Comments regarding Direct Gardening

Posted on April 5, 2011, updated April 25, 2011
So far I am having serious regrets about using this company and will try to stick to the local OSH which may cost more but at lease you get a lifetime guarantee.

I made my order on March 19, 2011, via their website using a credit card. My credit card was charged on march 24, 2011. Odd but I figured i would wait the 2 weeks and see whats going on. Ever since I have emailed them they reply over and over asking the stupidest questions, that they should know considering I have given them my order number, TYPE of credit card used, that I did it on the website, the day, told them when the card was charged, gave them my shipping address and billing address AGAIN!. All this makes me think they don't have the information or that they are stalling for time or just trying to wear you down.

Then they send the same email, your order is in our shipping department and scheduled to ship at any time. Really?! Well its been 2 weeks, i am going to call and ask about cancelling my order. Lets see how this goes.

And really what kind of business doesn't have an 800 number. When you call they are always busy. is there any way to get this place shut down?

Posted on April 23, 2011, updated April 23, 2011
Posted on April 20, 2011, updated April 23, 2011
Posted on April 18, 2011, updated April 20, 2011
Posted on April 13, 2011, updated April 18, 2011
Posted on March 30, 2011, updated April 13, 2011
Posted on March 29, 2011, updated March 30, 2011
My experience so far on the site has been wonderful. The plants are really cheap to redo a whole landscape for my front and back yard.... I cant say much about my products that I have ordered now because I ordered one set of plants last wed.(March 23rd) and was billed two days later and i just ordered another set of plants yesterday. (March 28th) I'll give an update on how they are when they come.

With all the negative reviews I was skeptical but I decided to give it a shot anyways since its spring and i want to redo my whole back/ front yard. They layout is nice for the site and I love how they change up the "sale" items instead of them keeping all of them the same for a long period of time. The only thing I've had a problem with is not knowing when my plants will arrive. Update coming soon. :)

Similar experience. Huge (months) delays in shipping without adequate communication or apparent recourse to cancel order - or even more importantly, reorder from another vendor so that I could ensure that I would get what I wanted when I wanted it.

I fairly recently placed another order (just didn't think clearly about it) and am already regretting it - have even ordered from another company just so that I KNOW that I will receive the plants that I was counting on.

Would be really helpful if they would provide some kind of "in-stock" availability status...but perhaps that is counter to their business plan.

Posted on April 15, 2011, updated April 21, 2011
Posted on April 12, 2011, updated April 15, 2011
Posted on March 28, 2011, updated April 12, 2011
Posted on March 19, 2011, updated March 28, 2011
Posted on March 19, 2011, updated March 19, 2011
Posted on March 16, 2011, updated March 19, 2011
So far not much to say, other than I like the site layout. I ordered 96 Sedum, Creeping Red a week ago. They billed my card a few days later. If they have shipped, they never told me. Though I believe the site says they bill when they ship. That might be a ding. I ordered from them despite the reviews, because of the price. I'll keep you posted. I hope it goes well, because they have some great deals, and a plant I want that I can't find. I'll post the good the bad and the ugly as it unfolds.

I put a order in march & they keep lying about shipping so I still don't have any plants...I would never order from this co. again....There are so many negatives on this Co. why are they still selling they should be stopped! I can;t cancel because they never give back your money.. so I just wait.

On March 21, I placed a $109 order with this company. I heard nothing from them since that time. I called repeatedly and only got a busy signal. I sent them an e-mail and got no response. I finally got hold of them this morning, April 19, and they said the order was shipped on April 1. What that means is the order has been languishing in the Post Office for 3 weeks or was never sent at all, although the credit card was billed immediately. Now it will be almost too late to put the plants in the ground here as it is already getting hot. I can imagine what the plants will look like after drying out in the Post Office for 3 weeks. I'll keep you posted.

I ordered plants from this company. They wasted no time charging my credit card. After 3 weeks, I contacted them to see if my order had shipped and was told it had not been shipped. I told them to just cancel my order and refund my money. They said they would, but the refund never came. Twice more, I contacted them and asked that my money be refunded. Each time they said the refund was being processed. It's been weeks now since they agreed to refund my money and I still haven't gotten the refund and don't expect to ever get it if I wait on them to do it. I'm now having to file a dispute with my credit card company to get my money back.

