The scoop on 'Heronswood Nursery'

Feedback History and Summary   51 positives 15 neutrals 14 negatives

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Rating Author Content Negative jaimesummer (1 review) On June 18, 2008, jaimesummer Fallon, NV wrote: Very disappointed, customer service was terrible. Plants I ordered arrived a week late, (had to contact them for a tracking number) and had to inquire on a refund for my 2 day air shipping cost. No apology, just a refund for the shipping cost 2 weeks later, no follow up on the plants, while $150.00 dollars isn't a huge order, I was hoping for more from the company! Positive luvblueridgemtn (2 reviews) On June 14, 2008, luvblueridgemtn Martinsville, VA (Zone 7a) wrote: This is my first order from Heronswood Nursery and I am very pleased with the plants I received. I order 5/29 and received them on 6/12. They sent me an email to tell an exact date of delivery .They did not charge me until they sent out my order. The web site is wonderful. I will be ordering from them again. Positive rince1wind (2 reviews) On May 8, 2008, rince1wind Evanston, IL wrote: The catalog was beautiful; the packing was extensive but rather heavy and the shipping costs were high, as were the plant prices; the plants came in fine shape, although the two roses were very small. Heronswood called me to tell me I didn't need to ship airmail, and sconscientiously sent me a refund right away. I would buy from them again, something I was having trouble finding. I'd expect, however, that the plant(s) might well be quite small. Positive fairygirl (1 review) On April 28, 2008, fairygirl Louisville, KY wrote: I had originally placed a rather large order with Heronswood in early April but decided to go with a local nursery. So I e-mailed on April 9th to cancel my entire order. They did get back to me quickly and assured me that they had canceled my order. Fortunately, I kept that e-mail because just today (4/28), I get a notice from UPS Quantum View that my order from Heronswood has shipped. I immediately e-mailed Heronswood to ask if this was a mistake because my order had already been canceled. Again, service got back to me quickly apologizing for the mix-up and told me to refuse the order and I would be refunded. I double checked my e-statement and found that Heronswood had charged my card on 4/15 - still well after the order had been canceled. I may change my experience to neutral depending on how this turns out. I've never refused an order from UPS so I'm not sure how that's going to go either. On May 1st, 2008, fairygirl changed the rating from negative to positive and added the following: I am changing my rating from negative to positive because of the customer service provided by Shannon. After I posted, she called me to tell me that she had called UPS directly to cancel the order and would be refunding my card. That\'s terrific customer service. Negative daydream7 (2 reviews) On April 28, 2008, daydream7 Hagerstown, MD wrote: Ordered an evergreen tree and was sent something looking like a clematis. After emailing back and forth with customer svc who didn't know an abies from a cactus, I was told tree no longer available. Refund did not include any allowance for shipping. Therefore, I paid $9 for shipping 1 tiny perennial I also ordered. Positive straight8s (3 reviews) On April 28, 2008, straight8s Boise, ID wrote: I found many great plants in the 2008 Heronswood catalog this year so I didn't hold back when ordering. The new website was easy to use as I selected my goodies and actually told you when an item was no longer available. When my order arrived everything was there (not usually the case in the past) very neatly packaged and looking very healthy. Three weeks later all the plants I ordered have put on substantial growth and look fantastic. As a keen gardener I am very happy. Negative wesley4 (3 reviews) On April 15, 2008, wesley4 Schertz, TX wrote: Over $100 for around six scrawny terrible plants. Will not order again... Neutral cutflowermama (4 reviews) On March 29, 2008, cutflowermama Oakland, CA wrote: Ordered a Styrax obassia, a hard to find tree that I love. I was very disappointed in the size of the tree--less than pencil caliper and only a few short roots. I'm giving this company a neutral instead of a negative because I didn't check to see what the description of the plant was before ordering. They should give an accurate description of tree/container size. Tree is alive, so maybe I can coddle it to grow into a visible plant this season. Positive fleur_guy (4 reviews) On May 27, 2007, fleur_guy Olmsted Falls, OH (Zone 5b) wrote: I recently purchased some Iris Variegata from Heronswood. The plants arrived in a timely fashion, were well packaged and fully hydrated. The only caveat was that one of the plants arrived with "ratty" foliage and upon further inspect- ion was found to have a stowaway slug. I did not contact Heronswood as overall the plant looked healthy and I assume it will overcome it's