Comments regarding Bluestone Perennials

I ordered snowcap asters, lamium, veronica speedwell, all 3-packs. Order arrived quickly, but plants are extremely small and have been slow taking off. The 4"pot clethra is barely growing.
Then I ordered large pots of hostas, bleeding heart, astilbe, and hypericum golden tutsan. The 2nd order plants were sizable and plants look like they're ready to take off.
My advice: look for their posted specials (changes weekly) and buy large pots. I do not like the 3-pack perennials--too puny--you have to be patient or just be able to plant and forget for a year.
I do not like their peanuts used in packing. Other mail order companies use straw, cardboard to prevent soil leakage. If you have the time and energy, you can ship their packing boxes back they give you free shipping on your next order, so that is somewhat admirable.
I like their catalog & useful lists.
They have awesome specials & coupons available online or shipped with your order.

My order of 15 snow hill salvias arrived around April 5 in good condition in UPS packaging. I was prepared for the plants to just get established this year, but to my suprise they have already tripled in size and are already flowering profusely and its only mid May. Very impressed. Catalog they send with the order is very well done. Would def order again and recommend to others.

Only criticism is that one of the plants they sent was the wrong color (purple) but Ill just move it and divide one of the others to replace it instead of returning it. From what Ive read, the return process and cust svc are excellent.

I ordered bulbs last fall, and a lot of different plants this spring--all of my bulbs have come up (they look beautiful) and the plants arrived at exactly the right time, all glowing with health. They're all still thriving and growing, even the ones I waited weeks to plant. I really like the ability to return the packing material for reuse, and the selection is wonderful--they have plants I didn't see in any other catalog, at very good prices.

I've only began mail ordering plants in the last year and of course took advantage of all the various coupons offered before reading here about each company. That is why I was and still am very surprised and disappointed at my order from last fall. I feel almost guilty because of their excellent reputation, but the perennials I ordered were in awful shape. I did re-order two Polyanthus, but the next bunch were in worse shape. I was most disappointed in the Nepeta, which was next to dead and I had ordered many plants and did not have the time to baby it and the daylillies I also ordered. The woman I talked to when I re-ordered was quite rude and I didn't want to go through that again. I purchased most of them with a coupon or on sale and thought perhaps that was why the plants were in the shape they were. Well, three catalogs have come and gone with the nice discount that I can barely refuse, but I don't want to wait in fear. On the positive, I also ordered fall bulbs and they came up very nicely. On the negative, the whole fall experience with mail-order gardening was terrible and it might be back to Lowes for me.

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We are very sorry to hear about the trouble rosesareblue has had. We would be very happy to reship or refund her order. I would be curious to know if we used the same carrier both times, as it sounds like the plants might have been too long in transit. We could certainly try again if rosesareblue would be in touch. Fall plants are often beginning their winter decline, depending on how late we ship from NE Ohio, and perhaps spring plants would look more fresh. Just to clarify, our sale material is the same quality as our regular priced material - we simply have an overstock of it for one reason or another. I apologize for any lack of courtesy from our staff. Please ask for me if you would like, Jan"

Had ordered from before good results.This time half the order was in good shape ,healthy, pricey for size I thought. Other side,shrubs in poor shape,euphorbia each had 1 stem and leaf for approx 12.00.Honestly do not know why they sent them.Received B. O. ,hydrangea and red twig dogwood,both demolished by peanut packing and USPS. Cannot beat price for shipping and their commitment to recycling. Did not ask for refund /replacement, just will not order again.

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You are still welcome to a reship or a refund if you would like. We can be sure to use UPS or FedEx for your next shipment. I hope you will give us the chance to reconcile this to your satisfaction. "

I have ordered from Bluestone several times over the past few years. I have always received healthy plants, packed well to withstand the shipping. Although the plants are usually a little smaller, the prices are excellent, and I find it easier to plant the smaller plants. They have a great selection, and their catalog is a pleasure to read. Customer service has been consistantly good.

