Comments regarding Sooner Plant Farm (Shop Smarter Shop Sooner)

We ordered and received twp wonderful smaller trees from Sooner Plant Farm and it arrived in superb form and health. The packaging is super sturdy and designed to give the tree air as it makes its way quickly from the farm to home. Instructions are ample and very helpful, and the root sacks they come have ensured vigorous growth and health. Questions about care and planting are quickly, expertly and thoroughly answered with a palpable sense of how much they care about their plants and their customers.

This was my first experience with ordering any plant via the web. My thinking after gardening for decades is that some things are best done in person. How wrong I was. Sooner Plant Farm has the process down to a science.

Plants made it from Oklahoma to Texas in less than a week and look as fresh as they would if bought from one of the local nurseries. With the decline of local nurseries in my area this is an invaluable find.

I have ordered from Sooner Plant Farm several times in the past couple of years, and every time the experience is top-notch. They have a great selection of plants, many of which are difficult to find locally. The plants have arrived well-packaged, in great condition, and are still thriving several years later. Only once have I had plants which didn't survive in transit, but that was because we had an unusual hot spell late in the season once the plants had shipped. I took photos of the plants and emailed the photos to Sooner Plant Farm, and they sent replacement plants to me at no extra charge. I will definitely continue to order from them!

It is so refreshing to be able to send an email asking a question and receive response in such a timely manner. I have only a positive experience with this company. In July, knowing I would not be home during my shipping window, I ordered two Maple trees and requested a specific shipping date. The trees arrived yesterday, in great condition, and well packed. Due to flooding in our area, I again contacted Sooner Plant Farm about planting and received a response within 12 hours. What a pleasure, I cannot express how rewarding it is to deal with this business. I look forward to getting these trees planted and see the vibrant colors next fall!

My plant arrived in an expertly created package. It was ventilated tough cardboard. The plant was attached solidly to the package bottom so even the roughest handling could not dislodge it. The root ball was shrink wrapped to prevent any spillage and the foliage was free and unrestricted. The product was shipped in one business day from OK to my home in TX. The root ball was moist and easily planted. The biodegradable pot made the thorny barberry easy to handle Thanks Sooner Plant Farm for a pleasant experience.

I recently purchased 3 Blue Shadow Witch Adler plants from Sooner Plant Farm. The plants arrived well packed and very healthy. I appreciate Sooner's customer support and plant availability and quality. The root pouch alternative is a very convenient and fool-proof way to purchase and plant.

I placed my first order with Sooner Plant Farm 9/3/2018. Two (Mary Milton) viburnum bushes and 1 wisteria (blue moon variety) that I could not find at local landscape centers. I also added a perennial husker red beardtongue plant so that my total purchase qualified me to receive free shipping.

I was very impressed with attention to detail this merchant provides. It exceeds what I have been accustomed to when establishing accounts and making purchases from other online merchants. Email notification was thorough and alerted me to anticipated 9/11/2018 ship date well in advance.

When the shipment arrived 9/14/2018, I was impressed with packaging. The best I had ever seen. Sturdy box. Ventilated. Cardboard dividers between plants. Plastic wrap around the top of containers. Planting instructions and fertilizer packs for planting enclosed too! Packers added moisture gel granules to prevent drying out on top of the soil for the vine and for the perennial plant.

Unfortunately, the Mary Milton shrubs had dried out during shipping. The soil was dry and some of it had fallen into the box despite the plastic wrap to contain it. These bushes had dropped many leaves; it looked like there were more in the box than were left on the plants. I do not know the reason for this, but unlike the other plants, there were no moisture granules on top of the soil to prevent drying. A few branches were broken, but not badly considering the rigors of shipping. I was worried about these plants, because of leaf drop. Sent email, and photos too, to Sooner so that they could see why I was worried. I received a prompt response and comment that leaf drop is common, more for some plants than for others, and that Sooner staff didn't see cause for concern after looking at photos. They would make a note on my order and asked me to let them know if plants looked worse in the coming weeks.

