Comments regarding Direct Gardening

I ordered several plants and shurbs through this company and like many others found this site a few days later. I wanted to cancel my order but decided to wait and see because of the excellent pricing. I ordered on April 18th and called the company on the 2nt of May. I was able to get through to the company on my first try and was told that my order would be shipped in 3 separate boxes. Two had been shipped on the 29th and the third would be shipped as soon as the plants were available. I received one shipment on the 4th of April and the other two on the 7th. All plants and shrubs arrived in very good condition. All showed signs of life and seemed to be healthy. No mold or broken parts. I have potted everything except the shubs and they have been temporalily heeled in to my garden. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. My order came to $108.50 and I was not very happy when I read the reviews. So far this has been a very positive experience. I do not have a green thumb as this is my first big experiment with a garden, but I remain hopeful and positive because the plants looked so healthy. If they do not survive it will propably be my lack of skill, and I can't blame them for that.

Hello, Just wanted to offer my good experiences with this company. Like many on this thread I found this sight just after ordering from Direct. I though about cancelling and decided to go with the "get what you pay for" thinking. I only spent $47.00. I received my order approximately 4 weeks after I made and I can say that I am very please with what I received. I got everything I asked for and it all came well wrapped. The mail carrier did an excellant job with not breaking the branches on the Pee Gee's. Also, the "free-bees" were received with out any trouble. I look forward to warmer weather and having them bloom.
Thanks
Cathy G.

I ordered a lot of plants from them, they sent them All, and all looked good, I'd recommend them. For the person who couldn't find her bill of lading it was on the package, and I got a bill in my inbox on my email server, if I have a problem, I'll contact them and I'm sure I'll have no trouble getting my issues resolved, They are making an effort towards better customer service. I will continue to deal with them.

Katy Brezger

I ordered and recieved a mock orange from this company. The shrub arrived dehydrated, very light, dry and dusty like an old stick, and had dry powdery green mold on the roots.

The roots were brown and brittle, and when pruned back there was no green wood whatsoever in this stick. It was clear that it was dead, and probably had been for some time.

I emailed a detailed complaint, asking for instructions on what to do next. I recieved an email that instructed me to simply send in a letter & my packing slip, for a replacement, which I promptly did.

Instead of a replacement, I recieved a generic note, instructing me to plant the stick and wait 6 weeks before asking for a replacement.

After seeing the condition of my order (being sent a plant that was obviously dead and had been for some time), being told that I could get a replacement and instead recieving a brush-off letter that assumed I don't know what a dormant bare-root plant should look like is terrible customer service. There is a reason this company has such a poor rating. I would definately recommend that others look ELSEWHERE to order their plants and shrubs.

I ordered 2 blue rose plants and received the wrong color rose. I called to request their error be corrected. I could not find the "return label" they included with the shipment so I was told that I would need to include a copy of my bank statement with the item listed as "proof of purchase." I reminded the customer service rep, Shirley, that they have my purchase information in their system but they said this was their policy and if I wanted the plants to be replaced I would have to follow their procedure. I asked to speak with a manager and was told that no manager was available. I asked when one would be available and was told the chance of one being available was "slim to none."

I decided to do a little due diligence. I have already filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and will be filing one with the Illinois Securities Department. The more complaints filed the better!!!! You can do the same!!

Better Business Bureau:
http://www.bbb.org

Illinois Securities Dept. complaint form:
//www.sos.state.il.us/departments/securities/bopcnsmr.pdf#search='illinois%20department%20of%20securities%20consumer%20complaint'

Owner: Richard B. Owens
House of Wesley, Inc.
Owen Nursery - Bloomington, IL (309) 662-3511 (direct to Richard Owens, not customer service)

Additionally, based upon large number of negative ratings listed here, I am taking steps to file a class action lawsuit against this company. If you would like to be included, please contact me at hrc35@juno.com as soon as possible.

