| Rating | Author | Content |
| Positive | FlowerDiva
Raleigh, NC
(3 reviews)
October 04, 2009 | I placed an order online for the first time with MVG during their fabulous "Fall Extravaganza Sale". I wanted to "test the waters" and spent $70 on plants and herbs that I could not find locally. (Most notably their superb selection of lavender). I am pleased to say that the plants arrived within days of my order (all the way from CA to NC!) and were very healthy and packed perfectly with no damage! The pot sizes are small. However, the plants are doing wonderfully settling into my garden and I suspect them to be doing just fine come spring! I did receive a plant in error. I emailed them and received a friendly response promptly. Since they only ship a minimum of 6 plants, I could not get a replacement but was refunded the money with no problem. Even though the plant sizes are small, I would definately recommend MVG as a source to purchase hard-to-find plants and herbs. |
| Positive | snakemusik
New Orleans, LA
(2 reviews)
May 09, 2009 | Herbs arrived poorly packaged The basil and oregano were out of their pots with the roots exposed. The English thyme was badly bruised from rattling around in the box.
I contacted Mountain Valley Growers. They said to let them know what plants didn't survive. I did let them know that 4 out of 6 plants did not make it. I did not hear back from them regarding replacing these plants.
I would like to know one way or the other as soon as possible, as I will have to order more herbs from another grower if Mountain Valley Growers will not honor their guarantee.
On May 9th, 2009, snakemusik changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
I did hear back from MVG. They said they would ship out new plants next week.
On May 15th, 2009, snakemusik changed the rating from neutral to positive and added the following:
I've changed my rating to positive for one reason - customer service. MVG replaced all the plants that didn't make it and included 2 bonus plants as a gift. The plants arrived packed properly. They were a little weary from the trip, but revived quickly. |
| Positive | dparsons01
Albuquerque, NM
(Zone 7b)
(6 reviews)
October 19, 2008 | Excellent packaging and very healthy plants. And quick service. Couldn't ask for better. |
| Positive | kmhappel
Vista, CA
(6 reviews)
August 01, 2008 | Along with many others who have commented, I am just awe struck by the professional way these people manage and execute on-line nursery transactions. The MVG plant packaging is the best I have seen ( except for ecolage's which is for much bigger plants ). The plants were in perfect condition, they are now thriving. The package tracking system and order confirmation were excellent. In my top three for first place. |
| Positive | pmknchd
Reno, NV
(1 review)
June 11, 2008 | I have ordered from this company several times and have always been very happy. This year money has been a little tight so I waited for the "June Jumble Sale".
On monday I placed an order for six packs of salvias, pelorgoniums, and gallardias. The plants arrived on tuesday (the day after I placed the order). Wonderful healthy plants - one of the salvias was actully blooming - packed efficiently and effectively. Will definitely purchase from Mountain Valley Growers again and again.
