Comments regarding Hirt's Gardens (formerly Hirt's Greenhouse & Flowers)

It was a mistake to make my first direct order from Hirt's at the end of July last year. Their plants are mostly one-stemmed cuttings put in small containers and then wrapped in plastic and taped to suffocation for shipment. When I received them, I saw all 12 were all crammed into one box, one on top of another, broken, droopy and dying, and one plant was left out completely (yet I was still charged for it.) So much for paying higher shipping fees for better packaging! Fast forward to today, one of twelve live plants is thriving, and by "thriving," I mean alive enough to survive this year's season. I reached out to Hirt's before this review, but Matt Hirt said they would not guarantee the dead plants as they were not shipped out in the fall. My season is short where I live, so what constitutes fall shipping? Needless to say, I will not be ordering from them again. They lost a customer by not offering to make things right with me. I will not be ordering from them again and I especially do not recommend them. There are so many other nurseries whose stock continues to thrive in my garden and I will be happy to do business with those who care well for their plants and customers!

Ordered and received (on Jan 22, 2012) 4 Haskap plants from Hirts Garden. It is now April and 3 of the plants were living, one is dead. I feel I allowed plenty of time for the plant to sprout. When I contacted them, they wanted a photo of the dead plant. I sent them 2 photos of the dead plant, and a third photo showing the living ones with the dead one. The next day, the told me the didn't get the photos. Resent. Next day, they told me they had no record of the order. Ebay has a record. PayPal has a record. I have a record. I sent them proof. Every day they give me another reason for not honoring the sale. They have been giving me a run around for over a week now. I will never do business with them again. I would recommend avoiding doing business with this outfit.

Super fast shipping; however, less than desirable quality. I ordered 3 clematis -- Jackmanii Superba. Nothing superb about them. I knew they were going to be small (that's why I ordered 3), but they were very poor quality. One of the vines was about a foot long with leaves only at the top. One of the others completely broke off at the soil line as I was repotting. Live and learn. Based on this experience I'd say don't waste your money on this vendor.

Posted on March 8, 2020, updated March 8, 2020
I ordered Katharine's Gold iris from them. What came up this spring was not Katharine's Gold.

I recently ordered two plants from hirts garden.
A peperomia prostrata (string of turtles) and a ceropegia linearis woodii (string of DAGGERS).
The string of daggers is a close cousin of the string of hearts plant which I'm familiar with as I have 3 large plants of the HEARTS variety and one DAGGER variety that I have been growing for a while now (not from Alan Hirts but from actual honest sellers).

For starters, these plants are EXPENSIVE for tiny 2" pots. So my expectations are that they are gonna be good investments.

Fast forward to receiving the goods.
Instead of what I ordered (string of TURTLES & string of DAGGERS), this guy sends me 2 string of HEARTS.

After several back and forth emails with photos, he finally Sends a partial refund for string of turtles only because he says "What a joke.............String of Daggers is the same genus and species as String of Hearts."

Alan you are a joke and a scam artist at best.
Don't buy from this guy. There are a lot of sellers who are honest and customer service oriented and will work with you. I've been buying plants online for a couple of years now and have had good luck with many online sellers including Etsy shops. I've never had quite an experience as I've had with Alan hirts. You should google his shop reviews too, they are eye opening...wish I had seen sooner before my purchase as mid-shipments of plants are a regular occurrence.

If you do decide to take a chance with Alan hirts, don't buy direct from his website. Take your risk through his Etsy or eBay shop because if you do (and you will) run into a problem with this guy, you can dispute it at least without dealing with his shadiness directly. Good luck to whomever decides to try your luck with hirts garden. Didn't say I didn't warn you

I've ordered several times from here and each time was really not a good experience. I don't know why I continued to order, but I won't again. The customer service is terrible. My orders showed up with items missing or damaged.

I messaged and sent photos of my plants upon arrival and got excuses or brushed off. My most recent order I had emailed five times or more with plants that arrived in terrible. I finally got a message back stating "live plant sales online are final". Well, if you send me a dead plant and I email you immediately, good customer service would be to refund the plants.

They have a decent selection but dealing with the service isn't worth it. I'd shop elsewhere if I were you.

