Comments regarding Bluestone Perennials

Have almost always received healthy, vigorous and well rooted plants. Will never complain about the size-that's why they're priced the way they are. My primary problem with this vendor is the packing. If they read through all of their negative feedback postings they may see a common theme. I don't think I've ever received a shipment that didn't have some broken branches or leaves from being jostled about and chafed by those pain in the box peanuts! Once I received a Leonard Messel magnolia that was completely defoliated by the time I got it. To Pat's credit it was promptly replaced (no pictures required, no questions asked) but it seems like a heck of a way to do business. If they they want some better ideas on how to pack mail order plants they only need to place an order with High Country Gardens (now that man knows how to pack a shipment), Brushwood Nurseries (for shipping vines) or Logee's who ships similar size perennials. Musser Forests even does a better job with just plain old newspaper!

Posted on July 16, 2010, updated July 16, 2010
Posted on June 17, 2008, updated July 16, 2010
I purchased plants from Bluestone for the 1st time during their 1/2 off sale. I bought daylilies, columbines, and a gaillardia fanfare. I have never purchased plants online before and decided to go with them because of all of the positive reviews I've read here. My plants arrived in great shape and were packaged very well. I waited 3 days to plant them to get them acclimated. So far my daylilies and gaillardia are holding their own. I'm not too sure about the columbines yet. If my plants survive and flourish I will definitely buy from them again. I have another "wish list" of plants in mind.

I ordered from the end-of-season special offers, so I knew that the plants would probably have deadheaded stems, a few browning leaves and so on; I also expected them to be quite small. But I thought the prices were very good and there were some interesting plants I fancied so I ordered. I received an acknowledgment, an order number and the information that they would email me when the plants were shipped. Just over a week later I got an email stating they were being shipped, but with a different order number, which was confusing. They arrived when scheduled - several of the stems were broken, quite possibly by me when I was trying to find them and get them out of those damn packing peanuts (which my puppy loved cos they got everywhere). However the plants seemed OK for the money and as I'd expected.
Then I realised that the set of dianthus I ordered was missing. They didn't send a packing note, so I emailed to find out why and got an email back saying they were out of stock and I hadn't been billed. I checked, and that was correct, but I would have expected them to notify me that they were not able to fulfil my order. I'd even got the place for them all ready...

Not the world's worst experience, but far from the best. I'd expected better.

I ordered my plants from Bluestone for Spring 2009 delivery. I ordered 3 types of grasses, and one type of flower. Everything arrived looking healthy. One flowering plant died soon afterward. However, the company replaced it, and in a very prompt manner.

The grasses I ordered were Dwarf Blue Fescue, Dwarf Fountain Grass, and Morning Light . They did fantastic, and I am looking forward to seeing their beauty again this year. I was amazed at how much they grew and how good they looked for plants that were just a few weeks into the ground.

Now for the negative part of my experience. I am working on a spot where I want all blue flowers. Not purple, but blue. Even though the photo showed blue flowers, prior to making my order, I called Bluestone to be sure of the color. I was told that yes, the flowers would be blue.

They are not. The plant name is Campanula Blue Clips. This is not a case of a flower being so purple that perhaps some would call it blue. The purple shade is slightly darker than a lilac, and not even close to blue.

That was a pretty big disappointment. Even though the plants are healthy, I am going to have to dig them up, as they are not what I want for that area.

To be one of the top-rated companies on this site, I was rather shocked when I received my order. The plants were smaller than I expected, root-bound, and worst of all most of them were bone dry and severely wilted. You would think that this company would water the plants before shipping them and wrap them in a way to prevent them from drying out. I received these plants two days after they were shipped so they should not have looked as bad as they did. I immediately transferred the plants to larger pots after receiving them and watered them thoroughly. By the next day their appearance had improved and they looked even better the following day. I plan on planting them within the next week into the ground. All of the plants appear as though they will survive. However, I think I will try a few more companies for future purchases of perennials to get a fair comparison to the perennials that I received from this company.

