Comments regarding Hartmann's Plant Company

I just placed my first order with Hartmann's. I normally do a review after the plants have arrived and are sprouting, but this time I feel fair to jump the gun and say that I am enthusiastic about this company, and a student of mine once said, I'm in love. More so, after reading other reviews.

1) they have pawpaw, Asimina triloba, which so far was impossible for me to source. (it's not in their catalog, must ask)
2) they have kiwiberry, Actinidia arguta, the varieties developped by the University of New Hampshire
3) they seem to have most everything else I am looking for (I specialize in berries)
4) their prices are real reasonable.

I ordered several bundles of raspberries and blueberries. The plants arrived safely packaged and gorgeous. The blueberries especially are truly well-developed beautiful specimens. Hartmann's was generous enough to include a gratis addition to each bundle as well! Certainly I will order more in the future.

Blueberries and other berry plants were the best I have ever purchased online. Healthy leafing and buds on all. They shipped in a timely manner and everything was well packed. Took photos, but don't know how to post them. Will buy again absolutely.

First time purchasing from this company, found them while looking for black raspberry and gooseberry plants that no one else had in stock.

They had a very nice selection, their retail pricing is amazing, their website worked well. PLUS you can buy wholesale if you meet the minimum order amount, which I didn't realize until after I placed the order, I will definitely be able to do that in the future.

I received my plants two days ago, all healthy, leafed out, and growing. A few of the raspberries were on the small side, but, instead of the 12 I ordered they sent 17, and I think they will all do well. The gooseberries are nice and healthy looking, not huge, but a few already have flower buds.

They are responsive to emails and kept me up to date on order status during processing.

Extremely good value for the price paid. I will be using them again, and again, and again. Very happy.

I want to say That I have been ordering from Nursery's for many, many years. This company is the best that I have ever ordered from. The 3 Blueberry plants I ordered are without a doubt the most healthy ones ever!!! They were delivered exactly when they promised they would be, and packaged better than any one else's. I would definitely order from them again and advise my Family and friends to do the same. Also have the best customer service that I have ever seen!! Great job guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We ordered several blueberry plants and one died about a month after planting. I called and was told they would be happy to replace the plant. It arrived 3 days later. Great Customer Service!
pipercat Johnstown, PA

I ordered plants from Hartmann's several times. The main reason I was looking for some miniature Plums.

They carry two different kinds. The Mini-sweet is about the size of large marble and the Plum-berry is a bit smaller.
One of the Mini-Sweet trees is different but I like it. In only a few years it is about 7' tall while the other one is only about 3'. I bought 3 of the Plum Berries and they are also about 3'.

Last year the tall one had bright red oval plums which were larger than all the others. Not as big as a standard plum but about the size of a large sweet cherry.
This year two of the others are loaded. I am starting to believe these are biannual bearers which is fine.

The Paw Paws did not survive but that was not Hartmann's fault. I have......make that had a ground hog that pulled them out during the winter.

I like the plant quality as received and the rare plants they offer, so I do recommend them.

I ordered two thornless blackberry plants from Hartmann's this spring - my first time ordering from them. The plants arrived about 10-14 days after I ordered them (lost count), but there was no shipping notification prior to my receiving them. Upon arrival, the two plants were well packed and came potted. The plants were 4-5" tall starter plants in 3" wide x 4" deep pots, which is what I expected for the cost of the plants. They did have good healthy looking root systems and were both starting to bud out. My only recommendations to potential buyers is not to expect large plants for the less expensive priced items (though small, they were healthy and are establishing nicely) and do not expect shipping notification prior to the plants arriving in the mail. Otherwise, a good experience!

1. Sent me strawberries which were weeks away from being transplant ready. Some were so small they were barely visible. Who is supposed to be the nurseryman?
2. At the same time they sent me a plant that had been dead long enough to be brittle, meaning it was dead when they put it in the box.
3. Never responded to my email.

