Comments regarding Gurney's Seed & Nursery

Last winter I ordered some blueberry plants from Gurney's. I received them at least 3 weeks earlier than any other nursery stock I have ever received. If I had not prepared the planting holes beforehand, planting would have been delayed for several weeks. I was advised to heel the plants in, but that's hard to do when the ground is frozen and snow covered!.

But I am happy to report that the plants are all growing well.

"On Aug 14, 2009 2:54 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We strive for 100% Customer Satisfaction. I will be contacting you through email via Dave's Garden so we can look into this matter. Thank you!"

I ordered on 4/8/09 their HEIRLOOM RAINBOW BLEND TOMATO to be shipped 4/26/09. I called and spoke to Dave on 5/20/09 and asked were my shipment was. He told me they had a freeze and would ship in a week or two. I wanted to cancel the order and was told I had to wait till I received the order. I received them on 6/3/09, this is to late to plant were I am at (90 days to maturity) we get snow in October, and the plants were mush in the package when I opened them ( were they frozen in shipment?) No tomatoes this year. I will buy all my plants locally from now on. NO MORE MAIL ORDER

I ordered fruit trees from Gurneys and Willis Orchards. They were both about the same price ($25-$30) and height but the ones from Willis Orchards turned out to be much larger diameter. The ones from Gurneys are about 3/8 inch in diameter and the ones from Willis Orchards are about one inch in diameter. The ones from Willis Orchards appear to be several years older and initially appear healthier. Gurneys substituted a dwarf apple tree for a regular apple tree that was out of stock. That was a little disturbing.

I have positive, negative and neutral points in my first Gurney's experience. Mathematically a neutral, 2 positives and 2 negatives would be a sum of zero and logic would say that is a "neutral" rating. The negatives are pet peeves of mine and slightly overwhelm the positives and while I most likely won't patronize Gurney's again the reason is simply taking a stand as a consumer ideologue just on principle and what I wanted from them I won't need to plant again.


Positives:
1. Web site - The site is truly awesome, compared to others, and the ease of navigation as well as the information listed for each product is more "professional" and informative than photoshopped pictures of models along with a few sentences that say absolutely nothing.

2. My order arrived earlier than initially estimated. At first it was 22APR09 and then it got moved up to 11APR09-13APR09. I was fortunate but since I'm discussing shipping I'll move onto the negatives....


Negatives:
1. Shipping - Gurney's uses UPS "BASIC" shipping for no reason other than lower costs. I understand cost cutting, especially these days, but cost cutting with live plants is probably why I've read about so many DOAs.

I got my UPS ship email on the 8th and on the 9th my plants arrived in the Dallas area. On the 10th UPS had it listed as "in transit to final destination" - headed from Mesquite (east) going past my house to DFW Airport (?) and this status didn't change from the morning of the 10th to noon on the 11th so I called UPS to find out why.

The UPS rep told me that with UPS "BASIC" shipping UPS delivers to a local USPS "snail mail" center in your area and your regular letter carrier does the actual delivery portion. I asked the nice lady what my estimated delivery date was and I was informed 15APR09... IN OTHER WORDS... those LIVE PLANTS would sit in a box drying out for an ADDITIONAL 5 DAYS simply because Gurney's CHOOSES to use UPS "BASIC" instead of UPS "GROUND" like everyone else who, apparently, believe the least time in a dark box for live plants is the best way to conduct this business.

The GOOD NEWS is an hour or so after I called UPS on Saturday 11APR09 my USPS letter carrier delivered my dry root strawberries... which were dry enough on the 11th and probably wouldn't have made it 4 more days drying out in that box.

I like to think that some kind-hearted plant lover saw "live plants" on the box and got it out immediately because according to the "schedule" UPS had I probably be posting this a few days from now talking about dead plants - they were really dry and no so much as a single moist or even dried out polymer crystal in any of the bags... just dry, dry roots.

I think they'll survive but adding more days of darkness and dryness leads to stress and even though I lucked out it seems asinine to use "BASIC" shipping... especially when the CUSTOMER wasn't given the choice and where Gurney's says "we use UPS or USPS" it needs to be amended to using both and illustrate what "BASIC" shipping means.

