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I ordered a variety of fruit trees from Stark Bros. in 1985, planted them in the fall in Montclair CA. very carefully and well (huge holes, lots of good soil, etc.). The trees were amazing! Six feet of growth on the plum the first year. Peach blossoms the next spring! The trees were two years old and going strong when I sold the place (full price, the buyer wanted those trees!). A drive by ten years later confirmed all are alive.
I ordered again in 2002, only four dwarf trees. I planted them carefully, but late, ten days after receipt, in the fall, in Sylmar, CA. The Asian pear and a peach dried up, but the 2in1 plum, and Nectarine took off like mad. Both bore fruit their second year. Four years later the Nectarine is l2 feet tall, as thick as my arm, and bears wonderful fruit heavily. The Plum is OK, putting on a dozen fruits of both varieties. Its 9 ft tall, and a couple inches thick.
I ordered again in 2009, three cherries, five peaches, an apricot, also nuts: Hickory, Butternut and Chestnut all ordered and delivered in mid spring. The planting this time in Northeast Pennsylvania was not so well done this time: because of less time and more trees... smaller holes, also stony, wettish soil. All the trees are doing well. In spite of Japanese Beetles and pruning by deer, all but the Hickory trees have a couple of feet of good growth.
I'm ordering again (I still need plums, apples, pears, paw paw, pecans.... Stark has varieties and improvements on varieties that are unique. Yeah, I've looked/ordered some stuff elsewhere, too, but Stark is#1 in my book. Their little trees make up for their size by excellent growth right out of the box.
I have now ordered from them 4 times (waiting for the 4th to come) and all 3 times I have been pleased.
I ordered and planted some bare root fruit trees last spring along with 2 weeping cherry trees. 4 of the 5 are doing great and the 5th one is doing ok (just a little behind the others). I think it is more a product of drainage and not the quality from Starks.
I just received some blueberry plants and they look very healthy and were packaged extremely well.
I am very happy with their service and will order from them again.
On Aug 27, 2009, JamieCatheryn Louisville, KY wrote:
I have bought from Stark Bros twice. First, I bought 2 great apple trees and had a perfectly smooth transaction, the only negative was they shipped quicker than I expected and I ended up planting trees before I planned to, hardly a negative really. That was last year, and they are doing very well this year despite a run in with rust disease picked up from a neighbor's cedar (I treated them organically and they bounced back fine).
The second purchase, I got a few blackberry plants and several currant bushes. The currant bushes never recovered from shipping, but customer service kindly and quickly refunded my money when I called in after waiting 7 weeks for them to leave dormancy. The blackberry canes are growing quite well. A great transaction there too, all told.
On Aug 12, 2009, willowwind Moundridge, KS (Zone 6a) wrote:
I ordered several things from this company last spring including strawberries, rhubarb, asparagus and cherry trees. My order arrived in a timely manner and everything was planted. Everything except the asparagus did quite well and I couldn't fault the company for the asparagus as I planted it in a trench, as directed, then we proceded to have 3-4 weeks of solid rain, and they just sat in it. We have continued to have a rainy summer and one of my cherry trees started loosing leaves and then slowly died. When I called the company they were very nice to talk to, said I might want to check the drainage and that they would replace the tree for me with fall shipping. I am very pleased with this company and will definitely order again.
So far, so good! I ordered 5 different "2-in-1" fruit trees, 50 strawberries, and a couple of blueberries that arrived earlier this month, all well packed. All of the strawberries, and four of the five trees (apple, sweet cherry, pear, plum) have been fabulous from the start, and now are growing beautifully.
I was a little concerned about the blueberries early on (they're quite small) because it looked like they were beginning to brown at the tips, but after a few days, I saw new shoots starting, and after snipping off those brown tips, both blueberries seem fine and are making new leaves.
The one issue that remains is the asian pear tree, which is not leafing out as the others have. I called Stark, and they told me it's a little late in the season to ship out a replacement now, but that they'll automatically send me a new one in September when they start fall shipping. They also said that the tree might just be a little late getting going, and to leave it alone and see what happens, and to call them to cancel the new one if this one does decide to take off. Customer Service was very friendly, and I'm happy with that arrangement. Now I'll just wait and see what happens!
On May 20, 2009, nygardener2 New Hyde Park, NY wrote:
The company is great with shipping and replacements. The only problem is they run out of stock fast(even when order is placed early) they don't hold your inventory they will let you know. I love them! otherwise their stock is first rate. Items ship fast. The service is also great.
