Comments regarding Gurney's Seed & Nursery

My in-laws have a beautiful peach tree in their yard. They bought it several years ago from Gurneys. It came in the mail as a little dead-looking stick. They were so disappointed that they purchased another tree from a local store. The little stick quickly outgrew the local tree and is now their best producer. Because of that story, we purchased our hedges through Gurneys. Just short of one year of growth, they have gone from 12 inch dead looking sticks to over 10 feet tall. Several of the have been accidently and repeatedly stepped on and "wacked off" with the weed-wacker, and they still grew back. That is probably largely due to the variety of plant, but also due to the quality of plant that Gurney's sells.

On April 11,1999 I placed an order with Gurney's. Today's date is May 3,1999. Gurney's order arrived two weeks ago, in excellent condition and is growing fine.

Gurneys and Fields were great! They were quick to answer the phone, fixed the problem (short on a few items) immediately, and all of the plants were alive when I got them, and still are! Best of all, they arrived earlier enough to plant.

I have ordered from Gurneys for the past 8 years, and I have mixed emotions about the company. One year I ordered live "Cold Set" tomatoes. When they arrived at my doorstep, they were in perfect condition! All six transplants were a bright, healty green and had a healthy root system. Thinking that was the standard of the company, I made the same order the following year. When I received them, they were soft, stinky, and had a sickly yellowish-brown color. I requested they send me fresh transplants, but after 4 attempts with the sameresults, I just gave up. Also, when I ordered their seed potatoes, theyarrived dried and shriveled. I have ordered a bulb garden, perennial garden, strawberries, blackberries and clematis as live transplants. From those orders, I have had about a 30% survival rate.I've had great success with their seeds, and I use Gurneys for seeds only. On an interesting note, it seems ironic that the healthiest plants in my garden given to me by Gurneys, have been the "freebies" they send with every order, which have been the plants I never wanted to begin with.

I have received an order of mixed, bare root stock from Gurneys that has arrived in very good shape, some of it just beginning to bud.

I have ordered from Gurney's for years; we have always been satisfied for as long as I can remember. I have tried some other company's bargains and have not been as pleased as I was with Gurney's.

I came to this website after looking over both Gurney's and Henry Field's catalogs this afternoon while deciding on my seed order. I quickly noted that, for a couple dozen specific varieties of seed items I was looking for, they had the EXACT same quantity and prices listed. I have ordered seeds from Gurney's several times in the past and had no complaint. (I WOULD have had a big complaint when my order was sent to avery honest and kind woman in Murfreesboro, TN along with her order. But she actually re-packaged and sent it on to me along with a nice note! God bless her! I should have notified Gurney's, I guess, but got busy planting and then let it go.) I hardly would ever even consider ordering nursery stock or any live plants from either company; don't know why, just call it a hunch. Maybe it's just the cheap look of their catalogs.

We have done our 1998 business with Gurney's. Their prices are way below Stark's, however; they do not offer an on line service. Gurney's has been very kind in dealing with our problems which have been many. I am eventually satisfied. You really get what you pay for anywhere. Some of Gurney's plants are very small while we have been pleasantly surprised with others. Their season is something that needs attention by the purchaser as well as good receiving recordkeeping. We're going back despite some problems. We lost a lot of trees from Gurney's this year because of the heat. They were gladly replaced. There does seem to be ordering problems here and there. Some of the plants were really small but did well while others were much larger than I expected and they did excellent. We watered some that looked like they were not going to make it and they hung on. I have always received kind service over the phone and even reimbursement for the calls. I suggest great planting care expectations as well as a good receiving log book to keep track of shipments. I would not suggest UPS since our first order was lost for a while then picked through when we found it. I prefer the U.S. Postal Service.

Henry Fields & Gurney's are one and the same; however, there are differences. One is that the people at the HF division DO NOT know how to package live plants. And the stuff I ordered from Gurney's was generally in a LOT better health than what Henry Fields sent. Both DO have wonderful customer service, but that doesn't mean a hill of beans if they keep sending you dead stock - even the replacements were dead. So take your chances with Gurney's.

I ordered 4 fruit trees from Gurneys. They arrived looking dead, but their brochure explained that they were in their dormant state. I followed their directions when planting them and now they are still alive with leaves. They have only been planted a few weeks. I intend to keep using their services.

