On Fri, 15 Aug 2003 13:00:21 +0100, Andrew Barnett
wrote:

~
~Why has the concept disappeared from the scene?
~
~What was the gel which was used?
~
~[Franz Heymann]
~
~
~The product in the UK was Fisons Clearcut.

Ah - thankyou for the reminder. I used to buy loads of this stuff to
propagate my African Violets back in the late 80s, though as an
impecunious student I tended to reuse them by topping them up with
water once they looked like they were drying out! Then one day I
couldn't find them any more...

~The company spent a small fortune on advertising the product in various
~media including TV, and it sold like hot cakes - but as soon as they
~stopped advertising, it stopped selling...

Well it was a very good product. Worked wonders with pelargoniums too.
And I loved watching the roots form - perhaps I ought to get some for
my godchildren (aged 5).

~It just wasn't profitable, and ISTR it had a restricted shelf-life,
~which meant that Garden Centres and wholesalers didn't want to stock it
~if it didn't turn over fast enough to avoid wastage.

I am intending to buy some of the new stuff as I could do with a new
generation of violets... current trayful are getting a bit old!

thanks for the name reminder.


--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

Please remove onmaps from replies, thanks!