Yes I should have done that initially I think. That must be where I've gone wrong. Fingers crossed they come on and I don't lose them all.
I suppose we all have different experiences. My Farmer Gracy purchase of dahlias a few years ago was terrible. Don't think one of the tubers turned out to be what it actually 'said on the tin' !! lol To be fair they did reimburse me but that doesn't help when you are expecting one thing and end up with something entirely different and plans are scuppered. Hey ho.
I'll have to agree on Farmer Gracy. Most of their their bulbs are OK, but I did receive some mouldy Iris x Hollandica and their bare -root plants were absolutely disgusting. They crumbled like dust when I took them out of their packets ( Hemerocallis { Day Lilies } and a Peony . I've used about 10 suppliers this year and Farmer Gracy is one I'll probably never use again.
Isn't it strange I've bought several hundred Allium and Fritillaria bulbs from Autumn last year from Farmer Gracy and not had one bulb that was questionable. I've also bought several Iris corms, Astilbe and some "exotic" bulbs from them and again never had a problem with the quality so after spending several hundred pounds with them I can't speak negatively about them. @Perki has also bought Alliums from them and I've not heard him complain about the quality of the stuff sent her. I also use Burcoose Nursery and although they can be expensive the plants in pots are really superb. Some people treat e-Bay warily but I've bought from a lot of various small, little known, Nurseries using e-Bay and, again, not had a problem and getting real value for money. I'm "chasing" after a "Chain Fern" (Woodwardii fimbriata) and finding that all Nurseries are holding back on orders or have suspended their Catalogues and are only taking orders for Bedding plants of which they are desperate to sell off. I can't even find one on e-bay! I shall have to hold my patience and wait until the Nurseries open up again and have normal staffing. Having said that I have ordered, without a problem, 10 Bearded Iris from Cayeux in France so some Nurseries in other countries appearing to be dealing better with the present situation that we're all facing...............thank God for our gardens, balconies, containers or whatever we get our gardening solace from.
Its not always the retailer fault, speaking from the inside, I have had usually great suppliers, send through a load of plugs that were not what I ordered, luckily with a stuck cutting, or seed raised plugs, you find out pretty quickly, bulbs and bare roots can be weeks or even months before you find out, and if your buying in, and turning stock around quickly, just adds to the frustration, you have to deal with an upset customer, through no fault of your own, but with Parkers its their own stock. The other problems are staff, I have told staff, not to pack plants for distribution if they are wet, as they tend to rot quite quickly, but they do, then there is the courier, this year we stopped dispatching plant orders, on the Tuesday before good friday, 1st class mail, some customers never got their orders until the Saturday after easter monday, of course they arrived dead, or in very bad condition, so those customers wont be back. And generally misarable customers whom like to leave bad reveiws, because they cannot read the information on the sales screen, or leave a bad reveiw because their plants arrived 1 day late, anyhow, rant over, parkers are well known for sending the wrong or poor quality plants.
I never give reviews, good or bad, as if you can't say "Good".......say nowt and, as we have seen different members have had good and bad experiences but Parkers does not have, I think, a reputation for quality of plants, bulbs, correct filling of orders and service that loses more customers that it keeps or gains.
@ARMANDII Her who's her I've been happy with my orders from FG , jsut keep an eye out for free P+P etc. I not a big fan of buying bare root, Last ones I bought took ages to establish, I suppose it depends what it is though.
I respect members comments on this topic. Yes we each can relate the highs and lows. I first dealt with Parkers back in the 60's. Having moved into our first home together, Val & I bought a selection of roses from Parkers. Two still remain in my garden. I have over the years dealt with many nurseries etc. Yes I have had good and not so good results. No doubt at times the failores have been down to me. However to this very day. I have never had any problems with Parkers. I make a complaint and by return of post or email. I get an apology and that is foolowed by a replacement. Likewise I have ordered plants fom several growers only to be dissappointed. We can make a complaint and in most cases the supplier will replace etc. This is a very up and down experience.
My thoughts are that we want good service first time, sorry but apologies or replacements are not good enough, unless its a transport problem. If the plants were wrong variety or poor at time of packing then, to me, they deserve to go out of business. What is the point of a replacement for a wrong plant being sent two or three months down the line, when we get at most 4 months summer growing time at best. There is no excuse for bad plants or wrong plants being sent out. The hope is most wont bother to complain, which is poor practice.
Well today I popped to Morrisons for essentials and couldn't resist purchasing some gorgeous Astilbe. £2 each or 2 for £3. They are a great size already and are in fabulous condition. I must say that everything I've ever bought from there has always been of good quality and performed really well. I think I'm going to stick to there and the few local small independent garden centres that I usually use when we are living under 'normal' conditions. I'm trying to use them now too but they're overwhelmed with orders so have halted taking any for the time being.
Yep, I think the other problem that the Nurseries are having is shortage of Staff. Having said that I've found a Nursery I've used before on e-Bay that was selling the Fern Woodwardii Fimbriata and ordered it
I used to use Parkers for bulk orders of spring bulbs for customers. They're incomparably cheap, but it was always touch and go whether the tulips turned out to be the variety ordered. And of course, if not, it was too late to complain 8 months after the order was placed! I wouldn't touch their perennial plants or shrubs. Sadly, it looks as though Peter Nyssen, who do deliver to France, are going much the same way, but with higher prices. It looks as though outlets like Lidl and Morrisons are the best bet for anything basic, then the independent garden centres for quality and more choice. When transport issues are sorted out, especially here in France, where it takes a minimum of 5 days for a parcel to arrive, if it ever does, then I'll risk mail order again, but not before! Edited to add: Cayeux are the exception to the rule....in 25 years, never had a problem :-)
