Comments regarding Roots and Rhizomes

Posted on May 17, 2014, updated June 2, 2020
Posted on May 18, 2013, updated May 17, 2014
Posted on May 6, 2012, updated May 18, 2013
I ordered three coreopsis , two achillea and a daylily.
The daylily and achillia were good sized bare root plants.
One coreopsis was on the small size and a little pale looking.
The others were in good shape and the size described.
Overall good plants.

I ordered 3 Shasta Daisy and 3 Stokes Asters plants. The Shasta Daisies were significantly root-bound: I spent about 45 min. per plant untangling the roots. The Stokes Asters were so root-bound that I spent well over an hour per plant to get them *mostly* untangled. One was so root bound that there was NO visible planting medium on any of the 4 sides or bottom of the pot. The other two were about 85% covered with roots. The Asters had been in their containers so long that the roots made sharp 90-degree turns at the corners. These plants should have been sold in a half-price bin, not as full-price products. (Sometimes one can make a clean cut along one side of root-bound plants, but these roots went around and around. A cut probably would have killed them entirely.)

I ordered 6 hostas, along with some other plants. 3 of the hostas were the wrong ones. I called customer service, sent pics of the wrong hostas and they agreed they weren't correct. They sent me 3 "correct" hostas. Again they were not what I ordered. I called customer service, again sent pics. This time they tried to tell me that the hostas would turn into the correct ones as they matured. A variegated leaf does not turn into a solid colored leaf as it matures! I refused to accept this excuse and requested a refund. This just happened today so time will tell if I get my refund.

I placed an order in the fall for 8 different hosta plants. I had to call to check on the delivery and they told my they were waiting for one plant which was on backorder but they would send the rest of the order then if I requested it. So I did that and when the order arrived I was so disappointed in the condition of the plants. I know what a bare root plant is, and was expecting small plants, but these were ridiculous. One of them had 1 1/2" leaf on it with a 2", very shallow and fragile root system which had fallen out of the pot in transit and arrived wilted and half dead. Cost of this plant $14.95. 3 of the other potted plants had also become dislodged from their pots and arrived with wilted, tiny leaves with brown, stressed tips. The bare root plants were packed in dry sawdust with the distal half of the roots brittle. One was packaged in a brown paper sleeve with the top stapled right through the leaves. There was only one decent plant in the entire shipment that had actually stayed in the pot and had a decent root ball system. My order was short one $12.95 plant and I did not receive the promised free item. I e- mailed without result. I then called at 9:05 AM and was 4th in line. I have been gardening 40 years and will try to save these, but I consider it an expensive $100 lesson.

Back in early March I ordered 4 Belarina primulas. When I called last week (early May), they said they hadn't been shipped and couldn't say why. I asked for a refund, but will be surprised if they ever send one. I've learned my lessons:
1) Always check the company's ratings on Dave's Garden
2) Always pay by credit card, never by check! At least with a credit card, the bank will issue a refund.
3) Always buy from a local nursery if at all possible.

I was not surprised to learn that Roots and Rhizomes was part of Jung they both sell junk.. Years ago I order some daylilies from Jung and they were pitiful indeed and all but one died. Upon receiving a catalog from R and R I was enticed by the pictures and variety they offered as well as the group discount offering plants for 3.oo. I ordered ten at 3 dollars and several more at regular price. The plants all arrived alive, but that about all I can say for them as they were TINY sprouts. OK so far so good, after reading the comments on this board I guess that I was lucky in that respect. When a few of them actually bloomed in the summer, but none of them resembled what I have ordered. In fact they all looked alike, pale pink and rather non descript. After reading commments here about dealing with the company I decided to just keep the miserable things and see what they do this year. However, after reading this forum I discovered Marietta Gardens which is a REAL source for daylilies, and also Gilbert H. Wild from who I ordered eleven spectacular varieties for less money than R&R. I would advise anyone not to waste money on either R&R or Jung..

