Question: What sizes of trees and shrubs should I buy for my landscape? The budget is limited, and I do have time to wait.

Answer: Buy larger shrubs and medium trees. Larger 5-gallon-sized shrubs, for example, have better root systems, so they’re much more likely to survive. They also won’t look so lonesome in the landscape, so you’ll plant them the recommended distances apart. Most folks crowd smaller 1-gallon plants too closely together. Trees should probably be in at least 5- or 10-gallon containers, both for immediate impact in the garden and also for sufficient root systems to withstand heat and drought of Texas’ summers. Of course, nurseries offer much larger container-grown sizes of both shrubs and trees, should you r budget allow. Groundcovers can be in 3- or 4-inch pots, quart containers or one-gallon cans. Trailing junipers are sometimes planted from 2-, 3- and 5-gallon pots.