Comments regarding Gurney's Seed & Nursery

Awesome customer service. Its hard to find that anywhere today. I called in to the customer service number and the person i talked to was able to answer all my questions from billing to shipping to how and when to plant my fruits/vegetables. Most companies you have to talk to 5 different people to get those answers. Very satisfied.

"On Apr 12, 2011 2:55 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your nice feedback. We really appreciate you taking the time to post. Call us anytime and we will be happy to help."

First experience with mail order plants.Was a little disappointed with split shipping (spring/fall).Six trees all with good roots,and seem to have taken hold.One bush and nine flowers all look great.Had a little problem with quanity on my order, but a call to customer service got my order right in 10 minutes and delivered in less than 5 days.Very happy with service and product, just placed another order.

"On Apr 12, 2011 7:35 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

We appreciate the wonderful feedback. We are always here to provide nice healthy plants and great service to our customers. Happy gardening to you."

This is my first experience with this company. I ordered three items to add to my growing family orchard: Native Plums, Manchurian Bush Apricots, and a Carmine Jewel Dwarf Cherry. The plums and apricots arrived quickly and in perfect condition - well rooted and damp and are beginning to bud out already.

On the other hand, the Carmine Jewel Cherry has been backordered with no suggested re-delivery date. I'm hoping it ships before the season gets too late. My order was placed in mid Feb., and their website still does not have the item listed as "out of stock". Perhaps just a popular new item that they have yet to receive. Just hoping it ships timely and in as good a condition as my other items.

"On Apr 12, 2011 7:24 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 ship time for your cherry tree."

Two things. First, a couple of years ago I ordered blackberry plants thinking they would ship for spring planting. They rolled in here in the hottest, driest part of the year for fall planting. The ground was hard as a rock and I was pretty ticked. Besides, whoever heard of planting blackberries in the fall?? I couldn't find any scientific documentation to support this.

Well, Gurney's wouldn't take common sense for an answer. No refund, but they promised to send along plants for the spring.

So, I broke the ground and planted them. Turns out that they did GREAT! And Gurney's shipped about 1/3 of my order in the spring too. I kept them, figgering it was payback for fall shipping and all that extra work with my cement garden.

Second thing. This year I ordered tomato seeds early. Three varieties. They came in in fine time. One pack went to my neighbor.

Both he and I had the same experience. The seedlings came up, thin and frail and fell over and died. Both he and I are experienced gardeners.

I replanted...twice. Same experience. I have no way of knowing what the real cause was. (He theorized they didn't get enough sun, but I made sure the re-plantings did for sure.)

So, the first chance I got, I went to the local farm supply who had fresh tomato seeds and I have a fine crop of baby plants sitting outside my window on the air conditioner now.

I'd give it less than 30% probability that we both messed up. My neighbor is the kind of guy who can poke a stick in the ground and it will root. So, I wonder what kind of quality control that Gurney's maintains these days.

I still have a few seeds left. They are much smaller than the seeds I bought locally. It makes me wonder if they are actually from hybrid tomatoes, sold for the real thing. I may never know.

So, the jury is still out in my mind, but I'd love to solve this mystery.Thus, I'm not making a judgment on Gurney's. We *may* have both messed up. Even if not, they could have had an an uncaught problem with a foreign supplier.

If nobody else has had this sort of problem this year, that would throw it back on me.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with tomato seed from Gurney's or elsewhere?

"On Apr 12, 2011 7:21 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for bringing the tomato seed problem to our attention. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and find out what seeds did not for well for you. When we receive this information we will pass it on to our quality control department to have this checked out."

I was very disappointed to find that it took two weeks to get a definitive answer on my order status. After three e-mails, all of which contained conflicting information, I phoned, and discovered that my plants were actually "not available" even though my credit card had been charged two weeks ago. I was told that they would ship on Mar. 27, then Mar. 29, and then finally over the phone that they had a tentative shipping date of April 14, which would be nearly a month after my order. I think they should tell you when order that your item isn't available, or at least contact you after they receive your order to let you know it is backordered. I ended up canceling the order, and am now behind on my planting, having to seek out another vendor.
On the positive side, the Customer Service Rep did help me by canceling the order out and allowing me to keep the two seed packets that had shipped already, but she was not apologetic at all. She spoke to me almost as if it was my fault that I did not understand their shipping and reserve procedures. Overall, it was a negative experience and I do not recommend ordering from them if you have a timetable to follow.

