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On Oct 26, 2009, aebloom Potomac, MD (Zone 7a) wrote:
It is with regret that I post this negative, because for the past few years, I've had good results with this company.
This year, I ordered several phlox paniculata and a boltonia. The order was placed in July. I received notice that the plants would ship in early October.
In mid September, I received notice that my order would ship about three weeks later.
When my order arrived, only the boltonia were in the box. The receipt said my plants were backordered and would be sent in spring.
I called Bluestone to say that I did NOT want them to keep my money til spring. They said they would issue a refund. But I told them that this was very disturbing to me, because I ordered early, and was never told there would be a problem. At this late date, all other good sources of the plants are sold out. They apologized.
I feel like they were trying to force me to get the plants from them in spring, since they didn't let me know the plants were unavailable until the last minute. This is not the way to do business.
On Oct 26, 2009, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
"On Nov 13, 2009 3:21 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
Please accept our apologies for this very unusual situation. We had an unexpected and immediate problem with our entire Phlox crop and had to stop shipping them. Unfortunately, this resulted in some disappointment for our customers. There was not enough time left in our season to reship, so we were forced to backorder to spring. The last thing we wanted to do was send a substandard plant. Add to the situation that we had posted many of our phlox as specials, and it made for a really tough situation. We do everything we can to avoid a situation like this, but occasionally we are thrown a curve-ball that can come from any direction, including Mother Nature. Again, our apologies, Bluestone"
I was initially disappointed when I placed my order in late July and received an email that my plants would not ship until "early September" but since there were bulbs included in my order, I assumed this was normal. I called on Sept. 8th and was told that my order would be shipped "probably tomorrow" and I would receive an email with tracking info. I called again on Friday since I did not receive an email and was told that the plants had indeed shipped and would be delivered that day. My excitement quickly faded when I opened the box...most of my order had not shipped (bulbs had not come in from Europe and would not ship until late Sept.), one plant was backordered and would not to be shipped until "Spring 2010", plants were SMALL, and most were root/pot bound. I called immediately and a very nice person offered to return my money and cancel the remaining order. I chose to wait to receive the bulbs after she assured me these items would ship no later than Sept. 22nd, but I did cancel the one backordered Spring 10 item. As far as the plants that were pot bound, I decided to wait and see how they did as I had already planted them.
This is my first experience with ordering from this company and though customer service is very helpful, I would not order again as it takes forever to receive very small plants. Not a good value.
On Sep 12, 2009, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
I considered a neutral rating, but when I add everything up....it's lookin' like a negative. I have ordered perennials and shrubs from them for the last few years, but stopped. I agree with many that plants are usually quite small, some are close to dead, badly packaged( BIG box (filled with those eco- problematic peanuts) . Many times I've had to nurse plants in pots before I plant them in the ground I justified all the trouble with the fact that the prices were quite good, and selection was wide, The biggest problem is that half of the stuff doesn't come up the next year!!! If I added up all the lost plants, I've lost a lot of time and money!
On Jun 29, 2009, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
"On Jun 29, 2009 4:15 PM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
We are sorry to hear that your plants have not been arriving in good condition and struggling with wintering over. Our plants are guaranteed, and if you would like, we would be happy to reship or refund at your request.
We have tried many other methods of shipping, but those darned peanuts work the best. We offer free shipping on your next order if you will send the peanuts back to us so that we can reuse them (to be environmentally responsible). They are themselves made from recycled material.
Wintering over can be difficult some years - we have a discussion of drainage and mulch in our FAQ section on our website. I hope you will be in touch."
I ordered from Bluestone because of a friend's recommendation. Their plants are terribly overpriced--$7.50 for three blue dianthus!!! They had a half off sale--I ordered $l46 (plants and shipping). They had a lot of plants I couldn't find in my area. When the box arrived and I opened it I was shocked at the condition of the plants--they were shipped in styrafoam peanuts!! Either the plants were very, very small and half dead or ripped apart by the crummy packaging. I called and complained--Bluestone said they would credit my credit card and to keep the plants. To-date they have not credited my card. They did not ship large, healthy, robust plants--they're half-off sale is a rip off. They already charge WAY too much and half-off is still TOO much for the quality I was shipped.
I will never, never order from this company again.
