Saturday morning with the gnome

[Bensmum]

Why is Dicky Jackson and his irritating laugh on when the garden is well and truly closed for the winter? It's just advanced plant orders, bulbs and his usual flogging of his Flower Power with five star reviews. Thankfully no T callers for him to patronise. Jules B is making it watchable though. :flower:

 

[Mrs James]

ah but i wouldn't have missed those 'fairies' lights for the world

 

[Bensmum]

ah but i wouldn't have missed those 'fairies' lights for the world

Yes, they'll be with me in 3 to 5 working days. Can't wait to get those.

 

[ERICS MUM]

Once again they are flogging plug plants way too early. Advance deliveries for w/b 7 March means they've got to be grown on indoors or a greenhouse for several weeks until safe to plant outside at the end of May.

It's not that simple to keep these plants indoors for weeks. Apart from the space needed to keep so many in 3 inch pots in good light (i.e. window sills) to keep them compact and green, they need to be kept in a damp atmosphere to avoid red spider mite. You should also pinch them out so they bush. Hard work and possibly disappointing results.

As far as I can remember, RJ does not cover these issues.

 

[winetimeisfinetime]

Well at least it isn't the 'Laughung Gnome' Craig Rowe !

 

[Wrongsideof40]

I won't be buying anymore plants from QVC. All the ones I've bought in the past have been rubbish. Definitely not been worth the money. Maybe I'm not green fingered!:flower::flower::flower:

 

[Breeze]

I really can't understand why anyone buys plants from QVC.
They'd get far better value & better plants from one of the many reputable mail order nurseries.

So I suspect they sell most to people who don't have a lot of gardening experience & unfairly take advantage of them. By the time they've realised it's a waste of money their 30 days will be up. Most of the nurseries give reasonable guarantees anyway & far more for your money.

 

[Lottie]

Shucks I missed it. :grin:
Had a nasty encounter with a box of all bran and ended up sleeping through 9am.

 

[Bensmum]

I won't be buying anymore plants from QVC. All the ones I've bought in the past have been rubbish. Definitely not been worth the money. Maybe I'm not green fingered!:flower::flower::flower:

Yes me too. Richard needs to ply his trade here in Manchester. I always start off planting lots of pots for my mostly decked back garden, thinking they're going to "go on flowering until the Autumn". It all goes well until July and then it rains constantly and they all rot before flowering to their full potential. They might do great in Jersey where they started their life, but in Manchester they have no chance.

 

[clairella]

Woooos got any time for gardening??......I spend far toooo much time on here!!:grin:

 

[Brissles]

I had never heard of this bloke til I watched qvc - if he was any good surely he would have made national tele or at the very least been on Gardeners Question Time.

I agree though, suddenly he is on all year round instead of the usual April - September stint. Irritates the pants off me.

 

[dottiebird]

He's just heard what you've been saying about him, and his answer to you all is......................

 

[Rentochops]

Yes me too. Richard needs to ply his trade here in Manchester. I always start off planting lots of pots for my mostly decked back garden, thinking they're going to "go on flowering until the Autumn". It all goes well until July and then it rains constantly and they all rot before flowering to their full potential. They might do great in Jersey where they started their life, but in Manchester they have no chance.

I'm afraid this isn't even true it chucks it down here, we don't get the frost, but we're not that behind Manchester for annual rainfall. There are lots of green houses here ( and in Guernsey) though! I never buy plants from QVC you wouldn't get them in the nurseries here that early!

 

[ERICS MUM]

He's on again now, flogging busy lizzies for March. This is absolutely ridiculous, busy lizzies grow so quickly -plug plants potted on at the end of April will have buds by the end of May.

£12 plus p&p for 5 plants He claims they are a special cascading type, but all b/lizzie will cascade from baskets as they grow.

Now he's peddling his Flower Power and starts off saying it can be used during and after the growing season. How ridiculous, why would you feed a plant at a time when it's dormant ? A waste of the feed and a risk of polluting the soil. You could get the same results a lot cheaper from buying a box of potash from a garden centre or even B&Q.

 

[Bensmum]

I'm afraid this isn't even true it chucks it down here, we don't get the frost, but we're not that behind Manchester for annual rainfall. There are lots of green houses here ( and in Guernsey) though! I never buy plants from QVC you wouldn't get them in the nurseries here that early!

I'm sooooo envious of you living in Jersey. Been for loads of holidays there and it's my favourite place in the world, especially Beauport. Nothing to do with the thread I know.

 

[Moth]

If his flower power was any good at making things grow, why doesn't he sprinkle it on his cornflakes in the morning? Or is he concentrating on making other things grow, with his hands stuck in his pockets like that!?

It's far too soon to be flogging garden stuff. I doubt it's for any real gardening reason they're doing it and more because they've got nothing else to sell. Like with the Christmas in July thing, once summer gets here (hopefully!) we'll all be sick and tired of hearing about plants and flowers.

 

[Breeze]

He's on again now, flogging busy lizzies for March.

£12 plus p&p for 5 plants

How much??????

One of the mail order nurseries I use every year sells 120 plug plants for less than that.

 

[lilylurknomore]

I reckon they're starting so early this year as they want to sell more than last year. Doesn't he harp on about something like 8 million plants sold last year, I bet they're trying to beat that.

I have succumbed to his pretty pictures in the past. The 'plants' (and I use that term loosely as they're usually a leaf) arrive as the smallest things you've ever seen, need repotting, so you've got the expense of all the compost, pots, trays, hassle and time on top of that and I've never been that successful with them, have even lost as many as half in the past.

I have also noticed that over the last year the prices have really hiked up, they used to sell a lot more for the price. Used to be in quantities like 36-48 and now they're in 12's for the same price!

He also doesn't really seem to have a clue about how to grow them, never comes up with handy tips or anything, at least when Charlie Dimmock is on, you actually learn something about the plants!!

Nope, not going to be stupid this year. I will buy my plants locally where they will last me all summer like they're supposed to from QVC but never do!!

 

[Suki 1]

I had never heard of this bloke til I watched qvc - if he was any good surely he would have made national tele or at the very least been on Gardeners Question Time.

I agree though, suddenly he is on all year round instead of the usual April - September stint. Irritates the pants off me.

He used to have a gardening column in the News of the World.