Forum home Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Pros and cons of buying plants online?

NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
Whether it’s plug plants or larger, my Ps and Cs are:

Pros:
1. Greater range and diversity, as opposed to what’s available locally
2. Not having to grow from seed (which I am crap at)
3. Can be cheaper, but not always especially factoring in delivery costs

Cons:
1. Having to make space to grow them on before planting out plus expense of pots/compost
2. Occasional delays in shipping, meaning plants arrive in less than perfect condition
3.Dead plants due to above, then supplier being out of stock so can’t replace them resulting in gaps in the border

Con 3 recently happened to me, frustratingly, the parcel tracking showed them arriving on a Friday morning in a warehouse 50km from me and sitting there to the following Tuesday (having already been on the road from Northern France for aeons) with no contact details so I couldn’t call them and tell them to get a wriggle on or even collect them from there myself, which I have been forced to do in the past. So not providing local courier contact details or even labelling the box as containing urgent/live contents is a big con!

How do you find the online plant buying process? I assume Con 3 is not exclusive to me!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
«1

Posts

  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • hogweedhogweed Posts: 4,053
    The biggest con for me is the postage and packing cost............It's fine if you are buying a lot of plants but when you just want one or two, the p&P can be prohibitive. 
    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
  • PurplerainPurplerain Posts: 1,053
    I can only recommend what I have liked Nollie. Hayloft for plugs, and recently 3fatpigs for a lovely Sambucus Nigra Black Lace. It was perfectly packed, 2ft tall and had no delivery charge.

    I am sure you are not really crap with seeds, but I use Sarah Raven as I have never had anything but 100% with her tiny vials, (I thought I was rubbish too until I bought her seeds). I have had poor germination with other companies in the past.

    In your location it might be less than perfect with delivery, but I hope you find a supplier that does not let you down.
    SW Scotland
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    The biggest con for me is not being able to see the plant in person - for flower colours etc if I don't know it already. I've been stung three times this year but neon purple clems that claimed to be anything but.

    Also all the daft, over-packaging in vast amounts of plastic - esp plugs. There must be a better way. I collect the boxes / bubble wrap give them on for re-use by neighbours with online companies, but those plastic split plug boxes are not much use to man or beast. Not that I have found, anyway. The distance for sending is a downside too - plant miles.

    Dorset Perennials, Sarah Raven, Longacre and Coblands have all proved excellent suppliers. I am now much drawn to the quality of the smaller independent suppliers rather than the big names - Crocus, Parkers, T&M etc.

    I do think that items with bargain discount prices should say why they are discounted. Some of the discount items I have got from big companies this year have basically been dead-shelf stuff, with two leaves on, but they didn't say so. It's not really on.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    It is a gamble when you are essentially buying blind, as I have to do, the nearest I get to seeing the real stuff is usually on gardening shows like GW, televised flower shows etc. Oh and yes, they all look perfect and LARGE! I often think the flowers are larger than they actually are cos I am sure they fiddle the scale somehow...

    Funnily enough purplerain my only successful germination to date was a packet of Sarah Raven tithonia seeds, other allegedly easy to grow stuff from big name suppliers all consistently fail for me.

    I have had great success with plants from Brittany Perennials (direct from the French nursery rather than the UK website), customer service is great, no quibble money back if things don’t thrive or arrive alive, their packaging is straw, so much more sustainable than all that plastic, so maybe have a look at them, Fire? An irritant of their website tho is that when things are out of stock, they delete the plant so unless it’s early in the season you don’t get an idea of the full range they grow.

    My main problem is not the French or Dutch nurseries/couriers, it’s when the package arrives in mañana Spain and goes awol.

    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    Pros:
    You can find a specific variety or a more unusual plant.
    Know their stock levels.
    Do save on petrol touring round to find the plant you want also saves money as you dont come back with a load of plants you have spotted on your tour.
    Waistline smaller due to avoiding coffee and cake.
    Able to research about the plants if you spot something you know nothing about.
    Delivered to your door for large trees you can't get in the car and your local centre doesn't stock. 
    P & P charges reasonable if you go to the right site. Some charge just £4.95 No matter how much you buy.
    Great after sales help and no quibble guarantees with most. 


    Cons:
    Non recyclable packaging materials used by some.
    Too high postage costs with some.
    Plug plants never seem to arrive in good condition 

    Mail order trees are very good. Large trees really well boxes.
    Recently tried Proper Plants.com. 2l pots and strong plants.
    Taylors clematis always prompt in replying with help. (Other clematis suppliers are available)

    I do buy a lot mail order but also use my local garden centre.


  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    We've had too many mail order plants that have been destroyed in transit. No amount of warning labels seem to deter courier drivers from smacking parcels about like they owe them money. I was outside when the last lot of plug plants arrived. The guy dumped the parcel down on the ground gave it a good smack on the top right where it said live plants please handle with care and said 'there you go mate :)'.

    I ordered 2 succulent plants from ebay. Really great plants but both had fuzzy leaves. One arrived in immaculate condition and the other looked like it had been through the tumble drier. I'm still trying to get all the mud off the leaves. :| I can't get them locally though so they have to take their chances.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I rarely buys plants online as I'd rather see the plants before purchase and,I'm afraid to say, I have very little faith in handling in transit.
    I bought 13 Hostas from Fransen Hostas in Holland and was delighted with them, the packing and the transit, but I hardly had the option of driving to Holland to buy them.
    I'd say look at reviews of , not only the plants, but how they arrive.
    Devon.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    What, @K67 no coffee and cake? :/ The only reason I got mum to come to the GC with me last time I was in the UK was the lure of C&C. Stock levels and ability to research said stock are good ones, I do the latter frequently.

    Getting couriers to deliver plants on time and in decent condition does seem to be the biggest challenge for both seller and buyer.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    Yes to coffee and cake but I often visit 3 or 4 places of they are near to each other. No amount of gardening is going to cope with 3 or 4 pieces of cake in a day. I have been know  to a visit  a certain centre just for their cake, left for home and realised I had hardly bothered to look at the plants!
Sign In or Register to comment.