Regards,

H. Elfstrom

Like many others, I ordered from Direct Gardening just a few days before finding the Watchdog. I seriously turned pale! The order taker sounded very young and new nothing at all about plants or gardening (but was very nice). My first of 4 packages was bare root plants, they all made it! My second package arrived with seeds about 10 days later, then a few days later my pots came in. My potted plants arrived first part of April as stated and most really looked pretty good! They are doing well so far. I did call about my pots before they arrived and a lady answered the phone right away and was nice and looked up my orders promptly. Due to the straggly shipping and less than experienced staff, this is a conservative positive.

I am so sorry to hear so many folks having troubles with this company. I ordered 50 hostas (handful of hosta) and everyone came and was planted last year. They were bulbs (which I like, less digging in clay). They are all coming up again this year and I am so happy I have 40 butterfly bushes on order with them now. They may take longer to get some of your plants, but for the price - I will wait. I know many people believe butterfly bush is a weed, but it grows great from Michigan (my first home) to Florida (college) to Georgia where I have set roots (LOL).

One benefit they could offer is notification of when the order is on its way. I allow for their complete guideline - say March to June here in the south, so I am happy when they arrive within that timeframe.

I did loose 12 plants last year from them - but that was due to a mold or virus that killed over 1000 (one thousand) of my plants due to too much rain. 3 backbreaking weekends and they were all killed due to mother nature. I did not try to replace the 12 plants of theirs - I just picked less picky plants this year. My smoke tree is 3' tall and doing great!

I ordered from this company back in January. What a tragic mistake! Like a fool I've spent almost $100 and received nothing but a padded envelope with the "free gift with purchase"....Dessicated bulbs which I've planted but don't expect much from. The live plants haven't arrived though it's now April, and attempts to contact *anyone* at the company are fruitless. Endless busy signals, emails ignored. I'm so angry I could spit nails! Don't waste your money, don't waste your time, and for heaven's sake avoid the offshoot companies they hide behind! I'm sorry to lose all my money, but on the upside now that I've found Garden Watchdog it will never happen again.

ordered trees on feb 12 2005
no order has arrived.
they do nothing to resolve the problem.
i have turned them into the BBB

long story short. all the other complaints are exactly like mine

STAY AWAY!!

Please don't purchase from this company. I only read about other people's experiences AFTER I ordered but I am going to echo all the negative responses I've heard. I ordered over six weeks ago, have yet to receive product, get responses from customer service that are standard: "We know nothing and don't know anyone who does and you can't contact anyone in the company to find out anything."

It's sad really but at the same time...I'd like my money back and no one can tell me whether or not I'm getting it back or whether I'll eventually receive some product. No one can say when they will know to tell me. It's very aggravating, especially as one person already said, when customer service today is generally so good online.

Please don't make the mistake I did and order from this company!!!

I ordered an assortment of bulbs in December for a Christmas present. Received e-mail saying order would be shipped in the Spring. I e-mailed them in March asking about my order. Response said to send more information. I sent them my order confirmation number. Received no response. I called them end of March. They said that they would send my order. Now it is April. I called them asking for my money back. They said that they would have to have the request in writing. I am a VERY dissatisfied customer and pretty ANGRY, too!!!!

I, like a lot of people here, ordered from Direct Gardening before reading their reviews on this site. My order was sizeable (around $62.00), not a fortune, but more than I wanted to throw away on sickly/dead plants. Instead of immediately trying to cancel, I decided to give it a try. I must say, I have been pleasantly surprised. The bulbs I ordered arrived healthy and firm (some already sprouting), the bareroot shrubs, that were $2.50 each, were budding and healthy AND 3 feet tall (Spring Hill wanted $14.99 each for the same product and theirs are only advertised as 1.5 to 2 feet tall), and the bareroot plants were moist and healthy (not moldy). The only thing I am worried about are the ferns. Some were rather small root clumps, and all were really dry. My order arrived promptly and packaged well, and most everything was moist. They did charge my card right away, but I don't see why it matters to some whether they pay now or a few weeks from now. I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for. With a discount plant vendor, one should expect smaller plants and some replacement need. But I think, so far at least, the plants from Direct Gardening have been much larger and healthier than those I have received from other discount vendors.