I ordered eight items on Friday, April 26, they were shipped on Monday, April 28, and arrived on Friday, May 2. The plants were about the size I expected from a mail order company, and most seem to be fairly healthy. Had they been any smaller, considering the prices I paid, I would not have been happy at all. The Hypericum I ordered was very tiny, and didn’t look real healthy, but it was on sale for half price. The Hydrangea “Lemon Wave” was also very small, especially for the price I paid, but I couldn’t find it at any other nursery, so I’m not going to complain about it. At least they had one.

My only actual complaint is with their method of packing. What a mess! The plants were shipped in a box about foot deep, the plants took up the bottom 6 inches or so of the box and the rest of the box was filled with Styrofoam peanuts. I had to unpack the box in the house, because when I tried to do it outside the slight breeze we had blew the peanuts all over the yard. By the time I had the plants out, the peanuts were everywhere, along with some of the potting soil! If you order from them I would suggest you lay newspapers or a sheet out on the floor before you unpack the box. The peanuts might be easier to accept if they were actually effective in protecting the plants, but unfortunately there were several broken leaves and two broken stems.

I may not have been quite as disappointed with Bluestone had I not received an order from W.W. Greenhouses the same day. W.W. Greenhouses knows how to do it and they made Bluestone look pretty bad in comparison, which may not seem fair, except that Bluestone’s prices were actually a little higher so I would expect at least a comparable quality.

The only REAL positive I have to say about Bluestone Perennials is they carry a huge variety of plants, so you can find just about anything you’d want. Their website is very good, and they have an excellent search engine that gives you accurate results when you search for plants with specific characteristics.

I’m sure I’ll order from Bluestone Perennials again, because I like to try new plants and unusual varieties, and they carry such a huge assortment. I’ll just be sure to spread out those newspapers next time.

Love this company. Plants arrive in great condition and customer service is great!

I placed a large order based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback on this site. Thier customer service is as good as advertised. I received 3 boxes of small but pretty healthy looking plants. Most of them seem to be holding their own, except for the Shasta Daisy and Solidago. I am keeping my fingers crossed for the other marginal-looking ones, but overall these plants appear to be good buys.

I received my first order from Bluestone today. The plants are extremely healthy despite the fact that several leaves on the Lupines were broken during shipment and had to be pruned. The lupines have long-stemmed leaves that don't hold up well in a box filled with styrofoam peanuts. The Geum plants, on the other hand, were in perfect shape. Bluestone carries many hard-to-find varieties. I am pleased to learn that Bluestone is trying to find an alternative to using the styrofoam peanuts. The folks at Bluestone appear to be very honest people, and I look forward to ordering from them in the future.

"On Jul 1, 2009 3:43 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:

We are sorry to hear that your Lupines have not performed to your satisfaction. They can be tricky to grow. Our plants are guaranteed, and if you would like, we would be happy to reship (even a different plant if you would like) or refund at your request.

We do listen, and we have tried many other methods of packing, but those darned peanuts work the best. We offer free shipping on your next order if you will send the peanuts back to us so that we can reuse them (to be environmentally responsible). They are themselves made from recycled material. We will continue to evaluate every new packaging idea as we become aware of them, but have not yet found a better, effective way of getting plants to customers in good condition.

If you would like to be in touch directly, we can make good on your original losses, and discuss alternate packaging possibilities."

I ordered 3 hosta from them - they arrived in great shape -great packaging -which they encourage you recycle and I plan to! The plants are doing great and were a wonderful deal since I cannot find anything here that is not the "usual" 2 varieties that do not cost a fortune. Thanks for expanding my hosta heaven.

my solidago plants were healthy and husky. i received email notice regarding when back-ordered plants were being shipped. this is so helpful for those of us not yet retired!

I have ordered from Bluestone for many years and have been very satisfied. I have been able to find many unique plants to add to my garden every year. While the plants arrive very small they have always done well by the end of the season. I have always had good experiences with their customer service. They have always been prompt and have sent email notifications and confirmations quickly. The plants have always arrived in good condition and have done well in their containers while I have taken the time to get them in the ground. I am a happy customer and will continue to do business with them.

