Comments regarding Great Garden Plants

Posted on March 20, 2015, updated March 21, 2015
I received my 3 Knock out roses today. I'm so sad and shocked. All of them has black spot. I try to call this company several times. No everyone answer phone or call me back. I sent e-mail and pictures to them today. I'm waiting they response to me. I'm worried my garden. I have another kinds of roses that don't have black spot. Sorry for my weak English language.

I just placed my first order with this company & am very excited with their low prices [i ordered the new blushing knockouts] so waiting expectantly till this fall to see what i will receive :) My other choice would have been white flower farm. While a very reliable company, also pricey. Hoping for the best, polly

This was my first order with Great Garden plants. While I was pleased with half the order, the other half was not so great.

I ordered 7 Black Eye Susans, 6 yellow knock out roses, and 4 Hydrangea.

The Hydrangea looked great. I had no issues with them.

3 of the Black eyed Susans arrived with crushed leaves. I cut them back, hopefully they will resprout. The other 4 were nice, heavily rooted plants. Not a huge issue, I undertand shipping can be tough on plants.

My biggest complaint is that ALL of the knock out roses had spider mites to a degree, some less, some more, but 3 were completely covered in webs at the bottom and had several dead branches and dead leaves in the webbing. It's hard to understand how this was overlooked. I've cleaned up the roses, but had to make drastic cuts to remove the nasty stuff from these plants. They have not been planted, and I've got them in quarantine until I get the spider mites eradicated.

"On Jun 9, 2014 11:16 AM, Great Garden Plants responded with:

We truly regret to hear of the issue with the Knock Out and are happy to issue you a 100% refund. Please contact us at info@GreatGardenPlants.com
Thank you."

Posted on July 29, 2013, updated August 12, 2013
Posted on July 11, 2013, updated July 29, 2013
Posted on July 8, 2013, updated July 11, 2013
Posted on July 2, 2013, updated July 8, 2013
Posted on May 10, 2013, updated July 2, 2013
My plants arrived the week after I placed my order. They were very well packaged, appeared to have survived shipping in reasonable health (just a tad yellow and droopy, but I'm sure they'll bounce back), and were pleasingly larger than I had expected.

"On Jul 6, 2013 5:44 AM, Great Garden Plants responded with:

Dear Bluesox,
We are here to assist you the best we can.

I know this sounds harsh - but we would suggest that your prune off this first flush of blooms. Our experience has been when buds set when growing under greenhouse poly - for whatever technical reason - may not necessarily always bloom their true colors. Trimming off the first flush will also help bulk up the plants while helping them to establish better in your garden. Flowers will have a tendency to be smaller in size the first year. (BTW - my second year on Julie - just outstanding!)
All the best to you and keep us posted.
Mary & Chris

Posted on September 11, 2012, updated September 13, 2012
My order 74907A
My great granddaughter was so excited waiting for her plants: A knock out rose, Clematis paniculata and clematis rosemoor. It was a $57.00 order which is not much compared to some here but still....
I'd call it false advertisement. Description of plants: very VERY small plants and the clematis rosemoor dead.
The knock out rose a joke. It was a tiny plant in a 2 qt bucket and its going to take years for it to grow to a point where it well be noticed at all. (if and when)
I wrote great garden plants several times but to no avail.
I ended up going to Lowes and buying a big knock out rose for the same price and a couple of other plants. Save you money folks. This place is a not on the up and up.

"On Sep 11, 2012 10:02 AM, Great Garden Plants responded with:

Greetings!
I'm so sorry to hear of your recent experience with our products. I regret we were unable to find any information in file that you had contacted us - so Heidi is calling you today to resolve this issue with you TODAY! Your satisfaction is very important to us and we do take pride in the quality of our plants. We look forward to talking with you and resolving any issues regarding your recent purchase.
Have a great day!
Mary
"

The size of their plants are misrepresented. Attempts at secure packaging was there but several plants still arrived outside of their containers. Some that managed to stay in their containers were dry while others were moist (of same plant type). When I called to report the arrival situation - I had to provide pictures and file a claim with the shipping company. I held on to hope because they were all perennials and I had their guarantee to fall back on. Several plants passed away and the reship had to be delayed because of our summer’s heat. Greatgardenplants never told me that the reshipped plants would then be the final part of their guarantee. Several of the reshipped products also arrived outside the containers, some dry and some wet and only one of the three Echinacea survived the transport. Again I held on to hope because they were perennials and I thought I still had the guarantee. After spring I noticed several of the plants were not showing signs of survival. We had a very mild winter. In March I contacted them to announce the sad reality. They told me to take pictures and then wait 3-4 week to see if things improved. I did. I was then told to take more pictures and email them in so my claim could be processed. When it was all said and done they wouldn’t reship the Echinacea plants again nor offer a refund on those. Also I was told that I couldn’t exchange the value of the other lost plants towards hardier plants. I did receive a partial refund but with all the time invested it doesn’t balance.

I ordered a Digitalis (foxglove) and got a free mum with my purchase. I was surprised when I got the package how small both plants were. Additionally, BOTH plants were covered in aphids. I sent them an email and they requested photos. I provided the photos and have been told that I will be receiving a refund. Customer service was prompt and polite via email. I don't know if I will order from them again or not.

