Comments regarding Gilbert H. Wild and Son

I've been an annual customer for many years with this company, and have found their products reasonably priced and usually good quality. This year the quality is way off. I ordered several sunflowers and a half dozen lobelia which seem viable if not particularly good, although one of the sunflowers leaves were brown and possibly diseased. The really bad part of the order were nine canna lilies I ordered. I've planted cannas for many years very successfully. I wanted some more to fill in new spots. But what I got were tiny shriveled up corms with no apparent shoots or growth of any kind on all but two. As for any roots, forget it. Since it's June and my own canvas are well on the way here in the northeast, I expected better product. I am sure these will not produce. I have not tried calling the company because of the recent experiences with customer service reported here. It's a shame that a favorite decent company has deteriorated so quickly.

"On Jun 6, 2022 12:01 PM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

We are unable to help you if you will not contact us with your name and order information. This is a pretty unfair review."

I bought 200 bare root hosta plants from them in October 2020. When they arrived, about 25% were mushy and moldy. I contacted them right away and they said to wait until spring to see how they did. I did that. To avoid spreading any infection, I potted them individually in potting soil and kept them separate from the rest of my hostas. Most of them grew, not all. Most importantly, a lot of them showed symptoms of HVX this spring. I have tested three obvious ones and they all tested positive for HVX. There wasn't one negative test on any of the Gilbert Wild roots that I tested. I can't possibly waste any more tests on them, they are expensive. The plants had been quarantined in pots, fresh soil, and I haven't had any other HVX in my collection. They had to have arrived here infected. Gilbert Wild denies ever having HVX, but I have made the acquaintance of several other hosta growers who have received infected hostas from them. If sellers do not stop selling infected stock to unknowing buyers, we will never get HVX under control.

They refunded me for the plants for some reason, I didn't ask for a refund. The disposal costs for all the plants, pots, and soil, and my time and water wasted, are more than the refund amounts to. I simply wanted them to do something about the HVX problem. Act like they care. If they pretend they don't have HVX, then they'll continue to sell infected plants to unknowing buyers. It's depressing.

I now need to worry about my own hostas showing signs of HVX and I'll be hesitant to buy any new ones. This is my hobby, my joy, and they've kind of ruined it for me.

I have dealt with this company for over 20 years. I called to complain that shipping times are not reflective of what is best for customers. Lady on the phone was very inexperienced, so I asked to talk to a manager. Big mistake !!! This lady could only repeat one thing over and over..... we cannot control the weather. I agree, but they can control when the items are shipped. She was very rude then proceeded after I had hung up to cancel a pending order for one hundred daylilies that I had ordered weeks ago. I had spent four hours preparing a new bed just for those plants. I called to ask why an order I had not cancelled was cancelled. She said that they reserved the right to cancel any and all orders. I will never deal with this company again,. It was once a very good company.

Last year there was a purchase of a few items that came in great and were wonderfully packaged. Planted them and they all were growing great except 1 which was having a hard time. The coreopsis. That was not a problem at all. Also received the 10 free daylillies. which came in a brown paper bag in a box with a band around each that signified which ones they were. They looked like they were cooked from the heat as they were separate from the rest of the order. Planted them anyways. along with others i had from another grower. Seen a few green tips pop up slightly then turn brown. Didn't think much and thought well they should be ok. None came up. Well by now it was fall so i figured i would wait till this spring to see. Nothing. Dug up one and the little root nodules were all dry and like empty paper sacks. Contacted customer service and was told you needed to contact us within 45 days and they were free and then hung up. Basically brushed off sort of rudely the way this was said. Didn't see a sticker that says 45 days required to report. I apologize that that was missed. I work for customer support at a Major Company and if i answered in that way well, at this time and with everything going on the customer would be my major priority and not writing this email

I was given a gift certificate for this company as a birthday present. I ordered several live plants as well as lily bulbs. When the package arrived all but one of the live plants were brown and dead, not dormant. Only one was potted and protected by a cardboard container, that plant was the only one alive. The rest did have some soil but were wrapped in plastic wrap with no packing to retain moisture. They were placed in the box with no fillers so that they rolled around loosely during shipping. I called the company and was told they couldn't send replacements because those varieties were now out of stock. I was told to plant them and wait a few weeks and if they weren't okay then we "could try to work something out." I've gardened for over 50 years so I can tell dead plants from dormant ones. I asked if they could refund the money to my son's credit card and was told "I wouldn't know how to do that".I still have some store credit but I should have received a refund for the dead plants. I live in the same state as this company so there's no reason they shouldn't have arrived healthy except that they were either in bad shape before they were shipped or the lack of careful packaging attributed to their demise. A refund should have been issued so that I could at least have attempted another purchase since they don't know how to refund a credit card, which any cashier at a retail outlet knows how to do.

"On Jun 15, 2020 6:29 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

Hello! We're sorry that you had a difficult time on the phone with our customer service rep. Without knowing your name or order number, it is hard to help at this time. We did have a new employee that was in training, perhaps that is who you spoke with. That employee actually no longer works here. Regardless, if the rep couldn't help you, she should have forwarded your call to someone that could. Please contact us at customerservice@gilberthwild.com or call us and ask to speak to the manager and we will get this sorted out. Thanks!"