Thankfully, immediate watering, planting the day following arrival, and days of rainfall after planting seemed to make these bushes happy. Leaf drop quickly subsided and as of 10/2/2018, a few small buds of new leaves have emerged, well in advance of fall frosts that will cause these deciduous bushes to drop all leaves. It appears that my Mary Milton viburnums have adjusted nicely to their new home. I am optimistic that I will see new growth Spring 2019, assuming that we do not have an unusually harsh winter that no merchant can predict or control.

This was my first experience with Sooner. I have no complaints. Attention to communication detail and quality in shipping care is the best I have ever seen. Prompt response to reported concerns, notes made to the order for potential problems, and requests to hear back from me if plants looked worse in coming weeks give me an impression and sense of comfort that I am dealing with a high-integrity company. I will surely consider buying from Sooner Plant Farm again.

A phone call prior to my order was productive and helpful. Once my order was placed, I received another phone call to reassure me that my order would be delivered in the time frame I requested. It arrived right on schedule.

The rising sun red bud I purchased is the largest mail order tree I have ever received. It was amazingly packaged and very healthy not seeming to have suffered at all in transport. Not only couldn't I have found such a tree in a local garden store, I also thought is was very, very fairly priced.

I'm kind of old and may not be gardening much longer. I wish I had found this source years ago.

Sooner Plant Farm far exceeded my expectations! They quickly responded to e-mails requesting information before my purchase, even including photos of the trees I would receive. I submitted a pre-order several months in advance and the trees were shipped on the date promised. It took them 5 days to get here and to be honest I was nervous to open the boxes when they arrived. I opened them and the trees were packaged extremely well for the journey and all looked perfectly healthy. I ordered Taylor Juniper's which are hard to find. The web site did state the tree size however, I do wish they were a little larger for the money paid. Overall, I'm very pleased, thank you so much!!

I've ordered trees and shrubs by mail for over 36 years, first by catalogue and now by online nurseries. This company stands by it's plants if you follow a few reasonable rules. The plants always exceed my expectations and are ready to adapt and grow here, not the easiest place to garden as I live on a sand and gravel dump left by the glaciers. The plants often come in "root pouches". Do not fear them. The feeder roots are intact and this gives them a leg up on adjusting to your garden.

I've never had a bad experience at Sooner and I think you might want to give it a try.

Colin and Brian are men of integrity. On the day my order was to ship it was noticed that the tree to be sent may have been miss marked. Because of the uncertainty they Called to discuss the options. They could have just sent the tree they had, but wanted the order to be right, We spent nearly 30 minutes discussing the situation then the site for the tree, sun, soil, space etc. Then reached a decision. My Shirazz Japanese Maple has a new home! The tree arrived quickly and in wonderful condition. I have already made an additional order. Thanks Guys!

I LOVE Sooner Plant Farm. I am in Ft. Worth, TX and was looking for a particular kind of plant and found them in a random internet search. I have used them 2 times now and bought 8 different trees from them. They arrived in perfect condition and packed very well with good instructions on how to plant them and care for them. After a couple of my crape myrtles bloomed and had pink instead of violet flowers, they quickly answered my email and are going to send me the correct plants. They have been very professional and courteous. I will use them again for sure and have referred them to several friends.

I HAVE PURCHASED MANY PLANTS AND SHRUBS FROM SOONERPLANTFARM.
THE PLANTS ARE SHIPPED PERFECTLY, WITH GREAT CARE TAKEN TO ALL THEY DO TO MAKE SURE YOU GET HEALTHY, AND INTACT PLANTS.

THE PLANTS ARE EXTREMELY HEALTHY, AND HAVE WONDERFUL ROOT SYSTEMS.

I HAVE HAD ONLY ONE ISSUE OUT OF ALL MY ORDERS,AND IT WAS RESOLVED TO MY 100% SATISFACTION IMMEDIATELY.

THE CUSTOMER SERVICE, IN MY OPINION, IS SECOND TO NONE.

I HAVE MADE CALLS RECENTLY, AND IN THE PAST, AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HELPED WITH ANY QUESTIONS I MAY HAVE ABOUT PLANTING ALSO...

