Comments regarding Inter-State Nurseries

WARNING: If you close the account you paid with,
EVEN AFTER RETURNING ALL MERCHANDISE,
you will not get a refund.

THIS COMPANY IS HEARTLESS! Flowers are a symbol of love and life, and this company has taken the death of my mother in law as an opportunity to benefit their bottom line.

My mother in law placed a $600+ dollar order the week before her death. When the first box arrived a few days after she passed away I returned the box and contacted the company to let them know it was being returned and why. I asked them to please cancel any remaining shipments and was informed that 5 other boxes had just shipped. I told the representative that those boxes would be returned as well once they arrived.

This company uses MANY names. Dutch Gardens (the name I ordered from) refunded the contents of the first box, but when I called to find out why the other 5 boxes hadn't been refunded, the representative confirmed that all the merchandise had been returned, but told me that the company would only refund to the debit card that paid and since the debit card was no longer valid (checking account had been closed due to death) they had no way to refund the orders. I requested they issue a check to the estate, or simply give store credit for the remaining amount. I was told that the request would be forwarded on the the appropriate person.

It has now been 9 months, I have called several times, and each time I am told the request for refund has been made, but the company stands by their policy of not refunding returned orders if they are unable to refund to the card that placed the order.

Basically, this company does not dispute the fact that they received this entire order back. They simply refuse to issue a refund in any form other than to credit a debit card that is not valid, and won't accept a charge or credit.

I wish I had kept the plants and spread them around to her many gardener friends and planted some of them with my girls in our own garden to remember their grandma by. I was just so overwhelmed by the unexpected death that anything other than returning the boxes seemed more than I could manage.

The death of a loved one is a very emotional and exhausting time, and this company has made what should have been very easy, a difficult and enduring challenge.

I had never ordered from Interstate nursery before, actually never heard of them. I had read the bad reviews from this Garden Watchdog site and was unsure whether to try them or not but I did and the results are all positive. I ordered two rose bushes and they arrived in the mail and they did look like dead sticks. I followed the instructions included with the bushes and they are both alive and well. In fact one of them is ready to bloom. I will definitely order from them again in the future.

I was excited when I received this catalog in the mail. The catalog looked very good and the prices are great. But I have had an experience similar to others who have posted here. I placed orders from many companies at the same time. The plants from those other companies not only have been received; they are thriving and growing. I've not received my order from Interstate Nurseries, so I cannot comment on the quality of the product. I'm a little concerned having read the other reviews.

I have made one phone call, and multiple emails to them. One email dated March 24 (which was weeks after the order) stated that they were "currently shipping to your area." We have had many email exchanges since then inquiring about the shipping of my order. The replies are always very vague. I kept replying to the same email thread with them. A particularly frustrating response from them was "can you provide us your name and mailing address so we can look into this." Several days later I get the same reply -- it's in shipping, yada, yada, yada.

I just want my plants. Yesterday.

The order I just received today 7/23/13, was a replacement for the first order. Nothing in the first order lived. I opened the order I got today and the roots on the trees were dry as a bone. When you try and scratch the bark, it is hard and brown. Interstate claims to have been in business over a hundred years. Anyone who has ever done any gardening knows, On most things when the roots are dried out ,the plant is dead. Save you money and don't order from Interstate.

"On Jul 30, 2013 2:54 PM, Inter-State Nurseries responded with:

Many of our items are shipped bare root and dormant as this allows them to be transplanted with much higher degrees of success. It does not mean they are dead, but since they are dormant, and not leafed out, people unfamiliar with bareroot nursery stock may they mistake them for dead. We suggest soaking in water overnight or for a few hours before planting. Then keep well watered after planting and within 6 weeks of warm weather, the plants should break dormancy and show signs of leaf.

We do have both a refund and a replacement guarantee and stand behind them.

A customer care representative has contacted this customer to see if we may be of assistance
"

Posted on June 1, 2011, updated June 2, 2011
I placed an order with interstate nursery the 2nd week of May 2011. I got a billbergia zebrina, and a pussy willow tree. Have not recieved them.

I called today (June 1 2011) I also called 2 weeks ago and was told it would be 4-6 weeks to recieve, it took a week for them to charge us for the online order..

Finally after 30 minutes of busy signals and someone answered. I was told my order was shipped may 25 2011, if so it would take 2-3 days to get here by usps.

