Smaller is often better, at least when it comes to plants

When it comes to plants, smaller is often better … if you can find them.

Specifically, small perennial plants can be better than more substantial plants often sold in what is typically called a one-gallon container (which is not, in fact, a gallon).

These plants, with root balls that measure about 2 inches across by about 4 inches deep are called plugs, presumably because they have been traditionally used by professional growers as the plugs that are potted to be grown out and sold to retail customers. But it turns out that skipping the potting and growing stage and going straight to planting can have a lot of advantages.

The first is cost, which can be considerably lower than a larger plant. Much of the expense of producing a plant is in the time and care that is spent growing it, so it makes sense that a plant that can be sold sooner sells for a fraction of the price. For plugs, the retail cost might be $5 or less, compared to $15 to $20 for a gallon pot.

Plugs are also easier to plant. There’s no need to dig a big hole; a small hole dug with a hori hori or trowel is adequate to pop a plug in the ground. If it’s a large planting, a 3-inch auger makes quick work of planting a new garden of plugs.

In rocky soil, it’s often easier to find a suitable spot for a plug, and in areas with a lot of roots, such as near trees, digging a smaller hole can cause less damage to the existing plants.

Plugs are also less of a risk if you’re trying out a new plant that you’re not sure will grow well in an area. With a lower cost, it’s less painful if a plant fails.

It will take a bit longer for a garden of smaller plants to fill in, but not as long as you might think. In fact, when I’ve done large plantings with plugs, by the next growing season all but the slower-growing varieties have mostly caught up to what a larger plant would have looked like. Plugs require a bit more attention in terms of regular watering and preventing competition from weeds, but they actually seem to establish more quickly than larger plants.

Despite all these advantages, there’s a good chance you’ve never seen them for sale or even knew they existed. Plugs are virtually unheard of in brick-and-mortar garden centers and are challenging for home gardeners to even find online. When they are available, it’s often in large trays of 32 plants, which is more than many gardeners need.

Benjamin Futa, the former director of the University of Wisconsin’s Allen Centennial Garden, is the owner of one of the few retail garden centers that sells plug plants to homeowners in South Bend, Ind., and he reports that the product is wildly popular with customers and better for his business’ bottom line.

Futa has seen the future of what garden centers can be, and it’s bright … and small.