I read multiple positive reviews on Bluestone Perennials and decided to give them a try. I ordered a large quantity of oriental poppies. What I did not realize while placing my order is that Bluestone Perennials is a short drive away from me, as I live in Lorain County.

Once I realized my error, days after placing my order, I called Bluestone and asked if it would be okay if I came in person to pick up my order since I live so close, and I was nervous realizing that plants can become damaged in the process of shipping. They were more than happy to set aside my order and let me come in person to pick up my plants. They even offered to refund the shipping price to me. Since my first experience with them was a good one, I used store credit towards another purchase while I was there instead of taking a refund to my credit card. Everyone I dealt with on the phone was very helpful, and when I arrived there in person to shop the greenhouse the staff was even more helpful and polite. It’s more like a compound than a farm/greenhouse. The place is HUGE and everyone there is so nice. The atmosphere was incredible and since I live close enough I will be shopping there again soon. Also, all the plants are thriving and doing quite well.

I placed my first order with Bluestone this year and I must agree with most reviewers; small but healthy plants. I expected this, so was not put-off by it, I consider it a fair trade for their good prices. I placed a fairly large ($100+) order and everything was packed up very nicely, hardly a leaf was knocked off during shipping. I was a little concerned about the dormant Vitex (no leaves), but the plant immediately began sprouting leaves and is doing just fine. I will order from them again. I also appreciated their recycled packing peanuts and offer to ship them back for a refund on next time's shipping cost!

I ordered from Bluestone for the first time this year. I had a very large order and I am a very satisfied customer. All of my plants arrived safe and in good condition. I planted them all immediately and all are thriving, with the exception of 1 small plant that was "eaten" the first night after being planted. This of course is not Bluestone's problem :-)

I would definitely order from them again and would recommend them to anyone!

I ordered a couple pre-planned gardens + probably a few hundred other plants and was very happy, the plants are small but that lets them fit more in a box, costs less, and saves shipping. The plants you get are mostly 3-5" high, and probably 2-3 months old. The plants you get locally are often 2 year old plants and much, much larger... the Bluestone plants will take a year to mature and be the same size as the ones you find at your local nursury, trust me. I ended up ordering over 400 plants, only 3 were DOA and they happily sent me replacements.

UPDATE: On my 2nd year the little plants have really matured and coming back huge! If you like saving $ and don't mind the plants they provide spending the first year making roots before reaching maturity (2nd year) I highly recommend them.

excellent service!!! wonderful healthy plants!!!

This is my 2nd year ordering from Bluestone Perennials, and once again I am very pleased with the shipping/packing, and the condition of the plants that arrived. Last year's plants turned out great!

I just received my order and was very pleased with the quality of the plants, as I was with last year's order as well.
Thanks, Bluestone!

I ordered on monday and the plants came on Friday. They are health and ready to go. Great Job! Thanks!

I placed two orders with Bluestone Perennials and just received my plants yesterday. This was the first time I have ordered from this company but all hesitation was put aside after reading the wonderful feedback this company has on the Daves Garden website. All of the plants that I ordered arrived exeptionally healthy, they were nice and green and full of life. The majority of my order were hostas (several different varieties), several astilbes and a clematis. I look forward to ordering from Bluestone Perennials again very soon. They kept me well informed via e-mail of receiving my order and letting me know when to expect my plants. They are a great company. Their catalogs are quite informative and they have sensational specials listed on their website. I wish I could plant today but I decided to wait as the PA temps are expected to drop next week. I look forward to a great garden this year with the beautiful plants that I purchased from Bluestone Perennials. An overall great experience!

