Chris Bowers & Sons

[SurreyGardener]

Anybody had a good experience of these people? I bought a gooseberry bush from them, but it was barely alive, so I asked for my money back. I got a gratuitously insulting reply, implying that I would have more success with my plants if I spent as much time gardening as I do complaining!

[veggiechicken]

I'd have more sympathy if you told us more about your gardening and hadn't joined this forum to complain.
Sorry and all that but how do we know your not another supplier?

[SurreyGardener]

I'd have more sympathy if you told us more about your gardening and hadn't joined this forum to complain.
Sorry and all that but how do we know your not another supplier?

I have been gardening for 40 years, but have never had any commercial interest.

I thought your readers might be interested in my experience. If you think they won't, it doesn't matter to me.

[devonuk]

Anybody had a good experience of these people? I bought a gooseberry bush from them, but it was barely alive, so I asked for my money back. I got a gratuitously insulting reply, implying that I would have more success with my plants if I spent as much time gardening as I do complaining!

In what sense "barely alive"? Was it showing a green cambium layer when you scratched the bark?

[SurreyGardener]

In what sense "barely alive"? Was it showing a green cambium layer when you scratched the bark?

One of four stems produced four or five leaves, which are now turning brown. The other three stems produced nothing, and showed no green when I scratched the bark.

[Bigmallly]

Hello SG & welcome to the Jungle. It's an unfortunate side to gardening where some companies put profit before customer care. Lesson learned I reckon.

[SurreyGardener]

Hello SG & welcome to the Jungle. It's an unfortunate side to gardening where some companies put profit before customer care. Lesson learned I reckon.

As you say, lesson learned!

I have been looking for an alternative supplier of Martlet gooseberry bushes, but with no success.

[veggiechicken]

Have you tried Martlet - organic

[Bigmallly]

Martlet - organic

[SurreyGardener]

Have you tried Martlet - organic

Thanks. I did see that, but they won't have them until the autumn. I was hoping still to catch this season, but I think that's a forlorn hope.

[veggiechicken]

Try contacting them - they may be able to oblige as they despatch until the end of March "in an average season".

[flynch]

I bought over £100 worth of plants from them. The strawberry runners were dead and rotten the rest was delivered the next day a mixture of live and dead plants. I contacted them on the day and with photographs of the clearly dead plants. They tried to argue that they were fine and they'd grow. I sent them back by special delivery and they then claimed I had killed them and they were blameless. They are aggressive, rude and don't take any responsibility for their mistakes.

[vixylix]

Wow - and I thought T&M were bad!

[SurreyGardener]

Try contacting them - they may be able to oblige as they despatch until the end of March "in an average season".

Thanks for the suggestion. I called them, but no luck.

I guess I'll have to try again next year, or get a different (pot-grown) variety now.

[BUFFS]

some one on here may have some to spare, there is no harm asking, and you might succeed, good luck with it anyway..