Mystery cherry
I have a extremely weak-growing cherry that has rarely produced any fruit. This year it has produced a ‘good’ crop of about about a dozen very sweet fruits of a yellow, flushed red colour when fully ripe. However, it is now very clear that it is not the variety I originally ordered, Sunburst. This variety, together with a number of other trees were originally ordered from a well-known specialist fruit nursery when I was starting my orchard about ten years ago. Of the original consignment of 16 trees, four are very definitely not the varieties requested. I find this very frustrating, as I chose my original varieties very carefully with regard to pollination, suitability for training as cordons etc. Am I entitled to request the nursery to supply replacements, albeit such a long time after purchase? Clearly the ‘goods’ were not as described!
I wondered if my experience is unique. If not, how common is this problem.
Elizabeth Moriarty
This looks like breach of contract. If a nursery agrees to sell, and you agree to buy, a Sunburst Cherry tree in return for consideration (money presumably), this is a legal and binding contract. The contract does not need to be in writing nor otherwise evidenced, it is still legal and binding. And anyone who defaults on a contract lays themselves open to an action for damages.
In the real world it is rarely worth going to court over a matter like this but if the nursery is any good they should be prepared to offer some sort of recompense. Put the problem to them, if they are tardy in their response an indication that you are aware of the legal situation may well give them a push in the right direction.
I think it it pretty common, mostly people don’t do much about it as they tend to lose the labels and forget where they bought it etc. I think proving breach would be hard 10 years on (I know it is problematical when things don’t come to light earlier), so I’m not sure you have much of a legal claim, unless you kept the paperwork and then outside the statute of limitations might be argued. But certainly worth asking the nursery. If it is one where other claims or problems have occurred the legal claim (and therefore the likelihood of somebody settling out of court) should be higher. But the nursery may not even be the same legal entity ten years on!
As it has been growing for ten years it might be worth top working it with a variety or varieties you do want rather than dump it and start again.
Thanks for your thoughts. Miraculously I had retained the original bill of sale for a couple of the trees. I emailed a scan of it to the nursery asking them to help identify the varieties and if they would be willing to replace the trees with the correct varieties, if only with graft wood – no reply. I emailed again after a month, and even tried ringing only to keep getting an answerphone. If this were a just a commercial garden centre I wouldn’t be surprised, but it is a specialist fruit nursery.
If such mistakes are so common, it’s hardly surprising that so many people seem disappointed with fruit growing. If you select a variety that is self-fertile, then are supplied an expensive tree that isn’t and get no fruit, it’s hardly surprising if you feel fruit growing is frustrating and simply give up.
Yes, I’ll be grafting better varieties next year, with wood from Brogdale which has proved to be exactly as described.