Comments regarding Shooting Star Nursery

I found this nursery because they had a particular plant I was interested in. Of course, you can't just buy one plant...LOL...so I bought a couple others. The prices were very fair. I got many emails updating me with the status of the order and, what really blew me away, was that I got a personal phone call from a representative saying my order had shipped. That was an excellent personal touch. The plants arrived in good shape and I'm excited to get them planted and have them for years in my garden :)

I placed a couple of separate orders with Shooting Star this past Spring. They responded quickly to my emails; all of the plants were shipped in a timely manner and arrived healthy- including the dormant ones. I will likely use them in the future.

Have made several purchases. One very large. Picked material up at nursery each time. Great variety of hard to find plants. Went out of their way to provide plants for a mid-winter pick up. Pleasure doing business!

After talking to Shooting Star, I decided to drive there to get larger plants than shipping would economically allow. I was met promptly after getting out of my car. We talked about my "wish" list, and we went in search of the items. Some of them were a bit hard to find, but I honestly enjoyed meandering and searching. I gave me the chance to see what else I might need! With their great breadth of stock in various stages from seed to maturity, I can understand why it's hard to know where everything is at each stage of development.
In the end, I left with all I wanted plus a couple of complimentary herb plants and a bag of basil "trimmings" that made fantastic pesto. Yes, I will do business with Shooting Star in the future.

Posted on September 14, 2012, updated May 24, 2013
I learned of an interesting plant in mid summer, found it offered by Shooting Star and e-mailed them to see if it could thrive in my climate (zone 7), it is rated as a tropical. Had very informative e-mail correspondence about the likelihood it could do alright here and if it dies back due to freezes, at least it propagates well by seed. Now that our weather has cooled down, I contacted them again and ordered 2 plants. They were very well packed and healthy. Am headed out to plant them asap, as the soil in the pots is quite moist.

Posted on December 20, 2007, updated September 26, 2012
This summer I ordered 2 shrub and several perennials. The order came incredibly fast, and I was very pleased with the packaging. None of the plants were broken or crushed, despite the delivery person just basically throwing in the boxes in the general direction of my porch. The only problem was that they had shipped me the straight species Itea shrub, and not the cultivar I had ordered. However, they promptly shipped me the correct shrubs. The plants were a great value for what I paid. Will order again!

very nicely packed, all plants arrived in very good condition. Nice selection, will order from them again.

I ordered 4 native plants from this company. They were shipped promptly and arrived when the company said they would. The plants were healthy and attractive. I received several emails from the company on the status of my order, when they were shipped and when to expect delivery. I am very pleased with the plants and service of this company and highly recommend them.

I ordered on Wednesday and received the plants on Friday! That's great service. And the plants appeared to be in good condition. I planted them late Friday afternoon. I will certainly order from this company again.

A great little nursery. I emailed a question and received a prompt response. My order was packed well. The shredded newspaper is a little troublesome, but if it means I get plants in good shape then I can not complain.

Posted on August 28, 2010, updated September 8, 2011
My experience was very positive. Communication has been great, the shipping was fast, and the plants arrived in excellent condition. I see the negative rating below and yes the plants are shipped packed with fine paper, but it is the middle of summer and that paper kept the moisture in and allowed my shipment of plants to stay secure and intact. It's similar to the shipping material used by other mail order nurseries that I have ordered from and seems to work very well. I would recommend this nursery and will order from again. Thanks!

Heres is the skinny people. They ship fast. That is really fast. I may be close to their nursery but still I received my plants within a week. For 3 purchases. I have 9 trees and 2 vines(pasiflora) and all are not only happy, but growing. The Kentucky coffees have grown 6 plus inches of good growth since they have been in the ground, which has been less than 4 months!!!!!!!!!!!Every single plant came out of the box in perfect condition and packed with love. All plants are thriving. Seriously. Good prices, GREAT stock is key. I'm very happy with my experience

Placed a decent size order with them in April 2009, including plants, bush and tree. Two years later, all of them are doing great.

