Comments regarding American Meadows

I'm new this year to ordering from catalogs. Yet I've had some terrific experiences with the companies. One of these is American Meadows. I had some bulbs that hadn't germinated. I contacted American Meadows and they were awesome!

Not only was Andrea friendly and professional, she credited my account in a timely fashion! I am so impressed! And with a $300 total order, great customer service, and beautiful success with the plants that have arrived, I will be ordering from them again this fall. Thanks American Meadows for making it a delight to do business with you!

One out of three Wild Blue Indigo plants dead. Five out of six butterfly weed tubers (Asclepias tuberosa) nonviable. Butterfly weed plants I started from seed this winter from another source are growing well and flowering. With such a low viability rates, its not worth my time to call and request replacements.

"On Aug 14, 2009 8:06 AM, American Meadows responded with:

Dear doctrtim, I'm sorry to hear about the poor results with your Wild Blue Indigo and Asclepias tuberose plants. We strive to supply the best stock possible with all our products 100% guaranteed with a full money back refund or replacement.
I’m glad our customer service team was able to contact you and resolve in a timely and satisfactory manner.
We take our role in the gardening community very seriously and always want our customers to be happy with our products and service.

Sincerely, Mike Lizotte, Managing Partner, American Meadows.
"

This is the fifth time in three years that I have ordered "on sale" plants from American Meadow. They are sent, immediately after I order and arrive at my home in very good shape, green when necessary or with healthy root stock. In the past, when I had a problem with Asiatic lilies, I notified the company and they replaced my order within the week. I am very happy with the quality and customer service of Am. Meadows.

This is the first year that I have ordered plants from American Meadows and I am IMPRESSED with the customer service. After last year's horrific experience with another online gardening vendor (my first time ordering plants online) I was really unsure if I should try it again but after reading the reviews on this forum, I thought I'd give it try.

I can't believe the GREAT customer service I got. Whenever I had questions, I got an immediate response, usually by phone. When FedEx damaged one of my orders, AM was really good about sending a new shipment and was quick about refunding the money on one of the plants that was no longer in stock.

All the bulbs I have ordered have come and look great. So do the perennials. Only the three columbine didn't survive, but it's probably b/c they were "discounts" at $1/piece. Anway, whether it's an online vendor or a brick or mortor store, I haven't received this level of customer service. It even inspired me to write my first ever online review of anything!! I can't wait to place my fall bulb order! Thanks AM!!!

Last year I bought wildflower seeds (1/4 pound) and lathrus odoratus (1/4 pound). The wildflower seed did not germinate. Approximately 25% of the lathrus odoratus (sweet pea) germinated. I called the company 7 times between May 30, 2008 to June 20, 2008. I was never able to talk to an actual person. I had to leave a message. No one ever contacted me back. Furthermore, I made several attempts to contact the company by e-mail and regular mail. I STILL DID NOT RECIEVE A RESPONSE BACK! I then left messages via phone for a refund. I NEVER got anybody to call me back. I will not do business with this company again. I spent a total of $38.88 and got nothing for it. Based on this experience, I do not recommend this company to anyone!

"On Jun 9, 2009 8:12 AM, American Meadows responded with:

Dear HerbLady9, We have made several attempts to contact you through you Dave's Garden account, but have not heard back. I'm sorry that you had a negative experience with our company and products. I can assure you that all of our seeds are tested for germination and our satisfaction rating is extremely high.

Your message indicates that you made at least 9 attempts to contact us, without a reply. I find that puzzling as we are here Monday-Friday from 9-5 EST and are in constant contact with customers. We have built our reputation for over 25 years by quickly responding to customer needs. We are always happy to honor our satisfaction guarantee to either replace your product or refund your money. We take our role in the gardening community very seriously and always want our customers to be happy with our products and service.

Please contact us at 877.270.5187 so that we may discuss your concerns. Thank you, Mike Lizotte, Managing Partner, American Meadows."

