The scoop on 'Direct Gardening'

Company Profile   Direct Gardening Mailing Address: 1704 Morrissey Drive Bloomington, Illinois 61704 (United States) Phone: (309) 662-7943 » E-Mail them » Visit their website Recent reviews: Past month Past 6 Months Past 12 Months Positive 4 6 7 Neutral 0 4 6 Negative 9 17 29 This company is affiliated with Burgess Seed This company specializes in: Bulbs: Spring-blooming Plants: Perennial Flowers

Feedback History and Summary   71 positives 30 neutrals 225 negatives

Comments:

Rating Author Content Negative yallwish (1 review) On July 01, 2009, yallwish Woodville, MS wrote: my first order from direct gardening contained dead walk-on-me thyme so brown and moldy i would have done better to hunt for something dead in the woods. trying to be cooperative, i gave directgardening the benefit of the doubt and against my better judgment did not return the "plants". i planted the dead junk, cared for the withered, tangled, crumbly whatever it was and of course nothing close to an actual plant developed, they just disappeared completely. still not expecting a transaction this atrocious again or that this insult would actually be repeated by direct gardening, i ordered again. this time they rewarded me with molded irish moss, dead blue light clematis, and dead pink salvia (as labeled on the bags, i could not even tell by looking at the brown things what they were supposed to be). i mailed a detailed letter explaining why i am entitled to return shipping. their policy does NOT say "if we send dead plants the return is the customer's cost" or anything to that effect. i spoke to several customer service reps trying to get my return shipping cost ($1.75) refunded, most recently on 07/01/09. while they didn't uphold their representation to not sell dead plants, they did consistently uphold their policy that return shipping is the customer's cost. the bottom line is that their policy causes customers to lose money for them not fulfilling an order as implied. i asked them if their policy was to send dead plants, they said no. i told them i have pictures and asked why they didn't uphold that statement, yet upheld the return shipping policy. the response i got was that its only a dollar and some change. this has been the most horrible customer service experience i have ever had. how can they think they should be allowed to do business this way? Negative Almostagardener (6 reviews) On June 27, 2009, Almostagardener Wiggins, CO wrote: I made the mistake of ordering from this company and like many received dead plants. The shipping time took over 2 weeks, they were shipped in a plastic bag and were broken, slimey, moldy and looked like someone had gone in their backyard and picked up dead twigs to send . The time from placing the order to mailing was over 3 weeks. I returned the labels (total of 4) and here I am 4 weeks after returning them, still being advised they have no record of receivng the labels back. The people on the phone have been nice and polite, but the plants and the shipping department are another story all together. I will not order from again. Positive flowerehj (2 reviews) On June 26, 2009, flowerehj Saint Cloud, FL (Zone 9b) wrote: On March 18, 2009, I put in an order for $68. The items arrived slowly, and in 2 seperate shipments on April 11 and 20th. Some items arrived very small, others all tangled (to the point where you had to destroy the stems to pull them apart), and some looked completely dead. I did receive the free items and I got a free hosta using a coupon. I did exactly what they said: I planted everything, even the dead looking stuff, and to be fair, some of the dead looking stuff did come up. The prices are super cheap, so I figured I should give it the best shot. I emailed them with some questions and they responded promptly with a personalized email. June 6th I decided to write them a letter asking for replacements of all the things that didn't live to this point. Here is a summary of the items: NAME #plants that lived/ total 5102 Butterfly Bush Bi-color 0/2 6826 Butterfly Plant Orange Glory 1/3 5728 Blue Festuca 0/3 6811 Periwinkle 0/50 7753 Sedum, Improved Golden 10/24 5103 Walk on me Plant 0/18 5799 Amaryllis Miniature 9/10 6837 Torch Lily 3/3 6992 Grass, Japanese Blood 1/1 I did not list the free gifts, and they also don't replace those. Today, June 26, I received a bag with all the replacements I asked for, in fact, they sent more than I asked for, replacing ALL of any particular plant that had some not live. The replacements all look better than the original shipments, bigger plants with more green, therefore more alive looking. Just beware that when you order from them, SAVE the packing slips on the packages you receive! Very important! You also must be willing to take the time to snail mail them the packing slips with the request to replace. I find this company to be reliable although their packing skills are less than stellar. So, for the price, I would order from them again. Just know what to expect! :) Negative J_R_S (2 reviews) On June 21, 2009, J_R_S Carrabelle, FL wrote: Like other suckers, I ordered before checking this website. I ordered in early spring to ensure good selection, good quality plants and good weather to get them in the ground. My $76.00 order was for a wide variety of plants -- this seems to be what many people spend with them. All of the specials and "double your order for a penny" offers encourage you to keep adding more and more to your shopping cart because "it's all so cheap". Well, guess what? The order was slow to arrive (3 weeks) and came in 2 packages a week apart. They do NOT really "package" the plants ! They just wrap the bare roots in plastic, stick them all in a big green plastic bag with no bubble-wrap or other padding and ship it United Parcel or via the Post Office (I got one package from each carrier). Naturally, the plants arrived all broken and twisted. Not that it mattered, as more then half of them were obviously dead... dried up and brittle with nothing like "roots"... *before* they were put in the bag to begin with. I immediately planted