Comments regarding Gurney's Seed & Nursery

When you were a kid, did you like reading the ads in the back of comic books for x-ray specs and Sea Monkeys?

That's how I approach Gurney's and their related companies. The catalogs are flashy and a little trashy -- flowers aren't just big, they're ENORMOUS. Trees don't just grow quickly, they ZOOM to FULL HEIGHT in NO TIME AT ALL. A hedge isn't just pretty, it will be THE ENVY OF THE ENTIRE NEIGHBORBOOD!

I love it.

This is my third year ordering from them. Each year, I order a few novelty items and tell myself that I don't care if they grow. They do grow, almost always.

I ordered 5 jumbo casa blanca lily bulbs. With the coupon, I figured a modest order like that with only one variety couldnt go too wrong. It did. Instead of being sent 5 lily bulbs, they sent me 5 dormant maximillian sunflowers. I called the company and they were very nice, didnt even ask for the sunflowers back and said they'd send out the lily bulbs right away. I was surprised. The bulbs arrived healthy, without mold and not dried up, and they are HUGE. They are the biggest lily bulbs I have seen from an mail order company. I was actually very happy with them. Would I order again from this company? Probably only play it safe.. some bulbs, hardy dormant plants. I dont think I would order roses or anykind of actively growing herbaceous plant from this company.

I have ordered from Gurney's before and the plants were fine, though small. When I got a new catalog this spring, I couldn't resist trying the $25 coupon again. After it was applied I didn't owe much, but still, even with relatively low expectations, I wasn't prepared for the plants I received.

They had obviously been alive and vigorous (once upon a time) but were definitely DOA when they got to me. I'm a good plant medic, but it was clear that there was nothing in the shipment for me to save. I called and spoke to an apologetic young man who credited the entire amount back to my card.

The plants I received rated a negative, but in fairness, their willingness to make the situation right bumps them to a neutral.

I ordered many seeds and plants from these guys this year for the first time. Everything came on time and in excellent condition. The seeds didn't sprout really great--but still did okay. Lots of variety of choices in seeds though from the catalog...that is nice. Gurneys did alright by me.

I used the 25 dollar free coupon. Started my seeds indoors in peat pots. Cukes gourds jack be little. Zero sprouted. My horseradish did not come up in the garden neither did the the carrots. The snow peas are rather stunted barely up at all. I have lost valuable time as my growing season is limited. I will shop at my local garden center in the future.

I've been planning an asparagus bed all winter. We ordered several varieties from Gurney's with great anticipation. The box arrived - communication was great - they sent an e-mail when product was shipped & it arrived within a day or two. When I opened the box, the entire contents of the box were covered in very well developed mold. This was not something that happened during shipping. Another content of the box was rhubarb & it was completely decayed and worthless. The entire shipment had to be discarded. They've offerred a refund, but at this point, I've lost valuable time in establishing my asparagus bed. I will never order from this company again.

I bought 3 grape vines in 2006 from Gurneys, after 3 months of them not showing up, I emailed them. They quickly replaced them. Then the original 3 showed up out of no where. They looked bad - but we planted them anyhow - and now I have 5 thriving vines. That seems like the fault of post office and not Gurneys. I have also bought seeds & an apple tree from them - the seeds are doing great. The apple tree arrived looking fine, but too soon to tell. Have to admit coming across this website has made me nervous about future orders. But so far, they have been helpful and the products have worked. They have always responded to any email questions I have had so far.

Last week I ordered 4 Birds of Paradise, before researching the company here. I keep checking the website to see the estimated shipping date, however it keeps changing from 1 week to 30 days. Im starting to get worried because of all the things I read here, so i tried to call the company (luckily i have free long distance) I was on hold for a long time and then a recording came on that said "Due to an overwhelming number of calls this evening, we cannot answer your call-please call back later". I tried back later and got the exact same recording.

Three hours later, I called and now I recieved a message saying that "all phones and computers are down due to bad weather-try again later". Now Im wishing I had sprang the money and bought it while visiting my mom in NYC where they were selling small ones for $25. They were a bit shabby looking though. Here in Maryland, the only ones I can find are between $70-$170 .

In all fairness, so far my account has not been charged.