I have bought from them in the past because they had some unusual plants, and had acceptable results previously. There have been other lapses, like not making it clear in their catalog that beach plums cannot self-fertilize, but generally minor. This year their professional performance was unacceptable. Two thumbs down.

I ordered some kiwi and gooseberry plants form these guys.Not many companies will ship across borders and I can see why, mine got stuck in Canadian customs for over 3 weeks! When my package arrived they were very well packed and in good condition save for a couple if the gooseberry which were doa. I called them and they replaced them with an even bigger size plant the follow spring.It wasn't even their fault the plants died! I didn't even have to call them to remind them the following year they just shipped them! Awesome company huge selection of plants great prices!

Ordered blueberries, pawpaw, blackberries, rhubarb, raspberries and kiwi. Picked them up at the company. Very good looking plants and the owners were exceptional in making sure I understood how to resolve my past problems in growing blueberries. Very enjoyable and pleasant experience!

I placed my first order with Hartmann's back in March for 50 Pineberry strawberries, and they all arrived looking quite healthy and vigorous, and were well packed, a great deal for the price I paid. Initially the shipping delay was a little long but they were quite accommodating when I asked to have my ship date moved up a few days in order to arrive prior to a gardening club meeting so I could share a few with friends.

Its too bad they no longer sell bilberry plants or I'd already have placed a 2nd order.

I have ordered from a lot of catalogue nurseries. I ordered from Hartmann's wholesale nursery (hitting 100 items was a lot easier than i thought it would be!), and the plants that arrived were pristine! If any of them die, it's my own fault! Great value!

I almost never go to the trouble of writing a positive review. Admittedly, its always easier to criticize than applaud.

I had a problem with my delivery which was more the fault of UPS and not Hartmann's specifically.

I had expected a bunch of finger pointing between UPS and Hartmann's with the end result of ME being left holding the bag. And in fact, I think UPS was going down that road.

Bob Kabel of Hartmann's contacted me personally and fixed things. Fast.

It was refreshing to have a company immediately put the customer first. I will order from Hartmann's again and I will recommend them to my friends.

Matt Shea
Boston, MA

Ordered Jewel Raspberry, Chester and Navaho Blackberry, Giant Pawpaw and a Sweet Bay tree. I was very pleased with the plants, all of them. Shipping was inline with other companies and the delivery was UPS ground. The plants were well packed and healthy.

I ordered 6 Heritage Raspberries, 2 Chandler Blueberries, and 1 Elizabeth Blueberry from Hartmann's. All arrived nicely packaged and in the case of Raspberries they even sent me 1 extra. Plants are in the ground right now doing well.

I liked the selection of blueberry plants Hartman's had so I orders enough plants to to get the commercial discount.
I received the plants yesterday and they have exceeded my expectations.
The plants were professionally packaged and arrived in good condition on the week I specified when I placed the order.
The Bonus & Chandler Blueberry plants were much larger and healthier than expected. (These were to replace the 60+ of the 100 that died that I purchased from Dimeo Farms 2 years ago)
I ordered the 6"-12" size and I do not think that any of them were less than 12", many were 18" and all with good root systems and healthy.
I also ordered Caroline raspberry plants and they were the size ordered and healthy.
I counted them and they even sent extras with the order.
I look forward to purchasing plants from them in the future when the need arises.

I ordered six lowbush blueberries this spring. They arrived healthy looking, and they have been doing well since. They did not produce fruit this year, but I did not expect them to do so. I'm hoping for some delectable treats next August, though.

Posted on May 23, 2012, updated June 8, 2012
Posted on May 22, 2012, updated May 23, 2012
Some lingonberries were supposed to be shipped in late April. It's now the second half of May. I only found out about the delays by contacting them, they didn't initiate telling me. I canceled the order.

Ordered and received 4 southern highbush blueberry plants to start our new blueberry patch. We're going to plant them in the ground (gasp) in SF bay area - after amending the dickens out of the alkaline clay soil, of course! I'm told it can be done, and successfully, too. The plants arrived quickly and appear to be dormant, with some fall foliage intact. Very pleased, since they came all the way from Michigan.

