Comments regarding Gurney's Seed & Nursery

Posted on May 3, 2011, updated June 7, 2011
Posted on May 1, 2011, updated May 3, 2011
Posted on March 2, 2010, updated May 1, 2011
I've been buying from gurneys for years and have had nothing but 100% satifaction for this costumer every time. Their 100% gaurantee work as advertized.

"On Mar 3, 2010 8:48 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Gurney's would like to sincerely thank you for your support. We strive to do our very best to ensure our service and products are second to none.

Total waste of my time. Item I ordered showed (and still shows) as in stock. My CC was charged right away after placing my order. After 7 days and no shipping notice I called customer service who informed me that the item was in fact OOS but would ship expedited within 1 week. 7 days later and still no shipping notice so another call to customer service. Was now told item was not expected back in stock for another 4 weeks. Cancelled my order and will never shop with Gurneys again.

"On Jun 7, 2011 10:59 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

We apprecaite you letting us know about the delay in the shipping of your order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information to see what we can do about your order."

I placed my order in Feb, its now June 4th and I'm still waiting for it to be completed. I have called, I have emailed and I get no where. I have an email from April promising me delivery of the rest of my order by mid May at the latest and that my order was being "rushed". Well I'm still waiting. I emailed them again in late May and recieved a response which said my Pampas grass and lillies were backordered. These are not exotic plants - dealing with this company has been an absolute nightmare. I am so disappointed with their lack of professionalism. Never ever again

"On Jun 6, 2011 10:19 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for letting us know about the problem concerning delivery of your order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and see what is happening with your order.
"

I tried to order twice from them. After 3 weeks, I had to call to check on my order. It hadn't shipped yet. I cancelled the orders. I won't waste my time with them again.

"On Jun 1, 2011 4:21 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and see what can be done about your order. We apologize for the delay in shipping."

I put in a small order with Gurney's two months ago and have so far received about a half of the order and anticipate the remaining four plants a couple of days from now. Gurneys gave a great first impression with an email with a notice once the plants shipped, and access to a tracking number so I can see when I might expect the plants to arrive.

I have so far received 4 sweet autumn clematis vines, and the root stock for 1 healthy hops vine. Only a month has passed and all five plants are thriving. They all came packaged carefully and seemed to take root immediately.

The clematis are climbing and twining, and (perhaps I did this incorrectly) I planted the hops root horizontally in a planter and have watched it put up four tendrils in the past two weeks.

I am thoroughly impressed with the quality and strength of the plants that Gurneys has supplied, and look forward to receiving four more vines this weekend. Update forthcoming! And fotos here:

[HYPERLINK@www.facebook.com]

"On Jun 1, 2011 4:32 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post your experience with us. We appreciate you sharing your pictures with us. Happy Gardening and we look forward to your future orders."

Posted on March 27, 2011, updated May 31, 2011
We have been Gurneys customers for over 10 years, I always thought they were a decent company and I felt safe that I always had the lifelong guarantee to make up for the bad things I received from them. It is about a 50/50 chance on what you get surviving. We never had luck with the seeds, they very rarely worked out. But nonetheless we placed our order this year for seeds and plants, we received the seeds and were waiting patiently for the plants to arrive to signal the arrival of spring.
You can imagine my shock when I received a letter from Gurneys informing me that we were no longer welcome to order anything ever again from them. It said "in review of our account, we have found that a majority of your purchases have been reshipped, refunded, or issued replacement certificates against. We will be cancelling all outstanding orders and refund your money in 4 to 6 weeks"
I was dumbfounded, we have had items replaced when they died. But nowhere near the majority, and it made us sound like thieves. And to never sell to us again, that hurt since I grew up awaiting the Gurneys Catalog every spring.
I have had items replaced, no refunds, and the certificates are a joke($2.00 for a pear tree that died). I have had plants die that I did not request refunds on that I considered not worth the trouble, pampas grass, lavender, among other items.
Since I am no longer a customer I would recommend that you stay away from Gurneys, or at least not use their guarantee, as you too could be flagged.

"On Apr 1, 2011 3:21 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for letting us know. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information to check your account and figure out what the problem may be."

