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On Thu, 09 Jun 2011 10:57:14 -0400, Boron Elgar
> wrote:

>On Thu, 09 Jun 2011 08:40:06 -0600, Janet Bostwick
> wrote:
>
>>>

>>
>>I shop Costco and one other store that has good prices. I just don't
>>see the point in reading ads and running here and there to catch a
>>special and burning the gas to traipse all over town. I get the best
>>looking, in the best condition, fruit, veggies and meat at Costco.
>>Period. Condition and looks are very important to me. For things I
>>want in smaller quantity or things that Costco doesn't carry, I shop
>>Winco.
>>You can't beat Costco for the garden center values in the spring. The
>>annuals and perennials are outstanding in price and quality. Stuff
>>moves through the store so quickly the plants just don't have time to
>>lose quality.
>>I shop Costco for glasses and OTC drugs and supplements.
>>The price and quality of men's jeans can't be beat. The spice aisle
>>has excellent value.
>>We get all our gas there. With our Executive membership we get an
>>additional 4 percent off the listed price in the form of a year-end
>>rebate.
>>Janet US

>
>
>I second everything you mention and add the exemplary customer
>service.
>
>We just had an air conditioner fail and wanted to take it in for
>service, but could not find the receipt. We went to Costco to see if
>they could give us a copy. Instead, Costco told us to bring it back
>to them. They refunded our *full purchase price*. The unit was over 5
>years old and just out of warranty. We were very up front about the
>age of the thing, too, and they verified it with their own computer
>records.
>
>I love that place.
>
>Boron


I second Janet too and totlaly agree with Boron. COSTCO is really our
mecca. On an island with 200,000 max, we don'thave the many
competitive stores mentioned in the thread. COSTCO is so up to date
compared to our other stores from TVs and their book selection and on
and on.... the gas price! Egads- that is worth it and we also get 4%
back. Their pharmacy, on this island is far superior to the grouchy
inept Walmart pharmacy. I think their entire staff is a cut above all
others. I love COSTCO and have been a happy member since it opened 20
years ago.

end of happy rant...

aloha,
Cea
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On Fri, 10 Jun 2011 08:13:32 -0400, "Nancy Young"
> wrote:

>Giusi wrote:
>> "Nancy Young" <
>> ha scritto nel messaggio
>>
>>> And those darned Marcona (sp) almonds. Grrr.
>>>

>>
>> And some multigrain chips that look like Doritos but taste like
>> buttery heaven.

>
>Great, another thing I need to look for. Come to think of it, that might
>just happen today.
>
>nancy


And have you tried that Biscotti they sell? Great for dessert snacks
too.

aloha,
Cea
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"Janet Bostwick" > wrote in message
news
> On Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:42:27 -0400, Brooklyn1 <Gravesend1> wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 10 Jun 2011 06:29:38 -0600, Janet Bostwick
> wrote:
>>
>>>On Thu, 09 Jun 2011 21:13:09 -0400, Brooklyn1 <Gravesend1> wrote:
>>>
>>>snip
>>>>
>>>>A real master gardener wouldn't be buying plants at any grocery
>>>>store/department store. I buy plants at major plant nurseries that
>>>>actually grow everything they sell and plants are their only business.
>>>>I mostly patronize these two:
>>>>http://www.storysnursery.com/
>>>>http://www.schoharienurseries.com/
>>>
>>>Let me make it more clear. My interest is in annuals (petunias, etc)
>>>and perennials (peonies and the like) I don't buy trees and shrubs --
>>>
>>>except I notice the Christmas trees at Christmas time are a good
>>>value.

>>
>>Well, yeah, but they're dead. You really should go to a real nursery
>>and buy a live Christmas tree each year. This Christmas tree is so
>>naturallly gorgeous it needs no make up:
>>http://i55.tinypic.com/2v96e8j.jpg
>>
>>>If I wanted a tree/shrub, I would want something specific and
>>>then I would go to an actual nursery. I did say in my original post
>>>that I was talking about annuals and perennials.

