Postal

Every time I do an unboxing of an online plant order, I say, "Never again." Today was no exception. I received the box from The Next Gardener, three days later than the USPS estimate. The box looked fine on the outside but inside was the usual scene of chaos. I would rate three of the six plants as initial disappointments. This includes the primary reason for the order, Echeveria 'Rainbow,' the variegated variant of 'Perle von Nurnberg.'

'Rainbow' cost $22.10, and for that price I think it should be more ready for prime time. It is a large plant and I believe it was damaged before it went in the box, not beaten up by the USPS. I had to strip about 15 dead/damaged leaves off of it and potted it up as best I could. Here it is with its cousin 'Perle' that I got about a month ago.

In the background of the above image is the Crassula cv. 'Buddha's Temple' which also did not make a good initial impression. It escaped from its pot inside the box, and it has such a small, dry root system that it was top heavy and toppled over when I tried to put it back in. I'm not going to water the others for a few days, but I will water this one today to try to get it anchored.

Here are all six plants after the unboxing. At lower left is the Pachyphytum 'Apricot Beauty,' which lost all of its leaves on one side during the transit. One good thing about having your succulents delivered by the US Postal Service is you always have lots of loose leaves that you can try to propagate.

In the front center is the Echeveria 'Linda Jean' which arrived in OK condition except for a mangled leaf or two, and next is the top-heavy Crassula that refused to sit in its pot. In the back row, the Echeveria Purpusorums flank the 'Rainbow.' Right out of the box, the Purpusorums were in the best condition of the bunch. I ordered two of them because I have fat fingers and didn't notice until later. I potted up one of them and stuck the other one into the Bonsai Bowl with the three unknowns.

After four experiences, I have to rate ordering succulents online as miserable. But I'm in the middle of Montana and it is the only practical way for me to get certain varieties, such as 'Rainbow.' I placed orders with four different companies, and I'll rate Ramsey's first, Mountain Crest and Plants for Pets tied for second, and The Next Gardener bringing up the rear. Ramseys is the least expensive, their quality is as good or better than the others, and there were no disasters like the 'Apricot Beauty' I got today or the 'Lovely Rose' I got from Mountain Crest five weeks ago. 'Lovely Rose' is still hanging in there, thanks for asking.

Except for situations like charging a premium price for a lopsided 'Rainbow,' it's usually not the companies' fault that it is not a good experience. Shipping plants is a difficult thing to do, and having the US Postal Service as your carrier only complicates the process. (Plants for Pets used UPS.) I have one more plant order that I am expecting. In April, Burpees is sending me strawberries. I'm not worried about the 25 bare roots, but I'm also getting one live plant.

Update April 17: If nothing else, The Next Gardener has responsive customer service. I received a replacement for 'Apricot Beauty' and a replacement is on its way for 'Rainbow.' So that's good. But I'm still nagged by the suspicion that the plants were not in good condition going into the box, particularly 'Rainbow.' I probably will not order from them again, but they do answer their emails.

I would like to patronize local stores, but (as I said) some varieties are only available online. Maybe I'll find Gollum at Home Depot, but most of these on my wish list probably are not there:

• Echeveria Elegans 'Mexican Snowball'
• Echeveria 'Doris Taylor'
• Echeveria pulvinata 'Frosty'
• Echeveria runyonii 'Topsy Turvy'
• Gollum Jade
• Graptovia Fred Ives
• Greenovia aurea variegata
• Kalanchoe humilis 'Desert Surprise'
• Lapidaria margaretae Karoo Rose
• Sempervivum Virgil Ford

Also today, I potted up (6") two of the Monarda (Bee Balm) that I raised from seed. One more is still in a 4" pot. In addition to being a woody shrub it has herbal uses, and I want to put one of them in a barrel outside the greenhouse along with other herbs. The other one or two Monarda I might plant in my yard. Supposedly they are hardy.

The pepper plants are ready to pot up from seed starters to 4", that is assuming they recover from the infestation of aphids that I tried to smother with soap today. Others that might be ready to get 4" pots are the latest thyme attempt and some green onion sprouts. As I move up to larger pots, space inside the garage becomes more difficult to find. The monarda above took the place of two rosemary plants. They are under grow lights with a sliver of sunlight from the south window. The two rosemary along with two mint plants "volunteered" to move to the greenhouse to test their hardiness. I'm not planning on turning on the heat for two more weeks. The temperature isn't supposed to get much below freezing the next week or so, and I piled straw around them. If they don't survive, I've got plenty more where they came from.