Posted on May 18, 2011, updated May 29, 2011
Posted on May 15, 2011, updated May 18, 2011
Posted on May 15, 2011, updated May 15, 2011
I am in the midst of a Gurney's mess right now. I quit any serious business with them years ago when they went downhill after the bankruptcy, etc. Nevertheless, they had a blackberry I wanted....

I planted these last fall, on drip irrigation and mulched, but nary a leaf this year. Finally sent them an email a few days ago & got a quick reply that these plants are no longer available & they'll send me a certificate. Plants are on their website, which I have informed them of. I want plant replacement....A certificate would have to, of course, be spent there plus shipping fees again, plus I got the plants "on sale".

No reply yet to email #2, so we shall see.

"On May 16, 2011 10:59 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for letting us know about the problem with your blackberries. A customer service representative will be contacting your for your account information and take care of your blackberry order for you."

In the past, I had great luck with Gurney's, but this year has been bad. Out of three indoor plants ordered, I had to ask that they replace ALL of them. They arrived half-dead, the dirt everywhere inside the box - two of the plants had completely deformed stems, and the leaves looked either diseased or quickly dropped off. To their credit, they replaced two of them with much better plants, but the third was no longer available.

I received almost all of the seeds ordered, but the sage seeds were backordered - and eventually cancelled without any notice of the cancellation. I checked on the order because of a credit to my card. Today, I found out they probably aren't going to ship the half dozen tomato plants I ordered - but they wouldn't know for sure until mid-June, so I had to cancel that portion of the order as well since my garden needs to be planted already! Never had problems with Gurney's before, but I probably won't use them anymore as planning my garden is impossible when they don't even notify you that you aren't going to receive portions of your order.

"On May 27, 2011 3:57 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for letting us know about the problems with the shipping of your order. A customer service representative will contact you for your account information and find out what happened with your order."

I ordered from Gurney's Seed & Nursery for the first time this year. I did have some issues but they took care of everyone. I will use this company again!

"On May 27, 2011 12:34 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your posting. We do our best to make sure our customers are taken care of. If you ever have any issues please just let us know."

Most of my plants came, though much smaller then expected. I mean I can buy a gardenia, blooming and quite large here for $9, but the one from gurneys was tiny. The dancing dolphin plant has barely grown in almost 1.5 months. The others were OK, I will have to wait and see. The angel trumpet plant completely tanked. It can as a one finger long and one finger thickness and barely any roots. It's done for completely. I ordered April 26/11, and one plant has not been shipped yet. I was even astounded, as the climbing shell plant was puny, like half the length of my pointer finger, though its grown a tad.

Overall, disappointed - I have requested they either refund me for the angel trumpet or send another. Though honestly, I believe the shell plant, dancing dolphin, and blue fringe daisy's should also be refunded or sent a decent one that will grow.

"On May 27, 2011 12:11 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your posting and letting us know of the problems you had with your order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account informaition and take care of your request."

Posted on April 7, 2011, updated May 24, 2011
Posted on April 3, 2011, updated April 7, 2011
Posted on March 20, 2011, updated April 3, 2011
I have ordered from Gurney's in the past with GOOD results and,in fact, have placed orders for this year. I GREATLY appreciate the fact that they do send an order confirmation, and, that customer service did help me with my order when I telephoned! I enjoy gardening very much and am expecting the healthy, viable plants (dwarf sugar pearl, strawberries and blueberry-all YUM) that I ordered for this year.Will update upon arrival.

"On Apr 5, 2011 8:04 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. We do our best to provide World Class customer service. Have a great day and Happy Gardening."

Posted on May 21, 2011, updated May 24, 2011
Posted on May 19, 2011, updated May 21, 2011
Ordered, using a coupon, as a trial on 4/27. Received somewhat iffy sweet peas and fringed blue daisies. Inquired about remainder/majority of order and was told it would be shipped in 3-4 business days. That did not happen and still has not. Checked website and all of the remaining items are "sorry, sold out" so am seriously wondering. Sent a third e-mail inquiring with no answer as of yet. What have I learned? If you have to offer a $25. coupon to get folks to buy $50. of product you supposedly have available, perhaps there is a reason. Only thing they were timely about was charging my card!

