Comments regarding Santa Rosa Gardens

Posted on June 22, 2011, updated June 24, 2016
Just a note to let you know that my Echinacea Harvest Moon perennials arrived today 06/22/11. I am VERY PLEASED with the healthy looking plants and with the short time that it took for them to arrive after they were shipped. I am also pleasantly surprised at the size of the plants. You will be high on my list next year when I want more plants.

Order several times a year from here and never disappointed. If I have a question for Jude, she always finds time to respond. This year I needed plants for a new garden bed but I waited a bit too long and a lot of plants I needed were sold out, as that's how popular they are. Order early. Plants are nice and healthy. If you wait for their sales you won't believe what you are getting for the price, but like I said you may not get the specific plant you wanted/needed.
If you never tried Santa Rosa Gardens then just order a couple of plants and I bet you will be back again and again. If for some reason you aren't happy with the plants, they stand behind what they sell. As a matter of fact, I am getting ready for my Fall order.

Posted on August 16, 2009, updated June 19, 2016
I love this company. Santa Rosa Gardens is great all-around: superb customer service, high quality plants, great shipping rates, guaranteed live-on-arrival, a wide assortment of varieties (especially grasses), and friendly and quick customer service. I have done business with them for several years and I look forward to ordering from them in the future. Actually, I can't wait!

I am a long time customer of SRG, so I was a bit upset this year with a couple of things. First it seems they got rid of the usual big Memorial
Day weekend sale. They gave a 20% discount instead and didn't let you use any of there other discounts that us regulars know about and always use. So now that you order figuring they aren't going to have sale, but gave the discount instead, now it is a week later and everything is on sale. I can't believe they did that.
Second, they have a new policy where you order a plant they say they have in stock, but then they say they have run out and will send it you at a later date if you are ok with that. If you are, they bill you a second shipping fee! They never did that before! What happened to them this year? New owners, too big for their britches? I am so dissapointed. They are what makes on line plant buying fun. Now I am a bit weary and I never thought I would say that.Boo!

"On Jun 3, 2016 9:30 PM, Santa Rosa Gardens responded with:

Hello Windflowers7,

I am one of the family owners and was the original founder of Santa Rosa Gardens, in 1998. Our ownership has not changed and our goals remain, as always, to provide our customers with the best customer service, success in their gardens, and to share our love for plants.

We're very sorry that you did not have as pleasant an experience with Santa Rosa Gardens as you have in the past. I assure you, we have not changed our family ownership or our commitment to serving our customers the best that we are able.

I'd like to make sure I address your concerns, so I'll give you the best answers I can to your comments.

Our Memorial Day Sale:
The Memorial weekend sale was quite similar to the Memorial Day Sale we have offered nearly every year. Last year, we offered a sale with several options:
30% off $149 or more
25% off $99 or more
20% off $79 or more
and 15% off $59 or more

This year, we opted to make it simpler and ran a 25% off coupon for all sized orders. Note: We never allow multiple coupon codes with discounts of this size.

Summer Clearance:
Every year since waaay back, we have offered a summer clearance sale. It occurs once our plant inventory drops below a certain level. It occurs typically in very early June. In 2014, it was June 11. In 2015, it was June 6. This year, in 2016, it was June 3. The sale usually includes all items still in stock that have new scheduled production that requires us to free up greenhouse space.

Side note: I have to say, in walking through the greenhouses on Saturday, the quality of material we are putting on clearance is very good!

Split Shipping:
When it comes to shipping, we have always tried to be the better supplier with the better rates and the better packaging. We work hard to keep your shipping costs as low as possible, but still aim to provide excellent packaging and delivery in 2 to 3 days - tops! We will not ship 4 (or more) day deliveries like some companies and we do not ship plant via slower USPS like some companies. Many online suppliers will also select the shipping date for the customer. This will usually be the date when ALL of the material is ready to go. Then and only then will they ship the order. At Santa Rosa Gardens, we've always felt that the customer should select their own ship week and be in control of their planting schedule. With plant orders that are typically small - often just a few plants, we simply can't ship multiple orders for one shipping fee or we'd soon be out of business. Rather than make customers wait until all plants are ready, we offer as many options as possible. In the event that the customer still wants to break the order up into different ship dates, we request a $7.99 split shipment fee. This fee does not cover our entire additional shipping expense, but it does make it easier for us to provide this service to our customers.

