Comments regarding Hirt's Gardens (formerly Hirt's Greenhouse & Flowers)

Posted on October 16, 2017, updated October 20, 2017
Worst company I\'ve EVER bought plants from. I ordered several thinking that I might plant them in specific areas of my yard and garden. However, that dream was shattered since they sent all $95 worth of plants, packed the worst I\'ve ever seen, with NO labels. So how am I supposed to know the passion flower I wanted to plant by my entryway, from the one I wanted to plant by my shed, or the clematis I wanted to plant by my back door, from the one I wanted to plant by my mailbox? I guess it really doesn\'t matter, because for their size and the shape they\'re in, I doubt like hell if they\'ll grow to begin with.

I ordered two roots for big, fluffy pink Islander dahlias. Started them indoors, transplanted outside in May, water and cared for all summer. Not happy, after waiting months to finally get blooms to get small, washed-out tan and yellow flowers of some unidentifiable variety.

The other dahlia purchased from Hirt's never sprouted at all. (All 12 of the others I started from other suppliers grew fine and bloomed beautifully.)

Just a big disappointment.

I ordered two honeysuckle vines, so imagine my surprise when my order arrived today and I found a horseradish plant! And a damaged horseradish plant at that!

Two Honeycomb Buddleia were received on 7/8/17, in 4" pots with masking tape and styrofoam peanuts. They were in poor health: victims of whitefly infestation and dry soil. The leaves were already dying. Plants were photographed on 7/11/17, and reviewed on Walmart.com, where they were purchased.

Plants were reduced by 2/3 in size in an attempt to help them regenerate. As of 7/19/17, one plant appears dead; the other has sprouted tiny, new growth.

This was the worst plant shipment that I have received ever. These plants should never have been sold; the method of packing for shipment was poor; this was a waste of money.

An email was sent to Hirt's today. No request for compensation of any kind. However, this negative experience and review of Hirt's Gardens will be shared often. Prospective buyers should consider the number of negative vs. positive reviews and proceed with caution.

I will not purchase from this company again.

Ordered 8 plants.Primarily after 6 and added 2 different plants to go with them. After they were shipped got an e mail stating that I was only getting the 2 plants and was getting a 7 dollar refund. So ended up paying $54 for two very small very sickly Rhubarb plants.left message on their phone and have not been replied to. Will not purchase from them again.

Please think twice before supporting this business.

Summary: Abhorrent shipping practices. If you want someone to take a plant you paid them for & make it a Charlie Brown X-mas tree before shipping it to you, this is your nursery. Here you get to pay to receive abused versions of the plants you ordered, and spend your time trying to get them to recover.

$122 at Hirt's eBay.
Notified I would be leaving neutral and negative feedback for each item purchased. Seller's only response was to say send pictures. Didn't ask why, or what the issues with my order were.

13 items totaling 19 pieces - mostly tender leaf plants (only 1 succulent) in 2"-4" pots, wet with moisture, laid on their sides, stacked on each other, with plant stems and leaves caught between pots and between styrofoam packing peanuts - not wrapped in paper or protected from packaging or other pots in any way at all. !!! No dead plants yet - the health of 11 plants of the 19 remains questionable.

Individual plants listed below with description of damage/condition/required attention in caps. (It is impossible to shout via keyboard.)

I sent (my notes) all the information below to Hirt's, explaining that sending him pictures won't change the condition of what I received. No response at all after a week. I didn't ask for money back:

Disgusted by the careless, thoughtless, inconsiderate methods. (re: packing)

Misleading advertising by only posting selected photos, not similar to actual items, and making important information like "small starter plant" inconspicuous instead of putting it in the title description. This is intentionally misleading. (re: Ophiopogon)

Incomprehensible that any nursery would even consider shipping tender starter plants in a box of packing peanuts. NEVER received any shipment like this.

Masking tape? Really? Everyone else uses wet paper towels over substrate, then tapes over that. Never had anyone send me a plant that they had taped the leaves up too. I can't express enough how disappointing this is. (Almost every plant in the box! Maybe I got a really bad order - I can't believe only one other person has mentioned this! Regardless if it was one time, or standard practice, the person who packed this does not care. Worst shipment I've ever received from any seller including those in US, Spain, Hungary, Netherlands, UK, Peru.)

Here's my thought. I don't buy plants to take them home and nurse them to good health; I buy healthy plants! I don't go buy plants at a local nursery and then beat them up on the way home. I don't select plants that are broken either. Nor do I remove healthy leaves when I buy them. If a plant needs work, I skip it and get one that looks good. Hirt's offers the convenience of getting every specimen I wouldn't pick for myself sent right to my home! Receiving this shipment gave me a few hours of dealing with cleaning up after the person who packed my order. All of this could have easily been avoided but someone obviously didn't give a damn about my plants, or me as a customer and what I might think.
(I notice other reviews mentioning getting to nurse plants from here back to health also. Great for some people I guess, but again, not why I buy plants.)