Posted on January 26, 2020, updated January 27, 2020
I placed my first online order at Hirt's Gardens for 4 plants in Jan 2020. The order arrived fairly quickly; however, when I opened the box there was dirt everywhere. Plus, three of the plants were listed as being in 3" pots and 1 in a 2.5" pot, but all 4 plants were in 2.5" pots! And, a crown of thorns plant priced at $5.99 is tiny at barely 1.5" x 2", which means it will probably take years to become a nice size plant since it is a slow grower and only needs to be repotted every two years.

Disappointed and feeling ripped off! Caveat emptor!!!

Have a problem with the tomato plants I received. Plants are a mess. Not a straight plant in the bunch, bent and broken leaf stems, top leader part of plant at least five are broken off and were broken off before shipping as none of the tops were in the box.
They are so over grown there is not one that will stand up and most stems are curled up and deformed. I don't know why these would have even been sent out. I attached pictures and I have 19 more if they wanted to see those.

I requested replacements if they have plants in better condition or refund. If they wanted I would put them back in the box and send them back.
Also whoever packed them up put the packs in the box facing each other instead of next to each other and with their bent and curling stems were a mess to separate.
Needs retraining on how to pack delicate plants. The styrofoam peanuts for packaging and bubblewrap, & dry soil did not help. I have never received plants that looked like they were gotten off the trash pile and sent out. Their reply was "the plants will be fine. tomatoes can be planted deeply and they will root all along the buried stem resulting in a fuller plant." Not even an apology. They had several other items I would have liked to order but after this experience I will not be buying from them ever again.

I ordered a Eureka lemon last spring from Hirts via jet.com. I nurtured the plant through last winter, brought it out this spring. It flourished, bloomed, and set many fruit, Unfortunately it was definitely NOT a lemon. It produced very large fruit, shaped very close to an jumbo avocado with thick rind and many seeds. No lemon flesh whatsoever. Also the fruit never turned yellow, even though it set fruit very early this spring. I sent an email to Hirts and all Matt Hirt said was that it was "impossible". Well, either I'm a lying or they are. Or it was a mistake. Either way a good company would attempt to make good on it. I feel like I tossed $35 bucks down the drain.

My impression is this vendor does not like to be told that he or she sent an incorrect order or forgot to send all ordered items. Even worse if you ask to get the missing plants or have the order corrected.

The first batch of plants I recieved from them was missing two items. Plants from this batch arrived in okay conditions and they're still growing well more than two weeks after receiving them.

I should note that the company only likes to communicate via their personal web-based messaging system, which doesn't really initially have any way of showing that it works.

The second batch was basically the two plants that were missing. These plants appeared to have committed seppuku prior to getting shipped, and they look mostly dead still, despite getting the same attention from me as the same plant from the original batch sent (THAT plant is actually growing beautifully).

Seeing that others had the same experience, I suspect that the Hirts garden owner is the type of person who doesn't like to have people catch a mistake and kindly request that it be corrected (especially since a payment was already made). It's sadly reassuring seeing that I'm NOT the only one who had a negative experience with this vendor... even moreso in seeing extremely similar experiences to my own.

One can't help but wonder-- if a mistake was made on the part of the vendor for a paid item, shouldn't the vendor be willing to correct the problem? Why be punished for asking for the services or items one already paid for in full?

For curiousity's sake regarding the possibly hijacked plants I recieved in my second batch, I tried ordering a third batch of plants-- Hirts immediately cancelled the order themselves with zero explanation why. Lame.

This was going to be a positive review. But Alan Hirt snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by his bad customer service. I ordered $70 worth of plants and they arrived a few days ago. The ones that arrived were actually in great condition and packed well, but 3 plants were missing.
I emailed customer service and explained about the missing plants and Alan Hirt himself answered to confirm which of the 2 types of asparagus fern I ordered was one of the missing plants. I was impressed by such personal service. And he assured me that the missing plants would be on their way to me this morning.
Unfortunately, that was a lie. This morning I was refunded for the plants, meaning if I wanted them I would have to pay additional postage to order them again even though it was their error. He said they were 'heat damaged' but surely he has others.
I think he realized he would have to pay shipping and wouldn't make a profit on those 3 plants so I think he decided to stick me with the shipping if I wanted them.

Of course after this, even though I've ordered hundreds of dollars of plants from his company, he will not be getting another cent from me. He thinks he is a big dog now that he sells on Ebay and Amazon, but I think that if you don't do what you promise, people will go elsewhere.