Recently bought a couple more trees and some plants. They showed up quickly and in good shape.

I'm a happy Shooting Star customer.

I ordered several marginal and pond plants from Shooting Star. The plants were well-packed and good size topgrowth and roots. The communication was excellent and the plants arrived exactly when I was told they would - thank you!

I was really impressed at the super fast service and great communication.The plants arrived in great shape. and I was very pleased .So pleased that I made another order....when I saw how nice the first plants were.They are a great source for asclepias and other butterfly plants for my garden that I cant find locally for sale.. I recommend them highly.

I ordered 3 Asclepias Incarnata from Shooting Star Nursery, telling them the period of time I wanted my plants shipped. I immediately received the nicest email giving me my choice of two dates. Later, I received another email informing me that my plants had shipped. They were so well packed and they were robust, healthy, and happy! After a couple of days on a porch to readjust to the light, they were transplanted to their nursery bed. Now, two weeks later, they are doing well. All in all, this was an excellent ordering experience!

I had to leave a comment to indicate how pleased I was with Shooting Star. I ordered a ladyslipper orchid for an early mother's day present. Since this was an in vitro propagation, I wasnt sure what to do. Marianne was great with advice. But what really impressed me, and what comes across even in reading their responses to the (very few) negative feedbacks here, is (for want of better terms) the complete lack of defensiveness and ego, coupled with an abundance of real friendliness and human interest. It can be seen even in plant selection -- take Quercus marilandica, the blackjack oak. There can't be a ton of people out there interested in this quirky small native oak, but there it is on their list, and will soon be planted in my garden, where I will look at it and remember the terrific nursery that made it possible. Really, this is one of the best.

I ordered a Prairiedock plant. The item never arrived due to problems with UPS or theft, not sure which but Shooting Star has kept in contact with me and given quick responses with information whenever I needed it. The experience makes me nervous of having packages delivered to my door. Having said this though, given the attitude of this nursery, I am content with the business and would recommend ordering from that point of view to anyone. They were as equally dissapointed as I was, which is good to see a business that takes pride in what they do.

My first experience with this company was positive. Plants were certainly reasonably priced ($5 per coneflower) and good sized - one is even blooming. Communication upon ordering was frequent and much appreciated. I threw the shredded newspaper used for packing into my compost pile, so this wasn't a problem for me.

My only (small) gripe was that the ladyslippers are very small, even for bareroots, so I'm a little concerned about putting them in the ground. The website had stated that ladyslippers wouldn't ship until spring, so that's what I was expecting. I do prefer to plant them in the fall, but not at this small size. They are staying in the fridge until I decide what to do. I appreciate not having to pay $40 for bareroot ladyslippers like other sites offer, but I also don't want these new ones to perish. I may plant them in containers and allow them to develop a bit further before planting in November.

We were trying a more "native" garden and looking for plants that would naturally occur on long island - we ordered geraniums, butterfly peas, nicotiana and flax. They arrived in variety of pot sizes in a standard box with shredded newspaper surrounding.

I was surprised at how low-key the packing was compared to several other mail order nurseries (Annie's, Lazy S, Park's) that either ship wet with the soil carefully protected or in specially made containers. The plants from Shooting Star arrived bone dry but perked up after a weekend out of the box. On the whole we were pleased in the end.

Recently ordered milkweed plants and a tree. Received timely communication regarding the status of my order. My order was held a very short time in order that the milkweed could have additional time to root. I was expecting small plants. However, I received very nice-sized plants that were well-rooted. The tree was small, but that was expected. I was very pleased with my order.

Ordered a number of plants. All arrived in excellent condition and are doing well.

Recently received my first order. I was very pleased with the size and overall condition of the plants. I was able to find a couple plants that I had difficulty locating elsewhere. Customer service maintained close communications during the ordering and shipping process. I will definitely go here first when I am ordering on-line again.

