You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
Okay so this is my first experience with American Meadows. I found the website to be very easy to use and I was pleased with the large variety of plants. I also found shipping to be very reasonable, offering a low flat rate. I ordered approximately 200 bulbs. After placing my initial order I decided I wanted to add a few things but couldn't see how to do that on the website, so I sent them an email on a Saturday. I didn't expect a reply at least until Monday, but surprisingly they got back to me that Saturday night. How cool is that? I received a very nice email stating that I would need to call them in order to add on to an existing order. I did this and found customer service to be very polite, prompt, and helpful. I do have a few concerns however. I thought that the bulbs arrived kind of early in the season. Mid September seems early for my zone 6 garden and the instructions are to plant immediately. I did this as instructed. Also, the bulbs didn't seem quite up to par with easytogrowbulbs.com. I personally couldn't see the difference between these and the ones they sell at big box stores like Lowes. However I am not a bulb expert by any means and am giving these the benefit of the doubt. I am going to keep my initial rating as a neutral and then will update it this Spring depending on the performance of the bulbs.
I recently received an order from American Meadows that consisted of both bulbs and potted plants. In addition, shortly afterward, I received a separate plant (a butterfly bush) that had been on backorder. The bulbs arrived in good condition, but most of the potted plants that arrived in the first shipment and the butterfly bush that was sent separately were DOA. They were not even at death's door when they arrived; they were complete gonners. The packaging, by far, was the worse I have ever seen, and I've ordered hundreds of plants through the mail over the course of many years. The containers were goofy, ridiculous things containing dried-out soil. They were a joke. Those plants that did arrive alive had been squashed and damaged by this inferior packaging. At this point, the company is promising a refund for those plants that arrived dead and the customer service employees have been polite. However, I will not bother to order from them again.
On Apr 9, 2009, alchemy_1300 Pittsburgh, PA (Zone 6a) wrote:
I received my complete order of Monkshood all three of them look good and even had new shoots starting I'm happy with them!
On June 30th, 2009, alchemy_1300 changed the rating from positive to neutral and added the following:
I had got three plants and planted them the same day (though two were real small) after a week or so the two died but I still had the one it looked good ,well two weeks ago I noticed the bottom leaves turning color(a reddish brown) I posted a question here as to what was the matter with them anyways Yesterday i go to check on the plant and well it appears the plant is also dieing it could have been my fault because I got confused on the Ph balance so I am not blaming anyone at this point and this is an update on my review.On July 15th, 2009, alchemy_1300 added the following:
I ordered eight items from American Meadows last spring. Only two of the eight items grew and bloomed. These were the Anneke Calla Lily and the Biltmore Estates Glads and they were both absolutely gorgeous! I contacted the company and they credited me for the remaining items that did not grow. While I do feel that the company is to be commended for standing behind their 100% guarantee, I do not feel that the product is worthy of a positive rating at this point since money is still lost on shipping charges. I am going to place a small order with them because I really would like to have a few of their unique items and will change my rating accordingly after receipt of that order.
All these comments of long-time American Meadows customers boosts my faith in their product, but I unfortunately had a bad first experience. I ordered three types of bare root plants, and when the box arrived I was informed by a small note on the invoice (that I barely noticed until I searched every inch for indication of why I was missing roots) that one type had not met their standards this year so they weren't shipping them and I would be refunded.
As for the other two, one had roots so small and indiscernible that I couldn't tell if I even was planting the roots or if it was debris in the included soil. The other type had larger roots but still didn't look in the best of shape, even to an amateur gardener.
Neither of the two root types ever produced any growth, so around a month after planting I e-mailed the company for advice. They recommended waiting a little while longer, so I did and then e-mailed them again when there was still no growth, and they refunded me for the roots.
I much appreciated getting my money back and will do business with American Meadows again since they so stand behind their product, but I have made it a point to avoid even considering bareroot plants from that or any other site.
