The Pound Shop Border

[CreamolaFoamFan]

I'm like a good value garden, and wondered what successes people have had with cheapo plants. I have discovered through my own trial and error (so many errors!) that sometimes, something that looks cheap at first glance doesn't work out so in the long run, and some just isn't great value for money.

For example, the Poundland raspberry bushes. Last year? Four dead sticks. However, this year, I picked one up much earlier in the year, popped it in a pot, and it's a happy live stick with lots of green leaves. Its not a great hit rate, though: I've effectively spent five quid to get one plant that made it.

So what has worked for you? What's got the best hit rate? Is it just my crap gardening skills making everything die...?

My mum bought strawberry plants from wilkos last year, the ones in the bags and everyone of them died. I bought mine from homebase and they are still alive!

I've never bought plants from pound land though.

my seed potatoes from wilkos did ok

I buy the mixed beans or veg seed packets from poundland. They always work and contain borlotti beans which are really expensive to buy on their own.

I bought a redcurrant 'twig' in Poundland. It was a £1 and I took a chance on it. It has grown into a huge bush and I had a bumper crop off it this year. I've still got some in the freezer to make jam. I also bought two boxes of iris bulbs from and they did really well.

That's interesting about the beans They're nice to grow because my toddler likes picking and eating the pods right off the plant - about the only vitamins he eats.

I've also splurged a pound on some lily bulbs. Fingers crossed!

My mum bought a yellow garden from a pound shop and it looked great.

I planted spring bulbs and they are poking through now so hopefully they will bloom beautifully.

I planted my lily bulbs on Sunday, but they still haven't come up yet... honestly, I'm worse than my three-year-old.

I want an apple tree, and have seen them in Tescos for £7, but I want a small tree, and it doesn't give any information about rootstocks or anything (and I'm expecting what for seven quid?) so I think I'll actually go to a proper nursery. I also feel kind of sorry for the poor plants, but I'm not going to buy a pity tree.

I have bought loads of poundland bulbs and seeds. Last year i had a lovely display of poundland irises which i have added to this year.

My spring bulbs are all showing and i have put in a selection of lilies from both poundland, morrisions (their lily bulbs were a pound for 3) and lidl mixed with my tree lilies from t&m and a few others from my local garden centre.
Will be interesting to see how all the different priced bulbs compare for growth and flowers produced. i will post an update in the summer and maybe a photo for comparison.

I have had some good things from the 99p Store - the bare root aquilegia Crimson Star were lovely last year and are coming up again this year. Their sweet pea seeds had a better germination rate than the brand name seeds that came with Gardeners World magazine.

My best cheapie success was the pot of chives I bought from morrisons for 69p trimmed to base then planted in the garden. Read somewhere that pot herbs are essentially a whole pot of seedlings so split really well. Anyway it's doubled in size and been able to use it all year.

I think my chives were a supermarket pot. My pot of mint came from Lidl, and I have to beat it down with a machete during the summer as it keeps trying to escape.

I've also got a sea holly from the 99p store, then found out that you need well draining soil. We're on clay. Oh well, I'll just try and improve a patch of earth for it and hope it makes it.

I've bought quite a lot of plants and bulbs from LIDL and ALDI and have had about the same hit rate as buying Thompson and Morgan etc. The prices alone make it worth the punt IMO. Climbing rose for £2.99 has been particularly successful and my bulbs are coming up all over the place.

Anyone bought plants off eBay? I'm looking to buy a cherry tree this year and they are so much cheaper on there.

I don't buy cheapo plants because I prefer to support British specialist nurseries, who generally struggle to make a profit in the face of the cheap low quality imports that flood in from from Holland. I've always found the quality and customer service to be much better, and I think it will be a very sad day if they all go out of business as the variety of plants we are able to buy will be severely curtailed, and we'll all end up with the same bog standard varieties in our gardens.

I've had success with Aldi summer bedding - you have to catch it at the right time though - I live very close to Aldi, so walk past quite a lot, and i've noticed that when they get a new load of plants in the best ones sell out quite quickly, so you need to catch them the day they come in.

I bought several primroses today from the clearance section at B&Q. 30 pence each, slightly shrivelled leaves but they should perk up with some tlc and a bit of deadheading. Good range of colours too

I use budget onions and potatoes and have been happy with the results. You may not get the quantity or choice but that's ok for my small veg patch.

Bulbs such as gladioli were good from wilkinson a but tiny in pound shop and would need another years growth before flowering.

for bare root items like raspberries then the bargain ones tend to be on the small and weedy side, however I've just got some raspberry canes from a nursery on eBay and these work out cheaper than the pound shop, as long as you want more than just a couple! they are also much more robust with thicker stems and bigger root system so I would guess that these are more mature plants and more likely to thrive.

Also bought some strawberry plants on eBay which look good.

So would recommend eBay nurseries as an alternative, if you can't get to one, as still bargain prices and supporting uk nurseries. Also assume that the plants are going to be reasonably fresh rather than sitting in warehouses and shops for however long.

Morrison's plants are great - usually a good size and anything from £1 to a fiver. Mine have all survived the winter even though most of them are still in the pot rather than planted