I want to buy a Japanese acer...

[WelshMoth]

...in a nice pot and get it delivered 30 miles away.

Google isn't really helping me on this so I don't really have the confidence in the results brought by Google.

Has anyone done something like this?

I've bought plenty of plants online, never had an issue.

Contact a garden centre local to where you want it delivered and arrange it that way. Most are doing home deliveries at the moment.

I tried my local garden centre but they wouldn't deliver that far. I'll keep trying.

@HeyBlaby
What websites do you use?

I bought a couple today.....beautiful. Can you do a click and collect?

@WelshMoth I've had quite a few off Ebay, usually come from small garden centres or amateur gardeners. Also bought off a website but I can't remember the name!

I ordered a Japanese cherry tree from Trees Online last week and got a beautiful healthy specimen a couple of days ago.

The pot was plain black plastic but delivery was free.

You have not said what Acer you want, but I recommend Sango Kaku, it is stunning and in the Winter it has scarlet stems. I have bought all my plants from Crocus for the last 10 years. They pack them really well and offer a two year guaranteed.

On word of advice, don’t battle into the packing like I did when I first became a customer. There is a tag at the bottom which peals back to release the plant easily.

@FLOrenze...took me a while to figure that

Ive bought form a few places mostly Crocus and Waitrose gardening all being well

I bought my acer from Charella Gardens it's near to us so we go up and they are brilliant people

I also had trouble finding the pots as thye have changed their website

Pots

I've also bought plants of eBay and Amazon and all doing well

It's a gift for friends who've suffered a bereavement. I suppose I wanted to buy a lovely pot for it be be delivered in as well - as in, already planted I mean. I can't collect it myself. They live 30 miles away.

Can you find a garden centre more local to them?

Crocus do pots as well. It won’t be planted but if you buy the plant and pot the same size , all they have to do is put it in

Amazon do them too. They even have a bonsai style pot and Acer.

You need to find their local garden centre or search their local Facebook page and do it that way. We recently did that with friends 150 miles away. I used Facebook to find their local bakery and got a lovely hamper delivered.

Whatever you do, DON'T order anything from Gardening Express.
The only thing "express" about them is the speed they take your money.
It's well over 6 weeks since I placed an order and my order is still "processing". They are uncontactable, no phone number, don't answer emails and send automated tough shit responses in reply to their ticketing system. They have deleted their Twitter account, are systematically deleting negative comments on Facebook, and are reporting negative reviews on Trustpilot.
It seems there are hundreds of people in the same situation too.

@SignificantBirthday I agree. I ordered from both Gardening Express and Primrose on the 25th April. I have had all my plants from Primrose delivered (no issues) but I have heard nothing from Gardening Express. I have raised a ticket - nothing! I am furious and just want my order cancelling.

So do NOT order from Gardening Express.

@Sofabunnyuk
There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to who is getting email updates and who is actually receiving their orders, it's certainly not on a first come first served basis.
I can only surmise that they have now moved on to prioritising bedding plant orders as they obviously only have a short window of opportunity there.
I guess people like me waiting on shrubs and climbers are going to be in for a very, very long wait.

I will never use them again either.

From what I've picked up, they barely answer the tickets personally at all, it's just the generic sob story "we're so busy" but look at all the money in the bank.
If you do happen to be one of the lucky one's with a "golden ticket" and get a specific reply, they won't allow you to cancel the order and simply tell you to refuse it at the door. What they don't make clear, (although it is hidden away in their terms and conditions) is that if you do refuse the order, you will be liable for 25% of your order value being taken to cover return delivery. Obviously, that's not going to be a tracked service so you can never actually prove they got the poor damn plants back anyway.
Chances are you'll lose the plants (in whatever state they were in as it seems massively variable from dead sticks to happy and healthy) plus 100% of your money.

They've got it all tied up...

I’ve used plants4presents.co.uk for gifts and they are very good. Plants arrive well packaged and in nice pots. They don’t have Acers though.

An excellent Acer nursery is
www.hippopotteringmaples.co.uk/ - you could give them a ring and ask if they’d pot it up for you in a nice pot. It’s a small company so more likely to be helpful than the big concerns, especially if you explain the circumstances.

@SignificantBirthday @Sofabunnyuk Thanks - they pop up when I google. I appreciate the warning

Funnily enough I’ve actually placed an order for an Acer tree from Gardening Express, I guess I’ll never know when I’ll get it.

I know they are probably maniacally busy, but a bit of communication wouldn’t go amiss.