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On Dec 12, 2009, cramsey1 Salt Lake City, UT wrote:
I have ordered from Gurney's several times this year. I ordered seeds for my garden which did very well. I ordered their Ka Bluey blueberry bush. When it arrived it was health, green and larger then I expected. I also ordered 3 Blackberry plants which all looked health but one never grew and 6 daylilies which had huge fans. There were a couple of small problems. When the daylilies bloomed the same season as I got them they were not the color I had ordered. I called Gurney and notified them about the problem with the daylilies and the blackberry plant. Their customer service was very helpful. They were responsive and courteous. They notified me that they would send out replacement plants in the spring at the appropriate planting time. I offered to pay for the beautiful daylilies that they sent or to return them, but they said to keep them that it was their error. I have been very pleased with all my interactions with this company. They stand behind there product. They have been more then fair in dealing with me. I am sorry to hear that some others may not have had the same excellent service that I have received, but I recommend Gurney's to all my family and friends. I will continue to do business with them as long as they continue to provide such good service and reasonably priced quality products.
On Nov 10, 2009, taufgardner American Fork, UT wrote:
Posted on March 23, 2004, updated November 09, 2009
One mistake on this year's seed order, but not worth pursuing. Overall good luck with seeds over the years (before and after the bankruptcy) that I have dealt with Gurney. Last year's order left a little to be desired in germination, plant vigor and trueness to type, but not a bad enough experience that I didn't try again this year. The one time I bought plants (about 8 years ago), I was disappointed, but with so many local nurseries with live plants grown for the area, why order plants through the mail?
On November 10th, 2009, taufgardner changed the rating from neutral to positive and added the following:
I ordered some seeds and nursery stock from Gurney's this year. More than I have in recent years. 100% good luck. The "Gotta Have It" corn was the best I've ever planted, with each stock bearing 3 -4 good sized and excellent tasting ears. The carrots I planted (wish I remember the variety) were also the best ever. I ordered the Honey Berry plants. I was skeptical when I got the plants, but they ended up working out very well and I will order from Gurney's again.
On Nov 10, 2009, IdahoGrow Meridian, ID (Zone 6a) wrote:
I was pleasantly surprised when I ordered seeds and plants on their web site this past winter. I took advantage of their 25$ off a 50$+ order on Februrary first. My seeds arrived a couple of weeks later, which was still earlier than I needed to start ahead here in zone 6. My perennials and veggies arrived the end of March. My Jersey Hybrid Aspargus roots were mostly thick, fleshy roots with defined crown tips. The few that looked like thin stragglers I planted close together. The potato eyes were blemish free 50 cent piece size. I planted the aspargus and potatoes in tubs that week. After shoots came up and frost danger passed I planted the asparagus in the veggie garden. The perennials came in individual plastic pots 2" square and 3 1/2"deep. All had plenty of foliage, were packed well and still slightly moist. This was my first year ordering from Gurney's. I am happy. Everything performed well! All perennials bloomed and have formed substantial clumps considering their small but healthy starting sizes. I will try ordering from them again this coming winter for more sping fever planting fun in 2010.
On Oct 17, 2009, Old_Farmer Rock Cave, WV (Zone 5b) wrote:
Posted on April 01, 2008, updated October 16, 2009
I have ordered from Gurneys Seed and Nursery off and on since the 1950's and always got good results. However, I have never had to have anything replaced until now. I ordered two Asian Pear trees and one was skinned by a mechanical digger and I ask for a replacement. I got the replacement within three weeks. This was outstanding service for a mail order company showing that they do honor their warranty. They sent an email acknowledging my request and promptly sent out the replacement. I would recommend them to anyone.
On October 17th, 2009, Old_Farmer added the following:
Again, I just recently ordered their Japanese Iris collection and three of the Shogun Japanese iris. These arrive about a week ago 9/5/09 and were exceptional with about two inches of green leaves and a six inch root system on each plant. I had ordered Japanese iris from other companies in the past and each time I received them dead and the companies wouldn't replace them. I am well pleased with my long association with Gurneys. Keep up the good work.
