Comments regarding Bluestone Perennials

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.

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....

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.

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 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.

I placed a recent order for 17 assorted plants, and was disappointed with some of them, although, overall they were in fair shape. None of them looked as healthy or robust as they should have, and had ragged, torn leaves. Three of them (phlox 'David') arrived with nearly the entire top of the plant broken off and dead, with only a tiny stem remaining. This will be my final order with this nursery.

"On Oct 5, 2017 12:09 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

Hello, JoeyInOregon: I apologize for your order arriving in such poor condition. We would like to reship your entire order either now or in the spring at no cost to you depending on your wishes. I hope you will be in touch so that we can arrange that. Of course, if you prefer a refund, we can do that, but we would like to win back your trust and get you the plants you had hoped for. I hope you have planted the ones you received regardless, as perennials will often recover from the roots, but you deserve better plants for your money and we would like to make good on our guarantee with you. 800-852-5243"

Posted on May 3, 2004, updated June 1, 2017
WHAT A GREAT COMPANY!!! I am really impressed with quality of the plants. They arrived so fresh, as if right from the garden. Never seen such plants in a mail-order. And prices are just unbelievable! Certainly, some gardeners would say, that Wall-mart or other "Mart" will beat the prices, but it will never beat the variety. Strongly recommend to anyone!

I have ordered from Bluestone several years in a row. Their plants have been very healthy and have always grown well. They come in pots which can be planted with the plant. Be sure to bury the entire pot or moisture will be wicked out of the ground through the pot.

Now, my problem with Bluestone. I moved a couple years ago and have been putting in new garden beds and ordering the bulk of my perennials from Bluestone. I plan the garden in January and order the plants in January to be sure that I get the plants I want. Last year they cancelled one plant on my order. I let this go. This year they cancelled two plants from my order in April and May. I then have to try to find the plants through another company or buy something different. This is very disappointing to me.

plants arrived well packaged and the daylilies I ordered were in good order. The blue grass samples were small, although, because of their pots, I could see that they had not just been re-potted into a larger pot, as some nurseries do. Each time I order from them, about every year or so, I find that the plants I order are smaller than I expected.

Posted on May 26, 2015, updated July 28, 2015
Posted on May 14, 2010, updated May 26, 2015
A plant I ordered this year was shipped via UPS on a Friday, so it sat in a hot UPS truck over the weekend and took 4 days to arrive instead of the normal 2. Needless to say, it did not survive. To their credit, they sent a replacement plant and said they would issue a refund (which I haven't seen yet). Also, their idea of packing is to stick the pot (soil uncovered and unwrapped) in a box and then fill the box with plastic peanuts (not environmentally friendly)--not the best way to insure healthy arrival.

Posted on December 14, 2012, updated January 2, 2015
Posted on April 26, 2011, updated December 14, 2012
Posted on April 28, 2006, updated April 26, 2011
They used to be better. I've gotten stuff from them for years and the last two have been the worst. It used to be buy 2 get 1 free. Then it was changed from that to 25%.and this year it's 20%. On top of that that the plants they sent last spring were all out of their pots & everthing was all over & dried out. They sent replacements but this year the same thing happened. dried out plants out of their pots & dirt all over. On top of that the replacements that they sent were even worse. The replacements were in worse condition that the original ones this spring. I'm waiting to see if I'll get a refund for all this trouble as I was told, but Bluestone's not as reliable as they used to be.

"

Bluestone here: Sorry to hear that your order is not surviving transit. If once carrier is more gentle in your area than another, we can assign a method of shipping to your order of your choice. We can't tell who you are from this site, but we hope you have contacted us directly for a full refund. Our apologies.

Customer service is top-notch. But the coir containers don't seem to work well. I've received plants in plastic containers and even in plastic bags, and they all grew better than ones in the coir pots. I've cut off the top of the pots so that there isn't any coir above the soil line. Even so, these plants don't seem to do as well as from other mail-order companies.

I ordered several plants during their 50% off sale. Half of the order arrived if good shape. The other half was blackened and shriveled. This was not a case of shipping damage, those plants were boxed and sent in that condition. It only took 3 days for the plants to arrive at my door and I unpacked them immediately. I emailed Bluestone and they responded promptly and said they would either send replacements or give a credit. I received a credit. So I would give them a 'A' on customer service and a 'D' on plant quality. And I absolutely HATE those coir pots.

