How to Buy Healthy Plants Online: Money Saving Gardening Guide

In today’s digital age, buying plants online has become a convenient way for gardening enthusiasts to expand their plant collection. Whether it’s buying plants on your phone during your lunch hour or searching Google for that rare specimen plant you can’t find in garden centres. Online plant buying is here to stay and part of the gardeners’ new toolkit for creating a gorgeous garden.

However, choosing healthy plants from the vast selection available can be a daunting task.

• Can you spot your bare roots from your container-grown plants?

• Do you really know whether that cheap discount plant is a dried-up plug plant or simply a few seeds in an envelope?

• Are you really getting a good deal on that plant or will it arrive far smaller than you expected?

Fear not! In this guide I’ll share the tips I use myself, both as a professional garden designer sourcing plants for client gardens and as someone who orders plenty of plants online for my own patch, to help you navigate the virtual garden and ensure you receive healthy, vibrant plants delivered right to your doorstep.

This page contains affiliate links for products I use and love. If you take action (i.e. subscribe, make a purchase) after clicking a link, I may earn some gardening commission, which helps me keep the Garden Ninja Blog free for all.

My Primrose Discount Code: 15% Off

Primrose stocks everything from plants and planters to garden furniture, water features and fencing, and they’re one of the sellers I mention further down this guide as a trustworthy place to shop. Because I now work with them directly, I’ve been able to negotiate a 15% off code that isn’t available anywhere else, including on the coupon sites you’ll find if you search for a Primrose discount code online.

Unlike many of the codes floating around on voucher sites, which are often expired, restricted to certain categories, or simply don’t work at checkout, this one comes straight from Primrose to me, and then to you. I’ll email it to you directly once you’ve signed up below, rather than publish it openly on the page, purely so it stays a genuine reader offer rather than something that gets scraped and reposted elsewhere.

🛒 Browse the full range at Primrose, then use the form below to get your code before you check out.

1. Research Reputable Online Plant Nurseries

Start by researching reputable online nurseries or sellers known for their quality plants and positive customer reviews. Each country has their own big brands, but here in the UK, we have a few known sellers that have excellent reputations for supplying great plants.

• J Parkers
• Thompson & Morgan
• Primrose (Garden Ninja readers can also grab a 15% discount code here)
• Bluebell Cottage Gardens
• Sarah Raven

Look for nurseries that specialise in the type of plants you are interested in. Check if they have detailed plant descriptions, care instructions, and clear photographs, as these indicate their commitment to customer satisfaction.

One accreditation worth looking out for is Plant Healthy certification, a DEFRA-backed scheme that independently assesses growers and sellers against strict plant health and biosecurity standards. It’s still relatively new, so not every good nursery will carry it yet, but if you see the Plant Healthy mark on a seller’s site, it’s a genuine sign they’ve been rigorously assessed rather than simply saying the right things in their marketing copy.

What may surprise you is that a number of other sellers can also offer fantastic plants such as Amazon and eBay, that is if you know what to look for which is where this guide is going to help save you loads of time! By doing your research in advance you can select the right plant, biggest size and best value.

One thing worth asking before you buy, particularly from a marketplace seller you don’t recognise, is where the plant is actually grown. A good number of online “sellers” don’t grow a single plant themselves. They take your order and then have it dropshipped from a third-party grower you’ll never see named anywhere on the listing, which means you’ve no way of checking that grower’s standards, biosecurity practices, or how long the plant sat in transit before it even reached the seller’s own warehouse. A seller who’s upfront about their own nursery, with photos of their own polytunnels or growing beds, is worth far more trust than one who’s cagey about it.

Key Tip: Always check the seller’s location. It’s always better to buy plants from the country you live in than to import plants. It’s faster and better for the environment with lower Co2 emissions. It also means you’re not unwittingly importing plant diseases into the country.

2. Know Your Plant’s Needs

Before making a plant purchase online, familiarise yourself with the specific needs of the plant you want before buying online.

Consider plant factors such as:

• Sunlight requirements (also known as garden aspect)
• Soil type
• Flowering seasons (when does it flower)
• Watering frequency ie free draining or moisture-retentive soil
• Temperature preferences i.e warm or colder climates
• How much care i.e pruning or maintenance the plant requires

This knowledge will help you choose plants that are suitable for your local climate and gardening expertise. If you just pick plants you like the look at the chances are when you get them delivered they will fail to thrive in your garden.

