Comments regarding Direct Gardening

I ordered 43 sedum plants to fill in some spots that were mulched. When they arrived, they were all dead or dying. Many of the plastic bags contained mold. I tried planting them anyway, but none made it, including the free plants. I asked for the plants to be replaced. It took several weeks, but they did arrive. Unfortunately, they were in nearly the same condition as the first batch, minus the mold. I did plant them, and of the 43, 4 survived.

"On Sep 7, 2017 12:55 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 from Direct Gardening in July 10, 2017. All plants arrive on July 22th, I ordered six tree hydrangeas (two different varieties). I was a little skeptical based on the numerous negative reviews on this site and others, but with the cheap prices I figured a would give it a try. So for about $20 with shipping I figured it was a deal. Anyways, so I have ordered multiple bare root plants over the years from various online or catalog retailers and generally have had about a 90% success rate.

So the day they arrived in the mail my wife picked them up from the post office and I hadn't notified her they were coming so they sat in her car for a few hours in the hot sun. Yikes!!! Anyways I took them out of the package, it was pretty "low effort" on the packaging side of things, and the plants were floating around in the plastic bag with root exposed and dry. So based on previous experience I was say this was bad, I mean really bad!!! Or was it. I did the scratch test on all the plants and to my surprise they all showed green tissue, so obviously i was excited. So I planted them like I would any other bare roots and place them in a shady spot and on August 12th and 13th all six tree bloomed. I was quite amazed, they all look very healthy and they all have high quality roots growing.

So here is my thoughts, I had a 100% success rate and I did so much wrong. I generally always get my bare root plants in April and plant as the snow is melting, I always take great care when handle my plants to make sure the roots stay damp and pre-soaked prior to planting and my sucess rate historically has been 90%. This time I ordered them in mid-july, sat them in a hot car, no damp roots, I did do the pre-soak and they all grew.

So overall I was happy with Direct Gardening, I feel they don't offer a exceptional product, but they offer a product that is good enough to grow. Will I order again? Absolutely, but probably not in July. I recommend trying them, expect some crappy packaging, but my stuff grew well and yours probably will to.

Look I get it, you purchase your plants and think they are going to arrive gigantic and beautiful and within a few weeks, you will have this gorgeous overgrown English garden. I know that's the vision I always get. The problem is, that's not reality.

This is my second year using Direct Gardening and I have had a mostly positive experience. Here is my experience with some of the different plants. This is a completely honest review.

POSITIVES

Blue Moon Rose and Climbing Blaze Rose (2) - They are doing amazing. They have doubled in size.

Hops Vine - fantastic. It grew very quickly and has grown over top of the 12 foot obelisk I built for it to climb. I will be purchasing these every year if I cannot get seed from them.

Painted Daisies - Small, but doing well. I have had one beautiful flower so far from them.

Orange Butterfly Plant - bought three. All three came as roots and are healthy and growing well.

Lavender (perennial type) - oh my word, these lavender plants came as what looked like roots and one stem. They have grown wonderfully in my rock garden. All six thriving and have more than quadrupled size.

Irish moss - doing well, but it's very important that I keep watering them. Some days they look a little dried out but seem to bounce back well.

Privet Hedge (purchased 20 or so)... they are doing incredible. I purchased others that were double the size and a LOT more expensive from another company that all died except three. The ones from Direct Gardening are thriving. I don't think I have had a single dead one from them. I have to contact the other company and show them that theirs did terrible. I will be purchasing more from Direct Gardening next spring.

Clematis - no flowers from them but that's expected when they are so small. They are both climbing my lattice well and are very healthy (don't forget, plant the roots in shade while the rest is in full sun).

Trumpet Vine - also doing well - two of them. They are also climbing my lattice. I expect beautiful blooms from them next year.

Blue Festuca Grass - doing well in my rock garden, no issues, seem to be very hardy

Balloon Flower - this was a free gift. I will be buying more. It's one of the best. I put it in my flower garden and forgot about it. When it started growing, I was puzzled and didn't know what it was until I was reminded that it was a free gift. Worth it!

Dragons Blood Red Sedum ground cover - doing well. No problems.

Periwinkle - doing well, spreading, thriving in the shade.

Shasta Daisies or they are another type of daisy - forgot which - slow growers but they are alive. Haven't seen any flowers from them yet.

Astilbe - doing well, thriving in the shade.

Candy Tuft - doing well, no problems.

I believe there are a few more that I cannot think of at this time that are doing great.

Free bulbs - I received a lot of free bulbs because I have placed so many orders. All of them that I planted grew well.

Rock Cress - died in my rock garden. I really think this was me... I should have watered more. They seem a bit finicky and my rock garden is super dry.

Francee Hosta - Doing great.

Seeds: I purchased multiple seeds from DG - lettuce, spinach, among others. They all did or are doing well.

NEGATIVES

Canadian Hemlock - unfortunately, they all died. They were tiny plants, way smaller than I anticipated, and I expected them to be small. I thought I had read they were 8 or so inches and they showed up maybe 5 inches tall. I will be contacting Direct Gardening and see if there is anything they can do.

Delphinium - not doing well. Three that I purchased are still alive, but not growing well - HOWEVER, I think delphinium is a very slow grower. This may be on me. They are still alive, and I do see some new growth so I don't blame that on DG.

Strawberries - nothing. I don't know why but I can't get any strawberries to grow. I won't even be contacting DG about these because I tried some purchased from Home Depot as well, and I cannot get them to grow. They were so cheap from DG, I'm not even worrying about that. I will be trying again next year.

I wish the orders came quicker; I'm impatient. :)

IMPORTANT!

