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I have been impressed with Oakes Daylilies for three years and was emboldened to order from Paradise Garden based on the Oakes reputation. I ordered hostas (which by phone order) and was reassured when the helpful order taker said that the Oakes people grow their own hostas. So glad I did...the hostas are healthy, beutiful, and LARGE. They also included a bonus hosta and even matched the free plant to the ones I ordered. Sooo pleased. Thank you Oakes.
I use online ordering because I like different varieties than what I can find at the local nursery. I have been ordering daylilies from Oakes now for the past three years. They have consistently sent me daylilies that are large, multi-fanned, and healthy. I was also happy with the "bonus" daylilies they sent me. All the daylilies bloomed the first season and have been blooming consistently since I planted them. I did not order any this season since I needed to divide due to their prolific growth. I have been very satisfied with the uniqueness, quality and prices of plants I have purchased from Oakes.
I received another great order from Oakes this year. The largest daylilies by mail order that I have received. Fast shipping and great customer service.
I ordered 1 clematis "Josephine" and was apprehensive about what I might receive. I was extremely pleased when I opened the box and saw the beautiful plant. It was large and healthy - more than I expected. Thank you. I would not hesitate to order from Paradise Garden again.
I recently purchased from this company and was very pleased and would recommend them to everybody. I ordered the Joan Senior from them and they are growing already! The gift day lily is huge and is a great addition to my garden. The packaging was great, and they sent my plants fast , unlike a few other online nuseries I have ordered from.
I have had some bad luck but took a chance with this company this year,and they sure changed my mind on ordering online. My order of 17 daylillies arrived in wonderful shape and they were all very large. Plus the company actually pays attention to what you like and provided me with two free plants that were in my color scheme and in wonderful condition. I will defintely order more from this company the hardest part is choosing which ones are next.Thank you Oakes for sending great quality and sizeable divisions. A gardener who will order online again.
Wow! I can't believe the size of these plants! It took BOTH of my hands to go around one of these beautiful babies! I can't wait to see the blooms! Thank you so much for restoring my faith in mail-order gardening.
What a WOW experience. I ordered 3 frankly scarlet and 3 pandora's box and received 2 pandora's box free. I have ordered so many bareroot daylilies from other companies only to receive these little bitty plants, that rarely live and the ones that have still aren't big enough after two years to bloom. But those were a little inexpensive and you get what you pay for. This year I decided I am tired of ordering a lot of inexpensive plants that don't survive so this year I spent a little more money and I must say, when I opened the box from Oakes, all I could say was WOW, WOW, WOW... I was totally amazed at the size and quality of plants. I had to wait a few days before I could plant, planted them on 22 March 08 and they look great. I am so anxious to see them bloom. I will definately buy from Oakes again... Well worth the additional expense.
On Apr 1, 2008, KatieInWA Gig Harbor, WA (Zone 8b) wrote:
Just received my first order from Oakes Daylilies (found the company here on Dave's Garden) and am VERY impressed. The tubers are so large and healthy! And they sent a bonus daylily, which I wasn't even expecting! I'm sold. Will definitely order from them again.
On Mar 14, 2008, ksgarden Freehold, NJ (Zone 6b) wrote:
Ordered many times in past few years. Excellent plants, large and healthy, every year (exception is hem. Flava -got 5 plants- none have bloomed for two years...perhaps this year!) .
My motivation for this rating is the EXCELLENT and friendly customer service. This year I changed my order twice (getting 5 Frans Hal: fabulous!) and both times got a courteous very friendly and helpful response.
Highly recommend.
I ordered 10 varieties of daylilies last spring. Couldn't have been more impressed! Oakes takes great care in preparation and packing of their shipments. They are not kidding when they claim to send extra-large plants. Some of the plants were so large that I actually divided them before planting! The plants all bloomed at their proper times and some even re-bloomed in the fall. The bonus plant is wonderful also! Oakes - keep doing what you are doing because it will keep customers coming back for a long time.
I have purchased daylilies a number of times over the years from Oakes and the plants have been of excellent quality. The clumps are large and can easily be separated into multiple plants.
Ordered through another company than Oakes but the order came directly from Oakes. This was in fall 2005 for the Spring growing season of 2006. Ordered 6 (SIX) daylillies but ended up with only three plants. The past growing season (their second year in my garden) NO blooms at all. In their first year with me, one did bloom twice and only one other bloomed once. Did Not a leave me with a great impression of this company.