>>
>>Annuals and perennials are specific. What makes you think those
>>nurseries don't grow annuals and perenniels, they do, in their own
>>fields and greenhouses, and a much larger selection, they are true to
>>type and far better quality than those mistreated sad things at
>>department store garden centers. And let me make it more clear, trees
>>and shrubs are indeed perennials... you're not much of a gardener not
>>to know that. You obviously neglected to look over those web sites.
>>Department store garden centers are fine for buying gardening supplies
>>(tools) but I don't recommend buying live plants at those places. Live
>>plants are a huge committment, you'll need to live with them a long
>>time, they'll probably outlive you, and it will be years invested
>>before you realize that it's not what you bargained for... looking for
>>plant bargains indicates a penny wise dollar fool. Live plants are
>>not something one ought to settle for... even with annuals one can
>>lose the entire growing season.

>
> A dead Christmas tree was meant to make a point. I use plastic.
> I'm not going to argue semantics with you. It seems important to you
> to have that relationship with a real nursery. It isn't to me. I
> actually abhor trees and shrubs. . .dirty, messy things. My neighbors
> have enough crap that is overgrown and dumps trash on my lawn all year
> long. No. I don't live in a slum. I live in a well-established
> neighborhood that was over planted years ago and now no one wants to
> get in there and eliminate.
> All I want is some color to fill in a few garden beds. And don't go
> telling me I know nothing. I probably have forgotten more about
> gardening that you ever knew.
> Don't give me attitude today Sheldon. I twisted my back, my thumbs
> hurt and everything is going wrong that can go wrong.
> Janet US



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"Brooklyn1" <Gravesend1> wrote in message
news
> "Nancy Young" wrote:
>>Nad R wrote:
>>
>>> Yep, the local nurseries plants much better. I would never buy crappy
>>> plants that are sold in many of the all in one stores. Nurseries often
>>> guarantee the plants for year. Something Costco cannot do.

>>
>>I am positive that if you keep your receipt, Costco will refund the
>>price if the plant dies. They cheerfully refund for everything else even
>>when I think they shouldn't.

>
> Most all the plant resellers give a one year gaurantee, just return
> the dead plant with the receipt. Departmant stores will refund your
> money but most stand alone plant resellers will return only half your
> money. Naturally very few people bother to schlep back a $12 plant,
> and even fewer save the receipt. And no one gaurantees plants eaten
> by critters. People erroneously refer to many plant resellers as
> nurseries, but they are not, they buy all their plants from nurseries
> that actually grow plants. When the plants are all out of the ground
> it is not a nursery... those are no more plant nurserys than butcher
> shops are cattle ranches.


I know some people who claim they will not buy from certain stores and
prefer to go straight to the nursery. And yet the place they say is the
nursery does not grow the plants themselves. Often they are buying plants
from the same place and often they are paying a lot more for them. A quick
glance to either the pot or more often the plastic stick in the pot will
tell you where it was grown most of the time.

The best thing to do if you want a really good price is to go to a place
like K Mart and buy those plants as soon as they come from the delivery
truck. Assuming they are grown locally. What you do not want is plants
grown in CA that are sold in WA, especially if they came wrapped in brown
paper and shipped in the back of a potentially hot truck. As is the case
sometimes with shrubs. But locally grown bedding plants, herbs, geraniums,
even hanging baskets can be bought this way. But you have to time it right.
You either have to work at the store or be lucky enough to be there right as
they come off the truck. If the store is having a sale right then you will
be luckier still.

The problem comes if you wait a day or two to buy. Yes, some stores are
very good to water the plants regularly and keep certain ones out of direct
heat or perhaps frost, such as the case may be. And those may be fine. But
if you don't know how well the store takes care of them and you buy them
after sitting for a few days, you could buy something that will die quickly.
And many stores do not take good care of their plants.

I was a garden shop manager for several years and I always bought my plants
this way. They were always great! But we also took very good care of those
plants. I didn't have much of a yard in those days, having just an
apartment. I only bought bedding plants for myself. But I sold many fruit
trees, shrubs, and flowering plums and cherries that we'd had for most of
the season that just didn't sell at a greatly reduced cost to friends and
relatives and those plants are still flourishing today.

Just because the plants are sold at a discount place doesn't necessarily
mean they are not good! My only issue with Costco is that they keep outdoor
plants indoors and they do not seem to water them. I have looked at them
and the ones at the stores I have seen do seem to be in need of water. But
again... If you can get them as they come off the truck, they'll likely be
good!