I AM TOTALLY SATISFIED WITH THIS COMPANY, AND WOULD RECOMMEND THEM TO ANYONE WHO WANTS QUALITY PLANTS, AND CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT TREATS YOU LIKE FAMILY...

My first order from Sooner Plant Farm was a great success. The shipment arrived with larger plants than expected and well packed, everything healthy and in good shape..

The plants arrived on one of the hottest weeks in 6 years and still are hanging in there, so a true sign they were well looked after before they shipped.

Posted on June 30, 2016, updated June 29, 2018
I had put my name on a waiting list for Koelreuteria paniculata \'Coral Sun\' and when I was notified that one was available, I ordered immediately. My well grown tree arrived in perfect condition, at least 4 feet tall, well branched, covered in leaves with fresh emerging \'coral\' growth. I planted it the next day and even though that was only a week ago, it appears perfectly healthy and thriving and happy in its new home.Excellent packing, shipping and customer service. Thank you.

I highly recommend buying plants from Sooner Plant Farm! The plants that I received are absolutely beautiful, in wonderful shape even after having been on the road for five days. Communication with staff at Sooner Plant Farm was also excellent.
Again, I highly, highly recommend.

I ordered a Dwarf a Pomegranate from Sooner Plant Farm, and before shipping I was contacted by Colin as he was concerned about the structural quality of the plant. He offered to send some pictures so that I could look at it and let him know what I wanted to do. I agreed that the growth habit was not the best, so decided to cancel the order. It was not a problem and Colin canceled the order and setup the refund for me. This was the very last one they had in stock, so they didn’t currently have another to replace it.

Even though I didn’t buy the plant, I wanted to share how amazing their customer service is! Most companies would just take your money and send you the plant anyway, but Sooner Plant Farm stands by their products and will not settle for less than perfect, which means their customers don’t have to settle either. Very few companies go this far for a great customer experience, and I can’t say enough how much I appreciate these folks for going above and beyond. They have gained a new customer here, and I will definitely order from them in the future!

Posted on May 21, 2018, updated May 21, 2018
I have been only started buying plants from Sooner Plant Farm this year as they came up on a web search for Dogwood Trees. I was impressed when i called about one variety of dogwood, and the gentleman i spoke with went out to their nursery and checked on the condition of the two trees they had in stock. He called back shortly and said he didnt feel good about either tree and would i wait until September for a better tree. Wow! Did not sell me an inferior product even though it was in stock! I was impressed. So i ordered 5 other dogwoods and will get the last variety in Seotember. Every tree came in outstanding condition. We planted them exactly as directed, and all 5 are thriving! Cant wait to get the last one planted.

I ordered a Sunsation magnolia and was expecting a small whip. I am amazed at what a large specimen they sent me! I can't wait for it to become established! I will certainly shop Sooner Plant Farm again!

Words cannot fully express the wonderful experience I had with Colin and Sooner Plant Farm. I ordered a Mimosa and everything in the order process went smoothly and all the communication from Sooner was great! However, UPS told me and Sooner the tree was delivered and it was not. After MANY communications with UPS they FINALLY sent the required claims forms to Colin/Sooner. In the interim, Colin and Sooner were in constant contact with me and they were so wonderful in shipping me a replacement tree right away! Again, their communication was great and yes, the second tree arrived and is being planted today! It is in great shape and a wonderful specimen and know it will do really well! You don't always get to deal with a company with great customer service like Sooner. I have been in healthcare for over 40 years and understand the importance of being honest, courteous, understanding and "doing the right thing" for people. I must say that Sooner and Colin are all these things and more and definitely give them a 5 star rating and recommend you utilize them!

Ordered three dwarf crape myrtles. Two arrived dormant and soon began to bud exuberantly. One was stone dead, and remained so. After receiving a phone call and a photo, Sooner sent a replacement, which just arrived in excellent health. Five stars.

Ordered my two JM's this past fall and was shipped at my request last week. What a pleasure it was to finally get to order and receive trees from this Company, the package arrived on time and not a leaf out of place. All I can say is Wow, and I will be ordering again soon! Thanks so much Sooner, for all you do and God Bless!!

