| Rating | Author | Content |
| Positive | eagleagain1
Midway, KY
(1 review)
August 21, 2009 | I was looking for a special fern for my husband for a gift. Marianne was very helpful and showed me around, asking me questions to help us decide on just the right one. The fern is doing great! A lovely place with very nice staff. |
| Positive | Karyl7b
Dawsonville, GA
(Zone 7b)
(3 reviews)
July 12, 2009 | I placed an order in summer. Plants were well packed, arrived in fine shape and were shipped quickly. They transplanted very well in good soil with plenty of water and are thriving. Shooting Star's customer service was great as well when I had questions. All in all I am quite happy and will buy from Shooting Star again. They carry some nice natives which can be difficult to find.
On September 9th, 2009, Karyl7b added the following:
Update: All of the original plants I ordered from Shooting Star continue to do well. A second order recently arrived and I am equally as pleased. The plants are in great shape with healthy roots and have transplanted with no trouble. They were watered daily at first, which is expected with any plant, and responded well. I will continue to order from Shooting Star. |
| Positive | Almostagardener
Wiggins, CO
(6 reviews)
June 16, 2009 | My first experience with this company has been very positive. I ordered wisteria, elderberry and cranberry plants. The staff was helpful and the plants were healthy, shipped in a timely manner and received in good condition |
| Positive | VirginiaLee2009
Riner, VA
(3 reviews)
May 24, 2009 | I've just received my second order from this company. They have a very large selection of native plants which are hard to find anywhere else. Trees and shrubs are generally rather small, which I consider to be positive rather than negative; small ones seem to settle in better and do just as well in the long run. Everything I have received from them has been in excellent condition and packed well. One tree in the first order had its terminal bud broken off, but the owner assured me that it would recover without any problems, and it did. I'm very satisfied -- this will be where I go first for native plants. |
| Positive | bearcreekpotter
Lawrenceburg, KY
(1 review)
May 11, 2009 | Finally found the trees and herbs I had been looking for at Shooting Star!! I enjoyed touring their landscaping ideas as well as looking at the plants for sale. A nice little outting tucked away in Scott County. |
| Negative | ohioriverboy
Dover, KY
(1 review)
May 04, 2009 | I drove an hour and half to get to the nursery after reading some of the reviews posted here. I did my homework by visiting the web site and making a list of potential plants that I wanted to purchase. When I got to the nursery, I was a little overwhelmed by what I perceived to be a huge lack of organization. When I arrived, no one met me or asked if I needed help to find anything. I had to go ask around and find someone to help me locate specific items on my list. There were no signs for designated areas or a site map to tell me what was what, and I found myself aimlessly wondering the site. I was frustrated.
Once I found someone (Tina) to help me, I asked for a price list because none of the plants were price labeled. She explained that the prices on the print-out were the shipping prices which were normally for tiny seeling trees. To get the "real" price of a larger tree, one had to add about 5 dollars for every six or seven inches of tree height. So basically I had to guess for pricing. I was further frustrated.
This was NOT the excellent service that I had read about and driven so far to receive. Basically I got the impression that I was being a burden to the busy nursery staff.
That aside, the plants looked healthy and I was bound and determined to buy a few things after driving the distance. So I loaded up my little wagon and found the check-out building (although I really had no idea what my plants were going to cost me). Tina checked me out by looking at each plant and saying, "oh this a good one, that's a tall one, and you picked out some strong plants!" Then she told me the price which I thought was a little high (compared to Lowes or Home depot), but not outrageous.
The one positive about my experience was that they had plants that I haven't been able to find at some of the commercial stores. That being said, I will probably not return to Shooting Star.
Company representative comment on May 06, 2009:
On May 6, 2009 2:05 PM, Shooting Star Nursery responded with:Before replying to our recent negative rating on this web site; I wanted to sleep on it. We have always been a shipping company first and foremost; the most important aspect to us is healthy plants. Our plants have such diverse needs, we have to over winter them grouped together according to their needs, not ours. Once we catch up with shipping plants to spring customers, (some having waited months for their plants to get to them at planting time) we get more organized.
We have added limited retail sale days just in the last few years because our customers have requested them, but we always welcome and encourage them to make an appointment if individual guidance and design help is needed.