High business volume is no excuse for poor business practices, lack of consideration of quality of product, or a careless attitude toward plant health and customer satisfaction.

Blue Mound Rue - 4 Plants
FOUR PLANTS EACH TAPED TO THE SIDE OF POT WITH A SINGLE STRIP OF MASKING TAPE INSTEAD OF BEING TAPED VERTICALLY AND CENTERED TO WHERE THE PLANT STEM ORIGINATES FROM WITH A PIECE OF TAPE ON EACH SIDE.
TO CLARIFY: PLANT IN CENTER OF POT IS BENT OVER AT A RIGHT ANGLE, PARALLEL TO SURFACE OF SOIL IN POT, THEN A WIDE STRIP OF MASKING TAPE COVERS THE TOP OF POT EXCEPT FOR A ~.25" OPENING AT THE TOP/SIDE. THE PLANT IS TAPED ON/OVER, AND THE REMAINDER STICKS OUT OF THE OPENING AT THE SIDE.
PULLING TENDER LEAVES OFF OF MASKING TAPE
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS

Pixie Pinot Meunier Grape -Bareroot
DORMANT (IT IS ALIVE)

Daisy - Bellium - 2.5" Pot
TAPED! MASKING TAPE OVER 2/3 OF TENDER LEAVES. WORST LOOKING OF THEM ALL. BASED ON APPEARANCE, ALL LARGE LEAVES ARE DESTROYED.
PULLING TENDER LEAVES OFF OF MASKING TAPE
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS AND TAPE

Black Lace Elderberry - Sambucus
WHY I ORDERED. NUMEROUS BROKEN BRANCHES AND TAPED LEAVES. ALL OF THE DAMAGE TO THIS PLANT WAS CAUSED BY THE PERSON WHO PACKED THIS.
PULLING TENDER LEAVES OFF OF MASKING TAPE
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS

Black Dragon Mondo Grass Plants - Ophiopogon - 4" pot -
(Listing is titled "plants" and shows photo of a full 4" pot, however very last line of text in description reads "small starter plant". Other listings all read "plant" except the title of this one.)
"Small starter plant" that I received is lost in the heavy, wet 4" pot it came in.
FURIOUS THAT I FELL FOR YOUR MISLEADING TACTICS. I WOULD HAVE NEVER PAID $5+SHIPPING FOR A SMALL STARTER OF THIS. THIS ONE IS COMPLETELY MY FAULT FOR BUYING THIS, BUT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NICE TO FILL OUT MY OWN SPECIMEN OF 10 PLANTS I GOT FOR $25 - THAT'S INCLUDING SHIPPING. $2.50 EACH, SO YOU BASICALLY JUST RIPPED ME OFF.
Item price $4.99
Quantity 1

Fire Fern Oxalis
PULLING TENDER LEAVES OFF OF MASKING TAPE
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS

Tansy Perennial Herb - 4 Plants - Tanacetum
SAME THING, OF COURSE
PULLING TENDER LEAVES OFF OF MASKING TAPE
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS

Lemon Creeping Thyme Plant - Smells Like Lemon/Tastes Like Lemon - 3" Pot
PULLING TENDER LEAVES OFF OF MASKING TAPE
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS

Arbequina Olive Tree - Tree of Peace - Olea europaea - 4" POT
LOST LEAVES (can be found in the bottom of the box if you enjoy that kind of fun)
PULLING TENDER LEAVES OFF OF MASKING TAPE
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS

Dwarf Birch - 4" Pot - Betula
Looks horrible. I'd never ship this specimen to my customers, especially considering the posted picture.
PULLING TENDER LEAVES OFF OF MASKING TAPE
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS

Mini Golden Privet - 2.5" Pot - Fairy Garden Plant or Bonsai
!!!!!!!!!!!!
LENGTH/HEIGHT OF PLANT SHOVED INTO THE WIDTH OF THE BOX = 5 INCHES BROKEN OFF THE TOP!
!!!!!!!!!!!!
SMASHED BY PACKING PEANUTS

Silver Needle Ghost Tree - Corokia - 2.5" Pot
Both tips are dead. Not sure if this will make it either.

Ice Plant - Perennial - Delosperma
Succulent leaves not affected by masking tape.

