Turn Nursery Labels into a Pollinator Plant Comparison Sheet

AI-assisted practical guide. Examples are hypothetical; proposed workflows are editorial suggestions.

A nursery comparison sheet can prevent an attractive label from becoming your whole planting plan. Its purpose is to expose differences and unanswered questions before you buy. It does not turn a marketing phrase into evidence of habitat value.

Copy the identity accurately

Record the botanical name exactly as supplied, including any cultivar name. Photograph the label. Keep mature dimensions, light requirements, water guidance, and regional suitability in separate fields. If a field is absent, write “not supplied”; do not fill it from a vaguely similar plant found online.

Compare like information

Suppose, hypothetically, Plant A has a complete label and Plant B only says “bee friendly.” The second label does not establish that Plant B is unsuitable, but it leaves more to investigate. Ask the seller for its identity and growing information before assigning it a place in your garden.

Keep treatment-history questions explicit. A missing answer is unknown, rather than confirmation of either treatment or its absence. Record who answered and when if that information affects your choice.

Finish with a shortlist

Choose candidates against your actual space, maintenance capacity, and regional guidance. Preserve the reasons for rejecting alternatives so you do not restart the same comparison next visit. The finished sheet should let another person distinguish label facts, seller statements, your observations, and decisions. Those categories should remain visible after the plants leave the nursery.

Related guides

• Photograph the Same Flower Patch Without Counting the Same Bee Twice
• A Balcony Flower Trial That Does Not Promise a Bee Rescue