Comments regarding Gurney's Seed & Nursery

I ordered from this company with mixed results. The Star Magnolia arrived in great shape with an impressive root system.
I also ordered what was advertised as Meadowsweet. I thought I was getting Filipendula. What I received was Meadow Rue ( Thalictrum.) I didn't notice until after it was in the ground. If it survives, great. If not, it's going back.
I did some research and never did I come across Thalictrum listed as Meadowsweet.

Last Spring I bought a Hall's Hardy Almond from Gurney's. It was smaller than the size that I had ordered and paid extra for, and it died after I planted it. I did have to wait to plant because the bareroot tree came in Feb, and there was snow on the ground. Not great planting weather. The tree came wrapped in plastic with nothing to keep the roots moist. I stored it wrapped in moistened paper towels and a plastic bag till I could plant it several weeks later.

I called them after it failed to leaf out by late Spring and they offered to send a replacement. I asked them to ship it mid March.

I just received the tree today, and was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the tree bigger-5' with a nice thick straight trunk, but this time it had moist shredded newspaper in the bag to protect the roots. Unfortunately, during shipping, all the paper wound up in the branches. They should find a way to secure the packing material. But it does not seem that any harm was done.

I plan to plant the tree tomorrow, then wait and see. I really hope this one grows; it's very disappointing when plants die-esp. after all the hard work of digging and planting.

If it grows, I'll change my rating to positive.

I ordered a Citrus Tree combo from Gurney's earlier in the year. I sent them an email asking when they would ship, and they stated within the fall shipping time. They DID email me the day they shipped.
The plants are small, crooked, and branched. Some of the leaves were torn despite the cute safety packaging sleeves because they were crooked and stuck out of the sleeves.
I planted them the day after I recieved them (they were very moist when I got them.) They have survived transplantation, and look OK.
Considering they were around $30 including shipping, I can not complain about the price. Gurney's was good about emailing. If you are on a budget, and dont mind raising smaller plants, they are an OK source for plants.

I ordered onion sets, garlic bulbs, rhubarb and Jerusalem artichoke tubers from Gurney's. Everything was OK except for the two rhubarb roots. Each was the size of my small finger and dried out and brittle. I planted them anyway but they just rotted in the soil. I emailed Gurney's and they replied back in 4 days saying they would be sending me a "replacement" certificate which I guess means that I can spend it at Gurney's on something else (too late for rhubarb?). But I wanted rhubarb pie!

I just thought this needed to said. I recently had a really bad run in with a company called Michigan Bulb Co. I thought at the time it was the company I was having such a problem with until I got Gurney's catalog in the mail. When I went to go call them, I noticed the phone number looks familar. I looked up the number from Michigan Bulb and they are one in the same.

Its not the nurseries we are talking to but a customer service answering service. Now it all makes sense. I had to cancel my order with Michigan becuase of the lies I had been told from day one. I plan on contacting the nurseries themselves and let them know the problems I have with their customer service answering service. I would suggest all who have a problem becuase of the customer service, contact the company itself.

If I can order straight from the company Ill do that but I wont go through the answering service any more.

I ordered seeds last year, using their $20 no strings coupon. Had one big disappointment, in 'Caribbean Red' pepper seeds that were not true to type (grew out as unremarkable little red chile). Spoke with and then emailed customer service, noting that I didn't think I could complain overmuch about free seed, and yet I'd spent the time and so forth growing them out and was very disappointed. Expected that at most they would give me a couple of bucks (price of seed), but they sent me a certificate for $10.

I plan to take advantage of their "buy $40, get $20 back" offer this year and to spend my certificate, but I'm not ordering anything where I'll be terribly disappointed if the seed isn't true or doesn't germinate well. I'm hoping they've fixed the problems from last season!