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"Julie Bove" > wrote:

> I know some people who claim they will not buy from certain stores and
> prefer to go straight to the nursery. And yet the place they say is the
> nursery does not grow the plants themselves. Often they are buying plants
> from the same place and often they are paying a lot more for them. A quick
> glance to either the pot or more often the plastic stick in the pot will
> tell you where it was grown most of the time.
>
> The best thing to do if you want a really good price is to go to a place
> like K Mart and buy those plants as soon as they come from the delivery
> truck. Assuming they are grown locally. What you do not want is plants
> grown in CA that are sold in WA, especially if they came wrapped in brown
> paper and shipped in the back of a potentially hot truck. As is the case
> sometimes with shrubs. But locally grown bedding plants, herbs, geraniums,
> even hanging baskets can be bought this way. But you have to time it right.
> You either have to work at the store or be lucky enough to be there right as
> they come off the truck. If the store is having a sale right then you will
> be luckier still.
>
> The problem comes if you wait a day or two to buy. Yes, some stores are
> very good to water the plants regularly and keep certain ones out of direct
> heat or perhaps frost, such as the case may be. And those may be fine. But
> if you don't know how well the store takes care of them and you buy them
> after sitting for a few days, you could buy something that will die quickly.
> And many stores do not take good care of their plants.
>
> I was a garden shop manager for several years and I always bought my plants
> this way. They were always great! But we also took very good care of those
> plants. I didn't have much of a yard in those days, having just an
> apartment. I only bought bedding plants for myself. But I sold many fruit
> trees, shrubs, and flowering plums and cherries that we'd had for most of
> the season that just didn't sell at a greatly reduced cost to friends and
> relatives and those plants are still flourishing today.
>
> Just because the plants are sold at a discount place doesn't necessarily
> mean they are not good! My only issue with Costco is that they keep outdoor
> plants indoors and they do not seem to water them. I have looked at them
> and the ones at the stores I have seen do seem to be in need of water. But
> again... If you can get them as they come off the truck, they'll likely be
> good!


That is one good point about having plants indoors. Costco cannot take care
of plants in a timely manner and I do not know when they deliver.

The nursery I go to is two miles from Costco. Perhaps I am fortunate to
live close to real nice nursery. They have 700 acres for growing their own
plants. Two hundred employees and many have university degrees in
horticulture that can answer and diagnose plant problems. Perhaps it is the
sight, sound and smell of the green houses. The colors, the birds chirping
and the earthy smells for the plants that draws me there.

http://www.wiegandsnursery.com/

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)


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On Fri, 10 Jun 2011 21:00:17 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> wrote:

>
>"Brooklyn1" <Gravesend1> wrote in message
>news
>> "Nancy Young" wrote:
>>>Nad R wrote:
>>>
>>>> Yep, the local nurseries plants much better. I would never buy crappy
>>>> plants that are sold in many of the all in one stores. Nurseries often
>>>> guarantee the plants for year. Something Costco cannot do.
>>>
>>>I am positive that if you keep your receipt, Costco will refund the
>>>price if the plant dies. They cheerfully refund for everything else even
>>>when I think they shouldn't.

>>
>> Most all the plant resellers give a one year gaurantee, just return
>> the dead plant with the receipt. Departmant stores will refund your
>> money but most stand alone plant resellers will return only half your
>> money. Naturally very few people bother to schlep back a $12 plant,
>> and even fewer save the receipt. And no one gaurantees plants eaten
>> by critters. People erroneously refer to many plant resellers as
>> nurseries, but they are not, they buy all their plants from nurseries
>> that actually grow plants. When the plants are all out of the ground
>> it is not a nursery... those are no more plant nurserys than butcher
>> shops are cattle ranches.

>
>I know some people who claim they will not buy from certain stores and
>prefer to go straight to the nursery. And yet the place they say is the
>nursery does not grow the plants themselves.


The two sites I offered sell plants they themselves grow/propagate and
some certain copyrighted/trademarked hybrids from similar growers who
are the only supplier. I don't buy plants from garden centers nor do
I recommend that anyone do. When buying plants the cheap come out
expensive.
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Nad R wrote:

> That is one good point about having plants indoors. Costco cannot
> take care of plants in a timely manner and I do not know when they
> deliver.