Jaylee
I am a long time (30+ years) organic gardener with extensive experience growing perennials and shrubs. I decided to give this company a try for some of my current garden plant needs, considering all of the glowing reviews it has received. Unfortunately, my experience has not been in line with that portrayed by others. I recently placed three different orders with this company for a total of 84 plants - predominantly hostas, ornamental grasses, siberian iris, flowering quince, viburnum and coral berry. The plants which I received were mixed in terms of quality, size and vigor. About 50% (mostly the hostas, viburnums and about half of the flowering quince and coral berry were decent (though very small) plants. The remainder, especially the grasses, iris, and the other half of the flowering quinces and coral berries were very pathetic anemic looking plants that looked like they were end of the year left-overs at best. The grasses were mostly pots of brown stems and a number of the flowering quinces were small branch scuptures with very few if any leaves. I did contact the company on the first order that contained the siberian iris and hostas and they sent replacements for the poor plants contained in that shipment. I have not followed up on the subsequent orders simpy because I do not want to complain any more or have to request replacements for every order I place. Very disappointing after having researched alternatives and choosing this company based on all of the positive reviews contained here. Definitely time to try a different source for my future plantings.
On May 27, 2009, dadsirishgarden Holbrook, MA wrote:
I am a person who research products carefully, so I can't believe I bought from this company.I saw the reviews here and other help online and taught this is were to buy, when the box arrive and I open up the plants were very small,but the worse was that about 40 % of then were half dead.I am still in shock with the reviews about this site and what I got.My wife ask why I bought plants online and after this I asking myself why I did ,also some plants were missing and being ship later still waiting a month later!!!
On May 27, 2009, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
"On May 28, 2009 10:46 AM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
Please be in touch as soon as possible so that we can resolve your concerns. When we are in touch, we can research the backorder as well (if it is a Buddleia, they are all going out next week). I am sorry that you received an unsatisfactory shipment, and I can reship or refund at your request. You are welcome to ask for me - Jan 1-800-852-5243
On Jun 3, 2009 9:08 AM, Bluestone Perennials added:
Thanks for being in touch, 'dadsirishgarden'. I am glad the plants perked up for you, and your damaged daylily has been reshipped (along with your backordered Buddleia). Thanks for letting us make amends."
After reading all the positive reports I decided to place an order with Bluestone. I placed an order and received an immediate confirming email that they would contact me in 24 hours with the shipping date. I thought this is great. A week later and still no response from them so I called and cancelled the order. They apologized but I will not be ordering from them again.
On May 11, 2009, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
"On May 11, 2009 11:23 AM, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
I am sorry your email did not reach you. We are doing all we can to get commercial email through the ever-increasing spam filters and personal security settings but it is a difficult process. Our email to you might be in your deleted file, your spam file, or it may have been blocked by your provider. Always know that we will honor a requested ship date, and that we can be reached by phone at 1-800-852-5243. I hope you will give us the opportunity to repair our relationship with you."
Plants were not healthy looking. Paid more per plant for 3" pots here than I did for 4" pots at Bloomin Designs Nursery. The difference in the quality of the plants is amazing.
On Apr 11, 2009, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
I hope you be in touch so that we can address your dissatisfaction with the plants you received. It is hard to know what exactly went awry with your original shipment, but your satisfaction is guaranteed and we will make every effort to correct the situation. We can reship immediately or refund as best suits you. I hope you will give us a chance to make things right."
On Aug 31, 2008, pentasbutterfly Columbus, OH wrote:
The rating of my experience is negative because the issues I experienced are enough to make me pause considerably before ordering anything else from Bluestone Perennial. Not every aspect of my experience was negative.
This catalog is the nicest of all the mail order catalogs I have received (8-10 total). The pages are sturdy, photos are colorful and the unique selections are intriguing. The layout is well done. By looking at the catalog and the prices, I got the impression that this company is the "Top Dog" of the general perennial mail orders. The prices were higher and the discount offered lower than most other catalog companies but I figured it was because they are good!
Because of cost, I paired my choices down considerably to four different plants. When they arrived on May 15, 2008 I was disappointed with the packaging. The plants were in a regular container as if they were sitting on the table in a regular garden center with only the base (dirt and roots) contained. The foliage was unprotected. There were peanuts in the box to fill in the space but these also seemed to cause damage to the foliage during shipping. One daylily looked terrible. The leaves were bent and torn. The plants were very tiny as I guess is normal for mail order. But still to pay that much money to get what were practically seedlings surprised me.