"On May 20, 2011 9:39 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. We apologize for the delay with your order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and check on your order for you."

Posted on May 3, 2011, updated May 23, 2011
Gurneys used to be fantastic.
no more.
For what you get, the prices are horrible.
Their processing speed is slower than slow.
Their website is a joke. Is this 1998? The gurney's website thinks it is.

Examples:
I mailed in an order that contained a refund coupon. My order total on their website did not reflect the amount of the refund coupon. I had to email customer service to get it corrected. Why did I have to do that? It should have been automatic.

When they ship a package using "UPS Mail Innovations" the tracking number they provide is your gurney's order number with a 2 digit number stuck onto the end. Uh, yeah, that is NOT a valid tracking number. UPS does not tie gurneys order numbers to tracking numbers.

I had a small order (everything was marked to ship in the spring), get shipped in 3 separate bundles over the course of 14 days. Why did it take 14 days for them to ship, when ALL items were marked in stock and their site says they ship in 2-3 business days?

I have another order that is currently waiting to be shipped (day 12 so far). Why hasn't it shipped yet? All items in the order are marked as spring shipping, all items are marked as in stock. Their site says it will ship within 2-3 business days, yet I have been waiting 12 days for my items to ship and nothing.

I understand that things happen, but the gurney's website gives NO information about what is going on, emailing their customer service department takes days to get what seems like a canned response. There is enough mail order competition at this point to make the issues that gurneys has unacceptable.

My experience this spring has been horrible. I will never order from gurneys again.

"On May 5, 2011 11:07 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. I apologize for the delay in the shipment of your order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and check into your order for you."

I've ordered from this company in the past, this year I ordered Sun Chokes and a Gogi berry bush tree (stick) I did receive my order in two parts because they won't ship until it is the correct time to plant some items. I ordered some seeds from them as well I had no problem with them either.

"On May 23, 2011 1:53 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for sharing. We are happy you are satisfied with your order. If you ever need assistance with anything just let us know we are always happy to help."

Placed large seed order on 5-15. Seed supposed to ship right away. Not shipped yet. All my inquiries have been ignored. Only automated replies saying a rep will be in touch. Some blueberry plants shipped today. It's the seed I need. I wil NEVER use this company again.

Posted on June 20, 2006, updated May 17, 2011
In 2002 I ordered 2-18" Mulberry trees. I ordered 2 as it said in catalog that I had to plant 2 for cross-pollination. It said in catalog that they should produce Mulberry fruit in 3 years. Well, it's going to mid 2006 and still no sign of Mulberries! I must admit according to Gurney catalog the trees are best suited to one zone warmer than mine. Even so, I've had no fruit from them they have grown like a rocket and they always look healthy and have the prettiest leaves. I'd order from Gurnsey again. Especially tree stock.