This year was my first experience with ordering from Bluestone or any garden center for that matter. This will be the first year I am doing anything besides a few pots on the porch. I ordered in February. I had concerns while waiting for my order to come. I was reading reviews saying how small the plants were and how bad they looked when they were unpacked. I was honestly shocked when I opened my box and the lovely smell came from it. The plants looked WONDERFUL. None of them are even wilting, some even have small blooms (the campanulas). This could be due to the fact that I live in Ohio so it was only 24 hours from the time they were shipped till I received them. From all the reviews I was expecting very very small plants that could barely be seen, but what I got was just the same as any plants you would buy in the spring from a nursery (but at more then half the price). The only problem my order had was I was given pink ridge creeping phlox as a substitute for herb chives, which look nothing alike nor do they grow alike. I was also not told about this before they were shipped, HOWEVER I called to mention that I was disappointed that I wasn't told and that they were nothing like the plant the replaced and was told they would be sent out free of charge within the next week (only problem I have with this is why were they not sent out in the first place?? but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth). My experience with Bluestone has been a great one and i fully expect these plants to flourish this summer.

I have ordered from bluestone before and I have to say I was so pleased with this plant I have to tell everyone. Two years ago I ordered 6 Rudbeckia Nitida(autumn sun) these plants
thirved and grew huge over 6 feet tall they bloom like crazy summer too late, late fall when the mums have quit and look shabby. My soil is not that great but they don't care. My kids
use the dried flower stems which hold all winter as giant magic wands. Ok I'll stop now about this plant.
Today I got my order of 3 more Rudbeckia Nitida. I also got 3
Rubeckia Maxima, 1 Hydrangea mac royal purple, 1 hydrangea mac. alpenglow, 1 hygran. tokyo delight, 1 hydran. grand., 1 clethra, 1 clethra hummingbird. All plants came in great shape and although they are small I know that
for the price I got a deal. I can't wait to plant them and I'm very
happy with this order.

I’ve ordered from Bluestone a few times. They have really, really good sales. My first order didn’t take my breath away, but all the plants I received were sale items. They played what I refer to as the “3 Bears Trick” where one of three plants is large, the second is smaller and the third is hardly big enough to plant in the garden.
The second time I ordered from them I bought only a trio of plants my husband collects…as a gift. (I ordered the plants a season in advance this time; they were not sale items.)
The weather was unseasonably hot, so the nursery sent out e-mails letting us know shipping would be delayed until a change in weather. I thought that was fantastic! The plants arrived completely shriveled and dead. (Ready for the compost bin dead.) Evidence suggested the plants were actually wrapped up and sitting in a smoldering hot warehouse for a week instead of waiting at the nursery until a change in the weather. They gladly replaced the plants, but the 2nd set of plants arrived parched and damaged, too. The ‘littlest bear’ could not be saved. (To the compost with the other 3.) The other two were nursed back to health. I haven’t ordered from Bluestone since. It will take an incredible sale to get me to order, but I haven’t sworn them off.

I am very pleased with my order last spring. Another attestation to the fact that the small first year plants really take off the following season. The root system on the young plants was well developed and they were very well packed.

When I received my plants, I was skeptical, because they were sooo little! But I planted them, and now, three seasons later, I am very happy. In particular, I was very surprised when the clematis came back the second year, because they were sooo little when I planted them, and did nothing at all in the first season. In the second season, they grew up the fence and flowered a little. This year, they are already up the fence, leafing out, and much bigger than the larger one I bought last spring at a local nursery. I have also been very happy with the bulbs I bought from Bluestone -- they've all bloomed, and are thriving.

I've been buying those SMALL plants from Bluestone for my Zone 6 garden since 2001 and I'm proud to inform you that most are VERY LARGE. Yes occasionally things die but its not always the providers fault. Yes they have replaced things. The important thing for ALL to remember is if you plant a great plant in a bad spot or at the wrong time it will not do well.

Ive even grown a Daphne x burkwoodii 'Carol Mackey to suitable size after receiving a tiny plant from them.

I was so afraid to place an order not knowing what to expect. I did call to make sure what I was getting into and I was happy their responses that I placed my first order. It came the other day and to my surprise it was better than expected. The plants were well packaged, big and in great shape. I planted them today so let's hope and pray they grow the Company's expectations. I'm getting ready to place another order in a couple of weeks. This is my first time I have ever placed a mail order...I used to shop at my local garden shop.

