The scoop on 'Gurney's Seed & Nursery'

Feedback History and Summary   166 positives 67 neutrals 166 negatives

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Rating Author Content Negative bzeau (1 review) On May 14, 2008, bzeau Bow, NH wrote: Ordered shrubs, plants and seeds online. Coupon offer was rejected. Seeds were shipped promptly but fewer than the "30" per packet (did have prompt service to replace). Then phlox plants arrived: dead. Shrubs were to ship by early May; but when checking order status, I saw my order was canceled. Over 10 days I sent 3 emails to cust. service; NO RESPONSE. When I phoned (no 800 no.!); on hold 8 mins., then told: well, they had sold out, so my order was canceled; and that I "would be getting a postcard" telling me that---(this, 7 weeks after my order, which I placed ONLINE where they had my email). Note: they had a shrub promotion of the variety I ordered AFTER I placed my order. No apologies, no replacements, no excuses, unbelievable. Some of the worst service I have ever experienced. Meanwhile, it is too late to order what I want locally. When I asked if Gurney was a member of BBB or Chamber of Commerce, the Customer Service Person "did not know." Glad I found you: Caveat emptor. Negative blufour (2 reviews) On May 14, 2008, blufour Cantril, IA wrote: I wrote a review recently for my experience with Breck's Bulbs and now I have the same type of experience with Gurney's. I have been gardening for a lot of years and mostly my experiences with gardening companies has been good. I am seeing a trend here. So many of them are connected. These companies supposedly have a gaurantee for lifetime. BUT, if you have too many failures they apparently get suspicious of you. I had emailed Breck's last year regarding failed Day Lilies and received seperate answers, one saying I would get replacements, one saying I would not and stated that I was not a good match for their company. Now I have received the same email from Gurney's! Word for word the same email except for filling in some information! I am "not a good match for them", I have had so much percent of failures. I realize I have had more than normal amount of failures but I'm beginning to think it has more to do with the companies than me. In the past the only time I had trouble was when I ordered from the cheap places like Michigan Bulb. Now I get plants from Gurney's and they seem to struggle to grow. I don't get it. I have enough experience at my age that to get an email like that is an offense and makes me feel like they distrust me. Positive Lil_Bitty (1 review) On May 13, 2008, Lil_Bitty Lonsdale, MN wrote: This has been my second year ordering from Gurney's and I have had great service. Last year I ordered english aster and bee balm. This year I ordered 30 canadian hemlock, 10 japanese yew, 10 caragana, hostas, lilies, and various vegetable seeds. My first order this year I asked the shipment to be shipped in May and it arrived May 5th. The second order I asked to be shipped as soon as possible and it arrived a week before the shipping date on the confirmation. Very impressed. Everything I have ordered has been healthy and grown nicely. Although, you are receiving plants at a pretty cheap cost (compared to local nurseries) that have been packaged and shipped to you. It takes a little work to get them to five star quality. I live in zone 4 and find most of the plants I've ordered to be pretty hardy. Don't order from a mail order company and expect to get what you see in the high buck local nurseries/stores without a little green thumb magic first. Negative gardenback1 (1 review) On May 11, 2008, gardenback1 Seattle, WA wrote: I ordered on 4/25 and in the remarks asked to have shipped quickly as we were ready to plant. As of 5/5, none of my seeds had been shipped. They had shipped the Asparagus on 5/1 or I would have cancelled the order. I called and was told to expect 3-4 weeks. I checked my order status on-line and it says I will receive them 5/6 to 5/10 and they aren't shipped yet. I suggested that their website should state shipping times. The representative had a hard time believing that over 95% of what I order on-line is shipped (not received) within 2 days. She just said that's how long it takes. With something like seeds that one needs to get planted on a certain date, this company should properly quote shipping times. Who would think seeds would be backordered? I just got the seeds and they are all in Gurney's envelopes, no brand names. That's fine as long as they grow well. The big question is, why such a delay when it is their own product. I have ordered hundreds of things on-line and this is the slowest to get something shipped that I've ever faced unless it has been clearly stated on the site that the item was backordered. I'll find somewhere else to buy my seeds next time and read reviews on purchases from now on even for large companies. Negative eanourse (1 review) On May 7, 2008, eanourse Reston, VA