Posted on April 7, 2011, updated May 16, 2011
Hi Dave and Associates, Thank you for giving all of us out hear a voice when the companies we deal with will not!
My complaint is with Gurney's Nurseries....
My story begins in Jan.29th.2010
I clipped out a coupon from my Sun.paper advertising Top Hat Patio Bluebrries...It sounded great to me so I filled out the coupon and ordered 2. I wrote out a check for $18.49 and mailed them in to Gurney's address.
FEB. 2010...Called and they said they were on their way...
MAR.28,2010....e-mailed Gurneys...My order was lost in transit...should get mid Apr. as they have ordered a reshipment according to Isabel
APRIL26,2010....E-mailed again and asked where were the berry bushes as it was getting late to plant.
MAY 04,2010...Received an e-mail from Jessica saying a reshipment had been ordered for me (again) and I should receive by late May
LATE MAY.... called and told them to forget the whole thing...just send me a refund...Was told by the( delightful person)(NOT!) at Gurney's That they would refund me less shipping..I said this was unacceptable.
JUNE 08,2020....Called and said I would like to speak to someone as I had a complaint...Chuck was the person I spoke to"He was just the person that I needed " he said.
Told him the whole story....He asked me if I knew anyone by the name of Gary Baldwin in Shoreline.. (same last name as mine).I said I did not ...Shoreline is a rather large community.
They had been sending my shipments to him...(3) Also 2 refund checks.... Which were cashed.....Lucky Gary!!!!
UNBELIEVABLE!!!!
I looked this person up in the phone book ,called and got his
voice mail. I explained who I was, my phone # and told him what had happenned and would he call me....I called twice and left messages......No response..Now I know why!.
I"M not done with this problem yet either...... It's only $.18.49 but I'm sick of this whole charade and someone is a crook!,
In the meantime Chuck says he will send me a refund....
JUly, Aug,Sept ,Oct,Nov.Dec...No check ,no correspondence and I just tried to forget about it for awhile...
JAN.26,2011....Called and spoke to Megan...whole story AGAIN .She will take care of it . OOOOKKKKK....hmmm sounds soooo familiar.
FEB.24,2011.....A customer service Rep.. named Kimberly Joyce called and I explained the whole thing to her!!!
She asked me if I knew Gary Baldwin ?? He lives in Shoreline. I said NO!
She said numerous bushes had been sent to him and 2 refund checks....BAD GARY!!!! (I'm going nuts here)
Kimberly seemed really reluctant to promise me any thing and by this timeI I feel like I am trying to get something out of their company', I said I would send her a copy of my cancelled check (Which was cashed on FEB.21,2010 I also sent her a copy of this statement ) But they have no one in their system with my name and address so I must be making this up....right!
Who would do this for, $18.49. and 3 blueberry bushes YIKES!
Any way Kimberly finally said she would refund me the money and even send me the bushes if they were still in stock....if not I would get them for next season......SURE!
All this sounded very nice.....BUT....Here it is APRIL,07,2011 and not a word,e-mail,phone call....nothing.
At the end of MAR
I e-mailed them and asked if they would send me the name and address for their CEO or President as I would like to contact them. Still haven't heard from them on this either.
Their Customer serviceis No customer service.IT SUCKS!!!!
!
Would I buy again from Gurne'ys??? Not on my life. My first buying experience with them was enough to cure me for ever
Thanks Dave and Assoc. for letting me blow off some steam!!!!

"On Apr 8, 2011 12:02 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

I apologize for all of the problems you have had with your order and trying to get your refund. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your informaiton and get this taken care of right away. "

We have been ordereding from Gurney's for a about 4 years now with a few 'hiccups' but nothing major.

To start my wife ordered x2 Pea fence 4 weeks ago..... We received everything else ordered in a decent time, but no word on the fences. After 2 weeks pass my wife emails them ( which was difficult to find the email address) 2 days pass before she gets a response......... So I call talk to customer service, (Mind you I'm in Sales so I was level headed a polite about this) Customer Service tells me stuff I already know it was ordered April, 20th 2011.
Unfortunately they were out of stock!
WHY were we not notified before we ordered this??????
The next shipment they will receive from the vendor is May 10th. So I thank her for her time and informed her I will call back on May 11th.
May 11th comes along and I call customer service tells me that they have not received the order from the vendor so they cannot ship and the next expected date for me to receive the fence is JUNE 26th!!!
I ask for supervisor I talk to the supervisor staying very level headed about this. Explaining that what is happening is EXTREMELY poor customer service! We were never notified this was on backorder, It's not posted anywhere that they may have limited quantities nor did we even receive a courtesy email, or call explaining the situation. She does apologize about it & offer refund. Mind you, I'm paying interest to the Credit Card company on a product I do not have because I was charged for it. I deny the refund for the moment till I find a alternative. (My Plants are still growing and nothing to climb)
Being in Sales myself this is the poorest customer service I have EVER had in my 38 years apon this planet!!! Obviously the 'powers that be' have a syndrome called 'head up the ass'
Yes someone will do the job they were hired and respond with a apology to this, the damage has been done. Will never order from this comapany AGAIN!

"On May 13, 2011 9:49 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. We apologize for the problems with your order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information to check out what is happening with your order."

I just received my order from Gurney's. It took them 10 days to send it out and it was in transit for 7 days.

The plant arrived fresh and alive, but it was a puny little thing. Merely a rooted cutting. The box and packaging were fine, in fact, I'm going to say the packaging probably actually cost more than the cutting.

