I purchased lots of plug plants this year from the garden centre group and picked these up from my local blooms centre. If ordered early then you could get 60 plugs of various geraniums/petunias etc for £6. You pick your prefered pick up weekend and they e mail you to remind you and your order is ready for you when you go. These plugs were absolutely first class and i have some excellent plants growing today showing lots of flower and i did not loose 1 plug out of the 420 purchased.They were an absolute bargain and will order again next year.
You are lucky Mark, I had trouble with "the garden centre group" big time.
I ordered plugs in APRIL and despite several e-mails did not get any delivery time. Finally, following my stroppy email I was told that they could not fulfil my order!! Instead, could I go to there centre.If I could do that would I order on line? Besides, they are still advertising the service on line as "click and collect" or by post. Very poor customer service indeed.
Sorry to hear of your experience with the garden centre group. The main reason to order online is to get the deal of 60 plugs for 5.99. If you waited they had the same deal later on at the garden centre so i guess i did not gain much overall. The only benefit is that you get to see what you are buying and are not disappointed with small/broken plugs arriving and all the rigmarole of complaining.
I'd like to add a recommendation for Perhill plants - ordered fifteen plants from them on a Saturday, they all turned up in the Tuesday, so quick I couldn't believe it. All perennials priced at ??3.70 each, i was expecting small plants for that price, but they're all massive (2 lite pots, most plants nearly a foot high) and growing well. They supply them with pots removed, wrapped in plastic bags, so they're ready to drop straight into a hole in the garden, and they were very well packaged. The postage was ??12.70 on that lot, which is quite high, but even if you add that to the plant cost, it still means the plants were coming in under a fiver each, which is much less than I'd pay for similar sized plants at my garden centre......
Seeds and Bulbs tend to be good value from any of the on line places and the range of availalbe plants is far better then your average GC
As for live plants, no many plants like being thrown in the post, tossed in post bags, bumped around post vans, drop kicked across the sorting office and then dropped through your letter box.
I too have been disapointed with the plants from J Parker. I ordered two packs of the cheap and cheerful offers which would apparently would fill my borders with colour. Some of the plants did just about come through and I'm sure if I had planted the pots of groundsel and nettles they would have excelled. Being a wimp I didnt complain but turned to a proper nursery. Beth Chatto cannot be faulted, the plants are a good size and very healthy. Quick delivery and very reasonably priced. I cannot recommend them enough.
I am stopping using them... plants in plugs are usually too wet with flies in plus last order was supposed to have 24 plugs of busy lizzie but they have turned out to be petunias...most annoying..
I, too, have experienced problems with both T&M and Parkers. Yes, their prices are cheap, but the quality is so poor and the failure rate so high, that I consider them a waste of money. Having dealt with David Austin and Taylor's Clematis in the past I can thoroughly recommend their online dealings
We have had problems with J Parker and now use Thompson Morgan have got ordered plenty of plants no problem better condition when you receive them & they seam to grow much quicker. Sorry you have had a problem with J Parker keep your fingers crossed it will be sorted out in the end
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I purchased lots of plug plants this year from the garden centre group and picked these up from my local blooms centre. If ordered early then you could get 60 plugs of various geraniums/petunias etc for £6. You pick your prefered pick up weekend and they e mail you to remind you and your order is ready for you when you go. These plugs were absolutely first class and i have some excellent plants growing today showing lots of flower and i did not loose 1 plug out of the 420 purchased.They were an absolute bargain and will order again next year.
You are lucky Mark, I had trouble with "the garden centre group" big time.
I ordered plugs in APRIL and despite several e-mails did not get any delivery time. Finally, following my stroppy email I was told that they could not fulfil my order!! Instead, could I go to there centre.If I could do that would I order on line? Besides, they are still advertising the service on line as "click and collect" or by post. Very poor customer service indeed.
Sorry to hear of your experience with the garden centre group. The main reason to order online is to get the deal of 60 plugs for 5.99. If you waited they had the same deal later on at the garden centre so i guess i did not gain much overall. The only benefit is that you get to see what you are buying and are not disappointed with small/broken plugs arriving and all the rigmarole of complaining.
Seeds and Bulbs tend to be good value from any of the on line places and the range of availalbe plants is far better then your average GC
As for live plants, no many plants like being thrown in the post, tossed in post bags, bumped around post vans, drop kicked across the sorting office and then dropped through your letter box.
I too have been disapointed with the plants from J Parker. I ordered two packs of the cheap and cheerful offers which would apparently would fill my borders with colour. Some of the plants did just about come through and I'm sure if I had planted the pots of groundsel and nettles they would have excelled. Being a wimp I didnt complain but turned to a proper nursery. Beth Chatto cannot be faulted, the plants are a good size and very healthy. Quick delivery and very reasonably priced. I cannot recommend them enough.
I have had some bad plants from Parkers too, but everything from T&M has been great.
I had been going to order from Jekka McVicar but the postage was horrendous for one plant
I am stopping using them... plants in plugs are usually too wet with flies in plus last order was supposed to have 24 plugs of busy lizzie but they have turned out to be petunias...most annoying..
I, too, have experienced problems with both T&M and Parkers. Yes, their prices are cheap, but the quality is so poor and the failure rate so high, that I consider them a waste of money. Having dealt with David Austin and Taylor's Clematis in the past I can thoroughly recommend their online dealings
Hi Twirly,
We have had problems with J Parker and now use Thompson Morgan have got ordered plenty of plants no problem better condition when you receive them & they seam to grow much quicker. Sorry you have had a problem with J Parker keep your fingers crossed it will be sorted out in the end
Regards Mike