wrote: I too fell for the $25 free gimick, and ordered a number of items in March. The seeds arrived ok, along with the lavender (small but ok) and the coneflowers. I ordered three basil plants- one was very dead upon arrival and the other two were rough. I called to ask for one more basil plant to replace the one that was dead, and she did send me another- which was also dead. Apparently these plants don't ship well. I also ordered 12 tomato plants and 6 bell pepper plants. The shipped 6 tomato plants in late April, but according to their own site, I was not due to get the remainder of my tomatoes and peppers until JUNE! I live in Virginia! People start harvesting in JUNE! So I called to cancel the rest of the order, but the rep said they had shipped, so he couldn't cancel it. Which is not true, but he said he was unable to cancel my order. Eventually, after emailing, another service rep did cancel the order, and no, they hadn't shipped. The experience was a pain. They probably aren't bad all the time, but shipping tomatoes and peppers that late in the season is inexcusable. I won't be re-ordering. Positive my5rgr8 (1 review) On May 4, 2008, my5rgr8 Fort Atkinson, WI wrote: I ordered from Gurney an American Elm, diesease resistant, as well as other seeds. I am happy with all. The tree had a great root system, and is now 3 weeks later, leafing out. The seeds have not all been planted, but so far so good. I am very pleased Neutral moosegepp (9 reviews) On May 1, 2008, moosegepp Telford, PA wrote: This the first time I've ordered from this company on the recommendation of my dad whose been ordering from Gurney's for years. I ordered a seedless grape vine and some shallot bulbs. I figured I'd place a small order just in case this company isn't all that great. So far, I've received my grape vine which was really large with very large roots. That's a good sign. It was also tagged with the name of the variety and packaging was okay. We'll have to see if it grows over the next few months. Gurney's said my shallot bulbs are on back order. I really want them for my Earth Box this summer. (Have you seen the price of shallots in grocery stores lately???) Hopefully they will arrive soon. I am rating Gurney's a "Neutral" for now until I get the rest of my order and see what happens with my vine. Positive mcollum83 (5 reviews) On May 1, 2008, mcollum83 Hay Springs, NE wrote: I ordered some strawberries that are supposed to be as big as peaches...I was slightly sad that I couldn't order them in smaller amounts, but I could find room for fifty,so I ordered. The order was sent out on a Thursday...well, first off that is dumb, send my plants out right before the weekend so that they can sit in a post office for a couple extra days! I might add that I placed this order on monday or tuesday morning i believe. Well anyways, the package literally sat in Sharonville, OH in the post office until the next monday, before it even started on its journey, I know this because of the tracking number I was provided. So every day I just kep thinking, they will be dead. And nine days after beginning their journey, the strawberries are here. They are a bit worse for the wear, but they are healthy, and have great root systems, and I planted them immediately. I'm sure that for the most part they will be ok. I'm looking forward to some big strawberries! I would be scared to spend a lot of money here, because I have seen the bad reviews on these companies, but they are worth a try. My experience was good, after I got the package and realized that the plants were safe and sound! Positive mom2boys (1 review) On April 25, 2008, mom2boys Warsaw, IN wrote: Used the "free" coupon and was ready to post clever comments about "you get what you pay for." After all the negative comments on this site, I was shocked. Ordered 25 Ft. Laramie strawberries, received 34. All 34 are doing fantastically (2 or 3 took a little coaxing, but hey...) 136% success - not too shabby! We ordered lettuce seeds and they sprouted 3 days post-planting and it sure looks like most of them germinated. We have okra seeds, too (the expensive variety) but it'll be a while before I've got any feedback on them, way too early. One of the best mail-order experiences ever :-) Negative reeann55 (3 reviews) On April 24, 2008, reeann55 Smyrna Mills, ME (Zone 4a) wrote: On 3/17/2008 I placed an order with this company. Since I live in Northern Maine and we have had a very bad winter, I added a note not to ship until the first week in May. On April 8th they shipped half of my order. 