This was my first experience in ordering plants from a catalog. Everything I ordered arrived healthy but the plants were pretty small. Maybe this is normal when ordering like this, and I somewhat expected it, but I was just a little surprised at how small they really were. But eveything lived and is growing and very healthy looking. I would recommend this company and will probably buy from them again. This website helped me choose Bluestone because of the good ratings.

I ordered some foxglove and hollyhocks from Bluestone for the first time. The plants arrived not only smaller than expected, but the leaves were very yellow, the plants were extremely dry and wilted. I realized that these plants have been sitting a box for several days and would be wilted, but I've been soaking them for over 4 hours and they are barely coming back. It looks as though they weren't watered well before being shipped. I was so disappointed with the yellow leaves all over the hollyhocks. I spent almost $40 on this order and feel like I have nothing to show for it. I haven't contacted customer service yet but will do so tomorrow. I'm hoping they pick up after being the in the fresh air.

Just received my plants yesterday. Never ordered live plants through the mail, only seeds & bulbs. They looked a little wilted and dry but they were in a box for about 4 days. They were packaged very nice, but I didnt really care for all peanuts. I took them out of the box as soon as they arrived and watered them. So hopefully in the next few days they will perk right up. I was kind of shocked how small the plants were, but I couldn't really complain since they weren't that expensive. If these plants come back in the next few days, I plan on ordering some more plants from here. Also I will come back and update this review to positive. Thanks again!

I ordered 45 plants to fill in two beds. I loved that their site had lots of really helpful and complete info about their plants to help me make the best choice. After doing more research about the plants I wanted to purchase, I felt like I could trust the information I was being given and decided to make an order.

They arrived quickly and were well packed. Most of the plants looked really great.

I ordered packs of four different discounted plants varieties of these, two (Silene and Aquilegia) varieties were not in good condition. Yellowed leaves, leggy, broken stems.
The Calycanthus I paid $12.95 for looked like a 5 in. tall rooted cutting with 2 buds. That was disappointing.

I will plant them and fertilize them and water them well, if they do improve in a couple months I'll update to positive.

"On May 1, 2009 9:26 AM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

How are your plants doing? I would like to reship them at no charge to you if they have not recovered. Thank you for giving the extra TLC, and please do let us know if you want us to reship. It sounds like they may have had a bumpy ride! 800-852-5243"

I ordered from Bluestone for the first time this year after reading the many positive ratings. I was very dismayed by the peanuts. I appreciate that Bluestone will recycle the peanuts, but I find their program to have me send back the box of peanuts on my dime in return for free shipping frankly a pain. The box is sitting by my door, now, for two weeks.The least Bluestone could do is send a free return shipping label, so it could be picked up by UPS at the customer's house. That would be better than free shipping on a possible next order, in my book. Peanuts aside, the plants are gorgeous in perfect shape and arrived just when I wanted them. I appreciated the 10% off coupon in the box, too. I strongly urge Bluestone to check out High Country Garden's shipping system--it is peanut free and the plants arrive in pristine condition.

"On Apr 20, 2009 4:26 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

Thank you for the suggestion, and we will look into their packaging, and I will pass along your suggestion. We don't like the peanuts, either, but we have yet to find another packaging that works as well. All other methods have come up short. We are always on the lookout for an affordable alternative that will get our plants to you in good condition, and we have tried many many alternatives. If you would like, please be in touch and we can mark your account to ship your future plants in shredded paper, or you can request shredded paper when you order if you prefer. "

I actually love Bluestone and have done business off and on with them for over 20 years. I especially liked their 'Connecticut yankees' Delphiniums which I cannot find anywhere else.

