And So It Begins.......LOL

Been popping in to Wilkos over the last couple of days as their Christmas stuff is currently 50% off; but also noticed their gardening stuff is back in, seeds, pots, composts, fleece cloches, "blow-away" greenhouses, coldframes etc are back on the shelves so far at our local store. I'm keeping my eye out for their seed potatoes, always a bargain and always done well for me :thumb:

 

Our Wilkinsons is in the town centre.

Main shopping Mall.

So hardly ever go there, by the time you've fought your way through the traffic and payed the parking charges its not worth a visit.

 

I would only buy plants from Wilko if they have just arrived, the lack of concern for them is nationally known, they've usually collapsed in a few days.
I have had the odd bargain from there although we are not near one now.

 

Sorry Bilbo. I thought if I clicked on 'like' it would reinforce your comments, but it has not worked and the 'like' now says 'unlike'. I don't think I will try that again.

 

It did work! it's only showing 'unlike' now so you can withdraw (should you want to) the 'like' given.


I looked in Wilkos a few days ago and they hadn't started getting anything back in, only removing the reductions from the limited stock they still had, but Poundland have had gardening stuff in for a few days now, and B&Q have had seed potatoes in for about a week and now have dahlias, gladys, etc.

 

http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/non-gardening-discussion/37558-official-end.html
Well it has not been a long time - I posted the above at the start of October . Still the first week after Christmas does seem early.
As is general knowledge now you only buy Wilkos plants if it is a recent delivery. I bought a few nice shrubs earlier this year at a very good price. One question on Wilkos if you do buy something heavy say a bag of compost , how are you supposed to get it to your car ?? Ours is in a pedestrianised area then up 5 levels to the car park

 

Rare as it is for me to sing the praises of the chains, my local B&Q is pretty well stocked with sundries all year.
And the 99p shop is excellent for cheap small pots too............

 

Up here we also have 'Yorkshire Trading', a chain of shops that sell kind of the same range as Wilkos or the late Woolies. They regularly have cheap plants, usually cheap because they are nearly (or actually) dead.

One time, an amazing thing happened to me at our local Yorkshire Trading. They had fruit trees in for a fiver each, as many of the big shops do from time to time. I was eyeing some up, when a proper old boy came up to have a look too. We didn't know each other, yet I felt strangely at ease as though he was an old buddy. He calmly, and totally 'matter of fact' said, "their all dead lad, save your money", and then just stood and waited for my reply. We chatted briefly, and somehow, I felt that I knew he was right. He told me he'd have bought the lot of he thought there was one among them that might grow.

Thinking back, I bet he did buy the lot. He probably had no money with him, and needed to put everyone else off buying until he'd been to the bank

 

One thing I can praise our local Wilko's store for is their care of plants when they've got them in; all the plants that are outside are watered daily and ones that aren't looking so good or are damaged are quickly removed and put on a sale table :thumb:

The same can't be said of Aldi, as has been said they get some great plants in sometimes but unless you buy them straight away they'll soon be bone dry and dying as they don't water anything!!

 

......Seed potatoes are in folks, Rocket, Maris Pipers etc.......slightly up in price this year at £3.28, but the quality is the best I've seen. Onion sets also in.......springs on its way, just get February out of the way :D

 

Yes they usually do, I picked some up already, early I know but they won't be there in another few weeks....

 

I love it when the plants come in in around Feb/March, they usually have some rarities, for example I got a Fatshedera lizei, which they had for sale as a houseplant, it only cost me £1.39 - I would have paid the Earth in a proper establishment. The Fatshedera is growing well now, and I looks forward seeing what they stock in this year!

 

Forgot to mention they also have fruit bushes (raspberry, blackberry, gooseberry and the like) in too; the ones in card tubes inside the shop rather than potted up plants outside. They're ok if you buy them now (still dormant), but these are the ones that dry out quickly and they forget to water them and they also get a bit leggy once they start shooting in the tubes.