The scoop on 'Roots and Rhizomes'

Company Profile   Roots and Rhizomes Mailing Address: PO Box A Randolph, Wisconsin 53956-0118 (United States) Phone: 1-800-374-5035 Fax: 1-800-374-6120 Paper Catalog Cost: n/a » E-Mail them » Visit their website Recent reviews: Past month Past 6 Months Past 12 Months Positive 0 2 6 Neutral 0 1 2 Negative 0 1 1 This company is affiliated with Jung Seed This company offers a variety of gardening supplies and plants.

Feedback History and Summary   27 positives 16 neutrals 32 negatives

Comments:

Rating Author Content Positive CelestialBurst Logan, WV (2 reviews) September 03, 2009 I ordered from R&R for the first time this year because a friend of mine alerted me to a few of the sale items that they had back earlier this summer. Hostas, daylilies, and some assorted perennials. When they arrived, the shriveled roots that were in the bags did not look very promising. I still planted them, but figured that this would be my first and last association with the company. A week or so later things began to sprout. After that, the plants began to take shape and looked really nice. As the summer moved on and many of the plants I received from other companies or bought as plants locally began to look sickly and diseased, the R&R plants are outstanding! The daylilies all bloomed and the hostas are just perfect. I could not be happier! I will definitely be doing business with them in the future and will be eliminating a lot of the other lesser companies that I purchased from in the past. Thank you Roots and Rhizomes! Negative daffojill Ringoes, NJ (7 reviews) June 18, 2009 I recently decided to give R&R a shot as there was no recent bad feedback. What a mistake. I ordered half a dozen daylilies and received the most pitiful, paltry, pathetic, puny plants I have ever seen and that's just the "P's". They were obviously not freshly dug with both fine and fleshy roots darkened and shriveled. Also very little growth-where had these been for the last six weeks?? If I ran this "circus" I would be ashamed to send out such dismal plants-sale or no sale-a little quality control is in order here. Only a complete novice would accept these plants in such bad condition. I will stick to the daylily nurseries that dig the plants when I place my order. Neutral kkirschbaum Yonkers, NY (Zone 6b) (21 reviews) June 11, 2009 I placed an order because they had a Malva 'Blue Fountain' listed as available in 3-inch pots on their website. It is next to impossible to find this cultivar in pots. It's rare to find it to begin with, is usually only offered bare root. In fact, I bought this as bare root in 2008, and it failed to come up. That experience pretty much put me completely off buying bare root plants. When I received the package from Roots & Rhizomes, it turned out that they sent me bare root plants despite offering it online in pots. It was incredibly upsetting -- and disappointing. I had scoured the internet for a particular plant available in a particular form, thought to have found it, only to be let down in the end. I complained immediately. I must commend them in that their customer service rep responded within hours on the same day and immediately refunded the cost of the plants. The customer service person said they had run out of plants, could only fulfill orders with bare roots, and had forgotten to update their website. On the plus side, their customer service is responsive. On the minus side, they either can't be relied upon to accurately describe their merchandise or to update their website. Some geraniums I'd ordered at the same time but which shipped later also came bare root despite being offered on the website in pots. As of today, both the malva and the geranium are still listed on their website as available in pots. I am giving this company a neutral rating, since they were very responsive and gave me a full refund. Positive LinkM Williamsville, NY (Zone 5b) (10 reviews) May 13, 2009 Against my better judgement I placed an order because they were the only place I could find some plants I really wanted. I was rewarded with nice, healthy plants in a very imaginative packing system. I would like to think they have learned from some other reports here, and I may try them again. Positive millie08 Crivitz, WI (1 review) April 25, 2009 we received everything we ordered and all of the plants were absolutely wonderful. I will be ordering from them again. I found alot of shade perennials i couldnt find anywhere else. Positive jayt36 Ashland, PA (Zone 6a) (7 reviews) April 24, 2009 I ordered six day lilies and five oriental lilies from R & R. My day lilies arrived in excellent condition and are already showing about 4" of growth. My oriental lilies were back ordered but came today. They are of a size much bigger than I expected and I am very pleased with them. I hope to get them planted tomorrow. Also, I must comment that customer service was excellent. I wrote to ask when my day lilies