All of the plants that I have bought have arrived on time, healthy and large enough that they bloom the first year. Customer service is outstanding and they pride themselves on excellence. They possesses the qualities necessary in a plant farm – the ability to balance the needs of the farm with the greater needs of the customer. Quality plants at a reasonable price, backed by an organization dedicated to customer satisfaction.

After having a respected Nursery fail me, setting things back ten days as well, I messaged the after hours business email address of Sooner Plant Farms with a request. Manager Colin Mcinnes was kind enough to email back that if I ordered the specimen tree that I desired the next day from them, it in my hands within an estimated 48hours. I was a happy man once again, and pleased indeed when Sooner came through as promised and with the root pouch planting method. I will never again plant a container grown tree because the handles of Sooner's root pouch make the lifting and positioning of the tree into the hole so much easier and the pouch makes for a much more sure planting transition. The obvious higher quality of care that my tree has had growing in their nursery makes them my "Go To" from this day forward. They are competent and confident nurserymen, so say we all, and a special thanks to Colin Mcinnes for his "over the top" effort to make things happen fast!

Terrific plants well packaged and shipped quickly. One of my favorite places for stuff I can't find locally. Today's batch was some Mini-Penny Hydrangea, which were beautiful in the box and are now planted.

Great resource for trees and shrubs! They send detailed instructions on how to plant with little fertilizer packets. I found them to be very helpful along every step of the growing process. If I ran into trouble, I would send a picture and they would make suggestions to get the plant healthy again. Very hands-on and helpful. The way trees and plants are packaged for shipping is foolproof.....even the UPS driver said he wished all companies packaged their plants as well as Sooner's. The quality is good, and they stand behind their product completely. It's a nice resource for someone like me who does not live near a nursery. If they are out of a product, they will call and tell you when it is back in stock. I can't recommend this company enough, because I would have a much more barren landscape without Sooner's! Their service is better than a lot of brick and mortar stores. Don't hesitate to mail-order from them.

Posted on July 30, 2017, updated July 30, 2017
I placed two orders with Sooner.
The first was for a new variety of Campsis, which I sent to my sister. She reported that it was a very large specimen, arrived in good condition, very vigorous, packed well, and it is doing well in her garden.

I then ordered 15 Heuchera plants and 1 Abelia shrub. This past Friday, the shipment arrived with all plants intact and in very fine condition. Since the plants had been inside a dark box for 4 days, I followed Sooner\'s directions, and allowed them to acclimate in semi-shade for a day.

I have not needed to contact Sooner, which is as I prefer it with any vendor. Their goods were superior and required no follow up, just prompt planting, following their directions.

They will be my go-to mail order plantsmen from now on. They\'re not cheap, but I believe their charges are appropriate for the quality of their plant material.

I have made several purchases through the years from the folks at Sooner. I always quickly receive large, healthy plants! Their packaging is second to none, certainly able to take anything that UPS can do to it - and we all probably know what UPS can do to a package at times.

Whenever I need something that I cannot find first at my local nursery, they are my "go to" source for plants.

Prompt, professional and very courteous! Have zero fear when ordering from Sooner!

I have ordered from Sooner three times and have always been happy. They take great care in packaging. I've never had a broken twig or leaf amazingly even though the plants travel across the country. They called me once about one order because they were not happy with the quality of a plant and didn't want to ship it and suggested a replacement. I appreciate that care and attention to detail and customer satisfaction.

Ordered an Eastern Redbud from Sooner Farm and it just arrived yesterday

Selection on their website is fantastic - they seem to have everything that I am looking for and different variations of trees (multi-stemmed vs. single stemmed). Their prices seem to be a tad bit higher than most, but quality is there.

Ordering experience was fantastic. I love that you can use Paypal. They amended my order to switch from a single stem tree to multi stem tree and it was no problem. Customer service is almost instantaneous.

Shipping of the tree was awesome - it came in a box that definitely was cared for, and the tree looks incredibly healthy. The root system is wrapped tight and looks healthy as well. I was trying very hard to find anything wrong with the tree but I couldn't - it was green and glowing. My biggest fear of ordering something online is getting a tree that's dilapidated or the "worst of the bunch" on the lot but that did not happen here.

