Comments regarding American Meadows

Posted on April 12, 2011, updated April 27, 2011
Unfortunately, my experience is beginning just as a carbon copy of that from "tucume66" below. Although the top of the box was also not labeled properly and the box was inverted during shipping, I feel that with proper packing the plants should withstand this and arrive in reasonably good condition. All of my Leucanthemum lost most to all of their soil and some were completely out of their containers and lying in the bottom of the box. They were all dry and shriveled and it is certain that 2 of them won't survive while the jury is still out on the others, despite my immediate emergency care. The fact that they were very small, 3-4 inch plants (bottom of roots to top) makes it more difficult for them to recover from such poor handling. How basic is it that plants be packaged so they don't lose their soil during shipping? This just amazes me. I also emailed the company and have yet to receive a response, which is usually not a good clue. A good company responds immediately to customers, even to problems. I also will have no problem reversing the credit card charges if they fail to make this right. Meanwhile, I suggest you avoid these people. There are too many others who offer better service, better plant stock, and most importantly, understand that a good packing system insures that their plants will get to you so that customers don't have to deal with things like this when trying to prepare for a nice garden year. Now I have a big hole in my gardening design to deal with while other plants are already here and planted and will surely have a head start... while I wait...

"On Apr 13, 2011 8:59 PM, American Meadows responded with:

Dear Mr. Lewis,

We’re sorry for your negative experience with our plug perennials. I wanted to personally address a few points in your email:

The status of your plants: As both you and tucume66 have unfortunately discovered, we had some acknowledged issues with a few of our plug perennial shipments. It was a problem on our packing line and not an issue with the packaging itself. The specially-designed tabs that hold the dirt in where coming loose in shipping. We fixed this problem shortly after your order shipped and have had no subsequent complaints. We’re sorry for the inconvenience and as always, stand behind everything we sell.

Marking boxes: Ahh, the age-old question, to mark ‘This Side Up’ or not? In the past we did this, but unfortunately, multiple studies have shown this to be counter-productive. From Popular Mechanics, Nov, ’10: ““One disheartening result was that our package received more abuse when marked "Fragile" or "This Side Up." The carriers flipped the package more, and it registered above-average acceleration spikes during trips for which we requested careful treatment.” You’re correct – when packaged properly, this doesn’t matter.

Plant Sizes: All of our products are different, so it’s not easy to generalize, but we ship plants that our experience has shown are at the optimal phase of growth to withstand transporting and transplanting. At the bottom of every page on our website is a link to our How Are Plants Are Shipped guide and the plants stage of growth is listed in the product details.

Email Response: I apologize that we did not respond to your email faster. Our records indicate that you emailed us on Monday afternoon and we replied on Wednesday afternoon. As I’m sure you can imagine, April is our busiest month of the year and we strive to return every message within 48 hours.

As you are aware, we promptly sent you replacements for the damaged plants and again, we’re sorry for the inconvenience.

Thank you for your business.

Mike Lizotte
Managing Partner - http://www.AmericanMeadows.com
"

Posted on May 24, 2009, updated April 23, 2011
Have been ordering seeds for about 6 years, always great product and service.Northeast mix produces wonderful field of color, beats mowing on difficult terrain.

Posted on April 15, 2011, updated April 23, 2011
Posted on April 10, 2011, updated April 15, 2011
Posted on April 8, 2011, updated April 10, 2011
I received two boxes from this company and they were not marked "this side UP" and were shipped on their sides. A lot of soil in the bottom of the box. I ordered Sedums and Asclepias. To be fair the bare root cuttings were fine but small for the price. The Asclepias were tiny and the soil for each of them was severely dried out, the root ball had loosened and the tiny plants were wilted. Even the sedums had lost too much water and much of the foliage was either wilted or broken. I planted everything within one hour of receipt and watered everything carefully twice a day for the first two days, but it made no difference. All of the Asclepias were toast. Everything above ground is dead. Some of the dragon's blood Sedum that I received were about two inches in length. Compare that to an entire flat that can be purchased from Home Depot for $12.00!