I order from nurseries and on ebay from several states to my home in charleston wv and it never takes more than 2-4 days to get these plants (excluding thailand, germany and the uk, even then it takes about 1-2 weeks to get overseas orders and thats good considering interstate nursery still hasn't sent my order).

The lady on the phone said 7-14 days, so i asked for a tracking number, she said they don't have one and packages are only tracked after 30 days on non-reciept. I then asked if there's no tracking number, how do you track it, she said they had their own tracking system.

This is nonsense, these people are as bad as tyty nursery in Georgia. I also will not order from Burgess now, or any company within 100 miles of Bloomington Illinois. The only reason I placed an order was because the billbergia was not available anywhere else. Avoid all nurseries in or near Bloomington ILL.

Posted on May 12, 2011, updated May 25, 2011
Well... I gotten taken for a ride TWICE by Burgess seed company this year. BEFORE I found this site. I won't go into details about my awful experience with a sister company to this one.
This company however has the same poor-quality merchandise and service.
My order from this company arrived a few days ago. The trees were just thrown into a bag, all dried out and pitiful looking. I also ordered a queens tears plant that seems to be barely clinging to life.
I am not going to ask for a refund, because I KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN. I will get the SAME RUNAROUND and EXCUSES that I got from the sister company.
I DO KNOW However that anytime I see a company associated with Burgess Seed I am AVOIDING THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE !!
I just consider the money I lost from these companies a hard lesson learned. But I will be telling everyone I know here that gardens all about these horrible companies and direct them here to the watchdog if they have any doubts.

I ordered several plants from this company. The plants were disgustingly small. The two azaleas died first year and Interstate replaced with two more as well as the two rose bushes (which were also very small). I gave them TLC and put them in large pots with good soil. They were way too small to plant outside in the yard. They told me to send the shipping label and information which I did and received no response. I finally emailed them after waiting over a month to hear from them and they told me they could not replace a second time, but would consider it if I would send them a copy of the shipping/packing slip. I emailed them a copy of that with my original email and also told them I had mailed the original to them March 18, 2011. Why ask a second time and a second refusal to replaced. Michigan Bulb may send small plants, but do carry a lifetime guarantee. Interstate's plants are so tiny for the price and the liklihood of survival is slim to none. They have no growth on them to begin with. I won't buy from Inter-state again ever.

First, it's interesting that this company is associated with Burgess Seeds. If you want to know my experience with that outfit, go over to Burgess Seeds and read my posts there.

Meanwhile, I learned the hard way about three years ago to steer clear of Inter-State Nurseries. I ordered from them, then, and they lost my order. I had to reorder, and they sent these pitiful little plugs that had mesh around them and dead-looking plants that didn't do anything at all in the ground. I had placed my initial order just before leaving home to take care of my ailing dad in Nevada. My husband stayed in touch with me concerning my plant orders, and I told him to watch for one from Inter-State Nurseries. It never came, and I finally had to contact them from my dad's house. That's when they agreed to send the replacements, which I planted immediately after returning home. They were just awful, as I've already stated.

They still send me their catalog, but I have ordered absolutely nothing from them, since. Once burned, twice shy! Judging from all the negative comments I'm still seeing here about them, it's clear they haven't improved any, and I don't feel they merit a second chance.

"On Sep 3, 2010 1:07 PM, Inter-State Nurseries responded with:

We are sorry to hear that this customer had a problem with an order from us a few years ago. It sounds as though there may have been a delivery problem with the post office or the address involved since the customer apparently didn’t receive the first shipment that was sent. Perhaps this caused a delay with the second package as well if all of the product arrived dead. Much of our product is shipped in a dormant condition which can appear “dead”, but the plants should come out of dormancy within 6 weeks of planting in warm weather. We do have a one year guarantee and are sorry that it appears the customer did not take advantage of this.
"

If you are tempted to order from a Plantron company be sure to SAVE THE PACKING SLIPS because you may have problems for more than a year. If you are about shipping ACCURACY or are looking to work out a specific COLOR combo go elsewhere.

I ordered a blue rose-it was pink but it didn't bloom the first year so I couldn't get it replaced.

I ordered a purple DOro-it was red but it bloomed then first year so I requested a replacement it was a dull yellow and not even a DOro.

The magnolia died after about 18 mo.

I will never order from a Plantron company again.

