Comments regarding Santa Rosa Gardens

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.

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
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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!"

I ordered several times since finding this site last fall. I only wish I had found it sooner! Their plants are much larger (and healthier-looking) than those I received from other companies. Customer service is friendly but professional. And their plants arrive in good order, having been packaged simply (no plastic wrap! Yay!) but well. In my area in north Georgia, shipping live things can get tricky due to crazy weather fluctuations, but I have not been disappointed by Santa Rosa.
I definitely plan to return to this site for fall planting, over and over, as long as I have room to plant!

Posted on June 3, 2014, updated June 5, 2014
I decided to try Santa Rosa Gardens based on reviews I've read from this site. I was disappointed.
Although they packed the plants very well, that was all that looked good. The plants were not very healthy - unexpected considering they waited 2 weeks to ship after I placed my order.
They also have this image on their website that said "BIG HEALTHY PLANTS" 16 oz soil volume. Fail. At least to me. They were not all healthy and they were definitely not all big. Sure, the soil could be 16 oz, but the plants that were in it looked really finky. I was so disappointed because their website really looked very well put together.
I am not going to buy from them again. There are better priced plants out there with better quality. I know this because I have spent over $5000 this season, having bought at least 35 trees and hundreds of smaller plants from several mail order. I started out with recommendations but then ventured into trying out several others. Surprisingly, those very highly recommended are the ones that disappointed me most. Lesson learned: one never really knows until they try.

Posted on July 2, 2013, updated May 26, 2014
Posted on August 18, 2012, updated July 2, 2013
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Posted on September 4, 2010, updated September 27, 2010
I have been ordering from S.R.G for several years now and they never disappoint. The have the most reasonable prices around and their plants always perform in my gardens. Rarely one doesn't make it and it is replaced immediately by them. I especially like their 2.99 sale at the end of the summer. The plants are larger and the prices can't be beat. You have to use this company.

Posted on May 22, 2013, updated May 25, 2014
Posted on April 7, 2012, updated May 22, 2013
I just received an order from Santa Rosa, and just like last year, I was NOT disappointed with the quality of my plants!!! The plants were well packed, no bugs, soil was in place, plants were healthy and the root systems were exceptional. A couple of my items are on back order (I've never experienced this before with Santa Rosa) but I hope it will not be too long before they ship.

"On Jun 18, 2013 10:56 PM, Santa Rosa Gardens responded with:

Herbs were new to us this year, so feedback is important. Thanks and happy gardening!"

Posted on July 13, 2013, updated May 23, 2014
This was my first experience purchasing plants from Santa Rosa Gardens. I had ordered plants from several online nurseries before and wasn't sure what to expect for $2.99 per plant on sale. But since several of the plants I had been eyeing up and hoping to purchase this year were priced so irresistibly low, I decided to give it a go. I noticed too that even their regular prices were almost half that of other online nurseries and wondered if price and quality went hand in hand.

I couldn't have been more pleased when the plants arrived. Packaging was superb. Each individual plant came wrapped in heavy paper and encased in a mesh 'sleeve'. I had never seen such care being taken to protect a plant during the shipping process. Each and every plant was in good health, and none of them came sloppily sheared as has been my experience with other online nurseries in the past, even those online nurseries that charge the most.

When one of the plants I had ordered was out of stock, customer service contacted me immediately, allowing me time to decide on either a replacement plant or a refund, even shipping the rest of my order while I was making this decision. When I decided on a replacement plant, but then wanted to add another plant to my order as well, customer service actually included this additional plant as a 'free gift'. I was even more tickled when I opened the box to find that they'd included 2 more 'surprise' plants. The care they take towards their customers and their generosity go unsurpassed.

Santa Rosa is my new go-to online nursery. Their prices (even their regular prices) are unbeatable without sacrificing quality. Their flat rate shipping allows me to purchase more of the plants I want. And their customer service is delightfully caring. They without question outshine every other online nursery out there.

Posted on October 13, 2013, updated May 18, 2014
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Posted on April 5, 2012, updated May 18, 2012
Got my order yesterday, Big healthy plants were still moist. Good packing also.
Company did send email and when shipped and they did arrive two days later. Also good Planting instructions.
Great job! I will do more business with SRG, also I was thrilled about the early bird discount. :)

"On Jun 22, 2013 9:27 AM, Santa Rosa Gardens responded with:

Thank you for your continued support and have a wonderful summer! We look forward to helping you out with your gardening needs this fall."

Every time I order from Santa Rosa, I am rewarded with healthy, well-rooted plants that thrive in my Colorado clay. I just received my beautifully packaged shipment (why can't anyone else figure out how to flat-rate ship?) including the new Nepeta Junior Walker, which I have not found locally. All the plants are ready to go and grow! I love this nursery!

Posted on July 23, 2013, updated May 8, 2014
I placed an order with them last week & a very substantial one at that (close to 200!) - shipped yesterday & arrived today, the sizes are awesome, they look very healthy & I can't wait to get them all in the ground!! Packaging was flawless & very good, excellent communication! They will be my go-to nursery from now on!!

I'm very pleased with my shopping experience with Santa Rosa Gardens. They carefully waited to ship my order until after danger of frost had passed in my area. The plants were big, healthy and packed beautifully. They were obviously cared for with each one slipped into a protective net sleeve, as well as wrapped in a crush-proof layer of paper. There was absolutely no water stress as each plant arrived well hydrated and strong. They transplanted into my garden without a leaf out of place. Great job!

I ordered 6 perennials from Santa Rosa Gardens. They were packed well and arrived in good condition. They look healthy and have done well so far in the short time they have been in the ground.

My experience with Santa Rosa Gardens has been wonderful from beginning to end....The site is very informative and easy to shop in.... The staff is very helpful and when my plants arrived, they were carefully packed and healthy and beautiful...... I am already getting my next order together....You absolutely can not go wrong with Santa Rosa Gardens.....and the selection of plants is amazing..... bjmiller

Ordered for the first time from SR last fall based on the recommendation of "Virginiarose". I was very pleased with the quality of the plants that I received. Both of my banana plants are doing good indoors. Can't wait for spring to get them out doors. Anticipating many blooms from the other plants in the ground also. Highly recommend!!!!! Mike Burton

This is a great company....impressive website with a big selection of interesting and nice stuff...I placed a couple of orders with them...the items were VERY well-packaged---(carefully and intelligently packaged)...the items shipped out within just a couple of days of placing my order....the items arrived here at my place---not huge items, but really healthy looking...I've planted them items and they are doing well...I ordered a Buddleia from them and it's looking so cute and healthy planted in the ground...they have REALLY good prices on a lot of their items, too....this is a great company and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Santa Rosa Gardens....5 out of 5 stars !