Comments regarding Bluestone Perennials

This was my first time ordering from Bluestone, and for that matter any mail order nursery.

I just started gardening so buying items from the local nurseries or big box stores was convenient however variety is almost always very poor and it is difficult to sometimes tell exactly what your buying and how it will look when fully grown (at least for a newbie like myself). I LOVED how easy it was to not only find plants that met my garden environment but also how they provide you with all the needed information on the plant including best care practices. This is ideal for someone like myself to be able to print out and keep for future reference.

Their specials were great and I feel I was able to get a wide variety for a very fair price. After my order was already placed, but before shipment, I noticed that new plants were added to the specials so I called the 800 number and the rep was very helpful in adding some new plants on special to my order that was about to ship that day!

Plants arrived in overall great condition except for one poor guy who just didn't seem to handle the moisture in the box too well. After a few days of letting them sit in the shade with some water I wasn't sure if they were going to recover so a short email to customer support and they are sending me out replacements this week.

This was my first and definitely not last time shopping with Bluestone. Their quality of plants and amazing no hassle customer support are alone enough to keep me from even checking out other places.

Thank you Bluestone! More companies should follow your business model.

Received plants and shrubs today, I couldn 't be happier. They were packed well and were still very healthy five days after the shipping date. Please note that I wasn't home at the time of the attempted first delivery on a Saturday and had to wait until Monday to pick the plants up from the post office. I was worried about what their condition would be sitting there over the weekend, but they were fine. They do use packing peanuts, which work much better then the air bags that I normally receive with my plant orders. If their use concerns you, they do have a recycling program for the peanuts. The box was clearly marked as containing live plants so that care would be given to them by the USPS. One of the shrubs that they sent was smaller then I had ordered, and they credited my account for $4.00 at the time of shipment. They also included fertilizer tablets for each of my shrubs at no extra cost. I am always nervous when ordering plants online, because of previous negative experiences. My experience with Bluestone Perennials was nothing but positive and I certainly will be ordering from them again.

I love Bluestone Perennials! They are the only mail-order company I have purchased from for my garden, and I am so satisfied, I think I will keep it that way. Their prices are great, and their catalog and website are attractive, stream-lined, and easy to maneuver. Over the past year and a half, I have ordered foxglove, bluebell, bleeding heart, lobelia, lamium, ajuga, hosta, cranesbill geranium, heuchera, and spirea from them, and all of the plants are doing great. I am a beginner gardener trying to build up my perennial base, and they are a great place to start! Thank you, Bluestone.

I ordered 3 HEUCHERA Ginger Ale on May 17th and received them on May 20th. They are much bigger than I expected, very healthy looking and packed in a way that not one stem was broken.

As an added bonus - I saved the packing "peanuts" to use as filler for some potted plants.

Ordered five purple emperor butterfly bushes on a Friday and they arrived Tuesday. Great plants and service, will definitely be ordering from them again in the future.

Just a small order this year - three 'Peaches and Dreams' hollyhock plants. They arrived at the perfect time, looking great. No issues whatsoever.

Ordered 5 Exbury type Azaleas for $9.95 or 8.95 each. They arrived a day early in excellant shape, well branched to about a foot high and fully leafed - not a bit of damage. All this for under $10 each!! Plus they had info about their search for green packing materials and an offer to take back the box they were shipped in with the packing material and credit the entire shipping cost of the next order.

Ordered from them earlier this Spring and very happy with the plants I received. They have a good selection and I'm sure I will be ordering from them again.

Bluestone has a great selection of perennials. My plants arrived in perfect condition, and are growing as expected.

Just received my Bluestone Perennial Border collection of plants via FedEx on Friday, 5/6. Very good follow-up from the company - I received an email notice on Thursday 5/5 that my shipment was on its way via FedEx, and I received them in great condition the very next day! Packed in a large box, filled with recycled peanuts and air bags. They provided a large, information-filled customer packet thoroughly explaining what to do next, along with helpful suggestions. They even give detailed instructions on how to return the box and packing materials to them for re-use, and for a complete credit on my next shipping bill. My wife told me that the garden will make a great Mother's Day present, so despite the fact that it's Mother's Day today, I'll be renting a tiller and getting the garden planted.

