Catalogues and missing plant information

I am not a huge fan of Parkers. Their bulbs are a good size but all the plants I've had from them have been small. One year, a consignment of primulas was in the post for over five weeks before being delivered so they were in very poor condition when they arrived. It took twelve months to get a refund.

I would avoid any firm that has a catalogue picturing a blue tulip or a blue rose

I agree with Andrew..
The colours of the plants in the Parkers catalogues are often too gaudy and vivid... not natural.... and I've received plants that were much smaller than seems sensible to send through the mail...

I only use them for bulbs, as well - the prices for tiny plants seem to be the same as I'd pay for a mature plant. No contest, really, is there?

I also get a little worried about catalogues that only tell me the English name - or common name - sometimes that's a made-up one, as well! I want the full latin name so that I know exactly which plant I am ordering, its needs and so on.

Thank you. I had a feeling that the catalogue was too good to be true.
Andrew, I definitely agree with you on the blue rose issue. Brrrrr...makes me shudder. Why mankind has a desire to create such monstrous plants when in nature roses are so beautiful is beyond comprehension. :o)
Which of the catalogues, if any, are getting it right?

I agree with what has been said already.....their bulbs are pretty good but I would give their plants a wide berth....Reliable catalogues?...T&M, Suttons, Dobies, Elm House, Hayloft Plants,....

Don't talk to me about Parkers , the plant I bought from them last year was the saddest thing ever------ and not cheap! I .have been bleating on about it on this site for a few weeks

I have bought bare rooted plants and i have been delighted with the size and quality. last yr i order dicentra spectabilis and they were huge compared to what i bought the previous yr from a gc.

I had some sad lily bulbs that when I rang and polietly said i was disappointed they sent me repalcements plus 20 free tulips and they told me to keep the others and see if i could resurect them. they all bar 2 came through ok.

The plug plants vary I have usually bought the larger ones and they have been ok.

I would be wary of T&M, sadly. Several members including me have had bad experiences with them. I agree about Dobies and Suttons, also Mr Fothergill.

I haven't had plants from Hayloft personally - but you have to watch their pot sizes, too, so I gather. One of our GOY members had unrooted tiny plants from them and guess what - they all died!

I wouldn't recommend T+M either,although have had loads of seeds from them over the years that have been great, but only ordered young plants once and they never arrived till the end of May and were so tiny didn't get going till summer was over, did get some free begonia tubers though that did better than the plants.
Nothing to do with this really but Andrew and Treeman I have the most gorgeous, nearly blue but not quite rose, see my pictures under roses, from David Austin 'Rhapsody in Blue' absolutely gorgeous and smells amazing too :-)

i have an order in now with them for potatoes,,complete herb garden,trailing tomato ,not used parkers before,fingers well crossed now,will let you know how they are when i get them..

This is all very informative. I've got an order in with T&M at the moment. I'll let you all know what condition the plants are in when they arrive. At least I know with T&M what size to expect. Fingers crossed... :0)
Have you tried the micro-nursery sites on ebay. I've had some terrific plants from ebay sellers, the latest being a baby Gunnera from a lovely chap in Cornwall. Sadly I have also had a couple of shockers from other traders...so you are always taking a bit of a gamble.

Simbad
I am very sorry if I have cast nasturtiums (?) at your blue rose. I am not familiar with David Austins 'Rhapsody in Blue" although the garden here is full of his other blooms. I'll have a look at your pic and see if I am converted :o)

It seems as if most of us have had good and bad experiences "across the board", but its interesting to read our experiences..:)

Another reminder is that the "special bargain plants" offered as deals by the Sunday national newspapers can be Parkers operating from a PO Box, and the plants can be very tiny, weak and disappointing.

Most of the ones I see in magazines say in tiny writing 'Your contract is with T&M young plants'....at which point I turn the page. :-( It's worth reading the small print to see who you're dealing with.

I just wish to alert members to such as the Daily Express gardening offers...
...their Veronica Collection was from Parkers, but I have the advert here, and it has no mention of the growers... so we had no way of knowing...

Like Spritz said not to keen on T&M but had no problems with parkers at all.

Seems like we've all had different experiences... but I've been disappointed with Parkers on more than one occasion...

Funny you said that TT as one of my friends wont entertain Parkers as they have had problems with them and they think T&M are great, so beginning to think you get good and bad plants from them all..

Yes, Clarice...I guess if we had a discussion about supermarkets, we would have lots of different opinions...Lol.

Your right as they are all the same aswell, they say there helping to save us money, but all there after is making a profit :o)) lol

Exactly. Lol. :o)

What a great Blog, just the sort of information im looking for..
Ive placed an order with J Parker 2 weeks ago, I see there's a mixed response from you Guys, So Fingers crossed im not disappointed..the reason I chose them above all the others were the "Great" offers and because they had the Midget Fruit Trees we were looking for, Also P&P was cheap compared to others..
This is what I ordered and i must admit im a wee bit worried now lol..

