Comments regarding Annie's Annuals and Perennials

I absolutely love the unique varieties Annie's Annuals has to offer. We have so many beautiful things in our yard that no one has ever seen or even heard of that all came from Annie's. Their prices are excellent and shipping has always been super fast and well packed when I can't make the long trip to the nursery. The variety of options is almost paradise if you're a high zone gardener - and they offer so many things you can't find anywhere else - from high heat succulents to cool growing tropical lovelies. All that said... they probably have the most beautiful mail order catalog I've ever seen - yet the website is so meh and ungainly to use.

I wrote an email early this morning to ask when a certain plant would again be available. About one hour after they opened--I am from different time zone than they are--I got a reply. Not only was I told when the plant would again be available, I was also given very easy to follow instructions on how to make sure the plant was indeed available again.

After I read the response, I ask some questions like what size pot will I need. And since I had already placed an order for some other plants I asked about them too.

Within a few minutes I had a response to that also.
I started a nonprofit center here where I live to help rural women do gardening for food security and beauty. The response I received from Annie's Annuals and Perennials was very kind and supportive. This meant a lot to me. I did not feel like we were competing one bit-instead we were working together so that everyone has the opportunity to practice their love for gardening.
I also want to add that the website is very easy to use. I am going to be using it as a model of how I will want my own website to look and also to ensure it is as easy to use.
All in all Annie's Annuals and Perennials online garden business has been one of the most pleasant moments with internet businesses that I have had. I would highly recommend them.
Joannabecca

Posted on April 17, 2017, updated April 17, 2017
A couple of weeks ago, I placed an order with Annie's Annuals and Perennials.

When I received the package and opened it, all of the plants were just perfect. Of course, I could not plant them in the rain, so I transplanted them all into gallon containers. I will have to wait until the soil dries out a bit until I plant them.

I'm Soooo impressed with my plants from Annie's Annuals and Perennials! :0) I researched reviews online before I purchased. Now there's been folks complaining about shipping costs. Here's my two cents~Worth every penny! The shipping prices are very appropriate. This is the absolute best condition I've ever received plants in, that were shipped. I can see a lot of care, time & money went into packaging my beautiful plants. We all know 2 day shipping with Fed Ex isn't cheap but its less transit time on the plants. I don't want to save on shipping costs, I want my plants to arrive quickly and healthy. Annie's does just that! Add to that, I couldn't get most of the plants I ordered anywhere else.

The plants are so gorgeous and healthy and beautiful and some are already blooming and...well I could go on and on but you get the point! So if you are reading this and researching Annie's Annuals & Perennials and deciding if you want to order...I say do it! When you receive that box~It will put a huge smile on your face when you open it up! Yeah its like that! :0)

Oh and one more thing...prices are better than any of my local nurseries with better selection and better looking plants...I will be ordering from there again and again. In closing I think it is unfair to leave negative feedback for a company you have not purchased from because you don't agree with the shipping costs. Anyone who doesn't order based on the shipping costs is missing out on some gorgeous hard to find plants.

I was blown away with the new plant packing methods that Annie's Annuals used for my latest order! No soil spilled, no damage to the plants, not even a bruised leaf! I actually took pictures and posted them to my Master Gardeners Face Book page. Not only does Annie's Annuals have fabulous, UNUSUAL plants, their prices are quite reasonable! I will be a rerurn customer for years to come. Their catalog is gorgeous, their web site is amazing!

I ordered 2 Mandragora Officinarum from Annie's this spring and have been very impressed with both the service and conditions of shipping. The plants were shipped and arrived on the days that Annie's said they would, described in the ordering process. They arrived in an extremely sturdy package in great condition. Mandrakes are notoriously fussy and fragile plants, and I fully expected to receive plants who had dropped their leaves and gone into full pout mode after spending a couple of days in transit. Instead, they are both upright, perky and green, and have shown no signs of shock since their arrival. I know that the shipping costs seem high to some people, but I am more than happy to pay the extra bit for plants that are packed with care and arrive in such good condition, especially if the plants themselves are a bit of an investment. Thank you Annie's Annuals and Perennials! I will be ordering from you again in future.

