Big Mistake!
Posted By Judith on 10th June 2017
No, I’m not talking about Theresa May’s decision to call a snap general election last Thursday but my decision to buy some mail order plants.
It’s not the first time I’ve bought plants by post, the last time was in 2009 and they were a disaster. They were barely big enough to be out on their own, I vowed never to do it again.
Well as we know time is a great healer and a couple of weeks ago I allowed myself to be tempted by ‘Special Offer. 20 assorted fuchsias for £5. Normal price £29.99’
Said to be of a size suitable for pots, baskets and containers I decided to give them a go.
They were delivered at 7pm last Tuesday evening, having been in transit since the previous Thursday. They might have started their journey in fine fettle but I’m afraid when I opened them they were a sorry sight.
It wasn’t the size of the plants that was the issue like last time, in fact some were rather too ‘long and leggy’, they all seemed to have a good root system but they were seriously dehydrated and some were snapped.
The e mail I’d received told me to expect delivery in 4 working days, but up to 14 days if I was outside the UK. I shudder to think what they would have looked like after a fortnight!
I’ve potted them up and given them a severe pruning to try and encourage growth and a better, more compact shape. I shall now watch their progress with interest.
On a happier note my peas, beans and sweetcorn have withstood the torrential rain and force 9 gales of the last week and I’m hopeful I might get a good crop if we get some half decent weather.
You can probably guess from this that the new vegetable bed is finally in go. You’d be right too, though it’s not completely finished. Pictures will no doubt follow shortly.