I'm certain if given the choice CUSTOMERS would opt to pay a little more for "GROUND" shipping to both get their plants planted sooner AND to make it easier for them to get live plants instead of dead plants... ESPECIALLY when they're shipped dry root. IF Gurney's was giving free shipping, as in paying the bill, then there might be some logic to cost cutting with "BASIC" shipping. It makes no sense - if I'm ordering seeds, supplies or something that won't dry out and die then "BASIC" is sufficient unless I'd rather have it quicker but giving me the OPTION would be excellent service of this customer and IF I ever ordered LIVE PLANTS from Gurney's again I can only do with with UPS "GROUND" because I don't want the hassle of refunds/reshipment that I've read so much about.

2. Customer NO Service:
I called Gurney's once and unlike some others my call didn't go to the Punjab Province. My call was answered by a female with a distinct American accent... the problem is that while I detest outsourcing especially with over 5 million unemployed if what I got is the BEST an American can do then I'd rather listen through that thick Indian accent if the Indian person would actually answer my question and at least PRETEND that I wasn't annoying the hell out of them at their job. I literally almost said to the lady, "I'm sooooo sorry I bothered you". Silly me to think someone paid to answer the phone and help customers would actually be helpful. I've been treated more enthusiastically at the DMV and the Veteran's Administration...

Gurney's site didn't say, unless I'm mistaken, that I was getting dry root plants but with the package weighing 4 lbs for 75 plants dry root seemed obvious. I informed the lady that I was a new customer and I had NEVER planted dry root plants and WITH MY PLANTS ARRIVING (I thought) within a few hours I had a few questions:
1. Are there instructions in the box?
2. Is there anything I need to make sure I have before they arrive?

I explained that I had time to run to Lowe's and pick-up anything I DON'T KNOW I NEED and if she'll tell me I can go get it. She told me I need fertilizer and I asked what kind and after an audible long sigh and an even longer and uncomfortable silence I jumped in and said I know they sell strawberry fertilizer but that does me no good a few hours from delivery.

Her response was (verbatim), "Well..... you'll just have to ask your local garden center what to use."

To my credit I bit my tongue and just got off the phone. I didn't even say that at my local garden center they actually answer my questions which is why I've spent thousands with them in only a year and just $30-something with Gurney's. Other than seriously not wanting to be at work I'm sure she wanted to sell me Gurney's strawberry fertilizer but unless Gurney's had a retired SR-71 Blackbird handy and could fly their fertilizer to Dallas at Mach 3 departing immediately it does me no good. Something like suggesting _N-_P-_K of some sort or a website, etc. would have been sufficient. In the end I used Google and went to Lowe's.


Neutral:
I think the price for 25 everbearing and 50 junbearing strawberries is more than fair if not generous BUT my only reference as a control for the assumption is the $9 potted strawberry at Lowe's. I'm not complaining but 20% of each were significantly smaller and a few of the everbearing were even itty bitty within the 20%. I'm sure there's a range of acceptability and a margin for error in packaging, I actually got 2 extra junes because of a "packaging error" but 20% of the everbearing were small and about 15% of the junes were smaller... but I got 2 extra AND they were on sale so, again, I'm not complaining.

This phone call is THE REASON my review is neutral when I happen to luck out and although I'm less enthused about the "deal" I got than I was when I bought it, less enthused than before I called they all seem to be good to go having gotten planted and watered on Saturday verses on Wednesday as UPS told me. *I* didn't have a shipping debacle but using UPS "Basic" I see why I've read about this. I *was* going to post a negative but while posting I changed my mind and edited it to a neutral thinking I was being too harsh... I may not buy from Gurney's because of a phone call but my rigidity over a personal pet peeve probably doesn't warrant an overall negative.

To be perfectly honest... HAD I posted my review before they miraculously arrived on Saturday when I was told they'd be in that box an EXTRA 5 days because of "BASIC" shipping it would be a negative. HAD I posted after that phone call it would be negative. HAD I posted immediately after I opened the box and planted them it might be negative. But, 2 days in the ground and while there's not much above the surface and maybe a few too many with not much below the surface what is above the surface is standing strait up so I take that as a good sign and thus I'm letting the phone call slide some.

SUGGESTIONS:
I'd suggest Gurney's revisit the UPS "BASIC" shipping and if the CUSTOMER wants to save on shipping then let them do so, inform them of the extra time and the possible risks to live plants but if the CUSTOMER is more concerned about expediency and minimization of plant stress than they're concerned about a few dollars let them CHOOSE UPS "GROUND". Adding a shipping drop down menu on their website would take 5 minutes and I'd bet money that it would reduce negative ratings related to shipping. I'm brand new and I already figured this out so it seems simple, easy, cheap and in the best interest of Gurney's to make a minor adjustment and see a major difference.