3 Cherry trees to an area of the country that still had 5 feet of snow! I called Gurney's and told them I had put a note not to ship until May, the woman on the phone said the note WAS there but it was too late because it had already been shipped but they would replace it if I couldn't keep it alive for 6-7 weeks indoors. Since there is nothing I can do now, I asked that they don't ship the rest of my order until the requested date of May. Well, I just received an email that the rest of the order was shipped April 23rd! I don't care if they will replace dead plants or not. Who wants to go through all the hassle with a company who will not listen to a requested ship date. Stick a fork in me.....I am done. I will NEVER order from them again. I should have listened to all the negative reviews! Positive Pinkgardens (2 reviews) On April 23, 2008, Pinkgardens Anacortes, WA wrote: I placed an order with this Co. and have had nothing but great results. My order was shipped in three shippments , seeds, then the plants. I used the online coupon and cannot say enough good things about this Co. My strawberry plants look great, the bulbs are big and healthy and my hydranga start is green and lively. I wil order from this Co again in the future. I encourage all online shoppers to remember that we live in an instant age, with high speed everything. But some things still require a human element, and we are all subject to mistakes. HAPPY PLANTING ! Positive Kybeegirls (2 reviews) On April 12, 2008, Kybeegirls Williamstown, KY wrote: For all the negative reviews, I felt obligated to share my recent experience with Gurney's. I bought several fruit trees from them last spring. I nurtured them the best I could yet they died. Thought I would wait and see if they might come back this spring, but unfortunately they did not. I e-mailed them of my predicament. I didn't hear back from them real soon. So I dug up my receipt, ready to make copies, and to take pictures of my dead "sticks" expecting a hassle. But then I was e-mailed back and told my refund was credited back. I called my credit card company and sure enough they had refunded my money--no questions asked. I certainly appreciate the way they refunded me. They seemed to be fair to me. But for the record, I don't think bare root trees are the best way to go as the shock seems to be too much for them. I will try to buy container plants if possible, but I still plan on buying more trees from Gurney's too. Positive Sabrina1978 (3 reviews) On April 11, 2008, Sabrina1978 Gibsonburg, OH wrote: I too, used the 25.00 off coupon. I ordered: two orange butterfly plants -these were bareroot, but not exactly what I expected. I'm hoping they'll do fine. one empire blue butterfly bush- this looks really wonderful and I can't wait to plant it. a josee lilac- this is a little wimpy seeing as it was 19.99 but it looks to be in decent health, already leafed out. a packet of the royal flush sunflowers- I'm going to direct sow these in a few weeks two saskatoon blueberries (order one and get two)- these were bigger than expected, still dormant. a lb of the shade champ grass seed-I've put this in the appropriate area, now waiting for growth. It came in three seperate orders, but I was made aware of this when I made the order. My final part of the order came a smidgen earlier than I would have liked, but all in all I'm satisfied with the products I've ordered and the service I've been given. I will update with any pertinent information. Neutral sarazen (5 reviews) On April 11, 2008, sarazen Glen Rock, PA (Zone 6b) wrote: Gave them a try this spring with coupon. I am up in the air as of now. While the plants that I got do seem healthy, they were VERY small, even for mail order plants. Their shipping was very quick and I did get everything that I ordered, I will just have to wait and see how these grow in before I will know if it was worth it. Negative knexsen (9 reviews) On April 7, 2008, knexsen Virginia Beach, VA wrote: I ordered several items from this company recently. It took quite a while for them to send the items (much longer than other companies I ordered from after this company's order), and when my order finally arrived, half of it was missing (even though the invoice showed they were shipped). The items that WERE sent were all waterlogged. Most of them died within the first week due to root rot. The one item that was dead on arrival (a Purple Horn of Plenty) took them well over a month to replace. There was no notation on my order that the missing items were actually backordered. The site's order status showed the order as shipped complete. The backordered items (a gardenia and a blueberry bush) finally were shipped late, and have already died. I am a proficient gardener, and all my other items from other companies are doing well. This company is awful. I won't purchase from them again. Positive Old_Farmer (3 reviews) On April 1, 2008, Old_Farmer Rock Cave, WV (Zone 5b) wrote: I have ordered from Gurneys Seed and Nursery off and on since the 1950's and always got good results. However, I have never had to have anything replaced until now. I ordered two Asian Pear trees and one was skinned by a mechanical digger and I ask for a replacement. I got the replacement within three weeks. This was outstanding service for a mail order company showing that they do honor their warranty. They sent an email