photo credit: Lights Out Photos

Many may not realize this but plant stress will cause the plant to be more susceptible to insects and disease.

Here are a few tips to consider before you buy a new plant

• Read the plant tag before you bring it home to see if it will grow in your climate zone and will fit into your backyard growing area. There is no sense in buying a shade loving plant if your backyard is all sunshine.
• Check the plant over well before you buy it. Are the soil and roots healthy? Is there a lot of stem or leaf damage? Are there any signs of insects or disease? If you see any of these problems, select another plant.
• Check the size it will grow and if it says, “spreads easily” This is a nice phrase for “invasive plant that will take over your yard.”

Tips to acclimate your plant to its new home

• Check the plant over when you get it home. Remove any damaged leaves.
• Water the plant if it needs it and then set it in a quiet place to rest. Plants suffer from stress to and you don’t know how the plant was treated before you bought it.
• Make sure your plants new home is ready by adding any soil and removing all the weeds.
• I let a plant set apart form other plants for a few days to make sure it does not have an insect problem that you did not notice. You don’t want to infect all your other plants.
• Slowly set the plant outdoors. The plant needs to adjust to sunshine so set out for a few hours then move into a shady place. I usually acclimate a perennial for about 5 days, then plant.
• Plant your perennial in the morning or late at night so that the plant has less sun just after being planted.
• I mulch the area around a new perennial plant to help hold in moisture and keep the roots cool.
• You may want to place a mini fence or plastic around the plant until family and any pets are used to the plant being there. I have lost several plants due to them being stepped on, mowed over or played with by a happy pet.

Perennials will add years of color to your backyard so give them time to adjust to their new home.