Where to buy plants... In particular, fruit?

[68lbs]

Just wondering where all you guys get your plants from. I'm not thinking seeds, but actual plants... Things like gooseberry bushes, rhubarb plants and strawberries for starters.

My options...

1. Mail order - not keen on this as I can't see what I am buying
2. Garden centre - expensive (3 x Wilkos) and I can only find rhubarb at the moment
3. Wilkos - limited choice/stock and plants look very unloved
4. Bare root - see these in both Wilkos and mail order but again I am a bit nervous as they're not exactly growing, and what's to say they will take with me?

Thx

[KarlB924]

I've bought bare-root plants from the pound shops before, as long as you get ones with signs of growth (green shoots), then the chances are good that they'll root and grow. Same with Wilkos, I've bought one or two from there too. A little care and attention and you'll get a decent plant.

[Kristen]

Whilst the pound shops are fine, it depends whether you get the variety you want and a suitable rootstock, pollination group etc. (in the case of fruit trees)

Otherwise I think it is all too easy to just buy what-they-have rather than what-you-want - in my case that would be a variety with a cracking good flavour (always my first consideration - I then consider how easy it will be to look after as a secondary concern). I have no wish to grow supermarket-quality - bland flavour, thick skins, all the crop comes at once! - I want varieties that I really enjoy eating.

So for me I would research variety first, including finding out whether it is suitable for my soil / aspect etc. and then look for somewhere to buy it that has good quality. Online, from a supplier with a good reputation, would be fine by my book - I'm not bothered to see it beforehand, a reputable supplier will take the plant back if it is sub-standard, and chances are that it will be bigger / better than expected if from a top quality supplier.

For example: an apple tree, once it starts fruiting in a couple of years time, will yield about £10 worth of fruit a year. I'm quite happy to pay a specialist nursery £15-20 for that plant to be sure of getting the variety I want, and a good quality plant.

If I could buy the same thing from the Pound Shop - variety I want and the label confirms that the rootstock is the one I need etc (often the labels are very generic) - then that's a nice saving

[Two_Sheds]

gooseberry bushes, rhubarb plants and strawberries

If you have an allotment, other plotters are usually happy to give you free plants or cuttings

Wilkos

I've never bought a decent plant there, I'm afraid to say. I do buy their seeds when they have the Autumn Sale, but you'd be better off buying from a proper supplier/nursery (not a general store or a DiY store, nor a "garden centre, those which have as much plastic tat as plants).

I can't recommend Thomps0n M0rgan, as 2 of the 3 raspberries they sent me this year were dead, their Victoria plum was a different variety altogether, and their customer service seems to be non-existent.

The £ shops: you may get a bargain, or you may get something entirely different to what the label says. I've bought white bulbs from them which turned out yellow or pink.

[treepixie]

I got my raspberries, Strawberries as bare roots from Ebay last year and they have all grown really well, also got my gooseberry bushes from there as well.

[68lbs]

Thanks for all the comments and your thoughts...

I would research variety first, including finding out whether it is suitable for my soil / aspect etc. and then look for somewhere to buy it that has good quality.

I think this may well be why I am struggling. I have been doing it backwards... See a plant and then look on the web to get more information.

I'm certainly not against spending more from a specialist nursery on plants like these that will be in the ground for a good few years and should more than pay for themselves in fruit.


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[Kristen]

I think this may well be why I am struggling. I have been doing it backwards... See a plant and then look on the web to get more information.

Hehehe ... None of US have ever done that ... on no!

If you need any help choosing varieties etc. just ask away. Knowing your soil type (Clay/Sandy and Acid/Alkaline) would help, plus any varieties that you have eaten and liked (can be a bit tricky if you only buy from Supermarket as they often aren't marked)

[AllInContainers]

I just search online for good deals, out pops the credit/debit card, then it's sit back and wait

[Aberdeenplotter]

i'm not advertising for Parkers Wholesale but second time I've recommended them in a couple of days. Search Results | Parkers Wholesale

use the search facility on their site for anything else you are looking for.

[68lbs]

Knowing your soil type (Clay/Sandy and Acid/Alkaline) would help

Ah... That's probably a good place to start! <trots off to google 'soil testing kits'>

any varieties that you have eaten and liked

Erm... Ones from the PYO when I was a kid? To be honest, I'm open to trying anything and will probably buy about 3 bushes when it comes to gooseberries and a couple of different rhubarbs.

[Kristen]

<trots off to google 'soil testing kits'>

Before you get your credit card out

Is your soil heavy clay - sticks to your boots in wet weather and turns to a muddy quagmire in winter? Or is it sandy and you can easily dig it immediately after a thunderstorm even?

In terms of Acid / Alkaline - are there any Azaleas, Rhododendrons or Camellias growing in your or your neighbours, gardens - or in the vicinity? They only grow on Acid soil

couple of different rhubarbs.

In that case I would suggest getting an early one - the only one I know is Timperley Early, which is good for forcing - and then a good main crop one. "Victoria" is the classic, but I think there are better varieties for flavour. I'd check if anyone has a good reliably, tasty, crown that they are splitting at your nearest allotment and swap it for something

[68lbs]

Is your soil heavy clay... Or is it sandy

Ok, let's try and describe my allotment soil...

Well, I can't see any clay in it... Unlike the garden at my house where I could make a terracotta pot from the 'soil'. It did stick to my feet a fair bit when it was raining yesterday tho. Having said that, it does seem fairly easy to dig... Some clumps from when I dug last week, were dry this week and when I picked them up, it did take a fair amount of force to break them in my hand, before they crumbled into... Well, crumbs.

What else did you ask?

are there any Azaleas, Rhododendrons or Camellias... ?

I've not seen any... But then again, the allotment is in an area that's not really got a lot of gardens. Couple that with the fact that the only one I'd recognise is a Rhododendron.

Thanks for the rhubarb suggestions. Temperley is the one I've heard of... Which, for that very reason, makes it one I would be likely to seek out and buy.

[Kristen]

describe my allotment soil...

Ah ... I missed the part about this being an allotment. Unless it is a new site the soil will have been worked lovingly for millenia and thus will be in excellent shape, and the issue of Clay etc. will be moot.

Sounds like you don't have Acid soil either

So its Grade One loam, and Alkaline.

About the only thing it isn't going to grow is Blueberries ('coz they need the soil to be Acid)

[68lbs]

I missed the part about this being an allotment.

Oops, should I have mentioned that at the start?

Grade One loam, and Alkaline.

Ah, splendid. Many thanks... And cheaper than an eBay soil tester kit!