What appears as a complete disaster of organization on our part; pretty much actually is! We are currently growing over 1000 different plants and we have them spread out everywhere. We grow our own plants; meaning we have many stages of the same plant, from seedling to one of several years of age. This number can range in the hundreds for each stage of each plant and again this means grouping each plant stage together according to their needs (shade, sun, and water) not ours. To make things more difficult most plants needs change as they mature; this means a new grouping in a different part of the nursery. (Yes we are constantly moving plants around.)
I agree, we need to have better signage for our plants. We do have for most of them and are doing our best to get them out on the plants. Pricing on trees is difficult, that is my fault, there just has not been time to go out and mark each plant. No matter what you hear about permanent markers, they only last about 3 to 6 months then fade into obscurity.
As many small business owners try to be competitive with big box stores, especially with pricing, I have to be honest and say we just cannot compete.
The working people at Shooting Star are the best that anyone could ever hope for. As far as I am concerned we all own this little place together and it shows in their enthusiasm and enjoyment to be here, working in all kinds of weather. I am afraid it is just a fact that we cannot wait on every customer for the whole time they are at the nursery when we are open for retail sales. We do our best to check back with them, some need more help than others. We encourage making an appointment for those that know they will need individual attention. Many customers do not want our help; they would rather explore for awhile then get back to us. I can only assume that is what happened in your case. I greatly apologize for any perceived slight; that is certainly not what we are about.
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| Positive | alchemy_1300
Pittsburgh, PA
(Zone 6a)
(7 reviews)
April 20, 2009 | I have to give Lisa a excellent mention here as the company will honestly work with you on certain things and I deeply respect those type of people who still have that policy of standing behind your word, and even though I am embarrassed as all heck over my debit card I want everyone to know about how flexible and honest this company is.
Leigha Witkowski |
| Positive | Got_Lost
Thomasville, GA
(4 reviews)
February 06, 2009 | November 2008. Ordered 4 milkweeds (Asclepias) and one Goldenrod. Items were well packaged. Shipped quickly. Exactly as described. I would not hesitate to order from this company again. |
| Positive | CorgiLover
Ashland, NH
(1 review)
May 15, 2008 | I just received my first order from Shooting Star and am very pleased. The plants were packaged very well, were good sized for the $$ and in excellent condition.
I will certainly order from them again.
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| Positive | PAMSPACE
Temperanceville, VA
(Zone 7a)
(3 reviews)
April 16, 2008 | I ordered three Washington Hawthorns from Shooting Star, because they had the best prices with shipping. The three trees arrived promptly and in excellent shape. They were all starting to leaf out. Could not be more pleased. Will order from them again. |
| Positive | lissyrae
Old Hickory, TN
(1 review)
December 19, 2007 | This summer I ordered 2 shrub and several perennials. The order came incredibly fast, and I was very pleased with the packaging. None of the plants were broken or crushed, despite the delivery person just basically throwing in the boxes in the general direction of my porch. The only problem was that they had shipped me the straight species Itea shrub, and not the cultivar I had ordered. However, they promptly shipped me the correct shrubs. The plants were a great value for what I paid. Will order again! |
| Positive | CaptMicha
Brookeville, MD
(Zone 7a)
(27 reviews)
November 11, 2007 | My purchase from Shooting Star was satisfactory.
I purchased a Canadian Yew from them. They were the only company who carries it.
While the root ball was small, I wasn't too disappointed because A) I had a very shallow area to plant and B) The plant was robust and is doing very nicely.
The prices were a little on the high side for my taste, for the size you receive.
I would probably purchase from Shooting Star again if they are the only source for something I need.
Communication was very good.
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| Positive | indianna
Bloomington, IN
(1 review)
October 16, 2007 | Three weeks ago I went to Shooting Star (3.5 hr drive each way) because I only want native species (no hybrid cultivars, no exotics) and I was having difficulty finding them locally. Yes, I was shocked how small most items were but was truely impressed by the vast choice,reasonable price, and health of their plants. When buying items like giant wood ferns (mature size 3-6'), it's peachy to take home a whole forest in a small Toyota. Natalie willingly pulled out many individual trees or shrubs until I found one or a group with the conformation that I wanted. I was picky and demanding; the staff were always helpful and friendly. My only regret was not buying more! |
| Negative | Cearbhaill
Russell, KY
(Zone 6b)
(8 reviews)
October 13, 2007 | It's difficult for me to decide how to rate Shooting Star, so it had to be neutral by default.