Shame on you for lying to me, Alan.

I ordered twelve peppers which arrived in very poor condition - distressed due to lack of water, dishevelled from the way they were packaged, and the potting medium was bone dry. Only eleven survived the journey to CA.
My email complaint elicited an automated reply, promising a replacement plant and a refund (unspecified) [an automated response to a complaint email says something about this company!].
No surprise, of course, that nothing turned up. A further email elicited a terse response about the time a refund takes - it's the bank's fault, apparently. Eventually, I got a small refund, but no replacement plant.
Very poor packaging for postal delivery and even worse after-sale customer service.

I ordered a fifty dollar plant in a 3 gallon pot. Black beauty elderberry, if anyone cares. I received a tiny twig in a maybe 4 inch pot. When I called I was told they were unable to do anything on the phone and I needed to send an email. When I called back nearly four hours later (2/3 of their business day)I was verbally accosted by two employees. I was treated as if I was in the wrong, my concerns were scoffed at and I was eventually hung up on. I was accused of being rude and talking over people, but that is more projection than truth. I talked over them when they repeatedly spouted nonsense. My concerns were not treated as valid and once I get the shrubbery, I will never do business with Hirt's Gardens again. I was told IF there was a mistake it would be fixed and my email would be answered eventually. They don't deal with customer email, like mistakes, until they get all their money for the current day. If you paid them before whatever day you contacted them, you go to the end of the line. And really, why not? They already have your money.

Ordered from jet.com. Received 3 small 2x2 mountain laurel plants. Well packed but covered with aphids. No way they developed over the 1 day shipping. Plans were not checked prior to shipment.

I wish I could give Hirt's Greenhouse a zero rating. But I am forced to give it at least a 1. The owners of this "business" have an F rating with the BBB in their community, and countless 1 and 1 1/2 ratings in plant-related websites, among them the respected worldwide Dave's plant forum, as well as Houzz--many people wished they could give Hirt's a zero star rating. I paid $17.58 (for the sapling and shipping charges) for what I thought would be a healthy 4" pot Dwarf Alberta Spruce. But what I received was a dying, yellowish, brittle sapling, whose branches were bent and needles shedding. The soil in the pot was powdery-dry, and to make matters worse, the pot had been sealed with rubbery packing tape, which stuck to the little sapling's lower branches and helped to dry the soil.

Upon receipt of the dying sapling, I phoned and emailed Hirt's about the problem, but no one answered the phone. And, though emails were answered, the responses were short, disrespectful and not related to my problem. I emailed photos of the dying/dead tree and lengthy explanations, detailing how I had nurtured it in efforts of reviving/saving it. But I received no adequate answer. I also called PayPal and Walmart, and each time a recording at both announced a wait of over two hours! So finally, in desperation, I called my credit card company, where a kind and helpful person assisted me in filing for a chargeback.

I want those who bother to read this lengthy review to know that Hirt's may have been a great place to purchase plants 66 years ago, but that nowadays it is a place where the owners have no remorse about selling dying or diseased plants because they know that, since it is nearly impossible to obtain assistance from PayPal, eBay or Walmart, etc., they will get away with refusing to refund the customer's money when plants they sell are dying or dead on arrival.

Posted on October 16, 2017, updated October 20, 2017
Worst company I've EVER bought plants from. I ordered several thinking that I might plant them in specific areas of my yard and garden. However, that dream was shattered since they sent all $95 worth of plants, packed the worst I've ever seen, with NO labels. So how am I supposed to know the passion flower I wanted to plant by my entryway, from the one I wanted to plant by my shed, or the clematis I wanted to plant by my back door, from the one I wanted to plant by my mailbox? I guess it really doesn't matter, because for their size and the shape they're in, I doubt like hell if they'll grow to begin with.

I ordered two roots for big, fluffy pink Islander dahlias. Started them indoors, transplanted outside in May, water and cared for all summer. Not happy, after waiting months to finally get blooms to get small, washed-out tan and yellow flowers of some unidentifiable variety.

The other dahlia purchased from Hirt's never sprouted at all. (All 12 of the others I started from other suppliers grew fine and bloomed beautifully.)

Just a big disappointment.

I ordered two honeysuckle vines, so imagine my surprise when my order arrived today and I found a horseradish plant! And a damaged horseradish plant at that!

