Comments regarding Musser Forests, Inc.

Very pleased with the of value of well wrapped plants received from Musser. Ordered both bareroot and potted. Yes, looked like a stick and tiny. But with proper planting and care have been pleasantly surprised with the results especially given my New Jersey clay, heat and drought. When buying any plants mail order or local, highly recommend similar growing climate. Local nursery tried to sell me established evergreens grown in Oregon-don't see how that would work for my garden. Mussers customer service representatives treated me professionally on the telephone and that is how I treat them.

I have ordered from this company and so has my Father. All the trees have arrived packaged in damp paper mulch with plastic wrapped around the roots. There has been no breakage in shipment at all, and the trees all took so far. I ordered several potted Red Japanese Maples from them this year and they were much larger than I expected. The stock seems to be of good quality.

I've ordered numerous trees from Musser Nursery: Corkbark Fir, Pitch Pine, Mugo Pine, Douglas Fir, Japanese Black Pine, and Austrian Pine; the quality of the aforesaid orders have been excellent. Musser is very accomodating when It comes to shipping: I changed my delivery date 4 times and they followed my instructions accordingly. I plan buying from Musser in the immediate future.

Yours truly,
Kriss Schrandt Michigan

I have placed two really large orders with Musser Forests and been well-pleased with every aspect of the transaction.

The first order had a few 'duds,' which I would expect when I'm paying so little for things. They replaced them quickly and courteously. After the initial glitches, I am pleased to report that these plants have all grown and thrived for several years...through bad winters and droughts (and truly awful soil in some cases).

This year, I placed another huge order. I was amazed at the quality of the plants they sent! The root systems were huge and the plants were well-developed.

There are 'bargains' out there, and there are rip-offs. I would definitely place Musser in the bargain category. Their plants are priced very cheaply. So their 'experts' aren't really knowledgeable. Buy a book! I've found very few mail order nurseries who can tell me how to handle my plants when they are located in different growing areas from mine. Don't expect that! If you receive nice plants...well rooted...alive!...haven't they lived up to their end of the deal? Even some breakage is to be expected. They probably needed to be trimmed back a bit anyway, to ensure successful transplant.

I like them and will continue to do lots of business with them.

I ordered 10 winterberry hollies early this month. They were listed as 4 year old seedlings at 2-3 feet. The total, with shipping and handling, came to just a shade over $30. Okay, the price was very reasonable, but what about the timeliness and quality of the shipment? Well, in less than two weeks, a long cardboard box arrives on my porch. Inside are the specimens bundled together ratherly tightly, with the roots well wrapped in plastic with a finely shredded paper material covering them for moisture retainment. I lightly watered the roots and waited several days to plant. To date, all are doing well. The plants all fell into the advertised size range, and they even shipped me one extra. They are well rooted, vigorous plants. Based on my initial experience, I couldn't discourage anyone from buying from them.

I love Musser forests - in fact, if there ever was something to get me to drive "east" it would be to visit their nursery in person.

Over the years I have ordered many different trees and shrubs. And they all arrive very well packed, very healthy looking - as if they were just dug from the ground. I have tried all their different options - from bare root to the different ways of being potted and each time the plants are very well shipped and arrive in good condition. I only had one disappointment in that I lost all of my shipment a few years back but that was due to very severe drought conditions and a personal illness (I wasn't able to haul water to the transplants) so I do not blame the company. I have never had to ask for replacements.

I haven't had as much success when speaking to the horticulturists though. My impression is that they are reading rote responses listed in some "FAQ" manual and not listening to the specific concerns brought up. Maybe I just hit them on a bad day, we all have them.

I absolutely recommend this company based on my experiences....I am probably known there as the "sky rocket" queen as I order a dozen or so every year. But they are so quick growing, so cute when they are little and I have never lost one due to shipping or handling.

Ordered about 100 trees from Musser in 2005, both spring and fall. Thuja Green Giant, Beech, Red Oaks, Black Walnut, Cornus, Cercis... Only a couple didn't survive and not by fault of Musser. One or two succumbed to the summer drought (cornus kousa and black walnut) and one or two to my neighbor's well-intentioned, though ill-sighted, mowing efforts (was that a tree you planted there? oops). They were shipped quickly or when they needed to be, and always packed well. Yes, you have to untie them and sometimes the roots are a little tangled but I don't see that as anything unusual, you just pull them apart gently and they are fine. I have ordered mail order trees and plants from many companies and Musser has always been reliable for me.

I have Ordered from most of the major tree nurseries and now do most of my business with musser unless their is a species that they do not carry , I'm Sure if i contacted them they would contract grow them for me .
As for other nurseries for the most part the quality of their trees from a growers stand point is i have to toss 1/3 -1/2 because of poor form.Not with Musser.
P.S. I give their trees a workout growing most on in containers and they do fine,as well as ground grown which is healthier for a tree or most any other plants.

Just received ten potted Green Giant cedars, which arrived with beautiful, strong root systems and in excellent condition. The were larger than expected, especially considering the very reasonable price. Interestingly, this variety wasn't listed in the catalog--only on the Internet. What I really liked was that Musser waited to ship them until we had a cool window in the heat wave we've been experiencing. That kind of care is what I'm looking for in plant sources; I received my order a bit later, but the trees look wonderful. This was my first order from them, but it won't be my last!

This spring I ordered 12 each of their "hand selected" 5-year Canadian Hemlock and Norway Spruce transplants. On first inspection all of them looked wonderful, with extensive roots. 2 months after planting, 11 of the 12 Spruces are flourishing. However, 9 of the 12 hemlocks have lost their needles and are dead. I have no idea what caused this, as all 24 planting holes were in the same type of soil which has supported other hemlock transplants in the past.

I informed customer service of the situation and they promptly sent me a store-credit for the 9 dead trees. I will do business with them again but will avoid the heavy hemlock transplants.

Very nice stock, and great customer service.

Excellent in every way. Fast shipping, Large healthy trees, exceptional customer service. We order trees and shrubs every year from Musser . They offer many hard to find varieties and also a choice of sizes . I feel they are very reasonably priced as well.

This is a get what you pay for company. No frills. Mediocre customer service. So, I didn't expect big results ; however I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered some hemlocks, the largest they offer (5 year) . I rec'd very substantial and healthy trees. Having grown various sizes of hemlocks, I expect that in about two-three years, they'll be the size my local nurseries sell them for $50-$100 plus. I paid approximately $6.50 each for 30"-36plus" inch trees about 2" in diameter. Looking forward to a lush green hedge. (And yes I do know about wooly adelgid. I just use Dawn detergent and Canola oil. ) -Green Ox

Plants arrived in fantastic condition and on time. Most are bare root, but packed well for shipping. By far the best in quality in the east. I will make them my first source for new trees.

I highly recomend musser trees, expessially the potted little trees. They transplant easily and are alway nice trees which arive in great shape.

Two years ago I ordered Sea Green Junipers, Inkberry Hollies, and Dwarf Barberry. When I placed the order I was well aware that the plants would be small...as that is one of the reasons I didn't have to pay a high price. The plants arrived in great condition, and now two years later...they have turned into great specimens. I will definitely order from them again.

I own and operate North Hills Nursery in West Virginia and have personally visited and purchased several times from Musser Forests, Inc. Their business in primarily designed to sell wholesale to the industry only, even though they will sell to anyone who requests a catalog. They also have a large garden center on site where they sell retail. It should be noted when purchasing small seedling trees from their catalog at wholesale prices, that is what you will get from any wholesale nursery and they will survive and flurish if properly cared for. They have gone out of their way to provide personnel to escort me through out their nursery and assist in my purchases. As a nurseryman myself, I have had exceptional success with all my purchases.

Ordered five Osage Orange trees and five River Birches this past fall. Packing was excellent. All ten trees had large root systems and all were as large or larger than specified in the catalog. Not sure if it was a mistake or a courtesy, but actually received six of each instead of five! I've ordered trees from other, more "mainstream" catalogs and the Arbor Day Foundation, and what I received was pathetic in comparison to the trees from Musser.

Their tree selection is extensive, and their website is very well-done. Prices are also very reasonable, expecially considering the size and quality of the trees they send.

I highly recommend Musser Forests and will definitely order from them in the future.

Musser Forests has a nice website for browsing a large and diverse selection of trees. The online catalog is very well-organized and the search functions make it very easy to find what you’re looking for. In addition to a great selection of native and landscaping trees, I liked that they often had multiple options for sizes. The young seedlings and transplants are sold in multiples for incredibly low prices. The plants I received all looked very healthy with excellent, well-developed root systems. Unfortunately, some were quite pot-bound with roots entangled around the drainage holes, and it was a shame to have to lose those roots. The specimens were often better than I expected for the price, although some were pretty small and you could probably run over them with the mower if you’re not careful.

I definitely won’t be expecting much from these trees for a long time, but I planted them with the future in mind. In fact, I intentionally sought younger specimens, because I want to let the trees take over the landscape gradually, not for immediate impact. In the meantime, they will be in the shadows of other things in my garden. On the other hand, it was very personally satisfying to plant these trees. I hope that I’ll be around to see them when they are really impressive. I think these trees would make great gifts for children, because they are not a big investment, but they are good quality for the price and it’s good for the environment. The planting instructions were very detailed and helpful. Only other complaint is that they don’t seem to answer emails, but it seems like they are a very large-scale operation so…

Overall I think that Musser Forests’ product is a great balance of price and quality.

Over many years we have bought fir and spruce seedlings from Musser by the thousands. For the most part the seedlings we order are 2/2 or better and in the 12-18" range. Very well packed and on time. Often we will plant out directly instead of nursing in a bed for a year as the root systems are excellent, trees are well budded and healthy. Of 500 set this past April I have lost 3 to date, and that appears to be from grass competition.

I received my order from Musser yesterday. I ordered forsythia and crownvetch to replace the garbage that Burgess sent me. The new plants from Musser are very nice. I expected dormant sticks for the forsythia, but the plants are all leafed out and happy looking. I had asked for quick shipment, and they got the plants to me less than 2 weeks after I placed the order. I am very pleased.

My first order from Musser, and I am pleased. Although they took a little longer to ship than they originally estimated, the 5 inkberry hollies and 2 pieris I received were in lovely, healthy shape -- moist and green, and in line with the sizes listed in their online catalog. Their prices, especially for multiples of the same item, seem really quite good when compared with my pricey local nurseries. I'm not in such a rush that I need huge plants. I'd order from Musser again.

On January 19th, I ordered some Blue Lyme grass (potted), Four Dawn Redwood trees (potted), and Five Black Locust trees (bare root).

They arrived May 6th, perfect timing for my area. They were packed in a strong box. The potted plants were strapped into the box so completely that, short of completely crushing the box, there was no way they could be damaged. The potted plants were bagged and moist and the bare root trees were well wrapped and moist as well.

The Dawn Redwoods are extremely healthy looking, as was the Lyme grass. The Black Locusts were a tad small, but they shipped eight of them!

This is the second time I have done business with them, and I am very happy with their service.

I ordered a number of plants from Musser Forests for Spring planting and I was very pleased at the packaging. The only issue I had was, the Northern Bayberries were very root bound.

I ordered an eastern red cedar seedling and a wild black cherry tree seedling from them. They came sooner than expected and are thriving in my backyard. I have no complaints about their service or products.

Ordered holly plants on the internet in February from Musser. They arrived on time, well packaged, and as described. I would order from them again, especially with their good prices.

I was referred to Musser after talking to my mother last summer. I had decided to add some new shrubs to our collection. We decided to make the day out of driving to Indiana County in mid October 2003. I spent about $95.00 and got everything on sale. I was impressed with the quality of all the plants on display. Even though it was October, everything looked to be healthy and well kept. The selection was just as impressive. They had everything I was asking for. The staff was very courteous and professional. They told me all of the requirements necessary for getting my plants to bloom next season. You will see excellent quality service from these folks. While I was checking out my order, the cashier explained the 6 month warranty on all the large shrubs. We are planning our spring trip to be around mid April.

I have ordered from this firm for the past several years. The first year I ordered Hemlocks in two different sizes, Cornus kousa and miscellaneous other shrubs. Although I live in Northern Illinois, I asked for March delivery. Everything came well packed with fantastic root systems. Extra plants were sent presumably to replace anything which did not make it. I planted them out within two days of receipt, although it was very cold. We had a drought ridden summer and the areas where they were planted receive little watering after being watered in for several weeks after planting. ALL of the plants survived and are thriving. After I planted them, I emailed the company to thank them and to tell them that if I lost any it would surely be my fault as they were all well grown plants with great root systems.