"On Apr 1, 2011 3:50 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

I apologize for the delay in answering your email and the delay in the shipping of your order. We appreciate the feedback to check into any problems we may be having concerning our customers. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and check on your order."

I ordered some nanking cherry bushes and one of three did not survive, I contacted the company and they said they would send me a new plant in the spring. I have received my order this week. I have had a good experience every time I have ordered from them

"On Apr 5, 2011 8:21 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

We appreciate the positive feedback. It is nice when customers take the time to post about the excellent customer service that we pride ourselves on.

"

I received part of my order & I've emailed several times about the remaining 2 Tarragon plants I get an automatic response that someone will be in touch but I have yet to hear from them This neutral will soon be a negative as I will try once again

"On Apr 1, 2011 3:51 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 check on your order for you."

Ordered seeds and dwarf citrus trees. They accidentally left off the dwarf orange trees and customer service was quick to get those to me (within two weeks) The seeds shipped immediately . No major problems with this company this year at all.

"On Apr 5, 2011 8:45 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for sharing. We appreciate hearing positive feedback about our customer service and our shipping. If you ever have any problems please don't hesitate to contact us. "

I ordered a few different cane berries, seeds, and garlic starts. I still haven't received the garlic (supposed to ship for fall) but I did receive the rest of the order in a reasonable amount of time. The seeds in particular were shipped very quickly. The berry canes are all growing right now.

I did send them one email with a question about the approximate shipping time of the berries and I never heard back, so their customer service could be better. I guess just hope that everything is shipped correctly so you don't need to talk to customer service...

"On Apr 5, 2011 8:28 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for sharing your experience with us concerning your order. It is nice to hear positive feedback about our plants and our shipping. I apologize for the delay in response to your email. I will forward this concern to the proper department. Enjoy your berries.
"

I had a fairly long list of things that I wanted to order for the spring, but was a little leary because of some of the negative reviews. I decided to order some of my items from Gurney's and some from Miller's Nursery. So far I have been pleasantly surprised. I received confirmation of my order immediately and within a couple of days they sent me another email stating that my 1st installment had been shipped. I received that order today. They sent what they said they were sending and I thought it was packaged appropriately. They also included estimated shipping dates for the rest of my order (which were plants and trees that won't ship until the appropriate planting time for my zone). I am impressed by their promptness. The only item I didn't receive that I was hoping to get with this 1st shipment was my pack of beefsteak tomato seeds because I would like to start them soon. I need to call about that. They did not say that they were shipping them but I was hoping the seeds would show up with this shipment since all of my other seeds did. I plan to repost when I recieve the rest of my order. I am very curious to see how my experience will be when the trees and plants arrive. Oh, and as a side note, I haven't heard anything at all yet from Miller's Nursery aside from the initial confirmation email.

"On Apr 4, 2011 3:46 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. I am happy to hear you have been satisfied with our service. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information to check on your missing seeds."

Posted on March 22, 2011, updated March 22, 2011
Posted on May 4, 2009, updated March 22, 2011
Purchased some cherry trees along with raspberry, strawberry, and others. Trees arrived in good condition coming out from dormant but strawberries were in bad condition, most of them were dead. Called customer service and another was sent out next day, this time they arrived in a somewhat pleasing condition, watered for a week and they did fine. Other items such as raspberry have not shipped, they keep on changing the date. Its been 3 1/2 weeks and my raspberry,coffee plant, blueberry, and pomegranate have yet to come.

"On Apr 1, 2011 2:14 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

I apologize for the problems you experienced with our plants and the shipping. As we always try to properly package plants that will flourish, occasionally we stumble. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information as we do offer a lifetime guarantee on our plants."

I have ordered from many of the online nurseries and have never had this type of expierance. On the gurneys website I ordered 2lbs of buffalo grass. when you add to cart it shows "buffalo grass 2lbs- then below that... for each offer ordered you get 2lbs". Now maybe they are stating the obvious but to me if I were to order a pizza and it stated 1 large pizza... for each pizza ordered you get a large pizza. Wouldnt most people understand that as you would recieve a second pizza? So I called customer service with no luck. the csr seemed uninterested and didnt offer a solution. I also tried to do a review at 1 star and of course gurneys did not post it on their website. I guess unless you give them a good rating they just will leave that information out for their customers who look up those reviews. What a sham. I am going to post this information since their own company will not in as many internet sites I can find.