I love this company! When something doesn't live they replace it as soon as they can. I have recommended them to numerous friends and family and all have been pleased! The prices are reasonable and the pawpaws I just got arrived in seperate boxes and were very well packed! I'm picking out places to plant more trees now.
On Sep 21, 2009, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you so much for your very kind words, and for taking the time to post them! We always strive for Customer satisfaction. We are always here to answer any question you may have. Again, your feedback is greatly appreciated!"
I've never ordered hardware products from Gurney's so comments only relate to seeds and plants. First of all one needs to understand than Gurney's sells most of their plants at very low prices, in my opinion they are so low that one should not expect most of the transplants to be equal to some of their high priced competitors. If a person understands that about Gurney's live nursery stock, then some very nice bargains can be found. Sometimes I want the best well rooted nursery stock available. On those times I don't buy from Gurney's. Other times I'm happy to get a relatively small sprig of a plant, place it in a nursery pot, and let it grow for a year or two before tranferring the plant to the gound. I have been quite pleased with such inexpensive plants purchased from Gurney's. The plants almost always live, and eventually end up thriving. For my uses, Gurney's seeds are second to none, as long as one is happy with older, proven varieties which have mostly been around for a while. Those suit my needs so Gurney's supplies almost all of my vegetable seeds each year. This past year I bought several bunches of strawberry plants and raspberry plants. Once again they were not equal to more expensive vendors, but most of the plants have grown and thrived, and next year there will be no difference between having bought the plants from Gurney's or having bought them from a more prominant vendor. So I have to give Gurney's an A+ for providing lots of very reasonably priced nursery stock to shoppers who understand and appreciate what they are actually buying from the company.
I have probably ordered from Gurney's every year for the past six to ten years, and fully intend to continue ordering both seeds and some nursery stock from them. I generally order early in the season when Gurney's offers a $25 discount on a $50 order. That price is almost obscene as the prices are so low to start.
Last year I ordered 75 stawberry plants, six raspberry plants of two varieties, and all of my seeds for ordinary vegetable varieties. All have grown extremely well, with lots of fresh strawberries even though only planted this spring, and with a bountiful raspberry harvest this fall. Of course my seeds from Gurney's performed well just as they do every season.
On Sep 8, 2009, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for your kind words; we greatly appreciate you taking the time to post your feedback. We strive for 100% Customer Satisfaction, and are always looking for ways to improve. We are always here to answer any questions you may have or assist in any way we can. We look forward to serving you in the future. Happy Gardening!"
On Jul 26, 2009, crhend Camden Township, OH wrote:
Have done business with Gurney's (Henry Field's as well) now for six years. I've ordered plants and seeds with typically good results. When things have not done well, I have always been able to get resolution to my satisfaction. Only one time was it necessary to ask the CSR to connect me to their supervisor, but the situation was resolved on that call. The $25 certificate is what got me started and helps every year. I had bad luck with one of Dave's highly rated companies and couldn't get even an email response. Good customer service and excellent products from Gurney's has been what I've found.
On Jul 26, 2009, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for your kind words; it is greatly appreciated. Our company is based on 100% Customer Service, so please let us know if we can be of further assistance. We look forward to serving you in the future."
On Jun 29, 2009, Liquidambar2 Mount Vernon, KY wrote:
I gave up last summer trying to start my own sweet potatoes , so I put in an early order for them at Gurney' s in Feb.2009. They arrived in the mailbox-US mail on a cool day in late May (perfect). I planted them, and there were a lot more than the 50 plants I ordered. They were very healthy and took off pretty good. They are doing fine, we will see what I will dig up this fall, but so far I am really happy with them
On Jun 29, 2009, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you so much for your kind words. We are very happy to hear you are satisfied with our product. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any assistance.
