plants by mail order

i was veryy excited yesterday as when I got home there was a box of some plants I had ordered!I was a bit dissapointed at first I must admit as they seem to be nothing more than rooted cuttings! since they were about �£2 each I dont suppose you can expect much! most of them survived ok but I have repotted a couple . they are all perrenials so hopefully they will grow as the season goes.they are geraniums,aguta,sedum, and tiarella and they are fairly small it has to be said. if i pot all these up and give them some tlc will they grow big and strong in a couple of weeks??

 

Good Morning, Lazy Gardener, I have found buying plants by post a mine field with one exception...Goose berry bushes all the way from Southern Ireland..wrapped up like babies two @�£11
looking real good now, been in about 6 months.
Unwins of Histon Chrysanthemums ordered and paid for last October I am still awaiting the arrival of.

 

Hi, LG! Main thing is - have they got good root systems - if they have, then you're ok. With deciduous perennials, there won't be much to see at the moment. I have a lot of recent experience of getting plants via the internet, and I have had excellent plants, without exception, and this ranges from tiny mini-plugs to a very large willow!! I have a large area of garden with d-all in it but weeds, so I'm doing it from scratch, and although I'm doing a lot from seed, we do need some rather more instant impact! We do have a very local garden centre, but it's fairly small and limited - and, of course, expensive. I'd definitely give a thumbs up to internet ordering! I've used - T&M, Suttons, Dobies and Chiltern seeds, Nicky's seeds, Unwins, Plantazia (recently changed ownership), Viv Marsh's Postal Plants, Butterworths organic nurseries for fruit trees, and I can't remember the name of where I got the willow! Oh, and plant-connection, crocus, and a few others - all good plants!! I really ought to have been a saleswoman!! :D

 

Hi LG,

I have been impressed by my mail ordering so far - although the delivery dates can be a bit hit and miss! Like anything though, there are good and bad ones. When I raised this subject a while back, most people said they prefered using nurseries directly to choose their plants themselves... but I think there's a market for both, particularly if you don't live near nurseries or having difficulty travelling.

I'm sure your plants will grow big and strong with TLC, but if you have a complaint about their condition when they arrived, let the company know. They should all arrive in good and useable condition, like anything you order through the post. If they're not, you have legitimate cause for complaint!

Sorry - I'll take my Watchdog hat off now!

Cheers,

Dave :D

 

I think with most reputabale suppliers you get a good deal. I favour plugs some one else has done the 'growing in warm conditions' bit and we grow them on and plant out. Easier now with warmer days and nights and more light.

 

They have quite nice root systems so i think they will be ok. Its just me i know you pay for what you get in life but somehoe I expected bigger plants. my fault for not asking i suppose but at least they have roots and should grow ok, is it best if I grow them on for a few weeks first. they wouldnt make much of a slugs breakfast at the mo

 

I am always dissapointed with mail order plants, but sometimes you just have to do it. I am awaiting a dahlia called Dark Desire - hope this lives up to expectation!

 

if they're hardy perennials, and they've obviously been outside before you got them, then plant them now! (If you ave a slug problem, scatter slug pellets around them) BTW - put a label by them so you know where they are!!! If nothing else it stops you digging them up again, and people walking on them!! :eek: