Not really - but something I've briefly touched on with another Nursery
on Twitter and it seems to me that the experiences of urglers is
valuable both to each other and to the nurseryman in this. Few
nurseries selling online tell you what size pot your plant is going to
arrive in but we wonder if the average buyer knows the difference
between a 2 litre pot and a 10cm pot? I'm asking this because,
frankly, we have been shocked to see certain plants sold for £20 which,
we're fairly sure, will arrive in a 10cm pot, which means a small plant
with a small root system. We searched the ad and the website of the
nursery involved and see no reference to pot sizes at all. In the past
we ourselves have bought a supposedly 2 year old grape vine from a
reputable nursery but which had to be 'nursed' in a tunnel for 2 years
before planting out into a greenhouse. The same happened to a very
expensive but desirable Magnolia from another (different) well known
nursery. We didn't dare put it in the garden for two years!

How many people ask what size pot the plant will have grown into and
how many even consider the matter, I wonder. Do most just expect a
small plant and pay up happily? I know that, before I met Ray, as an
'ordinary' customer, pot sizes in litres meant nothing to me. I've
decided to measure the tops of ours and put those online because I
think it will make more sense to the average buyer.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

On 06/01/2014 19:08, sacha wrote:
Not really - but something I've briefly touched on with another Nursery
on Twitter and it seems to me that the experiences of urglers is
valuable both to each other and to the nurseryman in this. Few
nurseries selling online tell you what size pot your plant is going to
arrive in but we wonder if the average buyer knows the difference
between a 2 litre pot and a 10cm pot? I'm asking this because, frankly,
we have been shocked to see certain plants sold for £20 which, we're
fairly sure, will arrive in a 10cm pot, which means a small plant with a
small root system. We searched the ad and the website of the nursery
involved and see no reference to pot sizes at all. In the past we
ourselves have bought a supposedly 2 year old grape vine from a
reputable nursery but which had to be 'nursed' in a tunnel for 2 years
before planting out into a greenhouse. The same happened to a very
expensive but desirable Magnolia from another (different) well known
nursery. We didn't dare put it in the garden for two years!

How many people ask what size pot the plant will have grown into and how
many even consider the matter, I wonder. Do most just expect a small
plant and pay up happily? I know that, before I met Ray, as an
'ordinary' customer, pot sizes in litres meant nothing to me. I've
decided to measure the tops of ours and put those online because I think
it will make more sense to the average buyer.
Yep, for me, pot diameter tells me what I want to know. 2lt is,
erm......oh I dunno!

--
Pete C
adventure before dementure
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Secon...57749060989952

sacha wrote:
Not really - but something I've briefly touched on with another
Nursery on Twitter and it seems to me that the experiences of urglers
is valuable both to each other and to the nurseryman in this. Few
nurseries selling online tell you what size pot your plant is going to
arrive in but we wonder if the average buyer knows the difference
between a 2 litre pot and a 10cm pot? I'm asking this because,
frankly, we have been shocked to see certain plants sold for £20
which, we're fairly sure, will arrive in a 10cm pot, which means a
small plant with a small root system. We searched the ad and the
website of the nursery involved and see no reference to pot sizes at
all. In the past we ourselves have bought a supposedly 2 year old
grape vine from a reputable nursery but which had to be 'nursed' in a
tunnel for 2 years before planting out into a greenhouse. The same
happened to a very expensive but desirable Magnolia from another
(different) well known nursery. We didn't dare put it in the garden
for two years!

If I'm not binned!

Don't know what breed of magnolia you're referring to, but nearly 30 years
ago, I bought one (on grafted stock) less around 2ft high for the princely
sum of £2, planted it straight into the ground - and it's grown into a
flaming giant now with a huge amount of flower on it - and the grand-kids
even have even put a rope-swing on it and have a whale of a time
all-year-round.

As I would *NEVER* buy a plant over the internet (preferring to visit a
'good', well run garden centre instead), pot sizes versus capacity isn't a
problem.

Have a nice day

"sacha" wrote

Not really - but something I've briefly touched on with another Nursery on
Twitter and it seems to me that the experiences of urglers is valuable both
to each other and to the nurseryman in this. Few nurseries selling online
tell you what size pot your plant is going to arrive in but we wonder if
the average buyer knows the difference between a 2 litre pot and a 10cm
pot? I'm asking this because, frankly, we have been shocked to see certain
plants sold for £20 which, we're fairly sure, will arrive in a 10cm pot,
which means a small plant with a small root system. We searched the ad and
the website of the nursery involved and see no reference to pot sizes at
all. In the past we ourselves have bought a supposedly 2 year old grape
vine from a reputable nursery but which had to be 'nursed' in a tunnel for
2 years before planting out into a greenhouse. The same happened to a very
expensive but desirable Magnolia from another (different) well known
nursery. We didn't dare put it in the garden for two years!