"On Mar 31, 2011 12:06 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. I apologize for the confusion. With our saying "For each offer ordered, get 2 lbs." we are just trying to let the customer know they will be receiving 2 lbs of seeds. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information.
"

I ordered both seeds and fruits plants from this company in 2010. I placed the order early enough to receive the products in plenty of time for planting. I did not receive my raspberry plants til June and in late July I got a notice that my Strawberry plant would not be arriving. I planted 20 plants from this company and 30 from another company and 6 of this companies grew while 20 of the other made it. I infact had a handful of berries from the other. I am looking to order more berry plants this year but it is not likely that it wil be this company.

"On Mar 31, 2011 10:12 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. I apologize for the trouble you had with your order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information so we can reship the plants that did not survive."

I'm amazed at the negative reviews, especially since Gurney's has a lifetime guarantee on many of their plants.
I've planted from Gurney's three years now. My mom, who has had a garden since the 70's, recommended them as the best of her experience.
In the past I've always ordered seeds: sweet corn, water and musk melon, yellow squash, zucchini, and green beans. The only problem I had was with my sweet corn. I had heavy rain the day I planted last year. It had about 80% germination, but that was probably due to the fact that it all lumped up in a corner from the downpour. I actually transplanted (which everyone says you can't do) back into rows. It didn't suffer from the transplant and set large, tasty ears.
This year, I'm excited to order asparagus, raspberries, and a peach tree. I will update once my order comes in.

"On Apr 5, 2011 3:02 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your wonderful testimonial. We really appreciate your feedback and look forward to all your orders to come."

I have purchased from Gurney's for 35 years and they are always great! My fabulous gardens originate from Gurney's (and other good mail-order garden sources). People stop to take photos of my yard; an art club spent their day here once, painting; my neighbors tell me we have far more songbirds and a greater variety of them since I started gardening at this house 12 years ago.

So, what exactly have I ordered from Gurney's? Flower and veggie seed, always. Their asparagus, always touchy for me to get started in my waterlogged heavy soil here, grew ferns clear up over my head last summer. Ever-bearing strawberries, which spread rapidly, so my 2009 order has tripled. Raspberry and blackberry plants last year arrived with HUGE root systems, jumped out of the ground, and I had berries last fall even tho I ordered late. Their seeds do wonderfully in my vegetable garden, and I have a full freezer to prove it.

Their Saskatoon blueberry I planted two years ago hasn't done well, and they are replacing it this spring (shipping at the right planting time for my zone, which saves me trying to figure that out for every darned plant).

For anyone new to ordering plants thru the mail or dealing with bare root plants, READ THE DIRECTIONS & FOLLOW RELIGIOUSLY! That is the key to success with Gurney's and other mail order plants. It's not the same as buying some hothouse, over-fertilized, already-blooming plant at the local nursery (which will get buggy & die quickly in your real-life garden, btw, because all that forced growth makes for softer, more vulnerable leaves & the plant is shocked to deal with outdoor garden conditions--what?! no daily hormones? no fish-fertilizer spray every morning? hey, there are bugs out here!).

Oh, and even tho I emailed Gurney's about my ailing Saskatoon blueberry plant right in the middle of their biggest rush of the year (March), they got back to me within just a few days to say they were sending a replacement. Since I know they're totally swamped, I was impressed.

Love 'em! Will always order from Gurney's. Good plants, good seeds, nice people.

"On Apr 5, 2011 3:18 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Wow, thank you so much for your glowing review of our company. We are very proud of our plants and our service and it is nice to see a very satisfied customer. Happy Gardening to you, and we look forward to serving you again in the future."