It’s also worth asking sellers, particularly for bedding and pollinator plants, whether their stock has been treated with neonicotinoid pesticides. These are still legal for some ornamental use in the UK despite the outdoor ban on most agricultural uses, and they can persist in a plant’s tissue and pollen for a long time after purchase, doing real harm to bees and other pollinators once the plant is in flower in your garden. As a beekeeper myself, this is something I check for on any bulk order of pollinator-friendly plants, and a reputable seller should be able to answer the question directly rather than dodge it.

Key Tip: Make a note of your soil type (this soil guide will help) and how the sun moves around your garden by making notes throughout the day (this guide on garden aspects will help) along with using a compass app to see which way your garden faces. This will inform you how much light there is which allows you to pick plants that either like full sun, dappled shade or part shade.

3. Read Customer Reviews

Customer reviews are valuable resources for gauging the quality of plants and the reliability of the online nursery. Look for reviews that mention the health and condition of the plants upon arrival, as well as the packaging and delivery process. There’s no point in getting a great deal on plants online if they arrive dried out, battered and damaged.

Positive feedback from previous customers is a good sign of a trustworthy seller, but make sure the reviews state specifics. Fake reviews will always sound too good to be true and never mention specific plant names.

Key Tip: Check the number of reviews and specific plant details of both the positive and negative reviews. Trust your instincts, if a plant purchase seems too good to be true it probably is. When searching Google the ads at the top are usually sponsored – i.e. the seller pays to get them listed higher, so make sure you also scroll down for the Organic results (not paid for).

4. Check the size of the plant

Believe it or not, the size of plants when buying online differs hugely. From tiny plug plants that can fit through your letter box to 5-litre pots that arrive in huge boxes (hopefully well packaged).

Don’t assume that all plants will be healthy 2-litre plant pots as you see at garden centres. The chances are that, to save on postage and logistics, they will be far smaller.

This is why it is so important to check the size of the plants. The plants in the picture below are 9 cm, or P9, which is the most common size of ‘live plant’ sold on Amazon, Thompson and Morgan or eBay. Often referred to as P9.

The most common plant sizes sold online in order of smallest to largest are:

• Plug plants (small & jumbo which fit through a letterbox)
• Bare roots (dormant roots which need planting ASAP)
• P9 or 9cm pots (most common)
• 1 litre
• 2 litre
• 5 litre (least common and most expensive for packaging and delivery

Key Tip: Always be aware of the plant size so you know if you’re getting a newly grown plug plant or an established 2 litre fully formed plant.

5. Examine Plant Descriptions and Photos

Detailed plant descriptions and high-quality photos can be crucial when buying plants online. But be aware that most of the photos will be stock photos of the plant in perfect condition. Usually photographed by a professional.

Whereas real-life photos will often show the plant in a small pot, not in flower, which is a more accurate portrayal of the plant you bought online.

With real-life plant photos, look for clear images that showcase the plant’s current condition and growth stage, such as the plant in a polytunnel (grown from seed) if bought from an independent nursery. Pay attention to any signs of pest infestations, discolouration, or wilting (which won’t exist in the stock photos).

Descriptions should also include information about the plant’s size, age, and health status.

A good example of an online plant seller’s description would read:

• Name – Achillea ‘Martina’
• A superb variety with long-lasting lemon-yellow flowerheads, fading to cream during the season. Long flowering period late June to September. Ferny green foliage. Vigorous 1-litre plant pot grown a year ago from seed. Grows to 75cm
• Common Name -Yarrow ‘Martina’
• Plant Type – Hardy perennial
• Height – 60cm to 90cm
• Colour – Yellow
• Spread Rate – Moderate to 1m across in 3 years
• Flowering Time -Late Summer
• Soil Type – Normal, Drained, Dry. Won’t tolerate clay.
• Aspect -Full Sun
• Pollination -Attractive to pollinators
• Awards – RHS AGM Award
• Other Features – Great for hoverflies and bees

It’s essential that you can also see the full Latin name of the plant, not just the common name. An example below would be:

• Common Name: ‘Black Eyed Suzie’
• Latin Name: Rudbeckia hirta

If not, you really don’t know what type of plant you’re getting, as common names can refer to multiple plant species.

Key Tip: Always click the ‘Description‘ or ‘Read more‘ tab on plant listings to check as much of the above detail as possible. If it’s missing, how can you be sure which plant and what specific details you’re actually buying?

6. Timing Matters when buying plants online

Timing your plant purchase is essential, especially for live plants. Avoid buying during extreme weather or very hot or cold seasons, as this can stress the plants in transit and mean you have to rush to plant them before they die.