the 40% that looked like they might still be alive... about half of them were, but only a few are anything like healthy and growing well after 6 weeks. So, I ended up with only 1 out of every 4 plants that I ordered. So much for "cheap" -- I could have done better at the local nurseries or mail-ordering from one of the top-rated websites on this website. Lesson learned. Oh yeah, sure, I did call them and complain and and sent back my shipping label and they say they will send me replacements, if they still have what I ordered and if not they will get back to me next year. Great. They will replace the dead plants they sent me with more dead plants. I can hardly wait. Positive nobluefood (3 reviews) On June 21, 2009, nobluefood Portsmouth, OH wrote: I ordered a row of mockorange shrubs. and a pair of Manchurian apricots. the order came quickly. of the ten mockorange, four did not leaf out. the manchurian apricots were dead on arrival. I contacted first by email to ask could they reship just the apricots, so I could hold onto my "original shipping label" to see how the mockorange fared. I was told they could not do it that way unless I returned the dead apricot trees. I had not saved those. so I waited another couple weeks to see if any growth would appear (it didn't), and mailed the shipping label and my request for replacements. I worried that they might not have received my request, and emailed them, but later that same day the replacements arrived. they are all leafing out nicely. for the price, I cannot complain about anything in my transaction, and will order again from this company (or any of the many affiliated companies). my neighbors giggle at bit at my "sticks" but after decades of gardening I really do prefer to avoid the transplant shock of larger specimens at the box stores. my little "sticks" take off by their second year, and I am in no rush. Negative kspraker (1 review) On June 19, 2009, kspraker Lancaster, VA wrote: An order was placed in mid March. My credit card was billed 3/31 and no merchandise was received for nearly a month, I ordered knock out roses and Canadian hemlock trees. The roses arrived with black spot so I returned them along with the original invoice as required. The hemlock trees died shortly after planting so I emailed to ask what to do. They told me to send a copy of the invoice with a note about why it wasn't the original along with the dead trees. I did that and they returned what I sent minus the dead hemlock with a note that I had not sent the original invoice, and dead sticks were returned with no explanation. I sent everything back to them again, explaining what had happened. Today I received another letter from them with a copy of the invoice saying that they do not know what I want credit for. Bottom line is that their abysmal customer service makes their low prices not worth the trouble. The email chain regarding this order is 30 pages long. I intend to file a complaint with the BBB. On June 19th, 2009, kspraker changed the rating from positive to negative and added the following: Positive breezynosacek1 (1 review) On June 17, 2009, breezynosacek1 Kenbridge, VA wrote: I ordered: dwarf fig, dwarf pear, dwarf apricot, dwarf cherry, sweet cherry bush, hazelnut, indian currants, grape vines and siberian elms. This is June and I recieved my order in a timely manner. They gave me nice healthy bareroot plants. I will be ordering again this coming month. I am totally completely 100% happy! Negative teb (2 reviews) On June 16, 2009, teb Ashburn, VA wrote: I ordered 6 iris' that were supposed to be shipped as live plants. They all arrived in containers with the dirt completely spilled out. I quickly repotted them, but it looks like only 3 are going to survive and they all are less than 1 inch tall. Very disappointed in the packing of these items and will not order from this company again. I also ordered 2 butterfly bushes a few months ago and they arrived in poor shape as well. I think they are going to survive, but they could have done a much better job packing them. Negative TXGardenerUSA (1 review) On June 15, 2009, TXGardenerUSA Granbury, TX wrote: One month ago my husband and I placed two separate orders with Direct Gardening. My order was filled in 3 weeks with plants that are struggling to survive in my plant shed ICU, not chance of them seeing the ground this year. The other order was not filled at all. After a month I called the company and was told they could not find the order. I gave them my order number, date, name, address, amount and everything on the order as it was printed on the email they sent to confirm the order, but they still could not find the order. What is the point of an order number if they cannot use it to find an order? I have asked to cancel the order but they told me I'd have to mail them a copy of my credit card statement and a letter to prove they charged me in the first place! What a terrible mess this company seems to be! I'm so sorry I wasted my time and money on this company. I wish I had read this website first. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY!!! Negative Chrisscamsus (2 reviews) On June 15, 2009, Chrisscamsus Bristol, PA wrote: I ordered one rose bush climbing blue moon from them.When I received it was obviously dead.It was diseased because it was completely black roots and all.It also had fungus growing on it which is ridiculous.Still have the shipping label but it seems rather worthless to ask for a replacement when I will only receive the same crappy diseased plant again.This company is a joke and the packaging is just plan stupid.Use a box not a bag you stupid retarded idiots.I do not even feel like dealing with the bullshit customer service. Negative eyfng (8 reviews) On June 08, 2009, eyfng San Gabriel, CA wrote: I placed an order of about $75 with Direct Gardening last fall. I have seen enough negative feedbacks about this nursery from Dave's Garden, I wish that I know this website before I placed my order with DG. I just don't understand why DG can still in business with the following bad issues. poor packing poor customer service: unhelpful, never address to your questions poor quality of products: small, half dead, never grow complicated replacement procedure unable to cancel items of an pending order $2.5 extra charge for adding items to an pending order In my inital shipment, only one iris is growing and have produced flowers. In my first replacements, only 2 crokscrew vines and 3 Elodie asiatic lilies are growing. Of course, the lilies are so mini. All other replacements are dead or not growing well. I recently requested for second time replacements. I do not want to plant the dead items anymore because I had already planted them twice, so I asked for some new items with 2 pennies over the total amount of dead items. The company sent me back my letter together with the original replacement labels and asked me to pay additional shipping charge of $9.49 plus 2 pennies. I then called the customer service and talked to supervisor to find out that the total amout of replacements can't exceed even a penny of the total amount of dead items. So, I changed the replacements by losing some money. I resented my letter with the shipping labels again. I wish God bless me that I will get nice growing plants this time. I really don't want to deal with this place anymore. It's more than enough! You get what you pay. Never never do business with Direct Gardening. Positive haworthialover (5 reviews) On June 05, 2009, haworthialover Nevada, MO (Zone 5b) wrote: So far, I am satisfied with our Direct Gardening experience. I ordered 3 fruiting trees and some bulbs. The trees arrived with several leaves and looking good. And the bulbs arrived looking fresh. I have saved my shipping labels just incase. We all know some plants don't like to be shipped. But they look good now! Negative nanalintx (1 review) On June 04, 2009, nanalintx El Paso, TX wrote: Do not order from this company! It took a full 35 days and several phone calls to receive 2 dead eucalyptus trees and various plants that were yellowing and/or had dead leaves. I am still "babying" these, but the outcome is doubtful. Even though I explained that receiving the order so late in the season in our desert climate would end in disaster, the people I spoke to assured me that there would be no problem. I have no desire for any further contact with the service department, so I will just write this off to experience. Neutral StellysPapa (25 reviews) On June 02, 2009, StellysPapa Dothan, AL (Zone 8a) wrote: I have bought from them in the past without any problems. But, I just recently bought 8 Pardon Me daylilies and received them today. They were each in a separate plastic bag, with no soil. Each one had mold and mildew on them. Most of them do have some sign of life but a few do not. I will plant them and see what happens, and report back with an update. Negative tthsc (1 review) On May 21, 2009, tthsc Fort Mill, SC wrote: I had a very bad experience with this company recently. After 3 weeks of not seeing my order, I called on 5 different occasions speaking to a different representative who told me that my order had processed but had not shipped yet, and they could not tell me why!!! One rep. even said that the items in my order were all in stock, so she couldn't understand why it had not shipped. When I asked about cancelling the order, I was told that I could not cancel because it had already processed; yet, my order was just out there in limbo somewhere! I was told I had to mail a letter requesting a refund, and if it reached their office before the order shipped, it would be cancelled. When I asked if there was another method of sending it I was told "no". When I spoke to the 4th customer rep. however, I was told I could email my request. So I did, and when I called to verify that the email had been received to cancel the order, I was told that the department that handled that only communicated by email, so I couldn't speak with them, and the rep. said that she had no knowledge as to whether or not they received it, but I should hear from someone by email within 24 hrs. Ridiculous!!! I received the email telling me that my request was being forwarded to the department that handles those requests. This was the same department that I was told over the phone by the rep. that would be processing my request! After receiving other ridiculous vague correspondences basically saying nothing, I told them I was no longer going to deal with this, but report them to my bank, and I did. I hope that people will do their research on this company, apparently under many names, before they order from them. I'm surprised they have not been shut down by now. They really shouldn't be allowed to stay in operation. I don't usually like to do this, but I had to let others know. People work too hard, and times are too difficult to be taken by these frauds. Negative coyotehollow (3 reviews) On May 14, 2009, coyotehollow Weldona, CO wrote: One year I ordered 3 grapes from this company, and found them to be nice plants that grew and continue to grow in my yard. The next four years tell the tale: DO NOT BUY HERE UNLESS YOU ARE DONATING TO THEIR CAUSE. I have purchased 300 dollars worth of plants from them (100 was on a gift certificate I got for a birthday) and have been getting replacements now for 3 years on that same order. Year after year I send in the green plastic bag with the label, and year after year I have gotten what everyone else has said they have gotten: dead, moldy, rotten slimy excuses of garbage. I HAVE HAD ENOUGH. In the other business that I am in we are paid to be "nice people" when it comes to dealing with folks, but there is something terribly wrong with a company that is this ignorant and/or deceptive when they offer plants such as they offer at the prices they do, and then send what amounts to stuff for the compost heap. I called yesterday to see where my order for this year was and they said it was sent out on April 30--it arrived today, two weeks later. How does this happen? Because they use the cheapest method possible to mail your items and keep the remainder of the shipping and handling money instead of shipping it