Comments regarding American Meadows

Posted on April 19, 2016, updated April 20, 2016
American Meadows is a terrible company, with poor service and abysmal customer service.

I ordered plants from American Meadows and have received only empty promises. My order was supposed to ship the week of 4/11. On Friday of that week I emailed them to ask why I hadn't received a shipping notice. I was assured it would ship that very day and I would receive an email advising me of that. Nothing. On 4/18 I called and waited for almost an hour to get through to customer service and was given a story about cold weather preventing them from shipping. And I was again assured my order would go out that very day and I would receive an email with shipping details. Nothing.

I had no choice but to demand a refund because I have no faith in this company (fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice shame on me!). I will order plants from somewhere else, which I should have done in the first place.

"On Apr 19, 2016 9:18 PM, American Meadows responded with:

Dear mike6710301,

I'm very sorry that we did not meet your expectations. I took a look at your order and contact history and see that we did not meet our usual standards for shipping promptness. This week and last are two of our biggest shipping weeks of the year and your orders took longer than promised to pack and ship. I see that you have been in communication with us via email to resolve this issue. I am also sorry that you had to hold on the phone longer than acceptable. Again, no excuses other than the fact that we are a small organization at the apex of our spring mayhem. As you can see from our numerous other reviews, we take great pride in our customer service and our dedicated team goes above and beyond to please. Sometimes, despite the best intentions, we slip. I'm sorry that we let you down.

Best Wishes and Happy Spring,
Ethan Platt | President"

Over the past three years, I have ordered quite a few (potted) plants from American Meadows.
I have always found the plants were exactly as advertised, and arrived in good condition. You have to understand what your buying, starter plants.
On the other hand I have had no luck with there bulbs and bare root plants.
In my opinion, if that's what your going to buy, perhaps you might be better served looking els ware.

"On Jul 2, 2012 12:46 PM, American Meadows responded with:

Hello Yumabase,

Thanks for the post and we're happy to hear that the potted plants you received from us are thriving.

We’ve been working with gardeners across the country for over 30 years and all of the products we sell are 100% guaranteed. If you're not satisfied with anything you purchase from us, let us know and we'll fix it!

Thanks again and Jessica from our customer service team has reached out regarding your order.

Happy Gardening,
Mike Lizotte
"

I bought a new home and have been doing a lot of research for flowers and some seed to plant in my gardens. After reading the reviews on DG I chose three companies to order from based on what they offer and the reviews I found here on DG. I love Daves garden communities and all of the information! :-*
I called and placed an order a few weeks ago with american meadows and receved my package a few days later. There website said my order would ship in five days so I was very excited when there was a knock on my door three days later and the fed ex man had my box in his hand. The box had all my flowers and seeds in it and even some free seeds for me to try out!! I planted them the next day and can't wait until they start to grow in the spring.
The reason I am giving this company a neutral review is because of my experience with there customer service department. I talked with a women who was very rude and mean. I had a lot of questions because this is new to me and she seemed to be getting really annoyed with me for it. She kept saying things like "as I already told you mam" and exhaling really loud like a little kid and she kept talking louder like she thought I was deaf or something. It was very difficult dealing with her.
I am sure I will buy from them again but I really hope I dont have to call customer service. I dont want to have to talk to that women again. I may just try and order on there site even though I hate doing that.

"On Nov 12, 2010 3:51 PM, American Meadows responded with:

From the sounds of it, you clearly caught one of our customer service reps when she wasn’t in top form and for that, I’m very sorry. We strive to provide each and every customer with the level of service that they desire – many customers want to place their orders and get off the phone as quickly as possible, while others like yourself, want to take advantage of our extensive gardening knowledge in selecting products. We clearly failed to meet your needs in this case and that is not acceptable. Thank you for keeping us honest and I can assure you that your feedback has been taken to heart.

Again my sincerest apologies and please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Happy Gardening!

Mike Lizotte – Owner/Managing Partner – 1-877-309-7333 ext. 12
"

This past Spring I ordered a few different times with American Meadows. Many of their plants come as roots and can be very economical and rewarding when they grow well.
My frustration with this company comes from the way in which they ship live plants. Their packing system is poor. Plants arrive ripped from their pots, the soil is thrown all through the container, there is not a drop of moisture left in any of the plants to sustain them, and only a few pieces of cardboard withe rubberbands are used for the plants to stay in the pots. They aren't salvageable when they get to my door.
Every time I called Customer Service I either got a replacement or my credit card was refunded. American Meadows is very fair. But you would think that they would attempt to improve their shipping procedures. I even made suggestions, telling the reps that a few rubber bands were not enough. By the end of May I just gave up because I was still losing money on shipping costs.
Maybe I will continue to buy from them, but never live plants--- because they arrive at my door in a heap of soil and ripped to shreds.

"On Sep 15, 2010 6:31 AM, American Meadows responded with:

Hello Ronni92,

I'm sorry to hear about your disappointment regarding the perennials that you ordered from us this spring. We strive for 100% satisfaction with all our products and services. We certainly appreciate your feedback regarding our packaging as we’re always looking for ways to improve and with your honest feedback it makes it easier when trying to identify areas that need to be addressed.

