Comments regarding Direct Gardening

I joined Dave's Garden just to be able to leave a comment as a warning to other people who are thinking of buying from them. Silly me for not having thought about doing my research on Dave's Garden, before I bought from Direct Gardening. As with other customers, there is no follow up or shipping alert from the vendor. This was a large order and the plants arrived in a BAG, with practically no protection. The size of the plants is a joke. The shrub plants are so minute, I will be collecting my pension before they attain the size of a small nursery bought plant (I am 9 years away from collecting SS). I ordered 120 walk-on-me (i.e. creeping thyme) plants. I could literally fit all of them in a 5-inch pot. the cost : $60 !! What a rip-off. I will call them today and send everything back and request a refund. DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY.

I ordered a rose collection and i am very pleased. It did take a lil longer to receive my order than i expected, but over i am very happy

After reading the posts on this site I feel as if I'm beating a dead horse. I must say PLEASE DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS COMPANY!!!!! The order took an unusually long time to process (I order a lot of things online, including plants and I usually receive prompt shipping or an email to explain if there will be a delay); When I called to inquire, the customer service representative was quite rude, after I requested the order be cancelled and submitted a dispute to my credit card company they shipped the order!!!!! Now this is the icing on the top of the cake, I received a medium sized plastic back that was supposed to contact 54 shrubs and 14 plants along with some quick start fertilizer pills. The only thing that I recognized in the bag were the pills, the "plants" if you can call them that were nothing more than dried, dead twigs. I took pictures of the smelly mess (shipped via USPS) and forwarded the pictures to my credit card company as evidence with my dispute. I put everything in a box (they say if you ship it back within 14 days they give you a refund but they must have the original label) took it to the post office and sent it back with confirmation and insurance (as they seem like the type of characters who would say they never received it).

Unless you want to go through a lot of grief when you could be planting your shrubs and plants don't deal with this company.

I can recommend a couple of great online garden companies:

Hirt's Gardens - fair price, super fast shipping via USPS Priority, great product (rated AAA+); you can buy from them on Amazon, eBay or on their website. This is definitely someone that stands behind their product and does business fairly. Consumers would be well served to buy from this company. I was really impressed!

American Meadows - good prices, super fast shipping via FedEx, great product (rated AA)

Great Garden Plants - super fast shipping via FedEx, switched product without advising me, sent a cheaper lavender plant, when I realized what had occurred call and received a quick refund of the difference between what I was charged and what I found the plants for at another online retailer, I'd do business with them again for this customer service, expensive (rated A)

Direct Gardening - see above (rated F), don't waste your time or your money, I don't know why this place is still in business someone needs to start a WHY I HATE DIRECT GARDENING FACEBOOK PAGE, hmmm that's a thought!

Do NOT order from this company! Customer service is horrible and it takes AT LEAST 4 WEEKS to get your order even though the site says 1 to 2 weeks to 'process' it then takes 2 more weeks to ship. This is by far the WORST online site I have ever dealt this.
Hey, Direct Gardening, you are in some serious need of adopting some basic LEAN principles. Your processes are killing you.

I had ordered from this company? before I discovered Garden Watchdog. Miserable waste of money.

Feedback History and Summary
125 positives
38 neutrals
332 negatives

Need I say more?

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

We are sorry to hear of this customer’s experience. We contacted this customer by Dmail to offer our assistance. "

We have ordered from DirectGardening a few times. Of course we get startings. This is the best way to get plants to take a strong hold in the soil, be resistant and resiliant...

It is not resonable to beleive we are going to get full blown 5 year plants for the pricing we pay.

We have had great success ordering and have placed our 3rd order. Only a few have not made it, and we recognize it was not due to faulty product, it was our mistake to not plant as soon as possible.

These plants come ready to thrive. We enjoy the products from Direct Gardening. This is a good company.

Posted on September 8, 2011, updated February 20, 2012
I ordered from direct gardening a couple months ago and my experience was very positive. My plants came sooner than I had expected and they were in great shape. I actually just placed a second order with them because I was so satisfied before. Maybe their customer service is slow because of the numbers of orders they receive at a time. I mean, it has to be hundreds! They have the best selection and at great prices! Who wouldn't want to order from these guys? Besides, their website tells everyone it could take up to two weeks BEFORE their order ships, maybe people need to read the website?
I am pro Direct Gardening. I think they are doing just fine!

Posted on April 5, 2011, updated December 30, 2011
Posted on March 20, 2011, updated April 5, 2011
I've ordred from directgardening in the past (about 6 years ago) and from several of the affiliated companies in more recent years and have never been dissatisfied with my orders, though I have gotten plants that needed replacement, the companies have always kept their end of the deal (which is good when dealing with very small plants and bulbs).

However, last spring, I ordered a large order of primarily bulbs (as that is what I have had the best luck with from the other companies). Many of the bulbs were in questionable condition upon arrival but I planted them anyway. Still, by the end of summer, not many emerged. I put my shipping labels in a safe place (and almost threw them away a couple times over the winter) with the intent to write for replacement items early in the spring as I think maybe part of the failure of the bulbs to grow was in the fact that the temperatures were already soaring last year when my order was shipped (which wasn't helped by the green plastic bag).