The plants were small.
I know on the homepage it states the 3½-4½" container size so the size of the plants should be understood beforehand, but some of my plants were small even for that. A few of them (the Roseshell and Carolina Azaleas and the Redbud "trees") should have been labeled "rooted cuttings" because that is what they are- small rooted cuttings.
So on the positive side they are very cheap and a good variety of hard to find native plants. Marie was more than helpful to me and responded quickly to email questions even after I expressed my concerns with plant sizes.
Shipping was extremely fast and the packaging was done very well. I am happy that a nursery is interested in preserving our natives and providing me with a source so I want to support them with my business.
But all of these positives were tempered by my extreme disappointment when I saw the plants themselves. I've shopped online for plants for years and these were by far the smallest and raggediest I have ever received. It was a fair amount of money for such a small pile of plants- I just stood there wondering how I was going to justify the cost to my husband.
If everything lives I will come back and perhaps change or ammend my comments. But when we plant some of these plants this weekend we are going to have to cage them simply to remember where they are and not mistake them for weeds.
So order in good faith but understand that you will could possibly receive very tiny cuttings.
On April 30th, 2008, Cearbhaill changed the rating from neutral to negative and added the following:
Update Spring 2008- a large percentage of my tiny plants did not survive the winter. I notified Shooting Star Nursery in the hopes that they would at least offer me a credit of some sort on replacement plants, even offering to buy additional items to help offset the shipping and other costs. I never received the courtesy of a reply.
With the plethora of good vendors who actually stand behind their plants, I see no need to spend any more money with those that do not. This is a huge disappointment to me as I had hoped to do an entire garden of natives.
Guess not.
Company representative comment on October 13, 2007:
On Oct 13, 2007 11:01 AM, Shooting Star Nursery added:Dear Cearbhaill, Sorry that you did not like your plants! Yes they are small, but none were reproduced from cuttings; all were grown from seed. The Azaleas were over three years old, short (5" aabove ground) well rooted but multibranched and fully leaved out. Because the redbud were small, which I said they would be, giving exact height to the customer when ordering, we sent an extra plant at no charge. They were all well rooted in their pots. (They grow very rapidly and should be several feet tall next year.) The time and care involved to get some of these plants to a size that will grow on for our customers is certainly not reflected in our prices. Cheep is a word that is never used here, we try to make our plants accesable for those who do want to use natives. The image of someone opening a box and being disapointed is a hard image to shake, that is not our intent. We want every one to be as excited and pleased to receive as we are to send them. Marianne |
| Positive | janerobie
Malden, MA
(2 reviews)
September 29, 2007 | I ordered a Dutchman's Pipe and two Bearberry plants. The nursery held off mailing until the weather was cool enough. The plants arrived well packed and in very good shape. They're all now planted in my garden and are doing well. I'd definitely order from Shooting Star again. |
| Positive | sadie_mae
Central, KY
(Zone 6b)
(42 reviews)
September 13, 2007 | I just received my 1st order from Shooting Star (3 Lonicera sempervirens) and they are very large and in excellent condition!! I'm making a list of more native plants that I "need" to add and will hopefully be able to make a trip to the nursery next spring. |
| Positive | joylily514
Staunton, VA
(2 reviews)
June 19, 2007 | Shooting Star is an exceptional nursery and mail order plant source. Their stock is the hardiest and largest of any company I have ordered from and I have ordered from many over the last 15 years. The packing is excellent, shipping is very fast and the communication on order status is the best I have ever received. The company gets a big A++++++++. |
| Positive | SallyMom
The Villages, FL
(1 review)
May 24, 2007 | I am new to gardening. I ordered trumpet honeysuckle, and received personal support, several positive communications and, very quickly, two healthy and well packed little plants.