Two Honeycomb Buddleia were received on 7/8/17, in 4" pots with masking tape and styrofoam peanuts. They were in poor health: victims of whitefly infestation and dry soil. The leaves were already dying. Plants were photographed on 7/11/17, and reviewed on Walmart.com, where they were purchased.

Plants were reduced by 2/3 in size in an attempt to help them regenerate. As of 7/19/17, one plant appears dead; the other has sprouted tiny, new growth.

This was the worst plant shipment that I have received ever. These plants should never have been sold; the method of packing for shipment was poor; this was a waste of money.

An email was sent to Hirt's today. No request for compensation of any kind. However, this negative experience and review of Hirt's Gardens will be shared often. Prospective buyers should consider the number of negative vs. positive reviews and proceed with caution.

I will not purchase from this company again.

Ordered 8 plants.Primarily after 6 and added 2 different plants to go with them. After they were shipped got an e mail stating that I was only getting the 2 plants and was getting a 7 dollar refund. So ended up paying $54 for two very small very sickly Rhubarb plants.left message on their phone and have not been replied to. Will not purchase from them again.

Please think twice before supporting this business.

Summary: Abhorrent shipping practices. If you want someone to take a plant you paid them for & make it a Charlie Brown X-mas tree before shipping it to you, this is your nursery. Here you get to pay to receive abused versions of the plants you ordered, and spend your time trying to get them to recover.

$122 at Hirt's eBay.
Notified I would be leaving neutral and negative feedback for each item purchased. Seller's only response was to say send pictures. Didn't ask why, or what the issues with my order were.

13 items totaling 19 pieces - mostly tender leaf plants (only 1 succulent) in 2"-4" pots, wet with moisture, laid on their sides, stacked on each other, with plant stems and leaves caught between pots and between styrofoam packing peanuts - not wrapped in paper or protected from packaging or other pots in any way at all. !!! No dead plants yet - the health of 11 plants of the 19 remains questionable.

Individual plants listed below with description of damage/condition/required attention in caps. (It is impossible to shout via keyboard.)

I sent (my notes) all the information below to Hirt's, explaining that sending him pictures won't change the condition of what I received. No response at all after a week. I didn't ask for money back:

Disgusted by the careless, thoughtless, inconsiderate methods. (re: packing)

Misleading advertising by only posting selected photos, not similar to actual items, and making important information like "small starter plant" inconspicuous instead of putting it in the title description. This is intentionally misleading. (re: Ophiopogon)

Incomprehensible that any nursery would even consider shipping tender starter plants in a box of packing peanuts. NEVER received any shipment like this.

Masking tape? Really? Everyone else uses wet paper towels over substrate, then tapes over that. Never had anyone send me a plant that they had taped the leaves up too. I can't express enough how disappointing this is. (Almost every plant in the box! Maybe I got a really bad order - I can't believe only one other person has mentioned this! Regardless if it was one time, or standard practice, the person who packed this does not care. Worst shipment I've ever received from any seller including those in US, Spain, Hungary, Netherlands, UK, Peru.)

Here's my thought. I don't buy plants to take them home and nurse them to good health; I buy healthy plants! I don't go buy plants at a local nursery and then beat them up on the way home. I don't select plants that are broken either. Nor do I remove healthy leaves when I buy them. If a plant needs work, I skip it and get one that looks good. Hirt's offers the convenience of getting every specimen I wouldn't pick for myself sent right to my home! Receiving this shipment gave me a few hours of dealing with cleaning up after the person who packed my order. All of this could have easily been avoided but someone obviously didn't give a damn about my plants, or me as a customer and what I might think.
(I notice other reviews mentioning getting to nurse plants from here back to health also. Great for some people I guess, but again, not why I buy plants.)

High business volume is no excuse for poor business practices, lack of consideration of quality of product, or a careless attitude toward plant health and customer satisfaction.