On March 28th, 2009, Bubba33 added the following:
Wrote a e-mail through Daves garden to Oakes Daylilies earlier this year after Ken Oakes e-mailed me stating he had just read my e-mail. (about a year later.) He offered to replace mine. I then e-mailed him to say that I now have a big deer problem and could I get the daylilies sent to my sister in TX. As I do not live there anymore, I wanted to get home to get the exact order that I had placed with them. Got home less than a week of his okay to send them to my sister. I sent a e-mail giving him the needed information and her address. Since then, about a month ago, he has NOT yet read the e-mail. I am very disappointed as this now involves my sister who was looking forward to getting her daylilies. I had thought about trying a small amount to put with my roses (in a fenced area)by buying them from Oakes, but after letting both of us down, forget it. They are not the only daylily company around. I would not recommend this company to anyone. On Feb 5, 2008, Oakes Daylilies responded with:
"
On Feb 21, 2008 4:05 PM, Oakes Daylilies added:
We have built our business on making sure that our customers are thrilled with the daylilies they receive, so I wish this customer had contacted us to let us know that he was having problems. We have an unconditional guarantee on all our daylilies - we will gladly replace plants, try different varieties or refund if necessary, and we might have suggestions for different cultural care. If you read this, Bubba33, we would love to have the chance to give you a better impression of our company, so give us a call."
For the past several years I have purchased a bulk mixture of daylillies from Oakes. I wanted to replicate a daffodill and daylilly display I had seen in another catalog. Lets just say that these plants have far surpassed my expectations. The bare root plants are HUGE and bloom the same year they are planted. The next year they just get better, so I ordered more. This may be a symptom of compulsive behavior, but I'm okay with that. These guys are great and every other mail order company has a lot to measure up to.
On Jan 10, 2008, happytail Covington, LA (Zone 8b) wrote:
OK, I'm usually not this bad about not getting stuff in the ground, but I have to tell this story. I ordered a bunch of daylilies from Oakes, and they sent me an INCREDIBLE bunch of HUGE roots. I put them in a large tub in the shade and filled it with water, because I knew I wouldn't get them in the ground that day. Unfortunately, the bed I was working on needed a little more tending than I thought, and it was almost a MONTH before they got into their new home. I want you to know, they grew and budded IN THAT TUB OF WATER. And today, more than 2 years later, they are absolutely beautiful clumps of daylilies at the end of my driveway. I've ordered several orders since, and have never been disappointed. A++ in my book!
10 years ago a coworker told me about Oakes. I was hesitant, VERY HESITANT, to buy plants through the mail. What a waste of mental energy! Oakes has consistently provided me with excellent plants.
This past September I planted 25 of their seedling daylilies into the front yard border of my nephew and niece's new home. They have a front yard that is on a hill and has sun all day long. We planted the seedlings in mid-September. Recall in NY we had record breaking heat for several days in October. When I next saw the seedlings, about 4 weeks later, they had all added at least 6 inches of new leafy growth on each one. I am so looking forward to seeing what the plants will look like...and so are my dear niece and nephew! That's the fun part about planting seedlings...each day is like opening a new surprise present.
This is how I started my purchases at Oakes 10 years ago...25 seedlings. I still have about 1/2 of those plants - some I gave away. Oakes has become a part of my life...and now part of my family's lives as well.
Do not hesitate to buy from this company...their product is excellent and their customer service is as well.
Accidently put in my password in the search field of pc. Up popped a beautiful Oaks Daylily - and I was hooked. Have ordered for several years and ALWAYS receive large healthy plants that routinely surpass expectations. They even searched their inventory to find an older plant no longer listed because it had the name of my grandaughter (I have a "family bed of daylilies" with names - in addition to landscaping our 3 acres.) They are honest, provide good CS, healthy plants, and feed my daylily addiction in a pretty inexpensive way!
I just wanted to add another positive review about Oakes Daylillies, I decided to try them after reading rave reviews on this site. I ordered 6 plants. They were huge! All had roots about equal in size to the roots of potted plants in 2 Gal containers I've bought from local garden centers. It was like I had dug them up from a friend's garden. Within a couple of days of planting they were growing well. Over the years I've had bad experiences with most of the large mail-order garden companies listed here, similar to others', and mail-order daylillies I purchased would take 2-3 years to bloom, if they survived, and by that time I figured out they weren't what I had thought I purchased. I vowed never again to buy plants "sight unseen," but Oakes changed my mind, and I plan to order more from them in the future.
Super customer service! I placed an order online (because of the great ratings I read about here) for several daylilies. Unfortunately, my credit card number was stolen the next day (NOT because of Oakes website, it was found to be a different website) - someone attempted to purchase $400 worth of clothes from Germany with my card. Long story short, I had to cancel my card and order a new one. Oakes called me a few days later to say they were having a problem with my card (they don't charge until they're going to ship). I explained what happened and told them that I could send a check immediately instead and asked if they could save my order until they recieved payment. The man I spoke with told me that they'd send me the order anyway and I could send payment or call with a credit card when my new one comes. I couldn't believe it. I told him that I thought that was very brave, but he replied that gardeners are a pretty honest bunch and he didn't want my order to dry out. I was totally floored at how great that was. Most companies would have said, "too bad, you'll have to re-order when you can pay", but not Oakes. I haven't recieved my flowers yet (this phone conversation just happened today), but if they're anywhere as nice as the employees of this company, they'll be great. A++++++!!!!!!!!!!!
On Aug 17, 2007, MNgardnerbabe Minneapolis United States wrote:
Oakes is a great company with a great reputation, I appreciate all the hard-work they put into making their customers happy.
I purchase several hundred dollars worth of lilies from them every-year, many of which I share with my neighbors and my retail plant customers. Feel free to order from these people!
I have had at least 2 orders with this company, who sends HUGE bareroot daylilies. I don't know how an unwanted plant could have been included. I did accidentally get a plant I did not order. I was told the correct plant would be sent with my next order. It has been several years since I purchased from this company. I ordered off an online auction company in the past, yet I am returning to Oakes for additional plants. I know they will withstand transplanting and give me a GREAT return for my money.
On Jul 24, 2007, Hemhostaholic Scranton, PA (Zone 5b) wrote:
This was the third or fourth time ordering from Oakes. I have ordered from other daylily specialty nurseries, and, hands down, Oakes supplies the best, largest and most viable looking divisions/clumps out there. Dollar for dollar you get more bang for your buck. I have, and Oakes does not condone this, divided each clump I have received into 3 other clumps, which is the usual size sent by other companies! I have always gotten more than 1 scape, most of the time 3 or more from the clumps they send! And their extra/bonus plants they send are exceptional as well. Once you have ordered from Oakes it almost doesn't make sense to order from any other nursery for daylilies.
On May 16th, 2008, Hemhostaholic added the following:
Got my Spring/Summer 08 order in! WOW WOW and WOW is all that I can say. The clumps seem to keep getting bigger and bigger. When most sources are selling their DL's by size this, or size that, and charging more for different sized fans...Oake's sends their clumps...almost always 3 (at minimum) to 5 fans. Sometimes more! The one clump of 'Lavender Deal' that I got in this order had to weigh almost a pound!
Customer satisfaction: Always Awesome!
Plant Material: Superbly Awesome!
I will definitely be a repeat customer...have been for years...will probably order again this year sometime!!!
I ordered from Oakes based on Dave's Garden ratings. I was extremely pleased with the plants. I ordered 2 plants and received the bonus also. All were large enough to divide. I figured that I really paid only 4 dollars a plant. I will be ordering from them again and based on their plants, I'm going to try their associate, Paradise Plants as well. Thanks for the great tip.
Attended Oakes' daylily festival this year. Wow! Gorgeous display garden. We got a couple of freebies ($15 plants) just for showing up - each one had several fans and they are sprouting new growth already after less than a week in the ground. I am eagerly awaiting the rest of my order!
My first time ordering with this company and I have to say, I was swayed to them by this site. I ordered 4 plants and received 5. All have a massive amount of roots and not one had less than 3 fans. Directions were followed to a T and they were planted yesterday. The number of fans on these plants is greater then those I bought at a nursery earlier last month. I wish I had ordered them all (will have 13 in total) from Oakes. Coincidentally, I ordered an Orange Crush which I had also bought at a nursery too. I have little doubt the one from Oakes will do just as well, if not better (and it was cheaper than the nursery here!)
I had to put the bonus plant in a pot as I have no room to plant anything else in the ground. I wish I did have the space because I would order from them again and again and again.
Definitely the place to go for mail order daylilies. Have placed several orders and have not been disappointed with any of the plants I have gotten from Oakes. Their shipments have arrived quickly, have been well packaged and plants are very healthy. The number of fans they ship are beyond compare and I would highly recommend to anyone.
On Jun 23, 2007, curious408 Springfield, IL wrote:
Oakes Daylilies is THE BEST for daylilies. Their plants are really big and incredibly healthy. I've been ordering from them for years and have always had a great experience and wonderful results from the plants!
Oakes is wonderful! The plants arrival quickly and are huge. There is always an extra prize included in each order. My daylilies are gorgeous! I have ordered from Oakes 4 times and will never order from anywhere else. Very reasonable and superior quality. In the past I was paying MORE for less at local nurseries...without the selection.
I've ordered twice from this company, and was very pleased both times. The daylilies are huge, perform well, and there's always a little extra included with the order.
On May 22, 2007, crowellli Houston, TX (Zone 9a) wrote:
I have ordered from this company several times and am always pleased with the service, size and quality of the plants. I had one group of Barbara Mitchell's that didn't do well. I did not ask for a refund or replacement but asked about the problem with that specific cultivar when ordering other plants. When my order arrived, they had replaced all the Barbara Mitchells, without me even asking! I've never had a problem with anything else I've ever bought from them and the replacement Barbaras are doing great.
