides by trees, so my indoor lighting options are basically nil.

Luckily I have several very good garden centers near me so I can buy good starter plants.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I'd prefer buying pre-grown plants at seed prices!



I personally prefer growing plants from seed for one simple reason: I'm currently growing around 130 plants at about the same price that one or two pre-grown plants would've cost. I also prefer it because it's a fun, easy hobby in a time of year where there isn't much else to do. It gets me excited for Spring. I love seeing the growth of my native seedlings and thinking about the insect and animal species that they'll help out in the future.

I can certainly understand that it isn't fun waiting a year to see perennials bloom, but it's unbelievably cheap that it's well worth the wait. I do tend to buy just one plant each year in Spring, just for fun, but my entire garden is filled with plants that I either started indoors from seed or from seed that I scattered right on the ground.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Depends on the plant. 80% of the time it is a sturdy plant.

 

[johnny canoe]

I've been growing plants from seed for years. And still every time my Petunias poke through the mix my first thought is, they're so tiny, I bet they die. lol

 

[Elena]

I prefer to grow the seedlings tomatoes myself. I love to take care of them. I only buy seedlings 6 cucumbers for early harwest. There's dry air in my apartment and cucumbers can't grow. Marigolds and zinnia, cucumbers, zucchini and cabbage I grow seedlings in the greenhouse.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

BTW, there is a difference between growing an annual, a perennial, or a veggie plant from seed.

 

[LIcenter]

The majority of my gardens are perennials. While it would be nice to grow the many plants from seed it's not really a good option. I'm in the same boat as Beth_B, stated above. With that being said, this will be my first year growing many annuals from seed. If it goes well, I'll increase annual seeding next year.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Perennials from seed take a longer time, couple years, before they can be successfully put in the ground. My first experience with one was Mountain Rue. When I priced out the plant, I thought, too expensive and found seeds. They took 3 years before the plants were large enough to go into the ground. So, the enlightenment is the cost of my time fussing with them, etc versus just buying the plant out right. So, buying a perennial outright is my top choice. I will put annual seeds out in early May, but outside, most I chose are easy starters, and they stay in the pots I put them in. But some years, I will just buy other types of annuals to plant in pots, depends on my mood I guess.

 

[MaryMary]

I prefer to grow from seed. I enjoy watching the seedlings pop up out of the ground. "Yay!! There they are!!" Somehow, it makes them more "mine" than plants I have bought.

I've been sitting here pondering, and really can't remember the last time I bought a houseplant. The last one (I think...) was the snake plant, so probably four years ago.

My veggies, I always start from seed. One or two years, I bought yellow bell peppers, but had no better luck with them than ones I started from seed, so don't bother anymore. (WHY can't I grow bell peppers?! )

I don't seem to be very good with perennial flowers I have bought. About half of everything I've bought winds up dying on me. I know some of that is because I have a hard time accepting "full sun" does not mean "part shade," but even when I buy shade or part shade plants, they just don't come back the next year. I'm trying to get in the habit of hitting the nursery for their end of season sale, because if the price is "Buy one, Get two" ...and half of them will die... then I'm breaking even, at least.

 

[roadrunner]

I prefer to buy seedlings, but my wallet likes the seeds; my wallet generally wins that argument.

I guess I'm just ...

 

[splinx]

Do you prefer growing from seed or buying plants pre-grown/garden ready?

I prefer from seed.

It is amazing to see a seed becoming a plant, tree, or shrub.

But that requires some time, especially for slow growing trees. I'd buy an already grown plant only if I don't have that time (or patience, lol).

Thank you!