I have ordered several different shipments of spring/summer flowering bulbs and have not been disappointed at all. I definitely plan to order some dutch iris for fall planting. Right now my glads are coming up. I ordered some of the Biltmore glads and am excited to see them. This company is very professional and has a wide selection of seeds, bulbs and plants. In addition, they have interesting tutorials on the website regarding different types of bulbs, planting info, etc. Would definitely recommend American Meadows. With my last shipment they enclosed three packages of free seeds as well.

I have never had any luck with wild flower seeds in the past, but thought I would try it again this spring. I bought the mixture specially formulated for my area and now, they are up and growing and some are even blooming. I am very pleased with American Meadows. I also bought some plants from them, all in good condition upon arrival and now growing too.
I placed another order with them today for 10 purple coneflower at a very low price, considering how expensive cone flowers usually sell for.
I definally recommend this nursery.

i've ordered a lot of bulbs and bare roots from this company, and one plant. Have had no problems with any of the items. all are growing. I do agree about the plastic shipping container-which would be okay if the plant was in wet soil. As soon as I opened the container the dirt fell out, dry as a bone. So I suggest they change their shipping containers. But as I said their bulbs were all healthy and all bloomed this spring.

I recently received an order from American Meadows that consisted of both bulbs and potted plants. In addition, shortly afterward, I received a separate plant (a butterfly bush) that had been on backorder. The bulbs arrived in good condition, but most of the potted plants that arrived in the first shipment and the butterfly bush that was sent separately were DOA. They were not even at death's door when they arrived; they were complete gonners. The packaging, by far, was the worse I have ever seen, and I've ordered hundreds of plants through the mail over the course of many years. The containers were goofy, ridiculous things containing dried-out soil. They were a joke. Those plants that did arrive alive had been squashed and damaged by this inferior packaging. At this point, the company is promising a refund for those plants that arrived dead and the customer service employees have been polite. However, I will not bother to order from them again.

So glad to have found this vendor via Dave's Garden. American Meadows had just the Iris ensata and lily I was looking for -- at a great price, too. Ordering was easy, delivery was very fast, and everything is thriving. Thank you, American Meadows!

I ordered a plant and it was sent so quickly. My plant was in GREAT shape! I am very pleased. This was my first time. Thank you!

Three great monkshead plants arrived two weeks ago, planted them and they are doing great!

I'm hooked on this company! So far I've only tried perennials (some daylillies and hostas) but they came very fast, even though I ordered in season (during Spring rather than in advance) and inlcuded stakes with pictures of all the plants and care instructions to tuck into the dirt beside the plants. What a nice touch! I was also impressed with their customer service; on the basis of a negative posting I read here, I was concerned that I may not get notice of when my order would ship, so I included a note on my order page asking that they "advise of shipping time." I had a phone call the very next day from them!

I've just placed a huge order for more plants with them, including about $200 worth of bulbs to plant in fall. I can't wait to see how they look and am hoping the bulbs are comparable to the ones I've gotten from Brecks (which cost more and take longer to receive).

Last year I placed a sizable order with this company and plants arrived beautifully packaged and healthy. However, despite my tender care, none of the foxgloves or hollyhocks did much of anything and this year none reappeared. When I e-mailed the company, they promised to replace all the plants that did not come back. And they did. Not only that, they duplicated the entire first order, even though I only asked for the replacement plants that failed!.Talk about great customer service! I love this company and will be a lifetime customer.

I ordered 6 astilbe "amethyst" and 6 geranium "sanguinium". They arrived during the week that they were supposed to arrive, and the roots looked VERY healthy. And, there were actually 8 roots of the astilbe instead of 6, so that was a nice bonus. They've been in the ground for about 2 weeks, and they are putting up nice healthy foliage. They actually look a lot healthier than some of the plants that I ordered from Bluestone (a company that I also really like). Very happy with American Meadows, and plan to order many plants from them in the future.

This is my first experience ordering from American Meadows. I just received three hydrangeas in 4 inch pots and was very impressed with the packaging. I have ordered numerous plants over the years and have never seen a company go to such lengths to make sure their product had a safe journey. Aside from the fact that one of the plants was a little behind the others in terms of green growth they arrived in perfect condition. Now for the real test - will they grow up to be healthy plants! I'll keep you posted.