I am very pleased with my order.

Although I only ordered 6 plants for 70 USD total, they certainly treated the order like any other. Shipping/package was excellent, shipment was a week later than promised, but email notification came 2 days in advance - so no issue. The plants are in the ground and already green and healthy. Everything was potted - no bareroots, which I start to appreciate a lot. Size is as promised or bigger - great.

Will certainly order again here.

The Little Giant blueberry plants //little-giant-blueberry-plants.blogspot.com are shipped bare root, so you need to treat them with some loving care. Do that and you should be fine. It will take a couple years for them to get a decent size.

Just received 2 Rubel Blueberry bushes and I am extremely happy with what I was sent. The bushes were a lot bigger than I thought they were going to be with large root masses. The packaging was probably the best I have ever seen, and I wish other companies would take the same precautions when shipping their plants. Thanks again!

I recently ordered 300 rubel plug plants from this company.They sent a email to me letting me know they were sending 3 to 6 inch plants instead for the same money as the plugs. All of the plants they sent are very nice and they also threw in a few extra. They were very fair and honest to deal with.

I've ordered more than 400 plants from them over the past 3 years (buy 100+ plants saves 50%)and am 99% happy with what i've received and planted on my farm and nurseries in WI zone 4b/5. Reading over some of the comments here has me believe that perhaps they do a smidgen better with larger orders perhaps as the only negatively commenting customer was of a tiny order of what turned out to be leafed out cuttings which I've also recieved for dwarf cherries in my order of 36 that came to me delayed by two months in '08 (couldn't even get them in '07) but the 95% that survived grew to 2-3' tall by this spring. Pretty impressive once they took off. As with their kiwis (about 30 in '07) in my WI 4b/5 zone that from those 3-6" rooted cuttings placed in my nursery beds in Rootmaker bags for much easier transplantation last and this year to the arbor row are the most vigorous and hardy vines imaginable with multiple 20'+ vines surviving our -30 degree temps despite a lack of snow. cover in '10. (Only 3 of 9 Kiwis bought from OGWorld even grew the first year in contrast/pathetic) About 60 blueberries of all sizes and half of their varieties have done very well with an amazing crop over two months this year. very few died. Love the trailing, spreading lingonberries and cranberries for a contrast of size and texture as groundcover despite few berries,yet. Transplanted 8-15' hybrid willows this spring after one year in the nursery in RM bags to create a property living boundary rather than fence but direct planted another 1-2 footers in between/weedmatted as they are so vigorous. One box of the newly shipped blueberries this year was held by a delivery driver over the weekend and their leaves suffered but they recovered quickly. (Open those boxes right away)

Ordered blueberry plants two years in a row. All arrived in a timely manner, in good shape.

I ordered 50 strawberry plants in early June. Because it was so late in the season, I expected runts or plants that had already broken dormancy.

What I got was large…very large dormant plants. We ordered 50 but received 72 and they all grew. I had to make extra room for the additional ones, but was glad to do it. They were a little slow in shipping; but with the delivery of extra large…disease free plants, I would definitely order from them again.


They also “donate $2.00 to the “Susan G Komen for the Cure - Foundation.” with every order. I liked this fact…but it may not matter to some.

The experience i had was great as far as shipping in a timely manner. I got my plants fast. However your plants BLOW ! I expected some actual plants in some type of reasonable medium and I was sent some crap sticks jammed in some dirt and wrapped in a disposable showercap. Maybe if I were some type of plant scientist I could have revived these "twigs" back from plant heaven. I will not purchase any more so called "sucullent plants" (quoted from your AWESOME video that got my attention when I was half asleep at 2 o'clock in the morning). You got me this time !!! NEVER AGAIN !!!!

Very good experience. All plants came individually wrapped, in moist soil, with leaves, and packaged carefully.