THIS IS THE THIRD TIME I HAVE ORDERED DAYLILIES FROM R/R. THE FIRST TIME WAS SHAMROCK DOUBLE GRAPE. IT TOOK THE SECOND YEAR BEFORE THEY BLOOMED. THEY WERE ALL FAIRY TALE PINK. THEY WANTED PICTURES SENT TO THEM BEFORE THEY WOULD REPLACE THEM. THEY DID SEND REPLACEMENTS, WHICH TOOK ANOTHER TWO SEASONS TO BLOOM AND HALF OF THEM WERE WRONG AGAIN. THEY GAVE SOME EXCUSE ABOUT THE WRONG ROW BEING DUG. NO REFUND! I THOUGHT I'D TRY ONE MORE TIME AND ORDERED 6 VOODOO DANCER. LAST YEAR. AGAIN THEY DIDN'T BLOOM UNTIL THIS SUMMER AND ARE NOT VOODOO DANCER...THEY ARE NIGHT EMBERS! THIS COMPANY NEEDS TO GIVE REFUNDS INSTEAD OF REPLACING THE WRONG ITEMS OVER AND OVER. I AM IN BUSINESS, ALSO, AND GUARANTEE MY CUSTOMERS THE CORRECT, HEALTHY PLANT OR THEIR MONEY BACK. I WILL NEVER ORDER FROM THEM AGAIN. MARIETTA GARDENS IS ONE OF THE BEST DAYLILY GROWERS AROUND...I'LL ORDER FROM THEM!

I was excited to order some hard-to-find delphinium for spring planting. The plants were advertised as well developed arriving in 3" pots. When the plants arrived this spring, they were nearly dead. The "protective" packaging was nothing more than butcher paper wrapped around barley living plants. While the plants did arrive in 3" pots, the roots were non-existent. I was able to nurse a few back to life, but here it is June, and we have just a few leaves on the plants. There were three that I simply could not revive. The company did send me three new plants, but the arrived in the same, nearly dead fashion. I will never order from this company again. For the price paid for these poor little guys, I could have paid $1 or $2 more and purchased living, thriving plants.

It's rare that I comment negatively on a private business because I really want them to succeed. In this case the quality of the plants sent was so poor in the way they were packed that it deserves comment. The telephone service was good and the delivery was timely, no problems there. However I recently ordered a Heuchera and it arrived dry as dust, soil and plant falling out of the 3" pot dead. Their packing was simply using brown craft paper and dropping the little potted plant into it, not even bothering to wet the plant since the paper itself showed no moisture marking. They also include a couple air packs and a sample box of Allegra in each box (!). So I called and the phone lady kindly agreed to send a replacement which came in exactly the same condition and packing style. The previous plant died and I'm hoping this one survives but this is ridiculous. They are much less expensive than many competitors but the quality difference is so great that I'd hesitate to order from them again. A competitor that's improved a great deal in their packing and shipping is Hirt's which is cheap and the plant I recently received was moist, pot wrapped in plastic, box filled with Styrofoam. Advice to this company that I'd like to see successfully compete in the marketplace: take a look at how your competition is packing their plants and come up to that standard. The current way you pack live plants is lousy and the Allegra for allergies is bizarre to say the least.

Posted on June 18, 2012, updated May 22, 2013
I ordered 4 sedums from R&R. 1 sedum arrived in really good condition - lots of leaves and roots; 2 arrived as VERY small root cuttings but were alive and growing; the 4th sedum arrived with no leaves and soft, blackened stems (the root ball was soppy wet). contacted R&R about a replacement plant & was informed that shipping was finished for the season & they will send me a letter with store credit to be used next spring. guess we'll see how they do when it comes to using the credit next spring.