I ordered Gladiolus bulbs from American Meadows in March. My order arrived in April. I planted them one week ago, and several of them are already peeking up out of the ground. I received an email when my package shipped out, and I was able to track my order via Fed Ex. I was pleased with my experience and also with the free Dahlia bulb which was included with my order.

gabell

Last fall I ordered 150 tulip bulbs. It was my first order with American Meadows so I wasn't sure about the quality of their bulbs. This spring I had one of the most beautiful flower beds in our area. I have 147 red, white, and red/white tulips. They've been blooming for about a month. I also received some free bulbs with my order. They came up beautifully also. I've since ordered some summer blooming plants. They arrived last week and all looked very healthy. I would most certainly recommend American Meadows.

i ordered a large order from american meadows before christmas. I just received the first portion of my order I was shocked at how great the plox was packaged considering i live across the country in washington state it was moist & gorgeous. my lilly bulbs were so affordable & are absolutely HUGE! I cant wait for the arest of the order so I can go out and get my hands dirty! oh & i love the free seed packets my 5 year old son thought they were the best

I received my complete order of Monkshood all three of them look good and even had new shoots starting I'm happy with them!

After placing (and paying for) an order for the first time with American Meadows on March 24, 2009, I reviewed the order status and realized that the items I am most interested in do not ship immediately, they ship in the Fall. I called customer service and asked to have the items shipping in the fall canceled and just keep the ones shipping in the spring. The customer service rep was very friendly and said he would cancel the fall portion of the order immediately.

On March 29, 2009 I checked my credit card account and noticed my credit card has not been credited, I check the order status online. The order is still showing current, not canceled. I call American Meadows once more, I speak with a customer service representative who apologizes profusely and tells me he is canceling the "fall" portion of my order, I should see a credit applied to my credit card in the next couple of days.

On April 3, 2009 - I check with my bank again, no credits from American Meadows have been issued. I call American Meadows, speak with a customer service representative who checks my order and tells me, I'm sorry your order has not been canceled. I explain to him the multiple calls I have made, he apologizes and tells me he is correcting the problem as we speak and issuing my credit card a credit, he offers to email me a confirmation email. I never receive an email. :-(

April 7, 2009 - I check with my bank again, no credits from American Meadows. I call American Meadows, speak with a very annoyed sounding customer service representative (first one that was not cordial of all my phone calls to American Meadows), I explained to her I wanted to cancel the fall shipment and just keep the items that will be received in the fall and that have made multiple calls in regards to my credit card not being credited and the fall items not being canceled. She informs me that my ENTIRE order was canceled and that my credit card was credited. She informs me that if there is no credit on my credit card, it is my banks fault. I asked her about an email confirming the order had been canceled as the previous customer service representative offered. She curtly informed me that if I wanted an email she would "type" one up for me, but it would just say what she is telling me. I said I will take that then. She reiterated, I insisted I was fine with an email from her... Checked my email, never received one.

April 7, 2009 - I call my credit card customer service. My account information was pulled up, the only transaction on my account is the one paying American Meadows on March 24, 2009. The customer service representative at my bank advised me American Meadows has not issued a credit of any kind.... My bank asked if I wanted to start a dispute or contact American Meadows one more time.... Calling again - if not disputing.

"On May 6, 2009 9:29 AM, American Meadows responded with:

4/17/09: Dear Eve6, I’m so sorry that you had such a difficult time interacting with our customer service department. In reviewing the notes in your account and checking our bank transactions, I see that you were fully credited on the 7th of April and notified via email the same day. The fact that this didn’t occur sooner appears to have been a miscommunication - customers frequently call to adjust their orders and this procedure is common. I have reached out to you via phone to personally apologize and would appreciate having the opportunity to assure you that this was an isolated incident. During the busy planting season, we happily serve over two thousand customers per week. I’m very sorry that we failed to meet your customer service expectations. Sincerely, Mike Lizotte, owner, American Meadows."

