Comments regarding Direct Gardening

Honestly, nothing more than a scam. I placed my order and allowed for the 1-2 week processing, I received nothing. I contacted them via phone and was informed that they didn't know when my order would ship. I gave it a few more days. I called to cancel (I'm NOT a novice w/ mail order plant places or internet sales (I have a business myself) and was told I had to cancel via the POST OFFICE w/ a WRITTEN request. I said that's insane, so I got another customer service rep. named Melissa. She told me I can cancel via email, so I sent in my cancellation request. Guess what they did??!?

They sent me out ONE plant yesterday out of a $187 order. Why? This way I have to pay return shipping PLUS my shipping would no longer be refundable. I spoke w/ a supervisor who told me she can't cancel my order, she doesn't know where in the process the rest of my order is and that yes the other plants may be sent anyway and I would have to pay to return them.

I belong to many garden forums and several plant clubs locally and will be sure to warn EVERYONE to NEVER do business w/ this company or any company affiliated w/ them.

i wish i had found this website before ordering from direct gardening
i placed an order april 2nd, ihavent received anything yet i sent them an email requesting my order status and all they can tell me is the the order has been processed and that they are currently shipping to my area this was a week ago so why havent i received my order yet?
after reading the reviews on direct gardening i'm wishing i didn't make an order cause after waiting this long possibly even longer i won't be a happy person if my plants come dead or moldy.i will be even more unhappy if i have to send something back and have to wait another month or two.

"On Apr 30, 2013 1:15 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We want to assure you that we are sending orders out as quickly as possible. We are still getting a lot of nursery stock in from the fields and are shipping as soon as the plants are prepared

A customer care representative has contacted this customer for further information as we would be happy to give an updated status.
"

I ordered 3 pampas grass that arrived today; green and with good looking root systems. Not planted yet because of all the rain right now. I also ordered two peony trees that look really good - nice root system and already have leaf buds. The soil that my plants came in looks good and is still moist. I work with plants and have a feeling that they will do very well out in my garden and yard. I also got some freebies: 3 different types of bulbs and some climbing tomato seeds to try out. Overall very happy with the price, product, and service.

currently waiting 21 days for DG to fill a small order:
6857 Hydrangea Tree 2
5103 Walk on Me Plant 36
1099 Geranium, Mosquito Shoo 2
6223 Cherry, Dwarf Flowering 4
3430 Dicentra, Burning Heart 1

I'm not sure these people even care what their reputation is with gardeners.

"On Apr 30, 2013 1:13 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We absolutely care about our reputation with gardeners and our customers! We are still receiving many items from the field at this time and shipping as soon as they are prepared.

A customer care representative has contacted this customer for further information as we would be happy to give an updated status.
"

I wish I had started here on Dave's Garden before ordering with Direct Gardening. I started my sad odyssey with them last spring, ordering a single Persian Lilac tree. I received a dry stick in a plastic bag with no packing material or soil. I followed the directions included to no avail. I followed their guarantee process, sending a letter and the original packing label. I received a second dry stick in the same condition as the first, followed the telephone rep's advice to pre-soak for 24 hrs before planting and again, I ended up with another piece of dead wood. This item cost me $16.99 plus S/H. Spring is here again and I've no desire to repeat the process and receive yet another dead stick. What a total waste of time and effort!

"On Apr 11, 2013 12:57 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

A customer care representative has contacted this customer for further information. We do hope to hear back from the customer as we would like to help resolve this problem"

I ordered some nursery stock from this company once. It was very inexpensive (I think I paid more for the shipping than the stock) so I thought I'd take a chance. What I received was three bare root saplings in a plastic bag without any kind of moisture holding material around the roots. Consequently, the roots were completely dried out and the trees dead. I planted and watered anyway, but got the expected result. I did not exercise the guarratnee option because receiving similar replacements and trying to plant them would have been nothing but wasted effort.

"On Mar 5, 2013 4:15 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

A customer care representative has contact this customer for further information. We do have a 1 year replacement guarantee on all of our plants and do hope that the customer takes advantage of this guarantee."

I placed an order for bulbs with this website back in the fall and was notified that they weren't going to send my items until this fall. I forgot about it until this weekend when I found the receipt in some paperwork. I called the company to cancel the order because I have already found what I needed from other sources and have no need for any more.

I was told I had to send in an email requesting cancellation. Ok, seemed odd to me since I was on the phone and had my order number handy, but I did what I was told and I sent an email with my name and order number.

I was told that they needed my full name and shipping address. Ok, again, I thought that was odd since I gave them the order number and my full name, but I replied with my name and address.