I would have had a more negative experience to write about but I realized *I* was the problem. Last year was my first year using Direct Gardening and hardly anything survived. The thing is, I ordered in July. DO NOT START MID SUMMER!!! This year, I started ordering around March and planted right away, and everything established itself very well. Since you are receiving bare roots or starter plants, you MUST start early with your gardening. Don't wait until it gets super hot and drought-like and expect your plants to become well established unless you are willing to be watering every day, twice a day sometimes, and really watching them carefully. It is work.

If you would like to see any of my plants from DG, I share at http://www.jodieotte.com and on my instagram http://www.instagram.com/jodieotte/

I will be using Direct Gardening again next year. I plan on ordering early - blueberry bushes, strawberries, and maybe a few other items. I will definitely be ordering more perennials. By the time I'm done with my gardening, I hope to have a relatively easy setup with hardly any upkeep. Perennials!!!

This place is a sham and customer service is a nightmare. I bought poplars from them and they arrived bone dry. I've bought poplar saplings before via the Internet so I know how healthy saplings should arrive. These were complete dead. I contacted them. They asked that I please plant them and give them six weeks. I did as I was asked. When they remained dead, I contacted them again and they said I should have returned them within 14days.
Then I looked them up and now realize this is their scheme.
This place is a joke.
DONT BUY FROM THEM!!!

"On Jul 6, 2017 2:47 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."

As a first and last time customer what a HORRIBLE experience.

I called twice asking them to delay shipping as we would be out of town and was told twice not a problem. Now a week before I leave I get a shipping notification and nobody can tell me if it will arrive within the week or not. So now I have all these plants I ordered potentially sitting in the post office dying. Super awesome...=(

God help you if you ask to speak with a supervisor.

Customer service is HORRIBLE, CONDESCENDING, UNPROFESSIONAL and UNHELPFUL.

I guess this is my 100.00 lesson. Never again.

"On Jun 16, 2017 2:37 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear of this customer’s experience as we do take pride in our customer care. Once an order has entered into processing it becomes very difficult to catch and stop shipping. The customer should have also received a tracking number with the shipping notification.

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
"

After reading the reviews I was in a quandary. There were a number of positives but also a number of negatives. Realizing that this company concentrates heavily on bare root/dormant plants and also realizing that quite a few people don't know how to deal with plants of this nature, I decided to give them a try with a relatively small order; 4 dozen rose of sharon plants and some incidentals. I received the plants in two weeks just as advertised. And just as advertised, the plants were dormant. I did a scratch test to make sure the plants were still viable and all I checked were fine. I planted them and EVERY ONE has broken dormancy and greened out. I had expected a 10% or even 20% failure rate, so I was pleased to see that I had no failures at all. I placed a second, somewhat larger, order and received it again, within the advertised time. Same day I received that order, after examining it, I placed a third order. That one has arrived and I am once again pleased with my decision to give them a try.

"On Jun 16, 2017 7:53 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

Thank you for your kind posting on Garden Watchdog. Your experience is more typical of our normal customers as we do ship hundreds of thousands of packages to satisfied customers each year. I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to post your comments."

Posted on June 5, 2017, updated June 11, 2017
Posted on May 25, 2017, updated June 5, 2017
I had a bad experience with Direct Gardening a few years ago. I don't know what made me decide to give them another try. A terrible mistake, and a terrible waste of money. I had a nightmare experience trying to get them to honor their "guarantee" before.

The experience a few years ago was terrible. However, this year's order makes that experience seem like a pleasure.

24 days from order to delivery, no communication, no shipping notice, no tracking information.

Order is trickling in, packed in plastic bags, mostly unprotected. A few plants were in plastic clamshells, but most were bare-root and smashed together. Awful. Just awful.

The "plants" are "puny" and "sorry" as my Granny would have said. Lots of unviable rotted roots. Dead twigs.

They sent substitutions that made no sense to me.

The "freebies" they send are pure garbage, desiccated remains of bulbs.

By far, the most shameful batch of plants I have ever received. The bare roots that look viable are itsy-bitsy...shockingly small in comparison to anything I ever receive from any other sellers, even other deep-discount sellers.

I'm used to getting "plugs" and "liners" and bare-root plants. In general, that is the only way I can afford the plants I want. I am patient, and can wait for them to grow, as long as they are alive and healthy.

Do not waste your money. You will be sorry. I know I am!

"On May 31, 2017 8:34 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear of the problems with this customers order. Many of our items are shipped as starter or bare root and dormant as this allows them to be transplanted with much higher degrees of success. It does not mean they are dead, but since they are dormant, and not leafed out, people unfamiliar with bareroot nursery stock may they mistake them for dead. We suggest soaking in water overnight or for a few hours before planting. Then keep well watered after planting and within 6 weeks of warm weather, the plants should break dormancy and show signs of leaf.

We do have both a refund and a replacement guarantee and stand behind them.

A customer care representative has contacted this customer to see if we may be of assistance
"

BAD NEWS!! Their CUSTOMER SERVICE is very poor and they substitute plants without emailing you first!! Like I said...They could have at least sent me an email before they shipped substitutions. I could have taken a credit and ordered something else. But I felt like "You got his money and that is that!!" BTW.....I have hundreds of Gardening friends on Facebook and other Social Medias. ALSO...the "FREE THINGS" I received were just bags of rotted mess. ALSO...to get any kind of refund or credit, they want you to send the SHIPPING LABELS off of the shipping box How many keep the boxes very long?? THEY ARE A SCAM!!! THANKS!!