I was looking for a special fern for my husband for a gift. Marianne was very helpful and showed me around, asking me questions to help us decide on just the right one. The fern is doing great! A lovely place with very nice staff.

I placed an order in summer. Plants were well packed, arrived in fine shape and were shipped quickly. They transplanted very well in good soil with plenty of water and are thriving. Shooting Star's customer service was great as well when I had questions. All in all I am quite happy and will buy from Shooting Star again. They carry some nice natives which can be difficult to find.

My first experience with this company has been very positive. I ordered wisteria, elderberry and cranberry plants. The staff was helpful and the plants were healthy, shipped in a timely manner and received in good condition

I've just received my second order from this company. They have a very large selection of native plants which are hard to find anywhere else. Trees and shrubs are generally rather small, which I consider to be positive rather than negative; small ones seem to settle in better and do just as well in the long run. Everything I have received from them has been in excellent condition and packed well. One tree in the first order had its terminal bud broken off, but the owner assured me that it would recover without any problems, and it did. I'm very satisfied -- this will be where I go first for native plants.

Finally found the trees and herbs I had been looking for at Shooting Star!! I enjoyed touring their landscaping ideas as well as looking at the plants for sale. A nice little outting tucked away in Scott County.

I have to give Lisa a excellent mention here as the company will honestly work with you on certain things and I deeply respect those type of people who still have that policy of standing behind your word, and even though I am embarrassed as all heck over my debit card I want everyone to know about how flexible and honest this company is.
Leigha Witkowski

November 2008. Ordered 4 milkweeds (Asclepias) and one Goldenrod. Items were well packaged. Shipped quickly. Exactly as described. I would not hesitate to order from this company again.

I just received my first order from Shooting Star and am very pleased. The plants were packaged very well, were good sized for the $$ and in excellent condition.
I will certainly order from them again.

I ordered three Washington Hawthorns from Shooting Star, because they had the best prices with shipping. The three trees arrived promptly and in excellent shape. They were all starting to leaf out. Could not be more pleased. Will order from them again.

My purchase from Shooting Star was satisfactory.

I purchased a Canadian Yew from them. They were the only company who carries it.

While the root ball was small, I wasn't too disappointed because A) I had a very shallow area to plant and B) The plant was robust and is doing very nicely.

The prices were a little on the high side for my taste, for the size you receive.

I would probably purchase from Shooting Star again if they are the only source for something I need.

Communication was very good.

Three weeks ago I went to Shooting Star (3.5 hr drive each way) because I only want native species (no hybrid cultivars, no exotics) and I was having difficulty finding them locally. Yes, I was shocked how small most items were but was truely impressed by the vast choice,reasonable price, and health of their plants. When buying items like giant wood ferns (mature size 3-6'), it's peachy to take home a whole forest in a small Toyota. Natalie willingly pulled out many individual trees or shrubs until I found one or a group with the conformation that I wanted. I was picky and demanding; the staff were always helpful and friendly. My only regret was not buying more!

I ordered a Dutchman's Pipe and two Bearberry plants. The nursery held off mailing until the weather was cool enough. The plants arrived well packed and in very good shape. They're all now planted in my garden and are doing well. I'd definitely order from Shooting Star again.

I just received my 1st order from Shooting Star (3 Lonicera sempervirens) and they are very large and in excellent condition!! I'm making a list of more native plants that I "need" to add and will hopefully be able to make a trip to the nursery next spring.

Shooting Star is an exceptional nursery and mail order plant source. Their stock is the hardiest and largest of any company I have ordered from and I have ordered from many over the last 15 years. The packing is excellent, shipping is very fast and the communication on order status is the best I have ever received. The company gets a big A++++++++.

I am new to gardening. I ordered trumpet honeysuckle, and received personal support, several positive communications and, very quickly, two healthy and well packed little plants.

The entire transaction was excellent, and I recommend this company.

Friendly folks, nice plants well packed.