Nourse Farms Inc.

I’ve been growing raspberries, blackberries, blue berries and strawberries in Massachusetts for over 40 years. Three years’ ago, I decided to buy from Nourse. In 2022, the raspberries and blackberries didn’t do well. Of ten bought, 8 died. While I watered well, I attributed the loss due to the drought. In 2023, I tried again with another 10 plants. Five were small, but I planted them---four made it. Five were in bad shape from shipping---only short stumps above the plug. Planted them in 1-liter pots and they were ready to plant by July. Four made it. I decided to give Norse one last try this year. Disappointed with very poor packing, again. The five Chester Blackberry plugs were stumps---all stems and leaves broken off. The five Jewel Raspberry plugs were small sticks above the plug, but at least had buds. The two blueberry, 1-lier pots were sticks, no sign of buds. Planted the blueberries into large, 1 gallon pots, and the berries in 1-liter pots and will hope for the best. These are not cheap plants: $7 each for the blackberries and raspberries, $11.55 each for the blueberry plants plus $23.95 for shipping and handling. At those prices, one should expect decent sized plants and proper shipping. I’m done with Nourse. NOTE: this review was sent to Nourse. They did not reply.

Purchased strawberries, 500 AC Wendy, 500 Albion, and one of those starter sets of 3 times 25. Rounded up my order with rhubarb and horseradish. Quite happy. Been picking a bowl of strawberries every morning well into late September. The horseradish i was almost going to complain about, they took a looong tribe to get going, now they're enormous. The rhubarb i will have to replant with more spacing, those will be huge. The rhubarb roots looked rather sad when i started then, but turned out ok and then some. What i would do different: do buy Nourse's special tool for planting strawberries. Highly recommended. I made my own, but it was time consuming work, right when i was with the hurry of getting everything in the ground. Then, lower a bit my expectations for everbearing. It seems people get half a pound of strawberries per plant, or more? I know I didn't prepare the ground the previous season, and I should have started the irrigation earlier, but i certainly got much less than that. Not blaming Nourse, i must learn. By the way, they say to remove blossoms from the June bearing. I tried, until i gave up, there were so many! So i did get quite a few of those fruit. After renewing, those June bearing plants are strong and huge, looking forward to a bumper crop next year, I'll be more careful with irrigation. And the runners! I almost don't know what to do with them, so many, and very nice. Can't sell those, because varieties are patented. All said, for my first, "experimental" year, things went quite well, and i am grateful to Nourse's quality, and the prices are very decent. BTW, the booklet they add with the order is fabulous, truly all you really absolutely need to know is there. Another BTW, it seems NH deer are really into strawberry leaves, more than anything else, who knew? Fence became a priority, and the main expense so far. No complaining, having my little nephew red all over because of the strawberries is truly priceless.

I ordered 100 strawberry plants from Nourse in May 2020, after receiving a shipment from a large online nursery supplier with every root dead. The Nourse roots were vigorous and most had leaves. The strawberry plants grew quickly and produced large, healthy bushes. The strawberry bushes overwintered well and now in mid-April EVERY one is vigorous and producing flowers. I am anticipating beginning to pick a bountiful harvest within four weeks. I do want to add that Nourse's customer service is A-1. The reps. are knowledgable, professional and friendly; are pleased to talk about specific issues which helped me grow sturdy and abundant strawberry plants.

I was a bit uneasy about the bare root raspberries I received from Nourse this spring (no signs of sprouts on most of them). However, all (10/10) are now growing vigorously. This was my second positive experience with the company. Nice selection, good packing and healthy plants.

I discovered this company "accident" when buying strawberries, blueberries, rhubarb, and blackberries. They have been absolutely great, incredible customer service, and dependable products. I ordered 75 strawberries, several other kinds of berries, and rhubarb, and so far everything is coming up well (with the exception of one strawberry bare root, but since they also sent me two extra plants by accident, I'm still ahead). They are incredibly helpful with their "ask an expert" feature--as I am a newbie, I really appreciate their counsel and advice. I will be a customer with these folks for years to come.