I've ordered probably 1000s of dollars worth of stuff from the various companies associated with Direct Gardening. I've developed a system to increase my chances of success that seems to work. In the beginning, when I was very new to gardening and I would recieve an order from Direct it was usually on a week day when I was very busy so I would put the plants in a bucket in my garage and leave them until the weekend. I might have sprinkled them with water, worried they would dry out. More often than not, much of the order would die. Same with Michigan Bulb...

But now, when I get an order in I deal with it immediately. I don't have a greenhouse (I need one!) so I pull out a bunch of tupperware, throw some really good potting soil in it, and plant everything. Then I give it a real good water and set them out in front of the windows in my kitching and dining room, all over the table and counters. And I leave them there, usually for about a month. I keep a good eye on them, watering them somewhat frequently (not too much because the containers they're in don't have holes in them). I don't leave them in there much longer than a month because the potting soil will start to get moldy.

So, usually, after a month or so of this sort of nursery care, they're ready to go outside. And they usually do very well.

I used this method for everything from bushes, to bulbs, to perrenials, to trees. They don't get planted until they start growing inside. And a month is about all they usually need.

Things like bushes or trees get an overnight root soak in a bucket before I plant them in potting soil, that's the only difference.

I know this is a bit of work, but I can't afford the better nurseries and I can do this and end up with a nice end product.

Good luck to all!

I've ordered from Burgess several times now with no problems, so even though this site showed an overwhelmingly negative response to Direct as well as Burgess, I ordered anyway because I wanted the Hall's Honeysuckle that Burgess didn't sell. I got my order yesterday from both Burgess and Direct Gardening. I had ordered pink honeysuckle from Burgess and they were 30" tall bareroot shrubs, full of branches. The Hall's Honeysuckle from Direct were in a little baggie, 3 tiny little plants, very much alive, though, and leafing out already. Hmmmmm, why such a difference? I'll have to look into that more today. I also ordered some more Rose of Sharon (I've gotten about 20 from Burgess last year) but this time I ordered them from Direct. Very big, nice looking shrubs. Of course, at this time I'll have to wait and see if they are alive!
I'm placing neutral at this time because of the tiny honeysuckle and until I see if all the shrubs live.

So hard to cancel the order - no matter what I tried --
I had found this site's feedback about directgardening.com after I placed the order online. Before that I had tried to call them to add more on the order but the line was always busy no matter what time to call. Emails? no response. With the doult I checked online and found the very nagative feedback. I feel uneasy and decided to cancel. No way to reach them thru phone. Numerous calls, 20~30 dials - busy signals, always. I eventually sent them URGENT CANCELLATION, ACTION REQUIRED emails - to both the customer email and the order status email addresses. Still no response. So a day after that I emailed them again telling them if I do not hear from them in two days I will call credit card company to dispute the charge ( they charged by credit card right after the order- before the shipment. That was not right practice either). This time they did respond in a day, but told me that they did not receive any of my cancellation emails (No way - because I used teh reply key to send the request of cancellation) and they had shipped the plant - they shipped the plant just yesterday!!! - even according to their date - that was 2 days after my URGENT cancellation request !!!
I would expect most companies would respect customer's cancellation requests and handle them in a professional way. Should not be like this- so hard and too hard to cancel an order!
So from my experience this is not a company I would want to do business with. I will never touch their site again.

I found GardenWatchDog shortly after placing my order from DirectGardening, and in the interest of avoiding future problems, quickly called the company to cancel my order. Just canceling it months before it is scheduled to ship is a hassle. They told me I could try cancelling online, but that it "probably wouldn't work" and that I should write a letter. I wrote a letter, faxed a letter and emailed in addition to phoning in a cancellation request. I called after two weeks and they can't even confirm that they've received my cancellation request. Not at all the excellent and personal customer service I've become used to from other online vendors.

