Comments regarding Bluestone Perennials

I purchased Dahlias from Bluestone in the Spring of 2023. They were shipped on time and well packaged. All were grown in containers on my patio and performed great. I am very pleased with the purchase and ordered more plants from them this year.

In spring 2023, I ordered some glads, dahlias and several pots of echinacea from Bluestone. Curious about the effect of their "degrading" biodegradable coco pots, I tried an experiment in which I took one echinacea out of the pot and planted the other still in the pot -- and I planted them near each other in the same soil, light and watering conditions in Zone 7a. At the end of the summer, I found the potted plant still living in most of the coco pot whereas the other had spread out more and seemed to be a bit bigger and more healthy. The dahlias had been planted nearby; they grew to almost four feet, but there were no blooms. The glads bloomed very late compared to glads that I had bought locally from a nearby nursery. I made a purchase from Bluestone in 2022 of similar plants, except the potted ones were salvia. Overall, I've been impressed when the potted plants arrive. They look healthy and seem ready to grow, but the growth has been somewhat slow and I feel like the plants are not flourishing as much as ones that I purchase locally. This could be me. I work long hours during the week and while I usually plant the potted plants within a week of arrival, maybe that delay and the stress of travel is having an impact on them. I do open and water then they arrive. So overall, while the prices and varieties are appealing, I'm unsure as to whether I'll continue to order from Bluestone.

Posted on May 30, 2023, updated July 14, 2023
I was pleased with the quality of the plants I ordered from Bluestone Perennials, and also liked the biodegradable pots (less plastic waste!). They have great deals on clearance plants in late May and were willing to do a price adjustment for me once the plants I'd purchased went on sale. However, one of three astilbes I had ordered was missing. It took a while to reach customer service (their phone line is often turned off due to order load, which is very frustrating) and no one replied to my email. They finally sent a replacement astilbe which arrived today. When I opened the box, I was disappointed to see that they sent the wrong variety! The one I originally ordered is now out of stock, of course. So now I have an empty space in my garden bed and have to wait until next year to get the correct variety, through no fault of my own. I can understand one mistake, but they've now messed up my order twice.

"On Jun 1, 2023 2:41 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

I am sorry to hear we made an error on your replacement order. I'm also sorry we had to have our phones turned off for one day last week - we were too short on staff. Can you contact me at helpdesk@bluestoneperennials so I can work with you to fill that empty space in your garden (possibly with the original plant)? Jan"

I ordered several perennials from Bluestone and am happy with the order. The shipping was great - the plants were packed well and were not damaged in transit. The plants shipped are small (3-4" pots) and are the same price as plants in quarts or even the 8 inch pots. But for perennials that I can't find locally this is a good option.

I ordered eight plants from their recent spring sale - the plants arrived in fine shape, and I really appreciate the ecofriendly packaging. Plants are in coir pots, rest of the packing material is just cardboard but it did a great job of protecting the plants. It's great to not get a bunch of plastic to dispose of.

This may be long, BUT the quick version is that my first experience with this company is very positive. I went with BSP because of the awesome guarantee they offer. Not that I went in planning to use it, but I know things can happen and I like no hassles when/if something does go wrong.

The longer version is that over the weekend I placed two orders. I had only planned the one and then I was browsing and saw they had a hosta that I've been wanting for years. I have several but as they are next to the house two got taken out a few years ago when there was a problem and people had to crawl under the house to fix it. Even if those aren't the exact hostas they are close enough that only plant experts would notice. So, despite the fact that shipping was a bit ouchy I decided to go for it.

Well, a few days later I get an email saying they've combined the orders and refunded the shipping. So, we're off to a GREAT start.

Then today I arrived home from work to the box on my front porch and quickly opened the box and the plants all look healthy in the case of the hostas very healthy - the roots are already growing though the pots. So much so that at first I thought they'd sent me bareroot hostas, which would've been fine but nope they are in those pots just that they are quickly outgrowing said pots.

Now granted I read the reviews about the problems some had with the pots BSP uses so my plan was to remove the plants from them before planting (I've not always had good luck with plantable pots - summers here are generally murder on plants in them), but in the case of the hostas that will simply not be possible or would very much stress those big beautiful roots. So it really looks like these guys are already taking off and hopefully once planted they will in quick fashion catch up to the others.