I bought two of the same daylilies; one for me and one for my sister to give her as a gift. I knew she would love the colors of the “Always Afternoon” daylily. Hers bloomed. Mine has not and tomorrow is September 1 so I don’t expect it to bloom for me this summer. The color on her bloom was not at all what the catalog looked like. In the catalogue, it appeared magenta / bright pink (raspberry pink is the description) with a yellow throat. This was more like a muted, dirty pink. I got it for her because she loves bright colors so this was very disappointing. I loved the colors shown too but expect mine will also be a dull, ugly pink.
I bought two types of Anemones. One set of three was supposed to be pink. It started blooming recently and they were white! I checked my order slip and it was correct. The order was for the pink one. The containers must have been mislabeled or someone grabbed the white accidentally when selecting my order items. I called the company and they were nice. They are sending me pink ones at the next ship date in the Fall. I am waiting on the other set of Anemones to bloom. They seem to be growing new and bigger foliage. We’ll see how the blooms go.
The last of the four selections was a Clematis, ‘Arctic Queen’. I don’t know what to expect here. I have never had a Clematis. But it really hasn’t done much all summer. There are very few, small leaves and the vine has reached about 10 inches on the trellis. There are definitely no flowers but I will wait to see next summer. The catalog says bloom time is May to August on old and new growth so I would have expected something. It would be helpful if the descriptions told you whether to expect a bloom the first year or not.
Sorry this is so lengthy. I love the selection at Bluestone Perennial. They sell flowers that I don’t see elsewhere and because of that and other positive reviews I see here at David’s Garden I may try ordering from them again. However, I had shortly before this received an order from another major catalog and was thoroughly impressed with their packaging and plants. If I buy again from Bluestone Perennial it will be for something I can’t find elsewhere but still want to have. I will keep that to a minimum until I feel reassured that I am getting quality shipping and plants.
On Aug 31, 2008, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
"
On Sep 3, 2008 11:46 AM, Bluestone Perennials added:
I am glad that most aspects of your experience were positive, and I am confident all will be well with your replacements. Don't ever hesitate to call right away if your shipment arrives in poor condition - we will reship immediately. We appreciate the feedback on the Hemerocallis description and we will look into matching up the catalog to the bloom. Also, regarding the Clematis - some can be slow to establish, but if yours still does not meet your expectations (even next spring), please contact us for a replacement. It sounds like it is coming along now, and it should be great next spring."
On May 11, 2008, rosesareblue Asheville, NC (Zone 7a) wrote:
I've only began mail ordering plants in the last year and of course took advantage of all the various coupons offered before reading here about each company. That is why I was and still am very surprised and disappointed at my order from last fall. I feel almost guilty because of their excellent reputation, but the perennials I ordered were in awful shape. I did re-order two Polyanthus, but the next bunch were in worse shape. I was most disappointed in the Nepeta, which was next to dead and I had ordered many plants and did not have the time to baby it and the daylillies I also ordered. The woman I talked to when I re-ordered was quite rude and I didn't want to go through that again. I purchased most of them with a coupon or on sale and thought perhaps that was why the plants were in the shape they were. Well, three catalogs have come and gone with the nice discount that I can barely refuse, but I don't want to wait in fear. On the positive, I also ordered fall bulbs and they came up very nicely. On the negative, the whole fall experience with mail-order gardening was terrible and it might be back to Lowes for me.
On May 11, 2008, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
"
On May 12, 2008 10:42 AM, Bluestone Perennials added:
We are very sorry to hear about the trouble rosesareblue has had. We would be very happy to reship or refund her order. I would be curious to know if we used the same carrier both times, as it sounds like the plants might have been too long in transit. We could certainly try again if rosesareblue would be in touch. Fall plants are often beginning their winter decline, depending on how late we ship from NE Ohio, and perhaps spring plants would look more fresh. Just to clarify, our sale material is the same quality as our regular priced material - we simply have an overstock of it for one reason or another. I apologize for any lack of courtesy from our staff. Please ask for me if you would like, Jan"
Had ordered from before good results.This time half the order was in good shape ,healthy, pricey for size I thought. Other side,shrubs in poor shape,euphorbia each had 1 stem and leaf for approx 12.00.Honestly do not know why they sent them.Received B. O. ,hydrangea and red twig dogwood,both demolished by peanut packing and USPS. Cannot beat price for shipping and their commitment to recycling. Did not ask for refund /replacement, just will not order again.
On May 29th, 2008, dirthound added the following:
Bluestone did contact me, issued credit for half of order. Also stated they did have problems with spring shrubs this year.Negative rating will remain because fact is , they still sent plants that they themselves would not have wanted to receive.On May 8, 2008, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
"
On May 12, 2008 10:55 AM, Bluestone Perennials added:
You are still welcome to a reship or a refund if you would like. We can be sure to use UPS or FedEx for your next shipment. I hope you will give us the chance to reconcile this to your satisfaction. "
While I agree that their catalog is educational, I cannot agree that getting very small perennials in return for performance is a good trade off. The perennials I purchased in the spring of 07 arrived in fine condition and were thus planted very soon after a few days to get them accustomed to the climate here. However, these plants just sat in my Zone 5 garden all summer with very little evidence of growth, much less evidence of thriving. I am now worried if they were strong enough to withstand our 0 degree nights this January. This company would benefit from being more straight-forward to customers about the size of the plants purchased or offering larger and stronger plants to begin with. I do not like waiting for two-three years for a plant to make its presence known in the garden.
On Jan 19, 2008, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
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On Jan 21, 2008 9:54 AM, Bluestone Perennials added:
Dear SantaFeTrail,
Are other plants doing o.k. around the ones you received from us? It is unusual for our plants to just sit after planting. If they did not normally perform superbly we would not still be in business. We are concerned that you might have a soil problem. Rest assured that all our plants are 100% guaranteed. We will contact you directly.
P.S. To others wondering what size plants we offer, we do picture them on the inside front cover of our catalogs, and list them online in our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.
Thanks for allowing us to address your concerns,
Bluestone Perennials
"
Going by the reviews, I thought I would give this company a try, so I sent a small order. Most of the plants showed up yellow and limp. E-mailed the company about the poor condition, but they made no offer to replace or give me even a partial credit. About half of them died outright, and only a couple of the other plants has shown any sign of coming back this spring. I have had much better luck with plants from Walmart, than these. And judging by the size of the plant compared to the price, Walmart is unfortunately the better value.
Nice catalog, but I doubt I will order from it again.
Receipt of their catalog this week brought back memories of my order from Bluestone last year. Based on the high praise given this company in the Watchdog, I gave them a try, fully expecting the so-described smaller specimens.
The packaging? By far the poorest example I've seen from any of the many sources I order from. Imagine delicate little things in their cell-pacs placed as is on the bottom of a box. Throw on a handful of shredded paper, then peanuts. Give to UPS. Picture the results.
The plants? Mushy, muddy, miniscule! Small, bruised topgrowth; even smaller root mass. (No, I didn't bother to contact Bluestone for replacements; the only thing worse than this shipment would be more of the same.)
Bottom line: aside from the packaging deficiencies, these are tidbits, mere tots, that really need months more on the growing bench before they should be considered viable in the garden and appropriate for retail sale. A wayward piece of mulch...buried; one bite from a slug...gone. And so they are.
On Apr 23, 2007, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
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On Apr 24, 2007 9:27 AM, Bluestone Perennials added:
How sad this situation is for both of us. We would have loved to reship better plants to pinnae. It is obvious that something went amiss and we would still ship replacements or offer a refund even after a year if she/he would be in touch. Bluestone stands behind our product, and we will be the first to acknowledge that mistakes can happen. We will go the extra mile to make our customers happy, and we would like to be given the chance. We hope pinnae will be in touch."
I am sorry to say my experience with Bluestone was not a success. It started badly with the shipping. I rec'd my order with tons of those annoying peanuts and hardly any packing. It really looked like someone had taken very little care in the packing process. Some of the plants were too tall for the box so the packer just "shut the box" and the tops of those that were tall were all broken. The tall plants were things like astilbe that don't have a lot of leaves to spare to start.