I'd also suggest that whomever is in charge goes over the image they want to portray to customers who need customer service. We all have bad days but I don't expect anyone to really want to remain my customer if I or anyone else blows it on the phone or email. Customer service is the ONLY thing that can really set any business above its competitors.

FYI:
This is my 1st post but I also ordered from 4 other places (one is an Amazon store so I don't know if it applies here) but I'll post the other 3. One, a "Watchdog 30" got here too fast (lol) so I have to post about it and the other 2 I'll post after they get here. I'm appreciate the input on this site and since I found it helpful I hope others find mine helpful.

My order was filled and billed correctly, and seeds arrived quickly. However, I am concerned about the packaging used on my live plants. I ordered raspberry plants, and nine plants were wrapped loosely in heavy plasic with what appeared to be a single sheet of barely damp newspaper in a multitude of pieces loosely thrown in. All of the roots appeared to be dried out. I potted them up immediately with damp potting mix and watered them well, as I am unable to plant outside for another week. I hope they survive, and I have never received plants so poorly packaged before. I ordered currant bushes from Jung, and the difference in packaging was amazing. If my plants survive, then I guess there is no problem. If they don't it's not only a hassle to look forward to, but it's a season I've lost to start my berry garden. I won't order any plants from them again. I ordered from eight companies this spring, as I am just starting a vegetable and fruit garden, and of all those Gurney's had the worst packaging of plants.

I ordered vegetable seeds and growing supplies and got my order promptly and correctly. I am also the proud recipient of more spam.
This is a neutral because I learned many, many years ago not to order plants or bulbs from Gurney's or most other resellers, they import the stuff, they do not grow it and it is often wrongly labeled or of poor quality.

As a result of the high number of negative comments on this site I have opted out of ordering what I was going to order from Gurneys.
I liked what the catalog had to offer but was put off by the negativity surrounding the company. I will be sure to give them a look next year.

I have no problem with Gurney's products or their packaging, I would even like to order from them again EXCEPT. They claim to use zip codes provided by the USDA pertaining to the USDA hardiness zones. They have me in Zone 5. The problem is I live in Northern Wisconsin. When I put zip codes into their website I find that there is NO zone 4 here. The zones go from 5 to 3 ~ just 20 miles northwest of here is zone 3. I usually receive plants and trees in late March when we still have a foot of snow and several feet of frost. I have received fall product in late October, 4 weeks after the first average killing frost. Customer service ( 4 different people so far ) gave me the same speel about the zip codes. And then tell me 'no problem mon' they're all guaranteed. I guess I'm expected to chisel them in.
They told me to ask for a different shipping date when I order but still ship them at zone 5 time. I returned merchandise last year at their expense and included a note and they did reship a few weeks later. Henry Fields is the same way, so far only the Michigan Bulb branch will ship as requested but I did cancel a order last fall when I received a shipping date of Nov 1-5th. (No problem with a fast refund). I have read of other folks in the upper midwest getting plants way to early or late. You would think with the cost of replacing these they would get the message. Thank goodness Jung's has a zone 4 in Wisconsin. They get the largest amount of my business now.

I placed my seed order 24 Dec 08 and received shipping confirmation 6 Jan 09. The tracking number did not work. I emailed customer service 16 Jan and got a pleasant reply from "Harry" stating that "Our records show that your order was delivered on 01/09/09 at your nearest post office, please collect your order from there." It was not at the post office and they could not track it either. 23 Jan I found their phone number online (513-354-1491) and called. A not so pleasant person (Brandy) took my call. All she would do to help was to give me a tracking number that showed they had shipped by UPS, a package 5 Jan which was delivered to Dallas USPS 9 Jan. Tomorrow will be 24 Jan. I am working my soil and prepping the greenhouse but am not sure if I will have seeds. I will get my seeds elsewhere in the future.

I've ordered from Gurneys, MI Bulb etc.. for years, have about a 70% success rate with the plants, seed and bulbs.
I think the "free" offers are a joke-with the cost of shipping added in it's just not that good of a deal. Perhaps some knows how to become a member and save 10% as stated in the print catalog order form?