The cutting was in a tiny "paper" pot, which was barely holding together and most of the soil had fallen out.

All in all the plant was in pretty good shape. I just thought I'd get something a little larger than that, considering it was shipped as "2 lbs".
I won't give a negative because the plant did arrive alive and the packaging was great, but not the paper pot the plant was in.

"On May 13, 2011 9:25 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

We appreciate your feedback. We apologize that the paper pot did not hold up in transit. If you have any problem with the plants please let us know and we will be happy to replace it for you."

I ordered near the end of April to get 50 Sweet Potato slips and 1 basil seed packet.

April 29 2011 I got an email saying they had shipped the basil via USPS.

It is now May 10 2011 and no sign of seeds and no further email saying Sweet Potatoes are shipping. I have to have my sweet potatoes in the ground before the end of May to get a harvest in NC.

So far I am not very satisfied with them. They are slow, and when I tried to track my package I could not. I am not very pleased with them. If I change my mind if/when I receive my plants I'll let you know how they are.

"On May 11, 2011 9:38 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information to check on the delivery date for your sweet potatoes and what happened to your basil."

This was my first order from Gurney's. I ordered two cherry trees, and they were originally expected to arrive during the last week of April. Then I was later told to expect them mid-May.
At the end of April, I received a UPS shipping notification, and I tracked the shipment for a couple days until the UPS website stated that, per sender's request, my package had been transferred to the local post office for delivery. The postal carrier then left a note in the mailbox that I had to come pick up a package at the post office. I wrote to the company asking about this, if it was normal protocol, and expressing my disappointment, but received no response.
When I finally got my package after a week in transit, I was pleased to see that my cherry trees looked healthy and green. But after the shipping fiasco, I must admit I was surprised.

"On May 11, 2011 9:35 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with our company. We do ship our orders UPS but in some cases the orders are transfered to the local post office by UPS. Please let us know if you have any problems and we will be happy to help."

I ordered five berry plants this spring, received them in three different shipments. Three out of the five plants did not survive. I hoped they might pull through, but finally realized it was not to be. Called customer service today and was informed all are out of stock for reshipment this season. One blueberry and one blackberry are available for shipping this Sept, and the other blueberry next spring. I was given the option to have them shipped this fall and next spring, or to have all three shipped next spring. I have chosen to receive the replacements as soon as available. The customer service rep was friendly and prompt with the replacement option and gave me a confirmation number. I'll update my rating once the replacements are actually received.

"On May 11, 2011 9:30 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

We appreciate you sharing your experience with us. We are happy we were able to help and have things taken care of for you. Please let us know if you have any further problems with your order."

We received our Dwarf Pomagranite that I ordered earlier this year for my husband's birthday. I kept my fingers crossed hoping that it would arrive sometime near that date. May 4th. Didn't really expect it, but hoped!
Well, on the 3rd, we received "the" package! A little worse for wear; but openned it. Inside box was even worse! Crushed, and almost folded in half. My tears started along w/my apologies to him. HE OPENNED THE BOX! And, out popped this BEAUTIFUL little plant! It was 6-7" in. tall and bright-eyed and bushy tailed! Delighted...YES. GRATEFUL...YES. Thank you Gurneys. You have our business in the future!!!

"On May 11, 2011 9:18 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. Just know if you ever have any problems with your orders just let us know and will be very happy to help in any way."

I have placed my first order with Gurney's. So far I have received two shipments & have three remaining items. I ordered & have received 50 honeoye strawberry plants & the pyramidal strawberry bed. The weather has delayed the planting of the strawberries so I "heeled" them in & they seem to be doing nicely (growing pretty green leaves). We haven't installed the pyramidal bed yet because we need to do some more leveling & soil amending, but it came with concise instructions & appears to be well worth the price.

My second shipment was six Mr. Stripey tomato plants. It is a little early to plant these in Minnesota so I have transplanted them into individual containers & have them inside for now. They look fairly healthy but did come with some yellow leaves. I think they will be OK, but I'll update my post if they take a turn for the worse.

"On May 5, 2011 11:49 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback concerning your order. We are trained and qualified to answer any questions you may have or assist you with any problems that may arise. Just let us know if you have any problems and we will be happy to take care of it for you."

