Comments regarding American Meadows

I ordered bulbs and lily of the valley from American Meadows. The bulbs were of nice size and the pips were healthy. All are growing well. I'll order from them again!

I've previously ordered bulbs from American Meadows and was satisfied with them...the size and prices were good, and they bloomed well. This was the first year I've ordered bare root plants from them, and I was disappointed.

I've planted bare roots before, and these were some of the smallest I've ever planted; some were little more than a chopped piece of root...no feeder roots, no top growth. With our short growing season, and the fact that they didn't get here until the middle of May, I doubt I'll see much growth this year.

It's been 7 weeks since I placed an order -- my first -- with American Meadows. Though they charged me for the order, I've received nothing, nor have I heard from the company in two weeks.

On March 9th, I ordered plants, bulbs and seeds from American Meadows. The order totaled $32.83. I received their automated "Thanks for your order" email.

Then nothing.

For weeks.

On April 9th, I called to see what the delay was. The operator said that there had been "a problem with my card" and that my order was never filled. (If there were a problem with my card, why didn't they contact me? They had my phone number, mailing address and email address, after all.)

I asked the operator to re-submit the order.

On April 12th, American Meadows charged my debit card for $42.13 -- almost $10 more than the original total! That was the last I heard from them. They did not send an a confirmation that the order was being filled, nor did they give an explanation for the higher cost.

That was over two weeks ago. I still haven't heard anything from them. Thank Heavens that I wasn't relying on them for seeds that needed to be started indoors.

American Meadows is a great company. I've made several purchases from them over the past couple of years, and I'm very pleased with their products. I received some inferior perennials last year, but was given a prompt refund for the plants that did not grow. The bulbs and wildflower seed I've received from American Meadows have been great. The customer service is even better. It's always a pleasure dealing with American Meadows. They'll take care of you.

I placed a very large order of seed packets with AM for a church organization promotion. The seeds were here in about three days. When I opened the box, I discovered that we had mistakenly ordered the wrong packets. AM was wonderful about exchanging them.

I haven't planted any myself yet, so I can't speak for germination, but it is a great product for organizations like mine to hand out. The packets are very pretty and can be customized. The ladies who received them liked them very much.

My expewrience with American Meadows has not been a good one. They always have an excuse for item being shipped late and its always the carrier that damages their products. I have not received anything on time yet.

Package came swiftly and well packaged. Instructions for sowing and care included. My only beef is they sent me what I ordered, not what I meant to order. I will do business with them again.

I have ordered from this company numerous times and have always been pleased. I recently received some amaryllis bulbs that I ordered. They are as big as grapefruits and appear very healthy. I have only had good experiences with American Meadows.

Though I had not had a lot of success with seeds prior to my order, I had terrific germination with each type of seed I ordered. This is a terrific way to get a large amount of plants for a small amount of money. I highly recommend the company.

I ordered about 10 perennials from American Meadows in the Spring. They arrived looking like handsome specimens. I planted all, and none came up. (Planted in late spring). I waited until the end of August. Still nothing!

I didn't want to contact them. Who was going to believe the whole order was bad? I couldn't prove anything. I finally relented and sent an e-mail (it was over $50 worth of stuff). I received an answer the same day! They apologized and said that it was their first time for perennials and it hadn't worked out as well as they'd hoped. They are going to credit my card. I will continue to deal with them. Their wildflowers and bulbs are excellent! They have great sales!

I purchased few Tiger Lilly Bulbs during the Spring Sale. Some were unavailable which was a disappointment but after all it was a clearance sale. The bulbs that did arrive were huge, healthy and labeled. When I didnt understand what color was which, A phone call got me immediate help to explain the color names.

I planted them the day after receiving and to date the bulbs are not doing well - only 3 bulbs have sprouted . I contacted Erin French about this, since I dug up one bulb after more than a month and it was sitting in the ground exactly as I planted it. It was not rotten and it wasnt sprouting. Erin advised me to leave them and see if they sprouted next year, but offered a refund along with it.

Im impressed with the immediate response, advice and refund offer.

Im looking forward to ordering bulbs for fall planting

I ordered many lilies and other bulbs from American Meadow. It was my first order with them. When I planted the lilies I noticed two packets were short one bulb each. I emailed the company and got a response in one day saying the bulbs were now sold out and that my money for the two packets would be refunded on my credit card. It was done that week. The bulbs and roots that I did receive were large and healthy. I am impressed by the sale prices of Am. Meadow and quick shipping and email response. I will order from them again...and have.

I have been gardening for over 40 years, am a Master Gardener and work at a noted botanical garden. I order extensively from catalogs and (more recently) on-line. American Meadows consistently has the highest quality products of any on-line provider I've used. Your customer service, delivery and the condition of the plants/seeds upon arrival are unequalled. I often recommend American Meadows to friends and associates.