holiness. Neutral phragper (1 review) On May 19, 2007, phragper Lilburn, GA wrote: Ordered 6 hydrangeas-some of them 25.95 each. when they arrived, boy was I disappointed. Had to realy look to even see what little green there was. I immediately called them and they sent 2 to replace 2 of the 6 that were all but dead when they arrived. They were still extremely small(less than 1in in height). After a few days, I decided to contact them again, letting them know how disappointed I was with the size of these plants( the ones I got last year were 6-8 inches tall) They refunded my money. Positive ladyisle (30 reviews) On March 22, 2007, ladyisle Bohemia, NY (Zone 7a) wrote: I placed an order last week with Heronswood. I received confirmation via E-mail. The prices were reasonable and the shipping cost low. I have placed many orders with the old Heronswood, with different degrees of success-which is understandable when one is trying exotic varieties. My order is very small, but I'm taking a chance that I will be pleasantly surprised and then can order more plants that are on my wish list. I will give my official rating when I receive my order. On June 17th, 2007, ladyisle changed the rating from neutral to positive and added the following: I received my plants 2 months ago and waited to give my rating to see how they would do since they hadn't put out a lot of growth yet. They are growing and seem to be doing fine. The pots were deep, so the plants had well developed root systems- more important to me early in the season than lots of top growth with puny roots. Let's see how they make it through the winter- I lost almost an entire order of plants save one over last winter from another, (over-rated, expensive, and opinionated, if I may add), watchdog 30 nursery. On June 17th, 2007, ladyisle added the following: I received my plants 2 months ago and waited to give my rating to see how they would do since they hadn\'t put out a lot of growth yet. They are growing and seem to be doing fine. The pots were deep, so the plants had well developed root systems- more important to me early in the season than lots of top growth with puny roots. Let\'s see how they make it through the winter- I lost almost an entire order of plants save one over last winter from another, (over-rated, expensive, and opinionated, if I may add), watchdog 30 nursery. Neutral Strever (9 reviews) On December 22, 2006, Strever Hiouchi, CA (Zone 9a) wrote: this company use to be one of the better nursery's around now they take forever to ship expensive junk On January 31st, 2007, Strever changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following: only time will tell if the new company becomes what Heronswood use to be. in their defense they have offered to refund my last purchase that turned out so bad Positive Frank222 (1 review) On November 17, 2006, Frank222 Washington, PA wrote: I have bought from Heronswood many times and have made the journey out to Kingston to see the wonderful gardens. It was disappointing to see that Burpee closed down the gardens and moved the operations to Pennsylvania. But I decided to try them again, as they have many exotic species I can’t seem to find elsewhere. I tried and ordered a couple varieties as a test and they were sent quickly and the quality was excellent, in fact, surprisingly this was the best quality of plants I’ve received from Heronswood. I will be checking out their spring open in April at their new location to see how their new gardens are. Negative anamandy (2 reviews) On October 15, 2006, anamandy Crown Point, NY wrote: I ordered from this company twice and both times had negative experiences. The majority of the plants I've ordered quickly fizzled and died. And the customer service was very negative, accusatory and not helpful. If I did something that caused the problem I would own up to it and chalk it up to experience. But when you receive inferior plant material that's on it's way out when you receive it then it's not the customer's fault if it doesn't survive. I think this company should worry less about self promotion and more about customer service by offering it's customers good plant material in the first place. Negative scross1 (5 reviews) On October 12, 2006, scross1 Trenton, NJ wrote: I placed an order with Heronswood at the beginning of September for two trees. I waited until the end of the month to find out where my order was, I was told it was in the nursery getting ready to be shipped. Today I called and found out that my order had been cancelled because both trees were now unavailable. They told me that I should have received an email at the beginning of the week telling me this. Unfortunately, I never received this email and now will never trust Heronswood again. Since the ownership change, it is clear that this company has gone downhill in customer service, plant quality, and selection. I would recommend to anyone thinking about ordering from Heronswood to find alternate sources for your plants. Forestfarm, wayside, Greer