I am hugely disappointed though, that they no longer do wholesale and I am a small commercial grower :-(

I ordered three Gaillardia 'Tokajer' in January, and received them in late spring, pretty well packed, but a little smashed. Certainly in good enough condition to grow well, though. BP's plants are small, but the price is right, so I took the little plants, potted them up right away, then, eventually, moved them into the garden in ideal conditions. They grew wonderfully, but, alas, it soon became evident that I had received the wrong plant. They shot up about 4 ft (too tall for Gaillardia) and I kept trying to identify them, assuming they were some other cultivated plant......until it became clear that they were a common weed that I see everyday on the side of the road!!! I contacted BP by email, then phone, (they had not replied to my email after 48 hours, though, as it turned out, they had already taken care of the matter) and they have promised replacements, but as it is midsummer, and they are no longer shipping, I will miss a whole season's growth. I monitored these plants CLOSELY, each day (this was a plant I really wanted)--the weeds were clearly in the pots upon delivery, one per pot, right in the center. There is absolutely no way they were introduced at my house, or that the pots contained the correct cultivar. On the plus side, I did get great customer service....but shipping weeds....clearly a quality control issue!! Especially with an early-in-the-season order...

I haven't ordered from Bluestone in about 2 years, since I really haven't been adding to my perennial collection. I recently placed and order and was a bit underwhelmed with my purchase.

Price was always their biggest advantage for me. Their plants have always been somewhere between seedlings and plants. They always arrived a little beat up, but usually did well once planted. I was always willing to accept the small size and condition since they were a bargain.

I just ordered from them recently during their 50% spring sale. Seems like prices have gone up. Full prices were in the $8 - $14 range, which is higher than I remember. Even at 50% off, I don't think the value is still there. The prices have moved to a point where I expect a little more size/quality.

I ordered from Blue Stone back in March. The plants arrived at the correct time but were kinda small. This was the second place I had ordered and received plants from and being new at this I was not sure what to expect. So far some of the hosta have died. I am not so pleased with the size of the plants. I can get that price of plant at the big box store and they looked better.

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I hope you will be in touch so that we can resend the Hosta you have lost, or issue a credit. I am sorry the Hosta disappeared, but we can make amends if you will contact us."

I ordered snowcap asters, lamium, veronica speedwell, all 3-packs. Order arrived quickly, but plants are extremely small and have been slow taking off. The 4"pot clethra is barely growing.
Then I ordered large pots of hostas, bleeding heart, astilbe, and hypericum golden tutsan. The 2nd order plants were sizable and plants look like they're ready to take off.
My advice: look for their posted specials (changes weekly) and buy large pots. I do not like the 3-pack perennials--too puny--you have to be patient or just be able to plant and forget for a year.
I do not like their peanuts used in packing. Other mail order companies use straw, cardboard to prevent soil leakage. If you have the time and energy, you can ship their packing boxes back they give you free shipping on your next order, so that is somewhat admirable.
I like their catalog & useful lists.
They have awesome specials & coupons available online or shipped with your order.

I placed a large order based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback on this site. Thier customer service is as good as advertised. I received 3 boxes of small but pretty healthy looking plants. Most of them seem to be holding their own, except for the Shasta Daisy and Solidago. I am keeping my fingers crossed for the other marginal-looking ones, but overall these plants appear to be good buys.

I received my first order from Bluestone today. The plants are extremely healthy despite the fact that several leaves on the Lupines were broken during shipment and had to be pruned. The lupines have long-stemmed leaves that don't hold up well in a box filled with styrofoam peanuts. The Geum plants, on the other hand, were in perfect shape. Bluestone carries many hard-to-find varieties. I am pleased to learn that Bluestone is trying to find an alternative to using the styrofoam peanuts. The folks at Bluestone appear to be very honest people, and I look forward to ordering from them in the future.

"On Jul 1, 2009 3:43 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

We are sorry to hear that your Lupines have not performed to your satisfaction. They can be tricky to grow. Our plants are guaranteed, and if you would like, we would be happy to reship (even a different plant if you would like) or refund at your request.

We do listen, and we have tried many other methods of packing, but those darned peanuts work the best. We offer free shipping on your next order if you will send the peanuts back to us so that we can reuse them (to be environmentally responsible). They are themselves made from recycled material. We will continue to evaluate every new packaging idea as we become aware of them, but have not yet found a better, effective way of getting plants to customers in good condition.

If you would like to be in touch directly, we can make good on your original losses, and discuss alternate packaging possibilities."

