Hortico Nurseries Inc.

Posted on May 18, 2013, updated September 8, 2014 Posted on March 25, 2013, updated May 18, 2013 First of all, very latest bare root roses ever received. Not suitable for warmer mid and south region because they shipped only based on their Canadian weather. Secondly, roses are very tiny, skinny and small. I usually grows bare root roses in 5 gallons pot but I have to grows those mini bare root roses in 2 gallons pots. I can say slightly better than Jackson's and Perkins, canes are little healthier but roots are too short. I ordered roses to see their quality of bare roots, however, I'm not too much expected. Price is cheaper, lots of good variety roses..,not sure true to the name. These will be another challenge for me next few months, if not my feedback will switch to negative. Hopefully leaves out and grow. Definitely first and last time order from Hortico.

After placing my order in December I was notified in February that none of the items were available. I called to question this and the girl I talked to said many of their plants did not come in. When I pressed her about this - I mean how can a company not have ANY of the 30+ items I ordered? - she said she would check and get back to me. After a week, there was no response. I called again and the girl said she was still checking and to wait. After another week I called and talked with John who went through my order and confirmed that they were able to supply all but 2 of my items. I requested replacements and waited for the order to arrive. What a disappointment! I got a big soggy mess delivered to my door. The roots had been bagged in soaking wet soil and many had broken open. Plant stems were broken off and it looked like the box they had been shipped in had broken open. I took pictures and contacted Hortico but never got a response. I planted all of the plants and kept my fingers crossed. A few came up but most just disintegrated into nothing. I did not bother to call them again as I don't believe they will call me back. I consider it a lesson learned and will never order from them again.

Posted on May 20, 2014, updated July 18, 2014 Posted on December 10, 2013, updated May 20, 2014 Posted on December 10, 2013, updated December 10, 2013 BUYER BEWARE!!!!! Nov 1, 2013 charged my account $29.59 for they said a 10% deposit, it was more like 20% and told roses being shipped next week Nov. 19 E-mailed again was told roses being shipped next week Dec 2nd phoned them immediately when M/C had to cancel my card as it was used twice in Quebec and gave them my Visa number. told rose being shipped Wednesday. Dec 6 recieved e-mail from them that they were unable to ship 2 of the roses I orderd. Dec 9 sent e-mail to ask, where were rose NO Reply Dec10 today phoned and was told all the roses had been shipped, and were unable to ship mine due to weather conditions. Will never never order from them again and hope everyone else is aware of the shoddy business. Have given them my Visa number but I have doubts I will get my deposit returned

I have bought from Hortico a number of times within the past five years. While they may have had problems in the past, I have never experienced this. Last year and this year I spent in excess of $400 on their roses and every one was correctly labeled and available when it came time to ship. There was a small holdup when the roses came across the US/Canadian border and according to tracking info provided it was an issue with UPS, but the customer service at Hortico was excellent in helping me track my package. Even after over a week in transit, the roses were still in perfect condition due to their efficient packaging.

I put in an order with Hortico despite the many negative comments here, because they were the only source I could find for several rare roses. They were sold out of one, which they didn't tell me until shipping time (annoying because if they had told me earlier, I might have been able to order it from another source, but by then it was too late). Other than that I was pleased with the transaction and the roses. Most looked like typical sized bare-root roses that I've received from other companies. Some were smaller, but I knew that when ordering and paid less for them. They were well-packed and communication was good. All have leafed out and are currently growing well. Based on this experience I would order from them again. Their selection is quite extensive for northern gardeners.

Posted on October 7, 2011, updated October 25, 2012 I have ordered several times and have always had great customer service. Plants arrive healthy and always within the time frame I ask for. I couldn't be happier with my experience with them.

I ordered a Double Delight tea rose in June, and it arrived two days later. The plant has done well, but it is NOT a Double Delight rose, despite what the plastic label says. It is a pink variety instead. When I asked for a refund, the company said next year I can have a free rose. I wrote back that I'd have to be stupid to order from them again.

Just wanted to say "Thanks Hortico!!". Have been trying for FIVE YEARS to order a Buttercup rose from David Austin. Despite pre-paying, and ordering again and again when they appeared to be in stock I was never able to obtain one from DH-always out of stock. Took a 'risk'-based on negative feedback and ordered from Horitico. They didn't have it but said they'd notify me when they did. Hortico called me as promised (for my li ttle tin y order) and i received the rose last summer. Waited for bloom to make sure it was Buttercup. It is!! It is blooming beautifullly and I am thrilled! Five stars to you all for GREAT customer service and my beautiful Buttercup!!!

