Comments regarding Wellspring Gardens

I have made several purchases this year from them and they have all survived. Yes the plants are small but fair price for a plant that is already started. All were well packed. One did not do as well but I did wait 4 days to take out and plant.

I do live fairly close to them so that may be a factor.

I would order again from them.

On the positive side, the plants arrived quickly and were in little pots. However, 3 of the 6 plants I ordered quickly died, despite having been quickly unpacked and transplanted. I've ordered plants online dozens of times and this is the first time this has happened. Essentially, it's a bit of a gamble to order such young and small (and thus potentially weak) plants, and having some die offsets any cost savings. So I'd recommend ordering from Wellspring Gardens only if they have plants you can't find elsewhere.

I purchased two colocasia Maui Gold and elana. Both I received about 2-3 inches tall and very tiny. Within a couple weeks they both looked horrible. I tried to contact the seller by mail and phone. The phone is not in service. I tried to get my money back on PayPal but the seller is now requesting me to return them. They died shortly after I received them on April 3rd. I paid 19.89 for two splendly tiny if you want to call them plants and they died with in a few weeks of me receiving them. I would recommend buying elsewhere since you cannot get your money back and they most likely won't live. Most places do warranty these type of plants at least through the Summer. I could not get them to live through the Spring. I have several of colocasia and alocasia I have grown from bulbs and will now only buy bulbs in them. This is a horrible company that like to rip you off since you can't get a hold of them then they request you return something to them 3 months later that has disenegrated.

Today I received my first order from Wellspring. Plants are smaller than many of their competitors but the company accurately notes this on their website. Wellspring's lower prices also reflect this and more than make up for any size discrepancy. Everything was shipped in their pots and very securely packaged in the box. All the plants are exceptionally healthy and were promptly shipped within a few days of placing my order. I'm very happy with my purchase. I'll definitely buy from them again!

Posted on January 14, 2019, updated January 14, 2019
Purchased a Blood Banana Zebrina Rojo Red Musa acuminata from Wellspring off Amazon in Oct 2018. It arrived quickly (4 days from FL to CA) in great condition and has been throwing new leaves continuously outdoors and now indoors. Also bought their special banana fertilizer that nobody sells locally in SoCal. My experience has been 100% positive.

I wanted to purchase plants from them but after attempting to communicate with them, two e-mails, without any reply I decided against it. I'm giving a Neutral rating in hopes a valid reason why they couldn't reply. Next trip to the US I'll might try again.

Ordered some Elephant ear mid/late summer. The plants were tiny (as described) and well packed. These plants loved the heat and humidity of GA and quickly grew. Most importantly they all grew true to the varieties I ordered! Will be getting more plants in the spring.

I do not normally post reviews.
I was very hesitant to order from Wellspring...
Mainly because it was my first ever online order and on Daves it seemed like there was a lot of mixed reviews, but Wellspring had decent reviews on amazon.
I ordered one type of Alocasia, two types of Colocasia, and a Kiwi - Assai
I ordered on Thursday 9/27, the package was shipped Monday 10/1 Was suppose to get here on Thursday 10/4. I got a message from USPS letting me know that it was rescheduled for Wednesday 10/3.
Very cool.
Upon receiving the box I noticed that it was labeled (Live plants, Do not Delay) Nice touch.
Each one of the plants had the soil covered, a guide stick, and Very moist soil. Perfectly shipped.
Taking the plants out Each Co/Alocasia was happy and healthy, Green leaves and roots galore.
The Kiwi Looked just as good, Not as many roots, But Healthy.
I will be ordering more from wellspring, The plants are Small, as expected for the $8-12 range. The fact that they have a lot of hard to find varieties of plants make it worth the price/wait.
Looking forward to posting updates in a month or so.
Will be recommending this place.

Posted on March 13, 2018, updated August 6, 2018
Posted on May 8, 2017, updated March 13, 2018
Posted on June 20, 2015, updated May 8, 2017
Posted on March 12, 2015, updated June 20, 2015
I've ordered twice from Wellspring Gardens and am very pleased with both the condition of the plants and how well they are packaged and shipped. The plants from my first order (November 2014) are thriving and the February order is doing very well.

The plants arrived healthy; they are small tissue cultures, but this accurately noted on their website.

The only reason for my negative rating is the fact that they include styrofoam in their potting mix - and by not noting this prominently on their website deprive growers of the option of not putting plastic trash directly into their gardens. I will not order again unless they change this practice.

"On Oct 14, 2017 9:46 AM, Wellspring Gardens responded with:

Hello, the "styrofoam" you are referring to is actually perlite, made from volcanic glass, it's 100% natural and safe for use in the garden. Perlite is used widely in the gardening industry to help potting soil from becoming compacted, allowing for better drainage yet at the time, helping with moisture retention. If you have concerns or questions about our products, please message us directly. Thanks!"

I ordered from Wellspring Gardens for the first time this spring (Apr 2017), and 3 more times since then, have been impressed each time.

The plants I received were an exceptionally good value, had cked around on the net to try and compare, could not find any prices even similar to what they were offering. They had an interesting inventory - although I admit many of the items were too tropical for my zone 7.

All plants received were healthy specimens and in mint condition upon arrival. One of the reasons is that Wellspring uses packing methods that prevent plants from tumbling around within the boxes. I was impressed.

The shipping they arranged was speedy too.

In all three orders I placed this year, they arranged for plants to be shipped early enough in the week so that they did not end up being stranded for the weekend in a warehouse somewhere.


I started a hillside fig garden, got 1 each of 14 different varieties and they are all thriving and looking great. I also got 3 different kinds of kiwifruit plants (3 dozen plants between the 3 varieties), and they are in the field and looking great too.

Also wanted to mention that in one of the orders I bought a tree banana, a black mulberry tree, butterfly bush, and a variety of pampass grass, forget which one.. but all of the Wellspring plants I bought this year are at this point growing in the field and doing very well, has been a lot of fun adding these different items to my garden.
It's getting a little late in the season to easily establish any more new plants now but will try to order from them again late winter / early spring 2018. It's fun just to look through the list of items, especially the exotic ones that I can only dream of growing because it's too cold for them here. But then again there can be some drawbacks of living in the tropics - alligators, pythons, fire ants, etc. : )

Fig plants have taken off and are doing very well from the small starts received which were quite inexpensive compared to other nurseries,one of which sent me figs severely affected by mosaic virus requiring incineration on opening the package.This nursery sent fine plants,and has a great selection of varieties, Shipping was superb and rapid with excellent packaging.they communicate well and know how to do business.

I've ordered from Wellspring a couple of times. Their plants are very small, but they're healthy and ready to grow. In fact, in a two-year trial of about 20 varieties of fig trees, the trees I bought from Wellspring survived much better than most of the bigger trees I purchased elsewhere.

Just keep in mind that these are going to be tissue culture starter plants, and you'll be fine -- and you'll save a lot of money. Don't expect huge mature plants for the prices you'll be paying.

Posted on May 18, 2016, updated October 6, 2016
I placed an order for mostly hardy (but out of season) plants in December of 2014. They were promptly shipped and healthy vigorous small plants. Due to it being early winter and the nature of the plants being subtropical, I kept everything inside till Spring, and planted as appropriate. Since, every single plant (depending on it's nature) is several times larger and very robust.
I placed a 2nd order Sunday and I'm awaiting it. This time, the plants will never have to be indoor plants to start with. I'm sure they'll be glad of that ;)

Great company to order from when their inventory is full. I have order from them many times and as of lately, they don't know stock as much as they use too. Most importantly they have change their free plants method, that screwed me out of 5 free coffees on my last order. I really needed them. It would have been a positive review if it wasn't for there weak inventory and their change that screwed me out of plants on my last order. To be fair I will probably order again from them!!!!