My only experience with this company was positive.
I ordered mixed hybrid asiatic lilies in fall of 2004 which arrived promptly, in good condition, with plenty of healthy roots.

The bulbs were small (10-12" circumfence) but sold that way. All bulbs were healthy. I think the secret to the success should be found in the timing. Lily bulbs are lifted in summer by the growers. Directgardening probably received the bulbs recently from the growers (or had the grower drop ship in their bags) which would explain the excellent quality. If you order lilies in spring, the storage in winter will entirely determine the quality of the bulbs.

I ordered "mixed" lilies, so I can not complain about the size/color/named accuracy. Based on fact that even very reputable lily growers have a hard time shipping named lilies correctly, I am sure that "mixed" bags is probably give you the best "satisfaction".

If I am to buy inexpensive "no-name" mixed lilies, I would not hesitate to try directgardening again.

I ordered Muhly Grass during the summer. The grass arrived dead. I planted it just in case, but no miracle. Why would they bother to ship a dead plant? I believe this company is also associated with Four Seasons Nursery, which I also had a bad experience with.

On August 28, 2004 I received a shipment of plants that I had ordered from Direct Gardening. The total bill was 133.85. When I opened the package the Hemlocks and Blue spruce looked dead. They were not dormant they were dead. I emailed Direct Gardening The next day to tell them that most of the plants I received were dead. I told them I would however plant them and see if by chance any would survive. They did not survive. On September the 10th I Express mailed all plants back including some Red Bud trees that had come with this order. I also mailed a letter with the original shipping label telling them that by the time they received this letter they would already have received the plants as I had express mailed the plants. They sent me the original label back and a letter stating that they needed the plants back. They already had the plants back. The letter said when I mail the plants back I also need to send the original shipping label back. I still do not understand why they mailed the shipping label back to me if they needed it. I mailed the shipping label back and told them that they already had the plants. Direct gardening then sent me another letter saying that I should plant all of the plants and give them time to grow. I responded back that this would be a little difficult since they had the plants in their posession. They then sent me another letter saying they did not have the original shipping label. Remember I had already mailed it back to them. This letter saying they needed the original shipping label had a sheet of paper where they had attached the shipping expres mail label from the plants I sent back. They had penciled the number and types of plants on the form The pencil information verified they had received all plants back. Besides asking for the original shipping labe they asked that I send them back the correspondance from this latest letter along with another letter requesting a full refund. I emailed them several weeks later and talked to them on the phone. This time they told me they had the original shipping label; however, they had not yet received the plants back. Today is 11/01/2004 and I am still trying to get my full refund back. This time I emailed them and will send a letter showing where their company signed for my plants when they recived them back in September. I would not recommend that anyone use Direct gardening or any company related to it. I have attempted to get through to the president of the company. I have been told he does not take calls from customers.

This is the worst company I have ever dealt with! I ordered plants over 5 weeks ago. They billed my credit card immediately. I have called and sent e-mails only to be told "we shipped them and can’t trace them until it has been at least 30 days from shipment". These are live plants! Then after 30 days were up I was told “the post office must have lost them”. I asked for my credit card to be refunded several times and was told “be patient it takes time”. They refuse to tell me when they will credit me back. They had no problem charging my account the day my order was placed. This is ridiculous! Still no plants and no refund of my credit card.

As many others have stated, I too had a bad experiece with this company and would recommend to everyone to NOT order from them for 3 main reasons. One, the bulbs I ordered were mush, the freesias were rotten and the lily bulbs small and soft. The few semi-healthy ones that did bloom were NOT the ones I ordered. Two, their customer service is a joke, the people on the phones are just as impersonal and unconcerned as the emails you get. Three, there are many much better companies to deal with and I wish I had checked on here before I had ordered from them...don't let the cheap prices lure you in.