Yes, I'm ga-ga over the hostas, but all the plants look good and a couple others do have roots starting to poke through the pots. And honestly I think BSP must have changed pots from the ones some of the negative reviews mention, because these do look like they'll break down fairly quickly, though still in a couple of drier areas I will need to at least cut the tops down before planting.

Now back to shipping. I can see why they charge a little, because the packing was simply awesome. Granted had the shipping company been rough with it there might've been an issue, but the box and the plants are pristine even with bulbs packed with the plants.

Now let us hope the good continues. Admittedly I purchased three sedum plants, which I've tried before with not much luck, but I'm hoping this time will be different. But even if not at least one can't say I didn't try and with the BSP plants one can't say I didn't start with a good plant(s) this time.

In closing, I highly recommend Bluestone!

Posted on June 7, 2019, updated May 12, 2023
Posted on September 17, 2017, updated June 7, 2019
Posted on April 29, 2016, updated September 17, 2017
Posted on October 2, 2015, updated April 29, 2016
Posted on May 30, 2015, updated October 2, 2015
Posted on April 29, 2015, updated May 30, 2015
Posted on April 27, 2014, updated April 29, 2015
Posted on April 27, 2013, updated April 27, 2014
Posted on June 2, 2012, updated April 27, 2013
Posted on May 7, 2003, updated June 2, 2012
First, I must thank all of the people who took the time to recommend this great company. Because of the detailed feedback, I confidently ordered, and today received my first order from Bluestone. I purchased 33 plants and the quality is excellent. They are smaller that the plants one would purchase at a nursery, but I would say that they are the same size as the far more expensive White Flower Farm plants. I usually grow my own plants from seed, only buying what I cannot grow, so I am accustomed to robust plants, and these are. And some of the varieties I purchased, such as Heuchera Firefly and Heucherella Bridgett's Bloom, are usually quite expensive. And the prices! Taking advantage of some specials and 3 for 1 offfers, I paid $98.75 for 33 plants - including shipping - less than $3.00 a plant! Receiving an e-mail and a UPS tracking number was an unexpected plus. Another bonus - did anyone notice that the plants are hardened off when you receive them? They note that they can be exposed to temperatures as low as 26 degrees. What a great company! They are my first stop from now on.

I was delighted to receive healthy-looking plants in their coconut containers, and am looking forward to them all growing over the years. I also ordered bulbs that it seemed UPS lost, and customer service was lightning fast dealing with the situation. Would definitely order another time from Bluestone Perennials.

I messaged them before I made my purchase, because I was a month past their delivery time for the flowers I wanted. They got back to me quickly with the go-ahead. I ordered. I received the flowers within a week and a half. They were packaged well. They were mostly in good shape. One of the plants had lost most of its leaves, but I knew they would grow back so I wasn't worried, and I can't say that is their fault since the packaging did keep the plants stable. But the roots were in good shape and the plants were all growing good. I gave them a hearty dose of water, and planted them in fertile soil. They are all doing well.
Thanks.

The company has done okay, but I haven't wanted to keep ordering from them. After gardening for about 2 years, looking back on what grew and what didn't I'd say I've had a neutral experience.

They have certainly worked with me to do refunds and replacements where I had kept track well enough to submit requests. Live plants were delivered in good packaging and are mostly surviving if not thriving. But when I look up the things that stand out healthy and happy in my garden, they are all from other mail-order companies. This could absolutely be a coincidence, and I don't have any complaints with their customer service, but it's just not been worth the money in my garden.

This company used to be better...I just received an order for four plants - one is going to come "LATER" according to the packing slip. The ones that did come were moist, but not well-packed, and some of the dirt was all over the inside of the box. Two of the plants seem ok, but one seems slightly dried out and droopy - like it was already that way when it was packaged for delivery. I'm waiting to see what they say about the rest of my order....

This year was the second year that I have purchased from Bluestone Perennials. The first year I purchased 14 different varieties of plants and the second year I purchased 8 more varieties. This year I was able to shop more at local nurseries which is why I purchased less. I have also purchased spring bulbs from Bluestone. I will admit that when the plants arrived the first year I was a little disappointed and concerned about the size of the plants. However they started to grow by leaps and bounds the second that I planted them. I also did not expect that they would flower so profusely in their first year.

