This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Thoughts, please
lesley.hampton
Posts: 6
in Plants
Good afternoon everyone. Just wondering if anyone can recommend online plant suppliers who offer excellent quality for fair prices. Where do you go when you want to buy plants, especially perennials? TIA.
0
Posts
https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/comment/2449790#Comment_2449790
I also like Claire Austin and Cotswold Garden Flowers ,Sarah Raven's Tulips are really good too, plug plants are good too but can be too leggy if you leave it too late in the season.
I have purchased from Beth Chatto many times without a problem. One poster on here had a real problem with their plants last spring it was later in the season. So I would give serious thoughts as to how these plants will travel and what you choose.
Take Alliums in flower, how do you move those from a to b unless they are packed for Chelsea. They simply won't travel so leave them for the nursery visitors.
Some gardeners expect too much from on line plants, often in 9cm pots ok for some things but not for others. They may not be big enough to be planted out and should be potted on, not something all gardeners are aware of and not always pointed out by the growers.
One thing I would avoid are the newspaper offers with pictures of plants on steroids. They are so false I find them funny but not so funny when they arrive with a new gardener who is disappointed. It is important to encourge new gardeners and not put them off.
Thank you so much for taking the time to offer such welcome advice. Much appreciated and I will be looking up your recommendations x
I usually just go to a GC though, there are several around here in S. Norfolk.
@BenCotto
Thank you for replying and your recommendations. Yes, I totally appreciate that this question gets asked from time to time. As do most questions, I would guess. The reasons questions get asked again isn’t because of laziness - can’t be bothered to look things up in the forums, but because as time goes on places change, suppliers come and go, standards drop or climb.
Thanks for your always positive and helpful reply. I’d totally forgotten this supplier so thank you for bringing them back into my mind!
Thank you so much for replying. I’ve bought from Sarah Raven in the past but was reading some of the reviews for her plants on her site and they were really disappointing to say the least. Which was very sad as the few I’ve bought from her were fine. Actually, that’s what led me to post on here. I’m always nervous about EBay but will definitely give it a go.