Blue Mound Rue - 4 Plants
FOUR PLANTS EACH TAPED TO THE SIDE OF POT WITH A SINGLE STRIP OF MASKING TAPE INSTEAD OF BEING TAPED VERTICALLY AND CENTERED TO WHERE THE PLANT STEM ORIGINATES FROM WITH A PIECE OF TAPE ON EACH SIDE.
TO CLARIFY: PLANT IN CENTER OF POT IS BENT OVER AT A RIGHT ANGLE, PARALLEL TO SURFACE OF SOIL IN POT, THEN A WIDE STRIP OF MASKING TAPE COVERS THE TOP OF POT EXCEPT FOR A ~.25" OPENING AT THE TOP/SIDE. THE PLANT IS TAPED ON/OVER, AND THE REMAINDER STICKS OUT OF THE OPENING AT THE SIDE.
PULLING TENDER LEAVES OFF OF MASKING TAPE
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS

Pixie Pinot Meunier Grape -Bareroot
DORMANT (IT IS ALIVE)

Daisy - Bellium - 2.5" Pot
TAPED! MASKING TAPE OVER 2/3 OF TENDER LEAVES. WORST LOOKING OF THEM ALL. BASED ON APPEARANCE, ALL LARGE LEAVES ARE DESTROYED.
PULLING TENDER LEAVES OFF OF MASKING TAPE
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS AND TAPE

Black Lace Elderberry - Sambucus
WHY I ORDERED. NUMEROUS BROKEN BRANCHES AND TAPED LEAVES. ALL OF THE DAMAGE TO THIS PLANT WAS CAUSED BY THE PERSON WHO PACKED THIS.
PULLING TENDER LEAVES OFF OF MASKING TAPE
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS

Black Dragon Mondo Grass Plants - Ophiopogon - 4" pot -
(Listing is titled "plants" and shows photo of a full 4" pot, however very last line of text in description reads "small starter plant". Other listings all read "plant" except the title of this one.)
"Small starter plant" that I received is lost in the heavy, wet 4" pot it came in.
FURIOUS THAT I FELL FOR YOUR MISLEADING TACTICS. I WOULD HAVE NEVER PAID $5+SHIPPING FOR A SMALL STARTER OF THIS. THIS ONE IS COMPLETELY MY FAULT FOR BUYING THIS, BUT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NICE TO FILL OUT MY OWN SPECIMEN OF 10 PLANTS I GOT FOR $25 - THAT'S INCLUDING SHIPPING. $2.50 EACH, SO YOU BASICALLY JUST RIPPED ME OFF.
Item price $4.99
Quantity 1

Fire Fern Oxalis
PULLING TENDER LEAVES OFF OF MASKING TAPE
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS

Tansy Perennial Herb - 4 Plants - Tanacetum
SAME THING, OF COURSE
PULLING TENDER LEAVES OFF OF MASKING TAPE
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS

Lemon Creeping Thyme Plant - Smells Like Lemon/Tastes Like Lemon - 3" Pot
PULLING TENDER LEAVES OFF OF MASKING TAPE
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS

Arbequina Olive Tree - Tree of Peace - Olea europaea - 4" POT
LOST LEAVES (can be found in the bottom of the box if you enjoy that kind of fun)
PULLING TENDER LEAVES OFF OF MASKING TAPE
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS

Dwarf Birch - 4" Pot - Betula
Looks horrible. I'd never ship this specimen to my customers, especially considering the posted picture.
PULLING TENDER LEAVES OFF OF MASKING TAPE
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS

Mini Golden Privet - 2.5" Pot - Fairy Garden Plant or Bonsai
!!!!!!!!!!!!
LENGTH/HEIGHT OF PLANT SHOVED INTO THE WIDTH OF THE BOX = 5 INCHES BROKEN OFF THE TOP!
!!!!!!!!!!!!
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS

Silver Needle Ghost Tree - Corokia - 2.5" Pot
Both tips are dead. Not sure if this will make it either.

Ice Plant - Perennial - Delosperma
Succulent leaves not affected by masking tape.

I use to order from Hirt's Gardens all the time. The plants have always been robust and healthy upon arrival. I ordered two shamrocks through Walmart marketplace on March 6, Velvet Sunset Shamrock - Oxalis - 4" Pot - Fairy Garden Plant @$4.99. By March 16 not even two weeks both died and the communication with them was very poor. Defeated the purpose of having them for St. Patrick's day. They said it was no longer available at this site so they issued a refund what made it worse was they stated the reason for the refund was that I had changed my mind when I hadn't. They did have it on Amazon at a much higher price.
----------------Pasted from Amazon-------------------------
Velvet Sunset Shamrock - Oxalis - 4" Pot - Fairy Garden Plant or House Plant
by Hirt's Gardens
$ 24 58 + $3.00 shipping