I miss the old Bluestone. They used to be, in my experience, been the best mail-order company around. Good selection, healthy plants, and unbeatable prices. They changed all that a couple of years ago, and it's a much less appealing source now. First, they tripled their prices. Sure, they upped the size of their plants, but I think few of their regular customers appreciated the trade-off. Second, the put their plants in "biodegradable cocopots." I am not sure about how well these degrade, but I urge you to NEVER PLANT THEM DIRECTLY IN THE GROUND. Most of the plants I tried this with last year are still relegated to that little 4" x 4" space. A very few were able to grow through it, but I will never plant it directly again. Now I'm left with the choice of digging the plants up, thereby disturbing their growth, or watching them be small for however many years it takes for the cocopots to disappear. Sure, you can cut the pot and remove the plant, but this is much more likely to damage the roots than removal from a plastic pot.

In general their plants still come in decent shape, but some of this spring's shipment are a little questionable. Time will tell.

Why oh why did they have to make these unfortunate changes?????

Posted on December 19, 2007, updated May 14, 2013
Bluestone is fabulous! They sent me a replacement order this past September for cyclamen that did not grow; unfortunately I never received it (I think someone took it out of my mailbox), and they credited my account immediately. Awesome.

Posted on July 10, 2012, updated July 13, 2012
I had made 3 purchases from Bluestone Perennials and up until the 3rd order, I had been satisfied. It was upon receipt of my 3rd order when I opened the box to find 1/2 of my plants (barely seedlings) sickly looking and half dead. I took pictures of them all along with the plant ID cards, and then I emailed Bluestone Perennials the pictures, complete with the order number and advised them of the plants' conditions upon arrival, expressed my severe dissatisfaction and asked them to kindly respond. I never heard a single word back from them in response... not by email, phone or USPS mail. I understand things go wrong in shipping -- anything can happen. But when a customer reports a valid complaint and the company ignores it? Unacceptable. I got no apology, no explanation, no acknowledgement, no attempt to make things right. Of the order, there were 3 of each of following: foxglove, sweet woodruff, zing rose dianthus, and 3 different types of campanula. After planting all 18, only 10 survived. After this, I have never and will never order from them again. I still get the catalogs and merely use them for reference... when I find something I like, I spend my hard earned money elsewhere.

"On Jul 12, 2012 3:05 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

Sorry to hear that your email was lost in transit. Our server will refuse emails with large pictures or many images, so that may have happened. Please be in touch by phone, or try sending your images individually. We answer every email we receive within 2 days. Let's get this resolved right away to your satisfaction. We can reship or refund at your discretion. Please be in touch, and never hesitate to call if you have not heard from us - we are standing by to help!"

Posted on April 21, 2012, updated May 25, 2012
Posted on April 25, 2009, updated April 21, 2012
Another year ordering from Bluestone.(this is my second year for this garden,new house)
The only negative is those darn peanuts.
Plants are small but the price is right and they thrive the first week theyre set in.
I always referr to Bluestone website for plant info even if I'm not ordering from them.
Many sites dont give usefull info about height and spacing.
Bluestone answers the phone and tries to make accomodations where ever possible. And the 50% off sale in May,? who wouldnt love-em

My box of plants arrived in excellent condition. I have been served well by Bluestone in the past, and will continue to order from them. I don't miss the three-packs, many times the plants were just too small to do well without a lot of extra attention. I am reserving judgement on the new pots. Some of the roots had grown into the coir, as described in the video, but several had not. I would not recommend planting the whole pot: if the top edge pokes above the soild surface, I believe it will wick moisture away from the roots. I used a scissors to cut off the top inch or so, bringing it below the soil surface level.

Just received my 4 plants today i ordered from Bluestone.
I thought i would give them a try since i am in Ohio as is Bluestone. This was meant to ease the shipping burden on the plants and wallet.

They arrived and looked like 2 dogs had fought over 3 of them.
I have received shipments in the last 2 weeks from Oregon and Oklahoma that shipped better than these from within my own state.

Half of ALL the pots dirt was outside the container and laying in the box ... 3 of the plants ordered looked like freddy krueger trimmed them to make them fit in the box.

Seriously ... If you have to mangle the plants to such a degree to fit them inside this tiny box .. then this is all just a waste of my time in dealing with Bluestone.

The only reason this is not a Negative review is because i think (and i emphasise the word think) they will live.