I made an order on March 1st 2011 my ordered included 12 packets of seeds, a seed starting kit and a grow light. Here it is the evening of March 16th and I still haven't received anything. I was told by a floor supervisor when I called for the 3rd time that it is normal for seeds and orders to take over two weeks. I canceled the grow light as they told me it was on back order. The one thing that really got me going was the fact that I wrote two emails to the company on how I wasn't a happy customer and I didn't hear anything back from them until I called again to cancel the back order and said something about my emails. I am a serious online shopper and I feel if a company is going to give you the option to contact them by email they should respond to a paying customer right away and not a week later. Bottom line is I will never use Gurney's to order anything. I placed my order with Johnny Selected Seeds and within a few hours I got a confirmation email that my order was packed and being shipped the following day. Now that is the type of company I will do business with for years to come. Save yourself the time and effort and don't ever use Gurney's seed and nursery!!!

"On Mar 17, 2011 10:55 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for informing us of the problem you had with your order. Please accept our apology for the delay in responding to your email. This is our busiest time of the year and we are working very diligently to respond to each of our customer's emails. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and check on your order for you.."

Ordered ten packages of vegetable seed by US postal mail using a personal check and coupon for payment. They arrived on day fourteen, exactly what I ordered, with no back orders. The packages contained almost twice the amount of seeds listed in the catalog. I call that GREAT service.

"On Mar 16, 2011 8:30 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your wonderful testimonial. We appreciate you sharing your experience with us. "

I guess I will learn as I go too. I too should have found this site (DG) before I shopped. I placed an order with Gurney's, I received what I ordered, with the exception of the onion sets and potatoes which they said will be sent at the proper planting time??? now I am worried if/when I will get them. Also I ordered a popular zucchini,.. and got a summer squash, it is not worth the hassle to get it replaced, I'll just buy local.... and next year,.. I will shop around a lot more.

"On Mar 16, 2011 8:26 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 your onions and potatoes for you. I apologize the wrong item was shipped to you. You may keep the squash at no charge and we will have the zucchini reshipped to you.
"

I ordered 3 goji berry plants. The packing slip stated that they were shipped on the 23 of February but I didnt receive the box until March 9.
The "plants" were dry and dead and even if they were live, the plants were about as large as my hand (5"). This seemed rather unacceptable for shrubbery--though I'm no expert.
Possibly the reason the plants were dry and dead had to do with the packaging--tiny open cardboard boxes with bubble wrapping to keep the boxes from shifting in the crate (this did not stop the soil from falling out and spreading all over the shipping crate...) wow...
I've ordered plants from other companies and the plants were in plastic baggies with moisture retaining gel or moss around the soil or roots ready for immediate or delayed planting.
Gurneys, I'm speechless. No words, but I sent the order back to them and asked for a refund from an indifferent customer rep. Never again.

"On Mar 10, 2011 12:55 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

I apologize for the problem with your plants. We do offer a lifetime guarantee on our plants. There is no need to send the items back. A customer service representative will be contacting your for you account information to take care of your refund."

Ok...so I just placed an order with Gurney's and it topped $450.00 This order includes many seeds plus 4 trees (peaches and apples) that I am so excited to plant!!! I see everyone's posts now, and I have my fingers crossed that my experience will be a positive one. Doing what I love in spring--planting! I will report back on my experience...and next time I will read first, and buy second. Person who took my order over the phone was in India....real nice man--very efficient! So far so good! Lisa Bernstein

"On Mar 8, 2011 9:23 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your order. Providing excellent customer service is our highest priority and if you ever have any problems please contact us.

"

I completely replanted my front yard last year. I placed orders for everything after spending hours of planning, internet research, checking pricing and zones, etc. The several orders I placed to Guerneys were enough to give the tinman heart burn! One or two items would straggle in, then nothing more. After countless emails and phone calls (I kept being told they were going to be sent out) I finally reached someone who was honest with me and told me the rest of the items had been cancelled! Of course, by then it's too late to reorder from another nursery!

But do you want to know the most amazing part of all of this? It is now 2/2011 and I received a card from them JUST SEVERAL DAYS AGO saying that one of those orders was cancelled!!!!!!!!!!

I will never trust them again!!

"On Feb 24, 2011 1:30 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

We apologize for the trouble you had with your order. A customer service representative will contact you for your account information. Once we receive this information we will check out why the items were not shipped and why you just received a cancellation notice.
"

I always get suckered by the $25 deal since it allows me to buy more sweet potato plants.
The seed Pinot Noir (or pinto as they called it) was backordered and then unavailable without giving me notice. They also charged me for it even though backordered and then unavailable. I understand I will get my money back for it when the sweet potatoes arrive.
Maybe next year I will withstand the temptation of their coupons.