I have ordered wildflower seeds from American Meadows three times now and I have been completely satisfied. The seeds come packaged in lovely, plump, soft linen pouches, a nice touch. They germinated abundantly and were exactly what I ordered. I plan to extend wildflower sowings over my full acre in the years ahead and I will order all my seeds from this company.
Re: the accusation that they sell invasive species: This is an inaccurate and unfair assertion. American Meadows clearly identifies what they are selling and they describe their seeds accurately. No responsible plant company would sell invasive species. Common names for plants are notoriously unreliable; research the botanical name if you want to verify what it is that you are ordering.

I have ordered bulbs and seed from this company about half a dozen times, each time I was happy.

I ordered the Southeastern Mix and and the All Annual mix, both bloomed great. I hace also order a few hundred bulbs from them and had great blooms the next spring and fall.

Ordered clearance fall bulbs in mid-January, not the time to plant bulbs in this zone, but thought I would try it in a new filled raised bed.

Shipping - Went out on the first or second business day, took a week and half to get here, not bad at all since I am on the opposite end of the continent.

Daffodil Bulbs - All 50 alive and seemingly well, good large sized bulbs. In a bulk bag, no planting directions, but those are easy enough to find on line. Compared to daffodils I bought and planted in fall from another source, of which >10% were dry rotted, these were really nice.

Species Tulips - The bonus bag was very nice of them. More than 90% of the bulbs were in good shape, a handful had gone dry. Considering they were clearance this still seems good to me.

Wildflower Bulb Box - Did't survive as well as the single packaged bulbs. The standard tulips probably will not make it and a couple of the iris bulbs probably will not either. However, the muscari and crocus looked fine.

Will update when it is time for the bulbs to come up, not ideal way to plant, hopefully, with enough mulch, some will make it. I'm sure that all would have grown excellently if planted at the normal time.

This was my first time ordering from AM. I recieved my seeds promptly and nicely packaged. I also found there website to be usefull for a new gardener. I will buy from them again.

As a new gardener I was enticed by the wildflower and "meadow" seeds available at American Meadows. I did order several varieties, including Queen Anne's Lace. At the time I didn't know that QAL is an invasive species and actually banned in many areas. This plant is not native to North America. I do not think that American Meadows should be selling invasive species!

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Dear Portland 1: Please revisit our website, and you'll see that we make a special note that Queen Anne's Lace, Daucus carota, the biennial roadside weed, is invasive, and that we DO NOT SELL IT. If customers like the flower for their wild meadows, we suggest Ammi majus, or "Bishop's Flower" which is a benign annual that looks similar, is also often called Queen Anne's Lace, but has none of the bad qualities of Daucus. If you bought QAL at our site, you bought Ammi Majus. You can read our QAL page which explains all this by following this link: http://www.americanmeadows.com/WildflowerSeeds/Species/Queen... PLEASE change your negative posting since it is incorrect. Thank you, Ray Allen, Owner, AmericanMeadows.com "

I recently ordered from AM. I wasn't too sure about the End of the Lot clearance stuff, but figured I'd give it a try.
Part of my order was an assortment of Hosta, bare root plants. The plants arrived in packages with ample soil and breathing room.
I put the Hosta plants in my shade garden. I expected to not see any growth until next Summer. A few days later I strolled by and stopped and stared in awe! Each of the plants had grown! Fully formed full sized leaves, beautiful colors, sturdy stems. They are just beautiful, I smile each time I pass them.
It can be scary ordering online. Yet each time I have purchased from AM I have had a truly posivite experience. If anything did go astray, complete efforts were made to correct and make sure I was a "happy" customer. They are more than willing to work with me. I can ask for nothing more.
My plants and seeds from last year are in full bloom, welcoming butterflies and others to visit, and making my heart smile.
Thank you AM!

This was the third time I ordered from American Meadows. The first time involved a price dispute and the bulbs were only "OK".
Last year I ordered at the end of the season sale and received nice bulbs with a bunch of freebies thrown in.
This year I placed a fairly large order and was thrilled with the bulb quality and the size of the bulbs- HUGE! I was extremely pleased and will order from them again.