"On Sep 3, 2010 1:08 PM, Inter-State Nurseries responded with:

We have found that this customer placed an order from 2007 for 4 items which includes the 3 mentioned above. Since the magnolia died 1 ½ years after planting, this would seem to indicate a problem with its environment or care rather than a reflection on how it was shipped. The Blue Moon Rose can turn more pink in alkaline soils rather than be lavender-blue, and we would therefore suggest that she try some acidic fertilizer to bring out the blue color. We do agree that some of the Purple d’Oro Daylilies shipped in 2007 were incorrect and bloomed red. We sent her replacements as she mentions, and are surprised to learn that these replacement were also not Purple d’Oro, but bloomed yellow. We wish she would have taken advantage of her one year guarantee when these bloomed in 2008."

This company is also associates with:
Burgess Seed
Farmers Seed & Nursery

I WILL NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH THESE JERKS AGAIN!!!! I don't care how cheap their prices are....I to inquire about a order I had placed 2 months earlier and spoke with the most ill-mannered, abrupt person EVER....the conversation just went down hill from there....she told me my order had shipped out 12 days prior....I asked if that would be "ok" for the plants to be in transit so long, and she VERY kurtly informed me they had been in business for 120 years....I then said..."that's great, however I have not been doing business with you for 120 years and it worries me on what condition the plants will be in sitting in differnent post offices for almost 2 weeks"....she then very abruptly asked "what else do you need"....at that point I simply hung up....I called back hoping to get someone else....and boy did I....the 2nd girl was worse than the first....she YELLED at me..."I don't know what your problem is if the other lady provided the information you needed!!!" I then asked who her supervisor was and she told me it was the first lady I spoke with...when I asked her the other ladies supervisor was, this call YELLED "I DON'T KNOW"....I responded with "yes you do...you just don't want to give it to me"....then the girl says....."I DONT KNOW WHAT YOUR PROBLEM IS"....at this point I was VERY offended and angry and YELLED some obsenitites and hung up on her.....I WILL NEVER-EVER DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY AGAIN....

I ordered 3 plants on January 24, 2009. As of March 12, 2009 I have not received my plants or any word from them regarding my order. I have attempted to call them three times at different times on 3 different days. Every time I call I get a busy signal. This company had some sort of a major problem but I don't know what it is. I will not attempt to buy from this company again. I would not recommend their service to anyone!

I received a catalog from interstate nurseries full of all sorts of incredible bargains on roses. One such bargain was a climbing peace rose which they claimed was a zone 4. I then called and asked them if it was on its own root. The lady I talked to said yes it was. I then went to Google and found your site under interstate nurseries. I called them back and asked the question " what kind of root are these roses on?" rather than " are these own root roses?". THey directed me to a supervisor who did not know and had never heard of own root roses and she told me that she contacted the vendor and the vendor did not supply that kind of information.
Peace Roses are normally listed as zone 5 or 6 on a bush. There is no way a climber on its own root, if such could be had, could be zone 4. I told the lady that and she said " Oh no, if we label it as zone 4 it must be zone 4." I said they were misrepresenting their product. I then asked her when they would be delivered, and she said sometime in March, April, or May. I asked if they could be more specific. She said no.
I said "well lady, the plants have a calendar."
After seeing on your site that interstate nurseries is affiliated with Burgess seeds, and several other nurseries in bloomington, illinois, I feel it is imperative that the plant buying public be aware that this company is misrepresenting its products in such a way as to be described as a scam. I would also reccommend that the plant buying public stay away from Burgess seeds and anything coming from bloomington, Illinois.
Richard Staats, Bonners Ferry (way up north), Idaho
74 Uplander Road
Bonners Ferry, ID
83805

Ordered trees and a rose bush from Interstate Nursery. The items came in a large manilla like long envelope, which had torn and you could see dried up roots sticking out of the bag. There was NO packing material of ANY kind, they just plunked these poor plants in the bag and off we go! Called the "customer service" number and was instructed I would have to pay to return the plants. I felt sorry for these poor plants so went ahead and planted them, they died of course. But I was not going to add insult to my injury already by having to dig them up, and pay to mail them back so you eat your loss. Had asked for a supervisor to call me, and was instructed that "They never call customers". No wonder, they have such awful service they would be on the phone all day with problems. My advice -- don't EVER buy from this bad bad company. You get very substandard plants, packed incredibly bad and absolutely NO customer service.
Is there a grade worse than F? They should get it if so.