acknowledging my request and promptly sent out the replacement. I would recommend them to anyone. Negative nikilet2 (1 review) On March 29, 2008, nikilet2 Parmelee, SD wrote: This was my first time ordering from Gurney's. I am not at all happy with this company. And I gaurantee that I will NEVER order from this company again. I placed an order for over twenty items on 2/29/08. The original amount came to over $70.00 dollars and after the $25.00 off coupon in the catalog it was still a grand total of $52.60. Weeks went by and my order didn't come and it didn't come and I could not seem to track my order status. So I wrote to customer service many times. Inquiring about my order and all that. If they wrote me back at all they didn't say anything helpful. Most of the time all they said was that "your order will be processed when we recieve it"! So as far as I am concerned the customer service (through email) is pretty much useless. Well then I called and I called. I talked to several different people. No one could seem to even find my order. The funny thing is that the check I wrote for $52.60 went thru my checking account on 3/10/08. They can't find my order, or any record of my payment, yet the check has definitely been cashed??? Well, the woman I finally talked to yesterday said that my order was probably put on some one elses account and sent to them. How exactly does that happen. My information was on the order form and my information was on the check. I was originally going to give Gurney's another chance. I am suppose to send in a copy of my check front and back and with it I had intended to send my order once again. But I have read the reviews and it is because of them I have decided not to order from them again. They had 158 negative, 158 positive, and more than sixty neutral reviews. Which means that I have less than a 50% chance of being a satisfied customer. What a joke!! I don't understand how a company as large as this can goof up that bad or that often. Its not that hard to send an order to the correct address when it is all printed out there for you to see. Yes they will give me my money back, but I would have rather have had my order. I don't live in a place where I can just run to the local walmart or where ever and buy what I need. I am looking at like a 2 and 1/2 hour drive to go any where to get these things. What urks me the most is that I was just in the city a couple of weeks ago and I could have gotten all of that stuff then. But I didn't because I thought my order would be coming!! YOu people had better figure out what the problem is and start getting your ducks in a row or you are going to start losing business. I will never order from you again and I fully intend to tell people I know who plan on ordering from you to forget it. Neutral robcorreia (6 reviews) On March 28, 2008, robcorreia San Diego, CA (Zone 10b) wrote: My order took so long to ship I had already moved to a different address! Also, none of the bulbs ever sprouted...actually two of them did..and then died. On April 23rd, 2008, robcorreia changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following: I will change my rating to Neutral. I was contacted by their customer service (they saw my negative comment here and initiated the contact) and kindly refunded my order without further questions. So thumbs up for their customer service. Negative mtnwolfman (1 review) On March 21, 2008, mtnwolfman Concho, AZ wrote: First : they lost the first order! Second ;that put me 10 days behind. Third ; I planted my tomatoes and pepper seeds as I usually do. NOTHING SPROUTED Replanted 10 days later with NEW SEEDS I BOUGHT FROM LOWES, EVERYTHING GREW! tried the Gurney's seed in a sprouting tray, nothing sprouted. The Gurney seeds have put my garden back almost a month. Called Gurney's , they were very quick to return my money for the bad seeds. They acted like this happens ALL THE TIME. They did not want to here my complaint, just return my money. I will NEVER BUY FROM Gurney's again. Glad I found this site and all it's good things. Ray Neutral bluemoon329 (1 review) On March 17, 2008, bluemoon329 Verbank, NY wrote: I placed an order and then more catalogs arrived with sweet offers. I noticed the prices were questionable with the sister catalogs - Gurney's sells Little Business Day Lilies for about $8 each, where Michigan Bulb sells the same for $5 and Henry Fields is somewhere in between. Same issue with raspberries and a bunch of other similar items. It seemed terribly deceptive as no one could explain any differences in quality, just warranty I became uncomfortable with this, as well as not being able to get a clear idea when the items would be shipped, and decided to cancel the order. They couldn't have been nicer about crediting the seeds that had already arrived, but I don't think I'll order from them again. And I truly resent requesting my name and address are not sold nor shared with other companies and still having that