I ordered 5 boysenberry plants, 2 paw-paw trees, & 4 blackberry plants from DirectGardening. The boysenberries arrived D.O.A. in the traditional "green-plastic-bag-of-death" stinking of rot, so no go for launch there. The paw-paws were dead twigs that HAD NO ROOTS...honest to goodness..no blessed roots at all..just 2 sticks that never had a chance. The 4 blackberries are actually sprouting, so I get to enjoy those one day, but 75% of the order was not only D.O.A., but gave me a quality allergy-attack just from smelling the musty/moldy funk which indicated a green bag of, not plants. DO NOT BUY FROM THESE PEOPLE !

I ordered quite a few items earlier this year from Direct Gardening. I ordered 60 privet hedges - about 40 survived - still not bad considering the price. Upon receiving the package I soaked the roots of all the plants as instructed . I also ordered various cherry bushes which are doing quite well as well as a pink pussywillow.. The big dissapointment was a 5 in 1 pear tree - the thing looked like a walking stick - no branches (although it apparently seemed grafted) and absolutely no runners in the root system- if you turned it upside down the root part would look like the handle of a walking stick.. I planted it anyway and there it sits- a walking stick in the ground (and yes I planted it root down ;-) ). I purchased one last year from Exciting Gardens that looked exactly the same (maybe a few more roots) and now I know why - same company. Well - I returned the shipping label to Exciting Gardens as stated and never heard from them again - I presume the same will be true of Direct Gardening as they have not replied to any e-mails. From now on for fruit trees I will stick with the likes of Stark and RainTree as I have multiple graft apple trees from both and they are flourishing. Guess the old saying holds true - you get what you pay for.

I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND AGAINST EVER ORDERING ANYTHING FROM THIS COMPANY!
I placed an order for a number of plants, including strawberries, freesia bulbs, torch lilies, and a japanese cherry tree. NOT ONE THING SURVIVED! The plants didn't look very good when I got them, but I faithfully planted and watered them, hoping they would spring to life. I WAS WRONG. Nothing lived.
I did happen to keep the shipping label, because I am an incurable pack rat, not because I happened to read the return policy ahead of time. I do have to say that I think that any company that requires you to keep shipping labels to get replacement plants doesn't want to ever have to replace anything. And maybe they expect it to die too.
Anyway, I sent in the shipping labels and got my replacement plants, which don't look any better than the original plants. Not much hope there. If you are shopping around for cheap plants (who isn't), then I would say wait for a local nursery to have an end of season sale or something. You will definitely have a better shot of getting decent plants than through this company.

DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY!
1.They send the order in a flimsy green trash bag, stapled shut at the top.
2. The plants are put into sealed clear bags with no air holes, which cause the plant to suffocate and rot, or turn to mush.
3. They are all bare root, with no soil, and are either dried out, or if they were wet when they sealed them in the bag, they are rotted & soggy.
4. Because they are thrown into a trash bag, and then put a label on it, the plants get tossed around in the bag the entire time, and all the stems get broken.
5. Their version of dormant is really "dead".
This is the ABSOLUTE WORST ORDER that I have EVER RECEIVED and I will NEVER, EVER do business with them, again. I am extremely disappointed, disgusted, and in shock!
I truly regret not checking here before I ordered.

What a wonderful thing!! great prices, i love the spending incentive of the free gifts.. I got about 60$ worth of plants and a lot of them did great.. i did have problems with some of the more tempermental plants such as the ferns but i had saved my shipping label and i sent that in with a list of the ones that needed replacing.. got them in the mail a few weeks ago and they are doing good.. what a wonderful experience.. !! For others, the company might be what you pay for but i got more then what i paid for.... plus i LOVE THE SHIPPING!!! 7.95!! how do they do it?????

