Return to the Peonies Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Please help I'm pretty upset
| | |
Posted by daylilly99 6b northern VA (My Page) on Mon, Oct 6, 08 at 19:00
| I'm pretty upset at a peony I just received from Ebay seller "bidderllll". My reaction is to feel cheated at what I got for my nearly $46 plus $12 shipping. I had written before bidding to inquire about the size of the roots and was told this "the tubers are as nice as i have ever gotten from any commerical place i have boughten from."
What I bought was 'Cora Louise' an intersectional peony. I have no prior experience with this type of peony so I'm calling for help from those of you here might be knowledgeable about these types and about the size of commercially shipped peony roots in general.
I don't want to do this seller a wrong by leaving negative feedback if, indeed this is a reasonably sized root. I am actually afraid it won't even grow at all seeing as there is no root to speak of but the eyes are attached to something more like a new potato which has been cut in half.
Here are two photos with a hose end attached for you to see the size. Please click on them to see them at the largest size possible and then please tell me - is this okay and will it grow?
|
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Please help I'm pretty upset
| | |
| Your photos did not arrive with your post. As long as you have eyes and a storage tuber, you describe as "potato" it will probably grow ok. Roots will grow from the tuber as they would from a potato. Al |
RE: Please help I'm pretty upset
| | |
| I can see the photos on my computer. Let me try again. 
|
Here is a link that might be useful: peony
RE: Please help I'm pretty upset
| | |
| Well the buds look fat and healthy. I would not have left so little of the tuberous root. The only reason I can see for cutting it short is to make it easier to ship as what was cut off would not yield another salable root. You agreed to the price which I also consider too much, but them I am known for being frugal. I would expect it to grow if planted carefully and the smaller size will be forgotten in a year or two. Next time I would ask for a picture of the item being sold before agreeing to the purchase. Al |
RE: Please help I'm pretty upset
| | |
- Posted by alia z5 NW PA (My Page) on
Thu, Oct 9, 08 at 19:29
| Contact the seller and make your disappointment clear--that root is just miniscule!--and go from there. I have no clue why they'd cut it so small, because the root looks too little to support all of the eyes. Good luck! Alia |
RE: Please help I'm pretty upset
| | |
| That's what I think too, Alia. It's greed, I suppose. This has turned into a nightmare with an immediate accusation from the seller that they thought I was trying to scam them and would probably return a substitute. I've been back and forth for a week and have decided to just take the loss (hope that it will not die and I'll have something in 5 years) and leave accurate and truthful feedback describing what I received. The person is saying they will return the money if I return the peony but keeps saying that it has to be the same peony in good condition. They will not verify that my photo of the root is the same (or even say if it looks different) than the one they sent me. They will not say if they will refund the inflated shipping charge. They claimed to have a photo of what they sent (in case I was planning to send back a substitute), but will not show me the photo. I'm really feeling primed for a setup with this type of behavior, so I've decided to heed what Al has said, take my losses and warn others of what to expect. By the way, in addition to posting here, I sent my photos and story to a very well respected commercial grower, who said that they would leave "very negative feedback". I wanted to be sure that I was not wrong in thinking that these were not as nice as any tubers from a commercial grower. Buyer beware - I was dumb in trusting in what was said and not asking to see a photo. |
RE: Please help I'm pretty upset
| | |
| I too received a root that was smaller than I thought it would be from a different seller on Ebay last year. It was Coral 'N Gold. It had only had about 2 eyes and only one storage root that was the thickness of a pencil, but shorter than a pencil in length. I thought it would never bloom for like 5 years. I was able to get a partial refund from the seller of $1-$2. However I only paid probably $10-$15 at the most for it. Now when it came up there was only one stem, but what do you know, it bloomed and it was true to name. It may not bloom next year since it is still small, but we'll see. I can't see the width of your peony root, so I can't tell how much of any storage roots it has. If you could post a picture of it from the side, that would help. Some varieties do not produce roots as large as others, but I'm not sure if that is your case. It almost looks like they made a cut in the wrong place or accidentally severed this piece, saw that it had eyes on it, and decided to sell it. In my opinion, it is much smaller than what a commercial seller would send. So you may be able to negotiate a partial refund from the Ebay seller if you have not already left a negative feedback. I'm not sure what it will do next year, but I would plant it and hope it at least sends a shoot up. If it does, hopefully it will survive to have many peonies flowers for you in future years. Also, this should also be a lesson on Ebay. You never *really* know what you are going to get. I personally try to buy most of my peony roots directly from growers now. |
RE: Please help I'm pretty upset
| | |
| Speaking of buying from growers: Reaths just sent us a tree peony plant which was huge, beyond our expectations. |
RE: Please help I'm pretty upset
| | |
- Posted by rian 7va (My Page) on
Sun, Oct 12, 08 at 6:29
| Which one did you get Dave? |
RE: Please help I'm pretty upset
| | |
| Amulet, Those two top photos show two views. The dark and red pieces you see sticking up are not roots, they are stems. There is no root, just a 1" x 1.5" piece of crown with the eyes. Actually, the story has a VERY happy ending. I did decide to leave neutral feedback and simply give an accurate description of what I received. Let the truth speak volumes, I think. The happy part is that I had also been bidding on peony 'Sunny Girl' from this same seller but the price went too high so I immediately ordered it from Adelman Peony Garden. When my 'Cora Louise' came, I posted here for help and also sent the pictures to Adelman's, soliciting their opinion. Not only was Carol Adelman very supportive, but when my order from her arrived it contained a very large plant of 'Sunny Girl' and guess what... a HUGE plant of 'Cora Louise' as a gift. Guess who's getting all my future peony business. Once my husband downloads the photos I took of Adelman's peonies alongside that same hose spout, I'll post them here so you can see what I'm talking about. I found Adelman when searching for info on how to divide peonies. Check out this video on YouTube. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Peony Division
RE: Please help I'm pretty upset
| | |
| Carol is a very nice person. She must have really been ticked at your pictures to send you the division. If you are every in Portland, Oregon drive a little south to see her plants. Best time is May and first week of June. However the plants are nice to see anytime. You can tell a lot about how plant will look in your garden by seeing it in a field. Go ahead and plant the pieces. Some intersectionals will send out roots from the smallest piece of crown. The crown has cells that send out the roots plus the stems. |
RE: Please help I'm pretty upset
| | |
| Davein OH, can you please give more info. on Reaths? thank you,
Carla |
RE: Please help I'm pretty upset
| | |
Carla,
reathsnursery.com
They may ?? still acdept orders for fall shipment
They spring ship tps and some herbaceous. Rian,
Center Stage, a rock hyb which should produce some seed eventually. |
Here is a link that might be useful: reaths
RE: Please help I'm pretty upset
| | |
| Correction: CS is lutea, not rock. |
RE: Please help I'm pretty upset
| | |
- Posted by rian 7va (My Page) on
Sat, Oct 25, 08 at 8:16
| Dave, it's both, a lutea, hybrid rockii cross. I looked it up because the picture on the reath site looked so rockii--gorgeous! But the info I have says no seed no pollen. Even if true, that's okay, a good reason to take up home grafting! |
|
|
|
|