I ordered several daylilies from Gilbert H Wild & Sons and am not happy with what they shipped to me. They advertise that they send 2-3 or more divisions per plant yet the plants I received only had one sick looking fan each. I contacted them and sent them pictures and was told that they feel all of the plants except one will do well. They are supposed to be sending me a replacement for the one they admit was in poor shape but I haven't received it yet. I should have stuck with Oakes daylilies because they send quality plants.

My experience with them is the worst i've ever had with any company. I placed an order for some plants in late april was told that my order would be shipped out in 10 days, well 10 days pass and nothing so i contact them they tell me some excuse then say it'll be the next week they'll be shipped out well that week comes and goes and still nothing so email them again then another excuse then tell me my order will be shipped out early next week well monday, tuesday, wednesday and thursday pass and still nothing so i ended up emailing them telling them to just cancel my order and give me a refund. Which I doubt they will even do because I haven't heard anything back about it so going to contact my credit card company and explain the situation and hopefully can get my money back that way.

I understand things happen but as a company your customers shouldn't be having to email you asking you about their order multiple times then finding out something went wrong. Also the fact that I was receiving multiple emails every few days about new offers for future orders, like you haven't even fulfilled my first order why the hell would i want to make another one let alone keep getting stuff from you (which obviously sending emails out a bunch of times a week worried about getting more orders is probably why they were so slow) it just added insult to injury. I recently got into flowers and was so excited to finally make my front garden beautiful but now I can't even do that because of them, way too hot to garden outside right now and most of the plants I got had to be planted in spring for them to bloom on time. WORST EXPERIENCE EVER.

"On May 23, 2018 10:27 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

We had a late arrival of Spring, which put us behind on shipping. We have hired additional help and have worked over 50 hours a week trying to get all orders shipped. We have shipped over 19,000 orders this spring. We know this is frustrating for you, the customer, as it is frustrating for us. However, Mother Nature is something we cannot control. Your order was canceled and refunded to your credit card.

If you have further questions, you are welcome to call us at 888-449-4537, or email customerservice@gilberthwild.com"

I ordered two daylilies early in the year and asked that they be delivered in May since I am in zone 6. When they arrived there was a note on the packing slip that they had a crop failure on one. I was left with one plant and a shipping charge nearly equal to the cost of the daylily. If they had alerted be to the crop failure anytime before shipping I could have added to the order to make the shipping less costly per plant. The one they sent was very small, a tiny single frond the size that most growers toss out. They included a "bonus" that was nothing I could use and was soft and rotten. I ended up with a single daylily that will take a least a year, perhaps more, to grow to blooming size. Their "guarantee" states they will issue a credit if there is a problem. I emailed them and asked that they ship a reasonably sized plant, but if they would not there was no need for a credit as I would not be ordering again in that case. I guess they have no interest in making their customers happy as I never got a replay .

"On May 23, 2018 10:38 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

Jim,

We try our best to provide wonderful plants at great prices. Occasionally, we have crop failures. We did not know about the crop failure until it was time to ship your order. Rather than sending you a bad plant, we issued you credit and refunded your Discover card for the price of the plant. When you notified us about the Snaggle Tooth being too small, we replied by giving you a merchandise credit for that item, as we were sold out so we could not give replacements. We're unsure why you did not receive the reply to your email, perhaps it went to your junk mail folder. You do, however, have a merchandise credit for the Snaggle Tooth daylily in the amount of $15.00 that can be used on any future order. We apologize for any inconvenience or frustration that you had with your order.

If you have any further questions, please call us at 888-449-4537 or email customerservice@gilberthwild.com."

Placed an order for Bleeding Heart collection and Coneflower collection. Planted them as soon as they arrived. Within 2 weeks 2 of the Coneflowers and one Bleeding Heart were dead. I called customer service and they said they would send replacements. When I opened the replacements I was shocked at the quality of the plants. One coneflower was just a cylinder of mud and the Bleeding Heart had one live root the others were rotten and falling off. This time when I called customer service they were not nice at all. The lady keep arguing that there had to be some roots or leaves on the replacement coneflower. I told here that I had taken pictures of it as soon as I opened the box. She was not interested in seeing pictures. I can't believe anyone would send 'plants' of such poor quality. She informed me that I would receive store credit because they could not continue to ship replacements. When I tried to use my store credit I found out I would have to pay shipping and handling charges. When I called to ask why when I had paid shipping and handling on the original order she got rude in explaining that was their policy to only give you credit for the plants. I was given a store credit for $8.76 but would have to pay $8.00 shipping and handling to use it. I don't believe you should have to pay twice. I won't be using the store credit or order from them again.

"On May 16, 2017 7:28 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

we have shipped over 12,000 order this spring and have had a handful of negatives that keep me awake. We work very hard to please our customer. All I can say is we do mess up but try VERY hard to please our customers. Sometime I just can't make everyone happy. Greg Jones. Owner."

I placed a large order with Wild last year.This spring, based on their one year guarantee, I called about 3 plants for a merchandise credit. The young lady I spoke with could only be described as snippy and told me I should have called last year. I explained that I was giving them the benefit of the doubt as sometimes a weak perennial comes through stronger the next year. She did not care.
So I emailed customer service and asked for the credit so I could apply it to this year's order. I received no response. About a week later, I resent the email with an additional note. Again, no response.
It seems Wild is happy to send their plants as long as they are not bothered again after that.