My order from Hortico arrived exactly when Katie said it would and eventhough it is very hot in South Texas now, my rose is fine. This is the first time I have purchased a bare root rose, but the roots look healthy as do the canes and the new growth. I will not hesitate to order from Hortico again, but I will try to plan ahead better and order before it gets so hot!

I am posting a negative review to hopefully save someone from investing time and money and save them from a bunch of frustrations. I ordered a clematis that was out of stock at every nursery I contacted. It was a gift. I also found a few rose collections that I wanted to order , but wasn't able to do add them to my basket, so I emailed and I asked about shipping charges. They were unable to supply any of the roses, and unable to give me any shipping estimates... I was told that I would be given the price of shipping after I ordered as somehow the prices of shipping other types of plants varies more than roses. I ordered and 10$ deposit was immediately taken to ensure the order went through. Even after the order went through and I received my invoice I had NO IDEA of shipping fees. I was asked when I wanted it delivered, so I gave the date which was within the allowed time frame. Here is what I sent for an email AFTER calling and leaving messages by phone and getting nowhere. ''Hello, I am writing because today is the 22nd of July, and I have not received any news from you since the 6th of July. I have not received a shipping price, though it is specified on my invoice that the service is to be provided by UPS, on the 15th of July. I am concerned -I would like to know what the shipping charge will be, I would have liked this gift to have shipped on specified date. Please let me know what is going on with my order, I specified that this was a gift , that I was only interested in the item that I ordered and I had included a message to be included with the gift on your behalf. I anxiously await news,'' ''Hello, This is to inform you that I will be filing a complaint. I was billed 10$ deposit on my order WITHOUT being informed of the shipping fee that my order would incur. I sent emails requesting this information and was assured that I would get this information before my order was processed. Furthermore, the order was made on JULY 6 2010 and was to ship as a gift on JULY 15 2010. I asked for NO Substitutions. I emailed to get information about my order that HAD NOT yet shipped on the 21 of JULy 2010. I called after receiving NO response via email. This call was placed on JULY 23 and I spoke to John who prompted me to forward the July 21st email to him, which I did that very same day. I have still not received any information about my order, it has still not been sent to the recipient and I am writing you on July 28th 2010. '' SOOOOO I would STAY AWAY from this company. The plant finally got there, my friend said it was ''fine''. I have not seen it yet so I can't comment on the actual clematis. I can say that the clematis cost 15.50$ plus taxe and the shipping cost me more than the actual plant somewhere around 20$. Never again. Then they emailed asking me for the recipient's email address ....perhaps they felt she should be on their emailing list...I did not give it to them.

Like many others here, I am flabbergasted that this operation remains in business. I have gardened intensively for many years, and because I reside in a rural area, I purchase most of my garden plants from mail order sources. I can report without equivocation that my experience with Hortico is absolutely the worst experience I've ever had with a vendor. Most of the bareroot roses they shipped to me were dead on arrival -- brown, brittle, permanently dormant. When I contacted them about my dead roses, they were very quick to respond with questions regarding how I had treated the roses upon their arrival on my doorstep. They then notified me that I killed the roses because I had soaked them overnight -- far, far longer than the exact 20 minutes that they prescribe. When I then asked why several of the roses survived the deadly soak, John of Hortico responded that the survivors HAD BEEN MORE DORMANT than the dead ones. (Go figure.) Based on that enlightenment, I suggest that anyone ordering Hortico's bareroots request that a dormancy scale accompany each individual plant. The reality is that I have, in the past, soaked bareroot roses (grafted on Dr Huey and on Multiflora) for more than 2 weeks with no ill effects. More than their refusal to either replace the dead roses or refund my money, it was John's juvenile, goading emails sent in response to my questions about the dead roses that told me all I need to know about Hortico's operation and their total disregard for customer service. I saved those emails and shall pass them along to any of my acquaintances who may contemplate doing business with this outfit.

