The Best Online Nurseries For 2026 (Where To Buy Perennials, Trees And Shrubs Online)

Ordering plants online has become one of the easiest ways to find unique varieties you won’t see at the local garden center. Here are the best online nurseries for 2026, so you can shop smarter, get healthier plants, and fill your garden with exactly what you’ve been looking for.

I think half the fun of plant shopping is walking around a nursery and falling in love with some new flower that you didn’t know existed.

Not only are you coming home with an extra plant you have to find a spot for, but you’re supporting local businesses in the process.

However, sometimes all the local places seem to be carrying the same plants and you just can’t find what you’re looking for.

That’s where the mail order nurseries come in handy.

But with all of the different plant varieties and beautiful pictures, the online choices can be overwhelming. How do you know what the best online nursery is?

Since I’ve been ordering plants online for a long time, I thought I would share my list of the best mail order nurseries that I’ve used.

1 | Home Depot

Best online nursery for all types of perennials, bushes and trees

Website: homedepot.com*

I can see you rolling your eyes now…Home Depot as one of the best online plant nurseries? Really??

But hear me out before you start thinking I’ve lost my mind.

Home Depot has a MUCH bigger selection of plants online than they carry in their stores.

Including many of the new 2026 perennials from Proven Winners and the Southern Living Plant Collection (yes, even the ones you can’t find anywhere else).

In addition to the perennials, you can buy pretty much any other kind of plant you can think of from their website — fruit trees, annuals, vegetables, roses, and seeds.

Any time I have ordered plants online from them, they arrive within a day or two, they’re very well packaged and in good condition.

And if you do have problems with them, you can take them back to any Home Depot store.

If you’re not sure exactly what plant you are looking for, their website has filters. These allow you to select what zone you live in as well as some plant characteristics like flower color, evergreen or deciduous leaves, “attracts butterflies” or “deer resistant”. Which makes finding something for your exact growing conditions much easier.

To get started, go to this page*, click on your gardening zone and go from there.

2 | Etsy

Best online selection of small- to medium-sized nurseries that carry specific plants.

Website: etsy.com

I know. I know.

Etsy is another website that doesn’t immediately jump to mind when you think of online nurseries.

However, there are a lot of small- to medium-sized nurseries that sell their plants through Etsy.

And many of them have great quality plants (you can always tell by the reviews who they are).

Etsy doesn’t work so well if you’re not sure what you want.

But if you’re looking for a specific plant, just search for it by name and you’ll probably find someone who sells it.

You also need to watch out for fake plants. All those Hostas with bright blue leaves are not real!

Some of my Etsy nursery favorites are:

• Rhododendrons Direct* – they have more varieties of Rhododendrons than I’ve ever seen!
• Daylily Nursery* – they don’t just sell daylilies…they also have a nice selection of other perennials. Some are sold in containers and others are bare root, so check the description to make sure you’re getting what you want.
• MyGardenChannelCOM* – sells a variety of seeds, bare-root plants and plants in containers.

3 | Plant Addicts Nursery

Best nursery for different varieties

Website: plantaddicts.com*

Plant Addicts Nursery is a family-run online business that carries many different varieties of each plant.

They carry a wide selection of perennials, shrubs and small trees (and annuals, but I haven’t tried ordering those online).

And usually have at least 5 and often many more different varieties of each one.

So if you have a particular plant in mind, but want to get one that’s a little different than everyone else has, this is the place to go. Just search for the plant name on their site and you’ll get a bunch of options to choose from (in most cases).

They also have comprehensive plant descriptions on their site and a 1-year replacement warranty included in the price.

4 | Nature Hills Nursery

Best nursery for finding plants by type

Website: naturehills.com*

Nature Hills nursery sells all kinds of trees, shrubs and perennials that are really easy to find with the filters on their site.

You can choose zone, bloom color, growing conditions, bloom time, fall color, type of plant and other features that you’re looking for and they will show you which plants match your criteria.

So if you have a spot to fill but don’t know exactly what kind of plant you’re looking for, you can find some options to choose from very quickly.

They do tend to be more expensive than some of the other nurseries on this list. But their plants also tend to be larger so you get what you pay for.

5 | Fast Growing Trees

Best online nursery for a large selection of trees

Website: fast-growing-trees.com*

Fast Growing Trees is an online-only nursery that (as their name suggests) carries a wide selection of trees, including all kinds of evergreens, fruit trees and palm trees. As well as some shrubs and perennials.

They are based in South Carolina so they carry many warmer zone plants that Northern nurseries don’t.

One of our readers suggested that I try them for well-packaged plants that arrive quickly.

So I did. And they were right.

My order arrived in less than a week. And all of the plants were in containers with plastic bags to keep the soil in and then boxed to keep them from getting damaged during transit.

6 | Plants By Mail

Best online nursery for southern gardeners.