"On May 2, 2017 5:49 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

THIS IS NOT FAIR! WE RESPOND TO EVERY EMAIL DAILY! The most frustrating part of Dave's gardens is that an individual may make anonymous comments. We can only fix a problem when we know the problem. There are only three people in the office and we discussed your comment and none of us remember speaking with you. We keep all our e-mail and cannot find any correspondence. You will notice below I ALWAYS respond. I have my personal phone number 417.548.3517 listed here and below, and if your not happy just call me! We stand behind our guarantee, will honor our guarantee, but you have to communicate with us. Greg Jones - Owner - GH Wilds. Our correct e-mail is customerservice@gilberthwild.com or mine is gregj@gilberthwild.com What other Company puts the owner name and direct phone number and e-mail address?

Very small , poor looking plants this year and to add to that they sent a dandylion root in with 2 other small roots of prairie blue eyes. When I complained about the dandylion they did not even say so much as I am sorry! That's all it would of took to have me not writing this!!!!

"On Apr 26, 2017 12:38 PM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

We are so sorry for the Dandelion that was in your plants. we work very hard to be sure that you don't have to pull any additional weeds in the garden. If you feel the that the plants are to small, please return them for a full refund. Please call me to discuss. Greg Jones 417.548.3517, I usually in the office from 5:30 am to 3:30pm."

I was unhappy with the small size of the daylilies I received, some were quite dry. Gave them the benefit of the doubr and planted them anyway. Two years later I am still unhappy with them, few or no blooms, scraggly foliage. I am going to dig them up this spring. Never, never, order from them again.

"On Feb 2, 2017 5:42 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

I am so sorry that your plants are not growing now. I would love to know how they come out in the spring. I would like to help you with your plants and meet your expectations. Please call me - Greg Jones the owner at 417.548.3514."

On an order of peonies, none of them were true to name. Like ordering from a grab bag. Customer Service is rude and will only give credits on erratic plants--meaning that you have to pay new shipping charge and reach into the grab bag again.

Shame on you Gilbert H Wild....I ordered a few daylilies from GHW last season and most of them did not bloom. i received a merchandise credit, which I used to order Carolina Pansy Face daylily. The credit covered the cost of the plant and I had to pay the shipping which was eight dollars. The plant came within a few days along with a bonus daylily...Rosey Returns. The bonus plant was dead and the Carolina Pansy Face was half dead....about five leaves and two were yellow.

I emailed their customer sevice and they apologized and said that I could return the plant to them at my cost. i declined to spent another dime with them. Why should I have to pay to return a half dead plant that should not have been shipped in the first place.

They came back later and said to place the dead Rosy Returns in water and it would be okay....just dry due to shipping. They also informed me that their plants are guaranteed for a year. Neither of these plants should have been shipped. The Carolina Pansy Face was way too small, and the Rosy Returns is dead. I will never shop with them again.

Posted on February 5, 2014, updated April 24, 2015
I have never reviewed a plant company before, but after getting my Gilbert H. Wild catalog yesterday, I felt compelled to become a Dave's Garden member so I could tell you why I didn't toss the Wild catalog in the recycle bin.

I have previously ordered from this company. If forced to review them, I would have given a neutral rating. Why? They sent very large peonies, nice hosta and, usually, pretty nice Daylilies. Sometimes I felt they were a little small, but for $3.50, I got to try a new variety. Sometimes they were very nice sized. My issue was their 30 day guarantee. Peonies almost never bloom the first year. The Daylilies would not bloom in 30 days. I had a few Daylilies and a peony bloom in a color other than pictured in the catalog. I read reviews here and decided not to contact customer service. Their guarantee clearly stated 30 days. I knew that.

I had no intention of ever ordering from Wild again, since their guarantee didn't meet my needs. I couldn't resist looking through the catalog before recycling it. They do put out a nice catalog. I am so glad I looked through it. The owner has a letter on the inside cover. He specifically addresses the concerns mentioned on this site. The new guarantee is for one year! It sounds as if the business recognizes they needed to work on customer service and is doing so. I applaud that, and I will order from them again. I hope others give them a try.

As stated in the guidelines for writing a review, it is only fair to try working issues out with a company before blasting them in a public forum. This company does send quality plants. I really respect the fact that they are working so diligently to win back old customers and earn the trust of new ones.

This is sad. Something bad has happened to a place which we really liked. We have ordered in the past from Gilbert H. Wild and were pleased at the product and service. Plants were beautiful and large and healthy. Because of such fine service, we expected at least decent service this time.

Please notice we tried to work things out with them on this before now. We tried and tried!

Something drastic has changed at that place of business. Whatever it is, we would never go back there so long as the same person was taking the orders. We would have to be assured of a great change before looking forward to their business the way it once was.

We now see from other negative reviews we are amongst others facing problems coming from apparently one person. It must have been the same as she dared us to say something bad on the Garden Watchdog and she would refute it saying what terrible customers we are.

Recently before we reordered, a neighbor cautioned that she received an order with dead plants and that we should beware. However, this was an anomaly surely not to recur, so we placed another order.

In the process of making the order, this time I talked with a person we now think may be called Debbie. I had a difficult time dealing with her, so talked with her boss who smoothed things out. Then I called again to add to the order and once again dealt with Debbie. It sounded as though all was straight and we heard nothing further until now.

I got word a childhood friend in France had passed away, so arranged to go back for the funeral. As we were leaving, we were surprised to see a box sitting in our driveway, checked it, found it full of plants in bad condition, and in need of urgent care to keep from all dying. That ruined our preparations and set back our plans. I was able to check them out and photograph their condition. One was rotted into mush.