Additionally, the plants arrived very dry, some of them appeared quite stressed by the journey. I watered immediately and they did recover but with yellowing to some of the leaves. When you add the damage in packaging to the lack of water issue, it wasn't a really good start to the whole thing. I planted immediately due to the fact that most everything was pretty potbound and wouldn't hold water for more than a day.
A few things died right off and the rest lingered for a couple of years before finally becoming the normal sized plants I would see at the local garden center. The ones that have survived I guess I would consider successful but it just took so long for them to mature that it kind of took the fun out of it.
Although their pricing is very good, I do think you get what you pay for and the condition of the order on arrival was a real setback for me. In fairness, I did not contact Bluestone to complain as I really didn't want more broken plants and I was not confident that I would get anything else. The value of the order was not significant and as with most gardeners, I was really just disappointed that I couldn't really enjoy these plants in my garden as I had hoped.
I have not ordered again for this very reason. I can deal with the plants being slow to mature or small if it's at a reasonable price but damaged, broken etc. just isn't right.
On Mar 22, 2007, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
"
On Mar 22, 2007 2:16 PM, Bluestone Perennials added:
We are saddened and frustrated that beachrose did not give us the opportunity to make this situation right for him/her. A couple of things come to mind - the shipment may have been too long in transit with the shipper, causing the drying and yellowing. Even though we have very little control over the shipment once it leaves here, we still honor our guarantee. On our end, we make every effort to ship our packages to arrive on a timely basis. This sounds like a problem that occured last season (or even earlier) but we hope beachrose will be in touch and give us the chance to repair our reputation in their eyes, Bluestone."
On Oct 10, 2006, beigestonehill Warrenton, VA wrote:
I have been buying plants from Bluestone for years and I at last give up! I hate the peanuts they pack in. They are wonderful at repacing plants but the new plants are just as tiny and abused as the ones they are replacing. I loose more than 50% of what they send me. I put all of their plants in a nursery row in my veggie garden for a season and still many do not make it.
On Oct 2, 2006, dboisineau Cliffside Park, NJ (Zone 6a) wrote:
Bluestone was the first online nursery I purchased from. I recieve my package weeks after ordering. I ordered bulbs and perennials. I asked to have the perennials and fall blooming crocus shipped separately (I offered to pay more for this service). Everything was sent together. The heavy bulbs destroyed the plants in transit. The poor plants looked horrible upon arrival. I have since found other online nursuries (Evergreen) that have better prices and larger, healthier plants and less expensive, but still great bulbs (Brent and Becky's Bulbs). Do your research and shop around before buying.
On Jun 13, 2006, mary0114 Lodi, CA (Zone 9a) wrote:
Plants took longer to be shipped out than I anticipated. They arrived on a Monday, so they spent the weekend at UPS in our hot zone 9. Some plants were wilted, but root system seems okay. Others were about two inches tall. For the price, I could have bought somewhere else and gotten bigger plants. As long as they survive and thrive, I won't be disappointed. Not thrilled either.
On June 23rd, 2006, mary0114 changed the rating from neutral to negative and added the following:
I am changing my rating from neutral to negative. It has been one week and my replacement order still hasn't arrived. Three of the other plants died, as they were very small, but I just chalked it up. I won't order from them again. Live and learn.On June 29th, 2006, mary0114 added the following:
My replacement plants took one week to get here and arrived in worse condition than the original plants. My rating is still negative for the quality of plants received, but I do want to say that there was no problem in refunding my money. They did so promptly.
On May 23, 2006, shihtzumom Pearisburg, VA (Zone 6a) wrote:
My order arrived in a poorly packaged box. The plants were so tiny that the peanut foam nuggets had broken most of the plants. I had coneflowers that were not even in their containers - just terrible packing.
I contacted the company and they sent 3 replacement coneflowers - however they were about 1/2 inch tall and certainly not worth the price I paid. Again - poor packing. The tiny plants had no protection from the peanuts. They are still in their containers because they are far to weak to plant. 1 is almost ready for the trash can. I'm going to write them again but I don't think any of my order was worth the savings....
Won't buy from them again - however, their customer service was good.
I ordered daffodils, crocus & 2 different kinds of tulips. One of the tulips didn't come up at all. The other tulip and the daffodils were very small blooms -- smaller than Brecks (an inexpensive competitor). The crocus was fine - no complaints there. However, since I was disappointed in the majority of my order, I wouldn't order from them again.