My fault; I didn't check Garden Watchdog. It has been several years since I ordered from this company. I was always very happy with the service and the quality of the plants. Not any more. It is very sad to see that they both have gone down to the point that I felt compelled to write a poor review. I ordered six echis. I received four, with a notice that the other two were on backorder. Of the four I received, two were dead on arrival. I contacted R&R and they shipped out replacements. When I asked about the timeframe for the two plants on backorder, they said that they had cancelled that order. Woulda been nice to know that! The other two plants from the original shipment died despite nursing. They were just too weak to survive. I didn't request a replacement for these because I didn't want the hassle. When the first replacements came, they looked just as weak; few leaves, soil so dry and loose that the plants weren't even in the pots. If even one plant of the six I received manages to make it, it will be a miracle. Spend your money elsewhere.

I ENJOY THE SELECTION THEY OFFER. THE PLANTS WERE SENT FROM DIFFERENT LOCATIONS (I THINK). SOME PLANTS NEEDED A LOT OF R & R BEFORE PLANTING. ONE WAS THE WRONG PLANT AND SOME NEEDED REPLACEMENT (WHICH THE COMPANY DID IN A TIMELY FASHION). NOT BATTING 100 FOR SURE.

DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH THIS ANY MORE!! It's a shame to see what has happened to so many great, privately owned nurseries after being bought out by Jung's, and Burpee and Parks, too. They've lowered the quality so much of the companies they purchased in order to meet their own poor quality that they've ruined the companies. After receiving my $230.00 order, I contacted them over a week ago to ask for refund on some dead Alstroemeria and haven't received the courtesy of a response yet. They have the nerve to ask $9.95 per plant and you wouldn't believe what they send out now. Small, shriveled pieces of plant material that have been out of the ground for so long that it's turned black and is crumbling away. I can just see them laughing all the way to the bank. Roots and Rhizomes used to send out only live potted plants and healthy rhizomes that were already growing and ready to be planted, and they were bigger than the standard plants, and always healthy. They also responded to customer inquiries within hours. What a huge contrast to order from them now after JUNG's has taken over. It's like losing a piece of American History, and for this Jungk? What a complete disgrace. I'm done shopping anything that has Jung, Burpee or Park's name on it. I hope more people will boycott their junk and force them to give the quality that our hard earn money deserves. Just say NO!

Posted on May 5, 2006, updated May 25, 2011
judging from the user ratings and comments I must be one of the few that got what they paid for. I've ordered plants a few times & never had a problem. The prices were right & the plants were a nice size.

"

We hope you'll contact us directly to resolve this problem.
Ruth
800-546-4399
ruth@jungseed.com"

I first ordered from this company several years ago and was impressed with the plants I received at that time. I just received the plants I ordered earlier this spring, and was shocked at the poor size and quality of the plants I received. The amsonia was barely an inch tall. Yes they were in pots, but had not been in them long. The roots were not settled into the soil at all. In fact, the soil was all over the inside of the box, and the plants were laying in empty pots. The hostas advertised on sale were a few tiny roots, with an eye so small that I had trouble finding it. The daylilies were a little better, but no much. I won't order from this company ever again.

I just received my order from Roots and Rhizomes today and was extemely disappointed. They offered for sale plants and what I received were a real stretch to be called plants. I received an echinacea that was a stub at ground level in a pot and a hosta that was two scrawny leaves in a pot. These are not what oe would expect. If I would have known they were accociated with Jung I would never have ordered from them as Jung is just as bad, probably worse.

I recently decided to give R&R a shot as there was no recent bad feedback. What a mistake. I ordered half a dozen daylilies and received the most pitiful, paltry, pathetic, puny plants I have ever seen and that's just the "P's". They were obviously not freshly dug with both fine and fleshy roots darkened and shriveled. Also very little growth-where had these been for the last six weeks?? If I ran this "circus" I would be ashamed to send out such dismal plants-sale or no sale-a little quality control is in order here. Only a complete novice would accept these plants in such bad condition. I will stick to the daylily nurseries that dig the plants when I place my order.

