Fruit plants from one of those pound shops

**burnie** · 02-04-2018, 01:17 PM

Good luck with them, the ones I saw in a cheap shop the other week were dead, at least yours are alive and look healthy.

**Muddy_Boots** · 02-04-2018, 01:26 PM

Originally posted by burnie View Post

Good luck with them, the ones I saw in a cheap shop the other week were dead, at least yours are alive and look healthy.

I bought the 2 Redcurrants last year from the same shop, went in a rival firm and like you found in your shop they were all dead after putting out shoots which is such a shame.

**nickdub** · 02-04-2018, 02:04 PM

I daresay you already know this, but for others who may not :-

1) check the roots first, if they look dry a drink is the priority - I've been known to scoop up water out of puddles in the car park where the plant looked desperate - don't assume the compost is wet because water runs out of the bottom - re-wetting dry compost can take a while , so stand the roots in a bucket , bowl or saucepan of water for a couple of hours if unsure.
2) unbundle the roots and try to tease them out gently with your fingers - one plant I bought recently from a cheapo shop had good roots but they were folded in half and the rubber band used to hold them - obviously they need to be put back in to normal shape
3) Plant them up in compost in a sufficiently large pot and if the top looks dry put a clear plastic bag over it - depending on the plant, you may want to put it somewhere coolish - room temperature in a central heated house may be a bit too warm - obviously avoid frost.

These plants should be regarded as invalids requiring hospital type treatment for a few weeks, but after that, if they grow OK, you can go back to treating them normally.

I've had several success along with the usual failures from cheap plants eg I know have a clump of what was sold as "black Bamboo" by Wilkinson I think, which I thought was dead for a long while and now is about 8' high and about 10' in diameter - so no requirement to buy canes these days :-)

**Kirk** · 02-04-2018, 02:59 PM

I see you have used the trick of picking ones that actually have green growth on them, so a fair chance they will survive/live.

I have found that blackcurrants grow fairly happily from a cutting put in a jar of water. So I now have 5 more then I anticipated. Where I am has a sort of communial garden where you can help yourself.

So I took half a dozen bits of black currant and now have twigs with roots and leaves.

**muck lover** · 03-04-2018, 06:20 PM

I’ve treated myself to a whitecurdant and a red currant from b and q today. �2 and �3 and lively strong plants. They come wrapped in miles of what seems like black cling film but they have healthy strong stems and buds. I agree over �8 from mail order companies is a bit steep. Not that I ‘needed’ more currants but I could not resist them. I’ve potted them up whilst I think of a spot for them. The red currant might be going into a big pot but for now they will be happy in the pots I’ve put them into.

**Bluenowhere** · 03-04-2018, 06:47 PM

Ooh I really fancy some white currants but when I looked in the local garden center it was �10 for a dead looking potted stick which was a bit steep for my budget, were they on sale Muck it is that the normal price?

**Muddy_Boots** · 03-04-2018, 08:14 PM

Originally posted by muck lover View Post

I�ve treated myself to a whitecurdant and a red currant from b and q today. �2 and �3 and lively strong plants. They come wrapped in miles of what seems like black cling film but they have healthy strong stems and buds. I agree over �8 from mail order companies is a bit steep. Not that I �needed� more currants but I could not resist them. I�ve potted them up whilst I think of a spot for them. The red currant might be going into a big pot but for now they will be happy in the pots I�ve put them into.

I will be hot-footing it down to my local B & Q in the morning to see if they have any Whitecurrants.

**muck lover** · 03-04-2018, 08:28 PM

I wish I was on commission.
No it wasn’t a sale. The plants are gooseberries currants grapevines blueberries and prices �2 �3 and �4. They look like very strong plants. Currants have three or four quite thick branches with strong buds ready to break. Definitely better than the pound ones and will not need coddled at all. They have a good rootball with a bit of soil around them tightly wrapped in the black cling film. I did soak the roots a bit before potting up but really don’t think I needed to. There’s no question as to whether they are alive or not the way there is with the pound shop ones. I was really impressed.

**Jungle Jane** · 04-04-2018, 01:37 PM

Keep an eye on any plants you buy in,some insects overwinter in the compost in the pots,check leaves aren�t being eaten. I introduced a strawberry/rose sawfly into my garden a couple of years ago (from Homebase) it was terrible but easy to cope with if you catch things early.

**Muddy_Boots** · 04-04-2018, 08:13 PM

Originally posted by muck lover View Post

I wish I was on commission.
No it wasn�t a sale. The plants are gooseberries currants grapevines blueberries and prices �2 �3 and �4. They look like very strong plants. Currants have three or four quite thick branches with strong buds ready to break. Definitely better than the pound ones and will not need coddled at all. They have a good rootball with a bit of soil around them tightly wrapped in the black cling film. I did soak the roots a bit before potting up but really don�t think I needed to. There�s no question as to whether they are alive or not the way there is with the pound shop ones. I was really impressed.

Just been to B&Q and found the fruit bushes and you are right they are an absolute bargain,

so bought 4 x whitecurrants @ �3 each, 2 x yellow Raspberries @ �3 and 3 x Redcurrants @ �2 had to be really strict with myself not to buy more.

Tempted to go back and get some Blueberries as the stems on all of the fruit bushes are really thick and all are showing signs of good strong buds. The rootballs are really good as well and are all damp as they are open at the top and the last rain storm had watered them well.

**muck lover** · 04-04-2018, 09:01 PM

You will have tons of fruit in two or three years.

**Muddy_Boots** · 04-04-2018, 09:43 PM

Originally posted by muck lover View Post

You will have tons of fruit in two or three years.

That's what I'm hoping for as plot 2 is my fruit plot and last year I planted 28 raspberry canes and had a really good crop, this year I have another 12 canes of the red raspberries 2 x 6 of another 2 varieties (Valentina and Glen Prosen).

On the plot at the moment there are 6 Gooseberry bushes 1 x green one of unknown variety (a gift from another plot holder) and 5 x Xenia (pink Gooseberry) from B&Q last year, 2 x Tayberries, 1 x Loganberry, 1 x Blackcurrant (Big Ben), 2 x Redcurrants, 1 x Pinkcurrent, 1 x Whitecurrent and 4 x Allgold (yellow Raspberries)

Didn't have any netting up and the birds didn't attack them but this year they may get wise to the fact they are there.

**Muddy_Boots** · 05-04-2018, 10:54 PM

Just been down again and bought two 'Black' Raspberries and 3 x Blueberries so thats it for now.

**It never rains..it pours** · 06-04-2018, 01:19 PM

Having brought a plum tree last week in similar root wrapping for �6, have dragged the old man down B&Q again this week for some fruit bushes with his discount card. Have to say the roots look good with new white fibres and buds forming

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Fruit plants from one of those pound shops

Fruit plants from one of those pound shops

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