As we were now ready for my flight to France, I took the time to call and explain what happened and was met with now a very hostile and accusing Debbie. When I mentioned the package came by surprise and at the worst possible time, Debbie simply shrugged that she had no way of telling us it was on its way (UPS) Yet I had contacted them numerous times in the past, through the only email procedure available, the one on their website, so they must have had our own.

It was Debbie with whom I discussed the order and final mix yet Debbie denied it and accused me of lying and trying to cheat to get free plants. This behavior surprised and shocked me as I tried to discuss only to be shouted down by a now belligerent Debbie.

I passed the phone to my husband who simply sought Debbie's name. Debbie had refused to identify herself but when he pushed, she said it was Debbie. She said if I wanted to talk to her boss I would have to call on Monday, and that was after I said I was leaving for France today. Then Debbie became argumentative with my husband as if we were trying to cheat and get free plants or threaten to report her. I told her in my 74 years I rarely meet employees who are so hostile with customers and who still think they are helping their business.

Finally she said she would replace the damaged plant and send the one she claimed was never agreed to, and for free so I couldn't report bad things to Dave's Garden and better tell them I got something free I never paid for. O.K. gee whiz, I got something for free, I guess.

Flabbergasted that any employee would talk to a client in such a rude matter, I cut the call as short as I could, realizing she will now sent the replacement and missing plant with the expectation I will not report to Dave's Garden. Well, she did send the replacement and a tracking number. The problem with that is it was set to arrive in our area on Friday of Memorial Day Weekend to be delivered five days later. The poor day lilies were two inches long and dried. I soaked them for three days and they are now planted. Our hopes are not high. Our resolve to never return to Gilbert H. Wild is very high.

Posted on May 12, 2014, updated May 13, 2014
Posted on May 12, 2014, updated May 12, 2014
Tiny plants, for example, 'The Blues' grass was less than an inch across and the Butterfly Weed was 2.5" tall - a seedling plug stuck in a larger pot - no new roots even.

Poorly packed, loose soil all over and plants were out of pots and one was broken.

Mining insect infecting the Trollius.

Not "Field Grown" as advertised, and when asked about that, no reply.

Guarantee? As store credit, meaning an unhappy customer has to order again. How does this make it "right"? If I am unhappy now, why would you think this would make me happy?

So, overall, I wouldn't really recommend ordering from this outfit unless you Like getting bent over the rail.

"On May 13, 2014 3:55 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

Well we really tried this spring to make it without one negative, we have shipped 8,847 packages thru this morning without one negative, until yesterday. We tried to work with Dea as well. We did exactly what the 1 year guarantee said we would do, We offered her a full refund on any plant that she did not like if it was returned or in store credit for any plant she did not like but was not willing to return. We changed our guarantee because of recommendations from Dave's Gardens fans, and it really hard to give some one all of their money back if they want to keep the plant. So we gave a in store credit. She posted the negative when she discovered we gave her an in store credit, not when she got the plants or after she planted them, WE HAVE NOW RETURNED HER MONEY IN FULL VIA PAYPAL. We appreciate Dave's Gardens Fans, and we work very had to please all of our customers, who else post the owner direct line number (417) 548-3517 Good Gardening and God's Blessings! Greg Jones Owner 1out of 8847, if this was baseball we be great....but I lose sleep over complaints like this!"

I was absolutely astonished to open an email from this company today, and find an advertisement for a pyramid scheme beauty product, endorsed by the owner and sold by a family member! I immediately 'unsubscribed', and will not consider ordering from this company again. I have enough problem protecting myself from unwanted computer spam to allow it in via an established gardening supplier who has my contact information.

Shame on Gilbert Wild.

"On Feb 8, 2014 3:54 PM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

We are so sorry that you feel this way. I just wanted to help my daughter start in a product we believe in, as we are very family oriented. I thought my customers would appreciate learning about this new product. "

The owner of my local garden center recommended buying hosta from the "Wilds of Missouri". He said he had received gorgeous plants from them - very full and lush. So, I went home and did a search for "Wilds of Missouri", which defaulted to GH Wild and Son. I had bought from them previously several years ago and the results had been mixed, so I decided to go ahead and try them. Besides, they had a sale! So, I ordered 18 hosta all together.

The plants were well packaged. The packaging was in good condition when the plants arrived.

The majority of the plants I received were really small. They are what's called "liners". They had been put in a
3" pot for shipping, but the largest majority had not been growing in that large a pot. All the plants still had juvenile leaves and a very small root system. The best ones had three or four leaves and were the least expensive ones. The worst one was a Komodo Dragon that was on sale for $10.00. Someone had trimmed all the roots to about 1 1/2". The entire plant, from the top of the leaves to the bottom of the root system, fit in the palm of my hand with room to spare. One had rot in the root system. One they sent me was one eye trimmed off a larger plant. It had some roots, so hopefully it will survive the winter and produce a plant next year.

I complained by email. I received an email from Greg Jones, telling me to let him know which plants were bad and he would replace them. I replied, but the email bounced with some message about "repeated tries, give up". So I called and got a snotty girl on the phone. I relayed my story. She took my list of 10 plants to be replaced.

The replacement plants arrived shorty after and looked better. They, at least, looked healthy. They're still liners, though and will be small plants for several years. I could have bought liners a lot cheaper than I paid for these plants. Had I known they were selling liners, I would have passed. They said their plants were in 3" pots, which is technically true. That's what they shipped them in, not what they were growing them in.