Earlier this year I ordered six Echinacea Virgin from them. The plants, which were supposed to be in pots were plugs with ALL top growth removed. The instructions on the bag said something like "plant and water me well and I will rewards you with beautiful blooms". Well, only one of the plugs grew, and grew poorly and now (July), it is still struggling. I called the company about 3 weeks after I babied them to no avail, and they told me that they were out of the Echinacea Virgin and sent me a credit letter for replacements - next year! They also told me that I should have called them immediately when I noticed anything wrong with the plants. Well, I thought a plug with the top growth removed was the norm. I trusted the company's judgement. I will never order anything from this company again. I thought this subsidiary of Jung was "more upscale", but based on the plants received, I guess not.

We placed an order from this company back in 2006, for about a dozen daylilies. It's taken this long for some of them to bloom for the first time, so that's why I'm just now leaving a rating.
The daylilies were the smallest I've ever gotten from anywhere, and I have over 400 daylilies. That would be fine if they took off and grew, but about half of them died. The company did offer replacements when available, or credit. But now I'm finding out that of the ones that lived and are finally blooming, most of them were labeled wrong. This is way too much trouble and hassle to bother with ordering from them again. It's too bad, as their prices are good, and the catalog pictures are so nice, but the plants don't live up to them.

I am on old gardener who has ordered many plants in my lifetime. I have never ordered and received more wretched, pitiful plnts in my life as I did from Roots and Rhisomes. On top of that, the woman who took my order was unknowledgeable and rather rude. What a disappointment and waste of money. I ordered eight plants of galiun odoratum (Sweet Woodruff) which were spindly and dry. I planted them anyway. Oh well.

I ordered an Angelica,3 Princeton Silky daylillies, and 1 daylilly Welcome Mat. Only the Angelica and one of the Princeton Silky have survivied. All of the daylillies were extremely small and I am surprised that one has survived. I have been growing daylillies for 40+ years and have never had an experience like this. The catalog was quite nice but the product was very poor. They have seen the last of my money.

I am delighted to have the opportunity to comment on Roots and Rhizomes. Several years ago I order the day lily Rose Crush. The description and picture in the catalog were great..."We can pick this one out in our fields a mile away, blah blah" Check out the pic and you have to admit, its outstanding. Well I ordered it, planted it and anxiously awaited its first bloom, Yuck! it was a muddy rose, unnoteworthy from even six feet away. Called the company, they said no complaints had been lodged before, sent me a replacement, same dirty color. I gave up and never ordered again. What prompts me to write is that even to this day they continue with the same BS and the same picture. I wonder how many have been let down in this way.

"

We're sorry 'gardenner' was disappoited with our Rose Crush daylily. We've sold hundreds of Rose Crush daylilies since its introduciotn in 1999 with many repeat orders and have had few, if any, complaints. We will review the picture of Rose Crush and take a new picture if necessary. We try very hard to make our catalog as factual as possible and will look into this customer's report. If any of our customers have a similar complaint, please contact our customer service department at info@rootsrhizomes.com or 1-800-546-4399."

In spring of 2007, I ordered 3 Athyrium "lady in red", 1 Dicentra gold heart, 3 Reginae lady's slipper, 3 Turtleheads, 1 Monkshood pink sensation, 2 Common Monkshood, and 3 Black adder agastache. Of the bunch, the Dicentra came up and survived, though it's rather small (about palm size). Two of the lady's slippers also came up, but did not bloom. They were also bare-rooted, which usually means they were pirated from the wild.

The athyrium arrived potted, but disappeared. Nothing else showed up. Even if it had, I think the pirated lady's slippers would have convinced me not to buy from them again.

So much effort putting out such a gorgeous catalog with a nice selection of plants but failing so miserably by shipping sub-standard plants that generally did not even come up or died. It is a shame!