I ordered 8 fruit trees from Stark on 4/27 and received the trees on 5/6. I was excited to receive the trees so soon, but I really didn't have anywhere to put them until I could plant them. I ordered semi-dwarf apple trees sept. fuji, granny smith, golden delicious, and prarie spy, montmorency and starkrimson cherry trees, a methley plum, and a july elberta peach. Of the eight, six have lots of green already (after being in the ground only 5 days). The other two were not branched when I received them and are slow to green up.
Overall, I am very pleased with the condition of the trees and roots. I actually received a supreme tree package, although I ordered no supreme trees. That was pleasing because I was curious about the bark protector but was unwilling to spend the money on them just yet.
I am a novice in the garden and have NEVER planted bare root trees before. The information manual stark sent was helpful, although I wish they would send one with more detailed information on pruning! I plan to expand my garden with berries next year and I will definately be looking at stark's offerings before purchasing.
I do business with this company because they stand behind their stock and all claims about it--no muss, no fuss. They can't offer the highly personalized service that some of their smaller counterparts do, but they're a fine source of mainline nursery stock. Good prices, dependable.
On Apr 30, 2009, CO_Gardener Broomfield, CO wrote:
Positive with a tiny complaint...I am new to grape growing but after compiling a list of preferred varieties, I searched here and then searched reputable websites to order. I decided to order from Stark Bros because they had more varieties listed in stock and their overall price was better, when including shipping. When I finally received a shipping confirmation, part of my order had been canceled due to stocking issues. I feel that an email notification of this, prior to shipment, would have allowed me to add something else in place of what was no longer in stock. However, my order was half way here when the shipment notification was sent. Besides that, the plants seem strong and healthy, with strong roots on all the plants I received. If these plants do well and Stark Bros sends me a substantial discount offer for next year, I'll order the rest of my original order. If not, I'll order from someone else (earlier) and pay more.
I ordered three thornless boysenberries, three thornless blackberries, and a peach tree. All of them came in a timely manner and in very good condition. I would like to thank the Stark Bro's company for providing timely service and great plants. I just received them, so I haven't planted them yet, but I'm sure they will do very well. I have had so much trouble with shoddy plant sites that have delivered half dead plants after months of waiting, so it is so nice to do business with Stark Bro's. I highly recommend this company!
On September 30th, 2009, madampolo added the following:
My berry plants and my one peach tree all died. I think the weather was just too hot for them, and I should have provided some shade. They were watered regularly. I forgot about these dead plants. To my great surprise, the Stark Bro company called me to find out how my plants were doing. I was shocked that they actually called. When I told them none at survived, they said I'm sending you replacement plants right now. These plants came, and they look beautiful. I have another chance at growing them, and I am so grateful to this company.
On Feb 11, 2009, mersiepoo New Freeport, PA wrote:
Last year was the first time I ordered from them. I was very happy with the quality of the plants and their sizes. The mulberry tree was really large and even got a mulberry on it that same year! The sweet heart apricot is still alive and kicking, nice sized plant as well. I also got a great deal on a concord grape for about $ 3. 59, and it was very large and put on healthy new growth despite our drought last year. Also pleased with the sour cherry tree. I just ordered again this year! Also, they ship via UPS which is good, because UPS is so easy to deal with.
On Oct 20, 2008, pbyrley Wake Forest, NC (Zone 7b) wrote:
I've ordered from Stark Bros since 1976 and always had good service and quality plants. I will continue to use them for my next order, some dwarf apple trees.
I placed two orders with Stark for this fall and have received partial orders for both to date (the items available in pots were shipped). Everything has arrived in great shape. Received items include 2 carpathian walnuts, one mulberry, a mango paw paw and a grape vine. I'll follow up once I receive the bareroot trees.
On December 12th, 2008, jim777 added the following:
I received the bareroot trees I ordered to complete the partial shipments made earlier in the fall. The packaging on one of the shipments only had tape for a top and a bottom with a tree sticking out the top and in both there were only a few strands of newspaper to keep the roots moist (which seemed to work so maybe not an issue - just receive more to keep the roots moist from other companies). There were no branches so they look like very large whips - the Stella cherry is extremely thick. I'll report back again in the spring. I'm leaving it at positive for now as eventhough the packaging was a bit of a shock, everything arrived and hopefully will grow.
