Comments regarding Berries Unlimited

One of my plants was in poor condition when it arrived and died a week after planting it. It's been over a week and despite numerous emails back and forth I still don't have a straight answer about a refund/replacement. I won't purchase from this company again- buyer beware.

I have been a loyal customer of Berries Unlimited for several years. I ordered many plants from them over the years, and have not lost any plants from their company. The plants are superior to most of the nurseries, with better than average size, excellent health, and are indeed disease free upon arrival. The shipping has thus far varied according to the carrier, which is to be expected, but the packaging has always been superb, with very minimal disturbance to the plants, considering the jostling they endure en route.

I have read many of the reviews, and would like to remind buyers that the responsibility of the health and welfare of the merchandise is up to the buyer once they arrive. Blaming the seller for poor growing practices shows little integrity and is grossly unfair.

I have spoken with the staff and owners of Berries Unlimited and received the best customer service and support I could wish for. All questions are answered by knowledgeable and courteous people who bend over backwards to help me with any issues I might be struggling with. As a newbie to honeyberries, I thought they were dying but these Lazarus impersonators were only in summer dormancy, which I had never seen before. The owner Lidia was more than reassuring and helpful, and just like she said, they sprang into life and are robust, hearty bushes.

This is an exceptional nursery, and I highly recommend it.

I'm a home gardener. I've been doing business with Berries Unlimited for 3 or 4 years now, and have made 3 orders with them this year as well. I have always received plants from them in good health, that established quickly and grew vigorously. The plants have always been carefully packed in a box with packing peanuts and arrived in good condition, and have only taken a few days via FedEx to arrive. They're in Arkansas, I'm in Colorado. Never have I lost a single plant from them. The thing that I like best of all about Berries Unlimited is the vast variety of berry plants that they offer, especially honeyberry plants. I will keep buying from them and recommend them to anyone.

Horrendous company! BUYER BEWARE!
• The raspberry and blueberry plants I ordered took TWO MONTHS to deliver, which the company simply blamed on “rain delays.” Hmmm? Two months of rain…?
• The plants were just tossed in a box, left loose, with nothing to secure the plants or soil, which resulted in damaged root balls, plus many broken branches, stems, and leaves
• The plants had significant insect damage as they were STILL infested with insects that were eating the leaves and roots when opening the box. Berries Unlimited initially blamed the infestation on another company that they bought the tissue-cultured plants from in OR. Despite that assertion, Berries Unlimited also contradictorily stated they tissue-culture ALL their own plants, plus their certification that says these plants have been certified to not have disease or infestation.
• When I requested a resolution, the were dismissive, rude, and completely unhelpful, only offering farce excuses for all of the above. Zero Stars for customer service.
Do yourself a favor and save your money, time, and garden by shopping elsewhere!

Posted on May 19, 2012, updated June 2, 2020
Posted on April 23, 2011, updated May 19, 2012
ordered 3 blueberry, 2 boysenberry & 1 blackberry.
The blueberry bushes are enormous - I was shocked when I saw the size of the box. The boysenberry & blackberry were as advertised - a well rooted potted plant. If I had the room, I would order from them again.

I purchased 8 blueberry plants from Berries Unlimited and they all arrived with a fungal disease that makes the berries inedible. This is a disease that is spread through contact with other infected berry plants. I have no other berry plants!

Berries Unlimited were aggressively unhelpful. Claiming that the disease couldn't have come from their plants because they had no insects, disease or anything wrong with any plants in their entire inventory. They sent me pictures of healthy blueberries to "prove" the disease didn't come from them.

Its just so annoying! I spent hundreds of dollars and the company sent me sick plants. Not only do they not offer to offset the cost, they don't even help me diagnose the problem! They just deny and send me pictures of healthy berries. Lots of companies have problems from time to time. Its to be expected. How they treat their customs - even if they aren't willing to offer a refund - says the most about the company's integrity. This is a garbage company. Go elsewhere.

Posted on June 8, 2019, updated June 8, 2019
I was looking for some honeyberries to add to my existing collection, and stumbled upon Berries Unlimited. I ended up purchasing a mixture of fruit plants for around $300. They had a great selection and offered cultivars unavailable elsewhere. I received a shipment notice via email but it didn't have tracking info so I had no clue when it was actually going to arrive. 4 days later a rather sad looking box was sitting outside my house, inside it was poorly packaged berry plants, that looked like who ever grew them didn't really care about them. Even my 12 year old cousin commented on how battered the plants looked. Each one came in a plastic sleeve like a bouquet would be in. One plant even had a fairly large cat or racoon turd in the top of the pot, thanks but whoever sleeved that plant should have removed it. Although I'm sure with some TLC most of the plants should make it, I would never order from them again. Take pride in your work/plants or you won't have customers. I want to mention that most of the plants looked poorly grown, not just damaged from being poorly packed and shipped.