On the other hand, most plants, like other things Costco sells, tends to
sell rather quickly so staff needs not take a lot of extra time for tending;
there's simply not much left to tend. I picked up two, 4-foot red-leaf
Japanese maples for $24. a piece about a month ago at my local store. There
were a good many at the time I made my purchase. I went back the next day to
pick up another, and they were gone, Poof.

The annuals I see coming into my store are always watered by staff. I really
haven't seen 'plant neglect'.... the plants I check always seem fairly
healthy, albeit quickly gone. Inventory comes in, inventory moves out.
Folks won't buy bad looking plants.

Oh, and Costco will refund the cost of a plant that doesn't satisfy their
consumer.


--
Dave
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,
give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new
problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight
efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."


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Nad R wrote:

>"Julie Bove" > wrote:
>
>> I know some people who claim they will not buy from certain stores and
>> prefer to go straight to the nursery. And yet the place they say is the
>> nursery does not grow the plants themselves. Often they are buying plants
>> from the same place and often they are paying a lot more for them. A quick
>> glance to either the pot or more often the plastic stick in the pot will
>> tell you where it was grown most of the time.
>>
>> The best thing to do if you want a really good price is to go to a place
>> like K Mart and buy those plants as soon as they come from the delivery
>> truck. Assuming they are grown locally. What you do not want is plants
>> grown in CA that are sold in WA, especially if they came wrapped in brown
>> paper and shipped in the back of a potentially hot truck. As is the case
>> sometimes with shrubs. But locally grown bedding plants, herbs, geraniums,
>> even hanging baskets can be bought this way. But you have to time it right.
>> You either have to work at the store or be lucky enough to be there right as
>> they come off the truck. If the store is having a sale right then you will
>> be luckier still.
>>
>> The problem comes if you wait a day or two to buy. Yes, some stores are
>> very good to water the plants regularly and keep certain ones out of direct
>> heat or perhaps frost, such as the case may be. And those may be fine. But
>> if you don't know how well the store takes care of them and you buy them
>> after sitting for a few days, you could buy something that will die quickly.
>> And many stores do not take good care of their plants.
>>
>> I was a garden shop manager for several years and I always bought my plants
>> this way. They were always great! But we also took very good care of those
>> plants. I didn't have much of a yard in those days, having just an
>> apartment. I only bought bedding plants for myself. But I sold many fruit
>> trees, shrubs, and flowering plums and cherries that we'd had for most of
>> the season that just didn't sell at a greatly reduced cost to friends and
>> relatives and those plants are still flourishing today.
>>
>> Just because the plants are sold at a discount place doesn't necessarily
>> mean they are not good! My only issue with Costco is that they keep outdoor
>> plants indoors and they do not seem to water them. I have looked at them
>> and the ones at the stores I have seen do seem to be in need of water. But
>> again... If you can get them as they come off the truck, they'll likely be
>> good!

>
>That is one good point about having plants indoors. Costco cannot take care
>of plants in a timely manner and I do not know when they deliver.
>
>The nursery I go to is two miles from Costco. Perhaps I am fortunate to
>live close to real nice nursery. They have 700 acres for growing their own
>plants. Two hundred employees and many have university degrees in
>horticulture that can answer and diagnose plant problems. Perhaps it is the
>sight, sound and smell of the green houses. The colors, the birds chirping
>and the earthy smells for the plants that draws me there.
>
>http://www.wiegandsnursery.com/


Looks like a very nice nursery, too bad it's too far for me to visit.
I found a nice recipe on their web site:
Ricotta Ice Cream - Sugar Free

2 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup agave syrup
- Heat until bubbles form on sides of pan.

- In a bowl mix 4 egg yolks and zest of orange.

- Whisk in hot milk mixture slowly. Put back on the stove in sauce
pan. Cook until thin custard. Stir constantly. Do not boil. If it
coats the back of the spoon - it is done. Cool and refridgerate until
cold.

Stir in:
3 1/3 cup of ricotta cheese
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons of vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

- Freeze in ice cream maker. Add 1/4 cup of fine semi sweet chocolate
chips.
---
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On 11/06/2011 3:04 PM, Dave Bugg wrote:

> On the other hand, most plants, like other things Costco sells, tends to
> sell rather quickly so staff needs not take a lot of extra time for tending;
> there's simply not much left to tend. I picked up two, 4-foot red-leaf
> Japanese maples for $24. a piece about a month ago at my local store. There
> were a good many at the time I made my purchase. I went back the next day to
> pick up another, and they were gone, Poof.