I am planning on placing a SMALL order with this company this coming week due to 1) after an exhaustive on-line search, they are one of the only companies that carry seed of a vegetable variety I want, 2) I have had nothing but wonderful experiences ordering from their new owner - "Gardens Alive", & 3) my experience with Gurney's prior to their new ownership was wonderful. Seed germination was 100%, plus they threw in a free gift of a bareroot columbine, bagged & identified as to specific variety, which grew beautifully.

Will let you know how this new order goes & will change my rating accordingly.

This website is amazing!

I'm too new to gardening and ordering to have a strong opinion on the matter, but I ordered from Gurney's last year and some stuff I never got, some came way later than they estimated the appropriate planting time to be, and some of my stuff didn't grow very well.

But I'm new, so that growing thing could be my fault!

I received good things, too. My peppers did well, and my tomatoes.

Basically, while I find their coupons seductive, I might try other companies this time around.

I bought a large variety of seeds from several companies earlier this Spring. I had great success with all of them, except for Gurney's. Gurney's seeds had very poor germination rates. Of the seeds that did germinate, many did not flower or did not thrive like the seeds from the other companies. The seeds were all propagated in exactly the same manner as the seeds from the other companies. If you just want to experiment with growing plants from seeds without spending any money, then use their coupon and do just that. If you want a lush and productive flower garden, shop somewhere else.

I just placed my first order with Gurney's yesterday because I really wanted a more mature Hackberry tree and I ordered one that is supposed to be 4 to 5 feet. (I also ordered a Sugar Maple). Where I am planting this Hackberry tree is on our vacation property, so I'm not going to be able to baby the plant as necessary. I am planting the tree as a memorial to my cat who passed away after only 4 1/2 years of his young life. (The reason it has to be a Hackberry is because of its hardiness under the circumstances, but more as sweet revenge that the birds will be fed through the tree's berries after my cat killed so many birds in his life)
I tried to find a local nursery to get an even more mature tree, but no one has them. I placed the order over the phone because I had a special request to have the trees shipped UPS and to find out if they could get the tree to me by May 27th because we are going to the property for the Memorial Day holiday. The person who took my order said he put a RUSH on the order. So, I'm reserving my judgement for Gurney's to see if they are able to satisfy my request. I will keep you all updated. I sure hope I don't get a bad Hackberry like the other person who commented here.

I ordered rhubarb plants and seeds, none were indicated at that time as being out of stock. Most of the seeds arrived immediately and eventually all did. But the rhubarb never arrived though the website indicated it had been shipped. Emails were not personally answered so I received no useful information. Finally I received a check (made out to the catalog holder's name, not to me who had paid by credit card) for the shipping part of the rhubarb order and was told it was out of stock. They really need to get their inventory system and email responses improved. Now it's too late to put rhubarb in this year. I'll probably continue to order seeds if they keep having their $20 off coupons, but not order plants.

Last year got boysenberries and sweet potatoes, this year
native plums and barberries, aster, and daylily; arrived
small but everything is thriving. I've been happy the
last couple of years; my confidence in Gurneys is coming
back after some bad experiences in the past.

I ordered a few assorted items in February. All arrived (somewhat slowly) except for the Jerusalem Artichokes, which arrived 4-6 weeks later. They were in a net bag inside a sturdy ventilated box, but there was no packing material and the tubers were very moldy and frighteningly squishy. I emailed them immediately and asked what could be done, adding that I'd prefer a refund, having read the guarantee that the customer's every wish would be granted. The reply, very much like a form letter, didn't reference my request for a refund; instead it said a new batch would be shipped out. That took three weeks or so, but this time there were far more tubers, and they were HUGE. A couple were starting to soften, so I quickly planted them. It's only been a week or so, so I can't tell if they'll sprout, but Gurney's seems to be canceling out its good intentions with poor communication. Knowing that its parent company is Gardens Alive, I would hope that some more effort will be put into the communication/employee education and PR piece. A 52% customer satisfaction rate isn't going to cut it for very long.

