Comments regarding Greenwood Nursery

I have been ordering from Greenwood Nursery for several years and couldn't be more pleased with the results. For example, I ordered 6 Nishiki Willows which arrived quickly as bare-root plants. Planted them in the fall of 2009 and my husband proclaimed them dead soon after but as he is not a gardener, I ignored him. The following spring they leafed out beautifully and this spring I have an outstanding and compliment-generating 8 ft hedge. I've ordered knockout roses and barberries in the past and have an order placed for more Nishiki willows and reubekias this spring. The service and quality are excellent; their bonus plants, a treat; their prices, outstanding!

I ordered 2 burning bushes, tree form and 3 red kew lavender plants from Greenwood Nursery. About 3 weeks later my order arrived in pristine condition. All plants were wrapped very well and with care. The trees are beautiful, one a bit more than the other, but both lovely. The trees have now been planted for a couple of weeks and are doing beautifully. The lavender plants are doing great too. The best online nursery I have ordered from!

Posted on October 19, 2006, updated May 6, 2011
I ordered four "Princeton" American Elms on Saturday, 10/14. Trees arrived today with standard shipping - that alone impressed me, since I have never seen turnaround on trees like that before. I will be moving to a new property soon and plan on planting them there. The packaging was about the best I've seen, with the pots securely wrapped to prevent the soil from coming out and plastic airbags were used to keep everything in place. The trees arrived in great shape. Great first-time experience with these people and there will surely be many more for me.

I have ordered 4 hydrangeas from Greenwood Nurseries..AND...I am VERY WELL pleased with the plants I received.

I have ordered hydrangeas from other places over the years and the plants that were always sent by these other nurseries were NOT EVER the quality of Greenwood Nurseries.

Greenwood will be my ONLY source for buying shrubs/trees, etc., from here on out.

Brenda is a great customer service representative, the best.

Thanks

Jerry

Washington, DC

Bought 185.00 worth of cedar green giants fall of 2010. From the start they were sickly. I emailed and Brenda and told her she said they will be fine. Its spring and they are dead I asked to have new ones shipped to me and she wanted to charge me 120.00. I said you wont stick by your plants than I will contact the better business bureau and make a facebook page on how I was sold bad trees. brenda than stated how she would sue me if I said anything bad! This is how they do business? Threaten to sue? Run... do not buy from these crooks!

Greenwood Nursery packages their plants well. I am happy with my order and plan to do further business with them.

Ordered Hybrid Poplar trees and received Hybrid Willow trees...... If you would like to play the lottery when ordering your next addition to your yard and/or garden then go ahead and order from them....

I'd been eyeing a red rocket crape myrtle for some time and finall decided to buy one from Greenwood Nursery. I was expecting a stick with no branches or leaves. I was MORE than pleasantly surprised to receive a tree with leaves and branches, packaged gently with no damage!

More amazingly I have paid up to $50.00 at other websites for trees which were literally sticks with nothing on them when they arrived.

My Greenwood Nursery crape myrtle was BEAUTIFUL! They sent a gorgeous specimen and it only cost me $19.95.

Great job and I've recommended their nursery to many of my friends looking for crape myrtle trees.

The Burning Bushes arrived in early January in very good condition. Packaging was great! There were not enough of the small bushes so my order was completed with the larger bushes - very much appreciated. I will order from them again.

This is my first time to order bareroot plant. It was surprisingly pleasing and time efficient. Out of the 150 I needed approximately 125 for the project. The plants have been in the ground about 2 months and are doing great with the exception of 5 or so but that ok as I plant the excess in an area where I can replace these few plants. As I had to plant quickly, the failing plants were probably do to my method as the plants were healthy when received. I'm also surprised with how well the 5 butterfly bushes are doing. Before ordering I communicated several times with Greenwood Nursery by email & phone the customer service was excellent. My biggest concern was being home to receive the plants and having the site plant ready. They did a great job with that process.

I placed a large order in fall. Some stock arrived in time, the balance was held until spring. I had 10 spicebush bare roots delivered for immediate spring planting. Upon opening the plastic bag I noticed they were bone dry and the finer roots, those that were still there, broke off while separating them. This packet was obviously DOA. Called and was put in touch with the owner who said they will grow if I wait 6-8 weeks. I explained 50 years of growing nursery stock these are dead. "No you have to wait 6-8 weeks. I had them in the ground and of course no growth on brittle dead wood. Called again with the news and was told, "more time needed".

