Comments regarding Bluestone Perennials

Ordered 2 things from Bluestone. I received notification that they would be shipping. Much to my dissapointment, I received only one of the items I ordered.

The packing slip said that the other item was back ordered. Not only did they not inform me that the item was back ordered, so that I could order it from somewhere else, but they charged my credit card for it and said they would ship it in the fall! If I wanted it in the fall, I would have ordered it in the fall! Verrrrry dissapointed.

Giving a neutral, because the 3 Becky Shasta Daisy's I received were a nice size and very healthy.

I recently received my plants from Bluestone. I had ordered 2 of the Leptodermis Oblonga flowering shrubs back in the Fall to be delivered in the Spring. During the course of the Winter I had an unexpected move, so I feared the plants would get lost somewhere in the shuffle. But Bluestone took the initiative to contact me before I contacted them, by requesting an address verification when they sent out their Spring catalogs. I contacted a customer rep just to be sure things were all clear, but they were on top of it.

I received my plants in fantastic condition! I can't wait to see these little fellas start blooming. And much to my delight, customer service rep Pat sent me a followup e-mail the day after the plants arrived, just to make sure I was happy with my order.

What a positive experience this was...fantastic plants, service, pricing, selection...what more could a person want from a nursery? I will be a repeat customer, and I will spread the word.

Thank you Bluestone!!!

Having just purchased our first house, my wife and I are new to gardening. We wanted a "preplanned" garden to help introduce us to the process. I stumbled upon this site and was very pleased to find personal reviews on all of the companies whose catalogs I was thumbing through. The one that we were considering had so many negatives that I threw the catalog, order form already filled out, in the trash immediately! We ended up choosing Bluestone based on the reviews here in this forum. We could not be happier with our choice!

We placed our order on May 10th and received our three "Starter Gardens" today, May 18th via UPS. They came in three large boxes packed with styrofoam peanuts. I noticed that other reviewers said that they were overpacked with peanuts, but I appreciated the extra padding (especially after watching the UPS guy carry the boxes to my door with the "This End Up" arrow pointing every which way but.) I was also very pleased to notice that Bluestone has a styrofoam recycling option. You send the peanuts back to them in the boxes that they sent you the plants, and Bluestone will send you a coupon for free shipping on your next order. They estimate that it will cost $3-6 to send the packing peanuts back and the coupon will be worth up to $20. We are considering it since the peanuts filled two jumbo garbage bags.

Anyway, the plants arrived pretty darn happy considering they had been boxed in Ohio and shipped to Rochester, NY. They are all still very moist and upright, all still in their packages and all labeled. As mentioned on Bluestone's website and in their catalog, some of the tops of the plants are cut off to fit them in the box. I don't expect this to be an issue since the roots seem very healthy and ready to grow.

Before ordering, we read that some people were displeased with their experiences and that they thought that Bluestone was better in the past. We were hoping that we weren't going to lose the $220 that we spent. I am happy to say that with these 153 plants, we certainly got our money's worth!

Thanks, Bluestone!

I had placed an order with this nursery and was very disapointed with my plants once they arrived. I contacted the company and complained and they apologized and offered to send a replacement shipment. My new order arrived today and I'm very pleased with it. The plants are healthy, of good size and in perfect condition. I was tempted to leave a negative rating for them on this site but thought I should call them first. I'm glad I did. Mistakes happen but sometimes they can be easily remedied. Thank you Bluestone for your attention in this matter.

I ordered from Bluestone in February 2006. After reading the comments on this website about Bluestone...I expected very small plants for the price. I was pleasanntly surprised! The plants were average size and in exceptional health... the root systems were very well developed. For less than $3.00 a plant I would not expect larger specimens. The entire order was shipped on time in April. I've placed orders with several different nurseries around the country at higher prices; the Bluestone plants in my estimation were the best value for the dollar. All of the Bluestone plants although new are leaping! I will follow up this posting at the end of the season.

I have ordered from Bluestone for the past 3 years and am aware that their very reasonable prices do reflect a smaller size plant; however until recently that has not been a serious drawback once the plants get a year or two of growth under their belt.

However... Of the five flats (yes, flats) of Ajuga 'Torch' and 'Bronze Beauty' that I ordered from them in early Sept 2005 and planted immediately, less than a half dozen survived the unusually mild (even for zone 7) winter that we just experienced. As you know, it is pretty darn hard to kill off an ajuga! Then when I received this spring's order of various perennials, I was dismayed to see how very very tiny the plants were (both in growth and roots). Three Perovskia 'Little Spire' had top growth of barely over an inch, and hardly any root growth; they have already expired, despite coddling, in 30 days. I was thinking of reordering the ajuga but was disappointed to see that they are no longer offering the "quantity" option of a full flat for $25; common groundcovers like this are being sold only in their standard "per-three" price which is much more expensive.