I've ordered from the company for a couple of years and to this point ....haven't been disappointed.

The packing could be better but all the plants arrived safe and thrived once planted.

I would be happier if they sent an email when the order was shipped.

My order:
The following items were requested on 1/11/2011 9:46:08 AM:

Item # Description............................. Quantity Price

7287 Willow, Hybrid 20 $27.99
Free Gifts as Earned Free
0000 Planting Instructions Handbook 1 Free
5480 6 Grape Hyacinth 1 Free
5803 10 Snow Crocus 1 Free
5965 3 Bouquet Tulips 1 Free

Shipping $9.99
Sales Tax $0.00
Total Charge $37.98

I didn't hear from them at all so I contacted them by email on Saturday, March 05, 2011 on March 08, 2011 got the first email back that said my order had been shipped via USPS.

Called and spoke with an operator and was told to call back in two weeks if I still haven't received anything. Called phone was busy all day!

Email- Monday, March 21, 2011 asking them to check into my order only to be answered that they had and it was shipped.

On the 22nd of March I asked for a refund. Was answered with wait until the 3rd of April to see if my plants had shown up. This would have been a month from the time they said they shipped them.

Called today April 4, 2011 and was told that they would fill out the paperwork to look for my lost plants. Asked again for a refund and was told that they would write me regarding a refund to my credit card. I said that was unacceptable and was told that she would have them email me instead.
3 hours and no emails or calls. I would tell everyone I know that this is the worst company and that their customer service is laughable.

Poor little things! They had once been nice plants, I could tell by the size of the spirea, but they are very, very dried out. I soaked them in a bucket overnight.
Some of the bulbs were mildewed, and the ground-cover plants looked like dried herbs. I planted them anyway, hoping they are just dormant, I know that type of plant is quite hardy. As for the spirea, one looked like a dead stick, only one tiny root. I put both in the same hole with lots of compost, etc., and hope for the best. I don't have much hope for the jack-in-the-pulpits. I will update when and if anything sprouts. I don't fault the plant quality as much as the dreadful shipping-thrown in a plastic bag, and entirely dried out by the time I got them. Only the bearded iris was damp, and it had it top broken off in shipping, poor thing! Iris are hardy, I will keep my fingers crossed and try and nurse them to health!

I placed an order for 50 Purple Perfection Roses end of Feb. They charged my account in a few days. There was no email or confirmation. Afer a couple of weeks, I called to check on the order. It was very difficult to get any specific answer. Talked with 2 ladies for about 30min. The phone center you call either has no clue about the status of the order or they just refuse to give info and do not care. I had ordered FEDEX shipping and the ladies tried to convince me that there is no tracking number. Pretty much "your oder will be shipped when it is" Cutoff for this year's shipping is in Nov. I was very dissapointed. I wanted to track the shipping to have the ground ready for the plants. Now I was thinking of how I should go about recovering my money.
Then ...
I received the plants yesterday. Excellent rootballs. They had shipped 52 roots, individually wrapped with a few free bees. (Couple of them had a fungus developing)
Had I had atleast a lukewarm experience from the "phone center" I would be impressed with these people. They pretty much had a great product with bad, almost nasty service. I think they survive because they are a collection of growers with some unique selection of plants. Some other company will catch upto them soon.
Plants are in the ground. Shipping list is locked in the vault. I am keeping tab on how many will grow ( I hope all of them will).

If a DG personnel is reading this ... please give us better service, so we will come back to you. Why waste your good products?
Cheers,
Manji

First of all STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY

For those who were recently hooked up by this company (less than 60 days) - the best you can do is sent them email about cancellation of your order and call to your credit company. Give them 2 weeks after placing your order (it is their policy and if you paid them it means you have agreed to it). Call in 2 weeks, and if they didn't ship yet cancel via email and call your CC. It will save you time, money and nerves. Don't try to get refund from them yourself. No way. Let do it your credit company.