I ordered four plants from this company in April. It took an extended time, over a month, for the bare roots to arrive. When they finally arrived two of them were in bags that had a label a different plant than the label inside the bag. To make matters worse neither of those two plants were what I ordered. Additionally, I order two Geranium Sinense the bare roots were in bags with no labels and in very poor shape. I complained to the company with no feedback or help from them. Both of the Geranium Sinense failed to thrive and of course now the company is out of stock. I am a Master Gardner and have never had such poor product and customer service from a nursery before. I wish I had known read about this company before I ordered. I am a Master Gardner and have never had such poor product and customer service from a nursery before.

I ordered 3 day lillies and a hosta from this company and paid a high price for them. When I got them I was definately unimpressed. All of the plants, though alive, were very small for the price I paid. I ordered from them mainly as I saw one variety of day lilly I really liked, but wish I had come to WatchDog first. I would not have ordered. I've gotten much bigger and healthier plants at other mail order nurseries for less money.

I placed a substantial order to Roots and Rhizomes on April 28, 2006. I received a confirmation on the order but never received noitification that the order had been shipped. I called today (May 6, 2006) to inquire on the status of shipping. I was told that the order would be shipped next week. I explained to the young lady that I had a problem with that due to having to having to go overseas for 2 1/2 weeks and wanted the plants in the ground in ample time to make sure they were watered and tended properly before departing. She could not assure me of that due to some of the plants being on backorder, which I was never notified about. I had no alternative bu to cancel the order and ask for a refund. She could not offer any information of when the refund would be made. If I had been notified about the backorder status, I would have made other arrangements.

It appears some of the photos in the catalog have been enhanced or altered and are not a true reprsentative of the actual plant...ie: Red October and Queen Josephine Hostas. 2006 Catalog. May be others as well.

"

On Feb. 21, 2006 at 2:14pm I emailed irishflowergal the following:

We are sorry you didn't contact us to ask about this before posting in a public forum. The picture of Red October came from our vendor, the picture was not a very high resolution so maybe that is why you think there is a problem. The Queen Josephine picture was taken right here in our growing area. That picture was taken in shade, so maybe it appears dark to you? If you have any other questions about our pictures or any thing else, please feel free to contact me.

Ruth

As of today March 17, 2006 I have recieved no reply.
"

Nice catalog. However, plants always arrive in poor condition due to poor packaging. About 50% are always dead on arrival or shortly thereafter. Life is too short for such grief.

They have a lovely catalog and thats all they've got. The plants were all small and most of them dead when they arrived. The replacements weren't any better.

The daylily fans were very tiny. Perenials were very tiny. They were very poorly packed and fell out of their packing into a muddle. I called Roots and Rhizomes and complained. They were very accomodating, but the replacements they sent were equally small and equally poorly packed.

I ordered from R&R for the first time in the spring of 2004. By the beginning of June my order had not arrived and I phoned to ask about it. I was told that they had been doing some construction and that their orders were thus going out later than usual. I eventually got the order in late June, which is too late for Massachusetts when the plants arrive as small as these were. They were in o.k. shape, just very small. I planted them out but many were still quite small (for example the blue corydalis) in September when we had a hard frost. I am doubtful that some have survived but will wait and see. If a company has a problem with getting orders out within a reasonable amount of time for spring planting, I would expect that company to take the trouble to contact me, not the other way around. I am very tempted by the wealth of offerings to try again this year, only perhaps on a more modest scale. Reading all the comments makes me wonder if I would be wise to try elsewhere????

I ordered from Roots &Rhizomes in spring 2002 and 2003, and was disappointed both times. In both cases, I ordered varied perennials (nothing too difficult).
First, they were out of stock on several of my selections. Those that did arrive were undersized, and in many cases the plants were DOA.
While R&R did replace the lost plants, these arrived later in the season in the same condition - undersized and dead or dying.
I found through later research that one of the perrenials I was ordering was actually an annual - misinformation in their catalog.
Between the original plants and the replacements, I have had about a 20% survivability over a single year of growth.

I finally located some of the same varieties at a local nursury this year. They're doing fine. :) Beware of this company.