I was told that they were only holding part of my order until fall and would be sending the other items when it is time to ship those items to my area. I told them that I wanted the entire order cancelled and a full refund.

Now they tell me that my order is already in shipping and they aren't sure they can refund my money.

I work for a company that ships items all over the world. We are not allowed to charge a customer's credit card until after the items ship. We definitely don't claim we can't cancel an order because it might be in shipping. Unless that order has physically left the building, there is no legitimate reason not to cancel an order and refund the customer's money.

I have ordered from this company a few times and never had a problem. Yes, some of the items didn't grow, but I figured that, despite their so-called guarantee, it's just not worth the hassle of following up on those items.

However, they haven't sent me a thing even though they've had my money in their account for more then four months. Yet, when I have made every effort to cancel this order, I am still getting the runaround almost a full week later. I hope I eventually get my refund eventually, but I have a guarantee of my own. This is the last time I purchase anything from this site.

"On Mar 5, 2013 4:13 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

A customer care representative has contacted this customer for further information. We do hope to hear back from the customer as we would like to help resolve this problem."

I ordered apx 15 oriental lily bulbs from the company. The bulbs arrived loose in a large plastic bag that went thru the US Postal service. Most were bruised, smashed and/or broken AND moldy! I returned most of them with a note asking for better packaging so the bulbs wouldn't be damaged. I received replacements in the same manner and condition, including the mold. Not worth pursuing further!

"On Jan 24, 2013 9:01 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

A customer care representative has contact this customer for further information. We do have a 1 year replacement guarantee on all of our plants and do hope that the customer takes further advantage of this guarantee"

I placed two substantial orders with this company (more accurately, front company for a shady group that changes names frequently to escape bad feedback; look above for a partial list of the aliases). Their MO is to blanket the mails with multiple catalogs with enticing write-ups and "deals". It was only after I was in their fraudulent grip that I discovered this website and found out how screwed I was. I won't bore you with the blow-by-blow details. Suffice to say that I've had the same experiences as others here: horrible customer service, outright lies about when things have shipped, partial orders trickling in over months with no tracking provided, delays when I tried to cancel the remaining part of the order so they could then shove them out the door days later and say "too late", dead plants, seeds that don't germinate. Of the hundreds of dollars I spent with them, I don't have a single live plant to show for it. How these cons can stay in business is beyond me. Hopefully, word of mouth in the marketplace will do what the Illinois state government is unwilling to do.

"On Jan 24, 2013 8:48 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear of this customer’s experience as we do take pride in our customer care. We do have both a refund and a replacement guarantee which is clearly posted on our website and we stand behind them. We are affiliated with other companies but these are separate companies, not aliases.

A customer care representative has contacted this customer for further information. We do hope to hear back from the customer as we would like to help resolve this problem"

Well, I bought a bunch of roses last summer. I did what was prescribed for me to do in planting. I have both a lot of patience and a lot of experience in gardening.

I know that a large amount of mold on a rose is a bad thing when it first arrives. I had some roses in my bunch that were so rotten, they literally fell apart.

The only thing that lived was a "freebie" daylily that I got.

Don't buy from these people!

"On Jan 15, 2013 12:39 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

A customer care representative has contact this customer for further information. We do have a 1 year replacement guarantee on all of our plants and do hope that the customer takes advantage of this guarantee."

I've been meaning to leave a rating for this company for a few months and have finally gotten around to it. It's a bit disheartening to read all the negative comments when I think that what most people need is a little patience. I ordered several items from Direct, and when they arrived, most of the plants looked dead. I followed the planting instructions provided and most survived and have since flourished. Unfortunety, some didn't even bud and it was something I expected. I contacted customer service via letter and attached the original shipping label, and after a followup email, received my replacements at no extra charge just as advertised. Overall I am satisfied with my experience given the pricing that's offered and the warranty provided by the company.

Posted on November 7, 2012, updated November 10, 2012
I placed more than one order with this company. Each was a substantial order. The plants they send are not what I would term as "quality" plants, especially compared with other similar or same plants I'd ordered from other companies such as Michigan Bulb. Also, the orders do NOT arrive in a timely fashion & they rarely provide an explanation to this IF you can even get a reply, which usually takes several days to get, again IF you get one. Each time I did receive responses I received a "canned" response until I elaborated that the canned response wasn't acceptable. And even then, the explanations and service fails miserably.
As an example of merely one issue (trying to get this last part of an order):
I am still waiting on November 7th for part of an order I placed July 9th. In one email on October 10th they stated it would take 1-2 weeks. On October 24th they stated it was sent. Again, I still have not received the items, nor a valid explanation as to the status of the order.
In light of the horrid customer service and the plant quality they offer I seriously doubt I will order from this company again.
Sadly, they do offer many unique plants that seem affordable & wonderful to have & it is a HUGE disappointment.
I do have hope that the items I have received and planted will survive & come up in the spring but at this stage, after everything I have experienced with this company, I have huge doubts.