I am very happy to report that all 14 varieties came back this year even though we had more snow than in previous years (Zone 6b). All of them have grown significantly in size in their second year and look very happy. The packaging last year was slightly better than this year. There was no spillage last year but this year the box was kind of beat up with soil all over the place. There was one plant this year that I was disappointed with but when I contacted them via email I received a response and refund in about seven days. I find this to be very reasonable considering that they are so busy this year. Some of the new varieties that I purchased this year are already flowering and appear to be just as happy as those that I purchased last year. I have no doubt that they will return next year.

As far as spring flowers go, the bulbs that I purchased were healthy, large and all bloomed beautifully this spring (daffodils, hyacinths, chionodoxa, scilla). They were also all true to color which was not true of bulbs that I purchased from two other companies. They have a good selection of bulbs including some unique varieties that were new to me. I like that I can easily search for deer resistant bulbs as deer are a huge problem in my area. I have already started planning my fall bulb order with them this year.

Overall I would highly recommend purchasing plants from Bluestone Perennials. If I lived closer I would definitely visit their nursery outlet.

I planted my bulbs in the Fall in large tubs with Moisture Mix potting soil. They were covered over the winter with some shade cloth to keep away squirrels and raccoons. A few tulips showed some puny growth, but went no further. I did not get one single bloom or healthy plant from my 60.00 order. I dug up some bulbs most were missing entirely a couple of slimy rotted ones were all that was left. I sent this information to their customer service twice with no reply.

Perfect Salvias, arrived on tim, in great condition, and love the little coco fiber pots too.

This is the most unethical company on the internet. Although they scammed me for only $69.76, I am determined to exhaust all of my options to expose their fraudulent practices. They truly insult customer’s intelligence with their false advertisements. What you see on their site is not what they will send you.
On April 19th, I went to their site and order 2 Lupine Woodfield Hybrids and Lupine Mini Gallery™ Red. It shows the picture of the plants and colorful flowers. At the end of the order, I never receive the status of my order. I then sent them two emails which they never replied to. On April 29th, I received a generic email that shipping time is “The Week Of May 3rd, 2021”. Please keep in mind that this company is in Ohio, and I live in Georgia.
On May 11th, I received tiny dead plants, no flowers as shown on their site, the soil was parched ( they were not in a soil pot), and most of the plants had gray dead-looking stems.
With the two attempts to reach them before, I feel they are aware of their fraudulent practice, so not answering calls or emails. While the review link on their site is loaded with fake positive reviews, other external sites say otherwise. There are countless decent businesses available to the consumer. When it comes to Bluestone Perennials, buyer beware!

I have ordered from Bluestone many times. Last time I did wait longer than normal for my items to arrive, but I’m aware that it’s a USPS issue and not a Bluestone caused issue. I highly recommend them for one of a kind and hard to find plants. I’ve had really good success with my plants and would absolutely order from them again.

Below is the email I sent to Bluestone Perrenials. No response from the company

Hello,
I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with an order I received last fall. The order number is 742666. As you can see from the previous email last fall, one of the allium bulbs was completely rotten. The other four bulbs were moldy and shriveled, but not rotted through. You refunded a whopping 1.19 for the one completely rotten bulb. Now that it is spring, one of the four remaining bulbs has come up and it looks like it has a flower bud. It remains to be seen if it will indeed open because the tulip bulbs I bought at the same time did not all open. I will discuss the tulips in a minute. The other three allium bulbs came up, but they are thin strips of foliage (like when a tulip gets old and no longer flowers) and they are not forming flower buds, nor do they look like they could. The picture below shows the one allium with a bud at the bottom of the frame. The other ones are just straps of foliage as I described

(unable to attach picture in this review)

I ordered Beautiful Blends Tulip Twilight Sparkle, which was supposed to be six dark purple tulips and six pink tulips. What I got was 8 pink tulips, 4 dark purple tulips--one of which never opened--and one scraggly white tulip that was not even supposed to be there.

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One of the dark purple tulips never opened. See picture below

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It is too soon to know the fate of the other items I ordered, but the yarrow looks scrawny and there are no signs of the cimicifuga.

I hope that you will make an effort to restore my faith in your company by refunding the amount of my entire order.