I can't emphasize enough how much Santa Rosa Gardens values loyal customers such as yourself. We have worked hard over the years to provide the best selections, great packaging, and still keep our prices lower than our online competition. Feedback from our customers is vital and we do appreciate it! And we appreciate you!

As always, happy gardening!"

I've been ordering from this nursery since 2012 and have been very happy. The packaging has always been top-rate and the plants, good quality. Sometimes the plants are on the small side but the website is clear that almost all plants come in a 4-inch pot so I know that now.

1st experience ordering from this vendor.

Ordered 5 "Blue Bayou" cortaderia that are difficult to locate here in central Virginia. All good.

The plugs are healthy, large... very well grown. Grasses arrived in a timely manner and were securely... beautifully packaged.

Very happy with them. Shall be ordering from this vendor again in the near future.

I have placed several orders with Santa Rosa Gardens. The selection is excellent. If it turned out that something was not available, I was told right away and given the option of replacing it with something else or obtaining a refund. In each instance, the order was promptly delivered. Most importantly, everything I planted has come up looking great. I really like this company and highly recommend it.

Ordered some coneflowers as well as Pink Muhly grass. Plants came quickly, were securely packaged, identified, and in good shape.

Being listed on Dave's Garden Watchdog Top 30 says it all, and they deserve it. I'll be back often.

I ordered 2 Tiarella plants this year and several plants last year. All the plants were in excellent health and of the expected size. My only complaint is that their otherwise good packaging makes no provision for keeping the soil in the pot. As a result the plant could slip out of the pot and/or the roots dry out.

I ordered seven perennials from Santa Rosa Gardens. They are beautiful plants! The foliage is dense and the root system is well formed without being pot bound. I was impressed with how well they were prepared for shipping. I have received plants from other vendors where all the soil had fallen out of the pots and the plants were damaged. These were in excellent condition. There was netting around each individual plant as well as paper. Also there was enough material added to the box to prevent the plants from being tossed around during shipping. Santa Rosa Gardens is now at the top of my list for mail order plants.

Posted on October 17, 2014, updated October 16, 2015
Best packaging I have ever seen and I have internet purchased plants from over 50 vendors.

And their Fall Sale prices are GREAT! Great value, great selection, great delivery and packaging.

Highly recommended and WILL return again.

This, along with 3 orders from other online nurseries, were my first online plant orders. The largest was from Santa Rosa Gardens and with 3 of 4 orders received, these are the nicest. All of the 25 plants I ordered are beautiful. The packaging was first class.

A few of the plants in a package I ordered weren't in stock but a quick email resolved that. All the questions I had were responded to very quickly. Will definitely be ordering from them again.

I was nervous about ordering live plants online, as I had never done that before. My experience was AWESOME. I ordered during a sale and still received a % off code for signing up for emails. One plant was not available when it came time to ship (I had ordered some time in advance), but I was offered very acceptable alternatives. Emails are nearly always answered very quickly (and always so if I have a true question--I do tend to be a bit chatty).

The plants arrived looking great, except for perhaps one. I called with a question and received an immediate answer. I did not expect anything to really bloom or grow much this year, but three of my six plants did bloom. They all grew at least somewhat (and some more than that), which is great considering they are first year perennials (and we had a a very rough NC summer). One plant did not do well and ended up dying. I emailed to ask if it would potentially come back in the spring. My response was an apology and an order for a replacement plant (plus an extra free one of something I ordered previously). That tells me this company really does stand behind their plants!

I cannot say enough good things about this company--great plants, great customer service, personal service, and coupons. I just put in another large order for spring 2016, and I am excited!!

Santa Rosa Gardens is extraordinary. Their customer service is prompt, their packaging is great, their shipping is precise and prompt. Everything I've ever ordered from them has thrived, far outstripping plants I've ordered from other mail order nurseries. Even the clearance plants I ordered and planted in mid-July (in Atlanta, no less) perked right up and look great now. I may stop ordering from anybody else!