On May 10, 2006, mimiy Boulder, Co United States wrote:
After looking everywhere for variegated coreopsis, I finally found them listed with Bluestone, and promptly ordered two. I also ordered two weigelas at the same time (these were on a special of some sort - so my expectations were lower. ) After ordering, I received an e-mail that the variegated coreopsis was on back order - and I didn't receive them until the end of the season. What I did receive looked like it was a spare trimming stuck into a pot and shipped. Same with the weigelas. One of each survived the winter, after I transplanted them into bigger containers. I won't buy from Bluestone again.
On May 5, 2006, sixlazyk Silt, CO (Zone 5b) wrote:
I have ordered for the last 3 years from Bluestone Perenials and all three years I have had 30 to 40% of my plants come dryed out, frozen, dead and generally in poor shape. I've had 1/2 of the plants have most of their soil on the bottom of the box and feel that they are extremely poorly packed. I've ordered from other companies back east and NEVER had a problem getting the plants here in perfect order. I will never order from Bluestone again.
They used to be better. I've gotten stuff from them for years and the last two have been the worst. It used to be buy 2 get 1 free. Then it was changed from that to 25%.and this year it's 20%. On top of that that the plants they sent last spring were all out of their pots & everthing was all over & dried out. They sent replacements but this year the same thing happened. dried out plants out of their pots & dirt all over. On top of that the replacements that they sent were even worse. The replacements were in worse condition that the original ones this spring. I'm waiting to see if I'll get a refund for all this trouble as I was told, but Bluestone's not as reliable as they used to be.
On May 4th, 2006, woof12 added the following:
On May 2nd. Bluestone replied to this rating & my comment of April 28th., but for now I'm keeping it as is. I've contacted the company and now I'm just waiting for the refund. But I still don't see it as being the carrier's fault as they suggested. I've gotten other plants thru various mail order places & never had problems like these. I still think Bluestone has a problem with the way their plants are packed and shipped. The plants arrived totally bone dry & all over the carton out of their pots. That's not the carrier. That's how they were probably packed up in shipping. On May 9th, 2006, woof12 added the following:
The refund from Bluestone finally came thru but I I still stand with the original rating & I see I'm not the only one with this problem. Also, since Bluestone will see this it would be nice if they did something about their shipping & handling department. There's no excuse for what happened!On April 25th, 2007, woof12 added the following:
Geez! Another so-so order. A few plants were okay but some were too small and got weighed down by all those stupid peanuts. One was so small it shouldn't been shipped, at least not yet & not at those prices. Also, some of the plant pots/cells were broken. in shipping. On Apr 28, 2006, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
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On May 2, 2006 3:09 PM, Bluestone Perennials added:
Bluestone here: Sorry to hear that your order is not surviving transit. If once carrier is more gentle in your area than another, we can assign a method of shipping to your order of your choice. We can't tell who you are from this site, but we hope you have contacted us directly for a full refund. Our apologies."
On Apr 26, 2006, girlscouts Nashville, TN (Zone 6b) wrote:
This was my first experience ordering from this company, but I have ordered from other companies in years past with great results. All of those plants arrived in good health and are thriving.
When I received my order from Bluestone, my heart sank.The plants were basically starts, not plants trimmed back for the trip, but rather tiny stems with minimal growth. The plants did not have the size nor vigor to survive the peanuts that were poured on them for travel , so that many came with stems only, despite my very gentle unpacking of these tiny fragile things. I have never, in any nursery, seen plants this small for sale. They would never take the risk, as they know that survival of such starts in a garden would be questionable. It appears that I have already lost 1/3 of my phlox, even with the gentlest of handling as I carefully coaxed them into their new bed. The 3 iteas, look more like weeds in my garden, as they are 3 inches high and have three leaves each. They have spots on some of the leaves, so I'm not sure of their health.The limelight hydrangeas are the same size, but are healthy looking. The iberis, well I planted the broken little starts, all 3-4 inches of them each, one stem each. The jury is out whether they'll make it. I feel a fool, and will never use this nursery again. It has wisened me up as far as recommendations from others. I wonder if they are all from customers, or from employees of this company. I can't imagine that it is just my poor luck that they only sent me such pitiful samples.