1.. Pack of 3 dwarf Canna's..£3.45..
2...Pack of 30 Maris Peer Potato Tubers..£3.95..
3...Lily, Stargazer, Pack of 5..£1.45..
4...Lily, Eyeliner, Pack of 5..£1.45
5...Dwarf Coleus, Wizard Mixed ( 66 Maxi Plugs) £11. 95.
6...Athyrium Niponicum (Ursula Red) £6 45.. 9cm potgrown plant..
7...3 Midget Fruit Tree Collection..Pear,(Lilliput).. Apple, (Red Spur)..Apple (Golden Spur) £23.90.
8...Campanula..Glomerata Alba. pack of 6..£1 45..
9..Campanula...Glomerata Superba. Pack of 6..£1.45..
10..12. Double Begonia Mixed..FREE..
11..6 Agapanthus.( Blue Peter).. FREE..
£3.50 P&P..

Well, the lilies will be fine, so should the potatoes. I'd be a bit wary of the campanula at that price, though - they're likely to be tiny, I reckon. Agapanthus? I think they'll also be tiny and will have to be grown on for some years before they reach flowering size - but hey! They're free! Plug plants? Fine - I've ordered mine (not from Parker's!) so that I get the number I want for my containers.

I'll just say - good luck, and hope that everything thrives for you. :-)

Hi Dee...
Please put a comment on this thread when your order arrives so that we find out what you think of your plants.. Thanks. :o)

I Meant to say, I would let you know how they all turned out TT, thanks for reminding me X

Yeah Spritz, I agree, Probably years before i see the Agapanthus, I already have some, so I can wait, (got no choice really, haha)..The Campanula were an offer, Supposed to be £5. 95.. So Ill let you know how big they are..And Thanks a lot ..

This is like picking a scab....metaphorically of course... :o)
What have been the best things, (e.g Seaburngirl and her dicentra from Parkers) and the worst things (e.g. valadel and her disaster, also Parkers). So we all know what is HOT and, what is definitely NOT. It might even create a Delia-like surge for popular, reliable items.
And finally, Youngdaisydee, I hope all your goodies arrive in perfect condition. If ever there was any pressure on the company to deliver the goods this is surely it... :o) A webatron of gardeners on tenterhooks waiting to see the colour of the cardinal's smoke.

Ooops! Crossed there - let me think - I got 5 Gaura 'Rosy-Jane' from T&M last year, a great success. Not available this year, though. :-((( However, their Coreopsis were diabolical! No probs. at all with Dobies, EVER!!

Ydd- What for? It's only an opinion! I'm hoping that my orders come on time and are OK. I've spread them between Dobies, Mr Fothergill and a few from T&M that aren't in the other catalogues - oh, and bulbs from Parker's - plus 5 Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum' grasses, as nobody else is selling them this year! We'll all have to compare the quality, won't we. :-))) I don't think the prices vary all that much for plug-plants.

At least, Spritz, you've ordered from a good number of suppliers, so the odds are you'll be lucky with most of them ! Lol.

Oh Treeman I love it "A webatron of gardeners" ! Yeah very droll ;o)))

Maybe I should of said, Thanks, A Lot as in, Thanks for your Advice, it means a lot, To Me :)

YDD...we're just here to help, and to be nosey to see what others are up to..of course... :o)

You're very welcome, anyway, Ydd!!! :-))

I got C. glomerata a couple of years ago from parkers and they just looked as if they were dead in a 2" plug. I potted up anyway and waited and low and behold they grew really well. so initial thought was oh dear then it became yippee. T&M sent the plant vareities, wrongly labelled and that was a pain as I was selling them on for charity to keen gardeners. Ivory that were rose pink etc. Bloms bulbs and Van meuen plants have been great for me too.

A word of warning - unless you want a whole lot of unknown plants all the same, DO NOT send off for T&M's 'mystery' packs of perennials or annuals - can't think what they call these.... What a huge disappointment I had! Never again. :-(((

Spritz...I had a look at the mystery pack too. It seems a bargain. However, high-command suggested it would be just all the stuff that no-one fancied from last season served up again. Are you able to indicate what was in your mystery pack, or where they all completely anonymous?

It was a tray of 64 tiny lobelia plugs - the smallest ones. How useless was that? :-(((((( I was giving them away in the end....Grrrrrr..........

The 2 Pennisetum Rubrum I ordered last year from Parkers were TINY for the price, a real disappointment but they did send 10 free trailing begonia corms with the order and they gave a fantastic display. The Pennisetum only got to a good size a month or so before the frost came and saw them off. The begonias sort of made up for it a bit but I wouldn't use Parkers again.

I've used Parkers too and wasn't that impressed.
I placed a very large order for last spring, when the plants came they were much, much smaller than i anticipated.
Like Lily, i ordered 3 Pennisetum Rubrum and they were dead upon arrival.