On Aug 6, 2009 2:29 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery added:
I ordered several times this season. most orders were fine, simple transactions and reasonable shipping time. everything was as described.
one order, for two clearance priced (and cannot find elsewhere!) fruit trees did become a bit of a comedy of errors. they could not ship a Honeysweet pear, they were out of stock. to their credit they did not just substitute. after a couple weeks I emailed asking for a refund.
this went on for two months, but each time a different customer service rep DID respond very quickly, and promise to forward to billing. but this was just not happening.
finally they had an end of season clearance, and I emailed asking in lieu of refund, just ship me a Bartlett pear (which was on sale for approximately what I had paid for the Honeysweet). after several back and forths regarding possible amount I might owe (I refused to pay anything, actually) this was agreed upon, and they shipped an ENORMOUS caliper semi dwarf (more expensive) Bartlett pear, who is leafing out nicely. because they'd run out of the cheaper standard Bartlett pear trees.
I definately will continue to do business with Gurney's. I am of fixed income, and I have to order what I can, at sizes and prices I can afford. each year I deal with all the "disreputable" nurseries, and have found that with patience I get what I ordered, or replacements, and they do fine.
On Jun 21, 2009, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for your kind words; it is greatly appreciated. I do apologize for the error that occured with your order; I am happy you were satisfied with the end result. Our company is based on 100% Customer Service; if you are not satisfied, then we have not done our job. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance. We look forward to serving you in the future."
On May 30, 2009, dragon_tale Germantown, MD wrote:
Generally speaking, Gurney's is worth doing business with for as long as you are not in a hurry to get the plants and have patience for them to correct their mistakes.
Pros:
- Cost is lower than many other online nurseries, especially considering the $25 off for new customers.
- Plants arrive 99% healthy.
- Offers some of the more rare plants that cannot be found elsewhere.
- Charge is applied only when the plants are ready to be shipped.
- "E-mail" customer service is responsive and VERY helpful.
Cons:
- Shipments arrive slower than many of the other online nurseries.
- One order is often divided into multiple shipments without advance notice.
- When an item is out of stock, the website does not update the info. In addition, Gurney's will substitute the item at their own discretion without informing the customers first.
- "Telephone" customer service is not most helpful, although they do try.
And if you have time to read the rest of my review, here are the details...
Issue - website does not always list when the plant will be shipped (i.e. spring or fall). --|||-- Resolution - info is provided in shipping e-mail. When I wanted to exchange to a plant that can be shipped immediately, it was relatively easy to do.
Issue - when exchanging a fall shipping plant with a spring one, I could only exchange for items that are not on sale. --|||-- Resolution - the customer service rep on the phone did what he can to work around this in their system. He was not exceptionally clever and I had to wait for a long time. BUT, he did tried to help. I ended up exchanging a full price item and order the climbing rose that was on sale separate and pay the extra shipping. Luckily the shipping cost was low.
Issue - when item is out of stock, substitution is sent without advance consultation or even notice. --|||-- Resolution - my Whopper Strawberries were replaced with Camarosa Strawberries (also very nice but not what I ordered). I e-mailed customer service and they immediately offered to refund the cost of the item and have me keep the 56 Camarosa Strawberries they sent.
Issue - shipments took quite some time to arrive. No shipping status is available for tracking. --|||-- Resolution - grow more patience and plan ahead the next time.
Issue - one order is divided into multiple shipments. Sometimes one shipment can arrive a few weeks after the previous one. The shipping confirmation does not inform the customer when the remaining shipments will arrive. The confirmation only indicates what is being shipped. --|||-- Resolution - treat the shipments as surprise presents. You never know what you will get next and when. It's fun.
Issue - because the shipments always arrives late and somewhat unpredictable as to which one will arrive next, it's difficult to be prepared to plant the plants as soon as they arrive. --|||-- Resolution - the plants from Gurney's are very healthy and well prepared, I was able to hold off on the planting for as long as two weeks after receiving the plants.
