Soft fruit bushes/canes

janet278

Hi
Does anyone know where I can buy lots of fruit bushes and canes cheaply for my allotment please? Aldi have just opened a branch locally but they don't have any.
Thanks

Waterlily24

Do you have any plant auctions near you? We've always found these to be fairly cheap, you have to be careful with the quantities though as sometimes there can be too many in a lot.

TheGardener

Most other plot holders are happy to give away raspberry runners - especially if you offer to dig them up. They are shallow rooted so not hard to dig but wear thick gloves. Also usually easy to get strawberry runners.
In my experience cheap isn't always best. Certified disease and virus free fruit bought from a reputable grower will last many years and produce good fruit. Christmas is coming - any chance of asking for certified plants for a pressi

Aldi - its quite common for their plants to be mis-labeld - its cheap because the grower isn't certain what it is in terms of variety. Most councils don't allow trees to be planted on allotments unless you can prove it is dwarf root stock - the ones for a tenner in the bargain bucket at Aldi are usually not dwarf trees.

janet278

Waterlily24 wrote: »

Do you have any plant auctions near you? We've always found these to be fairly cheap, you have to be careful with the quantities though as sometimes there can be too many in a lot.

Hi, no I don't think there are any. I have heard of furniture and animal auctions but not plant auctions. I will Google to see.
Thanks

janet278

TheGardener wrote: »

Most other plot holders are happy to give away raspberry runners - especially if you offer to dig them up. They are shallow rooted so not hard to dig but wear thick gloves. Also usually easy to get strawberry runners.
In my experience cheap isn't always best. Certified disease and virus free fruit bought from a reputable grower will last many years and produce good fruit. Christmas is coming - any chance of asking for certified plants for a pressi

Aldi - its quite common for their plants to be mis-labeld - its cheap because the grower isn't certain what it is in terms of variety. Most councils don't allow trees to be planted on allotments unless you can prove it is dwarf root stock - the ones for a tenner in the bargain bucket at Aldi are usually not dwarf trees.

Re the runners - There are a lot of other allotment holders where we are but I never seem to go when there are many of them about so there is no-one to ask really.

I know cheap isn't always best - perhaps I should have said inexpensive :-) That said, I have remembered a garden centre that we visit ocassionally so I might try there. Last time I picked up David Austin roses there for £10 each, which is good.

I rang Aldi and they only have fruit bushes in March. (I wasn't going to plant trees).

Thanks for your help.

theoretica

I think it is a bit early to plant soft fruit so many places won't stock them yet, you want to do this when they are dormant in winter.

Davesnave

If you go into somewhere like a supermarket or pound shop and buy their soft fruit plants, you'll usually have no choice of variety, so the bushes will all fruit at the same time, giving you a glut.

That's fine, perhaps, if you want to pick and freeze, but most people prefer a supply over several months.

There are 'bargains' to be had. For example, Morrisons sell some quite interesting plants of all kinds at daft prices, but they aren't huge, so you'll often need to wait for results.

Nevertheless, clematis at £1.77, or £9 at a specialist nursery? I know which I'd pick, but my wife disagrees!

I do the weekly food shop ....;)

Wizard_of_Id

Have you asked on Freegle?

janet278

theoretica wrote: »

I think it is a bit early to plant soft fruit so many places won't stock them yet, you want to do this when they are dormant in winter.

You're probably right. I contacted a garden centre and they said they would have raspberry canes from mid-October, so I will wait.

janet278

Wizard_of_Id wrote: »

Have you asked on Freegle?

Erm, not sure what that is lol. I will look it up.

Thanks

Wizard_of_Id

janet278 wrote: »

Erm, not sure what that is lol. I will look it up.

Thanks

Its is a system whereby you can give or receive things free at a local level.

https://www.ilovefreegle.org