Comments regarding Direct Gardening

I have purchased large orders 2 or 3 years in a row. Each year I was unhappy with the timing of the plant arrival. Even though I had ordered much earlier in the year, nothing has ever arrived at the beginning of my planting season. I have bought everything from lilacs to roses to honey suckle and periwinkle and raspberries etc. All I have to show for roughly $300 are 2 honeysuckle bushes. Everything else never came out of the stage it was in when sent. This year I purchased the same sized plants from another nursery and have no problems.

Sure the place is cheap... but you get what you pay for -- Dead plants without much of a chance.

I ordered from this company for the first time in Feb of 2004. I have been gardening all my life and I am fully capable of nursing small plants. These are exactly what I received from Direct Gardening and I'm very pleased with what I received. I ordered 5 quince, 1 hydrangea tree, 2 red maple trees, 5 rose of sharons, 24 pink honeysuckle, 3 hall's honeysuckle, 3 hibiscus, 20 potatoes, 5 sweet williams, 6 iris, 50 liatris, 12 phlox, 4 torch lilies, 6 double hollyhocks, 2 roses, bloodroot, 1 virginia creeper, and some fertilizer. I called the company three times to see when my order was to be shipped and each time was able to reach a representative promptly who answered my questions quickly and correctly just by using my zipcode and name. My order came in six shipments and they are all growing and budding. Since the plants were so small, this year will be a year for them to get "up to speed" and they will be nursed all year long. I know the instructions say to soak the plants in water for a little while...I choose to soak them for a couple days instead. This serves as a nice, long-needed drink. All the free bulbs minus a couple are growing through the surface. For the price I paid, I expected small plants that were just starting out. I live in Tennessee and I guess we will see which babies will really thrive in clay soil and which ones won't. I'll keep you posted. Overall, I'm satisfied with this company and if you don't have time to give them the loving care they need to get started.. then don't order. But I enjoy watching them grow and will order again.

I ordered 3 rosa rugosas,1 smoke tree,5 daylilies, 2 hall's honeysuckle vines,2 mock orange bushes and they arrived after 3 weeks of ordering. All of them are showing signs of growth, also I received free a dwarf burning bush and 8 free mixed flower bulbs. For $23 total I am quite satisfied with this company. Hopefully all of them will grow now.

I'm a Certified Internal Auditor by trade. That means I go around to various units of our company and assist them with meeting goals, becoming more efficient and effective, and keeping their assets safe. Direct Gardening seems to need someone to do this for them. Although they have a product everyone wants (inexpensive plants by mail), they have very bad customer service, ineffective internal communications, and poor quality controls.

I ordered from Direct Gardening before finding Garden Watchdog and have had several email communications with them since. Here are some problems that Direct Gardening needs to address internally:

1. It takes an average of 2-3 days to get a reply by email. There doesn't seem to be a way to call.
2. Direct Gardening does not seem to be able to track a customer's order by the order number that Direct Gardening assigns. I was asked to provide name, address and phone number so they could figure out which order was mine.
3. It took three days to track down my order. It should be instantaeous through a computer system. They told me yesterday (April 14th) that the order was shipped and would get to me in 7-14 days. It was in my mailbox when I got home. One hand does not know what the other is doing.
4. Quality control is poor. I think most of us understand the concept of dormant plants and bare root shipping. It's not for the faint hearted and can be disconcerting when you get the dead looking plants. But my plants were shipped in a 3 foot long green plastic bag with no supporting backing for the shrubs. Four long sticks were loose in this bag and I can't understand how they weren't broken. I also received three of some plants, and all three plants varied greatly in size and quality. Planting instructions were non-specific to the plants you received and very inadequate. Since they don't address planting instructions on their website, these are the only instructions you receive.
I planted everything and hope they all grow. I won't purchase from this company again unless I see something showing that management cares about their customers and is willing to make improvements.