Placed my Internet order on Jan 16/2008 understanding that shipping starts in early

March. I'm in "Z8" so hoped to receive plants reasonably early after their early March shipping start or close to April 1 if the stock was out of their nursery. Sent them an e-mail in March asking for shipment soonest. NO Response. Sent them a FAX on Mar 30 to which, on Mar 31 received e-mail from Gerry Roe advised he'd ship Mar 31 or April 1. Had to prod them twice to get that response. Nothing had arrived by April 7 so sent 2nd FAX, 3rd request for a shipping date. And this said, advise a shipping date or cancel order. Nothing arrived by April 8!

Time frames may not be major however my planting plans are based on available crew time and this was a small trial order. Plants Delight, Bluestone, Worldplants, ForestFarm, Annie's and others filled my large orders,

So no big deal, this Company could use a lot of Customer Service training but I won't be again affected. First & last order!

All because some guy couldn't care about responses!!! I don't do business this way!

Not having read the reviews on this website, I placed an order in January for 2 tulip trees ($.01 sale), 6 variegata shrubs, 10 red-twig dogwood shrubs, and a walking stick tree. Only then did I find these reviews... my hopes were dashed.

Last week, the full order arrived in good shape. For the money, the walking stick could be bigger and better developed, but it was still fairly cheap. The other items were adequate for the price paid. I have no complaints.

I was prepared to order some roses from this company, but in the process of reviewing their entire catalog was stunned to see that they are offering plants that are invasive in the US: chameleon plant (Houttuynia) and Royal Empress Tree (Paulownia tomentosa). Based on such marketing decisions I have opted to use other vendors.

I just ordered 6 orange climbing roses and some daylilies from this company. I was very upset AFTER ordering to find this company has a "score" of 6 out of 100!!! Yikes! Please redeem yourselves and when it's time (I'm patient) ship me some good, healthy stuff. AND NO SUBSTITUTIONS. I just do orange and purple in my gardens, so anything else will be promptly shipped back.

Have ordered for five years now. Do not expect perfect or expensive plants. Have lost some, but have many that are marvelous like my clematis "Blue Light". It is absolutely beautful each spring and blooms during the rest of the summer. The free plants are sometimes great like rosa "Maid Of Honor", completely unexpected but is a beautiful rose, does well here in Georgia. I have had contact, one year I kept messing up with checking accounts or visa and they were understanding and no problem. I will continue to use them.

I placed 2 orders with this company. Credit card was charged immediately. Both orders were shipped split shipment about 2 months after the card was charged. The tree rose and the Tea Rose looked DOA but I planted them anyway. Neither of them sproted. The other plants were covered with black slim. On contacting the company, I asked for a refund. Their policy says no refund unless you send back the plants with the necessary paper work in 30 days. all the plants were long gone. They did send me a replacement certificate. I would rather not have to try this company again. Wish me luck. (I've had trouble with another affiliated comany. None of their plants lived. They did replace them, but the replacement plants were just as bad and they did'nt live either.)

"

This customer placed 2 orders with our company. The first order was placed 1/26/06. We do not begin shipping nursery stock for the spring season until March 1 as indicated on the website from which she placed the order. This order shipped on March 1. The second order was placed on 3/2 and shipped in 2 packages. The majority of the order shipped 3/10, with a few of the daylily shipping later on 4/1/06.

We were sorry to hear that some of her items died. She did write to us that about 1/2 of the orders did not survive and a merchandise credit certificate was issued as she states above."

I ordered 4 Raspberry Splash Pulmonaria from this company--in a buy one, get one for 1cent sale.

I was very surprised at how small the plants were. They came in very tiny pots (probably 1.5 inch pots?) and were poorly packaged. Each pot had a small green stake in it to keep if from sliding around the box. This was the only protection provided for the plants.

But even so--2 looked ok, considering most of the leaves/stems were broken. The other two plants were almost dead and partially rotten.

I am happy to report that a 2 months later--2 of these plants are growing wonderfully--at least 5 times bigger then when I planted them. The 2 that looked rotted are still alive and hanging in there--but the leaves are yellowed, and they are only about twice the size they originally were. I have spent a lot of time nursing these plants along--much more time then other plants in my garden require.

I probably will never buy from this company again as they use bait and switch tactics. They show pictures of beautiful, healthy adult plants, but that is not what you get. You get tiny little plants that really look like crap compared to the pictures they use in thier catalogs and advertisements.

I guess you get what you pay for. I keep thinking it is the one cent plants that are doing so poorly, lol.

