| Neutral | granny3times
(1 review) | On Jun 15, 2004, granny3times wrote: I nearly chose the negative response, but since I resolved this matter as far as I care to, decided to just give a neutral rating. It is obvious Barry knows his stuff as far as a horticulturist, but I think he needs some help from a pro in mailing plants if he wants to raise money to support his botanical gardens.
Back in early Feb. I wrote to Barry in response to one of his newsletters in which he touted a native plant (Spigelia marilandica). From the photo and description, I thought this would be a spectacular plant to add to my woodland collection both here in SW PA and at our cottage in south-central VA. I wrote & enquired, found out they come bare-root and the price, and ordered 5. I asked him if they could be sent directly to our VA address, explaining that we would be there from March 6-26. He replied that that he could not ship them until April. I accepted this and agreed that he should ship them to PA when the plants became available.
We returned to PA on 3/26, and I found that the plants had already arrived here! I have no idea how long they had been awaiting me in the mailroom where our mail arrives, but opened them immediately. I found 6 small, sealed plastic bags that had some soilless mix and could see or feel no plants. I opened each to find extremely tiny crowns only about 1" in length, with wet, black roots as fine as thread. There was no sign of life. (At this point I felt they were definitely NOT worth the price I paid--even if they had been alive!) I immediately e-mailed Barry expressing my chagrin that (1)they came here (they obviously COULD have been sent to VA after all!) and (2) that they looked utterly lifeless. He replied:
From: Barry Glick [mailto:barry@sunfarm.com]
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2004 10:02 AM
Subject: Re: S. marilandica
Hi, sorry about the mixup.
They should be fine as long as the moss stayed moist. [Oh, it stayed moist, all right!]
They should be planted in the ground after the last freeze.
You can keep them in pots for now in a window using soil from outdoors.
Cheers
*****************************************************
Well, it is against everything I know to plant such frail things in regular garden soil, but I got some of my old screened compost & mixed it with a peat/coir mix, watered with Maxi-crop seaweed, and put some of them under lights alongside my 6 seeded flats. Just to experiment, I put a couple on the windowsill and kept all of them barely damp. I told him what I did and that I was very dubious, but he assured me they'd replace any non-survivors. Long story somewhat shorter: (the bad news) nothing ever sprouted. I notified him on 5/25 of the problem.
The good news: he asked how many he owed me, my address, and within a very reasonable time I received 5 replacements--nice little plants this time, about 4-5" high in square 2" pots. Unfortunately, the method of packing was very poor. A plastic baggie wrapped & rubber-banded around the pots & bases of the plants to hold in the soil--that was fine. But then they all were put loosely into a large paper bag full of Styrofoam peanuts, and there they rattled around freely en route, with the result that two (miraculously only 2)of the plants had broken stems. One survived after I pruned off the wilted top half; the other was broken below all the leaves and so far has not shown any new growth. Caveat emptor; I have not the energy or desire to pursue this further, but will chalk it up to experience.
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| Neutral | sarahcincy
(8 reviews) | On Jan 13, 2004, sarahcincy Cincinnati, OH wrote: I read Barry's newsletter on the merits and large size of the Cyclamen hederifolium he was selling on special offer, and bought some- they were smaller than he said (2" diameter rather than 2.5 to 3" as stated.) I respect his knowledge and enthusiam, but I'll take the descriptions with a pinch of salt in future. I might buy something from him I couldn't get elsewhere, I suppose....He was very quick to follow up an e-mail I sent raisng the issue, but ended up just verifying that I got what he planned to send. Disappointing. |
