Comments regarding White Flower Farm

In early spring I ordered two macrophyllia blue hydrangeas, because I had never seen them locally. I received 2 very small plants (for a total of $56!), which were both damaged by poor packing (packing tape was placed OVER the leaves, the catalogue was thrown on top, and the stems had broken off). I emailed White Flower Farms and they quickly wrote back that they would send replacements, which they did. These replacement plants were slightly larger than the originals, but still small in my estimation, for the price. I planted both and in the meantime found two more of the same plants at a local nursery; the nursery plants cost the same as White Flower Farm, but were literally 10 times larger! In the meantime, one of the replacement plants died, and the other has only grown 2 leaves in the meantime. The nursery plants, however, are already starting to bloom! I emailed the company again telling them of the dead replacement plant, and they have agreed to refund the purchase price to my credit card. Unlike a lot of people here, I found their customer service representatives very responsive, but the quality of the plants (in relation to the prices charged) rather poor. It's a shame, too, because they have beautiful product. Therefore the neutral rating.

I ordered bulbs from White Flower three years ago. All were big, firm, beautiful bulbs.

Because of a problem with their website, the company mistakenly sent and charged me for two orders, despite the fact that I had instructed the customer service rep to verify that I would only receive one order. I had some hassles getting credit for their mistake, but ultimately, I was very satisfied with the resolution (they let me keep the extra bulbs at no charge).

The catalogue is beautiful. The prices are somewhat high.

The cat is gorgeous, of course, and very enjoyable. But this company will never receive more than a neutral rating from me because it is much too highly priced for my taste. Regardless, their packing is excellent, their customer service friendly, and the plants I've received from them have always been healthy. They also tend to have nicer cultivar selections than what are available locally. But the only plants I've received from them that I thought justified the high cost was the calla lily tubers, which actually were huge and much healthier than any I've seen elsewhere. Otherwise I've found that I can buy comparable plants at a significantly lower price in other places.

Here is how I use White Flower:

First their catalog is second to none. It can be used as a reference even if you don't order.

Second, if you want top quality for the price, I order from Song Sparrow first. White Flower quality is not as good but their prices are just as high.

Third, if I can find the variety I want from Bluestone, that is a better choice for reasonable prices and good quality.

Finally, if Song Sparrow and Bluestone don't have it, then White Flower is my choice. But with their prices you have to be picky as to what you order from them.

Last year I ordered expensive lady fern rhizomes form White Flower Farm. They arrived with and were very small. Of the six for $30.00 only three srpouted out. Better to find them localluy.

Beware -- the plants are good quality, but this company is way, way overpriced. I foolishly ordered a hydrangea from them that cost me around $30. The quality was good, and it came well-wrapped, but it just was not worth what I paid. I have since ordered hydrangeas of the same size from Spring Hill for around $8, and I have since found out that mature hydrangeas at my local garden center cost about $20.

I read the most recent review and have to tell you to check out Green Mountain Transplants. They sell by the plug tray but quality is excellent -- Grasses bloomed the first year and were astounding!

I have had a number of experiences with WFF, and actually got to visit the site several years ago. The catalog is beautiful and tempting - too much so for what they actually deliver - and I have found it a good source of info & ideas over the years. However, I prefer to buy my plants elsewhere when I can find them. Over the years I've ordered most of their main "offers" - The Emerald Isle & its littler brother Emerald Atoll (hosta mixes), the Unique 50 (daylilies), The Works (daffodils), Old Ironsides (astilbes), Dawn & Dusk (rose & clematis),the unnamed peonies, and most of the lily collections & mixes. The only plants I've found entirely satisfactory, especially as I've gained experience and found more mailorder plant sources, have been the lilies, and 1 of the 4 or 5 roses I've ordered from them. And the unnamed peonies are an unqualified success story - because they arrived late in the fall, and I had had a major injury that kept me from getting them planted, they spent the winter in their unopened packing box on my back porch. In the spring, I was about to just toss the whole box, figuring they would be long-gone, but my DH opened it up, and lo and behold!, there were the roots with multiple vigorous "eyes" just pleading to be planted; I stuck 'em in the ground, and since their third season they have been the most glorious, showiest things in my garden at peony time!

I have had mixed encounters with their customer service, but on balance I would have to say that they've been rather unhelpful most of the time. The first order I ever placed with them was for several different lily collections; not one of the lilies in one collection came up, and one of the other collections was obviously mislabeled - I'd ordered a pastel mix and a bright mix, and obviously received 2 bright mixes. When I called to try to make it right, they argued with me about my lily-growing conditions, and when I explained that I had dozens of lilies growing happily in the same section of my garden, they refunded only a portion of the cost of the group that didn't come up at all. PLUS they argued about the mistaken colors of the lilies - like, HELLO-O-O, it doesn't take a horticultural genius to see that hot oranges, reds, and yellows were not pale pinks & creams & pastels! (They ultimately replaced the wrong-colored ones.)

But I still have lots of good-looking lilies from them that come up faithfully, and their color mixes are a pretty good bargain. I've also had some good daffodil collections, too. The daylilies, OTOH, are massively overpriced - I had a pretty poor showing from them. A number of olants I've ordered have arrived in poor condition, and they have not been reasonable about replaceing them.

Overall, I much prefer to order from Bluestone, my mail-order plant super-heroes. I've had better results with bulbs from Scheepers and Von Engelman, at considerably better prices. So I prefer not to order from WFF. But who can resist that catalog?!

White Flower Farm is pricey, but it does stand behind its products (in my experience). If you are dissatisfied and don't want a store credit, ask for a refund to your card.

Because of WFF's high prices, I have tried less expensive competitors. Unfortunately, less expensive mailorder options have resulted in products with less quality.
Nevertheless, WFF's prices make local nurseries more acceptable. Besides, you can pick exactly which weekend to plant (not raining, when in town) if you buy locally.

I used to order a few 'hard to find' plants each year. But the costs have risen way above what I am willing to pay. I can usually find them now on the internet or at a local nursery that now has about 2,400 varieties of perennials.

Wonderful catalog, some good information, but too pricey for what you get. Bought the pastel tulip collection, but it wasn't pastel. Have bought other hardy plants, but they didn't survive. Great to daydream with but I go to buy elsewhere.

I have enjoyed the White Flower Farms catalogs for years. But I want to caution anyone who is thinking of visiting them. I went 100 miles out-of-my way to visit them (an invitation that is in the catalog). I got there and found a small gift shop. Everything growing was off-limits to visitors.

I ordered the "Works" in 2000. The daffodil and day lily bulbs arrived late in October past the Colorado Springs planting season. I managed to plant them anyway. Only about 20% of the bulbs came up and were scrawny and hardly anything like the pictures. I will see what happens this second year. I also tried to obtain some information about a cactus dahlia I had received years ago. I was only given information about a current dahlia and evidently no one was concerned enough to look into past catalogs to uncover the name of the dahlia. I also thought I had cancelled an order because of the enormous shipping price, but I received the order anyhow. WWF is just another big business that is hardly representative of the hype that it pretends to be. Great catalogs, however. Would I order again? I am hesitant and will shop around. For example, like Consumer Reports I have been more satisfied with some bulbs from Home Depot!

I have also ordered from WFF and I have mixed reviews. I ordered: daffodil bulbs (The Works) - they arrived healthy and in time for planting peonies - they arrived very late and some were mislabeled, but they replaced them with no problem. One beauty bush - it was so small and at $30, it was very Disappointing. I would only order daffodils from WFF now. I found another great source for peonies and shrubs.

I agree with the "pricey'' assessments. I usually look at their catalog to decide what I want and then spend my money elsewhere.

Plants are high quality, variety very good, prices very high. However took four calls before a gift subscription to their mag was straightened out.

I have made numerous requests to White Flower Farm to stop sending unsolicited email to my account. They refuse to comply. I would encourage other to do business with more reputable and ethical companies.

Plants should be top quality because they're prices are at the top of the list. Their catalog is a dream book and way out of my price range. They have some special plants but most of them can be found much cheaper elsewhere.

I went to White Flower when they were having a bulb sale a couple of years ago. While it could have been my own doing, many of the bulbs never came up. I contacted them via e-mail and they responded that they would be back to me. They never responded. White Flower gets darned good prices for their products--as a consumer, I'm not happy they didn't offer me some recompense (even if the negative results of their bulbs might have been traced to planting somehow). Nope. I'll maybe try them one more time. And I'm from the area. Sorry. White Flower is not my favorite place to shop (but it is a beautiful garden and if you're in CT, you should visit).

It's run by Alice Flores, who is a "regular" on the rec.garden.roses newsgroup. I was leery about ordering, because it seemed like a small outfit, there was no post in the PBM, and there was no phone number on the website. BUT, since Alice appears to be well-respected in the newsgroup community, I figured it was worth a try. (That, and the fact that I couldn't find the rose I wanted to order ANYWHERE else.) I placed the order on May 4 (printed out the web order form and sent it along with my check in the mail). The rose was around $10 and the shipping was also $10 (seemed high to me, but what do I know), so the total was around $20. The check was cashed May 30 (according to my bank statement). I waited, and waited, but no rose came. I tried emailing, but got no response. Then on 6/24 I posted a message to rec.gardens.roses, explaining the situation, and asking if anyone had a phone number so I could call and inquire. I didn't get any response on the newsgroup, but someone forwarded the post to Alice, and she emailed me directly. She was very apologetic, and explained that she'd been laid up with a foot injury for some time, and was having trouble filling orders. She asked if I still wanted the rose or a refund.I did a search and found that her last post was on 3/23/2000, which seemed consistent with her story of being "laid up". I emailed back to tell her I'd still want the rose. So I waited some more. Never got the rose, or any other emails about it. So finally on 7/19, I emailed back and said that I'd like a refund instead. She replied immediately, apologized again, and said she send a refund. So here it is, 8/17, and I still don't have a rose or refund. After all this back-and-forth, I still can't get my $20 back. I'm not sure what to think. I don't want to tarnish a good person's reputation. This person appears to be well respected in the "online rose community", yet I can't help but wonder why on earth they would cash a check when they didn't even know if they could fill my order? If I was a business owner holding money from customers, I'd hire some temps to get in there and get the merchandise shipped out, and return any orders that come in.I can't help but wonder if I'm just not being sympathetic enough, or if I've really been taken on this one...I'm guess I can just be glad that I didn't place a BIG order.

I too love the catalog, but wasn't that impressed with what I ordered in '99. Fair enough quality but at top prices. I think I'll stick to other vendors this year.

Like most people on your site, I was dazzled by the catalog for White Flower Farm. I have ordered several items from them, with varying degrees of luck. The viburnum X burkwookii that I ordered began to die immediately after Iplanted it. I called CS and the woman offered to ship me a new one. Then she patched me thru to their horticultural expert who told me that the plant was dying from too much rainfall, and that if I left it alone and did not water it, it would be fine. She then cancelled the replacement order (though I asked her not to cancel it, as I had little hope of the originalplant surviving). The plant never recovered. I called CS again and again was patched thru to the Horticultural expert who again told me not to water (this was during the drought!) and that the plant would bounce back. By this time, the plant had black tips and no leaves, and everyone who saw it told me it had a fungus problem...but the woman would not believe me. I went to their web site andsaw why I was having such trouble with CS. This item was completely sold out, and they had no replacement to send me. Eventually, after several more calls and chats with the optimistic horticulturalist ("This is an x-shrubbery!!!" "Oh, no, it's just RESTING!") I was able to get a refund, and bought a MUCH less expensive (and larger) specimen from a local nursery.The new one is thriving!In addition to my Viburnum woes, I also had trouble with their Clerodendron Trichotum (sp??). It arrived DOA. I had a chat with the horticulturalist about this one as well, and she told me to just let it go, it would be fine.It never came back. They said they'd send a new one. They never did. I called to see when the replacement would arrive (I always plant bareroot plants immediately and try to make sure I know when they're due) and they told me that they are out of stock. I eventually got a refund, and the item is not being sold again this year.The other items that I've ordered have all been exquisite (especially the roses and irises).

I am probably one of the few who can say they have visited the nursery and ordered from the catalog. It's a fabulous place to visit any time from late spring through summer! I was very disappointed in my first and only order from the catalog. The 50 daylily collection, described as each plant unique and covering the entire color spectrum of daylilies, turned out to be about only 10 different varieties, so I had multiples of the same plant. After they had bloomed (several didn't make it) and I called to complain about the lack of variety, the customer service rep brushed me off and said the best she could offer was a credit equal to about 20% of what it cost me. Take it or leave it, basically. Their catalog is beautiful, but unless you can buy in person at the nursery, don't waste the considerable money it will cost you to order by mail.

I just recently requested a catalog via e-mail for White Flower Farms catalog. It came within three days and I was so excited at their complete line of perennials. Got ready to place an order and read that they don't ship outside continental US. Since I live in Alaska, that includes me. So why did they send me a catalog? What a tease they are!

Looking at [the 1999 catalog], you'd swear it was Daffodil Mart - illustrations, catalog text (although they've expanded it a bit, mostly by insisting the descriptions use complete sentences), pricing structure -- but "Daffodil Mart" is never used, and the Daffodil section is now a Narcissus section. This is now "White Flower Farm: The Bulb Book 1999". The website lists both companies, and has the title of "The White Flower Farm and Daffodil Mart Bulb Book". It claims that the entire bulb book will beonline as of April 11, 1999; other than that, all that's there now are links to the White Flower Farms and Shepherd Seeds web pages.Incidentally, I can find no mention of a minimum order amount in the 1999 catalogue, so it may well be that the $50 minimum is no longer in place. As a tradeoff, the 800 number for faxes is gone Another change: the catalogue is four pages shorter, and cultivar lists seem a bit shorter -- Amaryllis and Iris reticulata are down three, Erythronium is down four. I also couldn't help but notice that every single Amaryllis went up exactly a dollar for single bulbs.I don't know if you'll want to combine the Daffodil Mart and White Flower Farm entries or leave them separate with a pointer from WFF to DM for the bulb book. Obviously, WFF believes that their name has more pull than DM.

I also felt like I went through an inquisition when I called WFF for a refund for a 28.95 Double Bloodroot that never appeared in the spring. First the woman on the other end insinuated that I did not mulch it enough and then when I reminded her that we had just been through the warmest winter in recent memory she decided that I rotted it with too much mulch! Grudgingly, she gave me a credit after much back and forth. The catalogs are great and I save them from year to year as well. I figure the prices are inflated because of their guarantee but if the stuff I put in this fall doesn't make it and I have to go through another hassle I won't order from them again.

I have had wonderful, large healthy plants from WFF that have always grown well. My only complaint has been shipping dates. This spring, my plants arrived very late and this fall when I explained upon ordering that these were for a summer home on an island that I couldn't get to after a certain date, I was assured the plants would be there on time. Not only were they almost too late, but several times I was told they had been shipped and upon calling two days later was again told that the plants had been shipped "today". Just don't lie to me!

I think that the service may differ depending upon where you live. So if you live in a Zone that doesn't see the end of winter until well into April, read on. Three years ago, I lived in Zone 2 in Montana and dreamed all early winter about what to order from each catalogue. I finally narrowed down my choices and ordered two different plants from (the pricier) White Flower Farm. I keep a gardening journal, so I can tell you exactly what happened. WFF was so-so. The Malva Zebrina was beautiful, but the foxgloves had already bloomed and gone to seed. Could have been due to the fact that WFF did not send my plants until May 25!!!! WAY TOO LATE. Even for Montana.

I had mixed results with a White Flower Farms order. They mislabeled a Hosta and sent me a couple runts and some ferns that never made it. But I was impressed with their customer service. They were apologetic and willing to replace the runts if I was unsatisfied with them at the end of the year. Given the number of factors that can go wrong beyond THEIR control after it leaves their gardens, it seemed a fair way to handle matters.

I have ordered from WWF 2 years in a row, and for the most part am satisfied. Their prices are certainly high, but some of the plants I got from them were among the best performers I've ever had. However, I wasn't happy with their replacement guarantee. When I called to get 2 items (out of a $150.00 order) replaced, I felt like I was in the Inquisition. I don't mind explaining myself, but repeated questions along the line of "what did you do to kill them" are ridiculous. I will pay top dollar for plants if they are top quality, but I will also seek a refund if I didn't get my money's worth.

I have purchased plants and plant material for several years from White Flower Farms at this point I intend to continue to order merchandise from them, thought I will admit that the last two times I ordered Crambe's from them I have never had any success with them for what reason I do not know as they have been planted in different places in the garden. Anyone who orders should not be afraid to do so their stock comes in great condition and usually of decent size, but always healthy

WFF is still one of my all-time favorites. I have received excellent quality plants every spring & fall for the past several years. The only problems were from an order placed through the 1996 holiday gift catalog. I ordered 2 strawberry jars that were supposed to ship in time for the holidays with plants to be shipped in spring and a basket of 'Angelique' tulips to be sent to my mother. Only one strawberry jarshipped & I had to call for the 2nd one. They sent two! I notified them, but they said to keep it if I wanted it (of course I did). In thespring, I never received the strawberry plants or potting soil until I called them. They had to locate my order or some other nonsense and callback before they could start to resolve the issue. Hmmmm. My mother's tulips never did bloom & they were given full sun & tender loving care.They sent a refund promptly. It is strange that an entire order was unsatisfactory, but the problems were resolved. I think they still careabout quality and I am extremely happy with subsequent orders placed this past growing season.