Highly recommend this nursery. Good prices and excellent sales prices. Plants arrived in stretchy mesh sleeves that held them all in their pots nicely, and then each was wrapped in several layers of brown paper for added support. And the paper had vents for air circulation. Excellent communication, even though I was confused and probably aggravated the beans out of them lol! They emailed me a discount coupon to cover the difference of a pricey plant that went on sale right after I bought it, but I felt it was only fair to decline it since by that time they were probably ready to scream from frustration with me lol! (As an added plus, I ended up with a whole bunch of mesh sleeves that I can use to bag my bar soaps. I usually use the netting from bags of fruit, it makes a great exfoliator & quickly produces tons of suds. But these are so much more sturdy & a bit softer. And of course, I used the brown paper as a weed barrier when I planted my new babies. Probably the most usefull packing I've ever run across!)

I ordered 35 perennial plants on 6/23/15 and received them on 6/26/15 all in perfect condition. Each plant was meticulously placed in a heavy net covering and then was wrapped in heavy cushioned brown paper and came damp. Plants on the bottom were as perfect as the ones on top. I got these on sale at a great deal and they were substantial plants They came in 3 1/2 inch square pots with plenty of soil which the netting keeps in the pots. I would highly recommend this company for plants as their size is decent and their shipping method is very protective and prevents damage in shipping. Very, very happy. Thanks! Randi

I've ordered and have been very pleased with Santa Rosa in the past. This last order I did have a problem however. The plants were very wet, (I was told they had dealt with a lot of rain which was true and forgivable), and one plant was suffering terribly. It had lost most leaves and what was left were yellow. They were very quick to offer a replacement and even sent a free gift plant as well. The replacement and gift plant were in very good shape. The Bell Flower was even in bloom. Not the largest plants I've received from them, (although the two lewisias were larger than my local nurseries offered and beautiful!) but I'm very pleased. I'll definitely order from them again.

My first purchase from Santa Rosa in spring of 2014 was fine. No issues, so I decided to buy more items this spring. My order came and most of the plants were bone dry. The plants were poorly packaged as well. That combined with the bone dry soil and probably rough handling by the shipping service caused one of the plants to come out of its pot and dump most of the soil out in the box. Luckily, this plant was an echinacea and they can handle abuse. I repotted it and soaked the plants over night in a tub of water. All of them made it. I took a pic and sent them an email about it but no one ever got back to me. There are several other nurseries with a better selection and better packaging than this retailer. I don't really see a reason to purchase from them again.

"On Jun 2, 2015 9:09 AM, Santa Rosa Gardens responded with:

I apologize for any issues you had with your shipment and assure you that we will correct those problems. Please be sure to check your junk mail and add Santa Rosa Gardens to your 'safe senders list'. It would be very unusual for your shipping complaint to be overlooked. From your description, it sounds like the plants received less than normal shipping care in transit. 'Bone dry' and 'out of the pots' usually suggest that the plants sat in a hot truck for an extended period, and the box was mishandled along the way. Please give us a call and we will absolutely correct any issues with the shipment and send replacement plants as needed. We hope you give us an opportunity to prove you wrong regarding our packaging. We're quite proud of our methods and our success rate. Thank you."

Love this company! Great costumer relations person, always answers email promptly. I have ordered from them several times, plants always arrived in good shape and took in my garden. If the plants are small, they are held back with a notification. My favorite thing however is the Bargain Box! Never yet failed to delight me.

I placed two large orders on faith just by the positive reviews here and I was not dissapointed. Everything was large and healthy. I got their bargain boxes (shade and perennial) and they gave me very nice selections (chelone, heucheras, coreopsis, hibiscus, brunnera, hellebores and more that I can't recall right now). They have great coupons and free shipping for larger orders. As a result I have ordered hundreds of dollars worth since. Their prices are usually the cheapest and their plant sizes are bigger than other nurseries. I'm definitely a customer for life!

