Comments regarding Forestfarm

Have been very happy with their selection, quality and prices. Highly recommend!

In 1998, after reading in the local newspaper garden section about more hardy Salix species than Denver area nurseries offered, I orderd 8 Golden Willows (Salix alba vitellina) from Forestfarm. I felt that our fax exchanges and phone calls on what was the best willow for me to plant as a shrub fence were great. As for pricing, yes, their shipping cost are very high, but are extreme in the way the plants are boxed. The packaging is incredible. Someone had tried to open one of the two tall boxes during its UPS move and couldn't manage it. Plus, only one nursery in Denver at that time even offered a Golden Willow, a 12 ft. specimen for $125. I paid $56 for eight one-gallon willows, plus $30 in shipping, for a total of $86 for 8, 3 foot willows from Forestfarm in June.The plants arrived tall and healthy (not bushy) with great instructions. Plus, I had been well informed as to the spacing in advance. I just had a heck of a time getting the boxes open because I didn't read all the instructions. Now in their third full year, the willows in full sun are a story and a half tall.It does [not] bother me to get a catalog without pictures when I need a plant I cannot get elsewhere. Forestfarm gets a A+ rating from me.

This is a must have catalog for any serious gardener. Their selection is not only extensive but includes many hard to find plants. Their packaging is outstanding; delivery is prompt. We've ordered from them quite a few times. It's always a special day when the new ForestFarm catalog arrives. I never think twice about ordering from them. I know that everything will arrive as ordered & in good shape. Everyone on their staff that I have talked to has been friendly & very helpful.

Fist time ordering from Forestfarm. Used their web site to order (3) honeysuckle shrubs and (1) honeysuckle vine which shipped April 6th and arrived via UPS on April 14th - which was exactly within the time frame they stated (8-12 days) on their confirmation of shipping postcard that I received on April 10th. Very satisfied and surprised with quality. Shrubs and Vines were bigger, greener and healthier than I expected (great for 8 days UPS trucking from Oregon to Missouri). I never needed to use their Customer Service, so I don't have anything to report about them. The S&H costs were so high to ship to Missouri - equaling my order cost - I do not know if my final order price was competitive or not with other mail order companies. The shrubs I ordered were hard to find and Forestfarm had them in stock and their Web ordering process was easy. I would, however, caution potential customers concerning their guarantees. Although they do express in writing that they will work the customer if there is a problem, I found nothing in writing about Forestfarm offering refunds or credits. I would definitely order from them again if the total costs after S&H is still competitive with other companies. My first-time customer experience with this customer based on plant quality and on time delivery is 4 out of 5 smiles :)

Forestfarm is one of the three nurseries that I order from every year.

I just received my first order from forest farm and was impressed. Not only were the plants (Lilacs) much larger, and healthier than I imagined they would be, the packaging of them was also top class. Upon opening the tall shipping box, a bud popped out of the opening .It was a nice surprise to receive such well grown and cared for plants. It was well worth the high shipping costs. I will definitely order from them again

I must say the people at Forest Farm must have a very large mail-order operation. If you read their catalog, they specify shipping charges East of the Rockies are not economical. They were expedient to reply to my inquiry, and did make some adjustment accommodation to my own order. As they told me read ALL THE ENCLOSED PLANTING INFORMATION REGARDING TO THE CARE AND HORTICULTURAL PRACTICES OF THE PLANTS THEY SHIP. You can learn a lot. I would order from them again because they personally responded to my inquiry, when I really did not expect to hear from them. They are reputable and reliable.

I have ordered from Forestfarm almost every season for over ten years now and have always been extremely pleased with their selection, price, quality and service. The gallon sized and 5 gallon sized plants are expensive to ship to the East, but the 'tube' plants are a real bargain. Most tube plants are $5 or $6 e each, and shipping for 12 plants from OR to PA is $30 for second day air. Tube plants are grown in 2" x2" degradable sleeves. The plants are usually 1' to 2' high. For a plant collector such as myself, Forestfarm is a treasure trove of rare and unique species.

Since 1993 I have ordered plants from Forestfarm at least once per year. The plants have been of excellent quality, and the catalog offerings are filled with plants that most gardeners would never see anywhere else. I have had a few plants that have not survived here in Virginia, but they were plants that were not suited to the climate here, or to the site they were place in. I recommend Forestfarm to any and all other gardeners looking for the unusual, or hard to find plants.

My experience with Forestfarm was excellent. I recently ordered and received 7 plants. I live in Montana and asked that the plants be sent by surface mail. They arrived two days after they were shipped - in beautiful condition. For the price - including shipping, I could not do better locally. I received 7 plants, three trees and four shrubs. Three of the plants were in 5 gallon containers. The cost, including shipping was $256. The three trees are each about 6 feet tall. I expected to get small whips, but these are as well-developed as I would have gotten locally in a 5 gallon container. All of the plants were well-rooted but not excessively so for their pot size - about perfect I thought. They were all equivalent in development to plants in similar sized pots that I would buy locally. The people I dealt with on the phone were extraordinarily patient, tolerating (an embarrassingly) large numbers of changes I made in the order over the course of the 10 days or so before it was sent out. They got the order out faster than the three other mail order companies I have dealt with. I had everything within two weeks. The other companies had ship dates of two or three weeks after order. There was one mistake in the shipment. Thy sent two Crataegus (Hawthorns) when I had ordered one, and did not send a Sorbus (Mountain Ash) I had ordered. I called them and they allowed me to keep the extra Hawthorn and within a week had sent me the correct plant at no charge. Based on my experience I would highly recommend Forestfarm.

Huge list, no pictures; specialize in woody plants but also have vines, grasses and perennials; sell good quality plants, even their smallest sizes are often larger than other sources. Have always received good quality in good shape. Prices very reasonable, but shipping to east coast can get pricey if you wait until the last minute!

Their catalog is a big, thick book. No pictures. Hardiness zones are included. About two-thirds of the catalog is devoted to trees and shrubs, with the remaining third devoted to perennial plants. Plant descriptions are brief, but they do give the essential information necessary to make your choices. I would not recommend this catalog for the beginner. You should have some garden experience first. Prices are reasonable, but the shipping charges are high. They do not accept credit card orders. However, after the first purchase, they will trust you to pay them and will send a bill with the plant shipment. I found their customer service to be good. We ordered in March, specifying an April ship date. The plants arrived at the right time. The packaging consists of plants in plugs of dirt, wrapped by a biodegradable plastic, which is wrapped in either a plastic bag or in a specially designed cardboard tube. All of the plants that we received looked healthy. Another rush order that we placed was handled promptly and efficiently. They ran out of some of the plants, and issued a refund to us instead of placing it on backorder. The selection is large. Certain plants found almost nowhere else, such as a Calceolaria 'John Innes', are listed there. It is a treasure trove. However, you have to be ready to do some real digging through the catalog to find your treasures.

Very interesting selection of shrubs. They held for me a plant I was interested in for a couple of weeks, until their catalog arrived. Good shipping and nice people.