We built our home about four years ago, and it was a great feeling to actually break ground on our first large garden (63' x 8' w/ curved front edge). I don't know about you, but it was a little intimidating trying to figure out where to lay the garden out, considering we have a very large lawn, small trees, and no fence to give us the typical visual boundaries I was accustomed to working with at our old home. I'm excited about getting everything planted.

While the plants are small right now, they all came very healthy and I'm sure will "grow into themselves" quite well over the next year or two. I'm patient and it will be fun watching everything mature into a fine perennial border.

I'll keep you posted.

Happy Mother's Day to any moms out there!

Received my first order Saturday, and couldn't be more pleased. The plants were packed upright in a box, and all were moist and vigorous. It has been almost a week and they don't appear to have suffered any transplant or transport shock, either. Also, I was thrilled with the fact that I could mail them my packing materials, which I did today, and receive a voucher for free shipping on my next order. And I will be ordering again. I like their wide variety of plants, and I didn't mind paying a little more for shipping, considering the excellent condition in which the plants arrived.

I wanted to be sure to leave some positive feedback about my order with Bluestone Perennials. I have recently moved and needed to place a large order to help fill in my empty flower beds. I ordered back in January and carefully made choices based on the company description. My order arrived yesterday and I am so happy with it! The plants arrived packaged beautifully (even though the FEDEX rep left the box standing on its side) and look so very healthy. Can't wait till it stops raining so that I can plant! Thanks for the great service.

Posted on April 23, 2011, updated April 23, 2011
Posted on June 7, 2010, updated April 23, 2011
Everything I ordered arrived in great shape. I will definitely do business with Blue Stone again!

An elderly woman I visit with ordered a few plants from them last year on my recommendation. They have not returned this spring but, as with many older folk, she 'did not want to be a bother' and request replacements so I wrote to them and they said they would be happy to replace the plants. What with Comcast and BP and Bank of America it is difficult to remember that there are companies that are honest and value their customers, like Bluestone.

I get a little excited when I receive a catalog from Bluestone. The plants I received were grown with love and packed with care. Their website lists many more plants than in the catalog, and it's very easy to use. They even send you coupons for your next order's shipping if you send their packing materials back. If I have my heart set on a special plant, I order it from Bluestone.

This is my second year ordering from Bluestone and they are definitely one of my favorites. Each order arrived with plants packed very well and I like the free shipping credit I get for returning the packing materials.

Heuchera and Echinacea were purchased last August. Both plants had strong roots upon arrival and proved themselves by surviving a rough winter. They are off to a great start in the garden this year.

This year I purchased more tried and true Echinacea and, because last year's order came with a multitude of coupons (and I can't resist a coupon), tried a couple of other plants that I would not normally buy: Japanese Painted Fern, Sea Holly and Hakenechloa (free with my coupon). The Echinacea is backordered, but everything else looks great and I can't wait to get them in the garden. I also love the fact that the coupons are good until next spring and that I can use as many as I want in an order.

I ordered again from Bluestone, because their plants are of very good quality, their prices are very good and their packing is outstanding!

Their plants are commonly sold as a package of 3. For most other companies I'd consider that 'insurance', since 1 or 2 probably wouldn't survive. However, with Bluestone, all 3 usually make it!

This order arrived quickly and the plants were scarcely wilted. I didn't need to go to great lengths to revive them--I simply planted them into the ground.

Today I received my first ever mail order perennials. (Rudbeckia, Echinacea, Agastache and Malva) I must admit I was truly terrified of how mail order plants would look upon arrival. Bluestone Perennials have made my day. Seven different three packs which all arrived looking healthy, soil still a bit damp and a very nice size for the price. Although I've read some complaints here about the packaging, especially the peanuts, my plants were not destroyed in any way. I just cannot say how pleased I was with the plants. Thanks Bluestone for making my first mail order plants a success. The plants are resting in a shady area for now and I cannot wait to get them in the ground. I would also mention that ordering was a breeze. I used the web site and had no problems placing the order.