Priority Mail or otherwise. This year I received what amounted to rotten plants that looked and smelled even toxic/caustic. What a joke--I am not even going to bother asking for replacements again, nor am I going to ever accept a gift certificate from such a company. Neutral wulfpak (3 reviews) On May 13, 2009, wulfpak Nebraska City, NE wrote: The prices were really low, so I gave them a try before reading their reviews. My merchandise arrived promptly but was not in great shape. A couple asparagus roots were rotten, but the others were fine. The douglas fir trees were brown and dry, but, after a week, it appears they will recover. The strawberry plants were small, but seem to be doing ok. I've received better quality plants from other companies, so I'm not planning on being a return customer to Direct Gardening. Negative utguy44 (1 review) On May 12, 2009, utguy44 Williamsburg, VA wrote: I bought almost $50 worth of various trees; Sarvistree, River Birch, Red Maple, White Birch, Pink Dogwood, which I planted in October. Not a single one budded this spring (2009; Williamsburg, VA). All I received were dormant sticks, and they just stayed that way. I live in an area with plenty of sun and good soil (all my other transplanted trees are doing fine, unlike the plain, dormant sticks from Direct Gardening). Now if I can just find that orginal shipping label ... Positive Tinuviel98 (1 review) On May 10, 2009, Tinuviel98 Winston Salem, NC (Zone 7a) wrote: I was really surprised to see so many negative comments on here, so I thought I would add my experiences with this company. I placed two orders with Direct Gardening last spring and received them within two weeks. All the plants (Hydrangeas, Rhododendron, and Hibiscus) lived and have come back beautifully this year. The Rhododendron was broken when I received it and so I requested a replacement using my shipping label and got a new one within a week. I placed another large order this spring (Roses, Delphinium, Hollyhock and another dark colored Rhododendron). The order took about a month this time but the plants arrived in plenty of time for the season. This key to ordering from this company is to carefully read the instructions about how and when to order, saving the shipping label, not letting the plants sit in your mailbox upon delivery, ect. It is possible that I just got lucky with my three orders, but as long as I keep getting good plants I will keep buying from them. Positive mariefortman (1 review) On May 06, 2009, mariefortman Leo, IN wrote: I ordered over 100 items from this company...not thinking it was a scam. After reading all of the negative comments I thought I would never get my order.... I thought I'd get real crappy rotton bulbs and dead starts..... I thought I'd get the wrong items or not enough or too much of one item. But guess what???? I got everything right at the beginning of May just like the order said! I got every bulb right down to the exact count. And everything was alive and well. I am glad to say I received everything. Especially after reading all the terrible reviews..... So there is hope for this company after all .... =) Happy planting! Marie from Hoosier Land. Negative terrahappy (2 reviews) On April 28, 2009, terrahappy Redmond, OR wrote: I was overjoyed to find a company that was affiliated with so many different nurseries. Boy was I in for a shock. I placed three seperate orders . one order totaling $150.73 on 3/13/09 from Exciting Gardens, One order totaling $53.69 3/22/09 from Four Seasons Nursery, and one order totaling $48.65 3/22/09 From Honeycreek Nurseries. My orders were accepted and my credit card charged emmediately. I recieved my first of two packages from Exciting Gardens in a timly manner and all of the items arrived in good condition, 15 blackerry bushes, 18 raspberry bushes, twenty Rhubarb roots, fourty asparagus roots sixteen mixed oriental lilies and three red painted daisies. So I figured this company was reputable. The second half of my order arrived today. three weeks after the first part of the order arrived.. I have six Angel Trumpets here that are nothing but mush. I cannot plant mush and expect it to grow. very dissapointing. Honeycreek Nurseries order arrived last week. three weeks in the mail and I have six broken trees from their overstock selection (trees that are not legal to import to my state) and a yucca plant that is muchy on top and dry dead on bottom. Not plantable....not to mention that the rest of the order was all yellow and of the smallest most inferior stock I have seen to be sold by a mail order company.. Four Seasons order was supposedly mailed on April 3rd of 2009 and today is the 28th and still nothing in the mail. I have called the company several times and have gotten absolutely nothing in the way of assurance. I know when the order arrives that it will be a box or bag full of dead plants. I have tried to cancel the order and can do nothing until 30 days has passed from the supposed shipping date. I asked 3 different customer sevice personel people about shipping and why they only have one shipping option? I would be more than happy to pay extra shipping to recieve strong healthy plants via mail. I was told that they dont have any other options. Finally I was able to speak to a supervisor . Not that it was of any help. but I did finally get an answer to the shipping question. You have to request upgraded shipping at a cost of $12.00 extra. Why on earth do they not give you the option when you are placing an order via the internet or when ordering from the magazines. Boy what a no brainer that would be. Needless to say this company and its affiliates has lost my business. Now I am an avid gardener that would make Martha Stuart proud and have many other gardning friends. I belong to the local Master Gardeners association and my displeasure will not be lost on the many many friends and other people that I deal with. I am astounded that from reading this forum that there is not a class action lawsuit against this company yet. All that I can say is Buyer Beware. I wish you all Happy Gardening. Neutral mom24cuties (1 