Review by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Plantify.co.uk is the premier plant specialist shop in the UK and they pride themselves on selling substantial British-grown plants in their natural season that will thrive in your garden.
All their plants are 'grown hard' and are overwintered in the UK and while Plantify do sell plants all year they will never force a plant out of its natural season.
Each plant is labeled, so even if the plant is not in flower, you will be able to ensure that the correct plant is placed for you to enjoy when it comes into bloom.
Plantify's unique packing system and fast courier delivery ensures that plants will arrive in the best condition (and the protected inner packaging makes it easy to gift). Delivery times are about five working days from order, though my plants arrived there very next day.
The soil in the containers, in which the plants arrived, was covered with a thick layer of “bark” mulch and in addition to that the entire pot (not the plant) was wrapped in plastic material. The moisture retention thus is second to none and plants will stay moist for a long time this way.
My plants, Rosmarinus officinalis 'Tuscan Blue' (Rosemary) and Convolvulus cneorum aka Silverbush, the two which I had asked to receive for this review, and Callistemon 'Inferno' aka Bottlebrush, which the PR agent for the company chose for me as a third specimen, arrived, as said, in less than 24 hours, and in extremely good order. Had I gotten them from a garden center myself and got them home, even in a car, which I do not possess, they would have certainly gotten damaged, even if only slightly. They did not coming by carrier from Plantify.
The plants are very strong specimen the kind one rarely sees in any garden center and the Rosemary was (and still is) in fact in flower.
The Silverbush and the Rosemary will still be OK for a while even in the pot in which they came while the Bottlebrush I should be re-potting into a larger container very soon indeed (when it stops raining for a while).
If the specimen plants received and the packaging are, which I believe so, the standard then using plantify.co.uk to source plants is a great way to go. No hassle traveling to and fro the garden center and plants arrive unharmed.
Verdict: 5 out of 5 for plants, delivery and packaging.
© 2013