I read the host of negative reviews on this company before I chose to buy from them. My decision to shop Direct Gardening was based on a comment they added to a positive review, thanking the customer for the review, and adding that most of their customers have a good experience, but don't write a review. I felt like that could be valid. So I decided to purchase from them, and give them another positive review if everything went fine. My plants arrived, pretty much in the shape I expected them to be in, decent root ball, packaged in plastic shells. The plants took a bit to arrive, but I was expecting that too, and planned to be patient. I got some small free bulbs with the order which was nice. I have a problem getting bulbs to grow so if they don't, I won't know if the problem was me or the bulbs. All in all, I got what I expected to get. I had to message them a question at one point after I placed my order. They got back to me within a day. I would shop there again.

"On Jun 6, 2017 2:46 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

Thank you for posting your positive review. We appreciate when our customers take the time to post the good experiences. Happy Gardening!"

WARNING: If you close the account you paid with,
EVEN AFTER RETURNING ALL MERCHANDISE,
you will not get a refund.

THIS COMPANY IS HEARTLESS! Flowers are a symbol of love and life, and this company has taken the death of my mother in law as an opportunity to benefit their bottom line.

My mother in law placed a $600+ dollar order the week before her death. When the first box arrived a few days after she passed away I returned the box and contacted the company to let them know it was being returned and why. I asked them to please cancel any remaining shipments and was informed that 5 other boxes had just shipped. I told the representative that those boxes would be returned as well once they arrived.

This company uses MANY names. Dutch Gardens (the name I ordered from) refunded the contents of the first box, but when I called to find out why the other 5 boxes hadn't been refunded, the representative confirmed that all the merchandise had been returned, but told me that the company would only refund to the debit card that paid and since the debit card was no longer valid (checking account had been closed due to death) they had no way to refund the orders. I requested they issue a check to the estate, or simply give store credit for the remaining amount. I was told that the request would be forwarded on the the appropriate person.

It has now been 9 months, I have called several times, and each time I am told the request for refund has been made, but the company stands by their policy of not refunding returned orders if they are unable to refund to the card that placed the order.

Basically, this company does not dispute the fact that they received this entire order back. They simply refuse to issue a refund in any form other than to credit a debit card that is not valid, and won't accept a charge or credit.

I wish I had kept the plants and spread them around to her many gardener friends and planted some of them with my girls in our own garden to remember their grandma by. I was just so overwhelmed by the unexpected death that anything other than returning the boxes seemed more than I could manage.

The death of a loved one is a very emotional and exhausting time, and this company has made what should have been very easy, a difficult and enduring challenge.

Do not order trees from this company. Yes, they're cheap, but they don't grow. Every one of the trees I ordered from them failed to grow (and they shipped them early enough that by the time it was obvious the trees were dead, the 20 day warranty had expired)

"On May 17, 2017 9:34 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 an order on 3/7/17, and on 3/27/17, I contacted customer service via email regarding my order, to which they replied: "We have received your order, which has been scheduled for spring shipping. We are currently shipping to your area and 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. Houseplants and tender perennials will generally begin shipping in April to decrease the risk of frost damage in shipping."
That was understandable. I assumed that at least on the one month mark(4/7/17) of my order I would receive an email saying my order would be shipping soon. I never heard anything, so I wrote customer service on 4/10/17 to inquire about the status my order. The representative looked up my order and said that she had put in a request for my order to be shipped now. Well, 8 days passed. I wrote customer service AGAIN on 4-19-17 and said I had received no emails that my order was being shipped, so I wanted to cancel my order. On 4-20-17 customer service responds and says :"Your order has been sent and should arrive shortly. Please allow 5-10 business days to receive your package(s)." I finally get my package today, 4-24-17. There was no tracking beforehand or anything. When I opened the package most of the items were bulbs and certainly could have been shipped when I originally placed the order. I wouldn't have minded having my live plants shipped later, and the bulbs ahead of time. The live plants were also packaged in a plastic container that was crushed, and the outside mailing package was a plastic shipping bag,( not very durable) with absolutely no cushioning to protect plants. The bulbs I ordered could have been crushed easily during transit. From start to finish, I was NOT AT ALL impressed with this company. It was honestly a headache, and a pain, to have to constantly keep on top of these people about my order. I usually order from Santa Rosa Gardens and should have stuck with that company for all of my plant orders. The level of care as far as package for the plants, and communication, is far SUPERIOR compared to this company. I would NEVER recommend this company to anyone!!!

"On May 17, 2017 9:40 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear of this customer’s experience as we do take pride in our customer care. As many know the weather this year has been very unpredictable. While it may be warm in your location we have to take into consideration the transit. We want to make sure the plants reach our customers in the best condition possible.

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

My first order with Direct Gardening and the plants arrived in great shape. The were packaged very well and I am pleased with them.
Mike

"On Apr 24, 2017 12:20 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

I wanted to thank you for your kind posting on Garden Watchdog. Your experience is more typical of our normal customers as we do ship hundreds of thousands of packages to satisfied customers each year. I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to post your comments."

on 3/20/2017 i placed an order with Direct Gardening. Mistake. 23 days later and no one knows anything about my order. EXCEPT my card has been charged~ I have called 309-662-7943. I called last week. Took 1 hour of busy signal BEFORE i got thru. 1 hour. Called few minutes ago. Same Drill. 1 hour of busy signal before i got thru. This employee said, order STILL being processed. W~H~A~T **** 23 days. Person told me i could wait another 2 weeks cause can take that long to pack & ship. Since has not shipped i am calling my credit card and cancelling this. I did find the facebook page about "do not buy from..." wish i had found before i ordered on 3/20/2017. Buyer Beware. any company in 2017 that will NOT answer email. Makes customer's wait hours on the phone. Can NOT give any concrete info about order But Bills you - in my book is a scam...