Purchased 50 bare root strawberry plants from Nourse. Plants came on time and were in great shape, 2 weeks later all plants are alive and showing new growth. Would not hesitate to buy from them again

I've ordered strawberries, blueberries, rhubarb, currants and gooseberries for the last three years and every time they have delivered fantastic plants with great planting instructions. This is the only place that I'll order my strawberry plants from! (if only they carried Hood strawberries...)

Ordered from Nourse Farms this Spring for the first time. I ordered Raspberry bushes and all I can say is WOW! The plants were shipped at the time I specified; they were the best packed plants I have ever received; they came in one day and they are absolutely fantastic. I have ordered raspberries before from Gurneys and they arrived with a few small hair-like roots no longer than a couple of inches. The ones from Nourse have a tangle of heavy roots, some over 2 feet long. No comparison whatsoever, even though the price was similar. They include a very comprehensive full color growing guide along with the shipment that has a wealth of good information. Great company and I'm sure I'll be ordering again.

My first purchase of 50 bare root strawberry plants was seamless. I asked for them to ship for arrival on a certain date. Package came on that date. Plants were well-packaged, healthy, and detailed planting instructions were provided, along with a "dip solution" to coat the roots and enable better success. I planted within one day, and all plants are thriving. I am very impressed with Nourse and will buy again.

I can not say how happy I am with the products, price and service from Nourse. 3 different varieties of raspberries, blackberry plants and currants I purchased all did amazing. 100% survival. will be a lifer for anything nourse offers.

Posted on November 23, 2016, updated January 12, 2019 Excellent customer service! Any questions about their products, just call and ask and they seem happy to answer. They also have great prices! inexpensive but not "cheap" in quality. We ordered a couple of their Pineberry collections last spring. We also bought some white strawberries from a local big box store. The ones from Norse did awesome and produced LOTS of runners! The big box store variety did awful, I'm not sure if even one survived! We are planning on ordering some raspberry plants from them for this spring. Hopefully they do just as well.

Purchased a strawberry collection (75 plants), 8 blueberries, and 10 raspberries shipped this spring from Nourse. Everything arrived in amazing condition, still dormant, and with great roots. One of the raspberries had an almost 4 foot long root. All plants leafed out very well over this summer. Plants were cheaper and in better condition than I got from any other seller.

I bought the All Season Easy Starter strawberry collection from Nourse about 3 weeks ago. My husband quickly built my raised beds while we were waiting for them to arrive and I filled them with an equal mix of mushroom compost and decomposed leaves, watering it in with each layer of medium. Once the strawberries arrived I soaked them in the hydration slurry crystals they provided and planted each 25-count bunch in my three 4'x10' raised bed boxes equally apart, leaving room for the runners of these plants to produce and root new plantlets as they grow. It has now been ONE week and these berry plants are going crazy with emerging leaves! However, and it may be the variety, the Sparkle plants are a little smaller compared to Earliglow and Allstar plants, and have 3 plants that have yet to show any green, but I'm not concerned. For the price and the initial overall growth of these bareroot plants I am VERY pleased with how they are doing so far, and look forward to years of production of these berries and their offshoots of this delicious fruit.

Ordered 50 strawberries, multiple blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, and currant plants -- all dormant barerooted. These plants looked like sticks with some roots attached (berry bushes) and dead groups of roots (strawberries) when they arrived. We were pretty skeptical that these would grow. But we planted them as instructed, and lo and behold! They are growing! Two months after ordering: The blackberry and raspberry plants look healthy and are even sending up runner shoots already. The strawberry plants are already producing fruit! Highly recommended company.

Three years ago, I bought seven currant and gooseberry plants from Nourse. They've all produced small amounts of fruit, but nothing I can make real use of yet. The plants are consistent and hardy though. They tolerate deer nibbles, cold frosts and everything else. This year, one of the currant plants died. For no reason. Everyone else is doing well though, even in the terrible soil they live in. If I ever have a need for more currants, I will certainly return to Nourse.