Finally told Brenda I was shipped dead stock. Her response was since it was on sale there is no guarantee. I object to being shipped dead stock with "no guarantee".

Save yourself some time. If you have to order from Greenwood (name is ironic) just give the money to your church and push used popsicle sticks in the ground. Same results less aggravation.

My experience with Greenwood Nursery was very pleasant. I received my order in a good time frame. Everything ordered was moist and very healthy looking. No disappointment here. I highly recommend Greenwood Nursery!!!

My orders have been more than expected with helpful on-line suggestions about how to get ready for the order and questions answered promptly. Extra items seem to be part of every package providing me with new gardening ideas for the freebies. My trees have been green (green giants) and healthy and I have planted them in our "temporary" garden while awaiting final plans with no problems whatsoever. I am a happy Greenwood customer!

Hi, I can not begin to tell you what great experiences I have had with Greenwood Nursery. Since we found Greenwood Nursery on the Internet we have the most beautiful garden in the neighborhood and did it all on our own with shipping right to our door, how simple! We are so very impressed with the shipping of the plants and trees and they are healthier than the plants and trees we were purchasing from a local nursery. Not only that but they are spectacular, including the trees. We even had a time when we didn't get to plant our trees and plants until probably three weeks after they arrived and I thought for sure they wouldn't make it, but THEY DID and are thriving beautifully! We get so many compliments, people driving and walking by actually stop to ask about our garden and where we buy our plants...etc. We have passed on the internet address of Greenwood Nursery. My husband is even harder to impress than I am and he can't believe how healthy the plants and trees are and he is very happy with all of our purchases! Not to mention how helpful Brenda has always been with our orders when we want to make changes prior to shipping...and all of the helpful tips...free plants and gloves and sometimes even free shipping which is incredible. I can't say enough positive things about Greenwood, FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!! AA++++++

I recently ordered Creeping Phlox from Greenwood. Their service was excellent in every way. The plants (15) were healthy and in excellent condition. And they were packed with extreme care. I ordered them on a Thursday, and received them the following week. I would not hesitate to order from this nursery in the future.

I was very disappointed with my experience with this company. I paid $24.95(well, they did give me 10% discount) plus shipping fee $13.95 for a tree form Forsythia. This is what they describe on the website : "Size at time of shipping: 4 year old transplants, four to six foot husky tree-form, professionally trimmed and trained." I was confused when I got my order. Indeed It is a Tree form (If they define a single twig with some roots called a tree) 4 year old? I don't think so. Look at how big my forsythia bush can grow after 1 year. I was not convinced by such a thin twig I got at all. I sent them an email asking for an answer. Never replied. I think I learned my lesson and will never buy from them again.

I ordered 3 Cherry trees on the "Clearance Page" That's my first mistake. That's essentially where they unload all their dead junk because it is not guaranteed. I paid $60 for the order. They arrived a week later and I planted them that day following their instructions. When they arrived they were wrapped in plastic and had semi-damp shredded paper around the roots. The trees had NO branches whatsoever. Only a few pathetic looking buds. They looked dead. I watered them every few days and we had plenty of rain, as well. 6 weeks later, they're still dead. Brenda claims they're dormant. No, they're dead. I scratched off some bark near the base and there is nothing green. I will NEVER order ANYTHING from them again. Don't waste your money!

In May, I received in the mail my Pink Velour Crape Myrtle tree from Greenwood Nursryl. My friends thought I was crazy for ordering a tree via the mail, but now they can't believe it. It has grown so much in just a few short months and it has already bloomed the most beautiful pink flowers. I can't believe how bright and full the blooms are for such a small tree that is still growing. I will definitly order from Greenwood Nursery again and I have already recommended your nursery to my friends. Thank you so much for bringing me such joy as I sit at my dining room table and look at my beautiful flowering tree.
Angela , Largo , Florida

I have ordered a few times from Greenwood Nursury. The plants arrived in a timely manner and very well packaged. Everything I have purchased has grown fine without any problems. They have always answered my questions by e-mail. I give them a thumbs up!