I emailed this company but so far have heard nothing back from them. Having spent $135.00 on all this C**P you can understand that I am very upset. In all fairness to the customer, the entire order needs to be replaced with larger, viable specimens or a total refund needs to be issued. I will be filing a complaint with consumer agencies about this company, as I am convinced that they are total RIP-OFFS!!!!!

"On Apr 8, 2011 8:19 PM, American Meadows responded with:

Hello Tucume66,

I’m sorry to hear about your disappointment with your recent order you received from us. We strive for 100% customer satisfaction with all products and services. We’ve been working with gardeners all across the country for over 25 years. All our products come with our “Happy Gardener Guarantee” so if you’re not satisfied we’d be more than happy to send you a replacement order or refund your money in full. I’ll personally make sure a customer service representative contacts you immediately to resolve your problems.

Sincerely,

Mike Lizotte

Managing Partner – http://www.AmericanMeadows.com
“Where Confidence Grows!"

I ordered several varieties of lily bulbs as part of a pre-season special. I planted the bulbs a week ago and they are all growing "like weeds". I accidently deleted the e-mail I received with my invoice. A very nice girl sent it to me again within the hour. A pleasure to buy from.

Once again, American Meadows is a pleasure to do business with. Not only competitive prices but this company leads in outstanding customer service. Kudos!

I own a catering business & work form an antebellum home/banquet facility in NC. When I moved in to the facility, the flower beds were completely empty. I have purchased over $1000 worth of bulbs (tulips, daylillies, grape hyacinth, daffodils, etc.) from American Meadows over the last 3 years. I have had a WONDERFUL experience both with the company and the flowers. People continue to comment each season on the beauty of the flowers. Thank you, American Meadows, for making me look good!

Ordered wild flower seeds and was amazed at how nice they look and how quick I received them.
Have already placed a second order for perrinials and bulbs.
Can't wait to start planting

I ordered red hydrangea plants this fall and they were in perfect condition when they arrived. The packing was superb
there was no way the plants would have gotten out of their pots and cardboard packing. I also ordered some daffodil bulbs and out of the 2 bags I had some that were dried out. I got hold of AM and they immediately replaced the entire 2 bags, not just the number of dried bulbs. I'm ordering from this company again. The customer service is great.

I just received my on Sale Amaryllis bulbs. These bulbs are huge. One has 2 buds showing already. They came with a tag the shows the bloom. They also sent 3 free packs of seeds 2 mixed flowers and one tomato. I like to try a different tomato each year so the seed pack is really welcomed.
I would not hesatate to order from AM again. They get an A+ in my book.

I bought some Stargazer lily and other assorted lily bulbs last season. These bulbs were the most vigorous I have ever seen. The flowers were HUGE. Highly recommended.

I just placed an order for my summer flowers with American Meadows for their Summer plants pre-sale. I had some problems with the website checkout process and tried with multiple computers. I reached out to customer service and they were very prompt in immediately emailing me back about the issue and working with me to resolve the problem. Lindsay and Cathleen were both kind, welcoming, and extremely thorough. Because they were so helpful, I didn't walk away from the transaction and I ended up placing my order on the phone. They not only knew who I was when I called but also offered me a discount for my troubles AND are also sending me a free gift. They've got a loyal customer in me now!

Finally, Lindsay followed up to let me know they'd figured out the web issue with my account and had fixed the problems so I would be able to place orders online from now on. I was very impressed with their customer service. They took it to a new level! I now have a two online gardening favorites - American Meadows and Easy to Grow Bulbs.