In any case, I have requested the following replacements:
3 Stargazer oriental lilies (3 grew)
4 Lollipop lilies (6 grew)
31 mixed Asiatic lilies (9 asiatic lilies grew)
8 bicolor Asiatic lilies (2 grew)
15 orchid gladiolas (5 grew)
13 hardy gladiolas (7 grew)
26 glad bulbs (4 grew)
4 hibiscuses (2 grew)
2 Salmon Star oriental lilies (none emerged)
2 Nippon oriental lilies (none emerged)
3 Dizzy oriental lilies (none emerged)
2 Sumatra oriental lilies (none emerged)

On the up side, I did get a very small but healthy pink knock out rose that was up to about a foot in height by the end of summer and put out a last minute brst of flowers. The liatris bulbs were nice and almost all grew. A red butterfly bush, though just a little stick when I got it grew well and set a couple smallish flowers. The cinnamon fern surprised me by setting up nice leaves right away, I typically have to be really patient with ferns before I see any action from them.

I have come to doubt the hardiness of bulbs offered in collections as that was the case with most of the oriental type lilies, they were offered as collections. Now, I have ordered oriental lily collections that did well from Royal Dutch and sort of expected the same luck with Directgardening.

In any case, I am not about giving bad ratings if I can help it. I've had much success with bulbs and some plants from directgardening in years past and with affiliated companies in more recent years and so hope that directgardening will make good on their promise to replace items that don't grow and survive the first year.

Several months ago I placed an order with Direct Gardening. One of my mine reasons for placing the order was to get an Almond Tree.
They charged my credit card immediately. After waiting over a month, I had to contact customer service to see when the order would arrive. Then about 2 weeks after the email the order arrived.

When opening the order, they had substituted (without asking me), Small Chestnut trees for my Almond Tree. Not only did I not have room for a Chestnut tree, but they are not even Suitable for my heavy Clay soil.

When I emailed them about i did not want the substitution, I only wanted an almond tree, they emailed back that if I did not want the substitution they sent (without asking me), that I would have to mail back the packing at my own expense and when it was received their customer service would supposedly give an $8.00 refund.

How ridiculous, to substitute an unrelated tree without asking the customer first, and then tell the customer to mail back an envelope for an $8.00 refund.

Now I cannot help but wonder if the rest of my order is what I ordered?

No more will I order from this company.. The sticks they sent are not even healthy looking.

"On Jan 25, 2012 10:29 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear that the customer was unsatisfied with the substitution. We have contacted the customer via Dmail. We will have the almond trees available in the spring and can ship the almond at that time if they wish. We do not require the return of a subsituted and would be happy to issue a refund for the item in question. We do not require that the item be returned and do hope the customer takes advantage of this offer.

"

I ordered plants from this company last year, some died but I did nothing of it because I lost the label which I needed for a refund or replacement. But I appreciated that some bonus bulbs were provided with that order. Thus, I ordered again earlier this year and my experience with this company was terrible. I was not satisfied with the product or service. My order included several purchased trees, but only two trees (both dead) were sent to me. The rest of the order was subpar. I tried asking for a replacement order or refund several times via correspondence. I followed their policy by returning the label, explaining the situation of the dead trees (one missing from the order) and the rest of the subpar order. They had my order number, date of purchase, items purchased, etc. All I got was correspondence from them creating petty obstacles in obtaining a refund or replacement order.

"On Jan 25, 2012 10:28 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We have attempted to contact this customer via D-mail and have received no response. We are sorry to hear that some of the plants have died. Our 1 year replacement guarantee covers all of our plant products. If correspondence was returned to the customer it would be to request further information necessary to process the replacement order. We do hope that the customer returns this information with the answers to our questions so that the correct replacement can be processed."

Awful customer service if anything is wrong.
I have ordered from them a couple of times and most of the plants have survived. When I ordered peonies, for example, about half of them survived, I couldn't get a replacement because I had not kept the shipping package and they do not accept copies of the order confirmation and credit card invoice as proof of purchase; only the shipping label. but I still thought it was a good deal for the price, so no big deal.

This time I ordered paw-paw trees and kept the label. They were not viable plants (I have ordered bare root dormant plants before and have had good luck with them.) These were snapped in half and when I called about them I was told that they would be ok and that I could not return trees for 6 weeks because they can take that long to come out of dormancy. When they never grew and I wanted a refund, I was told that I could not get a refund because they would have to be returned within 14 days for a refund. They tricked me into missing the refund period!! I took the replacements which also did not survive. They are still refusing to refund my money.
As I read more about them, I keep seeing the same story from so many people.
Some things from them are ok. 70% of the plants from them will survive, but the minute there is an issue and you need customer service, they are pretty awful to deal with. They are snappy on the phone no matter how nice you are with them. They will not issue a refund.