My first experience was with pretty bad. I called because the first part of my order showed on their website that it had shipped. It being a week later and I'd not received my order I called ( you can't track your orders online?) and spoke to NICKY. I gave her my order number right form the website and she kept saying she could not find my order. She was very short with me. I suggested she look up my orders by my account number. She hung up on me. I called back and told all this to a nice older woman Jane? She was extremely apologetic and told me if I did not see my shipment ( she found my order right away) I should call back in a week. I did call back and they will be re-shipping my first order. I see they also resceduled
my other shipment? I don't think I will be doing anymore business with them. I work on the phone with customers all day. If I spoke rudely or hung up on anyone I'd be fired on the spot. Good customer service goes a long way.

I've read great reviews of those of this company, so I thought my bumpy experiences were the exception. My shipping date always moves into the future just as it becomes time for them to ship. It was annoying before, but I wasn't trying to put in a "real" garden, so I overlooked the problem.
My latest order, which was placed on 7/29, has already changed dates at least 2 times now. I am in the process of trying to landscape an area for a much deserved party my brother will throw when he gets to come home. So, I need reliable info this time. (It is fine if some plants are coming in Oct, but I needed some degree of certainty there.)
I called and explained the situation to the rep (how the date kept changing, etc). Her solution was to read my invoice aloud in a grumpy tone twice. Again, I explained that I had that info, but I just needed to know if the order would indeed ship according that estimate or would it continue to change. She didn't like that question and told me they couldn't promise anything b/c they don't know if the plants will grow, etc.
That's fine I appreciate the seasonal/delicate nature of plants, but other companies seem to have their stuff together. I just cancelled my order. So now I've lost 3 weeks of time I guess I should have spent starting seeds of my own.
Additionally, their email contact form did not work. I sent it, and received a no server message the following day. Instead, I had to contact them via their toll number.

I ordered from Gurney's last year. I purchased 2 dwarf blueberry bushes as I live in a town house (I have neighbors on each side of me in the same building so to say.) so I really have to be considerate of my neighbors and can't really plant trees. I just so happen to have a bad downfall for blueberries. Well the plants died on me. I did contact Gurney's. I got the blueberry bushes the following planting season and they where doing wonderful but unfortnuatly the "deer cat" (my ignorant rude neighbor's cat) got to them and bit them in half. This year I ordered some dwarf northsky blueberry bushes. The only thing that upsets me is that they keep pushing the delivery date up. But hopefully I can trust them as they have proven so far that I can.

I recently placed my first order with Gurneys. I ordered about $50 worth of trees and seeds several weeks ago. I received the seeds within a couple of days of ordering when I checked the status of my trees. They had been canceled.

I now had paid $1.50 for the one packet seeds I ordered and $9.95 for shipping. So I called and demanded my shipping charges back. After 30 minutes of waiting on the phone and dealing with a grumpy guy by the name of Ryan, who wanted to mail me a refund in 2-4 weeks. I told him to just put it back on my credit card since that is how I paid originally.

Not a good way for my first order to go. I WILL NOT REORDER from them.

I use Gurney's for planting supplies only.

There are much better places to order live plants, even other Garden's Alive companies (Brecks is superior).

Always use a coupon!

My order took so long to ship I had already moved to a different address!
Also, none of the bulbs ever sprouted...actually two of them did..and then died.

I placed an order and then more catalogs arrived with sweet offers. I noticed the prices were questionable with the sister catalogs - Gurney's sells Little Business Day Lilies for about $8 each, where Michigan Bulb sells the same for $5 and Henry Fields is somewhere in between. Same issue with raspberries and a bunch of other similar items. It seemed terribly deceptive as no one could explain any differences in quality, just warranty
I became uncomfortable with this, as well as not being able to get a clear idea when the items would be shipped, and decided to cancel the order.
They couldn't have been nicer about crediting the seeds that had already arrived, but I don't think I'll order from them again. And I truly resent requesting my name and address are not sold nor shared with other companies and still having that happen.

I ordered eight items from Gurney's last spring. The first part of the order quickly arrived and my husband set the box on the kitchen table for me to find when I arrived home. Imagine my horror to discover bugs crawling all over my kitchen table when I got home. Included in my order was a 2 lb. bag of "All Natural Potato Food" which was highly infested with bugs. I quickly sealed the bag in an airtight container to kill the bugs. Not a good start for my 1st order from this company. Additionally, three of the items (bulbs) did not grow at all. The company has placed an order to reship two of the three. They no longer carry the third item and have issued me a paper replacement certificate that can only be redeemed by mail order.