Now I just have to wait for months till my order ships in the spring. Patience is a virtue! :)

I bought a new home and have been doing a lot of research for flowers and some seed to plant in my gardens. After reading the reviews on DG I chose three companies to order from based on what they offer and the reviews I found here on DG. I love Daves garden communities and all of the information! :-*
I called and placed an order a few weeks ago with american meadows and receved my package a few days later. There website said my order would ship in five days so I was very excited when there was a knock on my door three days later and the fed ex man had my box in his hand. The box had all my flowers and seeds in it and even some free seeds for me to try out!! I planted them the next day and can't wait until they start to grow in the spring.
The reason I am giving this company a neutral review is because of my experience with there customer service department. I talked with a women who was very rude and mean. I had a lot of questions because this is new to me and she seemed to be getting really annoyed with me for it. She kept saying things like "as I already told you mam" and exhaling really loud like a little kid and she kept talking louder like she thought I was deaf or something. It was very difficult dealing with her.
I am sure I will buy from them again but I really hope I dont have to call customer service. I dont want to have to talk to that women again. I may just try and order on there site even though I hate doing that.

"On Nov 12, 2010 3:51 PM, American Meadows responded with:

From the sounds of it, you clearly caught one of our customer service reps when she wasn’t in top form and for that, I’m very sorry. We strive to provide each and every customer with the level of service that they desire – many customers want to place their orders and get off the phone as quickly as possible, while others like yourself, want to take advantage of our extensive gardening knowledge in selecting products. We clearly failed to meet your needs in this case and that is not acceptable. Thank you for keeping us honest and I can assure you that your feedback has been taken to heart.

Again my sincerest apologies and please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Happy Gardening!

Mike Lizotte – Owner/Managing Partner – 1-877-309-7333 ext. 12
"

I discovered American Meadows this year and have been very please with every plant and bulb I have ordered from them. I placed my tulip bulb order in March and they shipped them to me two weeks ago for fall planting. They package their plants so they are alive and safe when you get them. I enjoy the wildflower seeds they send with every order.

The Lily bulbs I ordered from them this year were very large and healthy. Very pleased and will use this company again.

I have for 2 or 3 years now always had good experience with American Meadows' seeds, bulbs and /or plants. This year was no exception. I ordered hostas, bulbs, and Daylily Night Beacon from them and all were great even though the daylily was a deep rose pink and not Night Beacon. I e-mailed them about the error and they immediately responded to say that they were out of Night Beacon now,but that they will send me one next year when it is the right season for planting daylilies again. I am sure they will. The hostas that I ordered from them are doing exceptionally well and were so reasonably priced.

This past Spring I ordered a few different times with American Meadows. Many of their plants come as roots and can be very economical and rewarding when they grow well.
My frustration with this company comes from the way in which they ship live plants. Their packing system is poor. Plants arrive ripped from their pots, the soil is thrown all through the container, there is not a drop of moisture left in any of the plants to sustain them, and only a few pieces of cardboard withe rubberbands are used for the plants to stay in the pots. They aren't salvageable when they get to my door.
Every time I called Customer Service I either got a replacement or my credit card was refunded. American Meadows is very fair. But you would think that they would attempt to improve their shipping procedures. I even made suggestions, telling the reps that a few rubber bands were not enough. By the end of May I just gave up because I was still losing money on shipping costs.
Maybe I will continue to buy from them, but never live plants--- because they arrive at my door in a heap of soil and ripped to shreds.

"On Sep 15, 2010 6:31 AM, American Meadows responded with:

Hello Ronni92,

I'm sorry to hear about your disappointment regarding the perennials that you ordered from us this spring. We strive for 100% satisfaction with all our products and services. We certainly appreciate your feedback regarding our packaging as we’re always looking for ways to improve and with your honest feedback it makes it easier when trying to identify areas that need to be addressed.

Thanks again for your comments and we look to earn your business back in the near future!

Happy Gardening!

Mike Lizotte – Managing Partner – http://www.AmericanMeadows.com
"

My experience with this company is good. I placed and received 2 orders of various ferns and astilbes.
All were in very good condition. Both the bareroot and potted ferns are doing well.
The astilbes are coming up.
In contrast to this, I ordered bareroot ferns from Direct Gardening and 9 out of 12 of them came to me dead.

I would order from American Meadows again.