I ordered 390 raspberries, 385 blueberries and 48 honeyberries from this company by phone in January and February of 2015 for spring shipment. They appear to be doing business as Bluewinkle berry farms also. The total amount paid in full in February 2015 for the orders was $4560.50. I had to delay shipping of the orders as we still had frost in the ground here in the second week of april 2015. They accommodated and shipped 130 raspberries soon after. I sent emails in late april(the 19th) and early may(the 7th) indicating we were ready for shipment here. The emails in may were responses to the invoices sent for each of the orders.
As of August, 2015 I had only received 130 Nova raspberry plants. I called them on 3 consecutive weeks(the first 3 weeks) in August 2015 to see if they would be shipping the blueberries and honeyberries for fall planting. I spoke with a person each time, either Lindsey or Barb and they were going to find out what was going on with the orders and then call me back in the next day or two. After getting no responses whatsoever from them on the matter, the last week in August I requested a credit on the orders for the total billed to my credit card for $2069.40. They had 2 billing cycles to contest this and did not. On September 9, 2015 I also sent them a certified letter requesting a refund for the remainder of the order that was paid in full but not paid by credit card. This amount would be the amount still owed minus the price of the 130 raspberries which I received. fedex tracking number 575475413182. This amount is approximately $2000.00 still owed me as I have received only the 130 raspberries from the total order. They would not pick up the certified letter (usps tracking number 70150640000416565561 ). I then sent them a priority mail letter (usps tracking number 9505512167765264002638)
as they would not accept a certified letter. There has been no response to it whatsoever. I believe they are still in business as they have redone their website during this time. Bottom line, I am out around $2000. When one is trying to start a small fruit farm, this is a huge loss as there is no income in the starting year. Avoid Berries Unlimited and Bluewinkle Berry Farms (the name of the company on the invoices).

I ordered 16 Polka Red Raspberry plants from Berries Unlimited. The plants arrived and appeared to be in good condition. I followed their transplanting instructions and within a few days after being placed into the soil, 9 plants began to wilt, dropped their leaves, and ultimately died. I contacted Berries Unlimited about getting replacement plants and offered to pay shipping. They replied that they have to have picture proof of the dead berry plants. I sent them 9 pictures of the dead plants, and then no response. I waited for a response and after not hearing anything I contacted them again and asked if they got the pictures and offered to resend them if they didn't come through. They responded with this email, "Hello! You need to give soil You planted in for soil analyze. It seems your mulch was treated with chemicals and it may cause the damage. Or it could be just mulch acidic itself- like juniper, cedar etc. we recommend only hard wood mulch for blackberries or untreated pine mulch/bark. It is impossible to lose so many healthy plants at once. Our plants are very strong, healthy and ORGANIC! Do You have sand soil in addition?
Respectfully

Lidia"

As you can tell from the demeanor of their email they are not going to replace any plants and pretty much implied that I killed the plants. So I am out $109 for using Berries Unlimited. Buyer beware. They clearly have no people skills, and customer service is a foreign concept. I recommend Stark Brothers for Bare Roots and Backyard Berry Plants for potted plants. NEVER AGAIN LIDIA!!!

I ordered an assortment of 10 blueberry and honeyberry plants from Berries Unlimited. I was extremely pleased with the quality of the plants, customer service, and pricing! They were shipped from Arkansas to my home in Minnesota during some hotter days but arrived healthy and green. In fact, I must have ordered at a good time of the year because several of the blueberry plants were loaded with berries that my son and I were eating right as we were taking them out of the box. The plants were much bigger than expected. I’m a happy customer and will definitely be ordering from this company again.

Ordered 6 raspberry bushes. Plants were shipped quickly and the one gallon pots were well protected. The plants were VERY healthy. Excellent selection. Will be ordering more soon!

Ordered some honeyberry bushes from Berries Unlimited. The plants showed up when I was excepting them to in great condition and packaged very well. At first I ordered 4 bushes, later that same day I decided I wanted to double my order. I sent them an email asking if that would be a problem. They promptly called me and said that was no problem at all. Great customer service!

Ordered 6 blueberry bushes. Very good selection. Well packaged. Nice size bushes and price was good too.

I am a mail order customer of this company who opted to pick up my plants rather than have them delivered. My experience with delivered plants from many different companies has led me to believe that putting plants in dark hot boxes and tossing them around for several days does not bode well for their viability.

I was favorably impressed with the health and vigor of the nursery stock in general and extremely pleased with my purchase of boysenberries, blackberries and blueberries. When they arrived home with me two days later, they looked just as good as when they left the nursery.

The customer service was fabulous; they really went the extra mile to facilitate me (I got lost and arrived late). They guided me in and told me how to get back to where I was staying. Many thanks to Hare, Lidia, and Barb for their assistance.

Today when I checked my plants they had new buds emerging, I am so excited and hope that our late frost date does not harm them, but since they come in pots, I can just set them in the greenhouse. So grateful for the pots vs bare root plants. These folks really want to see growers succeed.

I ordered and paid for 700 Blueberry plants of three different variates from BU on May 20, 2014. I was promptly sent an invoice with shipping numbers. I received the first 199 plants on May 30 which suprisingly came infested with Japanese Beetles. I questioned the beetles, but agreed with the explanation of their organic farming practices. I was still surprised.

