EU plant suppliers

looksee · 23-01-2021 12:24pm #1

Now that it has become so difficult to get plants from the UK, should we start a list of EU plant suppliers that might be worth investigating -

https://www.pflanzmich.de/

strandroad · 23-01-2021 12:31pm

gardens4you.ie is an Irish front to a Dutch retailer. I used them quite a few times especially for less typical fruit varieties with very good outcomes, but some gardeners on social media were unhappy with the quality of larger plants as compared to local garden centres, saying that travel affected them or that they wouldn't choose that plant in person.

strandroad · 23-01-2021 12:36pm

https://www.bulbi.nl/en/
All kinds of bulbs. Also Dutch. Used them twice, no problems.

Harry Palmr · 23-01-2021 1:20pm

Gardens4you I used once. Never again. The stock was shagged by the time it arrived.

looksee · 23-01-2021 2:59pm

There's one of the dutch firms that sells awful stuff, they used do big luridly coloured ads for often quite unlikely plants, never had any good out of them. Maybe they are gone now, they were not up to much.

23-01-2021 5:02pm

Used by Charles Dowding

https://www.bingenheimersaatgut.de/en/info/en/about-us/about-us.html
Well he used to until brexit

delta_bravo · 23-01-2021 9:22pm

I've ordered stuff from the garden shop.ie and found them to be very good. Quick delivery, they're based in laois. My only gripe is so much stuff is out of stock but clearly a sign of high demand.

looksee · 23-01-2021 9:38pm

Many of the Irish suppliers are excellent, but as you say, they don't have stock, or they have so many orders their websites are only open for a couple of hours a week - Future Forests and Seedsavers - for example.

Thud · 24-01-2021 4:04pm

Future forests get some of their stuff from France sought be worth trying that direction

The Continental Op · 24-01-2021 5:15pm

Thud wrote: »

Future forests get some of their stuff from France sought be worth trying that direction

They are limiting sales by only having their website taking sales at certain times of the week rest of the time everything is showing out of stock.

Andrea B. · 24-01-2021 6:44pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Gardens4you I used once. Never again. The stock was shagged by the time it arrived.

What had you ordered?
In Galway and looking to order up a good cross section of strawberry plants.

looksee · 24-01-2021 7:19pm

Just tried Future Forests, website is now open. I had around 7 items plus some alternatives. I ended up with two in my basket. So I have given up on that idea.

Bill Hook · 24-01-2021 7:21pm

Andrea B. wrote: »

What had you ordered?
In Galway and looking to order up a good cross section of strawberry plants.

You could try Gardensforlife.ie in Roscommon.

http://gardensforlife.ie/strawberry-plants-bare-root/

I haven't got strawberries from them but I got other stuff and it all arrived in good condition.

Thud · 24-01-2021 11:20pm

The Continental Op wrote: »

They are limiting sales by only having their website taking sales at certain times of the week rest of the time everything is showing out of stock.

I meant French websites

Cortter · 24-01-2021 11:45pm

A friend sent me a large parcel of seeds and plants from uk
And customs did not stop them

Harry Palmr · 24-01-2021 11:46pm

Andrea B. wrote: »

What had you ordered?
In Galway and looking to order up a good cross section of strawberry plants.

Variety of pollinator friendly perennials.

24-01-2021 11:49pm

Bill Hook wrote: »

You could try Gardensforlife.ie in Roscommon.

http://gardensforlife.ie/strawberry-plants-bare-root/

I haven't got strawberries from them but I got other stuff and it all arrived in good condition.

Martin is sold out of a lot of stuff at this stage.
Bought 30 strawberry from him

My second year buying from him. Well priced and good quality. Plus he's always willing to answer any questions.

_Brian · 25-01-2021 9:56am

strandroad wrote: »

gardens4you.ie is an Irish front to a Dutch retailer. I used them quite a few times especially for less typical fruit varieties with very good outcomes, but some gardeners on social media were unhappy with the quality of larger plants as compared to local garden centres, saying that travel affected them or that they wouldn't choose that plant in person.

I got a selection of plants on an offer from them last year. They were rubbish when they arrived. I photographed them and complained amd they sent out another pack which were marginally better.

I’ve gotten bulbs from them that have been fine.

Bill Hook · 25-01-2021 10:38am

Another source of plants worth checking out is NeighbourFood.ie. My local markets have plants most weeks.

28-01-2021 11:10am

I bought a dozen plants from Gardens4you last year and only TWO survived. They were all mostly bare roots so I gave them time to finally crop up but nothing...

Delivery took nearly four weeks.