I've been buying from them since 2007. Living in Oregon, I've purchased from local nurseries and even some other mailorder houses. Bluestone has always been the best company to work with and of the 100+ plants we've gotten from them, we've only had a couple plants that didn't make it and they were promptly replaced. My order this year came via FedEx ground (Ohio to Oregon) and couldn't tell the difference between ground and next-day.

I consider this place to be 'the standard' for perennials (I've never ordered their woody plants or bulbs, so I cannot speak to those).

You can find places with (a little bit) lower prices, and you can find places with (a little bit) better selection, but not both, and bluestone hits a great balance in the middle.

I have placed several large orders over the past two years, and the plant material is always A+ condition (though I admit, it does not ship far to me), and is nicely mature and developed without being pot-bound and tired out.

I find their jumbo three packs to be an ideal size for early transplants: big enough for deep, developed roots, but not so large that you are shipping a lot of extra soil, or that the plant will not reestablish readily after transplanting.

You can't beat their prices on perennials so it's easy to buy larger quantities. I got their Agastache Black Adder last spring and it was the highlight of my black garden with my black fig. Also rec'd hefty tulips and peonies last fall and look forward to my spring order. They know when to ship safely and communication is good.

Ordered the butterfly garden set last spring and it arrived alive and some of the plants were blooming. I did receive 2 dark knight butterfly bushes instead of the one that came with the set and the peacock I ordered, but they are beautiful so I will just reorder the peacock this year. The plants have done wonderful and I will order from the again this spring.

I ordered from this company for the first time last year and WOW was very impressed with the plants I ordered. I had ordered approximately 15 different daylilies and they were very big, healthy plants and most of them already had blooms. They arrived in good shape and were packed very well. All of them bloomed this past summer and did very well. I will definately order from this Co. again. Cost of the plants were reasonable and they were shipped to me in a timely manner.

Posted on November 6, 2010, updated November 6, 2010
Posted on September 11, 2010, updated November 6, 2010
Posted on April 10, 2010, updated September 11, 2010
Reasonable prices for what you get, especially on those items not readily available in my area. Shipping rates comparable or better than other large mail order nurseries. Have always had well-packed healthy plants on arrival. Only one of several dozen over the years did not survive transplant and was immediately and cheerfully replaced without question. Highly recommended for service during and after the sale.

I bought some sale bulbs while fully aware that my planting season was about over. The bulbs were shipped out immediately, well-packed, and delivered within a few days. I'm impressed.

Posted on July 8, 2008, updated November 1, 2010
I purchased more than one order on sale, as my gardens have been neglected due to 4 operations in these last 4 years. So the orders were quite large and mostly sale plants. When I received a few that were looking "not so good", I received a prompt replacement with no hassles whatsoever, after all, these were the ones on the last clearance sale. So, I would reccomend this company.
The service was excellent, and they even told me where I could recycle the other packing "peanuts", and from other companies as well. I hauled them off to my local UPS store and they were happy to get them. They did not pay me for them, but at least I recycled them.
So all of the plants are growing well now, even some that I have cut back (Thyme), as they were the ones that were replaced, and now all of them are looking nice now.
Yes, most of the plants are small, but if you need a lot of plants to fill in an area, their prices can't be beat! I have ordered from others as well, so I will list those ratings according to the names of the companies.

Thank you Bluestone Perennials!

Evelyn

"On Nov 2, 2010 11:07 AM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

You are welcome, Evelyn! And thank you for your loyalty."

Always very nice plants with quick reliable shipping and friendly customer service. Bluestone is go-to mail order company!

Everything I have ordered from Bluestone Perennials came packaged safely and alive. All of the plants are thriving. One plant that died I emailed them about and they sent a replacement no questions asked.

I order from Bluestones almost every year and have done so for 7 or 8 years now. I have always had a positive experience with them and their plants. Only one time did they accidently send the wrong plant [tag was marked wrong] and they immediately answered my e-mail and sent the correct plant and told me to keep the mistaken plant too. It was an August Moon hosta which I still have in my garden thriving! A happy mistake! Anyway, consider me a satisfied customer. I am already studying the Bluestone catalogue and figuring out what I want to order next year!