"On Apr 23, 2012 12:40 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

Please be in touch, Samlau! We will immediately reship your entire order. You should not have received plants in such condition, and I apologize that they had such a rough ride. You are welcome to nurse the original shipment along if you want to, but you deserve better, and we ship again."

Posted on February 21, 2012, updated March 22, 2012
Posted on August 15, 2011, updated February 21, 2012
What a shock to find that the fall order I planned to make with Bluestone was now going to cost $150.10 instead of $90.70! Plants that were 3/15.95 are now $8.95 each!
And, no more recycling credit for returning peanuts!
Needless to say my fall order is now getting cut way, way back. I was a loyal Bluestone customer but I will be seriously looking for another supplier. I can buy plants in 6" pots at the garden center for 7.95, 4 for the price of 3.
I will place a very small order just to see what the plants in the cocoa pots look like (no more 3 packs). I will be sorry to loose them as a source for plants. The Bluestone catalogue may become research material for the plants I will buy elsewhere.

"On Mar 23, 2012 8:19 AM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

Dear woodweasel,
Please contact us directly as our guarantee is 100%. We would need more information to diagnose the problem. Your experience is not typical - and we don't recommend cutting half of the pot away as it is not necessary. We are awaiting your call, and are standing by to help."

Thank you, thank you, thank you, everybody. We love to garden. So much so, we just bought a 10-acre hobby farm so we can go crazy.

I have been getting BP catalogs for three years but couldn't order because we didn't have enough room on our quarter-acre city lot. We were ready to splurge and had budgeted over $1000 for stock alone this summer. BP having been one of DG's top 10 was one of the first places we intended to look. When we used this web site to access BP, we were surprised, to say the least, at all of the negative reports.

After reading most of them and to be fair, the positives, we've decided not to order anything until all of this settles down. In our opinion only, they might be trying to capitalize on the good reputation they established and might even be on the way out - take the money and run, so to speak.

"On Mar 10, 2012 10:11 AM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

Dear HankerB and other concerned customers;

We’ve been growing and selling plants since 1972, and we are always searching for ways to improve our plants and service. We knew we had found a better way to grow and ship plants when we began testing a breathable pot made from coconut husk fibers. The one word our propagators kept saying was “Wow!” The plants grown in the coco pots were more vigorous and had dramatically healthier roots than plants grown in plastic pots. Plus, the coco pots could be planted directly in the ground, which eliminated transplant shock.

That, in a nutshell, is why we now grow all our plants in coco pots. It was a product quality decision. Our new plants are more than 2 ½ times larger than those grown in our previous 3-paks, so it’s not a fair “apples to apples” comparison to look at the prices of our new larger plants versus the prices of our old (much smaller) 3-pak plants. Our plants are still a great value—but now we’re selling larger plants that will provide superior performance in your yard and garden.

Please shop our competitors and compare prices and delivery fees. We think you’ll agree that Bluestone prices are very competitive. We’ve kept our shipping and handling charges the same (even though we’re shipping larger plants) because we redesigned the packaging to be more efficient.

All of that being said, I would like to apologize for the confusion we’ve caused our customers who enjoyed the old 3-paks. We know you loved these small plants—particularly because they were priced way below the market. If you choose not to buy plants from us anymore, we’re sorry to lose you as customers and we thank you for your past support. If you do favor us with an order in the future, you’ll see why we’ve made the change to our new coco pot. The plant growth is truly amazing.

Quite frankly, we have been surprised by the recent number of negative reviews on Garden Watchdog. We loved being a Top 30 company, and we plan to earn our way back into that elite ranking. We still offer the best guarantees in the business, and our customer service is second to none. When our customers start receiving and growing our plants grown in coco pots and see first-hand how well they perform, I sincerely believe that they will be happy.

We’re still the same family-owned company, and our goal is to continue to offer exceptional plants.

Best Regards,
Bill Boonstra, Second Generation Owner and Grower
Bluestone Perennials

"

Posted on December 12, 2011, updated February 19, 2012
Posted on April 19, 2010, updated December 12, 2011
This is my second year of purchasing perennials from BP. Both orders were shipped and delivered in two days. The flowers were VERY HEALTHY. What more can I ask?

