My Buxus Plants All Go Yellow and Die

Ernest

Can anybody help with this: Three times over the last year or so I bought buxus plants in Aldi/Lidl but, in every case, after a few weeks the leaves began to turn yellow then brown then they died. This happened even when I watered them and did not overwater them, when I re-potted them in fresh compost and even when I added Lidl's "Special Buxus Food" to them.
What is the problem? Is this a common experience? Its is obvious that this is a popular plant since Aldi/Lidl are always selling them.
Anybody got any suggestions?

macraignil

Plants from Lidle and Aldi come from warm greenhouses through warehousing and transportation with low levels of light to supermarket shelves where again they are in an environment completely different than the average Irish garden. It is no surprise to me when they do not survive the transition although the low price continues to persuade me to take the chance it might work. Buy plants living outdoors in a garden centre.

paddy147

Ernest wrote: »

Can anybody help with this: Three times over the last year or so I bought buxus plants in Aldi/Lidl but, in every case, after a few weeks the leaves began to turn yellow then brown then they died. This happened even when I watered them and did not overwater them, when I re-potted them in fresh compost and even when I added Lidl's "Special Buxus Food" to them.
What is the problem? Is this a common experience? Its is obvious that this is a popular plant since Aldi/Lidl are always selling them.
Anybody got any suggestions?

Buy them from Ikea next time.

Good quality,cheaper (in most cases) and never had a problem with any of the buxus balls or plants from Ikea.:)

itsnotmyname

I'm always swayed by the price of the plants in those supermarkets , but i've never bought one that thrived or even looked well after sowing:rolleyes:.....i think i've learned my lesson

Ernest

paddy147 wrote: »

Buy them from Ikea next time.

Good quality,cheaper (in most cases) and never had a problem with any of the buxus balls or plants from Ikea.:)

Thanks, will indeed try IKEA but the three photographs attached are of different plants - not Buxus plants.

naidy123

Ernest wrote: »

Can anybody help with this: Three times over the last year or so I bought buxus plants in Aldi/Lidl but, in every case, after a few weeks the leaves began to turn yellow then brown then they died. This happened even when I watered them and did not overwater them, when I re-potted them in fresh compost and even when I added Lidl's "Special Buxus Food" to them.
What is the problem? Is this a common experience? Its is obvious that this is a popular plant since Aldi/Lidl are always selling them.
Anybody got any suggestions?

Exact same problem, turns out its called buxus blight- look at the roots- they are prob covered in white fungus. I bought my buxus plants from b&q- they all died.

paddy147

Ernest wrote: »

Thanks, will indeed try IKEA but the three photographs attached are of different plants - not Buxus plants.

I thought I uploaded 4 pics,Sorry.:o

Pic of them (large ones are from a gardening centre)

Small ones are from Ikea.:)

A regular liquid feed does them good,also dont over water them,try to water the soil in and around them and not the actual leaves.


Little tip here is to slip the pot off the plant,and quickly check the condition of the roots.

But we have never had any problems with anything from Ikea,and the buxus balls are fine,a year later on too.:)

looksee

For the price of three (now dead) bought in supermarkets you could buy a decent one in a garden centre. Thats not a personal dig, OP, I have done the same myself and have given up on it.

Also these mass produced shrubs etc are grown because they are easy, not because they are the best variety of the plant in question. Often you are buying something that is only one step up from a 'wild' plant and is not going to give a great display. I also have two or three of those japanese acers, apparently the same cultivar as a couple of good ones, and the cheapo ones are sitting there saying 'what?'

Ernest

So my next step now should probably be to take the most recently purchased plants back to the shop (Lidl) and demand my rights under the Sale Of Goods And Supply Of Services Act 1980.

Just because these plants were relatively cheap does not mean that Lidl can sell substandard goods to Irish consumers.
These goods were
(a) not of merchantable quality and
(b) not fit for purpose.

