Topic: woolies fruit plants and seeds

[kimbobill]

just came out of woolworths  and their seeds are buy one get one free (mr fotheringale?)

 2 rhubarb crowns 4 raspberry, blackberry canes 1 gooseberry and 6 strawberry £1.99 each pack hope this helps someone ........check the packs though some do look dead!

[MPG]

OOOO they have strawberries too, will have to get my brother to go again for me lol,he already got me most of the currants yesterday will ask him to have a look c if they have any stawberry.......thanks

[Amazin]

Check out this thread on the Bargains Galore board for more goodies:

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,37989.0.html

[pigeonseed]

I've always found plants from Woolworths don't make it - bulbs or crowns or whatever. Maybe it's just the branches where I've bought them don't look after them properly - it's always quite hot in the stores.

Have others had success with their plants then?

[Jon Munday]

If you get them fresh in then you have a good chance with them, but if in warm stores for over a week then I would be very careful. You see some of them trying to grow in a very small amount of dry compost.
If under that much stress at an early age even if plenty of tlc and you can keep the plants alive they will take much longer to give you any fruit.
Regards
Jon
Blackmoor Nurseries

[Baccy Man]

Woolworths buy them in from well known suppliers & offer a money back guarantee if you are not satisfied (I have returned a few plants over the years & they do honour it). The problem is that the stores have nowhere to store or care for the plants properly so you need to be very selective about which plants you buy. The majority always look past their best (at least in my local woolies) & will require a lot of TLC, some obviously have no chance of surviving but there are always a few healthy plants mixed in there too which grow well & are very productive. They will negotiate on the price of the unhealthy plants too I pay between £0.25-£0.50 each for the plants which will need more attention rather than the £2-£5 they are marked at.

[Amazin]

I second that, Baccy Man. It's simply common sense to buy the plants as soon as possible when they come into stock to get them at their best, as has been said often enough before. After all, who would buy mouldy bread just because it's cheap?

As for TLC, spot on. If the plants are not looking too healthy but you put a little extra work in at the beginning, they will reward you in no time at all. Think of it like getting a dog from a rescue centre - it may have been abandoned or ill-treated, but you give it a good home, some decent nourishment and a bit of attention and watch it thrive, catching up with its more pampered peers in no time. The trick is to put the work in to heal them at the start, then they'll flourish.

And in the case of fruit bushes, can I assure all those who have bought from Woolies, Poundstretcher, Lidl etc that they certainly won't take any longer to fruit. Enjoy!

[Kea]

Yes I've bought some when I know they're fresh in. However the problem is that they've been in a warm shop you can't just plant them up and put outside.
The year before last I bought some marked down raspberry canes very cheap and planted them...I got 10 and 7 grew for the price of about 2 canes elsewhere and it's a named variety 'Glen clova' and a tayberry which also grew. Both fruited last summer.