Ordered several times from them this spring and summer [2003]. Everything was packed well, healthy, and did well when planted. This is definitely a company that does a good job.

I have ordered seedlings from Musser in 2001, 2002 and 2003. The orders have ranged from 5 units to 2500. The packaging, delivery and coordination (of calendars) is very good. Moreover, the survival rate is very good. Of all orders and all products... only 1 item was incorrectly labeled out of ~2900 total units. I will continue to order from them for Spring, 2004.

I have ordered from Musser several times within the past two years. I noted in their spring catalog that it says they provide replacements only if 20% or more of the order is bad. Considering their prices and selection are very good, I am willing to take that risk. I have only been disappointed once. I lost four hollies (out of six). This was quite a large order so it was a small amount of the order. Some of the hollies looked a little sick when I received them, and I probably held them a little too long, so the combination of those two items did them in.
This fall I placed another large order. Many of the trees were to be used to replace dead saplings in a reforestation we are working on. I couldn't be more pleased. Perhaps three out of fifty trees were a little small, the rest were equal or much larger than advertised. And I suppose, to make up for those three trees, I received at least one extra of each kind. In one case I received five. I will definately order from Musser again, as long as I continue to need trees and shrubs.

I recently ordered some rhododendrons as well as oak and dogwood trees off of the internet from Musser. They were shipped very promptly and were well packaged. All of them arrived in great shape. I have ordered from Musser several times over the last 10 years and they have consistently provided good quality and good service.

This company offers 18 different types of oaks. Wow! The variety of trees is very impressive. This year I ordered spruce, white pine, and osage orange trees. I received one extra of each species I bought. Cool! They arrived at the correct time and now, four weeks later, all look great (except the one I ran over with the lawnmower). Unlike trees I have ordered from other companies, the Musser tree roots were packed in wet shredded newspaper, wrapped in plastic. I have ordered trees from several companies and this company has the most information in their catalog and the best packaging. Recommended! (I would also add that I checked this website before ordering from Musser, and as of a few months ago, they had a lot more comments, all of them positive as I recall, but it looks like this website purged the older comments?.)

I am a repeat customer, trees and plants grew well even in this baren desert wasteland. Some look like dead twigs on arrival, but roots are healthy and they all grow fine, don't let the look of bare root plants stop your from planting. Judy from Arizona.

The tree and shrub seedlings I have received from Musser Forests have always been healthy and have arrived at the appropriate planting time.

I only wish they would improve their packaging technique for potted plants. On many occassions, the plants shake out of the small pots during transit. (They should take a packaging lesson from Bluestone Perennials.)

I will continue to order tree and shrub seedlings from the University of Idaho Forest Research site as their seedling stock is the best I have found, but it they don't stock what I want, I would not hesitate to order from Musser Forests.

I ordered trees from them on two occasions and I was happy with my order. I called to get more info on my trees and I was able to get good information from a forester. I also sent trees from them to someone else as a gift. He was satisfied with his trees.

AWESOME quality stock -- an incredible value -- shipped securely and quickly. I ordered yews and they are very large and vigorous. I recommend them highly and I'll definitely order again.

Ordered from Musser Forests in January, rec'd in early April, the 17 bushes were well packed as were the seven trees. The Fraser Fir 7-yr transplants were absolutely beautful! All healthy plants.

I've ordered two shipments of creeping juniper plants from Musser and have been extremely pleased. Not one of them died, withered, or were eaten by deer (a real plus). The customer service people were great, they were shipped quickly and securely packaged. I planted them in not-so-hot soil and only fertilized once in 4 yrs. I would buy more from them but there are usually minimum's and I don't always want 10 of each kind of tree or plant. Everything is usually sent bare-root so you have to be special careful about planting them properly(just make a great slurry so all the air bubbles are worked out). You also have to be patient because the plants are usually small unless you order older plants - which I don't because I'm cost-conscience and need a large quantity to cover all the space I landscape.