The minimum compensation should be a refund.
Failing that, a case to the Small Claims Court? Preferably with lots of unfavourable media publicity for the retailer.

paddy147

Ernest wrote: »

So my next step now should probably be to take the most recently purchased plants back to the shop (Lidl) and demand my rights under the Sale Of Goods And Supply Of Services Act 1980.

Just because these plants were relatively cheap does not mean that Lidl can sell substandard goods to Irish consumers.
These goods were
(a) not of merchantable quality and
(b) not fit for purpose.

The minimum compensation should be a refund.
Failing that, a case to the Small Claims Court? Preferably with lots of unfavourable media publicity for the retailer.

http://www.acts.ie/print/en.act.1980.0016.1.html


Have you got your receipts??;)

looksee

Ernest wrote: »

So my next step now should probably be to take the most recently purchased plants back to the shop (Lidl) and demand my rights under the Sale Of Goods And Supply Of Services Act 1980.

Just because these plants were relatively cheap does not mean that Lidl can sell substandard goods to Irish consumers.
These goods were
(a) not of merchantable quality and
(b) not fit for purpose.

The minimum compensation should be a refund.
Failing that, a case to the Small Claims Court? Preferably with lots of unfavourable media publicity for the retailer.

I doubt they sorted out all their dodgy trees and sent them to Ireland to sell. It would be very difficult to prove that there was anything wrong with them when you bought them, and that you did not kill them in the planting process. Unless they have the root issue that was mentioned, in which case you could dig them up and take them back to lidl.

On the whole though I would be inclined to put this down to experience and stop buying plants from supermarkets (lidl included).

You will not get publicity, negative or otherwise, going through the SSC.

Ernest

looksee wrote: »

I doubt they sorted out all their dodgy trees and sent them to Ireland to sell. It would be very difficult to prove that there was anything wrong with them when you bought them, and that you did not kill them in the planting process. Unless they have the root issue that was mentioned, in which case you could dig them up and take them back to lidl.

On the whole though I would be inclined to put this down to experience and stop buying plants from supermarkets (lidl included).

You will not get publicity, negative or otherwise, going through the SSC.

I WAS inclined to just put it down to experience - lots of experience in this case since I bought buxus plants several times and each time they got yellow and died.
However I am now inclined to consider the course of action in my previous post.

If these retailers are consistently selling plants that are not of merchantable quality and are not fit for purpose, then they should not be just let get away with this by people "putting it down to experience".

At some point, surely, these retailers must KNOW that the products they are selling do not meet the two criteria I mentioned. Does that not represent a form of fraudulent trading??

paddy147

Ernest wrote: »

I WAS inclined to just put it down to experience - lots of experience in this case since I bought buxus plants several times and each time they got yellow and died.
However I am now inclined to consider the course of action in my previous post.

If these retailers are consistently selling plants that are not of merchantable quality and are not fit for purpose, then they should not be just let get away with this by people "putting it down to experience".

At some point, surely, these retailers must KNOW that the products they are selling do not meet the two criteria I mentioned. Does that not represent a form of fraudulent trading??

You should heed the advice given to you.

Plants live and die and that is allways the case,even with the most carefull garden centres and nurseries.

You are making some serious allegations there,with no definitive proof on how the retailer gets their plants and how they are transported??



Going to court and trying to make a case is pointless and futile.....Unless you have all your reciepts still and can prove to a judge that you did everything correctly?

Still rather futile and pointless.

The fee for an application to the small claims court will cost you more than a buxus ball does.

Pointless.

bmaxi

Ernest wrote: »

I WAS inclined to just put it down to experience - lots of experience in this case since I bought buxus plants several times and each time they got yellow and died.
However I am now inclined to consider the course of action in my previous post.

If these retailers are consistently selling plants that are not of merchantable quality and are not fit for purpose, then they should not be just let get away with this by people "putting it down to experience".

