We're looking for a reliable courier who would deliver plants within
the EU. Many refuse to handle plants because of all the risks involved
with damage or delay. If anyone happens to know of such a company I'd
be very glad to hear of it. will get
emails to me.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

Sacha wrote in news:bc4johFibr8U1
@mid.individual.net:

We're looking for a reliable courier who would deliver plants within
the EU. Many refuse to handle plants because of all the risks involved
with damage or delay. If anyone happens to know of such a company I'd
be very glad to hear of it. will get
emails to me.

Well I get plants from T&M, Parkers and Marshalls sometimes,(not very
often) and they use a variety of couriers. It works for them as it surely
would for you.
You can ring Parkers and find out who they use, they are the most helpful
IME.
They all deliver within the EU as far as I know. Parkers and their couriers
do, I know that much. I have sent my daughter a few plants to her in Porto.
Mainly miniature rose. They remind her of home(England, not the
adress/home)

Hope this helps, Sacha

Baz

On 2013-10-15 11:42:21 +0000, Baz said:

Sacha wrote in news:bc4johFibr8U1
@mid.individual.net:

We're looking for a reliable courier who would deliver plants within
the EU. Many refuse to handle plants because of all the risks involved
with damage or delay. If anyone happens to know of such a company I'd
be very glad to hear of it. will get
emails to me.

Well I get plants from T&M, Parkers and Marshalls sometimes,(not very
often) and they use a variety of couriers. It works for them as it surely
would for you.
You can ring Parkers and find out who they use, they are the most helpful
IME.
They all deliver within the EU as far as I know. Parkers and their couriers
do, I know that much. I have sent my daughter a few plants to her in Porto.
Mainly miniature rose. They remind her of home(England, not the
adress/home)

Hope this helps, Sacha

Baz

Thanks Baz. I'll ask Parkers about it. It may depend on size though -
cue awful jokes! We send our plants out at 1m tall at the highest and
rarely less than 45cm, which may have a bearing on what the couriers
take/charge. Weight certainly does and at present we stick at 1m
height, otherwise the price goes up steeply.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

sacha wrote in
:

On 2013-10-15 11:42:21 +0000, Baz said:

Sacha wrote in news:bc4johFibr8U1
@mid.individual.net:

We're looking for a reliable courier who would deliver plants within
the EU. Many refuse to handle plants because of all the risks
involved with damage or delay. If anyone happens to know of such a
company I'd be very glad to hear of it.
will get emails to me.

Well I get plants from T&M, Parkers and Marshalls sometimes,(not very
often) and they use a variety of couriers. It works for them as it
surely would for you.
You can ring Parkers and find out who they use, they are the most
helpful IME.
They all deliver within the EU as far as I know. Parkers and their
couriers do, I know that much. I have sent my daughter a few plants
to her in Porto. Mainly miniature rose. They remind her of
home(England, not the adress/home)

Hope this helps, Sacha

Baz

Thanks Baz. I'll ask Parkers about it. It may depend on size though -
cue awful jokes! We send our plants out at 1m tall at the highest and
rarely less than 45cm, which may have a bearing on what the couriers
take/charge. Weight certainly does and at present we stick at 1m
height, otherwise the price goes up steeply.

Yes weight.
Sorry that I can't help now.

Baz

On 2013-10-15 15:00:19 +0000, Jake said:

On Tue, 15 Oct 2013 11:29:37 +0100, Sacha
wrote:

We're looking for a reliable courier who would deliver plants within
the EU. Many refuse to handle plants because of all the risks involved
with damage or delay. If anyone happens to know of such a company I'd
be very glad to hear of it. will get
emails to me.

DHL quote 1-2 days for delivery within the EU. Their max parcel size
is 120x80x80cm. In the past they have handled plants (I can't speak
for today though and IME the plants were dormant) and you may need to
open an account with them rather than be a "casual customer". IIRC
their prices start at around £35 a parcel and may be calculated by
volume rather than by weight - a large light parcel may cost more than
a small heavy one.