Can't wait for the the Fall Blowout Extravaganza!!!!!! |
| Positive | ReinaYvette
Los Gatos, CA
(2 reviews)
June 07, 2008 | I have made several purchases from Mountain Valley Growers and they are my favorite online nursery. Good quality plants and fast ship. You can't go wrong. |
| Negative | paul665
Chino Valley, AZ
(1 review)
May 26, 2008 | I grew rosemary for more than ten years in Southern California and wanted something a bit more cold hardy for my high dessert location. I ordered 10 rosemary plants which arrived bone dry. I watered the plants and several days later potted them up to bigger pots of organic potting soil with sharp sand. I watched as the plants turned from green to gray, then to silver/brown. I contacted MVG via email, at which time, I was told that I must have overwatered the plants that I must not have put in full sun. I was told that I needed to send a picture, but have heard nothing since. I guess I should have bought plants at Home Depot, they guarantee the plants for more than a couple of weeks. We shall see what MVG does for there guarantee. I will post the final outcome if MVG ever responds back. |
| Positive | chataine
Royse City, TX
(1 review)
May 18, 2008 | As a first-time buyer with this company, I placed the minimum order of 6 plants. The company e-mailed me almost immediately to say that one plant was out of stock and asked if I wanted to order a substitute to complete the order. I did. The plants arrived on the day promised, beautifully packaged and healthy. No complaints here. |
| Positive | lemurianne
Ida Grove, IA
(Zone 5a)
(4 reviews)
May 14, 2008 | I received my first ever order from MVG and I'm EXTREMELY impressed by the whole experience. They kept me updated as they waited to ship my plants at the proper time for my zone, and shipped when they said they would with the plants arriving promptly and in VERY GOOD condition! The best I've ever seen plants in the mail! The herbs were more fragrant and the plants in general were in better condition than most of those in my local nurseries. If only all companies used the innovative and thoughtful packaging that MVG does -- it's minimal, recyclable and there was absolutely no mess involved. The fact that they are certified organic makes it all the more amazing. The prices are fantastic! I plan to place several more orders! |
| Positive | glasslady
Pleasanton, CA
(Zone 9b)
(1 review)
April 09, 2008 | I have used Mountain Valley several times. The first time I was living in Minnesota, and they were careful to advise us about shipping plants at the appropriate time for that climate. The plants all arrived healthy and did well.
When we moved back to California and I had to leave all of my plants behind, I placed an order in for a variety of salvias, lavenders and a scented geranium. It was, unfortunately, sent to Minnesota (where my former landlord apparently accepted and kept it) but MVG replaced the order at no cost to me.
I don't have the greenest thumb in the world, but I the Sweet Lavender and the Attar of Roses scented geranium that arrived in two inch pots are now in 23-inch pots and going strong.
I highly recommend MVG for plant quality and customer service. |
| Positive | dmac085
Greensboro, NC
(Zone 7a)
(27 reviews)
September 22, 2007 | I wanted some more of some soft metal plant tags which attach with a wire tie like some I had recieved on plants I had received in a co-op. A couple of places to find them were mentioned and I ended up purchasing from Mountain Valley Growers. My order arrived in a reasonalbly fast amount of time, neatly packaged and exactly what I ordered. I'll be ordering from them again. Very pleased. |
| Negative | guru20
Napa, CA
(1 review)
September 19, 2007 | This was my first time ordering from Mountain Valley Growers.
The order never arrived.
I was going to place an order at the end of August, but since that was just a few days away from their "Fall Extravaganza", I waited to save a few bucks.
I placed a fairly large order (over $60) on September 1 and received an order confirmation on September 2. There were actually two SEPARATE orders being shipped separately, since one was for plants and one was for terra cotta-style planter pots.
Neither order has arrived. I have received no shipping notice or any other notification. It is now September 19.
I will never do business with this company again and now I must try to get all my money back. What a shame, I was looking forward to having a garden this year.
On September 25th, 2007, guru20 added the following:
So, finally after leaving negative feedback online, I was contacted by Mountain Valley Growers.
They told me that on September 2, they sent an email stating that some of the items I had ordered (which were listed as "In Stock" on their stocklist at the time) were not available and that, in addition, their calculator had miscalculated my prices and had given me an "extra discount" so if I did want to continue with the order, it would be $10 more than their online prices stated.
This is interesting for a few reasons:
1) I never received this email that they claimed they sent. I checked my bulk (spam) box and trash boxes, and it was not there. In addition, I DID get emails that same day confirming my order and saying they would be delivered soon. So clearly there was not a problem with receiving emails from them.
2) When they didn't hear a response from me regarding that email and the changed status, they should have tried to follow up again -- especially considering they had sent a confirmation stating my order would be delivered. They do have my phone number, because they managed to call it (only AFTER I left negative feedback online)
3) After 10 years in the business -- and doing a bulk of business over the Internet -- their online website, calculator, and purchasing processes should be working. (not to mention customer contact methods) There is no excuse for having a service/website as broken as that. If the web technology IS too difficult for them to update to a reasonable standard, then they should make it known on the website and request orders and inquiries by telephone only.