Again, in general, Gurney's is a decent online supplier of plants. They provide a good variety of products at a very good price. But if you are not picky about what plants to get, I would highly recommend shopping from BulbsDirect.com. They sell very healthy plants at very low prices. See my comments for them under the company's review page.
I didn't what to expect when I ordered from this company. The reviews seems so negative.
But I was pleasantly surprised, even impressed their service. My order came in a couple of weeks, everything was fresh and alive and thriving. The packaging of the plants was the best I have ever seen. And I am not easily impressed. Maybe they've change management or something, but I will continue to order from them because they have given me the best product and service from a internet order ever!
I am happy with my 6 new bi-color butterfly bushes and they are now planted (and still alive) in my garden.
On May 14, 2009, artworksmetal Timberville, VA wrote:
I ordered 2 trees and a blackberry. They were shipped in separate packages several weeks apart. Everything arrived in great shape. With a $25 off coupon, the price was excellent.
Very early this year, I ordered multiple tomato plants from Gurney's. My plants arrived at my house the second week of April. They were beautiful, but I live in Zone 6, and our last frost date here in the mountains isn't until mid-May. I potted the plants, kept them in a relatively warm shed and babied them, but they were not happy and soon were droopy and mostly dead. I called Gurney's and spoke to a customer service rep who was very pleasant and helpful. She quickly set up free replacement of my plants with no problems. My new plants arrived today and are even prettier than the first ones.
On May 2, 2009, ecoman1 Independence, KY (Zone 6b) wrote:
I was nervous about ordering from this company after seeing so many negatine reviews, but I wanted a Sundance apple tree and Gurney's is one of only two nurseries authorized by Purdue University to sell them. I ordered two apple trees in January '09. Received confirmation, and they showed up on March 18, optimum time for planting. Five weeks later, both trees are vibrant. I am pleased with my experience.
On Apr 28, 2009, floatingfeather Indianapolis, IN (Zone 5b) wrote:
I am a first time customer. I heard rave reviews from a couple ladies I work with and I thought it would be so easy to just web shop and then wait for my plants to arrive. I also thought that taking part in a 'special' would make it worth my while.
I placed my first order online from Gurney's. Each of the grasses I ordered stated "for each offer ordered, get 1 plant". So I thought great!!! I ordered 2ea Fountain Grasses, so that in my mind would lead me to believe I'd qualify for at least one plant free, as it states 1 to 2 $5.95. Ok, then I ordered Golden Forest, 3ea of those, and it states the same statement about the "offer" and I thought I'd get at least 1 free plant. I also ordered Gracillimus Ornamental Grass, 4ea of those and the "offer" for "3 or more $5.45", so again I'm led to believe I would get a free plant.
On early morning on 4/27/09 I emailed their customer service thinking I'd get a response and it was just an oversight. No response. So today the 28th I called as I just had my account number and order number, but not the printed out pages I had at home to 'question' the "offers". I was told I did not qualify for the "offer". So what is the offer?? Is it hidden on the page somewhere?? I'm confused and angry at the same time, and I doubt I'll do any reordering with Gurney's in the future. I'll just go back to supporting my local nursery.
On April 28th, 2009, floatingfeather added the following:
I too wish I had found out about this site BEFORE I got so excited about ordering. On May 8th, 2009, floatingfeather changed the rating from negative to positive and added the following:
I was pleasantly surprised that I did receive customer service contact and a refund to my cc for the inconvenience. I now know their language isn't what it appears but because they chose to reach out and resolve the misunderstanding in this way, I just wanted to say I'd give them another try.
I've ordered vegetable and flower seeds from them this year, and I received my order quickly. It's too early to tell so far how the seeds do, but as far as ordering and shipping time, my experience has been positive.
I placed two separate orders with Gurney's to take double advantage of the $25 off (with a $50 purchase) offer. But I messed up the first time and didn't hit the $50 minimum. I found their customer service (via email) to be very helpful. They immediately added the requested items to my order to help me qualify for the discount. That's impressive to me because they took the time to add items that generated no extra charge. Let me say that again. They spent extra time on my order to give me free products. That's why, no matter what else happens, they automatically get a positive.