I ordered one set of 3 blueberry bushes. When they arrived I was shocked at their 2 inch in height. Though very small they were is good condition. Three days after planting one of the bushes started producing a cluster of blossoms. I was amazed to see this on such small plants.
The box they were shipped in was partially crushed when I received it but the plants were not harmed.

Odered a blueberry bush which was shipped in a reasonable amount of time,plant was very healthy,well rooted,and packed well.I would definately order from them again.

The plants I ordered came on time and look pretty good. They have some odd items, which I appreciate. I will probably buy more next year.

This company is near the top of my list of companies to never, never order from again. I ordered two bush cherries, Joy and Jan, In February and was advised on March 7 that they would ship in a month. They arrived almost a month late, well into May (the credit was not charged until April 29) badly grown, badly packed, and badly treated before shipping.

Badly grown? The "one year plants in 4" containers" were incredibly skinny (stems about as wide as the bristles on a scrub brush), barely rooted cuttings which could well have been taken when the order was received. They were in 2 1/2 inch, not 4", pots, and the shallow "azalea" pots at that.

Badly packed? Both arrived broken. They had been carelessly tossed into a box (in plastic bags or wrapped in plastic sheeting if I remember) and some crumpled newspaper tossed in after them. One cutting had been taken branched, and one branch was broken off and had stripped down the stem leaving a large gap in the cambium. The other was broken but not quite detached about halfway down its tiny stem. Both had broken dormancy by this time, of course, but read on.

Badly cared for? One plant was completely soggy, with standing water in the bag, and had been so for long enough that almost all the roots had rotted. It was leafless in that any leaves had melted off and were lying about or stuck to the plastic. The other's potting material was completely dry, not a trace of moisture, and the plant was all but completely dried out -- to the point where the stem was starting to wrinkle and the leaves, of course, long dried out.

The total charge was about $35.00 -- I think the plants were about $13 apiece. Pretty steep, considering, but for some reason these charming little fruiting bushes (the fruit doesn't much resemble anything one normally thinks of as a cherry) have fallen out of favor. I took the chance because I'd had a fine plant from Raintree two years before and wanted more.

Did they live? Yes, no thanks to the nursery. I cut both to one or two buds, repotted them after trimming the worst of the rotted roots from the waterlogged plant, and grew them on in pots for two years before planting out into the ground. The dried out one recovered much more quickly and had leafed out again in a few weeks. The waterlogged one had to more or less start again as a cutting and took a couple months to start looking as if it might live.

No comments on how well they produce? Hmmm...

Posted on April 28, 2009, updated February 26, 2010
Great prices, excellently packed, top quality plants.
I would not hesitate to use them again.

I have had good experiences with Hartmann’s Plant Company. Last spring 2009, I order 3 Little Giant Blueberry plants from them. The plants were supposed to be 2 yrs old and 12 to 18 inches tall. When the plants arrived they were packed very well but they were very small and dormant. They were less then 8 in tall. I sent the company an email to complain about the size of the plants. I received a response back from the owner who offered to replace the plants or to refund my money. I was impressed. The plants were small but I kept them at a reduced price. By the second month after receiveing the plants, all of them appeared dead and did not show any green when scratched with a finger nail. I called Hartmann’s back and explained my concerns. They quickly replaced all 3 of the plants and with larger older blueberry bushes. I offered to pay for the larger plants but they declined. Needless to say I am very impressed with this company. They have excellent customer service and the owner sets a great example of how to provide that service and recognizes the importance of every customer and having a good buying experience. I have and continue to recommended them to my friends and family.

I'd been buying bareroot, four year old plants.. I thought I 'd try Hartmann's and I ordered eight potted plants. The shipping bill was a very modest 14.00 and th e items were beautifully packed and of substantial quality.

I think they are making a mistake. EG, two of the plants that I wanted were not offered on their retail list, but only on the wholesale list. I called and inquired and their very cooperative personnel told me that those particular plants were in fact available at the retail price. I think you might be turning away potential customers for a "website" problem that's easily correctable. .

