The scoop on 'Girard Nurseries'

Girard Nursery has provided me with one of the few pleasant mail order experiences this year. Great job, and Thank You. I had almost given up on mail order till this experience.

Originally I felt that the shipping charges were a little high, after seeing my product, and the way that it was shipped, would gladly pay more for that kind of shipping.

I placed the order on Sunday afternoon online. It arrived at my home the following Thursday. It came professionally packed in a large cardboard box. The box was filled with straw on both top and bottom and all around the plants. Plants and soil BOTH were still in their pots, and the soil was still moist. The trees were even a little larger than I expected them to be.

Once again, Thank You for a Pleasant Experience.

6 yrs ago there weren't too many on-line nurseries, at least that I could find. I had to purchase dozens and dozens of azaleas, rhodie and evergreens to take the blank slate of our new homes yard and make it look loved. They were small and inexpensive which is just what I needed. It took years for my little babies to grow as they've fought off deer, what-not and my half grey thumb but I was very pleased then and have since reordered as I embark on new projects for 2008.
Again I must say that I was pleased with their packaging and the quality of the items I received. Will they live to survive next year? Only time will tell...but I believe they arrived healthy so the rest is up to me..

nice selection.....
I ordered a couple of pine grafts for potential bonsai...
Pine Japanese White 'Ei-ko-nishiki' and Pine Japanese White 'Ibo-Can' ....
Both were small (as advertised ) and healthy....
good communication thru email....
looks good so far....

Very disappointed in their service...I built a new house in 2005 and spent nearly $2000.00 in 2006 at Girard Nursery for my plants and shrubs for landscaping. They indicated that ALL of their products are guaranteed for one year.

I had a a problem with their George Peabody Arborvitae's with a number of them not making it through the winter. Additionally, I also had a Weeping Larch die as well.

I contacted the company in April of this year, and they said no problem, we'll be out to replace them. No one showed, so I called again in June. Same response, "we'll be out, been very busy." In July I called them again, this time they stated that they do not come out my way very often and I will have to wait due to gas prices! (I only live twenty minutes east of them.)

Well, here it is in October, and I've heard nothing from Girard's and I'm still waiting for them to take care of the problem.

Very disappointed and frustrated with them, considering the amount of money that I spent at their business. I will most definitely not do business with them in the future, and would warn others to be very wary of their lack of service after the sale in standing behind their products.

I have visited them personally and talked with them many times on the phone. They are a well respected leader in developing azaleas. Some people would complain if you hung them with a new rope, and it is impossible to please everyone all of the time. Sometimes when a plant fails it is not the fault of the nursery but the gardener. I`ve had more than my share of failures due to fickle climate in my region, but I keep trying and enjoy the challenge

I ordered one plant on Jun, they billed me.

On July asking when will ship, they said on September when cooler. I also asked some other question about the plant, no reply.

In early Sept, I asked if plant ready to ship, no reply. Send 2nd message in late Sept, no reply, called them afterwards to push.

About week later, I got email (on early October) saying, plant sold out and will get refund.

In conclusion: Plant may be super, but communication is bad, and they should bill when ship. When you are buying from web, you need quick response by nursery, not just waiting for nothing. I will not buy anymore with this kind of nursery that you never know if you can have your goods or not. It is their obligation for delivery my goods when charged me, not simply delay and fail.
Get confirmation, before you pay.

Wow! My plants arrived today and I couldn't be more pleased. Great shipping and packing. Nice prices and very good sized plants. Terrific!
Thanks,
Sue from Indiana

we ordered a golden spanish fir and a variegated weeping alaskan cedar (1-gallon sizes). both trees arrived UPS very well packed in straw and are of very good quality. we will order again in the fall.

This past fall I ordered twice from Girards. The second time because I was pleased with the first order.
Got pines and spruces, all had/have good roots with plenty of soil. Will get more in the spring. Do wish they had more photos on the site.

I ordered several young conifers and received them as expected. Trees were pretty much what was described, so I was happy. Their website can be a bit flaky once in a while when you search for stuff, but the trees were fine.

In years past (1977-84) when Girard's was run by the original owner, the plants were simply outstanding in size, roots, shipping, etc. But alas with his death and the arrival of his children to run the nursery (and more mouths to feed), the shipped plants have become very, very small with minimum roots. The prices have remained reasonable, but I no longer recommend this site since there are alternative nurseries for the same products.

After last winter's low temperatures (-9 for a couple of nights), the only azaleas that did well for me were the Girards. During the summer I called them for a catalog (free) and placed an order. The azaleas were small (4-8"), cheap (3 for $5.50), and healthy. One-gallon azalea bushes were also available at 3 for $19.00. They had 17 varieties of their evergreen azaleas which take temperatures of -10 to -15 according to the catalog. There are also Girard rhododendrons and deciduous azaleas in the catalog. I ordered some but haven't seen how they would do over a cold winter yet. My goal was tough little azaleas at a reasonable price, so I was completely satisfied.Their catalog also features bonsai beginner evergreens as well as various trees, shrubs, small evergreens, and some perennials. It has color photos. The descriptions of plant hardiness are detailed for the azaleas & rhododendrons but not for the rest. I haven't had occasion to call they back with any questions, so I don't know about telephone advice. The woman I spoke to originally seemed knowledgeable about weather, shipping dates, azalea peculiarities.