And I am keeping my shipping label so I can get new plants if the two sickly ones die. I am concerned the two sickly plants may not survive the winter.

"

Our Raspberry Splash Pulmonaria was shipped this year in 2 1/2" pots. Although some companies may ship plants in bigger containers, the price the customer
pays is almost always considerably higher.

It is standard practice in the nursery mail order industry to picture plants at maturity. In fact, we aren't aware of any company that does otherwise. This lets the customer know what the plant will look like when it is grown. Neither are we aware of any consumer mail-order nursery company that would attempt to ship full grown grown plants, trees, etc.

In addition, all of our orders are covered by our one year replacement guarantee--even the items purchased as part of the one cent sale. We hope that if any of this customer's pulmonaria die, she will take advantage of this guarantee.

"

In January I purchased a yellow rose tree. Well in March I received my tree. I then planted it and it was doing great. Well I noticed that the buds on the roses were very small. A couple of weeks later it bloomed and it was red and not even the kind of roses I wanted. I called the nursery and they told me to send the shipping lable back to them I explained that I had lost, and the lady I spoke with said that was no problem just send a copy of my charge card statement showing that I had purchased it. Well two weeks later I get the whole letter back saying that we need the shipping lable. So I called them back this time I sopke with a man. He was no nice at all, I told him what the lady had told me and he told me well they must have not looked on the back page to see the credit card statement..Now he wants me to send it back to them. I explained to him the ummer would be over by the time I got another one. He acted like he did not care about that.

Well here it is July and I have still not heard a word from them. There is no excuse for that kind of business. My next step is to contact the Better Business B, because they should be put out of business with all the wrong those guys do. Just look at all the negative comments the get. Sounds like they are just there to rip people off.
Order at your own risk.

Louis Roberts

"

A dmail was sent to this customer on 7/7/06. The replacement request he sent in June was received and processed. The rose shipped 7/17/06."

Terrible experience with this company! I buy lots of plants through mail order companies so I am used to having to baby them along. The plants I got from Inter-State arrived well past the optimum planting time and had no hope of living. The mums were soft, rotten and stinking! The hosta was black, soft and rotten, the arborvitaes were brown and dried up! Customer service would not replace the plants or refund money because I threw out the original packing slip when I unpacked them. I will never buy from them again.

"

A dmail was sent to this customer offering replacements. We have not yet had a reply."

I have always gotten what I paid for. It is true that many of the plants I have received from this company have looked less than perfect but I think every one just needs to relax and realize they are getting what they paid for. When I rder from this company I know I am not getting the best product, I am getting a cheap product. When money is tight and I want something to fill in an area I will order from this company. A little tender loving care goes a long way. Many times thes plants fail because people jump the gun and automatically assume that they were cheated and that the company has sent them a dead plant. I sent the company last year an order of over $100. I figured that I was probably receiving plants that would have gone for about $250 had I bought them at more reputtable companies. They would have been larger, and they would have needed less care. But I saved big and I lost only three plants. (a los of $9.95). While I do not strongy recommend this company to everyone, I do believe that these type of companies have their place in the gardening world and ask my fellow gardeners to be a little more forgiving. It is a shame that customer service is lacking. But anywhere you go these days, it seems to be missing. Sadly, good customer service is an exception not the rule.

My mother ordered some bulbs from this company in early May. She never received her order, and so she called Interstate nurseries and told them. They told her to wait a few more days and see if the order came. She waited, and no order was ever received. By June she asked for a refund and was told it would be sent. She never received her refund and called them and did not get anywhere. She had been telling me of her trouble with the order since it began. So I called and told them my mother wanted a her refund check she was promised. They told me, no one had promised her a refund. In fact, they had sent another order at my mother's request. I told them this was mistake, but they insisted my mother had asked for the shipment to be resent. I explained that this was impossible, because it would be too late to plant the bulbs. Besides, my mother had the name of the person to whom she had spoke and who told her the company would process her refund. The woman I spoke with was firm in her position, and told me that whoever spoke to my mother and told her she was getting a refund made a mistake. I pointed out that my mother never asked for the order to be resent, and resending the order (which was also never received) was the mistake, and my mother wanted her refund. The woman at Interstate told me they had tracked the package to the post office and knew it had not been delivered, and had offered my mother a reshipment. She said my mother requested the reshipment, and I told the woman that was not correct. In fact, after June my mother had asked for a refund, and was told it would be issued. My conversation with this woman continued in this vein for several minutes, until in frustration I hung up. My mother next contacted the Illinois Attorney General, who made inquiries. After which, my mother received her refund. During this whole debacle my mother never received any shipments from that company. Amazingly, they are still defending their position to the Attorney General and insisting my mother asked for a reshipment and saying they issued the refund before being contacted by the Attorney General.
Regardless, had it not been for this web site, my mother probably would never have gotten her refund. It was after I read the messages on this web site and learned how many other people had been dealing with the same indifference that we took action. In fact, I got the idea to contact the Attorney General from this web site.