I will write more about my story in a couple of days. It is still in process. Briefly, I ordered some stuff in November (~$68), they billed my credit card next day (it is against a policy of a credit company and I am going to file a complaint to Visa) and then notified by postcard about postponing the shipping till March. That time I still didn't know about this site. March worked fine with me. A week ago I got a green plastic bag with smashed dead plants and pieces of leaves, branches and roots. When I emailed them they asked me to plant this junk and wait 6 weeks. Fortunately, I had already found this site before I emailed them and knew what it was about. I requested full refund, but they wanted me to send this garbage back to them on my expenses. Or to get replacement (more dead plants in several months?)
Studying all this complaint on different sites, I have found a lot of good advices how to deal with such cheaters. Of course, there is no 100% guarantee (otherwise this cheaters and their branches or sisters wouldn't stay in busyness for so long), but I'll try my best using all legal ways. Who knows may be some day it will be the last drop that will exhaust authorities patience.
I will keep updated.

I have been gardening for a very long time & I have ordered many things from Direct Gardening. I've never had a problem with anything they sent, it all grew fine. I think some people perhaps aren't so experienced & don't know what a dormant plant looks like. As for plant size & packaging- you get what you pay for. I usually buy the most common & toughest plants from them. You have to use a little common sense. It's important to pay attention to details like the size of plants shipped & whether they are bare root or potted etc. You should do that no matter who you're ordering from anyway.

These people are cheats. I emailed them an order for $53.88 worth of product on 9/7/2010, did not get the order, and on 9/23 called to cancel the order. They said they could not take the cancellation over the phone (?!) and I would have to email. Valerie there said the order was scheduled to ship in October. I emailed them that day , at 11:32 a.m. EST to cancel. They sent the order anyway. The $10 in "Blue Lagoon" tulips was wasted money: They aren't blue at all, they are a med. purple. (In all fairness, they did ship part of the order, $6 worth of 3 pkts. of thyme seed on 9/22, the day before I called, which I could have paid for separately and cancelled all the bulbs that they intended to ship in Oct.)

Direct Gardening is a scam! So in the summer of 2009 I ordered from Direct Gardening. Stupid me. The lily bulbs had broken sprouts, other plants crumbled in my hands and some were covered in mildew, etc. Crap items. The company refused a refund because, even though I had sent the paperwork within 14days of purchase, they had not received it. So last summer I requested replacements for all items that had not grown or were to damaged to plant. The lily bulbs were rotted and slimy, plants crumbled in my hands and they send items that will not grow in my zone. When I asked for a refund, they told me that I was beyond the warranty coverage. I am out about 75$ to this corrupt company. DO NOT PURCHASE FROM THEM.

I placed two orders in 2008....38 out of 46 trees were DEAD upon arrival....out of 46......4 YES 4 trees lived through year one....of those 2 survived to 2010.... Now in replacement order....88% of trees were dead....or 12% WERE ALIVE ON ARRIVAL.. alive.......
You cannot get a manager...you cannot get real person...only get rhetoric...send your original invoice...we will send replacements..WHAT AN IDEA....YOU WILL SEND ME MORE DEAD TREES FOR THE PREVIOUS DEAD TREES... ...since they hide and you cannot get a real person.. I told them I am going to post your dead trees on ebay...I don't want more dead trees and third growing season....I want a refund.. I emailed them this is your last warning I am going to drive there to complain..to only address I can find.. or have lawyer sue you..refund my money , give me a real person...no reply except get call from Bloomington police dept...
DON'T BUY FROM THEM.....THEY ARE A RIPOFF..

I ordered a bunch of bulbs a couple of weeks ago and they have now arrived. Everything looks good and they even threw in a bunch of bonus bulbs. Yay! I'll try to post a follow-up in the spring on how they actually do.

DON'T BUY FROM THESE PEOPLE! I ordered a substantial number of fall bulbs from Direct Gardening in September and my credit card was charged for them on October 1st. It is now November 1st and I haven't recieved a single bulb. I emailed them about two weeks ago and received a reply stating "your order will be shipping soon". After still recieving no bulbs, I called today and was told "your order hasn't shipped yet, but it should be soon, because we're not shipping very much longer this year". WHAT?? You still can't tell me when they'll be delivered? You've had my money for a month! Then they told me I could call back... long distance... for more useless information obviously, because they can only provide order information AFTER it's been shipped! It's November in Northern Wisconsin and I won't be able to get a shovel in the dirt much longer. I did not plan to plant bulbs in 20 degree weather. This is absolutely the worst experience I've ever had shopping online for bulbs and I've bought from many, many other vendors. Please do yourself a favor and don't spend a penny with this company.

