I only buy my plants from my lfs. I get to see if they have been converted from emerged grown to submurged gown. A lot of the time when you first get plants they are grown out of the water, and when you put them in your tank they melt. If a plant looks like it’s not healthy I don’t buy it. It also helps that my lfs does have a good selection to choose from.
For years and years I had a shop not even a mile from my house called "The aquarium shop" that was in Business like the store near you was, probably 30+ years. They had a good variety and the prices were just beyond fair. Got a male 12" Venustus from them for $24.99, I'll never forget that one lol. That's how most their fish were though, great size great color and great prices. They closed down about 3 years ago. Was a sad day for fish keepers around here.