Unfortunately I think that this "less plant for the money" trend is a change for the worse and will probably not order from Bluestone again. They also have dropped a lot of the more unusual cultivars and gone with the same mass-market plants that everyone else, both mailorder and local nurseries, are also selling.

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Your plants are guaranteed, and if you will contact us, we will happily replace the plants you lost at no cost to you. Each year, we discontinue about 100 varieties, and pick up 100 new ones. We aim for a balance between the tried and true perennials and the newer varieties. We love input from our customers on plants you wish we carried, and we do have some items that are only listed online (see Helpful Lists). Please contact us at your earliest convenience so that we can settle up."

After reading all the good reviews, I was surprised when I got my order. My plants were very small and the honey dew sage was in pretty bad shape. The cardinal flowers were tiny, but healthy. The packaging was about the worst of any mail order I've dealt with. Won't order from them again even if they have a sale.

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Please contact us so that we can reship your order. Perhaps, as with the previous posting, your box was really tossed around in shipping. A refund is also an option, but I hope you will give us a chance to get some fresh plants to you in good condition, and earn your good graces."

I LOVE Bluestone Perennials!!! I ordered from them for the first time last year. I ordered 2 plants, a Butterfly Bush and a Blue Hydrangea. The hydrangea didn't do so hot. The Butterfly Bush did so well, I couldn't believe it. We had big, beautiful blooms until November (and I'm in Ohio, so I consider that quite a feat!) It's right in front of our big picture window so my 3 small children could watch the butterflies, and it was magical. This year, I decided to use up as many of the coupons as I could and order again. I got so many plants at such a discount, I couldn't believe it. I ordered them online, and in the comments I made a note about my hydrangea that didn't make it. I got all of the plants I ordered, plus a brand new hydrangea. The plants are all doing great. I got them about 2 weeks ago. They're definitely growing, and some look like they may be getting some buds on them. My butterfly bush is also coming up very nicely this year (looking better than some I saw in a local Flower Guild's garden.) I very highly recommend Bluestone. I am so much more pleased with them than I have been with Michigan Bulb, who I decided to order from this year with disappointing results, as of yet. I will definitely stick with Bluestone from now on.

I have been a customer of Bluestone Perrenial's for about 15 years and I have always had a good experience. Plants arrive healthy - and - if they don't make it I do accept a portion of the blame. But If I let them know anything was unsatisfactory they take care of the situation immediately.

I ordered daffodils, crocus & 2 different kinds of tulips. One of the tulips didn't come up at all. The other tulip and the daffodils were very small blooms -- smaller than Brecks (an inexpensive competitor). The crocus was fine - no complaints there. However, since I was disappointed in the majority of my order, I wouldn't order from them again.

I ordered a large number of plants from Bluestone for shipment this spring, and while the actual plants were not overly large, everything was healthy, still moist, and with good root development. Everything has been in the ground now for a few weeks, and all of it looks good so far.

My plants were covered with peanuts, but this did not seem to affect them.

First time ordering from Bluestone, and I am pleasantly surprised. I was prepared for the plants to be small, but each one was well rooted. The Clematis I ordered was in a 2X2X4 inch pot and the roots were so thick and well developed that the plant was actually pushed up in the container.

I would have liked to see more than 2 leaves on the Daphne, but the plant has gone into the ground and I think its pushing a couple buds already, so I will likely have a few more leaves before long.

Bluestone offers interesting plants, for very reasonable prices. I could not have purchased the plants I received locally for what I paid (including shipping) were I even able to find them. I would (and probably will) purchase from them again.

This is the second year I have ordered [three large orders] from Bluestone and I have to say I really enjoy this company. Their catalog is true to what they sell- meaning with care after plants are recieved, they will thrive like the pictures. Anyone that expects to recieve a plant in the mail that looks exactly like a color catolog, is decieving themselves!
A smaller healthy plant will adjust easier than a large one- healthy babies [noy tiny] is what I really appreciate from Bluestone.
Their packing of the plants is well done. Some of the bigger plants may be bent a little but, nothing a little sun won't straighten out.
I also had special instructions on my order this Spring for the week I would like them to ship and for the border garden I ordered to be shipped seperate from the other plants I had ordered. Two sperate boxes sent that probably could have been one, without extra charge and they arrived right on time! I simply couldn't ask for a better mail order perennial supplier!!
Thanks Bluestone!!