I ordered a bunch of stuff from this company and then I read all the posts on here and got really scared. I didn't expect to get my order but to my surprise it came. All of the bulbs and the bushes were in excellant shape. The root systems on the bushes was the best I ever seen on plants. I've ordered from many popular nurseries and I've ordered from very good local nurseries but the quality of the products I recieved from this company was better than what I have recieved from others. I was very pleased with my order and the service that I got. I was very leery after reading all the comments, but now I am glad that I ordered from this company. If my plants don't grow it won't be because the quality of the products shipped to me were bad, but it'd be from my neglect or poor weather conditions. Thanks garden direct, I'll be back.

Big Rip off...No account follow-up can be done over the phone..and emails to support go to vain..!!!!!!

I ordered a bunch of plants in June and was provided a delivery date in early fall. I patiently waited and in July, they charged by card, when I called them, they said they were getting ready to ship, so needed to charge and print the labels. Followed up several times (phone) but was asked to wait, ultimately I called and explained I would not be able to plant them after the 9/14 and would like to cancel if not shipped by then. I was told to send an email, as they "could not cancel" over the phone. On 9/14, I sent in an email to cancel. They said they would and to give them 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, I reminded them and they again said it would take 2-3 weeks. After the 3 week, I followed up and received an apologetic email saying they had forwarded my request to management since it was still unresolved. 3 days later, I followed up and received a surprising response that they were unable to cancel since it had been shipped and that I could return it based on the warranty. I called the support line and was treated very rudely and all they could say was that I needed to send a letter (mail), they could do nothing over the phone. No senior person could come on the phone and there was nothing that could be done to cancel.

Its been a week since that call and I received nothing yet. I can only imagine what shape the plants would be in, if it takes 7 days to deliver. I called my CC company to dispute the charge. These guys are a rip off..

On a postive note, I ordered items from Michigan Bulbs and received them promptly and the plants were heathly and are already generating roots!!!! They have a real account and let you check on updates on-line.

I ordered the Butterfly Garden and the Red Garden from Direct Gardening. I payed special attention to sun requirements before ordering the gardens for the two spots I had prepared.
Upon arrival I was sure most of the plants were dead, but I read all the instructions and I said that this was a dormant state.
I planted both gardens following the directions that came with the sets.
Nothing from the red garden has ever come up. It's been over 4 months now, and only part of the butterfly garden has shown any life at all. Even a couple of those that started to come up, died off. Out of all the plants I put in, only five have succeeded in appearing like they may make it. None of the large plants, such as the Butterfly Bush or the Hardy Fushia, have come up at all.
I did not fertilize per instructions. I water daily. Mulched so as not to cover the exposed plantlings. I did everything the way they said to.
I wish I had checked reviews before buying with them. :(
I put a lot of work into preparing those areas for those two specific gardens. Next spring, I'll take the time to go to local nursery's instead. The gardens I planted with them have come in beautifully.

My brother and I ordered about $87 worth of lilacs, hydrangea and rhodys on August 2010. They arrived on September. The plants looked like they were dead but we followed the directions on how to plant them. They are now all thriving and are doing fine. At first, we got scared of the negative comments here, but nothing could beat the prices of Direct Gardening so we thought it was worth the risk. We are very happy with our purchases. We are so excited. We looking forward to enjoying our new plants!

I suppose, I was luckier than the rest of customers, who were ripped off by this company.
I have placed an order in spring, and waited for almost a month for my order to arrive. However, it never did. So, I e-mailed to CS department, asking to rush my order. To that request, they e-mailed me that my credit card was declined, and they canceled my order a month ago. Well.... I had no idea what happened, no note/e-mail was sent out to me, no request for another card....By then, I missed the planting season, where I could have purchased plants from the other respectable company. By the way, my card worked fine in grocery stores, hardware stores, on-line shopping with other companies. I guess, it was just a blimp, and they could not process it right.
Now, after reading all the comments on quality and service this company provides, I am so happy that my C. card did not work for them. And thanks to Dave's Garden, I found few good companies to order plant material from.
Please do not shop at DirectGardening. Do not waste your time and money!

I had placed an order with Direct Gardening (the subdivision House of Wesley, more specifically) back in July. I emailed them and requested the order to be canceled because I changed my mind. I received an e-mail back asking for my name and address to "access my account", even though I included the account number and my full name and e-mail in my first e-mail. A couple of days later I received an e-mail stating that my cancellation request would be forwarded to the appropriate people.