"

Valued Customer - Your replacement certificate can also be used via a phone order. All you need to do is let the Agent know the Certificate number, and he/she will be able to apply it to your order."

I us them for some garden seeds, if you have the coupon the price is OK. They came in time, and germinated well, but I would never use them for live plants. There are just too many other great choices out there. Plants need more loving care than this giant company can give.

Gurney's catalog is totally annoying: they never list the latin name for a tree or shrub, so you don't know exactly what you're ordering. Also, if you compare prices, you notice that they aren't all that low at Gurney's. They seem to be the same company as Henry Field, even use the same photos and descriptions in many instances. However, they do honor their guarantee, so I guess I can't complain.

There's no category for "mildly aggravated" so I'll pick this one.

My beef right now is their inflexible shipping policy- I wrote on the order I sent in that I wanted everything shipped ASAP, and instead they divided the order up into 3 separate shipments over the next 2 months. I wrote to their customer service department about it, and they said

"Thank you for your email. Our ship dates for the individual items are governed by The Department of Agriculture according to the zone you live in."

This is patently untrue- I've received orders from nurseries all over the US who honored a request for shipment during my winter planting season here in zone 8. What they really meant is that their POLICY is to ship at "proper planting time"- regardless of what a customer wants.

My order is all for cold-hardy plants, sitting in their cold-storage facilities. Raspberry plants, onion plants, asparagus crowns, Jerusalem artichoke tubers. Nothing that could be hurt in shipping by the weather.

I guess that patience is a virtue. "If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us." Yeah, right.

I think its good to realize that a lot of catalogs are really the same company. Gurneys is also Spring Hill, Brecks, Henry Field, Gardens Alive, and probably some more, and really I have found you pretty much get what you pay for. The Jung group is also extensive, Jung, Shumway's, Vermont Bean Catalog, Totally Tomatoes. The stuff might not blow your mind but its also pretty cheap, what do you expect.

It seems like a hit or miss company. I've placed three orders with a decent success rate, but not as good as other companies. The blueberries did well, so did the strawberries and peppers. But the currants I bought died after three months (I still don't know what killed them, they were doing great until about a month before they died), and of the six raspberries I bought, only two survived the first summer. The peony I bought from them was stolen by a rodent, so I never knew how it would have done. I would reccommend that you buy blueberries or strawberries from this company, but I'm not sure what else I can reccommend. I would not reccommend the currants or raspberries. So it's really just OK, neither good nor bad, from my experience.

"

Contacted the Customer for information so plants could be reshipped (because we do have a guarantee); have not received a response."

On May 15, 2007, I placed an order with Gurney. I ordered one Dwarf Key Lime, one Dwarf Granny Smith Apple, and one Dwarf Sundance Apple.

The Key Lime arrived first, ten days after I placed my order. After an entire week in the mail, the soil was still moist and the leaves green. There was some superficial damage to the plant (torn or cut leaves), but overall, I was impressed by the condition. I potted it up, and it's still doing fine. I wish Gurney had included the plant size (at shipping) in the description, but for $10, I wasn't expecting much, so its small size didn't really throw me. Had this been the only item I'd ordered I'd have been quite pleased with Gurney.

The next item to arrive was the bare root Granny Smith. I was less pleased with this plant. There were two broken limbs, and the pruning appears to have been done to make it fit well in the box, rather than with the final shape of the tree in mind. The tree has not yet broken dormancy. I will update this review if it does not do so.

The price on the Dwarf Granny Smith wasn't nearly as nice as that for the Key Lime, and frankly, I probably could have gotten a better tree for the same price (or less) if I'd just waited another couple of weeks for my local garden centers to put their fruit trees on clearance. I know that Lehman's near Council Bluffs, IA only charges $30 for their potted Granny Smith compared to $27 for Gurney's bare root version! And Lehman's has excellent customer service, unlike Gurney.

Today, after waiting more than 3 weeks for my Sundance tree to arrive, I went on Gurney's website to check the status of my order. Not only has that tree not shipped, but my order was canceled. They did not send me an e-mail notifying me of the change, and when the invoices arrived with my previous two shipments, they indicated that the tree would ship soon. They sent me e-mails when they shipped the other trees. Why not send me one saying that they were not going to ship the third?

