Comments regarding Forestfarm

Because of some bad experiences with another mail order nursery, my husband and I began searching the web for other choices. Thru Garden Gate magazine, we found Dave's Garden website and read about Forestfarm. We decided to order because of the mature size of the advertised plants and the reasonable pricing. Although we have not received our large order yet, their customer service has already won an A+. Approximately 4-5 days after our online order, we were called and informed ONE of our several gallon order was not available. Forestfarm wanted to know if we would like a substitute, to fill the shipping container, because they charge shipping based on the shipping container, not by the number of plants. We were so impressed. We are confident the same customer service will be provided after the sale as was before the sale. Thanks, Forestfarm. You have a new customer.

My first order just arrived. I was pleasantly surprised by the size and vigor of the gallon plants (most especially the Fatsia japonica 'Spider's Web'). The dormant plants look good, with some healthy stems/truncks and nice nice roots. Packing was very good.

An outstanding selection of hard-to-find plants at reasonable prices. I will be re-ordering soon.

I ordered a sorbus aria (whitebeam) last fall, and was completely satisfied by the entire experience. Not only are their selection tremendous and their prices reasonable, but their customer service is unparalleled. They sent me a lovely little sapling in excellent condition and were unbelievably helpful in assisting us with tips on making it grow in our area. They also helped us find a species of shrub we fell in love with in London and told us the best options for growing a relative of it here. Absolutely wonderful people, I recommend them to every gardener I know. I'll be getting all my hard-to-find plants from them in future.

I recently ordered a weeping Prunus yedoensis from Forestfarm. Smooth transaction as always- they are quick to answer my email questions, and the tree arrived in excellent shape, despite its cross-country journey.

One of my favorite trees- Prunus mume W.B. Clarke came from them, and it has been a source of pleasure over several years.

My niece gardens in up-state New York, and after I gave her some trees from their catalog, she has purchased several more that have flourished. The trees have been quite hardy and done well -even with the zone 4 winters she has. I saw them last year, and I was impressed. Great source for unusual plants, and a wonderful catalog to peruse.

I would highly recommend this company based on my recent purchase from them. I purchased two Magnolias (Michelias) from them and had a hard time deciding what to order because their catalog is so full of plants that I want. When I finally made up my mind, the person who take my call was as helpful and kind as could be. The plants then arrived in record time and are so healthy looking! I couldn't have had a better experience!

forestfarm is an excellent nursery. their selection is exhaustive. for this reason, they are a unique and precious resource to us plant connoisseurs.

sure, they've got a few problems. such as:

1. some of their 1 and 5 gallon pots are only 2/3rds--maybe even only 1/2 full of soil. apparently, significant erosion occurs and potting mix drains out from the time they're potted.

2. packaging is great--fastidious really. so much so that sometimes foliage gets stuck on the tape, and occasionally even stems break from too many staking ribbons.

3. some of their 5 gallon plants are a bit over-pruned. it may be necessary to fit for shipment. and--as with their packaging--they need to be excessive to placate all you whiners that will raise hell if ANY damage occurs in transit. personally, i'd prefer to just snip off the occasional broken branch.

4. website needs improvement. several times, my order has vanished 'cause i spent too long entering data. i choose to phone order now. better to deal with a human anyway. besides, these are plantpeople; they're too busy growing exquisite specimens of vegetative delight to divert attention towards the banality of cyber-commerce.


all these comments are petty griping. ultimately, the question is: where're else are you going to find a chinese flat-spine pricklyash (Zanthoxylum simulans)? or a Playtcarya strobilacea (so rare it doesn't have a common name)? they not only have these, but they're offered at a reasonable price, wrapped with exacting care, and delivered to your front door.

i love forestfarm!

I placed a large order with Forest Farm last spring and was very happy with it. The packing was incredible. It must have taken hours just to pack my order alone. They put 4 one gallon pots in a box and there was not a bent or broken stem to be found. The plants where large and vigorous. I was pleasantly surprised because their prices are more than reasonable.