I would suggest you buy hosta from someone else. I will.

Gilbert H Wild has very nice packaging but I didn't receive what I had ordered. I ordered the Pretty in Pink daylily and it appeared as completely peach with no ring. Prairie Blue Eyes was gorgeous in the catalog but very skimpy once start growing. San Ignacio did not bloom but I'll wait nxt year to see what happens and Joan Senior has just died to the ground. Oh and I was floored to see that the Akitva Oriental Lilies were dark maroon Stargazers instead. What a big disappointment!! I also ordered the Karley Rose Grass which I started in a pot
and later planted which is doing ok so far. I hope they will refund me for all my labor in planting them.

"On Jul 30, 2013 5:28 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

Please call us, as you have posted this without trying to work this out with and we don't know who you are. We like to work with our customer but we can't when you just post negative comments without trying to contact us to work things out. We have check our data base to find out who you are but have had no orders from Henrico, VA in the last two years. So when were these plants order and why don't you just call us? We hate when our customers are disappointed. 1.888.449.4537 or Greg Jones Owner 1.417.548.3517 or gregj@gilberthwild.com

Posted on July 13, 2012, updated July 22, 2012
Posted on July 3, 2012, updated July 13, 2012
For several years I received the Gilbert H Wild catalog and enjoyed all the beautiful photos of the plants they sell.

Well, I finally placed an order with Gilbert H Wild on 4/17/12.
I purchased SAGAE hosta, THE JURY'S OUT daylily, and BURGUNDY LOVE daylily.

The hosta and JURY'S OUT daylily were acceptable but the BURGUNDY LOVE daylily, which I paid $10, was an absolute joke!! For $10 I received a "daylily" smaller than the size and thickness of half a pencil !!

I immediately contacted the company asking for a replacement or a full refund of $10.
They told me to return the plant.
I said O.K., send a postage paid return label for me to send it back.
The company rep told me, (quote): "Sorry, we do not pay for postage on returned plants." (unquote)

So.....they sent me a daylily that NEVER should have been sold to anyone in the first place, (it was actually a "seedling" and not a "plant"), then they expect ME to pay to return it!!

WOW!! Unbelievable!! Needless to say this will be my first and last time I will order from them.
Also, just to let readers know, this is Gilbert Wild's PLANT GUARANTEE as stated on their website:

"We guarantee to provide healthy plants and bulbs true to variety and in prime condition for successful planting. We cannot be held responsible for losses due to extreme weather, soil conditions, improper storage conditions or delayed planting. Please report any shipping damages or missing items upon receipt. If your plant has received our recommended care and doesn't perform to your satisfaction within 30 days, a merchandise credit will be issued. To receive a full refund of purchase price, you must return the product within 30 days. No complaints will be entertained after 30 days."

MY PERSONAL NOTE TO READERS: you may not receive your order until weeks after your order date. That doesn't give you much time to plant your item and see if it flourishes. What about bulbs? You can't possibly know how bulbs are going to do in 30 days!!!
The website clearly states they will NOT entertain complaints AFTER 30 days.

Anyway, I planted the pathetic little $10.00-BURGUNDY LOVE seedling hoping for the best....It died. :-(

I am very knowledgeable in the care of daylilies, (just in case GILBERT H WILD questions my ability to grow daylilies).

"On Jul 3, 2012 6:06 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

Our guarantee states 30 days after reciept NOT order date!
I have sent out a replacement! EVEN THOUGH -
If you order a shirt a JC Penny and it's not the right size, or quality you thought, once you get it, do you get to keep the shirt and also get a replacement? If you order a lamp from Sears and get it, and it doesn't look quite right and you want a different one, do you get to keep the 1st free of charge.....Why do you think that you can keep the plant???? I send a free replacement. Thanks for the negative...since we had should a great record and you wanted to blast us publically. Greg Jones Owner"

Unfortunately, I am having to rescend a positive feedback from a couple of years ago. I have ordered from Gilbert Wild for 4 years now...2009 & 2010 the plants were great, 2011 was so-so, but it was a lousy spring, today I received my 2012 order of 9 plants and it was very, very dissapointing. Several fans were tiny, some were sickly and a couple I did not received double fans of which I paid $10/$12. I live in Missouri as well, even farther north than they are located and with the wonderful spring we are experiencing, I know how the daylilies are growing...there is no excuse for such poor fans. I have already thrown away larger fans than they sent me. Sorry to say, I won't be back.

"On Mar 29, 2012 10:29 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

I sure wish customers would contact us when they have a problem. We sure try to work with them when we make mistakes, so glad that they never make any! We try to make all customer happy, but that's not possible when they don't tell us...and just want to offer bad postings! To me I rather get the problem worked out! There is only two of us in the office and Freda did not contac either of us! Greg Jones. "

The customer service could care less. I order 10 Coral Charm Peonies and they sent them the week I said not to. I was here when they arrived but the 2-4 eye peonies could only qualify as 1 eye by any standards. Small- with 6 inch sprouts so of course I could see all the eyes. I'm a grower.

They said just send them back on my dime. Pity the poor home gardener that gets them after me.

I think I'm remembering why I quit buying daylilies from them 10 years ago.