Overall, my experience has been disappointing, and I won't be ordering from Gurney again.

I ordered two tophat blueberry plants, two climbing clematis (BOGOF), and some watermelon seeds from Gurney's online. It took over two weeks to receive my order and the plants will be lucky to make it. They are the most pitiful things I have ever seen. I have planted them in containers and am waiting to see any growth. I am marking my experience as neutral for now, but plan to update. As of now, I would not order from them again.

In 2006 I ordered several plants from Gurney's, a snowball bush and a Hall's Hardy Almond tree (larger variety) the order came, plants planted. The snowball bush never broke dormancy, not sure why but this year I let them know it never bloomed. Got a quick confirmation and replacement bush, which seems to be happy and growing. YES! The larger almond tree was substituted with 2 smaller ones as they were sold out. OK, no problem. 1 bit the dust over the winter, so I emailed that one didn't make it could I get a replacement. They said probably early April. Mid April no tree, so I emailed for a delivery date. That started a series of conflicting emails from what appeared to be an out of country customer service center, with each answer more confusing than the last. One said my tree was coming from the Netherlands and was held up in customs-not probable for an almond tree. One said I ordered from Brecks not Gurney's-Breck's doesn't handle almond trees, nor have I ever placed an order with them. I used the order #'s on my Gurney's forms. Several other follow up email responses made no sense so I figured oh well, not worth the hassle of trying to re-explain. I don't have time to train "the help" on doing the job they were hired for. I did get the tree, it came from MO, not outside the US as I figured. It is in the ground and starting to break dormancy. So the guarantee is good, but dealing with their email customer service dept. is a bit of a problem because they don't seem to understand. It seems to be a clearing house for all Gurney's affliates. They must give the help basic answer sheets to draw from rather than being able to handle each concern directly and specifically.

When you were a kid, did you like reading the ads in the back of comic books for x-ray specs and Sea Monkeys?

That's how I approach Gurney's and their related companies. The catalogs are flashy and a little trashy -- flowers aren't just big, they're ENORMOUS. Trees don't just grow quickly, they ZOOM to FULL HEIGHT in NO TIME AT ALL. A hedge isn't just pretty, it will be THE ENVY OF THE ENTIRE NEIGHBORBOOD!

I love it.

This is my third year ordering from them. Each year, I order a few novelty items and tell myself that I don't care if they grow. They do grow, almost always.

I have ordered from Gurney's before and the plants were fine, though small. When I got a new catalog this spring, I couldn't resist trying the $25 coupon again. After it was applied I didn't owe much, but still, even with relatively low expectations, I wasn't prepared for the plants I received.

They had obviously been alive and vigorous (once upon a time) but were definitely DOA when they got to me. I'm a good plant medic, but it was clear that there was nothing in the shipment for me to save. I called and spoke to an apologetic young man who credited the entire amount back to my card.

The plants I received rated a negative, but in fairness, their willingness to make the situation right bumps them to a neutral.

Last week I ordered 4 Birds of Paradise, before researching the company here. I keep checking the website to see the estimated shipping date, however it keeps changing from 1 week to 30 days. Im starting to get worried because of all the things I read here, so i tried to call the company (luckily i have free long distance) I was on hold for a long time and then a recording came on that said "Due to an overwhelming number of calls this evening, we cannot answer your call-please call back later". I tried back later and got the exact same recording.

Three hours later, I called and now I recieved a message saying that "all phones and computers are down due to bad weather-try again later". Now Im wishing I had sprang the money and bought it while visiting my mom in NYC where they were selling small ones for $25. They were a bit shabby looking though. Here in Maryland, the only ones I can find are between $70-$170 .

In all fairness, so far my account has not been charged.

Ordered in spring 2006, 4 cherry trees-not very good root systems on trees and small compared to what I could buy for same amt of money at local nursery. I planted and pampered them and by August it was very apparent that 3 of 4 were dead and 4th not looking great. I did call and was politely and quickly refunded my money for the 3 dead ones.(I didn't want a replacement since I could go to local store and buy much larger tree.) I'll see if the 4th one made it this spring and call if it didn't. I also ordered seeds-some watermelon were unavailable due to "crop failure". 3 pumpkin/squash varieties-squash grew like crazy but pumpkins did not do any better than less expensive store bought varities I planted. Anyhow, customer service was good and they did provide refunds as promised, but it's now a year later I have to buy new trees and start over.