Ordered Two Daylilies from them paid top dollar. Plants arrived in plastic bag, very small rooted 1 fan tissue culture plants. Will take at least 3 years to bloom, before I even find out if they are what I ordered.
I have ordered from them in the past with good plants, and results, but I will never order from them again as there are far better nursuries out there.
I actualy felt cheated and nobody ever gets a second chance to do that.
I do not know what happened to this company but it has changed for the worse.

This company listed a plant I have been searching for(Verbascum Helen Johnson' and the catalog is nice,but what a flop! All of my first order did not sprout -- I had also order other plants, but I thought I may have set them out too early. Some companies think that all of my state is zone 8 and we live in zone 6 mountains. So I gave R & R the benefit of the doubt and just asked for verbascum replacements. They were sent promptly. But alas, they too were DOA.

Wish I had researched Garden Watchdog BEFORE I ordered.

I ordred $120 of daylillies from Roots & Rhizomes this spring. They arrived and I immediately planted them. As the season progressed the daylillies failed to progress. They didn't come up! The company replaced my lillies, however it got worse! The lillies bloomed, they are not true to name!!!!!!!!! The lillies that they shipped me are not what I had ordered (one of whcih was a $35 lilly)! This is too much money to spend on lillies I already have!

I am an avid gardner with over 200 lillies, I will never order from them again!!!!!!!!!

My first experience with roots and rhizomes was in 2002 and overall it was a mostly good experience. However, 2003 was an entirely different story. The order arrived in a very small box with 8 very tiny bare root plants in plastic bags and 3 ornamental grasses in small pots crammed inside. 6 of the items inside the plastic bags were dead when I received them but I decided to plant them in the ground anyway. 1 of the items wasn't even inside the box and I was sent something that I didn't even order instead. 2 of the ornamental grasses lived and are still living now, but, 1 of them was in a very poor condition when I received it. After about 10 days I could tell that the plants weren't going to make it so I called Roots and Rhizomes and complained about the condition of the plants. I was told to return the plants to them using the prepaid label that they mailed to me and they would refund the price of the plants plus the cost of shipping. I mailed the plants back to them on May 28, 2003 and was expecting a credit back to my Credit Card. After another 2 weeks I went online to see if my credit had shown up on the statement. I wasn't there. Again, I called roots and rhizomes and asked why the credit wasn't there and was told that all of the returned orders were in back of the warehouse and when their inspection people had viewed the returns, they would notify the front office of the amount of the credit to each customer. I waited another 2 weeks and the credit was still not on my credit card account. At this point, June 25, 2003, I notified my credit card company and made them aware of the problem and I have disputed the entire amount of the purchase--$62.20. Whatever you do, avoid this merchant. Do not waste your time and money. It's just not worth the pain, frustration, and suffering they put you through.

i don,t have any idea how anyone could rate this co. positively. i have ordered from at least 30 different nurseries in the last 10 years, and this was the biggest scam going. beautiful , lush photos mislead one into believing that is what you get. half dead liner stock meant to grow on in pots is what they send. so far, they have sent replacements(no improvement) on some, and it remains to be seen whether they credit my account as promised. they are next to impossible to reach on their 800 #. do not go there.

I ordered from this company near the end of last summer (August). I had only done mail-order once before so really didn't have anything to compare with. However, I was concerned as the Custard Candy daylilies I receieved had practicaly no roots at all. I was suprised that two of the three actually made it through the end of the summer before dying. The third one died before winter. I also ordered one tradescantia and it also didn't make it through the winter.

By comparison, though, I ordered from Homestead Gardens last year after I received my R&R order and was really surprised to see how large their plants were. They were more than twice as large as the R&R plants. Also, the R&R plants were in very small pots and the Homestead plants were large bareroot divisions. I have since placed an order with Ensata as well and their plants are also more than twice as large as R&R.

So, I don't plan to order plants again from R&R. It would be a waste to order such small potted plants when other companies provide much better plants for about the same price. It is a shame as their sister company Jungs is just down the street and I do like buying plants from them.