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I received my first order from this company and I am very impressed! All plant material was in excellent condition, well-packed and ready to plant. I wasn't ready to put the viburnums in the ground, so I planted them in larger pots and they are doing beautifully. Big Dipper Farm included a note with my order that a perennial I ordered was not included because it didn't look good. I would so much rather have a simple explanation than a half-dead plant! I will definitely order from this company again.
I have ordered from this company for several years and I have always been more than satisfied with the prompt and efficient service. I always receive very healthy plants that have obviously been packed with pride. All in all I would give them an 10 plus and I will definitely be ordering from them again in the Spring (if not before).
Martha T.
I ordered a lilac, three rhododendrons, and two dogwoods from them. The plants arrived promptly. They were in great shape and looked very happy. The roots were packaged in plastic baggies, were moist and white. I couldn't be happier with this order. I will definitely buy from them again, as a matter of fact as soon as I finish this review.
On Jul 28, 2009, carrielamont Milton, MA (Zone 6a) wrote:
I bought 3 'Knock-Out' roses from Big Dipper Farm, as they were the only ones who had them in stock and still shipping in late June. (Given our unusually cold, wet weather, I thought it would still be OK to plant them then.) I had to buy a 4th plant to make their shipping minimum. The 4 plants arrived right on time (July 15th), my husband went out and planted the 3 roses in their prepared holes, came in, and found out his brother had died suddenly. The 4th plant, a campanula, lay forgotten in the shipping box in the bedroom for over a week. When we finally discovered it, it peeked its head out, full of life, and we planted it right away. (It had even flowered inside the box.)
No plant should have to live for nearly 2 weeks inside a box in someone's house!! It remains to be seen how any of these plants perform next year, but Big Dipper Farm did a fine job of getting them to us in excellent condition. Bravo!
I have ordered twice from BD this year. Once early (march) in the season and later in the season (June). In both cases my order was recieved in the promised delivery dated. My June order did take about 3-4 weeks, but that delay was noted on the website and confirmatory emails I recieved, which I suppose was based upon GW Dog feedback from other posters.
The plant material was of a typical size for a mail order nursery (i.e quart size). Everything was green and healthy, and they arrived with a healthy glow and vigor.
On Jul 6, 2009, onbutnotof Jacksonville, FL wrote:
Wonderful website and fantastic service. I had to cancel an order and they were prompt and understanding. I hope to do business with them again in the future!
On Jun 15, 2009, CountryRefuge Grinnell, IA wrote:
I placed my first order with Big Dipper Farm in late April. Every step of my order was satisfactory until I received my order. The size of the plants I received were surprisingly large and healthy. This company is a winner to me!
On May 28, 2009, JeanBHall Norwood, MA (Zone 6a) wrote:
Some of the nicest plants I have ever received from any nursery! Big and healthy -- and very well packed. The soil was still damp when I received them. Lovely people who sent me a thank-you note for my thank-you note. I will certainly use them again and highly recommend them to others.
On May 5, 2009, StellysPapa Dothan, AL (Zone 8a) wrote:
I have placed 3 separate orders with this nursery this year 2009, and am completely satisfied with them. The orders arrived within a reasonable length of time and were in very good condition. Customer service is, in my opinion, one of the best I've ever dealt with. I would recommend Big Dipper to any and all of my friends.
On Apr 23, 2009, ge1836 Pittsford, NY (Zone 6a) wrote:
Its my first time ordering rom BD
Wow I am impressed with the speed of delivery and the packing is steller.
Only one neutrel in that the order was placed early in the year and I guess they dont reserve plants and were sold out of two plants ordered in January (i think).
I'm OK with this. Just made a substitution.
Excellent plant and bulbs received. Very big and healthy with fat roots. First time ordering from this company and couldn't be happier. I shall be back. Good job!
Ordered several items back in January and received my plants -2 plants. I was charged for the full shipment so I e-mailed them to ask when I could expect the rest of my shipment. Deidre called me personally to resolve the issue. She told me that it would probably be about two months and I live in North Texas where it gets to be 100 degrees or so in June. I told her that I would wait until fall to receive the shipment. She promptly reimbursed me for the two plants I did not receive. That is what you call excellent customer service. Kudos to Big Dipper Farm for caring about their customers and their reputation.
