Comments regarding White Flower Farm

I haven't ordered from this company, so maybe I haven't any right to comment. However, one of the main type of complaints I read was the high prices, so I thought I would check the prices of something I REALLY know, which is daylilies. The comments were right. The daylily prices were outrageous! The cultivars they have for sale are older varieties that most growers would be offering for $4-6 at most, but WFF is charging $12-26! They claim theirs will outperform "lesser grades" offered elsewhere! Give me a break! The large daylily growers know what they're doing, and the well-known ones offer large healthy plants that perform very well. Unless you want to be robbed, don't buy daylilies from White Flower Farm!

I bought a new home and have been doing a lot of research for flowers and some seed to plant in my gardens. After reading the reviews on DG I chose three companies to order from based on what they offer and the reviews I found here on DG. I love Daves garden communities and all of the information! :-*
I really wish I listened more to the comments on DG.

I requested a catalog and received it very quickly. The book was beautiful and had a lot of different plants that I was not able to find any where else. I called and placed a big order with them. I spent a lot of money and was very excited to get my order. There customer service person was very nice and told me about a discount that I did not know about so I saved money.

That is where the good news ended. It took over a week to get my order. I live in Maryland and WFF is in Conneticut. When the box finally got to my house 4 bags were ripped and there was dirt everywhere in the box and some of the items had a really bad smell to them. I called there customer service department last week and they were very nice and said they would send more. I got them today and guess what? The same smell and the bulbs were mashy!

I will not be buying from them again. I do not have the time or money to waste on there product any more.

On Sat 9/18 I 2010 10:39:58

I ordered 3 reblooming iris immortality (total minus shipping was 36.95. Also,3 bulb cages as I coud find none elsewhere.. Sunday, I found the same irises for $2.99/bulb at a quality garden center...huge price difference. On Sunday I rapidly emailed them asking them to please CANCEL the irises and just send the cages. I said I'd call them Sun (didn't get the chance, limited hours) but instead waited till Monday, 9/20 and called as soon as they opened at 9am. The lady I spoke with told me I couldn't cancel as order was already in shipment mode. I was shocked, expecting them to take more than a weekend to do all that?? I

I expressed dissatisfaction, curiousity, she double checked 2 times and kept saying no, it's too late to cancel... then maybe I can. But I don't think so.

I said if it comes and I unopen and refuse it, send it back, do I pay what? She said I pay for the $19.99 shipping, REGARDLESS of canceling BULBS ordered LESS THAN 48 hours ago.

I said, can you cancel just the bulbs and send the cages (figuring if they are that busy selling, they must have immediate need for more customers with these bulbs. She thought about that, first no. Then, yes. Then Maybe. I said I emailed your contacts and told you all of this (expecting they'd be on email as quickly as packing and shipping). She didn't know of this.

As per their shipping schedule, it states irises aren't even mailed 0ut yet... i believe its all about money and it infuriates me.



This was a copy of the “receipt”. I want to cancel the Reblooming Iris Immortality (f32267) for the total of 36.95. I found the same thing yesterday at Quality gardens for 2.99/bulb, bareroot. That brings total down appox to 61.95 and shipping costs down $2.



I will also contact you by phone today to make sure I get this clarified. Email me please if phone call isn’t needed. amybrose@live.com

Like many who post here, I've had mixed dealings with WWF. New to Zone 5 ten years ago, I was attracted to their guarantee and their range of perennials. However, I have since received healthier, more developed plants from other sources, for less money. I fell for the ad and bought the $35 per tuber begonia this year, and it hasn't done any better than the cheaper begonias I bought locally. Overall, I'd say they're overpriced.

Six years ago I ordered a couple of lots of the daffodils for naturalizing and the daylily collation. I received premium bulbs and divisions that flowered the spring and summer after planting, and by the second year had started to fill in enough to choke out the weeds in the bed. That was a terrific experience.

We moved a couple of years ago, and I ordered the same items. The daffodils were very good and flowered nicely in the first spring after planting, but the daylily divisions were an entirely different matter. They were puny, undersized little things that I put into the ground with great misgiving. Justified misgiving, as it turns out. Less than half of them made it through the first winter (and this is only 10 miles from where the daylilies six years before had thrived, so it's not a matter of inappropriate climate or my ignorance). The ones that did come up were pathetic, tiny little fans that did not throw a single flower scape up last summer. Half of those didn't survive a second winter. The remaining quarter of the divisions planted 2 years ago this fall are still tiny and many of them have continued to fail to flower.

The customer service was slow to respond but eventually I did receive a store credit for the amount of the daylily order. I used it this year on 3 heirloom tomato plants and a clematis.

Two of the tomato plants were in very good shape and are presently fruiting. The third one, a Stupice, never grew a single inch. The clematis was barely more than a seedling and was unable to withstand transplanting into an area that has suitable conditions for a clematis. I had to dig it back up to prevent it from dying entirely and baby it along in a pot. It was absolutely not ready to be put into the ground. It's doing better now, but I'm not at all happy with the quality of plants I have been receiving. I'm in an adjacent state to the WFF nursery, so there can be no excuses about extended shipment time damaging the plants - they are just shipping out things that have no business being sold.

I don't know what happened over the last five or six years, but I am done doing business with this company. Two bad experiences in as many years with weak, underdeveloped plants is enough.

I am very disappointed by my recent experience ordering from White Flower Farm. I have always loved their catalogs and have ordered plants from them occasionally, always with good results. This May I ordered an expensive herb kit for my mom as a Mother's Day gift. My credit card was promptly charged, but the order was not shipped out as of yesterday. I called Customer Service in mid-May to follow up and was informed that some of the herbs were on backorder and that those should arrive in late May. I contacted Customer Service again via email yesterday and was informed that the items are still on backorder and were expected to arrive in mid-June. Under the circumstances I informed the Customer Service representative via email that I'd like to cancel my order, and I requested a confirmation of the order cancellation with an indication that I'd receive credit for my purchase. I have not yet received any sort of confirmation from them. I don't understand why a company would charge a customer's credit card for an order which had not yet been filled (and for which items were on backorder) and why they wouldn't inform a customer via email that the items were on backorder in the first place. I went to the WWF website yesterday and found that the item that I ordered is no longer being advertised on the site, but rather all herb collections are from Better Homes and Gardens? What is happening at White Flower Farm????? I do not plan to do business with them in the future.

I spent more than $200 on 19 dahlia tubers from White Flower Farm this year. One of these tubers was moldy and brittle and all stem. I wrote them a note asking them to replace the tuber, expecting an apology and a replacement. Instead, they wrote back to say that:

"Mold is not a bad thing for a dahlia. Upon planting any mold will naturally disappear."

Seriously, what kind of company charges premium prices and then sends out moldy product? Who wants to plant the moldy product in their garden. It might be mold, but it might be something else.

I had been very pleased with my dahlia tuber from last year, although the company messed up my order and canceled some tubers that I had expected. They did not pay attention to the order numbers.

The tuber from last year was a tuber, which I prefer. It produced a dozen more tubers, all of which I am planting this year. This year White Flower Farm sent out clumps, which are all right but which produce fewer usable tubers for the next year.

I ordered daffodil bulbs from WFF a few years ago--I think fifty "Stainless" and fifty "Camelot." I planted them and the next spring NONE of the yellow Camelot daffodils came up, and only a handful of the Stainless ever came up. Adding insult to injury, out of those handful only THREE have ever bloomed. Unbelievable. Last year I ordered daffodils from Colorblends and they are all starting to pop up now, so I know it wasn't me or my soil.

Plus, WFF's prices are outrageous. Their catalogue is nice, but I simply use it to window shop and if I see something I like I go or order elsewhere for it.

White Flower Farm has an inadequate website and rather poor customer service. My husband ordered an plant stand for me. When he had not heard from WFF in ten days either by email or phone, he called them. They had difficulty locating the order, because they had somehow put it in my name, but when they did find it, they informed him that the item was unavailable/sold out. They claimed to have "repeatedly" tried to contact us, but neither my husband or I ever received any email at all about the order. I checked their website, and guess what? The plant stand is STILL listed! Take a page from LLBean, WFF!

This place charges the most outrageous prices. They send tiny plants. Example: Echinacea "Pink Poodle" - They charge $21.95 per plant in a 3 inch tiny pot! That is insane for one plant.

I use their pretty catalog now and just pick the plants out that I want and order them from some place that has more reasonable pricing. If you add in shipping, one Echinacea plant can cost about 30 dollars which is unthinkable in these difficult times.

I have drooled over the WFF catalog for years, but have chosen less expensive plants from other mail order sources. I could not resist a climbing rose and clematis combo and finally ordered from them. It was a garden splurge for me. When the plants arrived, the rose was a very small set of about 4 canes. The clematis was a sprig! I was so disappointed. The rose has finally shot up to about 2 feet on one cane. The clematis died. At least I know the name of the clemais to repurchase from a more reputable dealer. I will not pay those prices again, but I will use their catalog to make combinations of plants that I buy elsewhere. Who would have thought! Actaylo

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We are sorry about your disappointment with the quality of our plants and service. We guarantee our products 100% and would be happy to issue you a replacement, credit your account or issue you a refund. We want you to be successful with our products and pleased with their performance. Please contact our customer service department at [e-mail:custserv@whiteflowerfarm.com or call us at
800-411-6159 so that we can resolve this to your satisfaction.
Thank you, Customer Service "

I recently received a $50 gift certificate from WFF mailed from the company along with a catalog. When I went on line to order, the prices were changed from $12.95 each to $15.95 each. I called the company to see if they would honor the original price since I had just received the catalog, which was the spring 2008 catalog. They quoted their printed policy about the right to change prices without notice due to increased costs to them. A few days later I received a Fall 2008 catalog in the mail with the new higher pricing. I feel it is bad business to send out a catalog with outdated prices late in the season without a big post it on the front saying the prices are not valid. As others have mentioned shipping is almost $14 (up from $9.95) so instead of getting 3 plants for $36.50 and a forth at $12.95 with me picking up most of the shipping, I bought 2 plants and told them to refund the balance to the card giver. ($4.15) The certificate was sent to cheer me up and through no fault of the giver missed the mark. I own a business and understand the cost of running a business and the need to make a profit but I also believe in keeping the customers happy. I will not purchase from them again.

I have ordered numerous time from WFF but have been disappointed with my last two orders. Most recently some plants were received in a completely dormant state with not even any foliage showing. After a good deal of coaxing and nurturing some of the plants survived but others didn't make it.

My experience in ordering bulbs from them has been OK. However, I don't view their products as a good value. Although WFF does a great job at marketing their products, they haven't come through with the quality of plants that is expected.

When I expressed my disappointment to WFF's customer service site, I never received a reply. Nothing.

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We are sorry about your disappointment with the quality of our plants and service. We guarantee our products 100% and would be happy to issue you a replacement, credit your account or issue you a refund. We want you to be successful with our products and pleased with their performance. We strive to answer each email within 24 business hours, we apologize that you did not receive that service. Please contact our customer service department at [e-mail:custserv@whiteflowerfarm.com] or call us at 800-411-6159 so that we can resolve this to your satisfaction.
Thank you, Customer Service


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Despite the bad reports on WFF, I decided to order because I had a $25 gift certificate (that I got with a magazine subscription). I figured I'd order some tulips bulbs because it's hard to get those too wrong. I ordered 20 bulbs and knew I would have to pay the shipping. Except the cheapest shipping was $13.95. For 20 tulip bulbs. I cancelled the order. I'm not sure if that's a standard shipping rate or the "special" rate for this particular deal or what but either way I'm not spending $14 to get 20 tulip bulbs.

I should probably complain to the magazine the deal came through as I don't feel this company puts them in the best light, but WFF is a big advertiser of theirs and I know how magazines work ... they aren't going to do anything to anger a good advertiser.

I have had a spate of tiny, tiny tiki torch echinaceas sent to me that have had to be replaced. So far, they have been obliging, but I would like them to send a plant that is more than a bare minimum seedling. White Flower is not inexpensive; while they guarantee the plants, it would be a whole lot simpler if they sent more durable stock to begin with. I am suspecting they are counting on people not bothering to invoke the guarantee. I am very disappointed with them--have been a customer for a long time, both in person and mail order. I am just about ready to give up. I just requested my third replacement for the miniscule tiki torch--hopefully I will get something better this time. I am an experienced gardener, so the problem is not me. It is a big bother to keep fussing with them.

Two years ago I ordered two Autum Joy Clematis. They looked dead when they arrived but did finally leaf out and I was hopeful that they would take off. Last year they showed a little growth but no bloom, this year they are both dead. I was very dissapointed in these plants, could have done better at my local garden center.

The Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' arrived today. What a disappointment. It was advertised as "shippied as two qt. pot". Maybe so. Hard to actually judge what a pot really holds, except that this plant didn't fill a third of the pot. When I took the plant out to set in the ground the root ball barely filled my hand. In addition it was a one stem plant with all the shoots broken off in shipping save one. There are some buds and some top growth so I think it is salvagable. However I didn't order salvageable stock. Nor will I again trust them for potted material.

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We are sorry about your disappointment with the size and quality of our Hydrangea 'Little Honey'. We guarantee our products 100% and would be happy to issue you a replacement, credit your account or issue a refund. We want you to be successful with our products and pleased with their performance. Please contact our customer service department at [e-mail:custserv@whiteflowerfarm.com] or call us at 800-411-6159 so that we can resolve this to your satisfaction.
Thank you, Customer Service
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Last year I ordered two of the newer echinaceas which were not available elsewhere yet, and was therefore willing to pay more. I was greatly disappointed by the time it took them to send the flowers to me and unfortunately they did not come in a timely manner to have growing time before the weather turned bad. I was disappointed by the sizes of the plants and this year only one appears to have come up. I look for good customer service in a mail order company and quality flowers.

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We are sorry about your disappointment with our plants. We guarantee our products 100% and would be happy to issue you a replacement, credit your account or issue a refund for the plants that didn't survive the winter. We want you to be successful with our products and pleased with their performance. Please contact our customer service department at custserv@whiteflowerfarm.com or call us at 800-411-6159 so that we can resolve this to your satisfaction.
Thank you, Customer Service "

I ordered from White Flower Farm every season for several years, but no longer purchase plants from the company. Though WFF is notoriously expensive I’ve been happy with most of the specimens I’ve received from them: good-sized, healthy, vigorous plants and many unusual specimens.

The plants I’ve received with recent orders seem smaller than in past orders and I was not as impressed with the variety in their most recent [spring] catalogue. (So many nurseries offer rare varieties now.) There was certainly nothing to persuade me to remain loyal to WFF after they started selling meat, which really irritated me. I want a plant nursery that specializes in growing plants, not selling cute gift items and beef! I definitely won’t buy anything from WFF again.

The very expensive tree peony "High Noon' I ordered two years ago, much to my surprise, developed one flower bud this spring. I felt better about paying so much for such a very small plant (will stick with Reath's Nursery in MI from now on). Then the flower opened and it was a lurid magenta. Years wasted. For the prices charged they should have some controls in place to make sure the varieties are true to name.

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We are sorry about your disappointment with our tree peony 'High Noon'. We guarantee our products 100% and would be happy to issue you a replacement, credit your account or issue a refund for 'High Noon' since you are not completely satisfied. Please contact our customer service department at:custserv@whiteflowerfarm.com or call us at 800-411-6159 so that we can resolve this to your satisfaction.
Thank you, Customer Service "

RE: Bogus Fuel Surcharge and Shipping Practices

I have not received my plants yet but so far my overall experience has not been good. I tried ordering online a while back but the web site stated my customer number was invalid. I had two catalogs and both had the same number. Calling during the weekday is hard for me. I finally remembered to order on a Saturday. The order was $2.50 more than I figured. The rep said due to "fuel surcharge". I did a quick check at the UPS site and it said the surcharge would be approx 60 cents. This brought the total s&h around $10 with UPS fuel charge included. WFF had shipping listed at $10.95 then added the $2.50 on top of that. I explained this to the rep and asked her to waive the fuel charge. She said she could not, the computer adds the charge automatically, and suggested I call back during the work-week.

Next I asked to have one plant shipped now as it is an ornamental plant I would like to keep indoors. She said she could make the request but no guarantee due to my zone. Unless there is a valid reason such as weather too hot/cold, ground still frozen, ground too soggy, etc., the customer should have a choice when to receive his/her goods. Other mail order firms offer the choice but stipulate they won't, or may not, honor the guarantee.

I chose to order from WFF as I had a gift subscription to Fine Gardening magazine that included a $25 gift certificate to WFF. Otherwise I would have just canceled my order and bought locally at a lower cost and with no frustration. At least if my friend asks about the gift she gave to me I can honestly say I really enjoy the magazine and avoid mentioning my plant order.

This company offered Forsythia 'Golden Times' and a combo of daffodils plus this Forsythia for autumn planting in 2006. My entire order was for just the Forsythia. When the plant arrived, its leaves were not variegated and the attached label was for 'Lynwood'. Customer service explained on the phone that they had deemed the plants of 'Golden Times' to be too small to send. They refunded the cost of the plant, but I wound up having to pay shipping for a plant that neither I nor any of my neighbors (we all grow 'Lynwood') wanted. I would have been satisfied if I'd been given the opportunity to cancel my order since they couldn't provide what I had ordered.
Perhaps some who bought the combo of bulbs and shrub thought there'd just been a mixup, but to me this felt like "bait and switch."
Two years later and I'm still peeved. I will never order from this company again.

I do so look forward to receiving the WWF catalogue because it's so luxurious, but because it's so expensive I have always reserved WWF orders for when I wanted something really special. Last summer I ordered the Sambucus Black Lace from "gift money" that I received from my mother in law. Much to my disappointment, it arrived nearly dead and then died completely within a couple of days. I sent an email with a photo to WWF and received no response. I sent another email a few weeks later and again received no response. I notice that in others' comments, WWF has responded that they should email WWF to resolve the problems. Well, the problem is that they don't respond to emailed problems, and as far as I am concerned, they reneged on their published "guarantee."

My order of red amaryllis bulbs arrived and were properly planted. Half produced stunted flowers on eight inch stalks. I sent an e-mail to White Flower Farms with an attached photo. Several days later I received a condescending response saying this was a normal condition and there was not a problem. Inferior product and a terrible response.

i have been ordering plants from WFF for some 30 yrs and never hesitated to reccomend them to friends. they were more expensive but worth it because of the fine quality of their plants.
over the last 2 years i have found myself quite disappointed by their new lack of quality. i, too, have received puny little excuses for plants that died upon arrival. i have also received lily bulbs that did not produce true-to-variety blossoms. last fall i received 2 "red magic" peonies that are blooming right now - not at all red - some kind of deep pink variety.
i can guess that the downfall of WWF as i once knew it has to do with the new expansion of their business into a larger, mass market corporation and away from the smaller and excellent nursery that i once loved.

catsup:(

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We are sorry about your disappointment with our plants. We guarantee our products 100% and would be happy to issue you a replacement, credit your account or issue a refund for the plants that arrived in poor condition. Please contact our customer service department at custserv@whiteflowerfarm.com or 800-411-6159 so that we can resolve this to your satisfaction.
Thank you, Customer Service


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I have bought thousands of bulbs and plants over the years from White Flower Farms. I recently ordered hundreds of bulbs in early June that will not ship until October. My credit card was immediately charged the full amount, including shipping. I have cancelled the order and will never purchase from them again. I understand reserving an order, but why not charge a deposit. Why should they use my money for 4 months? Incredibly poor practice that should be discontinued.

Ordered 3 Diascia in April...Arrived 5/17. Three brown clumps of nothing...still nothing. Why did I do it again? Same
thing happened a couple of years ago....No point calling customer service..don't want a credit or more brown clumps.
Lesson finally learned...I will never open that catalogue again!

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We are sorry about your disappointment with our plants. We guarantee our products 100% and would be happy to issue you a replacement, credit your account or issue a refund for the plants that arrived in poor condition. Please contact our customer service department at [e-mail:custserv@whiteflowerfarm.com] or 800-411-6159 so that we can resolve this to your satisfaction.
Thank you, Customer Service
"

My major complaint is that the first (and last) time I ordered anything from WFF my plants were delivered way too early. I ordered 6 Agastache plants and 12 Campanulas that I had to keep indoors for 7 weeks without the proper light or space. This was incredibley inconvinient in my small living quarters not to mention cruel to the plants. It took them half the summer to recover. I really question WFF's knowledge and concern for their Maine customers since they claim to deliever when your zone is ready for planting. I'm happy to report all but one of my plants is doing well this spring but I chose not to order from WFF this year.

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We are sorry to hear about your disappointment with our plants. We guarantee our products 100% and would be happy to issue you a replacement or credit your account for the plant that did not thrive. Please contact our customer service department at custserv@whiteflowerfarm.com or 800-411-6159 so that we can resolve this to your satisfaction.
Thank you, Customer Service

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I, too, ordered an Echinacea "Coconut Lime" from WFF this year. I have nursed this Lilliputian cutting in a sunny window because I was afraid of planting it outside. I measured it when I got it and it was literally 1'' high. I was aghast with disbelief when I opened the package. Price? $18.

The Hellebore x. hybridus "Hansen's Shamrock" I ordered had 2 very small solid yellow leaves with green veins, an obvious victim of too much sun or water/fertilization problems. The cost for this beauty was $22.

A lavender plant in the same order was healthy and thriving, thank goodness. But $40 for two tiny plants that will probably not survive the season?

I will never order from this company again.

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We are sorry to hear about your disappointment with our plants. We guarantee our products 100% and would be happy to issue you replacements or credit your account. Please contact our customer service department at
[e-mail:custserv@whiteflowerfarm.com] or 800-411-6159 so that we can resolve this to your satisfaction.
Thank you, Customer Service "

I know, I KNOW!!! Did it before, know better, did it again. Fell for the slick hype, just had to have it, paid way too much for it, can barely see it, will have to pray over it.

I'm just not going to open their catalog again, I'm just not going to do it. Never. Again.

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We are sorry to hear about your disappointment with our plants, we guarantee our products 100%. Please contact our customer service department at custserv@whiteflowerfarm.com or 800-411-6159 so that we can resolve this to your satisfaction.

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I just happened upon this website and was surprised to see so many negative comments about White Flower Farms. Now I don't feel alone. Last year a friend gave me a $100 gift certificate and so in the Spring I ordered two Butterfly Magnolia trees through the website. They were advertised as coming in 2 gallon pots. When I received the trees they were in 1/2 gallon pots and not more than 12" high at $49.95 each! I e-mailed my dissappointment to them and promptly received an note back saying they would be happy to refund 50% of the price and I could keep the trees, explaining that there was a misprint in their catalog. I accepted the offer but am very hesitant to order anything else, even though I still have a $50 credit with them.

I just received the new 'Coconut Lime' Echinacea from WFF. I realize new cultivars can be expensive, and I was willing to pay the $18 to get it, but I was expecting to receive a healthy, well developed plant. What I got instead was this tiny plug that had so recently been put into a 3" pot that it hadn't even had time to develop a proper root system. After finding it cheaper at 2 other mail order nurseries, I aked them about theirs. They both said they just got them in and wouldn't be shipping them until later in the season because they weren't properly developed yet! I emailed WFF but so far no response. Looks like I'm gonna have to call them. This will be the last time I order form them.

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Thank you for your recent correspondence. We apologize for the size and quality of the Echinacea Coconut Lime you received. We will be happy to replace or refund the plant for you. We sincerely appreciate your feedback and want to thank you for bringing this to our attention. Please let me know if you'd like a full refund or a replacement on the Coconut Lime.


Sincerely,
Michelle
mtranquillo@whiteflowerfarm.com
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I just got my 3 tubers of border dahlia Melody Allegro from White Flower Farm. For the OUTRAGEOUS price I paid ($30) I expected something more than 3 half-dried clumps wrapped in brown paper bags with only one small tag. No extras, not even a new catalog. (Not that I need a new catalog. I want some of their coleus cultivars, but at $10 a plant, um, no thanks!!!) They also shipped far earlier (March 15) than other tuber shippers, so that was risky, especially since they were only packed with paper. The smaller dahlia farms from which I have ordered have all sent me bonus tubers with my "over $25" order, and they are carefully wrapped and labeled.
I'm sure the tubers will grow and produce lovely flowers, I just was expecting better presentation and more carefully selected tubers, not the same clumps that you can get in any bulk-pack.
In my opinion, you can purchase top-notch plants at your best local nursery and still save money versus buying from White Flower.

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We are sorry to hear of your disappointment. Our tubers are of top quality and are packed in wood chips and paper bags to keep them in good condition. We ship our tubers early so that customers can start them inside and thus get an earlier start on bloom. Please call our customer service department at 800-411-6159 if you are not satisfied so that we can rectify the situation. Sincerely, Customer Service"

I purchased three plants as a birthday gift for my partner. When they arrived, I was embarrassed for two reasons. First, the plants were tiny. The astilboides tabularis was soft and on the verge of rot. Second, I was embarrased that I had paid so much for these sad looking little plants- particularly the achillea-10.99 for a plant that wouldn't have been sold in a 2 inch pot at the local nursery. The achillea and the baptisia, struggled all summer with lots of attention. The astilboides simply continued its path toward rot and disappeared. I called for a refund on the astilboides (19.99) and was assured I would get a full credit. I got $17.59. Wierd.