My plants were not packed well at all. The plants were not secured and most of the dirt was in the box. Lots of broken stems and leaves. Plants were extremely root-bound and at least one had mildew on the leaves, with the others very wilted.
I was very disappointed as Bluestone has such a great variety of plants. Used to order every year in the past but hadn't in recent years and decided to give them another chance.
I contacted customer service and received no answer, (and they may have been very busy) however when I posted a negative review on TrustPilot, I was contacted and received the refund I requested.
Bring back the old Bluestone! I don't like the plantable pots and they do not seem to work well.

I have brand new landscape and have had the experience of buying many plants both in nurseries and online over the past year. For online shopping, there are have been a few standouts in quality of plants shipped. Bluestone is one of the best ones so far. I was searching for Amsonia hubrichtii. I ordered 3 from Bluestone and 2 from another online vendor. While Bluestone charged $16.5 per plant versus the $11.50 from the other vendor, the plant I received from Bluestone was far in away superior. Truly it was 3x larger and since planted just a few weeks ago, it's already doubled in size. The other vendors plant is doing fine, but it doesn't seem likely it will catch up this season. I also have to say I very much like the coir fiber 'pots'. I cringe when I think of all the black plastic pots I have building up. I always appreciate the vendors who are trying to find ways to reduce their use.

Posted on January 17, 2012, updated April 22, 2021
I haven't dealt with Bluestone in a number of years....I do remember getting some nice grasses in small pots that all lived and 8-10 years later, are still flourishing!
My main reason for writing concerns the number of complaints aired here recently about Bluestone's prices. I decided to spend a couple of hours on the website to really examine the prices and compare Bluestone's offerings to other well known perennial/shrub nurseries.
What I found is that while Bluestone's prices cannot be considered "cheap", their prices for single plants are pretty much in line with most other comparable nurseries, $6.95-$10.95 for perennials and $8.95- $13.95 for most shrubs. I think this suggests a new buying strategy: instead of getting the old 3 packs, all you would really need is one big plant to fill the same amount of space. I understand that some people like to watch things grow, but you would get a flowering sized plant much faster with the larger pots, so not everything is negative about the price increases. My only cavil is that the size of the SHIPPED plants are not indicated for the shrubs. (although Bluestone does list the size of a mature plant). For example, if I ordered a Daphne, would I get a plant 2 inches high or 12 inches? Some nurseries, such as Siskiyou, actually list the size of the shipped shrubs and conifers, and I find this enormously helpful. As far as where to go if you have truly "had it" with Bluestone, I would suggest Santa Rosa Gardens. They have competitively priced plants and are a pleasure to work with.

"On Apr 22, 2021 12:23 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

Thank you for the glowing review, dave12122, it is much appreciated! "

My plants arrived on time and in excellent condition. Love the use of plantable pots instead of plastic.

My only complaint is the plant tags all came loose during shipping. Fortunately everything I ordered was quite different and easy to sort out, but I could see this causing problems for others.

I’ve been purchasing plants from Bluestone for almost 20 years. I don’t know what’s recently happened to their customer service. It’s not there at all. I placed an online order April 2, 2021. Paid by PalPal. Spent over $100. I never received a confirmation. I called them last week and was told they would reissue the confirmation thru the computer system to my email. I was told the shipment was scheduled to ship the week of April 12. I never did receive the confirmation. I called again today, spoke to Kelly at 10 AM. She saw my order in her computer, she said. Then her computer froze. She could not help me. She asked for my telephone number. Said she would call me back. I never got a call back and it’s now after 5 PM EST. Bluestone has my $113 but they do not have my respect at this point. I hope to get my plants shortly. Very frustrating.

First time ordering. Special price on Virginia Blue Bells - $2.99 each. Very pleased with the plants. Shipping quick and good. Cant beat the price

Posted on April 6, 2021, updated April 6, 2021
Posted on June 19, 2020, updated April 6, 2021
Posted on June 9, 2020, updated June 19, 2020
I am beyond frustrated with trying to get a response in regard to a plant that was missing from my order, and am thisclose to filing a chargeback request with my credit card company.

Cliff's Notes version: On 4/24/20 I placed an online order with Bluestone for 14 plants, one of which was Amsonia 'Storm Cloud' for $16.95.

When the order arrived on 5/16/20, the Amsonia was not included. All the other plants were there. There was nothing in the box to indicate why there was a plant missing. A photo was taken of the plants that had been in the box.

I emailed Bluestone (with the photo) on 5/18/20 to advise them that they had not sent one of the plants, and asked them what was going on. Was it being sent separately? (doubtful!) Was it not available? If so, I should be issued a refund (but had not been.)

