Comments regarding Stark Brothers Nurseries & Orchards Company

Received my order for plum, peach & cherry trees & a grape. Everything is healthly & good sized & was packaged very well. Trees are already leafing out & I'm delighted with the service & stock! Will order from them again...

Ordered dwarf apricot, peach and cherry trees. Also ordered red raspberry and rhubarb. Everything arrived within a week of ordering and it was all in great shape. Very pleased with my order and will order from in the future.

This was my first year ordering from Stark and I will never order from anywhere else when it comes to my fruit and nut trees. We ordered plums, apricots, peach, mulberry, almond and several others. Everything came packaged very securely and promptly, the trees were at least 4-5 feet tall and the plums are already blooming. The mulberry already has berries. We are thrilled. Definately worth what we paid.

Placed my order in Dec for Spring Shipping. I ordered a Lavender Twist Redbud and a Pink Cascade Weeping Peach Tree. The Redbud was supposed to have been 3-5 feet while the Peach was supposed to have been 3-4 feet.
The Redbud arrived with a good root system, however it was less than 2 feet in total. The peach was atleast 3 feet but had some rotten branches and some were also broken. I called and immediate was told that they could not replace the redbud since they were sold out. Makes one wonder if they ever had the 3-5 footers since I ordered so early. However, the customer service person was extremely nice and offered an immediate refund for the tree. Although the Peach had rotten and broken branches it did have a good root system but was immediately replaced when I mentioned it to the customer service person. (although I have not rec'd it as yet). There trees are shipped bare root to save on shipping cost but packed well and were still moist when I received them. If the customer service person had not been so nice this experience would have been neutral. I have hopes that the replacement Peach will be alright.

I have ordered from them in the past. I ordered blueberries and asparagus. They arrived promptly.

This year I ordered a Pink Cascading Peach Tree. It came wrapped securely in a box. Thank goodness for the great wrapping as I did not know that it had arrived until 2 days later. The mailman placed it in our open shed without any notification.

Another company had this same tree for $3 cheaper but it was only going to be 2 feet high. This bareroot was over 4 feet.
Thanks for the great service. Linda

I just received my order today. It was a small order, 1 dwarf apple tree, 1 dwarf cherry tree, and 2 hardy pecan trees. The apple and cherry tree are very large and healthy looking, especially considering they are dwarf trees. The pecan trees appear to be strong and healthy as well. The order was packed very well and the trees arrived with the roots still moist.

received my order today, it was packed well for shipment and the plants have good root systems, the plants are of the size advertised. I was amused to find a free sample of Advil. I suppose this is for backaches after I have dug all those holes!

I ordered a 'Stella' cherry and a dwarf plumcot. They arrived on time, were well-packaged and the trees look fantastic. I just placed another order with Stark Bros.

I ordered some fruit trees this Spring for a small orchard on my property and each and every one was very large for a dwarf tree and most are thriving. The small lemon tree I put in a pot and its surviving. Although it was small it was very healthy. My cherry tree got killed off because we've had such a bad drought. I also ordered a self-pollinating walnut tree and it's doing great. It will get yellow leaves in the Fall. It won't bear fruit for a few more years but it must have grown over 6" already, even in the tough season. I love that they have self-pollinating varieties. They have a handy chart to help you pick out which trees will self-pollinate or cross-pollinate the best. The guide will also help you with color, size, and flavor so you can get the best eating or pie tree. They also have a really good guide to tell you how big the trees and shrubs will get so that you can plan accordingly. They don't have much in the way of roses, lilacs, or other items, mostly specialty trees and fruit bushes. I live in a city so my property is limited in space so I have to be careful and if their stock can thrive in a nasty urban environment, they should do well anywhere. The customer service people are great and you can order 3 ways: mail, phone, internet. They also have great free stuff and discounts. I got a free dwarf burning bush and it's thriving as well.

In 2001 I bought a Reliance Peach and a Nectarince tree from Stark. Bro. Last year they had a little fruit. But this year the harvest was very bountiful! Peaches in our cold zone are very rare. I've ordered from many other Nurseries, including Raintree and Henry Fields. But the trees I've received from Starks have survived better and produced more fruit.