I placed an order Jan. 20,2004 and then found this website. I then decided to cancel the order and take my money somewhere else. My first attempt to cancel was on Feb. 18. I figured it would not cause too much trouble since the order was not suppose to ship until March. Boy was I wrong! The order was shipped anyway. I returned the packages to them and was only partially credited. I had to pay to send them back too. Not cool! Today I was wondering if they refunded the rest to my card so I pulled up my credit card account online. BAM! Out of nowhere I now have another charge to my account for $56.30. I called the company only to be told to send them a letter explaining what happened along with a copy of my statement. She could not help me since there was not another order to my account and she didn't show anything being charged to my credit card account. It is now April 7 and I have been dealing with this company far too long for my taste. I have disputed the charge with my credit card company. Do not do business with this company unless you like giving your money away to companies that do not treat their customers right and like to take money from their customers without even having an order. Shame on them! Also beware that this company is associated with many different companies. Check Gardenwatchdog.com before you order online!

Placed an on-line order early in February, '04. Within two days my credit card was charged. I Lost space in community garden where I garden, so tried to telephone to cancel the order soon after placing it. Company cannot be reached by telephone, however.

Sent numerous e-mails which they ignored. Reason: supposedly I hadn't supplied them with enough identifying information, though my name, the order number, my address and telephone number were included in each attempted communication. I additionally cut and pasted in earlier e-mails, substantiating the numerous request for cancellation.

Although 5 requests were sent in to cancel the order and refund my money, the entire order was shipped - in numerous shall packages. I got an e-mail confirming shipment confirming shipment of the last part of the order today. It also said the following:

"Once an order for merchandise is received by us we immediately make arrangements for preparation and shipment. Each order is individually evaluated and nursery stock reserved so that the order will be shipped and arrived at the proper planting time for your geographical area.

After processing of an order has begun and we have relied to our detriment upon the order, it becomes a binding agreement between us. It is next to impossible to reverse the procedure once it has begun."

Nothing, nowhere said anything about "a binding agreement." And that little gem of information was not shared before today.

So beware. Not only are the plants of very low quality and unlikely to grow, but you cannot reach the company by telephone, and few e-mails are responded to.

Moreover, they are totally unethical and unprofessional - and once they have your money - it's gone. They supposedly allow customers to refuse and return packages, but given their tactics they obviously would refute ever receiving the items back.

This is not a company to deal with or buy anything from. Plus they are associated with a number of other companies who all have the same 'stalling' and negating practices.

wow, found this site AFTER i ordered 59.71 worth of goods on 03/14/2004.

talk about being nervous. Well the GOOD NEWS is i received a partial delivery (sat 03/27) and it was in perfect condition. (whew)
my blueberry was 8" tall all green and budded. my 3 bleeding hearts (roots) all had fresh growth and since planting a few days ago, have poked thru the ground. (whew wasnt sure which way was up), two climbing blue moon roses were budding (i broke one bud) but both are green, and fairing nicely. the free gifts, ?so/so? planted some bulbs in a pot will see what they do. still waiting for the rest of my order (kiwi's) so far so good. maybe it's just their packing that sucks ? hence the dead plants on arrival for some? i'm just outside chicago, so they didnt have a long trip to get to me.

happy gardening and remember:

Gardener's never die, they just loose their bloomers.

'g'

My initial experiences with this company were positive, but I had to ask for replacements plants on about 75% of my order. The replacements plants are not fairing well, so I will be asking for their replacement.

The failure of the plant material to establish has been very frustrating and delaying my landscaping. Getting replacement plants helps ease the pain, but the barespots in the garden are troubling.

The plant material that has succeeded are those plants that are very vigourous and considered invasives by some sources such as: honeysuckle, vinca minor, corkscrew willow, violas, and rugosa roses.

Don't waste your time with the rhododendrums, hellebores, mountain laurels as these are so small that it will take years before they are even a small nursery size plant.

My best success has also been to order in late winter for delvery in early spring, as this seems to be their best plant material. Their plants appear to be primarily newly rooted cuttings which are not fully hardened off.

I have done business with this company a few times, one of which was a nightmare but they fixed the problem and have replaced the plant a couple of time. So long as you are willing to wait a little while for your plants and demand replacements for the ones that don't survive they do a decent job. They are extremely cheap so I figure that you get what you pay for. The shipping on the last 2 orders arrived in 2 weeks which I thought was quick.

I ordered from DirectGardening on January 20, 2004.

I just received my order today. I am very pleased. Everything came as described. I received 130 plants/root stock and they all had new growth above and below. They appear to be in terrific shape and most have been planted.

