Comments regarding Bay Laurel Nursery

I hate to leave a bad review because Bay Laurel has been great in the past. But this time I ordered a cherry and an apricot. They didn't have the cherry so they offered a different variety (that's fair). The trees arrived, the cherry looked OK but the apricot was covered with gummosis. The cherry tree seemed to be OK, the apricot put out two tiny branches down at the base of the tree that promptly shriveled up and died.

I got a hold of Bay Laurel and they said they would end me a replacement apricot in the spring. The replacement never arrived and in the meantime the cherry tree died. I have called and called and called and their phone is always busy, no matter what time of day I call. I suspect they leave the phone off the hook.

So I have two dead trees out if two ordered and can't reach anyone that will honor the guarantee. I have decades of experience growing fruit trees, it isn't anything I did that killed the trees.

had some plants delivered from this nursery. most plants looked good and now are starting to grow, however, 3 out of 4 red raspberry plants did not survive. as in no growth. called their customer service (term is a big stretch) and was told "to wait another week or so". right until their "season is over and we cannot send you replacements until next year". how convenient!

I would avoid this place like the plague. I have never come across a record of failure like this -- EVER. These people need lessons from Home Depot or Lowes about running a decent nursery.

Case in point?

A gardening friend and I placed a large order last December. By "large" I mean it was about $200 worth of product.

I ordered:

Eight table-grape vines (bare root)
Two Black Satin Thornless Blueberries (bare root)
One Thornless Boysenberry (bare root)
One Flavor Finale Pluot

Our order arrived in February. I planted everything that same month.

As of May -- this is what I have:

Only four of the eight table grape vines have shown any growth -- and one of the four is now near death. Four of the bare root vines didn't show any growth at all -- not one hint of green.

The two Black Satin thornless blackberries are nothing but sticks in the ground. No growth. No nothing. No hint of growth.

The one thornless Boysenberry? Oh yeah -- that came up -- from root level -- not on the cane itself. Guess what? My thornless Boysenberry HAS SHARP, STICKY THORNS ALL OVER IT!

And as for the Flavor Finale? Well -- it just goes to show that they can't possibly screw everything up. That has popped and is growing at the rate one would expect.

I am not a "first time" planter. I have been doing this for years. I know the process. I know about soaking roots in water for a specific amount of time. I understand the steps that need to be taken. I have been purchasing bare root plants for the better part of 15 years.

All of the products in question were either planted in raised beds containing a fine planter mix -- or went directly into ground soil -- which had been well mulched and amended.

As for the three nectarine trees, four blueberry bushes and strawberries purchased from the Big Box stores this past bare root season. ALL have sprouted. All are doing just fine.

Don't believe all the bad things you hear about Big Box stores when compared to nurseries. I'm living proof that a lot of crud just isn't true.

As for Bay Laurel -- my advice is to give them a WIDE berth. Order from the nurseries in your own backyard.

I placed an order just after christmas

I received an email saying my order had been placed.

I never received any further contact at all. Nothing

The only positive: I haven't been charged.

If they are not going to honor the order after acknowledging it, they should notify their customer.. I would have purchased grapes locally instead, and made the planting date I had in mind.

I ordered 4 raspberry plants and 4 blackberry plants for spring of 2003. Blackberry plants were fine. 2 of the raspberry plants were rootless, thin twigs, about the size of a small chopstick. The other 2 were normal size and had roots. Of course the 2 dead plants did not grow.
I phoned and then wrote to company, was promised replacement plants for the next season.
Then I got a letter offering to let me pay shipping for the plants they would send. I wrote back,stating I had already paid shipping for 2 dead plants and was not interested in taking the risk of spending more money to get what I had originally ordered and paid for.
I have asked for a refund. It has taken 1 phone call and 2 letters to get this far. Still waiting.
This company appears to have a good reputation overall so I tend to believe that my problem is hopefully a fluke.
I am disappointed that 2 dead twigs were even allowed to be mailed to a customer and that the company will charge me more money to have them replaced. I have chosen a refund over replacement since I am concerned about the quality of the replacement plants.

Back inb Feb., I ordered 3 Blackberry vines, one never broke dormancy. The 3 trees I ordered all had severly cropped roots (less than 7 inches), the plum and pear I ordered were sticks with NO branches. The pear tree I ordered (Hood) was fireblight resistant--well, it has fireblight. I planted 2 other pear trees from different sources at the same time (6ft & 12ft from Hood), neither has the disease. (One is a Comice, NOT resistant). Their supplier is Dave Wilson Nurseries, a huge grower in No. CA, I suspect the real problem lies with them. The grapes I got are fantastic, came with huge root systems.