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The usual backyard chores — sprucing up the yard, fertilizing, putting in new plants — will take more than just a green thumb. It’ll take persistence, patience and more money.

Retail prices at plant nurseries are up about 30 percent over last year, according to David Rodriguez with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in College Station.

Retail prices at plant nurseries are up about 30 percent over last year, according to David Rodriguez with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in College Station.

Home gardeners may have to be more flexible with egetables, herbs and annual flowers. If you see something you can make work, buy it.

Home gardeners may have to be more flexible with egetables, herbs and annual flowers. If you see something you can make work, buy it.

Larger Texas mountain laurels are expected to be in short supply this summer.

Many growers have been holding back on their tree inventories, waiting for their plants to grow larger and more expensive, so it’s difficult to find them in anything smaller than 15-gallon pots.

Trees such as Arizona cypress are already hard to find.

Many growers have been holding back on their tree inventories, waiting for their plants to grow larger and more expensive, so it’s difficult to find them in anything smaller than 15-gallon pots.

Many growers have been holding back on their tree inventories, waiting for their plants to grow larger and more expensive, so it’s difficult to find them in anything smaller than 15-gallon pots.

Shortages of the basic chemicals used to make fertilizer, fungicides, weed killers and more mean these products may be in short supply. And when they are available, prices will be higher.

For the second year in a row, home gardeners may not be able to find some of their favorite springtime plants and products at local nurseries. And what they do find will likely cost more.

Last year, February’s Winter Storm Uri was to blame. The inventory of many larger plants still has not recovered from that storm, and now on top of that there are shortages of everything from trucks and truck drivers to nursery workers and fertilizer.

Bottom line: it’s going to take more than just a green thumb to spruce up your yard this spring. You’ll need persistence, patience and likely more money.

“We’re seeing retail prices at nurseries increase by an average of about 30 percent,” said David Rodriguez, a horticulturist with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in College Station. “And you still may not be able to find all the plant varieties that we saw in the past.”

At least this year’s freezes didn’t have a big impact on San Antonio gardens, according to Daniel Keith, general manager of Rainbow Gardens Nursery on Bandera Road. So while he expects brisk sales now that the weather is warming, he doesn’t think it will match last year’s frenzy to replace all the landscaping lost to Uri.

“Homeowners lost the usual amount of plant material this winter,” he said. “But certainly not as much as they did after last year’s freeze,” he said.

On ExpressNews.com: Your guide to backyard summer shade options, from patio umbrellas and shade sails to pergolas

Here’s what you need to know before you head out to the nursery.

Manufacturers can’t get enough of the resin they need from China to make the plastic six-pack containers that herbs, veggies and flowers are sold in, so these plants may be in short supply — and will cost more when they are available.

Plants grown quickly from seed should be in ample supply this spring, but prices will be higher. That’s because there’s a shortage of the plastic six-pack containers these plants often are sold in.

“The manufacturers can’t get the resin they need from China to make enough of them,” Keith said.

Also in short supply are Canadian peat moss and greenhouse plastic. “The whole supply chain is a mess,” Rodriguez said. “Growers are pulling out their hair.”

Ultimately, you may have to be more flexible when shopping. That might mean growing smaller Roma or cherry tomatoes instead of big beefsteaks, planting petunias instead of pentas or making do with fewer varieties of basics like basil than in the past. If you see something you can make work, buy it, because there’s no guarantee it’ll be there when you come back.

It takes several seasons to grow shrubs like Indian hawthorn, so nurseries may not be able to keep up with demand.

Area growers lost a full generation of shrubs last February, and the demand for replacements hasn’t slacked. It takes several seasons to grow shrubs large enough to sell, so nurseries may not be able to keep up with demand. And those plants that are available may be smaller than in the past and cost more.

Keith said that while his overall inventory is good, it’s already getting difficult to find shrubs like Indian hawthorns and trees like Arizona cypress as well as larger Texas mountain laurels and Chinese pistache.

On ExpressNews.com: Freeze-damaged plants have homeowners asking: How do I help my plants recover?

“It’s going to be very difficult to get many shrubs for a reasonable price for the next four or five years,” said Trace Hazlett, retail manager of Milberger’s Landscaping and Nursery at Loop 1604 and Bulverde Road. “So if you see something at a good price, grab it.”

Many growers have been holding back on their tree inventories, waiting for their plants to grow larger and more expensive, so it’s difficult to find them in anything smaller than 15-gallon pots.

Small- to medium-size trees also may be in short supply this spring, but not because of the February freeze or supply chain problems, according to Rodriguez. Disappointed by margins on smaller trees, many growers began holding back inventory, waiting for their plants to grow larger, even before the pandemic.

“It’s almost impossible to find trees in 1-gallon containers anymore, and 5-gallon pots are almost as scarce,” Rodriguez said. “Almost everything has shifted to 15 gallons or more.”

Shortages of the basic chemicals used to make fertilizer, fungicides, weed killers and more mean these products may be in short supply. And when they are available, prices will be higher.

Shortages of the basic chemicals used to make fertilizer, fungicides, weed killers and more mean these products may be in short supply. And when they are available, prices will be higher.

At Rainbow Gardens, for example, a 40-pound bag of lawn fertilizer sold last year for $26.99. Now it’s going for $45.99.

Milberger’s, which makes its own fertilizer, has raised the price of the same size bag by $10. “And it’s going to get worse as we get into the growing season,” Hazlett warned.

rmarini@express-news.net | Twitter: @RichardMarini

Richard A. Marini is a features reporter for the San Antonio Express-News where he's previously been an editor and columnist. The Association of Food Journalists once awarded him Best Food Columnist. He has freelanced for American Archaeology, Cooking Light and many other publications. Reader's Digest once sent him to Alaska for a week. He came back.