I recently had the GREAT pleasure of utilizing the generous services of Nourse Farms. I ordered 50 bare root Earliglow strawberry plants, to go into my first attempt at plasticulture. They arrived fresh and vibrant, included an instructional catalog, two free plants and a free pack of Viterra Agri-gel root dip! Being a novice, I was able to access their on-line tutorial videos to answer my remaining questions and was prompted to call and speak to one of their professionals, anytime the need arose. This is a truly well managed and honest company, from which I look forward to many years of patronage.

After a comically bad customer service experience with another mail order plant company, I decided to try ordering the berry plants I wanted from Nourse Farms. I am so happy I did! They shipped me the correct plants, on the shipping date I requested, and with speedy shipping service (the plants were miraculously still dormant). My new plants were very carefully packaged, and have been doing great in my garden.

Bought ten raspberry plants and 25 strawberry plants. After a poor experience with a different online nursery order a was a bit hesitant to try again but WOW. EVERY SINGLE RASPBERRY and strawberry plant has nice signs of life! I could not have asked for better and will definitely be eventually buying other berry plants as I make room for them. Thank you!!!

I've watched Nourse Farms for a few years and this is my first time ordering from them. The blueberry plants I ordered came in healthy (looked like dormant little trees) but exploded with leaves and flowers as soon as the weather warmed up! I am very pleased with the healthy plants and customer support Nourse has provided and will be back for new asparagus plants soon.

I bought 20 blackberry plants and they arrived in great condition with booklet providing excellent guidance, called with question with very polite and informative interaction.

Good selection and great customer service. Bought 2 blueberry,1 currant, and 3 gooseberry plants from them. Came very well packaged and included a booklet with information on each plant(planting, care, requirements) and also root gel for transplanting. After 2 weeks one gooseberry plant didnt seem to take. So i emailed them telling them all other plants were doing great and starting to grow leaves except one gooseberry. They quickly emailed me back and sent a replacement plant, which arrived 2 days later. All plants are growing strong. A great company in my opinion. Central Ohio

The blackberries received from this company have grown very well. I will order from them again as soon as I finish clearing space for more berries.

Posted on September 1, 2016, updated February 9, 2017 If I had to give a letter grade to Nourse, it'd be a solid C. A+ for all the blackberries I've bought from them, but then a big fat F for the Nantahala raspberries I bought due to their description that they do well in Zone 8 and the heat of east Texas which they did not do. Now, they don't even carry Nantahala raspberries, so I guess I wasn't the only one fooled by their deceptive description and my desire to grow raspberries here in Texas. However, every single one of their blackberries has been doing quite well. It's just a shame I didn't get even one single Nantahala plant to survive through last year.

I ordered three currants from them which were very cheap, only $8 (the size of the plant that I would receive was unclear though and undisclosed at purchase). The plants shipped out the next via ground and arrived within a week. The plants were quite small, 6" or less but have been growing like crazy since I have planted them. I would order from them again.

Posted on May 28, 2015, updated May 5, 2016 First off, I want to commend Micah, who has been so patient with my questions regarding strawberries and raspberries. Second, this is THE place to order strawberries and cane berries!! I ordered 100 strawberry plants and they are almost all doing fabulously! My blackberries are thriving, and while my raspberry bushes are a little slow to respond, Micah counseled patience, and guaranteed replacement if they don't grow. Micah, you have a client for life, because of your courtesy and support to customers, and patience with novice gardeners! Thank you. I am so glad I found Nourse Farms. I will always my berries from them!

I have ordered from Nourse before, and have always had great experiences. This time, for the first time ever, I ordered asparagus -- yay! Of course, instructions say to plant as soon as possible. They also say if the asparagus can't be planted right away, to keep the roots damp, not wet. So, as if it was my first day gardening, I kept the CROWNS damp - for 10 days. The roots were pretty dry by the time I planted them. So far, 21 out of 25 have sent up gorgeous little asparagus shoots. Who knows - the last 4 might grow also. I'm thinking these were very, very healthy strong plants to be doing so well after such silly treatment. They deserve their Watchdog 30 rating, for sure!