On May 10, 2007, Madisonkathy Sun Prairie, WI (Zone 4b) wrote:
I've previously ordered bulbs from American Meadows and was satisfied with them...the size and prices were good, and they bloomed well. This was the first year I've ordered bare root plants from them, and I was disappointed.
I've planted bare roots before, and these were some of the smallest I've ever planted; some were little more than a chopped piece of root...no feeder roots, no top growth. With our short growing season, and the fact that they didn't get here until the middle of May, I doubt I'll see much growth this year.
On Apr 30, 2007, Weather Quincy, MA (Zone 6b) wrote:
It's been 7 weeks since I placed an order -- my first -- with American Meadows. Though they charged me for the order, I've received nothing, nor have I heard from the company in two weeks.
On March 9th, I ordered plants, bulbs and seeds from American Meadows. The order totaled $32.83. I received their automated "Thanks for your order" email.
Then nothing.
For weeks.
On April 9th, I called to see what the delay was. The operator said that there had been "a problem with my card" and that my order was never filled. (If there were a problem with my card, why didn't they contact me? They had my phone number, mailing address and email address, after all.)
I asked the operator to re-submit the order.
On April 12th, American Meadows charged my debit card for $42.13 -- almost $10 more than the original total! That was the last I heard from them. They did not send an a confirmation that the order was being filled, nor did they give an explanation for the higher cost.
That was over two weeks ago. I still haven't heard anything from them. Thank Heavens that I wasn't relying on them for seeds that needed to be started indoors.
On May 2nd, 2007, Weather added the following:
May 2 update: I received half of my order -- a fern, a hosta, and a Louisiana iris. The plants were in good condition and packaged well.
Also included were 3 free mini seed packets.
Still no sign of my seeds or bulbs.
The company still hasn't responded to the voicemail I left last week, nor to my my emails of April 27 and April 30. On May 4th, 2007, Weather changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
On Jun 15, 2006, ignote Saint Cloud, MN (Zone 4a) wrote:
I ordered all of my plants online this year, as I have a busy schedule and was actually spending most of my time landscaping to get a garden ready. I placed two orders with American Meadows, because I couldn't resist their Advance Order prices, and they had most of the things I was looking for.
The items all arrived in good condition, and were carefully packed and labeled. There was a mix-up with one shipment, and a few things were left out. I emailed customer service, and got a prompt response saying that they'd send out those plants. I got them just fine.
I will use this company in the future!
On June 4th, 2008, ignote changed the rating from positive to neutral and added the following:
This year I only ordered one item through this company, and was disappointed. They advertise a peony tree as a plant, not a bare root. It is very obviously described:
"These plants are never inexpensive, but we are particularly excited about the quality of the group we have, direct from China. Unlike the standard peonies which are usually shipped as roots, tree peonies are delivered as growing plants."
When add an item to your basket, it says "1 plant."
But, what did I receive? A bare root. What was on my packing slip? Bare root. Deceiving! I expect to receive what is advertised, and what I ordered. I work in website marketing, and as a result of this glaring error/deception, I will not order from this company again.
On Jun 5, 2006, Soferdig Kalispell, MT (Zone 4b) wrote:
I ordered 2 plants (cimicifuga) and a wild flower group of seeds. I was impressed with the seed mixtures and quantity. I bought 4 oz packets. But the Cimicifugas didn't arrive until mid May and the same problem as above. They were tiny dry roots with no moisture in the plastic bags and as of a month now none have survived. I later (before recieving the 1st order) ordered a sale group of root stock with a group of Cimicifuga which I paid 7.95 each minus a discount of 50 bucks on a 130 buck order. Also I ordered a group of Heliopsis X 6 and 2 other Filipendula Rubra perenials. All of these, but the Filipendula, came in the same plastic perforated bags with powder dry peat. These were delivered to my hands from UPS or Fed X. I can't remember. 2 bags had only dead and friable roots that were hard to find in the dry peat. I have learned to no longer buy plants that come from so far. My mistake. This is my first internet purchase and I have learned that when you pay a discount you should expect them to die. I am frustrated. Oh I did get a free bag of seeds that had about 15 to 20 seeds total in them. Maybe I will have some patriotic colors in my wild flower meadows. My only suggestion to American Meadows is to get perenials to Zone 4 in at least early April. So they have a chance and maybe to bag the product in premoistened peat.