I have ordered from Gurney in the past but am in doubt if I will again after what happened last year. I ordered from them last year for the first time in many years. ordered seeds which did come in except my county fair cucumbers which where on their web site and catalog. They never told me about any of my order having been subed. Also my oder for potato sets and asparagus crowns where never sent and despite what they told me they did charge me for my full order. I am sorry to see they have gone from family owned to a lump of companies that treat its customers like numbers. Very sad.

Kevin

I've had good luck with my seed orders from them. I doubt if I will ever order plants again. They don't ship when they say they will and don't email a notice when they do. As I have to be away for work at times the plants arrive and I've made no arrangements for them. The pepper plants were in shock and poorly packed when they arrived. Still haven't done as well as they should of.

Definitely what you pay for, but I would say very poor. Buyer beware. Yes, you get a coupon that helps, but I still received such poor stock. They sent a replacement for one item, but not another. No explanation given, and I am just going to be wiser next time around.

I ordered strawberries, blackberries, and blueberry bushes this spring. The strawberries are doing great! The blackberry plants were DOA, but I had no trouble at all getting them to credit my account. I'm still waiting to pass judgment on the blueberry bushes. I ordered the larger bushes and most seem to be doing OK, but several had strange dead-looking spots on some of the stems that I have trimmed off. They definitely didn't look as good as I had hoped a larger more expensive plant would.

This was my first time ordering by mail. I don't recommend this for beginners like myself. My plants arrived in a condition that to a beginner seemed terrible. Some were in tiny pots-most of the soil had fallen out and the plants were small and brown and withered. Of course I have no experience with bare root plants and semi dormant plants-these came in plastic bags and basically looked like a mass of tangled roots in sawdust. Perhaps this is standard. I am hopefull that they will eventually be full and lovely with actual leaves. If you are new to gardening-stick to your local nursery.

I have ordered from Gurney's the last 2 years. While I have never had any problems with their seeds I have had tremendous troubles with their nursery items. Last year I ordered their "jumbo" Northland Blueberries. They sent other varieties instead. I called customer service and was told they would send the correct items. I received the Northland ones but of the smaller-cheaper size. I called again and told them I would like what I ordered being I was told they had them in stock. I was informed this time that they did not have them in stock. I agreed to a replacement certificate to use next year and dropped the matter. This year I had given up on trying to get the blueberries from them and tried a peach tree. They sent me a dead peach tree at the beginning of April but not the flower bulbs I had ordered with them. I called again and was told that the bulbs wouldn't be sent until the end of April because of planting time. Then why send me a peach tree so early because I obviously couldn't have put it in up here in Northern WI so early except that this was an early spring. I asked also to send a replacement tree for the dead one. They said they were out of stock and I should have ordered earlier. I ordered in mid FEB. I have given up on getting any nursery item through this company

I have a similar comment regarding Gurney's shipping methods! I placed an order with Gurney's February 13th for 2 Japanese quince bushes for my mother who lives in Massachusetts (I live in Texas). I read and understood their policy that they would not ship until planting season. I received a shipping notification on March 16 telling me that the delivery estimate was 3/20 - 3/23/2006. The order has still not arrived and it shipped 3/17 via the the US Postal Service, using APX. I tracked the shipment on-line and apparently it has been sitting in Springfield MA waiting to be delivered to the local Post Office in Shelburne Falls MA. The quince bushes were a sentimental purchase so I willI wait to see what condition the plants are in before I decide to order from Gurney's again...In addition, I also have been inundated with catalogs and emails wanting me to buy more...we shall see...

I ordered seeds, plants and a tree from this company. The seeds were shipped within a couple of days. Two of the bare root plants have arrived, but others and the tree have not. The seeds have germinated and starting to grow. The bare root plants seemed to be in good condition. The other plants and tree should be here in the next day or two according to expected ship date. I will post again when the rest of my order arrives.

After waiting for weeks for the 10 Poplar trees I ordered, I recieved a very smashed box. Inside I found 5 sticks with a bunch of shredded paper. The roots were dried out. Unfortunately, I ordered 10 not five. So now I have to wait how many more weeks for 5 more sticks. Ironically they charged my credit card in a very timely manner.