This company is VERY good with bulbs, I received very healthy bulbs and peonies from them and they are all doing very well. The hardy hibiscus I ordered from them were very sickly and failed to grow but they replaced them. Overall, I would definitely order from them again. Their products are great, they ship vary fast, and the customer service is great. I can't say enough good things about this company.

This is the first year ordering from a mail order plant company, and I'm very glad I happened upon American Meadows. Their website is full of information and advice, which made it very helpful in choosing the right plants for my location and what I was looking for. Some of the plants seem small at first, but I understand that that is the best time to be shipping them far away. The plants I have planted are growing great, even one or two that I didn't plant in the ground as fast as I would have liked. I pre-ordered my plants, and they were shipped as promised. There was a delay on one of the plants I ordered, but they sent an email to notify me, and it worked out that my order was delayed because we had a late frost in NH and I would have had to scramble to cover everything I planted! I have ordered fall bulbs from them and I plan on placing another order for some fall flowering crocus and beared iris I read about on their website.

Posted on June 26, 2010, updated June 28, 2010
Posted on June 17, 2010, updated June 26, 2010
I ordered five Japanese Iris and a Hibiscus. The Iris arrived. Two were just rather dead looking roots, but the other three has 3" growth and looked promising. The hibiscus, when it arrived, was a 3" stick with a little tiny 1" clump of roots. Obviously it was recently propagated. I immediately planted them all. After four weeks, two iris are definetely dead, and no sign of life on the hibiscus. I contacted AM after the first two weeks and they suggested I wait as they ship dormant. I contacted them after another two weeks. They immediately responded and offered to replace the Iris, but would have to either refund for the hibiscus or ship me one next year. I suggested they just ship me a comparable flower that I chose from their site and they agreed. They were extremely responsive, like within hours sometimes. I'm not too happy about waiting for replacements as our season is very short, but stuff happens and they are being responsive. I will change my vote to positive pending receiving the replacements which they are sending 'as we speak.'

AAA+++ I placed an order of hollyhocks and coreopsis last weekend and by Wednesday of this week received a package of very healthy, very well wrapped plants. This is the first time I ordered from them and didn't have a huge order, but will definately be ordering more from them. Great plants and good prices.

Posted on May 16, 2010, updated June 10, 2010
Posted on May 10, 2010, updated May 16, 2010
I ordered twice from AM, in 2008 The plants were astilbe and 4 different daylilys. All have perished. I am not a novice gardner, and have over 125 daylilys which are thriving, and these are the only ones that all died from a specific vendor. I did not contact the vendor, and have only recently found the Daves garden site.
I simply have written the vendor off my list of favorites to order from.

"On May 27, 2010 3:54 PM, American Meadows responded with:

Goldilocks0613, thank you for your feedback and for giving us a chance to rectify the situation. We strive to provide only the healthiest plants, roots, bulbs and seeds and am sorry that you didn't have a first-rate experience. "

Placed an order, 'for the first time,' with American Meadows.
Order consisted of perrenials and bulbs.
Shipment arrived promptly. Plants and bulbs were securely packaged.
I am quite satisfied with American Meadows.

I notified Customer Service regarding planting time. The rep, Kathleen, was very pleasant and helpful. Toni

I was really excited to come across the American Meadows website. It was easy to use and informative. I ordered two calla lilly bulbs, two Dahlia bulb's, and Tulips. My order came with free seeds and coupons for my next purchase. The Dahlias are growing strong along with one of the Calla Lillys. Unfortunately the other Calla Lilly bulb has rotted. (I am still waiting for the tulips) However, overall I am pleased with this company and will order again.

Posted on May 26, 2010, updated May 29, 2010
Posted on May 26, 2010, updated May 26, 2010
I received my order after waiting almost a week and they look like C**P! Super small/all brown/dry/almost DEAD! I had to make 3 subs on this one order alone, I was not so upset about that as I love all plants BUT what I got for what I payed was a total RIP OFF! I'm not even going to try to get a refund as it will be more trouble than it's worth to me but I will NOT be a return buyer from this company!!!! AND BUYER BEWARE!!! Use Annie's Annuals, T's flowers and things, or Almost Eden if you want big/lush/beautiful/ALIVE plants...you will get your moneys worth from them but stear clear of American Medows unless you want to get RIPPED OFF too!