I find Greenwood extremely customer friendly. I've ordered several times in the past 12 months and everything arrived just as advertised -- healthy! I did have 1 plant (of 3) not make it and Brenda couldn't have been any nicer about a replacement. Response time is unbelievably quick. I'm sure I'll order through them again.

Last week I ordered 5 Hibiscus Ardens "Rose of Sharon" plants from Greenwood's Clearance page. (Order number: 1306846) With shipping they came out to about $10 each, which I thought was pretty good since the pics of the plants on the website show a beautiful bare root plant with leaves and TONS of roots and well over 2+ feet tall.

LINK to Page: //www.greenwoodnursery.com/prodinfo.asp?number=HIB+SH+AR-5

As well Greenwood Nursery proudly states: "Plants are shipped blooming size. Not to be confused with single stemmed inexpensive shrubs from other suppliers. These plants are FIELD GROWN HUSKY TRANSPLANTS 2 - 4 FEET IN HEIGHT WITH 3 - 5 CANES. " Well, they DO have 3 to 5 canes each... and about 3 to 5 small broken roots to go with them! As well, I measured what was sent to me and the TALLEST plant is NOT 2 feet, more like 18 inches, much less 4 feet tall and the shortest is around 9 inches tall!!!... As well, there is ABSOLUTELY NO GREEN GROWTH anywhere around these plants!!! AND they were twisted into a "C" shape to fit into the box!.... and they say they are shipped "Blooming size"??? are you kidding? This pile of lifeless sticks as NEVER bloomed! NOT HAPPY!!!

To add insult to injury, Greenwood's website states: "Light requirements: Full Sun, Partial Sun and shade" However after planting these plants (first time I've ever worked with Rose of Sharon) in a shady-ish area I find on the web that they really only grow well or bloom in FULL SUN!!! AAARRRGGGG!!!!

I feel like just ripping them out of the ground and throwing them in the trash! Where my $50 now is!!!

Of course as with a couple of other posters about Greenwood the disclaimer at the bottom of the page pretty much allows them to commit armed robbery... "All plants are sold and shipped in excellent condition but because of the deeply discounted price no further guarantees or discounts will apply. While supplies last! "

I will however NOT be ordering from Greenwood again and will warn others to not order from them as well... So, I hope scamming me out of my $50 was worth it Greenwood?!!!

"On Jun 12, 2009 4:05 PM, Greenwood Nursery responded with:

Greenwood received an email from our customer the next day. We do not know if she will change her standing, but below is her email to us. We have removed her email address and last name for privacy.

From: Shannon
Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 2:07 AM
To: brenda@greenwoodnursery.com
Subject: RE: My posting on Dave's Garden

Hello again,

Upon reviewing my charges for the plants you shipped I have noticed that you in fact further discounted the price of the items to reflect the fact that they did not meet the size/quality described. As such, I have contacted Dave's Garden to retract my previous review as I feel what was charged was fair and equitable.

If I had known previously that I had been charged only part of the cost I expected I would not have posted what I did or been dissatisfied.

Shannon



"

I have a rather large residential development project going on.
I have been "working with" Greenwood since this past winter in preparing for further development. I had several questions as well as additions to my original order. Each question was answered in a very timely way and each change order was acknowledged with the invoice sent me via e-mail for my review and approval.

Ultimately, several plantings -- approximately 35 -- from another source did not survive the winter, nor do I think they were ever capable of doing so. I turned to Greenwood for replacements which made even more change-orders. I was treated like a king each time.

I gave a specific shipping date which was approved. However, I then changed my personal schedule and slated a vacation away (from which location I now type) beginning at the end of the week the Greenwood order was slated to arrive. When I realized this, I panicked and thought perhaps I'd have a shipment of plantings on my porch, rotting, for the better part of two weeks. But the good folks at Greenwood assured me they could ship a bit earlier and they did.

The shipment arrived the Tuesday prior to leaving and all looked very very good. I was able to get everything into the ground and have a few days of tending to them myself before leaving and putting everything into the hands of my very experienced gardener/handyman.

Since I am traveling, I don't have access to my full history of e-mail. But I would love to specify at least two ladies at Greenwood who were especially helpful. I know that I run the risk of forgetting someone else who was helpful, but I include them in my best of intentions, even if left unnamed.