"On Jan 25, 2012 10:28 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. For a refund, the plants need to be returned within 14 days of receipt. In doing further investigation, we did find that no peonies were ordered from our company. A replacement order for the paw paw trees was shipped on 09-15-11. We have tried to contact this customer via Dmail and have received no response. "

I actually read these reviews before ordering from Direct Gardening. Though the reviews are about 3 to 1 negative, I still decided to place a small order. Most of the items I ordered were sale items and "1 cent" items. The total purchase, including shipping, was just over $48. I ordered three varieties of cherry shrubs, 1 flowering cherry tree, 2 mulberry trees, 2 kiwi vines, and 3 wisteria. I figured with the low prices, even if most of them died or arrived dead, it wouldn't be a huge loss. I expected to receive a bag of rotted plants.

The plants arrived today - just over two weeks after placing the order. I opened the red bag and discovered that most of the plants appeared healthy. The trees and all shrubs were as described on the website and of the height promised. The roots systems were EXCELLENT, and all had branching to some degree. The two kiwi plants were potted and packaged in a box. When I opened the box I initially suspected they had sent a plastic plant. The female kiwi leaves were vivid green with bright pink stems. It was short, about six inches, but had many leaves and was in excellent condition. The male kiwi not so much. The male plant had obviously been packaged with green leaves, but the female pot had been placed over the males leaves and stems, crushing the plant and causing all the leaves to fall off. Still hoping for the best. The only real concern were the wisteria plants. They were much smaller than described. They looked like twigs with a single root. Maybe 6 inches in total length. They were individually placed in plastic bags. Not much hope for them, but we'll see.

I won't know the survival rate for a few months. But, for now, except for the wisteria and male kiwi, all appear healthy and alive. I plan to post a follow up in the spring.

The only verbal contact I had with the company was a couple of days after placing the order. I called to add an inexpensive item. The phone was answered after the first ring. I think the person's name was "Mike". Anyway, he said no problem to add the item, but since the order was already in processing there would be a $2.50(?) processing fee, but no additional postage. The conversation was short, but he was polite.

Overall, I am very happy with the order and the experience was positive.

Two problems with my order.

One: I ordered almost 300 bulbs... 120 mixed mini daffodils were in my order which I placed in August. And was billed for in August. When I received the order it included 120 lavender mtn lily instead of the daffodils. Not as a subsitution, just an error. I have been told that I must mail back the original shipping label for the replacement warranty to be valid. But I am not asking for a replacement of my purchase, I simply want to receive the correct product that I ordered and paid for.

Two: After the error with product, I reviewed my e-mail receipt and noticed that the "total charge" when I place the order was $5.94 less than what my card was actually charged. I have been told from their customer service that I was charged the correct amount. Really? This is not an acceptable way of doing business...emailing receipts with one total and charging another? How many orders have a similar error? How many dollars does that add up to?

Just received my order $15 day lily was rotted and I mean well rotted. Emailed for replacement told I needed to return mailing label for replacement which of course had been thrown out. Since there is no exception am out the money. Should have read previous reviews when will I ever learn? Buyers beware!

Posted on September 22, 2011, updated October 14, 2011
I wanted a specific variety of Albizia Julibrissin (silk tree, mimosa) and my girlfriend ordered one for me from this company. The price was slightly lower than some other sites so thought we would give it a try. The next day I found this site and became very concerned about our purchase after reading the reviews. Here is how it all went down step by step.
1. Card was charged immediately.
2. I called them up about a week after order was placed. I was told computers were down but they seemed helpful enough. (it was Friday at 4:30 so maybe they just wanted to get home)
3. Called the next day 9/2/11. Was told that the order has not shipped yet and that I should wait the full 2 weeks before calling.
4. Called a week later at 15 day mark and was told that order shipped on 9/1/11?
5. Order arrived on 9/10/11 in a green trash bag as expected.

First off, I don't see any reason why fed-ex would take 9 days to ship anything to my house from anywhere in the US. That must be horrible for any plant. My tree was a 3' stick with 3 thick, very short roots. One of the roots was completely broken off at its base so I was forced to remove it completely. Surprisingly, the tree was still very green all the way to it's tip. This thing was not recently dormant. It appears to have been in a warehouse for months at least. I soaked it overnight and planted it in my desired location. It's been almost 2 weeks now and still green under the bark and alive for now. It will be a long wait till spring but I'm very hopeful and I think it may make it.
Another negative thing to add. My free gift to be included in the order was supposed to be 6 Grape Hyacinths which I was actually a little excited about since they were free and all. What I actually received were 2 empty baggies labeled " 4 shamrock Holland growr" and 3 little tiny bulb things in the bottom of the green bag. The shamrocks on their site are not even viable in my zone and I have no interest in growing them at all. I don't really care but don't mention a free gift at the end of my order and then send me some useless crap instead. I'd rather just have what I ordered and that's it.

Poor customer service.

One of the reasons we ordered from them was because of the one-year guarantee. But, when we asked for a replacement for some of the plants, not only did we not receive them, we didn't even hear from them.