"On May 27, 2010 3:34 PM, American Meadows responded with:

TrixGin, We're very sorry that you were not pleased with the quality of the plants you ordered from us. Although I'm not personally familiar with the other vendors you mentioned, I can assure you that we go to great lengths to try and ensure that our plants exceed expectations. As you can imagine, shipping live plants all across the country to have customer plant them in new surroundings requires that the plants be at their absolute strongest. That is why we ship most plants as either bare roots or as they are emerging from dormancy - it's when they're best suited for shipping and transplanting. The key is that the root systems need to be strong and we maintain and monitor the roots very carefully. As you learned, we want our customers to be happy and if our plants fail to grow, we honor our guaranty. We hope to have a chance to win your business again in the future.

Posted on October 4, 2009, updated May 21, 2010
Okay so this is my first experience with American Meadows. I found the website to be very easy to use and I was pleased with the large variety of plants. I also found shipping to be very reasonable, offering a low flat rate. I ordered approximately 200 bulbs. After placing my initial order I decided I wanted to add a few things but couldn't see how to do that on the website, so I sent them an email on a Saturday. I didn't expect a reply at least until Monday, but surprisingly they got back to me that Saturday night. How cool is that? I received a very nice email stating that I would need to call them in order to add on to an existing order. I did this and found customer service to be very polite, prompt, and helpful. I do have a few concerns however. I thought that the bulbs arrived kind of early in the season. Mid September seems early for my zone 6 garden and the instructions are to plant immediately. I did this as instructed. Also, the bulbs didn't seem quite up to par with easytogrowbulbs.com. I personally couldn't see the difference between these and the ones they sell at big box stores like Lowes. However I am not a bulb expert by any means and am giving these the benefit of the doubt. I am going to keep my initial rating as a neutral and then will update it this Spring depending on the performance of the bulbs.

"On May 27, 2010 3:38 PM, American Meadows responded with:

Miandoli, We're sorry that your bulbs didn't meet your expectations. I can assure you that we pay significantly for top-quality bulbs from our Dutch growers and importers. Contrary to your experience, we strive to offer quality and variety that far exceeds what you find in your local box store. When situations arise where our products to not perform as they should, we work hard to make sure that we stand by our name and rectify the situation. Thank you for your honest feedback. "

Posted on May 7, 2010, updated May 21, 2010
Received 2 orders this month from AM and as always, the plants are healthy and the prices and shipping are very reasonable. Customer Service is awesome.

I always bought plants form a nursery, a place were I can hand pick and make sure they are of the best quality. I went to American Meadows because I wanted wildflowers. I ended up buying those and a few peonies. One unfortunately never came up :( I called American Meadows and the woman on the phone asked if I would like another. She was so professional and didn't drill me if I was a good gardener or anything like that. Less the a week later I received a beautiful peony root and am looking forward to ordering from them again! Great job American Meadows :)

I ordered a mix of Oriental Lilies and they are big and healthy! I bought them on sale very cheap and shipping was cheap too! I also ordered daffodils for this fall on sale, so I'm very pleased and satisfied!!! Thanks American Meadows!

I ordered some begonias from American Meadows a couple of weeks ago.....the order arrived promptly and the tubers are HUGE.....plus they included a $$ off coupon and wild flower seed.....I will definitely order from them again.

I ordered several plants and they all arrived in good shape. They are growing well. I will use them again.

Quick and easy to use site. Great prices and very important, a great deal on shipping. I got the order fast, Fedex was at my door before the shipping confirmation. Also very pleasant when I called to inquire about shipping date. What else could you want?