"On Mar 8, 2012 7:13 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

I am not sure this is fair! Ms. Wright placed this order on 2/10/2012. We send an acknowledgement on 02/13/2012 and stated we would ship in early to mid March. We shipped on 3/1 and delivered on 3/3, The copy and the acknowledgement says we ship 2-4 eye. When she call to complain she said they were 1 and 1/2 eyes, any grower would tell you there is no such thing as a 1/2 eye!
She spoke with Steve and he is our best CS rep. He does care, as there are only three of us in the office we know what is said. I checked the cooler and did not find any without 2 eyes or more. WE do not reuse the plants for sale. We just feel that if a person wants a full refund, they should not be able to keep the plants too. We plant them back in our fields. I call Ms. Wright to duscuss...but she never returned my call. Greg Jones, Owner Gilbert H Wild and Son. How many other Companies care this much! "

I don't usually leave reveiws on companies but I just have to on this one. These people have the worst customer service I have ever experienced. I have been lied to three times by this company. The pants arrived late and in poor condition--very poor. I planted them to see if they'd make it and called the company to let them know. They person I talked to could not have cared less. I also mentioned that they had not sent two of the plants I ordered. She said they don't have the peonies anymore even though it was a new catalog. I said I wish you'd told me that when I placed the order and she said she would have if I'd actually ordered them. The next catalog I received still offered peonies for sale even though they'd been 'out for a long time.' I called back within two weeks to let them know half of the plants they sent had died. She said it would take a month to credit my charge card back. Two month laters, I called because I still had not received my refund. She said I obviously don't listen very well because they never return money, only give you a credit to use on more plants and the credit was only for $15 instead of for half of the plants that died.
I truely hope that none of you use this company. They are really bad. They took my money and left me with dead plants and nasty customer service.

Wrong variety sent, followed by unfriendly customer service. My Grandmother in the past ordered "Raspberry Sundae" peony, after anxiously waiting for it to bloom, it was a plain white. I ordered two seasons ago, a large oriental lily order and an individual blue and white bicolor - white capped waves - iris. Last year it did not bloom but this year I anxiously waited to see it, as the healthy blooms were huge - but today I find out its a solid purple/red tint. Not even close, and the white capped waves tag is still wrapped around the rhizhome so I am positive they were wrong once again. I called, and the woman said I need to call the first year, (how would I know, it didn't bloom) and she said it should have, as if it my fault. I have huge gorgeous iris gardens, obviously I know how to plant them, and if a rhizhome is not large enough they don't even bloom so for her to act like it was my fault for not letting them know last year. It bloomed healthily this year, so I know how to grow them, but nevertheless, its the wrong color, I did not care to buy another purple variety. She was professional enough to give a credit of 3.50 , even though it would be fair to send me what I wanted (she said they are sold out). I need to spend $60 as of now to avoid shipping, and considering I will get whatever they send, verses what I want, why bother. Shipping on one rhizhome isn't worth it. I wanted to share my experience so others know, not to count on receiving what you want you order, and if the small root/rhizhome doesn't bloom (its our fault).

I have ordered many times from Gilbert Wild over the last several years. I have usually been very satisfied with the plants I've received. My experience with their customer service folks today changed all that. I wanted to cancel an order and had to listen to the rep whine about how she would have to pay a fee, if I canceled my order now. She simply would not do as I asked. I will never order from GW&S again. Good plants are a plus, but to me customer service is the jewel in the crown of any company.

"On Apr 20, 2011 6:08 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

Gilbert H Wild and Son has been growing plants for 126 years and works hard to provide the best for our customers. Since Dave's Gardens has become a trial of public opinion, we will respond.
This customer's credit card would not go thru. She called very angry because her credit card would not process after we had written her. She then gave us a card that would work and was mad because we coundn't fresh dig her plants that afternoon. All of our plants are fresh dug. So she was mad because we could not ship to be received by Easter. If the credit card that she had provided had gone thru...she would of had her plants by Easter. Then she wanted to cancel her order after we worked so hard to work with her.
We do everything we can to provide the best service to our customer, but frankly there are time we cannot meet their demand and still be able to provide service to all of the other customers we enjoy so much working with.
Any customer can call the owner at any time with any problem...how many other Companies are willing to do that! Greg Jones, Owner GH WIlds, (417) 548-3517, my direct line. "

Posted on March 16, 2011, updated March 17, 2011
Although I have previously been pleased with the quality of plants ordered from this company, I just found out the hard way that their customer service people are argumentative and rude. I found out after getting a $10 off coupon in my e-mail with no starting or ending dates. I e-mailed the president:
I tried placing an online order today, using your $FREE$ coupon for $10 off which arrived in my e-mail. There was no place to enter that code, AND the order went through at the full amount without any place to enter that code. The order even went through without my pressing the confirmation button.
I called and spoke to a "Debbie" who said she would cancel the order, when it "appeared". She said that the coupon was only good for the three day weekend just past, but implying like it was my stupidity and fault for not knowing that. I called later to confirm her cancellation and after telling her about the 45 or so negative complaints on Dave's Garden's website, she said all those complaints were years ago, that I should have known that the sale coupon was only for three days, and constantly interrupted and spoke over me. I advised her that it was deceptive advertising not to have a beginning and ending date for such a sale coupon. I asked her to confirm by e-mail that my order was cancelled and to have Mr. Jones the president call me back as well. She also said that they are a small company and can't do anything about complaints; they "happen all the time". I reminded her that I have been a customer for a
long time and don't appreciate the rudeness. I got a cancellation confirmation by e-mail, but for the wrong order #.