I’ve ordered from Bluestone a few times. They have really, really good sales. My first order didn’t take my breath away, but all the plants I received were sale items. They played what I refer to as the “3 Bears Trick” where one of three plants is large, the second is smaller and the third is hardly big enough to plant in the garden.
The second time I ordered from them I bought only a trio of plants my husband collects…as a gift. (I ordered the plants a season in advance this time; they were not sale items.)
The weather was unseasonably hot, so the nursery sent out e-mails letting us know shipping would be delayed until a change in weather. I thought that was fantastic! The plants arrived completely shriveled and dead. (Ready for the compost bin dead.) Evidence suggested the plants were actually wrapped up and sitting in a smoldering hot warehouse for a week instead of waiting at the nursery until a change in the weather. They gladly replaced the plants, but the 2nd set of plants arrived parched and damaged, too. The ‘littlest bear’ could not be saved. (To the compost with the other 3.) The other two were nursed back to health. I haven’t ordered from Bluestone since. It will take an incredible sale to get me to order, but I haven’t sworn them off.

I ordered from this company based on the wonderful feedback listed here on the forum. I placed a large order (for my budget anyhow) in the amount of $160. I anxiously awaited my order and when it arrived I was devastated. The majority of the items were broken and/or dry and black. There was also a green film on all of the soil. It just so happened that the order arrived the day after I had visited another nursery and purchased two of the exact same items. The nursery items were much cheaper and at least 3 times bigger than Bluestone's. I sent an e-mail and then ended up calling and speaking with Pat. She was extremely friendly and apologetic and said that she would credit me for half of the total and reship the order. She advised me if I was still not happy after receiving that order, she would go ahead and refund the remaining amount. I felt relieved and went ahead and planted the poor, helpless plants in hopes of saving some of them. Surprisingly the columbines actually grew - not very well but they did survive. My replacement order arrived in a little bit better condition but not the greatest. I went ahead and planted the items and watered and waited. A few of the plants, such as the asters, did well. None of them thrived as most of my nursery items did. I did not contact Pat again as I felt bad about the whole situation and didn't want to be thought of as a "bad" customer.

We order many thousands of tulips of daffodils from a variety of companies. This year unfortunately, Bluestone had the worst bulbs of the seven vendors we did business with. Of the 248 tulip bulbs we ordered from them, 60 were rotted and moldy. We have notified the company by e-mail with photos attached. We had poor results with moldy perennials that we had ordered some years ago but from the other testimonials, it sounds like their perennial plant quality is much improved. They need to do some real trouble-shooting on their fall bulb quality however.

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We have been in contact with seagardener and issued a refund and an apology. Never hesitate to contact us with a problem. Bluestone"

I ordered several daffodils and crocus from their specials (1/2 price sale) page. The daffodils were decent size and firm -no problem there. However ~ 40% of the crocus had some level of rot. To be fair I have not contacted Bluestone yet, and I am sure they will address the issue. However, I have ordered from them several times previously and their quality has been perfect so my expectation of them is high. This order was a notch below their usual quality.

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I hope 2862scooter will be in touch with us. We would gladly reship or refund. We check all the bulbs as they leave here, but the unusually warm temperatures this fall did cause some occasional damage during transit. "

I am giving a neutral because I feel that after all the complaints this site has recieved about their packaging problems over the many years I have been ordering from them, something should have changed by now.
My last large order during their sale came with wet black leaves on the rudebeckia...which they replaced with very nice plants...but come on,why can't you go with packaging like annies annuals or high dessert gardens?

I have ordered from Bluestone in the past, when I gardened in Zone 8. I always received the plants in good order.
That was then.
I now garden in Zone 4. I am on a new 2 acre lot and planned the front of my landscape plan around a Bluestone order. The ornamental grasses I ordered last fall did not make the trip and were brown by the time I put them in. I was not surprised they did not come back, this spring.
I asked for Bluestone gift certificates for Christmas and placed an order for shrubs and trees.
By the time my zone shipped, they didn't have the shrubs I ordered and the tree was in a three and a half pot. It will take five years to get as big as I wanted it. The sambucus was bent and broken and those darned peanuts flew all over which made me more frustrated. By the time the plants did arrive, I was out of luck and had to go out and buy them locally.

