December landscaping purchases: why winter is the smartest time to buy

December is the best month of the year to buy trees, shrubs, and landscaping supplies. Garden centers slash prices 30% to 50% once foot traffic drops after Thanksgiving. Bare root season starts in January. If you do your shopping and site prep now, you’ll plant better stock for less money than the people who wait until April.

I’ve done this for twenty years in Northern California. The math works out every single time.

Why do nursery prices drop in December?

Garden centers are sitting on inventory they grew or bought back in spring and summer. Those trees, shrubs, and perennials cost money to water, fertilize, and maintain on the lot. Every week without a sale is a loss. By December, most nursery owners would rather move product at deep discounts than carry it through two more months of low traffic.

The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) recommends fall and winter as planting seasons in mild climates. Nurseries know this, but their customers don’t. That gap between good planting weather and low consumer demand creates the window you want to exploit.

I’ve bought $80 Japanese Maples (Acer palmatum) for $40 in December. Five-gallon shrubs for $12 that were $25 in September. The plants aren’t damaged or second-rate. They’ve just been sitting there too long, and the nursery needs the space and the cash flow.

What should you buy in December?

Trees. Container-grown trees are available year-round, and December prices reflect the total lack of demand. This is a great time to buy shade trees like Chinese Pistache (Pistacia chinensis), ornamentals like Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica), and fruit trees like semi-dwarf apple and pear varieties. The roots will have all winter and spring to establish before summer heat hits, which is exactly what the ISA’s tree planting guidelines recommend. If you’re looking for specific recommendations, our best trees for shade and sun guide covers which species pull double duty on energy savings.

Bushes and shrubs. Deciduous shrubs are dormant and handle transplanting well in winter. Evergreen shrubs are fine to plant as long as the ground isn’t frozen. In Northern California (zones 8b-9b), the ground almost never freezes, so December planting works perfectly. Dwarf Nandina, Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), and Manzanita are all good December buys in our area. They’re California natives that thrive with minimal summer water once established.

Bulbs. Spring-blooming bulbs like tulips, daffodils, and alliums should already be in the ground by now in most zones. But if you’re in Zone 8 or warmer (that’s most of Northern California’s valley floor, from Redding down through Sacramento and into the Bay Area), you can still plant them through the end of December. Nurseries will mark down remaining bulb stock 50% or more. Daffodils are the best bargain because deer and gophers leave them alone.

Indoor plants. Houseplants sell cheap this time of year. Nurseries stock up on tropicals and indoor plants for fall gift-giving, and whatever doesn’t sell by mid-December gets discounted. A fiddle leaf fig that costs $65 in June might be $35 in December. If you picked up a live Christmas tree this year, don’t toss it. Read about recycling your Christmas tree into mulch or garden material.

How much can you actually save?

Here’s what I’ve tracked over the years on December purchases versus spring prices in the Sacramento area:

• 15-gallon shade trees: $85-120 in spring, $50-75 in December (30-40% savings)
• 5-gallon shrubs: $22-30 in spring, $10-15 in December (40-55% savings)
• 1-gallon perennials: $8-12 in spring, $3-6 in December (50-60% savings)
• Bare root fruit trees (January): $25-40 versus $55-80 for the same tree in a 5-gallon container
• Bulb packs: $12-18 in October, $5-8 in December (50%+ savings)

The best deals are at independent nurseries, not the big box stores. Independent nurseries have more overhead and more incentive to clear inventory before year end. Build a relationship with the owner. Ask what they’re trying to move. I’ve gotten entire flats of ground cover for $1 per pot just by asking.

Bare root season is right around the corner

If you’re planning to add fruit trees, roses, or deciduous shade trees, January through early March is bare root season. Bare root stock costs roughly half what a container-grown tree costs, and it often establishes faster because the roots aren’t circling in a pot. The ISA notes that circling roots from container stock can girdle the trunk years later, which is a $2,000+ removal problem down the road. Our guide to planting bare root trees covers the step-by-step process.