The following 300 was delayed due to rain. They arrived around June 6, in better condition and I was content with their explanation for the late delivery. Then nothing. Finally, on June 18, not yet receiving the balance of the plants, I asked that due to the delayed shipment and an expected arrival in July, that the shipment of the balance of plants owed be held until fall. Since I had PAID IN FULL, and to this point had not questioned the business's integrity, I said i didn't need a refund, only that they mark my account paid for the fall delivery.

On August 15th, I called Berries Unlimited and left a message asking that the balance of the plants be shipped. I heard no reply from repeated messages left until an email was replied to on September 24th stating that the plants would be shipped 9/26 or 9/29. I made arrangements for labor and materials required to plant the remaining plants the following weekend. We had agreed on and I had paid for express delivery. I told them on 10/1 that I needed them by 10/4, and I was told by Hare, that the labels were printed the day before (9/30) and they were being shipped THAT day (10/1).

The next day, I was notified by FEDEX that the shipment was picked up on 10/2 and they were being shipped via ground, and it would be 5-7 days. I called BU to tell them I would be rejecting the delivery because it wasn't what we had agreed upon. Barb offered a story that didn't align with what Hare had told me.

I never received the shipment, BU had contacted FEDEX, cancelled the delivery, and requested a return. I contacted BU on 10/7 when I was notified the shipment was returned, and requested a refund. I was told that refunds were sent out on the 15th of the month and that a check would be sent then.

Today is October 24th, I am still awaiting a refund for 201 blueberry plants I paid for in May but was unable to receive as promised on at least 4 occasions. I contacted them today and was told my file is still "on his desk" but the check hasn't been sent. I asked that she let me know today when I could expect it.

The people are friendly enough, especially Barb. But I get the impression that communication is the root of the problem. For a start up, this is proving to be a difficult situation for both of us. I will update my review when I receive the $804 owed me for the undelivered 201 plants.

"On Nov 16, 2014 4:37 PM, Berries Unlimited responded with:

This order was cancelled in transit. It was refunded."

I ordered 6 Osage blackberry plants from Berries Unlimited as a test for possible future products. The plants were shipped in a box of Styrofoam peanuts and arrived in about 10 days. They were 12-15 inches tall and healthy! Their email support is prompt and helpful. I will order again!

Posted on October 2, 2013, updated September 4, 2014
We have recently purchased a variety of blueberries and blackberries from Berries Unlimited. Us being new and just learning was very pleased to learn that Hare was so willing to help in any way. If we have any questions he is more than willing to go that extra mile to help us. He has been "Great" with all of our questions and has worked with us to make sure that all of our plants were to us in the best of condition. The plants were beautiful and were packed very well. We plan on ordering more plants from them in the spring. We Highly recommend that you give Berries Unlimited a chance.

Since my initial experience with Berries Unlimited was positive, I chose a neutral rating. My first order with Berries Unlimited was for over 100 raspberry plants and 30 honeyberries. The raspberry plants were much smaller than I thought they would be, but are quite vigorous now and I have a nice crop of yellow raspberries which is wonderful. Hare, the owner, was very helpful, and a box of Royalty raspberries that was damaged and died was promptly replaced with even larger plants.
Unfortunately, my second order did not go so well. I had ordered 200 Tulameen raspberry that were not available for my first order so I was given a discount on the second order for a later shipping date on those. This was wonderful so I ordered 80 blueberry plants, 30 more honeyberries, and 50 bare root black raspberries.
To date, about a year later, I have only received 50 bare root black raspberries and 60 of the blueberries. I am still due to receive 20 blueberries, 200 Tulameen, and 30 honeyberries.
I was hoping for spring shipping, and I fully understand weather and inventory issues arise with nurseries. When I started placing calls and sending emails, they were not returned promptly or at all. The calls I did receive back promised shipping, and I did get 60 of 80 blueberries in July. Not the best time for planting, but only two plants died due to shipping stress and summer planting. I did allow the plants to rest a week before planting in ground. I asked for a refund if the Tulameen were not available, because the order was at least $1600.00 that came from a FSA loan for beginning farmers. I have heard nothing on this. I really needed the Tulameens for the plan that allowed for my FSA loan - to grow them out over the summer for early greenhouse harvesting in March 2015. If I had received them last Fall 2013 or Spring 2014 as promised I would be in compliance with my loan agreement. I called a couple weeks ago to ask for a letter stating the ship date for my remaining berries to show my FSA loan officer - but did not get a call back or a letter. At this point, I am not sure what to do to either get a refund or my plants. I am hoping for some communication and very hopefully Fall shipping or a refund so I can order Tulameen raspberries somewhere else in Spring 2015.
I would certainly tread carefully when making a larger order from this company, or make an arrangement to pay a deposit rather than payment in full to be sure you receive your plants. As a new farmer, this has really set me back.