gardens, mendocino maples, are all good options. Negative Hudsongarden (3 reviews) On September 26, 2006, Hudsongarden Plainfield, NJ (Zone 6a) wrote: I ordered 11 plants from them in early to mid September. The last week of September I receive a small box with two poorly packed plants, one of which I am not even sure is a living plant. In box is a list of the plants I ordered with nine of them marked CNS (Cannot supply). Meanwhile I missed weeks of planting time and not even an apology included. They also included no information about how to plant the plants etc like the reputable dealers like Bluestone do. Nine out of eleven not in stock...why anybody else would bother with this company is beyond me. Negative Pixydish (11 reviews) On August 9, 2006, Pixydish Lakewood, WA (Zone 8a) wrote: I live about an hour's drive from Heronswood and have visited it several times. I have bought many, many plants from Heronswood, both at the nursery and through mail order. In the past, I found their plants well tended and healthy, although small, and the selection was excellent during the days of the larger catalog. The last time I visited Heronswood was about 3 weeks before Burpee closed it down. I arrived with a list of about 17 plants that I was interested in purchasing, not including the hydrangeas. I had about 10 of those on a separate list. Alas, it was not to be. With dismay I went from greenhouse to greenhouse, looking for each plant, only to find that they either had sold out of it, or the plants they did have looked entirely unhealthy or small and undeveloped. There was not one single plant on my list available. I walked through the gardens I took note of special plants I loved, then checked for those, and, again, was disappointed. I did buy several cultivars of special hydrangeas. They were sold out of many of the more choice varieties, especially the ones I could not get anywhere else, but they did have some good stuff. I was very happy, however, that I was there personally to choose which pot to take, as there was wide variation in quality even among the same cultivar. I also bought a couple of plants that were not on the website or in the catalog. Again, glad I was there in person, because I would never have known these were available by looking at the website. I left there very disappointed. My plan was to go back to Heronswood this month when my MIL visits from Tennessee. We always go there together during her visits. If I had known they would be closing I would have bought more, even taken a chance on some plants that didn't look too good in the pots. But if their selection of plants and the condition of the plants they had is any indication of what they are now carrying, I will certainly pass them up. Neutral buzzbee (6 reviews) On June 7, 2006, buzzbee Baltimore, MD (Zone 7a) wrote: Heronswood used to have the best catalog in the business, a veritable treasure trove. They were somewhat more expensive than many others, but had tons of plants not available elsewhere. Then Burpee bought them, and that was the end of that. Current catalog is all show and no substance. Boohoo.. I miss the old Heronswood :-(( Positive Gerris2 (10 reviews) On May 17, 2006, Gerris2 Wilmington, DE (Zone 7a) wrote: This was my first order. I ordered Salvia evansiana, Salvia spp. from China, Salvia flava var. megalantha and they arrived today, on time, impeccably packaged. I opened the box and found HUGE plants, with large healthy root systems. Each plant was less than ten dollars, and the firm did not gouge on shipping. I can't stop admiring these beauties and really look forward to the spectacular displays of flowers this summer! Run, don't walk, to this vendor's web site! Joseph Positive DCUrbanGardener (15 reviews) On May 12, 2006, DCUrbanGardener Washington, DC (Zone 7a) wrote: I ordered 5 plants from Heronswood, all of them hydrangeas. The plants arrived last night, very well packed. Decent amount of dirt around the rootballs. I live in DC, and selected the 3-day delivery option. I watered the plants sufficiently and they still look ok as of this morning. One more week of further acclimating and they should go into the ground. Will no doubt update this post if anything changes. So far the plants look VERY healthy and nicely sized. Positive DeerPhobic (7 reviews) On April 9, 2006, DeerPhobic Gig Harbor, WA wrote: I, too, am lucky enough to live within an hour of this nursery. Last year I attended their early spring "open house" and purchased A LOT of plants. Yes, a lot of the containers appeared to be nothing but roots, but, just as promised, as soon as it warmed up the plants took off. Most of Heronswood's plants are in deep containers and the root structures are great. However, if you don't know what to expect, I can certainly understand how some purchasers felt underwhelmed when their order arrived. They are relatively expensive and you often get dormant plants, but, rest assured that they are top quality and will perform. In my opinion