I would worry a bit as international handling will probably be worse
than within-UK handling though. You may need stronger boxes!

Actually, I've had a really helpful email from an urgler which has
crystallised our thinking about this, if we're going to do it at all.
We would send out only 9cm pots in spring or autumn. This would mean
more plants and lighter parcels and also that plants wouldn't be
travelling in the hottest (we hope!) parts of the year. It has
surprised us that we get fairly frequent enquiries from abroad. I say
'surprised us' because given the climate in e.g. Majorca and other much
warmer places, it's amazing that some of the things we grow aren't
being supplied by Nurseries in those countries. Some years ago, we even
had a garden designer from Madeira buying things here which were
supposedly native there but which he couldn't find there!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

On 15/10/2013 16:07, sacha wrote:
On 2013-10-15 15:00:19 +0000, Jake said:

On Tue, 15 Oct 2013 11:29:37 +0100, Sacha
wrote:

We're looking for a reliable courier who would deliver plants within
the EU. Many refuse to handle plants because of all the risks involved
with damage or delay. If anyone happens to know of such a company I'd
be very glad to hear of it. will get
emails to me.

DHL quote 1-2 days for delivery within the EU. Their max parcel size
is 120x80x80cm. In the past they have handled plants (I can't speak
for today though and IME the plants were dormant) and you may need to
open an account with them rather than be a "casual customer". IIRC
their prices start at around £35 a parcel and may be calculated by
volume rather than by weight - a large light parcel may cost more than
a small heavy one.

I would worry a bit as international handling will probably be worse
than within-UK handling though. You may need stronger boxes!

Actually, I've had a really helpful email from an urgler which has
crystallised our thinking about this, if we're going to do it at all. We
would send out only 9cm pots in spring or autumn. This would mean more
plants and lighter parcels and also that plants wouldn't be travelling
in the hottest (we hope!) parts of the year. It has surprised us that we
get fairly frequent enquiries from abroad. I say 'surprised us' because
given the climate in e.g. Majorca and other much warmer places, it's
amazing that some of the things we grow aren't being supplied by
Nurseries in those countries. Some years ago, we even had a garden
designer from Madeira buying things here which were supposedly native
there but which he couldn't find there!

I've had a few deliveries by DPD in the last few months, very impressed,
first class tracking service and you can track your delivery right to
your door,
They give a local map showing where the van is and how many deliveries
before yours, estimated delivery time and so far they have bee right to
within 5 mins, twice early.
They seem to do a good European service and their price seems
competitive. Worth contacting them.
David

sacha wrote in
:

On 2013-10-15 11:42:21 +0000, Baz said:

Sacha wrote in news:bc4johFibr8U1
@mid.individual.net:

We're looking for a reliable courier who would deliver plants within
the EU. Many refuse to handle plants because of all the risks
involved with damage or delay. If anyone happens to know of such a
company I'd be very glad to hear of it.
will get emails to me.

Well I get plants from T&M, Parkers and Marshalls sometimes,(not very
often) and they use a variety of couriers. It works for them as it
surely would for you.
You can ring Parkers and find out who they use, they are the most
helpful IME.
They all deliver within the EU as far as I know. Parkers and their
couriers do, I know that much. I have sent my daughter a few plants
to her in Porto. Mainly miniature rose. They remind her of
home(England, not the adress/home)

Hope this helps, Sacha

Baz

Thanks Baz. I'll ask Parkers about it. It may depend on size though -
cue awful jokes! We send our plants out at 1m tall at the highest and
rarely less than 45cm, which may have a bearing on what the couriers
take/charge. Weight certainly does and at present we stick at 1m
height, otherwise the price goes up steeply.

So then you CAN do it, but it is the weight? And the £ that go with it?
I don't know if a person or company can supply, and be profitable in those
circumstances. I know that it costs me an arm and a leg.

Is there a deal you can do?

Baz

On Tue, 15 Oct 2013 11:29:37 +0100, Sacha
wrote:

We're looking for a reliable courier who would deliver plants within
the EU. Many refuse to handle plants because of all the risks involved
with damage or delay. If anyone happens to know of such a company I'd
be very glad to hear of it. will get
emails to me.

