How we send our plants to you

Here is a preview of our mail order process, from picking the plants out from our poly tunnel, through preparing them for boxing up with the plants snuggled in their boxes ready for sending out. The vast majority of our plants are sold in 9 cm (3.5 inch) diameter pots (sometime 7 cm early in the season) for you to grow on to maturity. They very often fair better than larger plants as they will adapt to your conditions as you grow them on. The size of the plants will vary during the growing season, and may be smaller or larger than those pictured here. We sometimes cut plants back to fit in the boxes, but at no detriment to them. 

We secure the plants in their pots with biodegradable tape and sometimes newspaper to keep the root balls and compost in the pots. This should be removed before planting out or potting up.  The fourth picture shows how we pack for courier delivery, for smaller Royal Mail parcels we prepare the plants in the same way, but pack them and secure them carefully on their sides. Pots are then held in position in the box with canes and tape, reducing the possibility of damage if the box gets tipped over or shaken about. 

Like most nurseries, we have an army of slugs and snails determined to get at our plants. This means you may receive a plant with a nibbled leaf or two, we try to trim these but will leave as much leaf area on the plants so as not to deprive them of the ability to photosynthesize. Once the plants are in your care you can use your favourite deterrent, though we discourage the use of slug pellets. 

Unless otherwise indicated our plants are supplied in the following pot sizes according to category (Dimensions refer to either the pot diameter (cm) or volume (litre);

• Exotics/Conservatory & House Plants, Succulents: 9 cm 
• Hardy Perennials, Ferns and Grasses: 1 litre (approx 12 cm diameter)
• Hardy Shrubs and Climbers: 1.5 or 2 litre