We won't be ordering from them again since there are others that stand by there plants much better.

Posted on August 26, 2011, updated September 13, 2011
This feedback is in regards to:
DirectGardening.com Order #33498522

I STRONGLY recommend AGAINST doing business with this company!

I placed an order on 7/13/11, and received an order confirmation via email. My card was charged right away. As of 8/17/11, I had not received any further communication from this company, nor had I received my order. When I called customer service, they claimed to have shipped the order on 7/26/11, that most orders take 7-14 days after shipping to arrive, and that there was no tracking information available for this shipment. I was told that nothing further could be done until 30 days after their claimed ship date. Today is 8/26/11, and I still have not received my order. I called to request that they cancel the order and refund my money, as it has been a month and a half since they charged my card. The customer service rep indicated that he would send a write-up to another department that would attempt to trace the package. The rep also indicated that it would be realistic to expect that it would be another month before I receive a refund. When I asked about follow-up, the rep indicated that I should not expect any sort of follow-up call, but that I might get a postcard in the mail after they have finished tracing the package.

I am very dissatisfied with the lack of communication and inability to resolve this issue in a timely manner. This was supposed to be a birthday present for my wife. It is now well past her birthday, and I can't even get a timely refund to go buy her something else instead.

I wish I had read the reviews about this company before I ordered - from the other reviews here, this is a typical experience with this company.

OMG!! I wish I had found this 3 months ago!! I too ordered roses and a couple of other plants. When I opened the package the roses had mold on them. I was told they were dormant so I went ahead and planted with some others that I had ordered from another source. They never even got a green leaf!! none of them. I contacted the company and they said to send my original label back with a request for replacement or credit. I asked them if they wanted the dead plants back and the response was no, we don't require them. NOW, I get my request returned in the mail wanting the dead plants!! I have already thrown them out since they did not want them. I am sure I will have to fight this battle to the end. I believe I will call the better business bureau also. This is an outrage! I am so mad!!! BTW: the other roses from the "other company" our doing great!!!! DO NOT BUY FROM THIS OUTFIT!! GO TO MB IF YOU WANT GOOD PLANTS.

I placed an order on July 26 and my credit card was also charged on this date. I buy a lot of plants from mailorder sites, and generally my credit card is not charged until it is shipped. When it was charged on July 26 I assumed it would ship right away. Was I wrong! It is now September 8 and they will ship the plants "as soon as they get plants from their suppliers and prepare them for shipping, sometime before the end of October". Seriously - they took my money and did not have the inventory to fill the order? In my book, that is dishonest. I contacted my credit card company and disputed the charge and they issued me a credit. NEVER AGAIN!

My wife wanted a Weeping Rose for her birthday, so I placed the order 3 weeks in advance. The order confirmation page gave very vague details about shipping, but I assumed 3 weeks would be plenty of time for an in-stock item. With one week left before her birthday and no sign of my order, I contacted Customer Service to inquire. I gave them the order number I received, but was told that they must also have my address to find my order. Gave them that too and they said that it had recently shipped. Asked for tracking, but they could not provide any (even though they shipped via FedEx, which always includes tracking). It took 24 hours between each response from CS. My order arrived one day ahead of my wifes birthday, but none of the free incentives that were to be included came with it. Missing the planting instructions too. To summarize:

- Sketchy shipping details.
- No notification when my order shipped.
- No tracking available.
- Promised incentives absent.
- No planting instructions.

No sign of green yet on the plant, though we may have to wait until next year for that. I would have to suggest that folks avoid this company.

"On Oct 6, 2011 1:18 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We did receive an order from this customer on 08/1/11 and the order was shipped on 8/4/11 via Fed Ex. Regretfully, we are often not able to give specific anticipated ship dates because there are so many variables involved including weather. Both the free gifts and the planting instructions should have been included in the package and we will have these sent right away.


"

Posted on May 11, 2011, updated August 21, 2011
Posted on May 2, 2011, updated May 11, 2011
Absolutely one of the worst customer service experience in my life. Ordered 4 climbing roses and 1 sweet leaf plant in the first week of March and after numerous phone calls, got the package in the last week of April!!!! I am in Zone 9, and it was already in the high 80's. The customer service reps keep on telling me that they are just a call center and have no idea what goes on in their shipping dept. Well, news for you... set up a system to track that.

Also, one of the rose plants was dead on arrival. I called them and reported that. However, I was told that I have to send it in writing and it will take about 4 to 6 weeks to send out a replacement. I can't wait for these people and don't have the inclination to write using US Postal Mail about a dead plant... a phone call was not enough!!! However, they can take orders and your money over the phone. What a mess!!!

I wish I read the reviews here before I ordered. Shouldn't have fallen for those low prices... a sucker born every minute should have come to my mind at that time. Anyway, I hope they stop treating their customer like adversaries and implement better customer service policies.