Gurney's seed is great. Bare roots don't do well although my strawberries (100 plants) did. Seed potatoes are all right. I've used them for a couple of years and only a few didn't come up this year. I bought as part of a special offer last year and when one type of potato didn't come up, they refunded the whole offer plus sent me 30 more sets free.

I ordered stock from several companies this year, and have planted their stock side by side, you can really tell what came from where. The stock from Gurney's is doing well.

I have ordered from gurneys for over twenty years. I have had no problems whatsoever. I have received everything from tomato seed to locust trees. Also, their catalog is an education in gardening in itself.

Gurney's sent me a confirmation in 2 weeks and the order came at the correct planting time, although my bleeding hearts haven't come up, the Hostas are doing great.

If you're going to mail order, order from Gurney's. They have excellent customer service and if the plants didn't grow, they either give you credit or send you new plants.

I have ordered for may years from Gurney's with great success! If people think that everything they order will live, and thrive, they will be disappointed. You can't get that good from your local high priced nursery!! I have always had very good luck from plant stock, and seeds from Gurney's. Sometimes plant stock is not handles well in transit, and it arrives in less than good shape. Plant it anyway, if it does not live, call Gurney's, and they will replace it. I will continue to order from Gurney's for many years to come!

I just want to comment on how satisfied I was with all of my orders from Gurney. We ordered 200 Hedge plants and only lost 3-4...better than most garden stores. The first year all of my Tulips came up. We had a very hard winter and about 90% of them returned the next year. All of my bleeding hearts came up the first year and are doing absolutely wonderful 4 years later. Garden seeds are great, top quality. I purchased a couple from the garden store when I ran out and they did not compare to the Gurney seeds. The roses didn't do as well. They sort of let me know they were alive the first year. The second year only half survived and at this point, 3 years later, I have one the is doing O.K. Over all, I think they are a good company.

Last year I ordered the 50 lilies for $13.00. Every one came up. I also did the $.69 coneflowers. These also came up. The only thing I did not have luck with was bright eyes phlox, and they replaced it within 3 weeks. I have already placed my order with them for more stuff.

I have had nothing but good success with Gurney's. My years as a gardener have taught me several methods of fertilizing, transplanting and pruning. Gurney's always stood by me and my learning process. They were patient and always helpful. Yes a few plants did die but they always replaced them, no matter how many times that I asked. I love their attitude and will always use them as long as I plant a garden and find the happiness Gurney's brings me.

I am really surprised that most of what I have read are from dissatisfied Gurney customers. My experience has been just the opposite. Only one item came in questionable condition. My trees, seeds, and vines have done well. I have yet to test their customer service and warranty. My expectation would be, that based on their plant quality, it would be good also.

I ordered for summery 1996 from Gurney's exclusively and I had no problems whatsoever. Their prices are the same as Henry Fields (in fact so is my customer number) and are reasonable. They have a great variety of everything and the shipments were packed well and sent in plenty of time to get me started early. Everything I planted came up and did fine. I ordered again from them this year for summer 1997. I really don't know what to make of all the complaints your web page shows for Gurneys!

I have been ordering from Gurney's for the past six years and have had excellent results. The prices are more than fair and the stock is usually healthy. The one occasion I had problems with a shipment (and considering the condition the package was in when it arrived, I think the post office may have had something to do with the failures I experienced), Gurney's customer assistance was friendly and I had replacement plants sent to me within the week! I never had varieties substituted, but then I've never ordered odd varieties either. The low, one rate postage is a real plus and any additional orders placed during the same season require NO shipping charges. All these things make Gurney's a winner in my eyes. I will continue to use Gurney's, just as my parents and grandparents have been doing for as long as I can remember.

We have ordered from Gurney's three years in a row now. Trees, seeds, and plants all have arrived in good condition and grown the way they are supposed to. We have only good things to say about Gurneys and will continue to order from them.

Just wanted to let everyone my experience this year with Gurney's. I ordered one of their special offers - 25 lilies for about $13.Unfortunately, they arrived a day before my vacation back home to England. I did not prepare the soil and really do not plan their location. However, to my amazement these small bulbs turned out to be WONDERFUL! During the month of July these lilies were in full bloom -the orange ones bloomed first, followed by my favorite pinks! I think every bulb lived! I've order some more!

I have purchased several hundred dollars worth of trees and perennials from them and have been very happy. I always order in February and promptly receive a confirmation and an estimated time for shipment.

I have been ordering seeds, trees and shrubs from Gurney's for over 10 years now, and I have never had a problem. I always get what I order, and in good condition.