So, after all is said and done... they said they did not charge me since the product was never shipped, but I am left without a garden which I could have easily planted due to Napa Valley's great September weather and "Indian Summer"
I probably will not make a second attempt at a future date because what makes me think they won't mess that one up, too? It's a shame, because they did seem to have an interesting assortment of plants available -- many of the culinary/fragrant variety I would like to have. But I will spend a little more money if I can find a company with proven professionalism.
(this is the second bad experience I've had with California agricultural suppliers, the first being http://www.gmushrooms.com - Gourmet Mushrooms and Mushroom Products. I am also a professional wine, tea, restaurant, and gourmand reviewer for an online website, so I do a fair amount of transactions with such business. These companies will definitely not be reflected well on that site's assessment of them.)
Company representative comment on September 24, 2007:
On Sep 24, 2007 10:36 PM, Mountain Valley Growers added:Unfortunately, this customer ordered plants which were not in stock. To aid customers in this, we publish an in stock list which is located as a hyperlink at the top and bottom of every page. This list is updated every Thursday. Even with a published in stock list, there are times when a plant will still be out of stock because the previous customer may have ordered the entire lot. This is stated on the in stock page.
Our policy, when an item is not in stock, is to notify the customer by email so that they may decide if they wish to continue the order, change the order or cancel the order. In this case the customer also ordered pots, and, since often customers order the pots to go with the plants, we like to wait until we hear back as to what the customer wants to do.
At this point, many customers never get back to us. This is their privilege. We consider it an invasion of their privacy to make uninvited phone calls.
We do not charge credit cards until products are readied for shipment.
It is unfortunate, that Matthew did not receive our first email. According to the time/date stamp on the email, it was sent shortly after his original order. We did check our records and it is interesting that he posted his comment here at Dave's within minutes of checking in with us to see what was going on. He did not even give us time to get back to him, which we did within minutes of his follow up (and before we knew he had posted here at Dave's wonderful garden site). This is standard operating procedure. Our phone call the next day was a sincere effort to take care of his problem.
We get hundreds of orders a day and rely on email to contact customers with any questions we may have regarding their order. We are sorry that Mr. Gudenius did not receive our first email and that he is upset by the events that occurred.
We have been providing quality plants for almost 25 years, but we cannot be responsible for lost emails. We only ask that we be given a reasonable chance to make the order work.
|
| Positive | nancyz32
Faribault, MN
(1 review)
June 01, 2007 | They have such an amazing selection of herbs. I ordered several herbs and flowering plants. All were very healthy when they arrived. Everything is thriving in my garden. They were very upfront about when they would be shipping to my area so I knew exactly when to expect them. It is so great when the things you order arrive in great condition and when expected. |
| Positive | plantophobe
Scottsdale, AZ
(6 reviews)
May 31, 2007 | I love this company...I can't believe they aren't on Dave's top 30 list yet...I'm sure they will be soon.
