Hello! I'm interested in hearing from people who have done business successfully by mail order, specifically perennials. I've dealt w/ Wayside a few times and am not at all impressed (other than by their catalog!). I've ordered roses from Jackson and Perkins, and Edmunds, which have been fine. Even though there's a pretty good selections of nurseries around here, it's hard sometimes to find something specific, especially at the right time, and before it has sold out! Thanks for any advice!
Who can recommend a good mail order company?
Bluestone Perennials plants are not huge,but the price is right and their replacement policy is wonderful.High Country Gardens is great.Halsons and Big Dipper Farm are also great.
Lynn
I have purchased over 90 plants this year online. The bulk of them on ebay. My expectations weren't high when I "won" the plant(s) but I paid less than what nurseries were demanding and got them delivered to my door. Most of the time my expectations were exceeded and I have never felt ripped off due to the size. Disappointed sometimes but never ripped off. Those disappointments have grown into beautiful healthy plants.
I would see a species I wanted and check online nurseries for pricing then bid so the shipping and plant costs were equal to nursery prices. Seldom did I have to pay my maximum bid.
Good luck.
I highly recommend checking out the Garden Watchdog right here on DG--you can find a ton of mail order places that have been reviewed by your fellow DG'ers. On the very front page there's the "Watchdog 30" which are the 30 highest rated companies in the database--you definitely can't go wrong ordering from one of them. Or if you scroll down the page farther you'll see where you can search by plant type, if you go there you can choose a particular plant you're interested in and find nurseries that carry that type, or you could look broadly for perennials. Then once you have the page of results, you can sort it by rating so that the best rated companies show up at the top of the list. http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/
I beg to differ with Ibrabec about Big Dipper Farm. I bought about 10 or 12 different perennials from them this summer, and the whole lot fit in a very small box. Not only were almost all very puny specimens, they arrived in a very unhappy state (during a heatwave). They've all survived, but some haven't grown and most have barely grown in over a month since being planted. I will not order from them again.
I can't recommend anywhere else as I've only received bulbs, iris and daylilies by mail (beside my unfortunate Big Dipper order), but just placed an order with Lazy SS Farm Nursery as they got great reviews in the garden watchdog and had a great selection of plants I wanted.
I checked out some of these suggested websites and they look great! And I knew about the Garden Watchdog, but I never noticed the "Watchdog 30" so that's great info. Thanks for the ideas. It's time to start planning!!
Hallsons.
Perennially Me,
I'm sorry to hear about your unpleasant experience with Big Dipper Farm.Did you contact customer service? Any company I have ever dealt with seem happy to please the customer and keep their business.
Lynn
I've also had good luck with Big Dipper, but they don't have to ship as far to get to me so maybe that's part of the difference. Their plants weren't huge but they were equivalent size to other things I've bought for similar prices, and they've all taken off and grown fine so far.
Hi Lynn and ecrane. Thanks for your input. I didn't contact Big Dipper. I did think about it, but nothing actually died, and they had said on their website that plant sizes were varied, so even though 90% of my order was tiny, they hadn't guaranteed any particular size. And they weren't responsible for the heat wave. I thought I'd just chalk it up to experience and not order from them again. Maybe I should have complained, but feel it's kind of late now. I might send them an email just to tell them how I feel. Thanks again.
Sharon
I order from about 15 nurseries every year.
My winter entertainment is making all my lists.
I like Lazy S for overall selection, price, and nice sized plants. Customer service is outstanding.
They seem like genuinely nice people. Packaging is great.
I love Plant Delights for interesting merchandise. Plants are very nice, but expensive.
Niche gardens and Crownsville have good sized plants for the dollar, but not as much selection.
Fairweather Farms also sends beautiful plants, very large, but more expensive.
Arrowhead alpines has astonishing selection, but it's dicey what shape the plant will arrive in.
I still like them, since I enjoy trying unusual things.
Naylor Creek is great for hostas and epimediums, otherwise limited selection.
And many will have different opinion, but I love Asiatica.
It is way overpriced and plants are tiny (sounds great, so far, doesn't it)...
But they have the strangest, most wonderful plants. Right up my alley!
If you're hankering after a bizarre obscure perennial from outer mongolia,
variegated no less, look no further than Asiatica. I love it.
This message was edited Aug 6, 2008 6:35 PM
I have had good succes with plants from Hallson Gardens, Garden Crossing and Bluestone.
Thanks so much for the recommendations. I've been working on my list today!
Oh,I forgot Garden Crossings.I also like them.I don't order as many plants as I used to,because I have limited space as well as income,but I have always had good service and plants from Hirt's,White Flower Farms,Park's and Logees.My Wayside Garden experiences have been mixed.They offer some of the newer selections,but at a premium price and sometimes you get great plants and other times not what is promised,However,they do guarantee their plants as Park's, who is affiliated with them,also does.
Lynn
valrita
Aug 07, 2008
I probably order the most from Bluestone. The plants a smaller but very healthy. Shipping is fast and reasonable. They've been very dependable and I like their variety. Nice selection of mums.
For peonies, I like Reaths. I don't like their website but I call and talk to them and they're wonderful. They sell larger peonies with fantastic root systems.
I love Palatine for roses. They sell bare root, own root roses. The roots are large and ready to grow. I don't want to buy roses from anyone else.
Schreiner's for iris. Very nice plants. If you order a certain amount you get them for half price.
For bulbs, I usually go to Scheepers or Brent and Becky's. Both companies have sent me great bulbs multiple times.
I also like The Lily Garden for lilies.
I've had good luck with Klehm's and White Flower Farm but I think they're both a bit expensive especially considering shipping.
Nobody has mentioned Parks yet, I have had nice plants from them.
Has anybody used Burgess Seeds? I have their catalog and the prices are cheap, but I've never ordered and you usually get what you pay for, so cheap may not be good.
I'd take a look at their Watchdog rating and make up your mind based on that...personally I'd stay away, anyone who has more negatives than positives you're taking your chances http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/233/
Thanks, ecrane. I had looked on there before (I think) and didn't find anything, but you're right. Too many negatives. I'm throwing their catalog away right now!