One of the plants I ordered looked a little weak and small . When I checked the packing slip they acknowledged that fact and said we sent it anyway , but did not charge you for it. I can't even remember which plant it was because I didn't lose a single plant from the 50+ I ordered. A few of the plants I ordered where not available but they called me to see if I wanted to substitute before they sent out my order. That is my kind of customer service!!! They let you know up front, no waiting months for plants you aren't going to get. ( I don't want to name names but 2 companies, now owned by the Remax real estate group are famous for that trick.)

This is onea company that sends such quality at such a great price, if I see a plant I want at a more questionable nursery, I'll check ForestFarms web site to see if they offer it as well. I know what I am getting will be as good or better and more than likely less money.

Last year I ordered a redbud and a forsythia from Forestfarm in two separate orders (both the tube size). Both came in great shape- almost too well packaged as it took me forever to get them out! They are both doing well, put on new leaves and grew (this will be their first winter in the ground). I think the redbud was 10$ plus 10$ shipping, but that is way cheaper than any redbud I could find around here. I'll definitely order again.

I have ordered from Forest Farm since the early nineties. I was able to acquire unique plants at a great price.When a plant is offered in the "tube" form they are very economical, and most catch up with the gallon size plants in a year or two. When ordering from them, I buy tubes (when available) for faster growing plants, or more common plants, (such as willow or dogwood shrubs). I order the larger sizes for things that are a new introduction, rare, or slow growing. One year I wanted a Golden Alder, and the very last one in stock was a five gallon size tree, that the catalog described as "too tall to ship." I called them, and they had it pruned so it would fit the box. Every time I see the beautiful leaves, bark, and winter catkins on the Alder, I remember they were willing to prune it to fit. Most companies won't alter a large tree because of the risk of the tree dying, and the possibly of the disappointment of the buyer. The staff at Forest Farm has always been the most helpful to work with. The few times I have had a question or concern, I received a timely response.When I began my early gardening days, my first Forest Farm catalog opened up possibilities to buy plants that I had seen in magazines, but couldn't find. I have seen new cultivars in other catalogs, and have waited to order them from Forest Farm. If not for them,I wouldn't have many of these now mature beauties that started in my garden in their "tubes." I will be placing my order tomorrow, and I have confidence that the operator will help me sort it out, the- tubes from the gallons, (as usual) so as to keep the cost of shipping down. BTW One reason the shipping may be higher than some, is the really secure packaging. The toughest thing about a Forest Farm order s opening the boxes!

This is a fantastic nursery. If there is something that I can’t find more often than not even if its not currently listed in their extensive catalog then they have some or they’re planning on getting the variety in the near future. Every time I’ve contacted them with an availability inquiry their replies have been extremely prompt and helpful.

Their prices and shipping costs are perfectly reasonable for the varieties and product they offer. While they may be a bit more than some other nurseries for more commonly available items, everything I have purchased from them was either not available anywhere else or they offered the best price. They ship potted trees, which are of course heavier than bare roots, but their trees establish extremely quickly.

I just recently received another wonderful delivery from ForestFarm and once again the trees are beautiful and arrived in excellent condition even despite UPS’s attempts to vastly delay delivery. I even received a phone call from the nursery after they had been notified by UPS that there was a delivery issue, which was in no way due to an error on the part of ForestFarm, checking to verify that the trees had arrived safely.

I’ve been extremely pleased with everything about this nursery and look forward to receiving many more beautiful plants from them.

I have ordered plants, trees from ForestFarm many times. I can usually find things there that I cannot find elsewhere. Prices and shipping are a bit stiff, but when looking and finding something on my must have list, I roll with it. One time a tree in 5 gallon got damaged in shipping, but they told me if it didn't seem to want to live, they'd refund or replace. At any given time my ForestFarm catalog is within my reach to look up special things I have run across. I do not mind not having pictures in the catalog, when I go looking in there I know exactly what I'm looking for beforehand.Karen Mcilroy

I ordered several plants this past spring and only one plant was bad in the bunch. I immediately notified the company. They offered to refund or replace and I chose to replace. They sent me a confirmation that they would ship in October. I received the replacement and it is a very nice plant. I didn't have any problems with this grower and will order again ..I would like to see shipping a little less costly but they did pack well. I also recommend buying the larger plants if you can spare those extra dollars.