I just received a package from House of Wesley yesterday. I immediately wrote them and asked why this was sent when I had requested to cancel the order 6 weeks ago. They wrote back and said that it becomes very difficult to cancel an order once it has been placed. However, I may pay for return shipping per their warranty plan to process a refund.

Rather than waste plants, I am going to try and plant them. I say "try" because the plants are in very poor condition. I also had ordered 4 bareroot roses in a collection and only received 3 of them. I told them to send me the missing rose. Now I'm out $87 with an incomplete order.

I have never had a company give me this kind of run-around. I'm so glad to have this website as a resource--I haven't ordered from anyone else without checking on here first.

I placed an order on 6/19/2010 on 6/30/2010 I received a bag of moldy daylilies and hostas. I called them and told them that they looked horrible and moldy and could I get replacements. They said that it was normal for them to look like that and just to plant them. So I did. After about a week I looked up reviews on Direct Gardening. I wish I would have before I ordered. If i had I wouldn't have ordered from them. So I called them up again and said I wanted a refund. I was told that I had to wait 6 weeks to see if the plants would come up first. After almost 6 weeks I called them again and said that all of the plants were dead and that I wanted a refund. They then said I would have had to gotten it within 2 weeks of receiving my order. I asked for one within that time and was told I had to wait 6 weeks to see if the plants would come up first. So they said to even get replacements I had to send in a letter and the packing list. So i sent the packing list and a letter stating that all of the plants were dead. I get a letter back in about a week asking which plants were dead! DUH! I said all. I had put my phone # on the letter to so all they had to do if they were that stupid and could figure out which one all meant all they had to do was call. So I call them up and said I want a refund. They again said it was too late but I could get a replacement if I sent in my packing list and letter asking for replacements. I said I just did and in my letter it said all were dead and I got a letter back asking which ones were dead. The lady said all isn't descriptive enough you have to list out each one that died. I then filed a complaint with the BBB. the company sent me a letter saying to send the packing list in and they will expedite the handling of my replacements. That was on 8/28/2010. the next day I sent them everything they asked for. I still on 9/16/2010 haven't heard anything from them. Every time I call them i get a rude person who has no idea what is going on. I just talked to the IL attorney generals office and they said to submit a report for them to review and if they get enough of them they could take action against the company other then just trying to mediate something for an individual. So everyone who has had a bad experience PLEASE submit a report to the attorney general!

I cannot believe that this company has any positive ratings as it is so vastly inferior in product/plants and customer service . They must buy from the most substandard of growers yet have a totally unrepresentately impressive internet catalog that they have got to somehow survive with strictly only new orders. In a $300 order all the plants were puny, moldy, and most roots decomposing. Not a single plant from 2006 survived even the first growing season.

To make a long story short I have been dealing with Direct GArden trying to get decent replacement plants ordered in 2008 since mid summer 2009. I wasted one growing season waiting on their response and there is little to none. They will wait you out sending you dead stock until you give up. If you call and have already sent in one label....you need to send in the other label regardless of what the person happens to say on the other end. They have no clue what they are saying. They will not send anything to replace anything unless you send in that label each and every time and then they will send you dead stock. I do not recommend this company for anything unless you want to waste your money, receive dead plant stock and get very exasperated. Go some place else. I am sorry I did not look for reviews on direct gardening before but they were the only place I could find that offered what I was looking for....or at least that is what they said.

Keep your original shipping label or you will be out of money. That is the only way you can receive a free replacement.

Summary of order: 2 Cinnamon Ferns - dead. 6 Prunella, Bella Rose - dead. 6 Prunella, Freelander Rose - 2 survived. Angel Trumpet 3-n-1 - 1 dead & 2 alive. 6 Trumpet vines - 1 took root and survived.

When I type "dead" above, this means that they never took root or showed any signs of life. Many were dead upon arrival. I would not buy from this company again. All plants received much care and proper planting techniques (location, water, soil types, etc) were all followed.

P.S. I bought a 3-n-1 trumpet off of eBay as a replacement to this one and it has done fantastic. Go figure. :-)

"On Sep 20, 2010 11:08 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

A dmail has been sent to this customer, but we have not received a response. All of our products are covered by a one year guarantee. We hope the customer contacts us or has already contacted us and taken advantage of this guarantee."