Thanks again for your comments and we look to earn your business back in the near future!

Happy Gardening!

Mike Lizotte – Managing Partner – http://www.AmericanMeadows.com
"

Posted on October 4, 2009, updated May 21, 2010
Okay so this is my first experience with American Meadows. I found the website to be very easy to use and I was pleased with the large variety of plants. I also found shipping to be very reasonable, offering a low flat rate. I ordered approximately 200 bulbs. After placing my initial order I decided I wanted to add a few things but couldn't see how to do that on the website, so I sent them an email on a Saturday. I didn't expect a reply at least until Monday, but surprisingly they got back to me that Saturday night. How cool is that? I received a very nice email stating that I would need to call them in order to add on to an existing order. I did this and found customer service to be very polite, prompt, and helpful. I do have a few concerns however. I thought that the bulbs arrived kind of early in the season. Mid September seems early for my zone 6 garden and the instructions are to plant immediately. I did this as instructed. Also, the bulbs didn't seem quite up to par with easytogrowbulbs.com. I personally couldn't see the difference between these and the ones they sell at big box stores like Lowes. However I am not a bulb expert by any means and am giving these the benefit of the doubt. I am going to keep my initial rating as a neutral and then will update it this Spring depending on the performance of the bulbs.

"On May 27, 2010 3:38 PM, American Meadows responded with:

Miandoli, We're sorry that your bulbs didn't meet your expectations. I can assure you that we pay significantly for top-quality bulbs from our Dutch growers and importers. Contrary to your experience, we strive to offer quality and variety that far exceeds what you find in your local box store. When situations arise where our products to not perform as they should, we work hard to make sure that we stand by our name and rectify the situation. Thank you for your honest feedback. "

I recently received an order from American Meadows that consisted of both bulbs and potted plants. In addition, shortly afterward, I received a separate plant (a butterfly bush) that had been on backorder. The bulbs arrived in good condition, but most of the potted plants that arrived in the first shipment and the butterfly bush that was sent separately were DOA. They were not even at death's door when they arrived; they were complete gonners. The packaging, by far, was the worse I have ever seen, and I've ordered hundreds of plants through the mail over the course of many years. The containers were goofy, ridiculous things containing dried-out soil. They were a joke. Those plants that did arrive alive had been squashed and damaged by this inferior packaging. At this point, the company is promising a refund for those plants that arrived dead and the customer service employees have been polite. However, I will not bother to order from them again.

I received my complete order of Monkshood all three of them look good and even had new shoots starting I'm happy with them!

I ordered eight items from American Meadows last spring. Only two of the eight items grew and bloomed. These were the Anneke Calla Lily and the Biltmore Estates Glads and they were both absolutely gorgeous! I contacted the company and they credited me for the remaining items that did not grow. While I do feel that the company is to be commended for standing behind their 100% guarantee, I do not feel that the product is worthy of a positive rating at this point since money is still lost on shipping charges. I am going to place a small order with them because I really would like to have a few of their unique items and will change my rating accordingly after receipt of that order.

All these comments of long-time American Meadows customers boosts my faith in their product, but I unfortunately had a bad first experience. I ordered three types of bare root plants, and when the box arrived I was informed by a small note on the invoice (that I barely noticed until I searched every inch for indication of why I was missing roots) that one type had not met their standards this year so they weren't shipping them and I would be refunded.
As for the other two, one had roots so small and indiscernible that I couldn't tell if I even was planting the roots or if it was debris in the included soil. The other type had larger roots but still didn't look in the best of shape, even to an amateur gardener.
Neither of the two root types ever produced any growth, so around a month after planting I e-mailed the company for advice. They recommended waiting a little while longer, so I did and then e-mailed them again when there was still no growth, and they refunded me for the roots.
I much appreciated getting my money back and will do business with American Meadows again since they so stand behind their product, but I have made it a point to avoid even considering bareroot plants from that or any other site.

I've previously ordered bulbs from American Meadows and was satisfied with them...the size and prices were good, and they bloomed well. This was the first year I've ordered bare root plants from them, and I was disappointed.

I've planted bare roots before, and these were some of the smallest I've ever planted; some were little more than a chopped piece of root...no feeder roots, no top growth. With our short growing season, and the fact that they didn't get here until the middle of May, I doubt I'll see much growth this year.

It's been 7 weeks since I placed an order -- my first -- with American Meadows. Though they charged me for the order, I've received nothing, nor have I heard from the company in two weeks.

On March 9th, I ordered plants, bulbs and seeds from American Meadows. The order totaled $32.83. I received their automated "Thanks for your order" email.

Then nothing.

For weeks.

On April 9th, I called to see what the delay was. The operator said that there had been "a problem with my card" and that my order was never filled. (If there were a problem with my card, why didn't they contact me? They had my phone number, mailing address and email address, after all.)

I asked the operator to re-submit the order.