"On Apr 24, 2017 12:18 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 May 26, 2012, updated November 6, 2016
I made two orders from this company this spring. the first order was:
2 mock orange (getting bushy already)
6 rose of sharon (doing great)
2 pink weigela (one bloomed already, I think the other one died. The one that bloomed was gorgeous.)
1 dwarf fig (doing great)
3 yucca (doing great)
20 native daylilies (doing great)
6 hibiscus (doing great)
4 mosquito shoo geraniums (doing great)
4 blue hydrangea (doing great)
60 greecian wildflower (still dormant)
10 blue geraniums (doing great)
40 poppy anemones (doing great)
3 lavender astilbes (doing great)
2 catmint plants (one died but I took a cutting from the one good plant and the cutting is starting to grow)
6 rhododendrons (doing great)
250 peat pots (used these to start my flower-seeds and veggies)
The total was 146.98, but I was very pleased with the majority of the plants and they quickly came out of dormancy so I made a second order about a month or two later.

My second order:
6 purple leaf plum hedge (I loveee the leaves on this bush, they're more of a reddish purple than a deep purple.)
5 old fashioned lilacs (doing great)
2 mock orange (doing great)
2 hydrangea trees (doing great)
6 rose of sharon (doing great)
4 pink weigela (doing great, but one still looks dormant)
2 triple crown blackberries (still dormant)
3 yucca (doing great)
10 native daylilies (they looked cooked but they recovered in like two days.)
1 blue light clematis (if this does well, I will buy tons more of these.)
6 rhododendrons (looks like the mailman was a bit rough with these a lot of their leaves were crushed)
3 pink astilbe (doing great, these were a lot bigger than the first ones I received and are already 3xs their size)
2 blue geraniums (doing great)
40 poppy anemone (still dormant)
16 lord lt. anemones (still dormant)
2 white dayliles (these looked like someone steamed them but they have fully recovered and are doing nicely.)
4 Brazilian butterfly plants (still dormant)
2 lavender daylilies (these were also steamed looking and slimy when they came but they are doing nicely now also.)
The total for this order was 111.25. I think a lot of the stuff was a bit cooked in the shipping because it had been very hot, so not in the good condition of the 1st order.

I will hold on to my shipping labels in case anything goes wrong with them. I ordered from 4 seasons nursery last year, they have the same 1 year guarantee and honored it so I am hoping this company will be just as good about their guarantee. I started all of my shrubs and hedge plants in potting mix and old two liter bottles I turned into planters. I find they come out of dormancy quicker like this than when I plant them directly in the ground. I always try to baby bare-root plants for a couple months. I planted the clematis and geraniums around my mailbox as my own interpretation of their mailbox garden kit. The geraniums seem to be kind of tall and not as bushy as regular geraniums, I will keep cutting them back to see if they bush out more.

On August 31, 2016 I placed an order on line for $223.02 for 20 thornless bareroot roses (order #XRQBOXDIO ). Within a short time of just over a week, the red plastic bag of bare root roses arrived late in the afternoon. They were in various stages of condition, but mostly acceptable. Four of the 20 were black and clearly dead and covered with a white fungus, while another 4 had very little sign of the color of life, Nevertheless, I trimmed and soaked all 20 and planted them the following day.

Within a week half of them had begun to leaf out, and now 16 of the 20 have begun to leaf out with some doing better than others. Of the 4 roses called Nearly Black Rose that were in the worst condition, 3 are beginning to leaf out much to my surprise. Of the 4 Paul Neyron roses that had more life than the Nearly Black, one one has barely begun to leaf out.

All of the rest of the roses: 4 Golden Honey, 4 Climbing Zephirine, 2 Mr Lincoln, and 2 Double Delight are doing superbly well. Absolutely no complaints thus far and expect them to make it through the winter.

Having said that, I contacted the seller to advise them that the 4 Nearly Black roses were quite literally black stems covered in fungus and also that the Paul Neyron, while having some color in the stem, were likely going to have a difficult time establishing and surviving.

I was surprised and disappointed at the way that my email was handled by customer service. I was surprised to be asked for a copy of my payment even though my reply email had been sent to the confirmation email of the order that included the itemized list as well as payment confirmation by credit card.

I was also surprised at the insistance of sending the packaging label. I did not keep it because I am not accustomed to having to produce it for on line orders when the seller has the order number and tracking number for shipment.

Having only had the roses for less than a month in the ground, I certainly cannot reasonably attest to their hardiness and vigor until a year has passed. However, I can attest to the lowest price for roses, the arrival of bare roots in a timely fashion even though some were in less desirable state than others. I can also attest for the need of a more customer friendly method of dealing with concerns from mail order customers. Unlike customers who purchase from the store and would logically need to prove their purchase, the seller already has the record of sale, payment, and shipping from on line purchases.

For me, this is a mere $24 dollar matter out of a an of more than $200. Every business needs to remember that one line orders often produce larger sales in the future from the original purchaser as well as from word of mouth. In the end, customer service will drive away more future customers than any sale price.

Last week I received a package of plants I didn't even remember ordering. Upon examining the contents of the box I find nothing but dead and dying plant matter. The abominal condition of the plants was matched only by the sloppy way they were packed. There were 9 plants and there is only a hint of green in one that is fighting tenacisally to keep from dying. It doesn't look like it will make it. When I called customer service I spoke with a very rude lady who told me that they do not give refunds or replacents. unless the plants are returned. I already had the plants soaking to try to bring them back. She told me that the order was made in July and delivery 3 months later is not unusual. She said the plants were dormant, just sleeping until spring when they would be OK. Now I owned a large nursery for over 25 years and I know dormant from dead. These plants were not sleeping, they were gone, passed on, deceased, extinct, bought the farm, gone to meet their maker,....they were dead. I wish I had looked them up on here as they have so many complaints, it is unbelievable how a company can stay in business with this kind of reputation. I definitely don't want replacements and I am not sure the refund would contain phony money. Beware of this company, their plants are terrible. Fortunately there were only 9 plants and I only wasted $60 this ime.

