Inexpensive shrubbery and hedging

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I have to say, I was in sticker shock when I browsed through the yard of the landscaping company a few months ago. I need a good starting point on what kind of shrub plants are the least expensive. I would like something that grows fast and isnt going to die at the end of summer. Thanks. :)
 
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I'm cheap. I never go to a landscaping company for any of my gardening plants. I have gotten my shrubs and rose bushes from Walmart when they were on sale. Home Depot also has really good sales on garden plants, shrubs and trees. I bought a beautiful plum tree from there for $25 two years ago. Everything I bought is doing well several years later.
 
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For perennials find someone who needs to split them like a neighbor and see if they will give you some. I split most of mine every other year some every couple of years. For shrubs and trees I like to start small as well and watch them grow as you pointed out it is cheaper.
 
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Ooh yes, a landscape company are going to charge premium prices for an ordinary product, thats always true - you might find tree nurseries online who'd sell cheaply - here in the UK, you can buy an ordinary tree, say, a hazel, at different prices depending on how many you buy, the pricing structure goes from 1 - 5, to 6 - 20, to 21 - 50, all the way up to one thousand!

Local dollar stores can be really good sources - but make sure you can see inside the packaging, and check if the compost is damp, and whether its got buds on - I bought some fruit shrubs last year at our equivalent type stores, Poundland shops we call them, and they're wonderful. Rhubarb, too.
 
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I sometimes have trouble funding my favorite hobby too. I noticed that some folks use craig's list to get rid of unwanted plants. I have found them under "free" and "farm and garden". Most of the time they just want you to remove them yourself, and "wah'la" you've got a new plant! I have also found some pretty good treasures in ditches. These plants usually need a little tlc, but I love bringing them back to life again. If they are too far gone, its disappointing, but I didn't spend any money on it.
 
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Here, where I live, forsythia is really inexpensive, it's one of my favorite shrub plants. When it's in bloom, it looks the most beautiful. It doesn't need anything special, just some pruning from time to time and watering. It grows rather fast. Here is a picture:

forsycja--800x600---2-.jpg
 
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Forsythia is a fantasic idea when it's in bloom. I have some in the back of a border because it lacks pizzaz out of season. It is also very easy to force to bloom inside. I always have two to three vases of this in my home every winter and they lasts for weeks.
 
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I do the same thing. I love having a big forsythia bouquet in my room, it looks beautiful, its color is so vivid - and it feels like spring. I don't know how would I survive winter without it, it always cheers me up when I miss my flowers and gardening.
 
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Many of the online plant websites have close outs on shrubs. They are small, but if you get fast growing ones, you will have a nice hedge before too long. One of ones that I like is called directgardening.com .
I also look at Lowes, and out in the back of the lot, they usually have a close out area, and you can find some fantastic buys on trees and shrubs there.
 
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you may not have to go to the back lot at lowes sometime soon. i never remember exactly when, but towards the end of spring (and about the same period in the fall too) they'll start selling out nearly all the plants. i can never remember exactly when they start, but if you happen to catch it right when they do it the selection is best. plus they keep increasing the discount so if you miss the better selection at the beginning, you may luck out and get what you want at an even lower price later. i got a couple of my fruit trees for about $3-4.

also, have you heard of habitat for humanity? check in your city to see if they have a thrift store there, the habitat restore. it's sort of a cross bettween a goodwill and a big box hardware store. if there's one close enough to stop in and check off and on, sometimes various stores and nurseries donate to them. the last one i stopped in had some huge trees, at least 10' tall still in pots, that some nursery had donated. i've also seen the restore truck loading up flowers at lowes a few times.
 
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just to add, i was in a couple of walmarts over the weekend and one had a bunch of stuff out front, the other one didn't, but i guess this is the beginning of them starting to sell out the spring plant inventory.

if you're still interested in deals on plants this is a good time to keep an eye out.
 

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