Opt for spring or autumn when buying plants online, if possible, when temperatures are moderate for most plant types, and they have a higher chance of establishing without lots of aftercare such as watering and feeding.

The other consideration is how long delivery will take from the time your plant is packaged until it reaches your door. All plants need light and moisture to survive. It’s the two key requirements for plants. When they are packaged up, both light levels and access to moisture are restricted, so they are on a countdown to running out of both.

If you’re buying plants, you really want to receive them no longer than 5 days after they have been packed to give them a fighting chance.

Key Tip: If you see sellers advertising delivery within 28 days or similar, be cautious that they aren’t being packaged and then left with a carrier for delivery within weeks from some warehouse. Plants should be received no later than a week from ordering, unless they are awaiting stock.

7. Consider Plant Packaging

Carefully packaged plants are more likely to arrive in good condition. Look for online nurseries that use secure and environmentally friendly packaging. Plants should be packed with sufficient padding to prevent soil spillage and damage during transit.

Trusted online plant sellers always package up plants that have been soaked and then the container wrapped to prevent moisture and soil loss.

Plants should always be labelled with ‘handle with care’ or this way up if necessary. It goes without saying that some delivery companies and shipping carriers look after packages better than others. So sometimes paying a bit more for a trusted carrier can result in plants that have been looked after!

Also, consider the amount of single-use plastic that your order contains, as this can’t be easily recycled and leaves lots of waste. Especially with plug plant trays and custom plastic wrappings. You can read more here on why single use plastic is the enemy of the gardener and why we should avoid it where possible.

Some ethical plant nurseries will even post your plants completely plastic-free! Below is an example of waxed paper plants delivered from the wonderful Bluebell Cottage Nurseries here in Manchester, UK. Everything below is compostable and recyclable! Brilliant!

Key Tip: Avoid single-use plastic wherever possible. Opt for the easily recyclable taupe-coloured pots or, better still, plastic-free packaging that can be completely composted at home in your compost bin. It also saved stuffing your recycling bins full of waste plastic.

8. What to Do When Your Plants Arrive

This is the step most buying guides skip entirely, and it’s arguably more important than anything you do before you click buy. What happens in the first thirty minutes after your plants land on the doorstep has a real bearing on whether they establish well or sulk for the rest of the season.

Unbox them straight away; don’t leave the box sitting in a hallway or on a porch. I know it’s tempting to leave a delivery until you’ve got a spare hour, but a boxed plant with no light for a day or two starts etiolating (stretching pale and weak, reaching for light) and loses condition fast. Even if you can’t put them on immediately, get them out of the box, give them a drink, and stand them somewhere with reasonable light.

Check the roots before you check anything else. It’s easy to focus on the top growth and whether the leaves look healthy, but the roots tell you far more. Gently ease the plant out of its pot and take a look. A dense white mass of roots circling tightly around the inside of the pot means the plant is pot-bound, which happens when it’s been sat in that size container too long. It isn’t a dealbreaker, but it does mean you’ll need to gently tease the roots apart before planting so they don’t just keep circling once they’re in the ground or a bigger pot.

I check every single new arrival for pests before it goes anywhere near the rest of my garden, exactly the same way I check spent compost for vine weevil grubs. Tip the plant out, have a proper look at the compost surface and the base of the rootball, and if anything’s crawling in there that isn’t meant to be, deal with it before you plant.

I’ve had it happen more than once with bulk online orders, and it’s a five-minute check that’s saved me from introducing problems to borders I’ve spent years getting right. It’s the same logic I use when buying clean nursery stock to avoid bringing weeds into the garden too, since new plants are one of the most common ways problems arrive uninvited.

Give every new arrival a proper drink the moment it’s unboxed, even if the compost looks damp. Transit dries plants out faster than you’d think, and a thorough watering settles the roots back into contact with the compost after the jostling of a delivery van.

🛒 Buy a watering can from Amazon UK.

If a plant arrives looking stressed, wilted, or a little worse for wear, don’t panic and don’t bin it. Most plants are tougher than they look and will bounce back within a week or two of proper watering and a settled spot out of harsh direct sun or wind. A seaweed tonic watered in during that first week can help reduce transplant shock and encourage new root growth, and it’s become a standard part of my own routine whenever a big order of bare roots or plugs arrives.

Finally, don’t feel you need to rush every plant into its final position the same day. Bare roots and dormant plants should go in as soon as reasonably possible, but potted plants and plugs are quite happy sitting in a sheltered, lightly shaded spot for a few days while you decide exactly where they’re going, harden them off gently if they’ve come from a heated polytunnel, and get the border properly prepared. Planting in a rush into unprepared ground causes far more losses than a few days of patience ever will.