December is the right time to plan your bare root purchases. Figure out what species and varieties you want. Here’s what sells out fastest at Sacramento-area nurseries:

• Fruit trees: ‘Fuji’ and ‘Honeycrisp’ apple, ‘Blenheim’ apricot, ‘Elberta’ peach, ‘Santa Rosa’ plum, ‘Bartlett’ pear
• Shade trees: Chinese Pistache, Valley Oak (Quercus lobata), Red Maple
• Roses: David Austin English varieties, hybrid teas, climbing roses

The Sacramento Tree Foundation (sactree.org) runs a shade tree program that distributes free trees to Sacramento residents. They typically start accepting applications in late fall for January/February distribution. Check if your city has a similar program. Free trees are free trees.

Measure your planting sites now. Amend the soil if it needs it. When bare root stock hits the nurseries in January, you want to be ready to grab the best selections before they’re picked over. The popular varieties go in the first two weeks.

Prep your planting sites now

The ground in most of Northern California is soft and workable in December thanks to early-season rain. Take advantage of it. Dig your planting holes now while the soil is cooperative. A hole that takes 20 minutes to dig in moist December soil will take an hour in dry August hardpan.

The ISA’s planting guidelines call for a hole two to three times wider than the root ball but no deeper. Dig it bowl-shaped, with sloping sides so roots can spread outward. Don’t amend the backfill soil unless your native soil is truly terrible (heavy clay with zero drainage). Research from UC Davis and other extension programs shows that roots establish better in native soil than in an amended pocket that acts like a bathtub.

Remove grass in a 4-foot circle around each planting spot so new trees don’t have to compete with turf roots for water and nutrients. Spread 3 to 4 inches of mulch over the prepared area to suppress weeds and retain moisture. Keep mulch 6 inches away from where the trunk will be. Piling mulch against the trunk causes rot. While you’re prepping for winter, it’s also a good time to protect your trees from frost if a cold snap is coming.

Don’t overlook hardscape and tools

December sales aren’t limited to plants. Paving stones, decorative gravel, landscape fabric, drip irrigation components, and hand tools all go on sale at home centers and garden shops during winter. If you know you’ll need a soaker hose or a new pair of bypass pruners come spring, buy them now at 20% to 40% off.

Specific deals I look for every December:

• Bypass pruners: Felco F-2 pruners run $55-65 normally. December closeouts at independent shops drop them to $40-45. Worth every penny. They last 20 years.
• Drip irrigation kits: Rain Bird and DIG brand kits go 25-30% off at Home Depot and Lowe’s from November through January.
• Bags of compost and steer manure: These stack up on pallets at home centers through winter. Prices won’t be lower at any other time of year. Buy 10-20 bags now if you have storage space.
• Landscape fabric and staples: 30% off is common. Stock up for spring bed preparation.

If you’re planning a bigger project, December and January are also the cheapest months to book a landscaping contractor. Their schedules are wide open and they’ll negotiate on price.

What NOT to buy in December

Not everything is a good December purchase. Skip these:

Warm-season annuals. Petunias, marigolds, and zinnias won’t survive winter planting. Wait until after your last frost date (mid-March in Sacramento, mid-February along the coast).

Tropical plants for outdoors. That bargain citrus or bougainvillea will freeze if you plant it in December and a cold snap rolls through. Citrus can handle brief dips to 28-32F once established, but a newly planted one has zero cold tolerance. Wait until March.

Sod and grass seed. Cool-season grasses like tall fescue can technically be seeded in fall, but December is too late. The seed won’t germinate in cold soil. Wait until September for fall seeding or March for spring.

December planting checklist

If you’re buying and planting this month, here’s the sequence:

1. Scout deals at two or three local nurseries the first week of December
2. Measure your planting sites and check sun exposure (winter sun angles are different from summer)
3. Dig holes 2-3x wider than root balls, bowl-shaped
4. Buy your trees and shrubs at the best price you find
5. Plant the same day you buy, or within 48 hours
6. Water deeply at planting, then once a week through winter if it doesn’t rain
7. Mulch 3-4 inches deep, 6 inches away from the trunk
8. Start planning your bare root purchases for January

Once spring tree care season arrives in March, your December plantings will already have two to three months of root growth. That head start makes a real difference when July hits 105F.

The bottom line

Most people think of spring as planting season, and it is. But the buying season starts in December. Do your shopping now, prep your sites, and have everything ready so you’re planting instead of scrambling. The homeowners who get the best-looking yards aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones who buy smart and plant on time.