Ordered first time from Big Dipper a couple weeks ago. I ordered three daylily cultivars. 5 fans, 4 fans, and 2 large fans. These were in excellent condition and packed in potting materials with plastic bags; packing was also excellent. Shipping was very fast. All enclosed paperwork was in a protective plastic bag. They all had excellent feeder roots on the main roots. I am accustomed to ordering dls from Oaks and the order was, I felt overall, slightly better than Oaks, but it was close. I was thrilled with the order and wrote them so. As for others posting about 'guarantees', if you want a 100%, 1 year guarantee against everything then you should be buying your plants from Home Depot or Lowes.
I ordered several dwarf type Joe Pye weed in the heat of summer. Joe Pye weed is sometimes hard to find. I read their warning about receiving plants at this time. I received my order in a timely fashion. The plants were small, but the roots looked very healthy. They are very fast growing summer periennials. The roots were packed in brown paper bags with no problems. They still had some green leaves. I planted them as instructed. I watered them daily and they are growing beautifully. They did not flower this year, but again I wanted to receive them in August when we were having drought conditions because I just couldn't wait to start my landscaping, and I didn't expect to see them flower. They are now about 1 foot high with beautiful healthy green leaves. I expect they will be beautiful next summer. I would order from them again.
On Oct 17, 2008, BlissfulGarden Baton Rouge, LA (Zone 8b) wrote:
Excellent experience with this company! I was very pleased to find among their offerings an amaryllis that was once a pass-along plant in New Orleans. My husband's grandmother had grown it for years, but now we couldn't find it anywhere. However... there it was among Big Dipper's offerings. While their prices seemed a bit high compared to others, the plants were healthy and the choices were superb. When a company is willing to maintain cultivars that are rare, it's worth the extra money just to keep those cultivars in commerce. A purchase from Big Dipper is money well-spent. A+++ Ev =)
On Sep 26, 2008, wyldeflwr Laurel, MD (Zone 7a) wrote:
I ordered four shrubs from this company on Sunday afternoon and they arrived on Thursday. They were larger than I had expected, well packaged and had excellent root systems. The prices were really reasonable as well. I will order from them again.
I have ordered twice from this company. In both cases the plants have been healthy and in excellent shape. Most recently, I needed my order to arrive in a very tight time frame, and they were very accommodating in fulfilling my needs. Their prices are also exceptionally reasonable.
On Aug 7, 2008, perenniallyme Jamaica Plain, MA (Zone 6a) wrote:
I bought about 10 or 12 different perennials from Big Dipper earlier this summer, and the whole lot fit in a very small box. Not only were almost all very puny specimens, they arrived in a very unhappy state (during a heatwave). They've all survived so far, but some haven't grown at all and most have barely grown in over a month since being planted. I did not complain about the size as they did not specify a plant size, but stated as varied (though almost all puny is not too varied). Also figured at least part of their condition was due to an early heat wave. Nonetheless, I will not order from them again.
On August 8th, 2008, perenniallyme changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
Addendum: Almost as soon as I finished posting this review, I had a phone call from Diedre at Big Dipper, asking why I hadn't been in touch with them about my order, and wanting to send me some new plants to correct the situation. Well I guess I should have gotten in touch with them, but I guess I figured that I could get most if not all of the plants to survive and eventually grow, and the heat wave which put the plants in bad shape in transit wasn't their fault. Also, she said something to the effect that it could be that I picked a bunch of very popular plants so only small ones were left, and that they often send very large plants. It just depends what and when you order and what sizes are available. She was very nice about it, and though no final resolution has yet occurred, I'm changing my rating to neutral for the time being, pending the outcome. And when I went back to the website to look for some replacements, it reminded me of why I ordered from them in the 1st place (aside from good reviews). They do have a really good and very large selection of plants for shady areas - lots of varieties.On August 18th, 2008, perenniallyme changed the rating from neutral to positive and added the following:
Addendum #2: I picked out 3 astilbes as replacements, with 2 others listed as substitutes. (I hadn't ordered astilbes to begin with, but was looking for them when she called).Diedre sent me 4 astilbes, saying (one of my substitutes) was one of her favorites. They arrived exactly when she said they would, and were beautiful healthy plants with no sign at all of having traveled across the country. I'm going to assume that my first experience was just bad luck. Diedre definitely wants her customers to be happy, and went all out to correct the situation, so I'm changing my rating to positive. I would now consider ordering from her again.