"On Feb 21, 2011 10:51 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

We appreciate your feedback. We apologize for any problem you had with your order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information to check on the backordered seeds and make sure your refund is sent out right away."

Fall 09 I had a landscaper transform backyard from grass to raised brick beds & walkways. I ordered 3-4 times in 2010 Blueberry Our choice, Strawberry Our Choice. I emailed them because I'd ordered Pink Lemonade Blueberry from Mich Bulb and wanted to be sure to get different product. They responded back when order would ship. Not what I asked, anyway I think it looks different. What bothered me is neither the strawberries or blueberry tell which variety. Didnt I mention I'm obsessive I have white plant stakes with each plant. Gurneys planting guide advised removing blossoms from junebearers - remove blossoms till July on everbearer. Since I didnt have a clue which variety I did nothing. Seems I got a junebearer which sent a lot of runners. I potted 50 plants from my 50 order. I ordered Fort Laramie Everbearing 25 plants for the new 3 tier Pyramid Bed also ordered this year. Emailed them because my order no longer in order status. Everything else I ordered I'm happy with - not sure what is the correct overall state of my experience.

"On Feb 15, 2011 11:50 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. A customer service representative will contact you for your account information to locate your account. Once we receive this information we can help you sort out what plants you have received. We apologize for the confusion.
"

Posted on February 7, 2011, updated February 7, 2011
Posted on June 2, 2010, updated February 7, 2011
Last year, I ordered plants (asparagus, perennials & several berries) from Gurney's. As I remember, they arrived promptly and plants looked to be in good shape. I had some that never actually came up and some that didn't survive the winter. I emailed customer service about replacements and within 48 hours received a reply. I'll be receiving replacements for my strawberries soon. The asparagus will come next spring (which I wasn't thrilled to hear but I'm sure it's because it's too late to plant now- at least they gave me a timeframe). Two other berries are no longer available and I received the merchandise credit certificates yesterday (about 10 days after my initial email).

It would be nice if there was a clearer way to request replacements online, there's really no proper format on the website for this.

This was my first experience with Gurney's and I would order from them again.

"On Jun 8, 2010 12:42 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. Your feedback is used to help provide better service to our customers. Happy Gardening!"

I placed an order on 01/07 and have only rec'd a partial order. somehow they have removed the soybeans from the order but have no reasoning for it. They still have not shipped the onions. The webpage says order shipped but shipping method unknown. how can you not know how you did something unless you didn't really do it. I have sent more then 10 emails trying to find out are they going to ship the rest of the order? are the soybeans no longer available? are they going to fill the remaining order? Not one response from this company. so i paid 38.00 for about 14.00 worth of seeds. I will never use these guys again,

"On Jan 26, 2011 10:01 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. I apologize for the problem with your order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information. "

I have ordered from this company for the last few decades. I received tomatoe seed in the spring of 2010 which stated on the packet that the origin of the seed was China. I planted the seed and it was not the variety I had ordered. I contacted cs at gurney twice. I was told that they sent the seed to china to be packed. They did not address the fact that I had not received the proper seed. They did not offer to refund or replace the seed., This negates their so called warranty., I have thought about this since my contact with gurney . It is now time to order the 2011 seeds and I shall not order from Gurney in the future.It certainly doesn't take much to turn a good company into a non-responsive one.

"On Dec 29, 2010 8:04 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. I apologize for all the trouble you had with your seed. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information to rectify the problem."