"On Mar 17, 2011 7:21 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

Complaints don't "happen all the time" as Mr Lorenz has suggested. I have called him and he has not returned my calls. I would like to work out this issue with him as we will do with any of our customers. We did mess up in not putting an expiration date on a promotion. We did mess up and have corrected that. We work hard to please all of our customer and prefer to work with each one. I am normally available 5 AM to 4 PM daily at 417.548.3517 which is my direct number, but I was in St Louis this weekend as my first grandson was born and I thought that was a priority. Please notice that we shipped 26,000 order last year and had 6 customer complain..which I called and tried to work out with each customer. Greg Jones Owner of GH Wilds since 1991. "

When I ordered from this company I expected "#1 Grade, Blooming Size Plants" as stated in their catalog. I know I ordered the season ending clearance daylilies, but would expect that they would be as stated. Out of the 10 I ordered only 1 was a descent size plant. The rest were very small. One had two fans that when put together they didn't even make one good sized fan. I seriously doubt any will bloom next year. I am extremely disappointed in this company. I did not call to complain as I have read the negative complaints on here and see that the customer service is terrible and it's hard to get anywhere with them. I WILL NOT order from them again.

I have ordered from GW&son several times. The daylilies have been on the small side, but healthy enough.
This year I ordered iris. What I got was pieces of iris with mold on them. Some were actually mushy with rot and stinking to high heaven. Bad sign. Included with the iris was a note that said " no complaints after 30 days." Very bad sign!
After a major clean up and culling job, I found that less than half the order was salvagable. I called the Company and was told the iris were sold out for the year, sorry.
I have since lost most of the iris from that order. NO MORE GW& sons for me!!

Nanajane007

Posted on April 29, 2010, updated July 12, 2010
I ordered the Handful of Hosta's 25 plants for $35 in Fall of '09. To my suprise I counted 39 Hosta plants instead of 25 so I counted again and still came up with 39 plants. I planted all of them immediately and so far all have come up this spring and are doing well. I am very very happy with my purchase and will definately buy from them again. The hosta's are on the small side but definately worth the purchase considering they cost me less than a dollar for each one. Retail home improvement stores right now are selling the same size hosta's for $4 each so I feel like I've gotten an incredible value. Thank you Gilbert H. Wild!!

I placed a large order (myself and two of my coworkers) around the second week of May. I was told that the order would ship out the next week. I waited two weeks and nothing came, so I called the company and they said that the order was sent to Ohio. I live in Wisconsin. My address is Cty. Tr. ***. They said when they use that address, the computer shows Ohio. So, we tried Cty Hwy. ***. That one was OK. I don't know what difference it made anyways. I repeated to them several times that I live in Wisconsin. It can't be that hard to type WISCONSIN into their computer. Anyways, they said that the order was being sent back to them and that I would get another shipment. So, I waited another two weeks and nothing. So I called again. I was told that they got us a whole new order and that everthing was still in stock and it was scheduled to be delivered on Friday. Nothing came. So, I called them on Monday and was told that the shipment was sent to Ohio again. The girl said it was my fault. I gave them the wrong address. How could I give them the wrong address? I've lived in Wisconsin my whole life. Then it was Fed Ex fault. They had the wrong zip code. BLAH BLAH BLAH. So finally she said that she would send out a third order and this would be the last one because, Did I have any idea how much money this was costing them. I was really mad by this time. That woman was the rudest B*@##@ that I have ever spoken to on the phone. The next day I called Fed Ex to see what they had to say. They were given the wrong zip code from GHW. I asked if I could straighten this out with them. They said no, that I had to go through GHW. So, I called GHW back and asked them to repeat my zip code back to me and they had the wrong one. By this time I was BEYOND MAD, so I cancelled. Not that I would have gotten the third order any ways. God only knows where that one would have ended up. Screwing up once is acceptable. But, twice! And to be so rude about it, to blame it on everyone else but themselves. They have lost a lot of customers with this incident.

Posted on May 27, 2010, updated June 9, 2010
I ordered a "lily special," and received undersized, sprouted bulbs. When I contacted customer service to complain, I was told I'd have to return them at my own expense for credit.
It cost $10, 33% of the original order value, and valuable time to return the bulbs. I did get credit promptly, but my request for reimbursement of postage was refused.
I wrote directly to the owner, who has replied to other complaints in this forum, but have received no reply. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and the company has not responded to date. Go to //southwestmissouri.app.bbb.org/complaint/view/118606/c/eekkr8 if you want to check this.
I used to order regularly from Wild but I will not deal with them again.

BEWARE!!!!! The absolute worst experience. I placed a sizeable Daylily order with them. Now one is blooming an entirely different color than it should be. I called them and was told they would give me a credit of the value of the plant ONLY and THEY WOULD NOT SEND A REPLACEMENT!!!!! If I wanted to order another plant I would Have to pay ****$7.50***** for the SHIPPING!!! That is NOT an honorable policy and is not a company which stands behind its merchandise. NEVER AGAIN!!!! Dishonorable at best. There are plenty of GOOD companies out there to purchase from. I should have known better.

"On Jul 31, 2009 10:35 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

Sorry - we do screw up from time to time....Call me directly with any problems - Greg Jones, Owner 1.417.548.3517...I am usually in from 5 AM to 4 PM. I am pretty dumb, so speak slowly and I'll try to help you out.

PS - We shipped 27,000 orders so far this spring, we had how many complaints? Funny that this "customer" didn't mention that we resolved the problem and sent out a replacement for 1 plant order on July 2 and was already blooming....we do respect our customer and ask they do the same....sorry I'm just not very bright!