"On Nov 13, 2012 9:46 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

A customer care representative has contacted this customer for further information. We do answer every email received and try to do so within 24 hours of receipt. We do hope to hear back from the customer as we would like to help resolve this problem"

Re: Order 33734848 for various plants total cost $90.

The order was placed in mid April of this year. The order did not arrive in a reasonable amount of time, so I contacted customer service, and was told me that the order had been shipped weeks before I had called. But, I had not received the order.

I later called and they said that they would reship the order. Several weeks later the package did arrive, but it was obviously the original package that had been lost. All of the plants were rotted, except I did manage to save 4 butterfly bushes that were only partially dead.

I have been too busy to document this complaint earlier in the year.

"On Oct 31, 2012 8:45 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear of this problem. A customer care representative has contacted this customer for further information"

I must first say, I wish I had found this website before becoming involved with Directgardening.com! Everything written here is right on track! I ordered two roses and sundry from them in mid-July. I received them the second week of August....not good, not outrageous late. I opened the package and noticed there was no packing slip, but I did have my email receipt. I planted what I received. My plan was for two orange-gold roses in a certain prominent spot in my small garden. As I do all shipping labels for ID protection, I shredded the shipping label before tossing the plastic bag in which the order came. I then discovered that I received one rose that I ordered, per the tag on the rose and one I did not order as a "substitution." Looking at their website, I discovered that it was a small pink rose...I complained. After much ado about destroying the "invoice" they agreed to, "on a one-time basis," to ship the rose I wanted when (and IF) it became available. Of course, I've not seen it.
This week, my "correct" rose bloomed...I ordered a bright orange "Tropicana." I received a pitiful, pasty-scrubby, pink rose with a thin lipstick red edge. Nothing like the elegant Tropicana I've known for 30 years or their photo represented.
I will NEVER do business with this company again and told them so in no uncertain terms. Anybody want a couple of K-Mart quality roses? HLP

"On Sep 24, 2012 1:45 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

A customer care representative has contacted this customer for further information. We do hope to hear back from the customer as we would like to help resolve this problem.

"

Posted on September 20, 2012, updated September 20, 2012
Posted on September 15, 2012, updated September 20, 2012
Posted on September 15, 2012, updated September 15, 2012
I ordered almost 60 dollars worth of plants on August 14th of 2012. I waited the two weeks and called customer service to ask if they had shipped my merchandise yet, because I was having problems with my local postman. On this same phone call I changed my shipping address, everything went smoothly and the person I talked to was really nice. I was told that I would receive my plants on the first week in September. On the first week in September I called back because still no plants had been delivered. This phone call resulted in that they couldn't ship until they had all my plants in and now it would be October when I would receive my plants. I thought first of all it is illegal to charge someone for items that have not yet shipped. Every other company I deal with only charges when the item or items have shipped not before then. So I decided that something just doesn't seem right about this, the only time I have been contacted by e mail was when I ordered my plants. This e mail contained my order number and a description of the items and my receipt. I started to worry about a week ago and was worried I had been scammed so I found this website and started wishing I had looked at it before ordering. I love gardening and have lots of plants and have even been to college and know how to graph plants and cross pollinate to make new species, so when I seen that they had some different plants I was so excited. Now i'm so disappointed. I have sent them numerous e mails and I haven't had any responses. They said 24 to 48 hours and it has been way over that. I want my items or I want my money back. I think I will contact the Better Business Department and file a formal complaint because it seems alot of people have been treated wrong not just me. The worst part is if you have to pay shipping and handling for that much there should be a way for you to track your package. Every other place I have ordered from has a way to track your package even e bay. They really need to start having better customer service. If they can't get my things to me in a timely fashion after i know they have already spent my money I will tell all my friends on facebook and gardening clubs I belong to all about my whole experience with this company. I do not want anyone to have this experience, to have to worry if they have been scammed in this economy.

"On Sep 18, 2012 10:01 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

It does state the following on our website:

"Please allow 1-2 weeks for your order to be processed. We will then ship based on weather and availability of the plants. We continue to ship through the summer months as much as possible. Most bulbs and perennials are usually available by September. Some deciduous trees and shrubs are not available until October."