Worth having a pair by the door for exactly this job, since unboxing and checking rootballs is a lot more pleasant with your hands protected, especially if you’re going through a large bulb or plug order in one sitting.

🛒 Buy a decent pair of gardening gloves from Amazon UK.

9. Support Local Plant Nurseries & Growers

Whenever possible, consider supporting local nurseries that offer online shopping options. Local nurseries are more likely to provide plants adapted to your regional climate, and you may have the opportunity to visit their physical location for added assurance.

It also vastly reduces your carbon footprint in terms of growing and delivery. Making it an environmentally and ethically sound practice when buying plants online.

By supporting smaller independent plant nurseries, you’re also enabling specialist growers to continue bringing us wonderful, rare specimens that larger, mass-produced growers don’t offer. They want to sell lots of what’s popular, so these unusual varieties could die out if other growers don’t keep propagating them.

The beauty of independent plant nurseries is often the vast specialist plant knowledge they can offer you. Give them a call, or if they have a physical shop, go visit them. Tell them what you’re looking for, your soil type, and aspect, and they will always help pick some wonderful specimens. Making your gardening journey more individual and successful!

Key Tip: Use Social Media or Facebook to ask for recommendations for local growers and nurseries. Specifically look at nurseries that specialise in the kind or type of plants you’re looking for, i.e., alpines, bulbs, or Trees.

Frequently Asked Questions About Buying Plants Online

Do you have a Primrose discount code?

Yes. I work directly with Primrose and they’ve given me a genuine 15% off code exclusively for Garden Ninja readers, which is more reliable than the codes you’ll find on general voucher sites, since a lot of those are expired or restricted to certain product categories. Sign up near the top of this guide and I’ll email the code straight to you.

Is it safe to buy live plants on Amazon?

It can be, but treat it the same as any other marketplace seller rather than assuming Amazon itself is growing the plant. Check the seller’s own reviews specifically, not just the product rating, look for real photos in the reviews rather than only the stock listing photo, and check the size description carefully since P9 and plug sizes are extremely common on Amazon and much smaller than a garden centre pot.

How do I know if an online plant seller is trustworthy?

Look for detailed, specific plant descriptions including the full Latin name, real customer reviews that mention named plants and condition on arrival, clear delivery timescales, and ideally a UK-based grower who’s transparent about where the plants are actually grown. A Plant Healthy certification mark is a strong additional signal of a properly well-run nursery.

What is Plant Healthy certification?

Plant Healthy is a DEFRA-backed accreditation scheme that assesses growers and sellers against strict biosecurity and plant health standards, reviewed annually by an independent team. It’s a relatively new scheme, so its absence doesn’t automatically mean a seller is untrustworthy, but its presence is a genuine mark of quality worth factoring into your decision.

My plant arrived wilted or damaged, will it recover?

In most cases, yes. Unbox it immediately, water it thoroughly, and stand it somewhere with good light but out of harsh direct sun or wind for a week or two. Most wilting from transit is transplant and transit stress rather than permanent damage. If it hasn’t perked up within two to three weeks, or if the stems and roots are soft, black or mushy rather than just limp, contact the seller, since most reputable nurseries offer a replacement guarantee for plants that arrive in poor condition.

Can plants bought online carry pests or diseases?

Yes, and it’s worth checking every new arrival before it goes near your existing borders or containers. Tip the plant from its pot and check the compost surface and rootball for anything moving, and inspect the leaves and stems for discolouration or damage. This is exactly the same pest check I use on spent compost before reusing it, and it takes only a few minutes but can save you a season of dealing with an introduced problem.

Summary

Buying healthy plants online is an exciting opportunity to expand your garden without leaving the comfort of your home. Leading you to choose plant specimens that garden centres simply don’t offer.

By conducting thorough research, selecting reputable nurseries, and knowing your plant’s needs, you can make informed choices and welcome thriving green additions to your collection.

Remember to read customer reviews, check for health guarantees, and examine plant descriptions and photos to ensure your virtual plant shopping experience is successful and rewarding. Don’t skip the unboxing check either, five minutes spent looking over roots and foliage on arrival is worth far more than any amount of research beforehand. Lastly, make sure that plants are going to be delivered speedily and that you have planned the time to plant them as soon as they arrive, and don’t forget to grab your 15% Primrose code near the top of this guide before you check out!

Make sure you visit my Youtube channel, for more gardening guides. You can also check out my Tweet, Facebook or Instagram for more garden help and tips.

Happy gardening!