They didn't acknowledge the truth. So I decided to give them one more try and order directly from them. The plant I had ordered before was no longer available on their site either. So I ordered a close facsimile. Rare Fire Fern Shamrock Plant - Oxalis also in a 4" Pot. When it arrived it was poorly planted in the pot looking quite unhealthy and scraggly not full like any of the photos. It has only 8 shoots with very few leaves. I don't expect the plants to look identical but I took a picture of mine. I received an email today March 24, 2017 review their plant. I did write a review but they did not post it. When I checked the reviews there was the a new review with today's date. I pasted below from their website. I find it ironic how I stated in my review the plant looked very unhealthy and this unknown source wrote Small Plant but very healthy. I did include my name in my review. I will no longer be buying from them. I also have screen shots of all the pages stated in this review should there be any doubts or rebuttals from Hirt's. I will no longer refer anyone to their site for any plants.

---------------------------------------Pasted from their website----------------
PRODUCT REVIEWS

WRITE REVIEW
SMALL PLANT 5 Star Review
Posted by Unknown on Mar 24th 2017

But very healthy

purchased four separate plants from them as a third party through Walmart.com. One of the plants, the most expensive one a dwarf banana plant, was never sent to me but they marked it as sent via the website. I found that very shady! However, two of the three species of plants were received half dead (tansy's and a lemon grass) while the last (blue rue) looked absolutely perfect. This was not a weather or delivery issue, especially when seeing that one plant, the blue rue, in perfect condition. It lead me to believe it was what they choose to send out me. The plants were received in a week and it is not hot outside either. So, buyer beware.

I have been buying from Hirt's for years and usually I am pleased with what I have purchased knowing they sell small starter plants. I purchased two yellow Clivia seedlings in 2007 and this year one of them finally bloomed - not yellow but orange. I always keep receipts just in case something like this happens. I also knew it would be quite sometime before the seedlings would be mature enough to bloom. I called and email Hirt's to let them know that I didn't receive what I had ordered and the owner (Matt Hirt) initial response was - "that was a long time ago". I responded in turn the time doesn't negate the fact I didn't receive what I paid for and was expecting. He then followed up by saying their computer system to check the order doesn't exist anymore - sorry. That is so lame, I will avoid them in the future and warn others that quality customer service has a time limit.

I do not recommend any company that will not make good on a bad sale. It's really a shame...

I am really sad to be writing this review since I have been a customer for years ordering 100s of dollars’ worth of plants and bulbs. I occasionally had issues with the quality of some of the bulbs but let it slide.
My last order included several potted plants which were received in good condition, except for the “Silver Gem Hardy Violet - Viola walteri - Quart Pot”, it had no leaves and looked dead to me. I took a picture and sent it to Hirt’s gardens expecting good customer service for such a long time customer like me. The response was one sentence that the plant is dormant. I replayed that the plant looked dead and that I purchased it as a potted plant and not a root expecting it to have some leaves and I was not satisfied, but they did not bother to address my concern by offering to ship a new plant or issue a refund.
I sent them a tweet with a picture of the plant, but apparently they screen the tweets so it did not even show up on their profile.

I decided to risk it, despite the reviews, because ultimately they had what I wanted and I couldn't find it anywhere else...probably, in retrospect, because it wasn't the right time of year and everyone else had sold out of healthy plants and they were selling the rubbish that should have gone in the bin to compost. I ordered over $78 of 50 various seeds, 2 live plants, and 4 or more bulb sets. While I can't comment on the mortality of the bulbs until spring, the pink (let's hope) Pampas grass is the only thing that looked reasonably survivable and is now doing well with a little rehab; the Kent's oregano was 99.8% dead upon arrival, having all the dead nubs trimmed off (tons of them), and 3 or 4 tiny withered green sprigs that were dead at the base. I sent them an email (for which ordering inquiries were pleasantly rapidly replied to) with a photo attached of the dead plant, to which I was ignored. I even left a review on their website upon being prompted via email, which they chose not to reply to or even post (hence their suspiciously good reviews on their own website). Literally 4 of seeds sprouted (2 made it just about 1 cm then died, 2 are still struggling at the same 1cm size they've been for nearly a month and are looking pretty sad), which I didn't even bother to contact them about as they state on their website seeds are pretty much your gamble, as they blame any failure directly on the purchaser not doing something right (not only did I follow their instructions, I consulted many websites to ensure proper germination conditions, I'm well-equipped, and I've experience in growing from seeds). None of the seed packs were labelled with season or even year harvested - could have been ancient for all I know. Save yourself the pain of wasted money, sad plants, frustrating lack of customer service concern, crushed hopes and dreams, and just don't patronize this business unless you can inspect the plants in person before purchase.

