Classic Viburnums

Some of the best customer service I have EVER received! I discovered Classic Viburnums while searching for Highbush Cranberry cultivars selected for fruit eating quality. I contacted them 18 months and 6 months in advance of my purchase. The first time, I inquired about the availability of three cultivars that I knew were good options, and Gary went out of his way to suggest a fourth one that I hadn't heard of when replying about availability. The second time I contacted CV, I had more specific questions about habit and spacing, and Gary offered to call me to discuss my questions in depth so I could make the best decisions. He even gave me advice that probably would mean fewer plants sold for him but that would also mean happier plants (and a happier customer) in the long run! Anyone who needs viburnums should work with Classic Viburnums - you will not be disappointed!

Great company! I ordered 10 plants (3 different varieties) that were delivered by UPS. Their customer service was great from the start to finish. Placed my order through their website (they have an exhaustive catalogue describing various types of viburnums). Gary Ladman got in touch with me the same day. He is very knowledgeable about the different varieties of viburnums that they have on offer and offers good suggestions to suit your needs. The plants were shipped the same week. Though they arrived late due to shipment delays on account of the current conditions, they were in good condition. They were packaged very carefully. So there was no potting mix spillage, broken branches or wilting leaves. Two of them were in bloom! Even with the additional shipping cost, I paid about 40 per cent less than I would have paid at a local garden center. Their payment policy is that you pay after delivery. They accept PayPal - easy and convenient. I received a follow up call from Gary about the quality of plants and service. Overall, great experience. I highly recommend them and will be back for more. This is an opportunity to support a small business without compromising on quality or your health in these uncertain times.

Posted on April 25, 2019, updated April 2, 2020 Posted on May 19, 2017, updated April 25, 2019 Posted on April 13, 2016, updated May 19, 2017 Posted on June 18, 2015, updated April 13, 2016 Posted on November 16, 2014, updated June 18, 2015 Posted on April 30, 2014, updated November 16, 2014 Posted on April 9, 2014, updated April 30, 2014 I just received five of the most outrageously fabulous viburnums from Gary Ladman of Classic Viburnums. Perfectly wrapped and shipped, they are wonderful, and a fraction of the cost of the ones I could buy here. I pretty much knew which plants I wanted, having grown viburnums before, but Gary led me to some new cultivars, and his communication was the best I have ever enjoyed. He actually called to ask if I still wanted the plants I had ordered last year, and asked if I wanted delayed shipping. I had been dreaming of them all winter. Having had this experience, I will never again buy a viburnum in a garden center. Why do that when I can get beautiful plant material, outstanding customer service, perfect yet economical shipping and access to a complete expert and professional?

I am primarily a birder, and try to plant my yard with bird-attracting shrubs. Viburnums are a great candidate for wildlife gardens, but you may need a few varieties to allow for cross pollination if you want berries. I've had to rely on the owner's expertise in recommending suitable varieties, and they have been super helpful and their recommendations are spot on, beautiful, and healthy. Viburnums are a plant that has three season interest, with some varieties with colorful foliage as they leaf out, lovely flowers, heavy berry set, and striking fall foliage. Classic Viburnums is a great company to deal with, and I've been very happy with all of my orders. I'd happily recommend them to others, and plan on using them again.