I ordered at least 15 different types of berries from many mail order companies this spring and nourse farms plants are the best ! could not believe the size of the roots ! like a foot long and some of the stalks were like a half inch across . they look like 3 year plants . every one is busting out with leaves now . every thing they sell is fantastic !

Very good service and support. Very accommodating for shipping do to weather. Very nice plants. I bought raspberries and asparagus from them in Many 2015.

Difficult to curb my enthusiasm for this company - and not just because of their proximity to my garden's location. They know what they're doing and they do it well. They are specialists and their berry plants will tell their tale. If you can manage to have difficulty with the company or their product, you have gone out of your way to bring difficulty into your life. Truly my favourite source for berry plants and, when I'm not planting anything new, I'm following their informative posts on facebook. Not a surprise that many mail-order companies will buy their berry stock from this company. Already I tell all of my garden buddies to order (or visit) here and I will continue to do so.

I purchased 4 elderberry and 2 gooseberry. They arrived fast and healthy.

Found Nourse Farms through this site. There is an obvious reason they are rated so high. I ordered 3 varieties of strawberries through them in January. On two of the varieties, I ordered 25 crowns and received 27. I really like the idea of being able to pick the week you want your order to arrive. A week before my expected delivery I received an email reminder that my plants were about to be sent. Plus an email on the day they were shipped. Overall a great experience!

ordered 7 raspberry varieties for a total of 115 bare root plants. The order arrived on time, well packed and in great shape. As others have stated there were a few extra plants thrown in. The root systems are amazing. Thank you to nourse farms and their crew.

Ordered 10 Jaclyn raspberry plants. Got 11 – yay! Nice big bare roots were shipped well packaged with moist paper. Included brochure with planting instructions and agri-gel. Mixed agri-gel with one gallon of water. It created slurry to dip raspberry root into. Agri-gell nicely coated roots.

Received three gooseberry and one blueberry plants. Plants were small, but the price was good. The packaging was impeccable. Roots in moist dirt, wrapped in plastic. The individual plants were completely wrapped in large cell bubble wrap. No damage to plants at all during shipping. Would definitely order again.

The summer of 2014 was my first experience with Nourse Farms. I ordered a small sampling of raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries. Everything arrived when expected and appeared to be of healthy stock. Having followed their planting guides ... I was amazed at how quickly and beautifully ALL of the plants grew. I expected at least a half dozen or more would probably not make it ... but every single plant thrived. So I just pre-ordered more raspberries, blueberries, strawberries ... and added blackberries and asparagus. Can't wait for Spring!

Great plants, instructions and customer service. I bought 20 raspberry plants this last spring (10 Anne and 10 Heritage). I followed their planting instructions and even with a very late spring all of the plants flourished and even produced a fair amount of berries. There planting instructions are the best on the web. Be aware that they do all of there shipping on Monday so plan accordingly, I ordered on a Tuesday thinking I would get them in a couple of days but had to wait until the next week to plant them. I would not buy berry plants from anyone else.

Nourse Farms is the only place I'll bother looking for berry plants. They always send beautiful healthy plants that are carefully packaged. Reasonably priced also. Save yourself some time and just order from Nourse Farms.

Very happy with this company so far. The strawberries came quickly, in good shape and at a good price. I was thrown off at first with the bare root thing but followed the instructions and was reward with great tasting berries this summer. Great selections too!