I live in NWA and was able to pick up my plants in person, so I don't have experience in receiving them by mail. To date, I've purchased five blueberries and two aronias. I've been very happy with all of them - each was healthy, well-branched and with a good root system. My only negative is that while they have a good selection of cultivars, it's less extensive than what I would prefer. The owners are knowlegable and very helpful. The first Toro I purchased there earlier this Spring is now huge, about 4' tall with equal spread and very healthy. An Elliot, a second Toro, a Chandler and two Aronias are also doing very well. I had one Elliot that died due to blight caused by our unusally heavy rain this year and I've defoliated my Spartan due to overfertilization - this particular cultivar is difficult to grow in less-than-ideal locations and my attempts to encourage it to grow as well as the others in my collection backfired. In both cases, Berries Unlimited was not to blame. With respect to Shabhun review - they're right, you over-fertilized your blueberry. It's better to add fertilzer in small increments, weekly until new grown begins. Don't fertilize after July in most climate areas and be sure to avoid nitrate-based synthetic fertilizers. Use cotton meal, fish meal, blood meal or (especially) ammonium sulphate. It's real easy to over-fertilize blueberries, they respond by defoliating, so I'd encourage you to treat it as a learning experience and not to blame the nursery.

Initially I was a little annoyed at the lengthy delay in shipping me my order, but I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box. My Tayberry, Boysenberry, Black Rasp and Loganberry) each had a few healthy canes, and the pink lemonade blueberries even had several nearly ripe fruits on the plants. I really liked that they were shipped in 1 gal soil pots and not bareroot, and after seeing that I didn't mind the shipping cost, although it would be nice if it were a little lower so I could just buy 1 item without feeling like I need to order additional items just to not overpay on shipping.

Received my order from Berries Unlimited - ordered a variety of blueberries and blackberries. Honestly I was expecting some sort of special plant packaging, but all the pots were just thrown into a regular box with some Styrofoam peanuts. They arrived mostly intact. The plants were much smaller than expected. The 1 gallon size is more like 1/2 gallon, or maybe a quart. The "Jumbo" blueberries were 2 year plants, but very much on the small side - compared to what the local nurseries/big box stores sell.

All the plants appear to be alive, I am letting them rest for a week or 2 before planting ( I have read the instructions on their webpage carefully)

I will update my review to positive once I confirm all plants are indeed alive and growing.

"On Apr 15, 2014 9:20 AM, Berries Unlimited responded with:

Hello! Our plants are all tissue cultured so they are all virus indexed, they are standard size+.1 gal plants are 3 years old, ours are 4 years old tissue cultured plant material. They are like big plugs to develop nice plants. Keep water balance, space them, fertilize them and the results will be WONDERFUL.They will grow much more vigorously than plants from cuttings which were larger and nicer looking in the very beginning being developed from larger cuttings not from cells like ours. But Our plants will produce much more!And we prune blueberries very short.Unfortunately we can not space them better because of the winds, but new growth will pop up in an instant through the spring/summer period.Thank You for your comment."

i ordered a variety of plants from berries unlimited back in october...blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and honeyberries...huge order and big price...but, they were in arkansas and that is why i chose them sight unseen...

it is now april one and after a long winter anxiously awaiting for my little project to wake up from a long winter sleep...they did! one by one...EVERY ONE of my plants has lived...and is basking and growing strong in the warm arkansas sun...

thanks to and shout out for berries unlimited for all of their patience with a first time berry planter...for their encouragement and knowledge in helping me to bed down my new additions for their winter sleep...and for just being so pleasantly 'arkansas' : ) boy do i love my southern roots!!! :)

Posted on September 22, 2013, updated September 23, 2013
I ordered 2 Honeyberry plants from them. 1 Borealis and 1 Night Mist on May 5th 2013. After going round and round with Lydia I finally got my 2 plants. I planted them and The Night Mist didn't make it. I asked Lydia for either a refund or reshipment. She responded that the plant was dormant and to send her a picture in the Spring to see for sure. The plant wasn't dormant, it was dead so I threw it out with the trash. I am not familiar with the Borealis cultivar but dang if it don't look like a bell pepper plant. It has several on it already and that's what it looks like to me. I am very dissatisfied with this company and definately will not order from them again and would advise anybody else the same. Very poor customer service.

"On Sep 22, 2013 9:30 PM, Berries Unlimited responded with:

:) It is NOT true! I reship plants after I can see the pictures.It is our policy. Plants are in 4 inch pots, tissue culture first hand and nicely shaped. They can not die with no reason. If something wrong after shipment we look at the pictures and then we can see WHAT HAPENED to the plant. and we ALWAYS help: with some advice ( If the plant is alive and can survive after over fertilising, miss watering or any other mistake etc)or IF the plant is dead and it happened through the shipment or shortly after shipment we help with refund/reshipment . Honeyberries are funy plants.They stop growing right after bearing. In our AR zone 7 it happens in May. They start falling asleep and lose leaves. THAT IS NORMAL. Honeyberries fall in dormancy when it is hot.That is their nature no one can change it. They look miserable through the summer, practically they LOOK like dead ones but they ARE alive and wake up in late August( IF You slighty fertilize them) or later in Mid September. Then they fall asleep again.For winter.I need a picture to figure out what happen to the plant and then is NO sense to rerplant in the heat again because it is NOT a good time of the year. NOW it is good time to plant and our Borealises are awaken and happy. Other varieties are gaining buds/leaves right now. But NO ONE sent me e-mail with the plant and No One told me about this situation. How can I know that the plant is still in bad shape or dead??I can not send e-mails to our many thousand customers and ask how their plants are doing. 99.9% are very happy with our plants and service.It IS true. If You still desire to get Your refund,please, send us a picture of the plant and I'll refund You in an instant OR we ship a new plant,NOT dormant now because it is September and not May.

