Yes, Vernon does belong to T&M. I have been buying speciality Geraniums from them for years and received a pile of very sad plants last year. Their customer service was excellent till then, and on investergating found to my horror that they were part of T&M. (I have had problems with T&M) big time.)
Sadly, the small speciality nurseries are finding it very hard to survive. I use my local small nurseries and smallholdings and they all say that it is tough and they are running at a loss.
Large companies have their fingers in alot of pies and can get away with non existant coustomer service by cheaper pricing and using their profits to propup weaker ones. At the end of the day, we the customers decide who gets our hard earned cash, and unfortunately, lower pricing wins........look at TESCO.
I was delighted to read that other keen gardeners have had trouble with T&M.I purchased geranium plugs last year from them,they were appalling I emailed numerous times only to be totally ignored. I also purchased 2 packets of seed, germination forget it. I will never deal with the company again and I certainly would not recommend the company.
Ditto everyone, bought some Fuchsia's a couple of years ago from T&M, were meant to be orange! Well, had about 70% survival rate of what was received, were so small they didn't start to flower until mid July and were those garish blousy large flowered things, (apologies to anyone who like those). I sent an email complaint with pictures and they did eventually reply saying "we're sorry you're not happy with your plants here's a £20 voucher for more of the same" no explanation or admittance to error on their part. Not the first time bad experience with them but definitely the last, didn't use the voucher either!
I used to use T&M, but looking at their site this year, so few of the plant descriptions mention the size they grow to. I emailed cust. svs. at T&M and they agreed that plant size should be included - but it isn't.
So this year I ordered from Mr Fothergills - often twice the number of seeds at considerably less than T&M prices. Whereas T&M Petunia seed is loose in the packet and almost impossible to see, Mr F. Petunia seed comes in a small vial. I sowed them 10 days ago - and looks like they're all up.
I do buy shrubs/perennials from Crocus. You can get a 20% discount from codes on this site. The plants are good, if a bit pricey. But often when a plant arrives, you can split it or take cuttings. I split an Aster into 5 last yr when it arrived and they are all substantial plants now.
I've tried van Meuven (?) and the plants they supplied were very poor and Parkers weren't much better.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
hi All, there also seems to be another Vernon's thread posted that I replied to saying that I hadn't previously had problems, but did state that this was a couple of years ago.
Yes same company as T&M, had problems with them last year, plants arrived detached from their plugs, unbelievably they were just cuttings with no roots pushed into a plug.
Bought a collection of multi coloured leaved geraniums some years ago, they too were just cuttings pushed into plugs no roots as most of them had fallen out of their plugs, they were total rubbish!
And they were almost all green and silver leaves not much multi coloured ones, they did give me my money back but only after I had returned them!
I sometimes wonder how these companies survive, as I would never order anything from them again!
Posts
Thank you for the updated information, I sincerely hope my order arrives intact. Sad that an old established company has gone to T & M.
Likewise Alan Romans Scottish potato company, which was **** Brilliant *****at reasonable prices, dear old Alan is now with T & M.
Smaller companies cannot compete with the mega size companies.
Yes, Vernon does belong to T&M. I have been buying speciality Geraniums from them for years and received a pile of very sad plants last year. Their customer service was excellent till then, and on investergating found to my horror that they were part of T&M. (I have had problems with T&M) big time.)
Sadly, the small speciality nurseries are finding it very hard to survive. I use my local small nurseries and smallholdings and they all say that it is tough and they are running at a loss.
Large companies have their fingers in alot of pies and can get away with non existant coustomer service by cheaper pricing and using their profits to propup weaker ones. At the end of the day, we the customers decide who gets our hard earned cash, and unfortunately, lower pricing wins........look at TESCO.
Edd the thread is called the good guys, bumped it up for you.
I was delighted to read that other keen gardeners have had trouble with T&M.I purchased geranium plugs last year from them,they were appalling I emailed numerous times only to be totally ignored. I also purchased 2 packets of seed, germination forget it. I will never deal with the company again and I certainly would not recommend the company.
Ditto everyone, bought some Fuchsia's a couple of years ago from T&M, were meant to be orange! Well, had about 70% survival rate of what was received, were so small they didn't start to flower until mid July and were those garish blousy large flowered things, (apologies to anyone who like those). I sent an email complaint with pictures and they did eventually reply saying "we're sorry you're not happy with your plants here's a £20 voucher for more of the same" no explanation or admittance to error on their part. Not the first time bad experience with them but definitely the last, didn't use the voucher either!
A lot of companies are tied up with each other, I ordered a tray of primrose plugs from Parkers, they came direct to me from jersey plants.
I used to use T&M, but looking at their site this year, so few of the plant descriptions mention the size they grow to. I emailed cust. svs. at T&M and they agreed that plant size should be included - but it isn't.
So this year I ordered from Mr Fothergills - often twice the number of seeds at considerably less than T&M prices. Whereas T&M Petunia seed is loose in the packet and almost impossible to see, Mr F. Petunia seed comes in a small vial. I sowed them 10 days ago - and looks like they're all up.
I do buy shrubs/perennials from Crocus. You can get a 20% discount from codes on this site. The plants are good, if a bit pricey. But often when a plant arrives, you can split it or take cuttings. I split an Aster into 5 last yr when it arrived and they are all substantial plants now.
I've tried van Meuven (?) and the plants they supplied were very poor and Parkers weren't much better.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Funnily enough I had a geranium catalogue and emails from them yesterday. I unsubscribed and binned it.
hi All, there also seems to be another Vernon's thread posted that I replied to saying that I hadn't previously had problems, but did state that this was a couple of years ago.
Bought a collection of multi coloured leaved geraniums some years ago, they too were just cuttings pushed into plugs no roots as most of them had fallen out of their plugs, they were total rubbish!
And they were almost all green and silver leaves not much multi coloured ones, they did give me my money back but only after I had returned them!
I sometimes wonder how these companies survive, as I would never order anything from them again!