I ordered items and did not hear anything from them about when they would ship; finally sent email and order was sent within a week or so; since I had two orders, I was totally disappointed with items; yes, looked dead, contacted them and they told me to give them chance to "come alive" which I have and I would say that 90% or more of the entire two orders have not survived regardless of all I have done to revive them. I will not order from this company again.

"On Sep 20, 2010 10:43 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

A d-mail was sent to this customer, but we have not received a response. We are sorry to hear that so much of the product did not survive. However, we hope the customer will take advantage of our one year guarantee which covers all of our plant products.

"

Ordered around $40 of merchandise and received an email confirmation immediately. About 10 days later I found more things to purchase and called the company. I was able to speak with someone directly who was helpful. Although they couldn't tell me if the first items had shipped, they still allowed me to place this order as an extension of the original order. This was nice because it saved me on shipping.

Both orders arrived in a few weeks. I was weary due to the previous bad reviews. The plants all arrived in good condition. Many of the plants I received were dormant roots so the sight of "dead sticks" didn't surprise me. I have ordered plants online before so I knew what to expect.

These plants were delivered to my shaded porch. When they arrived I made a point to bring them inside immediately and they were planted within 24 hours. After placing these items in a good soil and watering regularly, the items are coming out of dormancy.

I ordered a smoke tree, lavendar munstead, russian sage, a lenten rose, hakonechloa grass and several others. All plants were a remarkably good deal and are beginning to fill out nicely.

I will definitely be ordering from them again.

DO NOT do business with this company. When my order arrived, it consisted of nothing but bags of black moldy root cuttings. Upon calling customer service I was told not to return the package, but write a letter, and attach the shipping invoices, which I did. 2-3 weeks later I recieved a letter from Direct Gardening asking which plants were dead. (DUH!!)
It seems if they were tap dancing and trying to prolong the process, as planting season was nearly over. I again called customer service and spoke with a supervisor who told me to write ANOTHER letter and state which plants were unusable, and send back the lables which had been returned to me, which I did and additionally asked for a refund, because I was so disgusted with the service. Today, I recieved a $20 merchandise credit slip. They refused to give me a refund, hence this writeup. I will relate my experiece to all of my fellow gardeners, who I am sure, will also not do business with this company

"On Sep 29, 2010 10:29 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

Our guarantee on nursery stock states "If any item you purchased from us does not live, for a FREE REPLACEMENT just RETURN THE ORIGINAL SHIPPING LABEL along with your written request within 1 year of receipt....For a REFUND of the purchase price, RETURN THE ITEM AND THE ORIGINAL SHIPPING LABEL, with the correct postage affixed, within 14 days of receipt."

This customer's order shipped in 2 packages. When she first wrote to us, it wasn't clear what items were dead. After we inquired, she clarified that it was all of the items in the 2nd package she received and a credit voucher was issued as she had not returned any of the product.

We have attempted to contact this customer by dmail regarding a refund, but have not received a response.

"

Complete jokers. Do not waste your time if you want any items shipped in a timely matter or if you want living plants to arrive at your house. Horrible customer service and shady business practices at best. I am so disappointed as their selection is great but if you actually want the plants try another company. Frustrating does not even begin to cover it. Go elsewhere....you pay a little at Direct Gardening but you will get NOTHING direct from them except for a lot of excuses and poor correspondence.

"On Sep 20, 2010 10:40 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We have sent a d-mail to this customer, but have not received a response. We are sorry to hear that the product did not survive. However, we hope the customer will take advantage of our one year guarantee which covers all of our plant products."

I have also made a great mistake dealing with this company. At least 5 emails and over 4 returned letters asking the same questions. Ordered 16 plants, they arrived in a box inches too small, each and everyone was bent/broke along with the support sticks to fit into the box. Clearly done by an employee as the box had no damage shown on the outside. Months later still dealing with this company. Please note they have Ten companys they sell thru or own. Why would a company cause so much troubles?

