The scoop on 'St. Lawrence Nurseries'

I have been ordering from St. Lawrence Nurseries for a few years now because of their quality and hardiness. There has never been any problems with their stock. Everything sent was extremely well packaged and arrived in good condition. This spring I ordered 2 apple trees and 2 types of Juneberries, all of which are growing well- the Juneberries have really shot up fast. Deer managed to knock over one of the apple trees' protective mesh cages and badly chomped the seedling; we were afraid it was a goner, but it has leafed back out and is growing well. We are slowly reclaimng an old farm and orchards, and plan on using St. Lawrence for future tree purchases.

I have ordered from St. Lawrence twice now. The first time was last Spring and now I am a returning customer. This alone should tell anyone that my experience with St. Lawrence was a good one.

Last spring I bought a cherry, which leafed out but shortly thereafter died. I emailed the owner and was asked to describe what had happened. I offered to pay for or split shipping on a replacement, but he wouldn't accept anything, replacing the tree last fall (it looks great and is close to breaking dormancy now)

This Spring I again ordered from him, this time two other cherry varieties. St. Lawrence offers plants that are difficult to find elsewhere and their shipping is very effective (though a little intimidating to open for the first time.)

As long as I have room I will likely keep St. Lawrence one of the first places I look when preparing my orders each spring.

~Chills

After two years of failure in Idaho trying to grow heirloom apple trees from a California nursery I learned about St Lawrence and ordered 10 trees. They arrived well packaged and in good shape and have done well through one growing season so far. Initially I didn't send enough money for postage, so I got a phone call from a very pleasant young-sounding lady requesting another $15 or so. It appeared she was a family member. While I had her on the phone I asked a specific question regarding my site (6000 feet, zone 3). She wasn't sure exactly how to respond but while I waited she asked and then reported a detailed and helpful answer. This brief conversation with an apparent teenager who was not only interested in horticulture but obviously committed to customer service, a real contrast from some young people, was worth paying the extra shipping charge.

As a former employee, my knowledge is first-hand. The general giste of all the comments I reviewed was about what I experienced as a manager over ten years ago. The MacKentley's attention to detail and personal involvement is definitely amazing. ALL customers get this treatment, no matter the size of the order. A big factor some of you may not be aware of is that all orders, once shipped, are not always treated kindly by the people handling them. The packages are tossed, bumped, overheated or frozen enroute to their destinations. I remember packages (which we took GREAT CARE in putting together) coming back smashed into pieces or "cooked" inside to a smelly mush. As with any business, all factors cannot be perfectly controlled. You would be hard pressed to find a company who truly believes in their convictions or pays more personal attention to what their customers want. Our policy was the customer is always right. I recall replacing the same orders repeatedly, even though we suspected the customer was doing something wrong, year after year. That's when the planting guides were developed. We could do everything on our end right, only to have improper planting or care kill what we spent 3-4 years preparing. Having planted over 10,000 trees and plants yearly at the nursery, I believe the biggest culprit in mortality is improper planting and care on the customer's end. Think of how a seed must force the growing root through the soil. That root's surface then expands and "fattens" over time, keeping intimate contact with the surrounding soil at all times. Now, take it out of the ground with a shovel,(hopefully during dormancy), and send it off to Joe Farmer and he gently places it in an oversized hole and scoops fresh-turned top soil onto the roots. Next comes the water, sprayed on (the worst!) or dumped on with a bucket. That water follows the surface down under the soil, creating an air space between root surface and soil, effectively starving the tree. When a tree dies, grab the trunk and lift. If the tree slides out easily, you didn't plant it correctly. Grab a wild tree and try to pull it out of the ground and you'll see what I mean. They are anchored. When planting, don't be afraid to pack that fresh soil onto the roots. I weigh 250 lbs and I really use my body weight to firm the soil. Of course, you can overdo this, but you get the giste. Lastly, trees want to live and grow like any other living thing. Treat them right and they will flourish for generations to come. They are actually hard to kill. I hope my comments will help. Good luck to all.

I've ordered from St. Lawrence regularly for years, because they give me the cultural, hardiness and harvest date information I need to succeed in my central Alaskan location, and the stock I've received from them has always been stout and healthy. Their catalog, staff and website make dealing with them an anticipated spring pleasure. My crabapples, plums, currants, gooseberries and raspberries are in bloom, and look better than the cultivars growing in a more favorable location at the Univ. of Alaska's Agricultural Experiment Farm nearby (from other nurseries) - I told them about St. Lawrence, maybe they'll have better success in future!

Ordered several plants -- hazelberts, juneberries, highbush cranberry, elderberry. All arived in 10 days from mail order, and before they even cashed the check! Everything all showing growth after 5 days in ground. Amazing. Great condition. Sent along 50 page growing guide.

I ordered several different currants and roses from St. Lawrence this spring. All plants arrived in excellent shape, some of them much bigger than I expected. All but one rosa rugosa are doing great after planting (and I have only myself to blame for the rugosa's misfortune). I had a question about their delivery timeframe and both my call and my email were answered promptly.

