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Took 3 weeks, and the plants were tiny. If they were any smaller, they would have been seeds. Not kidding. Ordered Japanese grass and a Salvia. the Lysimachia was unavailable. i wish they would have told me sooner, so i could have got it somewhere else.
I was really impressed by the variety of plants available on their website, and submitted an order at the beginning of March. According to the information on their website, they are able to ship to my zone year-round, and the four plants that I chose for purchase were all (and still are) listed as "available: ready".
The information also said that most orders would ship within 7-10 days. I let several weeks pass, and finally sent an email last Wednesday asking when I could reasonably expect for my order to ship, and if it would not be any time soon could I please have a refund so I could buy elsewhere. I still have not received a response.
I submitted payment through PayPal, so I will be opening a claim to get my money back. I am quite disappointed, as I was very much looking forward to adding these plants to my garden. :(
On April 15th, 2009, Grey_Sterling added the following:
I got a call from Big Dipper Farms the day after I posted this negative comment. I ordered four different plants, and was told that the fucshia holding up the order because they were late to break dormancy. Which I would have been okay with, but they didn't communicate this information to me.
I was told that my order was ready, would ship that day (last Wednesday), and I would probably receive it within two days.
Then I got a call yesterday morning (Monday) from another employee saying that they were sold out of the tradescantia I ordered, and would I like to order something else. I told him about the call I received last Wednesday, and could we please cancel the order and refund my money. He agreed readily and was very polite about the whole situation.
I haven't received my refund yet, but I'm hopeful it'll appear in my bank account soon.
The excuse I was given for the lack of communication was that they are too busy during April to email people. I really believe that if you are going to have an internet business, you need to make the commitment to communicate with your customers. It also says very specifically on the website that you should EMAIL any questions, because they are probably going to be too busy to answer your phone call.
Also, the 'sold out' plant is still listed as being "available: ready" on the website. If anyone is interested in getting a tradescantia 'satin doll' at the moment... apparently they're out. -_-
Received plants last year from Big Dipper Farm, the plants were small. Deidre had called and substituted some plants. This spring none of the plants made it, I had first emailed the company received no response, emailed again and was given the number 3608868253 directly to Deidre, I phoned and left a message due to time difference, no call back, called again next day, left message. Finally called back a day later indicating the guarantee is posted on the website and also before you complete the order, you must agree to the guarantee. If I had gotten that information, a red flag would have been raised. I called her back again, she was in a meeting, I called again this morning, questioned the guarantee coming up at the end of the order, she indicated the guarantee was on the website and also paperwork in box. I keep all my paperwork and did not receive. She also indicated that the plants are genetic DNA and the columbine I received were biennals not perennials, they reseed themselves. In Ohio the Columbines come back every year bigger. She indicated before closing the guarantee is on the website. Therefore I will not order again.
It has been a couple of years ago since I ordered from them. I live within the state so picked up the order in person. From the start, they labeled me as trouble. . All I asked was about the guarantee on their plants. I received some ferns that were no bigger than a fifty cent piece and hydrangas that were not much bigger. Have been gardening for over 18 years - realize that some things take their sweet time to grow, some do well from the start, and some don't like living here regardless..The size did not alarm me. I was treated like bad dirt and told NEVER to order from them again. Good thing I have done most of my plant shopping by mail. There are companies I have dealt with for years and will continue. They like having me for a customer. Never have been treated like this before or since. My spouse was with me and confirmed that my feeling were correct. A very HORRIBLE experience!
A very disappointing experience with Big Dipper. The four double primrose I ordered were all taken out of the pot with the bare roots wrapped with plastic bags...they are surviving but certainly not thriving in the garden as they attempt to rebound. The four Ajuga Pink Surprise all came in large pots, but when I pulled them out to plant they came out root bound with six pack one inch pot roots and dirt. They were placed in a larger pot just before shipment to make them look more mature. The Salvia microphylla was shipped bare root and dormant, and has shown no sign of life yet since I potted it one month ago. The Orchid Primrose was also shipped dormant, but it atleast is showing some sign of life as new shoots are beginning to appear. The final two items from my order were marked as "not ready" on the invoice I received with the plants. I waited three weeks and e-mailed asking for an estimated delivery date. After no response one week later, I sent another e-mail and they did contact me to say the items would not be available this season and a refund would be sent. Not a very pleasant experience all around, with high shipping charges, questionable or deceiving packing and potting practices, and a three month wait after order and payment to be told items would not be available (and I only received this response after some prodding on my part). Hopefully my experience is not typical for this company, but unfortunatley there was not a single item in my order that I felt was worth the money spent.
I placed a large ($700), varied order in the fall of 2006, at the same time that I placed large orders from several other companies, in order to compare product. I agree with other negative/neutral comments that, while selection is good, plants arrived in poor condition and were small and not as vigorous, so best buy from elsewhere if you can. Daylilies are "dinky" (I will use that word, if another commenter hesitates) and nowhere nearly as vigorous as from Oakes (or even Gardensoyvey or Touch of Nature); hydrangeas ditto, better to buy from Gardensoyvey; ferns ditto, better to buy from Gardensoyvey or Niche.
Much of what I bought did not make it to next spring, and this was in a prepared nursery bed with appropriate winter mulch applied, and obviously the several thousand dollars of similar or the same plant from other vendors was a good control, so, like another said, "it's the plant, not the planter". I explained my loss and my better experience with other vendors, and I was told by customer service that the problem was the long shipping time to the east coast. Quoi? They gave me a $50 credit on this order (much more in plants was lost, but at least this was a gesture I appreciated), with which I bought the daylilies I above referenced.
