.... good or bad. Your views on this and the way B&Q/other DIY superstore garden departments are run in your area.
General concensus here is these places dont really care for the plants they sell, only about us buying them in what ever condition (like it or lump it!).
Saddest thing is if a little more care was taken theyd probably sell more plants as more decerning gardeners would prefer to buy well looked after plants. As it is plants get neglected, few are sold and the rest get chucked out. WHY? £££££'s probably but as i said its a false economy really.
Another thing is that it would make more sense with some of the more 'worse for wear' plants to sell them cheap, in job lots if nessesary, (as many nurseries do to landscapers and designers), than to merely bin them. Then theres the wastage in pots as well. I could go on but you get were i am coming from.
Richard, I avoid B&Q and Homebase at all costs. They are expensive, sell poorly cared for plants and are the most unhelpful people I can think of. I'm no expert, rather a complete novice, and on occasions when I have asked questions they are no more helpful than if I tried to answer my own questions. Usually they employ school leavers who have very little knowledge of the plants they sell. I have no objection to employing inexperienced people, hey we all have to start somewhere, but to make them a responsible employer they should have a more experienced person at hand to help their junior staff, both for the customer's benefit and the trainee. As you say, it is all down to money, they employ staff on the cheapest wages possible, charge the customer the maximum possible price and spend zero on the care of the plants.
My favorite local nursery is also expensive but I don't mind paying their prices, they employ knowledgeable staff who are always willing and enthusiastic to help, the advice I get is well worth the money and the plants always look healthy and lush. For me it's not always about price, I'd much rather pay more and support a properly and responsibly run business.
I was in B&Q when the bloke was chucking the plants out and mentioned it was a shame. His reply was that they buy them so cheap that it's cheaper to bin them than pay someone to look after them! Tried Homebase the other day and theirs were no better. Our local Tesco has a plant 'tent' and they sell tatty plants off cheaper (notice I didn't say cheaply). £% for a foxglove seems too much when I get a packet of named seed for chuff all. All this inspired me to do a midsummer sowing of hardy stuff. I 'sell' my spares advertised 'free' but with begging bowl for Cancer Research. Handed £75 over this year.
Well I have to say that I have no prob with either. I am however very selective in what I buy and I tend to only buy plants from the sale shelf( I like to think I am rescuing them) :D. List so far is 6 Santolina for 10p each(just needed a good soak and were good as new. 6 pots of oriental lilies, all flowered and were just stalks. 10p each. planted them all and now have a fantastic collection.3 Spirea magic carpet for 50p each. Again just needed a good soak. Last year I bought 3 trays of 36 busy lizzies for £1.90/ tray. Yes, some had withered and died but a lot hadnt. Stuffed them all into 4 hanging baskets and had glorious balls of colour until the frosts. You pays your money you takes your chance. ;)
I don't think any of the DIY stores care about plants - they are probably just trying to expand a bit and make a bit more money - gardening is the trendy thing at the moment apparently. I did once buy a tiny little rhododendron from one DIY store only because I felt sorry for it. It is now thriving, but plants shouldn't be mistreated in the first place.
Gotta be honest, I don't think the likes of Wyevales are much better. I tend to use the small local growers if I really really want something, but I am a beg, borrower or...ahem...stealer kinda gardener. If I want something, I shall try my upmost to get seeds or a little cutting and I will love and nurture it, even if it takes years to flower. But my sis always shops at homebase and never complains and her garden is great - as Mimi says, you pays your money..... ;D
I've posted about B&Q somewhere else on here.
I tend to get more plants from independent local nurseries. There's a fantastic nursery near me, which sells perennials for 60p each if they are not in flower or £1.50 if they are. They have a huge sale on each year and it's bargain prices - such as £1 for a whole tray or 10p a plant. This is good quality, well looked after stuff. Sometimes it's gone over a bit or after it's season, but of course that doesn't matter with periennials. I love it!
You can get great bargains at B&Q if you look on the sale shelf. My bargains today included 30 buzzie lizzies 50p, 30 marigolds 50p. In total my mum and I bought £72 worth of plants for less than £6.After a good soak they were all fine But I NEVER pay the full price there
Hi Richard, I get most of my plants at trade prices and it cripples me to see how much regular prices are. Having said that, my local B&Q recently had some magnificent Tracycarpus, cheaper than I can get trade. The DIY stores are fine for one or two things but you need to be very selective and buy when the stock is new. My local Wyevale is dreadful. Anything on the shelves for more than a month looks tatty, unkempt and not worth putting on the compost heap. I get a lot of my plants from an excellent independent nursery who grow virtually alll their own stock and I know they do it with lots of TLC. Unfortunately these businesses are fast disappearing as we are flooded with stock from Holland and Italy.
i usually only buy from them when i catch a new delivery just in and when the plants are in good nick
our local store does employ a man that recently won an award of some description or other in horticulture and i see him regulary tending to the plants , however the thing is that it isnt always his shift , and the expected happens the plants end up looking like they have been through a washing machine. i would usually just buy the six packs as i find these good value.
Hi guys,
Isn't Wyevale the place where they SHOT Robin fledglings with a .22 rifle (near Bristol? ). If so, don't even GO there!
Did buy some cut price bedding plants from Focus, and they have done OK, but normally either a) grow from seed, b) buy from our local garage as they are nice and do a spring plant selling season (good stock) or c) buy from places I visit or charity sales. Love the idea that my spend does some good.
Currently seeing what I can provide for village fete 'flowering plant stall'. Give back some? good for the soul!
Take care all, CLx
Ps....or from 'postage only' offers in papers or garden mags....bit of TLC and you've saved loads of squid!