After reading the other posted comments and ratings, I am apalled by how my experience pales in comparison. Unfortunately, I found these people to be slow to respond to e-mails, [sometimes 2-3 weeks, if at all], no phone call the day of shipment, and no 'instruction booklet'. I ordered 35 apple trees of unusual varieties to add to my collection of 125 HEALTHY varieties. This property also has 9 old, [over a century, by most estimates], apple trees that are also still quite healthy. 34 trees arrived, with no mention of the discrepancy, or any comment regarding a refund. Of the trees that did arrive, 14 of them showed advanced anthracose infestation, 11 showed signs of various bark breakdown, [flaking and peeling away from the wood with unviable buds along these spaces, and distal to them], 7 of them showed signs of rodent damage at the base, [some older, and some recent], and one had dead wood at the top 2 inches, with another fungal infection. The local extension agent advised against putting these trees in the orchard, and I agree. Pitty, as the time and expense of preparing for them is all a waste....They have some unique apple varieties that, unfortunately, will no longer have a place in my orchard.
I have had much better experiences with Big Horse Creek, Urban Homestead, Maple Valley Orchards, Century Farm Orchards....I would highly recommend any of them, but cannot recommend St. Lawrence Nurseries after this sad experience.

I ordered eight fruit trees from this company and all were quite satisfactory and performed well their first summer. I wish I had heeded their ample trunk protection warnings before snowfall; somehow I forgot to do it and paid the price with all but two with rodent damage and one completely girdled. The black raspberries didn't do much but am hopeful for growth this year.

We placed a large order last fall, including cherries, raspberries, lingonberries and chokecherries. The plants arrived today and are beautiful. They are large and well branched and just starting to bud out. They also included detailed planting instructions.

I highly recommend this company!

I got some beautiful healthy looking trees in the mail today.. I'm very excited. They also sent an instruction booklet! and the trees were packed better than anything I've seen..

I would order from them again.

I have bought from this company over the past 12 years and it has always been a positive experience. The plants are healthy and well packaged upon arrival, the owners are most helpful, and everything grows very well.

Due to the positive reviews here I ordered two plums from St. Lawrence and was shocked at how quickly they arrived. I had made a mistake in my order, thinking I needed two different pollinator types instead of two of the same - they corrected that instead of blindly filling the order, for which I am incredibly grateful. The trees are lovely, taller and healthier than I'd imagined. The instruction booklet is priceless. I heartily recommend St. Lawrence and am so glad Dave's pointed me to them.

I placed my first order with this company after hearing good reviews from coworkers & a warning from my local nursery. the plants arrived at the end of April (a little late in my book) and had started to leaf out. One of the four plants had a wonderful root size and was as large as described. The others were pitiful--especially the currants that were advertised as 1-2 ft in actuality were 8" sticks with a few roots hanging off the lower 4 inches. Hopefully they will survive....have serious doubts though.

Everything that I have gotten from St. Lawerence has been exceptional. The Red Rasberries were bountiful this year, the Roses are hardy. The goose berries and siberan pea shrub have been hardy and fun. The Bali Cherry tree and apple have a couple of years yet, but the are strong. Everything came packaged well. There is long life in all the plants that I have gotten. I Highly recommend them. The price for this quality, care and dedication to the nursery, and the people take care of you is inexpensive. I intend to order with them again! Rene

I ordered 20 hazelbert trees from this nursery. They seemed just a little pricey but what arrived were large well rooted plants which were also sensibly packaged. These were not thin whips, but good sized stock. Now that they are planted, almost all are leafing out now. The real test will be the winter but from the comments below, I expect good results.

I have never ordered from this company before so I started w/ a small order to test the waters. I ordered a half dozen blueberries and an apple tree. I needed them to ship so it would arrive close to the weekend because I live 200 miles from where I was planting them. Not only was the comunication by email good, they personally called me on the day they shipped to let me know that the package was on its way and when to expect it. It arrived as promised and the plants looked great. It even came with a nice planting guide for the novice. About the only thing I didn't like, was they don't take credit cards. I like the protection that you get when using a credit card. As a result you are bound to money orders or check. But, from my experience, I wouldn't hesitate to place an order w/ them in the future. It is really nice to deal with a nursery that caters to the northern grower. My garden is on the zone 3/4 border and hardiness is a must. Apparently all there plants are grown in zone 3 climate. That should prevent the disappointment that happens after a test winter and you lose some of your prize plants.

Received a very well packed order of excellent stock on April 1, 2005 - as requested - for my zone 3/4 orchard.

St. Lawrence Nurseries has very high quality cold hardy fruiting trees and bushes. I have ordered from them a number of times, and everything I have order is alive and flourishing. These are some of the highest quality plants that I have ever received via mail order. I live in Wyoming and their products are great for our climate.