I have been ordering roses from Hortico for years; they have a wide variety of roses that you can not find any where else. Yes sometimes roses are back order and I have to be patient, but I am willing to wait to get what I want. I have also been shipped the wrong rose before and there was no problem getting the right rose shipped to me. I emailed Katie a picture of the rose I receive and let her know the rose I suppose to receive and she sent me a confirmation for a replacement rose, the rose was shipped within a week after being notified. Katie has been the customer service person I have been dealing with for the past year and I would like to say she has been very good at keeping me up to date on what is going on with my order and helping me find beautiful roses to fit my needs/ requests. I do feel bad about how her name has been put on here negatively she seems to be the only person there that customers can speak to about their orders, issue and questions. Hortico is a great company if you are looking for unique and beautiful.

I placed my order with Hortico 08/31/09 and received a confirmation almost immediately. This confirmation stated that the rose would be available for shipment 10/01/09 - 03/31/10. This was acceptable to me and my card was charged. I was notified via e-mail at the end of '09 that the rose would not be available for shipment until spring. Again that was fine with me. Upon checking my files 05/19/10, I noticed that I had not received the rose and had not received any sort of update regarding delays in shipment of the rose since last year. Certainly, if the rose would have been unavailable until fall, I would have expected an unprompted update in spring and even an offer to credit my card. I contacted Hortico via telephone and was informed my Katey that the rose in question had not been available from Hortico for the entire season nor last season. Also, I was told by Katey that the confirming order number--which I received via e-mail upon placing the order--was a bad number. She was willing to argue this point for some time but, since I had a copy of the confirming e-mail in my hand, I was not really willing to argue the point. And certainly any confirming number issued by Hortico--even if it was only a temporary number--should be searchable by any Hortico employee. She then informed me that she could search my order by my name. Why not just get to that in the first place? And indeed why take the order in the first place? And charge my card? And certainly why would I have to contact them to find that out? This was not a huge order but really! I shall report back upong the receipt of the credit to my card. I cannot speak for the quality of the plants, or the shipping, but they need to work on their customer service.

Posted on December 01, 2009, updated December 14, 2009 Posted on October 25, 2006, updated December 01, 2009 I have dealt with Hortico many times in the past several years with mixed results to begin with, but they are steadily improving. I placed my order last year with them and when they sent it, the order got mixed up with a back order I had placed previously. I contacted them and we straightened out the orders and I was credited correctly and missing plants were put on back order as requested for a specified shipping time. Also, I placed another large order and gave them a list of possible substitutes should my selections be already sold out. They gladly accepted the substitute list and will use it so that my orders are finished cleanly and with no negative surprises. John, Sue, and Diane have been excellent to work with. If you tried them in the past and were unhappy with the experience, try them again, keep the communications open, and see what happens. I think you will be pleased. After all, they do have the largest and most comprehensive stock of roses in the world at their disposal.

Posted on October 16, 2008, updated December 03, 2009 This order took FOREVER to get to me. Despite the fact that I paid extra for faster shipping, it was shipping the slower way (from Canada to Louisiana) and was also shipped almost a month after I had requested. This made a huge difference in it's ability to grow here, as our heat kicks in very early and is too stressful for bare roots to get established. I wrote to Hortico with my complaints several times and never got a satisfactory resolution. The rose did indeed die in our heat.... the ONLY rose out of 35 planted that season that did not survive and the only one that came from Hortico. I will not order from them again. Ev