The plants I recieved are the exact size described. They came rather poorly packed as bare root plants in a plastic bag with clumps of loose, damp newspaper not necessarily on the roots and plenty of loose space to bounce around in the box. Out of the six raspberry plants I ordered, one was clearly dead, and showed no greeen when clipped. The native plum trees are perfect specimens.
I'm still waiting on my Carmine Jewel cherry tree and my dwarf meyer lemon plant, and I'll update this review as needed.
On Apr 10, 2009, lilaclily Lombard, IL (Zone 5a) wrote:
I will admit, I was a bit apprehensive about ordering from here, based on all the negative reviews. But Gurney's/Henry Field's was the only place around that I could find a Carmine Jewel bush cherry, so I took a chance and used the "Save $25 off $50" coupon.
I ordered the bush cherry, a grape vine, and a "buy 25, get 25 free" everbearing strawberry special. The bush cherry, while small (about 12" high), was very healthy, and packed well to avoid breakage. The strawberries are just breaking dormancy and the grapevine - while great-sized at about 3 ft tall, appears to still be dormant.
I received an email confirming my order when placed, and an email when the items shipped. I could go to their website and check the status whenever I wanted, and if an item has shipped, they also provided a tracking confirmation number.
I was expecting to be disappointed and took comfort in the fact that if something went wrong, I could at least dispute the charge on my credit card bill. I am pleased with this order though, so pleased that I placed another order for some more fruiting plants - including a peach tree. I'm hoping to get lucky the second time around and will update this review when I receive those items.
One thing to note on the 2nd order I placed - the blueberries went from having a delivery estimate of next week, to mid-May, and then back to next week. Although either dates are fine with me, I obviously would prefer them sooner than later, so am keeping my fingers crossed.
On May 9th, 2009, lilaclily added the following:
An update to both orders:
All the plants from the 1st order are doing really well. The bush cherry and strawberries are growing like gangbusters. The grapevine broke dormancy, and how! It is vigorous to say the least.
One the 2nd order, the blueberry trio arrived 4/13. They were all really healthy and the largest one even had a few flower buds on it! The peach tree and additional grapevine arrived on 4/27. The peach tree was tall (over 3 ft tall) but dormant so I was a little worried because we're talking absolutely NO signs of life. I planted it immediately and within 3 days saw green growth. I'm no longer worried. :)
This time the grapevine was a puny little thing - not big and robust like the one from the 1st order. I planted it anyway, but after no signs of breaking dormancy, and snipping the tip showed dried and brown and not firm and green, I called Customer Service. My call was answered promptly and the woman informed me that the variety I had ordered was no longer available. She helped me choose a suitable replacement. While I did not receive a confirmation email, I was able to see the no charge replacement order on their website with an estimated ship time of around May 18. I just went to check again and the item just shipped May 8, and I should have it May 11th or 12th.
Like my review of related company Henry Field's, try as I might to have find one thing to nitpick about with my experience(s) with Gurney's, I can't find one. From start to finish, it's all been positive.
I THOUGHT I WOULD TRY GURNEY'S AGAIN. IN THE PAST I HAD MIXED EXPERIENCE WITH THEM BUT THIS YEAR EVERYTHING I ORDERED CAME. AT DIFFERENT TIMES (WHICH WAS O.K.) I RECEIVED MY BLACKBERRIES AND WAS VERY PLEASED..THE PACKING IS A LITTLE SPARSE BUT THEY LOOK HEALTHY.
My first and second experiences with Gurney's have come in rapid succession and both have been very positive. I was a bit nervous since the grape vine, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries I had ordered were said to be on their way last week. I was nervous because we are nowhere near being able to transplant "awake" plants in this area yet. But they arrived and, fortunately, were still dormant. The grape vine cutting had a better than Class 1 root system. Amazing! The blueberry and blackberry plants are larger than expected, obvious green wood and very nice roots again. The raspberries are just twigs at the moment but have nice roots as well. So far, everything is fine! Let's hope they all "wake up" heartily!