Gurneys had shown a "Buy one, Get one free" deal on their website. I ordered a Clematis and it arrived in very good condition, when my "Free" Clematis did not arrive I called them and was told that I was not able to participate in the offer, despite what the "promotion" said. I had copied the offer and put it in "WORD". No where on the page did it say I could not participate. I refuse to argue over $7.00, so I told them that I would take my business elsewhere. The Clematis I purchased is doing fine, but the integrity of the company is sadly lacking.

"On May 5, 2011 9:53 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We will have a customer service representative contact you and have this taken care of."

Posted on March 25, 2011, updated April 29, 2011
I wish I had checked this web page before I placed my order. My order is not shipped and customer service still hasn't responded to my inquiry. I should have gotten my astilbe from bulbsdirect.

"On Apr 1, 2011 2:20 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. I apologize for the delay in response to your inquiry. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and check on your order for you.
"

I was nervous about ordering from Gurney because of all of the bad reviews but I was sucked in by the free $25 if you spend $25. I had no problem with ordering or delivery. I was a bit disappointed in the size of the plants. But I guess that old adage is true - you get what you pay for. Overall, I was satisfied with my Gurney's experience.

"On May 5, 2011 1:56 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Please know we are always here to assist you if you ever have any problems."

I have been disappointed with my bizarre experience with Gurney's and will definitely not order from them in the future! I do not know how to describe this situation in a concise manner, but I will do my best.

I placed an internet order on April 16. This was my first time ordering from Gurney's.
After placing my order, I received a confirmation email, addressed to someone else with my same last name. (That person just happened to be my recently deceased grandfather, who also lived in the same town as me. He never lived at this address).

I emailed customer service and promptly got a reply, which I appreciated. Their response was along the lines of, "Thank you for contacting Gurney's. I have made the necessary changes to your account."
I once again contacted Gurney's. I explained that my concern was not only that my name was inadvertently switched with someone with the same last name, it was for the lack of protection for my personal information, credit card, etc. I still do not understand how this could happen to a new account.

The reply I got the second time stated that they were sorry that I had this experience, but the account was incorrect because the other person also lived at this address (which, as I stated previously, he did not).
Today I went online to check the status of my order and it says the entire order has been cancelled! I never authorized the order to be cancelled.
I then checked my credit card information, and the charge is still on my statement!
What a circus this simple garden order has turned into!

"On May 5, 2011 9:37 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

I apologize for the trouble you have had with your order. We will have a customer service representative contact you concerning this problem and get this straightened out for you."

Gurney's clearly does a large volume of orders and they seem to have perfected the advertising for the gardening set. Their discounts and specials were enough to entice me away from my usual mail order companies this year.

My recent order was placed back in February and plants arrived several weeks ago (April), all looking, frankly, not so healthy. Luckily, I have the skills to rejuvenate some of them, but two of the plants clearly gave up the ghost long before I got them (a "hardy" lavender, I note with some irony... and a Russian Sage plant) and the third is teetering on the edge of shuffling off its mortal coil (a banana tree/plant).

I will be contacting Gurney's regarding these under their lifetime guarantee and will see where this goes, but generally, it looks as if Gurney's is relying on volume rather than quality in its plants. So if you are looking for quality plants the first time, I might recommend looking at another company, based on my own (albeit) limited opinion. Depending on the outcome, I may try these guys again, but currently, as a first time customer of Gurney's, I am not impressed with their quality.

"On Apr 27, 2011 11:53 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for letting us know about the problem with your order. We apologize for the problem and a customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and have the plants reshipped to you.
"

Posted on April 7, 2011, updated April 26, 2011
Posted on April 4, 2011, updated April 7, 2011
Posted on March 21, 2011, updated April 4, 2011
My experience with Gurney's was pretty bad. Some years ago I ordered a bunch of fruit trees and none of them went anywhere. I had placed a large order and they would come in at random times, either hot and moldy or bone dry (2 yr asparagus roots were a bummer). I had called them about the cherry trees and they sent me moldy cherry trees again, which died a long drawn out death within the year.

