I received Hoya praetorii : I am disappointed, is a courtesy gesture possible from your side ?
Thank you for your suggestive picture. On May 2011 we are selling rooted H. praetorii 20$ ( 16$ with discount ) - on picture here -, bare cuttings 12.8$ ( 10.24$ after discount). So yes this species of Hoya is by far much more expensive than others... and for this price it is more risky to grow and much slower to root than others !.
It is a common problem with plant sales : more expensive cars are rarer and stronger, but more expensive plants are usually rarer because they are more difficult to cultivate, and not because they are stronger !. Also plants that are more difficult to root and grow always grow more slowly so that at a given age they also tend to be smaller than others. So yes H. praetorii will be more expensive, smaller, harder to root and slower growers than most other Hoyas. We can only be annoyed but we cannot, unfortunately for our disappointed clients - and for us because they will leave us - link this fact to a form of compensation. The same goes for our conditions of sale : we must accept not to make exceptions and lose clients if we want to remain fair to those who remain with us !
Hoya and other plant collections are for sale on aleyagarden.com Plant care is available in various posts of this blog. Contact : aleyagarden@hotmail.com
Find all Aleyagarden posts on http://aleyagarden-blog.blogspot.com
" You posted my Small Parcel Air 12 days ago and looking at the tracking page it doesn't seem to have reached Canada or even left Thailand, am I right ? "
Aleyagarden answers : it is common that the tracking information reports " Container received " or " Outgoing international " ( two variations of the confirmation of departure ) and then doesn't give further information until the parcel is ready to be delivered in your country, while your Postal site has no information or informs you that the parcel is still in the sender's country. This lack of information does not seem linked to delays, nor to the method of transport or of course the day of posting : so there is no reason to worry but it is wise to contact your post office if the parcel is waiting there for you after a said unsuccessful delivery, the most common cause of delays.
Small Parcels Air under 500 gr are usually faster than above 500 gr. in particular to USA and Canada; the risk of delay is higher with heavier parcels. Some people prefer using EMS ( the express mail method ) for their parcels above 500 gr. In Europe Small Parcel Air is certainly the best option up to 2 kilos. (The Small Parcel Air is limited to 2 kilos ). EMS parcels go through customs more frequently than Small Parcels Air.
Envelopes are the safest and the least expensive method of shipping, almost 100 % of envelopes arrive at destination. Many countries offer an express option ( which should not be confused with the method : EMS documents )
To get back to tracking information, below is an other typical case, but this time with an EMS parcel. It was posted on 30 August : the Thai site reports " Outgoing International " on 31, while on the French EMS site Chronopost - still 3 days after, on 3 September -, we can only read : " sorting in the departure agency ".
But a phone call to EMS Thailand ( the phone numbers are on http://track.thailandpost.co.th/trackinternet/track-help/contact-thai.htm , you will be put through to an english - speaking operator ) would give a verbal confirmation of the departure, with possibly reports of the gate number and flight number. Almost all parcels depart from Thailand not later than one or two days after posting, whatever is written or not written on tracking sites, Thai or foreign, and whatever the distance of the post to the airport. For instance an EMS parcel posted on a Friday in Thailand would leave the country on a Saturday or Sunday flight.
Of course you would have to be patient the lines are busy and your request if early may not meet agents in their best mood. Sometimes the agent may just tell you that the parcel has departed from Thailand, so you would have to insist if you needed to get the exact time, the gate and even flight numbers for your personal investigation. Telling that you are calling from abroad may have a positive effect.
Hoya, Hoya seeds, Orchid seeds, Ferns, Fern spores and other plant collections are for sale on aleyagarden.com Plant care is available in various posts of this blog. Contact : aleyagarden@hotmail.com
Find all Aleyagarden posts on http://aleyagarden-blog.blogspot.com
