When Is the Best Time to Buy Plants Online? A Price Guide

Last updated: April 2026 | Based on price tracking across 5+ online nurseries

Plant prices aren't static. They move with the seasons, shift around holidays, and drop significantly when nurseries need to clear inventory before winter. The same Limelight Hydrangea that costs $36 in April might be $24 in September — same plant, same nursery, same pot size, 33% less money. If you understand the pricing cycle and can be flexible about timing, you can save 15-30% on almost any plant purchase without sacrificing quality.

But timing isn't just about price. It's also about selection (what's available), planting success (when plants establish best), and shipping risk (when transit conditions are safest for live plants). The cheapest time to buy isn't always the best time to plant, and the best time to plant isn't always the cheapest time to buy. Understanding the trade-offs lets you make smart decisions instead of expensive ones.

We track prices across major online nurseries throughout the year. Here's what we've found — and what it means for your buying strategy.

The Short Answer

Best selection: March-April. Almost everything is in stock and available. Best price: September-October. End-of-season clearance discounts of 15-30%. Best value (selection + price + planting conditions): Early September. Reduced prices, good remaining selection, and excellent planting weather.

Now the longer version — because when YOU should buy depends on what you're buying, where you live, and what matters most to you.

---

The Spring Premium (March – May)

Spring is peak planting season and peak demand. Nurseries make 50-70% of their annual revenue in a 10-week window from mid-March through May. Prices during this window are at their highest because inventory is fresh, selection is widest, and every gardener in the country is shopping simultaneously. Supply and demand, in its purest form.

But spring also offers something no other season provides: full selection. New plant introductions debut in spring. Limited-production cultivars (specific Japanese maples, rare hydrangea varieties, specialty fruit trees) are available in spring and nowhere else. Popular high-demand items — Encore Azaleas in specific colors, Nikko Blue hydrangeas, particular rose cultivars — sell out by late April or early May and don't return until the following spring.

If you want a specific plant — especially a high-demand variety or a new introduction — spring is when to buy. Waiting for a fall discount on a plant that sells out in April isn't a savings strategy; it's a guarantee of disappointment.

For common, widely produced varieties that stay in stock all season (Limelight Hydrangea, Green Giant Arborvitae, Double Knock Out Rose, Bluecrop Blueberry), you have more flexibility. These plants will still be available in June, July, and into fall — often at better prices.

The zone timing nuance that matters: "Spring" is not one date. When YOUR spring starts depends on where you live:

• Zones 3-4 (Minnesota, Wisconsin, northern New England): Planting season doesn't really begin until mid-May. The ground may still be frozen in April.
• Zones 5-6 (Mid-Atlantic, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado Front Range): April is prime planting time. The classic spring window.
• Zones 7-8 (Southeast, Texas, parts of the Pacific Northwest): Planting can start in March or even late February. By May, it's already getting hot.
• Zones 9-10 (Florida, Southern California, Gulf Coast): January through March is the planting window. By April, it's summer.

Online nurseries ship based on your zone — they won't send a plant before it's safe to plant in your area. But the national pricing cycle doesn't care about your zone. Prices are highest in March-April regardless of whether YOUR spring starts in March or May. Zone 8 gardeners who plant in March pay peak spring prices. Zone 4 gardeners who plant in May also pay peak prices.

Spring buying tips: - Compare prices across retailers before buying. Spring markup varies between nurseries — the same plant can differ by 25%+ during peak demand. - Buy smaller pot sizes. A 1-quart plant in spring grows to 1-gallon size by fall in most categories. You're buying growth time, not just a larger plant. - Buy bare-root when available. Bare-root trees and roses ship in early spring only (during dormancy) and cost 30-50% less than containerized plants. The window is short — typically February through mid-April depending on zone — and bare-root stock is gone once it's gone. - Sign up for nursery email lists in February. Many retailers run early-spring sales in March, before peak demand drives prices up.