I have ordered from Gurney's several times over the course of the last five years and have always been very happy with them as a company. Once, I received the wrong variety of raspberry, and so called them up. The customer service was great, and they sent out the correct variety right away, so I ended up with three extra raspberry plants. Another year, a potted blueberry I received late in the fall didn't survive the winter- due possibly to my ignorance of, and their lack of instruction about, what to do with it. I didn't call them about it until about two years later, when I moved to a milder climate, but they still agreed to send a new one without a problem. I recently ordered a variety of plants from them including their dwarf lemon tree, dwarf pomegranate, and some native plums and bush cherries. The plants all arrived in great shape and are doing really well. I plan to continue buying from Gurney's, and look forward to watching my plants grow.
The abundance of negative comments concerned me, but Gurneys was the only source I could find for Blue Star Sea Holly (bareroot), so I gave them a try. To take advantage of a "order $50/save$20" offer, I also ordered Poker Primrose (potted plants) and some Lily bulbs. I placed the order in Dec, emailed in Feb to check on status. They emailed me back within 24 hours to say they would ship in a couple weeks. It was actually closer to 4 weeks (okay by me for my climate). They sent me an email with advance notice of shipping and it all arrived in good shape a week later. Plants are small, but seem healthy and were packed in these awesome plastic sleeves that kept them from bumping around. The Lilies and Holly appear okay, but will have to plant them to find out. All in all, as good as any other mail order company I have worked with. I prefer to buy from a local nursery where I can actually see the plant I am buying, but if Gurney's were the only source I could find, I would buy from them again.
I ordered several seed packets as well as 25 strawberry plants from Gurneys. The shipping wasn't fast but the seeds arrived in a reasonable period of time. The strawberries arrived and after counting and planting the crowns, I realized that I had received 23, not 25. I called the company and they shipped out an additional 25 plants to me within 48 hours for free.
I am impressed with the company's company service and after seeing so many negative comments on this site, I had to post my experience.
I ordered 50 bare-root strawberries, some shallots, some horseradish, a mint collection and some seeds. Everything arrived yesterday (within a week of their estimated delivery), and was in good shape (it's all in the ground now).
I used Gurney's to buy a few apple trees that I lost this year in my orchard. There customer service was awesome, and the trees were delivered earlier than expected. They tree were the size they were suppose to be but I would like larger ones, I have a hard time waiting for fruit production. I would use Gurney's again for 2ft apple trees and would recommend them.
On Jan 10, 2009, pjpackrat Accokeek, MD (Zone 7a) wrote:
I have shopped with Gurney's several time over the last 20 years, but this is the first time in a couple of years. I ordered seeds on Dec, 28 2008 and had the seeds by Jan. 8, 2009. Everything is as ordered. My only complaint is the shipping price is somewhat high. (6.95) for seeds.
I have been a customer of this company and many of their affiliates for years now. I have Many wonderful fruit trees and grapes vines, not to mention all of the perrenials that surround my home. I have a brand new home so I did mostly my entire landscape with their products. I have not had a single complaint yet. I have had things that did not survive but that was because of my lazines of not watering on time, and still they have replaced it. I realize that every company has problems with orders no matter who they are. With the amount that they sell I am curious to know what the ratio of orders to complaints they actually have. It is easy to say that they have more complaints but do they also have twice the amounts of customers? I will continue to do business with these companies even if I have difficulties at times. that is life, humans make mistakes and sometimes no matter what the company does to fix then is never good enough. Unfortunately we are living in a world that is quick to judge and quick to sue when we think we have been wronged.
I ordered several items from Gurney's in 2008 - I started in spring with a 4-in-1 apple tree which leafed out so nicely that I went back and ordered another 4-in-1, a pear tree, a peach tree, a grapevine, a carmine jewel dwarf cherry, blueberries, and some raspberries. Everything but the cherry was delivered promptly and sprouted/grew quite nicely.
The cherry order was moved to autumn because they ran out of stock. I inquired about it on the form on their website, and received a prompt, helpful, polite response from a customer service rep (Sandra, I do believe). The cherry was just lovely when it arrived, and I consider it worth the wait.
After receiving the cherry tree I went back and ordered some seeds - cold set tomato, and forono beet -- and some other supplies, such as peat pellets and floating row covers, and they arrived promptly and all in the same shipment.
With Gurney's as with many other businesses, there is a trade-off: lower prices (coupons) are available at the cost of convenience. I'm in no hurry to receive my plants as long as I can save a few dollars; I'm young and have the rest of my life to perfect my garden.
I ordered some vegetable seed tapes from them because I haven't been able to find them here in UT and I used to use them in WI. Am glad to have found a source and will probably order again next spring.
I had emailed this review to Gurney's privately about a week ago, but received no response, so I am posting it here.
I had high hopes for Gurney's. I placed an order in May for a bundle of 25 Sparkle Supreme strawberries, and a Deluxe Standard Contender peach tree. I was told that the order would arrive in 2-3 weeks. The strawberries came about a week and a half after I placed the order. The estimated delivery date of the peach tree kept getting pushed back first from early June, to early July, to late July. Now I look on the estimated delivery time, and it says that my peach tree order has been canceled, which they gave me no notice of. I am really rather displeased that the peach tree order was pushed back and back and back and then canceled without notice. It is too late now to order this tree from anywhere else. And I will have to wait until next year to try again. An extra year of waiting is quite a long time since the tree already takes 4-5 years to bear fruit. They still have this tree listed for sale on their website. In addition, they had it listed for sale on an insert that came with the strawberries. I'm out of a peach tree, which I had hoped to have in the ground this year being that they take so long to mature.
I keep debating whether to rate this experience negative or neutral. The strawberries did arrive in a timely manner and are doing well, however it was primarily for the peach tree that I placed the order to begin with, as strawberries are available through many catalogs. I had so been looking forward to having the Contender peach tree, with its resistance to late spring frosts and good flavor. And I thought that by ordering the deluxe, I would perhaps get better service. I certainly didn't expect to have it canceled without even a notice. If I had known that they were not going to send the peach tree, I probably wouldn't have placed the order with them to begin with. Prior to placing my order with them, I had also had a copy of their catalog sent to my neighbor, which now I'm thinking I probably shouldn't have.
I am willing to change my rating to positive should there be a good resolution to this situation.
On June 26th, 2008, CarolineC changed the rating from neutral to positive and added the following:
Shortly after posting this, I received a very nice note from Debbie in customer care. She apologized for the inconvenience, requested my address, and promised to look into the situation for me. I just received a check for $7.58 since I had originally been charged $9.95 for the shipping of the strawberries. In addition, they now have a standard deluxe Contender peach tree set up for delivery in September, for which Debbie applied a $20 off coupon, bringing the total for the peach tree to $12.67. Thank you, Debbie. And thank you, Gurney's. I am changing my rating to positive, in light of the customer service response. I would definitely order from them again. :) And I really look forward to my peach tree. :)
I was worried about my order, because I found this site after I had placed it. I must say, that my experience has been a positive one. I ordered 6 raspberries, 6 blackberries, 20 asparagus and 50 strawberries. One raspberry and 1 blackberry did not come up and they are replacing them. The strawberries and asparagus were 100%, and I ended up with 62 strawberries and 23 asparagus, so it was a nice little bonus. The raspberries and blackberries shipped within a week, but the strawberries and asparagus took a month. The delayed shipping would be my only complaint, but it was worth it for the good value and quality plants. They often send bare root stock, so it isn’t always pretty, but take care of it and have some patience. Customer service was also very friendly about replacing my two plants that did not grow.
On March 25th, 2009, hookjb added the following:
Just wanted to add an additional comment on my replacement plants that came this spring. I told them I needed 1 blackberry and 1 black raspberry replaced, but it was too late to ship last year. Last week they sent me 3 blackberries and 24 black raspberries! All were in great shape.
The asparagus from last year have all survived the winter and are sprouting, and the strawberries that the rabbits didn't get look good.
Though my order caused me a LOT of frustration I have to honestly give them a positive because in the end - the problems weren't their fault and the plants they sent look healthy and were packed nicely.
I do, however, wish they would stop shipping things via UPS's "Basic" service.
The first time my order was shipped it got to within 30 minuts of my house and mysteriously dissappeared somewhere between the local UPS and my Post Office.
Gurney's replaced what they could (they were out of the asparagus I orderred) and I had to wait another two weeks to get the blueberry bushes and brugmansia. However, they both look healthy with only a couple of brown spots on the blueberries (due to shipping time). Everything was carefully packed in cardboard supports and plenty of shipping peanuts.
One thing about this company I have always had good customer service when I have called there. I have not always been happy with email responses, but customer service is excellent.
I have ordered from them several times and yesterday I received 2 reliance peach trees that arrived in excellent shape very thick and at least 4 to 5' tall. One tree looked like the roots were damaged, but I am hoping it will still survive. Over all it was a good experiece. I have ordered from other copanies and all I got was sticks!
I ordered a Jackmanii clematis, dwarf pomegranate, and a smokebush from Gurney's.
-I received all three in one order.
-The smokebush was shipped bareroot and basically looked like a stick, however after following their planting instructions, it's now happily growing leaves in my backyard
- the clematis and pomegranate were small, in 2-4 inch containers, but I believe this was made clear in their product descriptions
-the clematis sat and did nothing for a couple weeks, but is growing slowly now
-the pomegranate is doing great.
If you have the patience to nurture the plants that come in small pots, this is a great mail order website.
I placed an order in March for 3 items, I received 2 of the 3 items in the middle of April reasonably close to when they originally stated they would arrive. They were small plants but respectably packed and reasonably healthy looking,I wasn't expecting anything that large for the price and they have grown since being planted. The third item they claimed they were out of stock and could not supply it. They however never notified me of this fact but at least nothing else was substituted and I was not charged for it and they didn't charge my credit card until the plants were shipped. Overall I would say my experience with Gurneys was OK, not probably good enough to order with them again but certainly not as bad as other on-line companies.
On May 30th, 2008, WinterStinks changed the rating from neutral to positive and added the following:
Soon after this feedback was left I got a Dmail from Gurney's apologizing for not being notified of the out of stock item and told a postcard was sent. They also sent a $25 gift certificate for the trouble which was more than generous, so I will use that at some point and give them another chance and for now I will change my rating accordingly.
I ordered a Tree wisteria and 5 live Maximillian Sunflowers. I was surprised at the packing of the Maximillian Sunflowers, wet disintegrating newspaper on barerroots - but they all came up and are doing fine. The tree wisteria was very slow to leaf out - but has now come on strong. I will order from them again.
This has been my second year ordering from Gurney's and I have had great service. Last year I ordered english aster and bee balm. This year I ordered 30 canadian hemlock, 10 japanese yew, 10 caragana, hostas, lilies, and various vegetable seeds. My first order this year I asked the shipment to be shipped in May and it arrived May 5th. The second order I asked to be shipped as soon as possible and it arrived a week before the shipping date on the confirmation. Very impressed. Everything I have ordered has been healthy and grown nicely. Although, you are receiving plants at a pretty cheap cost (compared to local nurseries) that have been packaged and shipped to you. It takes a little work to get them to five star quality. I live in zone 4 and find most of the plants I've ordered to be pretty hardy. Don't order from a mail order company and expect to get what you see in the high buck local nurseries/stores without a little green thumb magic first.
I ordered from Gurney an American Elm, diesease resistant, as well as other seeds. I am happy with all. The tree had a great root system, and is now 3 weeks later, leafing out. The seeds have not all been planted, but so far so good. I am very pleased