I also took advantage of their 70% off sale and purchased callas and cannas. They arrived very quickly and bulbs look very good. I would buy from them again, based on this experience.

I took advantage of a 70% off Spring bulbs sale and I have to say I couldn't be more pleased. Bought canna and calla lilies. All arrived very quickly, my purchase was confirmed immediately by email, and some of the bulbs were even sprouting. The bulbs are very large and firm and well labeled. I feel I tested these folks out with one of their sales, and they can count on me for full retail in the future.

I ordered all of my plants online this year, as I have a busy schedule and was actually spending most of my time landscaping to get a garden ready. I placed two orders with American Meadows, because I couldn't resist their Advance Order prices, and they had most of the things I was looking for.

The items all arrived in good condition, and were carefully packed and labeled. There was a mix-up with one shipment, and a few things were left out. I emailed customer service, and got a prompt response saying that they'd send out those plants. I got them just fine.

I will use this company in the future!

American Meadows were the only Company this Spring 2006 who had truly fantastic Sales :)
There Plants arrived in great health, and there Bulbs were the Biggest and BEST that I have ever received from anyone !!............
Also they send me extra free bulbs of the so exspensive "Martagon Lily", which usually cost from $11 - 13 for 1, for only $3 something for 2, awesome !!!.........
And they promptley answer all my questions any time, and gave me a $25 Certificate for telling them how faithful they are, which they are :)
All in all I will stay with them from now on !!!................

Margrit Moan-Nachreiner
Reedsburg, WI 53959

I ordered several bulbs from this company because of great prices. I was hoping to get at least a few that looked good and figured I'd get what I paid for. Well, when they arrived, the Asiatic and Calla bulbs were in terrific condition and the trumpet lily bulbs, although they had sprouted (which was expect at this time of year), the sprouts look very healthy. They have all started out really great. I'll go back. I did call them to check on shipping, got someone on the phone and she was very pleasant, polite and helpful. (And also told me my order had shipped the day before, which helped)

I have ordered twice from this company. I've gotten bulbs from them at the end-of-season sale, and they were in no worse shape than one might expect, for the time of year; but where I feel American Meadows really shines, is in their seed selection and quality. I like to buy their mixes and then punch them up with one or two of my favorite single varieties.
Also, my experience of their customer service has been very good. My first order, in Autumn, they were going to ship quite late because it rarely freezes in my zone, but I needed the bulbs earlier because of my own availability for planting. I talked on the phone with a very friendly lady who made it happen.

I have had a good experience with this company on several occasions. The seed in bulk comes in a cute little fabric bag, and it germinates very well. The bulbs are coming up too. I have not tried any live plants.

This was my first order with American Meadows. I took advantage of their 50% off sale and ordered some Dahlias. The order came quickly and looked good. The Dahlias have small shoots growing and I know they will do well. I will order from them again.

I have ordered bulbs from American Meadows and I am very pleased with the quality and size of the bulbs. My orders have arrived extremely fast and well packaged. I also had a question about one of my first orders and emailed the company and they were quick to respond.

Nana3

I ordered 2 plants (cimicifuga) and a wild flower group of seeds. I was impressed with the seed mixtures and quantity. I bought 4 oz packets. But the Cimicifugas didn't arrive until mid May and the same problem as above. They were tiny dry roots with no moisture in the plastic bags and as of a month now none have survived. I later (before recieving the 1st order) ordered a sale group of root stock with a group of Cimicifuga which I paid 7.95 each minus a discount of 50 bucks on a 130 buck order. Also I ordered a group of Heliopsis X 6 and 2 other Filipendula Rubra perenials. All of these, but the Filipendula, came in the same plastic perforated bags with powder dry peat. These were delivered to my hands from UPS or Fed X. I can't remember. 2 bags had only dead and friable roots that were hard to find in the dry peat. I have learned to no longer buy plants that come from so far. My mistake. This is my first internet purchase and I have learned that when you pay a discount you should expect them to die. I am frustrated. Oh I did get a free bag of seeds that had about 15 to 20 seeds total in them. Maybe I will have some patriotic colors in my wild flower meadows. My only suggestion to American Meadows is to get perenials to Zone 4 in at least early April. So they have a chance and maybe to bag the product in premoistened peat.

I ordered on 3/16/06 3 packages of seeds. This is my first experience purchasing from them.

Birdsfoot Trefoil
Wild snapdragon
Crimson clover

I really wanted the birdsfoot trefoil since I love this plant and unfortunately the ones I had were inadvertantly removed by someone who weeded my garden once. All seeds sprouted right away. I was amazed at the amount of seeds I got for the price. I would definitely recommend this company for seed purchases.