Please use Royal Mail. They may not be terribly reliable but any
support for the business will, I am sure, be appreciated by
shareholders everywhere.
--
rbel

On Tue, 15 Oct 2013 17:35:22 +0100, Mike wrote:

All very well touting for trade in the EU, but will you be accepting
Euros and how will the business transaction take place?

Easy enough to have a bank account in euros, transfer to GBP when the
price is right if you need to.

I'm wondering about any regulations regarding the export/import of
live plant material and soil etc. Or is any thought of pest/disease
control against "free trade" and thus sacrificed on the alter of the
all powerful god, MONEY.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Dave do you have the Euro Bank account overseas and transfer to the UK as
and when, or can you have a Euro Bank account here?

Got something in mind for next year and the idea of Europe as a market
hadn't occurred to me.

Only got the idea when I saw Sacha advertised that she was doing mail order
into the EU. Mine is an easier product to dispatch :-)

Mike

---------------------------------------------------------------
www.rneba.org.uk



"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
ll.co.uk...

On Tue, 15 Oct 2013 17:35:22 +0100, Mike wrote:

All very well touting for trade in the EU, but will you be accepting
Euros and how will the business transaction take place?

Easy enough to have a bank account in euros, transfer to GBP when the
price is right if you need to.

I'm wondering about any regulations regarding the export/import of
live plant material and soil etc. Or is any thought of pest/disease
control against "free trade" and thus sacrificed on the alter of the
all powerful god, MONEY.

--
Cheers
Dave.

"Jake" wrote in message
...
On 15 Oct 2013 16:18:56 GMT, Emery Davis
wrote:


Above all steer clear of DHL, I have worked with them on and off for many
years and they are absolutely the worst. I had a DHL package from the
states recently for which I paid about $50, it took over a month and they
didn't even try to deliver, just left a message on the answering machine
eventually.

Such is life. I've used DHL for both outbound and inbound (where I
arranged for them to collect from Germany and deliver to me in UK).
Never a problem and in all cases collection to delivery was no more
than 2 days.

Try living here, it takes DHL 3 DAYS to get a parcel to me from
Inverness, but of course that is 41 miles!

Phil
Northern Highlands of Scotland

Phil, it took the Royal Navy five days to get me from Rosyth to Durness!!
Train to Lairg then 'the daily bus' to Durness.

Fantastic scenery and well worth the trip.

Mike

---------------------------------------------------------------
www.rneba.org.uk



"Phil Gurr" wrote in message ...


"Jake" wrote in message
...
On 15 Oct 2013 16:18:56 GMT, Emery Davis
wrote:


Above all steer clear of DHL, I have worked with them on and off for many
years and they are absolutely the worst. I had a DHL package from the
states recently for which I paid about $50, it took over a month and they
didn't even try to deliver, just left a message on the answering machine
eventually.

Such is life. I've used DHL for both outbound and inbound (where I
arranged for them to collect from Germany and deliver to me in UK).
Never a problem and in all cases collection to delivery was no more
than 2 days.

Try living here, it takes DHL 3 DAYS to get a parcel to me from
Inverness, but of course that is 41 miles!

Phil
Northern Highlands of Scotland

On 2013-10-15 17:38:28 +0100, Baz said:

sacha wrote in
:

On 2013-10-15 11:42:21 +0000, Baz said:

Sacha wrote in news:bc4johFibr8U1
@mid.individual.net:

We're looking for a reliable courier who would deliver plants within
the EU. Many refuse to handle plants because of all the risks
involved with damage or delay. If anyone happens to know of such a
company I'd be very glad to hear of it.
will get emails to me.

