I'm not sure there's a correct answer. 15 years ago I berated my wife for buying a climbing rose from a DIY store arguing that they were forced to be ready for sale quickly and had poor roots.

At its peak, I was dead-heading over 200 blooms every week or so.

I have no qualms about buying from the named stores as I have found their bulbs to be mega cheap and of comparable quality when compared to our local garden centres. They do tend to be limited in their choices so I now purchase specialist bulbs/plants from the trade stands at AGS/SRGS shows. Local garden Centres were invaluable when I first started because they were always willing to guide me about planting conditions and how a plant would grow in our area so every outlet has a value depending on what you want.

I often get plants at lidl and as long as they are relatively new in I've never had a problem at all.

Thank you all, guess the theme is nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I bought some Agapanthus bulbs last week in Aldi. They seem to be good quality.