Ordered 18 assorted fruit trees and several other trees early this year from Stark Bros. web site. The trees arrived at just the precise moment for proper planting in NW Lower MI--very stocky, thick bare-root specimens, much heartier than I've gotten locally or from other nurseries, very well rooted, as well. The trees were packed very well in plastic with a moist material enwrapped all around the roots, and sturdy cardboard boxes to contain all. All of the trees were nicely budded and began to bud break just days after being planted. I had one 'Royalton' sweet cherry fail to thrive but the rest are growing feverishly. An e-mail to Sharon at Customer Service was sent and they responded by asking me if I needed a refund or would I like to be scheduled to have that same tree re-shipped next Spring. I chose to have a replacement tree sent, because, as I told Sharon, I would expect to be placing another order through Strak Bros. next Spring anyway. Very POSITIVE buying & growing experience.

I bought two columnar apple trees, two blueberry shrubs, 5 lilac bushes and a strawberry tower from them. They goofed and sent the tower but forgot the strawberries. I called them and they shipped them no questions asked. I ordered in February.

I think they shipped the first blueberry shrub a bit early as it died in a freeze but they credited it to me. One of the lilac shrubs died but it was lack of watering so I don't blame them. Overall I'm quite happy with their products, service, etc.

Last winter I placed an order for spring shipment that included 3 varieties of shrub roses. Was very impressed with stock received in the spring, even more so, when the new plants began to blossom just a few weeks after being put into the ground.

I had ordered (and according to all tags, etc) and recieved 3 different colored rose plants. One was suppose to be Starry Night (a white blosom) but the bud had a pink border as it began to unfold so I dropped an e-mail to inquire if Starry Night bloomed in the fashion. Received a prompt reply from customer service asking if I could send a photo which I did. Customer service answered that I had been sent a Carefree Delight (pink-mislabled as SN) Less than a week from discovering the wrong plant I received another SN.

I had expected that I might be offered a refund, instead I now have 4 beautiful roses and a very positive feeling about this company.

This was my first experience ordering from Stark Bros., and it was a very pleasant one!

I ordered one of the Pink Cascade Weeping Peach trees, and one of the Dwarf Burning Bush shrubs.

My order arrived in a timely manner, and was very well packed. Both of these plants were bare root, so they were packed in plastic which was nice and moist inside for their health. Both had very healthy roots, and to my delight each plant already had tiny little buds.

I was most excited to get the little peach tree for my wife, but that Burning Bush has REALLY taken off since planting! The tree is also growing well.

Unfortunately for me, I'm planning on planting flowers, shrubs and trees, and not fruit trees. Otherwise I would definitely be ordering everything from Stark Bros. As it stands, I do plan on ordering more items in the future, but I was a little too late this season.

Thanks Stark Bros!

I just received my second order from Starks this year and as happy as I was with the first order-I'm even more impressed with my second order!

Dwarf fruit trees were ENORMOUS! Healthy, vigorous, beautiful little trees!

I bought these as replacements from another (very highly lauded on this site) company and wasn't happy with the spindly, little, sickly trees received --life (and summer in Minnesota) is way too short to nursemaid sickly twigs that may or may not make it. My only regret is that I wasted the time & effort on them in the first place-I should have just ordered from Starks!

Packaging was excellent, shipping timed so the trees wouldn't be 'languishing' in some truck or freight carrier terminal over a weekend.

I am already planning on two more dwarf fruit trees next year.

I recently ordered a weeping peach tree from Stark Brothers - the only source I could find that had positive ratings for this much wanted tree. The tree arrived two weeks after I placed the order, and I was very disappointed when I opened the box - it seems that whoever packed the tree shoved it into the box, and most of the branches were broken or damaged. You could tell it would have been a nice little tree from the shape of the branches that were left. Because the ends of the branches were broken off, there was not enough left for anything to grow. I called Stark Brothers and a very friendly customer service rep. asked me some questions about the condition of the tree, the breakage, etc. and then whether I would like the item credited back to my credit card, or would I like another weeping peach. I really wanted another weeping peach. She put in another order for me immediately but said she could not promise the tree would not arrive in the same condition.

Well, the new weeping peach arrived today and it is a little beauty. There are little buds about to bloom on all the branches and it is in excellent condition. I was not charged for this replacement order.

