My first thought was how much did it cost and is it worth the aggravation for that amount of money? Mistakes happen.

Second thought, is the color that it is? so bad or so off that that it completely wrecks your landscape?

Final thought as a grower, when people have come back to me dissatisfied usually because they killed something, it is easier and better customer relations to give them a new replacement $4 plant for free and make them happy so they will come back. Of course I file those folks away in the back of my mind to see if it becomes a pattern.

ilima

it was $11, but its certainly not about the money. The color is a shade of pink with a white eye that clashes horribly with the red, but thats not the point either. I could probably put it with some other pinks or whites I have if I wanted to.

My point is that a reputable grower should be more careful. The point of the return to me is to send a message that consumers expect quality from their purchases and our suppliers should know that. But in this day and age, it dawned on me I can send a message to the grower directly. I just went to their web site and did so.

Labeling mistakes DO occur - it is a fact of life. When you consider that some growers are producing literally thousands of the same plant from seed or tiny plugs and that human handling of these is inevitable, it is not hard to imagine how these accidental mislabelings happen.

All the growers I deal with guarantee that their plants are true to name - if mistakes do happen, they replace them. I pass this same guarantee to my retail customers. I will gladly replace or refund a plant that was obviously mislabeled and most reputable retail nurseries and garden centers will do the same.

Of course, we are just a small nursery, but here you would get your money back, and a free plant, and an apology. Some plants, unfortunately, are mislabeled when they come to us, it's not your fault, it's my problem to deal with. Most people don't even bother to bring them back, so it's not a big issue anyway. I also do watch out for the customers that do this constantly, of which there are few, luckily. And I try to weed out the vendors that sell me the wrong plants often.

...some growers are producing literally thousands of the same plant from seed or tiny plugs..

Actually, thats what I find most surprising. I can more easily imagine a mistake in a small place. If you are processing thousands of the same plant, how can a pink one get mixed in with the red ones. The mistake must have been a big one. I doubt it was just my one plant.

Wendy, if you had ever witnessed the process at a large growing operation, you would not be surprised by this. Sometimes dozens of worker bees (often non-English speaking or reading) handling umpteen different cultivars or types of plants a day. You bet it was more than just a single plant - most likely an entire flat, perhaps more. During the process of growing on and potting up, these errant plants get intermingled with the rest and the finished plants get shipped out to retailers with that one mislabelled oddball (or more) rearing its head once it flowers or otherwise becomes obvious. I am still trying to figure out if the lone white flowering echinacea in a flat of gallon sized Doubledeckers is simply a mislabeled White Swan or a mutant, white-flowered DD - it is demonstrating some very DD-like flowering habits. BTW, despite the prevelence of assexual propagation in many growing operations, reversions to species or otherwise unusual growing or flowering habits DO occur which are not necessarily labelling errors.

Variable seedlings still get put on the market under names of clonal cultivars, too, 'Palace Purple' heuchera being a glaring example.

When did we stop being human beings and become perfect infalable operating machines ?

hell, even machinery can short circuit.

life is too short to angst about pink flowers.

make like a duck and say quack quack and let it roll off your back.

It's a pink flower for gawds sake.

I think people ouch more now when they get an upleasant surprise. I think it's come about by years of impersonal customer service. I would most definately be peeved if I lay down eleven dollars for a phlox not true to label. I wouldn't automatically blame it on anyone in particular, but I'd want a refund or replacement if it couldn't be worked into my beds, and I spend hideous amounts of money on my landscaping. Eleven dollars is still serious money for one measly perennial, because it's MY money.

I am a grower and I get whole plug trays and sporadic liners not true to label. No, I wouldn't expect my customers to get the short end of the stick. My state LAW says I must provide accurate labeling for my stock and if it's labeled wrong (regardless of who did it) it's my responsibility to make it right when it goes to the end user. I had this happen once with a whole flat of tomato plants. I had given a fund raiser a gift certificate for my place and this was how the winner spent it. She bought big boys and ended up with Roma. I gave her her money back and a massive apology, because it was too late to replant a decent tomato crop. Even though it was essentially a freebie, it really spoke volumes about my dependability as a supplier and I felt bad about it. I give out gift certificates to bring in new customers, and so I was out the production cost fo the flat and also the value of the certificate....but she got her money back with an apology.

I am pretty strict when it comes to frivilous returns, but I'd give this woman her money back with an apology or the correct plant.......or both. They thing is she expended not only money, but her time and muscle and had to wait a season to see it was not acceptable.

I appreciate your viewpoints and stories. I knew I would gain perspective here.

I don't think there's any angst here about the mislabelling. However, I felt angst at the teeny-bopper's "its not our fault, too bad" response.

I just feel its important to let the store and the grower know the quality was not there. If they care about quality as they claim, how can they fix it if everyone just accepts lower standards and doesn't speak up.

I'm going to see how it does with mildew and decide a bit later. We are about to have a week of humid and showery weather. If I don't see PM, I will move it and keep it. If I do see PM, its going back. THe owner of the garden center knows about it (and did agree to a store credit via teeny bopper relayed info today) and I submitted feedback to the grower. So my goals have been met. Now I just need to find another Volcano Red to fill the spot.

Absolutely--we give a credit or replace the plant when this happens. And let them keep the incorrect plant if they wish.

I think correct labelling of nursery stock is a state law in Massachusetts. I'm not 100% sure of that.