Ordered from this company for the first time after reading all the positive things listed here. Even though I had read the plants were small, I was a little bit shocked at how small. 2 of the plants I ordered were out of stock, and I was missing one of other plants the shipping notice said they had shipped. I emailed the company and they took care of it right away sending out a replacement and the issued me a credit or a refund my choice. When they shipped the replacement, I did order some grasses cause they are so pricey in the stores. I wasn't charged shipping for the second order which was nice. They were very pleasant to work with and were very responsive to any problems or questions I had. Though small, all of my plants have survived so far and seem to be doing well, but I am sure will take a few years to get going. Even though I am not really unhappy with my order, I am not sure if I will order from them in the future though to the size of the plants, I can get a larger plant for the same price in my local nursery.

Mixed experiences. Good prices but small plants, not always the best value in the end. Mortality rate is pretty high: verbena bonariensis just fine though top cut off for shipping; Coreopsis Golden Gain so tiny they disappeared after planting; Knautia macedonia 1 of 3 survived; Centranthus ruber 1 damaged during shipping and died; Aruncus good sized 3 of 3 okay. Clematis Jackmanni was poor value for money; Home Depot generally has much bigger plants for a few dollars more.

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As with pinnae below, I hope evanpowens will be in touch with us to let us make good on our guarantee. We will reship or refund immediately."

I have been a long term customer of Bluestone. For many years they have offered excellent, albeit small, plants at excellent prices. Even though the plants are small, when well grown subsequently in pots or in the ground, they have performed admirably. My complaint with them now is that their prices have become unacceptably high. Without any indication that they have increased plant sizes (I don't think they have), paying $4-5/plant for 2" pots for mainly common perennials is unacceptable to me. As a long term experienced perennial gardener, I would certainly look elsewhere for most plants. I hope some feedback to them would lead them to consider reducing prices or holding them steady at the very least in the coming years.

I called to order some bulbs that were on special twice. Customer Service was polite and shipment was extremely prompt. However....

There always has to be a however I guess. I have previously purchased these same bulbs from another company, who I might add has not the rating that bluestone has.

The bulbs I got from bluestone were about 1/3 of the size of the prior bulbs I have gotten . The other disappointment was that these are prepackaged bulbs like the ones you buy at walmart. If I wanted walmart bulbs I could have gotten them from walmart and avoided a shipping charge.

I bought thinking I was going to get a superior bulb the size of which Im used to receving.

My rating is neutral for now, we'll see how these bulbs do but generally bigger bulbs give nicer flowers and these were nothing I couldnt get at a local store.

I ordered from Bluestone the first time because I received a coupon for 20% off my first order. The scabiosa japonica was flat and shriveled up, the buttered popcorn ranunculus had absolutely nothing green on it, and the phlox was tiny, but green anyway. Oh, and the aubreita novalis was backordered, but I was charged for it nonetheless. Their website attempted to charge me more shipping than I owed, but when I called, the customer service reps were more than helpful. Also, they agreed to send my order early when I called to tell them I was going out of town. Like I said before, customer service was great, but I am a little disappointed in the quality of the plants that I received.

I ordered several sale plants from them recently. I have never given a negative rating to any company, but I was prepared to give one to this company. However, after I contacted them regarding all of the dead or dying plants they shipped, I have been notified that they will give me a partial refund through my credit card; hence the neutral rating instead of the negative.

The plants were completely dry and haphazardly packed under a ton of peanuts. No care had been taken to wrap the pots so that the plants would remain hydrated during the transit period. Only 3 sempervivum out of all the plants I ordered came in a semi-healthy condition. I have planted them and they have survived -- so far. All of the other plants have died. Needless to say, I will not order from this company again.

