Bought some poppies in Bunnings.

Planted facing westerly sun, carp fertiliser (smelly brown stuff mixed
with water).

Trouble is, either the flowers are very small, or they only half open,
or the stems snap, and the stems are very short.

Any ideas to improve the situation?

On Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:51:46 +1000, Polly the Parrot wrote:

Bought some poppies in Bunnings.

Planted facing westerly sun, carp fertiliser (smelly brown stuff mixed
with water).

Trouble is, either the flowers are very small, or they only half open,
or the stems snap, and the stems are very short.

Any ideas to improve the situation?

Don't buy from Bunnings. They source the cheapest stock they can find at the sacrifice of quality.

wrote:
On Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:51:46 +1000, Polly the Parrot wrote:

Bought some poppies in Bunnings.

Planted facing westerly sun, carp fertiliser (smelly brown stuff mixed
with water).

Trouble is, either the flowers are very small, or they only half open,
or the stems snap, and the stems are very short.

Any ideas to improve the situation?

Don't buy from Bunnings. They source the cheapest stock they can find at the sacrifice of quality.


Oh, I do beg your pardon, but I have to differ there! Just recently, I
determined to replace all my old, decrapit gardening tools to prepare
for my budding veggie garden. I thought to support local business by
buying from a local nursery, but their goods (same brands and all) were
*multiples* of Bunnings' prices. When I searched about, I found the same
was true for most of the garden supply places excepting the
supermarkets. Honestly, I couldn't afford to buy the stuff I needed from
the nurseries! The price of a shovel alone would've bankrupted me!

Instead, I toddled over to Bunnings and got everything I needed in quite
decent quality (you do get what you pay for, of course). As well, I got
four Bunnings employees, all keen veggie gardeners, brainstorming with
me over the best way to plot my garden beds. They were so helpful and
clearly *not* trying to sell me stuff - I came away feeling quite
chuffed and determined to buy all my gear from there in the future. Just
as an example: a garden fork costing $39 at Bunnings was $72 at the
nursery! Same brand, same size, same everything. Vastly different price!
A simple steel hook for hanging a planter that cost $1.79 at Bunnings
was $8.00 at the nursery!

I've got no affiliation with Bunnings (well... I s'pose I do now, since
I feel so pleased with my purchases from there), but I don't think it's
fair to dismiss them out of hand. We all have to shop around to find
what suits us and it might be at Bunnings or it might be elsewhere. It
probably depends on your own local circumstances. Maybe I'm just lucky
to live near a good Bunnings?

--
Trish {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia

"Polly the Parrot" wrote in message
...
Bought some poppies in Bunnings.

Planted facing westerly sun, carp fertiliser (smelly brown stuff mixed
with water).

Trouble is, either the flowers are very small, or they only half open,
or the stems snap, and the stems are very short.

Any ideas to improve the situation?

It sounds like they are windblown. Is the location very exposed?

David

On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:29:40 +1000 "David Hare-Scott"
wrote:

Any ideas to improve the situation?

It sounds like they are windblown. Is the location very exposed?

Gets the westerly winds (I should have mentioned I am in Sydney) but
these are not an everyday occurrence.

I remember my mother growing these - beautiful robust plants with big
poppies on long stems.

I am really disappointed - maybe the pants from Bunnings were in some
way stunted?

On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:45:42 +1000, Polly the Parrot
wrote:

On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:29:40 +1000 "David Hare-Scott"
wrote:

Any ideas to improve the situation?

It sounds like they are windblown. Is the location very exposed?

Gets the westerly winds (I should have mentioned I am in Sydney) but
these are not an everyday occurrence.

I remember my mother growing these - beautiful robust plants with big
poppies on long stems.

I am really disappointed - maybe the pants from Bunnings were in some
way stunted?

Probably someone has sucked all the opium out...... g

On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 00:44:42 +0800 wrote:

I am really disappointed - maybe the pants from Bunnings were in some
way stunted?

Probably someone has sucked all the opium out...... g

Don't you just hate that!

Polly the Parrot wrote:
On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 00:44:42 +0800 wrote:

I am really disappointed - maybe the pants from Bunnings were in some
way stunted?
Probably someone has sucked all the opium out...... g

Don't you just hate that!

Dam' stoned birds all over the place!

--
Trish {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia

"Polly the Parrot" wrote in message
...
Bought some poppies in Bunnings.

Planted facing westerly sun, carp fertiliser (smelly brown stuff mixed
with water).

Trouble is, either the flowers are very small, or they only half open,
or the stems snap, and the stems are very short.