Posted on April 19, 2010, updated April 19, 2010
Posted on April 14, 2010, updated April 19, 2010
Posted on June 6, 2008, updated April 14, 2010
This was the first time I ordered from American Meadows and I am so impressed with the wonderful customer service .
I had the same issue as others have stated and never got an email confirming shipment.Seems when I e- mailed them inquiring about my order, their system was down and they did not receive my message . Anyway, I got a call from a most lovely customer service representative who was very surprised to find I had never received the order.
The shipper had confirmed it was left at the door. I don't know whose door it was left at but it was not mine !
So this was all confusion and nothing was the fault of American Meadows. They are insisting on sending me a replacement order even though I told her it was unnecessary. Does it get any better than that ? Not that I know of and I will surely be ordering from American Meadows again. A-1 company.

"On Apr 15, 2010 12:31 PM, American Meadows responded with:

Dear Stormcloud, I'm sorry that you were disappointed with your order. I have contacted you via Dave's Garden and would like to have the opportunity to discuss your plants with you as we cannot find your order in our system based on the information in your post.

Like all mail-order gardening companies, we need to ship our live plants at a stage when they are emerging from dormancy. This is when they are most hearty and able to withstand the rigors of transportation and transplanting. Depending on what you ordered, at this stage they may or may not have a significant amount of visible top growth. As a New York resident, you know that many perennials are cut down for the winter. Again, depending on what you ordered, we ship our plants as they would appear in the spring as they begin to emerge. What matters is not the top-growth but the strength of the root systems. All of our plants are carefully inspected by our horticulturists before they ship to ensure that they have vibrant root systems. As a business owner, believe me when I say that the costs (in shipping fees, packaging and most importantly, customer goodwill) of shipping sub-standard plants far outweigh any benefits. We only send plants that we are confident will thrive. This philosophy is why we have such loyal customers.

When customers contact us about the status of plants that arrive and appear to have little growth, we ask them to please plant them and follow the care instructions included with their shipment. We then offer to follow up with them in 2-3 weeks to check on the status. If at that time they are still dissatisfied, we happily honor our guaranty to replace or refund your order. People are usually pleased with how quickly our plants thrive once they are planted and watered. That said, we also know that some plants don't survive shipping or transplant, which is why we stand behind all the products we sell, 100%.

We value your business and are sorry that we failed you in this case. We've been providing creative and passionate gardeners with the products and confidence they need to succeed for almost 30 years. Please contact me directly so that we can figure out how to help get you the garden that you'd expected.

Sincerely, Ethan Platt, Owner 877.309.7333 x15"

I ordered gladiolus bulbs (a color I couldn't find anywhere else). I received an e-mail with a tracking number so I knew about when they were going to arrive. The bulbs looked good, and I was pleased to discover a couple small extras with the bulbs, as well as coupons!

I have ordered seed in bulk numerous times from this company and have had little to no problems. About the biggest complaint I have was the frequent email advertisements which I eventually had to unsubcribe to. I no longer buy seed in bulk but if I ever were to again they would be a key source. Their prices are competetive, their shipping charges are reasonable, delivery is quick, the quality is excellent, and their customer service is the best.

I ordered a collection of 100 daffodil bulbs very late in the year (December) at a reduced price. Communication from the company was excellent, they let me know when the package was shipped and it arrived just a few days after I placed my order. The bulbs were large and in excellent condition. There were many "baby" bulbs attached and overall, I got well over 100 bulbs. I would not hesitate to order from them again.

I have been ordering from American Meadows for several years and have found their products excellent and their customer service impeccable. I have had strangers stop and comment on the beauty of my spring and early summer flower beds, all planted exclusively with products from American Meadows.

I've called customer sevice on two occasions and both times my concerns were quickly met with courtesy and satisfaction.

A great company that I'd recommend to everyone! Good prices, good size bulbs. Nice customer service and a wonderful little gift! (I ordered bulbs and rhizomes from them)

This company routinely exceeds my expectations. The seeds they sell are affordably priced, arrive promptly, and are very healthy. The percentage that sprouts is well over 90%.