Although it's a little early in the season for us here in zone 2 I'm hoping that I have a good success rate with these plants. The soil may be a little cool yet. But, it's been unusually warm here this year. An early spring.

The plants we received were:

Rosa Rugosa - 96
Hydrangea Tree - 4
Tulip Tree - 4
Old Fashioned Lilac - 4
Coralberry - 4
Weeping Weigela - 6
Red Flowering Quince - 4

All in all I'm pleased with my order and will order from them again.

I wish I had found your site before I placed my order with this company.My experience was almost exactly like that of "thorspippi" in a previous post....even down to the language the reps used in their excuse-making process. After I placed an order in January, I found this site and after reading the reviews, I canceled my order. Not that easy... I got the same runaround, and my credit card had been debited the same day as I placed an order that would not (according to Direct Gardening) be mailed until late March. They said they could not credit my account for three to four weeks. So I was steamed!
I documented all of my transactions with them, and sent the info to my credit card company, who had a credit posted to my account almost within 24 hours after they received my information.
All I can advise potential customers is that there's something really dysfunctional about how this company does business, and I'd tell anyone to stay away like the plague! I'm amazed that they can stay in business with this type of philosophy.
I moved my order to Burnt Ridge Nursery, and at this point, I've been very satisfied with them. My order is due to be shipped in a few weeks, but they have not charged my card and have returned my phone calls. I even got to speak to the "head" nursery guy, Mike, who patiently answered all my questions and gave me recommendations concerning stock choices for my area.
This site is superb!Thanks to all for your contributions.

Placed my order ~ Jan 29, 2004. They charged my credit card Feb 04. I wrote them and asked if my order had been shipped. They wrote back saying they would not be shipping until March, starting with the warmer climates.

On Feb 10, I wrote back saying this was unacceptable (they can't hold my money for a whole month!!!!!) and I wanted them to cancel the order.

Another company I ordered from on the same day had their seeds in my mailbox within 4 DAYS, The order for Direct Gardening was mostly seeds, plus 1 set of peat pots and 2 rooted/perennials (horseradish and lavender).

I could understand delaying the root/perennials until warmer weather, but not the seeds and definitely not the peat pots.

They don't get to decide for me when I will start my seeds, nor can they hold my money for a whole month.

They wrote back saying that they had forwarded my cancellation request to the appropriate department.

I wrote again on the 11th saying that my refund should appear on my credit card within 24 hours.

I wrote again a couple of times asking where my money was. They ignored those emails.

Last night, feb 16, I wrote to a different address (the customer service one as opposed to the order status one) asking where my money was.

Today, Feb 17, they wrote saying that it takes 3-4 weeks to process refunds. They did not confirm that my cancellation was DONE, nor that they had ANY intention of giving me a refund.

Baloney. They're running a scam here. I was a programmer for a small internet vendor for 3 years, and I know exactly how easy it is to do a credit card refund *instantly*. I performed many such credits *PERSONALLY*.

There is no excuse for this.

I called my credit card company today to request a dispute/chargeback.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!

I give this company a big fat ZERO.

I had never ordered from these people and will never do so again.

One example: Last spring (2003) I ordered three dozen daylilies for naturalizing and some others for small beds along a fence. Like another writer on this page, I, too, upon opening the package, discovered the rotten and rotting quality of the stock sent. But, even though I had my doubts, I planted many of them in the ground and some in pots. Two months later none of them seemed to be growing so I dug a lot up. Rotten to the core!!!

And, I won't even go into the experience I had in trying to get either a replacement or refund. In short. I got neither!

So once again ....
STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!

I placed an order of about $50. Order shipped within a few days of my credit card charge. Order arrived today. Of the plants I ordered, most seemed to be alive... bareroot but with visible sprouts. Given the prices, if half of these die, I'll still be content.

On 9/22/2003 I made an online purchase (order # 30981555)from Direct Gardening. On 10/4/03 I received first package and was EXTREMELY disappointed in product and packaging. Bittersweet was just thrown in big shipping bag. Items looked as though they were pulled off of someones dried-up, neglected compost pile. Two days later as I was headed to the post office to return/ship first package, the second just happened to be in mail box and I took it along to refuse acceptance. I emailed on 10/7/03 to notify of return and have yet to receive any reply. I have called twice and both times told to call back in 2 weeks. Last week I did receive a partial refund, but is about $12 short. At this point I am going to take it up with my credit card company. Unless you have money growing from your ears, or just want some additional amendments for your compost pile, don't purchase anything from this company or subsidiaries!!!