I was using Jet.com to get household paper goods. Saw that Hirts was offering seeds so I picked a few up knowing the name... The package came direct from Hirts address. The Elephant Ear Fig seeds were double zip top bagged closed with a tiny hand cut price of paper and the Money Plant came in an envelope with another companies name on it. I paid 3.50 for the money plant and the prepriced package I got have 1.95. I'm at a loss of why they didn't just send the seeds in plastic bags like the others and I would have been none the wiser... Thankfully Jet gave me my money back on them. That was about a month ago and after the other 6 packages of seeds I started those 2 did nothing. Thought about calling but what a waste of time that would be.

We have bought dozens of plants from Hirts over the past few years, but the most recent will be the last. Enclosed in shipments is a little flyer which says that plants shipped dormant (during the winter) will be replaced if they do not grow come Spring. We had that very experience this year with two plants purchased in Feb....which never "came to life" after a later planting. Hirts' response to our request for replacements?....."problems must be reported within 15 days" ! ! ! Nice...that makes the dormant thing a bald-faced lie.

Posted on April 14, 2015, updated April 14, 2016
Ordered some sedum from this seller. Had some problems, but customer service took care of everything quickly and to my complete satisfaction. Also, shipping is absolutely the fastest out of all sellers that I have dealt with. I would recommend them to anyone.

I just went to Hirts Gardens in Wadsworth Ohio. After inquiring about whether they were getting organic seedlings in, the owner (grandson of the founder) told me yes and proceeded to tell me they have them grown at a local organic farm from organic seed he buys abd delivers to them. After inquiring further and informing him that his employee had just told me it was NOT an organic farm, he became very hostile, defensive and rude. They are blatantly and purposefully deceiving the public by lying that some of their plants are certified organic. They are acting illegally and unethically. I will never go there again and will tell everyone I know to avoid the store. Worst retail experience I've ever had.

I was disappointed with Hirt's. First, they didn't answer my emails. Second, I asked them to combine two orders placed within a few minutes of each other. They didn't, and didn't explain why. Third, I ended up paying about three times for shipping what it should have cost.
The plants were fine. The communication and customer service were not.

I wish there was a rating below negative.Please never order from this so called company.As many have already figured out if you have problem with Hirt's ,you can not contact them directly!
Sometimes I get a plant from them that I have to nurse back to health before planting it.Other,or many times I would get a dead plant.

I've had mixed results from my orders from Hirt's. I just harvested Purple Majesty potatoes that were supposed to be purple all the way through as in their description/product photo and mine are purplish in the middle and white over that then a purple skin. These are not the variety I ordered. I also received a bunch of moldy Purple Passion Asparagus. Only a few of them survived.

Other items came in fine. Perhaps their suppliers are not very good or consistent.

With so many other wonderful suppliers online, I'm not sure I'll be buying from Hirt's again even though they had lower prices.

I ordered 16 plants. As I was pulling the shredded newspaper away I was excited to see green leaves appearing. Alas. 4 plants showing green - 12 plants soggy and rotten and smelly in their pots.
Never again!

I've bought from Hirt's on 4 ocassions, because I believe in second chances. After this last purchase though, never again.

First time, it was through their amazon webstore. All "bare root plants" arrived dry as a dessert. First off, received 9 instead of 10 and was sent a tansy in its the missing ones place. Of the nine, 2 seemed to have a bit of life in them, but died of crown rot. Meanwhile the ladybugs arrived half dead. Bad.

Second time I ordered some potted plants. All arrived In perfect condition, and have been thriving. My hopes were renewed.

Third order was wet and disgusting. The plants were half rotted (bblack and gooey), and just wretched. Thankfully, they issued a refund after emailing photos of the mess, but still, I was shocked. The order was terrible, but the refund made it a neutral experience.