Indy answered spacing and size questions regarding some lilacs. Her response -- which was speedy -- made it possible for me to fill-in a missing part of my plans. Her response allowed me to continue on with my plans.

Brenda -- who should be now known as Saint Brenda, Patroness of Panicked and Fickle Gardeners -- is the one who handled my ever-changing order and shipping dates.

I highly recommend these folks to you!

I ordered three kousa dogwoods from Greenwood Nursery, and planted the bareroot dormant trees upon arrival. While the roots did not look great, I have had good experiences with bareroot plants from other sources and planted the trees. After about six weeks I noted no budding or signs of life. When I emailed Brenda at Greenwood, I received the following response: "Normally it does take a new transplant anywhere between 6-8 weeks to bud/leaf out. The dogwoods you purchased in February were on the members value page and I apologize but it is stated on each sale page, “All plants are sold and shipped in excellent condition but because of the discount in price no other guarantee will apply”. I will note your order with your below email and give the plants a little longer to bud/ leaf out." I admit that I had not seen the disclaimer, and that was my error. However, when the sticks did not come out of dormancy, I contacted Brenda again, because I could not believe the company would use such a policy to unload dead plants. I was wrong, as Brenda quickly pointed out by claiming the plants had been sent in "viable" condition and that Greeenwood would do nothing. I have ordered plants extensively by mail and, maybe I have just been lucky, but I have always had good experiences except with Greenwood. I had ordered from them only once before, several years ago, and received forsythia plants that all either never left dormancy or quickly died. I had been singularly unimpressed with their service at the time, but decided to give them another chance. I will not order from Greenwood again, and will actively warn others not to throw their money away.

In January I ordered six Apache and six Arapaho blackberry plants from Greenwood. They shipped them to me the first week in March, and I planted them on the evening they arrived in a bed that I had prepared in the interim. Several of the plants sprouted new growth within a couple of weeks, a few took over a month before showing growth, and three have never shown any sign of life.

Also this season I ordered two more varieties of blackberries that Greenwood does not carry -- three Navaho from a second nursery and six Ouachita from a third. These were planted about a month before and a month after the ones from Greenwood respectively. The plants from both of the other nurseries had significantly larger root systems, and every plant from these nurseries has successfully leafed out since I planted them.

At this point, I don't believe that the three holdouts from Greenwood will ever emerge from dormancy. I contacted Brenda at Greenwood nursery and asked what could be done to resolve the situation. She replied asking for photos of the plants, a description of the planting bed and watering scheme. She also pointed out: "the guarantee which you will find at the bottom of any of our web pages", and provided a URL. I sent her the following description:

> All 12 plants were set in a bed about 20' long, mulched
> with about 1-1.5" of pine bark and had a drip hose run
> under the mulch. That hose was on an automatic timer set
> to water whole row (also my blueberry bed -- not that
> it matters) for 30 minutes every other day. The soil
> drains quite well being composed of a good bit of sand,
> but with a reasonable amount of organics tilled in.

I also said in my reply that if the guarantee that she was referring to was the one whereby I must pay an additional 50% of the purchase price plus shipping to receive three replacement plants, that I would not be making use of it. Had these plants been obviously living when I received them, and then died on my watch, that's one thing. However, as dormant bare-root blackberries, there was no way for me to tell at the time of receipt if they were viable. They have never shown any sign of life and have been treated in the exact same fashion as the nine plants from Greenwood (and the three Navaho from a different nursery) which *did* leaf out successfully. A quarter of the blackberry plants from Greenwood is not an acceptable loss rate -- especially when the others had 100% success.

I followed through and sent Brenda photos of the lifeless plants and two shots of my planting bed. The photo of the one arapaho was notable in that it was a lifeless twig midway between two others that had leafed out quite well.

Brenda's second reply was a partial rehash of her first one:

"Below is a link to our guarantee, which you will find at the bottom of any
of our web pages. If you decide you would like to proceed with the
replacements, just drop me an email and I will get the order set up for you."


Obviously the email is indicating that this is the best I'll get from them. My problem with this is as follows. With essentially **any** plant that is shipped bare-root while dormant, there is no way to know at the time of receipt whether the plant is viable or not. By the letter of their guarantee, if you do not refuse the order at the time of receipt, then if the plant never takes, you're on the hook to pay another 50% of the purchase price in the hope that the replacement will be better than the original. The personal guarantee that I can provide is that I will never be 100% satisfied with that deal. I'll also note that in a review below from April 30, 2008, a customer indicated that they had some plants that never emerged from dormancy and created a positive review because Greenwood replaced them without argument. A Greenwood rep replied with a self-congratulatory note about playing fair and owning up to their mistakes.