"On Sep 28, 2016 2:27 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear of this customer’s experience as we do take pride in our customer care. Many of our items are shipped bare root and dormant as this allows them to be transplanted with much higher degrees of success. It does not mean they are dead, but since they are dormant, and not leafed out, people unfamiliar with bareroot nursery stock may they mistake them for dead. We suggest soaking in water overnight or for a few hours before planting. Then keep well watered after planting and within 6 weeks of warm weather, the plants should break dormancy and show signs of leaf.

We do have both a refund and a replacement guarantee and stand behind them.

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 planted dormant starts as soon as they arrived this last spring and about 40% of them survived under no less than perfect conditions (Timing, rinsing, planting with good soil, correct exposure, watering, etc.). When I called the company, they told me that I needed to send them my packing slip... I told them that I didn't have it, but did they not have a record of what they sold me? I offered to take photos of them, nope! They said I could send them my credit card statement LOL I don't think so. I just wrote it off as a lesson well learned and then found Dave's Garden and the watchdog, LOVE IT!

"On Sep 28, 2016 2:29 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear of this customers experience. We do have a refund and replacement guarantee available. We have contacted this customer via D-mail to see how we may be of assistance.

"

I have been trying to get Direct Gardening to replace an order of mushrooms for several months now. The mushrooms never grew so I emailed them to find out where to send them back and what to include. I mailed them back "certified mail, signature required" with the original shipping label just like their replacement guarantee said to. They wrote me a letter saying they got the box of mushrooms, but no label (even though it's attached to the side of the box of mushrooms) and couldn't replace my order. I called customer service & was told that I would have to write another letter, which I did, but no one will respond at this point. I wish I'd read the reviews before I ordered from them. I actually had 3 items that didn't grow from my order, but only returned the mushrooms because I didn't have the shipping label for the other 2 and they told me not to bother when I emailed to inquire about replacements. I understood, but am extremely upset that they won't honor their own guarantee now that they have everything they asked for!

"On Aug 22, 2016 2:21 PM, 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.

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 placed an order on June 4th of this year and have as yet to see anything shipped from them. I do not have any plants (dead or alive) nor correspondence from the company and there is no way to check an order's status on their website. When I log in my Direct Gardening account only lists what I have wasted money on which is not so useful in this case. This is frustrating because there has been enough time to actually grow the plants I had ordered from eyes or tissue culture. I will never order from them again and should have heeded the numerous warnings here. Lesson learned!

"On Aug 10, 2016 11:33 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 August 3, 2016, updated August 3, 2016
Posted on August 1, 2016, updated August 3, 2016
I ordered plants in the Spring and finally received them. They looked dead, but I hoped they were dormant. I planted them and after several weeks determined they were dead. I requested replacement plants. These also arrived dead. I returned them and requested a refund because apparently they only have dead plants to offer.

Today, I spoke to a rude customer service representative and also received this email response: "We apologize, but you do not qualify for a refund at this time. The merchandise from the original, paid order would have needed to have been returned and within 14 days of receiving it. Since you do not qualify for a refund on a replacement order, you have been issued a credit voucher for the amount of the replacement which should arrive soon."

I have reported them to the Better Business Bureau. I WILL NOT use the credit voucher. Lesson learned: DO NOT ORDER FROM DIRECT GARDENING.

"On Aug 4, 2016 11:09 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

Many of our items are shipped bare root and dormant as this allows them to be transplanted with much higher degrees of success. It does not mean they are dead, but since they are dormant, and not leafed out, people unfamiliar with bareroot nursery stock may they mistake them for dead. We suggest soaking in water overnight or for a few hours before planting. Then keep well watered after planting and within 6 weeks of warm weather, the plants should break dormancy and show signs of life

The "false and bizarre" comment in the email was regarding a previous post regarding a plumbing company that had nothing to do with our company.

We do have both a refund and a replacement guarantee and stand behind them.

A customer care representative has contacted this customer to see if we may be of assistance
"

Their customer service can be scandalously rude and they have a tendency to send dead plants and then treat you like dirt over the phone.

It will be the day after eternity before I order from them again.

Never again!

"On Jul 19, 2016 11:55 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear of this customer’s experience as we do take pride in our customer care. 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.

"

Direct Gardening.com is possibly the WORST business we have ever seen! Me and my husband had been trying for 3 years to get several Northern Red Oak seedlings for our yard but kept having problems each year with our local nurseries not having them, Lowe's website saying that they have them in our local store but then after driving to Lowe's they told us they don't have them and not sure why the website says they do have them, and also tried Arbor Day Foundation which had very reasonable prices but they send you bare-root seedlings that are barely 12" tall and we weren't able to get any of them last past 1 year even after consulting our local nurseries and them confirming that we were doing everything they would do to take proper care of them.

Well after having no choice but to get these online, Direct Garden was one of the 1st sites that came up in our search results. So we read all of the descriptions and it clearly stated that their Red Oak seedlings are 3-4 feet tall and nowhere did it say or imply that they were bare root. When they arrived we immediately opened them and YES we were IMMEDIATELY DISGUSTED to see the following:

1) They stripped off ALL of the limbs before shipping them to us.

2) The tops of the seedlings were snapped off to make them fit into their shipping bag.

3) 1 of the seedlings was broke in 2 half way up the trunk and was not caused from the shipping process through usps.

4) We got out our tape measure and was lucky if ANY of the seedling was 2 feet tall but yet their web site stated they would be 3-4 feet tall.

