Square Plastic Pots

[mark smyth]

It's the same for us

[David Nicholson]

Move South??

[David Shaw]

As an add-on, this does not work in reverse.
When we want to send parcels out, either as individuals or SRGC Publications, the cost is the same as if the parcel was being sent from Central Belt or Birmingham.
It is just a rip off by southern carriage companies.

[admin]

It constantly amazes me that at my local Garden (and Leisure!!) Centre I can buy expensive pairs of shoes, vases of all kinds, Polar Fleeces in all colours of the rainbow and the poorest chicken curry on God's earth, but a reasonable quality square plastic pot-no chance
 

Sadly, most garden centres have little to do with gardening anymore. There is not enough  money in it. – think of the poor growers though! All those around here are lifestyle centres that sit in better with  the UK's  greed culture.

Decking anyone? 

[mark smyth]

having worked in a couple of garden/lifestyle centres I know what they get up to. When we have rubbish weather like this and the grower cant sell his/her bedding plants the garden/lifestyle centre will offer a ridiculous amount to buy the stock. Does this then give the public a bargain? No, the price stays the same. In the next few weeks £1000s of bedding will be dumped by garden centres. I suggested that every customer gets a few instead of skippng them. The answer was no

[Joakim B]

Regarding pots there are a place in Sweden (many actually) where there is an ample amout of pots.
It is the cemitaries. I am not suggesting for anyone to steal from the dead, but the cemitaries in Sweden often takes care of the graves for persons and hence use a lot of bedding plants and the pots are separated from other waste.
In Sweden Teka is a big brand and hence many uses them and there are a lot of them. I myself needed many 9cm pots and by just checking what I and my mother have saved I got over 50 with a majotity of them coming from Teka. Maybe the city (city hall) ("park divison") also is a source especially the cities without their own sowing of plants. Less waste for the city and less transport and less oil needed for new pots.

Regarding garden centers every one like to do a bargain but people might need to look at the long run what happens if one is not supporting the growers. Will it leed to just the limited standard offers in all places. Some "fair trade certifiation" for plants? They have started with that for roses so why not for more plants.

Kind regards from Portugal with mostly round pots
Joakim

[admin]

having worked in a couple of garden/lifestyle centres I know what they get up to. When we have rubbish weather like this and the grower cant sell his/her bedding plants the garden/lifestyle centre will offer a ridiculous amount to buy the stock. Does this then give the public a bargain? No, the price stays the same. In the next few weeks £1000s of bedding will be dumped by garden centres. I suggested that every customer gets a few instead of skippng them. The answer was no

Name and shame :

The mark-up on plants in garden centres is around 100% +VAT.  In some places it's more.  I know, I used to be an alpine  grower until I successfully came through rehab. The wholesalers I dealt with were  even more ruthless (if you don’t believe me ask Ian Christie)   with the exception of a company called Growforth – they at least tried to be fair to their growers. Plant wholesale, unless done on an industrial scale and limited to varieties that can be propagated and turned  over in  6 to 8 weeks in a weed free enclosed environment,  is the road to hell. Were I ever stupid enough to do this again I would stick to  a dozen easy, fast growing varieties. No one except a few eccentrics in organisations like the SRGC are interested in rare plants any more.

If you must grow plants for sale,  keep it small scale and sell them direct to the public if you can. Do not break your back lining the pockets of shareholders in garden centre  chains. With the exception of Glendoick – run by plant people and   who were a good and fair  customer of ours -  they are a waste of space.

The 9cm  alpine you  just bought at D***** for £1.60 or thereabouts probably earned the grower a magnificent 40  to 60 pence.

Support small growers! 

[admin]

Getting back out of rant mode  and back to pots: 

I have thousands of brand new, unused 7x7x7 cm square plastic, semi-rigid pots. The make is Desch

Anyone  interested in these (any quantity) please PM me

[mark smyth]

try 300% mark up + VAT or at our daily meetings the boss would ask "do you think customers would pay an extra £2 for this?" Mid Ulster Garden Centre

[Hans J]

Here are two adresses from Germany for pots and other things:

http://www.goetzpflanzenzubehoer.de/
http://www.kakteen-schwarz.de/

They send also in other countries .