I purchased a dwarf peach tree from your company about 5 years ago. Since that time I have enjoyed full-sized, tasty peaches from this tree. I had the tree in a very large pot. You know like the ones you see in hotel lobbies. I wanted to be able to take it with me in the event we had to move. (We have moved around a lot due to my husband's job). We moved from Arkansas to Texas 2 years ago. Sadly, due to Sept. 11 and the changing regulations of moving companies, we were not able to bring our tree with us. I gave the tree to a friend of mine who is an Agricultural Specialist. He took the tree out of the pot and planted it in the ground. It did not do so well the first year out of the pot, but this year.....Wow!!! I have pictures I would like to share with you. You will be amazed as well. Even though this tree is only about 3 feet tall, it produced bushels of fruit. They tell me they have made pies, preserves and eaten loads of fresh peaches. They have even given away several bags of peaches to other people. I just wanted to thank you for such a wonderful product. I will be placing another order soon for my new yard. This time, my plant will go in the ground, so that I can enjoy a bumper crop also. Keep up the good work. This tree is amazing! My friends will remember me each time they harvest. Thanks again....Adrienne Ruth
Ordered 6 fruit trees late in the spring this year and they were all in stock and beautiful when they arrived promply. All are well leafed out now and thriving with minimal TLC on my part. All had excellent root systems. This is the place to go for fruit trees bar none. Other companies sell trees half the size for similar prices.
I was very happy with my order. I ordered 3 raspberry plants, a peach, and a aprium, and Stark Brothers sent me a free apple tree. I ordered late in the season, so that is perhaps why they sent a free tree. Everything is doing very well. They were well packaged, in a large box to accomodate their large roots, and very healthy. I would definately order from them again.
On Jun 14, 2008, dancingbear27 Elba, NY (Zone 6a) wrote:
This year I have placed 2 separate orders to Stark. The first one was a large order consisting of: 20 fruit trees, 2 grapes, 3 raspberries, a contorted hazelnut, a key lime and valencia orange. The second order consisted of 2 more fruit trees and a lilac.
Most of the trees budded out promptly . There were a few that I was concerned about that showed no growth even after the others were well budded. With the raspberries, 1 leafed out quickly, one looked promising, and one looked completely dead. I continued to water everything and gradually everything came to life. Even the raspberry that looked totally crispy.
On the 2nd order, I had ordered about twice as much but they were out of stock of several items. They did send me a letter asking if I still wanted my order if those items were out of stock. All in all, I have been very happy with my order and will certainly not hesitate to order from them again.
I ordered twice from Stark Bros this year, both positive experiences. A 2 in 1 sweet cherry tree was slightly smaller than some nurseries send, but it was a well budded, very straight 3 foot tree that took off quickly and is doing well. This is the only company that offers a 2 in 1 sweet cherry.
I also ordered 6 blackberries in a separate order. These plants were in nice condition, and about a foot tall.
Stark Bros trees and plants are very well packaged, so the plants or trees cannot move at all during shipping. I will order from them again.
i am very happy with my order from stark bros, i ordered a dwarf apple tree with pruning.living in minnesota the weather is very un predictable and they sent the tree at the appropriate time .it arrived ,yes it looked like a stick but so what, i planted it right away and it is doing great! its starting to bud with the rest of the trees here! so im very happy with my order. if anything should not work from this point on would be on me.i even at one point changed my mind about the kind of tree i ordered and wanted to get something else and they were extremly kind ,polite and helpful and i still got the right tree,now thats good business!so thank you stark bros !
In March of 2008, I ordered a Dwarf Reliance Peach and 3 Heritage Red Raspberry plants. I received my order in April (appropriate time for zone 4) and I was so impressed! The peach tree was 4.5' tall with a nice sturdy trunk and a large root system. The roots came well packed and were nice and damp upon arrival. The price was great and the shipping was very reasonable. The company had timely communication as well. I am very pleased; and I wish I had known about Stark Brothers when I ordered my cherry trees.
I ordered 4 fruit trees about 1.5 years ago. I was concerned with the advertised shipping schedule, and the company was very helpful working with me to have the trees shipped at the appropriate planting time.
