Rate Your Mail Order Purchases

[meanie]

Can anybody recommend somewhere reliable to get Penstemons? I seem to have lost my old favourites over the winter, such as Garnet (Andenken an Friedrich Hahn), Midnight etc.

Cotswold Garden Flowers has been recommended to me, but as they're about 40minutes away I'll be taking a drive down there at easter instead. I would happily put some seeds for P.digitalis "Huskers Red" in the post, although this gem of a plant is pretty readily available nowadays.

It's kind of you to offer, but that is one of the few that came through unscathed.

It always does!
I'll post up on what I see at CGF after I've been there. I'm told that he's an old school plantsman.

[Maggi Young]

That reminds me that Bob Brown, who hasn't been up this way for yonks, is due to give a Talk at the Friends of the Cruickshank Botanic Garden sometime soon....... will edit post when I've checked the date  

It's on June 9 - The Noel Pritchard Memorial Lecture:
Bob Brown, subject will be 'Geraniums - Restraint and Discrimination'

[meanie]

That reminds me that Bob Brown, who hasn't been up this way for yonks, is due to give a Talk at the Friends of the Cruickshank Botanic Garden sometime soon....... will edit post when I've checked the date  

It's on June 9 - The Noel Pritchard Memorial Lecture:
Bob Brown, subject will be 'Geraniums - Restraint and Discrimination'

It would appear that his reputation precedes him!
An on-line acquaintance who made me aware of CGF bought a Lachenalia viridiflora at one of the talks that he gave at her local garden society evenings. That is one to snap up!

[daveyp1970]

I have bought quite a lot off CGF mail order and never had any problems.

[Houseslippers]

CGF is a fabulous nursery, with a huge range of very tempting plants to suit various tastes constantly changing. I always spend more than I planned when I go there.

[meanie]

Oh dear, it's going to cost me a fortune!

[manicbotanic]

well ive just recieved 4 lovely well packaged paris rhizomes.all wrapped in moss from greenmile nursery in belgium.in fact axialis was still in leaf and looks fine.

[Anthony Darby]

It's always nice to hear positive feed back.

[fleurbleue]

I  can agree with Manicbotanic about Greenmile nursery 

[Lesley Cox]

For NZers, I've had good plants from Parva Plants recently, tho' one Scutellaria has refused to break dormancy. The packing of the plants is quite good but my hand has twice been ripped open by badly closed staples.

[Gerry Webster]

In 2010 I received bulbs under the name “Narcissus cantabricus ssp cantabricus from Malaga” from Miniature Bulbs. These flowered for the first time this year & turned out to be N. cantabricus var. foliosus (from N Africa).

I reported this to Miniature Bulbs. Here is their reply:

"Thank you for your email.  The 'cantabricus' bulbs were obtained a couple of years ago as small bulbs and grown on.  These came from a very well known gentleman grower who I can only surmise 'mixed up accidentally' some cantabricus.
 
Sorry to hear that you have not received the N.cantabricus subsp cantabricus you had hoped for but as you will note we did not put any up for sale this year.
 
Our alpines have yet to start flowering although there is plenty of green growth but we are in North Yorkshire.
 
Regards
Ivor Fox”

A perfunctory apology, no offer of replacement bulbs & no offer of  any kind of refund - the bulbs I received were somewhat cheaper than the ones I paid for. I received no reply to a further email enquiring about this.

This is not the first time I have received wrongly identified bulbs from this source together with a complacent response to a complaint but it will certainly be the last. It appears that, unlike other suppliers, this one  accepts no responsibility for the identity of the plants he sells. His ‘Terms of Business’  state that  “No liability will be accepted after 14 Days...” A clever strategy for an irresponsible bulb seller!

[Gerry Webster]

Further to my post above - I emailed Miniature Bulbs to inform them of my intention to post here. This morning I received an reply telling me that I would be refunded the difference in cost between the bulbs I received (& did not want) & those I actually ordered. Mr Fox seemed somewhat aggrieved at my complaint.

[scatigaz]

    I bought a single  Crocus laevigatus albus bulb from R V Roger nurseries in north Yorkshire in mid-October. Two weeks later it flowered and i realised it obviously wasnt this variety. I phoned them and within two days had THREE replacement bulbs. Brilliant service. Will definitely be buying from this nursery again in the very near future.