Will use them again for sure. I'm giving them a positive review but my only hesitation is price point. Sometimes I can find competitors with lower prices, but I can't always guarantee they will have the same quality as Sooner.

I had a hard time tracking down a source for 42 holly plants to replace my pool privacy hedge. Sooner Plant Farm came through for me. I found the number and size of plants I needed. They arrived yesterday in perfect condition and larger than I expected. All are perfectly labeled (as to male/female) and I'll put them in the ground tomorrow with the booster packages that came with the order. I am a very satisfied customer! Thank you.

What a pleasure to see a company like Sooner Plant Farm . This was my first time ordering from them as a business woman in my 80's,I was apprehensive. Colin, immediately answered questions same day !Each time I had a concern or question, it was answered that day. SOONER PLANT FARM IS AMAZING. Will remain a customer for life. Good old fashion customer care and all of my orders arrived beautiful and healthy. God Bless Sooner Plant Farm and COLIN!!!

This is the first time I've ordered live plants online. Ordering at the end of Sonner's plant guaranteed cutoff period, I ordered 5 azalea's (3 varieties) and a hydrangea. Colin worked with me during the process and verified he could get all the plants prepped and shipped the week of delivery. Tracking the plants was easy, and delivery was prompt and during the time frame expected.

I was sure my planting environment was correct for sunlight, drainage, pH, and nutrients, and was home when the shrubs arrived. I ignorantly ordered 3 gallon plants and expected them to be bigger (thinking of trees instead of shrubs), but they are honestly quite large for 3 gallon plants, certainly larger than my local markets 3 gallon azaleas. Additionally, these shrubs have more growth and foliage than the plants available at my local nurseries. I don't think I could have received better plants at a better price. The shrubs have been in the ground 2 weeks now and are doing great. I will be ordering again come spring time.

Charles

I ordered 3 "Little Honey" hydrangeas. They were shipped at the appropriate time for planting. I was pleased with their size and condition. They are thriving. Compared to a previous shipment from another company, these were much better for similar price.

placed an order and received order quickly and as requested (timeframe). One plant, however, was damaged in shipping because it broke loose from how it was fastened. Many branches broken, but the plant seemed salvageable. Wrote an email to let them know and got a near immediate response!! They were willing to replace the plant, but I thought it could be salvaged and let them know this.

wonderful communication! Plants beautifully grown, well-packed and shipped.

I can't say enough about Sooner Plant Farm! I recently received another order from them and even though I expect quality from this company, I am still amazed every time I open a box of plants. First of all, the plants are invariably larger than expected. Most importantly, they are clearly vigorous and healthy. They use packing techniques that I have never since anywhere else. I have ordered several good-size trees, for example, and they have a system of packing that keeps the tree absolutely stable and upright, and looks like an engineer designed it. I have talked to employees on the phone quite a few times to get info, and they have all been knowledgeable and courteous. I've never had any issues with an order, but feel certain they would do anything to make it right. I have ordered all kinds of things from them, but I especially like their large selection of trees and shrubs, which includes many that are hard to find.

I order a lot of plants.Even larger shrubs.SOONER has never let me down.They have accommodated my need for special shipping.They have sent plants to Nantucket Island and to Savannah,Georgia for me.They plants arrive in great shape,beautiful,well marked with correct planting info..I am crazy about Sooner Plant farm.

My favorite general plant store online. Top notch plants and plant selection plus prompt, friendly service. Outstanding!

A few days ago, I received my order from Sooner Plant Farm: 3 crape myrtles in one-gallon containers. They arrived with every leaf intact and in perfect condition. They were also much larger than I expected, so I'm very pleased with my purchase. I've ordered crape myrtles from other sources in the past, and their longevity has ranged from DOA to less than a year. Since I'm starting with extremely healthy plants, I'm hoping that this time will be different. I love the variety that Sooner Plant Farm offers. Their website provides beautiful photos and good descriptions, but the search engine is somewhat clumsy. In addition, some plants are listed by common name, while others are found only by Latin name, e.g. Lagerstroemia instead of Crape Myrtle. However, I'll take strong and healthy plants any day over minor website glitches.