I ordered 4 roses back in January 09: Black Garnet, Auckland Metro, Souvenir de la Mal Maison and Barkarole. All of the roses except Black Garnet shipped in April. I was not charged for Black Garnet, but I was charged for the other three. I potted them up at the same time in the same manner, and as I've potted at least 50 other happy thriving bare root roses in my garden. Barkarole took off and thrived and is still thriving in my garden. SdelaMM never grew. It tried, but every little green bud that started never got beyond a pimple size before it withered and died. It looked like it had a bad case of canker. I notified Hortico immediately and Katie replied that the rose would be replaced in October. Auckland got off to a slow but decent start but then it too, within a few weeks, began to show the same problems as SdelaMM and then quickly died also. I notified Katie and she sent me an updated invoice showing that the two plants would be replaced in October. I emailed last week (September '09) to check on the order. Katie at first acted as though she had no idea of what I was talking about. So I sent her the email string AGAIN and the invoice showing that the plants were paid for and due to be shipped in October. Her reply was barely intelligible and completely circular. She is either mentally challenged or has taken deliberate obtuseness to an art form b/c she wrote back "confused" about whether or not I had a credit (The invoice clearly shows the plants are owed at no charge) She also added that because they were dealing with "living stock" she could not and had not ever promised plants before, in spite of her two emails stating unequivocally that the plants would be sent in October. And I'm sorry, but I thought that was exactly what they did for a living. I mean, if that's the case, why even fill out an order? Why not just send in your money and let them send whatever they want? In any case, she further stated that Auckland would not be available in October and she didn't know when it would be and SdelaMM might be ready in October, but she wasn't exactly sure. Would I like to wait until spring or choose some substitutes? I emailed back and just asked for my money back. Now I have an email saying that I have to send pictures to prove the plants are dead ... ??? First, I already sent pictures back in April. Now, three months after they are long dead I'm supposed to send pictures?! But, as it so happens, I still have the poor little dead withered skeletons in my compost heap so I hauled them out to take the pictures. I find this step absolutely ridiculous. How can a picture of two dead plants prove anything? This is clearly just another ridiculous attempt to find an excuse not to refund my money. Zero integrity by this nursery. Worst experience ever.

-ordered double plenum geranium , got some purple single -one other geranium was sickly, only 2 leaves and exposed roots, could not beleive it, took a picture and emailed them, got no response after 2 emails. -I had ordered some roses in 2007 which were flimzy but seem to pick-up in their 3rd year....I wont try a third time...I learned my lesson. if at least they would acknowledge my emails....

I had dealt with Hortico for some time and was always pleased with product. I live close to them so was always able to physically pick up my orders. In 2008 their service went out in a handbasket. My spring order was backordered, after numerous emails with no response I gave up, sent them an email and told them to cancel everything. In fall I got a message from them to say that my order was ready. I responded by pointing out that I had cancelled but if the product was in good shape and had not been sitting in a barn somewhere and forgotten about I would take it. I never got a response except to say that the amount I owed was $..... Added to that their prices have risen astronomically and I don't see their value any longer.

I have found Hortico to be a great company to deal with. The plants I ordered for this spring were delivered on time, in great condition, and they were large and vigorous. There was one error made in the order (wrong hosta) and when I notified them of this, they corrected it immediately. Within two days, the right hosta was delivered to me at no charge. I would definitely recommend this company for great customer service and good quality plants.

I received my first order from Hortico. I ordered Floribunda Honey Perfume and Shrub Doroschen. They are bareroot. It is perfect timing or a little after to put them in but I should be fine. Both plants are quite healthy. I will update this as they grow but so far I am pleased.

This company has NO customer service AT ALL!!! I have emailed them with questions several times and have recieved NO RESPONSE. They obviously don't care if they sell anything or not. I will order from another company. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH HORTICO!!!

I live in the Dallas Metroplex and needed special roses for our new French formal garden we had just created. We ordered 38 bare root rose bushes for the formal gardens and 2 bare root climbing roses (for 2 pots on our patio). The roses all arrived when promised a week later and were in excellent condition with the moist packing materials still nice and moist. In fact, the root structures on the new roses were the best we had every seen. We planted all the roses as per the instructions and within two weeks all of them had buds. I am happy to report that all 40 rose bushes are doing well and are growning significant shoots and leaves. What we particularly appreciated was the advice (via e-mail) that we received. Hortico helped us select the right roses for what we wanted to achieve. We were very impressed by the knowledge of Hortico's staff, the quality and value of the plants and of course best of all the great results. I would highly recommend them - these people are A+

a while ago(2 years) i have ordered several bare root roses from hortico( acropolis, souvenir de malmaison, blanc double de coubert, hansa). the very! little plants arrived and i was more than worried. i have followed the instructions, and in the second season the roses were growing and flowering like mad. compared to the more expensive roses i purchased from a local nursery, horticos roses are way more vigorous and stronger. i will order more roses for spring 2009!

This past January (2008) I ordered a rose from Hortico that I wanted very badly. It was back ordered and being less than organized I forgot about the order. Much to my surprise the rose arrived at my house this month (December 2008). I live in South Carolina and while the winters are bad here....we still have winter. The normal planting time for bareroot roses here is usually February or March. I called Hortico to ask why they shipped it now and what I should do with it. They assured me that I could in fact plant it now and it would be fine as long as I followed their instructions. I honestly have my doubts so I asked what they would do if this rose dies. They then told me that they couldn't guarantee this rose as it was planted during the Winter. Weren't they the ones who shipped it during the winter? I planted it but I will never order from them again. This was my first & last time.