review) On April 28, 2009, mom24cuties Silverdale, WA wrote: I placed my order in Dec. and received the first of 2 shipments in March. I ordered 3 dwarf trees ( Apple, Plum, Peach ) , 25 Strawberry plants and 2 Butterfly bushes. The strawberry plants were a somewhat rotten, the butterfly bushes were completely dried out and the trees, err sticks looked pretty dead too. Did the scratch test and they were still green. Bagged them in 50% compost 50% topsoil and set them out in the sun. After about 2 weeks the apple tree started leaving. I decided to plant them and now the apple tree has plenty of leaves. It is only about 2 feet, nothing more than a stick with leaves but it is alive and a dwarf so hopefully it will become a tree one day. The plum is a little bigger with a few branches ( all dried out ) but is showing new buds, here's hoping. The peach stick is just that , a dried stick with no sign of life. Of the 25 strawberry plants 15 have survived and started growing. I will try to return the peach and butterfly and see what happens. I guess for the price I can't complain too much. Second package contained 1 Lemon and 1 Orange dwarf tree. Came about 10" tall with bright green leaves. The soil had spilled out of the little container but the roots were undamaged. Pot planted them the next day ( about 2 weeks ago) and they are doing good. The orange tree has several new leaves and the Lemon is starting a few. OTOH my neighbor ordered several plants just about a month ago and received them last week. Much better looking stuff than what I got. Perhaps the time of year when you place your order has something to do with it? Since I only need a few items I would again order from them knowing that it is a 50/50 thing and for the price I'm willing to take that chance. However the customer service is not very good and can be frustrating. Negative sawhett (1 review) On April 27, 2009, sawhett New Bern, NC wrote: This company is the world's worst. Placed my original order in January. They took payment immediately, but did not ship until April. I had underestimated my project and needed a few more plants. (if I could find the species elsewhere I would never have ordered from them again). Again they took my money immediatly; that was almost 3 weeks ago. I called again this morning...still hasn't shipped. Got a runaround with the girl on the other end about refunding my money. If my plants aren't here Friday I contact the attorney general. People like this should be put out of business! Neutral blawndie (1 review) On April 21, 2009, blawndie Trimble, MO wrote: I hadn't heard about this company before I placed my order, but the price on the red maples, blueberries and aspargus inticed me to give them a try. My first discomfort with them was when I sent an e-mail asking when the order would ship. They responded that they needed the address and my name along with the order number I had already provided. I also asked if there was a better way to check shipping. I recieved a canned response stating they had received my order, but did not address my questions. So, I tried again. Within two weeks I had a date narrowed down to a six week time frame and some of my other questions answered, but not all. I recieved the large green bag with my bare root stick trees, asparagus roots inside an additional bag and two potted blueberry bushes with no packing materials, two weeks before the begining of the shipping window. Asparagus roots were starting to rot, but called customer service and agreed to plant them anyway. I ended up trimming the roots and planting. Believe it or not some are coming up. I doubt that more than half will make it. I planted the Maple sticks - no current sign of life, but I do not think they are dead. Blueberries - one is dead and the other was already sprouting a great deal of new growth when recieved. It is planted and I hope it will continue to tolerate the strange weather. Not a terrible experience, but I do urge the company to work on their customer service skills, packaging practices and electronic systems for tracking. There are other much better internet companies, but few can meet the price. But again if the stock is consistently a problem, is it truly the cheaper alternative? . I doubt I will do business with this company again, but then again the price is a great inticer. I know that I can't trust the stock to be delivered in great shape so if I do get inticed to try them again it will be on a very limited basis. Negative flowrluvr29 (1 review) On April 13, 2009, flowrluvr29 Altoona, PA wrote: I ordered items from this company last spring -they billed me immediately but arrived in November during a snowstorm. Nevertheless, I planted them. Most items were dead, rotten, and/or moldy. I called the company. They said "plant them and save your label." I did that. Nothing grew (because they were dead). I documented it all and obtained a lawyer. I sent back my original shipping label and a letter of explanation stating that I wanted a refund or replacement of the items and my letter was returned to me. I wish they would have at least made an attempt to make this right. I would highly advise against dealing with this company unless you plan on donating your money to them or care to retain counsel to seek retribution damages. Negative madampolo (7 reviews) On April 06, 2009, madampolo Giddings, TX wrote: I ordered some purple angel trumpets and months went by without receiving them. Then they came in a box with no label, shipping form, or anything. The two plants were in terrible shape, barely alive. One had no pot or dirt around the roots, and one did. The packaging around the plants was different, like they got the plants from different sources. They say to get a refund you need to send them the shipping label. What shipping label? There wasn't anything in the box. Do they mean the outside address label? Where do I send it? There was nothing on the box or in the box to even say their company name. All of these sites listed in links shown in other reviews are crooks. Their websites and marketing brochures are so pretty, you think they are