I purchased in May a Sunshine Blue (southern highbush)/Zone 5-10 mid season 4 inch Size plant from Berries Unlimited. The plant had green berries on it and I planted it upon receipt with the correct soil, acidity, etc. They recommended that I use the Miracle Gro food for acid loving plants, and I've only fed this to the blueberry plant mixed with water. It's now July 20th and recently the plant has turned brown from the bottom up, the leaves turned up and dry, and the berries turned dark. I emailed today BerriesUnlimited with a photo of the plant to ask for a nursery manager to view it and provide recommendations, assessment, etc. Within 12 minutes of my sending my email, I received the following reply:

"Hello! You over fertilized the plant!
Respectfully
Lidia"

Has anyone ever received a reply like this from a plant company? How does this resolve my issue? I'm concerned about my plant's condition and received this response? To say that I was surprised is an undestatement...I'm aghast. I will never spend any money with BerriesUnlimited ever again.

"On Jul 20, 2013 9:55 PM, Berries Unlimited responded with:

It is 10 Pm Saturday Evening. I get e-mail
Hello,

I am attaching a picture of the blueberry plant and would like a nursery manager to look at it.

Please contact me back as soon as possible.

Thanks,

[name edited at request of poster]
I look at the picture and answered what exactly happened to the plant! Finished my late dinner and sent TWO more e-mails with longer explanation what was done wrong. Before I got any reply I got this negative:)
You should contact BEFORE You try to use any chemicals not AFTER when the plant has died and there is NOTHING to do about this plant. That's simple. I always try to help.

I got this message
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From:
Date: Sat, Jul 20, 2013 at 10:15 PM
Subject: Re: Order Complete #130512-121412-4031
To: Berries Unlimited
Hello,

Your response was incredibly rude and completely incorrect.

If this is how your company responds to customer concerns, I will never purchase another item from your company again.

I'm aghast at your lack of concern and will be reporting your response to warn other customers as well.

You have lost my business,


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Berries Unlimited
Date: Sat, Jul 20, 2013 at 10:32 PM
Subject: Re: Order Complete #130512-121412-4031
To:

And I replied with two morte e-mails trying to explaing in detailed WHY the plant got dead.
Dear [name deleted]l!You wanted to know WHAT happened to Your Plant. I told you WHAT happened.I grow those blueberries from the very beginning! I know exactly HOW they look If some one over fertilize them! I did not mean to sound rude I know the PLANT WORLD and I just tell You what happened to the plant.Picture clearly shows that the plant got too much fertilizer BEING in the pot! It is very easy to do this to the plant which is in the pot! It is les harm to the plant which is in the ground.It is true and I tell you this truth. It is my opinion. I did not tell You miss watering because the plant would look completely different.Unfortunately this plant got too much acidic stuff,I do not know what You used to fertilize it but the rootys are burnt. I am sorry.
Respectfully
Lidia
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Berries Unlimited
Date: Sat, Jul 20, 2013 at 10:37 PM
Subject: Re: Order Complete #130512-121412-4031
To:

The second mistake was made -too large pot! when You grow plants in pots You have to choose Size VERY carefuly- Increasing the sizes STEP BY STEP! So This 1 gal 3 yo plant should be replanted into 2 gal pot MAXIMUM!! and keep it in 2 gal pot for 2 years, THEN to increase 1 more Size and keep two more years. That is how You should grow Plants in the pots. Too much Soil keeps them overwatered- water balance is VERY HARD to keep! + Any pot is very easy to overfertilize! I can reship IF You pay for shipment. BUT Please, be careful with fertilizer.
Respectfully
Lidia

If to look at time I replied it is NOT bad for Saturday 10 pm plus!I did not leave this case for Monday and Kindly offered replacement. But It was NOT my fault the plant got burnt roots. All information HOW to grow blueberries is on the website.and Everyone is VERY welcome to ask ANY Questions at ANY time even late at the weekends/Holidays. I reply al the time when I am not in the lab, in thelab or in the field or in the nurseries outside- I am ALWAYS here to help when I am not outside! Thank You! And with greatest respect to all of Our Customers.
Lidia Delafield Stuart

From:
Date: Sat, Jul 20, 2013 at 10:15 PM

--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Berries Unlimited
Date: Sat, Jul 20, 2013 at 10:32 PM

From: Berries Unlimited
Date: Sat, Jul 20, 2013 at 10:37 PM
"

Posted on January 7, 2012, updated July 13, 2013
Ordered 4 honeyberries from this company. Was told they would ship late. Turned out to be very much later (many months after my order). When they arrived, packaging kind of poor and we were unable to find one of the honeyberries (though we found the tag for it); the other three were acceptable but certainly not what I would expect from a company that advertises they are the "Home of the Honeyberry". I've ordered other items from this company before and they arrived in good, robust condition. I hesitate to complain too much; this might have been a fluke, but still this was not a great transaction for me.

