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Dead plants

jan.lawsonjan.lawson Posts: 19
in Plants
I am so tired of receiving dead plants in the post. I realise it is a difficult year but every company I have used, and that is about 10 different ones, has wasted my money. Some companies have returned my money but some I have just written off. It’s the disappointment, too, of opening a parcel with ‘live plants’ printed on the box and finding dead plants inside. Garden centres, when open, are more expensive but at least you can choose to buy a living plant.
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  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    i think you have been very unlucky, I but most of my plants on line and very rarely have a problem.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • jan.lawsonjan.lawson Posts: 19
    I have had disasters in the past and vowed never to use those companies again but this year I thought I would try again. Maybe it’s the postal system or delivery companies who have ignored the instructions on the box. 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    If you use proper nurseries there's rarely a problem. I also buy a lot of plants online and have never had a duff or dead plant. 
    It's the 'retail' outlets and the ones offering all sorts of stuff and special offers, which are usually the problem.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • jan.lawsonjan.lawson Posts: 19
    Maybe that’s my mistake, thinking companies such as Sutton’s, Hayloft, Thompson and Morgan, Gardeners Kitchen, J Parker’s, Brookside Nursery, or advertisers on EBay and  Amazon, would have some guarantee of quality.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I've only had a problem with J Parkers - bare-root hardy geraniums and pulmonaria that turned out not to be the varieties that I had ordered. The labels were as expected so I didn't find out until several months later when they started flowering, and by that time they weren't able to provide replacements. I did get refunds after I sent pictures but that's not the point really. There was obviously some kind of quality control issue with getting things labelled correctly. The plants were healthy enough though.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I had some really good plug plants from Gardeners Kitchen at the beginning of April. They were very well packaged and didn’t suffer at all in transit. 

    I planted them into the veg patch under a mini poly tunnel style cloche ... we’ll be eating our first lettuce any day now. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • jan.lawsonjan.lawson Posts: 19
    I have had many beautiful lettuces from Gardener's Kitchen except for one order that had totally rotted to slime. They replaced them but with much younger plants so it will be a while before they are ready to eat.  I received some before the lockdown and we ate the first oak leaf one on Saturday.  They are definitely one of the better companies.


    One of my biggest problem has been tomatoes.  I ordered them as soon as the various catalogues came out and all were delivered in a bad condition.  Fortunately, I went a little mad with tomato seeds and I am now donating to friends.  

    Other than the tomatoes, the disaster has been the flowers ordered from QVC hence the variety of different companies.  We live and learn.
  • jan.lawsonjan.lawson Posts: 19

  • jan.lawsonjan.lawson Posts: 19
    The latest offering from Thompson and Morgan. It is supposed to be 20 bedding and container plants. Ah well, at least the garden centres are open. 
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Get them potted up/planted and give them a drink, pick off the damaged leaves if they really offend you, and most will probably perk up.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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