this is one of the best sources of plants and, in fact, I often notice other nurseries selling Heronswood plants. Positive bluetomatofish (1 review) On February 19, 2006, bluetomatofish Sedro Woolley, WA wrote: Heronswood nursery is a gem! I am fortunate enough to live in their area and made the 2 hour trip to their nursery for the first time yesterday at their 'Hellebore Open'. Amazing nursery and large woodland garden area. So many varieties that their workers and volunteers have to carry books with them to aid in identification. The nursery seems to be affiliated in some with the University of Washington horticultural department- I could be wrong though. If I were a horticultural student that is where I would want to be! If you are looking for a rare plant, this is the place. Some of the plants (at least in February) looked small- but many I had never seen or heard of before. All looked healthy. This nursery may use horticultural zones rather than the standard zones most gardeners use- I suggest clarifying with them when ordering. I also suggest caution as many of their plants are probably not for the average gardener. Some of the plants they had successfully growing out (and HUGE) are not plants many could probably keep alive due to the plants requirements. At this time of year several were well wrapped for environmental protection. Be sure you have the time and experience before purchasing some of their rarer varieties- just because the horticulturists at Heronswood can keep the plant thriving doesn't mean I could! Remember, many of their varieties have been collected from unique microclimates from around the world- be prepared to provide what they need. If you have done your research or are ordering varieties you are familiar with you should be fine. The customer assistance I received there was better than I have ever had. All questions answered promptly, thoroughly. I for one intend to be a repeat customer. I just don't find many of the varieties or the friendly, highly knowledgable staff anywhere else. S Anderson Skagit County, WA Negative cloverhill (6 reviews) On February 4, 2006, cloverhill Katoomba (Australia) wrote: Very,very,very,small plants,they have one of the best selections of plants, but no customer service.you order plants and ask is it available,they say YES you place you order but do not receive all the plants you ordered. As a overseas customer this is most disturbing,you final think you have the plants you have alway wanted and they do not arrive,NO EMAIL TO TELL YOU IT'S NOT AVAILABLE 5 TIMES I HAVE PURCHASED SPECIES OF 1 TYPE OF PLANT OVER A PERIOD OF 4 YEARS HOPING THEY WOULD GET BETTER, AND EACH TIME IT HAS BEEN SO SMALL YOU NEED A MICROSCOPE TO SEE IT! NOT GO ENOUGH HERONSWOOD Positive MeanoGreano (1 review) On January 20, 2006, MeanoGreano Webb City, MO wrote: I bought two trees from Heronswood last spring. One of trees was a maple I could not find anywhere else and I was guessing it may be too hot in my area and my clayish soil too much for this tree. I thought I would plant it in a pot for a year to let it grow before I put it in the ground. The tree died a few weeks after I put it into the pot. I sent them an email explaining in detail what I had done and asking for advice. I told them I was not asking for a replacement just advice. They were very nice in pointing out errors I had made and promptly sent me a replacement. I followed their advice and the second maple made it through the summer. Positive SNAKEBARK (2 reviews) On October 24, 2005, SNAKEBARK San Francisco, CA wrote: I have ordered several hundred plants from Heronswood Nursery over many years, and I regard the nursery as an invaluable source for rare and interesting plants. My rating: EXCELLENT! I have found their service to be always professional, friendly, and courteous. The shipping has been great (I have had some orders sent to San Francisco, CA and some sent to Cheswick, PA). The quality of the plants is first rate. It is probably true that many the of the rarest plants are not for beginning gardeners --- they often have demanding cultural requirements, and a few years of careful gardening might be necessary until the plants mature. I'm happy to report that I am one very satisfied customer. Positive Ashake (1 review) On October 6, 2005, Ashake Indianola, WA wrote: intersting, a lot of comments rate this company on how BIG thier plants are or how often the give you replacements even when it is your own fault that the plants died ... what i love about this company is that they provide what so few provide: a wide variety of plants rarely or never sold at regular retail nurseries who must make thier money off of the most commonly known and used plants, and who manufacture plants by the scads... In the USA we have so few of the really great nurseries, those who are willing to put in the research and work required to make such plants available. And of course this means that they will frequently be out of stock, and plants will be expensive and