would be sent and received a reply that they would get them out immediately. A couple of days ago, I wrote to ask about my back ordered oriental lilies, and was told that they were ready to be shipped. I was thanked for my order. I will certainly order from this company again. Positive PinetopPlanter Auburn Four Corners, PA (Zone 5a) (12 reviews) April 06, 2009 I'm relatively new to daylilies, and ordered from several individuals on eBay, and this catalogue. While I haven't yet received plants from the other sources, I did get my R&R order last week. While they are not potted and green, the roots are alive and healthy looking. They arrived in individual, sealed plastic bags with holes punched in the bag. There was a modicum of peat with them, and the beginnings of growth on each. Each bag was printed with the variety name. They were not at all dried out. The catalogue IS beautiful, but I agree with another poster that the website needs some work. They do offer some fine varieties, and their prices are good. I would order again from them. Positive magnolia_fan Mason, OH (7 reviews) April 04, 2009 I was really impressed with their collection of dicentra. I ordered quite a few last year. Two of them didn't make it last year. I emailed and asked for replacement and soon received nice plants. I am really impressed with their professionalism. I'll surely order from Roots and Rhizomes again because they stand behind their plants. Thank you so much. Neutral EllieSmith Lebanon, MO (3 reviews) March 12, 2009 Three years ago I succumbed to a beautiful picture in the R&R catalog -- daylily Spacecoast Starburst. It was SOOO expensive, way more than I ever pay for a plant but I HAD to have it. It arrived, extremely tiny and stressed and I planted it with trepidation. It grew in spite of it all, and I was pleased that it even put out a flower stalk that year, but what a disappointment when it opened. The flower was NOTHING like the picture. Needless to say, I was rather upset, so I contacted them and even sent them a picture of the lily that bloomed. Obviously it was nothing like the catalog photo and I assumed that they had mixed up varieties. They kindly sent me a replacement, which I also planted. It also bloomed, the following year. It also was nothing like the picture. The two lilies are now three years old. They are still not like the picture in the catalog, they are not fragrant, they do not rebloom. Even though R&R were helpful and polite, I will not order from them again. I am still wondering what kind of lily I have, it certainly is not Spacecoast Starburst, at least not the one they have pictured in their catalog. This experience has made me very leery of them. Negative ben773 Waukegan, IL (13 reviews) July 22, 2008 Earlier this year I ordered six Echinacea Virgin from them. The plants, which were supposed to be in pots were plugs with ALL top growth removed. The instructions on the bag said something like "plant and water me well and I will rewards you with beautiful blooms". Well, only one of the plugs grew, and grew poorly and now (July), it is still struggling. I called the company about 3 weeks after I babied them to no avail, and they told me that they were out of the Echinacea Virgin and sent me a credit letter for replacements - next year! They also told me that I should have called them immediately when I noticed anything wrong with the plants. Well, I thought a plug with the top growth removed was the norm. I trusted the company's judgement. I will never order anything from this company again. I thought this subsidiary of Jung was "more upscale", but based on the plants received, I guess not. On June 8th, 2009, ben773 added the following: I lied when I said I'll never order from them again. But then, I don't have a choice because who else would honor a credit replacement letter from Roots and Rhizomes? So, I placed an order for Echinacea Virgin and Siberian Iris. Well, I get the same puny Echinacea Virgin and the "generous sized" Siberian Irises were partially dried up and not generous at all. Got fooled twice and never again! Negative KYGardenGirl Georgetown, KY (12 reviews) July 09, 2008 We placed an order from this company back in 2006, for about a dozen daylilies. It's taken this long for some of them to bloom for the first time, so that's why I'm just now leaving a rating. The daylilies were the smallest I've ever gotten from anywhere, and I have over 400 daylilies. That would be fine if they took off and grew, but about half of them died. The company did offer replacements when available, or credit. But now I'm finding out that of the ones that lived and are finally blooming, most of them were labeled wrong. This is way too much trouble and hassle to bother with ordering from them again. It's too bad, as their prices are good, and the catalog pictures are so nice, but the plants don't live up to them. Negative njalmon Wilmington, DE (1 review) June 19, 2008 I am on old gardener