At some point, surely, these retailers must KNOW that the products they are selling do not meet the two criteria I mentioned. Does that not represent a form of fraudulent trading??

I have six box plants bought in a tray from Lidl about four years ago which are now about four feet tall and thriving. I doubt if your plants have succumbed to box blight, the most likely cause is lack of water. The problem with buying plants from supermarkets is, particularly in the case of Lidl and Aldi, they never see a drop of water from the time they leave the nursery, it can be a sorry sight indeed to see plants withering in their trays as you walk around the shop. If you're going to buy there do it as soon as they come in.

Ernest

bmaxi wrote: »

I have six box plants bought in a tray from Lidl about four years ago which are now about four feet tall and thriving. I doubt if your plants have succumbed to box blight, the most likely cause is lack of water. The problem with buying plants from supermarkets is, particularly in the case of Lidl and Aldi, they never see a drop of water from the time they leave the nursery, it can be a sorry sight indeed to see plants withering in their trays as you walk around the shop. If you're going to buy there do it as soon as they come in.

The buxus plants I bought from Aldi/Lidl were all in excellent shape when I bough them - not at all "withering in their trays" - in fact they were all a nice healthy looking dark green. Also these were not in trays of six but were individual large plants in pots and about 30cm high. when taken home they were watered (not drowned in water either!) and even re-potted with better compost but still after a few weeks they began to get yellow and then brown and then died.

paddy147

Ernest wrote: »

The buxus plants I bought from Aldi/Lidl were all in excellent shape when I bough them - not at all "withering in their trays" - in fact they were all a nice healthy looking dark green. Also these were not in trays of six but were individual large plants in pots and about 30cm high. when taken home they were watered (not drowned in water either!) and even re-potted with better compost but still after a few weeks they began to get yellow and then brown and then died.

So you are lashing out at Aldi/Lidl,and making accusations and threats of court action even though you bought them in perfect condition/excellent shape (according to your post above)

But theres no way you could be responsible,in any way?





PS-Do you have all your reciepts,as proof of purchase??

Your gonna need all of them for a court case.

bmaxi

Ernest wrote: »

The buxus plants I bought from Aldi/Lidl were all in excellent shape when I bough them - not at all "withering in their trays" - in fact they were all a nice healthy looking dark green. Also these were not in trays of six but were individual large plants in pots and about 30cm high. when taken home they were watered (not drowned in water either!) and even re-potted with better compost but still after a few weeks they began to get yellow and then brown and then died.

Exactly my point. I bought the tray because it was the cheapest alternative and I only wanted a temporary filler, they were stuck in the (not particularly good) ground and left to their own resources but they have done so well I decided to keep them.
Box is a tough plant and the only things I have known to actually terminally damage them are waterlogging and droughting of young plants.
The fact you have had three successive failings would lead me to suspect the planting medium, if in pots check for vine weevil larvae, if in the ground check the drainage and general condition of the soil.
In either case I think you'd be batting on a sticky wicket going the legal route as I'm sure the supermarkets would be able to point to many satisfied customers and you would find it extremely difficult to prove liability.
If you still have the latest batch, pot them up in clean soil, in pots of the same size or slightly larger than they came in, put them in a shady place and see do they recover, a common mistake is to pot up small plants into large containers.

Ernest

paddy147 wrote: »

So you are lashing out at Aldi/Lidl,and making accusations and threats of court action even though you bought them in perfect condition/excellent shape (according to your post above)

But theres no way you could be responsible,in any way?

PS-Do you have all your reciepts,as proof of purchase??

Your gonna need all of them for a court case.

I bought plants that looked in perfect condition in the shop. Lots of faulty goods look in perfect condition until you take them home and find they do not work or fail to continue working. Therefore the fact that they looked okay in the shop is irrelevant really. The role of plants is to grow and continue growing at least for some time. These plants did not continue growing - within a few weeks they began to turn yellow and then brown and then died.