White Flower Farm's catalog certainly is a pretty one, as most here have acknowledged. But they are in Connecticut and they don't understand gardening in the Southeast, even though they now publish a "southern edition." The southern edition offers delphiniums, heaths, heathers, and other plants that suffer a slow, agonizing death here in hot, humid Virginia. And there's plenty of gardening country farther south than Virginia. Also, I have received some plants from them that were not well upon arrival and did not live. I should have called to complain, but instead I simply stopped ordering from them about four years ago.

I ordered from them for the first time last fall - some special poppies. They sent me a confirmation notice, saying the poppies would be shipped at the proper planting time for my area, which the notice said would be late September. I called customer service and told them that was way too late and that the plants would certainly not survive the winter. They said they could not send them any earlier. Sure enough they didn't make it. The poppy that I bought at the local garden center (for 1/3 the price) & planted eight feet away, in August, in the same bed bloomed last week. I called CS back this spring & they said they would replace the dead ones, but I had to tell them to re-register me as a zone-6 to get the plants sent any earlier. They have beautiful stuff in the catalog, & when the plants arrived they were in good shape, so I'll probably order from them again, but they need to work on their shipping dates/policies. I believe they think anything south of theMason-Dixon line is a tropical paradise.

Since I live on the East coast, I find White Flower Flower Farm's catalog a valuable reference. The first spring at our house, my husband (who has previously lived west of the Rockies and in Alaska) asked me to find iceplants. What a search. I located both pink and yellow Delosperma in White Flower Farm. I was very impressed with the size of the plants Ireceived. So the following year I ordered again. Asters--Monch. I received bare root in early June, much too late for my area, which washaving a hot dry late spring. I don't have a problem with bare root plants, I have a problem with nursery people being ignorant about climates and zones.I called WFF that year. "We sent them at the right time; the computer says you are in zone 5." Without consulting me or a map, some one atWhite Flower Farm decided that since Harpers Ferry is in West Virginia, it is in zone 5. If that someone had consulted their own zone map they'd find most of WV is in zone 6. I'm in zone 6, barely.Nurseries 40 miles east of me claim to be in zone 7 (by the old map they are) There are large (20 ft +) evergreen magnolias 10 miles to the west in Charles Town WV. Mimosa trees seed themselves and grow wild in my neighbor hood. I sucessfully wintered a Camellia sansanqua in a sheltered corner outside my house this past winter… It's not a tropical paradise, but it is not zone 5!WFF did compensate me for the loss of the plants and changed the information on my zone in their database. I think I opted for a refund, which they gave me.

The order was small, and included both plants and bulbs. The plants looked fine, but one group of six bulbs had four that were almost mush. I found their prices to be VERY high, in comparison to others, with not a great deal of extra quality in either the plants or the packaging. The catalog is worth the pictures, but the plant descriptions are not complete. The selection, I feel, is somewhat spotty. For 95% of the plants that interested me in the catalog, I was able to find them in other places with comparable quality at substantially smaller prices.

They are on my black list right now, big time. The potted plants are lovely, and decent sized. The bareroot New Dawn rose is fine. The Crambe cordefolia, however, which was advertised as "pot-grown," reaches 4-5 feet, is a bare root. This smacks to me of false advertising. I know about bareroot plants (and they are not 100% certain to live, even with good care), but I really wanted a good sized specimen this year, which is why I paid WFF $10.25 for a pot grown plant. I also received bare roots for Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant', at $6.25 a pop (while Heronswood in Washington sent beautiful big plants for $4 each). WFF's response is that they will refund my money or replace anything that doesn't grow. At this point I would only order from them something which I absolutely could not get elsewhere, and I would write on the order "no bare roots" along with "no substitutions."

I have a few of White Flower Farm's catalogs, and I do value them for their reference quality and nice photographs. But their plants and garden information are distinctively East Coast in character. I would very much enjoy growing a number of plants they list, but no longer attempt such folly as they are definitely inappropriate for my arid western climate (as would many of the plants I cherish in my garden be inappropriate for yours).Please, let us not forget those 'less fortunate' souls who garden elsewhere! North America is a big place, and I do not expect my garden to look like yours any more that I expect your to look like mine.This reminds me of the search for a "North American gardening style". I can think of nothing more ridiculous to search for - as if it could ever be defined for a continent like ours - or that you'd want to try! This has always been a way to 'one up' the 'English style'. Well, England is a relatively small place, and even then it contains diversity more than we imagine.