On 2014-01-07 08:45:13 +0000, Bob Hobden said:

"sacha" wrote

David Hill said:

sacha wrote:
Not really - but something I've briefly touched on with another Nursery
on Twitter and it seems to me that the experiences of urglers is
valuable both to each other and to the nurseryman in this. Few
nurseries selling online tell you what size pot your plant is going to
arrive in but we wonder if the average buyer knows the difference
between a 2 litre pot and a 10cm pot? I'm asking this because, frankly,
we have been shocked to see certain plants sold for £20 which, we're
fairly sure, will arrive in a 10cm pot, which means a small plant with a
small root system. We searched the ad and the website of the nursery
involved and see no reference to pot sizes at all. In the past we
ourselves have bought a supposedly 2 year old grape vine from a
reputable nursery but which had to be 'nursed' in a tunnel for 2 years
before planting out into a greenhouse. The same happened to a very
expensive but desirable Magnolia from another (different) well known
nursery. We didn't dare put it in the garden for two years!

How many people ask what size pot the plant will have grown into and how
many even consider the matter, I wonder. Do most just expect a small
plant and pay up happily? I know that, before I met Ray, as an
'ordinary' customer, pot sizes in litres meant nothing to me. I've
decided to measure the tops of ours and put those online because I think
it will make more sense to the average buyer.

Despite using a range of pots I still have problems picturing Pot sizes
when in Litres, it's bad enough in cm I still have to put them back to
imperial, 6 inch or 8 inch etc. I can picture right away, as for
"Thumbs, Long toms etc." I doubt many of us remember them.
David @ a slightly less windy (For now) side of Swansea Bay .

Yes, we certainly refer to long toms in which we grow e.g. sweet peas
but we don't sell those online. But the responses I'm getting seem to
be referring more to quality of plants and those will vary from place
to place, however you buy them. What I'm interested in is whether a
customer, buying online, knows the difference in what they will get IF
the pot size is given, 9cm, 1 litre, 2 litre etc. Do they even ask the
pot size before buying, I wonder? So do customers still pay up, not
knowing what they're going to get in terms of plant maturity? These may
be more inexperienced gardeners and not as savvy as most urglers! It's
something we've seen often in ads and on web sites and it's always
surprised us that you can't see or envisage what you're going to get
but nonetheless you're being asked (in the instance which has finally
caused me to ask these questions) to pay £20 on trust for something
which, in this case, is being marketed as rare and unusual and not by
its real name, either. It's unusual to some degree but it's not rare.

While some claim not to buy online, we've often seen remarks here about
buying plugs and being pleased or disappointed but in those cases,
people knows what plugs are, what to expect. They now they've got to
pot them on and look after them a bit before planting them out. If
they were told we're charging you £20 for something in a 9cm or 10cm
pot or even a 1 litre pot, what I'm wondering is, do they have a mental
picture of what they'll actually get and if they did, would they buy
it, I wonder.

To answer your question specifically, I don't "see" the pot size when
litres are mentioned but I can if the diameter is given in inches or
cm. That said if they advertised a larger type plant in ,say, a 1 litre
pot as fully mature I might just not believe them.

So giving cms or inches is clear whereas litres isn't. I'm inclined to
agree with you, even though I've learned the difference! Few plants
are truly 'mature' in a 1 or 2 litre pot but what they should have is a
well-developed root system that will make for a sturdy plant ready to
go into its permanent position. But if people are buying a £20 plant
without knowing the pot size, or being able to visualise it, if it's
given, they're laying themselves open to the possibility of
disappointment, or a longish period of 'nursing' a young plant, perhaps.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk