Comments regarding Forestfarm

I found out about this company through a magazine article and decided to give them a shot. Can I give them a Triple Positive rating??! My order arrived with everything securely packaged, healthy, and much larger than I expected. Everything is now growing beautifully. The only problem is their catalog--they have so many new and unusual varieties of plants I want to try, I may have to get a second job to pay for them all! :)

I ordered 4 plants from ForestFarm this year, 1 gallon and 3 tubes. I was able to get exactly the variety of plants that I had been wanting.
The plants were a very nice size for the price and the packing was excellent. In fact, I had great difficulty getting the plants out of the package! Unlike some other companies, there were no broken plants and no spilled dirt.

I received a postcard saying my plants had been shipped. I had given Forestfarm the wrong credit card number, and they shipped my plants anyway so that I would receive them on time, before they contacted me for payment.

That's service! I am very pleased with this company and I will be ordering again next year.

I ordered 6 shrubs and a tree for delivery in late April, and they arrived in their tubes on April 25. They looked pretty small to me, but very healthy. (I read later that 1-3' trees & shrubs transplant more happily, so hey!) I watered religiously and put them out in the carport, in a place where they could get sunlight part of the day, after the last frost. Alas for me, I couldn't get them into the ground until early June, but I did fling water into them every few days and they did just fine. Now at last in the ground, they are thriving! I'm very happy with ForestFarm and already have my list for next spring's order -- but next year I will ask for delivery in late May, so the poor dears won't have to wait so long.

The plants arrived well packed and in great condition, even though they had to travel coast to coast. My review is in no way a mark against ForestFarm, it's some advice to others who order from them, from someone who screwed up a little ;)

This is the first time I've seen growing tubes. If you haven't seen these before, they are the root balls, wrapped in something like wax paper, then slipped into a plastic bag. They are about 2" diameter, and 6" long.

I had to delay planting, and found out the hard way you really need to look at them carefully, to tell when they need water. And make sure you water them thoroughly. One died under my inattention. I didn't water it deeply enough, so water was only getting in the top inch, instead of all the way down the tube. This is bad, because these plants had roots the entire length of the tube. When 5/6ths of your roots aren't getting enough water, well, you know what happens ;)

The others did great, even though I didn't plant them right away. Once I got to the others, I was able to see the extensive, healthy roots. Now I understood why the one died! So, order with confidence, but take a little extra time to care for those tubes if you can't plant right away.

Ordered a yellow butterfly bush and it came packaged as if the company expected it to be dropped from an airplane. I had a difficult time opening the package, but the condition of the plant was worth it! This company is a wee bit expensive, perhaps it has something to do with the packing? I'll order from them again.

My recent shipment had the best packaging of any plant order I have placed through the mail from any company in the past decade. Their superior packaging allowed a lilac bush to survive over a week on a cross-country trip in a sealed container in fantastic shape. Customer service like this is very hard to find nowadays, so I'll definitely be shopping with Forest Farms in the future.

wonderful plants - the box was over kill - 3x the size of the plants! Oh well - really good plants

I've ordered multiple times from FF and I now make an event of opening the boxes when they arrive.

Just the last 3 experiences are worth mentioning:
Fall 04 I ordered several conifers. Was so pleased with their condition, I potted them up just to have around for show and tell. I never got around to planting them and sunk the pots in a mound of finely shredded leaves with other potted trees I had. They all made it through the winter without a hitch!
Mar 05: I decided I needed a stand of Aspen after visiting the Rockies. I ordered 10 tubes and again was impressed with what I received. I planted five and potted the others for a friend.
May 05: Decided I needed the 'Eskimo Sunset' sycamore after reading a thread about it. I immediately went to FF and they had it but ordering in haste I selected the wrong tree. When I called the next day without my customer #, Sarah was so pleasant and accomodating. She found me by my last name, located the order, confirmed I had made the wrong selection and then swapped it out for me and said it would ship early next week!!

This was my first year ordering from Forest Farm. Most of the plants I received were a fair size with the exception of the brunnera Jack Frost which were tiny and seemed to be suffering from getting knocked around during shipping. The tree I received was huge, but also suffered significant leaf bruising during shipping. I am puzzled as to why FF uses such gigantic boxes to ship relatively small plant orders. It seems like they could decrease their higher shipping costs by working on this area. I ordered from five other companies this year, and not one of them had this much wasted space in their boxes.

Plants arrived in beautiful condition. Look forward to ordering again from this charming company.

I have ordered from Forest Farm in the past and this spring I placed a very large order (9 boxes) of both shrubs and perennials.
Last Thursday the plants were delivered and in spite of the shipping company's (UPS) total lack of care (3 boxes were crushed and a couple of the boxes were upside down ) the plants were SO well packed by Forest Farm that the plants were untouched. These plants are very large and healthy.
One of the boxes contained tube size plants that had been dislodged and slightly bruised. I called Forest Farm who were very apologetic and offered to replace the plants if they did not grow. They gave me some tips for TLC to help them grow as well.
Forest Farm has always provided me with excellent service and products.
I have a beautiful wisteria that is in full bloom now, several trees and hydrangeas and a Paulowina tree that grew over 12 feet last summer that were all purchased from Forest Farm.
This is an A+++ company.

I was extremely wary of ordering from any company that has no solid guarantee of their product. In this case my fears were unfounded. I ordered a mix of both gallon and tube sizes - all arrived showing good health.

I compared prices for similar size and types of plants (I had a very specific shopping list this year) and Forest Farm was often - but not always - the better priced plant.
What really kills me is the shipping costs! Adding this cost to the order brings their prices even to or worse than the competitors after adding their shipping.

They do have varieties I cannot find elsewhere. The plants I received this year were in good health and showed no shipping damage despite a coast-to-coast trip. The extra cost in shipping is worth it, and as always, you get what you pay for. I will use them again.

i ordered from them a week 1/2 ago. got my order today, and VERY happy when i opened the box!! the plants arrive still moist. i ordered hakonechloa macra "aureola", yucca "color guard", and tiarella "neon lights". first off, the yucca was 2 feet tall with beautiful, upright leaves, the foam flower is lush with foliage & some flower spikes emerging, the forest grass is just beautiful!!! i'm very impressed & will definitely order again. can't wait to plant them! A+

Big, Beautiful, healthy, well packed, fast shipped Goldflame honeysuckle...I will be a returning customer!!! THANKS forestfarm...

I order from many mail order companies, but Forestfarm has been my old favorite for years. Their selection of plants is mind boggling, and their customer service is outstanding. The quality of Forestfarm's plants is first rate as well; they always arrive healthy and in good condition. I recommend them highly.

ordered 3 hard to find plants, & received 3 large healthy plants
very well boxed, i consider it good service from a professional company
thank you ForestFarm

i ordered $500 worth of plants from forest farm, though half that fee was prob in shipping fees. i dont say that as a complaint- just an FYI.
previous poster is quite correct, plants are packaged so securely it toom me an hour just to open all my plants!- i worked up an incredible sweat when i was done.
i ordered some fruit trees and various shrubs.
the fruit trees were stunning, far bigger than i was expecting, and all in bloom! the 1 gallons shrubs were also awesome and one of them was in bloom too.
the tubes were great for their very cheap price.
i can't wait to see how they develop and am looking fwd to the fruit.
ray is very meticulous about answering emails too.
all in all 9.5 out of 10. will def order from them again

I recieved the first box of my order Thursday and the other 2 on Friday and was amazed at the huge boxes and great packaging techniques. The tubes were all very well rooted and healthy and moist. The gallon plants look wonderful-they were out of a couple of tube sized plants I ordered and substituted with gallon sized at no extra charge! What a pleasant suprise. And the 5 gallon Magnolia 'JonJon' blew me away. I was expecting a 3-4' tree, but when the UPS man brought in this box that was taller than me(I'm 6') my mouth dropped open. Getting into the box took some time-I think their packers were previously employed at Fort Knox-LOL. The tree went all the way to the top of the box and I think it even has flower buds! And not a twig broken. I've seen some negative remarks about their shipping costs, but having seen the time and attention that goes into keeping them undamaged enroute, I feel it was a bargain. Being a bargain shopper, I figured in shipping costs before ordering, and averaged out the price per plant with shipping and still found the prices beat most other companies. The 5 gallon magnolia was $49 without shipping; the same price other companies were asking for a 1 gallon. I will order again and again!

Ordered 4 one gallon plants in early March. All four arrived in excellent condition due to the exceptional packaging. All four trees have started to leaf and flower. This is my 5th order with ForestFarm and I have been happy with all of them. I would recommend them to anyone.

I can't say enough good things about Forestfarm. They are a pleasure to deal with in all respects. As I look out over my garden, the most vigorous, attractive plants seem to be theirs. Ray has always been prompt and helpful in responding not only to questions about orders but also with advice on care long after the sale. The one time an order got mixed up (they sent a weeping katsura instead of a Heronswood Globe) Ray credited me for the full amount of purchase without any proof other than my word and said, "Just keep the other tree." Their packing is superb, their selection is incredible, and their catalogue is fine literature. I just wish I had a bigger yard so that I could order more plants from them.

Ordered Heucheras. Received some of the most gorgeous, healthy plants I've ever lifted from a mailing package. I order plants in "tubes" and did not know exactly what to expect. The "above ground" portion of the heucheras was about 7" inches in diameter with amazingly, healthy, "unbroken" leaves. Great prices, excellent quality. What else can you ask for?

First, customer service: I placed an order with ForestFarm, with delayed shipping so the plants would ship ground and closer to a tolerable planting date. I accidentally put in the wrong expiration date for my card. ForestFarm contacted me immediately because my order didn't go through and they weren't sure if I cancelled. I resent my card number, but not my exp date. Weeks later at the time of my chosen shipping date, they went ahead and sent my order even though my card STILL didn't go through, contacting me AFTER the plants had gone out. It was only then that I realized it was likely because I'd originally given the wrong exp date.

And they sent the plants anyway! Twice my card had failed on them because of my error ... and they sent the plants anyway, trusting I wasn't some big evil con! That's good customer service!

Second, and even more important, the plants arrived in excellent condition --- well packed, with good instructions, healthy and happy.

Of course, they arrived right in the middle of an unseasonable cold spell :=D . But I can tell they'll make it until it warms up enough to plant them. Nice looking plants.

Third, they really do have a good variety. I'd searched everywhere for nice elderberry and they had a great selection with excellent descriptions, unlike other places selling elderberry (I've seen some places which just note "elderberry" and that's it!) I have wild elderberry growing all along the outskirts of my land, but I like to leave it for the critters and birds, and wanted to start some right next to my house. I found a kind at ForestFarm which not only produces good fruit but is pretty, so it also functions as landscaping. Their grape selection is also fantastic. My only complaint is I wish they'd had more varieties of strawberry when I ordered, but they likely do at this point.

All in all, I'm very, very pleased. I'm planning on doing much more planting around here over the next few years --- it'll be Waters Farms for more blueberries, a local place for regional varieties and definitely ForestFarm for my perennials!

I have ordered a number of times, just recieved new order . It was in perfect shape & came very fast. Always have had good luck with there plants.. W.Motz

For now, my experience is limited to placing an order and I’m unimpressed. They did not have an item available that I ordered 3 of, and which my order depended. It dawned on me a few days later that I never got an email confirmation of my order, so I sent an email inquiry. I was told my order was cancelled because they were out of stock of that item. They said the web site entry was in error.

Eventually, I found out that they had called my workplace and left a message. I wasn’t in that facility for a week so I never got the message until much later. (yeah, I suppose I could have checked my voice mail remotely…). But I would think a company doing business on the internet would be more internet-oriented and would send an email response rather than a phone call. I suppose I can’t blame them for initially calling vs. emailing, but when they didn’t reach me – twice--, an email certainly should have been sent.

Secondly, and more importantly, why wasn’t the item available? It was on their web site. I have a suspicion that out-of-date web site availability may be the norm. I re-read the order form closely and saw “…to learn the current availability of the plants you’ve ordered, please call…”. Most places remove the item from the web site when it is out of stock One should not have to call to confirm availability as a normal process.

Thirdly, several days later, the item is still on their web site!

Fourthly, the shipping charges…OUCH!!!

I have heard so much of their plant reputation, however, that I am still going to proceed with ordering some items. Time will tell…

I've had nothing but positive experiences the two times I have ordered from FF. While the shipping is high, the plant prices are very reasonable given the size and vigor of the plants, as well as the fact that I primarily order plants I can't acquire locally. As well, the plants I've ordered (~8) have been packed impeccably and arrived in perfect health. The shipping costs are described in detail up front and don't come as any surprise when you actually perform a transaction.

FF will be my primary source for hard-to-find plants in the future.

It's been a while since I've ordered from Forestfarm, but I have friends who ordered last spring and were thrilled with what they received. Just a bit of feedback to the folks who complain about shipping plants. I suggest they try to ship a perishable item by UPS (should get to its destination in 2 to 3 days tops) (Fed Ex is usually more) and see what it costs them. The rates are staggering. Every mail order nursery that I know of is lucky if they are covering their costs. My advice to mad4roses is to buy local when you can, and when you can't find those hard to locate varieites, be thankful that there are still a few reputable nurseries that are willing to take the time to package and ship those rarieties that the mass production greenhouses are unwilling to lose money on.

I haven't ordered from Forestfarm, but I do receive their catalog. I simply cannot afford the shipping charges. I know that they have an explanation on their website for the costs, but they are much higher than anyone else. They charge $8.75 to ship ONE tube GROUND! You can easily pay more for shipping than you do for the plants, and it would be difficult not to. I just can't even give them a try at these rates.

They need to re-negotiate their contracts with their shippers. I can't believe every other vendor in the country got a better deal from their carriers than Forestfarm did. Pit FedEx and UPS against each other and get them to compete. Since you use both no matter what, they feel no pressure to cut you a deal. Tell them you're going to pick one to be the exclusive carrier and let them fight it out!

I recently ordered 3 acer palmatums and was extremely pleased with both the quality of the plants received and their customer service. One of the plants that I had originally ordered was not available but I received a prompt email asking if I wished a substitution or a refund. They even offered to send another variety in a larger size at no additional cost.

They have a tremendous selection of hard to find plants, and understandably, not all plants are available 365 days a year. However,I am satisfied with the level of communication and the effort they extended in trying to provide an acceptable replacement.

I appreciate the opportunity to purchase smaller plants at an affordable price for cultivars that I could not begin to afford purchasing as a mature plant from a local nursery.

I look forward to ordering again from Forestfarm.

Another year, another box of perfectly packed plants from Forest Farm. Everyone knows by now that they send big and healthy plants and must have a huge operation because they seem to never run out of anything. Their customer service also warrants kudos, however.

When I e-mailed them a request for some information, they had trouble replying to my e-mail address, and they actually looked up my phone number and called me long-distance with the information.

Later, when I placed my order, I mentioned there were three plants I wanted that weren't on their Website. They found two of them somewhere and included them in my order.

I love these people. They really care about their customers.

I ordered 3 manzanita trees (tubes) the end of Nov-'04. (Received immed. email order receipt and another on dispatch of order) as the weather here was still warm, and was/am very pleased with them. Larger than I expected with lots of healthy leaves and very well rooted. We are planning to use them as bonsai, not sure if it will work out, but received the best possible plants to start with. Fantastic offerings in their catalogue!

i just wanted to say every experience i have had with forestfarm has been extremely positive--the trees i received did well and the service for my other orders was concise and easy. as far as shipping costs, they are also fair as i have a friend who works for UPS and even he was suprised as to what we get for our money (in the positive sense). in addition, ray faithfully and honestly deals with every email i send, gives good advice, and doesn't try to make a sale for the sake of a sale. thanks guys i appreciate it. pastor mark

Reading the comments on Forestfarm it looks like there are no greys, people are either very positive or quite negative about them. Having ordered from them at least once a year for the past 12 years, I can easily relate to both views. I have come to think of Forestfarm as Las Vegas: you pay your money and you take your chances. Some of the plants that they send out are awesome, some are horrible. There is no consistency and no way of predicting what you will get: the same plant may be great one year, terrible the next, regardless of whether you order a tube or a gallon. Once you bought it, its yours. They are very reticent to respond to complaints and when they do, it is usually in a very arrogant way and never to the customer's full satisfaction. Their shipping costs are astronomical and totally unjustified. They behave as if they were the only source of many rare plants which, unfortunately, is true, hence reinforcing their approach to business. Competition is a good thing..
Why do I keep ordering from them? Because there is just no other source for many of the plants that I want. So, I just figure that any plant that I want will cost me two or three times their apparently "low" prices, until I get a good one.
Unfortunately, that's life in this hobby.

I like this company a lot, mostly for their great variety. I also think the very reasonable price of their plants offsets the sometimes high price of shipping.

Also, I have never received a sickly plant from FF. I placed an order for a Brunnera Hadspen Cream just a couple of weeks ago (to replace a dead and then discontinued one from Wayside Gardens)...and Forest Farm sent me two!!

I am a little wary to deal with this company again after reading their inflammatory & unprofessional responses to those that posted negative comments. I can understand their point of view but the manner in which they counterattacked those that oppose them leaves me wondering if I want to give them my business...then again I am talking about a group of people that grow plants, not a Fortune 500 company. Oh well, I have yet to experience any return issues with ForestFarm, so there are no negative reports about their stock. I would however have to rate their passive aggressive "cuss"tomer service tactics "Negative".

I bought a tree - looked ok but did drop all its leaves when planted. A Lilac which looked OK too. But the Monkshood vine was 3 - 2inch twigs. If I am buying root stock I feel this should be stated up front. I was expecting a plant with foliage. The Salvia Nipponica looked like it came from the trash bin. Teeny tiny couple of short branches with what looked like a few eaten leaves. I would be embarrased to have this represnt me as a plant from my nursery. The Jupiter's beard was not in too bad of shape tho I have to say. I guess you can expect a certain amount of dead foliage on plants. I definitely would not recommend them to my friends. I grew over 300 varieties of seeds last year and I know what is healthy and what is not. I will watch these plants and see what becomes of them in the Spring but will not be purchasing from them again which is too bad.

"We’re sorry that “stillmeadow” felt compelled to post a negative rating here rather than contact us first about their dissatisfaction with the plants we shipped to them. We’re kind of surprised that they didn’t appreciate the fact that our plants are grown outdoors so that they harden off for the winter. Instead of maintaining lush (“pretty”) growth late into the fall, they go dormant naturally so they can withstand rough winters. After experiencing several frosts (25 F), it’s no wonder that the leaves would be falling or not look pristine! The plants are going to sleep for the winter!! We’re rather amazed that “stillmeadow” would base their opinion as to what is healthy on the appearance of the leaves, or lack of them, on plants that are almost dormant. We kind of expect that someone placing an order for shipment at this time of year would accept that the plants might be going dormant. It’s the root systems and stems that we are shipping at this time for the wise gardener who takes advantage of the fall planting window. We are confident that the plants “stillmeadow” received will burst forth with vigor next spring if only they will give them the chance.

We have sent three emails this spring to Stillmeadow to find out whether the plants we sent her last fall survived or perished, and whether we needed to do something to make her a happy customer. She has never responded. We try to provide excellent customer service, but can only do so when the customer cooperates. I guess we will assume that the plants were OK this spring, or we would have heard from her requesting replacements."

The quality and size of the Japanese Maple I received was excellent. It was packaged professionally along with a Korean Hornbeam of a smaller size. Other than a communication error, (which they promptly and graciously apologized for), I have no complaints. They even included a copy of their extensive catalogue. I will definitely order from Forestfarm again !

This was my first order from Forestfarm. I ordered an assortment of trees in both the one gallon size and tubes from them for delivery on Oct 1. They sent a postcard indicating they had been shipped on that date and they arrived the following week. The plants were well packaged and appear to be in good shape. They included plenty of info with them too.

All in all it was a good experience, I will probably order from them again in spring.

I ordered 25 tiarella from Forest Farm. Ground shipping took 10 days and I was worried about the condition they would be in. Plants arrived in great condition and very well packed. Tubes were still moist and only one plant showed signs of discoloration. The price was lowest I found for the cultivar ordered. Will definitely use again.

Bought ordered some plants from ForestFarm because they had such a good rating. I was disappointed in all the plants (the probem may have been at least partially due to the fact that I ordered at the end of the season). The Fuschia died within a few days. I have contacted them at least 3 times, and they haven't had the courtesy to reply/acknowledge any of my e-mails.

"We are sorry that KdePetrillo had to make this posting. If she had phoned us, we would have known of the problem and corrected it. However, she sent her emails to an outdated address, so we never received them. Upon seeing this posting, we contacted her to determine what was wrong, and immediately sent her a replacement plant for the one that didn’t survive summer shipping during hot weather."