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Posted on August 20, 2009, updated October 27, 2009
I ordered a number of plants for my terrarium, based on Logee's recommendations for Terrarium plants. Unfortunately, they came with hitchhikers and the slugs promptly killed my entire previously healthy terrarrium.
To be fair to Logees, I was too busy to contact them about the problem and give them a chance to fix it. I will probably give them one more chance since I'm having trouble finding good sources for terrarium plants. Next time I will also be smart enough to quarantine new plants for awhile.
-Sarah
On August 20th, 2009, smord changed the rating from neutral to positive and added the following:
Wow! I got a call from Logees within the hour and they offered to replace my plants, months after the actual problem. I'll log back again after I receive the plants if they do ok, but I'm definitely impressed by the service.
-SarahOn October 27th, 2009, smord changed the rating from positive to neutral and added the following:
Unfortunately, 2 of the 4 replacement plants also came with hitchhikers - this time with caterpillars that seemed to hatch in the soil about a week after I got them. Those 2 plants died. Logees offered send me a refund, which I took them up on. THey pointed out that they use biological pest controls, so it is possible for pests to survive in the potting soil at times, which is a good point. Frustrating, but I will probably order from them again since there is no financial risk and they do have some wonderful plants. The two surviving plants are doing great.
I love that Logee's carries many unusual plants and I've ordered from them 2 times recantly.
I wanted some supplies so I thought I'd try a couple plants also.
First order was for a Columnea and it arrived looking OK but within a couple days turned black, I emailed them but got no reply. I'm thinking it got to hot on it's way to me.
The other plant I got was Schlumbergera 'Thor Tenna' and it was a very nice size plant and is growing nicely.
2 of the supplies wern't sent but I was charged for them so I had to call about that and they did sent them.
So I felt some what confident ordering 2 Schlum Aspens allthough they were a bit high priced but I've been looking for this one for some time now.
Well they arrived and I was very disappointed, the Schlums were less than 3" tall and one had 3 tiny segments off the rooted piece (very tiny) One was out of it's pot so I could see the root ball and it also was very tiny.
In my openion these should have never been sent to a customer at this size.
I also ordered a Begonia but it arrived smashed and broken.
I called them and they did say they would refund for the Schlums but asked me to give the Begonia a couple weeks to see if it recovers.
So far I've not gotten a refund so I'm not only out the cost of the plants but shipping as well.
I have ordered a number of plants from Logee's over the last three or four years, and their service has always been glitch-free for me. As I look around my house and yard, however, I can't help but notice that most of the plants I've bought from them have not survived for long. They seem to arrive in good shape. That's not really the problem. They just don't always live very long -- a few months maybe, sometimes a year. I still have a Hoya, a Tahitian Orange tree, a dwarf Lemon tree, a very sad-looking African Gardenia, and a couple things that I've bought in the last couple months, but many plants that I've ordered from them in the past are no longer alive. Maybe they just sell species that are sensitive and die easily, but maybe the individual plants they sell just aren't the hardiest around. I don't know what the problem is (hence my neutral rating). I look around and see that plants I bought at Home Depot (e.g., a Jasmine that was in serious distress when I bought it) and from Park's Gardens (including a dwarf banana tree that has produced numerous suckers that I've been able to remove and pot up on their own) have survived better than plants I bought from Logee's. Considering how expensive Logee's is in comparison to Home Depot and Park's Gardens, I'd frankly expect better from them.
I struggled with the NEUTRAL because I ordered from LOGEE's twice in early 2005. I talked on the phone with them, I placed internet orders also. When I encountered small problems - I emailed - but received no response.
My Allamanda Butterfly (2 plants) were small, and not well rooted -- contracted spider mites almost immediately after they warmed up and died. They did not transplant well - I don't think they were "well rooted" .Some of the rex begonias I ordered were quite lovely -- some have done better than others. Plants were well packaged, except when a heavy bottle of liquid fertilizer was placed on TOP of small plants !
I think they have some unusual plants that you just can't find everywhere -but I think for the premium prices, ALL the plants should be premium quality. Yet, I would probably order from them agan - just because I collect unusual plants. and they have some quality items. I just wish they would have kept the dialogue open and answered my e-mail. (and maybe said I'm sorry you had a problem. That would have done it for me.
I've been lucky enough to visit Logees twice in the past few months so I could pick out plants in person. The selection was amazing. What was also amazing was the shocking contrast between the pristine, vibrant catalog and the reality of Logee's filthy greenhouse. I don't think I've ever seen so many fungus gnats in my life. I was also a little grossed out by the green slime that was coating some of the older plants in terra cotta pots.
If you ever visit don't wear anything nice. Some of the aisles are about 18" wide; I had to walk down them SIDEWAYS. There is literally NO room for people to pass if they are walking towards you from the other direction. I had to climb up into some side aisles whenever anyone needed to pass by me.
It is great that they have been around for over 100 years, but I don't think they've cleaned anything since their grand opening. The prices do seem high for the small plants, but you do pay for getting plants that are hard to find. If you can visit I do recommend it. You can pick out your own plants and you get to walk around a place with a lot of history. But... expect lots of bugs and be prepared to get a little dirty. Watch out for the uneven floors and steps.