Posted on November 18, 2010, updated November 18, 2010
I read the negative reviews about Gurney's and thought that I should give them the benefit of the doubt. What a mistake. I ordered a tree Nov 1, 2010 for fall shipping. Received immediate confirmation that my order was being processed. Almost 3 weeks passed and I heard nothing so I checked the order status via Gurney's automated system over the phone. I was told the tree would ship Nov 25- almost a month after I placed my order. I needed to get it in the ground before the ground froze! I reached out to customer service and the rep told me that the order would be rushed so it would ship in the next few days. That created a new problem since the last day they ship is Nov 19 I was eventually informed. I asked the rep why the automated system would tell me Nov 25 if that date is impossible. She had no idea. I asked if she could assure me that my tree would be part of that final shipment. Again I was told she didnt know so I begged her to check with a higher power to make sure. After holding while she checked, I was then told that my tree was out of stock and wouldn't ship until Spring 2011! I asked why nobody communicated this information and was told it was not customary for Gurney's to let custmers know when an item goes out of stock- even after a credit card is charged for that item! I could not believe my ears. To make things worse, the rep was like a robot; no empathy or emotion. She could care less about the horrendous communication and false info I was given. I had no choice but to cancel my order and now there is an empty spot in my yard where my tree should be. It's sad because it is a special tree (Pixie Crunch apple) and I don't know where else to get one. All I know is that you should steer clear of Gurney's!

"On Nov 18, 2010 1:57 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. We apologize for the mis-communication and we will use your feedback to help provide better service to our customers. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information."

Posted on October 21, 2010, updated November 8, 2010
Posted on October 21, 2010, updated October 21, 2010
Earlier this year, I placed several different orders for several different things. The trouble started even before orders were shipped. The receipt and information on their website regarding my order had incomplete information, and emailing their customer service was a complete waste of time. Always a different person responding who didn't bother to read any of the history in the emails. When my orders started arriving, almost every tree (olive, lime, coffee plant) came damaged in such a way that it was obviously not a result of poor handling in the mail. Keeping the plants alive has been a struggle, and only the olive has really thrived. Customer service was unapologetic when I complained. The asparagus crowns that I ordered were about half of the size of the same age, same variety crowns that I ordered from Territorial for my dad. His asparagus came up beautifully. After several weeks, the crowns from Gurney's never came up, and I'd already given up on trying to contact their customer service. Had I read the reviews on this site before I ordered, I'd have spent my money somewhere else. Poor company, poor products, poor, poor, poor. I caution all of my gardening friends and family against Gurney's.

"On Oct 27, 2010 8:50 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. Your comments are very appreciated and are used to better service our customers We do offer a lifetime guarantee on our plants and a customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information. I apologize for all the inconvenience.

I also ordered the dwarf citrus tree collection back in February. When I hadn't received them by July, I contacted the company, and was sent an email reassuring me that I would receive them "by the end of September". Well, here we are on 10/11/10 with no trees, no word from the company. I tried again to contact them, and have had no response. I just emailed them again. Again I understand hardiness zones but c'mon eight months? And not even an update email? I'm about to move and I can't wait much longer here.

"On Oct 13, 2010 9:24 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

We appreciate your feedback. Your feedback is appreciated and used to provide service to our customers. A customer service representative witll be contacting you for you account information to locate your order and check on the delivery of your plants."

Have ordered several things from them over the years, with no major problems. This year, I ordered a pair of dwarf banana trees, that took a while to arrive. When I opened the box, I found two spindly, sickly looking plants, and placed them in a sunny window. I'm a good gardener, and have babied these plants until they look better than the ones in the catalog. They are now shoulder height with leaves two to three feet long. They have also divided at the roots, and I have seven baby banana trees. They will all go into the greenhouse for the winter, so it will be interesting to see what happens next year.

While this is a happy ending, I think it had more to do with my skills that it did with Gurneys.

"On Oct 13, 2010 9:25 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

We appreciate your feedback. Your feedback is appreciated and used to provide service to our customers. Thank you for taking the time to let us know."