5) They were COMPLETELY bare-root seedlings and didn't have ANY type of moist gel or whatever else to keep them moist.

6) Both trunk and roots were SO DRIED OUT that they had no flexibility and would snap off with little effort.

7) They hire other businesses to answer their calls thus you're not getting someone on the phone who has actual experience with gardening or the direct gardening website... the same person who answers your calls for direct gardening is the same person answering calls for a plumbing business that hired them as well.

8) Direct Gardening adopts a we-don't-give-a-crap-about-you return policy whereby if you receive a product not as described, they make you pay out of your pocket to ship back their gross negligence!

SUMMARY: It wasn't until after we got these seedlings and seen how CARELESSLY they treat their customers that we then did a search for reviews on this company and we were TOATALLY SHOCKED at the NUMEROUS NEGATIVE reviews and not just on one web site but ALL OVER THE INTERNET! So many negative reviews that ANYONE with common sense would demand to know how they are allowed to keep renewing their business license!

"On Jul 13, 2016 10:21 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear this from a customer. Many of our items are shipped bare root and dormant as this allows them to be transplanted with much higher degrees of success. It does not mean they are dead, but since they are dormant, and not leafed out, people unfamiliar with bareroot nursery stock may they mistake them for dead. We suggest soaking in water overnight or for a few hours before planting. Then keep well watered after planting and within 6 weeks of warm weather, the plants should break dormancy and show signs of leaf.

We do understand that sometimes the mail system can cause damage to the plants. Which is why we do have both a refund and a replacement guarantee and stand behind them.

We do not hire another business to answer our calls and all of our customer service representatives are familiar with Direct Gardening.

A customer care representative has contacted this customer to see if we may be of assistance.

"

Hello, I purchased my home 3 years ago and started with a blank canvas.Today my neighbors are awestruck by the 3 season display of color and foliage thanks to direct gardening.They're nursery stock is beyond compare and have had tremendous success with my purchases.I buy confidently every spring from Direct Gardening because I know they're plants and flowers are true performers.Thankyou Direct Gardening..sincerely

Like many other members, we got fooled by the low prices and placed an order with this company in May 2014. The order was for six roses and two double clematis plants. After six weeks or so, we received the plants by USPS mail. It is difficult to describe the shocking condition of the plants. Having ordered many plants from Jackson and Perkins and other rose vendors, we are used to ordering bare root roses. The bare root roses from direct gardening had barely any roots which is an entirely new interpretation of the name. Whatever there was had fungus on it and the stems had dried out. In short, the plants looked unhealthy. Any case, we planted the roses and the clematis and waited and waited. No signs of life. As per their stated money back guarantee, wrote to them in May 2015 and requested replacement. They did honor the guarantee and sent us the roses and clematis plants in June 2016. On receipt, the roses looked somewhat better than the first time. Again tiny roots in the name of clematis plants. We planted the roses and clematis as per the instructions. This time two of the rose plants did give out some leaves they did not look healthy. No life on the other four roses and no response whatsoever from the clematis. We again waited. Fast forwarding to 2016, the two roses have died over the winter and nothing from the clematis. Trusting their money back guarantee, we wrote to them again in May 2016. No reply or no response of any kind and no plants. In summary, we have wasted much time and effort over the last two years and quite a bit of money with this company with nothing but frustration to show for. Please read these reviews before ordering any roses or clematis from this company. You have been warned.

Posted on May 24, 2016, updated May 24, 2016
I signed up here to post my defense of Direct Gardening after reading all the negative reviews that this company has gotten. I am actually surprised by this to be honest.

First off, I am in no way affiliated with Direct Gardening. I am just a satisfied customer since 2009. I have ordered from them several times already and they have always honored their side of the deal. Direct Gardening is a REPUTABLE company. I repeat Direct Gardening is a REPUTABLE company. I remember the first time I ordered my plants from them -- can't remember if it was online or via their mail catalog -- and I admit I was a bit leery. But my positive experience with the company, especially involving replacement plants, allayed any worries. The "dead sticks" some reviewers have received are not dead at all. They are just dormant or sleeping. So just plant them in the ground and water them per the accompanying instruction booklet. If they don't survive get replacements as discussed below.

Yes, with all my orders some of the plants did not make it and were eventually replaced by the company. The longest time it took to send me a replacement was over a year and a half, if memory serves, after placing my request, and it only happened one time involving a yellow tree peony (the peony replacement is blooming beautifully as of this writing with lemon yellow flowers). What I do notice is that the replacements they send are usually stronger, more vigorous, healthier than the original plants that didn't survive. I guess it's the company's way of minimizing a second disappointment for the customer. Right now, with my recent order, a red painted daisy did not live. The Bracken's Brown Beauty southern magnolia (it's cold hardy in zone 6) is a little iffy. Some of the tree samplers have not leafed out yet.

PLEASE do keep the packaging label when your plants are delivered; you will need it in time to obtain free replacement(s) under their guarantee policy, should the original plants not survive within a year. Just cut the affixed label from the (green) packaging bag and store it in a safe place where you will remember.

I will continue to be a loyal customer. Their plants are very reasonably priced. Bracken's Brown Beauty for $12.99 and shipped in a 2-inch pot with soil -- not everything is shipped bareroot btw but most are -- and TREE peonies (not herbaceous ones but herbaceous are nice too) starting at $24.99! Where do you find prices like these for such prized specimens? And for the price, their service is pretty decent and reliable.

My advice to everyone is just be patient with the company. It has ALWAYS come through, certainly in my case.