happen. Negative kdarr70 (1 review) On March 16, 2008, kdarr70 Seminole, OK wrote: I have ordered trees from them 4 times. Most of the time about half my order never starts growing. They will replace them, but even most of my replacement order was dead too. If you want trees try musser forest. I have had better luck with them living. Positive ceresone (9 reviews) On March 15, 2008, ceresone Willow Springs, MO wrote: I recieved my order of 3 apple trees last week--and I was pleasantly suprised! They were over 3'tall, and a VERY nice diameter. I also have a lifetime guarentee. As to how they will grow, I'll have to get back to you on that--but I see no reason at this time not to have success. Negative fschipani (1 review) On March 13, 2008, fschipani White Lake, MI wrote: I emailed them to cancel my order twice since I found a better deal elsewhere. Two weeks later, they finally emailed back and said that they could cancel it because it was being prepared to ship. They had moved the ship date up a month. The items have shipped and the ground is still rock solid up here in Michigan. I'll never order from them again. Company representative comment on March 20, 2008: On Mar 20, 2008 12:09 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery added: There was a delay in answering this Customer's email, which was our fault. However, the ship date of his order was not moved up a month; we ship plants according to USDA zone opening guidelines. A portion of this Customer's order was cancelled, so he was not charged for this part. He has received a full refund for the part that was shipped. Negative hggns81 (1 review) On March 12, 2008, hggns81 Winsted, CT wrote: My seed shipment has been pushed back fo rthe 3rd time today, I have contacted them before this last pushback and they assured me i'd recieve my seeds this week, well, I checked my order status and all they did was push my seed order back ANOTHER 2 weeks, they have completely screwed my indoor planting schedule and consiquently my outdoor planting schedule. The least they could do is say they dont have product and cant ship to me so i could cancel my order and make another with some other company. I have the feeling they are screwing me on purpose now. I now HATE this company and will NEVER use them again. Tell your family and friends, Gurneys is BIG corporation and dont give a sh**t about people who depend on seeds for survival, Find someone else. I HATE GURNEYS Negative Harvest_Moon (2 reviews) On March 11, 2008, Harvest_Moon China, ME wrote: My experience with this company is appalling. I have ordered from them in the past with minimal complaints, yet this time around was unacceptable. On Feb 28 I sent out my order for a Contender peach tree. I got an e-mail requesting my mailing address on March 5th. I replied and sent the requested info and then got a confirmation e-mail confirming my order had been processed. I thought all was well until today when I got an invoice in the mail saying they had not received my payment. I called customer service and they said I needed to fax them proof from my bank that the check had cleared. I called my bank and they said that the check had indeed cleared and that I had to pick up a copy of the check in person as proof that it was cashed. I have a farm to tend to and I cannot just drive 20 miles to the bank without it being a big hassle. I do not feel that it should be my responsibility to prove I paid for something if Gurney's messed up the order. The lady at customer service was polite and sympathetic, though that did not fix the problem. I order from many different mail-order companies and have never had this problem. I will not order from this company again. Positive patience1 (3 reviews) On February 27, 2008, patience1 Tulsa, OK wrote: Several months ago, I was very encouraged, after a long failure search with other companies, that Gurney's had Goldrush lil big apple trees they could ship to me. I explained by area's need of a late winter shipment date and requested a not later than the last week in Feb for them to arrive. To my great surprise, the almost 3 foot dwarf apple tree arrived in the third week of February; at a perfect time for me to plant and be assured that with a heavy layer of mulch this tree I planted should have all the time it's bare roots needed to acclimate in preparation to adequately support it's upcoming spring leaf out flush. I was also surprised to see that they included with this dwarf apple tree a planting kit which included a white spiral tree Guard, a Peletized Calcium packet, Garden Solutions All Natural Fruit Tree Sarter 2-0-2 Food packet along with good instruction on when and how to apply these items. What further pleased me was how many fine feeder roots were attached to the main bareroots and how healthy both they and the buds on the prepruned branchless tree appeared. After planting the tree, I could see that there was still one surprise in the package. It was a Tree-Mate-o which