So I took my latest gander at them. Ordered two concord grape vines "iin quart pots". Well after I placed my order the listing changed to "4 inch pots". I was miffed, but whatever. "Plants" arrived yesterday. They look like the peeling dried out twigs of the tree in my yard. I even pruned one of them a bit, to see if there was live, green tissue on the inside. Nope. It is 100% dry as a bone.

I'll be emailing pics of these twigs to them, and will hopefully be refunded. Needless to say, I will not be buying from Hirt's ever again

Posted on September 25, 2014, updated September 25, 2014










HIRTS & AMAZON DO NOT PUT THEIR COSTUMERS FIRST-

Neither Amazon or Hirts Nursery can figure out what their return/refund policy is on dead plants. I ordered and then received ten 4" Boston Ivy plants that where delivered over 2 wks. ago. Upon delivery I promptly opened the box and the potted 4" plants looked... weak. I planted and watered the plants the same day, there where no return instructions or planting instructions with the shipment. Four days later the plants where dead.
I called Amazon told them about my problem -Amazon said that they would contact Hirts and Hirts, would have 2 days to reply/respond to the problem (turns out Hirts did not). Almost 2 wks. later and 4 more phone calls (of which I was told 3 times there would be a replacement of product or refund) I discarded the shipping box and 10 planting pots.
AS OF TODAY Amazon changed their position- Amazon told me I HAD to now dig up the 10 dead plants and ship them back to Hirts- and see if I could get a refund from Hirts. When I checked Hirts web site (which is a Co. Amazon is representing ) Hirts has NO return policy posted under returns. See: http://www.hirts.com
After all the time and inconvenience this has cost me I would have been better off going to Home Depot Wal-Mart Sears etc. Where the employs can clearly speak to you, and tell you what the policy is. Where the costumer is treated with respect.

I thought my experience was unique. Thanks to the internet, I find it is not.

I don't have very much luck ordering plants online, but my experience with Hirt's Gardens has been one of the worst. I ordered through Amazon, thinking I had their backing if all went bad.

Well, it went bad straight off the bat. I ordered 14 - yes, stupidly, 14 - Hibiscus and when the plants were delivered in June, they were sad looking indeed. No, they were NOT cheap, and for their size, should have been 1/4 of the price. I immediately sent a note to the seller, saying they did not look good and doubted they would make it through the winter. I should have at that time sent them back and gotten a refund. Big mistake. Hirt's Gardens said nothing about a refund and said they would make it through the winter.

Well, here is it is, 5 months later, and the plants have not grown one iota. They barely flowered, and are stunted. No, of course they will not make it through the winter. I again contacted the seller and was told to file a claim through Amazon. Amazon denied my claim and told me to send back the plants.

So, let me see, I paid a great deal of money for 14 sick plants, and now I am being told to send them back (Amazon offered to comp me the shipping) and wait for a refund from a disreputable seller, who may very well deny my refund.

I decided to thank Amazon, even if they let me down this time, put up a horrid rating on their site, and let Hirt know what I think of his company. THEN, I find out there are others who have been duped by this disreputable seller.

Thank you for the moral support. Doesn't help with the money lost or the poor 14 dying plants, but misery does love company!

Moral of the story: DO NOT BUY FROM HIRT'S GARDENS!!!

Bought 4 fig trees from Hirt's Gardens and one of them was not doing that well and starting losing leaves within 2 weeks and finally died within a month. After contacting Hirt's Gardens to see if they can replace the tree and their answer was and I quote: "Problems must be reported within 14 days" and that's it. Sent them a couple of more emails and I got totally ignored. Will NEVER buy from such seller. And wouldn't recommend them to anybody.

I should have read reviews prior to purchasing, but it's too late now. There are lots of bad reviews about them on the net and lot of people complained after lack of and rude customer service after sales.

I have been a customer of Hirt's gardens for a long time, I have been satisfied each time my orders arrived until this May. I ordered 4 Let's Dance Blue Jangles Hydrangeas. Within two days of planting them in my garden, they browned and wilted and looked as if they were going to die. I sent a message along with pictures with my concerns. They replied give it fertilizer and water so I did exactly that. Five weeks later, only three made it (they are still very small in size but alive). I sent a message with pictures and asked that they replace the one that died. They gave me a refund so that they didn't have to spend money shipping another one out to me. This is not how they should treat good customers. I have ordered 4 or 5 times from their eBay store this year but I guess they are not interested in keeping their return customers.