"On Jan 7, 2012 6:49 PM, Berries Unlimited responded with:

Hello! Our Honeyberries are from the laboratory- tissue cultured clean virus indexed plants in 4inch size pots.Now they are dormant. They are gaining roots during winter season to pop up very vigorously in spring. Large plants which are from cuttings grow faster first but slower later because they are not virus indexed plants.We do not sell such plants. We had to wait them for a long time from the lab due to bad weather condition and the information was on the web site,and they are the only tissue cultured honeyberries in the country available. 2011 was the first year of the new varieties which were small, developed from cells, 2012 plants are much larger now and available immideately.

I bought 1000 blueberrys plants from Berries unlimted this past fall The plants arrived when they said they would and much better looking than i thought they would They were bigger than i was expecting and very hardy. They are growing very good with no losses at this time I have talked to berries unlimted serval times regarding mulching and fertilzing and weed control and they have been very helpful every time i have talked to them I feel like i have been a customer for a long time. I am going to buy more plants this fall and they will be from them. I would recommed this company to any one.

Wayne Stratton
Cross Creek Blueberrys
Adairville Ky.42202

Good company, great products! Shipped a bit slow due to weather problems, (13 days) but arrived 3 days after it shipped. Size of the 1 gallon plants are about the same as the ones at Home Depot. So a great size especially for online orders. Great experience!

I am a suburban Chicago gardener with a small blueberry patch that has grown with no help other than regular watering. Unfortunately my two new puppies uprooted two of the blueberry bushes over the winter. I had a terrible time with another vendor and then called Berries Unlimited. They were wonderful. Explained my options. Helped me order the least expensive way (they had a package deal that reduced the price). Their website made it difficult to tell whether they had Jersey blueberries. The agent checked with their horticulturist and quickly left me a message. They will ship part of my order in early April (when I prefer to plant) and the rest in May (when those bushes are ready) Absolutely lovely folks to deal with. Highly recommended.

My name is Allen & I live in Orlando, FL-new Berry garden planter and needed help and advise. Berries Unlimited policy to Only ship in Root Ball Containers (Never bare root)
was exactly what I had ben searching and searching for. The people there were very helpiful, patient, answered all my concerns. My shipment arrived early and in perfect condition from UPS. The one gal black berry plants were very healthly and had canes up to 7' long ( disease free)! What a contrast to the 2 plants I bought at home Depo and Lowe's nursery.
I shoped at nurserys and on line for weeks to no avail. To me they have proven to be the best of the best! I would reconmend them to anyone but especially to thlose who really care and want the very best.

I was VERY pleased with the help and service I received from Hare and his company, Berries Unlimited. I ordered 60 apple trees, 30 Pear trees, 50 Blueberry bushes, 50 blackberry vines and 35 Raspberry plants from them. All plants looked sturdy, healthy and vigorous. Hare took the time to return several emails and phone calls to answer the many questions I had about plant variety and selection for my region. The plants shipped UPS and arrived as planned and were labeled for ease of identification. I would not doubt it if I am able to harvest fruit this season. I highly recommend Berries Unlimited to any one interested in planting fruit bearing plants.

I ordered some 1-gallon blackberry plants late last summer. They plants that came were very large, vigorous plants with very long canes. The plants all established well in spite of arriving in the summer heat. Recommended.

After calling first to confirm their delivery timetable, I ordered loganberries from Berries Unlimited on November 15th and received them on November 19th exactly as promised. All the plants were in fabulous condition. In contrast, the same day I also ordered boysenberries from Willis Orchard Company, also confirming the delivery timetable. To date, I've made two calls and exchanged two emails with Willis and the plants have still not been shipped. Furthermore, nothing they've told me they'd do so far has been done. I'm now trying to cancel the Willis Orchard Company order so I can re-order the boysenberries from Berries Unlimited. Berries Unlimited is a class act with employees you can rely on... very rare today! Unlike Willis Orchard Company which has hundreds of negative reviews that I wish I would have seen before getting involved with them.

As newbie farmers of 80 acres in Oklahoma who decided to utilize part of our land as a U-pick berry farm, my husband and I researched a long time before we decided to order 4800 berry plants and 214 fruit trees from Hare at Berries Unlimited. We have nothing but praise for this man and his wonderful company! From the very beginning of our association Hare and Lidia walked us through exactly how to succeed once we received our large, bushy, and super healthy plants and trees. We were given great advice and tips and received frequent calls from Berries Unlimited to ask how our plants were coming along. Our association has developed into a lasting friendship and we recommend Berries Unlimited to all of our friends and customers. As far as we are concerned tissue culture plants from Berries Unlimited are the ONLY place we will be shopping for our farm needs! 10*/10*

Since I live nearby the Berries Unlimited nursery, when I ordered plants I clicked on the "pay by check button" and printed my order to avoid shipping costs. Therefore I had the pleasure of being waited upon personally and seeing the care that goes into selecting plants for shipment. Lidia is very concerned with customer satisfaction and does her best to provide healthy plants that fit the customers' needs. Her insight helped me understand why some of the varieties I had chosen were not appropriate, and she helped me find suitable replacements. I certainly felt she had my best interests at heart. In these days when so many products are not made in America, it is nice to see my family's gardening starts come from an American business grown on American soil. Thanks Berries Unlimited, and keep up the good work.

