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Best online supplier?

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  • Bee witchedBee witched Posts: 1,295
    I'll second @punkdoc and also recommend Macplants.
    It is close enough for me to get to (not at the moment though as everything is still shut in Scotland).
    The plants are always healthy and a good price.

    Bee x
    image
    Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders  

    A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    Most on line companies are massively busy at the moment, so you are unlikely to get a delivery soon. Some have even stopped taking orders at the moment.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    It's still a tricky time for online delivery with Brexit and Covid. My deliveries are still mostly very slow / delayed. I wouldn't bank on any good quality plants turning up in just a few days. I'd say it would be better to be patient, find the plants you want and let them arrive in their good time. If you have a specific list of varieties, I think you are unlikely to find them all at one seller.

    I have found Longacres to be one of the cheapest. And Dorset Perennials.
  • PianoplayerPianoplayer Posts: 624
    I agree with @punkdoc and @Fire it will be hard to get something quickly - Macplants, for instance, have stopped taking online orders. I was lucky and got my order in just before they stopped.

    If you are not after specific varieties or plants, you honestly would be best going to a local garden centre. and having a browse. If there are specific things you want, then likely you will have to wait.

    It is REALLY frustrating - it has taken me since spring 2020 to get some of the specific things I wanted. Some of my orders have taken 3 months  :o . I am not good at being patient...
  • PianoplayerPianoplayer Posts: 624
    PS if you do want to try for one big order of more established plants, then probably somewhere like Crocus is your best bet
  • didywdidyw Posts: 3,573
    I second what everyone else has said.  If you need plants for next week you would be better off going to a garden centre as most reputable mail-order nurseries take longer and many won't send until the plants are in a transportable condition.  Many will be sowing seed/potting on etc. in their polytunnels now and those will be ready in a few weeks.  There is nothing more frustrating than looking on a website, finding something you really like and seeing that it is sold out.  All that said, I can recommend Dorset Perennials, Hardy's Cottage Plants, Beth Chatto, Claire Austen and Sarah Raven.  None of them are particularly cheap though.  You could try The Secret Gardening Club, who are. I have bought from them a few times - smaller plants and variable in quality but cheaper.  I like to look for nurseries that specialise in particular plants (eg Thorncroft and Taylor's for clematis, David Austen for roses).  Also look out for plant fairs - if you have any popping up near you they are great fun and you get to chat to the grower about the plants, growing conditions etc, and can often find more unusual things.  Good luck!

    Gardening in East Suffolk on dry sandy soil.
  • Many thanks all I shall have a look sites recommended and their delivery times. Generally if I hsve to wait too long I start a different project and end up with nothing finished! 
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