April 01, 2007

I used the $25.00 coupon to purchase the strawberry, fountain setup, with 50 strawberry plants and strawberry food. The items with shipping cost $45.00. The items arrived in early March, which is early for planting in NYC. I kept the plants on my unheated porch in their original packing for two weeks, waiting for the snow to melt. I finally set everything up and the strwberries are growing well, and my kids love the setup and fountain. I am very pleased with my order and the price, shipping was only $9.00, Not high priced for what I ordered. ( I thought it would be more) I am so happy, I recently ordered a grape vine and mini nectarine tree from their sale catalog. I will repost when I receive that order.

Be careful with these guys.

I placed an online order for 2 trees, totaling $39.75 including the $9.85 shipping and the $20 coupon. I received an emailing confirming the individual charges and totals. When I received the shipment there were 3 twigs with roots in a box and an invoice totaling $71.80! I had been charged $29.95 each for the little twigs (trees) even though I had ordered one. The shipping charges were also inflated.

I called the NON toll free number and was on hold for 10 minutes and spoke to a young man that couldn't quite understand the situation. I tried to make it simple by offering to email or fax them a copy of the confirmation email they had sent me with the correct orderinfo . He said they didn't have email...huh?? I told him that was how I received the confirmation. Nope, no email. OK I'll fax. Tried to fax 3 times and it was busy each time. I called back and told them their fax wasn't working. Hold again. Yea it's busy....back to the email address. He put me on hold to ask a supervisor if they had an email address. Came back and gave an email address to send my proof that they had the correct order. I emailed and faxed it. (finally got it to go through)

I waited an hour and called back...hold...was told they would have to speak to web personnel the next morning. HUH? I asked what did they need to speak to them about and again told him they charged me for 2 small twigs and I'd only ordered one. He must have gotten tired of me because he agreed to credit back the extra charge and additional shipping to my credit card. I'll be watching for the credit.

I ordered raspberry and blackberry plants from this worthless company 1-25-05 and they all dies. They re-shipped in June 2006 and they all dies. Now, they will not replace because it is past their so called one year warrenty.
I sent a letter last August which they did not respond to until I emailed them. They responded with a denial of replacement.
If you ever buy from this company except bad results. Do not get suckered in by their prices.

I used to order from Gurney's before they were bought by Gardens Alive. They were reliable and their plants were OK, especially for the price. I gave them another try last spring - ordered some organic fertilizers. The products were fine and I had no trouble with the order. But now, one year later, we're getting repeat recorded telemarketing calls from Gurney's, though we're on the national "do not call" list. I only give out our telephone number so a company can call us with questions about our order. If they use it for telemarketing without my explicit permission, I refuse to order from them ever again. It's not worth the annoyance to me.

Ordered in spring 2006, 4 cherry trees-not very good root systems on trees and small compared to what I could buy for same amt of money at local nursery. I planted and pampered them and by August it was very apparent that 3 of 4 were dead and 4th not looking great. I did call and was politely and quickly refunded my money for the 3 dead ones.(I didn't want a replacement since I could go to local store and buy much larger tree.) I'll see if the 4th one made it this spring and call if it didn't. I also ordered seeds-some watermelon were unavailable due to "crop failure". 3 pumpkin/squash varieties-squash grew like crazy but pumpkins did not do any better than less expensive store bought varities I planted. Anyhow, customer service was good and they did provide refunds as promised, but it's now a year later I have to buy new trees and start over.

I would encourage everyone here to shop elsewhere for their seeds and plants - here is why. A few weeks ago, I received a catalog addressed to a family member who died very suddenly in 1998 in NJ - we moved 3000 miles away, partly to move on and heal and all of the sudden, here is her name in the mailbox. I called Gurney's to find out where they got this incorrect information - Lorie never even visited Montana, so there should be no way that she could get mail nine years after her death 3000 miles from where she lived and died. One would think that this is a situation in which an apology was in order - the response has been the opposite. Apathy, rudeness and uncaring have been the responses. I have called, I have emailed and I have begged them to take her name off thier lists and tell me who sold them her name so I can contact them directly. I cannot express how rude and inconsiderate everyone has been at this company - one person suggested that I overlook her name and enjoy the catalogue. I hope that they never know what it is to lose someone so young and suddenly... A company in NJ before we moved sent mail to us - I called and they immediately took her name off their lists and could not have been nicer about it... perhaps I will shop there...