Hi all, I'm the master gardener for prospect heights community farm in Brooklyn for the last 20 years. I have also been a volunteer for Brooklyn botanical garden( Greenbridge outreach ) for the last 12 years. I love Annie's Annuals. Their selection is a thrill for those of us with a wandering palate and a must have nature with no room to stratify!!. To make it even better they arrive in robust health. Just top notch. If I sound really pleased it's because in my arrogance I waived responsibility as it's been in the 60's & 70's in Brooklyn this Feb./march. Annie's had the foresight to personally write me and gently suggest might I want to postpone my shipment? Convinced ( what Gardener isn't?) that I was right I said," no. Ship them. ". Then we got 7" of ice that has stayed. They arrived right quick& just beautiful. Thank you Annie's Annuals.

I was a little hesitant to commit to the pricey 2-day shipping. However, I have never seen such superior packing of any plant order! There was not a wilted or yellow leaf on any of the plants. The soil was moist and undisturbed. It's as if I had just picked the plants off a bench at the nursery. The 2 day shipping is not cheap but given the extreme care and attention given to protect the plants during shipping it is worth it! The plants were lush, healthy and growing. Could not ask for better. Thank you and keep up the wonderful work!

Very inventive shipping techniques, and well worth the price of shipping! FedEx could punt that box through a field goal, and the plants would all arrive undamaged, with all their soil intact, and yet still easy to remove from their packing! Excellent! Oh yeah, and Annie's is a great place to locate all those hard-to-find varieties of plants. Not stuff you'll find at your big box retailer, or even local nursery.

I can always count on Annie's. The plants arrive in excellent condition every time. They are never root bound and I haven't had any failures.
Twice, due to weather problems. the plants have been a day late and both times they sent me an e-mail explaining the situation before I even expected the plants.
Very professional service.
Joan Hardie
Aptos, CA

We have always had a positive experience with Annie's Annuals.

Plants arrived in good condition with adequate protection. All plants appear to be healthy and good shipping size on arrival. We will keep ordering.

Best plant (or my favorite) is the Octopus Agave from our first order. Very cool.

I have purchased plants from Annies Annuals both in the physical garden and online. Friday, I received two shipments and I cannot tell you happy I was when I opened the boxes. Each and every plant was in excellent condition, happy and had I been in the nursery, ones I would have chosen myself. They were also wrapped beautifully! Really, it was rather sad to remove their paper wrap and release them from their protective temporary homes to my garden! Not only are they wrapped individually to prevent dirt spills but then they are arranged in a cardboard carrier, with two taller sides to further protect the plants from becoming damaged. Annies goes above and beyond to ensure their plants arrive in the same condition as when they leave the nursery, excellent!

They are now in the ground and happy! Thanks to the staff at Annies for their care and excellent packing!

Shelly

I made 2 purchases during 2016. Not too sure about what I would receive BUT the plants received were excellent looking and definitely well raised. Both plants were California native plants. One was a succulent. The other my favorite native Salvia species.
In both cases the plants came in well constructed packaging and was easy to take apart to get the plants out for repotting.
My major hesitation was in whether or not my culture would prove successful in the transplanting from Annie's Annuals growth media. I am delighted to confirm that the transplanting was successful and I attribute this to the health and strength of the plants received.

Anisodontea sp. 'Strybing Beauty' self-sows like crazy!! I love it. And I love Annie's!

I've ordered twice from Annies. I've received an order of purple tree collards for myself and friends and an order that included grape soda trees (Psoralea fleta), aloes, and yacon. All plants were thriving and arrived in perfect shape with barely any soil displaced on their trek to the desert. I'm looking forward to future orders arriving in my mail box. I only wish I could go there in person someday.

Order shipped promptly. Careful packaging, the best I've seen in fragile plant care. Sensible materials use. Plants wrapped so no soil got loose. Also Annie's Annuals carries
plants difficult to locate --able to get Asclepias speciosa.
Good experience in every way. Mary Robson

We've gotten their catalog for years and finally ordered. It makes more sense to order from the website and use the "available now" list because then you get your stuff right away. The plants were huge and very well packaged. We got some roses we'd been looking for and they were giant and much cheaper than the little cuttings you have to pay $20+ for elsewhere. We are very happy and will certainly order again. Our only problem is, sadly, most of their plants aren't hardy here.