A couple of comments: First, I work in the plastics industry and plant pots are highly desirable recyclables. We make as much of our products as possible out of "regrind" plastic, for which we pay a premium price, and we never have enough. I personally put all my plastic plant pots in my recycle bin at the curb and they are all taken, even the trays under the pots. Here's something to think about re plastic--we make plastic pallets vs. wooden ones. Wood pallets come from cutting down trees, are generally used once, and most often end up in the landfill. (yes, I know some people burn them for fuel, more pollution by the way, but most are landfilled). Our plastic pallets are re-used over and over again and when they get damaged are ground up and remade into a new pallet. Plastic resin is much too expensive (as high as 70 cents a pound) to waste in a landfill. We buy old plastic from every source we find. Our process does not produce ANY air pollution and we don't need any EPA air permits and don't even have any "smokestacks" or vents.

For several years and landscaping 2 different homes from scratch, I shopped using the printed catalog then made a driving expedition to Bluestone Perennials and bought an entire pickup full of plants to landscape my yard. There was a substantial discount doing this as they didn't have to pick/pack/ship. The small plants allowed me to transport more, and they transplanted better. I did not bother to shop at any other nursery during that time.

Several years ago they stopped mailing the catalog, although I phoned several times to request one. I find the website much harder to shop through and it does not have the complete growing information that was in the catalog. I had bought several thousand dollars of plants during those years, so don't know why they wouldn't give me a catalog. I suspect they need to save the cost of printing, as many other businesses have had to do.

The economy has been hard on everyone, and their business obviously requires that they charge higher prices to stay open. However, they had a niche market with the smaller, lower price plants, and I believe that was one of their main advantages. As others have remarked, they have now lost that competitive advantage and only time will tell if that was a correct marketing decision. I have always gotten excellent plants, excellent variety from them, so have no complaints on that score. Due to the high prices now, I'm unlikely to buy in the future.

Spring of 2010 I placed an order with Bluestone and was extremely pleased with the product. Of over 75 plants, all had nice sturdy root systems, and only one was lost due to predation.

Spring of 2011, I placed a smaller order (actually placed the order in January). When my eagerly anticipated package arrived, I found out that they had only shipped half my order, despite getting my order in so early. How early do you need to order to get your plants in the spring?

The plants were going to ship in the fall, so I waited, and ordered more plants to combine with the fall shipment. Well, despite the large price increase, and the new biodegradable pots, I'm not sure the plants I received in the fall will make it. Their root systems were very small, and the plants themselves were puny and withered, despite that the "new pots" are larger. I will wait until spring to see if they make it, and change my review accordingly. I'm afraid that if they don't make it, I'll have to wait another year to get replacement plants!

I have strongly recommended Bluestone to friends and family in the past, but with the huge price increase and the lower quality, I may not do that again.

"On Jan 3, 2012 2:57 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

Hello aglading, and thanks for letting us address your concerns. First let me apologize for the need to backorder from your spring order. Our standard policy is to grow more plants than we think we will need so that we can fill every order through to the end of the season, and not disappoint anyone, ever. Unfortunately, crop problems arise at any time from any direction, and even plants that are ordered early can bump into them. Mother Nature plays a large part in the equation and this year she certainly had her way with us. The long and the short of it is, we strive to do the best we possibly can, and then stand by our guarantee. Please let us know if your fall plants are not gorgeous next spring and we will reship fresh vigorous plants to you or issue a refund, at your discretion. I hope you will allow us this chance to rebuild your trust in us, as the new product line is very exciting!"

I've ordered from Bluestone in past when they sold in 3 paks and have always been pleased with my purchase. Bluestone filled a niche, strong young plants at reasonable prices. There were no other quality mail order nurseries that were offering the same quality and value. Sadly, Bluestone lost it's focus. The very thing that made them unique and great is no more. There is no dispute that their plants are still top notch but unfortunately there is no longer anything that sets them apart from other nurseries. Granted, going 'green' is nice, but do I really need to a pay a premium for the cadillac of biodegradable pots? Where is the value in that? Besides, bidegradable pots in one form or another have been around for years. This isn't exactly new technology. Do I need or even want larger plants? Well, to be honest, not really. I was perfectly happy with smaller plants, they were healthy, well rooted and sturdy. They offered an excellent value and within a year or two proved to be superior to other plants that I paid much more for. I won't go off the deep end and say that I will never order from Bluestone again, but what I can promise you is this- you will no longer be my first choice. Judging by the recent customer comments on this forum it seems as though I am not alone. Please reconsider your marketing tactics. I would hate to see you lose you Garden Watchdog Top 5 rating.