I took advantage of the 25 dollar coupon like most folks did. I hadn't accessed this site before I ordered. After seeing the reviews I was a bit dismayed and prepared for the worst.
My spring shipment was scheduled between Feb 15 - June 30th. To my surprise, part of my shipment came in yesterday, February 16. The two bareroot rose bushes were healthy. However, the sassafras tree did not have a root system. It was just a big stick. The reason I am giving them a positive rating was their customer service was exceptional. I called the number on the shipping label and they immediately ordred another tree no questions asked. Shipping was speedy and I received them much sooner than expected. So despite one bad plant, my experience with them was pretty good.

Used the $20 coupon to order seeds. Got the seeds within a week and a half. Got everything for free--can't beat that!! I'm happy!

I actually used the internet "coupon" a few times to buy many small fruit plants and seeds. I am a bit nervous, given what I read here.

All my seeds came in very reasonable time--a good start.

Plants waiting to be shipped. Hoping for the best.

I did save $$$ with the coupons. We'll see....

I too was lured by the "coupon"

I think if I had found this site first, I may have reconsidered... but I will post back what my experience is.... Hopefully they can't screw up seeds.... though i also got the Quick Start kits... so with the coupon, i basically got all my seeds for free -- just hope those kits come undamaged.

I've been meaning to warn pple about this company. I don't mind mistakes but this was rediculous. Several things upset me enough to write about it: 1. They took an order in december (potatoes) and at the last minute said they were out of stock and that I had to SCRAMBLE to find another supplier. 2. from jan-march I'd call(long distance mind you, no 1 800 #) and they ASSURRED me that all was well and they would ship soon. #3. when I complained they were rude or didnt answer. finally I got an email back to me that was pretty incredible. had I known that I could rate them, I would have saved and posted the snotty, rude, unbelievably lenghy email that was sent back to me. NEVER USE THESE PEAOPLE, AND I WONDER IF THEY CANCELED MY ORDER ON PURPOSE BECAUSE I WAS USING A COUPON THAT THEY OFFERED TO ME SO THEY COULD GET ORDERS IN THE WINTER AND THEN LEFT ME HIGH AND DRY SO THEY COULD FILL ORDERS THAT DID NOT USE A COUPON EVEN THOUGH I ORDERED IN THE WINTER. Neighbour down the street here warned me about them, I should have listened. BEware!

I have ordered from Gurney in the past but am in doubt if I will again after what happened last year. I ordered from them last year for the first time in many years. ordered seeds which did come in except my county fair cucumbers which where on their web site and catalog. They never told me about any of my order having been subed. Also my oder for potato sets and asparagus crowns where never sent and despite what they told me they did charge me for my full order. I am sorry to see they have gone from family owned to a lump of companies that treat its customers like numbers. Very sad.

Kevin

i bought 6 black berry plants, some was dead. was replaced and they to did not survive. ordered a b1g1f of peach trees. they only sent me one,when i emailed them they said sorry, we ran out. not if they would replace them or what ever. i called again and they sent me a cert. so i ordered a issa kiwi. was a very slender 5 in long twig, that they top was black on. this was nearly a 25 dollar order. dont think the plant will live.
when i called to ask about best place to plant, on fence with more sun, but also more wind or in a sheltered place with a bit less sun, the worker informed me that i needed to read up a bit as that it was a indoor plant. ( for those of you that do not know can grow 12 - 25 ft and is a large vine.)
it says directly on there site that issa kiwis grow in sun and need a strong support system.
talked with several people here where i live and they said that they shall not order from them any more. have a friend that is a master gardener with the most ausomly beautiful place that lost several moon plants and others ordered from them, more than one time.
ps
the one peach tree they sent also died.
on a better note about half of the people i delt with where wonderful, but the other half where compleat jerks.

first time customer this year(February 2006). I was lured in by the coupon on the cover of their catalogue. The germination rate was fantastic. However, the shipping was a little slow. when my package finally arrived it was minus the asparagus and rhubarb. I called and was told they were on the way. The asparagus came in a timely manner. When I had not recieved my rhubarb by late march I started calling. !st time I was told they would be in the mail within 2 days. Next call they told me a week. Next call they had been on backorder for a month, so my question is how can they be out in the mail in 2 days and be on backorder at the same time? They finally just sent me a credit. The seeds were great though. If I get a catalogue w/ another coupon this year I will order form again.