On April 12th, American Meadows charged my debit card for $42.13 -- almost $10 more than the original total! That was the last I heard from them. They did not send an a confirmation that the order was being filled, nor did they give an explanation for the higher cost.

That was over two weeks ago. I still haven't heard anything from them. Thank Heavens that I wasn't relying on them for seeds that needed to be started indoors.

I ordered all of my plants online this year, as I have a busy schedule and was actually spending most of my time landscaping to get a garden ready. I placed two orders with American Meadows, because I couldn't resist their Advance Order prices, and they had most of the things I was looking for.

The items all arrived in good condition, and were carefully packed and labeled. There was a mix-up with one shipment, and a few things were left out. I emailed customer service, and got a prompt response saying that they'd send out those plants. I got them just fine.

I will use this company in the future!

I ordered 2 plants (cimicifuga) and a wild flower group of seeds. I was impressed with the seed mixtures and quantity. I bought 4 oz packets. But the Cimicifugas didn't arrive until mid May and the same problem as above. They were tiny dry roots with no moisture in the plastic bags and as of a month now none have survived. I later (before recieving the 1st order) ordered a sale group of root stock with a group of Cimicifuga which I paid 7.95 each minus a discount of 50 bucks on a 130 buck order. Also I ordered a group of Heliopsis X 6 and 2 other Filipendula Rubra perenials. All of these, but the Filipendula, came in the same plastic perforated bags with powder dry peat. These were delivered to my hands from UPS or Fed X. I can't remember. 2 bags had only dead and friable roots that were hard to find in the dry peat. I have learned to no longer buy plants that come from so far. My mistake. This is my first internet purchase and I have learned that when you pay a discount you should expect them to die. I am frustrated. Oh I did get a free bag of seeds that had about 15 to 20 seeds total in them. Maybe I will have some patriotic colors in my wild flower meadows. My only suggestion to American Meadows is to get perenials to Zone 4 in at least early April. So they have a chance and maybe to bag the product in premoistened peat.

Ordered some hard-to-find plants in early April, they arrived around the beginning of May. Was disappointed that the "plants" were actually bare roots, but they looked ok so I planted them. Have seen no signs of life since then. Company rep was curteous and says they will refund my money. Would consider ordering from them in the future if I could get leafed out plants.

I placed my order in late February, and it was comprised of both a wildflower seed mixture, and the American Meadows Yarrow and Poppy Collection savers. First, the positive…the seed mixture portion of the order arrived quickly, and with extra seeds. I have sown them all, and with all the seedlings emerging it appears that I have a nice wildflower area to look forward to in the next month or so.
Now the negative. The Yarrow and Poppy collections were THE WORST looking bare root plants I have ever seen. They came in separate plastic bags packed with peat moss, but the roots were/are flimsy looking, and if they actually grow into anything it would be a gardening miracle. One of the Yarrow bags was completely empty…no bare root stock at all ! While perhaps I didn’t read closely enough that they would come as only bare root, I could easily have bought something of better quality at the local Home Depot, or the ever-chintzy Christmas Tree Shop.
There was another item I ordered that they could not fulfill, so they credited me the amount, and sent a bag of ten "Lillie of the Valley" as a good will gesture. Nice…not wow, but nice.
While I give American Meadows their props on the seeds, the credit for unavailable merchandise, and the good will bag; their “live” plant selection is embarrassing. I will order from them again, but ONLY seeds. The worst part is that you place your order, you save a spot in your garden, resist temptation to buy and fill the space because you have the order coming, and then the product that arrives is questionable at best. Makes you feel cheated. I couldn’t go all negative on this review, but man was it tempting !

I received my order promptly, carefully packaged and in good condition. I cannot fault the company
...but I can fault myself: After unpackaking the packages of bulbs I realized I could have saved myself some money and shipping charges: I could have bought most of the plants off the rack at my local gardening stores and some even at places like Lowe's. I was inattentive and fell for the beautifully hyped up prose like "Spectacular... famous climbing lily... world famous jungle flower...dinner plate Dahlias...! etc. caveat emptor--buyer beware. My mistake. I also live in Durham NC where gardening is becoming fashionable and we have good local nurseries as well as big chain stores that offer great selections based on customer demand. If you live in a less gardening oriented area this would probably be a wonderful place to get what you cannot find in your local stores.

Ordered wildflower seeds from this company about a year ago. Since then they have been sending out frequent spam even though I have attempted a number of times to remove myself from their e-mail newsletter list.

"

We do not send spam! We send newsletters, and only to our customers and any others who CHOOSE to be on our email list. We try very hard to retain only those names who want to receive our emails. We operate a powerful email management program, but it is not perfect. Occasionally, one or two names may not be deleted as ordered, but if that happens, our Webmaster deletes the name manually, once we know of the error.--Ray Allen, Owner, AmericanMeadows.com"

The canna bulbs I received from this company were small--undersized in comparison to those I have purchased elsewhere. The dahlia tubers were barely adequate and certainly not of the size or quality of those I have purchased from other internet providers listed on Garden Watchdog. Since these roots may eventually provide satisfactory plants, I will rate the company for the present as neutral.