"On Jan 3, 2012 3:14 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

Thank you for your concern, mikerotell. We still strive to be your first choice for perennials. Our product is now larger with superior root growth compared to our previous 3-pak (wait til you see!) and pricing on the plants that were previously in 3-paks has, obviously and necessarily, gone up. Our goals in all of this were to offer a better plant at a competitive price while improving our impact on the environment. We have looked at options for years that would allow us to quit using huge quantities of plastic, and to get away from the packing peanuts. This new coir pot and its packing carrier fit the bill for both, and as a fringe benefit, is producing plants with fantastic growth and vigor. I hope you will stick with us and give this new product a try - I know you will be impressed!"

You know, as potential customers, we already have the ultimate defense against being overcharged. If the prices are rediculous, don't order anything. There, fixed it.

I haven't placed an order with Bluestone Perennials yet but I have been reading many of the customer comments, and in particular the negative comments in reference to their large increase in prices on plants as stated on the Garden Watchdog site and it would seem to me that Bluestone's explanation for their increase in prices was a little lame stating that the newer type of pot costs more. However, since they no longer have to purchase the packaging peanuts used for shipping AND the various size plastic pots wouldn't that HELP to defray the cost of the newer pots? Their increases in prices does seem a little exorbitant. Just wondering!!

Posted on September 13, 2011, updated October 17, 2011
This is my first time ordering from Bluestone Perennials, and I can't say that it's been a pleasurable experience. I placed an order for three Lavender Ellegance Sky in August and requested that it arrive the first week of September. I live in Massachusetts, and of course we had a hurricane the weekend before my order was due to ship.

So, I call the first week of September and my order is delayed. Understandable. I reschedule it to ship the following Tuesday the 6th (because of Labor Day), and the rep said it would arrive that Thursday the 8th. I call the following Thursday and the order has not shipped because they "weren't sure" if it could go out, even though I told them there are no mail delays in our area. So we reschedule the order AGAIN to ship the following Monday the 12th, to arrive on Wednesday the 14th.

I call today, Tuesday, because at this point I don't believe my order is ever going to ship. The rep told me the order went out today (not Monday...) and that it will take 5-7 business days. Excuse me?! Why have I been told EVERY OTHER TIME that I will receive this order in TWO days?! How are my plants supposed to survive 7 DAYS in a box without water?! She offered no apologies or explanation as to why I was told it would take two days from other reps.

At this point I am cranky and irritated by this lengthy process, all for three stupid plants. I'll send an update once/if I receive my order...

"On Sep 14, 2011 3:55 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

We can certainly appreciate your frustration, khoy. We as a company have never (in 38 years) had to deal with the level of disruption that Irene caused in the shipping stream. We chose to err on side of caution and not burden our storm-beleaguered customers or our shippers by sending a perishable product into a storm ravaged area. Unfortunately, there is no clearing house of information regarding areas that are closed to shipments so we took our best guess and held the shipments to most of the East coast. Who could possibly have predicted that the next week would bring 10" of rain and flooding to the same area? It was a nightmare. I have checked and your package was sent UPS Surepost, and is scheduled to arrive Friday per UPS. I apologize for the misrepresentation of the usual time in transit. Don't hesitate to call us if there is anything less than perfect about your plants when they arrive, since we want to make this right for you despite the numerous delays."

Posted on May 20, 2005, updated August 18, 2011
I just received my order from them and they are all looking healthy. Some of the perennials and shrubs are a bit small but at least they’re not dead.
And their prices are a bargain.
Will order from them again as I have for the past 3-4 years.

Posted on May 7, 2009, updated August 16, 2011
I got my first order from Bluestone today. The plants were all healthy and all the soil was moist. I water them all (as instructed) and put them out under the deck. I am a gardening novice and the information that came with the order is priceless.

The only negative was the catalogue.........now I am coveting.

Posted on May 23, 2008, updated August 15, 2011
Just received another quality order from Bluestone, consisting of several hostas, hens & chicks, and other assorted plants. All arrived in great shape, still moist and nice and green. One hosta plant is actually just a hosta "leaf" sticking out of the dirt, but 99% of the order was really nice. They do package with care and none of the plants were damaged in shipping.

POSITIVE: I too, have been a very satisfied customer of Bluestone Perennials for many years. Plants are very healthy, and the customer service I have experienced has been very positive. I usually spend $100-200 every year, at least. I enjoyed participating in their recycle program. Was very happy to have heard that they would be going to coco pots this year.