I received the coupon, purchase $50 get $25 off, so I ordered several item from the catalog (which was current and within the time limits on coupon). Included in that was 50 "our choice" strawberry plants. I received a portion of my order with notation that the asparagus is back ordered, however the strawberries are no longer available. I've purchased from Gurney's for years, and recommended them to all I know, but what transpired after this will change that. I call the company number and get routed to INDIA, where I can barely understand every fourth word said. I explained that my coupon in effect made half my purchase free, and after several attempts at understanding, believe they said a credit for some amount would be issued. I got to thinking about it, checked the web site, and found that "our choice" strawberries were in the current sale catalog on line, under a different item number and at twice the price I ordered it as. I called back (again, routing to India) and explained that I wouldn't have ordered a thing if not for the fact that I need the strawberries (my previous Gurney berries having died from extreme heat this summer). I didn't mind PAYING for them since it wasn't due to Gurney error, but I expect to get them since "OUR CHOICE" indicates strawberries of their choice, and they would have some berries, regardless of strain. Again, I could barely understand a word said, even asking for supervisor, but think they said they would send berries in the spring. I honestly don't believe I'll be getting them. Gurney's used to be so dependable, but outsourcing and not having any way to get contact with an English speaking, company employee rather than an overseas order company leaves me feeling like I'm dealing with a sham company. I've since begun a campaign to contact those I'd recommended Gurney's to, to explain that I no longer feel comfortable recommending them due to lack of access to the company when there is an issue. How can I get verification that next spring I'll receive what they promised over the phone at thousands of miles away?

"On Sep 14, 2010 10:07 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. We apologize for the trouble. We do have an overflow call center in India but at anytime you may ask and be directly transferred to an agent in the US. A customer service representative will be contacting you."

Posted on July 22, 2010, updated August 27, 2010
I have had had poor luck with Gurney's plants. A lemon tree was healthy and did well, but a Knockout rosebush I bought from them a tiny seedling! The biggest problem was with a six-pack of heirloom tomato seedlings, however. These plants showed up looking yellowed and quite diseased. I was afraid to plant them in my garden, because I was concerned that they might introduce a blight into the garden soil. (Late blight is particularly a concern in the US right now, but I think this looked more like verticillium wilt.) I emailed and asked for a refund or replacement. I even included some photos of the yellowed plants. No response. I emailed again - and a third time. No response. Eventually, the plants died and I threw them out. I never received a refund or replacement.

I have also placed several orders for seeds and supplies with Gurney's. Some of their prices are high; however, they often offer coupons that make the supplies or seeds a good deal. My complaint is with their plants, and lack of replies to emails.

"On Jul 23, 2010 10:34 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post, we appreciate your feedback. We offer a lifetime guarantee and a customer service representative will be contacting you about your order."

Posted on August 20, 2010, updated August 20, 2010
Posted on May 22, 2010, updated August 20, 2010
I have actually used several of the $25.00 off coupons this year. My birthday is in early spring and I begged family and friends for them this year. I ordered standard cherry trees, blueberry bushes, dwarf cherry trees, pecan trees, and a tophat blueberry. The only problems we had were that we were not ready when they arrived, way before the last frost, and we ended up planting the carmine jewel, top hat, and the pecan trees in pots. Everything that was planted inside has died except for one pecan tree. Everything that went into the beds we had prepared is thriving, the blueberry bushes are even blooming now. How very cool is that, I will have berries on 2 of the 7 bushes this year. I am extremely pleased and will order from Guerney's again. I am told that they will replace the items that did not thrive, we will see about that.

"On May 24, 2010 1:29 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate the feedback to better serve our customers. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information to make sure your items are reshipped to you."

I have had numerous orders from them and did have some losses the first year; but this year I have had more success. The strawberries, grapes and raspberry bushes I have ordered have been super with my getting over two gallons of strawberries my second year after planting. I have gotten my orders within the line they state on their site about shipping; I have received emails letting me know when orders will arrive; and after having a bunch of molding strawberry plants that arrived; they have are not only sending me new strawberry plants but the entire order (was under shrubs and trees grab bag) under their shipping schedule. I would buy from this company anytime as had great experience with them in working with me.

"On Jul 30, 2010 3:22 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. Your feedback is very appreciated and used to provide better service to our customers. Happy Gardening to you!"

I received 3 rosemary plants in the mail.They arrived dried up except for the very tips. 2 died and 1 is struggling. Will not order from here again.

"On Jul 23, 2010 10:30 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

We thank you for taking the time to post, we appreciate your feedback. We do offer a lifetime guarantee on our plants. A customer service representative will be contacting you about your order."

Several months ago I ordered four clumping bamboo plants from Gurney's. I had had a negative experience ordering bamboo from another company with the plants taking forever to arrive and then didn't survive the very cold winter. The plants from Gurney's arrived quickly, were nice and busy, and all looked healthy. I planted them and they have all rooted well and are putting on new growth. Two have already started to spread their clumps. I am very pleased. I also ordered some sale plants from Gurney's at a later date and they also arrived quickly. To date, my experiences with this company have been positive. I will order from them again.