Well I get plants from T&M, Parkers and Marshalls sometimes,(not very
often) and they use a variety of couriers. It works for them as it
surely would for you.
You can ring Parkers and find out who they use, they are the most
helpful IME.
They all deliver within the EU as far as I know. Parkers and their
couriers do, I know that much. I have sent my daughter a few plants
to her in Porto. Mainly miniature rose. They remind her of
home(England, not the adress/home)

Hope this helps, Sacha

Baz

Thanks Baz. I'll ask Parkers about it. It may depend on size though -
cue awful jokes! We send our plants out at 1m tall at the highest and
rarely less than 45cm, which may have a bearing on what the couriers
take/charge. Weight certainly does and at present we stick at 1m
height, otherwise the price goes up steeply.

So then you CAN do it, but it is the weight? And the £ that go with it?
I don't know if a person or company can supply, and be profitable in those
circumstances. I know that it costs me an arm and a leg.

Is there a deal you can do?

Baz

As far as I can see, all couriers including the PO, eforce size limits
and weight limits, though they do vary. Our situation - if we send out
more mature plants - is that they're up to 1m in neight but must weight
below 25kg (iirc) which isn't a weight we're every going to get to in
one box which will usually contain up to 5 plants, sometimes 6. If you
stick within the parameters the courier we use has a flat rate. The PO
calculates by volume and weight for each indvidual parcel, I believe.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 2013-10-15 17:27:53 +0100, Jake said:

On Tue, 15 Oct 2013 16:07:46 +0100, sacha wrote:

Some years ago, we even
had a garden designer from Madeira buying things here which were
supposedly native there but which he couldn't find there!

Try and find a copy of Russell Page's "Education of a Gardener" (out
of print but often a couple of quid on Amazon Marketplace). He talks
about having to venture far afield when designing gardens around the
Mediterranean because local growers only grew a couple of varieties
which the "more common" locals would buy.

Think how much effort we need to make to find that just slightly
unusual summer bedding plant - places which stopped selling Walleriana
6-packs replaced them on the shelves with Begonia 6-packs, not New
Guinea 6-packs - round here at least you can only but NGs in garden
centres as large plants for £5+ each.

Interesting, Jake, I'll pass that on to The Bosses. But it seems to me
that this whole business is a bit like supermarkets moving into an
area, causing smaller family-run businesses to close down. The
erstwhile customers of those butchers, greengrocers and bakers then
have no choice but to buy what the supermarket has for sale.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 2013-10-15 17:32:48 +0100, David Hill said:

On 15/10/2013 16:07, sacha wrote:
On 2013-10-15 15:00:19 +0000, Jake said:

On Tue, 15 Oct 2013 11:29:37 +0100, Sacha
wrote:

We're looking for a reliable courier who would deliver plants within
the EU. Many refuse to handle plants because of all the risks involved
with damage or delay. If anyone happens to know of such a company I'd
be very glad to hear of it. will get
emails to me.

DHL quote 1-2 days for delivery within the EU. Their max parcel size
is 120x80x80cm. In the past they have handled plants (I can't speak
for today though and IME the plants were dormant) and you may need to
open an account with them rather than be a "casual customer". IIRC
their prices start at around £35 a parcel and may be calculated by
volume rather than by weight - a large light parcel may cost more than
a small heavy one.

I would worry a bit as international handling will probably be worse
than within-UK handling though. You may need stronger boxes!

Actually, I've had a really helpful email from an urgler which has
crystallised our thinking about this, if we're going to do it at all. We
would send out only 9cm pots in spring or autumn. This would mean more
plants and lighter parcels and also that plants wouldn't be travelling
in the hottest (we hope!) parts of the year. It has surprised us that we
get fairly frequent enquiries from abroad. I say 'surprised us' because
given the climate in e.g. Majorca and other much warmer places, it's
amazing that some of the things we grow aren't being supplied by
Nurseries in those countries. Some years ago, we even had a garden
designer from Madeira buying things here which were supposedly native
there but which he couldn't find there!

I've had a few deliveries by DPD in the last few months, very
impressed, first class tracking service and you can track your delivery
right to your door,
They give a local map showing where the van is and how many deliveries
before yours, estimated delivery time and so far they have bee right to
within 5 mins, twice early.
They seem to do a good European service and their price seems
competitive. Worth contacting them.
David

Thanks David. I'll see what they have to say.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk