Brushwood,Gardencrossings,Donahues and Joycreek are my main suppliers..they are awesome about replacing clematis if they don't survive the first year...and their prices and shipping are very good...Jeanne
Help with Clem webpage, please =)
funny, i have never gone back after i clem dies for replacement! i always figure i killed it, or selected it wrong, or located it wrong. many of the smaller places are struggling to stay alive i wouldn't feel right about asking for a replacement unless they shipped the wrong plant or it was obviously an inferior root when i received it.
do others of you out there, ask for replacement when you do lose one in first year?
CG, I would just go by the guarantee that each grower posts. I think most of the written guarantees are for two weeks... and I believe one say that from 14-28 days after, you can receive 1/2 toward credit for another one if the clem fails to thrive.
The exception to that was the ones I received earlier this year that never came out of "dormancy". The grower shipped me a few of the clems I ordered, but the bulk of my order was never even received. I NEVER saw the ones that were delivered alive. I expressed concern about them on the Roses forum when they first came in and was told by the vendor that I should wait for spring to judge. Well, I waited. My first impression was correct; they were dead, not dormant. The vendor offered a refund, but he's never sent it. I've written back to him twice about the refund now, and still haven't received it... so I will probably be filing a PayPal grievance about it within the next few days. I've tried to wait in this case and haven't posted a negative review on GardenWatchdog because I didn't want to cause a hardship for a smaller grower. But with about $100 in play, my patience is thinning. In this case, since I did express concern within the first period I received the plants and was specifically told to wait, then I feel it's appropriate to pursue the refund.
Cg..then why would nurseries mention a guarantee..because they value that person as a customer..yes, I have..I usually email them first telling them I am leary about this plant but will go ahead and plant so my hesitation about this particular plant is in an email and if it doesn't survive..I follow up with an email telling them so..and the ones that I've mentioned have always been respectful and sent another one in it's place..I even had one clematis come back after two years and told the supplier and HAD him add the cost in my next order..I refuse to pay 28 dollars for a clematis and it be a sad specimen ..I personally work hard for my money and don't want to be taken advantage of...thank heaven for Dave's GardenWatchDog to help us stay on an even playing field and to prevent others from going through what we have with unscruplous vendors..Jeanne
Well, I just learned a very valuable lesson... the PayPal dispute process doesn't cover pre-orders... it's only good for 45 days after you PLACE your order. So, if you never receive the pre-ordered plants, you are just flat out of luck. So, I guess that ends my habit of pre-ordering in fall and winter for spring shipment from vendors who do not accept VISA in the future, because that's the only way you truly have recourse if the plants are never received.
The orders I never received were placed 2/11/09 for $60.99, and 12/10/08 for $14.00 and $24.00.... for a total paid of $98.99. This has been a very expensive lesson.
sure, if they have a guarantee , why not take advantage of it. i have never read the fine print i guess or even thought about this. i did check in on the watch dog once, last week and post a couple of reviews on my fav vendors......
with clems, and having ordered from about everyone i usually know what to expect.
as for pay pal. i do not like it , but do not know what when someone specifies paypal i usually see if i can send a check, but most places take at least a visa debit card.
blissful, you mean you paid for plants and are not getting them? and the vendor is not responding? that is rotten.hope you get that worked out. plants are costly, bad enough we kill some of them, but to not even receive them......
in the case of not receiving plants etc, which has never happened to me, i would def go to the mat and thru all the steps possible for resolution.
personally, i do not feel good about asking for replacement if a year later, but if their policy offered that, why not? i am just surprised that would be offered with any mail order clems.
CG, that's correct... I haven't received the majority of the plants. I received about 25% of the order during winter, while they were supposedly dormant, and the rest were supposed to be sent the first week of April. I expressed concern when I got the first part of the order, saying they looked dead, and was told to wait until the spring to see if they responded. They didn't. I wrote to the vendor during the first week of April and was offered a full refund. I was told that this vendor had lost the majority of his stock during the winter (including all his other plants like the ones he had sent me in winter) and that would not be able to ship any healthy plants to me until past the date that it's typically Hades hot here in Louisiana. I wrote back expressing appreciation for the refund and asking him to post the refund to my PayPal account for the one mailed order of dead clems and the two orders that had not been received at all. He never responded. I've followed up with three more emails and two phone calls (voice messages) with no response from the vendor and no refund. This vendor has a 100% positive feedback rating on Garden Watchdog, so I'm working under the assumption that this is not typical for him... and I'm TRYING to be patient. I don't want to post in haste, but good grief I'm getting frustrated about this!
I am blown out that you have a problem like this, i would go on watch dog for sure and post this with the name of the vendor.
personally, in my zone, i would never want a dormant winter delivery. but in your warmer zone, maybe that is acceptable to you. maybe you don't even have a dormant season down there???
i haven't used any new vendors this year, except i did place a small order with koi gardens yesterday, so hope that is not who you are referring to.
good luck. let us know how it all turns out.