often small!!! but if you want a nursery who caters to the unsophistaced gardner, the gardner who needs plants that can't die, and the gardner who doesn't like to speand money.. ther is one down the street! But her is one intersting suggestion, often at Home Depot etc. you will find that they experiment with five or six intersting plants in a season. Then you will find great plants that are cheap! ... but mainly i say, support the good work of diligent passionate horticulturalists... there are so few! ... certgainly theyow it to us to be civil and helpful and resoanable and fair and disease free(at least ;-) the plants )... but we owe it to them to not expect them to act like the average retail nursery or Lowes - last year i was looking for Vinca Minor and went to Lowes who were advertising thier expertise, no one there had even heard of Vinca... but they were cheap and would replace anything. diatribe over :-) Negative 58599 (1 review) On September 25, 2005, 58599 Elcho, WI (Zone 4a) wrote: I had ordered a Korean maple which was healthy when I received it. It had since died, when I contacted the company they will not stand behind the product, they will not give a replacement or credit. They now tell me that the tree you ordered was not for your area. Don't you think when I talked to them during this order, this was something as a seller they should have mentioned to me. With all the research I did told me that these trees survive in Minnesota so Elcho, WI should have been ok. I never worked with a mail order company that did not stand behind there product. Very disapointed. Positive Janna (18 reviews) On June 4, 2005, Janna Mahwah, NJ (Zone 6a) wrote: Absolutely amazing freshness and quality of the plants! I orderer 2 wisteria plants, after reading positive feedbacks here, and they arrived in just fabulous condition! Not a leaf broken, fresh and happy, and BIG! And it was shipped across the whole country- from Washington to New Jersey. Very happy, will order again. Positive gwendylena (20 reviews) On May 5, 2005, gwendylena La Salle, MI wrote: I ordered several plants for the first time this year. The roots of the plants I received were excellent looking. Overall they look very healthy. Their prices seem reasonable especially since the plants are such high quality. I live in Michigan so the shipping was not cheap, but it wasn't out of line either. The way I look at it is either you pay higher shipping costs or you pay more for your plants. Either way you'll pay the cost of shipping your plants either directly or indirectly. As others have said, this is the type of nursery where you look for something special and different. I also have to mention that they were absolutely wonderful about this: Right before my order was to ship I found out it was going to snow and also that I had to work 14 hour shifts on the day the order would be delivered and the three days after it. I emailed customer service and they delayed my order delivery by a week. This was on the morning my order was supposed to ship. That's really great customer service. I highly recommend this nursery. Positive ealbr (6 reviews) On May 4, 2005, ealbr Racine, WI wrote: I have ordered fron Heronswood for years and will continue to do so. While some of their plants are fairly small, they are healthy, well-packed and often rare. The catalogue is a learning experience. I enjoy their unique selection and the plants I have received from them. Positive plantbug (6 reviews) On April 6, 2005, plantbug Asheboro, NC wrote: I received my order and was pleasantly surprised how well the plants were wrapped and the SIZE of the plants. Very happy with this order. Positive slugmugger (2 reviews) On March 18, 2005, slugmugger West Linn, OR (Zone 8b) wrote: A wonderful company to buy from. They are friendly and respectful and kept me informed of my order status. I always know that what ever I order will be of good quality, healthy and strong. The Hellebores that I ordered last year have tripled in size and bloom. The begonia and geranium I just recv'd are exceptional. I highly reccomend this company to anyone. Positive Missyinbama (30 reviews) On March 11, 2005, Missyinbama Mobile, AL (Zone 8b) wrote: They have an excellent selection of rare plants plants notified me when they were shipped, and the plants arrived in great shape! Although shipping is expensive, it is not much greater than any other nursery shipping from the west coast. (I wish they were all cheaper!) I can't say anything about how well the plants have fared yet, as I have just recieved and planted them, but I did get a mixture of small and large sized plants shipped to me- hopefully they will all live and grow well! On November 5th, 2005, Missyinbama added the following: Just getting ready to plant my latest order... thank goodness for the web specials... it allows me to buy more great plants! I definitely like when there are photos on the site; many of the plants are rare enough that it is difficult to find a respresentative live