RE: Pistacia lentiscus problems?

Being a good consumer in the gardening world really is difficult where-ever we live I think. We Down Under also have similar problems with
plant shops, garden centres, hardware stores, the big chain supermarkets, even petrol stations these days that operate mini-marts and sell plants and flowers too. Plants from these sopurces are all too frequently root-bound, half-dead, got root mealy-bugs etc. Obviousl;y there is a choice not to buy from these sources but where do you find own-grown nurseries these days? They are rare on the ground, especially if you are looking for certain plants and need to deal mail-order. Just last year I bought $175 grafted weeping Jap maple 'Filigree Lace'; it died, one of a pair so I need a replacement. I looked v carefully at the budded wood and easily detected black rot in the cambium layer of the wood which suggested v strongly to me that the grafters knife had been infected, that infection cotrol and hygeine wasn't practised, that quality control at point of sale was dismal - so I took the recently deceased plant back, showed the disease and asked very mildly for a replacement. 9 months later I am still waiting for a response BUT I WON'T GIVE UP.

It would be OK I think to ask the nursery staff/ proprietor to tip the plant out so you can see the root ball, tho' in one of the big chain outlets where staff are so thin on the ground and v poorl;y educated about plants and selling I, too, have sometimes tipped out plants to check the quality for myself.

 

Being good consumers is something we all need to be practising and talking about to others.

 

cheers

 

trevor n.


On Wed 19/05/10 1:05 AM , "Paul Reid" pkssreid@comcast.net sent:

I have to agree with Joe.  In most of my talks with new or fairly inexperienced gardeners, one of the things I advise is to GENTLY pull pots away from the plants if there are roots protruding from the bottom drain holes and to reject those with densely circling roots.  I recently made a mess on the floor of the Community Center where I was giving a talk and demonstrating how to do this without damaging the plant!  Many folks are not near to really fine garden centers, and even fewer are near nurserymen who actually GROW their own stock like Anthony.  I would love to take Anthony on a tour of what we call âBig Boxâ garden centers, or even of some of the smaller chain nurseries who buy their stock from truly MASSIVE growers; he might be more sympathetic.  Perhaps he has never seen the likes of a Hines or Monrovia wholesale grower where the plants stretch for miles and do not receive the kind of personal attention that insures really healthy stock.  And alas, the problem is often that garden centers do not sell stock promptly, and do not have the capability to pot them up to the next size when they do not sell in their season.  People who want to garden, and only have these places available to them, are at a distinct disadvantage, and we simply advise them to make sure they spend their money wisely. 

 

I think we also have a bit of a cultural disconnect here.  I recall trying to squeeze and smell fruit in a small storefront shop in France, and the shopkeeper practically bit my head off!  He told me to point, and he would put what I wanted in a bag!  Here, even at the smallest fruit stand, we wouldnât consider buying produce without examining it, and even requesting a taste, which the stand owner (or even grocery clerk) will always cheerfully supply!  No produce seller, even at Farmerâs Markets, worth his salt is without a pocket knife for quick samples.  We Americans are really a âshow meâ kind of people, and not just in Missouri where that is there state motto!

 

Cheerfully,

Karrie Reid

 

From: owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu [mailto:owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu] On Behalf Of Joseph Seals
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2010 6:26 AM
To: sunshine.works@gmail.com; medit-plants@ucdavis.edu; arneherbs@aol.com
Subject: RE: Pistacia lentiscus problems?

 

Mr. Lyman-Dixon:

 

The prevalence of over-grown plants in garden centers here in the United States is grossly common.  Similar to suggestions given when people buy cars here, we advise that the potential buyer "kick the tires".  Of course, as with any other generalization, there are exceptions to this rule.  You are adamantly one of those exceptions but I wish there were enough such exceptions here to prove the rule.

 

You are, indeed, a civilized businessman and I would be happy to send my students, friends and clients to your establishment with "no precautionary procedures needed". Alas, you're not within a decent drive and I must advise my connections to beware and be prepared.

 

Respectfully,

Joe



Joe Seals
Horticultural Consultant
Pismo Beach, California
Home/Office: 805-295-6039

--- On Tue, 5/18/10, Anthony Lyman-Dixon wrote:


From: Anthony Lyman-Dixon
Subject: RE: Pistacia lentiscus problems?
To: sunshine.works@gmail.com, medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
Date: Tuesday, May 18, 2010, 1:27 AM

I would have no hesitation in throwing anyone who started pulling my plants out of their pots, off the nursery. The implication that the nursery owner has over or under-potted his plants is grossly discourteous. If you donât trust the nursery, donât go there.  It is alarming to see such appalling behavour being promoted on this site. And yes, I do sell Pistacia lentiscus.

 

Anthony Lyman-Dixon

http://www.arneherbs.co.uk

 

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu [mailto:owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu] On Behalf Of Cathe'
Sent: 17 May 2010 17:01
To: TalkingPoints@plantsoup.com
Cc: nancy@winterwarmfarm.net; medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
Subject: Re: Pistacia lentiscus problems?

 

Nan ,

That's because you know plants, and you know not to buy those in flower.
All those pretty flowers may not bring long lived plants. Another plant hits the trash bin.

How many of you pull plants out of the pots to look at the roots before you buy them?
I pulled a fig out of its pot last week at the nursery, and there was no soil, only roots, like a fibrous mat. Not too appealing.

Cathe'
Permaculture Designer, Consultant and Instructor
www.practicalpermaculture.com

On Sat, May 15, 2010 at 9:36 AM, Nan Sterman <TalkingPoints@plantsoup.com> wrote:

Deciduous trees in general are hard to find in Southern California if you don't know where to shop.   

 

Traditional retail nurseries simply put, carry limited tree stock, especially deciduous trees.  

 

They tend to focus more on the plants that people replace more frequently (or find more attractive)  - flowering perennials, annuals, flowering shrubs, and to some extent, flowering trees.  Watch what's in people's carts - not many trees, especially not many deciduous trees.

 

Which reminds me about an interesting experience I had a few weeks ago.   

 

I was driving home from an appointment up in Orange County which is about a 90 minute drive.  For once, I wasn't racing home to pick up children, let the dog out, or anything else, so I stopped at a nursery I've been wanting to visit for years.  They had a really interesting selection of plants, some of which I wasn't familiar with - so of course I had to buy them!

 

As I stood waiting to check out, I looked at other people's carts.  They were filled with plants in bloom - red, orange, yellow, pink, purple....

 

I looked at my cart.  Filled to the brim but not a bloom in sight.  

 

Interesting....

 

Nan

 

On May 15, 2010, at 7:31 AM, <nancy@winterwarmfarm.net> <nancy@winterwarmfarm.net> wrote:

 

Thanks to all who suggested sources. That the tree is so difficult to find in southern California suggests a second question: is there a problem that makes it undesirable or difficult to grow here?

 

Nancy

 

From: owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu [mailto:owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu] On Behalf Of nancy@winterwarmfarm.net
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2010 5:22 PM
To: medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
Subject: Pistacia lentiscus source?

 

Hello

 

Does anyone know where this tree can be purchased? Weâre in southern California but we do mail order too. Thank you.

 

Nancy Mueller

Fallbrook, CA

 

 

 

 

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