Plants failed from J Parker - is their response correct?

shell820810

I got some plug plants from J Parkers last month. Most of them were in ok condition, with new growth. However about 7 of the plants - 1 groundcover perennial, 1 tall perennial and 5 Penstemon barbatus Cambridge Mix showed no growth at all. I potted up the plugs to establish before planting into the garden. As the Penstemon barbatus Cambridge Mix were particularly poor looking, I kept them inside on a windowsill to avoid frost risk.

I also got a box of bulbs, which I kept in a cool garage for about a week until I had time to plant them. When I took the bulbs out, most were very moldy.

I emailed Parkers, and they have said that from Nov - Apr nursery stock is completely dormant and should not be subjected to heat or kept indoors, but planted out into the garden and left undisturbed. They said I have given the plants the totally wrong treatment and are not taking responsibilty.

1. Surely if the plugs came with green growth, they are not dormant?
2. Surely plugs should not be potted straight into the garden, especially when there is such a risk of frost as there was late april
3. Thirdly, I received these at the very end of april, so were virtually out of the "dormant" stage anyway.

Any suggestion for a reply....? Or are they correct?

misskool

Depending on where you are in the country and the last frost date. April is okay-ish for the southeast but this year we've had frosts in may. So they are reasonable that you should have been checking out the weather.

I did however leave lots of bulbs for months and they were fine on planting out so you can certainly complain about the bulbs growing mouldy if you stored them in cool, dry conditions.

shell820810

misskool wrote: »

Depending on where you are in the country and the last frost date. April is okay-ish for the southeast but this year we've had frosts in may. So they are reasonable that you should have been checking out the weather.

I did however leave lots of bulbs for months and they were fine on planting out so you can certainly complain about the bulbs growing mouldy if you stored them in cool, dry conditions.

I am in Northern Ireland so we were still having frost at the start of May, but surely this is why I should have kept them inside? They said I should have planted them out straight away? And surely plug plants shouldnt be planted straight into the garden at any stage??

foxgloves

PLug plants are OK to go straight out in the garden if they are hardy or the nursery has hardened them off first. Penstemons are usually hardy but I would have put little new ones in my greenhouse for a couple of weeks first, I think, just to be quite sure of the frost. Whether or not you should have a refund will be down to what the instructions said that you received with them. That's what they will use to cover themselves. Having said that, I had some climbing fuchsias arrive in April. The instructions said the variety is completely hardy (which it is) so I put them outside ready to plant out and although they are OK, some of the leaves were definitely caught by the frosty nights.

dorisday

All the plugs plants etc I bought from mail order companies such as j Parker they not lived at all and I have spent well over £100, my friends have gone exactly the same way - all dead, and its too much bother to send them back. But the plants I bought from the garden centre 10 mins from me are all grow ing happily and when I have worked it out they were cheaper also.

No more buying from the internet for me.:mad:

enrich100

I bet it took a while to get a responce from them?

colt

Hi I bought some bulbs from them around xmas time 08. They arrived and when i checked them they were all soft and even dried up so much that when i picked some up they just fell apart. I did ring parkers to complain about them but they kept saying it was my fault not theirs so i would never ever buy or recommend this company at all.

Kay_Peel

It would be interesting to know whether Parkers have ever replaced, refunded or otherwise apologised for defective and substandard plants.

The company claims to have a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee but if you read the guarantee there is no reference whatsoever to plants that arrive in a poor state:

http://www.jparkers.co.uk/information/guarantee/

It says:

Shared Responsibility

"All we ask is that you plant your products according to the growing instructions provided.

This will enable you to get the best possible performance from them. We promise to provide quality products, but care for these products needs to continue to allow them to establish in your garden. We understand that when dealing with living plants, occasionally, problems do arise. However, if your plants do not grow properly due to neglect on your part, then we share your disappointment but we cannot share your liability

If you should have any failures please inform us in writing by 1st August (the end of the growing season). Complaints received after this date will, of course be considered as we appreciate that a problem is not always apparent after the first season. Please note that a damaged item needs to be kept but not returned until advised by us."


Have you ever read such a one-sided 'shared responsibility'? It's ridiculous. Are you meant to follow the planting instructions even when something is obviously sick, soft or mouldy?


In other words, the website 'Guarantee' indicates that it's always the gardener's fault and never Parkers' fault. They will merely 'consider' claims after 1st August and expect the complainant to describe how they followed the planting instructions to the letter.



Personally, I would tell everyone I knew to avoid Parkers, having read of their get-out clauses and the off-hand way in which they treat customers with legitimate grievances.

Joly_Roger

Thanks for warning us off them

katholicos

I've never purchased from them and i certainly shall not be considering doing so in future either. Thanks for this thread, though i am sorry about your problem order.

Sunnyday

I was only on their site a couple of days ago and still have the unfinished list of things that i was going to buy next to the pc, i shall definitely shop elsewhere after reading this thread.

Thanks for letting us know OP and i`m sorry that you`ve had such a raw deal.

SD