I have ordered from Bluestone a few times and have not been dissappointed yet! They have very fast shipping and top quality plants. AAA

After looking everywhere for variegated coreopsis, I finally found them listed with Bluestone, and promptly ordered two. I also ordered two weigelas at the same time (these were on a special of some sort - so my expectations were lower. ) After ordering, I received an e-mail that the variegated coreopsis was on back order - and I didn't receive them until the end of the season. What I did receive looked like it was a spare trimming stuck into a pot and shipped. Same with the weigelas. One of each survived the winter, after I transplanted them into bigger containers. I won't buy from Bluestone again.

I ordered both the border garden and the shade garden. Wow. They arrived at my home 1 day after they were shipped, still damp and neatly packed. It was a lot of plants and about 95% of them were in great shape and a good size for the price. Since the nurseries around here do not sell such young perennials, I would have spent at least 5 x's as much. I planted them about 1 month ago and they are all doing pretty well. Three of the same type of flowers were eaten by slugs, I notified the company and received new, even better plants about 4 days later.

I would without a doubt order from them again.

Very, very disappointed. Placed a rather large order, based on the fact that it's a "Watchdog" 30 company--"You can't go wrong by ordering from these outstanding companies." I beg to differ.

Some of the plants had numerous broken limbs, some were half-dead, some dry as a bone, and another--moldy. Out of thirteen 3-packs, TWO of the packs looked good.

The broken plants had nothing to do with the carrier. The box itself was fine, had not been mishandled, but the plants were packed very poorly. I have never seen plants packed so sloppily. Other companies I have ordered from secure the pots in the box, they don't just toss them in and throw peanuts on top. They also insure they don't dry out by covering the soil, not just sticking pots with loose soil in a box.

Did I get my money's worth? No way! Looking at the plants and the condition they're in, I would not spend more than $20 on the bunch at a nursery (believe me, I paid a LOT more than that).

E-mailed them with my complaints, haven't heard back in 24 hours. I expected a prompt reply. I am sure they are busy, but this is a big company and they've been around for a long time--customer service reps should be responding promptly to customer communications.

So disappointed, and right at planting time. . .

Unpacking the box was a bit of a disapointment. I found the plants were wiilted and looked a bit dead. Plus, in coomparison to plants i've ordered from other companies, the plant sizes were a lot smaller than expected.

But because of all the positvie feedback I had read here, I gave Bluestone the benefit of the doubt and planted them all anyways. It has been almost a month and only about a little more than half of my order has come back to life. Not sure if I'd order from them again.

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Please contact us, as your plants are guaranteed, and I can reship anything you lost at no cost to you. I am sorry your plants arrived in less than satisfactory condition. Never hesitate to call us when that happens. There is still time to get a replacement shipment to you for spring planting. We hope to hear from you soon."

Wide variety of plants in various colors and descriptions. Plants shipped in a timely manner. All shrubs ordered were in stock. Fertilizer included for all plants was a nice touch.
Plants not as fabulous as I expected, especially considering all of the possitive feedback. Unpacking the box was a let down. Plants I recieved were not at all like the bushy, green, thriving plants pictured on the inside cover of the catalogue. Once shipping is factored in the price for the merchandise is just ok. Dissapointed I didn't drive 40 minutes to the local nursery and pay the extra $10 for 2.8 gallon shrubs. Even more dissapointing is the fact the plants are not enjoying to sporatic Maryland weather of warm one day, wet and cool the next.

This was my first year ordering plants from Bluestone Perennials. After reading the comments on this site and hearing a friend talk about her positive experience, I just knew I had to try this company.

My order of 15 plants arrived yesterday and the packaging was great! No plants were dried out, there was no loose dirt anywhere, and I definitely appreciate the company's offer to recycle the packing peanuts. Although the plants are smaller than what may be found at a local nursery, the prices are SIGNIFICANTLY lower so it all balances out. I am very pleased with my order and will gladly join Bluestone's ranks of repeat customers!

I have so far in 2006 placed only an order for 6 plants from BSP. The plants arrived in great condition. They appeared to have been packed well, no loose soil in the box, and the soil wasn't dried out.

What I was more impressed with, was the fact that they apologized for using the packing "peanuts", and that they will be glad to grant me shipping credits if I ship them back those peanuts so that they can be reused. Bravo!