Ordered some hard-to-find plants in early April, they arrived around the beginning of May. Was disappointed that the "plants" were actually bare roots, but they looked ok so I planted them. Have seen no signs of life since then. Company rep was curteous and says they will refund my money. Would consider ordering from them in the future if I could get leafed out plants.

I would just like to comment on the great service that I received from your company--I ordered some wild flower seeds on a Monday and received them on a Thursday of the same week--You have a great web site--very easy to navigate--has much helpful information associated with it--I now have the seeds planted and can't wait for them to bloom

I placed my order in late February, and it was comprised of both a wildflower seed mixture, and the American Meadows Yarrow and Poppy Collection savers. First, the positive…the seed mixture portion of the order arrived quickly, and with extra seeds. I have sown them all, and with all the seedlings emerging it appears that I have a nice wildflower area to look forward to in the next month or so.
Now the negative. The Yarrow and Poppy collections were THE WORST looking bare root plants I have ever seen. They came in separate plastic bags packed with peat moss, but the roots were/are flimsy looking, and if they actually grow into anything it would be a gardening miracle. One of the Yarrow bags was completely empty…no bare root stock at all ! While perhaps I didn’t read closely enough that they would come as only bare root, I could easily have bought something of better quality at the local Home Depot, or the ever-chintzy Christmas Tree Shop.
There was another item I ordered that they could not fulfill, so they credited me the amount, and sent a bag of ten "Lillie of the Valley" as a good will gesture. Nice…not wow, but nice.
While I give American Meadows their props on the seeds, the credit for unavailable merchandise, and the good will bag; their “live” plant selection is embarrassing. I will order from them again, but ONLY seeds. The worst part is that you place your order, you save a spot in your garden, resist temptation to buy and fill the space because you have the order coming, and then the product that arrives is questionable at best. Makes you feel cheated. I couldn’t go all negative on this review, but man was it tempting !

On Feb 16 2006 I placed an order with Am. meadows. The bulbs arrived in reasonably good shape, though not as good as many ordered from other sources at a similar price. The eremurus that arrived on May 18 2006 was a dried up bit of nothing. I doubt it will survive. The Louisiana Iris black gamecock was an OK size, but was a very pale sickly yellow and completely limp. I think as Iris are tough it will make it, but it was pathetic. The aquilegia was again marginal. The best part of the plant order was that they were generous with the peat around the plants. I think it was worth more than the items. I will not be ordering again from the company. I ordered this in their preseason sale, but the money saved was not worth the poor quality that they shipped.

"

Apology and full refund including shipping has been offered. After 25 years of successfully shipping seeds and bulbs, this spring was our first year shipping live plants, due to many customer requests. The plants sold out quickly, and most people were happy with their shipments, but some were not. The plants all began in great shape, but some serious mistakes were made in shipping. We are truly sorry, and if we handle perennials again, our system of shipping will be completely revamped. "

I made several orders with AM, but when I received the first one, I immediately cancelled the others. They didn't send the correct plants, and the ones they did send were near death. I thought they had a really good rating, but this was awful. I won't be ordering from them again.

"

Apology and full refund including shipping has been offered. After 25 years of successfully shipping seeds and bulbs, this spring was our first year shipping live plants, due to many customer requests. The plants sold out quickly, and most people were happy with their shipments, but some were not. The plants all began in great shape, but some serious mistakes were made in shipping. We are truly sorry, and if we handle perennials again, our system of shipping will be completely revamped. "

I agree with the last post. I order 2 clematis from this company and both of the plants I recieved were dried out, broken and looked dead. I am hoping that maybe I can coax some life out of them. What makes me sick, is 2 weeks ago, I bought a clematis from the grocery store that was 1000% better (it even had flowers) for half the price of these.

Never again.

"

Apology and full refund including shipping has been offered. After 25 years of successfully shipping seeds and bulbs, this spring was our first year shipping live plants, due to many customer requests. The plants sold out quickly, and most people were happy with their shipments, but some were not. The plants all began in great shape, but some serious mistakes were made in shipping. We are truly sorry, and if we handle perennials again, our system of shipping will be completely revamped. "