I waited 10 days for them to respond. Nothing. On 5/28/20 I phoned them during what their voicemail message said was their current "telephone business hours" of 1-4 pm Eastern time. After the recorded message, my call was automatically transferred to what another recorded message said was the "catalog desk." There is no way to access any other part of their phone tree, so I left a message there and reiterated that I had emailed them 10 days ago about this but had got no response.

I received no phone call back, so on 5/30/20 I sent yet another email, with the same information and photo as the first, and reminding them that I had also left a phone message. No response.

On 6/5/20 I called Bluestone AGAIN, during their supposed phone hours, and was only able to leave another message at their "catalog desk." This time I said that if I didn't hear from them in 3 days, I would file a dispute with my credit card for the cost of the merchandise (and sales tax) that was paid for but not received.

However, I have decided to first post this review, mainly to let people know that it seems to be impossible to get a response from Bluestone if there is a problem with an order, but also as a last ditch effort to get SOME kind of a response. If this doesn't work, I will go ahead and file a credit card dispute.

I realize that this is a very challenging time for everybody, but 3 weeks with no reponse whatsoever to a report of a plant entirely missing from a paid order is beyond frustrating. What does it take to at least get an acknowledgment of a customer communucation to them??

"On Jun 10, 2020 2:35 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

Hello proserpine - I am sorry you have had such a difficult time reaching us! You are not alone and we are frustrated, too! This is not the way we typically do business. This spring saw a surge of demand that we were/are unable to keep up with. We are a small staff, and have been, and continue to be, inundated. Unfortunately, I have no way to know who you are in this forum, but you are welcome to correspond with me directly helpdesk@bluestoneperennials.com Please give me an order number or your name and address so that I can begin to make things right. I suspect your original packing sheet had an indication that the Amsonia is backordered to fall (usually some highlighting indicates the backorder). This would typically happen if we had come up short on a plant unexpectedly due to a crop problem which was the case with both of the Amsonia we carry this year. I will have the plants this fall to send you, but a refund is understandable as well - it\'s up to you. I hope you will be in touch,
Jan

I came to Dave's Garden to look up the reputation of a new mail-order nursery that I'm planning to buy from, and to gauge that company's reputation I compared it to Bluestone, from whom we've purchased some large orders a few times in the past 6 or 7 years. I was surprised to see the negative comments, which I'll assume were due to lockdowns, etc. We're about to order another few hundred dollars worth of plants from Bluestone because we've been very happy with the plants they've sent in the past, and their response when we once had a problem plant. Everything that we planted from our first order half a decade ago is still doing well, and to be honest, we're pretty lazy gardeners - we dig the hole, add lawn fabric and mulch, and water the first year and then the plants are on their own.

This is my second order from Bluestone, and both have been exceptional. The first, tulip bulbs last fall, yielded beautiful tulips this spring. And that was far from guaranteed given that it was my first time planting tulips. The second order is more recent, a number of perennials that I will be planting shortly in a new bed. I have more experience with perennials, and I was impressed with the health, size, and packing of all dozen or so plants. In addition, Bluestone's customer service is outstanding--for example, they allow additions and substitutions until delivery, which proved crucial as I was planning my new bed. All in all, a great experience. I will be a repeat customer.

Received tiny, dried out seriously wilted plants and a box full of loose dirt. The roots were nearly entirely bare and bone dry. One plant is still struggling to recover. I planted them all as soon as I could get them rehydrated and acclimated to my garden. One remained wilted, the rest are in stasis, showing almost no growth. I doubt they will survive the winter. Not worth the price compared to the plants I got at the local nurseries which were far cheaper, a lot larger, much more vigorous and took off beautifully after they were planted. The coconut hull pots dry out too much in transit and the roots end up bare seriously damaging the plants and making a HUGE spilled soil mess when you open the box.
I canceled the rest of my order and received a refund after I submitted photos of the pathetic plants I paid a premium price to get.