I placed them in the same bed as daylilies from Oakes, Gardensoyvey, Touch of Nature and a wholesale place that sells 2 fan divisions, all bought and planted last summer. Oakes sells huge plants, 4+ fans generally, but for some, not all, cultivars you will pay more, so the wholesale place may be a fairer comparison. I had some of the same cultivars from Big Dipper and the wholesale place. Now walking through the garden, all is lush and big and beautiful, with the exception of Big Dipper's, the dinkiness of which prompted me to write this review now. There are so many amazing companies out there in the Watchdog 30, I really wouldn't waste my time with this company unless I absolutely had have a particular plant I couldn't find elsewhere.
This company lists a huge host of plants on its website and, yet, when you click on the plant, a message tells you that "no records for this plant." They need to do some regular website maintenance.
I placed a large online order back in January and since I never heard from them, I'd wondered whether they'd gotten the order in the first place. In April, I did receive a surprise shipment from them. However, they were not able to provide a number of items; I wished they had let me know about it before making the shipment. Most of the plants did not seem to be of good quality and were very small. Moreover, I was overcharged for some items whose prices had decreased at the time of shipment. I wrote to the company of my concerns, but again, I never heard from them. In all, a rather disappointing experience, considering the good reviews I'd read about them when I'd placed the order.
On Aug 11, 2006, digginin East Millinocket, ME wrote:
This was a first time order from this company. The packing was shoddy, plants crumbled up in newspapers, thrown in a box, and shipped. Some plants were damaged, others yellow and suffocating. The plants were smaller than I expected and I should have just went to a reliable nursery and paid a couple dollars more for much larger ones. I was not informed ahead of time that certain ones were no longer available like they said they would do. I will not try them again.
I placed an order in January and expected a delivery in March, but they held the order for one item that wasn't available. I offered to pay extra shipping to have the bulk of the items delivered, but was told they didn't do that. Finally arrived end of May minus two items with no explanation. Poorly packed, tiny plants that looked like they had been packed in March. Emailed them about missing plants, for which they charged me. No response via email, but received refund check in the mail. Very poor customer service. A friend and I had ordered together, and both agreed, NEVER AGAIN!
jrehubbard
I live close by Big Dipper and have driven over to buy. The service is on and off and cetain plants are hard to find or you find them all dried out and neglected. but I have found a few gems. so I decided to order them on the web but do a in-person pickup.I was very disappointed. The prices are too high for such tiny plants. I paid for 4 vinca plants which amounted to one leaf each. I can get a full gallon or so plant for a fraction of what I paid at BIg Dipper. I am looking for another source.
On Mar 17, 2006, elorasmom Princeton, TX (Zone 8a) wrote:
I ordered from Big Dipper several times in 2005 and was quite pleased. I ordered from them a month ago and received my order today... Unfortunately, it was quite a dissapointment.
First of all the packing was atrocious, the plants were thrown all together into the box in a big pile... Half of them were broken off, a couple of them had broken pots...
Item 1 - The Coneflower (Echinacea) - literally disintegrated into the box.
Item 2 - Daphne Odora - Okay
Item 3 - unavailable - refunded
Item 4 - Alstroemeria Ligtu - looks broken
Item 5 - Agastache Blue Fortune (assuming it is dormant? plant in
baggie - Unlabeled)
Item 6 - Dianthus completely out of pot... hard to tell stringy roots from rest of
plant)
Item 7 - Actaea - Spilled out of container ? Dormant or dead? unacceptable
Item 8 - Osmanthus - Fair, smaller than I expected
Item 9 - Agastache Red Fortune Doesn't look alive, in tiny baggie
Item 10 - Aloe Vera - spilledout of tiny container, 3 stems broken off
Item 11 - Rosmarinus Arp - all 3 are in acceptable condition
Item 12 - Rosemary Corsican Blue - all 3 are in acceptable condition
I have written a letter to them already and hope that they will do something about this... I wonder if they have had a change of ownership or management since last year??
I'll start this off by saying that I usually order from ForestFarm. I ordered from Big Dipper hoping to find a way to get the rare plants that I want without paying the high shipping cost of ForestFarm. I ended up ordering from both companies at the same time, which means I can give a head to head comparison.
Big Dipper's plants were small. Smaller than ForestFarm's tubes. I was not expecting that. They were priced in a range that would indicate a plant in between the tube and gallon size. ForestFarm charges less than a dollar to ship each tube sized plant. The shipping costs I was trying to avoid, was the cost of shipping gallon sized plants, which can come up to 50% of the total price. Furthermore, Big Dipper said shipping would be 15% of total price if you ordered more than $200. I made sure that my order was for more than $200, but the shipping charged was 20%. I would have been better off, for the price of the plants, the size of the plants I got, and the cost of the shipping, to have ordered tubes from ForestFarm.
I will not be ordering from Big Dipper again. They will not tell you what size plant they are selling to you for those high prices. They will only say that they cannot know the exact size of what they have available out of all of the thousands of plants they carry and that they will send you a large specimen. It is their JOB to know what size of plants they have available to sell, and to price what they are selling accordingly.
Placed an order 3 weeks ago. Received the plants yesterday and 3 were missing. Per their invoice the plants are sold out. I wish they had contacted me anytime during the 3 weeks to give me a chance to select a substitute.
The joke is that the plants missing are still listed "as available" on their website.
Have emailed the company to express my disappointment!
On October 2nd, 2005, kamalmisc changed the rating from neutral to negative and added the following:
I am changing my rating to negative because for one the company didn't bother to reply to the email I sent them and second even though I followed the directions given on how to take care of the plants, the yougest ones are already dead.
The planst were shipped for the most bare rooted. The plants that were a little old did well while those that were young and didn't have much root system (geranium, corydalis, phlox etc..) didn't make it.
I will wait till next spring and get these plants from another nursery. Right now it is not worth it but will not do business with big dipper farm.