I am really impressed with the trees I ordered. Two of them were smaller than I thought they would be, but they look very healthy. The other tree is larger than I thought it would be and it also looks very healthy. I do have to say I didn't like that they didn't automatically send out an email saying that my order shipped, but it's not really that big a deal to me. I figured they shipped it the same day they charged my credit card. If I wanted to I'm sure I could have called/emailed them for shipping status. Overall, I would really recommend Forestfarm. They have a large selection, healthy plants and good packaging procedures.

This is one of -- if not my most -- favorite places for plants. The selection is outstanding and the quality is always unquestioned. The catalog is a treasure trove of information and I pore over each new edition. Thank you so much for all the wonderful plants you've provided over the years! Even though my garden is getting a little crowded, I'm sure I'll always find a space for some ForestFarm beauties; it's more like hearing from a dear friend than dealing with a commercial nursery.

I have ordered trees for over $1000 this year, since forestfarm has 5gal material that I would have to otherwise drive for 4hr to pick-up locally. However, when I received a spruce that didn’t look like the best specimen to me and asked for a free of charge substitute, Ron first gave me hard time and then stopped writing. As a customer who ordered several trees, I would expect forestfarm to be more thoughtful to customer’s concerns. Customers won’t like everything that is shipped to them, and shouldn’t be always the one stocked with the not so good looking plant. I will love and take care of the plants I got from them so far, but will try local places for new purchases, where I can see plants before I buy them.

I hunted high and low for a particular cultivar of weigela that Forest Farm had. I threw in another more common variety to keep from paying so much just to ship one plant by air...which really was not that much more than I would have paid for ground shipping. They both arrived in very good condition. I expected the 'tubes' to be quite tiny but to my great surprise the weigela was 24" - 26" tall. Very positive experience.

I ordered from Forest Farm for the first time this fall, and the plants arrived last week. For the most part, they were in terrific shape--all plants had healthy looking roots, the foliage on most was in good shape--and when it wasn't, I have to say that the same plants in this area aren't looking any better at the moment. The packaging is the best I've seen--these plants don't get tossed around in foam popcorn. Yes, the shipping is expensive, but the plant costs are low. I suspect that other vendors build their shipping costs into the cost of the plants. On balance, I thought the costs were fine. I received 7 small trees--including some that I could not find in local nurseries, 8 shrubs and 4 perennials for a little less than $275. I certainly could not do better locally.

I have been ordering from Forest Farm for several years now and have had nothing but raving reviews. The plants always have been in great shape and the selection is unbeatable.

Today, when I planted my order that just arrived, I experienced something that I have NEVER, EVER, HAD HAPPEN.
When I tipped that very healthy well-watered plant out of its pot, at the bottom was a big, fat, earthworm, who seemed very healthy after the long trip from Oregon to Oklahoma. WOW, FOREST FARMS, YOU ROCK!! Thanks for caring about the quality of your products.

Am disappointed by some of the negative feedback for Forestfarm. We buy 10-15 plants a year (trees and shrubs) from them, and in the past decade, have only had problems with a couple of Franklinias- which likely had to do with our conditions (coastal island off Massachusetts). You get what you pay for with Forestfarm- healthy, superbly-packaged, and comparatively large specimens. They ship out plants UPS ground in June and October from Oregon to our small arboretum on the Atlantic, and we've have never had a problem. If their website isn't overly user-friendly? I can only assume that they're appropriately expending their efforts on growing rather than selling!

I ordered about 8 different trees from Forestfarm in August. My order was processed quickly, and only one item was unavailable. My only real complaint is that they are listed as vendors for several items that they do not actually have in stock and that they do not anticipate having within 6 months time. Also, my order was shipped in two installments and it would have been nice to have been sent an e-mail telling me which items would arrive a week later than the others. Instead, I was scratching my head and wondering if I had made a mistake during the order process.

The website is not customer-friendly. I have to agree with that.

I was also frustrated that I would navigate their difficult site, fill my cart, and then it would show up as empty again. I could not shop leisurely or take a break and come back an hour later to finish. It all had to be done in one sitting. Frustrating!!

Also, some of the plants in bands are really much smaller than I expected.