Posted on July 13, 2011, updated August 8, 2011
Posted on July 11, 2011, updated July 13, 2011
I am glad to see that I am not alone. I ordered from Direct Gardening back in April. I finallly got my plants? Sorry, could not call these plants. They were dead, moldy, dried up garbage. I contacted the company through e-mails. They told me they were shipped dormant and were guaranteed to grow. As of July ll, they have not grown. I waited almost 6 weeks to receive them. Sure wasn't worth the wait. Since they are so called "guaranteed" I planted them. Guess what, still no signs of plants growing. What did grow were not even what they were supposed to be. Who ever works there cannot know anything about plants, bulbs, trees or bushes. I admit I am not an expert, but I know how to follow planting instructions, such as what type of plants go in what type of soils, watering and lighting. I purposely looked up each and every plant that I ordered, even made individual makers for each plant (over 250). I got totally screwed. I took all the time to prepare the gardens, plant the garbage they sent, to enjoy nothing all summer. So then I began my complaints. To no avail. I have called and have been hung up on. I have sent my original shipping label, which they said was lost. What the ???????. I even sent a copy of my original shipping label, which I was smart enough to copy. Guess what, they don't have that either, and they even signed for it. What a run a round. Sorry, but I will not give up. I will get my money back. So people, DO NOT GIVE UP. Satisfaction is found in numbers. We are not all wrong. This company needs to be shut down. They are getting rich because people are giving up. I have contacted the Attorney General. Local news channel is next. See, I have nothing to loose. I am here with my terminially ill husband, who purchased me the flowers, so we could sit out on the porch together and watch them grow. We went to a local flea market and a gentleman there had beautiful flowers. So we bought some more, which are growing. So we still can sit on our porch together and watch them grow. Sad thing is that what I bought was not bargain. I purchased all my perennials at the local flea market just as cheap and no shipping charges. PEOPLE, DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY.

I read the negative reviews about Direct Gardening but ordered anyway. I had been looking for Climbing Joseph's Coat roses and found them there. They were not too expensive so I decided to take a chance. Well, it took a long time to get the roses but they finally came and I planted them. They grew......but they are NOT climbing joseph's coats....they look like yellow and pink knockout roses!!!! I am not a fan of knockout roses even tho soooo many people tell me how wonderful they are. Needless to say I am VERY disappointed but I know there's not much I can do. If anyone knows how I can get a REAL climbing joseph's coat rose, please let me know. I found them at my local Big Lots store but when they bloomed they were pink! Oh well, I'll keep trying, but no more mail order companies!!

"On Sep 6, 2011 7:33 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear of this customer’s disappointment. Our attempts to contact the customer by Dmail have been unsuccessful. We would like to see a picture of the blooms to make a better determination on whether or not the rose she has received is incorrect. We are not sure if she is saying that each bloom is pink and yellow in which case it is very possible the rose is correct. If the customer has in fact received an item in error we would be happy to issue replacements in accordance with our guarantee. "

My experience with Direct Gardening is the worst experience I have ever had with any retailer, on-line or in a store. After a phone conversation to make certain they could process my order in time, on March 25 I submitted an order valued at $83.37 and specified in the order that it would be necessary to receive the plants no later than April 11. I also made orders at the same time to Forest Farm (Oregon) and Miller Nursery (New York) and both arrived before April 11.
On April 8, not having received the plants, I called to be certain they had been shipped. I was told they had not been shipped, and I canceled the order (via phone and e-mail). I did not receive the shipment.
On March 26 my Master Card account was charged the $83.37 even though the order had not been shipped. I waited a couple of weeks, assuming I would receive a credit for this amount to my Master Card.
On May 11, I phoned requesting the credit and was told to submit an e-mail regarding this order, which I did that day. On May 12, I received an e-mail stating that my “request has been forwarded to the appropriate department” and indicating I should “allow 1-2 weeks for this process.”
I did not receive the credit. On June 9, I wrote again outlining the events and asking again for the credit to my Master Card. I received another e-mail stating that “my request has been forwarded to the appropriate department.” Again on June 23, I repeated the request.
It is now the end of July and I have still not received the credit. I have reported all of this to my Master Card which has given my a temporary credit and charged Direct Gardening for the amount, giving them 60 days to contest the charge.
HOW CAN ANY BUSINESS THAT OPERATES LIKE THIS STAY IN BUSINESS?

Posted on July 8, 2011, updated July 30, 2011
I ordered a large amount of trees and vines back in feb and rcvd my order in march, i had a bit of a time getting the order but it was the busy season i guess. my trees arrived dormant and described but all had new shoots forming, and i soaked them overnight in water and planted them the next day, i lost a few plants, less then a quarter and the rest are doing very well, some im actually amazed with... i contacted them about replacment and rcvd a quick and friendly response. ive had a great experience with them minus the wait, and have placed a second order. idk what people expect from orderingn plants online but DG seems to be one of the better places.