I am very pleased with the customer service at Stark Brothers, as well as the new weeping peach tree, and I will be ordering from them again. Thanks Stark Brothers for caring about your customers. You have earned a loyal customer.

I have been very satisfied with the products purchased and services provided. I have ordered a number and picked some up from the garden center Louisiana MO. Of course a few have not made it but they are very good to deal with and the customer service has always been outstanding. In addition to numerous fruit trees I have recently added pluots, southern giant pecans, hardy giant pecan, black gem walnut and a grafted english walnut. All of the nut trees came in those little square pots(Liner pots). That is the way to plant a tree. It really does help nut trees get off to a good fast start. Now that I am out of room for more trees I wish that they would sell scionwood of their fruit trees so I can continue expanding the varieties of my orchard.

Received an extremely nice Red Rome Beauty apple tree.

Just received my order of grapes, raspberries and blackberries last week. All plants arrived in great shape, packaged well in a large box. I was pleasantly surprised by their nice size and bud growth since the prices and shipping costs were very reasonable. Stark offers nice plants at good prices and I will be doing more business with them in the future.

Ordered 5 bareroot trees: colonnade apple, colonnade crabapple, weeping peach, dwarf peach, and dwarf apple. Arrived about a month ago, very healthy, packaged well, and obviously eager to get growing. All are now beginning to leaf out and the weeping peach has a few gorgeous dk pink/red blooms!

Received jumbo strawberry plants as an advertised bonus. Unlike the strawberry plants I have purchased elsewhere in the past, all were super healthy and are now growing nicely.

I am a very happy customer!

I ordered black currant bush. It arrived well packed without any damage. Bush had green buds. It looks great .

I've ordered several fruit trees from Stark Bros within the last couple of years and I am very satisfied with what I received. Big healthy trees, and they are all doing well. This year I bought a Lapins cherry and a meyers lemon, and am again pleased with my purchase.

DianaT

Received a peach tree, grape, and strawberry plants last week. They were all very good looking and well packaged. The grape was a replacement for one I had gotten from them last spring which didn't live through the summer. I am very pleased with the looks of the peach tree. It's a lot better looking than what I have seen to purchase locally.

I have ordered a Van cherry from Stark Brothers last fall, the plant has grown well and even responded late after a beatle attack. They delivered quickly and helped me in how to plant and care for the tree.

Last fall I ordered 3 apple trees, 2 European pears, 1 Asian pear, 1 peach and 3 grapes from Stark Bros. The peach was a rather thin whip, but otherwise healthy. The others were nice and thick. Most of them are already leafing out now. This spring I ordered an apricot and it was a nice thick tree. Stark Bros.' prices are probably the best of any mail order fruit tree nursery especially when you take into account their discounts and sales. Sometimes their selection is lacking though. They don't tell you what rootstock you are getting, but if you contact customer service via e-mail they will tell you. Overall I consider them a reliable, very professional nursery that I will probably order from again this fall.

2002-2004
I've dealt with Stark Brothers Nurseries for 3 years, primarily for fruit trees. I use them to find selection not available locally. I have been satisfied with all the orders. One tree did not survive the winter and they offered me a refund or to ship a replacement. I asked for the refund and it was provided with no problem.

I just joined this group, but I ordered three fruit trees from Stark in spring 2004. All three arrived in great condition, and are still doing wonderful.

An interesting note, one of the three trees was a Bluebyrd plum that was listed as self-pollinating in last year's catalog, but this year it is listed as needing Stanley as a pollinator. Probably will self-pollinate, but not extremely well?

I have ordered from them several times in past few years and have always had prompt and excellent customer serivice. On one occasion we ordered some blackberries that didn't grow. They sent us a replacement order of the same variety plus an equal order of a different variety to try with their compliments. These are still producing great blackberries every year. We also had a peach tree die after two years. Again it was replaced with no hassles. That tree is now doing fine and has started producing fruit just this past summer.

Early this spring I ordered a semi-dwarf cherry and Brown Turkey fig tree from Start Bros. These 2 trees were doing so well in May that I ordered 3 additional dwarf fruit trees and a blueberry plant. These have also arrived in great condition and are looking quite healthy. I'm very happy with the product and the customer service of this company. I'll definitely be ordering again next year.