On the evening of 4/29/06, I ordered a 3-pack of Russian Sage, 3 Blue Oat Grasses, and 3 Red Switch Grasses. After two weeks, I emailed Bluestone for the status of my order and they quickly replied that the order was on the way. What they *didn't* say was that the Blue Oat Grass was on backorder and would be sent in the fall. The plants arrived three weeks after the order date in good condition. The plants were packaged with peanuts with little soil loss. The Russian Sage plants were very small and the switch grasses were a good size. Everything has been doing well since planting. I'm pleased with the plants but the 3-week delivery was longer than I expected. If my backordered Blue Oat Grasses look good this fall, I'll certainly consider ordering grasses from Bluestone again.

I placed an order back in April if I recall correctly, and was dissatisfied because the box was FILLED with those styrofoam things. I was surprised because I ordered from big dipper last year (a different mail order company completely on the top 30 list) and their plants were SO well packaged. I was irritated because I have 2 babies who were loving to try and eat all the styrofoam pouring out of the box, so I was frantically trying to get my plants out of their suffocating box and frantically trying to keep my kids from eating and breaking the styrofoam all over the floor, and then only to discover very small and wilted plants, some darn near dead. I sent several emails and was not responded to for awhile which irritated me even more. After sending an annoyed email I eventually got an email asking which plants were damaged and then several days later got an email with a shipping notice. The second package was stuffed full with newspaper and it was difficult to get all the paper off the plants. Each time it took me at least 30 minutes to unpack the box because the styrofoam and the paper was all on the plant and I didn't want to rip them. These were in better shape but still somewhat wilted and small. I am a little confused why this is a company listed in the top 30 because I can get larger and cheaper plants at my local nusery (which I have been now that it is warm). The reason why I am giving this company neutral instead of negative is only because they did reship using a different (although not so sure better) medium to stuff the box. Although I do think an apology, bigger plants and quicker responses would have been nice.

First, I put in my order 13/May, and finally on 22/May I send a email asked them where are the plants. And the email me back said the send out that day. I got my order 24/May. Which was 11 days after I put in orders. then it came with three of plants dead. The some plants are unbelievably tiny. I almost can't believe what I saw since I did order from them last year and was perfectly happy with what I got. And customer service. I do not really have luck with them too. I send out at least 3 emails complaints about the order and so far (Jun 1st ) got absolutely no reply. Very disappointed. Never buy from them again

I ordered $400 of plants this year from Bluestone because of positive ratings.

Customer service is great--friendly, responsive people. However, plant quality is mixed. Even within the same type of plant, some plants were large and doing well and some small and still struggling after 6 weeks. Compared to the same plants in the same size containers at Lowes, Bluestone's are much smaller.

Most plants were pruned back to fit in shipping box. Some were pruned back so much that there were nothing but stems. Bluestone promptly refunded these plants with no question.

The company notified me by email and phone that some of my plants were not available due to crop failure. The company offered to send the plants in the fall or give me a refund.

Like other reviewers, my shrubs look like a twig stuck in dirt.

All in all, I do like the selection of plants at Bluestone. However, if I can find the same plants from another source, I'll try the new source before ordering from Bluestone again.

I have ordered from Bluestone for the past 3 years and am aware that their very reasonable prices do reflect a smaller size plant; however until recently that has not been a serious drawback once the plants get a year or two of growth under their belt.

However... Of the five flats (yes, flats) of Ajuga 'Torch' and 'Bronze Beauty' that I ordered from them in early Sept 2005 and planted immediately, less than a half dozen survived the unusually mild (even for zone 7) winter that we just experienced. As you know, it is pretty darn hard to kill off an ajuga! Then when I received this spring's order of various perennials, I was dismayed to see how very very tiny the plants were (both in growth and roots). Three Perovskia 'Little Spire' had top growth of barely over an inch, and hardly any root growth; they have already expired, despite coddling, in 30 days. I was thinking of reordering the ajuga but was disappointed to see that they are no longer offering the "quantity" option of a full flat for $25; common groundcovers like this are being sold only in their standard "per-three" price which is much more expensive.

Unfortunately I think that this "less plant for the money" trend is a change for the worse and will probably not order from Bluestone again. They also have dropped a lot of the more unusual cultivars and gone with the same mass-market plants that everyone else, both mailorder and local nurseries, are also selling.