I hope this help
Hans

[David Nicholson]

It constantly amazes me that at my local Garden (and Leisure!!) Centre I can buy expensive pairs of shoes, vases of all kinds, Polar Fleeces in all colours of the rainbow and the poorest chicken curry on God's earth, but a reasonable quality square plastic pot-no chance
 

Sadly, most garden centres have little to do with gardening anymore. There is not enough  money in it. – think of the poor growers though! All those around here are lifestyle centres that sit in better with  the UK's  greed culture.

Decking anyone? 

I rarely buy plants from Garden Centres these days apart from those on the seasonal "cheapy stands". These are usually plants just "going over" and a rarely need to pay more than £1 and normally  much less. Having said that I travel miles to use small nurseries operated by specialist growers who know their stuff and you get a first class plant and as much growing advice as you want. Unfortunately the average gardener doesn't have either the time or inclination to look outside the garden centres which plays right into their hands. I went to one nursery a few months and bought a few plants and spent the next couple of hours helping to pot on a batch of rooted cuttings and talking gardening. Wonderful!

[Paddy Tobin]

Admins et alia,

Re garden centres - one here in Ireland, which has been adjudged the best in Ireland for the past number of years, has, at least, had the honesty to state in large print outside their premises that it is a "Lifestyle and Garden Centre". At least, people can see where they have placed their emphasis and not expect to find the unusual plant of one's desire there. Good for coffee and cake however. By the way, the president of our local garden club at a meeting recently described another similar garden centre as one of the best in the country because they did a lovely scone and cup of tea.

Now, I must take you to task somewhat. You really are very fortunate with the range and selection of plant outlets available to you. Things have reached such a low ebb here that we look up the UK based companies on the internet and order our plants by mail order or wait until we travel across, search around and purchase then.

Of course, there is a good side to this as it "encourages" one to grow from seed.

Don't give up hope, join the SRGC, get the seeds and grow away.

Paddy

[mark smyth]

yes those on the 'mainland' are spoilt for choice and that's why the Northern three, just as the Cork two do, take every oportunity to go plant hunting while in England. Back in June I  went way out of way in the wrong direction to go to Beeches Nursery near Safron Waldren. I'll be in England again four weeks tomorrow and my travelling companion, no names, is planning on bringing a small empty suitcase because we are going to two of the best - Beeches again and Glen Chantry.

[admin]

You really are very fortunate with the range and selection of plant outlets available to you.

Paddy, welcome to the culture of devil take the hindmost, unshackled self interest and greed. Ireland I believe is a recent recruit – we in the  UK have been there for decades.  All in the UK nursery garden is not rosy. Some of our best and most famous Scottish nurseries – Jack Drakes for example are now shadows of their former selves. Resplendent with tea rooms. Even Glendoick has a restaurant  and has had for years. If they don’t have one the punters don’t come. Fact is that  the vast majority of the public are not gardeners and this is an ever growing majority with more and more gardens front and back being concerted over to make space for anther car or  to  add another room to the house – sorry the "investment".  There was an item on Radio 4 last week about just this!   Lovers of rare plants are a dwindling minority within the older, often tweed and twinset,  middle classes –  I  would bet my bottom dollar  that the average age of SRGC and AGS  members is a good deal higher than it was 20 years ago. This is something that has to be addressed if we are not to go the way of the dinosaur. These associations should be supporting small nurseries in their own long term interest – I bet Jack Drakes  helped recruit more SRCG members than we might care to admit – I was one of them after a chance visit when in Aviemore. These nurseries  struggle to survive – believe me I have been there. Being charged £60 or more for a wee table  at an SRGC show when total takings might only reach a few hundred quid does not help much. Support your  small growers if you have them, they might not be there in a few years if you don't

[David Nicholson]

Mark, wish I had Timpany Nursery on my doorstep!