I won't be giving Greenwood any money for replacements, or for any future purchases. If and when I replace these plants, it will be with ones I order from one of the other two nurseries that provided me with better stock. Given the overwhelming (nearly unbelievable in fact) ratio of Positives to Negatives on this site, I expected better of them.

Unlike some other reviewers on this board, I will *not* be changing this rating to positive no matter what Greenwood does from this point on. If it takes pointing out their flaws in a public forum to make them act responsibly, then this is not acceptable behavior and I won't reward it. My customer experience has been extremely negative and nothing that they do at this point will change that.

Yesterday I placed my first order with Greenwood Nursery, so far my experience has been GREAT. They allowed me to add on to my existing order at the last minute and the tranaction went smoothly. I cannot brag enough about the customer service they provided me with, their communication is OUTSTANDING. I'm looking forward to receiving my order and I will report back. If the items I purchased are anything like their customer service, I'm sure I will be completely satisifed. Greenwood Nursery./Brenda......thank you for making my first experience with your company and positive one!

I just received my first order from Greenwood Nursery and I'm very pleased and happy with their products and service.
Everything looks great! I couldn't believe the size of my Magnolia Jane which arrived with several buds and very healthy looking. The Lilac Tree was also big in size. The Mock Orange and the Knockout Rose also looks great.Now if the weather will cooperate with us in the next few days, we can get them in the ground. I would also like to add that Brenda was so nice and helpful everytime I communicated with her! If your looking for healthy plants and trees, then you need to be buying from Greenwood Nursery! Thanks so much!!!!!!!!! PT

I ordered a chickasaw crape myrtle, 3 majorca pink rosemarys and a kousa dogwood and just received them packaged very well, all have buds and look healthy. Very satisfied with the condition and fast shipping. Will report back after they have been planted for a while and show growth. Pleasant to deal with. Have other plants on order with them, I am confident they will all come healthy after seeing this order which is the first i have received from this company. A+

I had ordered the HydrangeaForever Pink plant from Greenwood Nursery.When i have recieved it by UPS it was in great shape. No soil all over the inside of the box like other nursery. They have shrink wrap it tightly to keep it all toghther. When i took it out of the box it was in perfect shape and has nice new leaves comeing out of it. Keep up the good work Greenwood nursery i give you a 10.

I received my order promptly, packed very well, and the plant was received in excellent condition. The potting mix was fairly dry, but, the root structure looked very good. Thanks for a good experience with my first order!

I had ordered a pack of five Service Berry bushes from this wonderful company. Instead, I received only four. I wrote to let them know of the error. Instead of the one bush I expected, they sent me a complete new order of five. I was astounded. I offered to pay for the extra four, but they would not let me. I am totally impressed and look forward to doing more business with Greenwood Nursery in the future. Oh yes!!!! Both orders arrived in marvelous condition, the packaging was amazing. All the bushes are planted and I anticipate a wonderful season next year. Thanks Greenwood. Y'all are keepers. God bless you and yours.

I purchased two dwarf crape myrtle shrubs in Spring 2006. "Velma's Royal Delight". They are outstanding. They keep their dwarf nature and bloom a little more each year with maturation. The folks at Greenwood could not be more helpful. I called in Spring '07 because they looked dead. I was told to be patient, indeed they are the last shrub in my yard to spring into Spring. Who would know? Greenwood knew. I understand these crape myrtles need TLC in my zone but Greenwood let me know the risks before I bought them. I would not hesitate to buy any plant from them or ask for their guidance in selection of plants for particular zone, placement, variety.

This is my first experience with Greenwood and I was more than pleased at the quality of the shrubs I ordered, the size for the price, and most of all, how well they were packaged. After working in the greenhouse business for 10 years, I have had lots of experience with poor packaging, resulting in damaged merchandise. My local grower couldn't supply my order til spring. Greenwood shipped quickly and they were helpful both on-line and by phone. E-mails were responded to almost immediately. Will be ordering in the future for sure.