Karen L. Freeland

I ordered $126.worth of plants from Direct Gardening it was the most money I have ever completely wasted. I felt guilty about wasting it. I ordered rose bushes, and thought I would get rose bushes, instead I got tiny thin sticks(tiny diameter) of dried out broken off rose bush limbs. A total joke, If I wanted cuttings like that, I could have got nice healthy ones(larger diameter too) from my Aunt's rose bushes for free. I planted them in the ground anyway and kept watering them after almost a year I pulled them up and of course there were no roots, I knew they were dead but wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. Every flower I ordered was either dead and dry and never came up or was rotten and slimey, terrible mold and disgusting putrid smelling stuff, it was awful. I ordered my replacements again they were just a waste of time and trouble rotten and putrid stuff. I will never do business with this Direct Gardening Company again. They need to be investigated. Complete 100% ripoff. Don't give them a penny of your money unless you like to waste it. Direct Gardening should be investigated by Indiana Better Business Bureau or the State Attorney General's office for Defrauding the public. They are not doing business, they are not sending healthy, viable plants they are sending worthless rotten dead( not dormant, as they say) plant material and taking people's money.

Two days after I ordered from this company I read the reviews and tried to cancel my order. My credit card had already been charged. I e-mailed them 3 times and finally
received a partial credit. Part of the order (2 plants) came in the mail. One looks healthy although very small.
The other had two leaves. The largest was 1/4 inch across
and the other about 1/8. The 1/4 inch leaf died within a day. I'm nursing the small leaf along. I can't get a refund unless I return the plants and the original packing label
that is stuck to the box. What a crock. They know most
people will not take the time and money to return plants. I will NEVER order from them again. As it turns out, I paid
almost $12 for one plant that just might survive.

I ordered several items from this company earlier this year. With their prices I didn't expect the biggest and the best, but what I got was the smallest and the worst. One package of plants I received looked as though they had dumped a bucket of water into it before mailing and the plants were dead and moldy. The bulbs were so died out as to look and feel like rocks. And no, they didn't grow. I didn't try for a replacement as I couldn't get anyone to respond to my queries. If they didn't care about the first impression their product made, why would they care about the second? I'm not an expert gardener, but have been doing this long enough to know the difference between dead and dormant. A few of the people that commented here quoted the company (and sounded like they believed them) that you can only ship dormant plants. This is far from the truth. And you can get better quality plants and bulbs from WalMart and KMart. Like many others, I wish I had found this site before ordering from this company. I've ordered many plants from different companies and some have better packaging than others, but all plant materials arrived in good or at least reasonable condtion. Not from here. For those who've had good luck with these folks I hope it continues. For those reading these posts who haven't ordered from them, make your own deductions. How good can a company be that has a gazillion complaints and only a handful of happy buyers here? I would advise staying away from them. I'll never buy from them again.

i ordered two hall's huneysuckle vines from directgardening.com last year. i recieved the order dead as a doornail! it looked like they shipped me three twigs in a baggy! and that's just what it turned out to be cause the vines crumbled! that's not dormant that's just plain dead! i only paid 11 dollars for both of them, but it's the theory of it! when i emailed them to find out how to receive live "twigs" they told me to send back the green shipping label! uh! long gone by now! so i'm screwed out of 11 bucks...not that it will make or break me, but i dont' like LIARS! it's been a year since i planted their "hardy grower"! it must have invisible qualities cause i can't see it- even with a magnifying glass!

I ordered Raspberry plants, bittersweet plants and stella'd'oro daylilies from Direct Gardening April 11,2003. The plants arrived about May 12, 2003. I wrote to them the second week of June and received a note in return saying I needed to wait for a good six weeks to complain. The end of June I wrote again. Each time I sent a copy of the shipping label. About August 1 I received bittersweet plants and the lilies, with a notation that the raspberry plants would be sent later. Now at the end of August the bittersweet still shows no signs of life and the lilies are barely alive. I am sorry that I did not have access to this site before I ordered from Direct Gardening. I certainly will never order anything from them again.