Website: plantsbymail.com*

Plants By Mail doesn’t have a huge selection of plants but they do carry pretty much all of the Southern Living collection.

So a lot of their plants grow in the southern zones 8 to 11 that can be hard to find elsewhere.

All of the plants I have ordered from them were good quality, large-sized plants that were packaged well and shipped quickly.

So I think they are definitely worth checking out.

7 | Wayside Gardens

Best mail order nursery for perennials in warmer zones

Website: waysidegardens.com

Wayside Gardens is probably responsible for half the plants in my garden (and almost ALL of my 25+ Clematis varieties).

Mostly because they are based out of Hodges, SC which is about an hour drive from my house.

And they used to have an annual end-of-season plant sale where you could get some real deals! (They haven’t held it consistently for the last few years, but if you live in the area, check for it around the end of June).

However, they do most of their business as a mail-order nursery that sells perennials, trees and shrubs online.

Some are sold as bare-root plants and some ship in containers. Check the “Item Form” field at the top of the plant description to find out what type of plant your selection is.

Note: Wayside Gardens also owns Jackson & Perkins, so they also have a large selection of rose bushes available online.

8 | Great Garden Plants

Best online nursery for perennials in colder zones

Website: greatgardenplants.com

Great Garden Plants is one of the best places to buy good quality perennials online, especially if you live in a Northern climate.

They are located in Michigan and carry lots of plants that are hardy all the way down to zone 2!

Like Home Depot, their website has a filter for zone which allows you to narrow the plant selections to only those that will grow in your area.

They ship large potted plants, have easy-to-find categories (on their top menu) for “sun” and “shade” perennials, and offer collections of plants that have been chosen for a purpose if you need help getting started.

The size of container is listed in the Ship Size field beside the picture so you know how large the plant you are buying will be when you get it.

9 | Adelman Peony Gardens

Best mail order nursery for peonies

Website: peonyparadise.com

If you’re looking for peonies, one of the best places to buy them online is Adelman Peony Gardens.

They have won Best In Show at the American Peony Society flower show many times. And grow hundreds of varieties including herbaceous peonies, Itoh peonies, tree peonies, and woodland peonies.

With many different colors, flower shapes and fragrances, there’s a much wider selection than you will find at other nurseries.

The plants are shipped bareroot in the fall, and mine have always bloomed the next year.

10 | Mendocino’s Maples

Best online nursery for Japanese Maple trees

Website: mendocinomaples.com

Japanese maples are one of my favorite small trees for the shade garden. Partly because there are so many varieties with pretty leaves.

But trying to find different varieties can be hard.

So I was excited to find an online nursery (Mendocino Maples) that specializes in them.

They have many rare and unusual maple varieties and give you a choice of what size you want.

So you can decide how much you want to spend on the plants.

And they are very well packaged when they are shipped.

11 | Burpee

Best place to buy vegetable and plant seeds online

Website: burpee.com*

Burpee is a family-owned seed company based in Philadelphia that has been in operation since 1876.

They have a large selection of all kinds of seeds including annuals and perennials, but I usually order vegetable and herb seeds from them.

Their online catalog is huge with lots of Burpee exclusives, heirloom and organic seeds to choose from.

And a filter that lets you find them easily.

While they do also sell potted plants, I stick to buying their seeds since that’s what they are known for.

12 | K. van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs

Best online plant nursery for inexpensive bulbs

Website: dutchbulbs.com*

K. van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs is part of an online plant nursery conglomerate that also owns Breck’s Bulbs*.

The main goal of these companies is the same: They sell inexpensive bulbs.

Which means they aren’t the biggest bulbs or the best quality. But you get a lot of them for your money.

If you’ve ever visited these sites, you’ll notice that the website layout is almost exactly the same. As is the selection of plants.

The one thing that can be different is what is currently on sale.

So if I find some bulbs I want to buy from them, I always check both of these nurseries (as well as the next one on the list) to see where I can get the best price.

Also, these online nurseries do sell other plants (like perennials and shrubs), but I usually stick to buying their specialty (bulbs) unless they are offering a really good deal that I just can’t pass up.

13 | Spring Hill Nurseries

Best mail order plant nursery for inexpensive bare root perennials and shrubs

Website: springhillnursery.com*

Spring Hill Nurseries has the same priority as the nurseries above…to provide inexpensive plants. Except Spring Hill Nurseries is focused on selling perennials instead of bulbs.

Their perennials and shrubs are either shipped as small bare-root plants or in very small containers. So they need a lot of attention to make sure they grow after you have planted them.

Because when it comes to plants, you usually do get what you pay for.

Other gardening ideas you might like

• Shade Loving Shrubs To Plant Under Trees
• How To Design A Shade Garden
• Secret Garden Design Ideas

Do you have any other suggestions for best online nurseries? Tell us in the section below.