I purchased several bareroot perennials from American Meadows this spring. I was impressed by the quality of the product I received. Most bareroot plants I order via the Internet were quite small and took quite some time to establish. These were all quite large and in great condition. The ones I planted a couple of weeks ago are doing great. I also have some bulbs and irises coming in the fall.

This was my first purchase from this company. I already made a second purchase and I will certainly be buying more from them.

The one complaint echoes what another customer wrote. On both orders I have received so far, the email with UPS tracking numbers showed up after the plants were delivered. I really like to know in advance when plants are coming, and American Meadows needs to get their act together in this regard. A timely shipping notice is basic customer service, and their failure in this regard was a disappointment. I still give them a positive review, but they really should do better in notifying customers of shipments.

In Early March I placed a large order from AM, it was shipped in 4 different stages and at no point was i notified that any of these shipments had been sent. So they sat on the front stairs which is practically on my sidewalk until I got home from work, it would have been nice to know they were coming so I could have had someone field the boxes. The first shipment was for seeds which arrived fine and they are growing nicely. The last was for bulbs and they came at the right time for planting, a few of them have started to grow so we will see with the rest. But from here it is downhill, I ordered 4 Shrubs which did arrive ok (shipment #2) which were nothing more than small sticks which was somewhat expected but none of them have done a thing and are DEAD, they claim they are going to issue a refund but as of yet no refund has been issued so we will see. The third shipment included two bareroot plants, poppies and bleeding hearts which looked DOA but I planted them and are as dead as the bushes, they claim to be sending replacements (different poppies as they out of the ones I origiannly ordered) but they also have yet to be seen and the free gift they were to include Hollyhocks were out of stock so I got a different free gift however i wanted the Hollyhocks but the free Iris was the best of the bunch of anything I ordered. If the bulbs grow successfully and I receive replacements and credit I will adjust this appropriately but for now it has not been a positive experience shopping at American Meadows

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Dear WinterStinks: I'd like to personally apologize for the problems with your spring order, and want you to know we do all we can to satisfy our customers. If you will send me your personal email, I'll be happy to send you some fall daffodils and/or tulips to make amends. ---Ray Allen, Owner, AmericanMeadows.com "

I have nothing but great things to say about American Meadows. I placed my first order less than a week ago. I ordered the old orange daylily Hemerocallis Fulva, aka "Ditch Lily." American Meadows included a free dwarf bearded iris, Baby Blessed. Such a pleasant surprise! The daylily and iris are in excellent condition and arrived so quickly. I'll certainly order from American Meadows again!

I have not ordered anything from American Meadows this year. I haven't needed to. ..However, I have ordered from them in the past (seeds and bulbs only) and have always been quite pleased.

This was the first time that I ordered from American Meadows, and was pleased with the purchases. I ordered the following items: Polianthes tuberosa , Zephyranthes, and some Oxalis Deppei. The sales were very good at 50% off at the time, and they have a large amount of items on their website both in perennials, and bulbs. I will order from them again in the future, and have been looking at their 50% off sales for the fall. Thanks!

We ordered several varieties of irises. The specimens were some of the worst I've ever seen. Extremely small and absolutely dried out -- about the quality you'd see at a "bulb clearance" in your typical Walmart store. A waste of money - I would NEVER order from this company again.

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So sorry your irises were unsatisfactory. This is rare for our irises, but we are anxious to replace them for you or issue a complete refund including shipping. Please let us know which type of iris you ordered.....Ray Allen, Pres. of AmericanMeadows.com."

This is my second order (primarily of lily bulbs) from American Meadows. I'm consistently impressed at the sheer size of the bulbs, and the number of roots already on the bulbs when they're received. They're also practically indestructible. I just planted my latest order, but as of April, last years lilys are already 6-10 inches tall with stalks at least the diameter of a quarter. While most have doubled, one has quadrupled. Last year, even with my limited gardening experience the bulbs produced 5ft tall wild lilies. I even accidentally struck one of my favorite rare lilies with a spade while it was dormant and shaved off a 3rd of the bulb. I expected it to be a lesson learned in being more careful where I dig, but 3 months later it has rallied and is only slightly smaller than the ones I haven't abused.