I'll not use them again.

I've used T&M too.
Wasn't that impressed by them either.

I think the best value for money is the smaller nurseries ..... i use several via online ordering.

You see my point. If they had said in the catalogue "implausibly small, that's why they're so cheap" then at least we could have made an informed choice.
I now treat all the catalogues with suspicion, which is a shame, and means I am inclined to spend less not more.
Louise..are you prepared to name the smaller nurseries in question...or is it hush-hush top secret, in case they sell out of your favourites :o)

I've just written a blog about them Treeman, your question inspired it.

Anybody bought from Gardening Direct ?

Valadel. Opinion is divided on GD. Some have good opinions others not so. My neighbour always buys all her begonias and bits and bobs from GD. One year was not so good, but when she complained they sent replacements, which is something. She wouldn't keep on with them if they were continually awful :o), so on balance they must be getting it right.

Last autumn I bought two packs of trailing pansies from G.D., they had been £9-99 for ten large plugs----- reduced to £4-99.! so far so good they managed to get established before the bad weather and allthough looking a bit bedraggled they've held their own.
In future I will take a leaf out of your neighbours book and complain, thats what I should have done to Parkers! We live and learn!
Thanks for this blog ------- been very interesting .

Yes, I think you should expect the plants to arrive in good condition. Maybe not quite so fresh as if you'd bought them that morning from the garden centre, but no worse than if you'd shut them in a dark cupboard for 48 hours! After all it is part of the deal that the plants in tip top condition, and you have paid for it too. So yes, if in doubt feel free to moan. Politely of course, as I'm sure that they would not intentionally send you poor or damaged stock!! :o)

Oh dear - I ordered Pennisetum plugs from Parkers - along with my bulbs...now I'm wondering if I'll regret it! Oh well - too late now. We'll see.

Some you win some you lose Spritz, fingers crossed.
Treeman you are so dry ! ;o)

Thanks - they were the only people with Pennisetum in their catalogue - I got them from (I think) Dobies last year and they did well.

We have to assume that our purchases are going to live up to expectation or we just wouldn't order anything at all. And that would be a pity. I'm sure most of the plants delivered are absolutely fine. Just an occasional shocker!
However, if stuff does arrive that isn't good, don't let us assume it is our fault. That's a terribly British trait I'm afraid. Let the company know it was not good and politely but firmly demand that better plants are provided or a refund given. It is the only way that they know we weren't happy. And the only way we can drive up standards...that sounds horribly new labour didn't it....sorry :o).
And if all else fails, as out last resort we can use the blog and Name and Shame.
I've just put in an order with Blooming Direct in Jersey. Never used them before. Has anyone else..good or bad...I'll report back on the condition of the wee plants when they arrive.

I agree treeman, I have always rung companies back if there have been problems. and to date they have always been polite and offered me replacemnets and or a refund. I have always gone for the replacements and they usually pop some other goodies in the post as a good will jesture. I have always been polite to them as i see it as counter productive to be rude first.

As you say, never rude, as this is counter-productive. But grimly determined :o)

You have to - or else they will continue to send out plants that aren't perfect! They're in it to make money - and if we accept poor quality, they'll give it, unless we choose the ones who always keep up their standards.

Seaburngirl.. I've been buying special offer plants from Parkers. Although not beautiful plants they grow strongly once potted up. So I'm very pleased so far. I'm expecting some more plants from them in a week or so. I hope they're as good.

My Pennisetum plugs from Parker's look errr...dead! They haven't started to grow one iota. I think I'll be contacting them about this!

Spritz, you'll just have to give them a phone. Make them work for your ££

Yes, I think I'll have to. Why didn't I just wait and buy plants later on from the GCs?? :-(((

Because, like me, you're too impatient Spritz! The GC's don't get them in until early summer and last year I just couldn't wait........I will this year though! lol

You are spot on, Lily - last year I got plug plants from ...errr...I think it was Mr Fothergill, and they were brilliant - I had Pennisetum in the garden well before they arrived in the GCs, and for half the price. Not this year, though! :-(((

Mr. F. didn't have them in their catalogue this time.

Guess what Spritz, I've actually managed to overwinter one this year, third time lucky! :o))) It's outside hardening off now, must be sure not to lose it to late frost at the last hurdle. I expect I'll still buy another couple at the GC though. Sounds like 'win some - lose some' with the catalogues.

Well done you! Andrew does it, I know - he takes his indoors, I believe. I think I'll have another try if I get one later on. I lost mine two years running....so it might be 3rd time lucky for me, as well!

Yes, mine comes indoors for the winter. About two weeks ago, I cut it right down and now new shoots are coming through - green at first, they will darken when the clump gets planted out in full sun. It's cold and wet today so it's back indoors at present

Hmmm...I wish my Parkers ones were showing signs of life, Andrew! They just look dead.