Comments regarding Direct Gardening

Hello all! I have ordered 5 different times through direct gardening. Only had a couple plants not survive this last winter. I returned label and received new vital replacement plants in 6 weeks. It took longer than I’d like but I cannot blame them for this COVID delaying shipments.

I recently ordered several dormant shrubs and perennials from Direct Gardening. All items arrived exactly when they were supposed to and in very good condition despite the circumstances. It made my day. Will definitely order from them again.

I really don't understand why Direct Gardening is getting so many negative reviews. I've been ordering plants and seeds from them on a regular basis since 2011 and my overall success rate is about 90% - approximately the same as for other companies I am ordering from. Of course, I did have bad luck with some items, but they did not hesitate to replace them (within a year, upon sending in the original shipping label, all of which is clearly stated on their Website). I only needed to contact customer service a couple of times, but I always got a prompt response, form a person who seemed knowledgeable and caring. They do send plants in a plastic bag, but these plants do not really need more (I wish, actually, they would use recyclable paper bags, to minimize impact on environment). Thanks to Direct Gardening, I have now a beautiful and productive garden with way less investments than if I bought grown plants from a nursery. Looking at my big trees and shrubs, that once arrived as 'dead sticks', makes me proud and gives me a great feeling of accomplishment... Maybe I've been just lucky, or have an extremely green thumb, but I will stay with Direct Gardening and I am looking forward to my new order arriving at the appropriate time for planting (the seeds have already arrived!).

I ordered 3 Liberty hostas, but received Patriots instead. They replaced with the correct ones, and the plants were absolutely beautiful: big, leafed out, packaged in hard plastic containers. VERY happy. The only negative is the incredibly long period of time it takes to actually receive the order.

I got ten types of berries and 2 different pear trees that grow in az. Only 3 have not come to life and it has only been a month. Gardening is what you make it and it is difficult, but this place delivers what it advertises in my experience. They replace if needed which is crazy for $4 dollar berry trees that get 50 feet eventually. I love that this place has so many options and wish I found them earlier.

Posted on April 14, 2019, updated May 1, 2019
Website say ships in 2 weeks. I am still waiting going on 5 weeks for probably a bad shipment after reading the reviews. Should have done my research first lesson learned

This is my place.I started out with so many garden companies when I first started gardening.With Direct Gardening I’ve had the most success.Now,yes some plants die but these guys are the best at getting you a replacement,just keep that label that is on the packaging and send it to them for a new plant within a year after purchase.I think usually the ones that die is due to the long shipping experience but that is the convenience of ordering online because you just can’t get the quality and variety of plants these guys have at the local nursery and the local nurseries are way overpriced.I will stick with Direct Gardening and I definitely recommend them...try one of their gorgeous tree peonies...happy gardening!

I love this site. I am a novice at gardening but I did my research and gave it a chance in spite of the bad reviews. I understand that the bare root plants arrive in a dormant state and may take several weeks before starting to bud. The unbelievably low prices encouraged me to experiment with a variety of plants that I otherwise would not have considered purchasing. I ordered 12 items on June 20th: 1 American redbud, 2 changing hydrangea trees, 1 weeping cherry, 2 magnolias, 2 red maples, 2 weeping willows, 1 mahonia, and 1 climbing hydrangea for under $55 (shipping included) and received 3 gift items: a bare root strawberry plant, a giant peony bulb that was sprouting, and a packet of seeds. The order came within 2 weeks. I did the scratch test on items that were not sprouting and everything looked alive. It is now September 9th and the Magnolias are happy and healthy, the weeping cherry has tripled in size, one of the changing hydrangea trees has sprouted many leaves. Those four items have already made my purchase worthwhile. I know it can take months for roots to establish themselves so I am giving it a bit more time before I return the other items, which are guaranteed for a year. We have had extreme weather conditions this summer ranging from 90+ degree heat to torrential down pouring for days at a time and I do not blame the site if the other items don't work out. The mahonia had several leaves and looked healthy on arrival and the changing hydrangea had several buds, but neither are doing well - probably because of soil drainage and sun exposure issues. The good thing is that Direct Gardening will give me an opportunity to try again with the 1 year guarantee. I have just made a second purchase from the site, my father has since made 2 purchases, and we hope this business is still around for years to come!

I have used this company several times this year and have been very happy with their service. I have lost a couple of plants during the shipping process. However, the majority make it. They are very prompt replying to emails as well.

In reading some of the comments on here, I would like to recommend that if you order from them, read the website thoroughly. You may receive most live plants that are dormant, so don't panic thinking you received a dead plant. They always include instructions with their plants. If you follow them to the letter, you can not go wrong. Happy Gardening!

Everything I ordered came on time, actually a bit earlier! I ordered 25 bare root strawberries, 10 bare root jersey knight asparagus, and also received a free peony bulb/root and 4 gladiolus bulbs. I had to put everything in the fridge due to bad weather, so I was nervous that they wouldnt make it after soaking and planting them...but success! Even after two days of storms, rain, and 55 degree weather, my strawberries are growing and getting healthy green leaves and my asparagus is already popping through the dirt! I'm still waiting to plant the other two things, but everything else is a great success...and at a great price too! I don't know where else you can get 25 strawberries, 10 asparagus, a peony, and gladiolus bulbs for $25...and I don't need to know because I'm sticking with Direct Gardening.

My experience was only slightly more positive than negative. It is positive because I got a bunch of cheap plants that survived. It is negative because of all the same reasons on the negative reviews here: horrible customer service and takes much longer than their website states and longer than their customer support emails state. But again, I eventually did get a lot of dry root plants that did mostly come up for a very cheap price. If I want to pay top price and get excellent customer service there are other places for that. You get what yo pay for.

Just received my order. What a pleasant surprise -- I've been on-line ordering shrubs from a number of places last fall and this spring. The "common lilac" I received from Direct Gardens is about 3 times bigger than any of the other shrubs I've received from other companies-- including 3 other lilacs. It is bare root, but has lots of green buds. The 2 other bare root roses with this order are also budded nice large items. Will get these planted right away.

I'm a big fan of this company! However, I'm a patient gardener. In fact, I enjoy growing as many things as possible from seed. I mention this because if you are not a patient gardener, this might not be the best nursery for you.

I order plants from a huge variety of online/mail order nurseries and have just as much success ordering from Direct Gardening and affiliates as I do any other mail order nursery.

I most recently ordered six Flowering Weigela shrubs, which are about $30-$40 a pop elsewhere, not including shipping that would also be high, because pots with moist soil are heavy and the weight drives up the price. I think I paid $3 a shrub at Direct Gardening. Elsewhere, I would've received six inch shrubs in moist soil and after planting, these six inch shrubs may or may not have survived.

From Direct Gardening, the shrubs I received looked like dead sticks upon arrival (which is what bare root means), but they were each about two and half feet in length, which is much larger than I would've received from most places. I did the scratch test and they were all alive and well. I followed directions by placing them in a bucket of water for a couple of days before planting them. They began putting out buds in a few weeks. From this point, whether they live or die is on me, not on Direct Gardening.

My only criticism is that Direct Gardening isn't always very accurate in sending plants to you in your proper planting time, but this can be easily avoided by ordering from them early in the season. If you order late in the season, you risk not receiving your order until planting time is over (which happened to me), leaving me to store my new plants in the garage and hope for the best all winter long. I ordered them in early August and didn't receive until early November, when we were already experiencing frost. This was an excessively long handling time but since the price was vastly lower than any other nursery could match, I'm calling it a wash.

The great thing about using this nursery is that you can afford to experiment with plants that you might not risk purchasing elsewhere because of cost. When you buy anything living, there is always an inherent risk that it might die for a myriad of reasons that may or may not be the gardener's fault. So if I'm going to plant something new and I'm not 100% sure how it will fair, I'd much rather get it for cheap.

Just keep in mind that service influences price greatly due to staff/handling costs. If Direct Gardening responded to every inquiry immediately, made it super easy to deal with returns, sold top of the line plants that arrived blooming in high quality moist soil, and shipped things out within a week of purchase, all of these things would be reflected in their prices - meaning you probably wouldn't have been placing the order with them to begin with.

All in all, I think for your money, Direct Gardening is a pretty safe bet. Just be prepared to order early, be patient, to receive bare root plants and to have to follow the enclosed directions before planting. The added free gifts are also a big plus and very few places offer that. I'll continue to place orders with this company so that I can experiment with a variety of really cool plants without breaking the bank.

"On Feb 26, 2018 10:53 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."

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!!!

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."

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!"

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."

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

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.

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.

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.

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!!

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 late in the spring, but I received my full order in about 6 weeks. Everything was great. I ordered 2 rose bushes, 6 garden phlox and 8 double carnations. One of the rose bushes however looks a little not so good, but when I scraped the bark above the roots there was a little green. I am not giving up on it yet! They are hard to get hold of by phone, but they do email back in a timely manner. I will be ordering again.

"On Jun 7, 2015 10:55 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. Thank you for taking the time to post your comments!"

I ordered in the middle of a heat wave. Plants arrived in a heat wave. Certain plants fared better than others. Every single plant after scratch testing was green, EXCEPT a ginkgo. Never buy spruce from DG. The hydrangeas fared the best, every single one made it, they budded the quickest after potting, in just 2 days. After 2 weeks I had practically store - quality 5 gallon size bushes. Northern Catalpa did really well too. Butterfly bushes and burning bush euonymus both did extremely well. The maples were supposed to be dead, I abandoned them and never watered them. Last week after more than 3 months one sprouted. I was shocked. The red buds both seem not to have made it, they are still green upon scratch testing, the maples make me think there might still be hope. Oh I wrote this review last week and forgot to send it. If I stopped midsentence and forgot to tie up the story sorry. I'm done typing.
-Ryan

Direct Gardening was the only source I could find for old fashioned Robin Roses. There were some issues with my order, but through good and constant communication, Direct Gardening I received totally healthy Robin Hood roses in a timely manner and they are beginning to bloom and are perfectly lovely! I will order from Direct Gardening again.

I placed my order and was expecting to have to wait a long time to receive it; but it arrived quickly and in great condition. I ordered 3 Bonfire ornamental peach trees and when they arrived I soaked them over-night in tepid water and planted them the next day.
The trees are already starting to produce leaves and I am very happy with them. Customer service was great and I received exactly what I had ordered, sooner than I expected. Thanks!.... I highly recommend this company to any prospective buyers out there! Quality plants at an affordable price! Direct Gardening is an awesome company and they offer a 1 year warranty on all of their plants. I wish I had found out about them sooner; and I plan to be one of their regular customers in the future. I strongly urge other experienced gardeners to order their trees and other plantings from Direct Gardening! You simply can not go wrong in doing so!

After checking reviews on directgardening.com, I was unsure about ordering. There are so many bad reviews. It took longer to receive my order than I expected, so I contacted them to discuss it. They have very good customer service. They responded quickly and appropriately. Most of the bad reviews had to do with later than expected deliveries or condition of the plants. After thinking about the late delivery problems, I realized in most cases it was timing. When orders are placed at typical planting time, it takes longer to recieve them. They obviously have a lot of orders at that time, not to mention those that could not be sent out right away due to weather/climate. My order arrived about a month after I placed it, which was in March 2014. It's now April.

After considering the bad reviews about quality and having received my order, quite frankly I think a lot of people are idiots. The plants arrive dormant, as expected...not dead. The roots are in excellent condition and I expect them to grow well. Most of the plants are quite small, but at these prices, they can't afford to raise the plants for several years before sailing.

Please excuse my bluntness, but seriously people. Think before you complain. If you want large, fully grown, ready to bloom plant, buy somewhere else and pay 3 or 4 times the price or more.

Kudos directgardening.com

I ordered 24 canby thornless raspberry bare root plants last year in addition to other plants. for whatever reason about half the plants started sprouting and then died. i requested a replacement. recently i received two shipments of 12 canby raspberry plants each. i put them in pots inside due to the cold weather. i checked them a few days after planting and all of them are budding and leafing out. Direct Gardening was true to their word and i am very pleased with their replacement of my plants. i will order from them again.

When I first got my shipment from Direct Gardening, I admit feeling a tad underwhelmed. The items were very small, and they did look rather dried out and dead, and they did have just a very sad looking little bit of damp paper towel on their roots, BUT, they roared to life.

I actually did not want them to come roaring to life, as it was a fall planting, but, it warmed up a bit and bam, my knockout roses and my Nanking cherries came out of dormancy and raring to go.

Now, I do not know if they will survive the subsequent Polar Vortex that followed that warm spell, but I do have to stand up for Direct Gardening and their "dried up ole twigs." My dried up ole twigs were absolutely viable, and I would order from them again. Even if the plants mentioned above do not survive the winter. I just might not order for fall planting again given this years experience. My Juneberry did not break dormancy, and I will not know until Spring 2014 if it is alive at all, but the reviews were so horrible I just felt I had to comment on the dead twig situation. Looks can be deceiving.

After MUCH online research about a particular colored rose I wanted but could not find locally, I made my first online live plant purchase with Direct Gardening. I could not be more pleased (and, frankly, surprised). They responded in a timely fashion to two emailed questions. The shipment arrived sooner than I anticipated. All plants were as expected and in good condition. And, they had included a "bonus" assortment of bulbs...a nice and welcomed touch. I highly recommend them.

Posted on June 13, 2013, updated September 15, 2013
I love the bareroot trees Iordered. Yes they look like a bunch of dead stick with roots when they arrive, but I removed them immediatly from the bag and spritzed the roots and wrapped the roots back up in plastic. Then soaked for about 4 hrs in water before I planted. They are already waking up and its only been a week. The ground cover appered DOA (but planted just to make sure)but Ill just wait till next spring to make sure everything makes it before asking for a replacement. I will be ordering more trees next year. You can't beat the quality and size for the price!

Posted on August 3, 2013, updated August 23, 2013
Posted on July 30, 2013, updated August 3, 2013
This was not a good experience, simply because over half of my order died (there is a difference between 'dormant' and 'so dead it is crispy') and parts were not what I ordered.

100 Walk on me thyme - not one survived.
60 vinca minor - roughly 20 survived
3 Maria Stern roses - should be an orange bloom. They sent three pink double knockout roses that were listed as Maria Stern on the shipping label. Two of the three were gifts. Imagine my embarrassment when the intended gift was for Father's Day as part of a design to include his alma maters color bloomed pink instead. Sorry dad!

The shipping time was great and I'm sure if I tried to send it back they would have complied, but I took the time to select, order, pay for, and plant them. I'm not collecting it all and sending it back. Way too much of a hassle. Lesson learned.

"On Aug 3, 2013 11:01 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

A customer care representative has contact this customer for further information. We do have a 1 year replacement guarantee on all of our plants and do hope that the customer takes advantage of this guarantee as we DO NOT require the plants be returned when requesting replacement.
"

Posted on June 12, 2013, updated June 20, 2013
On May 22 2013 I ordered 60 Privet Hedges, 2 Burning Bushes and 2 Rose Of Sharon Trees. I received these items in the time frame that was described on the website (2 weeks). I read the enclosed literature which told me to soak the hedges in water overnight. The bushes and the trees had a root ball and soil, so I immediately placed them in a pot of soil. I planted the hedges the following afternoon. I followed the enclosed instructions. By June 9th All of the plants had new leaf buds! Not only did I have my landscaping in both my front and back yards finished, but I saved a ton of money by only spending $40.
I have seen the comments on the Better Business Bureau's website and because of all the negativity, I almost didn't purchase from this website. I am glad I ignored the negativity and saved a bundle. If people would read the information available on the website where it says that plants are sent "dormant" and "bare root" , maybe then look up what that means, they would know what to expect. Odds are the plants will look dead, but the website even shows you how to do a "scratch test" . My point is: before you write a negative comment....READ before you purchase. I received exactly what the website said they would send. I figured that they offered a 1 year guarantee..I can't go wrong. I saved my shipping labels and every little tag on every plant inside the bag even though my plants are healthy and growing well. the website clearly says to save the shipping labels.
I will make sure that all my fellow gardeners know to ignore the negative comments that were made because someone didn't read that they were not getting a full grown plant or that dormant plants are just that...dormant, not dead. The pictures of fully grown plants are supposed to give you an idea of what the plant will look like when its grown. READ before you buy and don't blame the company if you choose not to read. What do you expect for these great prices? Your negative comments are ruining the bargains for those of us who follow instructions. I also posted on BBB's website.

My roses were very healthy and once planted, as instructed, they're doing very well. Pleased with the service and the quality of the plants. Can't wait to see them bloom!

One little tip on "dormant" plants from any mail order vendor. For spring delivered dormant plants only, I stick the plants in the fridge (not freezer) for a couple weeks to reset their little season "timers" and they come out ready to wake up and go. Or you can plant them and if some don't start, pull them and try the refrigerator trick. Unless they are stone dead you will be amazed at how a lifeless looking plant can be kickstarted into action by this simple method. Cut off any rot and douse the roots in fungicide if any dead plant tissue exists.
I have been ordering from DG for many years and they have never failed to replace the occasional "dud" plant. I just have to remember to keep the shipping label that is stuck on the shipping bag in case it's needed it as proof of purchase. Their prices are crazy low and for me it's a small price to pay dealing with the odd non-performing item. Actually, getting a replacement is less painful with Direct Gardening than my local hoidy toidy nursery!