How many people ask what size pot the plant will have grown into and how
many even consider the matter, I wonder. Do most just expect a small plant
and pay up happily? I know that, before I met Ray, as an 'ordinary'
customer, pot sizes in litres meant nothing to me. I've decided to measure
the tops of ours and put those online because I think it will make more
sense to the average buyer.

I don't tend to buy plants over the Internet preferring to visit a
specialist, a plant sale, or good GC and select the plants myself. However
the plants I've received by post have, except for T & M, been decent and on
time but then they have tended to be bare root plants (Tall Bearded Iris) or
bulbs etc (Glads).
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On 06/01/2014 19:08, sacha wrote:
Not really - but something I've briefly touched on with another Nursery
on Twitter and it seems to me that the experiences of urglers is
valuable both to each other and to the nurseryman in this. Few
nurseries selling online tell you what size pot your plant is going to
arrive in but we wonder if the average buyer knows the difference
between a 2 litre pot and a 10cm pot? I'm asking this because, frankly,
we have been shocked to see certain plants sold for £20 which, we're
fairly sure, will arrive in a 10cm pot, which means a small plant with a
small root system. We searched the ad and the website of the nursery
involved and see no reference to pot sizes at all. In the past we
ourselves have bought a supposedly 2 year old grape vine from a
reputable nursery but which had to be 'nursed' in a tunnel for 2 years
before planting out into a greenhouse. The same happened to a very
expensive but desirable Magnolia from another (different) well known
nursery. We didn't dare put it in the garden for two years!

How many people ask what size pot the plant will have grown into and how
many even consider the matter, I wonder. Do most just expect a small
plant and pay up happily? I know that, before I met Ray, as an
'ordinary' customer, pot sizes in litres meant nothing to me. I've
decided to measure the tops of ours and put those online because I think
it will make more sense to the average buyer.

Despite using a range of pots I still have problems picturing Pot sizes
when in Litres, it's bad enough in cm I still have to put them back to
imperial, 6 inch or 8 inch etc. I can picture right away, as for
"Thumbs, Long toms etc." I doubt many of us remember them.
David @ a slightly less windy (For now) side of Swansea Bay .

On 06/01/2014 19:08, sacha wrote:I'm asking this because, frankly,
we have been shocked to see certain plants sold for £20 which, we're
fairly sure, will arrive in a 10cm pot, which means a small plant with a
small root system. We searched the ad and the website of the nursery
involved and see no reference to pot sizes at all.

If there's no reference to pot size at all, why are you so sure it's
10cm ?

Janet

On 2014-01-06 23:08:17 +0000, David Hill said:

On 06/01/2014 19:08, sacha wrote:
Not really - but something I've briefly touched on with another Nursery
on Twitter and it seems to me that the experiences of urglers is
valuable both to each other and to the nurseryman in this. Few
nurseries selling online tell you what size pot your plant is going to
arrive in but we wonder if the average buyer knows the difference
between a 2 litre pot and a 10cm pot? I'm asking this because, frankly,
we have been shocked to see certain plants sold for £20 which, we're
fairly sure, will arrive in a 10cm pot, which means a small plant with a
small root system. We searched the ad and the website of the nursery
involved and see no reference to pot sizes at all. In the past we
ourselves have bought a supposedly 2 year old grape vine from a
reputable nursery but which had to be 'nursed' in a tunnel for 2 years
before planting out into a greenhouse. The same happened to a very
expensive but desirable Magnolia from another (different) well known
nursery. We didn't dare put it in the garden for two years!

How many people ask what size pot the plant will have grown into and how
many even consider the matter, I wonder. Do most just expect a small
plant and pay up happily? I know that, before I met Ray, as an
'ordinary' customer, pot sizes in litres meant nothing to me. I've
decided to measure the tops of ours and put those online because I think
it will make more sense to the average buyer.

Despite using a range of pots I still have problems picturing Pot sizes
when in Litres, it's bad enough in cm I still have to put them back to
imperial, 6 inch or 8 inch etc. I can picture right away, as for
"Thumbs, Long toms etc." I doubt many of us remember them.
David @ a slightly less windy (For now) side of Swansea Bay .