A customer care representative has contacted this customer for further information. "

Posted on September 10, 2012, updated September 19, 2012
I just received my order of 3 Blue Festuca Grass, 10 Russian Olives, an Empress Wu Hosta, 6 Walk on Me Plants, 100 Periwinkles and I'm not happy, at all, about the condition of my plants. The Festuca Grass is black and severely rotted. The Hosta was broken in half and the leaves were stapled to the cardboard. The Walk on Me is dead, black and dried out. All 100 periwinkle are black, rotted and congealed into this sticky goo. The entire oder is dead. I understand about how most of the plants come in a dormant state but black and rotten is unacceptable.

"On Sep 18, 2012 9:59 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

A customer care representative has contact this customer for further information. We do have a 1 year replacement guarantee on all of our plants and do hope that the customer takes advantage of this guarantee."

This is a very poorly managed facade of a company, it is truly highway robbery. They give you no dates as to when to expect things (some of the plants I ordered came 4 months later, when I was on vacation and then died if they ever were alive). You cannot request dates nor track your orders. For the plants that died (over 90%) you just get another batch of poor quality plants that also do not live, and no idea when they will arrive. The 14 day return does no good because you have to wait 6 weeks to determine that the stick they sent you is truly just a stick by then you are trapped to just order another $30 stick. I am now left going through the process with the BBB and Attorney General to try and get a refund as I am tired of waiting all summer for dead sticks to arrive. Avoid at all costs!

"On Sep 7, 2012 2:25 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear of the problems this customer has experienced. We do have a refund and replacement guarantee, both of which we stand behind. We have sent a Dmail to this customer to request further information. "

I ordered plants several months ago,as of August 27,2012, no plants or reply from company. When I emailed I was told order was in shipping.This company is a joke with bad business practices. I could not get a refund because order is in shipping. PLEASE take it from me DON'T order from this company.You may get your order and you may get empty promises.

"On Aug 29, 2012 11:30 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

A customer care representative has contacted this customer for further information. We do hope to hear back from the customer as we would like to help resolve this issue."

Posted on June 5, 2012, updated August 25, 2012
Be aware that this company will not honor any replacement requests without the ORIGINAL shipping label, so don't throw your shipping container away for at least a year. Why they need a shipping label and can't use a receipt is a mystery to me, but there it is. My experience: I ordered 10 flowering quince bushes from them this spring. They arrived, I potted them right away, set them in semi-shade, watered them well faithfully, and waited. And waited. And waited. Six weeks later, not a single bud had appeared on any of the bushes. The branches were now dry and brittle. I pulled one out of the pot: dead. None of them ever budded, they all died. I contacted the company, who said they needed my shipping address to look into it, and then I got a form letter telling me sorry, they won't honor replacements without the original shipping label.

So, forty bucks down the drain and not a single live bush to show for it. I certainly won't be ordering from this company again. Buyer beware.

"On Jul 3, 2012 9:16 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear of the problems with this customers plants. We do have a 1 year replacement guarantee on all of our plants which we do stand behind. We have been in contact with this customer and do show that a replacement order is currently in processing.


"

Ordered plants in June 2012. My credit card was charged, but no merchandise was shipped- this is illegal under federal law. I inquired several times was was told either my order was just about to ship and in the shipping dept, or that they were waiting for more plants from the grower. Subsequently cancelled the order, but was told it may take 1-2 weeks to cancel it, so it may ship anyways. Unbelievably, I received part of the order in less than a week. Had to refuse the package, and dispute the credit card charge with my bank.
--do not buy from Direct Gardening--

Ordered 4 dwarf fruit trees in 2011. All four looked like sticks one might pick up in a park - no branches and no life. Followed directions but none grew. Direct Gardening replaced these "trees" with 4 more. Two showed some life on arrival and did grow. The other two, like the first four, were dead. Direct Gardening refuses to replace them. The replacements don't get the 1 yr warranty. Nice stick business.

Buyer beware. They would cost about $30 or more to replace at Direct Gardening. Lesson: Take business elsewhere.

"On Aug 21, 2012 10:30 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear of the problem with the trees. A customer care representative has contacted this customer for further information. "

I placed an order for about $100 worth of plants in late June. I understood that processing could take some time. I was charged for the order within 2 weeks of placing it, and the order arrived in early August. I never attempted to contact the company. The order arrived in very good shape, overall, with just a few plants that had budded out and died back. All have very good root systems and will probably survive. Considering the unusually warm weather along the shipping route and the fact that I live in Alaska, these results are better than expected. I was skeptical at first about ordering from Direct Gardening, as their prices were lower than other places and they offered $9.95 shipping-amazingly low to Alaska. So far, I haven't been disappointed. I hope to order again from them soon.