legit. They are not. Never buy from them. Negative bsetiawan (5 reviews) On April 03, 2009, bsetiawan Corryton, TN (Zone 6b) wrote: I placed an order totaling 44.25 including shipping with Direct Gardening on 1-21-09. My credit card was immediately charged. As of March 3rd my order was not shipped. I called and was told that yes they had my order but they had already shipped to my area and they would not be shipping my order...so..I asked how they planned to return my money. I was told that I had to write a letter asking for my order to be canceled..like the lady couldn't do it then after finding "their" mistake. Isn't is amazing how they don't forget to charge the card? Anyway, I have sent a copy of my order and "asked" for a cancel for "lack of shipping". Will just have to wait til next month to see what happens or to see if I have to file a complaint with my card company. Needless to say I will never trust this company again. On April 3rd, 2009, bsetiawan added the following: I want to make a correction ... I tried to contact them on March 3rd with an email with no luck. When my order didn\'t arrive I waited until March 24th and called Direct Gardening to be told my order would not be shipped. On May 2nd, 2009, bsetiawan added the following: Ok...so now I\'ve placed my comments and decided to complain to my credit card company. Two weeks ago I received a card in my mailbox. After paying postage I had to drive a good 10 miles or more to my post office to pick up this package. Immediately I opened it to find dried up bulbs, broken and dead \"not dormant\" mini-plants. I\'ve gardened all my long life and I do know dead from dormant. Well...I guess they figured they\'d send some plants dead or alive to avoid paying back my money. Another lesson learned. LOL! Neutral rwand (2 reviews) On December 16, 2008, rwand Sparta, MI wrote: Recently I received a promotional e-mail ad to buy a Direct Gardening gift card. The card was promoted as a bargain gift: $20 for a $25 card. The ad suggested buying a card for oneself, which is precisely what I intended to do. Not in the ad, and not disclosed until online checkout, is a $9.49 shipping/handling fee, bringing the cost of a $25 gift cost to $29.49. During this holiday season, I have purchased a number of gift cards. Most retailers are pleased to process online purchases of gift cards and waive shipping and handling fees. (Gift cards tend to be favorable to retailers, since they receive payment upfront, and a proportion of the cards are never redeemed.) Be aware that Direct Gardening has chosen not to waive these fees, and customers who purchase a small number of cards will not enjoy the bargain savings promoted in the ad. Negative littlemichelle (3 reviews) On November 04, 2008, littlemichelle Larned, KS wrote: I just had a bad experience with Direct Gardening. I originally ordered a bunch of zebra grass earlier in the year and they all arrived dead. I emailed photos of the dead grass and was told to mail my shipping label to them for a replacement. I sent back my shipping label and a long time later received a replacement certificate. So I ordered different plants this time--tulip trees, wintergreen and merrybells. Everything arrived months later in a green plastic sack. The bareroot trees were BARE. Not a bit of packaging was protecting the roots. Not surprisingly, they were completely dried out. I used my pruners to see if I could find any live wood. Nope, dead all the way to the roots. To add to my disappointment, the merrybells were a package of green slime. Completely rotten. The wintergreen plants were by no means healthy. I am not hopeful that they will be able to survive the winter. I emailed the company with photos of the dead plants and was told that if they do not leaf out in the spring I can contact them for a replacement. I wrote back and explained that I was NOT going to waste my time planting dead sticks, and that I wanted a refund, since the replacement for my original dead plants were dead as well. I got an email back stating that their return policy allows for replacements only, no refunds. So mail back the dead sticks with your shipping label and you can get another replacement. On one hand, I don't want to let them get away with this, but what a pain! I am tempted to just forget the whole thing. Buyer beware. This company takes no care in packaging and shipping and has a poor return policy. The savings in money is not worth the aggravation! Negative grodon (1 review) On November 03, 2008, grodon Bridgewater, MA wrote: Originally I wanted some Canadian Hemlocks, but then decided to see what else they had so ended up ordering columbine, astilbe sampler, and periwinkle. The first to arrive was the columbine, quite dead. Then a bit later the second box arrived with astilbe and periwinkle, and free gift bulbs. None of this was very healthy. I was actually surprised when 3 of the 4 Astilbe actually survived, only about half the periwinkle survived. I never received the Canadian Hemlocks. When I sent a email to customer service explaining the problem, they replied that they wanted me to send back the orginal shipping label that lists the items in question and to explain the problem to them again. It's not clear how the orginal shipping label would help them determine what was actually put in the box and shipped to me, and what wasn't! lol I doubt it's worth pursuing this, I would probably just end up with more plants in poor shape, and it's too late to plant them now anyways. I looked up this company on the better business website, and found what I expected to find, an unsatisfactory record for this company. I also found of pile of related websites/companies attributed to the same people listed there as well: http://www.eroyaldutch.com http://www.interstatenurseries.com http://www.houseofwesley.com http://www.honeycreeknurseries.com http://www.farmerseed.com http://www.excitinggardens.com http://www.eburgess.com http://www.directgardening.com http://www.4seasonsnurseries.com http://www.kellynurseries.com It also said that some people who filed bbb complaints did get a satisfactory