PLEASE DO NOT BUY FROM DIRECT GARDENING!!!
Placed order in April. Ordered 12 ivy plants. Emailed several times asking for order to get shipped. It came in June. However, there was only 4 of the 12 plants in the crappy plastic pouch they came in. 2 of the 4 moldy sticks actually lived.. I emailed and asked for the remaining 8 that I was charged for. They acted as though I was trying to screw them! I still am trying to get the remaining 8 plants shipped!!!! It is almost August! Today they emailed me and asked me to send the shipping material again??? . I sent it to them over a month ago, so how can I resend it??? I tell you, the BBB are going to get my 2 cents. So far I got 4 (actually 2) of the 12 plants that I already paid for months ago! THIS IS A TERRIBLE COMPANY!!!!!!

What a total joke this company is! I have tried with out any success what-so-ever to recoup my money for dead plants recieved. They make you go through all kinds of hassle and still no money returned. MY ADVICE IS TO PAY WITH A CREDIT CARD AND RECOUP ALL MONEYS INCLUDING SHIPPING THROUGH YOUR CREDIT CARD IF YOU BUY FROM THESE JOKERS! But, I suggest trying other garden centers and your local nursery or wal mart. In this can case you don't even get what you pay for... DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY OR TIME WITH direct gardening. We gave them all the time in the world and had much the same experience as many people that has posted here before us. STAY CLEAR OF direct gardening RIP OFF ARTISTS! Unless you really like to loose your hard earned money.

I ordered a climbing blue rose, lavender, japanese bloodgrass and an obediant plant....After 1 month of waiting for some sort of growth, I e-mailed to company & let them know of my problem. They replied to mail them back the shipping label, which, of course, I no longer had. I replied back letting them know, and received no response. I just took it as a lesson and will not order from them again. Atleast if one plant came up I wouldnt feel so bad about the $30. I will be sure to check this site first before ordering any plants online

Ok I checked with the BBB before ordering from this company and thought I'd give it a try anyways. BIG MISTAKE! Yes SOME of the plants have slowly started to surface now (they've been in the ground over 3 months now) and my Dwarf Apple Tree and Silver Lace Vines are growing visibly daily! However I'm guessing that 85% of the plants I purchased have done nothing. Many were moldy and/or rotten when I got them. My biggest problem with this company is this: I ordered 6 bushes that promised 1-2 foot tall plants I got 6 inch tall plants, I promptly returned those bushes to the Post Office the next day asking for a refund on them. I received several weeks later a credit certificate from them stating that the plants were not returned within 14 day's of receipt. I haven't tried to contact them about that issue yet. HOWEVER! along with that return I asked for a replacement on 4 Silver Lace Vines as they died almost immediately when I planted them (all 4 new vines are growing nicely now) so I had to return the shipping tag for my replacement, I requested that with the replacement plants they send back my shipping label since most of my order came packed in one little bag (I think it ended up almost 200 plants in one 3ft x 1ft bag no wonder they mold & rot!) I did not get my shipping label back with my new plants or with my credit. And now I need replacements on SEVERAL other plants, like the painted daisy's that grew 2 leavs then disappeared completely, or the dead Hardy Fucia that was DOA, or the lilac bushes that came in "stick" form and haven't done a thing, I could go on and on as many of the plants have not done well. If you choose to order from this company I would place a small order and only purchase indestructable plants or plan to nurse the dead stock back to life.

WOW- sure wish I'd seen this earlier- I placed a same day order with these folks AND Royal Dutch (pretty stupid, eh?) but, after a lot of effort, I was one of the lucky ones- my order from Royal Dutch did not ship and did not ship and did not ship and they kept promising so on the 59th day, I filed a complaint with my credit card company (which had been charged on day one)and finally got the credit- My order with Direct Gardening did ship and everything was scuzzy, moldy and/or dead so I sealed everything backup,slapped on a new return label that said 'please refund' in big big letters, went down to the post office and mailed it back insured. And for nearly three months and many e-mails and phone calls, they said they didn't receive it back. I finally faxed them a copy of the insurance form from the USPS. I told them if I didn't get a credit in 5 days on my account, they could fight it out with the US government and... the credit was issued