I waited to post this review to really give directgardening a chance since my feelings were mixed. I ordered 200 hardy amur privet hedges. They came (well kind of). Since where I wanted to put them was about 200 ft in total length I figured 1.5 ft apart would give me some wiggle room for ones that died and maybe do a little more of my yard - maybe even some out front. Even when doing so I ran out of hedges! Weird I thought... then decided to go back and count them... I received only 100 plants of an order of 200!! How could someone seriously screw that up?! We called and complained and as instructed we sent a letter detailing the error... we sent it certified, which was about $6 and a week later we called to confirm. We come back from a our July 4th vacation after being assured by phone it was in process only to find sitting in our mail box is the letter and original shipping label with a tag that stated we need to detail the exact number of missing plants?! We detailed this in the letter! We are not retarded! To provide some history... we placed the order in late april and my fear was summer was around the corner - the order came mid May and it was still cool. It's now July and we still have only half our order. I am satisfied by the plants we have 100% success rate. All have budded and grew up to 6 inch stems with fully leaves! So it's taken took about 4 weeks to get the original order, 2 for them to come back at us again - I seriously don't want to plant the new ones (if they come at all) mid summer. Probably going to try our hardest to get our money back, but I doubt that will be the case.

"On Sep 8, 2010 1:42 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

In the customer’s original letter to us, she said that “approximately 100” privets were missing. Since we didn’t know the correct amount, and didn’t want the customer to be short if we guessed the wrong amount, we wrote back asking for clarification. Shortly after making this posting on watchdog, she wrote back to us with clarification on the number of missing privets. A replacement was processed per her request and the missing privets shipped in 7/20. Since we have not had a response to our dmail inquiry, we believe that the matter is resolved. "

I ordered 12 Cinnamon Ferns, which are sent bareroot.
When they arrived, only 3 of them had growth on them, and the others looked like pieces of wood with black roots. I emailed them about the 9 that looked dead, and they said I should plant them, since they are dormant, not dead. I have been gardening for awhile, and I doubted that these would grow. I was right, after 2 weeks, there is no sign of life for those 9. The 3 that had growth on them are doing fine.
I have been purchasing from several companies, and Direct Gardening is the only one (at least that I noticed) that REQUIRES you to send back the packing list if you want either replacements or credits.
As a contrast, I needed some replacements from some ferns I ordered from Michigan Bulb, and they were sent to me in 3 days, no questions asked.
I would never order from Direct Gardening again.

I had purchased 20 hybrid willows to use as a screen. The company claimed they were fast growing. I also purchased 5 rose trees and 2 vines. These were all purchased and planted last spring. Now, a year later, I have exactly 3 willows that have grown around 2 inches ( so much for fast growing) 1 rose bush and no vines. I am a decent garderner, I don't kill things at least, but this is appalling! I sent for replacements. When they arrived I opened a package that was full of moldy sticks. I planted them immediately, following all planting instructions. Now, a week later, dead sticks and dead rose bushes. I would rather pay a bit more for healthy plants at a nursery near me. I would NEVER recommend anyone to buy from this company. I have registered complaints with them but have not heard a single word. Buyer beware!

"On Sep 21, 2010 12:12 PM, Direct Gardening responded with:

Hybrid Willows are extremely fast growing. For them to have only grown 2 inches in a year is very unusual, and we would wonder if there was in issue with the sun, soil, or watering.

Sometimes plants will develop a grey fungus mold during shipment. This can simply be washed off and will not harm the plants. Plants can take up to six weeks to come out of dormancy and show signs of life. Since the replacements had only been planted for a week, they may have just needed a little more time.

We have attempted to contact the customer, but have not received a reply.

"