I just ordered another dozen plants from theGardenShop, so hopefully I'll have better luck there.

Thud · 28-01-2021 3:54pm

I've used Beechwood up North a few times without any issues:

https://3fatpigs.co.uk/

looksee · 29-01-2021 8:59am

Thud wrote: »

I've used Beechwood up North a few times without any issues:

https://3fatpigs.co.uk/

£8.99 for a common stinging nettle!! I'm a millionaire!

Seriously though they are a bit expensive for quite ordinary plants?

jaffa20 · 29-01-2021 11:28am

looksee wrote: »

£8.99 for a common stinging nettle!! I'm a millionaire!

Seriously though they are a bit expensive for quite ordinary plants?

The trees are quite reasonable. I'm very tempted

Thud · 29-01-2021 2:03pm

looksee wrote: »

£8.99 for a common stinging nettle!! I'm a millionaire!

Seriously though they are a bit expensive for quite ordinary plants?

if you buy multiples (hedging ) they are good value

Gamb!t · 29-01-2021 7:34pm

Are there any good supplier sites for pond plants that reduce nitrates?

looksee · 11-03-2021 10:36am

Spent a couple of hours ordering from www.willemvanherreweghe.be on their very clutsy website. I had had to register (as a private individual), giving a huge amount of information about myself. I had searched the site to see if they were wholesale only but could not find anything beyond a rather ambiguous sentence about collecting or arranging for delivery, not at all specific. In the end I had to confirm the order still trying to find what the delivery situation was. More ambiguous messages.

I emailed them and got an instant reply (late evening) saying they only deliver wholesale to Ireland, you have to collect private orders.

TL/DR: don't bother with
www.willemvanherreweghe.be

Thud · 11-03-2021 3:04pm

I found the same problem on several German sites after this thread. Great stock but only find out they don't deliver to Ireland after registering.

I did order some montmorency cherry trees and a couple of small plants from this French site:
https://www.pepinieres-huchet.com/boutique/
The package was in the postal system for about two weeks so was worried they would dry out but the smaller plants survived (plastic wrap) and the cherry trees look to be developing buds now.

11-03-2021 10:14pm

I’ve used gardens4you once. I was lulled by their brilliant stock that no one else seemed to have but my plants arrived half dead and covered in aphids. Maybe it was just a once off bad experience but I haven’t used them since.

looksee · 11-03-2021 10:24pm

Any time I go onto a website and see illustrations like the ones on the opening page of Gardens4you - the section pics marked 'Popular' and 'New' are enhanced/ photoshopped pics, and a lot of their photos have way too much saturation. To me that's a sign of a poor outlet and I would not bother. I have not ordered from them based on their website pics. They are not the only ones that do it, you will see similar stuff on Amazon. The majority of Irish suppliers do not go in for this exaggerated nonsense, in fact I can't think of any others that do.

tiredcity · 11-03-2021 11:38pm

I love Kilmurray Nursery - amazing perennials etc. North Wexford based. They're currently doing sun and shade boxes which arrived perfect for me the other day. Most of their stock isn't currently available but should be soon I'd say.

looksee · 10-10-2022 7:16pm

I was looking for a particular plant, a Lonicera Aureoreticulata, but I could not find one anywhere. They are available in UK but of course that is not an option. I found a company in Poland that were selling them so I ordered one, plus a Miscanthus Morning Light and a Hydrangea. They were on the site priced (obviously) in Zlotys (PLN). It came to 105 Zloty/ PLN which translated to €22 including postage. A bargain! They just came, having been posted on 6th (in future would order on Monday or the weekend so they are not in transit over a weekend). They were advertised as 1L pots. Have their plant passports. They could not send me an Amelanchier for technical reasons relating to EU regs so obviously the stick to the rules.

For the price they are excellent. The Lonicera is well grown, half a dozen stems and a pot full of roots just starting to circle the bottom of the pot. It is a very vigorous honeysuckle so might be expected to be doing well, The top 6 inches of the longest stem had died off but I clipped it back and the rest is fine and healthy. The Miscanthus is a clump of abut a dozen or so healthy shoots with lots of root, not a big plant but another season will have it a good size. The hydrangea looks like a one year well grown cutting with a new stem coming from the base, looks healthy and fine but needs growing on for 12 months before planting out.

This is the site https://wedrowski.pl/en/

They also included a package of fertilizer pellets (I pesume that's what they are, that's what they look like but everything is in Polish). Also a freeby pack of mixed annual seeds bee friendly. Again I assume. The word bee appears on the packet in english and lots of little flower drawings. The site mostly translates into English, easy to use. Not a vast selection of plants, but not bad either.