The prices allured me as well as customer service attempts to rectify past negatives so... I just placed my order with this company, as follows:
------------------
1 Tayberry
1 Candy Cane Oxalis
10 Jubilee gladioli
10 Oscar gladioli
5 butterfly daffodils
3 Hot Lips oriental lilles
3 climbing roses: peace, rhode island red,
3 white poppies
3 lavenders
1 Anvil of Darkness iris
The order says that they'll send some free plants as well, as others customers mentioned
---------------------
I'm in no rush to get the plants so I'll just wait and see what happens. I have experience with dormant plants, bareroot, forcing, bulbs/corms, etc so I'll update when I receive, what I receive, and how they turned out under my ministrations.
I did state when I checked out- and sent an email to customer service- specifically stating not to substitute anything. And I will hang onto that original shipping label.

Posted on May 26, 2012, updated July 14, 2012
So like a few others, I found this website after I placed my order and tried three times in vain to find out when my order was/would be shipped. My stomach sank. I decided to do as much research as possible in the best way to get the most out of the plants I ordered and cross my fingers (after the reviews I wasn't going to even attempt to cancel my order.) I took every step I could find not only from their website, but from other people who posted directions here (THANK YOU!) My package came nearly a month after I ordered (and was charged) for my plants, and I opened them with an understanding of what I might find. I am an admitted novice when it comes to gardening, but everything looked pretty good. I soaked the things that needed to overnight, and planted the next day. Yesterday was one week from planting and all of the lilacs and mock oranges are taking off, all but two of the trees I ordered are blooming like crazy, my hostas are already two inches tall, and the butterfly bushes are starting to show signs of life. My fruit plants aren't looking great, but still are green from the scratch test, so I am going to hope for the best. My groundcover however, both honeysuckle and creeping phlox are dead. I am super pleased with how everything is growing, especially considering the nominal cost, but they certainly have horrible customer service-I wouldn't call them crooks, just an incredibly poorly run business. I doubt I will even attempt to get replacements for the groundcovers and the fruit bushes as it is not worth the stress. Depending on how the rest of the plants fare, I may or may not order with them again-especially knowing the customer service and the delay in shipping. Will update in the upcoming weeks.

"On Jul 27, 2012 7:25 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear that some of the plants have died. We have been in contact with this customer through Dmail to assist in receiving replacement."

Plants took over a month to arrive from the time of order, but I was not in a rush.

=======
Upon receiving the plants in a plastic bag, I provided a simple feedback to DG.

"The delivery I received last week was in horrible shape. The carnation was still mostly green, but the "daisy" was a bunch of completely dried plant material. One of the [2] rose plants had the main root snapped off right at the base of the trunk. Overall a completely unsatisfactory experience."

=======

Perhaps I could have been more descriptive, that the "daisy" looked like dried herbs that was roasted in the oven for days. Regardless, DG responded with a cookie cutter response.

"Thank you for your email regarding the plants you received from us. You stated that some of your plants appear "dead" or have not yet started to bud and leaf-out. Please keep in mind that much of our nursery stock is shipped in a dormant, bare root condition or in starter pots that require transplanting. Also your plants may be stressed by shipment. Therefore, the plants may look "dead," be droopy upon arrival, have lost leaves in shipment, or may leaf-out later than an established plant.

If you have not already done so, please plant all plants immediately following the instructions in our planting booklet. Water them regularly. Give them a chance. In nearly every instance the plants will grow and thrive.

If after six weeks of planting, your plants do not leaf out or if you are certain they are not alive, return the original shipping label from the package as required by our guarantee. Upon receipt a replacement order will be scheduled for you. Please include a full explanation of the problem by item and quantity.

If you would prefer a refund instead of a replacement, return the plant, postage prepaid along with the original shipping label within fourteen days in accordance with our guarantee. Please include a full explanation of the problem by item and quantity. The refund guarantee applies only to the original nursery stock and not replacement items.

Thank You
Customer Care Department "

======

I have dealt with a number of vendors this year; I was quite happy with most, and will return next year (or this fall season). On the other hand, poor plant quality, careless (high profit) shipping, lazy response: DG is one of the two that is on my "stay away" list.

"On Jul 16, 2012 10:22 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

A customer care representative has contact this customer for further information. We do have a 1 year replacement guarantee on all of our plants and do hope that the customer takes advantage of this guarantee."

I placed my order on April 16 and was told it would take 1-2 weeks to process. It arrived 3 weeks later. I specifically ordered from them for the bare root cinnamon ferns. They arrive very small and looked like they were broken off pieces of larger rhizomes and put in individual bags. Of the 20 I ordered, only 2 grew and they died soon after. Of the 150 dutch iris bulbs ordered, NONE even sprouted. The bulbs arrived mushy and I can't believe I even went through all the trouble of planting them, but I did with no success. They do offer some fun 1 cent sale items and to be honest, most were ok except the lily trees and their free plants all grew. I am in the process of requesting replacements. I mailed back my original packing label 10 days ago, no email or word from them yet. We'll see. I would not order from them again. They take TOO LONG to ship and the plants I was mainly interested in were not of good quality.

