Every time I buy a house plant, which is very frequently, I have a thought that lingers: but will it grow? There isn’t any way that I can easily tip the plant out of the pot to check the root mass, which is an excellent indication of its future longevity.
Studying the visible parts of the plant closely, peering at both top and underside of the pot, checking for pests and bugs – that’s about as far as it goes. If the retailer is approachable I do ask how long the plant has been in the store and make a decision based on that balanced by the price of the plant. From my experience, the longer the plant has been in the shop the less likely it is to survive.
I always check out the Sick Plant Stand to see what’s been marked down and some houseplants are pretty keen to be revived. With a change in potting mix and better growing conditions I have resuscitated Philodendron Black Cardinals, Congos and pedatums very successfully, but have found Alocasia anything to be really unwilling to recover.
I buy a lot of plants from Bunnings and have found that if I can get to there after 6pm on a Thursday they will have a new delivery of plants ready to put out for sale Friday morning. The staff there are very nice and don’t mind me diving into the racks to see what’s new and to snag the best of a new thing. Often there isn’t anything I want so I’ll head over the Sick Plants and snag a bunch of marked down plants which are being off loaded to make room for the new arrivals.
I have decided that I shall keep track of every plant I buy and which store it comes from – easy enough to do with a great app called Garden Tags – I use that like a catalogue that I can go and search to see if I have already bought a particular plant, as well as post update photos of growth progress. Bunnings plant purchases – I can have the receipt emailed or SMS text it to my phone so I have a permanent record to attach to the plant photo.
So what is the Bunnings grow guarantee? Pretty simple, and it’s on their website: Bunnings Perfect Plant Promise – all our plants are guaranteed for 12 months, so if you’re not 100% happy, return your plant (with receipt) and we’ll refund it. Excluded are seedlings which include flower and vegetable seedlings as well as potted colour as these are short lived plants that are not expected to live for more than 3-5 months in the garden.
I had a look at my local garden centre and their grow guarantee isn’t so generous: At XX Garden Centre your satisfaction with the items you purchase is extremely important to us, with this in mind we spend lots of time sourcing only the very highest quality plants and products. Our Guarantee lasts for 12 months from the date of purchase. In the unlikely event our trees, climbers, roses or shrubs fail to grow, we will gladly replace them. Simply return the plant with proof of purchase receipt. Excludes seedlings, seasonal plants and indoor plants. XX Garden Centre reserves the right to refuse replacement at their discretion.
That’s disappointing! I don’t get the chance to check the roots before I take the plant home – and yes, a couple have not survived, and they aren’t the cheapest retailer, either. I did buy this marvellous Euphorbia trigona from them for $70! In my hands it has done very well, I am delighted to say, but it was potted in horrid peat which I don’t understand at all. I repotted it into cactus mix and it is growing beautifully.
Another boutique in Hobart CBD, which is not a garden centre but does sell lovely, interesting plants, has this on their website: If you have bought a plant which you are unhappy with for any reason you must contact us within 7 days of purchase. We will not accept any plant returns after 7 days, they are living and once you take ownership of them it is your responsibility to keep them alive.
I find this an interesting approach. I learned the hard way: I bought 2 Alocasia Stingrays from them and both died a horrid death 3-4 weeks after purchase. I figured the plants should have lasted longer than that, especially considering the price. They disagreed and said it was up to me to keep it alive. Hmmm. I do like the range of plants they get but I am far more cautious now. Now every time I buy a plant from them, as soon as I get it home I take a photo, tip out the plant from the potting mix and take a photo of the root mass and make a judgement on the quality of the potting mix. If I think the root mass is too small for the plant’s survival I repot it, call the store and will go have a chat about a replacement or refund.
Go check out your local plant retailer’s grow guarantee – test it out and be sure to keep the receipts of all the plants you buy.