"On Jul 22, 2010 7:26 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. Your feedback is very appreciated. Happy Gardening to you!"

I ordered several trees, bushes, and strawberries, and so far most have grown pretty good. I have to call about a couple of replacements but, so far all the trees and strawberries are growing well. They shipped very fast and have good prices. I will definitely order from them in the future.

"On Jul 6, 2010 12:11 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate the feedback to better serve our customers. Happy Gardening!"

In early March my wife and her best friend stumbled upon an add in the local paper from Gurney's advertising a set of three citrus dwarf trees (lemon, lime, orange) for $9.95 plus S/H. My wife's best friend had been wanting a dwarf lemon tree, so my wife asked me to order a set and based on the delivery criteria Gurney's website provided based on the "zone" where we live it was determined that they should ship and arrive a week before her best friend's birthday. So I ordered a set online, and then about a week later my wife asked me to order her a set as well, which was also done. Well weeks went by, and the only communication from Gurney's had been the order confirmations, but I had received no further details from Gurney's about the order.

In late May I called Gurney's customer service number, which has an automated system, and was informed that the two orders were set to shipped on June 4th. After a week they hadn't arrived and my wife was getting upset, because we were now two weeks beyond her best friend's birthday already. I explained to my wife that we needed to allow 7-10 business days for UPS shipping before a company will deem it necessary to try and track the shipping. But as I explained this to her it dawned on me that Gurney's had not provided a UPS tracking number for the shipments, hence no way to actually track them. So I tried calling Gurney's back and once again received the automated phone system, in the middle of the day no less. All the system would give me was the same information I'd received the week before. So being a "good customer", I waited until Saturnday June 19th, at which point I called Gurney's and surprisingly received an actual person on the phone.

However during the rather short and uncourteous discussion with one of their "customer service" people (and I use that term loosely) it was discovered that not only had the dwarf trees not been shipped, but now it would be sometime either in the Fall or next Spring before they would be available. Allegedly the farmer that supposedly supplied them with these dwarf citrus trees had a "bad crop" and Gurney's was only able to fill a limited number of orders. When I asked why it was then that their system stated that my orders were due to be shipped on June 4th, and then didn't, well she had no explanation.

So my questions are, how can a company advertise the selling of these types of products and not have them ready to ship and deliver in a timely manner? Why would this company set dates for shipment that fall within their specified "planting/growing" seasons, when are actually when the plants should be in the ground in the first place to take root and grow? Why does this company feel that it is incorrect to not have any form of communication (I.e. phone calls, emails, etc.) with their customers so that the customer is updated on the status of their orders? And in the case of this issue, why aren't the trees in question shipped regularly throughout the year when they are clearly described as having the ability to be planted indoors and outdoors, and it is highly recommended that the customer bring the trees in during the winter months so as to help protect and nuture them?

No, this is NOT a company I will do business with again. Today they are supposed to refund my money to my debit card, so lets hope they do so promptly, given that they have been unable to do anything else in the same manner.

"On Jun 21, 2010 12:13 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

We thank you for taking the time to post, we appreciate your feedback. We are always here to assist in any way we can. A customer service representative will be contacting you about your order."

My one and only time shopping with them. 1) I ordered a jumbo blueberry plant and paid what I consider a lot for it. When it arrived I felt there had been some mistake. What I got was a short two-twig plant. As Inigo Montoya would say, "Jumbo? I don't think that word means what you think it means." The plant has done poorly since planting. 2) I also ordered a dwarf fig at the same time, and again paid a hefty price. When that didn't arrive I had to e-mail the company and was informed it was backordered. Nice of you to tell me finally. It shipped one week later than the backorder date. It arrived today. I was stunned. It's a twig with three leaves growing out of it. This company is a rip-off. Caveat Emptor.

There are too many good companies out there selling plants. Use Google and find them. Avoid Gurney's

"On Jun 21, 2010 12:07 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

We thank you for taking the time to post, we appreciate your feedback. We are always here to assist in any way we can. A customer service representative will be contacting you about your order. We do offer a lifetime guarantee on our plants."