Buying tomato plants through the mail/UPS

[longwinters]

Well last year I wanted to try some new tomato plants but did not have room under my grow light to start them from seed.  So I ordered 6 of them (I don't remember the name) from Gurneys.  4 of the plants were toast and 2 survived the trip.


This year I wanted to try some Super Sauce Hybrid from Burpee.  Ordered 9 plants.  They shipped them about the right time and the packaging was excellent.  But the plants are thin and were horribly wilted.  One didn't make it and the rest I am trying to nurse back to health.  They are not 1/10th as nice as my own plants (which by the way turned out great).  I sent them an email telling them that their packaging was very good, but the plants were very bad.  I don't think it was their fault as the plants were enclosed in the shipping box for 5-6 days.  Granted they were thin but probably were very healthy when they packaged them.


They sent me an email the next day and said that their plants have a 1 year guarantee and if I took pictures of them when I received them to plz send them copies so they could look at them.  I never thought of taking pics of them and a week later they look a lot better than they did originally...which isn't really saying a whole lot.


Next year I will just order seeds for this variety and do my own dirty work.


Long

[Ranger99]

well, if it weren't so far i'd send you
some of these here extra roma's.
i believe we'd run into the same deal
of not traveling well. this year i planted
about 3 times extra what i needed on
a staggered basis so i'd be sure to have
some and not have to hustle around to
find replacements after unexpected
frost, hail, etc.
had some early seed trouble, but i got that
sorted out and learned a good lesson.


good luck

[geezerbiker]

I bought some strawberry plants from Gurnee's I think and they were in pretty good shape when I got them.  I got way more plants on a minimum order than I needed or wanted but most of them survived even the ones I planted in less than optimum places...

Tony

[longwinters]

Yep, I think both companies have good products/plants.  But most plants are not going to do well in the pitch black for 5-7 days.


 Ranger99, roma tomatoes are a great tomato for lots of things.  I don't grow them because of the short growing season up here, but we often buy them in the store.


Long

[Ranger99]

i haven't had that great of luck
with the larger ones. if the drought
doesn't get 'em, the varmints do.
i've been trying to stay with the smaller
ones and it's seems to work out.


after writing about mailing, i went to
the p.o. to get some stamps since they
don't have the vending machines here
anymore, and was behind an elderly lady
holding a package to be mailed like it was
an infant child. after she paid and was leaving,
the clerk literally throwed it over his shoulder
at the bin like it was a basketball
it's good to see in person the "special" care
and handling this fine employee gave this
lady's parcel. i wonder how many of them
get this "special " handling?