My first order (found them on a garden blog "An Obsessive Neurotic Gardener") and can't say enough about this organization! The plants I ordered were very healthy, a good size, well packed and shipped. I was a little worried about the flat rate longer shipping (cheap me), but they arrived in virtually perfect condition. Careful unwrapping (love the stocking-netting!) and a little water and they are just fine, waiting for just a few more days to condition from Florida to Maine on the covered front porch . . . I WILL be ordering again!

I love Santa Rosa Gardens, so much! I've placed several orders with them over the past two years, some super large and some small. The plants are consistently healthy and well packaged. Santa Rosa Gardens also offers a wide variety of perennials and grasses, and frequently offers coupons and specials. I've been able to try many new plants because of the affordability. Super pleased! Would be delighted if they would start to offer more shrubs.

I have been ordering from Santa Rosa Gardens for 2 seasons thus far. I have always been pleased with the material they send, and with the packing, etc. I cannot always plant as soon as I receive material so sometimes I have to place seedlings in a sheltered spot (I use a lg. plastic windowbox)
in the shade on my patio. In my experience, these seedlings are tough and sturdy. Yes, sometimes the plant is small and sometimes the plant is root bound. But as an experienced gardener, I know what to do with them. I have a nursery bed for babies, and I simply trim down a root bound plant at planting and give it extra attention. Always great CS, and I save alot of money. Will continue to purchase from them.

I can say nothing but good things about Santa Rosa Gardens. I've ordered butterfly bush, ornamental grasses, black eyed susans, and lavenders from SRG. The plants are outstanding and arrive very healthy looking. The packaging is phenomenal, easily the best packaging I've ever seen from a online nursery. Each plant is individually placed a net sock, to keep the soil from spilling out all over then box, and then wrapped in paper. The fall clearance prices are an absolute steal! At $5 flat rate 2 day shipping... just can't be beat.

You can also pick when the order will ship overall outstanding customer service, healthy plants with well developed roots, and very reasonable prices!

Great company. Great communication. Great variety of plants. Good packing. Plants arrived in perfect condition. Already planted and doing well so far. I have become a life long customer.

I probably would have hesitated to order from Santa Rosa Gardens because I am on the upper East Coast, figuring transit was too far for plants to go by Ground transit, had it not been for a fellow-DG'er who highly recommended them and they were having a fall sale. I ordered 15 plants at really reasonable prices and saw on their website they plainly display what size their plants are (and how they are packed).

I cannot say enough about this company or the plants that I received. They have definiltely won my business with their prompt shipping (I LOVE that you can pick the ship date and know when to expect your plants, at a time that is convenient for you!), the wonderful packing and the size of the plants did NOT dissapoint. I was impressed at how large some of the plants were, some more than 12" high and full, nice, healthy plants. Some even had blossoms or buds on them, including a foxglove, which I did not expect.

Santa Rosa can expect more business from me and I would high recommend them. The plants were shipped on the Monday I requested, and arrived on Thursday, which was VERY reasonable shipping time as well!

I ordered several dozen perennials at Fall sale prices from Santa Rosa Gardens. Email communication on the status of my order was excellent and they quickly refunded me for an item that was not longer in stock...after giving me the option of waiting until Spring when more would be available. My order arrived quickly and the plants were in great condition...not only because they clearly had been well taken care of before shipping but because each plant had a mesh stocking and wrapping of paper that protected it in transit. This was my first transaction with their company and I was very impressed. Thank You!

Posted on May 11, 2014, updated October 4, 2014
I placed a first order with Santa Rosa Gardens, large by my standards, and was very pleased with the transaction and with my plants. I ordered 33 perennials. The packing was amazing, and the plants were big and healthy, with the exception of two that had a horrible fungus. But due to the packing, they never came in contact with the other plants. Whew! Too, I was missing one plant from my order. I emailed the company immediately, and knowing it was their super busy season told them "no rush". But I received my new plants in less than a week!

My plants have been in the ground for a month and are doing great. Two asclepias even started blooming within a week! I must say that I am very pleased with my first experience with Santa Rosa Gardens, and I shall order again, especially now that Bluestone Perrenials is out of my price range.