Yes, we certainly refer to long toms in which we grow e.g. sweet peas
but we don't sell those online. But the responses I'm getting seem to
be referring more to quality of plants and those will vary from place
to place, however you buy them. What I'm interested in is whether a
customer, buying online, knows the difference in what they will get IF
the pot size is given, 9cm, 1 litre, 2 litre etc. Do they even ask the
pot size before buying, I wonder? So do customers still pay up, not
knowing what they're going to get in terms of plant maturity? These may
be more inexperienced gardeners and not as savvy as most urglers! It's
something we've seen often in ads and on web sites and it's always
surprised us that you can't see or envisage what you're going to get
but nonetheless you're being asked (in the instance which has finally
caused me to ask these questions) to pay £20 on trust for something
which, in this case, is being marketed as rare and unusual and not by
its real name, either. It's unusual to some degree but it's not rare.

While some claim not to buy online, we've often seen remarks here about
buying plugs and being pleased or disappointed but in those cases,
people knows what plugs are, what to expect. They now they've got to
pot them on and look after them a bit before planting them out. If
they were told we're charging you £20 for something in a 9cm or 10cm
pot or even a 1 litre pot, what I'm wondering is, do they have a mental
picture of what they'll actually get and if they did, would they buy
it, I wonder.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

On 2014-01-06 23:49:43 +0000, Janet said:


On 06/01/2014 19:08, sacha wrote:I'm asking this because, frankly,
we have been shocked to see certain plants sold for £20 which, we're
fairly sure, will arrive in a 10cm pot, which means a small plant with a
small root system. We searched the ad and the website of the nursery
involved and see no reference to pot sizes at all.

If there's no reference to pot size at all, why are you so sure it's
10cm ?

Janet



'fairly sure'. Experience of what others experience and talk to us
about, both customers and other nurserymen. Some garden centres and
nurseries give pot sizes, quite a lot don't. But Ray is going to ring
tomorrow and ask. If it's a good size plant, I see no reason not to
give that information as it's an additional selling point. I'm not
going to name the shrub but it's not so rare that £20 is justified for
anything small. The p&p is cheap so either the plants are small, and
are sent in those blister packs, or the cost of p&p has been added to
the plants so as to make it appear less to the customer.

But my chief reason for raising the subject is to discover whether the
average customer would know what the pot size is if it is given as e.g.
1 or 2 or 5 litres. I am thinking that it might be more helpful to our
customers to give the diameter of the pot's lip, hence my curiosity as
to what people expect to receive.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

On Mon, 06 Jan 2014 20:56:36 +0000, Pete C wrote:

Yep, for me, pot diameter tells me what I want to know. 2lt is,
erm......oh I dunno!

Inclined to agree pot top diameter is easier to picture with ones
minds eye. I was going to add that is that "2 l pot" short and wide
or tall and thin but that argument could be used against just pot
diameter as well.

Quote everything? "15 cm (6") 2 l pot" B-)

--
Cheers
Dave.

"sacha" wrote

David Hill said:

sacha wrote:
Not really - but something I've briefly touched on with another Nursery
on Twitter and it seems to me that the experiences of urglers is
valuable both to each other and to the nurseryman in this. Few
nurseries selling online tell you what size pot your plant is going to
arrive in but we wonder if the average buyer knows the difference
between a 2 litre pot and a 10cm pot? I'm asking this because, frankly,
we have been shocked to see certain plants sold for £20 which, we're
fairly sure, will arrive in a 10cm pot, which means a small plant with a
small root system. We searched the ad and the website of the nursery
involved and see no reference to pot sizes at all. In the past we
ourselves have bought a supposedly 2 year old grape vine from a
reputable nursery but which had to be 'nursed' in a tunnel for 2 years
before planting out into a greenhouse. The same happened to a very
expensive but desirable Magnolia from another (different) well known
nursery. We didn't dare put it in the garden for two years!

How many people ask what size pot the plant will have grown into and how
many even consider the matter, I wonder. Do most just expect a small
plant and pay up happily? I know that, before I met Ray, as an
'ordinary' customer, pot sizes in litres meant nothing to me. I've
decided to measure the tops of ours and put those online because I think
it will make more sense to the average buyer.

Despite using a range of pots I still have problems picturing Pot sizes
when in Litres, it's bad enough in cm I still have to put them back to
imperial, 6 inch or 8 inch etc. I can picture right away, as for "Thumbs,
Long toms etc." I doubt many of us remember them.
David @ a slightly less windy (For now) side of Swansea Bay .