I love the new packing system! The plants were always packed to protect them well, but now they are also easy to unpack – no scissors necessary, and I don’t risk damaging them when unpacking. I also appreciate that the soil fills the pots, and I don’t have to try to fill up the soil when unpacking as I used to have to do when they sent them in bags in their pots. Now I can unpack them late after work without fear of them drying out for lack of soil before I plant them.

I have purchased plants online before and had terrible experience! I hesitated to do so again, but was wonderfully surprised by my purchase from ANNIES !! The plants were robust and good size, and were packed so lovingly. I have never seen such care in readying plants for shipment!! They are growing rapidly and was so happy that the plant choices were so varied! Thank you ANNIES for your commitment to the Customer!! I will be back! Kathy Olson Washington state.

My order of plants came in one box. 8 Plants were packed beautifully in separate containers with individual cardboard and plastic to keep the soil moist and in place. The plant material was in beautiful condition...great root balls, great color and no rot or blackened parts. I was very impressed with their products compared to other mail order companies I have received.

They recently upgraded their packaging and it is wonderful! It's so easy to get the plants out of the box. My hat's off to the engineer/designer who figured that out!

I was SO thrilled at the selection and variety available.. And my plants all arrived in PERFECT condition all the way over here in South Carolina! I'm now a customer for life! You can't go wrong with Annie's!

I discovered Annie's Annuals via Dave's Garden. It's been a great source of California native plants which are hard to find locally. The plants shipped were pretty small but arrived perfectly intact and have done amazingly well. These guys know what they are doing. I have ordered mostly indigenous milkweeds and am now looking at gorgeous, robust Asclepius speciosa in bloom.
We also had the pleasure of visiting the nursery on a recent trip to San Francisco and can confirm that it is not only well-managed but a spectacular place.

They have a beautiful website and catalogue. On both web site and catalogue they print photos of the plants individuality and in a bed together with with the other plants on the page. It is such a good idea!
I ordered four plants and expected the tiny little plants that I have recieved from mail order companies over the last twenty years. Not only were these plants large and healthy, they were packed beautifully. I was able to plant my flowers with confidence! I will recommend Annies Annuals and Perennials to everyone I know.

I had a very good experience with this nursery. The plants arrived very well-packed and healthy, especially considering their cross country trip. The plants were all the expected size or larger. Staff was extremely friendly and helpful. I'm ready to order again!

Annie's Annuals and Perennials is a pure delight! They have excellent quality plants, great customer service, perfect packing, and do all they say. Have had three orders come through nicely, and am very satisfied with the plants. In my opinion, they are among the top best online sellers, and I speak from considerable past experience. I would recommend them to anyone who would ask.

Annie's is the best internet ordering plant service ever! I have tried several other plant sites and found them to be deficient in shipping in a timely manner and also shipping less than quality plants. With Annie's my plants arrived exactly as promised and in great shape. packed expertly to preserve the integrity of the plants! Annie's has a lifetime customer now!
Al

Ordered some plants from Annie's a few weeks ago and they arrived healthy and beautiful. Included was the print edition of the spring catalog which is lovely and has given me much pleasure to browse through. Thank you very much.

Anne

When I received my plants from Annie's I was amazed. I have placed plant orders through other mail order companies but none of them ever got this response from me. Below is the note I sent to Annie's when the plants arrived. Good job, well done!!

All I keep p saying is WOW! The two plants arrived today and they are the largest and most beautiful plants I have ever received by mail order. The packaging was also better than other companies. Way to go, and thank you! I can't wait to plant them and watch them mature and bloom!
Sherrie

I have never ordered from Annie's before, but because her prices were very reasonable, and Annie's was the only site that carry the flowers that I was looking for, I decided to give it a try. From my experiences when ordering on line, I did not expect my plants to be very big upon delivery. I was very pleasantly surprise when my plants from Annie's arrived. Not only was it on time, the package was beautiful. When I opened the box, to my amazement, each plant was lovingly placed in it own divider. The plants were very healthy and tall. When I repotted my plants, the root system was very well developed. Also, when I called Annie's customer service with a question, Patricia was very pleasant and helpful. I just want to say that Annie's annuals has a loyal customer for life. I will definitely order from Annie's again and again.