I've placed at least 4 orders in the last 6 months, and every single time I've been very happy with their healthy plants, the prices, and the quick shipping. Not to mention all the great info and articles on the website. Plus, their site is organized and reliable with the way they update their inventory every week so you can always see whats in stock before you order. (This is definitely the nursery to order from if you have any OCD tendencies...because the plant sizes and the way they package & label everything always looks so neat and uniform. lol.) |
| Positive | lydiaaruba
North Charleston, SC
(2 reviews)
May 01, 2007 | I recently ordered a wide variety of plants and herbs from this company; all arrived quickly, well-packed and healthy, I even had berries blooming on my strawberry plant when I opened the box! All the plants have been transplanted and are thriving. I've been very pleased and will be ordering from them regularly. Thank you! |
| Positive | grampapa
Wheatfield, NY
(Zone 6a)
(8 reviews)
April 28, 2007 | I have ordered from Mountain Valley twice. Their plants are consistently healthy and beautiful, always well-packed, and service is great. They always have good specials running with purchase. Excellent variety of herb plants and a wealth of information about growing herbs. |
| Positive | Happenstance
Fairfield, CA
(Zone 10a)
(18 reviews)
April 11, 2007 | Certified organic herbs and perennials, very prompt delivery, well packed and lovely good sized plants. A good first experience and after looking at their hard copy catalog, I know I'll be ordering again soon! |
| Positive | bmuller
Albuquerque, NM
(Zone 7a)
(19 reviews)
June 26, 2006 | I ordered ten or twelve plants from MVG a month or so ago. All plants (several African blue basils, a society garlic, a Skeleton Rose scented geranium, a lavender, some woolly thyme plants) arrived promptly--well-packed, in good shape, and good-sized--and continue to thrive after having been in my garden for over two weeks. This was my first experience with this company, but I fully intend to order from them again. |
| Positive | Spider07
Lilburn, GA
(13 reviews)
June 08, 2006 | I have just received my order and have to say that my plants are all beautiful and very healthy. I will be ordering from them again. Professional packing and a great catalogue as well.
What a great nursery!
Anna |
| Positive | trackinsand
mid central, FL
(Zone 9a)
(25 reviews)
April 29, 2006 | i'm completely satisfied with my first order from MVG. great communication, professional packing, fast shipping (less than a week) and good prices. 6 vitex for 36.45 including shipping. best of all, the plants were tall and healthy and actually have "trunky" looking stems already. i wish i could post a picture. you would swear that i've had them way longer than two days. |
| Positive | gardeningjen
Tollhouse, CA
(3 reviews)
April 23, 2006 | I have been ordering from MVG for at least 10 years. I have be consistently happy with their products, service and delivery. One year I received someone else's order (presumably they received mine) and was told to keep that order and sent my orginal order. I got the opportunity to plant some things I would have never thought to purchase. This company communicates well with their customers thru e-mail when a problem arrises. I have had problems ordering on their web site and have had to either mail or fax orders in several times. |
| Positive | dovey
Columbus, OH
(Zone 5b)
(9 reviews)
October 12, 2005 | Over the past 4 years I have ordered from M.V.G. many times. I have never once been disappointed.
Sometimes I don't want to grow herbs from seed and sometimes I want more than what is offered from the garden department at our local DIY store.
It's the first place I check.
Organically grown
Fabulous herb selection; with a large collection of Lavender
Excellent customer service
A News Letter with a sense of humour and great information.... who could ask for more?
Dovey |
| Positive | johnsonjrbm
Olympia, WA
(Zone 7b)
(12 reviews)
May 27, 2005 | First-time buyer from MVG. All plants were shipped promptly and properly, and arrived in good shape. They have a number of hard-to-find varieties, and their in-stock list is helpful. Only quibble is that their weekly in-stock update can be a little slow.
I will definitely order from them again.
On November 28th, 2005, johnsonjrbm added the following:
I ordered twice more from MV, and was very happy with the service. Only one plant arrived DOA, and they promptly credited me for it. I will continue to use them instead of Richters for live plants. |
| Positive | Jnette
Northeast, WA
(Zone 5a)
(7 reviews)
May 24, 2005 | Ffirst time buyer of MVG and was very pleased with the service and product. One thing they need to know is that UPS will deliver to a post office box now.
Thanks MVG for a pleasant shopping experience and thanks for your catalog.
Jeanette Smith
On May 25th, 2005, Jnette added the following:
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| Positive | mad4roses
Georgetown, TX
(Zone 8a)
(16 reviews)
December 10, 2004 | Mountain Valley Growers has been in business for many years, consistently providing high quality native plants at a great price. In all my dealings with them, they have been most friendly, helpful and courteous. They are a most conscientious organization.