Yes, we certainly refer to long toms in which we grow e.g. sweet peas but
we don't sell those online. But the responses I'm getting seem to be
referring more to quality of plants and those will vary from place to
place, however you buy them. What I'm interested in is whether a customer,
buying online, knows the difference in what they will get IF the pot size
is given, 9cm, 1 litre, 2 litre etc. Do they even ask the pot size before
buying, I wonder? So do customers still pay up, not knowing what they're
going to get in terms of plant maturity? These may be more inexperienced
gardeners and not as savvy as most urglers! It's something we've seen
often in ads and on web sites and it's always surprised us that you can't
see or envisage what you're going to get but nonetheless you're being asked
(in the instance which has finally caused me to ask these questions) to pay
£20 on trust for something which, in this case, is being marketed as rare
and unusual and not by its real name, either. It's unusual to some degree
but it's not rare.

While some claim not to buy online, we've often seen remarks here about
buying plugs and being pleased or disappointed but in those cases, people
knows what plugs are, what to expect. They now they've got to pot them on
and look after them a bit before planting them out. If they were told
we're charging you £20 for something in a 9cm or 10cm pot or even a 1 litre
pot, what I'm wondering is, do they have a mental picture of what they'll
actually get and if they did, would they buy it, I wonder.

To answer your question specifically, I don't "see" the pot size when litres
are mentioned but I can if the diameter is given in inches or cm. That said
if they advertised a larger type plant in ,say, a 1 litre pot as fully
mature I might just not believe them.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

I suppose I envisage a 2l pot being about an 8in half-pot. But using my other way of visualising- 2l is 2 cartons of fruit juice, which is probably a bit less than that.

Lucky those people who say "always visit a good nursery". People living in the less populous parts of the country don't have that option. I suspect my nearest nursery is an hour's drive away, and I'm certainly not out in the back of beyond. So accurate description of plants is important.

On 2014-01-07 08:45:13 +0000, Bob Hobden said:

"sacha" wrote

David Hill said:

sacha wrote:
Not really - but something I've briefly touched on with another Nursery
on Twitter and it seems to me that the experiences of urglers is
valuable both to each other and to the nurseryman in this. Few
nurseries selling online tell you what size pot your plant is going to
arrive in but we wonder if the average buyer knows the difference
between a 2 litre pot and a 10cm pot? I'm asking this because, frankly,
we have been shocked to see certain plants sold for £20 which, we're
fairly sure, will arrive in a 10cm pot, which means a small plant with a
small root system. We searched the ad and the website of the nursery
involved and see no reference to pot sizes at all. In the past we
ourselves have bought a supposedly 2 year old grape vine from a
reputable nursery but which had to be 'nursed' in a tunnel for 2 years
before planting out into a greenhouse. The same happened to a very
expensive but desirable Magnolia from another (different) well known
nursery. We didn't dare put it in the garden for two years!

How many people ask what size pot the plant will have grown into and how
many even consider the matter, I wonder. Do most just expect a small
plant and pay up happily? I know that, before I met Ray, as an
'ordinary' customer, pot sizes in litres meant nothing to me. I've
decided to measure the tops of ours and put those online because I think
it will make more sense to the average buyer.

Despite using a range of pots I still have problems picturing Pot sizes
when in Litres, it's bad enough in cm I still have to put them back to
imperial, 6 inch or 8 inch etc. I can picture right away, as for
"Thumbs, Long toms etc." I doubt many of us remember them.
David @ a slightly less windy (For now) side of Swansea Bay .

Yes, we certainly refer to long toms in which we grow e.g. sweet peas
but we don't sell those online. But the responses I'm getting seem to
be referring more to quality of plants and those will vary from place
to place, however you buy them. What I'm interested in is whether a
customer, buying online, knows the difference in what they will get IF
the pot size is given, 9cm, 1 litre, 2 litre etc. Do they even ask the
pot size before buying, I wonder? So do customers still pay up, not
knowing what they're going to get in terms of plant maturity? These may
be more inexperienced gardeners and not as savvy as most urglers! It's
something we've seen often in ads and on web sites and it's always
surprised us that you can't see or envisage what you're going to get
but nonetheless you're being asked (in the instance which has finally
caused me to ask these questions) to pay £20 on trust for something
which, in this case, is being marketed as rare and unusual and not by
its real name, either. It's unusual to some degree but it's not rare.

While some claim not to buy online, we've often seen remarks here about
buying plugs and being pleased or disappointed but in those cases,
people knows what plugs are, what to expect. They now they've got to
pot them on and look after them a bit before planting them out. If
they were told we're charging you £20 for something in a 9cm or 10cm
pot or even a 1 litre pot, what I'm wondering is, do they have a mental
picture of what they'll actually get and if they did, would they buy
it, I wonder.

To answer your question specifically, I don't "see" the pot size when
litres are mentioned but I can if the diameter is given in inches or
cm. That said if they advertised a larger type plant in ,say, a 1 litre
pot as fully mature I might just not believe them.