First of all the pictures of these plants are misleading. In comparison to Michigan Bulb and Spring Hill nursery these plants and in particular the bulbs are much smaller. The company does not confirm your purchase with the requirements for replacing plants or getting a refund. You only have that information sent to you after you ask what happens when your credit card has been charged like lightning while they piddle around to get it sent. That information should have been made clear by a confirmation. They say the processing time for the plants is two weeks depending on weather and availability. Well the weather and availability was fine for the bulk of the order at Michigan Bulb and Spring Hill nursery. But for Direct Gardening and none of the plants were available for and entire month before I got them. One or two plants delayed is one thing but every plant took a month to get. Then they get here the plants are nearly dead. All of them! So while I baby these plants along of course they die. The prices are way too high for what you get. Then they want the original shipping label (I am presuming off the box which you must save for a year to see if the plants live which only took two days in my case). The shipping was paid by the customer to get the dead plants here then they want you to pay the shipping to send these dead plants and box back to them. They want to replace the flowers but why would I want a replacement that takes a month and then go through the same tender loving care to nurse these dead things until they die too. Even if they sent healthy plants it would take the summer to get them to take root. Then for a refund they only give you 14 days, again no problem charging the credit card and dinking around for a month to get them here and how do you know what these dinky bulbs will look like in 14 days. Then they don't respond until I reject the charge on my credit card. I do not think this is an honorable company and I will continue to complain and file reports with the attorney general's office to get them to change these ridiculous policies.

"On May 18, 2016 12:42 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear this customer is having such difficulty. Our replacement guarantee is clearly posted on our site as well as on the order confirmation emailed to the customer. 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 2 weeping tree roses and when they didn't come after two weeks I started worrying and then read all the bad reviews. I was worried that I wouldn't receive them before Mothers Day because they were a present from my husband. The reviews said I would receive dead sticks and it would be a month or more before I got them. But...... I was thrilled to see the package on the porch the day before Mother's Day. I soaked them overnight and I planted them in big pots the next morning. That afternoon I started seeing leaf buds emerging. I was so happy. But apparently my dog loved them too because the day after I planted them my Husky tore one out of the pot and chewed it up. I was so mad. My husband told me to order a replacement So...... Now I'm patiently waiting for it. Good things come to those who wait. I will definitely do business with Direct Gardening in the future

I received both my orders this past Friday and was very pleased with both the quality of the plants and the way they were packaged for shipping. I have ordered from several online garden companies in the past 10 years and Direct Gardening had the most protective packaging for potted plants. About a month ago I sent an inquiry to customer service and received a prompt, friendly response. I will definitely use Direct Gardening in the future.

My response to their email. "Unfortunately, your warranty is no longer valid, therefore there is nothing we can do at this point. We are sorry for the inconvenience."

Thank you, Customer Care

That is BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE I did as was told by waiting and planting only to have them ALL DIE. My MONEY DOWN THE DRAIN !!!! The 2 4.99 were used on new orders for things that arrived CRUSHED. The other plants just DIED after I planted as told. There is something you can do, supply LIVE plants in GOOD condition. The original plants did not appear alive when I received them, but I did as told and waited then the replacements arrived in poor/dead condition and again as i was told planted, now you tell me "We are sorry for the inconvenience. " Not inconvenience it was/is a waste of MY MONEY, so yes you could at least send me LIVE plants in GOOD condition, but you just DO NOT want to. ALMOST $200.00 GONE.

Not a Happy customer.

I like, like, like this company.

I'll be frank - I couldn't afford to even dream of landscaping my yard at some of those premium nurseries prices so Direct Gardening is super nice.

The staff are very nice. Example I bought 66 English Lavender and 72 Creeping Phlox last July and I live in Zone 6b in Somerset, KY. Not a smart ideal because not only was Direct Gardening mostly depleted of their good lavender and creeping phlox stock but in Somerset, KY to plant those in the heat of the summer wasn't going to help the scraggly stock I got and to my surprise on a couple of the creeping phlox even stuck through it, none of the lavender did and I only even noticed one that looked like it might do so. So this January I sent them my shipping label and told them every one of the lavender and phlox did not make it. They wrote back for clarification and I told them it was true except for a few of the creeping phlox but that I would forget the creeping phlox as I was slow getting it planted but the lavender I planted first and hand pre-planted in good amended soil in pots while planting and still not a one survived. And so at the end of this February they sent me replacements for all that and I got them all in the ground within the week and most are greening up and looking nice so I'm looking forward to the growth. It is true that a few still look pretty bad as if they won't grow and I could kind of tell which ones wouldn't grow when I was planting them based on them looking like the lavender they sent me last year. The creeping phlox they sent me this year was green as opposed to the brown that they sent last July.

So unless it's a potted plant I would only recommend planting in spring.

I intend to in the next month order 8 dwarf fruit trees, some native nuts, English walnuts and almonds, and many other fruits & nuts this spring from them.

LOL, then I can just work on buying flowers on whims to landscape my yard. I would like to fill my entire lawn with crocuses but I realize that will be a project of many years and much work on my budget.

Posted on June 18, 2015, updated March 16, 2016
DON'T BUY FROM THIS COMPANY!

On April 24, 2015 I e-mailed them that they only sent 23 out of the 24 plants ordered and that I was supposed to have received 15-20" plants and about half were barely 6 inches.

A week later I (bad mistake!) placed another order for 36 more plants. After the first plants started to die and they weren't being responsive with the replacements, I tried to cancel the second order. They dragged their feet on the cancellation until they eventually shipped (never processed my request to cancel the order)

By now, most of the plants are dead!

Haven't received any replacements yet despite multiple e-mails and having complied with ALL their strict "policy" requirements.

After many attempts to call them and getting busy signal, today I finally was able to talk to someone. All they can tell me is that the order is in "processing", but they can't tell what it means. They can't tell me when (or if) they'll ship replacements.