"On Oct 6, 2020 8:20 AM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

I am sorry you did not give us the opportunity to reship your order. It sounds like your plants were too long in transit and tossed around which occasionally happens, unfortunately. The offer still stands. I would like to reship that first order at no cost to you, as a sample of a more typical shipment. Please be in touch? Jan helpdesk@bluestoneperennials.com"

Ordered 2 grasses. They were dry as a bone and so tiny. They should be ashamed of themselves for the money they charged. Other online suppliers send 5x the size for the same species and price. Literally one of the plants had 3 blades of grass. What a joke.
I have ordered before from them and it was just ok but this is ridiculous. Learned my lesson with them. Off the list.

"On Sep 26, 2020 10:57 AM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

I am so sorry your order arrived in such a condition! Please be in touch with us so that we can reship or refund. I would not throw those plants away, however, as some grasses are going dormant now and may surprise you in the spring. You deserve a better looking plant for your investment however and I hope you will give us the chance to make it right. You are welcome to correspond with me (Jan) directly at helpdesk@bluestoneperennials if you'd like."

I ordered some perennial plants this spring. The plants were small, but very healthy and arrived when expected. The plantable “pots” are pretty neat, and my clay soil needs all the aeration it can get, so that was a plus. Most of the plants “took” very well, though some haven’t been liking the soggy August we’ve had. I also appreciate their customer service. I ordered more plants for fall, and one of them ran out of stock. The company reached out to me to see if I’d like a replacement. Overall, a very positive experience!

Posted on June 22, 2020, updated June 26, 2020
Posted on June 19, 2020, updated June 22, 2020
Posted on June 19, 2020, updated June 19, 2020
Posted on June 12, 2020, updated June 19, 2020
To date, Bluestone has neglected to send or refund money due for non-shipment of remainder of my order.
They sent three plants, two of which were not adequately prepared for shipment.The box had the soil out of the pots and the plants scattered at the bottom of the box.
I have ordered from this company for many years; it is hard for me to understand why they would steal...yes, steal my money! They are not responding to any of my requests to make good! I am ashamed for this company,

"On Jun 15, 2020 2:04 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

I am sorry you have had such a difficult time reaching us! You are not alone in that and we are frustrated, too. This is not the way we typically do business. This spring saw a surge of demand that our staff was unable to keep up with. We are a small staff, and have been, and continue to be, inundated. It should let up soon. I am sure your requests are in the queue but I would like to help. Unfortunately, I have no way to know who you are in this forum, but you are welcome to correspond with me directly helpdesk@bluestoneperennials.com Please give me an order number or your name and address so that I can begin to make things right. If we owe you money, you will most certainly get it - do not worry! Jan

I ordered plants plants on April 16 - all plants were in stock. After not hearing from them I emailed and was told week of May 11, I received one plant out of four, the other three being Hidcote lavender. I emailed again - no reply and tried calling several times (always after 1 pm), line was always busy. Finally got through on June 4th to find out they were out of the lavender and it would then be shipped in the Fall. Not what I wanted - I received a refund, but not an email informing me at an earlier date that the lavender was not available. I understand that Covid interrupted normalcy, but communication via email is extremely doable. Very disappointed.

In early spring we hired some help to build a new perennial bed in our garden, approximately 7 x 20. We decided to place a major order from Bluestone--3 each of a variety of plants not available, or not the variety, from our usual excellent local nursery (that grows most of their plants). The plants arrived in great condition with the exception of the echinacea. Six weeks after planting the results are exceptional-the salvia, veronica, hollyhocks, gaillardia, rudbeckia, geranium and other echinacea are doing beautifully. We are extremely pleased. I noticed the negative reviews about "contact". They had sent us an email about being overwhelmed--I have a small business and this year I completely understand. A few days ago they contacted us that they has shipped 2 echinacea at no charge. We have are avid, not master gardeners, but have been at it here from almost 25 years and I would put Bluestone in the front rank of online nurseries.

Trusting the reviews on here, I ordered 21 plants from Bluestone this year. They arrived well-packed, in good shape. I especially appreciate that they come in biodegradable pots -- I wish more suppliers would do this.

Yes, Bluestone is expensive. I wouldn't recommend them for the common plants you can easily find in your local nursery. But for more hard-to-find plants, I recommend them highly, and intend to order from them again.

Last year I bought Veronica pink marshmallow. I planted it next to a fully grown Veronica pink marshmallow. They got the same light, water, etc. It died. I notified the company & they did replace it in the fall. It was small, I planted it following instructions & it didn’t come back at all.