The seeds were ok, the germination rates were not that great (except national pickling cucumbers were amazingly productive).
I had great memories as a kid with the catalogs and when my parents ordered from them and the plants (strawberry and raspberry) would grow like crazy. What happened to them?

"On Mar 31, 2011 10:21 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

I apologize for the experience you had with your previous order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and we would be happy to reship new plants to you."

Posted on April 25, 2011, updated April 26, 2011
I have ordered from Gurneys many times over the years. This year alone, I have placed two large orders from them as I am establishing an orchard and gardens at a new property.

I have been very pleased with the quality of the items sent by Gurneys. So far, only one or two (out of many) plants have not come out of dormancy and I am seeing signs that those may be awakening.

Gurneys shipping charges are reasonable. Their products are nice.

My only real complaints with Gurneys are the price discrepancies between this and "sister" companies (or perhaps, affiliated companies would be a better way of stating this.) I'm not sure of what the organizational structure is between Gurneys and other nurseries, but it is offputting to find and buy a product in Gurneys only to find it shortly after from one of the sister companies for a MUCH lower price. This adds up quickly with large orders. In the future, I'll remember to check all of Gurneys (sister companies? assocaited businesses? affiliates?) for price differences on the same items before placing an order.

"On May 5, 2011 2:12 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you very much for shaing your experiece with us through the years. Happy Gardening!"

Summer, 2010, I received a variety of perennials and seeds and was very pleased with the results in the vegetable garden and in the flower beds this spring--everything Gurney's sold me is returning happily. Their prices aren't bad, and their shipping and packaging are okay.

"On May 5, 2011 2:01 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

We appreciate you sharing your experience with our company. We look forward to serving you in the future."

I have ordered some apple trees from Gurney's the past couple of years, and they're a little expensive but every tree has lived and been a decent size, though I have not had any fruit yet. ( I don't expect to until the trees are older of course ) So to me it's worth the price. This spring I ordered an apple tree and their "sugar pearls" apricot tree. The apricot tree was so tiny and pathetic it would take forever to get fruit, especially for the price, so I emailed them expecting to be hassled about sending the tree back at my expense. I was surprised to get an email back the next day that they would send me a replacement tree without any further action on my part. Today the mail arrived and there was a big box from Gurney's. I was SHOCKED to find not one, but TWO large, well branched trees! I've never posted on this website about all my horrible experiences (autumn ridge, cough) with mail order nurseries, but this deserves a hat tip to Gurney's- Thank you!

"On Apr 21, 2011 3:59 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank your for sharing your experience with us. We do are best to make sure our customers are happy and satisfied with our plants and the customer service we provide. "

I don't know why Gurney's advertises in every magazine I have but is out of everything I ordered. I waited patiently for over a month for a lemon tree and finally I cancelled my order today. My mother warned me not to fall for Gurney's advertising but I did. I ordered another lemon tree along with an orange tree, tangerine tree, and lime tree from another company and it was a better deal and they are already processed it and its waiting on the shipping company to pick it up. I did receive an olive tree from them but it took 3 weeks because it was out of stock when I ordered it too. Gurney's should let its customer's know when a product is out of stock so we can make the decision whether or not we want to pay and wait or go elsewhere. Gurney's needs to get its act together.

"On Apr 20, 2011 3:57 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. I apologize there was such a long delay with your order. I will have a customer service representative contact you so we can check on your order and find out what the problem was and let you know."