Posted on October 27, 2010, updated October 1, 2014
This is a great company to deal with. The plants were extremely well packed and fresh, the personable service excellent. The responses I received via e-mail when I made several changes in my order while waiting for the weather to cool down for proper shipping time was gracious.

The ornamental grass plants I received were smaller than I can buy retail locally but were so much quicker to establish and they were all well rooted. They are now three times larger, looking like gallon sized plants as compared to the 4" size they were when I received them about a month ago and some are blooming. The gallon sized grasses I planted that I purchased locally two months ago don't look like they have grown much at all and were very root bound when I purchased them which seems to be common with grasses. I am sold on this smaller sized plant and the choices are so much better than what I can find here.

I was so impressed, I ordered more grasses taking advantage of their Fall Sale and I just received the 2nd order today and these plants were excellent as well, the service consistent.

I will certainly order from them again next spring.

I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that this company has got to be at least in the top five in the entire country! I have ordered several times from them now, the first time just a few months ago, and every time has been a wonderful experience. In fact, I am going to have to fuss at them for making me spend so much money! LOL They keep sending me these coupons, and I cannot resist! Seriously, everything is packed wonderfully, the plants look great and healthy, the prices are more than reasonable, and the shipping prices are more than fair. I just can't say enough great things about his company.

Posted on June 28, 2013, updated August 14, 2014
Posted on March 15, 2013, updated June 28, 2013
Posted on March 9, 2013, updated March 15, 2013
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Posted on July 1, 2012, updated October 4, 2012
I had come across Santa Rosa several times in the past while researching plants on the net but had never ordered from them as their prices seemed "too good to be true" (especially the end-of-season sale prices - wow!!). After recently coming across them again, I checked them out on Dave's and promptly placed an order for approximately 30 plants due to their great reputation here. Well, I could not possibly be happier!

Customer service has been absolutely wonderful (thank you, Jude, for all of your help and for your patience - you're terrific!!). They kept me informed on the status of my order, answered questions in a quick and friendly manner, and they shipped my order out promptly. Every single plant arrived healthy, robust and with a full, well-developed root system and each was sleeved in its own "sock" for added protection. Also, the shipping fee is amongst the lowest I have seen ($7.99 flat fee with optional 2-day or next-day air). Based on the price, the plants, the vast selection, the packaging, and the customer service, Santa Rosa is now one of only two nurseries that I will always check first when placing an order. Thank you, Santa Rosa, for the great service - you are truly a 5 star nursery!

Santa Rosa Gardens has great prices on plants and shipping as well as a wonderful selection to choose from. They processed my order quickly. The BUZZ Velvet Butterfly Bush is the most beautiful butterfly bush I've ever seen... healthy, too! I will order from them again, for sure. Thank you!

"On Aug 5, 2014 10:42 AM, Santa Rosa Gardens responded with:

We also LOVE the BUZZ Buddleia!"

Ordered some grasses Tuesday morning. SRG shipped that day, UPS Ground. Arrived Friday. All plants were shipped professionally, healthy, in a protective netting, and packaged properly. There's a reason why they're top5 here and with many other gardeners. Would order from again anytime.

This company is ONE OF THE BEST online plant store that I have ever came across. The prices are fair, plant size is generous, and shipping and handling is what impressed me the most. I only paid $5 for shipping but I would have gladly paid $20 for the care my plants received. I will definitely buy from them again!

"On Aug 5, 2014 10:44 AM, Santa Rosa Gardens responded with:

We do everything we can to negotiate fair shipping rates with our shipping vendors AND pass the savings along to our customers! Thanks for your comment!"

I placed my order with this company based on the reviews here and had a great experience. They were very responsive and easy to communicate with. One of my purchases was not going to be ready to ship until the fall and they contacted me promptly to let me know and to give me the option of an immediate refund if I didn't want to wait. They shipped fast, exactly when they said they would. The plants were good sized and are very healthy. I would definitely order from Santa Rosa again.

2nd year ordering from this company. very pleased. sadly, many of my plants did not survive the winter. without hesitation, santa rosa replaced the plants. dealing with jude is absolutely wonderful. she is so very nice to work with. highly recommend this company.