One of the worst comapnies I have ever dealt with. DON'T BUY FROM THEM.Almost as bad as Growquest in California. Had to go to the Attorney General to get a refund from him. Direct keeps changing their policies then tells me they are sorry I misunderstood. I'll jump on the bandwagon with all the other Negative letters that have been posted. They shouldn't be in business. Eaglewatcher in CO

These folks are horrible. The plant quality is far below acceptable. Over half the plant I order have died or never grew at all. To get them replaced takes an act of congress. I have spent over three in an email battle and they say send it by mail. They have a record of purchase, they have record of shipment, they take your money on the internet, but you have to use mail. Send the orignal, they lose it and wa la ... no support. Spoke with Tami, a Customer Service Supervisor. "Trained Seal Act" with no iniative or concern for the poor PR they are projecting. MY basic statement . Don't waste you time or money

Super UGLY Experience ... I am beyond angry

i found direct gardening on the internet did not read the reviews my mistake.
i made my purchase in late march in 4 to 6 wks i received my order , plants looked pretty nice . i ordered the 3in1 angel trumpet also i pd. 19.99 for a red one,it bloomed 4 dys. ago RED i don`t think so it is the same color yellow that is in the 3in 1 (pink, white and yellow)this 3in1 cost
9.99 the red one supposed to be tropical was twice the price. i emailed the co. all they do is stall and try to get around a bad co. these plants are really easy to grow just break a piece off and put it into the soil and water.
if there really is a red one it should kept seperate from the other colors (this is the way i do it) why such a hugh problem for direct gardening. i do not think they have a red angel trumpet ,i haven`t found one on the internet anywhere. so they need to send me a RED one OR send me 19.99 refund. big chance huh
if you buy anything from this co. you will be very sorry unless it`s onion sets.

glenda fout

sikeston,mo .63801

"On Oct 6, 2011 1:18 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

The red angel trumpet is as pictured in the catalog with red throat and yellow outside. However, it should not look exactly like the yellow one which does not have a red throat. It sounds as like this customer received an item in error, and we would ship a replacement. We have contacted the customer via Dmail regarding but have not received a response.


"

Posted on June 10, 2011, updated July 8, 2011
Posted on June 8, 2011, updated June 10, 2011
Posted on June 4, 2011, updated June 8, 2011
Posted on June 1, 2011, updated June 4, 2011
Posted on May 28, 2011, updated June 1, 2011
I placed an order last march that still isn't here! You won't believe what I went through!!!!

Well I placed a $65.00 order last march.
I recieved my seeds right away but my bulb tree and other orders came 3 months later!!!!!(almost too late to plant)!!!
upon arrival in (all jammed in a non-arid green bag!!) 50% of my order was rotten, esp. the expensive bulbs (i.e. the picaso calla lilly pink lilly of the valley and "Top Hat Blueberries). It took them another month and a half to send my replacments and once again.. rotten. Not only this but they make you write them snail mail with shipping labels every time or they will do nothing for you! I believe they do this to make you wait or give up to save them money! What I did recieve intact like my 3 blue gladiola's mix all came up yellow, even the replacments, and guess what? They never came up this year as they should have. I also never recieved my "FREE GIFTS" either, and they pretty much called me a liar. I still haven't gotten them or the rest of my replacement order. They sent me a voucher for the lost goods because by then it was september, and when I wrote in once again this year to claim my goods via the voucher and get a warranty on my gladiolas they wanted me to pay shipping!!! And they don't call or E-mail (even though they have that info) they write you snail mail to communicate. So now it is almost June and Still no order, and I sent my voucher in the begining of March! This company should have it's BBB taken away and if enough of us call they will! If your reading this and they've screwed you too call the better business bureau!

"On Aug 31, 2011 8:52 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We would certainly appreciate hearing from anyone who notices grammatical or spelling errors on our website so that we may correct them! We, of course, have not made any of the postings on this site, but we do try to respond to all customers who contact us via this forum or our email.

This customer placed an order on 05-03-10 that was shipped in 2 packages on 05-07-10 and 05-28-10. A replacement and merchandise credit certificate was issued in July 2010 for items that were complained about. Another replacement was processed for this customer on 05-25-11 that shipped 06-01-11.
"

Posted on July 4, 2011
I disliked dealing with this company so much I created a Facebook site called (Never shop at Direct Gardening!).

Also, stop looking for Grace Avery, because I don't believe she exists. Its a code word that they use for disgruntled customers.

Come on negative reviewers. I know as well as you do that many of the positive reviews here are from "imposters" and paid company shills, but, honestly, what they provide is not that bad. Don't get me wrong, i have received few items from them that were in great condition, but, honestly, 80% of what i got from them has survived. Was the other 20% either a slimy gooey mess or mummified? Yes, it was. I will be returning the "sacred" label and asking for a refund of those items later this summer (the results of which will obviously affect my rating...hope they honor their guarantee...).
You get what you pay for. I LOVE to nurture things back to health and am not opposed to waiting a year for the starter plants DG sends to get established and flower. If you want full size plants, customer service, or timely delivery, I suggest you look elsewhere. If you are a patient gardener like me, you could do worse than DG.