Prices are very reasonable and they have many wild lilies which, in my experience, have been hard to find at all, and even harder to find under 10 dollars a bulb for the more rare wild lilies. I usually wait for the spring sale when the more common wild lilies like tiger lilies drop to around 3 bucks a bulb.

For a novice gardener like myself, indestructible but spectacular lilies have been a lifesaver. I've also had better luck with their bareroot plants than with those from a couple of other companies, but I'm most likely not qualified to speak to the bareroot plant quality. I can only say they survived my particular brand of digging a hole, roughing up the soil a bit, then hoping for the best.

I ordered eight items from American Meadows last spring. Only two of the eight items grew and bloomed. These were the Anneke Calla Lily and the Biltmore Estates Glads and they were both absolutely gorgeous! I contacted the company and they credited me for the remaining items that did not grow. While I do feel that the company is to be commended for standing behind their 100% guarantee, I do not feel that the product is worthy of a positive rating at this point since money is still lost on shipping charges. I am going to place a small order with them because I really would like to have a few of their unique items and will change my rating accordingly after receipt of that order.

Our experience with your company has been terrific!!! We started out with an old grass field which had never been farmed, plowed or tilled. We wanted to grow wild flowers on approx. one acre of the field and had no idea how to go about doing that. We called your experts and recieved the advice we needed to get the project started. We were given the proper directions, and seedmix to use and I have to tell you the guests at Valley View Retreat B&B had wonderful flowers to pick fresh for their rooms the first year....not to mention the Birds, Butterflies,and Honybees that showed up to enjoy the flowers too!!! We have ordered more individual flower seeds this year to build up numbers of our favorite flowers in the mix.This was a very dry year in Southwest Virginia and our flowers still did really well........I can't wait untill spring to see next years bloom.........Thank you guys, we are sold on your quality and reliability......WE WILL BE RETURNING CUSTOMERS!!!.... Nancy Pasqualini

All these comments of long-time American Meadows customers boosts my faith in their product, but I unfortunately had a bad first experience. I ordered three types of bare root plants, and when the box arrived I was informed by a small note on the invoice (that I barely noticed until I searched every inch for indication of why I was missing roots) that one type had not met their standards this year so they weren't shipping them and I would be refunded.
As for the other two, one had roots so small and indiscernible that I couldn't tell if I even was planting the roots or if it was debris in the included soil. The other type had larger roots but still didn't look in the best of shape, even to an amateur gardener.
Neither of the two root types ever produced any growth, so around a month after planting I e-mailed the company for advice. They recommended waiting a little while longer, so I did and then e-mailed them again when there was still no growth, and they refunded me for the roots.
I much appreciated getting my money back and will do business with American Meadows again since they so stand behind their product, but I have made it a point to avoid even considering bareroot plants from that or any other site.

I ordered three lily bulbs and one Dahlia (2-pack) from American Meadows. Of the four items only one item did not have an issue.

Of the three lily:

One died within a week.

The second arrived completely moldy - I called them and they replaced it. The replacement lily came in packaging that stated the correct name, red tiger lily, but when it bloomed it was orange. So you can't rely on the bulb matching with the labeling/packaging.

The third has not bloomed, has not even set buds, so I don't know if it is the correct color, but it was the only healthy bulb of the whole order.

They sent me the wrong Dahlia. I called them back and they sent me the correct one. The Dahlia come packaged two per package. I now had two incorrect Dahlia and two correct Dahlia. Of the four Dahlia, only two grew, two never even sprouted any growth at all. The Dahlia have not flowered so I don't know if they are the correct color.

American Meadow's customer service was very nice and helpful when I called them twice. Not only did they replace the moldy bulb and the incorrect Dahlia, they also refunded my money for the entire order.

Though I received my money back, I am very disappointed with my order from American Meadows. Only one out of the four did not have an issue – that I currently know of (some have not yet bloomed). To receive moldy bulbs, mislabeled bulbs, and two out of four Dahlia not grow at all ... I will not be ordering from American Meadows.

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I have tried to contact this customer on August 4th to address the problem....Ray Allen, Owner, AmericanMeadows.com

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