Last year I bought ten Hazelenut trees from St Lawrence Nurseries. Since I picked them up at the nursery, I was able to meet some of the folks and see their business. This place is run by wonderful, friendly, happy people and a pleasure to deal with in every way. Even though I was picking up my trees, they were bundled and in the cooler waiting for me. The trees have done very well and produced nuts (a few) the same summer. The trees were large, healthy and vigorous. Over the summer I did lose one of the trees (standing water) but I don't want to tell them because they would probably replace it regardless.
This year I am ordering grapes, juneberries, gooseberries, blueberries and eldeberries. Can't wait.

Got my first order from St. Lawrence and all three plants (pear, cherry, currant) are big, vigorous and beautiful! The instruction manual was very helpful since we have never planted fruit in the fall. They were good about communicating, shipping went smoothly and I can't wait to order again in the spring from their many varieties of cold hardy and unusual edibles!

I've been ordering from these guys for about 10 years and have always been satisfied. The selection of Apples especially is excellent, but they also have Pears, Plums, Blueberries, Juneberries, and lots of other neat stuff. The selections change slightly from year to year, with new varieties added, some deleted, and some deleted types returning in later years. The packaging is great and the trees & shrubs healthy and ready to grow. I once told them something I had ordered the previous year didn't make it but without asking for a replacement (cause it might have been my fault) and they sent a new one! On a scale of one to ten, I'd give them atleast a twelve.

I placed my first order with SLN this winter after reviewing their catalog for a year. They do not have an 800# nor do they take credit cards, but it is not a problem, I ordered anyway because they had the trees I was looking for. My fruit trees and grapes arrived at the most appropriate planting time in my far northern MN area. The trees were large, well wrapped and appear to be very healthy, the prices are reasonable and the selection of hardy organic plants is very good. I strongly recomend this company for northern and southern gardeners who appriciate a good value and strong healthy plants. Thank you SLN and Garden Watchdog.

I found these people to be helpful, responsive and informative. Their selection is somewhat limited, but I was attracted by the cold hardiness necessary for any plant which starts its life in extreme northern NY state. My order was shipped on time, contained what I ordered, and included excellent planting instructions. Recommended.

In February, I ordered a bush cherry (only two companies in the U.S. carry them that I could find). Although travelling from NY to western Washington State, the shrub was huge and healthy. Excellent customer service and instructions. I will do business with them again.

This is a great place to get cold-hardy trees. I am only in zone 5 but that is cold enough that I tend not to trust nursery stock from the Big Guys because they're just not as hardy and poor quality ... and I wanted trees that were used to cold winters and which would bloom late. I ordered 12 raspberries, 4 trees (2 apple, 2 cherry) and a serviceberry this year-- all arrived on time and alive and all are showing growth 2 weeks after planting. All are in great shape. Plus, their catalogue is great and they have a whole lot of wildish native things that you can't get elsewhere. Plus they are a small company not overloaded by orders-- good customer service -- and they've got a great planting guide. OH, and the prices are good. I will order many more trees in upcoming years from these people. They're organic and ethical and I highly recommend them.

Two years ago, I ordered several plum trees and bush cherries (which, by the way, are very difficult to find) from this company. They arrived right on time, and while very small and spindly-looking, settled right in and started to grow. They weathered the winter without any problem at all, and just took off.

Their catalog is focused entirely on truly cold-hardy plants, a blessing for those of us in very cold areas (I'm in MN). I have had the experience of ordering so-called hardy plants from nurseries in warmer areas (MO, OR) and had them be unable to take the cold here. They also raise their plants without artificial fertilizers, a factor that I believe makes the plants more willing to grow in less-than-ideal places.

Note: You have to order very early in the "spring", when it's probably still snowing and your mind is not on planting trees. But it's worth it.

Last year I ordered two apple trees from St Lawrence Nurseries and have been very happy so far. The trees arrived in great condition and have been thriving so far. The catalog is very concise and the people I talked to on the phone were very knowledgable. I also appreciated the detailed and practical planting guide that arrived with the trees. I would also like to mention that this is a great place to get cold hardy trees.

I've ordered currants and blueberries from St. Lawrence Nurseries. I have found them friendly and helpful, both by e-mail and in their informative catalog. They have an excellent selection of "half-high" blueberries, and advice on spacing, planting, and cultivation. (It is geared towards the northern grower, though.) The bushes I received were large and healthy (barefoot), and arrived on a Friday preceding excellent planting weather.

I have ordered from SLN a couple times. Prices seem a bit above average, however they have shipped when I asked and have viable (but bare root stock). All-in-all I am happy with my orders.

Bill MacKentley and family run this nursery, specializing in fruits, berries and nuts for growers in northern climates. SLN has a good selection of apples, pears, cherries, and plums, as well as lesser known fruits such as saskatoons (juneberries), mulberries, walnuts, and bur oaks. I've been pleased with the quality of plants I've ordered from SLN, and prices are comparable to any of the other fruit nurseries I've ordered from.