I have bought from Direct Gardening probably 4 or 5 years now, and yes I have had to ask for a couple of plants to be replaced, now and then, which they were. There are a few things to keep in mind when planting...Chances are that not everything will make it, and those that didn't for me were replaced.
Have you ever tried to transplant a tree in your yard...you think you have everything just right, got all the roots, and it dies anyway. A large problem may be due to lack of watering. Things coming out of a bag need lots, and lots of water, especially if put in full sun. I'm talking...keep them wet. Watering just in the morning every day is not enough, the plants, trees, bushes, etc will be in shock for a few weeks, and of course some will not make it, but as I said, in those cases I sent back my shipping lable, and recieved new plants.
Frankly I am amazed that a place can dig up things, put them in a bag, and mail them to me...and they do survive.
As a side note. With the help of Direct Gardening I have a Certified Backyard Wildlife Habitat, certified by the National Wildlife Federation. It is filled with trees, shrubs, and plants of every kind, many from Direct Gardening.
So I would have to sum this up by stating that my experience with Direct Gardening has been a positive one, and I am fully satisfied with their plants, and service.

Oh how I wish I had found Garden Watch Dog a month ago. I don't have much more to say than the rest of these feedbacks. Same large green bag with sticks being tossed around inside. Same mushy bulbs, only six in a bag that was to have 10, the same mold and dried up grass. Hard to believe, but several of the sticks have sprouted a leaf or two. The butterfly bushes, I think, had given up the ghost long before they were shipped in that bag. Is is hard for plants to grow without roots. So far I haven't recieved all of my order, no telling where it is. Same e-mail advising they will replace plants that fail to grow if I send in packing slip. I don't expect they will look any better.

It just amazes me that a company like this can stay in business. I wish there was a way to inform poor, unsuspecting people of this website, so they too, wouldn't waste their money. This is not a case of "you get what you pay for". I can get dead plants for free.

So, as others have said before me, DON"T ORDER ANYTHING FROM DIRECT GARDENING.

Pardon my French, but this company sucks! I bought about $120 worth of plants from them back in early March, I didn't get the plants until late May, and about 90% of them were either dead (mushy, rotten foliage) or breathing their last breath. Ok, fine. They say that you can send the shipping label back to them and get replacements. So I did. Well, I received 8 replacement plants just recently (~June 20), and 5 of those were dead too. The replacements for my Creeping Phlox were moldy too. Now I'm on "round 3," trying to get my two Delphinium and three Snow in Summer before the summer's over.

Sometimes you just get what you pay for, and that's certainly the case with Direct Gardening!

My trees and flowers arrived promptly and of course the prices were unbeatable. One packet of the four bulb packets I had ordered did appear moldy, so I'll plant it right away and hope for the best. The trees and bushes are dormant, but look better than those I received from the Arbor Day Foundation. The roots do appear to be in good shape on them. I am unsure of the trillium as they look like large bulbs, I will have to look that one up for instructions. The flowers are in pretty bad shape though, they were either dried up and brown or yellow approaching brown. My experience was not as bad as many had listed here. Overall, everything was OK, but I will definitely choose other companies before this one.

I ordered 8 stella d'oro daylilies, 12 creeping phlox, and 6 Russell Lupines from these hucksters. All of the Lupines were covered in mold and mushy. 3 of the daylilies were too moldy to use, and 5 of the phlox had no roots attached. whn removed from their bags. I called to complain and was told that white mold is normal and won't harm the plant and that I should just plat them because they won't refund my initial shipping or return shipping and it wouldn't be worth it for me to return them. These guys are seriously dishonest and their customer service now wins my award for worst of any internet company I have ever dealt with in 8 years on the web. 26 plants ordered. 12 arrived in acceptable condition. Avoid at all costs.