I have several difficult areas of my garden that I did not know quite what to do with. Having taken out a vast quantity of yew plants that had been left to grow into enormous bushes over the previous owner's occupancy of my house, I realized why yew had been left to grow in those exact areas that were dry, shady and north-facing! Anyway, I started visualizing the garden differently and saw that I still had 2 viburnum plants --no doubt acquired by the previous owner locally because the plants were identical and only held 2 season of interest, hence no berries ever-- and I believe in the adage 'find what grows well in your garden and/or area, and plant more of it!' At least, where difficult areas of the garden are concerned. I found Classic Viburnums online and realized what an incredible treasure trove their website is! A virtual compendium of viburnums, highly detailed and with a generous quantity of photographs to help the customer appreciate how big a plant could grow, how it might look in our own garden spaces and how many seasons of interest we could expect from it. I am always interested in every plant I choose for my garden to do as much work for me as possible, so viburnums are a good choice: early leaf-out in MI, spring flowering, scented flowers often, late summer berries, fall foliage. I took note of viburnum types that interested me because they would fit in my spaces, could handle the somewhat shady conditions and would grow to the dimensions required to hide ugly structures at the border of my garden where the neighbour's choices intrude. I emailed Gary with my choices and asked him to help me decide which viburnum plants to choose of similar dimensions and performance that would cross-pollinate with my choices to ensure 3 seasons of interest, with berry production. What then ensued was a very prompt, lengthy, detailed, friendly conversation with Gary over a period of weeks as we discussed best choices, shipping costs, shipping dates and replacement policies in case plants put in the ground in October/November in MI failed to leaf out in the spring. Gary's communications are stellar. He explains pricings, is open to so many options regarding best-fit shipping dates for the client and is so knowledgeable and encouraging, such that I felt confident in my plant choices and decision to order 6 2-3 year plants from an online vendor with whom I had no prior experience. My 6 plants arrived in late September, were nicely branched and sized for their type, were well packaged and had suffered no damage in transit. I wasn't able to get them in the ground immediately as I was waiting for fall rains to soften the soil somewhat, then my elderly mother came to stay from overseas and required a hospital visit while with me and so it actually took me until mid to late November before I could get the 6 plants in the ground. Sadly, since my fall planting plans had been scuppered by life events, I could not put 4 of them in their eventual homes as I had run out of digging time and weather and had to plant them in my overflow, temporary spot after removing my dahlia bulbs for the season. Would they be OK resting there over the winter? Had I planted these shrubs too late in the season? Would the roots fail to thrive? I am pleased to say that I needn't have worried about my plants from Gary at all. All 6 leafed out just beautifully this spring. One of the Carlesi plants got half dug up by an animal in early March/April but I got its roots recovered and back under soil and the plant has not suffered any. The Carlesi type and the Acerifolia viburnums all flowered in the spring, are still flowering, in fact, which was a delightful surprise for such young plants! I used the 2 larger Tomentosum plants to create a woodland area under some pine trees at the edge of my property where their mature dimensions will hide my neighbour's ugly fencing and a/c unit. I surrounded them with ferns and Chocolate Cherry Astillbe whose large, red flower spikes will be beautiful in summer. I can see this little woodland area from my back door as I stand on my deck and view my whole back garden and it is just beautiful: there is movement between the delicate forms of the Astillbe, the dancing fronds of the tall ferns and the gently branching arms of the viburnums. This area has come together just as I imagined it would and I thank Gary for his support. As we start out gardening, everything we come to know is the product of trial and error and our best research, guess work and visualization. Gary supported my visions and sold me the best plants to make it become a reality. Thank you Gary! All that remains is for me to now create the garden bed in the front, filtered sun/shade area into which I shall move the Acerifolia plants to grow and take their centre stage. I would not hesitate to recommend Classic Viburnums to anyone looking for the highest quality, highly dependable shrubs with multiple seasons of interest for their garden. Have no fear about ordering online: Gary and Sue Ladman will not steer you wrong and they care as much about your satisfaction with the plants as you do! In fact, my recent chat with Gary confirms this: my happiness in creating my woodland garden with the help of his viburnum plants quite made his day!

I initially contacted Classic Viburnums because the pollinator I had bought elsewhere for my Viburnum dentatum 'Blue Muffin' wasn't blooming at the same time, hence no berry production on either cultivar. Gary quickly responded and provided me with a list of correct compatible pollinators and their bloom times. After a couple more pleasant conversations, I was all set with viburnums that would not only bloom at the correct time as my existing varieties for ample berry production, but that would also grow to a compact size that would fit into our ever-shrinking urban landscape. Classic Viburnums also had another, highly-fragrant shrub that I've always wanted! Outstanding, beautiful specimens all three turned out to be! Lastly, I was extremely fortunate to be able to meet the people that own and operate Classic Viburnums in person. When my order was ready to ship, Gary told me that he and Sue would soon be visiting the city I where I live. They graciously offered to drop off my plants in person! This was a kind and generous gesture that I will never forget. You won't find a better vendor of quality plants or two finer people anywhere.