But what really counted was the plants and they were large and vigorous. Thank you, V.S. Ajello

What a great company! Get this: I ordered 25 each of two different strawberries; the bareroot plants arrived with about 10 extra in one pack and five extra in the other; one began leafing out the same day I planted them and the other was leafing out already (one day between receipt and planting elapsed), and within a week many began blooming and setting fruit. Most of the other plants I ordered came in large-ish peat pots, were exceptionally large and looked very very healthy for plants that had been in a shipping box, and the two or so plants they sent in plastic pots were in double deep pots allowing for larger healthier plants. Nearly everything did wonderfully immediately; the few plants that did not they immediately replaced. One Autumn Britten Raspberry failed to thrive immediately, they instantly replaced it with TWO more plants. When several more Autumn Brittens died I inquired if they might be reacting to the continuing heat and humidity and they immediately answered with their opinion that that could certainly be the problem and it would probably be best to ship the replacements the following month IF that were acceptable to me (it is). Customer service is great; they respond immediately to email (and it's really personal service, it's a Hartmann that writes back). And the packing is great too, very careful and not only do I believe the shredded newspaper assists the plants in not developing leaf rot in transit, it doubles as mulch. Yay! And the prices are really good, especially considering the size and health of the plants received. I don't know how a small company can be so efficient, helpful and economical but I am really glad they do. Use them for anything you can, they are so worth it.

My experience with http://www.hartmannsplantcompany.com was better than I had experienced with other online nursery's. They are not Just Another Online Nursery (they are now one of my top two favorites) Based on the quality of plants & the timely delivery, as well as the friendly customer service.
Now in regards to my order...
I ordered from them for the first time hoping for the best, and I had ordered a small order(Having never ordered from them before) I ordered there Arctic Blueberry Special 1 ea. of Polaris, North Blue, & Chippewa, all advertised as 2yr old plants, I was most excited about the Chippewa as Id already had 1 of that variety, I placed my order 4-23-2009 I think I received my order on the 30th or the 1st. very fast order filling/shipping! When I received my order the three plants came well packed in a just big enough Lentil Rice box(I like to see company's re-using things) almost all of the packing material was compostable newspaper shreddings(Yea no foam peanuts!!) excluding the bags ruberbanded around each plant to keep them moist. The Polaris Blueberry was about 18" (about as big as the 2yr Chippewa Blueberry Id purchased @ a local nursery * for a lot more $ *) with moist healthy roots in a peat pot(I think, it could have been a cowpot) wrapped in plastic and banded, the North Blue Blueberry was about 12"-15" again excellent moist healthy roots within a peat pot, well packaged in a bag sealed with a band, now the Chippewa Blueberry was only about 3"-4" tall with dried out roots(it looked as though the bag wasn't sealed well with the rubberband & the newspaper shreds dried it out) it looked nothing like the others as far as quality, size, or health & I didn't think id even be able to revive it. I immediately called the company and told the person on the phone my situation, she asked me for my name and said a replacement would be shipped, I thought it odd that all they needed was my name, so after about a week had gone by I called back(I wanted to order more, but only if they were going to make good on replacing the dead plant), I spoke with a gentleman that assured me that it had been reshipped or in the process of being reshipped, I thanked him and hung up, then proceeded to browse their website(as I couldn't remember what I did with the catalog) Then I placed another small order, 2 LingonBerries & 1 Wintergreen plant. The very next day my replacement Chippewa Blueberry came well packaged, healthy, with moist roots, and standing about 12" tall ! What great service !!
I'm excited to get my next order as I am sure that it will be of excellent quality and quickly delivered(& having my own Lingonberries !!)

THIS IS A GREAT COMPANY THAT UNDERSTANDS CUSTOMER SERVICE !

I didn't have a large order & yet was treated very well with excellent service.
They Exceeded my Expectations !

I will order from this company again.
I will Refer this company to friends family & coworkers
I will have to find more room in the garden for new plants from Hartmanns
(There's so much great fruit that I can grow even here in Mn zone 4-5)