I just noticed Dave's reviews on companies. In June, I ordered from Forest Farm for the second time. 3-4 years ago I ordered 200 -300 dollars worth of plants, but my most favorite, the Kazanlik rose, never bloomed in three years. It developed weird leaves and in the 3rd year it died. This year I ordered a number of plants and of course the kazanlik rose. I was assured that it grew in its own roots. Well, 2 of the three roses I ordered, had some virus ( I did my research, and I am a master gardener) and the trunk of the kazanlik looked poor. One individual, Ray I think, said from the pictures I emailed that it was because of the traveling that it looked poor. They again reassured me that it would be fine. I am almost positive that it was grafted and I know that it has a virus. The extension service said the same. One of the forest Farm employees said that they would send me another rose in October and it is in their computer. I do not want to see my kazanlik die and a weird something come up. I will change my review to positive or negative if I see anything from Forest Farm this fall. I am sending a link. Tell me what you think.

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Barbara

Very Positive!!

They are the very best place to get hard to find conifers. All the plants that I ordered came very very well packed and in nice condition.

If you are looking for any type of conifer or any type of tree at all this is the place to go!

Of course, I would order from these folk again!

I just received my first order from this company & I couldn't be more pleased. It's a large healthy plant, totally filling it's one gallon container, & very well packed. It's just as nice as if I had gone to the local nursery & picked it out. Highly recommended!

I ordered several perennials from them including a tree peony and all arrived well packed and healthy. The tree peony was in bud, which was nice because it showed it wasn't one of those "one-year-old"s you see advertised all the time on eBay.

While certainly not a discount plant retailer, I should say you get what you pay for, in the good sense. Everything has been in the ground for over two months now and is thriving.

My experience has been very positive for the 8 hydrangeas that we ordered from ForestFarm. Competitive pricing and professional packing. I will be a repeat customer.

Living in Alaska I always wonder what condition plants will arrive in. Forest Farm did an excellent job packing the plants I ordered which also look very healthy. The order also arrived right on the day I specified. My only complaint would be about the great variety of plants they have, I am worried that my yard will not be big enough to accomodate future orders.

I'm sorry to have to do this but after the experiences I have had with Forest Farm this year I would not do business with them.

I made a large (for me) order from them this spring as I have the past couple of years. Some of the plants looked near death, others were just barely breaking the surface of the dirt they came in and others were fine. When I expressed my reservations to Ron at Forest Farm I was told to be patient, wait and he came just short of telling me I was imaginging things. Not receptive at all and the hollyhocks died. I let them know this was the case and they said they could not replace it because they were out of holly hocks. End of conversation.

Finally I ordered a Magic Carpet 'Spiraea' that arrived healthy but freakishly tall. Spindly and odd looking. A few minutes ago I received a very prompt but detached response from Ron saying that if I cut back to a couple of inches from the ground it should grow back. I had to laugh! My vision of having this plant in my garden this year was not a knobby stick but a gorgeous plant. Paying premium prices plus shipping for a plant that I have to cut down to nothing in order for it to maybe grow back and be healthy is not acceptable.

I would not give Forest Farm my money again and I advice others to proceed with caution.

Good luck.

Kathryn Fisher

I adore this company! Their plants are beautifully packed and are large specimens! I can find almost any plant under the sun here! Love them!

Once again, on-time arrival, superior quality plants, and superior packaging. I intend on being a life-long customer.

Placed my first ever order with them at the end of this year's spring shipping cycle. Since the air shipping to the East is quite expensive, I ordered tubes delivered by ground. They really hustled to get my order out as early as they could since I called right before they stopped shipping ground. Unfortunately, after the 9 day transit to OH, about half the order did not arrive in good condition (dry soil and withered leaves). When I contacted them, they went absolutely above and beyond any reasonable expectation of customer service and made it right. To customers ordering East of the Mississippi and not wanting to pay a ton for S&H I would suggest not having delivery after the end of June (orders in latest mid-May). For ForestFarm, their incredible customer service and unparralleled selection gets them an A+ rating. My only suggestion is to switch to using USPS shipping since it is almost half of what UPS/FedEx charge for 3 day delivery to the East.

