Comments regarding Plant Delights Nursery

Their catalog is humorous their service is not.
I ordered 2 Lycoris bulbs from them at $15 each.
Neither one came up. I contacted customer service and they blew me off.
I will not rate them negative as this is the only thing I have ordered.
But as the saying goes "Let the Buyer Beware"

Plants Delight Nurseries has a wonderful catalogue with many unusual and some relatively common plants. Most are perennials with some small shrubs. The focus is on plants that have been selected from locations around the world that have proven suitable in their test gardens for southeast climates. Consequently, the catalogue has plants with broad appeal. I have ordered from them for personal and gift purposes. All plants have been well packaged and very healthy. Prices seem to vary from very good to pricey depending on the plant and available supplies/propagation difficulty. They do not send a lot of fluff or junk mail with their shipments. They assume people know a little about plants they order and don't add much. If you need more information you can ask. They are very friendly by phone and love to help. They have an on-line catalogue and a copy on paper. It's a fun catalogue too.

I have ordered from Plant Delights for the past few years. While there is nothing that is perfect in the mailorder plant business, I feel that they strive for producing and shipping some of the best plants around. David Lee has never been anything less than accommodating, sincere and professional if I have had questions, or if a plant might have been problematic for me. I would unhesitatingly recommend them as a great source, and I personally find Tony's plant descriptions very accurate, and darned funny as well!

I have never ordered but have visited 3 times. They do have some hard to find plants, a good collector's selection from various interests, a clean nursery, are helpful, and their plants are healthy and vigorous. Their plants are mostly 4 inch but full. The only problem I have with them is they are mostly always more expensive than most other sources. Summary; good in all categories except price, but definitely check their catalog out.

The last two years I have ordered bulbs from Plant Delights Nursery. They have always arrived in excellent condition. I have been very happy with their plants.

Unless this nursery has a plant variety that that you just can't live without, I do not recommend them. I have been purchasing plants as a business owner for nearly six years and in my opinion and experience the 4" containers I purchase locally have considerably more plant material and size than what I received from Plant Delights. My complaint and their rather terse reply speaks for itself.

Subject: RE: Order #38052
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2000 19:06:46 -0500
From: plantdel1@mindspring.com
To: (w009198@airmail.net)

Frank,
Sorry we couldm't meet your expectations this time. Let's not do business anymore.
David Lee Customer Service/Shipping Manager
Plant Delights Nursery, Inc.

-----Original Message-----
From: Frank Hillman [mailto:w009198@airmail.net]
Sent: Friday, March 31, 2000 9:30 PM
To: Tony Avent
Subject: Order #38052

I received my order today and have mixed opinions about the contents. The Crinums and Hippeastrellia were as I had expected. In fact one Crinum was indeed larger than expected. However the remainder of the order (Echinacea, sedum and Stokesia laevis) was disappointing. Prior to placing my order, I e-mailed you twice and specifically asked if the quart containers were full or simply a 4" potted up and sold as aquart. Both of your responses were vague and didn't not specifically answer my questions. I should have taken this as fair warning however I gave way to curiosity and ordered some plants that would be in quart containers. Not only did they not fill the containers, the quantity of plant material was less than what I consider acceptable for a 4". One Sedum/quart, 4 Echinacea with barely the second set of true leaves opened, one Stokesesia--give me a break.You advised me to purchase locally. I surely should have taken your advice. Caveat Preemptor

-- Frank R. Hillman

I live in southeastern North Carolina and have ordered from Plant Delights several times. The plants always arrive in great condition. Even when I couldn't get them into the ground right away, they still did well. I recently moved, and my new house has very different soil in the yard (mostly clay). I just planted my latest order from Plant Delights in December- the aster and rudbeckia triloba are doing visibly well. I'll have to wait and see how the cannas and hedychiums turn out this spring. The Plant Delights catalog is a hoot to read, and Tony and Michelle Avent have always answered Emails promptly. Their catalog is worth getting and a visit to their nursery during open house is even better. I highly recommend ordering from Plant Delights!

I have ordered from this company 3 times already and they will no doubt be among my favorites for years to come. I LOVE their catalog. It's entertaining and informative. I called one order in and found the staff to be friendly and helpful. Some of their prices may seem high if you've never ordered from them, but once you receive an order and see the fantastic packing and the size and vigor of the plants, you realize that they are really bargain prices. They offer many unusual plants that allow us gardeners to stretch and experiment. My hardy lantana, taro and clumping banana are thriving along with many, many other plants ordered from them. Great company.

I placed a substantial hosta order. A few additional bulbs and plants were ordered as well. The hostas were enormous. I was able to divide several of them prior to planting (I may not get as great growth this year but it will save the trouble of divisions in the next year or so). Some of them were divided twice! Although the plants were expensive (though certainly I've seen higher) the hostas turned out to be a good deal as they could be divided. The plants were wrapped beautifully and made the transition from North Carolina to New England very happily. I would have ordered more plants, but ran over budget. I made e-mail inquiry regarding a particular hosta several months ago. Tony Avent answered within a day or so with an appropriate suggestion for a substitution, very personal and prompt.

I have visited this nursery and have purchased from them several times. It is a joy to go to their nursery - they have things that are wondrous to me. If you get a chance go ahead and order; if you go near Raleigh, call them and maybe you can visit them too.

Since I live nearby, I have bought from Plant Delights both in person and by mail (they are only open 4 or so times a year) for several years now and have been consistently satisfied with plant quality. If you get a chance to visit, do - the gardens feature unusual plant material and varied sites (bog/shade to dry/sun), and are fun to stroll.

I love Plant Delights Nursery, I ordered from their catalog last Fall, the plants I received were GREAT! They are a very good size & very healthy. This nursery has quickly become my favorite nursery to order my unusual & most talked about plants. If you try Plant Delights Nursery, you WON'T be disappointed.

I am delighted to report that my first experience with Plant Delights has been a pleasure. I had some questions about items in the Fall catalog and sent e-mail, which Tony Avent responded to within 2 days. I consider this terrific service. The plants they sent were very nice and came thru the shipping process well. I can't wait to get the spring catalog. The catalog is wonderful. These are people with in depth knowledge of plants, with a great sense of humor and with unabashed opinions about gardening and plants.

I have ordered well over $200 from Plants Delights. I have NEVER been disappointed. They sell wonderful plants that often bloom the first year. Sometimes they have a little trouble with their shipping department, but the plants always arrive healthy, and big! Tony is a delight to talk to, and never seems too busy to discuss plants. Many of their plants are rare, so there tend to be a lot of sold out items that are in high demand, so make sure you list substitutions.

I have found plants from Plant Delights Nursery to be of excellent quality, great shipping care was taken, and they have a very entertaining catalog. Their personnel are courteous, helpful and knowledgeable. Their prices are average to slightly above but it seems worth it to know that those plants were as important to them before I got them as they are to me now that I have them.

They have a very entertaining catalog with lots of Hosta pics and -- surprising for the plant industry -- humor rather than the stuffy near-snobbery one encounters too often in esoteric collector-type circles. Their selection of Hostas is one of the best I've seen, and their Chamaecyparis selection is as large as that of Siskiyou Gardens. I placed an online order but have not received it yet as the weather is currently too hot to ship (I've got the bad habit of placing Summer orders). I will let you know how the shipping and plant quality is. Plant Delights emailed me right back when I had a question, too