I ordered 4 strawberry varieites (85 plants) and 1 dwarf pomegranate plant. 50 strawberry plants arrived quickly. They were large roots and took off very quickly. The pomegrante and and 1 strawberry variety were on back order and no mention of when they would arrive. I emailed them to ask. It took a week for them to respond and basically say - we don't know when they will be shipping. A month later I emailed them again. They said the pomegrante would be arriving in a week (it did and looks very healthy but also very small), but still no idea about the strawberries. I'm still waiting for the strawberries. And I doubt they will be coming, but at least they didn't charge me for them.

I too was tempted by the $20.00 coupon from Gurney's. I tried two trees, a 4-5' Hackberry and a 4-5' Hybrid Elm. They arrived on 04/05/04 in a strong box, but inside they were only wrapped loosely in a sheet of plastic. They were bone dry.
The Elm was easily pushing 5' in height and had fair set of roots. Despite having had its' top hacked off at some point, it still retained a good shape. It was even budding.
The Hackberry was a different story. The poor tree only barely makes 4' when measured from the severely lopped off top to the only remaining root it has (the other roots apparently having been cut off prior to shipping). Even if it survives, which is doubtful, this poor tree has been so severely maimed that I don't see it ever having a decent form. I dutifully planted it hoping for the best. Maybe I will have to change my rating, who knows?

I ordered this year using the free coupon. I ordered two packets of seeds(lettuce and sweet banana pepper) and a strawberry guava and a dwarf pomegranite. The seeds came in within 10 days and the plants came in today which to me seemed like a good time to send them, we are just getting warm here. However the plants are really small the strawberry guava is a 4 inch stick with 5 leaves on it, the dwarf pomegranite is also about 4 inches though it does have a few tiny branches on it and a couple buds. Both do seem to be healthy and green. Still if I had had to actually pay $20 for these 2 tiny plant and two packets of seeds, I would have never done it.

Their prices make it tempting to order off them, especially with their discount coupon that comes with the catalog. I've had so-so luck with them. Their seeds have been average for germination, but like their affliates, you take a chance on their plants. I would like to recommend them, but their affliations make me skeptical.

I haven't ordered from Gurney since 1995, but when I did, I was not dissatisfied with what I got. I ordered several "stick trees" from one of the buy-one-get-one offer, and that's what I got. By "stick trees" I mean small bare-root trees or shrubs, approximately the diameter of a pencil and about 18" long. All grew, all were the correct species (I can't say as to variety), and all were very inexpensive.

That said, there are better places to purchase nursery stock, including state forestry services.

Don't expect something that embodies the glossy photo for a dollar or two, because you won't get that from Gurney or anyone else.

Sure wish I knew about this site before I purchased from them. Numerous items I planted just rotted in the ground and one of the trees that was supposed to be 12 to 18 inches was only 6 inches tall and stone cold dead. They sent me a refund certificate for the tree, so when I sent it in, I of course ordered more items. The rest of the items are doing fine. Hopefully the rest of my order will be okay, but I won't use this company anymore.

A so-so place, like Jung, possible out of its time and place.

no complants or specific comments but it needs to get with the times and it's not. Almost archaic in catalog presentation.

On a 1-10 scale I rate it 5+

I ordered over 100 dollars of fruit trees last spring and they are doing fine, But one of the trees has never came The Nectarine. I also ordered gardening seeds from them during 1999 and the seeds grew wonderfully all but the giant squash but that was because of aphids. I ordered some seeds from them this year too 1/2 lbs of golden bantam corn seed and it shipped on Sept 20 when it was supposed to. But the other half of my order 2 Lbs of popcorn has not come to this date. Wonderful fruit trees though

I have had a soft spot for Gurney's from the age of ten when I was given a lemon tree for my birthday. I still have the tree 30 years later. I miss the days when it was a South Dakota-based company--before the Foster & Gallagher mess.

My experience with the rejuvenated company is mixed. I figure the road is a bit bumpy for them. Most of my spring order came at the end of June when St. Louis had very hot weather. One plant arrived uprooted and withered--DOA. Its replacement won't come until next spring.