Posted on June 27, 2012, updated June 27, 2012
Posted on June 25, 2012, updated June 27, 2012
Ordered some blueberry plants, The leaves showed significant deformation with misshapen leaves, leaves with rounded depressions on the top that showed as rounded lumps on the bottom. Company claimed deformation was from their "top watering"-- sure looks alot like virused leaf pictures I've seen.

"On Jun 27, 2012 4:30 PM, Berries Unlimited responded with:

Dear [name removed]! Your idea about viruses You saw in the pictures in the net is so far from reality! Our plants, ALL of them ARE First hand tissue culture, replanted into sterile professional expensive soil. Our plants HAVE NEVER BEING in the ground!So we are not able to ship plants with viruses- we just DO NOT HAVE THEM! We have our little babies from the best tissue culture labs in the country and from Canada. ALL PLANTS ARE VIRUSES indexed. Also we are under heat stroke since end of March.We have had very high temperatures 95+F-110+ constantly .The only way to safe plants is WATER them very very good. That is why some piles which are nearby the sprinkler system get plenty of water and their leaves getting thicker and curlier sometimes and of course, they are more fragile through the shipment! But it is very nice that we have lots of Happy customers who trust us and get our nice plants to grow with smiles. So we will work hard for them!And after getting my healthy plants back via FedEx representative I'll happily pay You full refund as I told You!"

I am extremely pleased with both the service and the products provided by Berries Unlimited. Initially, I was seeking advice about which varieties of blueberries to order as this is a fruit I have no experience with. Lidia was quick to respond and provide her expertise. I ordered the Northland package in the one gallon pots as well as an Elliott in a two gallon pot, as suggested. I had decided to order at least one larger plant, so I could see it fruit this summer. Wow, was I surprised when I opened the package from Berries Unlimited! The pots were carefully packed in pine shavings to keep them safe during shipping. But most importantly, the plants were in excellent condition and all of them were loaded with blueberries, many of them ripe! Yum!
Thanks Lidia and the rest of the folks at Berries Unlimited. I would recommend your products without hesitation!

Posted on July 23, 2011, updated April 19, 2012
Posted on May 8, 2011, updated July 23, 2011
Posted on May 7, 2011, updated May 8, 2011
I was very excited when i first stumbled upon This Company. Their huge selection of blueberry types, along with black and red raspberries got my mouth watering. i live in Maine and went with 2 northern type super-saver package deals(2early,2mid,2late types in each package), and one thorn less black raspberry verity 6 pack. I placed the order late march as i remember, and was unsure of the proper planting time in my zone (just make zone 5). I sent a email asking if i might be able to get some advice from them on such subjects, and was wicked happy when i got a response not 2 hrs later(on the weekend also) telling me they would gladly hold onto my order till the planting time was proper in my location( plants are from AZ so its a big difference in the weather in the early spring and late fall). well i got my Shipment 3 days ago now. everything was present and all most all were green and healthy(the 2 elliot types i got were both very yellow, and i am 100% sure one of the 2 is going to die) having said that I must say i was appalled at the shipping company (fedex) as my package arrived very tired looking with squish marks all over and a big gash in one side (wasn't home when delivered or i would have mentioned, complained about its state. I had to GINGERLY dissect the top 75% of my plants from each other as they had been handled so poorly that they had formed a ratking tangle. Its not a stretch of words to say there was probable more dirt in the shipping box then was left in the containers the plants were in. i also lost a lot of the smaller tops/branches on the blueberry plants(i must admit the plants were a bit smaller then i was expecting by 5-10 inches anyways). know i know they were packed right by berries unlimited because the bottom 5 plants were still in place with 0 damage, but as i said all are green and healthily/happily in the ground(except the 2 poor little elliots) so i am happy for the most part. and am 100% satisfied with berries unlimited's product . srry this is so long had a lot to say

I am a farmer and permaculture designer with over 15 years experience growing trees and small fruits from bare root stock purchased from nurseries all over the country. I have extensive experience dealing with companies and am skilled at recognizing quality nursery stock from stock that is diseased, poor quality and packed improperly.

I don't often make the time to write reviews, but feel compelled as my experience dealing with Berries Unlimited was such a nightmare and hugely disappointing. A number of the other reviews on this forum echo the situation I experienced. I originally ordered 8 Honeyberry plants In January 2011 with a shipping date for the week of May 9th, 2011, which I confirmed via email with Lidia. My credit card (via PayPal) was charged at the time I placed the order.

On May 4th I sent an email to Lidia making sure we were all set for shipping the next week. She emailed me back saying the Honeyberries were not going to be ready until the end of May, but even more concerning was she had no record of my order! Fortunately, I keep good email records and immediately emailed her my order # and confirmation of payment. She was then able to find my order in their system and assured me the plants would ship end of May, which was fine since we have a lot of trees/small fruits to plant in the spring and I am happy to space things out.