I placed a large order from Direct Gardening and while I was a little disappointed that most of the items were dormant, I have been thrilled with how fast they've grown once they got started. I do think if the company were to indicate on each item's listing that the purchase is for a dormant plant and have a link for each item that would go to a page saying what a dormant plant looks like and how to get it to grow, customers would be better prepared and not disappointed by what they receive, and to warn that shipping can take three weeks. For those readers who may have never heard the term dormant, it is as if the plant is in the dead of winter, but it isn't dead. They are artificially kept in the dormant state which means very low maintenance, storage space is at a minimum, and this results in being able to sell plants at a much lower price than the cost for a living potted plant. The plant will have no leaves, any growth area is trimmed down to a nub. It should have a root system, sometimes being bigger than the plant. A friend of mine bought coneflowers, they were mostly roots and a tiny bit of stem to know where the ground level should be. I spent 40 dollars and if I were to replace the plants and shrubs elsewhere, the total would have been closer to 100 dollars. Can't beat that! My order came a month ago, everything had the APPEARANCE of seeming dead. I put a tree rose directly into the ground, two mock oranges that I didn't know what to do with yet got laid on top of dirt pile and forgotten for a week, various perennials got planted in spare nursery pots and placed in light shade. The secret to getting dormant plants to grow is to give them a fake spring. Bright light but not scorching sun, and water, water, water. And not just a few minutes of a passing hose, soak through to the bottom of the roots, at least every other day. If they break dormancy but then don't get water for a stretch, they can give up and die. My rose tree now is covered in growth shoots, and while they are short yet, there will be more branches making it quite full and lovely as it matures. I paid 19.99 for it. My neighbor got one at the local nursery, paid 70 for hers, and it will be meager in comparison by next year. Those two mock oranges cost me 1.50, yes, really, a dollar and a half. They were about a foot tall with 5 or 6 thin, spindly branches. I remembered them on top of the dirt pile when I saw leaves showing up a few days after a rain. There roots weren't in the ground and the poor things were trying to grow! I plopped them in a bucket, threw enough dirt on them to shade the roots and carried them to shade - and forgot them again for a week. I even missed them when I watered most of the time. A few weeks later, I moved them out of the bucket where they were drowning in rain water and put them in a nursery pot. These abused baby shrubs have grown now until all the branches have sprouted and they're thriving, but I still don't know where to plant these things that will become 10 feet high and around some day, all for a dollar and fifty cents. My friend's coneflowers have all come up in her flower bed and she's thrilled too. Can't beat the bargains at Direct Garden, they really help you stretch your gardening budget. Dormant plants aren't fool proof, some may not burst out into leaf, just be sure to water them and baby the plants for a few weeks and the success rate will be pretty high. And don't give up if they don't sprout leaves even in a week or two. I planted a dormant spice bush in early spring, along with many other dormant shrubs bought elsewhere. All the others leafed out in a week or two but the spice bush really looked dead but I kept watering it. Three months later, it finally has leaves! I'm thrilled. Hopefully all this will help someone purchase more plants for their dollars and help them get their gardening treasures to grow. I won't hesitate to buy from Direct Gardens, or any of their affiliated companies, again.

I ordered three PawPaw trees and some Canna bulbs. The bulbs never grew, but can forgive that. What disgusts me about this company is what they called "trees." I received three dead sticks. They had no hint of root structure whatsoever even when I examined them under a stereomicroscope. These were nothing more than twigs cut at both ends. There were no leaves, no buds, and no hint of life. Despite their appearance, I planted each in a good soil mix in pots. No surprise, nothing ever came of them.

I received no refund due two the two week limit which is way too short. I mailed back the item labels for replacement even though I told them that it was probably pointless given the quality of what they sent the first time. Two years later I still have nothing but three dead sticks.

I cannot recommend making a purchase from this company.

"On Sep 21, 2010 11:41 AM, Direct Gardening responded with:

We are sorry to hear that this customer had a problem with their paw paw trees. The paw paw will often look as though it doesn't have a root system when we ship it because paw paw's have a tap root, not a fibrous root system. That, combined with the fact that they are relatively young, means that the roots aren't often as many might expect. The plant is also shipped dormant, and will often therefore appear to be just a "dead stick" on arrival. Of course once planted and with good watering, they should start to show green and survive. The trees are guaranteed for one year and if they do not survive, we are able to send replacements or a credit voucher for them. "

Posted on April 8, 2010, updated June 27, 2010
This is my first order with Direct Gardening, & I will have to say I love this company! I ordered 2 dwarf Elberta peach trees, 1 dwarf Damson plum tree, 1 Hall's Hardy almond tree, & 2 American hazelnut trees all for less than $50 total including $9.99 shipping. My order arrived about 10 days after I placed it. All of the trees were bare root & small, as I expected, but also appeared to be very healthy. I planted them all within 3 days of receipt. It has been about 2 weeks since I planted, & the 2 peach & almond trees are producing a good amount of green shoots. The 2 hazelnut & plum trees have not yet produced green shoots, but they do appear to be alive. I have not given them any special TLC, unless mixing in some good leaf compost & making sure they don't dry out is considered TLC. The almond tree alone was going to cost me $69.99 at a local nursery & the peach trees would have been about $25 each. I know these local trees were much larger, but since I have a lot more time than money, I am thrilled to pay the small, small price & take the time to let them grow! I am a very, very happy customer & I will definitely order from Direct Gardening again.