I have ordered for the last 3 years from Bluestone Perenials and all three years I have had 30 to 40% of my plants come dryed out, frozen, dead and generally in poor shape. I've had 1/2 of the plants have most of their soil on the bottom of the box and feel that they are extremely poorly packed. I've ordered from other companies back east and NEVER had a problem getting the plants here in perfect order. I will never order from Bluestone again.

My first order arrived on April 28 and plants were in excellent condition and looked healthy, despite their long journey and an entire day in a hot UPS truck. Bluestone's packing material recycling policy is excellent, and the coupons included in my first order represent some real savings on my next order.

I've ordered a large number of plants from Bluestone, and they always arrived in good condition, with concise planting directions, and the company reps. were very helpful and considerate on the phone, as I am somewhat of a novice gardener, having lived in an apartment for 24 years, and now I have my first real garden , with lots of shade and flowering trees, and the plants from Bluestone have flourished there with no problems .

Order received very fast and packing was very good. Plants are doing very well. I am so glad I found GardenWatchDog, your website is how I found Bluestone. I will continue to order from websites reviewed here.

I ordered about 400 dianthus for groundcover from Bluestone and was extremely pleased with the speed of delivery and the health and packaging of the plants. In fact, I cancelled my orders with Spring Hill and Michigan Bulb (who still hadn't sent most of my order) and am going to reorder all of the plants from Bluestone (around $1000 worth). Definitely worth the extra money!!!!

I received my order 2 weeks ago. The packaging was good. Out of 6 plants only one was dry and withered. I planted it anyway and it seems to becoming back just fine. I will order from this company again.

This was my first experience with Bluestone. I ordered a printed catalog from website in mid-March. Got tired of waiting for it, so I ordered from their website about April 7-took advantage of some great specials. On April 21 I received an email saying that my order was shipped on the 20th. When I got home on the 21st the plants had arrived. Fortunately the UPS guy had put the shipment in the shade. The plants were extremely well packed. It took a very long time to get all the peanuts out without damaging the plants. The eupatorium gateway I ordered were dry and a little wilted and the pulmonaria Roy Davidson were very yellow. A little water and shaded rest restored the eupatorium. Although small(not as small as I see described here), all the plants had excellent roots without being pot bound. On April 22, the day after I received my order, the catalog I requested the month before arrived. :)

All plants are planted and doing extremely well, showing significant growth in one week. Two of the pulmonaria greened up very well, the third is growing but still yelllow. I have never been able to get this quality and variety of plant material at anywhere near this pricing.

I will definitely be ordering again.

Based on the almost universally positive comments I ordered two of their preplanned gardens for my new house - 1 shade and 1 basic perennial. One box arrived when they said they would; the other the next day. According to UPS it was a "late train". Unfortunately, the missing box had the packing slip, instructions, etc. One set of three Veronicas had only one potentially viable plant; but everything else was fine. I put the veronicas in anyway - they have excellent roots. Barbara , in customer service, was most agreeable and a replacement order is on the way. Now I just have to decide which fall bulbs to buy with my coupons.

I agree with Woof12 and Girlscouts in their assessment of the company. I too believe their quality has gone down. When I made my first purchase with this company - I was impressed. However, last year I ordered 6 Rudbekia which arrived in poor shape. Dirt spilled, plants out of their pots, etc. 2 didn't survive the trip, but they were graciously replaced by Bluestone. The remaining 4 were very tiny and had very little root system. The replaced ones were the same size. I planted all and they barely grew last summer. They seemed to struggle the whole summer. They were basically the size of plants I could have grown from seed - by the end of the summer. I thought - ok, its the first season, they will do better next year. I was wrong. Unfortunately, only 2 of the Rudbekia came back this spring. I paid $32.00 for 6 plants (including shipping) which equals $5.33 per plant - and this was for plants that were the size of plants that could have all been grown from seed for $2.50. I could have purchased them from my local nursery for less money, but I bought them from Bluestone instead - because of their reputation and I thought their plants would be larger and more vigorous growers. I have not given Bluestone a negative rating because in the past their plants, although small, have been viable. But at the same time - I've lost some confidence in this company. I contacted Bluestone to explain about the plants not surviving the winter and will update this post to let readers know their reply.

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Thanks for giving us the opportunity to reconcile the situation with you. We take great pride in our product and our customer service. Please don't ever hesitate to be in touch if an order is less than what you expected. We want you to be a satisfied customer."

Just received an order I placed for Hostas & I was really surprized at the large size and health of the plants! Everything was packaged exceedingly well & I'm very, very pleased with the quality; I'd rate this place as exceptional! This is a company that I will definately do business with again!