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| Negative | moosie
Fremont, CA
(1 review)
December 09, 2004 | I have ordered varieties plants from the company. This is the first time I ordered online and thanks to MVG I was left with the horrible nightmare of ordering online. When I received the plants, they all wilted so I let them rest in the original containers and watered them occasionally before they revived and ready for transplanted . They were ok for a few day and they died out. I called the company and got no response back. So I sent them emails to inform the problem. They did not response for awhile until the 18th day of the purchase and replied to me that I was out of the 14th day guarantee. I asked for the refund back since my customer did not want to have their replacement no more. She was very upset and dissappointed with the result. The MVG customer service did not handle the problem professionally and courtesy. I have wasted all my time trying to talk to them about refund or replacement. They only allowed me to reorder with discount. I told them my client not interested in their dead plants so she wanted her money back for she to go to get the plants from local nurseries instead. They refused claimed that on the 14 day guarantee. I don't know what kind of the guarantee is this but I am sure other growers are very conscious about their products and customer satisfaction sure is included in their policy. But not for MVG. And may be they think we were stupid enough not to understand what their warranty was when we complaint and they did not respond until the warranty expeired as they claimed. For me, MVG should think of how to build trust in customer first. Because after all, they just are online business, they might think they can get away with everything. I also reported to the Better Bureau Business, Today I posted my comment for others to read and be cautious when ordering online espcially with company with no responsiblities like Mountain Valley Growers. |
| Positive | lunavox
Seattle, WA
(Zone 8b)
(1 review)
July 26, 2004 | I've been ordering from MVG for years. I have nothing new to add to what's already been said by other reviewers-- I just wanted to add my positive vote. Ordering from MVG has *always* been a pleasant experience, and I'm very thankful that an organic mail-order nursery of this caliber exists! (Try subscribing to their cute newsletter too...it's full of useful info.) |
| Positive | omadonna
(1 review)
April 03, 2004 | I receive MANY plant and seed catalogs every year, but I had never heard of Mountain Valley Growers, and they are in my state. I had looked high and low for a particular plant and could not find it. Then their catalog showed up in my mailbox, and there was the plant I was looking for! I placed the minimum order (6 plants) for basil, oregano, lavender, and 3 different sages. The very next day I received an email from them telling me that the lavender I wanted was out of stock. They directed me to a page on their website to choose another plant (I was able to know right then that the plant I chose was in stock). I thought it was refreshing that they didn't just substitute another plant as some do, or leave me to find out when my order was delivered that it was short, and I told them so in my email. Within the week my plants arrived. They were packaged extremely well and as someone else mentioned, a little cardboard cover over the soil to keep everything together. The plants are healthy and thriving. I will not hesitate to do business with them again. Also included with my order was a duplicate catalog which I was pleased to pass on to my sister-in-law just last night when she said she was having trouble finding a particular herb. Although you must order a minimum of 6 plants, their prices and S/H charges are so low, and the quality so good, it is definitely worth every penny! They have won this customer over. |
| Positive | Halfspied
Star, NC
(Zone 7b)
(2 reviews)
December 08, 2003 | We buy herb plants from Mountain Valley. The plants are healthy and always in good condition. They are packed lovingly. Shipments get from CA to NC very quickly. The people are friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. Their catalog provides lots of useful information. Top-notch. |
| Positive | davenval
(1 review)
September 07, 2003 | I ordered my plants Monday evening online. Tuesday morning I got an email that said the plants would be at my house by the end of the week. My plants arrived Thursday afternoon, in great condition, with planting instructions. I am very impressed with this company. |
| Positive | rbittman
(6 reviews)
June 10, 2003 | I have ordered from this company twice and had an excellent experience both times. Their web site is very informative (although the multiple windows that open are a slight pain), their herb selection is absolutely excellent, their plants are packed perfectly, even with little covers over the pots to keep dirt from spilling. The plants themselves have all been really superior; I don't think they will mail inferior specimens. I would use them again, and again! |
| Positive | Bug_Girl
San Francisco, CA
(6 reviews)
April 27, 2003 | I was very happy to find them as one of the few sources, in fact the only source I could find, for Apricot Blush Foxgloves. They really take time to care for their plants. They arrived very heatlhy. The also have a very large selection of herbs. |
| Positive | greg_jones89
(1 review)
December 17, 2002 | I was very impressed by the plants I received. All were healthy and all survived. Very good place to do business with. I'll order again this coming spring. (2003).
