Topbird - thank you for the detailed reply! I understand, yes, it will be against a wall, so will give it a shot!
B3 - thanks, yes I get what you are saying... its very tempting to want to get the wall covered as its looking very bare at the moment, but I can see how it will be better to get a plant that takes time to establish etc
Sheps - thank you for the photos, really lovely seeing it grow over the years! I may get another one for the other side of the house too, in a pot - looks great
I would say small plant vs big plant is a matter of personal preference. I go for big because I am in my current house for 3-5 years and I want to see the result and enjoy it. I value my time here.
120 or 150cm plant isn't too big anyway. It will establish quickly. Small plants are maybe a bit faster but I feel they need some coddling - protecting from the environment and competition, leaving a clear space around them, weeding around them etc. With bigger plants, I water in dry spells for the first few months and then it is up to them. But I don't buy too big (so it would be risky or they would take too long to establish), I like the sweet spot where I feel I am getting the best value for money.
Regarding the online shops, I am not afraid to buy from unknown or value shops, I like bargains. Worst case scenario, I get a second-grade plant. Which happened to me both from value suppliers and big well-known suppliers. The Trachelospermum for £10.99 was from gardeningexpress, they now have it for £19.99, I don't have any other experience with them but I was really happy with my plant.
Out of those two I'd go for the smaller one, but if the 1.2m one was priced at a more reasonable £15-£20 I'd go for that one to have a bit more 'instant impact'. Mine sulked and didn't do much in year 1 (from a 2l pot), but started getting more vigorous after that. So getting a headstart makes sense IMHO.
But £55.99, hell no.
I think I saw some really big ones, well over 1.2m, for about £24 at my local nursery. Try local nurseries rather than the big Garden Centres for the best prices (usually).
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
edhelka - yes, what you refer to as sweet spot is a good point
WillDB - I will need to ring around perhaps to find one for a better price... even the nursery/plant centre we went to seemed to have pretty high prices - it was around £60 for a plant that was about half a metre high which seemed a bit much - definitely too much for me as I need to buy several plants at the moment!
I recently got a few of these .i spent a while looking at the sizes online but in the end I went on a tour of all the local garden shops for the afternoon.some were too small and overpriced wyevale had some more established ones already on a trellis but not worth £125 each in the end got some 180cm high for £20 each from a small nursery which seemed fair price.I was tempted with the ones from grasslands nursery online but it's thirty pounds delivery but compared to others online they seemed reasonable.
They had them in Morrisons this morning, didn't look at the price but they are usually quite keen and the plants were bigger than the really cheap ones. Mine came from there and has been fine. It's about 6 ft tall after 4years, planted in a large pot and growing up the pergola. The leaves do go red if it gets cold but I don't mollycoddle it and it seems to survive.
Posts
B3 - thanks, yes I get what you are saying... its very tempting to want to get the wall covered as its looking very bare at the moment, but I can see how it will be better to get a plant that takes time to establish etc
Sheps - thank you for the photos, really lovely seeing it grow over the years! I may get another one for the other side of the house too, in a pot - looks great
Thank you for all the replies, much appreciated
The Trachelospermum for £10.99 was from gardeningexpress, they now have it for £19.99, I don't have any other experience with them but I was really happy with my plant.
But £55.99, hell no.
I think I saw some really big ones, well over 1.2m, for about £24 at my local nursery. Try local nurseries rather than the big Garden Centres for the best prices (usually).
WillDB - I will need to ring around perhaps to find one for a better price... even the nursery/plant centre we went to seemed to have pretty high prices - it was around £60 for a plant that was about half a metre high which seemed a bit much - definitely too much for me as I need to buy several plants at the moment!
Thank you!