The last week of May came and went and I heard nothing from them. I left a phone message which was never returned. I sent an email on 5/30/2011 and here is the response I got:

Dear Mary- now they scheduled late June! Can do NOTHING about.I can switch them with anything You desire, just let me know and i'll ship everything we have ..
Respectfully
Lidia

Here is my response:

Hi Lidia,

Thanks for your reply. I appreciate the update and the offer to ship other plants. However, the only plants I am interested in are the honeyberries. Can you explain to me why they are so late this year? I am willing to wait until late-June, but if they are not ready by then I would just like to have a refund issued to my PayPal account which is how I originally paid.
Thank you.

She then wrote a long, rambling response about the weather in Oregon, tsunamis, earthquakes etc. HMMMM?

So, needless to say, June came and went and I did not see my honeyberries. I emailed July 20th (yes, July 20th!):

Greetings,

I am inquiring again about when I can expect to receive my Honeyberry plants. I left a phone message yesterday but did not hear back. I understand that there have been many problems with the plants, but would like to know if I can expect them in the next couple of weeks. If not, I would like a full refund as I paid in full for these plants back in January and yet, almost 6 months later have nothing to show for my $.
Thank you.

Amazingly enough, the Honeyberries had just that day miraculously appeared:

Dear Mary! We got honeyberries today! I replant them into 4 inch pots.They have very nice rot system.I can ship them in an instant but I can keep them here for a while untill they are rooting in the new 4 inch pots. I can refund with the bank interest as well or You can get more plants for the long waiting and unpleasant weather all over the country, especially in Oregon what moved our berry process 3 months back.I promissed them in Mid April but It did not happen! I gave plants for tissue culture 1 year ago expecting them in 8 months for sure but no one can control the weather and our website policy shows that clearly. We are all very dependable on weather! Please, do not order next time if plants are not in stock. It is easier for me and it is better for You.Because weather games sometimes break everything in Plant World and I have to be patient about replying for 100+ e-mails a day.. But as a rule they are kind ones, with understanding.. sometimes it is not..
Respectfuly
Lidia


Here is my response:

Hi Lidia,

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate the update. I am willing to wait a couple more weeks for the plants to be well rooted and more likely to thrive. Ideally, I would like them no later than mid-August.

I do, however, feel confused though about why it should have been my responsibility to not order them since apparently they were out of stock. The website indicated nothing of the sort. The packages of 4 were available for spring shipping or at least that is what was indicated on the website. Usually if an item it out of stock it is clearly shown and you can't actually order it but rather can be emailed and notified when something comes back into stock. It feels difficult to be reprimanded and told I shouldn't have ordered it when your website allowed the order to go through and gave the impression that the plants were available.

I appreciate all the challenges you've faced in getting the plants ready and yes, as a farmer, I am very aware of weather and the critical role it plays in our growing season. I have been homesteading in far Northern Vermont for 15 years and if ever there was a rugged climate to farm in, this is it. I am not trying to be rude or difficult and feel as though I've been pretty patient waiting for the plants. I so hope it works out to get them this season and they will be a wonderful asset to our food production. If they are not ready by mid-August then I would like a refund on my PayPal account which is how I originally paid.

Thanks again

Her response:

Dear Mary I can ship them tomorow but I still would love to watch them for a week or so to ship stronger plants. They are fragile enough being this size.. They ARE strong and came in perfect shape but still need some reast befgore replanting and new shipment..It has ben a mess with the weather all over the country. Now we are in the heat stroke here. But If they survive this they will be just perfect anywhere else, especially up to the North.. Please, give me just a week or two to get them rooted in( they have perfect root system) and then I'll be sure they can get through any winter anywhere.. I would advice to put them with the pots in the pile of compost soil til September, then I'd replant them into gallons and keep this way in the compost pile too through the winter and then I would replant them in the beginning of April when the soil not frozen. Last frost can chanmge nothing for them they will easy get through..
Thank You!

I was floored that at the end of the day I wasn't even going to receive plants that were ready to put in the ground but should be overwintered in pots in a compost pile. Seriously?!

So, when the plants finally arrived in AUGUST, they were so pitiful looking and some of the most poorly packed I have ever received. They were simply plugs and some of them were laying on top of the potting soil of the 4-in pots, they had not even been properly planted into the pots leaving the rootlets (I can't even call them roots) dried out. In addition, 4 of the tags marking the varieties were loose in the box so I had no idea which plant was which.

I did replant the plugs and tend them for another 4 weeks before putting them into the garden. In that time, 3 of them (the ones that were badly dried out upon receipt) died which really did not surprise me at all. The remaining 5 were planted out with not a lot of hope that they would survive since they were so fragile and puny. So far, they are either dead or have not yet broken dormancy; the verdict is still out.

I did email Lidia after receiving my order to tell her how disappointed I was the quality of the plants and the entire saga of getting them but never heard back. What a waste of $98! I will never buy from this company again; too much work for such little return.

Orders have shipped promply and all questions have been answered within a day. The plants are robust and well packaged. I ordered blueberries last year and honeyberries, blackberries, and raspberries this year.