Posted on May 12, 2011, updated May 17, 2011
Posted on May 3, 2008, updated May 12, 2011
I have had the same problem. I placed an order in mid March. My order stated that it would ship April 21st. Not here. I called and left a message. Chris called back stating it would ship April 28th. Not here. No email no way of tracking order. I called again and left a message and them emailed them. I am still waiting. I told them if it is not shipped by May 5th cancel my order.

I've seen some erratic plant quality with GGP -- I'd say I'm pleased 50% of the time. Some plants in my two shipments (like the Leptinella and Carex Evergold) arrived in good size and in great health. Others (such as the 3 Goatsbeard) were surprisingly small for being $11.35 each -- they were probably about 2 inches high (these are 5-foot plants at maturity), and though two of them were well-rooted in the 1 quart pots as promised, one wasn't. It had clearly been fairly recently repotted into the quart pot from a tiny round nursery container with little root development outside of the original nursery rootball.

That said, the company was very prompt in responding over email. They weren't able to replace my goatsbeard this year (out of inventory), but offered an alternative replacement which won't ship till two months from now. Not good if you're time-conscious about getting your garden going.

Also, I've found I get much better bang for my buck at some of my local garden centers for some plants. I've seen Endless Summer hydrangeas being sold locally (I live in WI) for $14 (granted they were on sale and this was before tax) -- gallon pots in great shape for sustained blooming this year. The ones I received from GGP at $16.95 were less than one foot high and in 1 quart pots instead of the promised 2 quarts. Admittedly, pot size isn't everything, but I'm left wondering if the plants will even be ready to bloom next year.

Until I get a much better hit rate than 50-50, I think I'd rather use my own judgment in picking plants. For now, the convenience of online ordering doesn't make up for the other disadvantages I've seen.

Very nice people, very good prices, but I have to say the plants were not so great. I ordered 10 plants. Out of those ten, one is on backorder, 2 were DOA (Hydrangea Little Lamb and Clematis - both looked like they were probably in bad shape when first shipped. They gave me credit for both of them), 2 are close to death (Tokajer and Salvia Caradonna-both very small and weak looking but might survive with some nurturing) and the other 5 are fine. The Lavender Hidcote was small but healthy, beautiful and smelled delightful. Sedum Maestro and Sedum Autumn Joy were also healthy and of decent size. The Dryopteris Brilliance was also beautiful and healthy and the Thuja Green Giant was excellent. So I guess it's a 50% success rate. The customer service is very good and very responsive. The packaging and shipping was good. I don't know if I would order from them again. It depends on the outcome of the plants I got and the one on backorder that is yet to come.

I ordered a couple of times last year and once this year from this company. I am mixed about them. Sometimes there is a plant that I am just amazed at it, then other times disappointed. I had one plant that did great last year and one that didnt. I ordered some hydrangea from them, and they arrived yesterday. Two of the plants were the same type, one looked great, and the other was horrible. It looked like it should have been in the clearance bin at kmart or something. The serve has always been great, no problems contacting them ( except the time zone thing). Just never sure what I am going to get

I ordered 24 lavender 1 quart size. This is the first time I have used this site - i sometimes mail order but usually buy locally. Most of what I could find here was quite small and i have had better success with larger plants. I assumed that 1 quart plants would - well - deserve a 1 quart container and got these tiny plants - which I could easily have got locally from good garden centers for half the price. It is not just the price - I really don't want to plant lavender this small in June - it is planted in a very sunny sandy area where it is hard to keep at the moisture level small plants will need. it is really irritating. I have emailed the company (I tried phoning but there was something odd with the phone number), so will tell you if the triple guarantee is worth anything. fyi they arrived on time and well packed.

At this time, I'll rate them as neutral. I did place an order with them in February 09. I have gotten some of my order, all in good condition. The bulk of my order has not yet come, but, I have gotten several e-mails from them explaining the reason for the delay. Since they have been conciderate enough towards me to explain the delay, I will not say anything negative about them, yet.
One thing I have learned, not only with this nursery but others as well, we need to take into consideration that, although we may purchase items from a particular nursery, they get their plants from a grower, and therefore, can't fill an order, till they have the plants from their grower. Some nurseries grow their own, but a lot don't.

I ordered 2 plants from this company and was disappointed when the plants arrived. The plants were barely more than seedlings. Whoever packed them must have dug up the plant then put some dry potting soil on top of the roots. Most of the soil was no longer in the pots. I ordered the same plant from Willow Creek and got a more mature and much higher quality plant and packing job. The only reason this post is neutral and not negative is because the plants are now thriving and look like they will make it.

Placed online order 3/8/08, and printed it out, which clearly stated shipping would occur 4/7/08. No confirmation by e-mail received. Called two times 4/14, 4/15, when order had not arrived. First time, Chris's voice mail promised to call back later in the day-no return call. Second time, a lady promised to check on order and call back later, claimed computer problems-no return call. Then Mary called at 7 PM, claiming computer problems, heavy snowfalls and cloudy days for delays, necessitating postponing shipments for 2-3 weeks. I cancelled entire order which Mary agreed to confirm. Since this company has only been in business since the "summer of 2006", it seems its ability to fulfill orders despite "unexpected" weather problems is in doubt. Could it be that everyone in this company was put to work shoveling snow for two weeks? Presently, I can do better with many other reputable suppliers who have less in the way of web design and more in consistency. May consider them again in the future, if they can better manage their priorities, i.e., "customers come first".