I had previously purchased from Gilbert Wild and received big, healthy fans. My last shipment were spindely, single fans or even just root clumps. I called to complain and was told just to plant them, they'd grow. The least of them are only now producing thin tips of green shoots above the ground. At least one had been something I didn't order, but tagged with what I did order. It was apparent as it flowered with under 3" blooms, which I didn't order. After seeing how Greg Gilbert seems to monitor this site, I've sent him an email and vm, and now waiting to see if I get resolution. If so, I'll buy again. Like I said, previous orders were exceptional. Last order makes me wonder if they're contracting convict labor to work the garden and the phones. No offense to convicts.

"On Jul 13, 2009 9:33 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

We have attempted to grow daylilies in greenhouse pots so that we could please our customers with quicker shipping, we planted the newer more expensive varieties in pots in January. The plants grew slower than expected and we ended up sending out smaller plants than we would like to...so we have learned our lesson and are now potting for next year (6 months longer growing). If your not happy let us know and I'll send a replacement or give full credit. No we don't use convict labor...just good ol' Missouri hillbillies who take great pride in their work! Greg Jones - Owner"

I've traded with this company several times and have never been disappointed with their irises or peonies. Daylilies are another matter. The plants are all healthy, ship promptly, and the prices are quite good. However, it's a crap shoot whether you will get what you ordered. The plants are always labeled as ordered, but about 20% of daylilies turned out, when they bloomed, to be something completely different from what I ordered. Not a problem if you're just looking for generic plants at low price. A BIG problem if you are looking for specific varieties!!

"On Jun 30, 2009 2:13 PM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

We are so sorry that we messed up...please contact me Greg Jones the Owner and I will make it right. You may contact me at 1.888.449.4537 or gregj@gilberthwild.com we do not want to do business this way. "

Sent very poor quality plants. They were so small and most of them were moldy. Will not respond to my emails or any other form of communacation. All my plants died.
I will not recommend this company nor will I buy from them again.

"On Feb 11, 2009 10:45 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

Please contact me, Greg Jones the owner of Gilbert H Wild and Son. I cannot find you in our customer list and I would like to work with you in correcting the situation. I can be contacted at gregj@gilberthwild.com or 417.548.3517"

Last Season I placed half a dozen different orders from this company. Each and every time they sold my name and address to "A Garden Gate" Magazine -- without my permission. I wrote to both Gilbert Wild and to A Garden Gate and asked them, politely, NOT to send me further copies of their magazine. Apparently, while Wilde can sell a customer's personal information without permission, they are totally powerless (or motivationally-challenged) to DO anything to stop the customer from getting junk mail!

This season, already, I have started receiving the same annoying Garden Gate Magazine.

I stongly encourage anyone who reads this to order thier plants from a company who RESPECTS a customer's right NOT to receive junk mail.

"On Feb 11, 2009 10:48 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

We work to provide the best gardening product to our customer. If you do not want to receive any mail from us just call customer service at 1.888.449.4537 we will not mail or rent any names if you so instruct us. "

I have been a loyal customer since 1995. I placed a phone order on May 30,2008 with a sales rep for daylilies. I received a flyer in the mail that day and placed an order for 39 plants for $94.95 plus an order of individual plants from an other sales offer. I received my shipment last Friday 6/20. I checked the invoice and was shocked to see that I received the wrong plants and was billed for $144.00 plus the individual plants and shipping. I called right away and spoke to a very rude lady who would not listen to me. I explained that their was an error and I received the wrong offer. This has never happened before. She told me that I would have to pay for shipping and a growers fee of 20 percent would be charged to me!
I did not receive the order I placed. She insisted that I spoke with her that day and that I should have questioned the amount the bill right away. I didn't question anything because I ordered additional plants and did not do the math then. I trusted them!
She told me" I might as well keep and pay for the plants as they would have to throw them away and what do I expect??? to keep them for free"??
I have never had a negative experience with them before. My orders have never been messed up and the sales people have allways been great.
Makes me wonder what is going on there! My credit card company will need to sort it out. I have put the plants in the ground to keep them alive till this gets resolved. They were dried and yellow!! I re-ordered the 39 dayllies for $94.95 plus shipping again..... I am still waiting for them as I type this post. I do not like to complain...I just think loyal customers should be treated with respect and not like dirt~ BUYER BEWARE

"On Feb 11, 2009 10:53 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

We are sorry...we mess up...when we do if you can't get the help you need call and ask for Greg Jones, the owner at 417.548.3517 or toll free at 1.888.449.4537 or email me at gregj@gilberthwild.com and we will do everyting that we can to fix things...I am so sorry you felt you were treated badly...we do not want to do business that way!"

I ordered 10 daylilies. They arrived in a LARGE box with a few shreds of newspaper. They were dried out & most of the roots had broken off from rolling around in the box. The woman who answers the phone is very unprofessional & acts like you've woke her up. They do not put their 800 # on the invoice, only on the catalog, making it harder to complain. I will not order from them again. They also arrived 19 days AFTER I ordered them, & 4 days AFTER the tracking # said they would.

"On Feb 11, 2009 10:55 AM, Gilbert H. Wild and Son responded with:

We mess up and so does UPS delivery sometimes. We ship 40,000 plus orders a year and do our best on every one of them...but we do mess up! If you are not happy owth the plants please call 1.888.449.4537 and we will send out a replacement."