Question: What sizes of shrubs are best to buy?

Answer: That depends on how carefully you’ll maintain them, also on your budget and patience. Larger plants have deeper roots, so they won’t dry out as rapidly as smaller 1-gallon shrubs. You’ll also have a better initial impact from the larger plants, so you’ll be less likely to overcrowd them. If you need a really stunning large shrub for an especially important spot in your garden you can even find shrubs in very large 100- and 200-gallon containers. Selection, of course, will be more limited, but big hollies, crape myrtles, junipers, nandinas and others give an instantly mature look to your plantings.