The Summer Lull (June – August)

After the spring rush, demand drops and the urgency fades. Nurseries still have inventory — the stuff that didn't sell in spring — but fewer people are shopping because summer heat makes planting riskier and gardening less enjoyable. Some retailers begin discounting mid-summer to move remaining stock before it sits through the hottest months.

The trade-offs in summer are real. Selection has narrowed — popular items from spring are gone. What's left tends to be the less popular varieties, less common sizes, or plants that were overstocked. You might find exactly what you want at a 10-20% discount. You might not find it at all.

Summer shipping risk is the biggest concern. Live plants travel in cardboard boxes via ground shipping. In July and August, the inside of a UPS truck can exceed 120°F. Heat-sensitive plants — Japanese maples, hydrangeas (especially mopheads), azaleas, rhododendrons — can arrive severely stressed, wilted, or damaged from 3-5 days in those conditions. Some plants recover with immediate watering and shade. Some don't.

If you buy plants in summer, stack the odds in your favor: - Choose heat-tolerant varieties (crape myrtles, Knock Out Roses, lantana, butterfly bush) that handle transit heat better. - Select faster shipping options if available. - Unpack and water immediately on arrival — don't let a box of plants sit on the porch in July sun. - Avoid ordering heat-sensitive species (Japanese maples, hydrangeas, azaleas) in July-August if possible. Wait for September.

The Fall Sweet Spot (September – November)

Fall is the smartest time to buy plants online — and it's the season that most gardeners completely overlook. Ask ten gardeners when they buy plants and nine will say spring. The tenth one saves 15-30% and often gets better planting results.

Prices drop — significantly. Nurseries discount remaining inventory 15-30% starting in August-September to clear out before winter. Overwintering unsold stock costs money (greenhouse space, irrigation, labor), and nurseries would rather sell at a discount than eat those costs. End-of-season sales are consistently the best deals of the year. Some nurseries run explicit clearance events. Others simply reduce prices across the board. Either way, the same plant that cost $36 in April is $24-$28 in September.

Planting conditions are often BETTER than spring. This sounds counterintuitive, but the science supports it. In fall, soil is still warm from summer (warm soil promotes active root growth), but air temperatures are cooling (cool air reduces transpant stress on the above-ground parts of the plant). Trees and shrubs planted in early September in most zones have 6-10 weeks of active root growth before the ground freezes. By the following spring, they've built a root system that spring-planted trees won't develop until their second year.

The result: fall-planted trees and shrubs often perform better in their first full growing season than spring-planted ones. They've had a head start underground, even though they looked dormant all winter.

The trade-off is selection. By September, popular varieties in popular sizes have been sold out for months. You're buying from what's left, not from a full catalog. If you want a specific Encore Azalea color, a particular Japanese maple cultivar, or a high-demand fruit tree variety, it may not be available. But if the plant you want IS in stock at a September clearance price, the combination of lower cost and excellent planting conditions makes fall the best deal in plant buying.

What to plant in fall (and what to avoid):

Good fall purchases: Shade trees, evergreens, most deciduous shrubs, roses, established perennials. These categories transplant well in fall and have ample time to root before winter.

Avoid in fall (zones 4-5): Marginally hardy plants, brand-new introductions in small containers, anything that you're not confident is fully cold-hardy in your zone. Plants need enough time to establish roots before the ground freezes — if your first hard freeze comes in late October, a plant installed in mid-October hasn't had enough time. Give fall plantings at least 6 weeks before your expected first freeze.

Avoid in fall (everywhere): Bare-root plants. Bare-root is a spring-dormancy product. Fall planting uses containerized stock exclusively.

The Winter Dead Zone (December – February)

Most online nurseries stop shipping live plants in December and don't resume until late February or March. The ground is frozen in cold climates, transit conditions are harsh, and there's nowhere safe to plant on the receiving end.

But winter isn't dead time for plant shopping. It's planning season.