Ordered achillea 'Paprika' & coreopsis 'Sweet Dreams' back in November then completely forgot I'd ordered them until an email arrived from Bluestone Perennials advising me to be on the lookout since my order shipped 4/15 via UPS. Package arrived 4/17 & placed in the shade on my breezeway. Plants were healthy & vigorous in the box with no sign they'd suffered in transit. They look happy to be here (and I think the coreopsis grew two inches since I took it out of the box)! My garden-under-construction would like to thank everyone at Bluestone Perennials for growing such great plants and maintaining the highest-quality, outstanding communications & superb packaging.

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You are welcome! It sounds like your UPS driver is a gardener, too. "

Very positive experience. Plants arrived promptly, well packaged and protected, and my goodness--they are considerably larger than what you usually see from some of the "up-scale" plant mail order houses. Also keep an eye on their web specials--there are some real deals here. I plan to make Bluestone one of my primary sources as a result of this transaction.

YEAH! Perfect plants! Perfect packing! You made my first purchase with you such a pleasure! Thank you so much!
ps- I've just put in two more orders with you! I can't believe the condition of the plants- just like from my local nursery! A little smaller, but so healthy! Just bursting with life :) Thanks again!

I am really impressed with this company. Although they are a bit pricey, their service and products are top-notch. I received my order in a timely manner, and they were so well packed that not a leaf was out of place. I received healthy, vigorous specimens and they are doing quite well in my garden thus far.

This business is easy to recommend!

I have ordered from Bluestone several times and will continue to do so. The prices are reasonable. The website is so easy and useful. I really appreciate the variety of plants offered and I often take advantage of the specials.

Just recieved my order today and my " large plants" are in fact a very nice size. I was displeased about the "peanuts" used for packing but they include recyling info and will even pay for the box and packing to be returned for re-use. They're a class act!

Based on former reviews, I ordered from Bluestone for the first time with two separate orders. I was very dissappointed in the size of my plants. Some of them even came in small cell packs! I walked into a local home improvement store and found one of the same plants in a much larger container for about the same value. Yes, I looked at the picture of the packaging in their catalog but was still not expecting "sprigs" of plants. I have contacted them to send back the plants. I have new flower beds and don't want to wait two or three years for the plants to get to a exceptable size. I am giving a neutral rating until Bluestone responds.

Last spring I placed a small order with Bluestone and was very satisfied with the service and plants, so this year I decided to purchase more ($300+) in three separate orders. With such a large total order, I was concerned that there would certainly be some disappointing plants included with the shipments. Three large boxes arrived yesterday, and after carefully unpacking the plants that were protected like Fort Knox, I was absolutely delighted by the size and condition of every single plant...dozens of healthy fresh perennials ready for the garden. Then tonight I checked my credit card statements to find they actually combined the shipping charges on my three separate orders into a single charge, saving me more than $10 in shipping...that's integrity! What an absolute pleasure it is to deal with such a professional garden center!

I have ordered "basket-of-gold" from bluestone last year and was pleased. The price was reasonable and the plants arrived in a good sized container, well packed, and in good health. They took off running after I planted them! They didn't bloom because they are a early spring bloomer and were planted after their usual bloom time, but I hope they made it through this nasty, super wet winter we had here in Southwest Ohio. I can't wait to see them in bloom. Spring is slow getting here this year. I am pleased to have found a good company in my own state that knows the crazy weather we have here in OH and can recommend good plants. I have ordered more plants this year and am confident they will be top-notch. And from what I've read in the other coments it sounds as though if someone had an issue with their purchase, then Bluestone's customer service will make it right. I highly recommend this company.

I have order from Bluestone the first time last year. They have excellent prices, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The plants were tiny, but fresh, and they grew like you wouldn't believe. In Illinois clay, they were about full grown the first year! I ordered violets and geraniums. I had ordered others from another cheap mail order place, and they languished, being about half the size at the end of the summer. Don't let the small size fool you, they'll grow wonderfully. If you order early, they have a special discount that really makes it worthwhile.