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| Positive | Ivy2001
Cleveland, OH
(1 review)
April 25, 2002 | I was very impressed with my order of plants I just received.The packaging was excellent, and no spilling what so ever.The flowers were in tact, and beautiful and fresh.I do recommend them and my experience for the first time ordering was indeed a pleasure. |
| Positive | ellenhintz_s
(1 review)
February 01, 2001 | I ordered from Mountain Valley Growers several times in 2000 and was always impressed with the variety and quality of their plants and quick service. If you wait for one of their internet specials that have what you want, then order other plants you want, too to meet the 6-plant minimum, the per plant cost is quite low. They had a great "clearance" sale in September, and I got lots at $1 each, along with the minimum order of six plants at the regular price. Shipment is free to 11 western states, so it's a good deal for me in California.Although they don't include planting instructions, I have found MVG very helpful with recommendations and instructions either via e-mail or phone. |
| Positive | Anonymous
(22 reviews)
May 18, 2000 | Well, my order from Mountain Valley Growers (MVG for short) arrived today. I ordered 20 plants of the variety Polygonum Multiflorum (aka Fo Ti),which is a fast growing vine whose leaves are used in some salads and stems and roots used for other herbal purposes. (MVG specializes in herbal plants and all plants come in 3" pots). Apparently, orders from MVG ship at the beginning of each week (a sensible shipping policy to prevent weekend standing IMHO). The invoice date on my order said it was shipped on 5/14/2000 (Sunday) and it arrived today 5/18/2000 (Thursday). Not bad, they came via UPS 3 Day Select and they were very well packaged in a medium sized box with small cardboard skids for the plants (looks like 3 or 4 per skid -- haven't gotten them out yet). The only gripe here was the shipping -- I was a bit surprised to see that they charged $.70 per plant for shipping. When you consider the total at $14 that seems a bit higher than it should be, but not overwhelmingly cost prohibitive. Garden tags were included for each plant as well. The condition of the plants is excellent -- they are all quite green, growing nicely, there are even a few new shoots and leaves sprouting. These are vines and I'd estimate they are around a foot in length already, which is pretty good sized really, especially from a mail order outlet. The cost was $2.89 per plant. As I perused their site I found their pricing to be average to below average which is good. I was minorly disappointed that there were no planting instructions included but we ARE talking about vines here -- doesn't take much to plant a vine. I first placed my order several weeks ago and when it came time to ship (May 7th) my card went over the limit. MVG sent me an e-mail claiming to have tried calling me on the phone although my phone did not ring from them that day (I was home). I called them back to sort it and had a great conversation with a woman who was very knowledgeable about the various herbs (in fact, I ended up doubling my order!). This gave me an opportunity to get to know the "company" a bit and I was very pleased. They're a pretty small operation, as opposed to some of the mammoths out there, but that was not a minus - it was very much a plus. The fact that she knew as much as she did about the plants they sold (including Fo Ti) was impressive.So the end-all-be-all -- I'll give Mountain Valley Growers a 9 out of 10 rating. Pros: Service, product, and packaging were great. Knowledgeable personnel and all plants arrived in good shape; prices are reasonable. Cons: Shipping seems a bit high and no planting instructions were included with the product. |
| Positive | juliewaldman
(1 review)
February 01, 1998 | I ordered about 15 plants from them last year; all did well except for the one my cat destroyed (but they warned about this in their catalog!) I really like the variety that they offer, and everything showed up in very good shape. |
| Positive | martha148
(1 review)
October 01, 1997 | I've ordered from them twice and both times was very happy with the plants. They were packed well, and I received them in good condition (but I am only 150 miles from them, so don't know the conditions further out.) |
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