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Your plants are guaranteed, and if you will contact us, we will happily replace the plants you lost at no cost to you. Each year, we discontinue about 100 varieties, and pick up 100 new ones. We aim for a balance between the tried and true perennials and the newer varieties. We love input from our customers on plants you wish we carried, and we do have some items that are only listed online (see Helpful Lists). Please contact us at your earliest convenience so that we can settle up."

After reading all the good reviews, I was surprised when I got my order. My plants were very small and the honey dew sage was in pretty bad shape. The cardinal flowers were tiny, but healthy. The packaging was about the worst of any mail order I've dealt with. Won't order from them again even if they have a sale.

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Please contact us so that we can reship your order. Perhaps, as with the previous posting, your box was really tossed around in shipping. A refund is also an option, but I hope you will give us a chance to get some fresh plants to you in good condition, and earn your good graces."

Very, very disappointed. Placed a rather large order, based on the fact that it's a "Watchdog" 30 company--"You can't go wrong by ordering from these outstanding companies." I beg to differ.

Some of the plants had numerous broken limbs, some were half-dead, some dry as a bone, and another--moldy. Out of thirteen 3-packs, TWO of the packs looked good.

The broken plants had nothing to do with the carrier. The box itself was fine, had not been mishandled, but the plants were packed very poorly. I have never seen plants packed so sloppily. Other companies I have ordered from secure the pots in the box, they don't just toss them in and throw peanuts on top. They also insure they don't dry out by covering the soil, not just sticking pots with loose soil in a box.

Did I get my money's worth? No way! Looking at the plants and the condition they're in, I would not spend more than $20 on the bunch at a nursery (believe me, I paid a LOT more than that).

E-mailed them with my complaints, haven't heard back in 24 hours. I expected a prompt reply. I am sure they are busy, but this is a big company and they've been around for a long time--customer service reps should be responding promptly to customer communications.

So disappointed, and right at planting time. . .

Unpacking the box was a bit of a disapointment. I found the plants were wiilted and looked a bit dead. Plus, in coomparison to plants i've ordered from other companies, the plant sizes were a lot smaller than expected.

But because of all the positvie feedback I had read here, I gave Bluestone the benefit of the doubt and planted them all anyways. It has been almost a month and only about a little more than half of my order has come back to life. Not sure if I'd order from them again.

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Please contact us, as your plants are guaranteed, and I can reship anything you lost at no cost to you. I am sorry your plants arrived in less than satisfactory condition. Never hesitate to call us when that happens. There is still time to get a replacement shipment to you for spring planting. We hope to hear from you soon."

Wide variety of plants in various colors and descriptions. Plants shipped in a timely manner. All shrubs ordered were in stock. Fertilizer included for all plants was a nice touch.
Plants not as fabulous as I expected, especially considering all of the possitive feedback. Unpacking the box was a let down. Plants I recieved were not at all like the bushy, green, thriving plants pictured on the inside cover of the catalogue. Once shipping is factored in the price for the merchandise is just ok. Dissapointed I didn't drive 40 minutes to the local nursery and pay the extra $10 for 2.8 gallon shrubs. Even more dissapointing is the fact the plants are not enjoying to sporatic Maryland weather of warm one day, wet and cool the next.

I ordered about $200.00 worth of assorted perenniels last spring. I was disappointed by the small size of the plants I received and concerned that the packaging seemed inadequate... some of the plants had lost most of their soil from rattling around loose in the box and the tops of the plants were bent and battered. However, I understand that small plants are often the fastest to take hold so went ahead and planted... Unfortunately about 35 to 40 % of the plants failed to thrive out right. Some are still struggling and some did very well. I have not contacted the company yet but plan to tally up my losses and request replacements this spring. I hope to change this report to positive then. I still have a concern about the miniscule root systems of the baby plants I received originally and do not feel that type of quality is what I would expect from a "Top 30" company.

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We look forward to hearing from you, and will happily replace the plants that did not thrive. You should not hesitate to call immediately if plants arrive in less than satisfactory condition or have slipped past our packers with undeveloped root systems. We will reship immediately. I do hope you will give us the opportunity to make amends on your past order. Bluestone."