I ordered bulbs and plants from Direct Gardening in Fall 2002. Their bulbs were in poor quality. ALL plants but two were way below the size they advertised and arrived rotten and dead.
They charge hefty packaging/shipping fee but the packaging were the poorest I've seen among mail ordering companies. The plastic bags offer no protection for the plants during shipping.
After I contacted their customer service in regards to their products, I was informed I should wait till the Spring to make sure the plants are not in dormant. Now that it's summer and the plants never came back alive but I lost track of where the dead plant bodies and all the packaging.
I am very disappointed at Direct Gardening and think no one should order from them again unless they first improve their packaging, improve the quality (or modify their advertisement to match the products), and improve their refund process.

spent about $50 with them last year on three separate shipments, and to date have had over 90% failure rate on all original shipments.

positives: cheap as hell and if you know what to get and are ready to coddle a bit, you can get a good deal, e.g., bulbs, bareroot clematis have worked for me

negatives: very old dried up or moldy stock most of the time, guaranteed you will spend most of your time requesting and getting replacements, very slow delivery (1 month +) and even slower delivery of replacements, no communication on ETA.

i will probably never order from them again with the exception of using the store credits that i got from them. the key to these guys is to keep your shipping label, don't be ashamed to request replacements over and over again with them because that is your right, and write to them (don't call or email or you will just feel harassed), and wait wait wait.

well, actually my recommendation for this shoddy business is that if you already ordered from them, to immediately ask for a replacement for everything, and then ask for a refund, that way you will at least break even on the deal... eventually.

replacements i am happy with:
- all my clematis (small bareroot but will grow well, 2 arrived and are growing nicely, still waiting for 3rd)

replacements i am still fighting with:

- creeping thyme, illumination vinca, coneflower: original arrived all dead, replacements all dead, will ask for a refund. in particular the coneflower was most shameful, 3 snot-looking things arrived with the label coneflower, of course i asked for refund, and they sent 3 more snot-looking things... i mean if they intended to package snot and send it to me pretending it was coneflower, they might clue up and not waste the shipping expense.

- lavender: finally got a store credit after original and replacements arrived dead or close

- stella d'oro: 2 tiny little dried up things, no growth, will ask for refund this fall

- cyclamen, blue allium, and peony: well first year i don't expect them to come up, but hey i'm going to request a replacement anyway because i think there is a great chance they won't come up.

that's basically all that i ordered from them. the only thing to actually survive and thrive was the irish moss, which arrived in a great big clump and is doing very well.

Ordered 3 bare root fruit tree, one Alberta Peach, one Plum, and one Bing Cherry. Followed all intructions to the letter. Trees were planted in June. The Plum tree has one sprout. The Peach and Cherry trees have done nothing. I cut back the stem about 6 inches to push it's growth. They are very "DEAD" plants. Ordered house plants 23 of them mostly exotic, they arrived with all the folliage dried and at the bottom of the box. Most were more than wet, in fact I would say "root rotted", and dead. Would not order from them again unless they change there shipping policies, care and handling. They only ship ground taking a good 14 - 20 days to arrive ground from Illinois to Massachusetts...very unacceptable. Will be returning the plants per their guarantee. Will post the results. In the mean time "buyer beware". - Ed Turner, Massachusetts

As many have already stated, I wish I'd found this site sooner. It has pleased me to know, however, from all the negative comments, that the demise of the 15 or so plants I ordered from Direct Gardening is hardly my fault. Of the numerous orders I'd placed this season, only one plant has survived, and that one is still quite small. Most arrived in terrible condition, terrible packaging, and terrible timing. Plastic bags are hardly a good, protective travel medium for young, struggling plants. Of course, plastic might not be so bad for the already near-dead quality of Direct Gardening's plants. All of them arrived either brown, moldy, or unidentifiable.

Save your money and frustration--go elsewhere. 40 negative posts and 8 positive can't be wrong.