Posted on May 7, 2011, updated July 2, 2011
I guess it's the same old story here. I placed a $100 order 2 months ago and no plants yet. They've only answered 2 of my e-mails with identical form letters saying my order was in shipping. Then it took forever to get them on the phone and when I finally did I was not treated well (thanks judy), gave me no information (thanks again judy) so I asked to be transferred to Gabriel, having seen her name on this forum, and was left on hold for over 35min before I hung up and I havn't been able to get them back. I don't even have the plants yet and already our club has to give them a very negative rating. I do not believe these plants are ever going to arrive and if by some chance they do, I'm afraid of the condition they will be in, so I am going to dispute the charge with my credit card Co. Like everybody else here I wish I had come here before I ordered. Oh well, Live and learn.

"On Jul 5, 2011 8:38 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We have attempted to contact this customer via D-mail and have received no response. We are sorry to hear that some of the bulbs have arrived mushy and do hope that they take advantage of the 1 year guarantee which covers all of our plant products. We would be happy to issue replacement and do anticipate that the order would ship rather quickly. "

I was looking for seed potatoes but started late. After striking out with all the better name co.s I came accross Direct Gardening. I called to check availability and was told they had them and were still shipping. That was on June 9, 2011. No notice of shipment and no product as of July 1st. I just called and they told me their delivery window was 7 to 30 days. They never asked me for an order number or offered to track for me. There are a lot of great things about the internet but Direct Gardening is not one of them.

Posted on June 13, 2011, updated June 30, 2011
Last year, this company was fine. This year, it was horrible and impossible. My order was sent during 100-degree weather and left in the hot sun all day. One plant was dead, and the others weren't sent. BUT I get no refund.

Company makes it so hard on the consumer. They want the label that is on the front of the delivered box. Mine was soaked with water since someone thought watering the box would keep the plants alive.
Of course, I didn't know of this novel policy and tossed the wet cardboard.

Now, I am out the money, despite threatening these people with the Illinois attorney general's office, which I might do anyway.

DO NOT ORDER FROM THEM. ACTUALLY, THERE IS A WARNING ONLINE.

Being a novice/new gardener, I had a good experience with DG. I placed an order last summer and had a pretty good response with what I planted. I don't remember the dates of order or shipping but it seemed it was a reasonable turn-around and as expected. Any product that didn't live/bloom/leaf out, etc, I was able to easily use the guarantee as they stated. I have had various email contact with them with no difficulty in getting a response. In fact, for the most part, they have been pleasant and helpful. Any plants that didn't bloom or even come back this summer, I was able to mail back the original shipping label with a letter explaining my problems and received the replacements in a timely manner. Before my year guarantee was up, I was even able to request further replacements by just referring to my original shipping/order number. I agree, you get what you pay for and for the price, you can't beat it. As they state, they come bare root with planting directions...it's up to you if follow or don't follow the guidelines. Happy gardening!

This is a belated review, but after coming across this place in search results when I was looking for a particular plant it reminded my what a horrible, waste of money & time experience it was.
I had placed a large order of a variety of different plants with this company. When they arrived, the plants with leaves had literally cooked in the plastic bags. They were mush. The plants that were sent "dormant" were so dried out & crunchy it would've been a miracle if they grew. Even the starter trees/bushes I bought were dead, dead, dead. So out I went with what I could salvage to plant. Needless to say, maybe five things grew a bit, then died. I emailed the company and explained the terrible condition the plants had arrived in and they offered to replace them. The replacements arrived in just as poor condition as the first bunch. Cooked like spinach in a bag.
They offered again to replace them and I said no thanks. They offered me a credit that I never bothered to use because I figured why bother? The plants they send, who knows what type of condition they were in when they left the company. I gave up with them. It's too much bother to keep trying to plant half dead plants & fuss over them hoping they'll survive.
I'd NEVER buy anything from this company again, no matter how good a deal it might look like. You'll just waste your time & money. Better to spend a little more and get better plants!

After reading the negative post, especially about their shipping/customer service, I was very skeptical about this co. but decided to try them for myself, because their product line & their pricing is phenomenonal. I placed a small order of $65, the items came to my door within one week. VVery pleased with the stock, all are now in full bloom except for 2 trees out of the 20 I purchased. The day following the receipt of my $65 order I placed a larger order, $200. Those items came yesterday! Exactly 9 days after placing my online order! I haven't inspected the order yet, but with the success of my 1st order & the quick receipt of this order, I expect to have no problems. Will update if need be. Lastly, I'm wondering if it's this website that is questionable? The above comments look the same as the onones I read 2 weeks ago, before my 1st purchase, but the dates/timelines of the dates appear to be more recent. We'll see! I'll be checking back to view my post, I hope I spelled everything correctly. Thanks, good luck. Great experience with Direct Gardening, 3rd order coming up.