On Apr 26, 2006, Bluestone Perennials responded with:
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On May 2, 2006 3:01 PM, Bluestone Perennials added:
Bluestone here: Our hearts also sank when we heard how your order arrived. We'd like to salvage our reputation with you, if you will give us the chance. Please contact Jan at helpdesk@bluestoneperennials.com as we have no way of knowing who you are. We hope to hear from you soon."
On Mar 17, 2006, botanica37 Oakton, VA (Zone 7a) wrote:
I have been a customer of Bluestone for 3 years - I have ordered at least $100 worth of plants every spring... and my biggest disappointment is that I lost over 75% of every single order. The first year when it happened, I figured it was my fault, maybe should have been taking better care of the plants (who were all tiny and beat up), but when it happened the second year and then this winter again ... no more Bluestone for me.
Probably the weirdest part of all is that I plant in groups and with the same conditions, yet one plant survives and one doesn't. I shelled some hard earned cash on the Lenten Rose, which I love and planted 3 last spring. Now is almost spring again and I have one left and it doesn't have much life in it. Overall, in my gardening experience, I have never had such a high ratio of plants dying, that I had with all my orders from Bluestone.
On Jun 8, 2005, melisab Hartford City, IN (Zone 5a) wrote:
The plants are small but that is explained in the catalogue. My advice is to buy specialty varieties that you can not locate at your local nurseries from the mailorder catalogues. I could not find my beloved Pineapple sage anywhere and there are many varieties of dianthus that I can only find at Bluestone. Sadly I did receive two empty cells, the plants died before it ever got here & the plants beside it grew larger & covered this fact up.
I am not impressed with Bluestone. I do not live in Ohio, but I placed my first order a few weeks ago and received it on 5/24/2005. I concur with Janiejoy's post. The plants are extremely small. They do not look like the pictures at Bluestone website at all. The hydrangea is in a 4x4 pot alright as advertised, but the plant has 3 stems. Each steam is about 3" tall with one or 2 leaves. Had I know about the quality of the plants, I would go to my local nurseries, Home Depot or Lowes and pay a few more bucks, but definitely get a better plant. The PHLOX comes in a pack of three. Each unit has a thin stick (like a toothpick) about 3" tall and without a leaf. I wish I had a digital camera so that I could take the pictures of the plants I recieved and post with this post. Four other packs were completely dry when I opened the package. I water them as instructed. Two survive, the others died. I spent almost $90. I am shocked when looking at the plants. Of the 18 plants I received, 3 are small but gorgeous; 3 are smashed a little but healthy. The rest is just a nightmare like the ones from Richard Owens companies (eBurgess/Royal Dutch/Direct Gardening/House of Wesley...etc). At least, the plants from Richard Owens companies are cheap. I feel being ripped off.
After I placed my first order, Bluestone had 50% off sales. I was thinking of placing another order. Then I decided to wait until I received my plants to see how the plants looked like first. I am glad that I waited. I will definitely not order from Bluestone again even if they have 75% off or free shipping (Yeah right!!).
Also today, I receive my order from Flower Scent Gardens--a nusery from Ohio. The plants from Flower Scent Garden are cheaper and way way bigger. All the plants have flowers and/or buds. I check my credit card online and Flower Scent Gardens has not charged my credit card yet.
So, all I can say to Bluestone is phewwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!
After reading so many positive comments about Bluestone, I placed my first order on May 10, 2005. On May, 11, I received an email informing my order would be shipping in the week of May 16. Since my order would not be shipped until the week of May 16, I sent them an email on May 13, asking if I could add a few more items to the order. Bluestone did not respond to my email until May 17. Bluestone representative--Pat--informed me that my order had been posted to ship; therefore, I could not add additional items. That was understandable. But, on May 20, 2005, I received an automated email from Bluestone informing me my order was shipped on May 20, 2005. According to the UPS tracking, I will receive my order on May, 25. I wish I could have positive experience with Bluestone like many of you have had. Bluestone did not respond to the customer's email in a timely manner. When they finally did, they did not tell the truth. From the company's website, they say if the orders have not been shipped, the customers can modify the orders anytime. I tried, but could not find the option allowing the customers to modify the orders. Suck!