I was happy with my German Irises .Nice size somewhat droment but not dead. new eye growth, and got my full order
fast shipping.
on sale. i do belive they just might bloom next spring

I was worried about placing an order after reading the negative reviews about long shipping delays, but there were so many products I liked at such good prices I had to try it,(especially since they are one of the few companies that have the pineapple guava fruit trees I wanted).
So instead of ordering directly, I decided to go through Gurney's ad on Amazon.com, since I'm sure they are held more liable for negative customer feedback with Amazon...and I was suprised to find an email saying my plants had been shipped, only a day-in-a-half after placing my order. Hopefully the rest of my shipment will be ok, but so far I'm a happy camper. =)

I've ordered from this company 4 times over as many years. First was plants, none survived. Then was merchandise (how can they screw that up, right?). Well one year I ordered some fertilizers and Japanese Beetle traps. They put the traps on the bottom and 10 LBs. of product on top squashing them flat. That was topped off with shipping peanuts to keep everything nice and "safe". That was mostly a laughable joke. This last year I ordered some "Deer-Off" (which works by the way) and a tube of Bordeaux powder. They didn't bother to make sure the container was sealed well so my postmaster handed me a package drizzling white powder. In this day and age! She looked at me like I was shipping anthrax! Do they have brain dead monkeys in shipping? Suffice to say it was everywhere and I had to dig in powder covered peanuts for my other things. Top it all off with there Ultra-slow shipping (all of these affiliated companies ship the same way, not a big deal until we're talking about live plants) and I've had it. Their coupon is very alluring, but do your homework. Regular merchandise is over-priced (so what a great deal you're getting) and their plants are junk. Try Miller nurseries, much better!

I am a new member of Daves garden so I am telling of my experience last year.

I ordered plants for my daughters garden. The flowering almond was dried and dessicated when recieved but after soaking in water I planted it and it did well.

The three double clematis were in terrible shape when received. They were small and shriveled.

The Iris collection I ordered was cancelled too late in the season to get replacements from other sources. They did send a gift certificate to replace it , but after this experience I didn't want any more to do with them

I ordered two trees. Received one. Wrote and got no response to problem. From site comments, it looks like 50-50 chance of being satisfied. For my money, I want better odds than that and would not order from Gurney's again.

I ordered from these people in February online. They says the charge didn't got through (I have no idea why). So I emailed them and over a month later they said they would rerun the charge. Come may they say the charge has been redisputed, which I tell them no and they say they have it fixed. In June I receive another nasty collection notice and I again call and give them my credit card info and they say it is taken care of. Now in September they turned me over to a collection agency, keep in mid I have either paid or they have screwed up submitting it no less than 3 times already. Last rep says he doesn't see my June payment but will have the charges taken off and me off collection BUT he will have to cancel my account and I will not be able to order with them again. DUH like I ever would. The bad thing is I should have argued about the charges since NOTHING they sent has grow beyond a few leaves if it all since February. I guess the next step is a lawyer to sue them for harrassment. I have paid this dang bill and will tell everyone I meet to NEVER order anything from them. Years back my parents used them and never had trouble. Amazing how they have gone downhill.

First, let me say that the customer service was wonderful and I received my money back for the plants that did not grow. While the vegetable seeds I ordered grew just fine, MOST of the flowering plants and grasses never germinated. The festuca glauca arrived moldy and died - and the birch's double geranium, orange butterfly bushes and painted daisy never saw the light of day. I will not order from them again.

I have ordered from this company a couple times over the past few years, and my experience has always been good, the best with the bareroot trees and bushes. Everything I have ordered-plum trees, gooseberries, currants, all leaved out right away and are growing VERY well! The bareroot flowers tend to be small, but usually green up okay. Any problem I have had was resolved quickly. I will definately order from them again!

I would just like to tell everyone that this company has done very well by me. I have had VERY GOOD LUCK WITH GURNEY, and plan to order again next spring. Their plants are nice and their customer service people are very friendly and helpful. A VERY GOOD COMPANY TO DEAL WITH.

I ordered 2 kinds mountain laurel quantity 2 each this spring. They shipped me only 1 each. The size of the plants was 3 times smaller than the mountain laurels that I received from Bluestone Perennials. The price was 3 times higher.
Customer service was great, she immediately saw that there was no way they shipped 4 pots in the package that was sent to me and created a new order for the difference. All plants arrived alive. All 4 are doing fine so far, but I would not order from this company again. Their prices are unreasonable.

I've had good luck with my seed orders from them. I doubt if I will ever order plants again. They don't ship when they say they will and don't email a notice when they do. As I have to be away for work at times the plants arrive and I've made no arrangements for them. The pepper plants were in shock and poorly packed when they arrived. Still haven't done as well as they should of.

