Plants, Mulch, Trees, Etc.

[Shark1611]

Here comes another question that I am sure you pros will find funny. But being new at this I have been getting my plants from Home Depot and Lowes. We are a small town and do not have much to shop from. I asked the Lowes department head for a discount in that I bought a pallet of mulch, and a large about of plants but she said no way. Is this how it is in that we who do this for a living pay the same as Mary and Bob on a weekend? I do like the one year warranty on the plants but thought I would get discounts like when I bought lumber from them. Thank you for your help!

[Fisher]

Lawn care business tips

I get discounts for bulk Items from Lowes and HD under my contractor account and there are restrictions and minimums. However, I do not buy much in the way of plants or mulch from them. In Tennessee to get a discount for plants from nurseries and legally the state requires that you have a Landscaper certificate ($200) and track all your live plant purchases as well as sod. Some nurseries will simply give a 20% discount even with out the certificate and even without the discount are usually cheaper than a chain store. Try talking to someone else at lowes, considering they often have a sale on mulch at $2.50 per bag it shouldn't be hard to get a discount from regular price on the mulch when buying 75 bags on the pallet. even at 2.50 per bag of 2 cu.ft x 75 would be 150 cubic feet (just under 6 yards) for $187.50 plus tax. Where my full 6yds bulk mulch would run about $120-130 + tax

[Shark1611]

Originally Posted by Fisher

I get discounts for bulk Items from Lowes and HD under my contractor account and there are restrictions and minimums. However, I do not buy much in the way of plants or mulch from them. In Tennessee to get a discount for plants from nurseries and legally the state requires that you have a Landscaper certificate ($200) and track all your live plant purchases as well as sod. Some nurseries will simply give a 20% discount even with out the certificate and even without the discount are usually cheaper than a chain store.

Try talking to someone else at lowes, considering they often have a sale on mulch at $2.50 per bag it shouldn't be hard to get a discount from regular price on the mulch when buying 75 bags on the pallet. even at 2.50 per bag of 2 cu.ft x 75 would be 150 cubic feet (just under 6 yards) for $187.50 plus tax. Where my full 6yds bulk mulch would run about $120-130 + tax

Hey thanks so much. I did buy the pallet while it was on sell but when it came to the plants I got zero discount. I do know a place that has the bulk mulch and I could try that out. I was thinking the labor cost of digging it out of a trailer vs. dumping out of a bag would save me labor and time.

QUESTION: I have another bed that I need to do for the city. It was full of weeds and crab grass so i killed it all out with round up. Is it best to till it up and then plant my new plants followed by mulch and then spot spray round up when weeds come up?

Thank you again for your help. Just maybe one day I will be the one helping someone else.

[Fisher]

I would usually wait about 7 days after killing out a bed and then till and treat again and try to wait another seven days before plantings. That's me though not sure about the others. A good 4 inch layer of mulch will greatly help deter any surviving roots or seed below from coming through.

Using a snow shovel on a flat wood trailer and a 5 tine pitchfork I can load, move (at a distance of 50' from the bed) and spread one yard of mulch in under 30 minutes. This equals 13.5 bags to be carried or rolled, opened and then spread. I will usually only use the bag when it's on sale that way even though I feel I may only save as much as 15 minutes in labor per yard, what I do like is that the bag is usually treated to kill weeds for 6 months as well as "guaranteed" to hold its color for a year. Much easier to store out of the weather as well.

[Shark1611]

Originally Posted by Fisher

I would usually wait about 7 days after killing out a bed and then till and treat again and try to wait another seven days before plantings. That's me though not sure about the others. A good 4 inch layer of mulch will greatly help deter any surviving roots or seed below from coming through.

Using a snow shovel on a flat wood trailer and a 5 tine pitchfork I can load, move (at a distance of 50' from the bed) and spread one yard of mulch in under 30 minutes. This equals 13.5 bags to be carried or rolled, opened and then spread. I will usually only use the bag when it's on sale that way even though I feel I may only save as much as 15 minutes in labor per yard, what I do like is that the bag is usually treated to kill weeds for 6 months as well as "guaranteed" to hold its color for a year. Much easier to store out of the weather as well.

Thank you it looks like everyone else agrees do to no postings. I will get to work on theis in the next few days. You have been a great help.

[Steve]

I do like the one year warranty on the plants but thought I would get discounts like when I bought lumber from them.

Do you have any nurseries in your area at all?

I would figure the benefit to buying them at a discount from a nursery would outweigh the big box warranty.

[Fisher]

I'm with Steve on what he said. I save about 30% over the cost of the box stores easy, and when properly installed and the customer is educated on care(especially in summer) I also find that I have much better initial success with the plants from a nursery, for whatever reason they alway seem to do better.