I have had no experience ordering evergreen trees/shrubs until now- only ordered cactus and succulents, which are rather simple to ship and recieve in excellent conditions... but I was pleasantly surprised by the similarly excellent condition I recieved my order of miniature Manzanitas.. . well packed, promptly sent and reasonably priced. Nothing bad at all to say about this company. Even had some helpful literature sent along with the order. Will certainly not hesitate to order from them again.

They have an interesting selection of unusual items. The shipping charges are indeed high, so I would generally try to restrict myself to ordering the more unsual or rare things from their catalogue. They are certainly sensitive to said costs - I even had calls from the nursery telling me that if I ordered a smaller size of something they could pack a smaller box and charge less. The plants are generally high quality, and the packing is very sturdy (they essentially strap plants into place with heavy duty stapes, cardboard and tape) so there is very little damage in transit. It would be nice if the planting instructions included with the shipment could be tailored a bit more to specific plants, or if they could include more info on the plants in a given order. The instructions they do provide are fairly general -- a bit 'one size fits all'. Nevertheless, I do recommend them.

Ordered 2 magnolias, 1 potentilla, 1 weigela, 1 aster and 1 echinacea in the fall. Everything arrived very well packaged and healthy looking. Decided to keep everything indoors and plant in spring, since it was late fall. Currently everything but the Aster is dead. I am probably to blame for not providing the proper indoor care (I probably over watered the plants). However I paid over $60 for an Aster. The owner has been very good about trying to explain what I may have done wrong, but no offer for even partial replacement of the order has been made. Even Walmart or Home Depot will replace plants regardless of who's fault it is and there are numerous other nurseries online or mail order that will replace plants- no questions asked.
Even though the plants I received were very well packaged and looked very healthy I will definitely not be ordering from Forest Farms again, as they will not stand behind their plants (unless, perhaps it was their fault)

I had checked several online garden centers in my search for a Harlequin Honeysuckle. I found that Forrest Farm offered the biggest product for the best price. I placed the order and being on the east coast expected to wait for a couple of weeks for the product to arrive. It showed up in four days. I have never seen more care taken with a gallon container plant as they provided for this Honeysuckle. It arrived large, healthy and it perfect condition. Detailed instructions were also provided for the planting and care of the new arrival. I was very pleased with all aspects of doing business with Forest Farms.

If there were a checkbox above positive (ie Excellent) I would
have selected it.
I ordered a yellow birch tube from them on a whim. It's late in the planting season and I figured its leafed out form would have had a rough trip (2 day air). It arrived less than a week after I placed the order. It did fine. It's lush, and covered in green leaves.
I should mention that they even sent me a postcard to tell me
the order was packed (very well packed I might add).
These folks are awesome.

Received my first order from Forestfarm this week. The shipment arrived fast, was superbly packed and the plants healthy. Will definitely do business with again.

I ordered 5 trees form this company all plants were very healthy and all are thriving would order from them again selection is huge

I purchased two empress tress from forest farm,the sevice was excellent.My trees were huge and very green.The shipping was very fast and they packed the trees so good nothing could hurt them.I would recommened them to anybody that wants a beautiful healthy plant and quality service.Forest Farm is simply the Best,I will do all my business with them from now on.Randy Miller

I am in zone 7 and have ordered from Forest Farm before. I was always happy with my merchandise despite what others had posted about their experiences. I must admit, this time I am a little disappointed in my order.

I ordered the gallon size Eleutherococcus Sieboldianus "Variegatus". I was sent a tube instead with a note written next to my order (NA as gallon sent as tube). I was really looking forward to the gallon size. I have since looked at this same item on their web site and still see a gallon size being offered to order. What is up with that? I also requested in this same order the Crocosmia 'Jupiter' Montbretia, in this I did order the tube size. When I received confirmation of my order I went to the website to recheck the sun requirements and growth height. That was when I noticed the picture showing did not match the written description. The picture indicates a reddish color flower but the write-up talks about the plant being yellow. Now I am aware computers do not have the same pixels, colors, etc, however the picture they have posted is really misleading. To top all that off, I DON'T LIKE YELLOW FLOWERS. When I called to advise what had happened I was told the flower will be more toward orange. I hope they are right.

I am giving them one more chance, I have since placed another order and hope they don't disappoint me with this one.