Shady business. Waste of money!

After reading negative and positive reviews about Direct Gardening online, I was talking with my mom about what they offered online and she ended up ordering two crimson maples from them last year. She said they arrived healthy and her experience with Customer Service was exceptional. With that said, I talked with my husband and placed a small order to see what we would be surprised with in the mail bag...the big plastic bag was filled with the plastic bags of plants we ordered...they arrived on a rainy day and so I proceeded to plant them in the spots recommended. I am not a patient person and planting helps me with that. I remembered that my mom sent us a bare root rose as a housewarming gift 13 years ago. It arrived looking like a dead stick. We planted it and 13 years later and two moves, it's still growing healthy and strong! Direct Gardening sells an amazing variety of plants I can not find locally and seriously not at these prices. I am watering and watching as my dormant "sticks" are now budding leaves...I encourage my children to help me nurture them to life so they can see how baby plants grow up to be the mature trees and rose bushes that bring us joy daily all around us. I will continue to purchase my plants through Direct Gardening...and I thank them for what they do! Happy Spring planting gardeners!

Posted on June 19, 2014, updated February 23, 2016
Posted on April 9, 2012, updated June 19, 2014
Posted on June 15, 2011, updated April 9, 2012
Posted on May 31, 2011, updated June 15, 2011
Well today May 31 2011 i finally received my little 35$ order from direct gardening that i did on May 3 2011...
i was afraid with all the bad comments but decided to try a small one anyway to see.
i was surprise that the plants arrived in a plastic bag but after opening it and looking inside everything seems fine.. a lot of them had already buds and leaves and the ones that didn't don't look too bad... so I've put them in water and I'll plant them tomorrow morning and see how they do. they are small but its OK, the prices are so good i didn't expect big ready to flower trees!!
my only deception was the mixed tree bargain, they are red maples, so I'm gonna go and plant them in the wood...I thought i would get 6 different trees with at least a nice one in... but for 5$ i can't really be surprised...

so i just did another order twice bigger with roses this time, i guess ill receive them by the end of June.
I'm keeping the bag with the receipt and the mail stamp if anything is wrong at the end of the summer ill just do what they recommend to get a replacement.
Its was an experiment and i can say that if you are a patient person and don't mind waiting for your plants to grow direct gardening is a good place to save money... my plants were ship from House of Wesley and I did my new order directly from them... ill let you all know if it is faster this time.

have fun in your gardens!!

Posted on February 21, 2016, updated February 21, 2016
Posted on February 21, 2016, updated February 21, 2016
Posted on August 17, 2015, updated February 21, 2016
Posted on June 11, 2015, updated August 17, 2015
Posted on June 11, 2015, updated June 11, 2015
Posted on May 28, 2015, updated June 11, 2015
Posted on April 10, 2015, updated May 28, 2015
I recently ordered about $175 of various plants and bushes, and fruits. Unfortunately, the majority of the shipment hasn't been delivered, but what has been delivered, various rose bushes, raspberry and blackberry canes, paw paw, red bud, and Rose of Sharon bushes were spindly, dried out little branches, more like sticks. A couple of the roses had okay roots, but very gangly and unattractive.But, compared with how I received my order from Michigan Bulbs, I am amazed that there was any green at all on the roots. I have planted all the items, after soaking them for several hours. So far, none have broken dormancy, so, I shall see. Furthermore, I am still expecting the greater part of my order. I don't know why it is taking so long.

On the plus side, this nursery seems to be the only one from which I can buy MINT! none of the nurseries have it, and even the big box stores seem out of the herb!!!

"On Sep 4, 2015 1:59 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear of the problems with this customer. Many of our items are shipped bare root and dormant as this allows them to be transplanted with much higher degrees of success. It does not mean they are dead, but since they are dormant, and not leafed out, people unfamiliar with bareroot nursery stock may they mistake them for dead. We suggest soaking in water overnight or for a few hours before planting. Then keep well watered after planting and within 6-8 weeks of warm weather, the plants should break dormancy and show signs of leaf.

We do have both a refund and a replacement guarantee and stand behind them.

A customer care representative has contacted this customer to see if we may be of assistance
"

I live in East Texas (border of zone 8 and 9). I placed an order on 15 Jan 2016 that included trees and bulbs. My credit card was charged on 20 Jan for the total amount ($156.43) . I email the company after 3 weeks to check on the status and received an email that shipping was staggered by the where one lived (warmer areas first). I called again today and was told that shipping would be starting. I spoke to the call center and was told there was no way to check on my specific order. Shipping dept does not have a phone. Since they could not give me a clue when they would ship, I cancelled my order. It seems strange to me that they immediately process a credit card but wait until Illinois warms up to ship. They have my money, but can not provide even a simple shipping date. I am very disappointed and will never deal with them again.

I have been ordering for a couple years now always have good things to say they are nice people willing to help great prices and they stand behind their return policy being a disabled Vet this is very important to me

I ordered some lavender and all of it died from "direct gardening". I called them and they sent me a voucher so I ordered more items and had to send a check for the remaining on the order, in which I did. A month went by so I called the company they said they had not received it yet to call back in a week. Two days later I get a letter stating I needed to send a check for the remaining balance I opened my letter I had sent to them that they had sent back and the check was still in the envelope. I called them and the person said well she didn't know what happened. I told her forget it too late in the season to plant now and I would not be doing anymore business with them. What a joke that company is. Don't order from them go to a green house in your area.

One of the few times I ordered from a company without checking Dave's and it was disastrous. $54 out the window. I received their email acknowledgement April 10th and the plants on June 8th in the middle of a national heat wave. All cooked! Some were obviously nearly dead when they shipped. I mean so dry they crackled! Never again.