So giving cms or inches is clear whereas litres isn't. I'm inclined to
agree with you, even though I've learned the difference! Few plants
are truly 'mature' in a 1 or 2 litre pot but what they should have is a
well-developed root system that will make for a sturdy plant ready to
go into its permanent position. But if people are buying a £20 plant
without knowing the pot size, or being able to visualise it, if it's
given, they're laying themselves open to the possibility of
disappointment, or a longish period of 'nursing' a young plant, perhaps.
--

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

On 2014-01-06 20:56:36 +0000, Pete C said:

On 06/01/2014 19:08, sacha wrote:
Not really - but something I've briefly touched on with another Nursery
on Twitter and it seems to me that the experiences of urglers is
valuable both to each other and to the nurseryman in this. Few
nurseries selling online tell you what size pot your plant is going to
arrive in but we wonder if the average buyer knows the difference
between a 2 litre pot and a 10cm pot? I'm asking this because, frankly,
we have been shocked to see certain plants sold for £20 which, we're
fairly sure, will arrive in a 10cm pot, which means a small plant with a
small root system. We searched the ad and the website of the nursery
involved and see no reference to pot sizes at all. In the past we
ourselves have bought a supposedly 2 year old grape vine from a
reputable nursery but which had to be 'nursed' in a tunnel for 2 years
before planting out into a greenhouse. The same happened to a very
expensive but desirable Magnolia from another (different) well known
nursery. We didn't dare put it in the garden for two years!

How many people ask what size pot the plant will have grown into and how
many even consider the matter, I wonder. Do most just expect a small
plant and pay up happily? I know that, before I met Ray, as an
'ordinary' customer, pot sizes in litres meant nothing to me. I've
decided to measure the tops of ours and put those online because I think
it will make more sense to the average buyer.
Yep, for me, pot diameter tells me what I want to know. 2lt is,
erm......oh I dunno!

I agree. Until I married Ray and learned to tell one from the other,
the litre method meant nothing to me at all!
--

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

On 2014-01-07 00:22:43 +0000, Dave Liquorice said:

On Mon, 06 Jan 2014 20:56:36 +0000, Pete C wrote:

Yep, for me, pot diameter tells me what I want to know. 2lt is,
erm......oh I dunno!

Inclined to agree pot top diameter is easier to picture with ones
minds eye. I was going to add that is that "2 l pot" short and wide
or tall and thin but that argument could be used against just pot
diameter as well.

Quote everything? "15 cm (6") 2 l pot" B-)

We tend to use feet and inches on our web site but I should probably
spend hours going through it and putting both inches and cms into it!
I can get absolutely no mental picture of what 1.75m is! But the bits
I've read here and elsewhere convince me that it would be a good idea
to line up pots of various sizes, photograph them and show their sizes
with each one, both in litres & cms and probably, inches! Laborious to
do but easier for people to follow, I think.
--

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

On 2014-01-07 00:13:54 +0000, sacha said:

On 2014-01-06 23:49:43 +0000, Janet said:


On 06/01/2014 19:08, sacha wrote:I'm asking this because, frankly,
we have been shocked to see certain plants sold for £20 which, we're
fairly sure, will arrive in a 10cm pot, which means a small plant with a
small root system. We searched the ad and the website of the nursery
involved and see no reference to pot sizes at all.

If there's no reference to pot size at all, why are you so sure it's
10cm ?

Janet



'fairly sure'. Experience of what others experience and talk to us
about, both customers and other nurserymen. Some garden centres and
nurseries give pot sizes, quite a lot don't. But Ray is going to ring
tomorrow and ask. If it's a good size plant, I see no reason not to
give that information as it's an additional selling point. I'm not
going to name the shrub but it's not so rare that £20 is justified for
anything small. The p&p is cheap so either the plants are small, and
are sent in those blister packs, or the cost of p&p has been added to
the plants so as to make it appear less to the customer.

But my chief reason for raising the subject is to discover whether the
average customer would know what the pot size is if it is given as e.g.
1 or 2 or 5 litres. I am thinking that it might be more helpful to our
customers to give the diameter of the pot's lip, hence my curiosity as
to what people expect to receive.

Ray rang this morning. These shrubs are £20 in 7cm pots but you can
have 3 for £49.50! The plants are about 8 inches tall. No wonder pot
size isn't mentioned in this ad. This is even smaller than I'd
imagined. We were thinking at least 9cm pots. I wonder how many people
buy them, unwary and unseen, only to be astonished at what they've
spent their £20 on.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk