Comments regarding Forestfarm

I am a fan. I am just a home gardener. I kept amending and changing my order. Then my credit card failed because of a fraud somewhere else. They were proactive and courteous about organizing my order, answering questions, and getting it to me on time. The plants are incredible--amazing variety, value, and vibrantly healthy plants. Even the tubes, although tiny, are leaping with health. They clearly love their misson and their plants.

We LOVE Forestfarm. Have been ordering for a few years now and have consistently been happy with quality, service and knowledge. Highly recommend this company.

Good companies get your order right. Great companies provide top-rate service when something goes wrong.

I ordered Parthenocissus tricuspidata but received P. quinquefolia by mistake. Easy enough mistake (same genus) and I ordered early in the season so they shipped before buds formed when the plants are indistinguishable. Within days of receiving the plants they starting putting out the characteristic 5 leaves of P. quinquefolia. Oops!

Forestfarm VERY graciously recognized the error from the photo I sent and replaced the plants. All the plants received are carefully packaged for shipment and quite healthy.

I will not hesitate to order from Forestfarm in the future. Ray and Forestfarm are awesome. VERY happy to give a positive review.

Dave Eichler - Round Rock, Texas

My second dealing with them in as many years. I ordered tube plants from them last year and got exactly what I would have expected, and was very pleased given the cost and professionalism. This year I went ahead and sprung for larger sized trees all Japanese Maples. I was immediately contacted via email to discuss my plans. These are future bonsai projects and my requests were specific and well handled. Every tree I ordered was larger than the expected 1 gallon pot size and 2 -3 feet tall... Three of the five trees I ordered are well over 4 feet with strong branching. Outstanding communication, very personal and personable and I feel like they went out of their way to get me what I want. He was also kind enough to snap a few pictures of some other species he had in at the time that would also fit my hobby. I look forward to future business with them.

just received my first order - one 'northstar' pie cherry tree, which i couldn't find elsewhere. i had high expectations (or hopes, anyway!) given the abundance of great reviews here, but you really have to SEE the quality of stock and their unique packing method to fully appreciate how 'above and beyond' they are! this tree is simply outstanding - i had gotten 2 'montmorency' pie cherries from my local nursery earlier this spring, which is also no slouch when it comes to great stock, but seriously the forestfarm tree is clearly superior even after just spending a full day in a shipping box. as expected, it came in a 5-gallon pot, and i was thrilled to see that the leader branch had NOT been pruned at all, and more lower branches had been left intact compared to the local nursery trees - if you have your own ideas about how you want to go about pruning and shaping, you'll have a great deal more to work with here. meanwhile, it has a simply lovely and graceful shape to it, fully leafed-out and lush - it doesn't just look like it was raised by people who REALLY know what they're doing, it also looks...loved. just a VERY healthy and happy-looking tree, and i couldn't be more pleased!

forestfarm's website covers a vast inventory, but is fairly easy and intuitive to navigate if you're just exploring, and the search results are quick and accurate if you're looking for something in particular. i also noted over many visits that it's kept quite up-to-date as to current stock.

i received an email confirmation with tracking number when my order was ready to go, and the 'expected arrival' date was accurate. the shipping cost is seriously pricey - 35.00 for a 29.00 tree! - but absolutely worth it. this beautiful tree is as far from the usual mail-order bare-root stick as you can get, and i won't hesitate in the least to order from them again.

Have ordered three times now ( Each time ordered 4 x Size 1 - which can be a tall plant in some cases ) and all plants are doing very well. Plants are shipped in original growing pots and are all very healthy. The plants cost a bit more and the shipping is of course higher but it is definitely worth it. The plants travel better and I still have the option of washing off soil and trimming roots if needed, and can order more months out of the year as the plants can acclimate much better than bare roots ( which require more exact timing for the weather, as well as for the planting ). I recommend this nursery especially if you are ordering a group of plants as the shipping is more reasonable that way.

Excellent stock. Best job of packing plant material I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot.

Beautiful, healthy plants at great value. Shipping is expensive but plants are packaged to survive a nuclear blast ;-) Have never received a damaged one.

I ordered two ferns from this company and they are growing into very healthy plants. The ferns were shipped VERY securely.

The only thing that prevents my review from being positive is the soil the plants came in. As I was letting the new plants warm up in my house since the soil was so frigid, I noticed it was filled with centipede babies.Even after shaking off most of the soil I could from the roots, there was still baby centipedes popping up for weeks that I had to use tweezers to pull out.

Luckily they're mostly harmless, but definitely not something I want in my indoor garden.

Not happy, one of the two plants I ordered wasn't in stock, and rather than e-mailing me, they called, spoke with someone else (my mother) to confirm that I didn't want to cancel the order. Not happy about it because the plant not in stock was that plant that I really wanted (White Surprise Caryopteris). I think it was unprofessional of them to not speak directly with the person who placed the order, they could have left a message and asked me to call.

The other plant (Snow Fairy Caryopteris) arrived in good health and of good size. It's a lovely plant, I'll enjoy it, but I'm not happy about how my order was handled.

Posted on April 8, 2009, updated April 2, 2011
Have placed several orders with Forestfarm, and each time have been impressed with the size and vigor of the plants and the care in packaging! I have ordered various plants/shrubs/trees, including several types of skimmia (that I adore), parthenocissus, hellebores, and a Japanese maple. Many were plants that I couldn't find anywhere else! Their selection is amazing, and even if their older website format was a bit difficult to navigate I always ended up with more than I was looking for. Customer service is also excellent - no problems with order adjustments like some companies I've dealt with, and their care instructions are usually great.

Nothing but good from this nursery.
A great selection, everything's in pots (gotta love their "tubes"), they arrive on time & in good condition, the plants items take off & grow.
FF is in Oregon, I'm in Michigan, and I can attest their Zone and culture notes are accurate.
I have have several more shrubs coming from them this Spring:
Hamamelis Christmas Cheer, A white and a pink Abelliophylum, Chaenomeles Orange Storm, Sambucus pyrimidalis, and a Chamaecyp.
I would like to get a selection of their perennials; sometime in Early Summer.
Moosie

Today I received my Hydrangea Arborescens Radiata 'Samantha'. ( A plant Ive been trying to get for years) I was quite pleased. Ray was very helpful and informative on questions I had regarding a Fagus sylyatica ‘Purpurea Pendula'. I wanted to grow as a Bonsai. I did in fact get a Japanese Maple instead. He went beyond the duties of custumer service.

The Hydrangea I received was packaged so well and was so large... The size of something purchased at a nursery. Also I received a catalog which has great descriptions and also printed on Recycled paper which shows they care about the environment. I have already started browsing through it highlighting plants for my next order!

I also want to add that I see some people complaining about shipping charges... It is well worth it for the huge plants they sell and with their awesome selection of rarer plants and a good priced plant to start with... IT WAS WELL WORTH IT. Yeah you may pay less for shipping somewhere else, but those plants will take a few years to get close to the size Forest Farms ships.

Great customer service, great communication and willingness to hold material for me until it sizes up.

I have been dealing with them for several years and have always recieved excellent customer service and am always impressed with their huge selection of hard to find plants.

Forestfarm is AMAZING! This was my first time ordering from them, but I don't think I will ever be ordering from anywhere else again based on this experience! I ordered three species of olive trees, and they were shipped out immediately. Within a day I had received an email from UPS containing a tracking number and estimated delivery date with the note, "at the request of Forestfarm." several more of these emails were sent "at the request of Forestfarm". I never wondered where my trees were or when they would arrive.

I've ordered stock from numerous online nurseries, and have never been this pleasantly surprised when I saw the size of just the box in my kitchen. I opened the box and found 3 beautiful olive trees packed safely and comfortably away inside. While plants I have received from other nurseries have often been without leaves, wilting, or died soon after due to stress, these trees are obviously in perfect health and absolutely beautiful in comparison.

I appreciated that Forestfarm had them all tied to bamboo stakes to prevent them breaking, something other nurseries haven't bothered with. I also appreciated that each plant was labeled, and that the soil/roots had been packed in such a way that they were still very damp when the trees arrived, more things that most nurseries don't bother with. Due to mother nature and the neglect of shipping companies/buyers, is there the occasional plant that has a problem and needs to be replaced? Probably, but I imagine with this kind of care Forestfarm has very few of those experiences. I am extremely satisfied, very happy, and now a lifelong customer.

Once my orchard is up and ready to go, there's no place else I would go to buy stock.

Posted on February 18, 2010, updated January 20, 2011
Posted on February 4, 2007, updated February 17, 2010
I have only ordered plants, but already want to share my positive outcome.
I asked if the trees I ordered would take care of cross pollination, and Ray emailed me to say they will not make nuts, besides the "occasional" one.
He asked if I wanted to cancel the order based on that, and informed me I could get 2 more gallon size plants for no additional shipping cost.
Prompt, friendly, personable.
Can't wait for my plants! 2 thumbs up!

I ordered a Princeton Gold Maple 2 years ago. The tree arrived promptly and in good condition. Being a busy mother of 4, I did not water or fertilize my new baby tree but maybe once or twice in the first year. To my amazement this tree has thrived. It is exceptionally beautiful and very healthy despite my poor rocky soil. I will certainly do business with this company in the future, but only when I have enough time to properly care for my new tree.

Posted on December 4, 2010, updated December 8, 2010
I ordered 4 weeping forsythia bushes weeks ago, and received an order confirmation. I have not received the bushes. I have emailed Forestfarm but have not gotten an answer. I will never do business with them again. I can continue to email and try phoning, but that really should not be necessary.

I ordered a whole bunch of stuff from Forestfarm and I was very, very happy with everything in the order (as usual) except for one thing. I let them know about the issue I had with the one plant, but it wasn't in stock at the time, so they issued a credit for the plant in question. When the plant became available a few months later they sent it to me (at considerably more expense to them in terms of additional shipping fees) at no charge and that's one of the many, many reasons I order from them on a regular basis. They're simply the best. ;)

I've never had a problem with customer service. Got a serviceberry tree and it was in great shape and well-packed.

I was going to order material from ForestFarm as I had heard so mnay good things about the company. However, all of those great comments were instantly shattered by the treatment that I recieved from the woman (?) who answered the phone..... Maureen (??). This company should have ditched her a long time ago; abrupt, short, complete lack of personality and customer service attributes. It sounded as though she had a problem with life in general; really bad customer relations. So much so, that I thought twice about ever ordering material from this company. My money is as good as anyone elses and I choose to spend it as I feel fit, and where I am treated with respect. Not at this company...not for this person....
ForestFarm, get rid of this person; she is bad for your company and bad for your business! Or, do you care?

"On Jan 23, 2011 3:40 PM, Forestfarm responded with:

We've let some time go by in hopes that we'd hear from "deerlily", but since we haven't, we'll post a rebuttal now in the form of a D-mail sent to her right after her posting. We tried!!
"Thank you for taking the time to post...I only wish it hadn't been so negative! I'm truly sorry that one of our staff came across that way to you. It's not something that we, the owners, can hear, because we're not hovering around her. So we do appreciate your input in the matter. But please don't judge us because of one person you spoke with having a bad day. We can do better, and usually do. We'll be glad to call you to answer your questions or help you in any other way, if you'll tell us how to reach you. We’ll do whatever we can to erase that taste from your mouth. Really, is it fair to give us a negative rating when you haven't even given us the chance to ship any plants to you? We are responsive and wish for you to be a favored customer! Thanks, and hope to hear from you, Ray""

Posted on May 19, 2010, updated August 4, 2010
Ordered 7 "tubes" of Euphorbia (perenial). I can handle small plants, but at least give me some roots to work with. The leaves were heavily infested with leaf spot (fungus), with browning throughout. A week has gone by after putting into small pots and babying them, and there is a hint of new growth, but of course, many of the infected leaves have fallen off. These were very small, apperently divisions of another plant. they consisted of a single strand of stem and minimal root growth. even annual six packs have more growth than this. They did ship me 9 instead of 7, b/c i think they knew the quality was so bad. i wish they would have contacted me and gave me an option of dropping my order. I have ordered from other places, and i will stick with Bluestone and Romance.

I rceived my 2 fuchsia plants, and they are awsome! I was
happy with the packaging of my plants. I was very happy about the way my young fuchsia plants looked very green and flowering.

Posted on June 17, 2010, updated June 18, 2010
I tend to get good plants from this nursery and place some good size orders, but last time some plants died and I'm not positive why. I contacted the company and sent images, but the contact person never replied. One was broke to fit in box (died) and two probably got too cold during shipping and died. Most however survived. I've never had 100% survival on a large order. Could be due to shipping (ground instead of air).

Posted on June 2, 2010, updated June 14, 2010
I ordered a Ralph Shay Flowering Crab Apple which was described on the site as "a vigorous sturdy tree with dark-green, disease-resistant foliage" When it first came all looked well and it started leafing out and put out a few flowers. Now it has developed a rust / blight / fungus - brown spots all over the leaves - I sprayed it with a general purpose fungicide, but can't be sure if it has been stopped from spreading. The area did go through a very cold wet period, but the old crab it was to replace looks much better, it's leaves are 99% disease free. I am concerned this will be an ongoing problem with the new tree and what can be done about it.

Their catalog is what I study over the long days of winter. The variety they offer is amazing. I worried about the distance the plants travel from Oregon to Maryland but they have arrived in great shape. They are quick to take care of any questions problems. I've ordered probably 5 times over the last two years. All great experiences.

WOW! Tremendous service, top quality plant, packing was outstanding and shows they take great care of their plants.
I am so impressed I just wanted to tell the world. I have done alot of buying and selling in my time, and very few times have I been so impressed as I was yesterday when this particular plant arrived at my house. The plant was in perfect condition and came the entire way across the USA in high heat. The packaging was outstanding. The information they provide to help you care for your plants is wonderful and clearly written for anyone to understand. The entire transaction was just perfect and I have to say Thank You to all the wonderful people at ForestFarm. God Bless.Jacquie Berger

Posted on June 1, 2010, updated June 3, 2010
Posted on March 14, 2008, updated June 1, 2010
I placed an order with Forest Farm for 4 shrubs I had been looking for. The shipment arrived within 10 days packaged perfectly and all plants in one gallon containers, good sized and very healthy. I will absolutly buy from them again

Posted on May 9, 2010, updated May 12, 2010
This was my second order with Forest Farm. I received a serviceberry that had rust. I have emailed them and let them know the problem. I am told that "All serviceberries have rust here--it's common in our area." Wow. Of course, I would expect they would either replace the plant with a healthy one or credit back my card for the cost. No, they have offered to give me a credit on my account. Now, why would I want that knowing they are willing to sell an unhealthy plant? No, I don't think I want any more unhealthy plants. Of course I am disappointed. I will update this review if they have a change of heart.

My tree arrived and was in beautiful condition, nice and full. I planted it less than a week ago and the leaves are already 5 times the size. The planting instructions were clear and easy to follow. I will order from them again!

We live in the kansas city area and were planting a bird haven on our 2 1/2 acres. We waited (1year) until we could actually see survival of plants after they were in ground before writing a review. We had a good idea of what we wanted, but forestfarm had some good ideas with the rest. Upon delivery I was very pleased with the way in which plants were packaged and treated. I would suspect the packing to be similar to receiving a fine oil painting.(LOTS of wrapping and packing material) We had a large order (around 40-50 plants), and a lot were the gallon size. ALL plants arrived alive. Now after winter has come and gone the plants have been in ground for almost a year now. Only about 5 specimens did not make it (1 of the 4 Oregon grapes and several of the smaller tuber plants ). Overall we are very pleased with our experience, and would recommend future purchases. Thanks

Generally good experience with this vendor. I have had problems in the past with customer service and plant mis-labeling, but this year the plants arrived well packed, healthy and were, indeed, the plants I ordered. I have had to put the Salvia I ordered under special watch because it was only 1/4" high by 1/2" wide. I'm hoping it is just breaking dormancy.

Their website contained useful info. The prices were reasonable. They were good about informing me when the order was received and expected to be shipped (as I requested). I was not billed until shipping time. Unfortunately one item I hoped to receive was n/a at shipping time, but all else arrived packed wonderfully and in great shape. I will be happy to buy from them again.

No complaints. I got what I wanted and the plants were healthy. They kept me informed.

After looking for a specific hawthorn and going through several email exchanges with Ray, he recommended a Chinese Haw that didn't appear on their website. I was a bit perplexed by that, but he informed me that the website ommission was due to low stock (makes sense to take them off when there's only one left!). I'm happy to have received my lovely little tree this week! It was packaged well, staked, and the new leaves are looking very healthy.

As a first-timer with ForestFarm, I'm finding the catalogue to be amazing! Besides the collection of plants, there are lovely bits of lore, recipes and tips scattered throughout. I can't wait to order from them again.

I had a difficult time narrowing my choices, they carry a zillion kinds of plants. What I did order arrived when I was told it would,the plants were very well packed and each one of them looked like I had hand picked them and carried them home myself. I used both the printed catalogue and their website for the photos, the website is very easy to navigate and has most of what they grow photographed. The prices of some of the plants were, I thought,,on the high side...but these are things I couldn't have gotten anywhere else. I am really pleased with my plants..and you will be too!

Great experience. They followed up on my order and shipped when they said they'd ship. Prices are very reasonable, and other than a dormant plant (which was noted, and has since shown growth), all plants were a good size and healthy looking. All, including the dormant plant, have settled in well and put on new growth. . They also followed up on a question I had submitted with the original order. The selection is incredible, I don't know how they keep so many different plants in stock. I thought shipping costs were very reasonable given the size of the boxes I received and the quantity of plants. They do recommend that you buy the gallon plants in quantities of four to get the best shipping rates. I'm in the same state, so shipping was lightning fast for me. I'll definitely order again.

After all the enthusiasm, I was underwhelmed by the one plant -- a Cornelian Cherry (Dogwood Cornus Mas)-- I've ordered. It seemed to have been rather excessively overwatered, perhaps for some time, with liquid water in the plastic that held the planting tube. And, the plant had been put into a 4 foot tree box and propped up and padded, more or less, with cardboard and newspaper under it and newspaper balls in the box, though not enough to fill it or stabilize the plant. This seemed a bit excessive for a one-foot single stem in a small tube! The plant was unstaked -- given the packing I don't know if this was a plus or minus, but it seems a bit cheesy for either the plant ($8.95 for an unnamed variety) or the shipping charge ($10.95).

Other than that the plant was well grown enough, though some of the roots seemed to have begun to rot, probably in shipping.

Here's a real plus: the Forestfarm catalogue was included, and it is one of the most encylopedic plant guides I've ever seen. I might well give them another chance, as it's obvious they'll be one of only places to find any number of plants I may find myself yearning for.