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Five Year Guarantee for plants.

GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
in Plants
Most Garden Centres and also on line plant sellers offer a five year guarantee when you purchase a plant. I'm not sure how long ago this was introduced. If you have a loyalty card for my local GC, any problem no receipt required it will be on their system. Would you return a plant to a GC only just after purchase? Would you use this offer years later or assume your care or extreme temperatures was the cause of  it's demise!

On line obviously you don't see what your buying would you consider returning years later or
is this as a way of selling more plants? 
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
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  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    I have used this once and it was with a plum tree that I bought during the winter and by late summer it hadn't leafed out at all and was obviously dead, though no fault of my own. Luckily I still had the pot and receipt so I took it back and had no quibble (was homebase). 

    Its easy for them to offer these guarantees because I'm sure most have criteria that you'd need to pass and only a tiny percentage of people will try and get a refund/replacement. I must admit I only did it because the tree was already dead/dying when I got it but the replacement is doing well. 
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @thevictorian That is exactly what I was wondering, do only a small percentage of gardeners take up this offer? Is it technically faulty? We would return a jumper that was faulty but not a plant.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I once bought a baby tree in a French GC with a 1 year guarantee. It never did well and was dead within the year. They said it had died because I hadn't pruned it and refused to refund me.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    Having said that, I wrote to a French online nursery to complain that 3 of their roses had died and another had the wrong label so wasn't what I ordered. I took photos and they refunded me, no questions.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • Wild_VioletWild_Violet Posts: 221
    I’ve broached the subject of a dying / dead rowan tree I  bought from a friendly local garden centre that I use a lot. They hinted that I probably hadn’t watered the tree enough so I didn’t bother taking it back as I decided I didn’t know if that was definitely the case or not. Funnily enough, I’ve had straightforward  refunds from Crocus for failed bulbs and J Parker’s and Farmer Gracy for failed perennials. Maybe it’s easier to complain to online companies than in person? 
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    I would return a tree or shrub that failed within the first few months but after the first year of growth and it then failed I would think that it didn’t like the location or soil and it was my fault for planting it there! I would definitely question a retailer about any plants that I had bought on line and didn’t like the look of them when they arrived though, even before they failed!
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I've never claimed on a guarantee for a plant that died, but I would if I was sure it wasn't my fault, assuming I could remember where and approximately when I bought it.
    I have had refunds (and been told to keep the plants) for things that weren't what I ordered - sometimes obvious straight away (when I received lavenders instead of verbena hastata), sometimes months later (bare root geraniums that turned out to be the wrong varieties - not obvious until they flowered).
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    I've only ever asked for refunds or replacements from online nurseries and have never had a problem.       Having said that, when I buy plants in person from a nursery, GC or plant fair I choose the one I think is best and, if new to me, have checked what it needs to grow well so failure is less likely.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited 18 January
    I have always thought of the guarentee as a bit of a gimmick. There are so many things that can go wrong for a plant over a year or five, I don't see how they could ever establish why a plant died that far down the line. If a plant or bulbs arrive in a bad way I do sometimes ask for another or a refund but have never asked after months.

    However, I did receive a plant last year that I think was set out in totally the wrong potting mixture. It rotted off in that pot and died. I probably should have chased that up. I have received a crab apple that turned out to be very diffferent to the one I ordered. But by the time I had realised I didn't want to take it out and start again. It is a bit crap to get the wrong tree or roses and maybe wait years to realise it's not what you ordered.
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    A friend grew the yellow Asphodeline lutea. She came across a white form just a tiny plant rare and expensive at the time. It did eventually flower and it was yellow. She was very annoyed.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
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