plant (especially in the southeast, where some plants may be experimental) or another photo on the internet. A very recommended nursery! Negative gowron (36 reviews) On February 17, 2005, gowron Athens, GA wrote: I recently received my order from Hersonswood (for 4 rare conifers) and I am quite satisfied with it. Yes, their plants are small but they are very well rooted. The closest I can compare them is with Forestfarm's "tubes" (because over the years I have also bought a lot of those), and Heronswood's plants are, in my opinion, superior to the small offerings from Forestfarm. They are also of consistently high quality (see my comment on Forestfarm elswhere). A rapid census of the (many and rare) things that I have growing in my backyard shows that the proportion of plants that came from Heronswood (relative to the number of plants that I got originally) is much higher than the proportion that came as Forestfarm tubes, and the size and quality of the Heronswood plants is also better, even comparing them after 5 - 10 years in the ground (to be fair, Forestfarm gallons usually do much better than their tubes). I have been less lucky with Heronswood's perennials, but then I am not all that interested in them so perhaps it was my fault. For rare conifers, if you are willing to start small and wait a few years, I can reccommend them most heartily. On August 2nd, 2006, gowron changed the rating from positive to negative and added the following: My previous positive rating corresponded to the \"original\" Herosnwood and DOES NOT apply to the current operation, which appears to be a typically worthless corporate America-style operation. It is sad to lose Hersonswood to the Walmart types, but much as I despise the kind of company that now owns it, I have to wonder whether the previous owner is not partly at fault in allowing this to happen..... Positive billsmetro (3 reviews) On May 27, 2004, billsmetro Smithton, IL (Zone 6a) wrote: Ordered a Canna Grande. Received timely and accurate emails, very courteous, Plant arrived on the day stated, and was superbly packed, HUGE and in wonderful condition. Their shipping is WAY expensive, but you know that going in. Wonderful collection of plants you can not find elsewhere. Positive szygzy (3 reviews) On May 5, 2004, szygzy wrote: In my ordering this year from most of the prominent mail-order houses, Heronswood remains the class of the group. A definate "best value" for the rare plant collector, as most of their more unique plants are unavailable elsewhere. Prices are in the medium to high range, but compare very favorably to the other "high end" mail-order shops. Previous comments on small plant size tend to be accurate, but the plants always arrive healthy, and it is not furniture, after all. Positive mrsjones (9 reviews) On May 3, 2004, mrsjones wrote: The plants I received these past two years were neither small nor sickly. I don't think of Heronswood as my source for easily available items, but they have do have great selections if you are "collecting," for example, Hardy geraniums. I do get mine earlier than my other shipments because I live in Zone 4, and they fill orders as they ship. It is important enough to me to keep them going a month in pots and then transplant into the garden. If I were to lose a plant, it's because I forgot to water it. I worried when they got bought by Burpee, but so far, I am still glad to order from them. Neutral kzozkum (6 reviews) On May 1, 2004, kzozkum Washington, DC wrote: Good source for some hard to find plants, but they tend to send SMALL plants at PREMIUM prices. So this should be your last resort with the understanding that your plants will need a year or two to get to a reasonable size. I find that often their plants are so small, they succumb to transplant shock even with coddling. Positive hostalovers (3 reviews) On April 28, 2004, hostalovers wrote: I've read some of the negative reviews of Heronswood Nursery and I can hardly believe what I just read! I purchased from them and I am extremely pleased with the plants that I received. I ordered 8 different plants and every single plant is healthy and living. Sure, some may consider the prices a bit steep, but, the plants I received were all of good size to make up for it. I think I got a great deal out of the entire purchase! Thanks Heronswood Nursery and I will be back for more plants. In fact, I plan to visit the nursery in person in just a few weeks. Positive Tabassam (9 reviews) On April 21, 2004, Tabassam Beaufort, SC wrote: I was very happy with my order. Very unusual plants and healthy, well packed and reasonable prices. I was expecting smaller plants, but they were strong healthy larger plants. They informed me beforehand (via e-mail)when my shipment would be shipped, which is extremely convenient because I'm always afraid of being out of town when a plant shipment arrive. I would buy from them again. Good experience. Wish I could work for them.

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