This is addressing the excellent service you have given me regarding the 4 little DRAMA QUEEN poppies which arrived here in Ashland, OR looking limp and not very happy. Your packing job was as great as ever but after a few days 2 died with another one sickly and terminal.
I have received other mail orders from you and the plants are always meticulously packed and all other orders have had the plants perfect.
I am waiting now for the replacements which I know will be just right.
Both Julia and Patricia in the mail order office have been courteous and efficient in addressing my concerns which is a true reflection on the attitude of service Annies always seems to value.
Thanks everyone
SRHall

I have purchased many plants and succulent from Annies annuals and they have set the Bar on the proper way to ship plants without any damage or issues each time. I have not met the staff at Annies annuals, but with the personable emails we have exchanged, they make me feel comfortable buying anything from them and they are so kind. The next time I'm in their area I'm stopping by for sure! Thanks Annies annuals for all that you do!

I have bought quite a few plants from Annie's over the last few years, and I have been consistently impressed with the quality of the plants. One time the box arrived and the plants had been damaged. The box had obviously been thrown around in transit. Annie's replaced them right away. The 4" pot size is just right. Shipping live plants in soil does cost something, but Annie's is the only place that has some of the California native plants that I want, so to me it is well worth the cost.

Posted on February 7, 2014, updated December 3, 2015
Annie's Annuals is the mail-order nursery by which I judge all others. Their website is lovely, but designed primarily for ease of use. Drop-down menus allow one to search for plant material using multiple criteria. Items never mysteriously "disappear" off one's shopping cart. Navigation from the homepage, to plant lists, to the shopping cart and back again is easy. Even image-heavy pages load quickly. Annie's complete historical inventory--including plants not currently available, but those offered in the past or being cultivated for future sale--is readily accessible, which is a treat. Real live horticulturalists and plant enthusiasts contribute descriptions, cultural information, and glossy photographs for each individual species and variety. The website itself is a fantastic resource, above and beyond its utilitarian purpose.

I'm very keen on the bread-and-butter material they offer, but I really enjoy the rotating selection of South African bulbs, bromeliads, and succulents. In general, even the rarest and most squee-worthy stuff is available for at least a full week or two consecutively, which suggests that production and sales staff are earning their keep.

The packaging for mail order material is fantastic. It's absolutely worth the small "handling" fee associated with shipping costs. When being pulled for orders, rootballs are gently transferred into thin mil plastic, then inserted in the appropriate liner (good quality, heavy for their size, and constructed to be used again and again). All liners are inserted into snug, secure punched cardboard, through which the top growth emerges, allowing for air circulation during shipment. From the uppermost leaf or bud down to the rootball, Annie's shipping and packaging department ensures that everything is protected from being smashed or torn. On more than one occasion, I've had a box arrived looking tattered. The material inside belied this appearance.

Out of many orders I've placed, I've had one notable problem. A perennial arrived with its primary stem broken. Necrotic tissue (black, and a bit woody) at the actual site of damage suggested that this happened prior to shipping. I followed the instructions on my invoice, contacted customer service by phone, and they suggested that I plant the perennial as planned to see if the secondary bud would push out new growth. They assured me that if the plant failed, they'd be happy to replace it for me or provide a refund or credit. A month later, the plant pushed out a bevy of tender, young stems, and thereafter it's thrived. I was happy to learn that Annie's has protocols in place to handle such a situation, and the staff member with whom I spoke was gracious, helpful, and efficient.

I admire their integrity, and I love the way they run their business. If I lived a bit closer, I would be happy to visit their nursery and demonstration gardens in person. Second-hand gossip from local plant nerds suggests that the grounds are clean, staff are well-educated, and the gardens are wonderfully maintained.

I am giving them a positive even though the plants were tiny, shipping outrageously expensive and plants high for the size.
They have plants I can't find elsewhere so I would buy from again but only plants that are difficult to find elsewhere.

