This year's Crocus cvijicii...

[Anthony Darby]

Is that something else?

BTW, thanks for the magazine Mark.

[Gerry Webster]

I bought some Crocus and a Crocus has come up but not what I was expecting. Same supplier as everyone else. Are we about to name and shame?

I daresay there will be different opinions on this. Over the years I have bought bulbs & seeds from most of the suppliers trading in the UK & I cannot think of one who has not at some time supplied poor quality or wrongly named plants. In my view, the difference between a good supplier & a poor one is how they respond to complaints. Last year I was happy to contribute to the thread criticising the company who supplied C. angustifolius for  C. cvijicii not because of the wrongly named plants but because their response to a complaint was complacent & dismissive.

[Tony Willis]

I bought some Crocus and a Crocus has come up but not what I was expecting. Same supplier as everyone else. Are we about to name and shame?

Mark I am not in any way suggesting this and think it is quite wrong to name suppliers and could be  possibly be illegal, I just get frustrated by obscure postings. You did not even indicate it was a wrongly named crocus,it could have been a different genus you had been supplied with. You say same supplier as everybody else and yet I am sure many people have no idea who this is. I have withdrawn my post and am sorry for having written it.

[David Nicholson]

I'm all for naming and shaming PROVIDED that the suppliers attention has been drawn to the problem and that he has failed to respond to it in an appropriate way. There can be a number of reasons why the 'wrong' bulb comes up; a mistake in packing; a mistake made by a wholesaler supplying a retailer and no doubt others. I would not expect any reputable supplier to intentionally supply the 'wrong' product in order to deceive or defraud a customer.

[Maggi Young]

I'm all for naming and shaming PROVIDED that the suppliers attention has been drawn to the problem and that he has failed to respond to it in an appropriate way. There can be a number of reasons why the 'wrong' bulb comes up; a mistake in packing; a mistake made by a wholesaler supplying a retailer and no doubt others. I would not expect any reputable supplier to intentionally supply the 'wrong' product in order to deceive or defraud a customer.

An excellent point, David.

Tony, I do not believe it would be illegal to mention a company with whom one had had bad trading experiences....if that were the case the BBC "Watchdog" programme and others like it would never be aired!

 I would ask forumists to be more careful about  making vague or obscure posts... perhaps a good rule of thumb, if not making a post which follows directly on from one which you refer to, would be to "Quote" the post YOUR post addresses. Thanks !

[Rob Potterton]

Below something to brighten up this topic ........ from a humble, down trodden nurseryman.

[mark smyth]

Flowering now Rob? Really nice in a large group like that

[Maggi Young]

I am sorely tempted, humble down-trodden nurseryman, to ask you who sold you Crocus sieberi 'Ronald Ginns'  as Crocus cvijicii    
Instead I will rejoice that you have handed me a new forum nick name for you on a plate!!

 Is  'Ronald Ginn', the same Ginn as in Galanthus 'Ginn's Imperator' ?

[David Nicholson]

Put me down for some of them Rob

[Alex]

I just wanted to make clear the difference between last year's (Miniature Bulbs) and this (apparently we're not yet saying) wrong C  cvijicii suppliers. It's about 9 pounds per corm. Which is why I was happy to take a punt last year, and was anything but surprised (and not particularly disappointed) when they were wrong, despite assurances from the nurseryman. This year, on the other hand...

Alex

[Rob Potterton]

Mark, happy new year. The photograph of Ronald Ginns was taken from our display at RHS Show, Vincent Square in February 2008, no sign of growth today - like me they are still hiding from sub zero temperatures but they should be up & looking cute by the middle of February.
Maggi - spent 5 minutes in "Profile" failing to change back my forum nickname ..... ok, fair enuf - you win. Crocus sieberi 'Ronald Ginns' was raised by Mr Ray Cobb, Nottingham, UK and named by him after his late friend Ronald Ginns who i understand was very well known as a grower of cactus in the 1950's / 1960's. I don't know about the Galanthus connection.

On the subject of incorrectly named Crocus cvijicii, in the first instance the nursery involved should be informed of their error and permitted to resolve the issue. When this situation happens at our nursery we apologise, give a refund, let the customer keep the bulb, then check our stock or get a supplier to check his stock and then endeavour to resupply correct to name the following season. Please realise the vast majority of retail bulb suppliers do not cultivate ALL of the bulbs offered in their catalogues. Currently from our new 2009 bulb catalogue approximately 35% of the varieties offered are propogated & cultivated in our nursery, for the remainder we rely on tried & tested suppliers. I see nothing wrong in this pratice provided the bulbs or plants are correctly named. We too had offered & supplied Crocus cvijicii in autumn 2007, purchased from a proven wholesale supplier that summer which then turned out to be Crocus angustifolius. We were highlighted to this problem initially through the comments on this forum and then by complaints from several customers. We apologised for the mistake, gave refunds and notified the supplier. In summer of 2008 Crocus cvijicii continued to be offered from several wholesale suppliers, all at very low prices, quite obviously we did not offer cvijicii in 2008 knowing the bulbs were incorrectly named.

I hope this explanation offers an understanding of how bulbs are sometimes supplied incorrectly named in the trade.

[Gerry Webster]

When this situation happens at our nursery we apologise, give a refund, let the customer keep the bulb.....

I can confirm Rob's statement from my own experience.

[Maggi Young]

Rob, it is extremely helpful to have your professional comments and insight on these matters.
Would that some others were so open and direct as yourself.

We too had offered & supplied Crocus cvijicii in autumn 2007, purchased from a proven wholesale supplier that summer which then turned out not to be Crocus angustifolius

I think that you have made a wee typing slip there and probably meant to write " then turned out not to be Crocus cvijicii but Crocus angustifolius "


Rob, if you really hate your nickname then you can remove it yourself..... just a question of clicking the right buttons in Profile,and I will certainly remove it for you if you wish..... but it's so sweet to have you as humble and down-trodden, when you are so clearly able and willing to fight your corner 
Let me know........
M

[Rob Potterton]

Maggi, i am naturally impetuous so having to live up to my new "humble" nickname could be beneficial - but so sweet i am not 
Yuk, hot today so back to a 7 day week starting with the packing of Pleione orders. Cheers

[Alex]

Hmmm...looks a lot like my Crocus korolkowii "Dytiscus" from the same source, about which a phone call will shortly ensue