A visit to your local gardening centre can be both exhilarating and unexpected. There are a plethora of lovely plants, trees, and shrubs to select from. Make certain that all of the plants you choose will thrive in your garden and landscape design. Here are some things to check for when buying plants to ensure that you bring home robust, healthy plants for your yard.

When measuring the relative health of a plant, there are two key areas to consider. The first is the plant's leaves. Instead of being thin and sparse, the leaves should be bushy and striped. Unless the plant species include leaves of various colours, all of the leaves should be a brilliant green. Plants that appear to be frail have most likely been neglected, and you'll have a difficult time reviving them once you get them home to your yard.

The roots of the plant should also be examined. Roots are crucial to a plant's survival because they provide it with the nourishment and water it needs. A nutrient-deficient root system will starve the plant. The roots will be naturally buried under the soil when you inspect your plants at the gardening centre, so do some digging. The easiest way to do this is to turn the plant pot to one side and then the other, removing the dirt and checking the roots on each side. A healthy plant will have spreading roots and not overburden the soil. An unhealthy plant will have roots wrapped around each other and wrapped around the ball of soil on the outside. They will show that there is not enough soil in the pot. Never buy a plant with this type of root system. The roots are already suffocating the plant, and you won't be able to fix this by planting it in your garden. Some garden centres may tell you that the roots have this look because they are in a small pot and that when they have more area in the garden, they will "stretch out." Their suggestion is not correct. Once wrapped, the roots will remain that way, so give these plants a little root pruning with a sharp knife.

There are other signs to look for that the plant is unhealthy, and most have to do with the leaves. For example, brown leaves that are crunchy and brittle is a sign that the plant has not been getting enough water. Yellow and waxy leaves may indicate that the plant was receiving too much water. Leaves that appear thin and whitish indicates that the plant has a spider mite problem. If the edges of the leaves are very uneven, then insects gnaw the plant away. Marks and scars on the lower part of the leaves also show that the plant has an insect problem. Brown leaves that shrivel rather than brittle or leave with discoloured spots usually mean the plant has some infection, usually a fungal infection. If a lot of stems are cut from a plant, this indicates that the garden centre has not handled the plants well. If you see a lot of plants like these at the garden centre, it may be time to start shopping elsewhere.