Same story here.
My order from them:
Green Bag with loose contents,
Dead contents,
and no help from "customer service."

It is suprising that they can survive, even with all of those names for the easily tricked.

A former employee told me that they do, in fact, mis-treat workers, instructing them to lie; and do, in fact, use dead and/or refuse from reputable greenhouses.

I have been doing business with Interstate for quite a few years with no problems. In the beginning of March, I ordered two trees, one year old Royal Empress. I ordered them specifically because they are fast growers (8 to 10 feet per year) and because of the colors. I got the trees in April and they looked terrible. Two 6 inch twigs which were completely dried up. I did plant them and they did nothig. Mid April I sent them the shipping label and asked for replacemets. They came today, May 16th, and were worse than the originals. They actually fell apart when I removed them from the tiny plastic bag of dry potting soil. I immediately called the to complain and the gal said to send in the label and try again. One more time and if I get the same thing, they are off my list.

Lynn

I ordered plants in mid-january 2005, on-line and yes my card was charged immediately, after a week I called and asked for a tracking #, they told me to expect the order at the end of March.
I told them that was not satifactory and to cancel the order, they said they would only do it in writing, I emailed, faxed and mailed a cancellation order on January 24. In February I sent a letter with delivery confirmation, I called again and even though I could tell them that the letter was signed for they denied reveiving it. When I said I would contact the BBB, I was told they had a department dealing with BBB issues. I again sent a letter registered and which was receibed by them on 3/23.
I received a partial credit on 3/25 and on 4/1 I received a package which was mailed on 3/29.
I asked to speak to the manager Grace Avery and also to Richard Owen, one representative told me they dont take complaint calls only complimentary calls.
I told them on the phone that I did not want the plants, they told me to mail them back - at my cost. I laughed.
After I received the shipment I sent an additional letter to Mr Owen and Ms. Avery still no response. As for the BBB - they did nothing other than write them and respond with a copy of the form letter from them, which contained blatant lies, I rewrote to the BBB and included copies of all the written cancellation requests. Today BBB sent a letter saying there was nothing that could be done further and thank you.
They are dishonest, hate customers who wont take their lies.
BE CAREFUL VERY CAREFUL. I wish I had known of this site before the order.
In each cancellation order I asked for the catalogues to stop, Funny one now instead of one a day I get 2 6 days a week.
Yesterday I threw their unwanted plants out because I wanted the karma attached to them away from my home.
I am so pleased I saw this page about them and I am not the only one.

I too ordered from Interstate this year. In fact I sent my order in January 05. To date I have not received all of it. I have sent numerous e-mails, and finally called. They give you the standard response. I do not have a problem with the plants. I started all of them in the house and have just planted them outside and what I received is doing fine. I just can't seem to get them to ship the items I've ordered long ago and they have cashed the checks.

Unbelievably Bad. I cannot imagine that this company remains in business. My order still has not been completely filled. I try to call but I just a get a busy signal, I have emailed them in excess of 20 emails, only to get one reply that didn't even address my concerns. The partial order that did arrive consisted of twigs, sticks and/or mangled roots, many of which were dead, and others that were just coated in mold??? My advice: Your garden is something you love, that brings you happiness, if you have to pinch pennies, here's not the place!!!! OH, and remember this company is a division of PLANTRON - thus it has many sister companies, two of which I have dealt with, and the above applies to them as well.... : ( So sad........

I just wish I read all this before I ordered from these guys last spring....everyone else's postings cover it. I guess you get what you pay for, except in this case you get less than what you paid for. This catalog (and its cohorts) goes in the trash before it comes inside.

I can only second the negative comments already posted about Inter-State. I ordered several hosta plants just to test the company. Most were DOA, the others were so small that they couldn't possibly survive. My experience may be too limited to be fair, but I wouldn't order anything else from Inter-State.