At that price you practically stole them. You go to places like Costco
for cheap prices, not for selection. My neighbour grows trees and there
are lots of greenhouses and nurseries in the area. The major retailers
like Costco and Walmart are very particular about what they want and the
times they want them.



> The annuals I see coming into my store are always watered by staff. I really
> haven't seen 'plant neglect'.... the plants I check always seem fairly
> healthy, albeit quickly gone. Inventory comes in, inventory moves out.
> Folks won't buy bad looking plants.


There is a hell of a markup on plants and trees.


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a friend just bought hybiscus, sp trees from sams for fifteen dollars, she
was at the nursery the next day, she saw the same tree and commented to her
friend she thought it was the same tree at sams, a worker admitted that sams
bought from them to resell, the trees were "on sale" at the nursery for
fourty dollars, Lee


"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
om...
> On 11/06/2011 3:04 PM, Dave Bugg wrote:
>
>> On the other hand, most plants, like other things Costco sells, tends to
>> sell rather quickly so staff needs not take a lot of extra time for
>> tending;
>> there's simply not much left to tend. I picked up two, 4-foot red-leaf
>> Japanese maples for $24. a piece about a month ago at my local store.
>> There
>> were a good many at the time I made my purchase. I went back the next day
>> to
>> pick up another, and they were gone, Poof.

>
>
> At that price you practically stole them. You go to places like Costco for
> cheap prices, not for selection. My neighbour grows trees and there are
> lots of greenhouses and nurseries in the area. The major retailers like
> Costco and Walmart are very particular about what they want and the times
> they want them.
>
>
>
>> The annuals I see coming into my store are always watered by staff. I
>> really
>> haven't seen 'plant neglect'.... the plants I check always seem fairly
>> healthy, albeit quickly gone. Inventory comes in, inventory moves out.
>> Folks won't buy bad looking plants.

>
> There is a hell of a markup on plants and trees.
>
>





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On Sun, 12 Jun 2011 10:56:32 -0400, Dave Smith
> wrote:

>On 11/06/2011 3:04 PM, Dave Bugg wrote:
>
>> On the other hand, most plants, like other things Costco sells, tends to
>> sell rather quickly so staff needs not take a lot of extra time for tending;
>> there's simply not much left to tend. I picked up two, 4-foot red-leaf
>> Japanese maples for $24. a piece about a month ago at my local store. There
>> were a good many at the time I made my purchase. I went back the next day to
>> pick up another, and they were gone, Poof.

>
>
>At that price you practically stole them.


That's really not any especially low price. Common Japanse red maples
are extremely prolific reproducers (they are invasive), very easy to
grow, and anyone who has one is constantly plucking seedlings to toss
or beg folks to take because somehow they want to believe they are
valuable (NOT!)... if your neighbor has one close to your property you
will hate him and his ****ing red gook tree. It's the rarer cultivars
of Japanese maple, and there are hundreds, that are more valuable
(those are not very prolificly reproductive from seed, they are
usually grafted), those with oddly configured/colored leaves and
branching habits... you won't find those at typical garden centers.
And a 4' tree means nothing, trees are sold by caliper (trunk
diameter), and sometimes age, not height, which to me makes that story
very suspect, especially for Japanese red maples that are more likely
to be short and squat, not tall. A common Japanese red maple seedling
in a pot at a garden center really has no value whatsoever, such trees
only have value once they are well established and properly shaped.
http://www.fantasticplants.com/About...e%20maples.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_palmatum
In fact my neighbor just three weeks ago planted a Japanese red maple
to replace an eastern redbud that died. I tried politely to suggest
he plant something else, he will learn... one night and he had to
fence it from the deer... he will always need to have it fenced
because it will always be a rather squat tree, and they grow so slowly
that it will be 50 years and it will still be immature. With lots of
care over many years they can become very interesting trees for ones
heirs. They are also very prone to snow damage, I wouldn't want one
living here. My neighbor paid $60 for his but it's already a nicely
branched tree, not a seedling. His wife brought it home in the trunk
of her car, was in a 5 gallon pot. It's a nice tree but I don't think
it fits into his landscaping.
http://i54.tinypic.com/13ydu84.jpg
http://i53.tinypic.com/b7awpf.jpg
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