UNFORTUNATELY, with the recent and HUGE price increase, I will no longer be able to afford to make purchases from them. Purchasing the coco pots in Bulk should NOT have perpetuate a skyrocketing price increase. The pots come in many different sizes and configurations. Using a smaller pot may be an option? The plants that are shipped are usually pretty small anyway.
Too Bad.

Been buying from these folks for over 20 years - never a problem with plants and very affordable. Not any more : add my name to the people upset with the huge (make that HUGE) price increase for individual plants. Last fall, I purchased the Shade Garden for $119 - this year it's $295!!

I have been a customer of Bluestone for many years...over 20 years. I couldn't say enough good things about them.

Something has changed though. Just today I e-mailed them about the following problems.


The Tiki Torch I purchase this year, in lieu of what I wanted because you were out of everything, well, the pathetic plant I received never got alit, in fact it was put out before it ever arrived at my house, in my honest opinion.

The coreopsis "pinwheel" plant (that was really only a plug half eaten by fungus gnats) that I babied all summer is NOT pinwheel, but Creme Brulee.

The Echinacea I got this year is NOT double decker. There isn't a double on any of the blooming stems. I realize they don't all double deck, but come on, at least one would. Definately not Double Decker. So, I purchased it locally.

And I love daylilys, but why in the heck would I have purchased this "Janice Brown" I've been thinking...it's so plain. Well, I come in and look it up on google, and a few years ago, when I purchased this, obviously, "Janice Brown" wasn't sent to me either, but some plain pink daylily...

They always take care of their problems, but lately, their problems seem to be out of control. That's 3 plants received, planted, nurtured, etc., that are NOT what I wanted. I'm 50 now. I don't want to plant and replant. And I don't want plants whose roots are eaten by fungus gnats, and I don't want to have to reorder and replant. And I don't want to have to pick between

I would have given them a negative, if it wasn't for the many years of fine service. I hope they take this as a message. If I'm complaining about them, things aren't good, because they have been my friends for years. Perhaps they got too big, I don't know, but I hope this gets them moving in the right direction. Change is needed Bluestone. It really is. I still love you, but take this as a wake-up call.

Gloria

"On Jul 27, 2011 2:37 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

Gloria - thank you for your heartfelt comments and concerns. It sounds as if everything that could go wrong with your order, did. We will of course make the situation right with you (via separate correspondence). We appreciate the chance to salvage our reputation with you and we thank you for your years of support. Look for our more detailed email shortly."

Bluestone has, for many years, been my go to mail order plant source but I am so sad to see that they are changing their inventory to larger, more highly priced plants. They will be sent in coco fiber pots which is nice but I have always liked that most plants came as a quantity of 3 very small healthy plants very reasonably priced which, once planted, quickly adapted to their new environment. Their service has always been, and I assume will continue to be wonderful but there are a handful of great nurseries carrying a large variety of healthy plants in 4 in pots within 10 miles of my home. Their prices are 1/2 the new prices being charged at Bluestone. I will, however, continue to use Bluestone for shrubs, bulbs and harder to find perennials and hope they never go to 1 gallon pots for their shrubs.