Posted on June 23, 2015, updated November 4, 2015 I was recommended to speak with Gary at Classic Viburnums from another member on this site. I'm very glad I did. Not only is Gary extremely knowledgeable in his field, he is very kind and responds quickly. I bought several plants from him this spring. A couple were a little thirsty after the journey from Nebraska but otherwise all the plants looked excellent. I received them several weeks ago and all are still doing great. It will be exciting to see them grow and berry in the coming years. I'm sure I'll be going back to Gary in the future for more viburnums!

Posted on April 19, 2014, updated June 18, 2015 After finding this website on the net, I called their number and spoke with Gary Ladman for a long time to discuss the purchase of 2 'Conoy' Viburnums which I have purchased elsewhere in the past and were no longer able to be found on Long Island where I live. He described the shipping process to me and how they would arrive (UPS). Upon opening the box, the plants were packaged very well with newspaper and packing tape and some bubble wrap around the top of the shrubs. The root systems were healthy and intact when I removed the shrubs from their pots. These are a semi evergreen to evergreen viburnum. There were leaves on the 2 shrubs and both plants were labeled. Only negative I can say is that the company does not accept credit cards and once the item is received, a personal check is sent to this company. I think that the company does not want to deal with credit card companies and their high fees to merchandisers. I would definitely do business with this company again despite this.

I don't normally write online reviews, but felt that the owners of Classic Viburnums should be recognized for their outstanding customer service and attention to detail. I was in search of Viburnum awabuki Chindo's and sent them an inquiry on their website. The owner promptly returned my message with a phone call and spent a great deal of time talking with me to answer all of my questions. He took the time to follow up by sending an email with photos of the plants I was interested in. I had some concerns due to the long distance the plants would have to be shipped (from NE to SC), but the plants arrived in perfect condition. It was amazing; not a leaf was out of place! A LOT of care and attention to detail was placed into the careful packaging of these plants. I am very pleased with my purchase and highly recommend Classic Viburnums. Vibrant, healthy plants, outstanding customer service and expert advice. Five stars!

100% happy. A great nursery run by knowledgable professionals who really care about what they do and are a pleasure to do business with. Fabulous variety you can't find anywhere else. Well rooted and strong plants--no cheap tricks or short cuts on the cultivation practices here: these are grown well--and I have no doubt that they will overwinter nicely too. The packaging job to Chicago was military spec. Truly Flawless. The viburnums looked like they had just travelled down the block. Thank you Classic Viburnums, I'll be back again.

I, too, took ViburnumValley's recommendation to place an order with Classic Viburnums. I spoke with Gary, the owner, at length before selecting the perfect viburnum to pollinate my Blue Muffin. Gary was extremely helpful in steering me in the right direction, and even placed two follow-up calls to make sure I was satisfied and knew exactly how to plant and care for my new shrub. It arrived in perfect condition with no leaf loss or wilting. My 'Little Joe' is now thriving and looking healthy thanks to an experienced nurseryman, expert advice, and personalized service.

I am an avid plant hobbyist who has been mail-ordering plants for thirty years. As a customer, I am exceptionally satisfied placing and receiving an order from Classic Viburnums and their website ClassicViburnums.com. Their user-friendly website offers a "Viburnum Library" with complete horticultural information on each plant. I'm impressed by their listing of both traditional and rare, hard-to-find Viburnums. When I unpacked my Classic Viburnum shipment, I was left breathless with the size, health, beauty, and elegance of the plants. At Classic Viburnums, I receive excellent personable and friendly customer service. The plants that I order have full healthy growth, strong roots, and are meticulously packaged to arrive in perfect condition. I highly recommend Classic Viburnums to beginning and highly experienced gardeners alike. And to those hard-to-impress seasoned gardeners, I must say that ClassicViburnums.com is truly a new adventure in gardening.

I rate this company as OUTSTANDING!!! Wow, Gary went above and beyone to help me with the huge task of selecting the correct Viburnums, not only for my zone but for color, fruit production, their pollinators and for year around interest. He was so patient with my many newbie questions. The plants were shipped lightening fast and in Perect Condition. I hate to think of the hours he spent on the packaging! They were shipped as though they were made of glass. I also owe a huge thank you to Mr. "ViburnumValley" for recommending Classic Viburnum and his recommendations for plants as well. None of this would have been possible without their combined help. I'm thrilled with the selection of HEALTHY plants and look forward years of beauty. My birds & I thank you!!