On Nov 20, 2004, FabienneChri Cincinnati, OH wrote:
Logees is a place where I can get things no one else will ship. Their violets are exotic, begonias are extensive, they have a wonderful selection of fragrance plants. I used to think they were the best I could get, until I tried another source and got a big shock.
I ordered an osmanthus fragrans from another company to go with one I got from Logees...what a difference! The price was the same! The Logees sweet olive was about 4 inches high in a small container. It looked like it had been forced to grow roots from a twig. The poor little plant has bloomed but it was sad in comparison to the 1.5-2 FOOT specimen I got from Ecolage for the same price. The Ecolage olive was very full of leaves which looked healthy and was blooming when it arrived. The wrapping was great and there was an impressive set of papers from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture stating the health and pest free status of my plants.
For the money, I will only be shopping at Logees when I can't get it anywhere else. I have had the whitefly experience from Logees in the past, so many of their plants are teeny weeny things with great big price tags.
Mailed order and check April 1st this year, specifying May 12th week delivery; check was cashed April 10th. Sort of forgot about my order til June 10th ,when I emailed to ask where my stuff was? About an hour later, a very nice customer service person called and apologized for the 'delay', and said my package had shipped the previous day (June 9th).Hmmm.Got the box the next day (Hmmm) and was disappointed to find 4 TINY crummy plants (that I paid $4-6 each for), and 2 larger crummy plants. The bouganvillea($14) actually looked as if it had spent time in a freezer, and was now in the process of dropping all it's leaves,and a hibiscus was obviously chlorotic-a $15 plant. So I sent another email, detailing my complaints. The same service person called back again; this time she had talked to the owner, who had authorized her to reship new plants and give me a full refund. Well, I didn't expect to get anything for free, but accepted. 3 days later got the replacements via Priority Mail: mostly better quality though still small, BUT they had apparently run out of the hibiscus variety I had originally ordered, and had substituted a (cheaper) one that I detest. I emailed again, to let them know I got the stuff, and it was mostly acceptable, but that I wasn't keen about the substitution. They emailed back, basically, 'Sorry'.The next day I got the refund check in the mail. I would have been very satisfied just to get good replacement plants, even though they were late, but that substitution bugs me, even for free. They get an A for good intentions,and a seductively gorgeous catalog, but there are some problems there. Unless I desperately want something in one of their catalogs that no one else has, I don't think I'd take a chance again.
On Apr 17, 2003, buzzbee Baltimore, MD (Zone 7a) wrote:
Positive : Begonias. LOTS of them, and very nice specimens.
Negative : WHITEFLIES!!! I had a really bad whitefly problem after bringing plants home from Logee's. This is not an issue with begonias, since whiteflies are not attracted to them.
Bottom Line : I've had more than my share of whiteflies and won't be shopping from Logee's again.
The Passifloras I ordered from Logee's were beautiful---good-sized, well-rooted plants. Unfortunately, they had mealybugs AND spider mites.
I had the opportunity to visit Logee's; their plants look great and I was more pleased by the plants that I could pick out myself.
Placed a rather large order from them a couple of years ago - the plants that arrived were barely more than weakly rooted cuttings. None survived. May order again, but it will be a very small order.
On Feb 5, 2002, carol Bayonne, NJ (Zone 6a) wrote:
I ordered 4 items as a gift. 3 of the 4 died (2 were citrus)causing knats in my friends solarium. Plants are not at all established, very small. When I called to complain THE MANAGER was rude twice. Their return policy is 2 weeks. They were going to give me a credit. Instead, I ordered for myself another larger citrus to give them the benefit of the doubt. The small balance was to be credited to my account. My order never arrived. My account was not credited.
The replacement was shipped to the wrong addy, therefore, going to my PO BOX which sat there for 4-6 days. When I called asking for my shipment they never checked the addy just said the weather was too cold and it was on it's way. My credit finally happened after a 4th call. Again, rude. Citrus is living, somehow.
They seem to feel that because they have been in business for 150 years as they pointed out all too often, they can do no wrong! They certainly did do wrong twice and would probably do wrong again.
A WORD TO THE WISE IS SUFFICIENT! I am never this demonstrative. Good luck!
On February 23rd, 2002, carol changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
The Meyer Lemon I received is now flourishing. Although I have changed my rating to be fair I would view this company with trepidation.
Was the gift I sent mistreated by the receiver? Perhaps!
Would I order from them again? Probably not. I maintain their prices are high and the plants small. There are too many other options out there that handle first time customers with respect, concern, understanding; rather than with indifference.
I have placed one order so far with them. The plants were smaller than I thought they would be. They weren't sent as fast as I thought they would be either. I will give them another try though.
I have had mixed results. Once I ordered an ornamental grass (several different orders) which was consistently filled with a different plant. You probably cannot beat the selection, but I've had problems with insects on the plants. I've probably had about 50% survival rate which is somewhat lower than I would expect. I will order from them again.