3 trees arrived in good shape (2 apple, 1 plum), and 1 tree looked small, weak and in poor shape (peach). I planted all 4, and when the peach failed within the year as I expected it to, I called the company back. I was just past the 1 year time to report failed plantings, but they made no hesitation to ship me a new peach.
The new peach arrived strong and healthy, and is currently thriving.
Additionally, one of the apple trees was grown with their special extended root system (only some plants are offered like this) and a year after it was planted my dog got himself wrapped around it and tore the tree out of the ground. I replanted and took special care for the next 6 months and surprisingly the tree is fine! I credit the health of the tree to the company, good job.
With customer service like this, I will always do business with them.
Ordered 4 plum trees from stark brothers and received 4 very healthy bare root trees. They arrived this spring and I got them in the ground and all four have greened out. Stark Brothers offers very hard to find varieties and sell them at a competitive price. My family has dealt with Stark Brothers probably for as long as Stark Brothers has been in business and I have never received anything but plants of the highest quality. I buy something every year from Stark Brothers. I suppose it is because I know they will deliver a plant that was accurately described in their catalog.
I discovered Stark Brothers when we were fruit ranchers in Washington State. Bought trees by the hundreds and they were always well-packaged, strong root structure, and larger than any other nursery we purchased from. In fact never lost a tree after planting. We now live in the high-desert country of southern Idaho, 6000', cold winters and hot summers, heavy clay soil and with care their trees are doing fine in our small home orchard. Ordered our dwarf trees from Stark's and one other nursery and Stark's were by far the superior. Just received word that this years order is on the way, they're the best.
On Mar 22, 2008, greyhairedmommy Montevallo, AL wrote:
I just love Stark Brothers!
Every tree I have ordered from them has had amazing root stock and arrived healthy. The tree trunk end looks dinky, especially if ordered pre-pruned, but the roots are impressive!
The only tree I had trouble with from them was one that was really not suppose to grow in my zone anyway...but it tried valiantly.
Their customer service is wonderful and even accepted a return I had to make because of lack of planning on my part. (Too many plants, too little credit card...I'm only human. Don't order fruit trees when hungry...)
It would be difficult for me to order my fruit trees anywhere else.
On Mar 6, 2008, jrgarden Miller, MO (Zone 6a) wrote:
I just received my first Starks order, 2 bare-root North Star cherry trees. They arrived packed in a cardboard box approx. 5.5 feet long, with a little shredded newspaper around the roots, and both plants wrapped loosely in a single big plastic bag. The trees both appear healthy, with many buds starting, and well-developed root systems which were still nice and damp from the packing. The plants and roots were long enough to fill the box. Each tree has two main branches, plus others, so they are not just whips. I am happy with the delivery, now we'll see if I can take care of them!
I ordered a varigated weigela shrub, a cascade weeping peach and a snow fountains weeping cherry tree, all bare root, on my first order placed in January. They arrived within a week and were really a nice size. Packaging was fine, very simple but effective. The plants were potted within a couple of days and are all now sprouting leaves. They look great! After that I ordered a Harry Lauders Walking Stick. It took longer to process but that might have been because I ordered at the tail-end of shipping scheduled for zone 8b. It arrived very healthy and big, with buds showing. I'm excited about Stark's! I'll report on the progress of these good-looking plants later in the season.
I ordered 2 white peach trees and they arrived in fine shape despite a problem on Ups part. I just ordered a mini peach tree and haven't received it yet,but thus far I have nothing but good things to say about their trees and customer service.
Stark Bros. really impressed me a few years back. I had ordered a Reliance Peach tree from them. It grew beautifully the first year, but died the next. I assumed the warrantee was for one year so I didn't do anything about it. Then one day I got a call from Starks asking me how I was getting along with all that I had purchased from them. I told them everything was great except for that peach tree, but it wasn't their fault, it had grown the first year. The lady said, "We're going to send you a new one anyway". Wow.
This time it lived and bears great peaches.
On Dec 5, 2007, yardener Greenfield, OH (Zone 6a) wrote:
Apple trees came on time and in good condition. A third of my blackberries didn't ever leaf out, but the replacement policy should cover it. I have them scheduled for delivery next spring. We'll see if they arrive.
Otherwise I have no problem using them again.
On March 10th, 2009, yardener added the following:
My replacement blackberries arrived without any problems. The plants were in just as good (if not) better than the original order.