I ordered early, using coupons sent in the mail. The communication with Bluestone is outstanding, with repeated emails to me keeping me informed from the initial order through delivery. I knew exactly when the plants would be delivered and was waiting for them to upack them immediately. I was very delighted with the packing and condition of the plants, and for the most part, with the size of them. All of the "freebies" I had had coupons for were included, and were quite acceptable. The only thing that I wished was more noticeable were the additional coupons included with the order. I thought perhaps they would be there, but I didn't see them and so placed an additional order anyway. Then the next day I found the coupons tucked in the paperwork from my first order... I was a bit bummed, but I decided to call the toll free number at Bluestone to see if I could get a few credits I qualified for from the new coupons. The wonderful sales rep was happy to give me the coupon credits on the order I had placed. Altogether, I was extremely delighted with my Bluestone purchase in every way.

This is the only mail order company I use. I love the coupons and the fertilizer for the three shrubs I ordered.

Once again a delightful experience. I placed my order several months back to take advantage of preseason sales and coupons that they sent me with my last order. Confirmation e-mails were sent at the time of order and at time of shipping with tracking info from UPS, so I knew my order would arrive when they said. I hate it when companies use the US Postal Service as it can take forever to get to you if not sent first class. Anyway, all the plants looked very healthy and as soon as this cold snap passes they will be in the ground....two plants even had buds! They also sent some wonderful free surprise plants (one of the coupons I had). I was also pleasantly surprised at the little packet of fertilizer for the shrub that was ordered. I will definately be purchasing the majority of my mail order plants thru them.

I received a shipment from Bluestone today

I was pleased with how fast the turnaround and shipment was. The plants all look basically healthy.

4/19 order
4/24 ship
4/26 received

I have ordered twice from this company and both times I have found their plants to be well packaged and healthy.Yes they are small but at such great prices you can't complain!All the plants I planted last year have come back and are looking great.I am already looking to see what I will be buying from them next.

This was my first experience ordering from this company, but I have ordered from other companies in years past with great results. All of those plants arrived in good health and are thriving.
When I received my order from Bluestone, my heart sank.The plants were basically starts, not plants trimmed back for the trip, but rather tiny stems with minimal growth. The plants did not have the size nor vigor to survive the peanuts that were poured on them for travel , so that many came with stems only, despite my very gentle unpacking of these tiny fragile things. I have never, in any nursery, seen plants this small for sale. They would never take the risk, as they know that survival of such starts in a garden would be questionable. It appears that I have already lost 1/3 of my phlox, even with the gentlest of handling as I carefully coaxed them into their new bed. The 3 iteas, look more like weeds in my garden, as they are 3 inches high and have three leaves each. They have spots on some of the leaves, so I'm not sure of their health.The limelight hydrangeas are the same size, but are healthy looking. The iberis, well I planted the broken little starts, all 3-4 inches of them each, one stem each. The jury is out whether they'll make it. I feel a fool, and will never use this nursery again. It has wisened me up as far as recommendations from others. I wonder if they are all from customers, or from employees of this company. I can't imagine that it is just my poor luck that they only sent me such pitiful samples.

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Bluestone here: Our hearts also sank when we heard how your order arrived. We'd like to salvage our reputation with you, if you will give us the chance. Please contact Jan at helpdesk@bluestoneperennials.com as we have no way of knowing who you are. We hope to hear from you soon."

On April 2, 2006, I placed an order to Bluestone Perennials online. I received a email confirmation for this order and it indicated the time frame my order was to be shipped. I received another email the day they shipped my order so I knew when to expect it to be delivered! My plants arrived in great condition with great root development. They were well packed and not wilted in the least! They even included fertilizer for the bushes, planting instructions, when to prune, and how to overwinter them. I planted them a week ago and all is well. I received 2 BUDDLEIA davidii White Feather, 1 HOSTA Golden Tiara, and 2 LONICERA periclymenum HARLEQUIN. I will be ordering from them again!

Yet another great Bluestone experience. Never mind how daft as a gardener I am, my first order to them in 2003 is still in my garden, same with the ones I sent afterwards.. I just sent another order for delphinium, achillea terra cotta and Anthea, campanulas Chette Charm and poppies; what a beautiful healthy plants I got. With other companies I am always afraid about what I am going to get, with Bluestone I just sit back and I wait, care-free, for my order, knowing it will be just perfect. If any plant doesn't survive, I only have myself to blame! Fast service,friendly attitude and option to recycle the peanuts of the box. Kudos, Bluestone!