Much of the root stock (like Monk's hood, Johnson's Blue Geranium, and bleeding heart) has not taken a peek above ground. I'm hoping they are simply waiting for spring to roll around (I had that experience with some rhubarb a year or two ago). If not, I'll be very disappointed and will be contacting them.

I'd like to see the company recover and be a better operation. I hope that will happen in the near future.

I was told last week 4/5/02 from the company, that all orders would be a minimum of 3 weeks late. Could be longer. Not the same ol' Gurneys I use to enjoy.

Really had no quality problems last year (spring 2001). I got all of my orders. This year (spring 2002) is different. The plant qualities just received were terrible. Even though a dead stick (Rhododendrons), they were smaller and of less quality than what they harvested last year when dug. Most everything else seems to be backordered. Only a guess since customer service has not directly responded.

I had used Gurneys off and on over the past few years with good results. This year I placed an order before I had found out about their financial problems. After 5 weeks of not seeing my order I sent an e-mail to Customer Service. Their response gave me no information. I then spent half a morning trying to get through by phone only to find out no orders were going out sooner than 30 days and most of my order was on back order anyway. I think the jury is still out on the new owners. I wouldn't place another order until they get things in order.

They said they are under new management and try to get back their reputation. They still have a mirror companey names HenryField's. Both has some format catalogs and websites. Their seeds was ok last year with old management, but plants were so so.

This company is not located in Yankton, SD anymore. Seeds are ok but any bare root plants are beyond help when you get them. Dry and shrivelled up, they don't come back even if you soak them in water.

In winter of 2001 I ordered strawberries, kidney beans, mulberry trees and sweet potatoes. In July I received lima beans and a notice stating I would receive the rest of my order in time for fall planting[?] as it was back ordered. THEN I got the postcard. Bankruptcy. With all these companies interwoven, who are we to put our trust in?

I have ordered things from Gurneys for several years now. In April I ordered a big bulk of strawberries, they were not shipped together; one bulk was brown I put them out anyways and about 60% greened up and are doing ok, the rest shriveled up totally and never did anything. I had also placed a order of thornless blackberries I was first notified it would come in a later shipment. Then on June 6, I was sent a postcard stating due to unseasonable poor growing conditions they will be shipped between Sept 1 and Oct. 30th.I guess I will cross my fingers, since that time has not yet come. I have attempted to contact them by phone numerous times; there has been a busy signal every time. I knew when I placed my orders it was sent from Stark Brothers in Louisiana, MO which is close to my residence but when I heard they were closing, I checked into the Gurney's status and was shocked with disappointment.

I've ordered from Gurneys twice in the past and had to call numerous times for both orders to get things right. On the first order they sent many of the wrong plants (i.e., I got strawberry plants rather than a strawberry guava houseplant, etc.). They sent 3 or 4 shipments before getting things right. On the upside, I got a lot of extra plants I didn't have to pay for, and some even lived. This past fall I ordered some bulbs and two trees. The trees haven't come yet; they were out and will have to wait until spring to send them. I had to call once or twice to get an answer about where my trees are. They sent the bulbs too late to be planted. They came after the ground started freezing and I couldn't get them planted in time. I would say that I wouldn't order from them again except their inexpensive offers and free shipping certificates are sure to draw me in again.

My experience with Gurney's has been mixed. The strawberry plants I ordered were stated to be able to fruit even in the hot, humid southern summers. I live in north Florida, so this sounded like just the thing for me. Well, the bare root plants sprang to life right away and Iactually received 27-28 plants, though I ordered only 25. The test of a true zone 8 Florida summer showed that the plants produced only 2 tiny berries. To be honest, it was my first mail order of strawberry plants and the plants are all still alive and putting runners -if not fruit-everywhere. Ah, maybe they will do something during the hot, humid southern winter. As for Gurney's seeds, they are really good. Imagine harvesting large, tender spinach leaves in mid June in Florida! Gurney's Olympia Hybrid spinach did just that and it is the best tasting and largest of any spinach I have grown. I can't recommend this one enough to southern gardeners - or any one for that matter. The Minnesota Midget Cantaloupe seeds were equally impressive and extremely sweet. For kids, Gurney's has this fantastic 10 cent seed packet offer. It's probably just the stuff swept up off the floor, but the packets are huge and have everything from tiny flower seeds to beans and melons. The variety of seed sizes and colors would make this one interesting to any kid and it sure fits within their budget!