I placed an order on directgardening website on June 3rd, 2011. After one week, I called them to check my order status and got no answer. Then I did a search on the company and found many people had negative experience with them. On June 16th, I called them again and still got no answer. At that point, I started to worry and decide to cancel the order, but they refused. Yesterday, I finally got my order, but half of the plants are either dead or moldy. I contacted them again this morning and sent them an email with the pictures of those plants. They said if I want a replacement, I should send them the shipping label along with a letter explain the problems or If I want a refund, I need to ship those plants back to them at my cost. I already paid $9.99 for the shipping when I placed my order, and I don't see how it is possible that I am responsible for paying the shipping again as this is not my fault. I don't want a replacement as who knows how long will take them to do that and if the replacement plants will be better than this time.
I saw some people here commented that their prices are good, but it wouldn't help if you receive the dead plants:

I ordered the following plants and total charge is $87.62

Item # Description............................. Quantity Price

8596 Pep Start Pills 25 $4.99
7307 Asparagus, Jersey Knight 10 $4.96
7772 Lily, Climbing 2 $5.00
1031 Citrus, 3-N-1 1 $9.99
3829 Blueberry, Top Hat 1 $9.99
5145 Blueberry, Sunshine Blue 1 $8.49
4959 Iris, Pass the Wine, (Reg. 1 for $6.99) 1 $3.99
5940 Kiwi Collection - (2 Female & 1 Male), ( 1 $13.75
6783 Asparagus, Purple 5 $5.99
3306 Lavender, French Red 1 $5.99
7929 Climbing Shell Vine 1 $4.49
Shipping $9.99
Sales Tax $0.00
Total Charge $87.62

* Dead or moldy plants and missing plants cost total $35.92:

they switched my Climbing Lily (7772, 2, $5.00) to Sumatra lily without consulting with me. If I want Sumatra lily, I would order it.
The following plants are dead:
3306 Lavender, French Red 1 $5.99
4959 Iris, Pass the Wine, (Reg. 1 for $6.99) 1 $3.99
These two vegetable plants have moldy roots:
7307 Asparagus, Jersey Knight 10 $4.96
6783 Asparagus, Purple 5 $5.99
I am not happy with the quality of Blueberry, Top Hat (1 $9.99) for $9.99, I expect get a healthy plant, not a half dead one and awful small.

If you calculate this way, do you still think that you save money by buying from them?

The rest plants are not in great condition either since they shipped these plants in a plastic bag without any protections (even not a box). I often order plants online, I never seen any other nurseries shipping live plants this way

BUYER BEWARE

If you would have asked me a couple years ago what I thought about Direct Gardening, I would have said, the best. Things change. I placed me order in early March, like I have been doing for the past seven or so years. I recieved my order in mid May. I have never recieved an order from them that late, and I kind of knew something was up. Most of my order was DOA, and I don't mean dormant. It was snotty, moldly, and very plainly dead. However I planted it anyway and just as I had assumed, the moldly plants were very dead. I contacted Direct Gardening, to tell them about the late shipment and the state in which I recieved my shipment. They promptly replied they had had problems with the weather, that affected their stock, and caused shipping problems. They also told me to just send a written request along with my original shipping label and everything would be straightened out. I live in Mississippi, so I can completely understand that the weather could have screwed up their buissness. In these past seven years I have honestly never returned anything to these people, thats not to say nothing ever died, its just that a couple plants out of fifty, a year, isn't much concern. That being said, I thought they had a "guarantee"
I found out about that guarantee. I wrote a written request, enclosed my original shipping label, and explained what the problem was, on the first of June. Today, June 18th, I recieved a letter back from Direct Gardening. It states:
Dear Customer:

Thank you for your communication regarding the plants you recieved from us. You stated that some of your plants appear "dead" or have not yet started to bud and leaf-out. 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 shippment, or may leaf-out later than established plants.
If you have not already done so, please plant all plants immediately following the instructions in our planting booklet. Water 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 the guarantee. Upon receipt a replacement order will be scheduled for you. Please include a full explanation of the problem by item and quantity and also return all enclosed correspondance.
If you prefer a refund instead of a replacement, return the plant, postage prepaid along with original shipping label within fourteen days in accordance with our guarantee. Please include a full explanation of the problem by item and quantity and also return all enclosed correspondence. The refund guarantee applies only to original nursery stock and not replacement items.
Thank you again for your communication. Give your plants a chance and in all likelihood they will be strong and beautiful in your yard or garden.

This is seriously the letter they sent me instead of my replacement.I have alot of problems with this letter.
#1 My plants did not "appear" dead, they are dead
#2 I waited 5 weeks one week makes no difference to a dead plant
#3 I returned label with corresspondence
#4 I have explained the problem numerous times
These people can't read because if they could, they wouldn't have sent me this stupid letter, they would have honored their agreement and replaced the dead dried up plants in my yard. No amount of corresspondence seems to be able to explain any problem to these folks .
I highly doubt there is any guarantee, and I know for a fact that their customer service has hit rock bottom. After seven years of being a loyal customer I am putting Direct Gardening down for good. BUYER BEWARE they might start out good, but it isn't worth it. You will eventually get ripped off, it might take a minute, but thats how they work.