Applause for Annie's! I have been purchasing Annie's plants from my local nursery and garden centers for many years (I live less than three hours away from their nursery, so a wide selection of their plants have long been available at nearby retail outlets). Over the last couple years, however, my local outlets have cut back on overall plant selection -- not just Annie's -- and with our drought here in California, plant maintenance at these businesses has gone downhill. So when I decided to tear out and replant my large, abandoned garden and replant it with mostly water-wise plants and wildlife attractors, I turned to ordering the bulk of my plantstock online. At first I didn't think to order from Annie's because she sells so much stock locally, so I purchased more than 100 plants from another (online-only) California vendor. He ships his (frequently pot-bound) plants wrapped in many layers of paper and stacked up on top of each other in too-large boxes, so they arrive looking haggard and bruised (and are occasionally broken). I thought that having to nurse plants in the ICU for a week or two was just the price of ordering online. But then Annie's had a good sale, and the delivery fee (admittedly high) suddenly made more sense to me, so I purchased almost 80 plants at one go. And Holy Calendula was I impressed! The plants arrived looking bright, plump, cheerful, and ready to roll. Every single one. Out of all of that stock there were maybe two dropped leaves. The plants are shipped in corregated cardboard trays, with cardboard collars keeping them firmly in place. There is NO stacking, and no bruising, and not one of the plants was pot-bound. One thing to be aware of is that some plants are shipped in plastic pots and can be held back for planting later on, but some have their roots wrapped in paper and must be planted out or potted up within three days. If you order you might want to find out ahead of time how your plants will ship. As for how my mail-order Annie's plants have perfomed, they are thriving. I did lose a couple campanulas and a Francoa ramosa in a horrid heat wave that hit soon after planting (my fault, I think, for overwatering them in the heat, and campanulas just don't seem to do well in my garden), but everything else rooted out perfectly. And regarding the marvelously whimsical, groovy nature of the Annie's catalog, and the hyper-upbeat tone of plant descriptions -- both of which one rather rigid reviewer from the other coast disparaged here -- I love that entire vibe. But then I am Left Coast by birth and spirit, so these are my people!

I have ordered from Annie's several times and have not been disappointed. Their packaging is second to none. They have unusual plants that I have not been able to find anywhere else. The one time that I had a problem with plants that were damaged in transit Annie's replaced them in a flash, no questions asked. Their shipping charges are in line with other reputable nurseries on the west coast that ship to me here near Philadelphia.

Cannot say enough good things about this fantastic company !!! Great customer service from a very knowledgeable staff. The videos on their website and emails are very detailed and informative.I am a regular customer here and any time that I have ever had a problem or a question, they were really quick to remedy the issue or answer any questions/concerns that I might have. The selection of plants is always phenomenal-so many weird, rare and wonderful varieties ! I live in a zone that has a short growing season, so growing from seed isn't always an option for us. The plants are always healthy. They also have the BEST shipping setup for plants in the country. We have had very few casualties (I have consistently shopped with these guys for 3 solid years). We get our plants in 2 days via fedex. You just can't beat that ! Annie's will always be my go-to....and now Los Alamos gardeners are in on my 'secret'. Thank you, Annie's Annuals. You are the Gold Standard and you have a customer for life <3

Posted on July 24, 2015, updated July 31, 2015
I was really excited to see all the amazing and unusual plants Annie's carries... and there are several really good videos on the website, along with information about how to care for each plant. I received my plants and most of them were doing fine, except 1, which looked pretty bad. I tried replanting it, but it just looked worse and worse... I emailed, twice. No response. Finally I called... and a very nice woman spoke to me and asked me to send a photo, which I did. She emailed me back asking me if I preferred a refund for that plant. I emailed her explaining what I might like a store credit. Never heard again. In the meantime, 2 of the other plants are not doing well... so I emailed again, adding photos and begging for help, trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong... no response. I'm starting to wonder (especially after seeing other complaints about email) if they know how to use email?? This 2015, most people who order things on line, etc, prefer to do business through email.. time to get move into this century, Annie's!