But this one takes the cake - I ordered 3 rose campion plants. I planted them & they grew. At least, the foliage did. I kept waiting for flowers, but they never came. At the end of the season - still no flowers. I took a photo & google imaged it. No wonder there were no flowers - they were lambs ears! They weren’t rose campion at all.

I also bought Rosie poise agastache. It was small & didn’t come back this year. It’s in full sun.

"On May 13, 2020 1:55 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

Hello hamptons - I hope you will give us a chance to make amends. If you will be in touch, we would be happy to send another V. Pink Marshmallow. Re: the Rose Campion - I hope you didn't pull them out, but I would be happy to send 3 more. I am soldout this spring but I could send them in the fall - or something else now if you would prefer. I still have A. Rosie Posie and could send one as well. Please email me directly at helpdesk@bluestoneperennials.com. Be well, Jan"

Last summer I placed an advance order for Phlox Blue Paradise, to be shipped this month. With shipping, I paid $22.90. It arrived right on schedule, and was securely packed. However, I received a tiny plant with a single stem. The plant itself is healthy and I think it will grow in strong over time, but for more than $20 I was expecting a lot more than this itty bitty plug.

"On Jun 10, 2020 2:41 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

I apologize for the size of the plant you were sent. It should not have gotten shipped, most likely, due to its size. If you are dissatisfied (if the plant has not seen substantial growth), please be in touch with our customer service folks - service@bluestoneperennials.com or with me directly - helpdesk@bluestoneperennials and we can reship this fall or refund if you prefer. I hope to hear from you - Jan"

I have ordered bulbs and live plants from Bluestone Perennials in the past couple of years. I would say everything has arrived alive and healthy. Good customer service, very friendly.

I have to say, only buy from here if you're needing a plant you can't locate locally. The plants do arrive very small (3.5 in pots), but healthy. They are also very expensive and the shipping can be costly. Keep your eye open for sales, sometimes they'll have 50% off sales, which makes ordering from them a little more reasonable.

Posted on May 6, 2018, updated April 21, 2020
Posted on June 9, 2012, updated May 6, 2018
Posted on September 3, 2011, updated June 9, 2012
Posted on May 26, 2011, updated September 3, 2011
Today I received my order from Bluestone's Spring Sale (saved a LOT!): thyme "Annie Hall", Phlox "David", crested iris "Powder Blue Giant", campanula "Elizabeth Oliver", oenothera "Sunset Blvd", eupatorium "Wayside", and coreopsis "Sweet Dreams": all look terrific. In late April I received another order in perfect shape; I order from BP usually at least 3 times a year. My garden has been built from the ground up from their catalog- 75%, I'd say. I know I can count on Bluestone for excellent plants and outstanding service. The recycling program helps a lot with shipping costs, and is well worth it!

"On Apr 22, 2020 11:51 AM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

Thanks for the kind words, lisaaj - enjoy your garden!"

I have done business with bluestone perennials in the past, the plants were acceptable at the time for something i couldn't find locally.
However I just received their new catalog and can't believe how ridiculous the prices are for a tiny plant grown in a 3.5 inch pot, plus shipping!
There are many other vendors out there that offer larger quality plants at a much better price!
I will not being doing business with bluestone again any time in the near future.

Posted on March 31, 2020, updated April 18, 2020
We ordered an ornamental grass and waited several weeks for it be shipped, which was fine. I understand that weather does put certain necessary limits on shipping time.

What I didn't expect was that the two specimens that I ordered (order came to $50, but we were unable to find this particular grass anywhere else) would arrive with barely four or five green shoots amid dried, dead ones. My husband looked at them and said: "I paid THAT much for a few strands of grass??"

I certainly expected robust, healthy plants, not what arrived, completely dried out with literally, less than a dozen green shoots between both pots. We have mail ordered plants from other nurseries before and were always pleasantly surprised at the quality. Live and learn.

"On Mar 31, 2020 11:21 AM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

Sorry to hear of your disappoint, Mer52. The grass you received is dormant, and should have had a dormant sticker on it telling you that it is 'just waking up'. We are in NE Ohio and still have a chance of snow here, so some of the warmer season grasses are 'just' startingi to put up their growth. Now that it is in your warmer climate it will start to grow in earnest. Please give it a few weeks and let us know if you are still disappointed, and we can refund. I apologize that info was left off your plants. You are welcome to contact me directly - Jan helpdesk@bluestoneperennials.com"