You get what you pay for. The plants arrived too early (mid-April)for Vermont's climate and were so miniscule that no amount of nursing was adequate for them to survive. The second part of my order has not arrived and I cannot get an answer about when and if it will come. My greatest beef is with sister company Kelly Nurseries where ALL the plants arrived as slimy mush. These people want customers to give up and go away. First you have to cut out the original labels through cardboard, then you have to haggle to get equally slimy replacements! Nothing beats the reputable companies like Jackson and Perkins, Wayside and White Flower FArm. They are expensive buit if local nurseries or Home Depot don't have what you want , they will have it and replacing an item just takes a phone call. That's customer service as it should be.

I ordered plants online from Interstate Nursery and several days later asked for a refund. I used the only website address available on the site, and they told me i sent my request to the wrong department but they would take care of it. Weeks went by, and I emailed them back and they responded that it sometimes takes a while for a refund to show up on your credit statement and it had been taken care of.....3 months later, still no refund, and then I get a package at my door and its the plants!!! I again searched the website and could not find a number to call, I didnt want the plants!
I planted them anyway because I didnt know what else to do, 8 of the plants were dead upon arrival. Some others have actually sprouted leaves. My creeping phlox just began blooming. Also, 6 plants I ordered were out of stock and they replaced them with other plants that are not even comparable.... I wish I had seen this website beforehand because I would have never ordered from this company. Where is the customer service department???????????

My order was billed on my credit card 1/30/04.My understanding is that credit cards should not be billed until merchandise is shipped. Plants arrived 3/10/04, a date they should have known my garden would still be under snow in my part of the country. All the plants seem in good shape but I won't be able to plant them for another month. Fortunately I was able to heel them in in an insulated coldframe.

Add me to the list with 90% complaints! This company charged my card for merchandise and never shipped it! This happened 2 months ago and I’ve been trying to get an order status and customer service ever since. No return email and now (8/21) I get an answer machine claiming they went home due to a power failure. The black out was last week and I never heard of a battery operated answer machine!

I managed to get the charge reversed and am filing formal complaints against this company.

I would just like to say that people need to be realistic about their purchases. Interstate sells stuff really cheap. I have used them twice - knowing that it was a risk, but wouldn't be out much money, and not counting on anything at that price. To my surprise my plants have arrived and grown. The only problem for me was i wished they would have come sooner. I have only bought the really cheap stuff through them. If you want better service, etc. you should go to people who specialize in those plants - you will pay the price too. Also, bareroot plants are good. They start from scratch in their home. Better especially, i think, when buying trees. Peace & love,,,,,,,

I live in a zone 9 planting area and need my plants early in the year before it gets too hot and dry, so I ordered in February and my check was immediately deposited. In late March, I called to check status and part of my order was back ordered and they would not ship a partial order. In April the back order was cleared and my order was packaged and not shipped. A week later it was in the same status and it was hot as the dickens in Zone 9. So I requested cancellation and they said that could only be done by mail and I agreed and requested the order not shipped. I mailed the letter the next day and the next week the plants arrived. I was given a name and a different address to write to; so I did and a month later I got a letter requesting the original shipping label, well that had been returned at the same time as the letter. Called again and told I messed up by not returning them together. Then it got ugly. I wish I had read this site before ordering and am glad that I now know all ten entities these guys hide under. I will pursue action with any one that I can. I figure I'm out of my money, postage, and long distance phone calls: wish I had known then what I know now.

This company is a joke. I ordered approxamatly $100 worth of various plants from them last fall and never recieved anything. Repeated attemptd to get them on the phone has been futile. Either it rings busy, rings forever or I get a machine telling me to call during business hours. Emails get no response. Snail mail gets no response. I had ordered from a sister company this year ( another wonderful division of Plantron), and recieved rotted dead plants. I will never order from any company affiliated with Plantron again.

Richard

After being advised by this company that they wouldn't give a refund for their worthless plants (which were smashed to bits as a result of simply being dumped in a plastic bag for shipping) because I hadn't requested it within their 14-day deadline, I asked for an equivalent value of substitute plants, in accordance with their "guarantee." Instead, I received another form letter, advising that in keeping with their concern for satisfying customers (?), they were issuing a refund -- which was about half the amount of the order, including postage. Since I'd received nothing of value from them, I don't feel I should pay postage for their shipment . I returned the check. Stay tuned.