I ordered from them for the first time last month. They were prompt. The lily bulbs I received were large and in good condition. I hope they perform well next summer.

I was very impressed with my ordering experience with Bluestone Perennials. They were referred to me by members of a Yahoo gardening group I belong to and were highly recommended. My plants arrived in a timely manner and were well packed and secure. I'd ordered mostly from the Specials page and was impressed with the prices overall.

The plants were very healthy and I'm looking forward to them coming up in the spring! I will definetly order from them again and have my eye on several items in the new catalog that just arrived as well. Thank you for such a positive mail order experience!

I ordered two Mrs. Nelly Thompson clematis from Bluestone because they were the only Website I could find that still had stock available. I held my breath because I had never purchased from them before but the plants arrived in fine shape and on schedule last week. I knew they would be small (Bluestone were truthful in their advertising) but the roots were very well developed. I know I likely won't see blooms until 2012 (yikes!), but I wanted to get the clematis in the ground this Fall to give it a good headstart. I would order from Bluestone again.

Posted on September 10, 2010, updated September 26, 2010
This past Spring, I ordered several perennials. one of which was a group of three silene plants, Having had prior positive experience with this company I was very surprised at the size of the plants9very small, almost seedling size. I emailed the company to advise them that I was not happy with the size of the plants and I received and I received no reply. I planted the plants and I was pretty sure the roots were not mature enough . Of course, given the brutally hot summer, all of the three silenes died. I recontacted the company by email about three weeks ago and again I have not received a response. I am quite disappointed as previous experiences have been positive.

"On Sep 10, 2010 3:20 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

We are so sorry your plants slipped through shipping before they were ready. We try very hard to avoid doing that. We would like to correct your situation immediately. Please be assured that we never ignore an email we have received. Unfortunately, we do not have any record of receiving either email from you, and I hope you will call us so that we can resolve this situation with a reshipment or a refund, whichever you prefer. Again, our apologies. 1-800-852-5243"

I've ordered from Bluestone Perrenials a number of times over the years; recently, I placed an order for some fall bulbs. The order arrived, and I discovered that I received a different allium variety than I'd ordered. I called Bluestone the next day, spoke to a very pleasant person who told me new bulbs would ship at no cost to me, and that I could keep the bulbs I received in error.

This is perfect customer service. I can't wait to receive the Spring 2011 catalog.

We have ordered from Bluestone for two years, and not just a little bit of plants we have ordered ALOT of plants. We have ordered atleast 4 Perennial border packs (roughly 350 plants altogether) and probably about 100 mis other plants including shrubs. I am very pleased of all the plants we ordered only about 5 have died, they were from a two year ago order...we contacted Bluestone and even though it was from two years ago they gave us a credit to order more shrubs next Spring. I beleive the Perennial Border packs are a good money saving way to get plants as we now buy them for our clients. Where else for under $100 dollars can you get 65 or so Perennial Plants?

I ordered 8 agastache, 2 different hybrids. All survived and are adding lots of color to my garden.

I ordered the perennial border and butterfly garden packages, which arrived in May, nicely packed and labeled. There were a few substitutions, but the plants were all healthy and good-sized for mail order, and every single one is now thriving in my garden. I will definitely order again next year.

My first experience with Bluestone was a pleasant one. Their lilies are the ONLY thing thriving in my beds right now, during a record-breaking heatwave and drought. I think their plants are secretly part cactus. :p

When I need plants for less-than-ideal locations and poor soil quality, I will seek out Bluestone in the future.

I ordered in May, and now my plants are huge and everything is in bloom! The only exception are the aquilegia's, but they are still growing. I knew to expect small plants, because in the past I have ordered from Spring Hill (which I will NEVER waste my money with that company again). However, these plants were very healthy, and have really taken off. The perennial sunflower which is supposed to be 4-6 feet tall is already over a foot. This is wonderful for a mail order company, after only a month or so. The daylilly actually bloomed before the ones from Oakes Daylillies. I will order again, this time I will wait until the end of May for the half price sale. (I missed it by a few weeks..) I will also be ordering fall bulbs, hopefully they will be great also!

Thanks Bluestone!