Internet Nursery

I want to buy Sambucus 'Black Lace' but can't get one here on the island, can anyone recommend a nursery online please. I've checked out a number of sites and some show pictures of 'Black Beauty' advertised as 'Black Lace' and pricing seems to go to extremes. I also have the problem of finding one that will deliver here. Any help would be appreciated please.

 

Have you tried ebay sheal...http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sambucus-...arden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN&hash=item257ae68129
There are cheaper ones

 

Thanks Joolz but I don't do ebay, sorry.

 

http://www.plantify.co.uk/Sambucus-nigra-Black-Lace/plant-1637
Not sure if they deliver to you though not sure!
Can recommend them though.

 

Have a word with Andy from http://www.solartechiom.com/

When he goes over to the mainland with a car full of solar stuff, he's usually coming back with an empty car. Might be able to fit a shrub in.

Tell him Ziggy sent you

 

I expect you want a decent sized one? but if not I have some rooted cuttings in 3" pots and if you PM me your address I'll pop one in the post.

I also have Black Beauty and although the same dark colour the leaves are not finely divided like Black Lace. Black Lace is sold under another name now I believe (probably a PBR issue of some sort ...)

www.cgf.net have loads of varieties (Black Tower looks interesting ). Dunno if their shipping is expensive to your tax haven though.

 

P.S. Remembered it now, I think the synonym is "Eva"

 

Thanks Mowgley.

Thanks Zigs, I'll keep him in mind, but won't disturb him unless I have to.

 

Thanks for you kind offer Kristen but I need something bigger. I want this as a centre piece for a new bed. I prefer 'Black Lace' as the leaves look similar to an Acer which I can't grow here so it's the next best thing, and of course the colour is also an attraction for my planting scheme.

I have to pay for shipping but it's not too bad. Oh, and the island is no longer a tax haven.

 

yup, I agree, I think its a great looking plant. i quite like Black Beauty in a bed too - it grows vigorously if you chop it back each year, and I think looks quite dramatic amongst other plants - but then so does Black Lace, and maybe Black Lace is just plain all round "Better". i'm itching to try the Black Tower though ... trouble is that CGF have so many different varieties and I kinda want to put one of each in my Basket!

Don't suppose you can arrange your own shipping? I suppose by the time you had it shipped to a mate, as close to the island as possible, then the cost of yet-another-courier to get it onwards from there is more than the surcharge in the first place. Or is the issue that most of these mail order companies just plain don't do Highlands and Islands? If so might it just be that their website is rubbish and can't handle the shipping cost matrix (I build them, I know how complicated it has become), in which case it might be worth phoning them up? Its unlikely that their couriers don't ship there surely? in which case it must just be that it has not been cost effective to build all that into their website - in which case a phone order might well work and you just pay the "normal" surcharge? But I'm guessing, I'm sure you and your fellow islanders are very familiar with what works, and what doesn't.

 

Have you tried the RHS Plantfinder:

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder/

 

Well, I've placed my order today. Thanks Mowgley......Plantify were the best of the bunch!

Thanks also to Zigs, Kristen and Sirius for suggestions.

 

Kristen, it's not good to go around name dropping you know! I wanted 'Black Lace' I've bought 'Eva'! Having made comparisons they both look similar but what swung it for 'Eva' was it's height, at a maximum of 2.4 metres it is slightly less than 'Black Lace' at 3 metres which means it won't dominate the other plants in the new bed quite so much.

I've bought from 'Plantify' a 3ltr pot at £8 or so with a shipping cost of just under a fiver. The nursery on your link wanted £30 for shipping alone! They probably don't want the hassle of delivering here, so I suspect the cost was hiked.

The problem with many companies is they take fright when dealing with an 'offshore' island and can't be bothered to wade through all the regulations that come with that. They have to take into consideration that the island operates differently from the mainland, hence the need for us to shop around on the internet to see who will and who won't deliver at a reasonable price. There's also the point that some companies want to deliver in bulk, ie. a container load etc that will bring down the cost for them. It'll be interesting to see who delivers this plant. My roses that came from three different nurseries were delivered by Royal Mail as well as couriers.

 

I doubt that is the case (in the case of suppliers I mean), they will just pick a courier company and then charge you whatever rate the courier company charges them. I think it would be worth telling the supplier that they were not cost effective, and lost your order, so that next time they are negotiating with Couriers they can take that into account.

You are only 100 miles from Leeds, whereas Edinburgh is 200 miles (plus a ferry ride of course) ... I'm surprised there isn't someone offering a collection service (from your Suppliers) to undercut the competition who are using a one-size-fits-all price for Highlands and Islands.

 

Do you mean a collection service offered by an island resident?