Posted on June 22, 2014, updated June 22, 2014
This is my first year ordering from SRG after finding it here on the "top" list..I've always ordered from Bluestone Perennials and a few other online nurseries for over 25 years.But SRG prices were much less and their plants were advertised as large and healthy.So I gave them a try. I've placed 4 orders this spring My first order was awesome.The plants were very large and the packing was impecible.I was so excited that I finally found "the" place to buy my perennials.I have over 2 acres on my new home and "live" to flower garden.My 2nd and 3rd orders were somewhat disappointing.The packing was not nearly as carefully packed and some plants were very small and a few sickly.I received 10 of the same plant with 6 being quite nice and 4 extremely small.12 of the same type of plants that I ordered needed to just be thrown out.I've noticed that the plants being sent are not consistent in their size and health.This is confusing to me.It is always like Christmas to me when my plants arrive and I am very excited to open the box to see my new plants!! But as I stated earlier,my joy turned to sadness when I seen some of the plants that I received after my first awesome order.But all this being said, if you love gardening flowers as I do,SRG is truly the BEST place to shop.They have the best customer service I've ever came across.Jude is awesome.She refunded every charge IMMEDIATELY for any plant that I was disappointed in-no questions asked.I also received a beautiful plant for free with my order to also compensate.I can't imagine anyone giving a "negative" or "neutral" rating for SRG.Jude in customer service can not be topped when it comes to making the customer happy.Because starting over with new plants at my new home is so very important to me after leaving 12 years of gardening behind at the old home,I've been quite a bit more fussy and verbal with SRG, which is out of my character,but Jude has treated my concerns with respect and kindness.So please do yourself a favor and buy from SRG.The sale prices are unbelievable and the customer service is unbeatable.I just placed an order for 64 more plants, that's how confident I am about buying from Santa Rosa Gardens even after the disappointments I've had.The plants may "fall short" at times , but Jude and their customer service never have.BUY HERE!! You will be happy that you did.
Rene' S.

"On Aug 5, 2014 10:38 AM, Santa Rosa Gardens responded with:

Thank you for finding Santa Rosa Gardens and for giving us a shot at becoming one of your 'go to' plant suppliers. We try hard to make every shipment the best it can be, but once in a (great) while, we do fall short. What you'll find from Santa Rosa Gardens, is that we will ALWAYS do whatever it takes to remedy the situation and help you put quality plants into your garden. If you don't succeed, we don't succeed. Thanks so much for your feedback!"

What a great and happy surprise. I had been 'burned' by less than stellar sites for gardens over the past several years and, honestly, expected nothing else after all this time. However, this company, Santa Rosa Gardens, is the BEST! I recently purchased 8 plants from them at their 'end of the season' sale. Normally, at the end of the season sale it would not be terribly surprising to receive some plants which did not live up to hopes and expectations. Not the case here! All of my plants (coneflowers) were healthy, well packed and received with explicit instructions for planting and future care. Although I am a long time gardener and did not need the instructions, I looked them over and any person new to gardening would be happy to receive such well written and explicit instructions. THANK YOU Santa Rosa Gardens. You will be receiving all of my future plant and garden supplies orders placed over the internet.

Virginia Sweet

"On Aug 5, 2014 10:39 AM, Santa Rosa Gardens responded with:

Virginia,
We are so glad that we could help you out! Hopefully the coneflowers are thriving to your expectations. Happy gardening!"

Doing business with Santa Rosa is one of the more pleasurable experiences I've had! They have an excellent website, their products are fairly priced, they promptly deliver top quality products and recently, when some of their items went on sale right after I made a purchase, they provided a credit towards future purchases. That's service!

SR is a big leap above some others that have burned me with bad service and terrible merchandise (cough **House of Wesley** cough, cough).

I look forward to future trade with Santa Rosa. Highly recommended!

"On Aug 5, 2014 10:42 AM, Santa Rosa Gardens responded with:

We don't like to compare ourselves with our competition (cough-cough), but our goal is quite simple. Provide the gardener with quality plants at a reasonable price and follow through with quality service. We look forward to helping you with your gardening needs!"