who has ordered many plants in my lifetime. I have never ordered and received more wretched, pitiful plnts in my life as I did from Roots and Rhisomes. On top of that, the woman who took my order was unknowledgeable and rather rude. What a disappointment and waste of money. I ordered eight plants of galiun odoratum (Sweet Woodruff) which were spindly and dry. I planted them anyway. Oh well. Neutral daylilydazed Sewaren, NJ (7 reviews) June 15, 2008 I ordered from this company because I received a gift certificate. The daylilies were all single fans and come in a plastic bag with holes and wood shavings and some peat moss. They looked pathetic so rather than putting them directly into the garden I potted them up. Three out of 12 did not make it. I think being in plastic and if it is hot when they ship it causes condensation and rot. One actually had a mushy crown directly out of the bag. Contacted the company and they promptly sent out replacements. Also one of the ones I ordered was no longer available and they promptly sent a refund check. Negative connor4 Milton, DE (1 review) June 07, 2008 I ordered an Angelica,3 Princeton Silky daylillies, and 1 daylilly Welcome Mat. Only the Angelica and one of the Princeton Silky have survivied. All of the daylillies were extremely small and I am surprised that one has survived. I have been growing daylillies for 40+ years and have never had an experience like this. The catalog was quite nice but the product was very poor. They have seen the last of my money. Positive gsd97jks Brooklyn, NY (1 review) April 18, 2008 I found these guys through a friend and ordered using their website (which by the way could definitely use some work, my one negative comment!). Plants arrived about a month after I ordered them, well packaged and healthy all. There was no "warning email" that they were coming, but that was ok by me. So far they are doing well in my city garden. I thought the prices were quite good for the size and quality of plants I received. Plus the addition of a bonus gift (a daylily) was a nice touch. I will gladly order from them again. Positive Sootfoot5 Mobile, AL (Zone 8b) (6 reviews) April 07, 2008 I have been a long time customer of Jung, but this is the first time I've ordered from R&R. I was not disappointed. The plants arrived in excellent condition being packed exceedingly well. They were also surprisingly large for the price. Another surprise was the free gift. Most companies offer a free gift as a "come on." This free gift was not mentioned when I ordered - it was just given, FREELY! (as it should be!) It is a lovely plant, a phlox, in very good shape, not a "second." I will definetely order for R&R again, and I highly recommend them. Great bargains, and great product. Positive jajtiii Richmond, VA (Zone 7b) (4 reviews) March 02, 2008 I ordered from these folks in the Spring of 2007 and I believe it was a positive experience. The plants were some of the most inexpensive plants that I had seen advertised, so I knew that I would be getting single tubers with not a lot of meat on them (I expect to get what I pay for and this seemed reasonable and acceptable.) For the most part, the plants came in better health then expected and the one that was showing some rot was immediately replaced (I think there was a wait for the shipping, but the customer service rep was very friendly and squared me away immediately.) It seems that the biggest thing to watch for with Daylily companies is them sending you some unnamed variety (and you don't know it til a couple of years go by, when the plant has had time to bloom.) Of the 9 daylilies that I ordered last year, 7 bloomed and all appeared to be the variety that I ordered. I am going to order from them again (right now in fact.) Negative gardenner Champaign, IL (1 review) January 26, 2008 I am delighted to have the opportunity to comment on Roots and Rhizomes. Several years ago I order the day lily Rose Crush. The description and picture in the catalog were great..."We can pick this one out in our fields a mile away, blah blah" Check out the pic and you have to admit, its outstanding. Well I ordered it, planted it and anxiously awaited its first bloom, Yuck! it was a muddy rose, unnoteworthy from even six feet away. Called the company, they said no complaints had been lodged before, sent me a replacement, same dirty color. I gave up and never ordered again. What prompts me to write is that even to this day they continue with the same BS and the same picture. I wonder how many have been let down in this way. Company representative comment on January 28, 2008: On Jan 28, 2008 2:16 PM, Roots and Rhizomes added: We're sorry 'gardenner' was disappoited with our Rose Crush daylily. We've sold hundreds of Rose Crush daylilies since its introduciotn in 1999 with many repeat orders and have had few, if any, complaints. We will review the picture of Rose Crush and take a new picture if necessary. We try very hard to