The plants arrived late, and were either dead or rotten. They would not refund my money because it was after their stated 14 day policy; however, they said in their email that I was supposed to give the plants 4-6 weeks to see whether they would live. I find this policy a bit of a catch-22. I did receive a merchandise certificate from them, and have ordered bulbs, since they are harder to kill -- I have not yet received them; we will see. I wish I had read these comments!! I would NEVER order from them or from Direct Gardening, which seems to be the same place - and from whom I got the same treatment, exactly.

Like many others, I wish I had found this website before ordering from Direct Gardening and its other affiliated company, 4 seasons nursery. I ordered in early May from both companies and did not receive my order until mid-June. The order arrived in a green trash bag, and most of the plants appeared to be dead, but I hoped for the best and followed the planting instructions. Out of 6 forsythia, only 4 are showing a few green leaves. Only 3 out of 6 roses have survived, none of the lavender plants, etc., etc. Luckily I did retain the shipping labels and have sent them a request for a replacement, and let them know that the combination of poor quality plants and even worse customer service are a guarantee that I will never order from any Direct Garden affiliated company again. I have also alerted all my acquaintances, including the local 4-H and Garden Club about this company. Considering the common theme in all the complaints here, I wonder if there might be some merit in a class action suit, or at least a complaint to the FTC.

I didn't find out about this website until after my bad experience.
I ordered over $100 of plants from this company last July online. They took my money straight away. At first things looked good but after weeks of waiting I was told they wouldn't be shipped till they were dormant. I received at the end of October, pathetic looking twigs and a soggy mess in a bag. I planted them out as stated and hoped. In my opinion they had no time to establish before winter and I would have preferred to take a chance with them arriving in July.
Out of 37 plants only 4 survived, 3 being rose of sharons which are not the correct colour. The free gift did grow, grape hyacinth bulbs which i could have bought for under a dollar i am sure.
As per guarantee I sent a request for replacements with the shipping label. They returned all correspondance back to me including the envelope I sent and an unsigned letter underlining " return the original label". What i sent WAS the original label but 4 plants had arrived in a separate package. I had given them to my neighbour and she didn't keep that label.
I wrote an email to the company, explaining, but got no response, not even a 'Sorry but we can't help then"
.
I would advise everybody to have nothing to do with this company. I am disgusted when I read the catalogue, the false impression they give and the descriptions such as "strong number one plant", or "healthy 2-3 foot plant". Yeah right.

I placed a substancial order this spring ($85) was charged immediately and had to wait 10 weeks for delivery. All were poorly packed.
I planted all (following planting instructions) in a nursery bed that I use for starting stock.
Results so far: (6 weeks from delivery and planting)
~astilbe assortment (red, pink, white & lavender) - good results though very small for time in ground
~candle flower - no sign of life yet
~jack in the pulpit - no sign of life yet
~trillium assortment (red, yellow & grandiflora white)- no sign of life yet
~columbine (McKanna's Giant & Grandmothers Garden) - slow growing
~flowering almond - no sign of life yet
~free bulbs - did not bother to plant as they were not the same as what was promised and were not for my area.

Will follow up as things grow or don't.
Have not tried for a refund on anything yet.

I never have seen plants, as sad as the plants I just received from "DIRECT GARDENING"! Just a bunch of sticks with about 4 dried up roots at the end. Calling them sticks is an overstatement. The Tree Peony is a sad sack of roots with mush on top, and you do not want to know how bad it smelled.
NEVER AGAIN!

Oh, How I wish that I had found this site earlier.

It took 5 weeks to get my order. My emails were answered, but not my questions. It was like they never read my letters!
My plants were sent in two shippments. BOTH recieved DOA! I never saw such sorry looking plants. I wonder if they torture and kill them before shipping them.

I suppose I will send in my shipping label, but all I will get is more tortured plants.

BEWARE of this company.... Grow from seed yourself. DON'T BE LURED BY THE PRICES..

My uncle and I placed orders on April 28, 2003 - he placed one, and I placed two. After a month, our orders had not arrived so I started e-mailing and calling the company. My first few e-mails went unanswered, and the company's phone was always busy. Finally, I got an e-mail that said our orders were in the "shipping dept".