I just have to add more praise for this great company. I planted 50 Asparagus roots from Nourse last spring. (Jersey Knight and Millennium) I received healthy, hardy roots. I knew it would be a few years of waiting before I could expect to enjoy a harvest but that's okay because we all know that once planted, asparagus will live for decades. We had winter temps of MINUS 20 degrees this year that killed off many plants... then an extremely late spring, snow in March, and ice on the ground forever. It's been a bizarre spring to date with see-saw temps, March winds in May, some hot days but (still) cold night time temps. This is only their second season in the ground and already the plants are well over 5 feet tall The spears are tender, succulent, and almost twice as thick as my thumb! Amazing! I have heavy clay soil enriched with mushroom compost and shredded leaves. Because of their massive size, I was able to sneak a few small sample asparagus meals this year already, and the flavor was divine. I've been thrilled with everything I've received from Nourse so far. The quality and health of their plants will make you happy. I think I it's safe to say that you can buy anything they carry with confidence! Truly one of the best mail order experiences EVER in my 30+ years of gardening and buying bare-root plants.

Excellent stock, excellent information, excellent service. Can't be beat.

Posted on April 16, 2011, updated May 17, 2014 Ordered 15 raspberry plants - two sets of summer bearing and one autumn bearing and two blueberry bushes. I had to dig extra wide wholes to plant the raspberry because the roots were so large. Good think canes. The blueberries had large roots and good sized tops too. Best place for berry bushes.

Ordered 500 strawberries. Loved the experience. Just a fantastic company with great ordering and shipping system plus good prices. A+ Sincerely Shahram Nikpay

Great plants, larger than I expected. Excellent service, fast delivery, reasonable prices. The website is full of useful and accurate information, with good plant descriptions. I especially appreciate that the raspberries have been virus indexed.

A few weeks ago I ordered from Nourse for the first time - 2 orders of strawberries, 25 plants each of varieties "Earliglow" and "L'Amour." I was initially a bit disappointed that shipping would take a week since I was being impatient, but I had heard good things about Nourse, and so far I'm convinced. The prices were very reasonable and the selection was great. I received the plants the same day an earlier email had estimated they'd arrive. The strawberries were packed significantly better than plants I've received from other nurseries, being shrouded by wet shredded paper, and even with my being unable to plant for a couple days, the roots stayed moist. Having been in the ground for some time now they've healthily emerged from dormancy and appear to be vigorous as promised. Will order again from Nourse for sure.

My 1st order of strawberries are doing well. So well that I ordered again but twice as many! Everyone I have spoke with at the company is extremely knowledgeable and nice. My order was processed correctly and quickly. Three days later I was planting strawberries! The shipment included detailed information on how to correctly plant for success. However, the information was emailed to me when the order was processed. That way I had time to throughly read and understand the media and have my bed ready for planting. Their system works! I will not buy strawberries anywhere else!

Posted on March 1, 2014, updated April 15, 2014 WOW!!! I am thrilled with my order from Nourse Farms. I ordered a bundle of 5 'Jaclyn' raspberries, 5 'Taylor' raspberries, and 25 'Mara des Bois' strawberries. The plants had the most robust bareroot systems I've ever seen. In fact (and I know this is a big no-no) I had to trim back the roots on the raspberries because I just wasn't prepared to dig a >2ft deep trench for them. The strawberries started to push out new growth the day after planting, and are already starting to flower. The raspberries are just breaking dormancy and all are looking good. I would definitely order again.

This is the BEST berry plant company I have dealt with. Their strawberries come packed well and have very good root system. I recommend this company to anyone growing strawberries. A++

We got some raspberry "thinings" from a friend who recommended Nourse Farms. We can't recommend them enough. We will be ordering more - we have 10 acre hobby farm to fill.

I purchased eight varieties of strawberries (400 plants) from Nourse Farm. The order was processed very quickly, and the strawberries arrived on my doorstep in under a week. These were the best strawberry plants I've purchased from anywhere. They were large, well-hydrated, and vigorous. Very few of the plants failed to survive planting. The vast majority had several leaves and started blooming within a week of planting. I will definitely be ordering more from Nourse Farm next year to try other varieties of strawberries.

Purchased 75 strawberry plants. All were healthy and are flowering in my garden now. The package came with great instructions on how to plant and care for them. Excellent company.