I ordered 4 different roses. All arrived healthy, which was great. One rose, George Burns, was so small I thought there was an error in my shipment. The root was as small as my thumb, not kidding. So I called them since they charged me full price. Got the run-a-round, sent an e-mail with a picture of the roses which showed the small GB very well. So after 3 days of calling them, e-mails, etc they said they would send a substitute for free. Get this, free rose that costs me $26 for shipping. I will not order from Hortico ever again.

I was skeptical ordering from this company because of the few negative feedbacks posted. However, I wanted a rose (Starry Night) that is very hard to find, and Hortico was the only company I could locate online that carried them. I had planted this particular rose bush about eight years ago (not from Hortico), but last year they just kind of pooped out from old age. I went ahead and ordered seven Starry Night plants from Hortico online on April 9 and received the plants today (April 24)!! Very fast shipping! When the roses were shipped, they sent me delivery confirmation via e-mail, along with a UPS tracking number. When I received the roses, they were in perfect condition, healthy and green. Packaging was very professionally done. I couldn't believe the size of the roots, very thick and sturdy. I can't wait until the plants start to leaf out. I will use this company again, and will recommend them to my friends.

Excellent as usual. Good healthy plant, great customer service. I have never had any problem with this company :=)

I emailed Hortico to check on availability of plants before placing my order. I got a response within 2 days and adjusted my order accordingly. They let me know that one plant was delayed and asked if I wanted to get the remainder of the order right away or wait and ship when the other plant became available. I chose the later and my package did arrive right on time, with an email notification when it had been shipped. Very nice packaging, and roses were in excellent shape. I have made it a habit now to always email in advance to check on what's available rather than be disappointed later on.

First warning-Hortico kept my credit card info on record and accessable for over a year, and charged me to ship a back order that I had cancelled months earlier. In the States credit card info cannot legally be kept for longer than 180 days, other Canadian Nurseries ask you for your information every time they ship, not Hortico, beware, ask them to delete your credit info. I'd gotten a nightmare everything-died order from Hortico years ago, decided to try them again after hearing that the sons had taken over. 2005 order was decent, although many were small and didn't survive winter. 2006 order was terrible, as usual with Hortico many weren't available and so went on 'backorder' and a really nasty surprize, many of the dried out most likely grade 2 plants were on Dr Huey, not Multiflora. When I called them about it I got the run around, no one would give me a straight answer about why the plants were Dr Huey grafted, just finally admitted that they did purchase roses from other vendors on Dr Huey, but would not tell me where they came from. So Hortico most likely is buying low grade roses from American growers and reselling back to the States. If I'd had any idea that the roses would be on Dr Huey I would have cancelled the order, alas nowhere on their website is Dr Huey rootstock even mentioned, they say all their plants are multiflora/canina grafted or ownroot. I buy from Canada for the multiflora rootstock, I don't trust American growers because of the RMV issue here in the States. I was horrified when I saw the Dr Huey, and very unhappy. All Hortico told me was that they offer a replacement on the roses if they died. They would not offer a refund because of the rootstock, even though they were deceptive about it. I planted and babied the poor pathetic things, only to lose them all to the creeping black death. Then to add insult to injury this spring they suddenly and without warning charged my credit card for backordered roses I had told them I didn't want. I had to call and confront them over keeping my credit info and they rectified the situation at breakneck speed. They did offer replacement plants for the roses that had died, I told them not to bother as it was a waste of my time and I wouldn't be ordering from them again. Hortico has not changed, they may have rare roses that you can't get anywhere esle, but that doesn't mean that they will actually send them to you. You may not get plants on multiflora, you may get grade 2 American grown roses on Dr Huey, with no warning or refund for getting a rootstock you weren't expecting or wanted. I had really hoped after my 2005 order that Hortico was finally going to become a stable and reliable vendor, as I buy all of my roses from Canada, but sadly I was wrong. Order from them at your own risk, question them about the rootstock, and make sure they don't keep your credit card info longer than they should. Good Luck.