resolution to their complaints but not everybody. Anyway, hope this helps somebody out. Negative baboone (1 review) On October 08, 2008, baboone Eglon, WV wrote: I ordered $200 in plants August 18. To date, Oct. 7, 2008, still no plants. On Sept. 22 I saw on my credit card statment the order had been charged when I placed the order. I called to cancel the order and for a credit to be issued on the 22nd, said I couldn't do via phone - must email. Emailed and received a reply 2 days later thanking me for the order. Emailed back saying - absolutely not..... I called. There customer service is the most despicable ever! I could not speak with a supervisor, I could not speak with anyone about the credit to my card. I could only write a letter. They said my credit would be issued in 1 -2 weeks. As of Oct. 7, still no credit. Called again. Very rude customer service. Your order was shipped on Sept. 29. I just about fell over. I said I cancelled the order on Sept. 22. I was told it took longer that 7 days to cancel an order in house and the order got shipped. When it comes I can send it back for a credit. Can you imagine what that process will be. Needless to say, I have contacted the Illinois Attorney General's Office and have forwarded a copy to Direct Gardening. They have not heard the last of me, this is the most deplorable company I have ever dealt with and I have owned a gift shop for 10 years dealing with hundreds of vendors. I wish I would have seen this site before ordering. Negative wisemom (2 reviews) On September 27, 2008, wisemom Glastonbury, CT wrote: I ordered 7 bareroot tea roses from this company. 1 arrived with rotted roots but I figured that it was par for the course. Then, when the roses labeled, Tropicana, bloomed in an ugly shade of lavender, I contacted the company to say that they had sent me mislabeled items. They asked me to return the shipping label and proof of the error. I wrote back that it was unreasonable to expect me to retain a shipping label from live plants and besides, they already had my order info. They wrote that they would make an exception once in my case and replace the roses if I sent them my credit card statement and proof. This was getting to be too much work especially as I shred my card statements and they already had the info. I just gave up. Negative gwenladha (1 review) On September 21, 2008, gwenladha Scottsdale, AZ wrote: Direct Gardening is nothing more than a rip off. By advertising low prices for supposedly great products they get you to order. What they do not tell you is that you will receive dead plants that they claim are just hibernating. I ordered some roses and ground cover in early summer. all the plants arrived at the height of summer in AZ looking dead. The plants were left at my front door in plastic bags and it was unclear whether they had been transported in an airconditioned truck. i contacted the company and was told not very politley that the plants were just dormant and that I should go a ahead and plant them( which I had done the day after receipt). Two weeks later they still looked dead. I called and was told to give it 6 weeks before giving up. The 2 weeks for a refund were by then and all I could get was a new batch of plants if there was no growth in 6 weeks. I gave it eight weeks watering faithfully every day and they looked as dead as ever. I contacted their deplorable customer service dept. and was told to send in the shipping label and they would send me new ones. I did so and nothing happend for three weeks so I e-mailed them. I received an e-mail stating that the plants were being shipped. They arrived stuffed into my large item postal block which reaches 120 degrees in the summer in Px. 3 of the replacement rose bushes were 5 inch high twigs stuck into 2 inch pots with a few leaves which were dead. Two of the plants were bare root but the stems looked dead. I planted everything anyway and so far there is no sign of life. I am giving up on getting back $70 worth of merchandis from them and dont plan to waste any more of my time planting dead plants and arguing with rude customer service staff. I hope no one else falls into this trap. I am trying to find a way to alert consumer watchdog orgs. so that they can try to put a stop to this scam. Gwen Negative paulnelissa (2 reviews) On September 21, 2008, paulnelissa Cincinnati, OH wrote: I ordered a Weeping Pussy Willow Tree from Direct Gardening in June. The tree arrived, in a plastic bag, about 2.5 feet tall, with 7-8 leaves that were withered and grey but not dead. I read the directions that came with the tree. I scratched the tree at its base to make sure it was alive; it was green under the bark. I had the tree in the ground within 2 hours of having received it. My son (not so helpfully) threw away the bag with the shipping lable. They recommended watering every day. I faithfully watered the tree every day. After 2 weeks, the tree still looked dead. I scratched the base again and this time there was no green. The tree was dead. I contacted the customer service department. I was told that sometimes the trees take 6 weeks to come out of hibernation; maybe I hadn't given it enough time. When I told them that the tree wasn't green underneath anymore, they agreed that the tree was dead. I asked about receiving my money back. They informed me that I could only receive a refund within 2 weeks of the tree being shipped. That dealine had already passed. I asked about receiving a replacement tree. They informed me that I needed my shipping label. I told them that I no longer had my shipping label. They said that the shipping label was the only proof of me having paid for the tree. I raised a bit of a fuss and they agreed that I could use a copy of my credit card statement to prove that I paid. I'm sorry, but don't they have a record of the transaction to prove that I paid for the tree before they shipped it? I realize that every company has their own policies, but this just sounded ridiculous to me! I decided to wait for the heat to pass and send in my credit card statement for a replacement tree later. I will be mailing