I have ordered fertilizer and tree growing accessories from Stark Bros before with no issues. I took the plunge last month and ordered a Hybrid poplar tree from them - figuring it would be a good test case on their plant quality without spending too much money. Ordered the tree on 4/23/04, they shipped via USPS on 4/27/04. I received the tree on 5/3/04 (thanks USPS for taking a week!). Tree was about 4 foot tall, a straight stick with good sized leaf buds along it's entire length. Packaging (newspaper wrapped around the bare roots) was still damp and overall the packaging was superb. Tree is growing well. I think Stark Bros has gotten its act together over the last two years and is starting to deliver quality products. Note that most of the negatives are from a couple of years ago when they were having financial difficulties.

I will be buying the "Polar" Peach special from Stark Bros next spring. Does anyone out there have any experience with this special?

Mark

Ordered last month--a tree wisteria, a weeping peach, an apple tree, two raspberries, one type of which was EXCELLENTLY packaged and grown (clearly Stark's gets its stuff from different growers). Everything came promptly and in good shape, along with an Asiatic lily as a freebie. Have planted and am optimistic about everything's thriving, even though both days I planted were very windy. One caveat: when I asked about the rootstock for the apple tree, the service rep said their apple trees came from two different places, one using rootstock M7 and the other M111. When I asked if I could specify which I wanted, the customer service rep said no. Actually, the one which came was what I wanted, but that was just luck. Obviously, despite this, I would order from them again. A fast, straightforward transaction, despite Stark's being a big outfit.

I ordered several items from them this winter. Some fruit trees, currants, gooseberries, and a grape. The order arrived the middle of April in great shape. The order was missing a white currant, but had two extra pink ones, so I was pleased. Everything had large roots and is growing well. I would order from them again.

I ordered one plum tree from this company to try them out.
I placed the order 4/6/04 and received it 4/14/04.The tree was about 4' tall and about as thick as a broom handle with a great root system.Packaging was great,but still had a small broken limb due to rough handling from UPS probably.I am just now seeing some green growing from it,so it looks to be doing well.It is hard to judge from just one experience,but overall,I was very impressed with this company.

Last year I ordered two peach trees and some raspberry plants from Stark Bros. I had just moved into my first house and this was my first try at gardening, so I wasn't too surprised that one peach tree and all but one of the raspberries didn't make it, especially since our soil is so poor. I called Stark Bros in June and they were really nice. Said they'd ship replacements next spring. And they did-- I got them last week and there are new leaves on the peach tree already. The box was very well-packed-- even better than last year's, which was certainly adequately packed.

I recently recieved my third annual order of fruit trees from Stark Brothers. Every tree was healthy, well packed and delivered on time. My first order was over 5 years ago and those trees are bearing fruit. If this company has had problems over the past few years it does not show in there product or service. See you next year..........

Back in Nov of 2003, I ordered a supreme Burbank July Elberta Peach tree. It arrived in a very timely manner, and the packaging was superb. I planted it immediately and continued to watch and water as needed. Just about 3 weeks ago, it started leafing out. It's going to be a beautiful tree. They had suggested that I stake the tree, but at the time I had no material to do this. The tree has stood up to some very harsh winds that damaged some large oak trees. I am very pleased with this order and look forward to doing business with them again.

My only complaint is that I wish they would offer their almond trees for fall planting.

I ordered some blueberries, they arrived with beautiful leaves and great packing, they didn't shift an inch during the delivery. My mail person stuck it between my screen door and the door, so when I opened my screen door, they took a tumble down to the porch, then proceded down the four steps. I was a little worried about them, but they were still ok after that due to the great packing. Time will tell how these blueberries will do.

Recently, I ordered a Red Rome Apple, an Elberta Peach, and a Cherry tree. The trees arrived about a week and a half ago -- nicely packaged, all in healthy condition, and with tiny little buds. They were nice-sized trees also, about 4-feet tall.

I have planted all three, and they are bursting into bud all over.

When I e-mailed the company and informed them that I could not log-in, they telephoned and left a message for me, in addition to returning my e-mail with the correct information.

I am very pleased with my purchases and with Stark's customer service, and have since placed additional orders with them.

I ordered several trees and some currants from Stark Bros. in February and they arrived yesterday in beautiful condition. The trees came pre-pruned and the roots and trees were in great shape. I would recommend using Stark, they haven't steered me wrong yet.