Should supermarkets be banned from selling plants

The problem has always been whether they are checked properly, there have been quite a few plant and tree diseases that have come in from the EU over the years, but surely it must be a case that the grower gets the certificate and because they have it the plants just get the all clear, you cant just check each plant individually.

I can remember in the US, not sure if its still like that, but you couldn't even cross state lines with fruit in your possession.

 

I think the whole thing is a farce to be honest and we are just imposing restrictions because the EU have.
Its kind of tit for tat and needs sorting, but I think politics will get in the way as usual.

 

I'm referring to the EU, I know there was restrictions regarding the rest of the world.

 

I haven't been in one for years but poundland used to sell bare root plants that came in boxes which only saw the light of day when they had sold the other ones. I would hate to think how long some of those sat in the boxes, slowly dying, but these chains don't really care because they pay pennies for plants. Our local homebase is a prime example of why a watering can doesn't help either, they think that lavenders are aquatic plants going by how much they water them and most plants are dead before they make it to the front of their sales stands.


Whilst it frustrates me immensely that they neglect and kill things, I don't believe it's much different to the fate that these plants have when brought home as many people like to garden but most are not gardeners.

 

The main difference when visiting a supermarket, the majority of customers will not be doing so to purchase plants. Liquid spills of any type in a supermarket is a hazard. The surfaces tend to have a smooth floor that is not porous making some spills not noticeable to the naked eye. Which makes spillages on supermarket floors the main cause of accidents. If our staff are still watering when customers are about we just cone the area off, any water on the floor is on concrete which soon soaks away.

There are different types of water trays to fit on these Danish trolleys, along with some capillary mating, the plants would be able to draw water from the base, which will also reduce the risk of spillage, maybe not ideal but at least its making a constructive effort to reduce waste.

An economic study commissioned by the HTA by independent economists at Oxford Economics indicates that expediting the peat ban to 2026 would lead to a staggering £541 million reduction in Gross Value Added (GVA) and as many as 12,000 job loses in the horticultural sector. There is not enough quality peat substitutes to plug the hole, with UK growers mainly in England, probably growing over 100 million fewer ornamental plants annually. The average age of commercial horticultural growers in the UK is quite high, more than farmers, I think 12,000 job loses is very realistic.

Last week composted bark to me went up by a staggering 28% per cubic metre, no warning, an instant price rise. That 28% relates to composted bark going up by £8 a cube, ex works. To put that in to context, it has taken 40 years for peat to increase by £8 a cube. The problem with composted bark and bark fines is water retention, if the supermarkets find the peat free plants are drying out to quick, then they might just exercise their right to import more from growers outside of England, which is going to also be cheaper now we are seeing these big price increases in peat substitutes.

In general, the retail sector will not take the same type of hit as those lower down the chain, they will still be a able to sell peat based composts as long as they go direct to the suppliers outside of England. The same with plants, retailers will be able to import plants grown in peat from Dutch growers as long as they go direct.

 

Well, that's true. Apparently the expected life of a houseplant is 6-8 weeks. Maybe buyers should have to fill out a suitability questionnaire at the till, testing their horticultural knowledge and assessing the particular conditions on offer at their property!

 

House plants have been basically florists items for a long time now and you are not expected to grow them on year in year out.

 

I've had my peace lily since about 1988!

 

They would much prefer for you to buy a new one each year, you are cheating the system.

 

I try my best to.

 

I adopted some houseplants that had been left by the previous owner when we bought the house in 1988, and they looked as if they'd been pretty much neglected. The Sanseveria didn't mind of course and is still going strong. I am just about decided to chuck out the Schefflera because after being cut back and regrowing several times it's now pretty ugly, and I've kept a couple of its offspring. The Ctenanthe Burle-marxii has been divided so many times that I have no idea whether I still have some of the original. Likewise a rosette aloe-type thing that I haven't ever identified (two of them in flower just now). The ficuses (a variegated rubber plant and a plain green F. benjamina) are several generations on because I just don't have the space for them to become indoor trees. There was a peace lily but that died, I think it was just too far gone. And I have a Poinsettia (the ultimate throwaway houseplant) that has done its thing for three Christmasses now. Currently on the spare bedroom windowsill, looking pretty rubbish having lost most of the leaves and bracts, but it'll probably start growing again when it's good and ready.

I must be the grower/retailer's worst nightmare because not only do I keep my houseplants going for years, I also propagate them and give away the surplus to anyone who'll take them. Mind you I more than make up for it in buying plants for the garden .