The entire transaction was excellent, and I recommend this company. |
| Positive | Hostafarian
Etna, CA
(14 reviews)
May 20, 2007 | Friendly folks, nice plants well packed. |
| Positive | mickeyj
Staten Island, NY
(2 reviews)
April 05, 2007 | I've ordered from a few native nurseries and I rate these as one of the better ones. This is their first year accepting orders online and while there have been some glitches, they are quick to answer e-mails (BIG +) and are very pleasant on the phone (ditto). They apparently packed my order so quickly I was almost unable to add a plant, but fortunately they read my mind and did it for me before I called. They have an excellent selection and an extensive plant list. Lately I have been trying to go with plants native to my area (as cataloged in 1879) and they had quite a few (too many :)) plants I could buy. |
| Positive | BoyneFallsMI
Boyne Falls, MI
(1 review)
January 26, 2007 | I have ordered from Shooting Star Nursery three times since 2003. Their catalog is well organized with excellent discriptions of each item as well as zone, light and soil requirements. Their web site is easy to use and includes all of the above information plus colored pictures.
Each shipment I received was well packed, all plants were labeled and all arrived in good condition.
I have very sandy soil and am frequently away for several days at a time. The few plants that I have lost I blame on my lack of care, deer or rabbits.
I am enjoying the wonderful shapes, colors and scents of the different plants I have received. I highly recommend Shooting Star Nursery to anyone who wants to try something unique or those who choose to stay with traditional plants. |
| Positive | mymoe444
(1 review)
January 04, 2007 | I ordered some New England Asters and was very pleased with the purchase. I found the company to be very helpful and friendly. I wouldn't hesitate order from Shooting Star again. |
| Positive | postoak7
Statham, GA
(Zone 7b)
(4 reviews)
December 18, 2006 | I've ordered from Shooting Star several times, and each time have been happy with both the service and the plants I've received. I've had better luck with their perennials than their shrubs, but that's true in general with me and mail-order shrubs.
On the perennials, I've got 100% survival at one year. Shrubs I've been closer to 50/50. Again, that probably means I need to do a better job of keeping the shrubs watered while they get established. |
| Negative | potawotami
South Bend, IN
(1 review)
May 30, 2006 | I ordered an Allegheny serviceberry which was beautiful and sturdy and doing fine after being planted.
Two out of three of the wild ginger I ordered are likewise thriving.
The other wild ginger was DOA.
The two Solomon Seal I ordered arrived with their main stems broken, and rapidly died.
The plants didn't seem to have been packed securely. It's entirely possible that this is only a mail-order problem. I regret giving such a negative review, becuase the woman was so friendly on the phone. However -- an almost 50% failure rate is pretty dismal.
Company representative comment on February 10, 2007:
On Dec 28, 2006 4:21 PM, Shooting Star Nursery responded:I was disappointed to see potawotami's rating on this order. We get so busy in the spring that I did not have time to review your web site, which I wish I had. Please call if an order is not what you expect when it arrives. We will work with you. Shipping can indead be hard on plants and we do try to package them to survive the journey, but every so often they just do not make it. I hope you try again potawotami and please mention your order. I have pulled it and have it out by the phone. Marianne |
| Positive | RickN
Louisville, KY
(1 review)
May 20, 2005 | I've been purchasing plants from them for 3 years and always a positive experience. Great group of folks to do business with. Their new location is tremendous. |
| Positive | GoneNative
Franklin, TN
(2 reviews)
April 08, 2005 | We just received our order. The plants look to be in fine shape, and each specimen is labeled - some vendors only label one of each specimen. We would have liked to receive a confirmation of the order when it was placed. |
| Neutral | Ewald
Limerick, PA
(Zone 6b)
(15 reviews)
October 06, 2003 | I ordered two $7 Rhododendron calendulaceum and one $8 Hamamelis virginiana, plus $5 shipping. They were out of the H. virginiana (Common Witch Hazel), but shipped the two R. calendulaceum (Flame Azalea)- which were about 1" tall in 4" pots. They did not clearly indicate the size on their site.
Note: they did apologize for being out of the Witch Hazel, and service was very fast - I believe they shipped the day I placed the order. The plants seemed healthy.
Actually, they did indicate the size of the pots on the website - mine were 3 1/2". Although I was disappointed in the size of the plants, I have not ordered enough online to get a feel for what to expect for the money. It seems a local nursery would have better plants available, but Shooting Star had a wide variety of native plants that I couldn't find locally. |
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