After another week and still no plants, I called and spoke to a customer svc rep who told me again that our packages were in shipping. Finally after six weeks, my uncle's order and my first order arrived. The roses were only two or three inches tall and looked dead. The rest of our plants looked pathetic also. We figured that we would give it a try since the company says that their plants are shipped in dormant conditions and may only appear dead (that is a lie because they are dead). So, we planted our plants and waited patiently for any sign of life. I also waited patiently for my second order.

After the seventh week, I started e-mailing and calling again. Same thing...no response to e-mails and busy phones. When I got through this time, I was told that my order was a fall line and would be shipped then. At this point I became angry and told them that I was not waiting four more months for an order that was already paid for (my credit card was charged within two days of placing my order). I told her to cancel my order and was told that she would put in the request but could not guarantee that it would be canceled because it would be hard to pull one order out of the thousands that they have to process.

After this, I called back one more time and was told that the request was made but the customer svc rep couldn't tell me if it had been canceled. A few days later (but two and a half months after placing my order), my foul smelling plants arrived. As for my first order, the two blue roses that I ordered have bloomed. One is light pink and the other is hot pink. My peace rose is dried up and dead along with one cherry bush and both butterfly bushes. I do not recommend doing business with this company. After reading several reviews, it is obvious that their plants are of inferior quality as is their customer service relations. They will tell whatever lie they need to tell to shut you up for a few days.

BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY!!! I've had almost the same experience as practically everyone else who has written here. I only wish I had known about your site sooner. I placed an order from Direct Gardening in the beginning of May. They processed the payment from my credit card account immediately, but did not send anything for FIVE weeks. Then, out of the 38 plants I ordered, I only received 6 (the box indicated all 38 were enclosed). I planted them immediately (even though they all looked dead), but 4 weeks later, nothing has survived. When I finally got through by phone, I was told I had to send everything back, including the list that was attached to the box (the only proof of purchase I have), for replacements. Well, you can't replace something you never received in the first place! All e-mails I sent to Direct Gardening and one of their sister companies, House of Wesley, have gone unanswered. Read down further for a list of associated companies, as Direct Gardening goes by many names, and NEVER ORDER FROM THEM!!!!

In early April, I ordered over $100.00 in plants and trees from this "outfit" and after repeated emails, order was not received, but they eagerly took payment from my bank account. Late May....still nothing. Finally, one plastic bag arrived of nothing but dead twigs and the package was refused and returned. I demanded that my bank provide a chargeback for this purchase. Now, today, Direct Gardening took payment from my bank account AGAIN! DO NOT ever give these folks your credit card info....they HELP THEMSELVES to your money! FRAUDSTERS!!!! Stay away from them.

Prices does count. They are very cheap and the products reflect the price. Stealing cuttings from the park would yield healthier and quicker growing plants. They arrive as twigs, soggy mats, moldy bulbs and thingies so small as to likely not thrive in my lifetime. They will replace plants, but the replacements are no better.
I think I will donate to the garden society next time, and steal a few cuttings.

Also be aware that they operate as House of Wesley, Royal Dutch, Inter-State Nurseries, Burgess Seed & Plant Co., Four Seasons Nursery, Kelly Nurseries, Richard Owen Nursery and Farmer Seed & Nursery. Catalogs galore.

Well, like many, I wish we'd have known of this site before we ordered about a month ago. We received our plants five days ago and gave them tons of loving care. 24 Canadian Hemlocks. We didn't do anything so extravagant as one mentioned on this site with the soaking. We simply put them into the ground immediately with a lot of peat, water, tilled rich soil, mulch, and love. We try to do things organically so there is a limited amount of tactics we employ with new growths on our forty acres of nearly wild Montana land. They arrived with green needles and moist roots, slightly entangled, in a green plastic bag. We were very lucky they arrived in about a month rather than three as some have suggested, and that the stock wasn't moldy, dry, or completely dead. I realize they're supposed to be dormant but these little guys had an even spread of needles and many had multiple twinnings in their branches so they were fairly along. However, five days from planting, nearly half have dropped their needles. This could simply be transplant shock but after reading these reviews, I can't help but worry it is far worse. Will post an update. BTW, the note on ours says wait six weeks, not 14 days, to declare them dead and ask for a refund/replacement. Hoping for the best. For the delay, inability to reach them via phone, no shipping notice, no email response, and the half now needleless trees, they earn a neutral thus far. I hope for better and will post an update later.