"On Oct 1, 2016 10:59 PM, Wellspring Gardens responded with:

It's better for us to say "we're not sure when a certain plant will be in stock" as opposed to making empty promises - we don't have control over whether our vendors can supply us or not and sometimes, the weather/climate just isn't conducive for growing certain plants. Plant stock is not as cut and dry as regular commodities. We have never offered 5 free plants with an order - the free plant offer is a courtesy, we outline all of the details on the Free Plant page and on our Customer Service page."

I have been buying plants from WellSpring100 for over 8 years now. How many plants have I lost? 0 How many plants arrived unhealthy, beat up, torn, less than what was advertised, wrong species, etc? 0

I have to hand it to Wellspring...I dont know how they do it but they do. They have to have the most organized thing going on for them to be able to hold that kind of record, even if it is with just one customer. I know Im happy about that!

I will be a lifetime customer of theirs as long as they have plants I want/need/and even dont need haha

Their packing is top notch, shipping is fast and prices are out of this world for what you get. Its perfect for me to receive the smaller plants they sell because I am one of those that like to see my things grow to maturity but dont have to wait until Im 50 to do it..*snort lol

Thank you WellSpring100 for being so awesome!

Ordered plants from them before on ebay usually with good luck. Ordered again this year. One plant was half dead. Contacted seller who said water it with distilled water and it'll come out of it in a few weeks. It died.

The goal was to wait so that the 30 days would be past and Ebay wouldn't be able to charge back to them. But, PayPal can. Will also be contacting the BBB in Florida or their shady business.

Never buy from them! You take your chances.

"On Aug 3, 2016 4:47 PM, Wellspring Gardens responded with:

No, that was not the goal. You didn't fully unwrap your plant, which is why it was unable to recover. "

What an amazing experience. I got great service, plants came in exactly as advertised right on time, and got 2 free coffee plants too. it seems, however, that each pot of coffee has 7 and 9 plants in it respectively, giving me a bit more than I bargained for! Very pleased, will order again.

Posted on July 31, 2015, updated August 10, 2015
Posted on April 8, 2012, updated July 31, 2015
Posted on March 8, 2012, updated April 8, 2012
Today 3/8/12 I received my order from Wellsping Gardens. It consisted of 2 cashew seedlings, coffee plant, 1 dwarf pomegranate, 1 stevia plant and a rosemary herb bushling. To my most pleasant surprise all of my little trees were green and in the best shape I have ever seen. I was quite surprised at the size of the package which completely fit into my mailbox I expected a package at the door. They were all snuggly packaged and wrapped in the best of condition. I will be suggesting Wellspring Gardens to others and will use them for all my garden needs. I wish I could have avoided the experiences that I had in the past. If you ever decide to order any type of rare tropicals and Wellspring has it in their inventory make sure you order from Mr. D and the gang at Wellspring first. You won't regret it.

Ordered two dwarf Cavendish banana plants via ebay. They arrive quickly, and in good condition. Well packed. Happy.

I was a little worried when I received the box, the usps had really beat it up. It looked pitiful, crushed flat with holes in the box. It was marked live plants do not delay, I guess someone at usps had something against plants? Upon opening the box all the plants looked great! I was surprised, good job packing wellspring! Each plant was3 to 8 inches as promised, beautiful little plants! Each was individually wrapped with tape, had a wet towel under the tape, a stick to help support the height of the plant and put in its own little bag. Each was individually labeled so you know which each plant is. I am very happy with the shipment and thanks for the free plant care guide download and free plants. I am eager to see them grow!

Posted on May 30, 2015, updated June 10, 2015
Ordered 3 fig trees from WG. Arrived a day late(said 2 day shipping, but took 3). Plants seem healthy, although these plants are "MICRO". Very small plants, some not even reaching the 3inch minimum specified on the website. But other than size, plants look healthy for seedlings. Will update the post in a few weeks, to verify if the plants survive.

Ordered from Wellspring last summer, only a small order of three small plants. I was highly satisfied with them, my two ginger plants are starting to take off now that the weather is warming. Look forward to ordering from them again in the future.

I was recently looking over sites that had bletilla seedlings for sale. There were a number, and Wellspring Gardens had the best price and selection for the plant size and they have an excellent ebay feedback/rating. After I had ordered I found these ratings, and it was very comforting to see that many others over a period of years had the same results from purchasing from this vendor. Like everyone else, I received extremely healthy young plants (including lemon grass, my stomach catches me even when plant shopping :) ) in excellent packaging, clearly marked 'live plants do not delay' and received asap after purchasing online. I have grown plants wholesale for a number of years, and I know when plants look happy and healthy, and these are happy plants! I just hope I keep them looking happy
Thank you!

I ordered from them a couple of times. It took 3-5 days to box my orders and ship them. All plants were packaged well, healthy, and free from insect pests.

Sent in a big order and got everything in great shape right before a 2 day deep freeze. Each plant was well watered, had a moist strip of newspaper wrapped around the plant stem and then masking taped into the pot and set in an individual bag. Each had a stick to keep the leaves from getting crushed. Very happy! Hurry SPRING!

Great company! They sell starter plants (and are absolutely upfront about this) at low prices. When I had a question about delivery, they got back to me immediately - and on a Sunday, too! All of the plants arrived well-packed (I placed 2 orders so there were quite a few plants and no soil was lost in transit due to their way of packing each pot individually) and all were pleasantly damp and clearly labeled. They currently are offering free plants with minimal purchases and they included my selections with the orders. After allowing the plants to rest a few days, I planted them out in the garden (healthy root systems one and all) and they are doing great. Really a nice company to do business with - they carry many difficult to find plants - and I will definitely be ordering from them, again! 10 stars!

I've placed three orders with Wellspring Gardens and just love the variety of plants recieved for such a reasonable price. I prefer smaller plants from a nursery for a smaller price, and they experience less transplant shock and generally grow up healthier. The nursery also offers such a great variety of unique plants that are signifacantlly more expensive elsewhere. The orders are shipped quickly, and everything I have ordered has thrived, with the exception of a couple plants I've killed through neglect. The free plants are a nice touch as well. The free coffee plant I received turned out to be eleven seedlings, so I now have eleven coffee plants potted up and growing. I think this nursery definitely offers the best values of any mail-order nursery out there.

I recently purchased several plants from Wellspring Gardens via Ebay. I have purchased from Wellspring Gardens in the past so I knew from experience what to expect - small but healthy plants. The plants I received were all very small but healthy with the exception of one of the plants (Tophat Blueberry Bush). I ordered two bushes in an effort to increase yield once the bushes were established, one was fine the other not so (it was so tiny and fragile). I contacted Wellspring via email regarding the runt/twig I received and promptly received a reply that there was nothing they could do regarding this plant because "the size is as advertised. All of our plants are between 3 and 8 inches as per the ad."

Wellspring Gardens did offer a refund if I returned the plant at my cost. Well it just isn't worth the time, effort and cost to return. This transaction was definitely not my idea of good or excellent customer service. I will have to think long and hard about buying from Wellspring Gardens in the future knowing that they don't stand behind the quality of the plants they offer for sale. I certainly cannot and do not recommend Wellspring Gardens based on my recent experience.

"On Apr 28, 2014 3:07 PM, Wellspring Gardens responded with:

Hello, We are sorry you were not happy with your plant however, the picture we received of the Tophat looked great, it was full and lush and the size was as advertised it just wasn't as large as the other blueberry that was sent. The other blueberry plant that the Tophat is being compared to was actually larger than we advertise. All of our plants are starter size and are between 3 and 8 inches in height. -Wellspring Gardens"

Pineapple pups, bay laurel and Venus flytrap arrived in pristine condition. Shipped on the 15th from Lakeland arriving in central Texas on the 18th. There was a layer of wet paper towel wrapped around the trunk, covering the soil and then carefully taped over that side to side. Variety labels were taped to the pots. That takes some time! Excellent products, service and price.

I have ordered from Wellsprings through Ebay. Very happy and pleasant experience! However, I will be ordering directly from your site from now on. I wasn't aware of the free gift offer until recently. Having said that, I will definitely order from you again! Thanks so much :)

Back in early December, I ordered 9 plants from Wellspring and even after forgetting to mark my 2 "free" plants (due to order size), they allowed me to add my selections.

As the weather grew progressively colder, they kept me posted on delayed shipment which was greatly appreciated.

Today - Jan 11, 2014 I received my order. Here was my note to them:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Order received and everything was in good order and looks nice. Couple were a bit stressed cause of temperature and partial crushing of box by USPS.

At this point though looks like nothing to worry about.

Your timing was impeccable! 40 degrees at delivery.

Thanks. I will DEFINITELY order from you again.

I know that the plants are small and that I must give them extra care, but the value to size is great. They are getting used to their new home under grow lights in my basement.

Thanks again!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wellspring plants are quite small and young. But they are very reasonably priced.

Of 11 plants - all tropical or sub-tropical, everyone looks good given the environmental conditions and stress of shipping.

Heartily recommend them!

I buy a lot of plants on eBay from different sellers and Wellspring Gardens has the best quality plants and the most fair prices. They give very good advice too and actually understand the difference in climates.

Wellspring is my FAVORITE place to buy from. I've bought many plants in probably 10 years and always they have been shipped in wonderful condition, the prices you can't beat and the plants have always been 100% healthy. I have another order soon to be placed with them, only wish they would have more rare or fruiting varieties of plants but they still have a very nice amount to sell.

I ordered two banana plants and one elephant ear, plus one free elephant ear. The two banana plants arrived in good condition, and both are growing a new leaf. The elephant ear I paid for had two leaves, and one was yellowed, but it has since started putting out a new leaf. Both leaves on the "free" EE were yellowed, wilted and had to be cut back. I've had the plant for about two weeks now and no signs on new growth (China Pink EE). I hate to nit-pick about something that was "free", but when the free item is used as an incentive to purchase from a vendor, then the quality of the free item definitely matters. If it puts out new growth, I'll update the review.

Overall, however, the paid for plants were good. I'd definitely order banana trees again, but not sure about elephant ears.

"On Nov 14, 2013 6:00 AM, Wellspring Gardens responded with:

Hello, I am sorry to hear you are disappointed with your Pink China; most of our plants are starting to go dormant which is likely what is going on with your Pink China. Different varieties will go into dormancy at various rates. If you check the bulb and see if it is firm it is still good, if it is soft let us know (send us an email and we will make it right). We never intentionally send poor quality plants even if they are free. Thanks, Wellspring Gardens"

I recently purchased more plants from Wellspring. I have purchased starter plants from them in the past and most of the trees are giving me fruit now. This time I ordered Elephant Ears and they arrived in great shape ready to grow. The unbelieveable part is that I got two completely free plants with my order. I would highly recommend Wellspring and Donovan.

Posted on September 8, 2011, updated June 10, 2013
I have ordered many plants from mail order companies and this was one of the best deals. I got several seedling coffee plants for 1 cent, ( they were in one pot), but I separated them and they are doing fine. Two ice cream bananas for the price of one a dwarf papaya and dwarf pomegranate. Total was $26.99 including shipping. One of the best deals I have gotten so far. All the plants looked very vigorous except for the dwarf papaya, it looked a little weak when i got it but I potted it up and I'll see how it goes. I e-mailed my concern about the papaya at 7:30pm and got a response less than 2 hours later from the owner, talk about a fast response! He said to let him know if the papaya didn't make it. I would definitely order from them again!

Wonderful experience. Ordered a ton of very very well priced plants. They arrived fully intact and packed ingenuously. The plants were in smaller sized pots and I have had all but one plant do fantastic and that is out of season growing tropical plants indoors in 5a zone winter. So extremely pleased and would highly recommend and will of course be ordering more!

Yesterday I received 26 plants (4 were free plants) from Wellspring Gardens. They were very well packed and arrived unharmed. All the plants are extremely healthy and large for plants in 3" pots. The root sytems on all these plants are very well developed. I was able to select many different varieties of tropical plants for my large patio container garden. A great nursery! I will order again from Wellspring Gardens.