I have literally ordered thousands of dollar worth of plants from WWF over the years...from amaryllis bulbs for forcing in the winter to a $500 peony (yes, that was for one plant!)..needless to say, WWF is not always the cheapest game in town, but in the past I have always found their quality to be very good and staff knowledgeble. However, over the last few years, I believe they have gotten too big and no longer are focused on the individual gardener, but rather on growing their retail business. I understand that in the end, they are in the business of making money, and I have no problem with this. However, my expereinces over the last two year have yielded poppies that I've planted in the fall that were suppose to be pink/white and came up orange the next Spring. This has happened two years in a row with two seperate orders!!! When I have emailed customer service (including pictures of the offending plants) they of course immediately offered to refund my money. However, when the came back with the total refund, it was not near the total cost of the plants that I originally paid.....thank goodness I had the old email confirmations of my orders that I could send them to prove what I spent on the plants. This being said, other than an "oh we're sorry about that", I have received no return phone call or explanation. There are plenty of small mail order plant sources around the country that have superb quality and truly seem to care about the gardener.....all WWF really has to offer the gardener today is a pretty piece of "garden porn" in the form of a catalogue each Spring and the Fall.......

I too have been sucked in by that beautiful catalog,only to be soooo disappointed with the size of the plants after they arrive. I've made up my mind to insist they do not send me any future catalogs,so I will not be tempted to order from them again.

I have orderedfrom this company before.I love the quality of their plants.But twice i tried to order on their website and twice when I reached a ceratin number of plants the site deleted my order.I called them and theysaid they would look into it.The second person acted as if she could care less if I had a problem.I tried a third time-this time a much shorter list- and you had no choice with the number ordered,some went no higher than 6plants most went no higher than 3,a few went no higher than 1. If you wanted to order a large number like 24 (as I wanted) you could not. Lastyear they had the same problem so I ordered by phone.But if they dont care enough to fix it ,I wonder about them. I ordered from Bluestone,Song Sparrow,and Wayside(they also have an odd webside for ordering).

I had a severe problem with WFF following an order of the "Border of Yellow" daylilies. When they did arrive, the plants looked like old shallots that had been in the fridge too long. They smelled bad as well. I went ahead and planted them and - surprise! - very few of them came up. I called WFF and they said that one of their horticulture experts would call back, implying that somehow I had done something wrong. Given that we are talking about daylilies here this was something of an insult. I waited and waited and no phone call was made.

I called back yet again and they promised to send me a few replacement plants as a means of getting things going until they were sure about the other plants not coming up. I did receive 6 healthy plants (of the 35 they owed me) and before I planted these I took pictures of them and dug up the non-growing plants and took comparative pictures. Since these hadn't grown at all - basically worm food at that point - I was able to make direct comparisons. The previous plants were clearly the bottom of some barrel at WFF as they were MUCH smaller than the new ones. I made a note of this and actually sent the images to WFF. No response, no new plants, no nothing. I have had much better experiences with other companies (Miller Nurseries for one) who send you replacements no questions asked.

I ordered about $400 worth of plants from WFF - for me at the time, this was a huge amount of money, and as anyone dealing with WFF can tell you, not many plants for the money.

The plants came about a month too early for planting. Being a new gardener, I panicked - didn't know how to keep them alive. Kept them inside in a sunny window for a while, and planted them on the first nice day.

Everything but the pulmonaria "Mrs. Moon" died. I waited too long to report this to the company (was hoping that something would spring up somehow), and since I missed the refund window, I got nothing back.

Also spent a decent amount getting my mom 3 gorgeous-looking Coreopsis for Mother's Day. For the price I spent, she got 3 crappy-looking teeny cuttings that died the first year. I was pretty embarrassed by the "bad gift".

I've since learned my new-gardener lesson, and have seen comparable plants at local garden centers for much less money. I advise you to keep away unless there's something unique that you truly can't find elsewhere.