could be reused as often as needed until the tree's trunk reaches 2 inches thick, along with my own "T" stakes to support this new young apple tree. This was my first time to order from Gurney's and I have never been more please with the products they sent, the price I paid, and the customer service I received. On February 28th, 2008, patience1 added the following: Gurney's seed and nursery must be trying hard to improve their customer service and turn around high amount of a negative rating they had been getting over the previous year. If I had researched them on this watchdog site before ordering from them, I probably would not had had the confidence to place my order. What a shame that would have been for me, since that choice would have prevented me from receiving the best customer service, and otherwise hard to find dwarf tree, that I am now so happy to have obtained from them. Positive Johnboy07 (3 reviews) On February 17, 2008, Johnboy07 Covington, LA wrote: I ordered two fruit trees from Gurney. The communication was good, and the trees arrived timely and in excellent health. I will definitely order from them again. Very satisfied. Neutral blueeyeskms (11 reviews) On February 16, 2008, blueeyeskms Waverly, KS wrote: I ordered eight items from Gurney's last spring. The first part of the order quickly arrived and my husband set the box on the kitchen table for me to find when I arrived home. Imagine my horror to discover bugs crawling all over my kitchen table when I got home. Included in my order was a 2 lb. bag of "All Natural Potato Food" which was highly infested with bugs. I quickly sealed the bag in an airtight container to kill the bugs. Not a good start for my 1st order from this company. Additionally, three of the items (bulbs) did not grow at all. The company has placed an order to reship two of the three. They no longer carry the third item and have issued me a paper replacement certificate that can only be redeemed by mail order. Company representative comment on March 20, 2008: On Mar 20, 2008 12:50 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery added: Valued Customer - Your replacement certificate can also be used via a phone order. All you need to do is let the Agent know the Certificate number, and he/she will be able to apply it to your order. Neutral stevegallagher (2 reviews) On February 15, 2008, stevegallagher Calais, VT wrote: I us them for some garden seeds, if you have the coupon the price is OK. They came in time, and germinated well, but I would never use them for live plants. There are just too many other great choices out there. Plants need more loving care than this giant company can give. Positive SWWyoGardener (1 review) On February 11, 2008, SWWyoGardener Rock Springs, WY wrote: In my area, we don't have great variety when it comes to garden centers. I have ordered seeds and plants from Gurneys and have always been happy. I am the only one around that I know of that grows pumpkins in my area. I have tried other seeds from local shops and have not been nearly as satisfied. Positive hannaleah8 (1 review) On February 8, 2008, hannaleah8 Salem, VA wrote: Ordered seeds and garden supplies. Package arrived in less than seven days (1 day after email saying items were shipped). I have used this company for over 25 years without a problem. Neutral EugeniaBostwick (6 reviews) On February 6, 2008, EugeniaBostwick Pinckney, MI wrote: Gurney's catalog is totally annoying: they never list the latin name for a tree or shrub, so you don't know exactly what you're ordering. Also, if you compare prices, you notice that they aren't all that low at Gurney's. They seem to be the same company as Henry Field, even use the same photos and descriptions in many instances. However, they do honor their guarantee, so I guess I can't complain. Negative jayt63 (1 review) On January 31, 2008, jayt63 Ashland, PA wrote: I recently placed an order with Gurney's. They had a special in which if you ordered $50.00 worth of materials, they would deduct $25.00. I made sure that I had the $50.00 total, although it meant that I had to order some things that I really didn't need or want. When I submitted my order, their web site deleted the last item in my list, bringing the total to about $3.00 less than the mandatory $50.00, which meant that I was charged for the whole order (over $60 with shipping and handling). Not that that was not bad enough, but when I got my confirmation email concerning the order, the item numbers and the names of the items did not match. I was not sure of what I would be receiving. About the only thing good I can say about my experience with this company was that when I called the next morning to cancel, they apologised and immediately canceled my order. Negative Dollyann (1 review) On January 29, 2008, Dollyann Spartanburg, SC wrote: The blueberry plants featured in the Sunday circular are really little sticks. They are cheap and you get what you pay for. Company representative