Have I bought a stick?

[AngeB]

So I'm new to this growing stuff business and have no green fingers at all; I bought what claimed to be a loganberry bush (a stick in some compost) and have nurtured it a little with plenty of water, sunshine and bonemeal, but looking at it now it doesn't look like anything's happening and I'm worried that I've just been nurturing firewood. Does anyone have any ideas? Am I just being impatient, it's only been 3 months?

[Green Aura]

You could try snapping a little bit off the top of your "stick" - if it comes of cleanly it's probably dead but if it bends rather than breaking there's still some life there - although I can't think why it's done nothing in 3 months!

If you got it from a reputable place they should replace it for you.

[MKG]

A loganberry is a blackberry hybrid. Try and stop a blackberry from growing!!!! At a reasonable guess, I'd say it's dead and was dead when you bought it - go back and ask for another. Any reputable centre won't argue, on the grounds that it's bloody difficult not to establish the plant if it was viable in the first place.

Mike

[John Headstrong]

check the bottom of the plant, I grabbed some blackberrys going cheap a while back, no life from the stick itself but there are now plenty of life and new plants from the roots

[AngeB]

Thanks guys - the verdict is definitely dead . I snapped a bit off and it was very dry and brittle and tried to break it off further down and it came out completely from the root. I'm not sure I can go to B&Q without stick evidence, so I guess I'll leave the root in the compost and see if anything happens. Something else did start growing in the pot but I pulled it out thinking it was a weed

[Green Aura]

Oh well a pot in a corner for a while won't hurt. But if it doesn't show any signs of regrowth in a few weeks I'd still take it back if you have the receipt. Or at least ask their customer services if you go in again.

[Silver Ether]

I think I would be inclined to take it back put it on their desk and say ... I dont like this stick you sold me so I shall give it back as an unwanted gift ... just for self satisfaction ... you never know they might just feel nice and offer a replacement if not pop a lable of it saying dead stick and leave ...

[Thomzo]

Personally I never buy any plant from a DIY shed or supermarket that I can't see in full leaf. They really don't know how to look after plants. You can get some super bargains as they seem to think that all plants are annuals and sell them off cheap once they've finished flowering.

Zoe

[AngeB]

Yeah I think I've learned a lesson there Zoe, though luckily not an expensive one :-) In Bristol there's this most bazaar garden centre that has the most neglected plants; tomato plants just left to droop and tangle with one another and bean plants dried up and sad, and yet prices are not reduced. I've been going for a while because they do nice paninis in the cafe, but what always amazes me is that the place is still in business. They also have these life-size brass naked ladies for 8K that are still there after years, it really is the most bazaar place. I was hoping to pick up some bargains there recently but no luck unfortunately. Sorry for the complete irrelevant tangent, but as someone who knows nothing about growing things I am learning all sorts of things. I naively thought that someone who sells something would know lots about what they're selling

Ange

(loving the Pratchett quote Silver Ether; big fan :-))

[Thomzo]

Ange, there's one like that near here in Swindon. It's quite fun to go on a plant hunt there. If you can find a plant that is a) alive, b) has a label so that you can identify it and c) has a price on it, then it's such a rareity that it's worth buying. Some places just don't get it. It's amazing how they keep going.

Zoe