I ordered two lilacs shrubs and some blue potato sets from Gurney's. The shipments did take some while to get to me, which I wasn't happy about. The first lilac came as a bare root, but it was already putting out green shoots. I followed all of the instructions and planted it in the ground the next day. For a week it did nothing (to be expected) then it went wild. Lots of new green growth.

The second lilac was in a small plastic pot, wrapped in a plastic bag/sleeve. I was dismayed at the packaging at first. The top of the plant looked to be crammed into the box, with shoots bent and leaves bedraggled. A taller box or packaging it diagonally would have been better.

I haven't planted it yet, but it's out on my patio, and it didn't seem to mind being crammed in transit at all. It immediately started putting out healthy new shoots and leaves.

Instead of potato sets, they substituted whole blue potatoes, but I got the equivalent or better than what I ordered. I planted them, and they haven't come up yet, but potatoes take a while.

So although my experience with them wasn't 100% great, they still sent me healthy stuff, and I'll probably order from them again. That gets them a Positive.

Gurney's is great if you are on a tight budget, keep your expectations modest, and have patience.

Of everything I ordered, only one plant (a blueberry) failed--it arrived as a tiny bunch of leathery stems with roots exposed to the air. I planted it anyway, but it did not grow. Fortunately, the company replaced it quickly and amicably. (The replacement plant came potted and with leaves, though--wonder why the first one didn't!) The second blueberry came during an unseasonal heat wave, so it was wilted upon arrival and lost some leaves; it also suffered transplant shock, which turned its remaining leaves red. Happily, within a couple of weeks it was much greener and looking good!

Everything else worked out very well. The asparagus plants grew wonderfully and should bear nice spears in the years to come. We ordered a couple of cherry trees and also bought one locally. The local tree was fully leafed out and at first appeared superior; the Gurney's trees admittedly looked like a couple of sticks upon arrival. However, within a couple of weeks, the Gurney's trees had leafed out dramatically while the local tree had done nothing. The Gurney's trees now appear to have better health and vigor than their companion, and we're looking forward to our future orchard!

I placed an order on 4/7 this year. I received part of the order mid may. I received the bush beans on 5/24. The tomatoes plants arrived doa, the strawberrys arrived doa. I also ordered sweet potatoes and was told that they would not ship until may 15. I called and was told that i would receive a check for the tomatoes, and that they would reship the strawberrys, I received the strawberrys June 9, but only received 1 order. I was told on this phone call that my pototes was shipped and that june 9 was the last date they will ship any items. I called this morning and told them about the strawberrys and was told that they was out of stock and that they would refund that money. I was also told the pototoes has not been shipped. I asked what the problem was and they told me it would be in july when i can expect them. I asked about the last ship date of june 9 and was told that june 9 was the last order date, and that june 16 would be the last ship date. I dont think i will ever order from them again. I would like to know some place that has a good track record for ordering.

The plants I ordered were doa. They ignored my request for a refund. I had ordered at the same time some plants from Henry Fields, which turned out to have the same address as Gurneys, they were also doa and they also ignored my request for a refund. In doing some web searching, I found that one company apparently owns both companies, and also owns the dreadful Michigan Bulb company. Don't order from these folks unless you plan to just throw your money away.

Definitely what you pay for, but I would say very poor. Buyer beware. Yes, you get a coupon that helps, but I still received such poor stock. They sent a replacement for one item, but not another. No explanation given, and I am just going to be wiser next time around.

I ordered 30 tomato plants and a few other things on May 20th, expecting them to ship in a few days. After a week, I checked the site and saw that my order hadn't shipped yet and the expected delivery date was between June 19th and July something! That's crazy, our summer would be half over by then! I contacted customer service who said they would be done shipping by June 7th. I told them I needed to get the garden in since we have a short growing season. They said they would put a rush on the order. That was a week ago and I checked today-- still hasn't shipped, so that was obviously lip service. The expected delivery date is June 13th. So, another weekend will go by before I get the order. After reading a comment from someone else about the plants coming in one inch plugs and half dead, I'm scared about what I will finally get. So, I just emailed them to cancel my order. I hope the season isn't ruined and I can still get tomato plants locally. I ordered from Gurneys because they had the varieties I wanted and can't find in the greenhouses here, but now I'm worried about them substituting varieties after the other comments I've read. And waiting three weeks and still the order hasn't shipped is ridiculous. Just not going to deal with this any longer or ever again!