I have ordered twice now from Greenwood. I love the value, quality and the extrodinary packaging/shipping of the items. All plants have been better than anything I could buy from the local stores. I only buy plants from the best now! Greenwood is the only place to go! I highly recommend it to everyone and anyone! Thanks Greenwood for bringing my love of plants back to life!

I ordered 100 ajuga seedlings (they are technically cuttings) to replace the bald spots on my lawn under a tree. They came promptly and carefully packed. The took better than I expected in hard soil with lots of tree roots and doubled in size in a matter of weeks.

After ordering 3 "Lady In Red" hydrangea from Greenwood, I received them earlier than promised and in splendid condition. The gallon sized pots were well shrink-wrapped so no soil escaped and the roots were undisturbed. The plants were 2-3 feet tall, fully leafed out, multi-stemmed and very sturdy with no detectable insects. But best of all was the beautiful way all three were packed on their sides cradled in tons of shredded paper (which will go into the compost bin) in one big box. Anything short of crushing the whole box and those plants would have stayed safe. Great shipping job.

I have a large lot and to say the landscape was in neglect when we moved in is an understatement. In order to address as many areas as possible and fast, I set out to find good plants at great prices. I found Greenwood. I have ordered two or three times now and could not be happier with the plants. They have arrived in good shape and have perfomed wonderfully. I am proud to say I have not lost one plant yet and the latest order looks to be successful as well.

Thank you, Greenwood. I already have my wish list for Spring!

I am always a little weary buying anything for my garden that I cannot touch, feel and inspect myself. That being said, I gave it a shot because the prices were great and my local nursery was not getting Winter Gem boxwood until spring, and I didn't want to wait that long, and also didn't like the selection at my local home depot & Lowe's. Their guarantee and free shipping were also a plus.

I placed my order, and held my breath!

I received my shipment e-mail and received my order the next day (though I am told my area is typically a 2 day shipping, UPS got it on the truck a day early - yay!)

I was absolutely AMAZED when I opened my box!!! Not a single leaf had dropped off, shook off, or branch broken!! The pots were shrink wrapped and soil perfectly damp, and contained until I unwrapped them. Beautiful root system on the shrubs,... though not root bound.

My e-mails were promptly addressed (within 30 minutes) with courteous replies and helpful information, kudos to Brenda for bringing back my confidence in the term 'customer service', which seems to be all but lost in this country.

I will DEFINITELY purchase from Greenwood again... I'm 'sold'.

"

It has been quite awhile since I have checked in to the WatchDog page since Fall shipping is upon us. I will try to get better at that!

Thank you for your comments! I made sure that Brenda received her Kudos! During our heavy shipping times, sometimes we slip behind on our email since there are so many, but Brenda really works hard to keep our customer happy!

We changed the way we packaged this year and it really seems to cushon the plants better. I am proud to know that they arrived to you in great condition!
Happy Gardening to you!!"

We ordered 10 knock out roses online. The ordering page was somewhat unclear in that it would show a continue button when assembling your order and when you pressed that it completed the order. This is not what we initially wanted, we just wanted to look at the all in price etc before making a final decision.
When emailing with the company they seemed very responsive (even though we were quite suspicious and angry about the event) and they remained calm and professional.
Anyways, we decided to coninue with the order and received it via UPS after about 2 weeks after ordering. The 10 1 gallon roses came well wrapped in a box and were in good shape. No more flowers, that is to be expected, but within days after planting we could see that all 10 took hold. Also, the root system seemed solid.
We give this a hopeful and careful POSITIVE as knock out roses are like weeds so they better be OK, but the company was responsive to my many emails and the plants were fine. We ordered again and will let you know how that goes.

Despite some negative comments left here, I decided to place an order on some end of the season sale items. I purchased a double knockout rose & a bi-color buddleia. the packaging couldn't have been better. Both shrubs came with plenty of greenery left & a beautiful root ball, yet those babies could not have budged in their box. My buddleia had blooms the next day, beautiful raspberry blooms with a gold throat! Awesome. Only 2 days later, the rose has some new growth showing. Very healthy plants.
While they are not inexpensive, their sale prices are do-able for me (hint: join the email list). I got top rate plants for less than a Loews store price. I will continue to order, especially during their sale days. Thanks so much Greenwood Nursery.