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Where do you buy your plants from?

Might just be certain pets@home, my local is Blackpool but have also been in Prestons when they had a delivery of about 6 massive boxes worth of plants.
 
Hi all,
I would imagine that the 'Just in Time' shops throughout the country buy & sell huge quantities of Tropica plants compared to the few on line shops mentioned & must be a huge & very important source of income for the Tropica company?........However like the majority of 'Just in Time' shops the plants are kept in a classic overflow system that ensures a short time period before the plants start to deteriorate.
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I'm sure Foxfish is right and that the majority of plants are sold through high volume outlets, that rely on selling the plants before they deteriorate too far. I'd also guess that the majority of plant sales are to a relatively unsophisticated audience, who choose plants on their look, rather than following some research into their suitability for their particular aquarium.

Even amongst the more sophisticated plant buying public my experience (from working in the nursery trade) would make me suspect that often it is a specific name they are after, in much the same way that if Delia Smith says "you need Cranberries", every one goes and buys Cranberries, even if they aren't sure what they are going to do with them.

I did ask my local MA why they didn't make more of an effort with their plants, and the manager told me that they had tried a system where they grew the plants semi-emersed in a plastic "tent", but that this actually drastically reduced sales, presumably by reducing impulse purchases.

I'd also hazard a guess that if any-one has bought any plants from AE recently they should look particularly healthy.

cheers Darrel
 
The issue is a lack of education, and the LFS make their money selling plants that will die off soon. People will come for more after a month or so.

Also many shops bread and butter are fish, and sundries, plants may be a small form of income, so they really don't care if they sell or not.
 
ghostsword said:
The issue is a lack of education, and the LFS make their money selling plants that will die off soon. People will come for more after a month or so.

Also many shops bread and butter are fish, and sundries, plants may be a small form of income, so they really don't care if they sell or not.
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that comment is spot on mate, i was recently in a LFS and got chatting to the bloke dealing with the plants etc, and asked him up front, is there good business in live plants, his answer was ''hahaha nope'' and then stated that the only reason they sell the live plants was because 90% of people dont know how to care for them and they'll be back for more once the last lot dies off.
 
ghostsword said:
The issue is a lack of education, and the LFS make their money selling plants that will die off soon. People will come for more after a month or so.

Also many shops bread and butter are fish, and sundries, plants may be a small form of income, so they really don't care if they sell or not.
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Yup, i cringe every time i see non aquatic plants in LFS, including Dobbies and P@H.

I buy my plants from the one decent plant retailer i've been too in Scotland. It's a little drive away but i'd rather support a good local shop then go online where I don't get too see the quality before I buy. They even put plants that are past there best into a "recovery" tank before putting them back on sale.

Support your local good shops in fish and plant sales, as they need it. Their markets for tank and hardware sales have been killed off by the internet. My 2p.

Best regards,
John
 
right guys, after spending a good few hours shopping about, i have just found something....
check this shop out, has anyone used these before?
they also have a ebay shop which is even cheaper, every plant is £2 over the xmas period.
im going to place an order with them and see how they are.
and regardless of how many plants you order of them on ebay, the postage stays at £2.95.

5 pots of hemianthus for £9.50 excuse me :jawdrop
Eleocharis Acicularis (hair grass) £2 a go :jawdrop

well here is the link for the shop and their ebay shop...
SHOP - http://www.theplanttank.co.uk/aquadistr ... p-150.html
EBAY - http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/theplanttank/ ... 581&_pgn=2


and NO guys i dont have anything to do with these, just found them while hunting around.
 
i've just ordered
3 x Pogostemon Helferi
3 x Eleocharis Acicularis and got it all plus delivery for £12.95
now to wait and see the condition once it arrives.
 
I've tried one of the import to order online retailers and wasn't really too impressed. They are cheaper for a reason. I got more varieties with them but a hell of a lot less plant mass than I would of with pots.

I've had Aquafleur pots from AE and a bit of Tropica pot from TGM. I also have a few LFS (Well not so local, upto an hour away) that stock both of these plants although the AF retailer can be hit n miss on varieties and quality.

Although they cost a little bit more the value is there. Tropica pots in particular are usually well established and growing well. If I want crypts I have a more local LFS that does AF.

I think once you have had a few from Aquafleur and Tropica then you will know the best option to choose when you need to buy again. At the end of the day I prefer to be able to see what I am buying but when you hit the LFS with a list of 12 species and the only have 2 or 3 in stock, one of the online retailers will most likely get an order.
 
I hear what your saying Spyder about the order to import stuff not being so good, BUT after looking at their feedback i was really impressed, nearly everyone on there says very quick delivery and plants in great condition.
 
MrLarner said:
and plants in great condition.
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Not exactly my experience. I had about 6 varieties missing. Only 2 of the plants I ordered came in good nick. If I had seen them in a holding tank I wouldn't have purchased. Obviously, as the plants are imported to order, then quality is going to fluctuate.

I've have learned that when buying crypts I'll go for named pots and not direct import - pass on stems with no roots!.
 
Theplanttank are quite good quality, they are based near me and all the plants are Aquafluer. The HC is as good a Tropica. The crypts are a little ropey.
 
ianho said:
Theplanttank are quite good quality, they are based near me and all the plants are Aquafluer. The HC is as good a Tropica. The crypts are a little ropey.
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cheers for that pal.
i had a feeling they couldnt be as bad as some of the others just by reading their feedback.
so whats the reason for being so cheap then??? can you answer that? 😛
 
They do 4 pots for a tenner in shop, they are the normal Aquafluer pots, they are all grown emeresed as well. I was in there a few weeks back and the HC looked good.
 
ive recently picked up some individual plants on ebay, and have worked out well so far for me.
 
Living Waters in Beddington Lane, South London. The owner Darren is very knowledgable and it's been a family run business for years. The shop is great too. I spend about an hour in there each visit picking his brain and looking around his shop.
 
I bought my plants from Java-Plants, they come from Singapore,there shipped from Singapore > Manchester on Thursday at 4pm and then delivered on Friday-Monday. Mine took 8 days to come and some of them weren't in great condition, i threw out the four leaved clovers because they just weren't doing anything. The java moss, amazon swords and red cabomba all made a recovery in my tank.
 
If your after quality, I'd shop @ places such as...Aquaessentials, TGM and Aquajardin. Tropica or Aquafleur, your choice.

P@H normally on a Thursday could be a good choice, bit of a lucky dip affair though.
 
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