I have ordered from Gurney's in the past without issue, but I tried to place an order a few days ago and it did not go through. They recently sent me an email with purchase incentives of $25 off $50 orders up to $100 off $200 orders. My son has been wanting to plant some berries in the yard so I went to the site and put over $200 worth of blackberries, raspberries, bush cherries, blueberries, etc. in my cart and proceeded to check out. When I finished entering my address and credit card info, I hit submit, but received a window that did not like my address and wanted me to check it. It gave me an alternate address that included the 9 digit zip code instead of just the 5 digit zip that I normally use when purchasing everywhere else so I thought okay, I will go with the address they want to ship to and I clicked on it. Unfortunately, I received the same message again using the new address. I clicked on edit and all was good so I submitted my order again, same message. I tried again and received a message that read “ If you are receiving this message, it may be due to multiple clicks of the Submit Order button. Your order should have been placed and you should receive a confirmation email shortly.” It also directed me to contact Gurneys via phone or email if I did not receive a confirmation email. At this point I am worried that they are going to ship me three orders and charge me three times, but I waited a few hours and never received a confirmation email. Since it was too late to call, I sent an email to customer service with my issue spelled out and a copy of my order attached. (I always make a screen copy of items that I am ordering over the internet for future reference or problem solving). I received an instant automated reply that read ”Dear Gardening Friend,
Thank you for contacting Gurney's. Your questions and comments are very important to us. Rest assured one of our Customer Care Representatives will respond to you as quickly as possible. As always, we pride ourselves on our world class customer service and we back our products with a no-risk guarantee.” Waited a day with no contact so I tried again, by sending my past email with a new one. Heard back the next day from Jack and he said he needed my address and more information from my original email. First, I am a customer of theirs and they send me emails all the time so they have my address and my original email was attached to my second email. I replied back with my address and all emails attached, but I still have not heard back from their “world class customer service”. All this trouble trying to just place an order and give them money so I can imagine what I would go through if I had problems after they had my money…or maybe they already do three times over and I just have not received a confirmation. Who knows? If my order has not been placed, which it probably has not, it is sad because I was planning on planting everything with my son while he is off for Easter break next week. Major disappointment!!! I guess I will check with Stark Brothers or locally.

"On Apr 16, 2011 9:54 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for letting us know about the problem with your order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information so we can see if your order was placed. I apologize for the inconvenience."

NEVER AGAIN will I order anything from this company. I feel utterly cheated, having ordered four Red Twig Dogwood bushes from them at $15 each plus shipping. Upon receipt yesterday, I found four long twigs in a shipping box - for which they charged me about $11.

As this weren't bad enough, my wife found quite a few full, wide many-twigged bushes at a local shop and they were $2.50 less per bush than we paid this rip-off outfit.

This note is my very small way to help put this lousy outfit out of business.

"On Apr 16, 2011 9:30 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. I apologize that the bushes were not as expected. We have a lifetime guarantee on our plants and if you are not satisfied we would be happy to reship, offer a replacement certificate or refund you for your purchase. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and take care of what you would like to have done.
"

I have ordered seed from Gurney over the years with complete satisfaction. Last year I ordered some rose bushes. They were healthy and are still doing great. Recently I received an email offer of re-blooming Lilac Josee. I could not believe the price. Just let me say I got five for the price of one (regular price). I didn't expect much, but when they came -this week- not only were they healthy, six to eight inches tall, but the were already blooming. I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am with my purchase.

"On Apr 16, 2011 9:46 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you so much for your nice feedback. Enjoy your plants! Happy Gardening!"

Pathetic, expected better. Ordered a 2 foot jump-start and later discovered that Amazon sold it for $48 with free shipping where Gurney's wanted $70 PLUS shipping!. In fact Amazon sells the 4 foot version for less than Gurney's sells the 2-foot!

To add insult, even after charging shipping Gurney's shipped via the UPS/Post Office combo which is the cheapo dead slow shipping method.

I will be ordering seed from the nearby Territorial for seed from now on and everything else from Amazon and affiliates.

"On Apr 16, 2011 9:23 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. From time to time we do have offers of free shipping and we almost always have a coupon offer of $25 off a $50.00 order. We also have a lifetime guarantee on our plants. Hopefully you will give us another opportunity to provide you with world class customer service.
"

On March 26th I ordered some blueberry bushes and other plants from Gurneys.com. Using a $25 coupon, the total to came $70.47. Two days later, the bushes and plants were on sale for 50-80% off. I asked for store credit for the difference and was denied. OK, I'll keep the packet of seed I received and cancel the order since nothing else was coming for a while. I received my refund today of $53.03 ~ that means those flower seeds (sent First class mail in small manila envelope!) cost $17.44! Disgusting.

Wish I saw this wonderful site before I ordered from Gurney's......

"On Apr 12, 2011 7:41 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

We appreciate you letting us know about the problem with your order. A customer service reprehensive will be contacting you for your account information and check into why the discount was not applied to your order. I apologize for the inconvenience."