Any ideas to improve the situation?

as well as suspecting bunnings' products in general, i'd also wonder about
the season, the type, and the fertiliser!! :-)

most poppies don't flower in winter. not sure what kind you've got or where
you are, but i'm kind of amazed they're flowering at all (that could just be
my ignorance though). i'd not expect them to flower well this time of year
(actually i'd not expect flowering _at all_, but again we don't know the
type).

fertiliser: many "wildflowers" dislike fertiliser, manures, or rich soil &
are happier without. this might be part of the problem. having said that,
some poppies would be thrilled (but again it would depend what type they
are). but it's a possibility - too much nutrition.

i also gather they were transplants from a punnet. again being very general,
poppies tend to dislike transplanting (although i've done it) - so they may
not do especially well until the next generation when they are self-seeding,
whereupon the self-sown plants do much better than the originals.

last possibility i can think of is perhaps not enough sun through the day,
then they get blasted in the afternoon; but you haven't indicated this as
part of the problem.
kylie

"Trish Brown" wrote in message
node...
Just
as an example: a garden fork costing $39 at Bunnings was $72 at the
nursery! Same brand, same size, same everything. Vastly different price!

that really only means the fork is worth $72 but you got it cheaper. by this
point everyone knows that bunnings (and so forth) do that. bringing down the
public's expectations of what things are actually "worth" is part of the
problem.

if i want cheap tools, i buy second-hand anyway. my forks were a few dollars
each :-) (probably that's all they're "worth", too g)
kylie

On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 01:20:19 +0000, 0tterbot wrote:

most poppies don't flower in winter.

I'm sure Bunnings follows the old adage that flowering plants sell better
than non-flowering plants.

last possibility i can think of is perhaps not enough sun through the
day, then they get blasted in the afternoon; but you haven't indicated
this as part of the problem.

The wind is Sydney has been off snow for days. If stuff isn't protected it
will be wind blown and almost snap frozen.

0tterbot wrote:
"Trish Brown" wrote in message
node...
Just
as an example: a garden fork costing $39 at Bunnings was $72 at the
nursery! Same brand, same size, same everything. Vastly different price!

that really only means the fork is worth $72 but you got it cheaper. by this
point everyone knows that bunnings (and so forth) do that. bringing down the
public's expectations of what things are actually "worth" is part of the
problem.

if i want cheap tools, i buy second-hand anyway. my forks were a few dollars
each :-) (probably that's all they're "worth", too g)
kylie


ROTFLMAO! Let me tell you, I had no problem at all paying $39 instead of
$72!

Yes, I understand the supermarket mentality as well as anyone, however
I'm not silly enough to stand on ceremony and fork out (Hee! I did a
pun!) almost double the amount of money for an item.

It has been my experience that things are 'worth' what the market will
bear. For example, I started working in the computer industry 'way back
when it was a pretty rarified atmosphere and needed consultants such as
my good self to ease people into their first computer purchase. We used
to make 32% in retail sales. When I left the industry in the mid-1990s,
all we could make was a bare 8% and struggled to earn extra with
value-added services. Today, I shudder to think what small businesses
make compared to the huge buying power of the chain stores. But we, the
consumer, want cheaper prices and ease of access and one-stop shopping.
We certainly do get what we pay for, I find.

--
Trish {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia

On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 15:02:18 +1000 terryc
wrote:

I'm sure Bunnings follows the old adage that flowering plants sell
better than non-flowering plants.

Err... sure sucked me in!

Polly the Parrot wrote:
On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 15:02:18 +1000 terryc
wrote:

I'm sure Bunnings follows the old adage that flowering plants sell
better than non-flowering plants.

Err... sure sucked me in!

As a matter of fact, I picked up six heartsease plants for 50c each at
Bunnings. They had all finished flowering and had been put in the
chuck-out trolley for mugs like me.

Well! I know have a beeootiful display of lovely pink and purple
heartsease spilling out of my hanging baskets ($6 at GoLo)! My leeks are
nearly eight inches tall and my silver beet are enormous. Can't wait to
harvest something - anything! - from my garden!

As an aside, while digging the other day, I uncovered three
shovel-headed planarian worms. These are flatworms that live off the
'soup' in the soil substrate and they're *so* interesting. If you cut
one in half, both halves will regenerate and grow. If you cut a chunk
out of the side of one, it will grow an entire new head-end and become
y-shaped. We studied these creatures a million years ago when I was
doing Biology at Uni and in all these years, it's the first time I've
seen them 'in the wild' as it were. I returned them carefully to the
soil and will hope to meet them again some time.

--
Trish {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia

"Trish Brown" wrote in message
node...
Polly the Parrot wrote:
On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 15:02:18 +1000 terryc
wrote:

I'm sure Bunnings follows the old adage that flowering plants sell
better than non-flowering plants.

Err... sure sucked me in!

As a matter of fact, I picked up six heartsease plants for 50c each at
Bunnings. They had all finished flowering and had been put in the
chuck-out trolley for mugs like me.

Well! I know have a beeootiful display of lovely pink and purple
heartsease spilling out of my hanging baskets ($6 at GoLo)! My leeks are
nearly eight inches tall and my silver beet are enormous. Can't wait to
harvest something - anything! - from my garden!

Harvested my first cut of silverbeet from Bunnings. Grown in lovely black
clay (Darling Downs) with blood & bone, chook excreta & trace elements. Will
be adding the sheep droppings in spring to other areas to aid bulking up.



As an aside, while digging the other day, I uncovered three shovel-headed
planarian worms. These are flatworms that live off the 'soup' in the soil
substrate and they're *so* interesting. If you cut one in half, both
halves will regenerate and grow. If you cut a chunk out of the side of
one, it will grow an entire new head-end and become y-shaped. We studied
these creatures a million years ago when I was doing Biology at Uni and in
all these years, it's the first time I've seen them 'in the wild' as it
were. I returned them carefully to the soil and will hope to meet them
again some time.

--
Trish {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia



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