I had been very disappointed with two roses I received from Hortico in 2006; they never leafed out at all, and a third rose was backordered for a second year. However, when I emailed them with my concern, they immediately replaced the two roses, and suggested a different planting technique than the one I had used (brief rather than long soaking, as they use multiflora rootstock, and hilling up soil until leaves appear.) They also refunded the deposit for the third rose, and the two they sent are beautifully leafed out now and thriving. They were very gracious and helpful. They have roses that are not available elsewhere; I will definitely order from them again next year.

I have had a great experience with Hortico. The couple of roses I ordered last year all survived, and I therefore chose to order again this year. I ordered a little on the late side, and asked for someone to call me for payment information, which they did. They tried my home number first, and when they did not reach me there, they called my office number which I had supplied. I found this very convenient for myself, as I did not have to play phone-tag with them for days. I believe that this in itself was beyond the call of duty. The young woman I dealt with, Stephanie, was very helpful, and when I called back to alter my order slightly, she confirmed that all the roses I had put on my order were available. I had not expected this, and to me it was beyond my expectations that she could, and would do that. My roses have all started to leaf out, and look wonderful! I am so excited waiting for the 'rose garden', that no-one ever promised me, that I got for myself, to bloom! I am very impressed that some of the roses have so many branches on them, and really hope they will bloom in their first year! Even the ones that were the lower grade (which I requested), have leafed out very well, and look like they will come along just fine. Anyways, I would recommend Hortico to friends and family, and will definitely order again. (I am putting in a fence on the other side of my yard, and need some wild-rose rugosa varieties to festoon that side now!) I think some people expect perfection, and fact is, there can be blips in anything. My experience has been extremely satisfactory, and I feel that there is a part for the consumer to play in any transaction. If that includes trying a company that has tidied up their processes, and improved themselves, then that is the company I would try first. As well, a few pieces of bad press can be completely overblown, and wreck a company's entire business. In this case, I will order again from Hortico because they were able to withstand any bad press and had the strength to 'rise from the ashes' so to speak, due to a few unfortunate incidents. Anyways, I love to preach, but I love Hortico!! All my roses look awesome, and green and healthy, and even my last years ones, which I planted too late, and which suffered because of it, and which I did not think would come back this year, have beaten the odds due to my lack of experience, and are sending up all kinds of new shoots and will survive! Yay! (Don't mind me, I am just so excited!) Have a fabulously lovely spring all! I

Easy ordering on line at Hortico Fast response. Roses arrived safety packed. I planted next day and they are doing fine so far. Bare root. They have a great selection and I found out about them at the Rose Show at Longwood Gardens in 2006. I will update as they grow! Donna

I was very happy with my purchases from Hortico Nursery. They had alot of roses that I wasn't able to get anywhere else. The staff was very nice and helpful. I received my roses and was totally satisfied with the roses. They were healthy and well wrapped for shipping. Two thumbs up for this nursery! I will definitely be buying from them again. Actually I have some coming this spring! Donna

I have placed several rose orders with Hortico over the years and have always been very satisfied with the quality of their plants and their customer service. I live in the Atlanta, GA area and despite the considerable climate differences between Canada and Georgia, found their plants to be very hardy and healthy. Hortico's customer service has always been prompt, professional, informative - and very friendly - a real pleasure to work with. I never hesitate to order roses from them and will continue to do so in the future.

I have ordered several hundred varieties of roses from Hortico over the past eight years, and have always been satisfied with the plants and with my dealings with the company. I have ordered over the phone, over the web, and via email, with excellent results. They always have a tremendous range of varieties, many of which are not available from anywhere else. I used to go to Canada to pick up my large orders, but post 9/11, this isn't as easy (coming back into the US is a pain - the Canadians aren't at fault...). Shipping charges are reasonable, and I don't mind plants on the smaller side. They generally have grown well, and my losses and experiences with misnamed varieties have been much less with Hortico than with other sources.

I ordered a rose collection in July. All five roses came within a few weeks. I planted the then dormant roses and two did not survive. In August, I contacted Hortico and told them that two of the roses failed to ever come in to leaf and they agreed to replace them this fall. Of the three that did survive, I am very, very happy with the health and growth of the plants. They are three of the healthiest plants out of the 50+ roses that I planted this past year. Good selection and good bargain.