Posted on May 26, 2011, updated June 26, 2011
This was my first time ordering from Bluestone, and it will be my last. As any reading this can see, I have done, and will continue to order from various online nurseries. The kick in the pants for me, was that this order was going to be a surprise from my significant others Mom. The first order was: 3 Achillea, 3 Adenophora, 3 Agastache, 3 Aster, 3 Chrysanthemum, 3 Digitalis, 3 Echinacea, 3 Alcea, 3 Monarda, 3 Perovskia, 3 Stachys, and 2 Centaurea. The total bill, with s/h, was just shy of $200. I got that order, first, when I opened the box I was greeted by packing peanuts and fungus gnats...I can deal with fungus gnats...as I was unpacking I touched something slimey, I thought it was a dead leaf that happened in transit, NOPE, slug...I found 6 slugs all in all...they pretty much munched down the Monarda to nubs...at the soil line! For this particular order I was happy with about 1/2...the plants looked health, the roots were nice, foliage was green and fresh. The other half of the order, one was mowed down by slugs, the others to puny to even mention...one of the Russian Sage was a mere 2" tall...no side branching!!! I mean, seriously? The Achillea looked like they were thrown in the box last minute, all were crushed, the Adenophora just looked pathetic, I wasn't happy at all with the other Russian Sage, they were maybe in the 2-3" range, the Monarda was the slug buffet, and the Agastache were extremely spindly and sad looking. I called their Customer Service, I believe her name is Dawn...she was extremely apologetic, and put in a replacement order, for the plants I was unhappy with. Well, I got the replacement order today (the first order I received last week...so props to them for promptness!)...The reason for this negative review, is for what they had the nerve to send me as a REPLACEMENT. The Russian Sage and the Achillea...were excellent, no complaints at all...but, here goes again with the 1/2 thing...the other 3 plants in the replacement order...oye...Adenorpha...one was almost rotted, and looks dead, the Mondarda...2 are black, one looks like it should make it, the Agastache...tall, spindly, one has no leaves, one has 1 leaf, and the other has 2 leaves...no slugs in this order...fungus gnats, yes, AND now I see spider mites...I called Customer Service back again, and Dawn apologized, and offered to send a replacement...I politely told her that I really didn't want any more plants from Bluestone, and that this was supposed to have been the replacement. So that would have meant, I would need a replacement to the replacement...seriously? After reading all of the positive comments, and other people speaking highly of them, I for one, will gladly spend my money else where.
Plant material from them= 1/2 arsed
Packaging= The packing peanuts...come on...everything, literature, was all green this and green that...I don't know about anyone else, the closest Post Office is about 10 miles from me, and the closest UPS store is about a 20 minute drive, so to recycle them, I'd have to drive...Not happy with their choice of packaging materials...and with my two orders it didn't really protect anything.
Customer Service= for the one person I spoke with, this is, by far, the only thing excellent about this company.

If opening a box of perrenials you just spent hard earned money on, and expecting a box full of goodness, is your thing, SHOP ELSE WHERE.

"On May 26, 2011 2:52 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

We're just as disappointed as you are. Please contact us directly for a full refund. We hope you'll give us a chance to salvage our reputation with you sometime in the future, and certainly understand your frustration. Gardening is supposed to be fun.

After this spring we will have all the plastic out of our boxes except for the plant tags. We've been looking for an good alternative to packing in peanuts for decades and are very pleased with our new system of growing in coconut fiber pots which ship in cardboard carriers. (no peanuts!)The pot plants directly in the ground with no transplant shock, and quickly breaks down.

Again, we apologize profusely for the condition of your two packages and hope you will be in touch."

Posted on June 10, 2011, updated June 10, 2011
I have purchased several times in the past usually during sales and have always received healthy plants in a timely fashion and they carry a lot of new varieties that my local nurseries don't or are more expensive.

My only complaint has been that they keep mailing me catalogs after I've requested no catalogs more than once. I buy online and don't want paper catalogs, they go straight to the recycle bin .

This time my box took over a week to arrive and the hydrangea I ordered 'Little Lamb' was totally defoliated and dead. I don't call a 3" grower pot a "large pot" either but I should have read the fine print on that one. The hardy geraniums were covered with dead blooms and foliage but I am sure they will be just fine. The hosta was fine. The packing peanuts were so full of dirt and dried leaves that I had to throw them away rather than re-use them.

I sent an email right away with photos but it wasn't answered so I sent another one without photos thinking the attachment might have been the problem. Then I called and was told they would get back to me that they were checking on stock of the hydrangeas to know if they could replace. I later got an email that day that I would get a credit. It wasn't clear if my card would be credited or I would receive store credit.

I am disappointed. Even at the tiny size the hydrangea is one I haven't found locally. I've never had a shipment of mail order plants take so long to arrive nor had them arrive looking so bad. I believe I've read that they changed shipping companies and maybe this is the problem.

Posted on October 27, 2010, updated May 18, 2011
I was looking for a particular Simple Pleasures tulip mix and that's what led me to Bluestone. I ended up adding a couple of other things to the order (some Muscari and an Echinacea). Everything came very fast, and was in decent condition (couple of the bulbs were mildewy but no biggie). I'll have to wait and see how their product performs, but what made me choose "neutral" is that when I looked at the total of my fall order (used three companies this season) I did feel the product was overpriced for what I got. I'll have to see how the bulbs and the perennial perform. Will update if necessary.

"On Nov 2, 2010 11:16 AM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

Please don't hesitate to let us know if you have any problems, and I will pass along your feedback."