"On Jul 16, 2012 10:23 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

A customer care representative has contacted this customer for further information. We do hope to hear back from the customer as we would like to help resolve this problem."

Do not order anything from this company. We ordered some plants from Direct Gardening and it was an impossible experience. It wasn't a big order - 24 plants of Boston Ivy of all things, nothing complex but something I wasn't able to find locally. We placed the order and never heard back. After a month I called the company and was told I would need to call back the next day because the person in charge had already gone home. I called the next day and customer service said they don't have access to the order status (really?) and I would have to email customer service (wasn't that who I was talking to?). So I emailed and was told the delivery was now scheduled for the fall. They said they sent a post card saying that but I never received it. (Why send a postcard if they have my email address?) I emailed back to cancel the order and they said they would forward that request on to the 'appropriate department'. I emailed that I would expect to hear back in the next few days and they said to allow 1-2 weeks to process the cancellation. I am still waiting for the credit to appear on my card. Again - don't even try to buy anything from this company. The run-around from customer service just isn't worth it.

"On Jul 3, 2012 9:16 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear of this customers experience. Unfortunately we have exhausted our supply of Boston Ivy for the summer, however we do expect to receive more this fall. We have been in contact with this customer to inform them of the refund that had been processed.

"

Posted on August 5, 2011, updated June 12, 2012
Posted on May 29, 2011, updated August 5, 2011
Never ever buy stuffs from them!!!I should have done some research before I placed order.I just looked at the attractive price and didn't think anything else.I placed the order in March when is still winter here ,and till May I still hadn't got my order yet.I called them once a week to check,every time I got the same answer "they are at ship department and will be shipped out any time"But I waited and waited till now.It's summer now and not a good time to plant,so I canceled it last week . By far,I just recieved 10dollars back,the rest $50's still in their account. I feel so shame for this company.Are they really doing business or cheating money?

Posted on June 2, 2012, updated June 5, 2012
rave!rave!rave! i put in a large order for plants in may, they were 2 hansen's cherries, 4 snow on the mountain, 12 red sedum, 2 japanese lillies, 1 rabbit's foot fern,laloha lilly, 1 string of pearls, 1 queen's tears, 100 shamrock bulbs, & 1trailing gardenia. they all came in boxes, in bubble wrap, or in plastic, all bubble wrapped. sometims the post office is not kind to fragile things. as for replacement, it was written a couple of times and on the lable to save the mailing lable to send plants back, or to replace, it wasn't weaseled in some little print, either, it was in plain sight. it might be because of the large volume of merchandise they send out, that it takes 3 weeks to receive the plants, they also tell you that it will take 2 weeks to process the order. i have already sent in another order and will continue to do so, their timing , pricing, &shipping are great!!!! i know some of the different plants don't look like they would do anything, the sedum i got was bare root, i looked at them and wondered what i'd paid for, but i planted them, and within 2 days, there were little green leaves coming up! patience!

Posted on August 24, 2011, updated June 1, 2012
Posted on June 29, 2011, updated August 24, 2011
I am not much of a gardener. I recently purchased a 'fixer-upper' house and EVERYTHING needed to be fixed up, including the yard. Years of neglect left the back yard overgrown and needing to be bulldozed. After removing almost every living plant in the yard, I need a lot of plants and I had a tight budget! I was a little concerned after reading some of the reviews and I contacted the company via e-mail with my concerns. The reply was quick and after several exchanges, I was satisfied that my $ would be refunded should there be a problem. I did a bit more research on the internet and choose plants that 1. I found attractive, 2. were reported to be 'easy' and quick growers. (knowing that at low prices the plants would be small). I ended up ordering 16 shrubs and 40 flowers/perennials. I carefully followed the directions that were included. It has been just about 10 days since I got everything planted. ALL the bushes have new growth, all of the other plants except 4 have new growth. I have to say that I am pleased with outcome. I think some of the dissatisfaction that people have experienced may be the result of unrealistic expectations and /or not reading the directions (ie, a bush that is $1.50 is not going to be 3 feet tall). Like I said, I am not a gardener, but I can follow directions. Yesterday I had some damage to 2 of the bushes (my neighbor's dogs, ugh!), I called the company today and they offered some suggestions as to what to do to save them. I found their customer service to be friendly and helpful. I am very happy with my purchase!