On Aug 7, 2008, PrimroseSue Medway, MA (Zone 5b) wrote:
So far, all my orders with Big Dipper have been healthy Their selections are much more than just run-of-the-mill plants, they offer quite a variety of unusual specimens.
I like that they don't use fancy pre-printed boxes or packaging materials - the plants are wrapped securely in newspaper and plastic bags - very economical and "green".
It's also handy that they offer the payment choice of PayPal.
I don't think people take the time to read the information on this site.It clearly states that during peak season it will be 2 to 3 weeks before shipped. Also their plants are shipped bare root, which is explained. I ordered on May 16 and plants where shipped June 2 and rcv'd June 5. There are
explicit instructions on how to plant what I ordered (Hakone Grass). So far so good since it's been 90 here. I'll order from them again.
Grasslady
I have been a customer at Big Dipper farms for a long time. They give excellent customer service. There has never been a problem with returns on items that I have purchased. They have always been more than willing to refund me and replace plants that I return to them for various reasons. I have purchased plants as gifts to friends in other parts of the U.S. and I can't tell you how pleased my friends are with the plants that Big Dipper has supplied. They are such wonderful people I can't say enough about them...Thank You Big Dipper Farms for your service we don't see much of this kind of service in this country anymore,Your top notch!
On May 20, 2008, mskitty1956 Philadelphia, PA wrote:
Plants received were very healthy and well-packed....one "casualty" was promptly replaced. Excellent selection with some nice unusual items...I would definitely order from them again!
This was my first time purchasing plants online, so I was a little nervous. But oh my, what a wonderful experience I have had with Big Dipper Farm!! I ordered 4 Phlox "Purple Flame", 4 Russian Sages, "Little Spire", and 2 Echinacea "Pixie Meadowbrite." They all arrived wonderfully healthy, and still very moist. The Phlox and the Echinacea all had nice large roots and lots of green leaves. And the Russian Sages, though smaller and dormant, 3 have leafed out allready.
And when I emailed the company to ask about the 4th one not leafing out, they emailed right back saying to let me know how many didn't leaf out and they would send me out replacements right away!!! NOW THAT IS CUSTOMER SERVICE!! WOW!! I am so impressed, and any time I need a plant, I will go to them right away!! And their prices are fantastic too.
Oh and I was so excited to find old stalks on the phlox, so these have allready bloomed, so I know they are mature plants and will bloom for me too. The packing was fantastic, the plants looked like they were fresh packed that day, and hadn't travelled at all! So I highly recommend them to everyone!! It's a wonderful company with excellent customer service!!
On May 12th, 2008, cargotaz added the following:
Oh, forgot to add that they also sent me a free packet of Love in a Mist seeds, which I have been dying to try, and they shipped my order right when I specified too. Very top notch company!!
I received my order last week. All of the plants were in beautiful condition and well packed. They came a little earlier than I would have preferred, but not unreasonably so. I'm very pleased.
On Apr 26, 2008, LinkM Williamsville, NY (Zone 5b) wrote:
This was my first time ordering from Big Dipper, and I was completely satisfied. I was able to find several plants that I tried unsuccessfully to find locally last year. Plants were shipped when I requested and arrived in fine shape. Packaging was excellent, with plants well protected and moistened for the trip across the country (Washington State to New York State) . Plants all included the info marker so I didn't have to try to remember where I was going to put them. I will definitely order from them again.
On May 13th, 2009, LinkM added the following:
Another successful order in 2009. THey have a great selection and send the entire information sheet along with the order so you don't have to look it up to remember where it should go. Big Dipper is a favorite of mine, and I order form them almost every year.
On Apr 24, 2008, RubyVox Boston, MA (Zone 6a) wrote:
I took a chance with ordering from Big Dipper Farm after I could not find a specific plant I was looking for at other nurseries I trust. I was so impressed! Now I order from them regularly. (Mostly cimicifuga/actaea, heuchera and ligularia, but others as well.) With both orders I’ve received small, but healthy and well-priced* plants that grow quickly and are trouble-free. My orders have always been packed well and the plants have arrived in good shape. They also send free plants as samples with large orders! Anyone who gives me a free plant, especially a sought-after plant, is fine by me!
(*for on-line nurseries)
On Apr 23, 2008, robcorreia San Diego, CA (Zone 10b) wrote:
I received my order from Big Dipper this week. All items were very poorly packed, with all the leaf tips broken due to lack of protection. One of the items was simply in unacceptable condition - almost dead!