I have ordered red twig dogwood, potatoes, and asparagus from Gurney's and the packaging for shipping has been terrible. Virtually everything I have received has been dried out and dead by the time I received it. I tried planting everything anyway but was not successful. I asked for a refund on part of the order and got one without any trouble but the replacement plants were also dried out and have failed (the dogwood). So I guess customer service is good but product quality and shipping needs a lot of improvement. I will try to get my order replaced this spring.

We lived in South Dakota for years, and bought many of our plants, both flowers and vegetables, at Gurney's; the nursery stock you pick out on-site is fabulous. When we moved to Michigan a couple of years ago, we decided to continue to get their plants by mail, since we knew what to expect of the quailty and of their customer service. Unfortunately, we have been extremely disappointed with the quality of the items we've received from Gurney's by mail order. We really feel that first, you should be charged for an item when it is shipped, and second, a customer should be notified when an item is no longer available. No such notice was received from Gurney's until we contacted them and asked where the rest of our order was. I loved their nursery and greenhouses when we lived close enough to shop there in person, but am definitely NOT IMPRESSED with their mail order business!

I guess ordering from Gurney's is hit or miss! We got some very good strawberry plants from them. One of our caraganas was smothered in weeds, & they'll send us 5 more next spring to replace. Garlic & shallots did not do well. They were very prompt to refund. Seeds were fine with me, but it was my first time ordering from them, & the first year I've had a large garden. My "free gifts " did not grow.

I like Gurney's mainly because of their very low "postage and handling" cost. One price for any size order! This is very important for those of us that like to order a few things from a number of mail order companies, that charge adds up too fast with some vendors. Admittedly I also haven't forgotten that big kids seed packageMom & Dad always ordered for me as a kid so many years ago. Mid-June I ordered over $150 worth of perennial plants and a couple trees/bushes. They showed up in what looked like a huge "body bag" by the front door as I came home from work (wow, great postage price). Everything was well labeled, but I did have to call Mom to see what to do with the two free gifts. A mixed review for now, I'm sure I'll be writing to complain about some of the stock, but am glad to hear from the other letters that Gurney's is good about fixing problems. For those of you that haven't seen "bare root" plants, it's quite a shock.

I bought 4 fruit trees from them, all of which died, two of which never even leafed out. I sent them a nasty-gram telling them their stock was terrible, and they sent me two new trees...one of which still never leafed. So of 6 trees, one survived. On the other hand I got some "bush roses" from them for a buck a piece which are doing great, despite the deer. [update11/1/1998] I just found your site, and was surprised that I had apparently found you some time ago, since there are quotes from me under Gurney's and Raintree. The one tree that survived from Gurney's is still alive, mostly, but suffers greatly in my foggy climate from peach leaf curl. I'm thinking about ripping it out.

Seeds were unsatisfactory versus others. I ordered 'Victory', 'Orange Ruffle', 'Artic Flame' and 'Fairy' roses. Only 'Fairy' is average, the rest are blah. The Tarragon is a spindly plant, mints are doing very well, tomatoes are very good, and I got this weird wedding flower - cool looking vine.

Gurney's has the reputation among my co-workers of never sending what you order. I called their service department and they confirmed that they "reserve the right to substitute equal or greater value." Well the only reason I would order is to get the unusual items, and they may not deliver. My co-worker said he ordered the same thing for years and never got it. They give lots of free-bees but that can be frustrating especially for a collector or a small garden.