Need lots of shrubs for landscaping

Have a 3-acre old farm lot with some trees. Would like to do a lot of landscaping. Am looking for a reputable source to buy many shrubs at a good price. I don't mind bare root or even seedlings. I don't need hundreds, but could definitely use quite a few to "fill-in" different areas.

Some wholesale growers or brokers will deal only with people with contractor's licenses. Others will deal with anybody, if the order is large enough. Also, retail nurseries may offer a discount if the order is large enough. Talk to local contractors with a landscape license (in California this is called C-27). They may be able to direct you to suppliers. If you work with a contractor that person will arrange the plant delivery, and probably has the laborers to plant them. Will you also need irritation? A large project is often better in the hands of a professional who has the proper tools and man power to do the job.
Also, research, google or yellow pages with words like
Nursery
Plant
Wholesale
...and similar terms. Stick in a location limit of about 100 miles.
Go to local nurseries and read the labels. Look for the name of a grower, and contact them directly to ask if they will sell to you.

1) Get a good landscape design, so you know how many, what species and what can sizes you are looking for. (Also if you need to install irrigation, grading or other things)
2) Print up the plant list and fax or e-mail it to whatever suppliers you can find. Be sure to ask about delivery charges. Print on the list that you are asking about price and availability.
3) Call the supplier. Ask about alternative species or varieties that they may have in place of something that is not available.

When the plants arrive move them to a shaded location and water them.
Place the largest ones (trees, largest shrubs) first so you can move them around a bit (no landscape design is perfect), then plant them.
Then move the mid-sized plants into place, working down to the smallest plants.
Make sure they all stay properly watered while in the can and newly planted.

Thanks Diana. That gives me some good ideas to try.

Hi...Might wanna try Direct Gardening.com. I personally have used them and was very suprised at how good the stock was....and the prices were great for those needing quantity too!!! I had a few problems with a few items and they replaced them quickly.....

Hi Sharri62, you have had loads of great advice the only thing I would add is, never pay top money for a large order, I have a huge garden and like you, one or two plants wont even be noticed so when I call to speak to the owner / boss, I ask for the cost then ask how much discount will be offered as I am looking around for top quality shrubs trees etc and due to size of garden will be placing large orders from time to time, dont be too scared to ask if that's the best price they can do, everyone who runs a good business will know what there BOTTOM line is and business aint great right now especially for things classed as luxury items, and afraid to say, " lovely plantings are now being classed as luxury items in some area's.

The other thing I would suggest is IF the weather warms up, do your planting evening when it's cooler this way your plants want go into shock so fast due to dehydration, IF your planting tree's, Shrubs ect, I always insert a clear plastic drinks bottle with the bottom removed, you insert thes container around a foot away from the trunk, narrow end down into the soil around the root area, this makes it so much easier to apply water /feed where it is desperately required because as the soil heats up mid season, ot gets a crust on top and any water runs off missing the roots all together.

Hope this helps, go to library for books on landscape layouts, these will give you colour schemes and names, when the colour up and more important how large they grow to around 10 years growth, last thing you want is to have to dig up well established large plants because they clash in colour, block out views or the roots too close to structures.
Take care and have fun, most importand, take your time, gardens evolve over years not over night.
Best wishes, WeeNel.

If some of the plants you desire are easily propagated, you could purchase some "mama" plants for taking cuttings. This is something you'd investigate for each species if interested, both for suitability of the idea in general, and for the specifics of the timing, size, and any other specific info about propagating a particular plant.

A local source you can visit in person would be optimal. Similar to the suggestions above, if you know what you want, and it is substantial, it doesn't have to be sitting on site already, they'll get it for you. That can result in getting a shipment of fresh stock that hasn't been sitting around as long already. Also gives you a chance to ask where they come from, you don't want anything from too far away. Quasi-local provenance and local, native plants are much more reliable, and there should be no need to obtain hardy plants from far away, which would also incur higher shipping charges. A plant that is hardy where you are but is dug up from the ground in CA or FL and shipped there might not have what it takes to live through winter.

Donna, great post! I know you meant irrigation, but your version is totally hilarious! (Will you also need irritation?) Guess one would make sure there's deer, rabbits, gophers, squirrels...? Spell check doesn't help one notice those kinds of "typos" but I love them, gardening is more fun when laughing!

LOL.....I guess spell check doesn't help with names either...

look at all those smiling faces....(jjs)

Oh, I know right! Thanks for telling me, warriorswisdomkathy, pasted for safety. And thanks for the pic of Viola fantasy-land. So so so so so pretty!!!

Diana, do you mind being Donna today? Sorry!

...And now I'm curious about that Viola spot, warriorswisdomkathy, wow again! The heat would kill those by about June here, and often when I lived in OH they'd croak during summer. Do they live on there, or do you change the display seasonally?

Um, something else on topic...

Oh yeah - unless you like trimming shrubs, plant in regard to mature size when there are buildings/objects nearby. DH's Mom put a shrub to hide her shed and now must be hacked a couple times per summer to get to the door... The info on a plant tag is usually an average at about 10 years old, and moving a shrub is a major task without machinery. With that much space, you probably aren't going for a formal, manicured "meatball" look, and probably wouldn't have the time to trim that much anyway.

...Is any of this helping at all?

Always atempt to find the mature size and plant accordingly... if it get's big make sure you give it enough room to grow to full size, ya, I know it leaves a big gaps, but isn't that better than the other alternative..lol. And if your not sure of a particular shrub in your area you can always check with your Local Extention Office, listed in county govmt pages in your phone book. they have IN ACTION sheets for sooo much info. Might ask what they also have available from the web too. IN ACTION sheets can cover topics of Trees, Shrubs, Perennial, Annuals, Home Care, Lawn Care, Canning, Veggie Gardening, you name it, they probably cover the topic, and it's a govmt. freebie...

Last fall I planted more than 167 trees and shrubs in the backyard. Yup, lots of gaps, but am filling in with perenns. and annuals til they get to size. Will try to download some pix (thingy is goofing up at the moment)

Yup, my jjs, just love them. I'm located at approx 68-6900ft. (Z6), and they will bloom all season for me. I started a tray from seed a couple years ago and now they reseed like crazy. I started with the plain tri-colored ones and now I get soooo many new color combos...such fun. Last summer I added some in the orange and yellow range so we'll see what kinda goodies I get this year. Am using them as a ground cover. I collect seeds and just throw them hoping for new babies. Must have thousands of them out there.... fun huh! (Remember, they do rseed if you try them, maybe even a shady location).

Choosing the right plant for the right location is part of what the landscape design is for.

Draw the area, including the house with windows' locations, existing trees, and anything else to keep. Make note about features you need to hide (neighbor's storage shed...) and things you want to see (beautiful view...). Include some idea about how the land rises and falls. Are there drainage problems where you might need to be extra careful about plant selection? Maybe turn that area into a pond?
Draw it to scale.

Add hardscape features- patios, walkways, outdoor kitchen, deck, storage shed... Do any of these features need underground plumbing for water, gas or electric? Figure out all the details for the hardscape elements first.

Using a circle template, draw the trees and shrubs at about 75% of their mature size. Show them overlapping just a bit. That way you are covered in case a plant does not grow quite full size, and so the plants grow together into a group.
Very slow growing trees might not be shown that large. Try a 5 year circle, or a 10 year circle for the slowest trees. Still keep them properly spaced, but the smaller circles give you a better idea about how fast they will produce shade for the plants underneath. They will not provide shade very soon, so use plants that will grow in more sun. These might need to be replaced in 10 years because the slow trees have finally gotten to a size that produces enough shade.