Chrysanths

[shirlton]

I recieved my 15 chrysanths yesterday from Unwins and   I am just waiting for the clock to read 9am so that I can tell em where to stick them.
I am so disgusted with them. Some of them are long and leggy and hard with yellow leaves at the bottom.They have cost me a quid each. Will let you know the outcome

[shirlton]

[goodlife]

Oh.. :o :-X...can we hear that telephone call as live prodcast..as it happens... ;D ;D..please..

[saddad]

We had a collection of 5 Penstemmons off them the other week which weren't much cop but they have got their act together now we have potted them on...  :-X

[Mrs Gumboot]

Well, my clock reads four minutes past nine  ;D

Best that we not put up with such rubbish from mail order companies. It only encourages them  ::)

[shirlton]

Well after waiting for 20 mins on hold I finally got to speak to someone.This is how it went.
"I placed an order with you for 3 different varieties of plants. The first to arrive in early march were traling begonias which I could hardly see. The organdie fibrous begonias that came a month later were a little better.
Yesterday my Chrysanths arrived and they were so bad that I wouldn't have them if they were given to me.
In the past I have ordered plants from several different seed companies including Marshalls,Suttons T&M and all have proved to be dispatching inferior goods.I'm afraid that your name will now be added to the list of suppliers that I will not be using again"
She said(when she could get a word in)"Well we cannot send you a replacement for the plants as we have used all the stock "I said "Yes I should think I had the scrapings of the barrell eh". To which she said."We will send you a refund.Sorted but now I have to see if I can get some from somewhere else that will not rip me off.

[shirlton]

Have just spent the last 15mins speaking to the chap at Simply Seeds. he has assured me that I will get good plants.Watch this space

[Tee Gee]

Sorry to hear about your run in with Unwins.

I don't know if I am being synical but I think it is a sign of the times.

There is a niche market out there which is; the first time grower! and I am getting the feeling the seed merchants el al are treating us all as; first time growers and flogging us just anything,  thinking we know no better.

Trouble is; the first time growers don't seem to know any better and they are accepting what they are getting as 'the norm' so we all suffer.

I ran short of some compost the other day so rather than take a trip to my normal supplier I bought a bag at the local supermarket it was supposed to be on offer and it was about 20% more expensive than my normal supplier so that was rip off number one!

Rip off number two was; on the packaging it said 30% less peat so on opening it I found the missing 30% was madeup of wood chippings.

Now I must admit it smelled nice but I was wary of running my bare hands through it ( I love the feel of fresh compost trickling through my fingers) incase I got a splinter in my hand.

Then I found damning evidenceof what is getting used...............the wood chipping were not pulverised prunings but window and door frames complete with white paint!

Now the powers that be in Euroland keep banning all that was useful to the gardener in the so called 'interest of the users safety!!

Well they have missed this one! ........didn't paints of yore contain high levels of lead and were often oil based?.....What of our safety now.

and why is it a commercial 'organic' grower use chemicals ( providing they have a license) and we can't............again it is a case of rules for commerce but not the punters!

Its got so bad that I am seriously thinking of giving it all up ( I am having another bad season)

My plan is to dig up the whole of my garden and reset it as a low maintenance perennial garden.

It will be out with my spring bulbs and annual bedding and in with ground cover plants and shrubs.

Subject to the success I have on my allotments this year ( and it is not looking too good) I will decide at the end of the season if they go too!

I'm just totally p***ed off with all the ripping off there is!

Sorry for the rant!

Back to your problem Shirl

Can I suggest you remove the tips from your leggy cuttings and re-root them this way with a bit of luck you will double your stock for taking more cuttings next spring.

I know its a bit late in the season for this but by the sound of what you have got I don't think you are going to get much joy forom your plants in any case so cut your losses this way.

I used to do the reverse of this, I used to buy the fist plants of the season which were often 'leggy' by the time I got them so I rooted the tips and doubled my stock by planting out time!

ttfn...Tg

[shirlton]

I know what you mean TeeGee these big firms think that they can palm us off with anything. As if we haven't got enough to do competing with the weather to get good plants without them selling us rubbish.
At the moment the plants are down by the side of the GH, Parhaps tomorrow I will have cooled down enough to look at them and see if I can at least salvage something from them.

[salvation plot]

I have in the last 3 years brought from Van Meuwan or Suttons, thier plants always arrive to me in great condition, i normally buy plug plants but last year i did buy some chrysanths that were ready to go in the ground and they were lovely, so i would try these companys, and they are alot cheaper, also with the compost im really cheeky as i have also had the same problem with most of the the compost being wood chippings, but i went to band q and triedd thier own brand, i just asked the young guy who worked there to open a bag slightly for me to have a feel of the compost, and i must say it was,nt full of woodchippings like some compost bags, so i bought 4 huge bags at 6.98 each . ;D

[daitheplant]

I would never, EVER, buy plants mail order. Only buy what you can actually see.

[shirlton]

SP. You were very fortunate with Suttons because we have had some dreadful stuff.As for the compost I'm afraid that with the amount we use I couln't afford to pay £7 per bag.

[pumkinlover]

Any one tried "specialist" or smaller companies?
I decided to try one for my Dahlias, not come yet they say they send them out at "normal planting time".

I've had a marvelous show from T&M viola plug plants, but the alstroemerias were rubbish :-\

[sunloving]

I've had fab dahlia cuttings from station house nursery wirral and from halls of heddon.

Fab bulbs from peter nyssen

and terrible plants from parkers and t&m.

You really can't beat gardening freinds though and other a4aers ive had the most fab stuff from other gardeners.

Its a mixed bag for mail order and the big ones are not very good on the whole.
x sunloving