On November 25th, 2005, SnoopyPuppy added the following:
I sent the peanuts back 2 months ago, and have not recieved any voucher for free shipping.
On May 1, 2005, lego_brickster Lawrenceville, PA (Zone 5b) wrote:
I was eager to purchase from this company because of it's high rating here, however I do not think it lives up to it.
Overall a fair experience - but some minor things still leave a bad taste.
I was rewarded with a small swarm of whiteflies when I opened the box - Yuck.
The packaging was not so good - Packing peanuts everywhere.
Two plants had their tops crushed because they were too tall for the box, and were broken when the box flaps were closed. One was tall and shrubby, and only the topmost leaves were broken. The other had it's flower stalk (already in bloom) busted off - again the main plant was unharmed. I know that both plants will recover - so I did not pursue a replacement. It's just annoying to have lost some of the plant's stronger growth when it could have been avoided.
I was also surprised when I was billed on my credit card at the time of the order - some four months before delivery. Most other companies bill when the plants are shipped. It's a minor nuisance, but one I could do without.
Lastly I can't say I'm fond of their practice of forcing you to buy three of any one perennial. I'm sure it's better for them, but of course, it artificailly triples the price too - it raised my cost to a point where I could not buy the variety of plants that I wanted.
Overall plant health was good, and were as described in their catalog - but still plenty of room for improvement.
My order arrived on a timely basis and I knew to expect small plants, but I found the packaging third rate at best. The creeping jenny in particular had taken a real beating. Only eight of the 12 plants I had ordered survived transit. The four plants were promptly replaced, but a little less of a new age attitude towards the use of modern packaging would have made the frustration of asking for replacement plants unnecessary.
Companies that are much less highly thought of on this sight such as Spring Hill and Gurneys routinely send their live plants in specially designed shipping boxes with snug fitting plastic lids to prevent the plants from getting dehydrated and crushed if UPS or the U.S. Postal Service decides to play volleyball with the order.
Bluestone had jammed all 40 of my plants in their flimsy plastic pots inside one large cardboard box, cushioned only with some biodegradable plastic peanuts they kindly asked me to return to them if I placed another order. No wonder my plants arrived quite dry and in a beat up state.
Ordered from Bluestone based on their rating here--and the fact that they were running a sale. Never again.
All of the plants arrived looking like they had been locked away in a dungeon--a third were dead, another third almost dead, and the rest piddly, with poor root development. AND they sent me some mystery, mis-labeled green-leaved sedum instead of the purple-leaved one I ordered.
Because of Garden Watchdog and members' comments, I chose this nursery for my first order of the season.
I opened the very well packaged items with much excitement and anticipation...but what a disappointment. The two hydrangea plants were very small (smaller than I expected for the price). The nine poppies and six gaillardia plants were not only small, but wilted, with mostly yellow (dying) and brown (dead) leaves.
Our local nurseries, even Wal-Mart, would have had better plants than that. Sorry, but it's hard for me to understand how this nursery received such "high marks."
I'll not place another order with them. I have done business with other out-of-state nurseries, but never received plants in such bad condition.
I was horrifed that Bluestone charged our credit card on March 17, the day after I placed our order -- and then set a ship date of late April. That violates the Federal 30-Day Mail Order Rule, which stipulates that all mail order merchandise MUST ship to the customer no later than 30-days after the credit card is charged.
Almost every company I deal with charges my credit card when the product ships; they don't push the system by taking their money any earlier. I complained to Bluestone Customer Service, who said they're aware of the 30-Day rule, and that many customers voluntarily waive the 30-day rule in exchange for special discounts. I knew nothing of any special discounts, so I demanded they credit our account and charge me ONLY when the order ships.
Their plants may be top notch, but I can't say much for their billing practices. I won't ever order from them again.
While the plants I ordered arrived promptly & in good shape, I was billed $22.00 more than I was originally told when I ordered on the website. Apparently, the website calculated incorrectly. Customer service did agree to credit me the difference, but only after a lengthy conversation. Not sure I'd order from Bluestone again, & I surely won't order from the website.
On June 10th, 2006, mkf1 changed the rating from neutral to negative and added the following:
I gave this company a second chance after one bad experience. The plants sent were mostly dead, black, rotty roots. I'm done with Bluestone Perennials now for good. It's hard to believe that they get so many positive comments!
