On 2014-01-07 17:04:51 +0000, Spider said:

On 07/01/2014 16:24, sacha wrote:
On 2014-01-07 15:57:02 +0000, Spider said:

On 06/01/2014 19:08, 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.




I've been following this thread with interest. I have got so that I
mentally recognise pots measured in litres and inches (top
circumference). I can also manage metric pot sizes, but tend to
convert to imperial first.

Each has its ambiguity. I know roughly what a litre of compost looks
like, but that doesn't tell me how much of that volume is filled with
root. GCs often pot up small plants into 1ltr pots so they can charge
more. Nurseries do this less, but some are still guilty. On-line and
postal nurseries tend to keep the pots smaller (or send plants
bare-root) to ease postage.

A top circumference measurement is fine (whether imperial or metric),
but doesn't tell you the *depth* of the pot. 'Pans' are much shallower
than standard pots, which in turn are shallower than 'long tom' pots.

Perhaps, along with pot size, the labelling should say "garden ready"
or "established" (at least in catalogues). The depth of the pot is
harder to define, which is probably why volume in litres was adopted.
One way to get over this would be to label as follows:

Plant H2'x W1'
Pot 6"top x 4"depth.

Even this makes the customer ask whether the given plant measurement
is size at sale or size at maturity.

I think you may have opened a can of worms, Sacha! Squirm squirm :~).

Wow! Thanks, Spider but I think I'll stick with measuring the top of the
pot! We don't really use pans much at all and long toms are mainly for
sweet peas or a few shrubby climbers. You really can't give a plant
height and width at point of sale because they vary. Some will have
grown a few inches more or spread a few inches more, in the same size
pot and with equally good root systems. Sometimes, customers do ask us
how big a plant will be when they receive it so we trot out and pick a
good size and shape and tell them. The tallest might not be the
'fattest', so it's up to us to choose what we think best as they're not
there. On a couple of occasions, we've been asked to send photos of two
or three of the same plant, so the customer can pick the one they like!
I do wonder how large the plants are that some send out because we quite
often get delighted surprise as feedback from customers who have never
been to the Nursery. And of course, some nurseries or gcs do specialise
in small 'starter' plants because it keeps the p&p costs right down and
possibly the labour costs, too, as they're not potting on into 1s and 2s
every few weeks.




Understood, Sacha:~). I guess measuring the top is simplest. It's
quite something that you're prepared to photograph plants to give a
disembodied customer a selection!! Not many nurseries do that!
The plants I've bought from yours have always been good quality. So
far, I've not had to order on line. Much nicer to pop along and see
you and Ray .. and the plants of course!

Well, we like that, too! We have customers, who come in at least twice
a year, who live in Norfolk but who used to live down here. So on
their way to and from visiting other friends, they visit us, buy plants
and even take some occasionally to other gardens in Norfolk. They
often bring us bits and bobs from their travels and hand them to Ray to
propagate. Over the years, customers often become friends and it's one
of the perks.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon