Have you ever been to a garden center and seen all of those tall carts packed full with plants? These plants always seem perfect in size and height. All you want to do is hoard the carts, because you know they are fresh off the truck.

You may want to put the breaks on that impulse. What I am about to tell you is a secret they don’t want you to know.

They spray them with growth retardant!

Growth retardant stalls a plant from growing for up to 4-6 weeks!!!

The reason they spray these plants, is so they don’t grow too large. Then they can fit more on the truck that they deliver these plants in. That way they save money, while you suffer from watching your beautiful plants do nothing for 4-6 weeks!

When you go to a greenhouse where they advertise that their products are home grown, you will notice a difference. Not all plants are the same height, or width. By the end of the selling season, some things may even seem ‘overgrown’. That’s because they do not spray growth retardants on their plants. So as soon as you plant these plants, they take off like crazy! Therefore, you get to enjoy your hard work instantly.

Now that I have spilled a big secret, you will be able to tell a difference in how much healthier homegrown plants look compared to shipped in plants. When you go shopping for your flowers and vegetables this year, pay attention to garden centers who offer homegrown. You will be a much happier garderner!