comment on March 20, 2008: On Mar 20, 2008 12:54 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery added: Valued Customer: We do ship starter plants (whether they are potted or bareroots). We also do have a 100% lifetime guarantee, so if your plant(s) do not live/perform, all you have to do is let us know. Neutral dekalb06 (6 reviews) On January 23, 2008, dekalb06 De Kalb, TX wrote: There's no category for "mildly aggravated" so I'll pick this one. My beef right now is their inflexible shipping policy- I wrote on the order I sent in that I wanted everything shipped ASAP, and instead they divided the order up into 3 separate shipments over the next 2 months. I wrote to their customer service department about it, and they said "Thank you for your email. Our ship dates for the individual items are governed by The Department of Agriculture according to the zone you live in." This is patently untrue- I've received orders from nurseries all over the US who honored a request for shipment during my winter planting season here in zone 8. What they really meant is that their POLICY is to ship at "proper planting time"- regardless of what a customer wants. My order is all for cold-hardy plants, sitting in their cold-storage facilities. Raspberry plants, onion plants, asparagus crowns, Jerusalem artichoke tubers. Nothing that could be hurt in shipping by the weather. I guess that patience is a virtue. "If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us." Yeah, right. On March 16th, 2008, dekalb06 changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following: I finally got everything from my $39 order, which was placed on January 8th. They sent the items in four shipments, not just three. I don't think they make much profit that way, but to me it was not a big deal after all. Just inconvenient. It remains to be seen how the plants will do. The raspberries were all subsize with just a few tiny roots, not top-grade items. Some of the jerusalem artichoke tubers were soft, one moldy with the middle decaying. Onions and asparagus crowns were of normal size and in good condition. Neutral rubberskull (2 reviews) On January 21, 2008, rubberskull Canton, SD wrote: I think its good to realize that a lot of catalogs are really the same company. Gurneys is also Spring Hill, Brecks, Henry Field, Gardens Alive, and probably some more, and really I have found you pretty much get what you pay for. The Jung group is also extensive, Jung, Shumway's, Vermont Bean Catalog, Totally Tomatoes. The stuff might not blow your mind but its also pretty cheap, what do you expect. Positive bunnielly (1 review) On January 16, 2008, bunnielly Santa Barbara, CA wrote: I ordered strawberries over 7 years ago and they are still producing berries even though they are in a flower pot on my patio. I barely water them or feed them and they are as happy as can be. I live in Cali so maybe that's why I've always had great luck with their seeds and plants. Their plants do much better than other companies plants. I now only order through them and couldn't be happier. Neutral kwhitney (3 reviews) On January 2, 2008, kwhitney Los Alamos, NM wrote: It seems like a hit or miss company. I've placed three orders with a decent success rate, but not as good as other companies. The blueberries did well, so did the strawberries and peppers. But the currants I bought died after three months (I still don't know what killed them, they were doing great until about a month before they died), and of the six raspberries I bought, only two survived the first summer. The peony I bought from them was stolen by a rodent, so I never knew how it would have done. I would reccommend that you buy blueberries or strawberries from this company, but I'm not sure what else I can reccommend. I would not reccommend the currants or raspberries. So it's really just OK, neither good nor bad, from my experience. Positive Domminigan (1 review) On January 2, 2008, Domminigan Wichita, KS wrote: (Kansas, Zone 6) My family and I have ordered from Gurney's for many years, and our experience has always tended to be on the positive side. I have always experienced good germination rates (80-100%) from the seeds, and have even been able to get most of the twigs and beat-up plants to grow well. Although I have ordered several live plants; (2 Dwarf Banana trees, all four dwarf citrus trees, Pomegranate, and Gardenia) I have never experienced the extreme mold problem that others have. I generally receive my order within a few weeks, and even at the speed that most things get through the postal system, I am still surprised occasionally by a small amount of mold on the soil . Positive rmorison (1 review) On November 28, 2007, rmorison Bristol, TN wrote: Last spring I ordered and received asparagus crowns and was unable to plant them. When I reported this to Gurney's they offered to send replacements with free shipping in Spring 2008.

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