I have dealt with Hortico for the last 6 years and have found them so helpful. The roses, trees, perennials, and shrubs are fantastic! The people at Hortico treat me as if I were a very good friend and make sure I get the most healthy plants. They spend time to give me great information about the care of these plants. I specifically wanted plants this year to stop hunters from sneaking onto my property and the thorns are going to work better than any sign I put up! Some of the trees I planted 5 years ago are now 20 feet tall. They were part of a transport full of trees delivered for me. I therefore feel that my recommendation to buy from Hortico is worth a lot. I can hardly wait for sping to send for more even though I just received dozens of bushes and trees. John Vanderkruk called me to let me know the special care of some of them and to ask if I was happy with the order.

I placed an order for 10 Therese Bugnet and 10 r. rubrifolia in late December. In May I phoned to check the status of my order and was informed that NONE of the roses I had ordered 5-months earlier were available. I was told I could backorder to fall or next spring if I wished. I did not. Several weeks later (and only after I had purchased other roses from a local nursery and planted the site I had planned for the Hortico roses) the 10 Therese Bugnet arrived on my doorstep without warning. I immediately phoned Hortico and informed the gentleman who answered what had happened and that I was leaving town the next morning. He promised to have someone contact me upon my return a few days later. I told him I would put the roses in my cool basement in the original packaging until I received the call-back and instructions how to return them. No one from Hortico ever returned my call. Three weeks later, with a box full of dead roses sitting in my basement, I finally resorted to dealing with them via email. At one point last week I was told I would be refunded for the 3 roses. I had to point out that they shipped and charged me for 10 roses--not 3. This week they refuse to refund my $118 but have offered a credit toward a future order--like anyone in their right mind would order from them again after this fiasco! Stay away! Their customer service is incompetent beyond belief!

In the end of March or April 1 I ordered several roses and two perennials with Hortico. I had done business with them a couple of years ago and was VERY happy. Unfortunately, my experience this time is not as happy. On April 3 they acknowledged my order ($240ish) and charged my debit card a $40.64 deposit. They confirmed shipment of May 5 on the pdf confirmation. I engaged a landscaping crew based on that ship date who readied my beds. On May 1 I called to inquire about my shipment and whether or not it could be pulled in. The CS rep told me it had not shipped but my order was in the process of being checked in the barn for what was and was not available. I said "Not available?" I pre-ordered based on availability! She asked if they could substitute and I said NO since the plan was specifically designed for the roses I had ordered. She assured me I would have my roses the end of the following week. She also agreed to email me to advise which roses were not available. When I received NO roses/perennials either the 5th or the 12th of May and no email either I called Hortico on Monday May 15 and spoke with Jackie in CS. She informed me that they were just beginning to pull the orders that had both perennials AND roses. I explained that was not satisfactory since I had a landscaping crew on DOWN time that I was paying for and since she could STILL not tell me what I would or would not get and when I would get it, I asked her to cancel the order and refund my deposit. She agreed. I asked that she confirm the cancellation by email and issue my credit that day. To date (May 18) I have not received the credit to my Debit Card, nor have I received email communication....and when I email the company with read receipt attached to it, the emails go unread and unresponded to. I think the way this company does business has certainly dropped off...and I would NEVER do business with them again. They are wholly unreliable based on this experience and I will be initiating a credit card chargeback process tomorrow if I do not hear from them today.

I waited the entire month of April for my order, which had been placed in winter. When the month passed and no roses I called. They acted like they never heard of me or my order. Only two roses were now available out of the five I ordered. I asked for immediate mailing as I was having surgery. I recieved them the day of my surgery. I did get them planted but it was quick.I feel if I had not called them I would still be waiting. After having such great experiences with three other companys, I must rate my experience with Hortico as negative.I expect to be contacted if there is a delay or other problem with my order.

I placed an order online on April 24th. The roses I ordered were available. I noticed on the web page that they said they were running behind on their orders. I called them on April 27th to find out if they had received my order and was assured that the order was received and that my roses were available. I asked if they had any idea when they would be shipped out and they did not know at that time. On May 8th, I received a letter in the mail stating that my roses would be shipped out to me on May 10th via second day air, which I had paid extra for. I prepared my garden over the weekend for their arrival. Well, as of yesterday, May 15th, they still had not come. This morning, May 16th, I called them to find out if they had indeed been shipped via second day air because, if they had, they were lost somewhere. I was told that not only had they not been shipped, but they were now out of stock and I would have to wait until next year. No one even contacted me to let me know this. If I hadn't called them, I still would be waiting for my roses. I am so disappointed in Hortico.

