Comments regarding Sooner Plant Farm (Shop Smarter Shop Sooner)

Posted on May 9, 2020, updated May 9, 2020
This was my first purchase from Sooner Plant Farm. I purchased two plants - Cercis 'Appalachian Red' and Hydrangea 'Little Honey' - based on the stellar reviews here. Both were large, heavy plants in soil.

Its hard to reconcile what I received with others' experience. Both plants arrived trashed; the hydrangea was snapped off at the base, and most of the branches were broken off the redbud. Apparently the company tethers their plants to the inside of the box, but does not use any protection or padding; the hydrangea came loose and was knocking around in the box causing extensive damage to both plants. It was obvious these were quality plants when they left the nursery but the lack of care in shipping ruined them.

They said they have no replacements to offer, but based on their website, you seem to be able to preorder both. No mention was made of replacing these once they came back in stock. The redbud is hard to find and at this late date, is now sold out everywhere else. I did receive a prompt refund which is why this review is neutral not negative. But that doesn't outweigh my disappointment in relying on Sooner Plant Farm based on reviews, and having nothing to show for it.

"On May 9, 2020 6:59 AM, Sooner Plant Farm (Shop Smarter Shop Sooner) responded with:

We are very sorry this customers purchase did not meet our normally positive experience. Unfortunately it appears one of the plants broke lose during shipping and caused damage to both plants. We promptly refunded the customer as we do our best to make sure a customer never feels we are trying to take advantage of them. Due to the extreme cost of shipping it is never in our best interest to intentionally haphazardly package a plant order. Our packaging and shipping methods and have proven to be successful through tens of thousands of packages. With that said occasionally a plant plant may break lose or even worse not get properly secured which may result in plant damage. When this happens we are happy to work with the customer to either prune off broken stems if thats all that is necessary and if not reship if plants are available or refund for the damaged plants. We fully understand customers are excited to receive their new plants and how disappointing it is if they arrive damaged. If you are reading this please know we are as disappointed as the customer and possibly even more because of the complete loss of the plants, the loss of the labor, the shipping cost which ranges from minimum $15.00 for a 1 gallon up to and over $50.00 for a 5 gallon tree and even worse is a disappointed customer. Please know we are always trying our very best to satisfy every customer, so when a problem does occur we are more than happy to resolve it in the best possible way for both parties. All we ask is that you be willing to work with us and we will be more than pleased to exceed your customer service expectations!
Regarding the offer to send replacements we assumed do to the nature of the email we received, it was best to quickly refund vs trying to offer a reship or another solution.
Again we are very sorry for the disappointing experience of this purchase.
Sincerely,
Brian

Posted on May 18, 2018, updated May 18, 2018
We recently ordered a weeping cherry from Sooner. It was supposed to be delivered on a Friday but UPS didn't deliver it until Monday.

When it arrived I was home and unpacked it right away. While I was very happy with the size of the tree and the packaging, the top 25% or so was wilted and turning brown, likely from being left in a hot truck over the weekend.

I contacted Sooner and they replied that we should prune off the bad leaves and branches and it should be fine. We did prune it and went ahead and planted it. By the end of the day Thurs another 25% or so of the leaves and branches were turning brown and wilting and the leaves that were green were wilted.

I contacted them again (sent pics both times) and asked that the plant be replaced or that I be given a refund, and their response was to ask me if we planted it correctly. It was damaged when we received it!

So needless to say I am quite unhappy and am not sure what the final outcome will be. It was a $90 tree and I would expect to receive a healthy tree or have it replaced/refunded.

I will update my rating depending on the outcome. I am very disappointed as this company has so many good reviews, which is why I chose them.

"On May 19, 2018 5:41 AM, Sooner Plant Farm (Shop Smarter Shop Sooner) responded with:

Unfortunately UPS did not deliver the plant as scheduled causing a weekend delay. Customer is correct the delay most likely caused a shock to the plant. In most cases the plant will recover once planted and given some time to adjust. We attempted to ask the customer a couple basic questions regarding the planting of the tree to offer advice on how best to proceed, whether that be to give the plant some time to recover or for us to reship or refund. Unfortunately in this instance the customer was not willing to wait, so we are promptly shipping a replacement plant to hopefully gain this customers trust. For those reading this, please know UPS considers plants as perishable items and does not cover them if damaged or delayed in transit. This means all replacement plants are completely at the at the the shippers expense. Because shipping really is not free and in many cases cost more than the plant itself, we truly appreciate customers that are willing to communicate with us and give the plant a chance to recover. However if after communicating we deem the plant is damaged or not recovering, we will reship or offer a refund which ever is appropriate and acceptable. However please know we will take care of the issue in the best way possible for both parties. As customers ourselves we know the difference between good customer service and poor customer service, and as our reputation on this forum testifies, we will address all problems appropriately.

Brian Chojnacki
owner"

Ordered 14 OSO EASY roses on their 2 for 1 special. All looked healthy on arrival and were well-packed. However, although I usually have great success growing roses, these have become scrawny and are most unattractive. I planted some pavement roses in the same bed with these and the pavements are doing fine but the oso easy roses I got from Sooner are very disappointing. I will change my rating to either postive or negative depending on how the roses are doing in the future.

"On Jul 25, 2011 10:51 AM, Sooner Plant Farm (Shop Smarter Shop Sooner) responded with:

Hello, thank you for feedback regarding your OSO easy roses. Can you contact me at sales@soonerplantfarm.com so I can review your order and hopefully offer some assistance to make sure your roses flourish.

Brian"

This is my first order with SoonerPlantFarm (SPF). Order was for 5 each of Sikes Dwarf and Lady in Red Hydrangeas. The order was delivered on time, with plants in relatively-good condition considering the 2-3 days' shipping. My only complaint was with the quality of the Sikes Dwarf plants, which were all leggy (about 2 foot tall with very few side shoots).

I haven't purchased anything from this nursery, BUT, in my browsing and comparing prices and what not between nurseries, I have discovered that Sooner has wrong info on one of their plants. And I thought maybe I should warn anyone who may be buying something and not getting what the description says. Their Juniper Grey Owl, is described as growing 18 inches and spreading 3 to 6 feet. The spread is pretty accurate, but the height is way wrong. I have two Grey Owls in my yard, and they get up to 5 feet tall. 5 feet is a far cry from 18 inches.
I have discovered that when looking at different nurseries and comparing, that there are quite a few who will say one thing, and another say something else, especially growing zones......one may say a plant will not grow in your zone, whereas another one will say it will grow in your zone....so who do you believe?

"On May 23, 2009 5:05 PM, Sooner Plant Farm (home of Imagine Backyard Trees®) responded with:

Thank you so much for making me aware of our error regarding the plant height, I have corrected it on our site.
Brian"