These people are brokers and, as such, acquire planting material from actual growers. While their website is very nice and features good prices the availability of the plant material is based on the schedule and availability of other companies which may not fit in with your planting requirements.
They make order cancellations difficult which, I'm sure, is designed to make one resigned and giving up and letting the order be completed.
Their business tactics remind me of the Brooklyn, NY camera brokers.
Personally, I will never do business with this company again.

"On Jul 30, 2012 11:23 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We contacted this customer by Dmail, but never received a response. We grow some items here at the nursery and work with wonderful growers and farmers all over the U.S. and Holland for many other items. Plant availability can vary based on many factors. Plants are a living product with unique and individual characteristics. Weather can affect growth patterns and whether or not an item is established enough to ship or is able to be dug safely from the ground. Weather also affects whether or not we are able to safely ship to an area or part of the county. We carry over 1,500 products on are site. We work hard to keep costs down for you, our customer and try to provide a wide variety of beautiful plants. Occassionally, there might be a crop failure or we might oversell on an item which can cause a delay in shipment. Our spring availability is usually known in January, but we do not start shipping live plants until March. If an item is to be delayed past the season in which it was ordered, we do notify customers. In addition, a lot of work and preparation goes into preparing an order for shipment. If an order has already entered our shipping schedule, it can be very difficult to stop.

"

I ordered early and received my plants at the appropriate planting time for my location. I am very pleased with the large, sturdy, healthy plants, If they grow as well as they look like they will, I'll be ecstatic! I'm sure I will order from Direct Gardening again next year.

Posted on April 26, 2012, updated May 20, 2012
Posted on April 25, 2012, updated April 26, 2012
Posted on April 11, 2012, updated April 25, 2012
Posted on April 11, 2012, updated April 11, 2012
Posted on April 10, 2012, updated April 11, 2012
Placed order on 03/27/2012, and received order confirmation. Emailed company through their website this morning for an order status, since there is no way to track your order status through their website. So far, have not received a response. Checked here to see if this was normal, and am now very concerned due to the past bad experiences of several others. I will update as more information becomes available to me. Hopefully this will turn out as a positive experience. I am very anxious to receive my plants.

"On Jul 30, 2012 11:24 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

Our website from which the customer ordered explained that processing for orders was taking 1-2 weeks and then orders are scheduled to ship based on weather as well as plant availability. Length of time in the mail varies based on several factors. All of our plants are covered by our one year guarantee which we have explained to the customer through dmail and hope they take advantage of.

"

I have ordered several time from Direct Gardening over the past two years. My first 2 orders were ok, lots of substitutions but the plants grew.

One order from last year came in ok, however this year half of the plants did not grow.

The other order from last year came in all moldy and the bulbs were mush, no way they could have grown. I asked for a replacement order, they took over 2 months and still nothing, at which time I cancelled the order and asked for a refund. It was getting into September and there is no way I could have gotten them into the ground and established prior a frost. They would not refund my money, however offered a replacement gift certificate to reorder next spring. ok fine.

So this year I tried to reorder, the gift certificate states I have to mail in the order and cannot place it online. I call customer service and explain my situation and ask for a catalog to Direct Gardening so I can mail in the replacement order as required. She says ok I will get that to you. I waited 3 weeks, nothing! I call again several times and kept getting a busy signal or no answer. So I email the company and was told they are solely online and do not have a catalog (so I wonder what the hell the other person was going to send me and why she did not know this???) I asked how do I place an order with the replacement certificate? They stated I order online. I tried to order online and the certificate number would not work at check out. So I email them back again and this time I am told I have to mail it in. Again I ask how to do that since you do not have a catalog or order form to use? She says write it on a piece of paper and send it with the certificate via mail. (unprofessional but whatever)

This process took a month and a half since they take several days to respond to emails.

I wrote up the new order, due to price changes and some items no longer being available, I could not get it to match the exact dollar amount, so I sent a check for the dollar and change difference. To date they have not cashed the check, or sent the order. I tracked the envelope through the post office and know that they received it weeks ago.

They are unprofessional, do not supply quality products and do not care about their customers.

I do not recommend them to anyone!!!

I was aprehensive about ordering plants online but to my surprise, my overall experience with DirectGardening I would say is positive. The plants came in dormant as expected. Some of them are doing good (I'm pretty happy with my Cherry Blossom tree so far). Although some did not show sign/s of life (after 6 weeks) even after careful planting, and some seemed to have been dead when it arrived, this didn't bother me so much as they back their products with a one year guarantee so I gave it a try.

Aside from what I think is a bit of a wait for shipping (order tracking would have been helpful), their Customer Service was good all in all throughout the process. I just sent my request for plant replacement last Monday (w/ the shipping label and a letter and quantity of plants need replacing) and I'm hoping to hear from them soon. I won't be afraid to order from them again.