make our catalog as factual as possible and will look into this customer's report. If any of our customers have a similar complaint, please contact our customer service department at info@rootsrhizomes.com or 1-800-546-4399. Positive carmin Amherst, SD (4 reviews) December 28, 2007 I have ordered from R & R for the past 2 years and have been very happy with this company. There prices are good and there plants do well. I have had a couple of plants fail, but they were either replaced or refunded. There customer service was very helpful and friendly. Negative grpphoto Middletown, NJ (1 review) October 11, 2007 In spring of 2007, I ordered 3 Athyrium "lady in red", 1 Dicentra gold heart, 3 Reginae lady's slipper, 3 Turtleheads, 1 Monkshood pink sensation, 2 Common Monkshood, and 3 Black adder agastache. Of the bunch, the Dicentra came up and survived, though it's rather small (about palm size). Two of the lady's slippers also came up, but did not bloom. They were also bare-rooted, which usually means they were pirated from the wild. The athyrium arrived potted, but disappeared. Nothing else showed up. Even if it had, I think the pirated lady's slippers would have convinced me not to buy from them again. Positive fancypantsnancy Sandy, UT (2 reviews) July 11, 2007 I have bought dayliles, siberian iris and a potted penstemon. All but the penstemon has survived and i believe it was my fault it died. Positive debincincy Cincinnati, OH (Zone 6a) (5 reviews) May 29, 2007 Well, I am going to give R&R a positive rating. I too received the nice catalog for the first time this year but I was cautious due to the ratings here. But this year I did a mail-order test of my own, ordered from Jungs, R&R, Gurneys, Audubon Workshop, using coupons, etc. So far the only company that has sent me EVERYTHING I ordered has been R&R. All the others I am still waiting on backorders. The plants from R&R were small, as expected but green and healthy. (no smaller than Bluestone). I kept them in the pots while it has been so hot the last few weeks and they are still fine. Planted some over the weekend. Right after I ordered in February, I realized I did not get an email confirmation so I called and I talked to one of the nicest customer reps ever. Very pleasant and she verified my order was in the system. At first I did think it took long to receive the plants, but they did come from Wisconsin and I'm in Ohio, but since they arrived healthy, that was OK. Once I see how they do this summer, I may have to admit that I would order from them again, I would so far. Neutral sweetstripes Portland, OR (1 review) May 06, 2007 Received a great catalog from Roots & Rhizomes (had never received one before). I ordered two Delphiniums. Had the holes already dug, anxiously awaiting, and I get a tiny box in the mail with two small plastic bags inside. Each bag contained a 1 - 1/2-in long root ball x about 1/4 in across. Paid 33.00 for this experience! I did plant them in pots and then tried to send an e-mail, but somehow the e-mail just wouldn't go through (surprise). I then sent a letter of complaint to the company and, to their credit, I did get a full refund from Jung seed (?). However, I will not order from this company again. As for the two microscopic specimens I planted in pots - they never made it out of the soil. Positive Russy Harrisonville, MO (1 review) April 24, 2007 Hello, I ordered 4 cypripedium plants all came in good condition but a little dried. The adversment stated blooming sized plants for 70.00 each 65.00 if ordering 2 or more, what I recived was 2 to 3 year from blooming sized plants whitch sell for 25.00 each from Roberts Flowers, I was very very dissipointed. I called to complain but they told me my only choice was to send them back, they are all ready coming up and that would mean death to these rare plants. this is a case of false advertisement, and to those of you who ordered from there got riped off! I will never purtch from them again! I spent $280.00 with this company and you would think they would have offered me something in compansation! On April 25th, 2007, Russy changed the rating from negative to positive and added the following: A series of miscommunications lead to my last feedback comments but after better communications as of today, the situation has been resolved and I am a satisfied customer of Roots & Rhizomes once more. This is a hectic time for all of the ordering companies so try not to be as rash as I was and carefuly explain what is wrong, without getting too upset with the person on the other end, they are under stress as well! Neutral iowegian Griswold, IA (2 reviews) April 14, 2007 Potted plants from R&R were very good. The free daylily was great. But I think they are a conglomerate of 5 different companies and the $15.00 Delphiniums were tiny and in the plastic bags. 5-6 plants in plastic and none were more than tiny rooted cuttings, too small to be called plants. None lived. But, I think