I emailed them yesterday and haven't heard back yet. I am giving them a Neutral until I hear from them....(or not!)
On May 2nd, 2008, robcorreia changed the rating from neutral to positive and added the following:
BD's customer service person called me regarding my email and they were very polite and wanted to make everything right for me.
They re-shipped a couple of the items that I had received in poor condition, and this time, they were packed nicely and the plants were in good shape.
This was my first order from this company and the entire experience was very positive. I was very pleased to find they had Korean Violets, a beautiful little variegated violet that has proven difficult to locate, some hard-to-find Primula, Saxifrage fortuneii and Spiranthes (Nodding Lady Tresses, a terrestrial orchid). The plants arrived at the appropropriate time for my climate, were of very nice size, well-packaged and arrived in great shape. I look forward to doing business with this company again in the future. Thanks for the great job!
Ordered some foliage Iris and received great plants they were packed with extra care.. I am very impressed with the size of them. I just want to say Thank you to Big Dipper Farm for sending such nice size Rhizomes/Plants.
I am a first time customer and ordered one Paeonia l. "Festiva maxima', 1 Philadelphus x 'Snow Dwarf', and three Phygelius 'Croftway Snow Queen'. Everything arrived looking great with the exception of the Peony.The tuber had become broken during shipping. I called and spoke with the owner and she immediately said that they would ship a replacement. A few days later, I received a replacement which was not what I had ordered, but a tree peony of similar colors which was infinitely nicer and three times the cost of my original purchase. So, in conclusion, I have to say that the customer service is SUPERB and the plants are nice and healthy. I highly recommend this nursery! I'll be sure to order from them again.
Lori, North Carolina
On Apr 5, 2008, Idahoan Boise, ID (Zone 6a) wrote:
Thank you very much for a nice transaction! The plants are beautiful. Thank you also for carrying real fuchsias for Zone 6. The plants arrived safe and sound.
I found Big Dipper on line. I ordered more than usual for a new nursery. Hellebores, Trillium and epicedium's. The plants arrived in great shape and were good size for a mail order nursery. I will order again soon
On Feb 7, 2008, kathy_ann Judsonia, AR (Zone 7b) wrote:
I have purchased perennials and hibiscus plants from this company, Plants are always nice looking and decent sized. Shiping is very expensive. Somethings you have to put up with to get nice plants that you can't find locally. This is a large web site and has plenty to offer. I was over all pleased with this company.
On March 11th, 2008, kathy_ann added the following:
I recently made another purchase from big dipper farm. Upon receiving my order and contacting them about it. They were more than eager to please me. Infact , they went out of their way. Their kindness and eagerness to please their customers made me decide that this is a great place, (my kind of place.) and I will come back, they have some nice plants. I appreciate their quick responses to my emails. You don't get that alot on web site purchases.
I placed an order and received half promptly, the other half was in transit for a week and did not arrive in good shape at all. Multiple attempts to get a response have gone unanswered. I will not be purchasing from this company again.
On October 24th, 2007, shaytoday changed the rating from negative to positive and added the following:
Computer issues at Big Dipper Farm and when contacted by phone were very helpful and apologetic. Good lesson, computers are not a replacement for good old fashion talk! Replacement for dead ferns on the way, thanks BD!
On Sep 8, 2007, lostintexas Abilene, TX (Zone 7b) wrote:
This is another site that every time I go to browse I end up buying something. I love the way the plants are listed on the front page in alphabetic order so they are easy to find the ones I want. And they have the common names also. I have ordered several times from this company and have no complaints. The plants come in a timely manner, are good sized plants and all have done well in the garden so far. No complaints, only good things to say about this company and I am sure I will be paying them another visit in the spring when I find out some of my plants did not make it through the winter.
On Sep 6, 2007, Ibuylotsonline Edgemont, AR wrote:
I have had such wonderful experiences with Big Dipper Farms that when I see plants I want some where else I go to their site and order. Every time I call I either get someone (sometimes out in the field planting) who explains and chats with me until I am finished. Their suggestions are excellent and their plants have always arrived in wonderful condition.
Last year I had a large order to arrive when I was to plant in the fall. I had surgery and could not plant so I just hoped for the best and put them in the garage in a window and kept them lightly watered. Planted in the early spring and "presto" the ferns burst forward and all the other plants grew like weeds. I was delighted. Very nice people and lovely plants.