I must say that my order from Hortico was a good experience this year. The canes are nice and the plants arrived in good condition. The only complaint I have is it took along time and a few roses, I ordered and had called about, to verify they were in stock. were not available on my shipping date. I placed my order back in February-2006. Hortico did call at least and apologized for this and for it taking so long. I have to give them a good rating due to good customer service and the quality compared to previous orders. I will definately order from them next year. Great job Hortico keep up the good work. Also you can find many hidden treasures of roses that are hard to find through them. Daintybess

The rose was delivered in good shape with adequate size, but was delivered six weeks after my requested ship date. The company did respond quickly to all of my e-mails and apologized for the late shipment.

Ordered for the first time from them this year and received my order in excellent condition and exactly when I had asked. Will definitely use them again.

Personal visits. Love the fact that this is a centre that relies on natural growing methods. Huge selection with many hard to find plants and natives. anything I have bought has flourished and I recommend it to any and all gardeners. Plants may not be huge but that should not be the measure of hardiness or future beauty. I will be buying again from them in 2006.

Having in the past had very bad experience with this company, I am now delighted to report some of the best experience I have had in many years of mailorder buying. I placed an order early this month which is now on its way to me, an astonishing fact in itself, since most eastern companies force you to wait for their shipping schedules convenience. In the course of processing my order, Hortico sent me several emails and two phone calls to clarify various issues involving out of stock material and shipping. Every single person I dealt with was friendly and helpful and ALSO efficient. It actually was fun to deal with them --- I could almost feel the past bad experience washing away email by email. The rose list is now one of the best anywhere, a lot of new "modern oldfashioned" that I haven't seen anywhere else, a good supply of Kordes, various Australian breeders and prairie hardy roses as well as some teas. Alas, I can imagine spending all too much time there! I will post again when the roses arrive to tell of their condition.

Since John Vanderkruk took over the management of Hortico, in early 2004 I believe, I have had excellent and very friendly service from the Management and the office staff. A recent order of ( my own hybridized ) roses arrived 3 days ahead of schedule and in excellent condition. The plants were packed very well. I can highly recommend Hortico. George Mander, B. C. Canada

I ate Tolman Sweet Apples as a child. Later in life I decided to find them again. I could not find them in my area, and was directed to this company. John Vanderkuk took care of us. With a few e-mails back and forth, he found us a supplier of these fruits. He had us shipped two apple trees and also a box of the delicious fruit. They arrived the time John quoted us and in excellent condition. I thank John very much for his kindness and expertise. He certainly is a professional and the company speaks for itself in the way we were treated. Keep up the good work and Kudos to you John.. Sincerely Terry and Sharon Dupuis Sarnia, Ontario. I would not for one minute hesitate to deal with this company or John himself. Thanks again to all of you.

I have very rarely come across a Company with people who put so much Time and Effort into getting me the Trees and information that I wanted. Diana and John both , Checked & Researched different types, and kept me updated on what Trees they had in Stock. It is People like this that make it so easy to do Business. Where most people would have given up , they never, and now the Trees are Planted in My Orchard, instead of still on Their Stock List. I look forward to Ordering more in the Future. Laurie

I ordered 15 tall Miscanthus grasses (floridulus and sinsensis Goliath) and a number of bamboos for pick-up (I live nearby). The bamboos I originally ordered were not available and substitutions were offered, with the option to decline. I decided to take the substitutions and also bought a Virgil peach tree when I picked up the rest. All the plants have grown very well, despite delays in getting them into the ground. The Miscanthus have grown quite tall and produced plumes in late summer / early fall (they are looking great now). The peach tree even produced three large, delicious peaches in August. I am very happy to have found Hortico, especially since it is so close to where I live. They have an amazing variety of plants, particularly interesting, rare and native ones, and appear to have a strong commitment to being environmentally responsible, which is important to me (and should be to anyone who really cares about life). One downside is that they do seem to be somewhat disorganized, which appears to be the root cause of most of their negative feedback. Personally, I did have to call and email more than once to get my order put through. The impression I get is that they do not have the best system in the office and / or they tend to get overwhelmed during the busy season. Nevertheless, in my experience, the price of persistence is definitely worth it with this unique company.