these plants came from one of their other companies, as the same plants were listed by another co. in the same town. I won't order anything that isn't in a pot anymore. I hope the one's I've ordered this year (all potted) are nice healthy plants. Negative northgrass West Chazy, NY (Zone 4b) (3 reviews) January 27, 2007 So much effort putting out such a gorgeous catalog with a nice selection of plants but failing so miserably by shipping sub-standard plants that generally did not even come up or died. It is a shame! Neutral Jancee Salem, NH (1 review) November 24, 2006 I ordered plants in spring of '06, and when they came they were all healthy, (except for 1 daylily), albeit a little on the small side. Did not like packaging, which used plastic bags, which promotes moisture (which is OK-but may cause rotting). Since this was first time ordering plants through mail did not know if this was standard practice with other companies. Daylily was called in and re-ordered. Person who answered phone said it was too late in spring and couldn't replace. Did get replacement late summer and was OK. Checked growth at end of season and everything made it. Not sure if would order from them again. Jancee in NH Positive erichle Reedsburg, WI (5 reviews) October 01, 2006 I have been an addictive Gardner for over 9 years, and got to know many Garden Centers, but I need to tell you about an awesome Garden Center, right here in my State, WI !!! "Roots & Rhizomes" Somehow I contacted them or they send me a Catalog, either way I am sooooooooo happy they found me :) There Catalog alone is truly awesome, and I proceeded to order lots of stuff !! Almost everything arrived when it was supposed to, and the packing of the seedlings was perfect, because nothing was disturbed, or messed up, and the Seedlings were nice and large, which is rare with other Garden Centers !! I planted everything and felt good about it , as I said, I never had to worry that the seedlings were to little and I had to watch them continuously. Some stuff was back-ordered, they all arrived in perfect health also, and to this day, everthing is growing so well!!! I did have 2 death, I wrote them, and with in 2 days I had the replacements, also in perfect health, and large seedlings again. There were NO questions ask by them, nothing !! I will for sure order plants from them from now on :) A very happy Customer :) Margrit Positive flyingms Morrisville, PA (1 review) August 29, 2006 I recently purchased 6 "Twilight Sunset" Big Sky Coneflowers from Roots and Rhizomes. They arrived two days later, packed well, and completely unscathed (amazingly un-ruffled). Though small (I didn't expect big plants, as these are new cultivars and very popular), they were obviously vigorous and happy. I had never ordered from Roots and Rhizomes before, and was very pleased both with their shipping (speed and packing) and quality of the plants. Negative hepzabah Royal Oak, MI (3 reviews) June 25, 2006 I ordered four plants from this company in April. It took an extended time, over a month, for the bare roots to arrive. When they finally arrived two of them were in bags that had a label a different plant than the label inside the bag. To make matters worse neither of those two plants were what I ordered. Additionally, I order two Geranium Sinense the bare roots were in bags with no labels and in very poor shape. I complained to the company with no feedback or help from them. Both of the Geranium Sinense failed to thrive and of course now the company is out of stock. I am a Master Gardner and have never had such poor product and customer service from a nursery before. I wish I had known read about this company before I ordered. I am a Master Gardner and have never had such poor product and customer service from a nursery before. Negative sneezepac Elkview, WV (Zone 6b) (2 reviews) May 28, 2006 I ordered 3 day lillies and a hosta from this company and paid a high price for them. When I got them I was definately unimpressed. All of the plants, though alive, were very small for the price I paid. I ordered from them mainly as I saw one variety of day lilly I really liked, but wish I had come to WatchDog first. I would not have ordered. I've gotten much bigger and healthier plants at other mail order nurseries for less money. Positive Live2garden Waterford, WI (Zone 5b) (6 reviews) May 15, 2006 I placed my first order with this company a few months ago. I received the plants this Saturday. They are all in excellent condition, well packed and shipped safely. I am very pleased with the condition of the plants - both the size and vitality. In fact the size of the hostas are very impressive - no microscope is needed to see this guy! I will be ordering from them again. The only "bad" thing I could say is that an email to notify me that the plants were shipped would have been nice, but I am learning that not many companies provide this service. Maybe in the future there will be a way to link