On May 31, 2006, fluffysoftkitty Kansas City, MO wrote:
Ordered some hard-to-find plants in early April, they arrived around the beginning of May. Was disappointed that the "plants" were actually bare roots, but they looked ok so I planted them. Have seen no signs of life since then. Company rep was curteous and says they will refund my money. Would consider ordering from them in the future if I could get leafed out plants.
I placed my order in late February, and it was comprised of both a wildflower seed mixture, and the American Meadows Yarrow and Poppy Collection savers. First, the positive…the seed mixture portion of the order arrived quickly, and with extra seeds. I have sown them all, and with all the seedlings emerging it appears that I have a nice wildflower area to look forward to in the next month or so.
Now the negative. The Yarrow and Poppy collections were THE WORST looking bare root plants I have ever seen. They came in separate plastic bags packed with peat moss, but the roots were/are flimsy looking, and if they actually grow into anything it would be a gardening miracle. One of the Yarrow bags was completely empty…no bare root stock at all ! While perhaps I didn’t read closely enough that they would come as only bare root, I could easily have bought something of better quality at the local Home Depot, or the ever-chintzy Christmas Tree Shop.
There was another item I ordered that they could not fulfill, so they credited me the amount, and sent a bag of ten "Lillie of the Valley" as a good will gesture. Nice…not wow, but nice.
While I give American Meadows their props on the seeds, the credit for unavailable merchandise, and the good will bag; their “live” plant selection is embarrassing. I will order from them again, but ONLY seeds. The worst part is that you place your order, you save a spot in your garden, resist temptation to buy and fill the space because you have the order coming, and then the product that arrives is questionable at best. Makes you feel cheated. I couldn’t go all negative on this review, but man was it tempting !
I received my order promptly, carefully packaged and in good condition. I cannot fault the company
...but I can fault myself: After unpackaking the packages of bulbs I realized I could have saved myself some money and shipping charges: I could have bought most of the plants off the rack at my local gardening stores and some even at places like Lowe's. I was inattentive and fell for the beautifully hyped up prose like "Spectacular... famous climbing lily... world famous jungle flower...dinner plate Dahlias...! etc. caveat emptor--buyer beware. My mistake. I also live in Durham NC where gardening is becoming fashionable and we have good local nurseries as well as big chain stores that offer great selections based on customer demand. If you live in a less gardening oriented area this would probably be a wonderful place to get what you cannot find in your local stores.
Ordered wildflower seeds from this company about a year ago. Since then they have been sending out frequent spam even though I have attempted a number of times to remove myself from their e-mail newsletter list.
On May 20th, 2006, mathewpok changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
On Apr 23, 2006, American Meadows responded with:
"
On May 2, 2006 12:44 PM, American Meadows responded:
We do not send spam! We send newsletters, and only to our customers and any others who CHOOSE to be on our email list. We try very hard to retain only those names who want to receive our emails. We operate a powerful email management program, but it is not perfect. Occasionally, one or two names may not be deleted as ordered, but if that happens, our Webmaster deletes the name manually, once we know of the error.--Ray Allen, Owner, AmericanMeadows.com"
The canna bulbs I received from this company were small--undersized in comparison to those I have purchased elsewhere. The dahlia tubers were barely adequate and certainly not of the size or quality of those I have purchased from other internet providers listed on Garden Watchdog. Since these roots may eventually provide satisfactory plants, I will rate the company for the present as neutral.