I have ordered 2 times from this company b/c their prices were so attractive. The first time was before this web site existed and the free bulbs never grew. I was not so disappointed b/c they were free. The second time, I dutifully saved the packaging label in order to have a valid warranty. What I didn't realize was the warranty is only good for 14 days. Well, I sent the packaging label back approximately 9 months later under what I thought was the warranty, since the perennials I ordered never came up. They gave me a credit to spend in their catalog but said that my warranty had expired. Of course, I couldn't have known in 14 days whether the perennials would grow the next season, so the warranty length is a little misleading. Now I'm debating whether I should spend the credit for more plants that may not grow and whether I'll just be using it towards shipping since it's only for $7.75.

I have placed several orders over the past few years. All items arrived (with only one exception) in good condition. A few items never grew but I asked for a replacement and received ones that did grow. Yes, the items are small and/or dormant, but that's the only way you can mail them. Once they sent an incorrect order; I emailed them and they apologized and sent the correct items within a week. I was surprised to see all the negativity on this site.

Ordered, alas, before I found this site.

My order, which included a climbing rose, arrived in a plastic bag, like a trash bag, toted cheerfully by the mailman. There was not even a token attempt to protect the rose and the five shoots that it had were all broken off. The liatris rhizomes/bulbs looked healthy enough. The dwarf asters were a joke: three tiny sticks (less than an sixteenth of an inch across, and about half an inch long).

I'll add to this review once the order has had a chance to settle in and grow, if any of them makes it. In the meantime, I would not do business with these people again however inviting their catalogue and however low their prices.

i wish i had seen this site before i ordered from this awful, arrogant company in february. unfortunately, i feel like the $130 that i spent was at least half wasted, with little hope of getting a refund. i am trying to get one as i write this, using their twisted requirements, but have little hope of getting anywhere. among other things, i ordered a 5x1 pear tree this spring. they proceeded to process the full amount of money immediately, but not ship out plants(which was correct timing for my area) for at least a month. then, i only received a few, looking pitifully small, and some outright dead. followed instructions for the bareroot ones, and as of now, only half have shown any signs of life. received other shipments much, much later, with some of the plants being in better shape, and some terrible. of course, they made sure they shipped after the 60 day limit so that i had no chargeback rights with my credit card.
but, back to the pear- one of the main reasons i'd ordered from them to begin with. it was not at all what had been advertised. yes, there were 5 very badly done graft/buds- none of which appeared alive. they were dried out, fallen out, gouged or otherwise irretrievably damaged. oh, it was sprouting- all along the trunk stock, which was not labelled. in fact, none of the grafts were labelled, either. any other company i have ever ordered mulitiple grafted trees from grew out the grafts for a while to be sure they were viable, labelled them, and labelled the rootstock(very important). so, following their instructions, i asked for a refund and shipped the tree back on my own dime within 14 days, along with a request for a replacement on an obviously dead rhubarb root and the requested original label. i just(june!!) recieved the replacement rhubarb, which was about the size of a pencil lead, and another 5x1 pear tree; this one appearing completely dead. mind you, i quite clearly asked for a refund. so i called customer service and was told there was nothing they could do, and no, i couldn't speak with a supervisor. the customer service person was nice, but about as helpful as a brick wall. and he even admitted he himself received 1-2 calls a day just like mine. their 'policy' is that you have to write snailmail with your complaint/request, and ship back anything you want a refund of(which i followed to the letter the first time). so, i wrote a letter, again, directly to a supervisor this time. i refuse to reship a dead plant back that i didn't ask for. if i'd known what it was, i would have refused shipment. if they won't follow their rules, i am not going to, either. i have also asked for a refund on the half of the order that never grew or was so pitiful that it rotted. and, yes, i am an experienced gardener and have dealt with many, many reputable companies through the years. this company is the second worst i've ever dealt with, and the other was so cheap that i wrote that experience off.
i have warned them i will report this matter to the bbb if i don't get a satisfactory resolution. sadly, i have no confidence it will be handled any better. i was told that they won't even respond by phone- they will send another letter. forget email. i will certainly repost to update after all is said and done. the prior posts who didn't bother to go through this mess had the right idea. i hate to swallow $65 without a fight, though.