a shipment with an order and it can automatically send an email like the brand name pharmacies do. But this is a minor problem as far as I am concerned. Positive woof12 (11 reviews) May 05, 2006 judging from the user ratings and comments I must be one of the few that got what they paid for. I've ordered plants a few times & never had a problem. The prices were right & the plants were a nice size. On April 11th, 2008, woof12 changed the rating from positive to neutral and added the following: Geez. I spoke too soon. this spring's 2008's order arrived & I wouldn't send this to a sick dog. Half of the order was only so-so. The other half was the pits. Out of the pots, leaves pruned all the way back & dried out/ wilted from the trip. Totally unprofessonal to send stuff like that no matter what the price. On April 14th, 2008, woof12 changed the rating from neutral to positive and added the following: Well, at least they made it right. The replacement arrived sooner than I thought it would. Company representative comment on April 11, 2008: On Apr 11, 2008 12:41 PM, Roots and Rhizomes added: We hope you'll contact us directly to resolve this problem. Ruth 800-546-4399 ruth@jungseed.com Negative Memon Fort Worth, TX (1 review) May 04, 2006 I placed a substantial order to Roots and Rhizomes on April 28, 2006. I received a confirmation on the order but never received noitification that the order had been shipped. I called today (May 6, 2006) to inquire on the status of shipping. I was told that the order would be shipped next week. I explained to the young lady that I had a problem with that due to having to having to go overseas for 2 1/2 weeks and wanted the plants in the ground in ample time to make sure they were watered and tended properly before departing. She could not assure me of that due to some of the plants being on backorder, which I was never notified about. I had no alternative bu to cancel the order and ask for a refund. She could not offer any information of when the refund would be made. If I had been notified about the backorder status, I would have made other arrangements. Positive hugeposiepatch Clearfield, PA (Zone 5a) (11 reviews) April 14, 2006 I received plants from this company today and they were in fairly good condition. I received a Corydalis elata--it was potted--a little dry--but still a nice plant. The other 2 I received were in bags--not much top growth but still both had good roots. I have planted them and will see if they grow or not. From what I saw today--I would order from this company again. Negative irishflowergal Clawson, MI (2 reviews) February 21, 2006 It appears some of the photos in the catalog have been enhanced or altered and are not a true reprsentative of the actual plant...ie: Red October and Queen Josephine Hostas. 2006 Catalog. May be others as well. Company representative comment on March 17, 2006: On Mar 17, 2006 2:00 PM, Roots and Rhizomes added: On Feb. 21, 2006 at 2:14pm I emailed irishflowergal the following: We are sorry you didn't contact us to ask about this before posting in a public forum. The picture of Red October came from our vendor, the picture was not a very high resolution so maybe that is why you think there is a problem. The Queen Josephine picture was taken right here in our growing area. That picture was taken in shade, so maybe it appears dark to you? If you have any other questions about our pictures or any thing else, please feel free to contact me. Ruth As of today March 17, 2006 I have recieved no reply. Negative Dawn457 Cross River, NY (3 reviews) February 15, 2006 Nice catalog. However, plants always arrive in poor condition due to poor packaging. About 50% are always dead on arrival or shortly thereafter. Life is too short for such grief. Neutral dirtyharry Aurora, CO (Zone 5a) (23 reviews) January 25, 2006 I would recommend that anyone thinking of purchasing daylilies from this company, think again. Buy daylilies from growers who specialize in daylilies. Go to the American Hemerocallis Society website http://www.daylilies.org/ and click on Daylily Sources. Positive zechickadee Philadelphia, PA (1 review) January 24, 2006 I'd never order daylilies from anyone but Oakes, but R&R's Siberian irises arrived large and healthy to me. Perennials were lower-priced than the "big-name" catalogs, and no smaller than Bluestone's, for example... and perfectly healthy. Online ordering is easy, too. As with any plant, prices are often fairer at local nurseries, but R&R has certain items I can't find nearby, even at the notable nurseries in my area. My orders were more recent than most of the negative comments here, so maybe the company is working to improve. Negative flowerlady70ks Dodge City, KS (3 reviews) February 21, 2005 They have a lovely catalog and thats all they've got. The plants were all small and most of them dead when they arrived. The replacements weren't any better.

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