it tomorrow; we'll see how it goes. On a side note, the customer service representative that I spoke with was very rude. He informed me that they did not have a responsibility to ensure that plants coming from them lived. He said that their responsibility was to make sure that the plants arrived alive and that if they died within 2 weeks, that it was not their problem. They did their job because the tree arrived barely holding on to life. Sounds like shadey business to me, but at this point, I can either jump through their hoops or be out the $40+ dollars for the tree! Negative ford2910 (1 review) On September 19, 2008, ford2910 Barnesville, MD wrote: Direct Gardening is quite possibly the worst on-line company I have dealt with. On Aug. 6, 2008 I placed an order for 40 asparagus roots. After 2 1/2 weeks the order arrived but with a shortage of 30 roots. I contactaed customer service and was told to ship back the shipping label with a note indicating the shortage. I sent the information back as requested. After more than four weeks and numerous inquiries to customer service all I got was "please wait, we haven't received your request yet". So now I wait. You would think that at least they would send a refund for the amount not shipped. But, no response so far. This company is the most disorganized and disconnected I have ever dealt with. Owen Laug, Barnesville MD Positive joy112854 (7 reviews) On August 15, 2008, joy112854 Crestview, FL wrote: This company sent me canna lilies that I had ordered, they took a little while to bloom but I had bought them in bulk and had a 75% success rate with them. I would rate them pretty high though, not as high as Easy to Grow, where I was really 100% pleased with their service and the fact that everything they sent bloomed beautifully. Still, 75% isn't bad right? joy112854 Negative stephen_k (1 review) On August 12, 2008, stephen_k New Castle, DE wrote: I bought 24 rose of sharon bushes end of June 2008, planted the same day they arrived. Only 6 of 24 are alive and growing the rest are dead and brittle. I didn't have shipping label when I called company. They were extremely rude and hung up on me. So now I have dead plants and most likely I misplaced the shipping label. SO BUYER BEWARE!! GUARD THAT SHIPPING LABEL YOU WILL NEED IT BECAUSE YOU WILL GET DEAD PLANTS. Hopefully I can post with POSITIVE or NEUTRAL comment in the next few days. Negative metro8268 (1 review) On August 11, 2008, metro8268 Brookfield, IL wrote: I placed an order at the end of April and it took almost an entire month for my order to even ship. I emailed the company asking for a status and it took them about a week to get back. I, too, was drawn in with the cheap prices, but the survival of the plants I ordered was about 50/50. I got 2 spirea that were DOA (didn't realize this until I tried to get them to grow, since they only sent dormant root plants). The Red Robin Hood Rose I got is doing very good. The Azalea I ordered is struggling, but was an ok looking plant when it arrived. I wanted to send back the spirea but didn't realize you need to have the shipping receipt, which I had thrown away. I was mostly not happy with the amount of time it took to fill this small order, especially since it was placed right at the beginning of spring, where they should have all these plants ready to ship. I won't be ordering from them again because I don't want to wait a month for the plants to arrive. It could be winter by the time I get them! Negative loveqtrhorses (1 review) On August 09, 2008, loveqtrhorses Milford, IL wrote: I would not order again from them. I ordered smoke trees and Norway spruces. Two smoke trees are fine, one arrived broken in half. The Norway spruces arrived DEAD. Sent back mailing label and was told on 7/8/08 new Norway spruces were being mailed that day. They did send a new smoke tree also. They arrived 28 DAYS LATER! And I do believe they were in the mail 28 days as the spruces are dead also. The people at direct gardening do respond to emails promptly, and try to be helpful, but being told to plant the dead Norway spruces, as they are dormant, when I have planted easily over 100 trees in my lifetime, is simply an insult. Yes, I was told to plant them and give it six weeks, and they would happily replace them, but this is going on too long already, and I have lost confidence. I live only 2 hours max from them, and they can't get those spruces to me any quicker? I suppose they can't be held responsible for the postal service, but I have order alot of trees thru the mail, from much further away, and have NEVER had something arrive 28 days later. Negative Acacius48 (5 reviews) On August 07, 2008, Acacius48 Boulder, CO wrote: I received my order from Direct Gardening this past spring. Less than half is alive today. They come in a green bag... looking pretty sad and tiny. With the exception of the cherry tree and blackberry bushes, they were a pretty good size but still sad looking. (They came bareroot with nothing on the roots.) Bummed out about the result I only wanted one more thing from the company. A replacement for my treasure orange rose that died because I have been searching and wanting a true orange rose bush. I requested a replacement and they do keep to their guarantee. Sadly my new rose bush had rotted really badly in that green bag they shipped it in. I had to heavy prune the poor thing. Today it is alive but... just kinda sitting there. Hasn't grown at all. I personally would not recommend Direct Gardening. I dont mind the small starter plants... its the packaging that is really bringing this company down. If they would take the extra effort in packaging and shipping, I could see this company having a lot more happy customers. Not to mention A LOT more plants alive and thriving today for their past, present and future customers. Lots of us trade plants and would never send a plant to another trader in just a plastic bag with no cushioning and nothing to wrap the roots. Why is a professional company doing it? I hope they learn...just my opinion.

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