Ordered a large number of sun garden perennials March 29 to plant in zone 7. Noted the two-week processing delay and slow shipping; I had previously ordered hardy geraniums and old-fashioned native daylilies from them with no real problem.

E-mailed them around the end of April, got a runaround on identifying my order (they need the order number AND all your mailing address info, for some reason). Eventually got a spam reply that basically said, these things take time. Tried again in mid-May; identical, word-for-word response. I told them to just ship whatever was ready and cancel the rest. Got my entire order today, eight weeks after ordering.

The goods: the bulk (maybe four-fifths) of the plants (packed in clear plastic with nothing to keep roots moist) were undersized, with dry roots and little to no growth, which was the good news. The rest of the plants were just rotted slime. Five out of nine poppies had enough healthy root for me to trim and optimistically stick in the ground; the rest was stinky slush. I'm not going to bother trying to get a refund; not worth the high blood pressure.

I won't order from these people again; they're incompetent if not actively hostile to plants and their customers. I would say that early spring orders of unkillable hardy plants MAY result in something you can use, at a low price. Otherwise, you're better off at the local garden center, or asking your mom to give you divisions of her stuff.

I placed an order for the first time this week with Direct Gardening because their prices were so good. I just moved into a new home with 1/2 acre "blank canvas" to satisfy my landscaping passion. Immediately after I placed the order online, I found this web site and thought, "Uh Oh, I better cancel my order." Based on comments from this site, I figured cancelling would be a problem in and of itself. So, I sent an e-mail within an hour of placing the order. I had already received the order confirmation in my e-mail and just responded to that e-mail (using respond to all). I added "URGENT - ACTION REQUIRED" in the subject line, along with "CANCEL". I received a prompt response that they were sending the e-mail to the order department. When I received that e-mail, I waited a day and asked if the order was cancelled. I got another prompt response indicating that they were able to catch the order and cancel it. Therefore, my first experience with this company was a positive one. Maybe I should have just given them a try, but I figured I have enough stress in my life and don't need anything more to have to deal with. Some of the comments on this site would be things to make my blood pressure rise beyond healthy acceptance. So, I placed a very small order with a company called Gurney's. They only have a 52% positive, but I really wanted a particular tree that not many places carry.

I odered the 3-in-1 Butterfly bush from Directgardeing, when it arrived I thought I hit the jackpot since there were three twiggy 3" plants in the pot. I know they grow fast so that didn't bother me, but receivng 3 in the pot set off a bell! I decided to write them and ask them if by chance I did hit the jackpot or if as my mind was telling me so, you had to plant all 3 together. They did respond, which I TRUTHFULLY DID NOT Expect)...LOL...telling me I had to plant the 3 together! Well duhh, why do they call it 3-in-1 (didn't know they meant pot) and say that three colors appear on 1 bush. Heck, if I knew that, I could have went out and bought three well established plants in the colors of my choosing. Call me won't get fooled again! I'll keep these just for G.P., but they sure did lose what could have been a good customer, because I believe Honesty pays off.
Does anyone know if such a plant really exist? I have 2 1/2 acres here and about 20 assorted colors of the Buddehlia - Butterfly bush. DOES ANYONE OUT THERE KNOW IF THE IS SUCH A 3 IN 1 BUTTERFLY BUSH THT REALLY EXISTS AND IF SO, WHERE I MAY GET ONE! IF SO, PLEASE.. RESPOND TO:
centralcitygal@yahoo.com
SERIOUS RESPONSES ABOUT SUCH A PLANT EXISITNG AND WHERE TO GET MY HANDS ON ONE ONLY PLEASE!
Thanks for hearing me out and Happy Gardening to One and all! A special thank you for Dave, this has to be the best gardening site I ever ran into and I've been on the Net for at least 10 years now, so that's saying something! Long Live Dave, his site and our interest in gardening and plants! I have RA but it will be a cold day elsewhere before I can't figure out how to work around it!