On May 19, 2007, MaryCorbett Niceville, FL (Zone 8b) wrote:
I phoned them with a problem ..."Land of Cotton" had not bloomed in 2 years, but had healthy green foliage. In this amount of time, it also has not increased in size. This was not an inexpensive plant! All other daylilies ordered and planted around it are thriving and blooming, so something is wrong. Their response was 'try moving it'! I live in NW Florida, and daylilies grow here for a long season. I know how to plant them and have many of them. There was no offer of another plant, just hope that some time in the future I might get blooms! This does not constitute a guarantee to me. I don't need greenery, I want blooms. At the same time I phoned them with this problem, I ordered almost $100.00 worth of plants, so I guess I expected better treatment.
On May 24th, 2007, MaryCorbett changed the rating from neutral to positive and added the following:
Well, this is an apology to Oakes Daylilies....I should have waited until I had received my order before complaining about not receiving 'better treatment' in the problem with "Land of Cotton", but I had no idea they would include another one with the roots I ordered.....(mind you, this plant sells for $40.00!!). This, and a Bonus plant of "Pure and Simple", as well! At the bottom of my invoice, they had a little handwritten note stating 'also enclosed is a replacement plant for the Land of Cotton you mentioned wasn't performing well. Hope this one does better.' I doubt that there are many companies this nice. Order from them...you can't go wrong!
On May 10, 2007, RaiderLep Los Alamos, NM (Zone 5a) wrote:
I really, really like Oakes. The prices are reasonable. The selection is unparalleled. The customer service is outstanding. And, best of all, the product is unsurpassed in quality. They'll give you bonus plants, and even invite you to suggest which free plants you'd like. I suggested two bonus plants, and received them both. On top of all this, you will receive HUGE PLANTS! The daylilies from Oakes are two-four times larger than the plants I've received from other, quality online merchants. You just can't go wrong with Oakes.
On Apr 26, 2007, figaro52 Oak Lawn, IL (Zone 5a) wrote:
Great company! It's now my ONLY source for daylilies. I had good experience with Oakes last spring so I ordered again for this spring. I ordered 3 daylilies and they sent me 5! Yes, they included 2 bonus plants. I ordered some spiders, and one of my bonus plants was even a spider! They seem to pick up on your preferences when selecting a bonus plant. Huge clumps, freshly trimmed and STILL GREEN! If I ever make it down to Tennessee, I want to be sure to visit them!
On August 30th, 2007, figaro52 added the following:
This has been a great year for daylilies -- at least in my garden. The new additions from Oakes have bloomed beautifully -- far exceeding expectations! I'm getting ready to place a fall order.On October 10th, 2007, figaro52 added the following:
I placed my fall order and received my daylilies a few weeks ago. Once again, I'm very pleased with the well-established clumps that Oakes always sends. I love the anticipation of what bonus plant they're going to include! The new plants are growing beautifully. Oakes is my ONLY source, now, for daylilies! These are indeed honest people who thrive on customer satisfaction!On May 26th, 2009, figaro52 added the following:
I ordered 3 daylilies from Oakes this spring and received a thoughtful bonus. (The bonus plants always seem to match the rest of the order!) The daylilies are great -- but equally important, the Oakes people are great! I can't imagine ordering a daylily from any other source. I occasionally receive daylilies as gifts from out-of-town friends who obviously have never heard of Oakes. Well, I must see that my out-of-town friends receive an Oakes catalog. When the Oakes box arrives, I feel like a kid at Christmas!On September 22nd, 2009, figaro52 added the following:
Once again, another perfect experience ordering from the folks at Oakes! I ordered 4 cultivars and got a nice bonus. These bonuses end up being among my favorite daylilies. I placed my order online late Sunday night and received my daylilies on the following Saturday, just in time for weekend planting. I noticed new growth the following day. They're not just kidding when they say their daylilies are ready to "jump out of the ground"! It's not spring or fall without getting a box from Oakes!
I ordered a small order of plants from them three weeks ago, and there was a slight problem with my payment method. The people from Oakes called me the very next day to streighten thing out, and I got my plants 4 days later. (would have been sooner, but it was a holiday weekend.) I was very impressed with how fast I got my plants, and how many fan divisions I got! The weather here this spring has been very cold, so I called them to ask if the plants would be ok if I planted them now. They were very friendly people to deal with, and they even sent me a seven fan division of the bonus plant that I had asked for. Very good company, and I highly recommend them. The prices on the newer daylilies are a bit on the expensive side, but keep in mind that you pretty much get an entire mature clump.