Posted on November 24, 2011, updated May 10, 2012
Posted on August 13, 2011, updated November 24, 2011
I'm a former army wife and cancer survivor. If anyone has been what I've been through, they can eliminate me as a "cry baby" or a product of an "impatient American culture" as other posts have stated about all the negative comments. No matter what country or culture you live in, people expect superior service after investing hundreds and for some even thousands of dollars into a business and rightfully so. This has been my experience with Direct Gar.

1. I expected my trees to look like sticks, I expected my plants to look like dead grass. This is common for dormant plants, Dir Gar ships in the dormant state.

2. I did not expect it would take 4 weeks to receive my order, or that they would be shipped in what looked like a bright green garbage bag. The roots were moldy and showed some signs of damage: smashed, broken or spongey.

I soaked the woody items in water overnight, per my instructions and planted everything accordingly. It has now been 6 weeks since planting, I have taken great care to water regularly and at this time only 20 of the 60 plants ordered are showing any signs of life. I will give the others an additional 4 weeks to see if they will "come out" or just dead. I had ordered plants from other companies and all of them are flourishing so its not something I did wrong.

Based on my own experience, I believe the high volume of negative reviews is due to poor customer service. I was greeted with rudeness and just plain incompetence on 2 of 3 calls. Being nice is useless if your responce is "Sorry, I don't know".

Direct Gardening has the best price, user friendly website and variety. I love the preplanned gardens, but much improvement is needed in customer service: better communication, better informed cs reps and shipping procedures. I will update in 4 weeks on the remaining 40 plants that have shown no life or if I have any trouble with my replacement guarantee as other reviewers have stated.

I was hesitant at first placing an order with an unfamiliar company, however when my first order arrived I was very pleased. My plants were all well packed and extremely healthy looking. Needless to say, I am now a happy customer of Direct Gardening and they have gained becasuse I will certainly be buying much more from them in the future!

The worse company ever…A scam…don't buy!!
I ordered some bougainvillea's and I got 4 little twigs (for $ 8 more I could have bought them at Lows). I planted following their directions and they never developed , not one leaf.!!. A few months ago I requested a replacement … still waiting.
I had another order of plants, I called them to find out why I didn't get a delivery and I was told I had to wait another 2 weeks. I requested to cancel the order …. I was told they couldn't do it because the system would not allow that... I will have to wait to receive the package and then follow their procedure for returning merchandise.
This cost me another $10 to send the plastic bag back. I'm waiting to see if they refund the money. They are a bunch of crooks!! Never again will buy from Direct Gardening.

Yes. A positive. For various reasons.
First of all: I know this is a bigger company and they don't always send perfect merchandise.
Why I like to order from them:
Variety. There is tremendous variety available.
Price. I get a lot of bang for my buck.
Fun. While I do like to go out and buy things that are already firmly established there is a certain amount of fun that I derive from starting with rootstock. It is more challenging, but my thumb is pretty green and I am up to the experience.

My most recent order is placed but there is also one from last year in June that I just made a letter to the company regarding in order to fulfill on the one year guarantee that they offer. (I have used the one-year guarantee in the past also and they have made good on replacing things.)
My June 2012 order, what worked:
Angelique Tulips - Gorgeous, soft pink flushed with white petals that were beautiful
Moulin Rouge Astrantia - It is small still, but is gathering momentum and looks like it will be quite nice soon enough
1/4 bushel basket of Daffodils - It is hard to screw up daffodils. If anyone is wondering I got a hundred of them for twelve dollars and fifty cents and they were outstandingly beautiful.
Lavendar Stardust Daylily - Came as a small plant but is now very large and healthy and I await the blooms
30 Grecian Windflowers - Growing nicely

What didn't work:
New Leaf [German Bearded] Iris arrived in terrible condition and although I tried to spruce it up, it's dried husk of a self failed
6 Black Hero Tulips - only 1 came up for some reason
Reliance Seedless Grape - Admittedly my fault on this one: I planted it in crappy soil and then got the bright idea that I wanted to put a raised bed there. The plant sat out for a day and I replanted it but to no avail.
Finally Two that really stumped me the Smoke Tree and the Regal Blue Hosta didn't grow. I planted them both in the fall, but they should have been alright. I don't know what happened because they arrived in good shape. I bought a Smoke Tree in the past from Direct Gardening and it grew wonderfully so I don't quite know what went wrong with this one.

I am confident that they will make good on their guarantee though. I look forward to my replacement products.

This year's order was placed tonight 4/29/2012. I will let you all know how it went when I get and plant things.