ginny, it is an amazing place. did you go through (for lack of a better term) the rain forest part? were there any butterflies?

they don't have a web site, at least not one that i have ever been able to find. i remember searching a few years back, found plenty about them and people use it as a landmark for directions, but never a website. i guess they just want you to go there.

when i was a kid, sometimes our sunday drive would include a trip there. you couldn't pull my mother out.

so what did you purchase?

maryanne

Thanks, Earthlydelights. I guess they don't have a website. Odd, these days. I'm not sure if we went thru the rain forest. We didn't get rained on anywhere! But we did go thru some very old greenhouses or conservatories, including one with a koi pond and stairs to a bridge with a viewing point.

The specimens of tropical foliage plants in this greenhouse and elsewhere were really amazing--as good as any I've seen in some very famous botanic gardens. They were so large that I can't imagine they are for sale--who would have a place to grow and display them?

I bought several unusual cyclamens and they were giving away small poinsettias with every purchase. Wish I lived closer--tho it's probably a good thing for my credit card!

ginny, then you did go through it. that's what we always referred to it as. it's such a spectacular place, every season and worth the visit. should be placed on a tourist guide map as a definite place to see. when poppies are in season, it's amazing.

yes, in this day and age, it blows me away that they don't have a website.

where do you travel from, if you don't mind my asking. and is your family local to otts?

be well,
maryanne

I live in the Boston area, north of the city. I have two sets of family in the Philly area suburbs--not near Ott's--and one of my kids went to college there too. So we are frequent trekkers to Greater Philadelphia, always looking for new things to see and do--and always finding them.

As a gardener, of course I am especially eager to see the many, many gardens in your neck of the woods. I have been to lots but still have some on my checklist. I had never heard of Ott's. My SIL and I went to the Pennypacker Mansion in? near? Skippack the day after Thanksgiving--which was very interesting, BTW--and she made a spur of the moment detour to show me Ott's.

What kind of poppies and when do they bloom? I see another trip in my future....

I've been looking for a place to get tropicals ever since I moved to State College in August. I foresee a little road trip over the holidays!

According to phillyfunguide.com, the Pennypacker Mansion is in Schwenksville. Might have to schedule a stop there too.

i'm sorry, i realize i said poppies, when in fact i meant pansies. by any chance ginny, did you see the "mountain" of mums? well if you did, that's where the pansies bloom. it's just spectacular.

can i assume then that you have also been to longwood gardens? that's a paid admission, but wonderful. also, what about morris aboretum in the chestnut hill area? i know there are more, they are the ones coming to mind right now.

i'm right around jenkintown, so jumping on 73 and heading up that way is a nice treat. the aboretum is not that far either, and longwood gardens is what i consider a "ride".

oh, i just thought of another one. how can i forget, it's in my backyard, so to speak ~~ meadowbrook farms. that is in meadowbrook/abington. just gorgeous when everything is in bloom, even nicer when you can tour the private gardens. they do have a website.

maryanne

No, the mountain of mums was a mountain of dirt last week but my SIL told me they planted it seasonally. Must be quite a sight.

And I have indeed been to all the gardens you mention. I saw Meadowbrook Farm about six years ago when J. Liddon Pennock, the owner and creator, was still alive, tho wheelchair-bound. Surely one of the finest estate gardens in the country. How wonderful that he left it to PHS. I hope they keep it up--it must be a fantastic expense.

Does Ott's have vegetable plants in spring? I'm looking for the usual suspects (tomatoes, peppers, etc.) but would rather support someone local than the big box stores. Other recommendations for veggies in the Philly/West Chester area?

Never mind - found some using the search function (yeah, I know, a novel idea).

Otts Exotic Plants
Route 29
Schwenksville, PA, 19473
610-287-7878

No website

At a Flower show in the ALLENTOWN PA area, my daughter and I bought several large geraniums (not perenial ones) and some other plants too. (we spent a lot there).

Next day when I took my plants to my little greenhouse to check if they were rootbound or if they needed anything and to re-pot them, I found that NOT ONE of them had decent roots! They all had just begining roots that had barely started and two of my geraniums had NO roots at all.

My daughter had the same luck with her plants from OTTS.

We will not buy from them now.
I order all of my perennials from BLUESTONE PERENNIALS in Ohio and have never been sorry. The plants are huge when you get them but grow and more than make up for the smaller size by the end of the year.

THEIR customer service is the best and they replace plants that don't grow!

Call Ott's. They are a reputable firm.

Otts Exotic Plants
Route 29
Schwenksville, PA, 19473
610-287-7878

wow marcy, i'm surprised over that. i have never, ever had a problem with ott's. i agree with rhody - call them and please, report back. i would be surprised if things have changed. it will certainly change my view of them and keep me from opening my wallet to them.

maryanne

I wouldn't feel right if I didn't say that this negative opinion is just one person's. Not to discount it but Ott's has been in business a very long time and has built up a good reputation. And it's a lot of jobs for a lot of people. People should keep an open mind and check things out for themselves. And the person with the problem should definitely contact the nursery.

Everyone makes a mistake once in a while. A reputable business will fix their mistakes. Give them a chance.

I agree. Call them. I am 99.9% positive that they will make good. They have been there forever, we also used to include a stop after church (it was an hour and a half away) when i was a kid. I have bought things from there for years and with the exception of buying plants that were not suitable for my conditions, i have never had a bad plant from Otts

Melissa

I started buying plants at Ott's in 1966. I purchased a gardenia tree from them -- it was a gardenia plant grafted onto a pear tree [I think] trunk. It lasted, despite many moves geographically, until 1992! I was back there in June and purchased another tree, which is now dying because of overwatering, my fault. The "desert rose cactus" was in bloom when I bought it in June . . . and it's still blooming, with three more blossoms opening today [November 22, 2007]. I have no idea if they will ship another gardenia tree to me, but I'm thinking of giving them a call. I live in West Virginia now, and Ott's is about a 6-7 hour trip. They are wonderful people, by far the best I have dealt with when it comes to plants of any kind.