I ordered a variety of bulbs and roots in mid-February, including some fruiting shrubs, a bunch of lilies, dicentra, and many "annual" bulbs. The order did not arrive until May 19, as I guess they decided I was incapable of storing any bulbs myself and that I must not want to plant any hardy live plants prior to the end of May, over a month after I started putting live plants in the ground. I got five dicentra from them, and locally dicentra are in full bloom. I planted some other lilies well over a month ago and they're nearly a foot tall now. I am furious that they waited so long to get these plants to me. In addition, some of them are in bad shape. Of the two blueberry shrubs I ordered, one seems to be dead and the other, though showing some signs of life, is severely damaged. Two raspberry "canes" were nothing but tangled root cuttings without any sense of which way was up and I am highly doubtful that these will grow, literally three inches of roots each tangled together in bone dry peat. The worst insult is that I saw these exact same plants from the same wholesaler, in the same packaging, at a local Home Depot over a month ago when it was actually time to plant them in my area, and they were half the price I paid. At that time I said, I don't want to buy plants at the Home Depot, I've already ordered good quality stuff. Ha ha. Joke's on me. So I've got one broken blueberry bush for my good faith. I could go on about the bulbs I ordered, someone below mentioned how they had been suckered by exuberant marketing language and my experience is probably similar - I feel very much duped by this company as they are offering nothing beyond what you could get for less at a mass merchant retailer down the road. Unbelievable.

"

Apology and full refund including shipping has been offered. After 25 years of successfully shipping seeds and bulbs, this spring was our first year shipping live plants, due to many customer requests. The plants sold out quickly, and most people were happy with their shipments, but some were not. The plants all began in great shape, but some serious mistakes were made in shipping. We are truly sorry, and if we handle perennials again, our system of shipping will be completely revamped. "

I love the seeds that I got from this company, even the extras (can you believe I bought way too many seeds AGAIN??! You would think I had a hundred acre flower farm the way I buy seeds, not 1/8 acre that is sunny) are sprouting like champs after two years. Very nice people, highly recommend!

I received my order promptly, carefully packaged and in good condition. I cannot fault the company
...but I can fault myself: After unpackaking the packages of bulbs I realized I could have saved myself some money and shipping charges: I could have bought most of the plants off the rack at my local gardening stores and some even at places like Lowe's. I was inattentive and fell for the beautifully hyped up prose like "Spectacular... famous climbing lily... world famous jungle flower...dinner plate Dahlias...! etc. caveat emptor--buyer beware. My mistake. I also live in Durham NC where gardening is becoming fashionable and we have good local nurseries as well as big chain stores that offer great selections based on customer demand. If you live in a less gardening oriented area this would probably be a wonderful place to get what you cannot find in your local stores.

I placed my first order with AM this January when their bulbs were at 50% off. I called them about 1 week ago to find out what the status of my order was; I've been getting antsy & I'm ready to plant. They were very helpful & said it would be shipped within a week. Three days later I received 1 box with 1 bulb in it. 3 additional days later I received another box with the rest of my bulbs. I am pleased with the assortment of flowers I had to choose from in January as some of the flowers I purchased then are no longer on website, the size of the bulbs I received were very nice & adequate & the packaging was good also. I would order from this company again.

Ordered wildflower seeds from this company about a year ago. Since then they have been sending out frequent spam even though I have attempted a number of times to remove myself from their e-mail newsletter list.

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We do not send spam! We send newsletters, and only to our customers and any others who CHOOSE to be on our email list. We try very hard to retain only those names who want to receive our emails. We operate a powerful email management program, but it is not perfect. Occasionally, one or two names may not be deleted as ordered, but if that happens, our Webmaster deletes the name manually, once we know of the error.--Ray Allen, Owner, AmericanMeadows.com"

Nice plants and customer service

This is a good company. I placed a small first order with them this year. When the package arrived my name/address was on the box but the wrong order was inside. A simple labeling mistake, but I thought "Oh, No, now I've got to try and untangle this with an unknown supplier". I emailed them and offered to keep the plants cool/moist for pickup by their carrier (not a practicle plan but the best I could do). I asked that they ship me the correct order. I received an email in less than 24 hours telling me to keep the plants I had received and that my order would be reshiped. I was relieved.... and happy. My correct order arrived in 2 business days! The bulbs/corms are excellent. This is very responsible customer service. Too bad the mistake resulted in a loss of the incorrect shipment for their company, but I passed along the plants they told me to keep to the volunteers who maintain one of our community nature areas to plant where they will be enjoyed. GardenWatchdog is a great resource for those of us who want to order particular plants by mail and I know we all want to support companies like American Meadows who offer good plant material AND good customer service.

The canna bulbs I received from this company were small--undersized in comparison to those I have purchased elsewhere. The dahlia tubers were barely adequate and certainly not of the size or quality of those I have purchased from other internet providers listed on Garden Watchdog. Since these roots may eventually provide satisfactory plants, I will rate the company for the present as neutral.

I've been wanting to try wildflowers for years. After a google search, I came across the American Meadaows web site. Lot's of great information for the "novice" person. I called their toll-free number and spoke with a verey nice customer service person who helped me with my order and was able to give me some guidance, etc. It was a very pleasant experience!