Preorders. Some nurseries accept preorders in January-February for spring delivery. Preordering locks in current pricing before spring markups. Some offer 10-15% early-bird discounts on preorders. The risk: you're committing to a purchase months in advance, and if you change your mind, cancellation policies vary by retailer.

Planning your spring purchases. The cheapest time to buy is fall. The best selection is spring. The smart move is to plan in winter: decide what you want, identify which plants tend to sell out (and need to be bought in spring regardless of price), and which plants are widely available (and can be bought in September at a discount). This lets you spend spring dollars only on the high-demand items and save your routine purchases for fall clearance.

Newsletter signups. Spring sale announcements go out in February-March. If you're not on nursery email lists by February, you'll miss the earliest deals.

---

Month-by-Month Summary

January-February: Preorder season. Some early-bird discounts at retailers that take preorders. Very limited live shipping. Best use of time: planning, list-making, email list signups.

March: Spring inventory arrives. Full selection, full pricing. Best time to buy rare or high-demand varieties before sell-outs. Bare-root shipping begins for fruit trees, roses, and some shrubs. Zone 7-8 gardeners are actively planting.

April-May: Peak season. Highest demand, highest prices, widest selection. If something tends to sell out, buy it now. Zone 5-6 gardeners are in prime planting window. Bare-root window closes mid-April in most zones. After bare-root ends, containerized is the only option until next spring.

June-July: Selection narrowing. Some mid-summer discounts on remaining stock. Shipping heat risk increases — avoid ordering heat-sensitive plants. Best time to buy heat-tolerant species (crape myrtles, roses, warm-season grasses) if they're discounted.

August: Early end-of-season sales begin at some nurseries. Selection continues to narrow. Shipping heat risk is at its peak. Good deals start appearing for patient shoppers.

September-October: The sweet spot. Best pricing of the year (15-30% off). Excellent planting conditions. Shipping temperatures are safe again. Reduced selection is the only downside — if your plant is available, this is when to buy.

November-December: Final clearance at some nurseries. Shipping windows closing. Planning season begins. Some last-chance deals on bare-root and dormant stock in late November.

---

Seasonal Strategy by Plant Category

Different plants have different optimal buying windows:

Trees (shade, ornamental, fruit): Best value in September-October. Trees transplant exceptionally well in fall, and the price savings on a $60-$100 tree are significant. Exception: bare-root fruit trees are cheapest in March-April.

Hydrangeas, azaleas, rhododendrons: Buy high-demand varieties (Nikko Blue, Encore, specific cultivars) in March-April before sell-out. Buy common varieties (Limelight, Little Lime, P.J.M.) in September for savings — they stay in stock all year.

Roses: Bare-root in March is the cheapest option, period. Containerized Knock Outs stay in stock through fall — buy in September for savings.

Privacy trees (arborvitae, Leyland cypress): Buy in spring for the longest establishment season, since you're planting multiples and want them all to survive the first winter. Spring pricing on privacy trees is competitive because nurseries stock heavily.

Blueberries and other fruit plants: Spring is the standard buying window. Fall works in zones 6-8 with discounted pricing, but avoid fall planting in zones 4-5 where winter kill is a risk for newly planted fruit crops.

---

The Bottom Line

If you want the best selection, buy in March-April. Accept that you'll pay full price for the certainty of getting exactly what you want.

If you want the best price, buy in September-October. Accept that your options are limited to what didn't sell out in spring.

If you want a specific high-demand plant, buy it the moment you see it in stock. It won't get cheaper — it'll get sold out.

The one thing that saves you money regardless of season: comparing prices across nurseries before you click "add to cart." We've consistently found 20-35% price variation on the same plant between retailers. That gap exists in April at full price and in September during clearance. Price comparison is the savings strategy that works year-round.

We're building price history data on hundreds of plant varieties across multiple nurseries. As our dataset grows, we'll publish specific seasonal pricing data by plant category — exactly when prices start dropping, which retailers discount first, and which plants see the deepest fall markdowns. This guide will get more specific and more data-driven over time.

→ Browse current plant prices