The original purpose of my posting here was to see whether I had done anything wrong in handling them. So far I have not seen anything that suggests other than that the plants were faulty in some way.

And, yes, of course I kept the receipts!

paddy147

Ernest wrote: »

I bought plants that looked in perfect condition in the shop. Lots of faulty goods look in perfect condition until you take them home and find they do not work or fail to continue working. Therefore the fact that they looked okay in the shop is irrelevant really. The role of plants is to grow and continue growing at least for some time. These plants did not continue growing - within a few weeks they began to turn yellow and then brown and then died.

The original purpose of my posting here was to see whether I had done anything wrong in handling them. So far I have not seen anything that suggests other than that the plants were faulty in some way.

And, yes, of course I kept the receipts!

So instead of going off on 1 about court cases,why didnt you post all that in your very 1st post?

That you bought the plants in perfect condition and in a healthy state??

To go off on one about taking Lidl/Aldi to court and making unfounded allegations against them,but then later state that you "bought" the plants in perfect condition and a healthy state........well I really dont understand the mentality of that....(you shot yourself in the foot there).


Did you ever stop to look at anything that you "yourself" might be doing wrong??(checking rootball,pot size,soil/medium type,watering,feeding and temp)...as other members have said to you.


Human beings make misstakes and nobody is perfect.






PS-I must remember to sue anyone that sells me a plant,and then if it happens to die 4 or 5 weeks later.:pac::pac:

paddy147

You could be doing something as simple as feeding the plant with the wrong dilution/concentration of liquid feed.Therefore you are burning/killing the plant.Could even be an airborn disease or possible frost damage (if frost/cold was an issue after planting).Therefore,you have no comeback.



Dig up a buxus ball that you last planted,bring it back to either Aldi or Lidl (where ever you bought it).

Bring the reciept for it too,and ask to speak to the shop manager.

Explain what happened and ask to get your money back.

Dont be too upset though,if the manager says he/she will get someone to have a look at the buxus plant to see whether the problem was from outside of the shop and on your side (shops have rights too).



I really dont know why you couldnt have just gone and done this in the 1st place,before posting this thread and going on about court cases.


Simple as that.

Bigmambo

Old thread but for what it's worth, I bought two buxus balls from Aldi in May and both turned yellow and died within two weeks. Will never buy outdoor plants from an indoor supermarket again !

BluesBerry

Ive had 3 buxux's for years in a large container I planted them out in the garden 2 years ago they seemed to be doing fine but the last few weeks they turned yellow maybe it was the heatwave that they didnt like

Someone told me once buxus like the shade

My Potatoes

Is it not just box blight?
Any good gardener will advise you not to plant box because it's so prevalent and, as yet, there is no simple remedy.

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=96

Bigmambo

My Potatoes wrote: »

Is it not just box blight?
Any good gardener will advise you not to plant box because it's so prevalent and, as yet, there is no simple remedy.

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=96

If it was it box blight it struck very quickly. Yellow within a week of purchase and dead within two weeks.
Not sure if this matters but I didn't plant the buxus, just put them on the patio (not near any other hedges).

OilBeefHooked2

Did you water them every day twice a day?.

looksee

Some plants are forgiving and if they droop with drought will revive and be perfectly happy if you water them. Others have only to dry out once - especially in the early days, and they will sulk for a while then wither.

Sonnenblumen

My Potatoes wrote: »

Is it not just box blight?
Any good gardener will advise you not to plant box because it's so prevalent and, as yet, there is no simple remedy.

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=96

We better stop planting potatoes too? A ridiculous not to plant anything?

My Potatoes

A tad off topic but maybe it's best to let the moderator decide:

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

We better stop planting potatoes too?

I've found that potato blight sprays such as Burgundy Mixture are a simple remedy for potato blight. Dithane works too; equally simple.
Though if you are having issues then maybe you should.

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

A ridiculous not to plant anything?

Could you repeat the question? You seem to have grammar issues as well.