Thanks Stark
I ordered 2 dwarf fruit trees last year, a granny smith and a red delicious for pollinating. They were small, but in good shape. The granny smith got damaged in my garden (not sure how, as it was knocked completely off its graft) so I ordered a replacement. When it came, is was a larger tree, crammed into the box so almost every limb was broken. When I called, they were a bit reluctant to replace it, and suggested I plant it anyway. I didn't want to do that since I had no idea if it would live or die, so finally they agreed to send me another. I planted the replacement and it is doing fine. I planted the damaged tree too, and it has grown, but is a really wierd shape - glad they replaced the tree.
On Oct 13, 2007, CBernard Perris, CA (Zone 9a) wrote:
The blueberries that I purchased from Stark Brothers are still growing everyday. They have more than doubled in size within six months. I have no regrets from buying them at Stark Bros.
I bought 5 trees this past year from Starks. They were 3-4 feet tall, well leafed out, and packaged very well. Shortly after planting them, one of them started looking sickly. I Emailed them about it. They replied quickly, and it was decided to wait and see. The tree never made it through the summer, but the other 4 look good so far. One day I got a phone call - from Starks. Since the tree is dead, they said they would replace it this fall, but it will be replaced next spring, per my request. Great follow-up from the company and very professional. I'm going to be ordering more plants from them again for next spring. .
I can't say enough good about this nursery! We put an order in for a dozen pie cherry trees with Starks Brothers, but then found a better deal with another company. So we called and cancelled the order with Starks Brothers. Well, for some reason, they sent our order anyway. We called to sort the confusion out and the extremely friendly customer service person noted it was their mistake and said to keep the trees and they would give us a full refund. I actually felt guilty keeping them! First of all, the order arrived in two huge boxes about 4' long, packed with obvious care. The trees looked incredible, with fat green buds, 8 - 12 healthy branches per tree, tons of feeder roots, and not a single broken branch. Meanwhile, the second order arrived from the bargain nursery- it was SO PATHETIC compared to the Starks order! A joke! 12 scrawny foot long dried up twigs were rubber-banded together and mailed in a *small plastic bag*! No kidding! I just couldn't believe my eyes- the difference in plant quality and packaging was stunning. None of these trees lived - and I wish I could post a pic of the beautiful Starks trees which are just flourishing! We planted them, watered them maybe twice, and have pretty much ignored them since- and they're growing leaps and bounds! We'll *DEFINETELY* shop with them in the future! I couldn't be more impressed. - Caitlin Allen, Maine
Recently ordered a weeping peach ornamental. The tree is 4 1/2ft. tall with a very impressively strong root system and is in partial bloom and leafing out just fine 2 weeks after planting. I'm sure it will do fine so long as I don't forget to water it. Waiting on additional order of fruit trees. Feed back on fruit trees as soon as they arrive.
Ordered from Stark last fall, and neither tree survived the winter. I called them, and they sent replacements cheerfully and promptly. The new trees are doing fine!
This year is the first year I have ordered from Stark's. I must say that I'm VERY impressed with the size and quality of their fruit trees and the way they packaged the 3 trees I ordered.
My order contained the following:
1. Stark Montmorency Pie Cherry Semi-Dwarf
2. Stark HoneyGlo Miniature Nectarine 4x10 pot
3. Stark Sensation Miniature Peach 4x10 pot
Plus, 2 free gifts of the Stark Tre-Pep Fertilizer and 6 lily bulbs (which are coming up nicely)
The cherry tree is doing very well and is leafing out nicely, even though we've had 2-3 very cold snaps (down to 33F). I had Stark professionally preprune and they did a very good job. This tree was much bigger and healthier than I imagined.
The 2 Miniauture fruit trees I planted as suggested in 4x10" pots and the Peach tree has already had 3 lovely blooms. And both have a ton of new growth on them. I have high hopes for these 2, as I can bring them in during our terrible winters.
I would order from Stark's again and recommend them for any fruit tree order.
I ordered 2 apple trees and 2 pear trees last fall from Stark's.
They sent very sturdy, nice sized trees. All have leafed out nicely and I'm very happy with the quality. Stark will always be my first choice in fruit trees.
We ordered 80 bare root privets and 3 weeks after planting 77 are leafing nicely. A second order of cherry tree, peach tree, concord grape and fragranty lilacs are now beginning to leaf/bloom ...(except for the one grape the evil pocket gopher devoured). Very happy with the plants and service