I use to order from Hirt's Gardens all the time. The plants have always been robust and healthy upon arrival. I ordered two shamrocks through Walmart marketplace on March 6, Velvet Sunset Shamrock - Oxalis - 4" Pot - Fairy Garden Plant @$4.99. By March 16 not even two weeks both died and the communication with them was very poor. Defeated the purpose of having them for St. Patrick's day. They said it was no longer available at this site so they issued a refund what made it worse was they stated the reason for the refund was that I had changed my mind when I hadn't. They did have it on Amazon at a much higher price.
----------------Pasted from Amazon-------------------------
Velvet Sunset Shamrock - Oxalis - 4" Pot - Fairy Garden Plant or House Plant
by Hirt's Gardens
$ 24 58 + $3.00 shipping

They didn't acknowledge the truth. So I decided to give them one more try and order directly from them. The plant I had ordered before was no longer available on their site either. So I ordered a close facsimile. Rare Fire Fern Shamrock Plant - Oxalis also in a 4" Pot. When it arrived it was poorly planted in the pot looking quite unhealthy and scraggly not full like any of the photos. It has only 8 shoots with very few leaves. I don't expect the plants to look identical but I took a picture of mine. I received an email today March 24, 2017 review their plant. I did write a review but they did not post it. When I checked the reviews there was the a new review with today's date. I pasted below from their website. I find it ironic how I stated in my review the plant looked very unhealthy and this unknown source wrote Small Plant but very healthy. I did include my name in my review. I will no longer be buying from them. I also have screen shots of all the pages stated in this review should there be any doubts or rebuttals from Hirt's. I will no longer refer anyone to their site for any plants.

---------------------------------------Pasted from their website----------------
PRODUCT REVIEWS

WRITE REVIEW
SMALL PLANT 5 Star Review
Posted by Unknown on Mar 24th 2017

But very healthy

purchased four separate plants from them as a third party through Walmart.com. One of the plants, the most expensive one a dwarf banana plant, was never sent to me but they marked it as sent via the website. I found that very shady! However, two of the three species of plants were received half dead (tansy's and a lemon grass) while the last (blue rue) looked absolutely perfect. This was not a weather or delivery issue, especially when seeing that one plant, the blue rue, in perfect condition. It lead me to believe it was what they choose to send out me. The plants were received in a week and it is not hot outside either. So, buyer beware.

I have been buying from Hirt's for years and usually I am pleased with what I have purchased knowing they sell small starter plants. I purchased two yellow Clivia seedlings in 2007 and this year one of them finally bloomed - not yellow but orange. I always keep receipts just in case something like this happens. I also knew it would be quite sometime before the seedlings would be mature enough to bloom. I called and email Hirt's to let them know that I didn't receive what I had ordered and the owner (Matt Hirt) initial response was - "that was a long time ago". I responded in turn the time doesn't negate the fact I didn't receive what I paid for and was expecting. He then followed up by saying their computer system to check the order doesn't exist anymore - sorry. That is so lame, I will avoid them in the future and warn others that quality customer service has a time limit.

I do not recommend any company that will not make good on a bad sale. It's really a shame...

I am really sad to be writing this review since I have been a customer for years ordering 100s of dollars’ worth of plants and bulbs. I occasionally had issues with the quality of some of the bulbs but let it slide.
My last order included several potted plants which were received in good condition, except for the “Silver Gem Hardy Violet - Viola walteri - Quart Pot”, it had no leaves and looked dead to me. I took a picture and sent it to Hirt’s gardens expecting good customer service for such a long time customer like me. The response was one sentence that the plant is dormant. I replayed that the plant looked dead and that I purchased it as a potted plant and not a root expecting it to have some leaves and I was not satisfied, but they did not bother to address my concern by offering to ship a new plant or issue a refund.
I sent them a tweet with a picture of the plant, but apparently they screen the tweets so it did not even show up on their profile.

I decided to risk it, despite the reviews, because ultimately they had what I wanted and I couldn't find it anywhere else...probably, in retrospect, because it wasn't the right time of year and everyone else had sold out of healthy plants and they were selling the rubbish that should have gone in the bin to compost. I ordered over $78 of 50 various seeds, 2 live plants, and 4 or more bulb sets. While I can't comment on the mortality of the bulbs until spring, the pink (let's hope) Pampas grass is the only thing that looked reasonably survivable and is now doing well with a little rehab; the Kent's oregano was 99.8% dead upon arrival, having all the dead nubs trimmed off (tons of them), and 3 or 4 tiny withered green sprigs that were dead at the base. I sent them an email (for which ordering inquiries were pleasantly rapidly replied to) with a photo attached of the dead plant, to which I was ignored. I even left a review on their website upon being prompted via email, which they chose not to reply to or even post (hence their suspiciously good reviews on their own website). Literally 4 of seeds sprouted (2 made it just about 1 cm then died, 2 are still struggling at the same 1cm size they've been for nearly a month and are looking pretty sad), which I didn't even bother to contact them about as they state on their website seeds are pretty much your gamble, as they blame any failure directly on the purchaser not doing something right (not only did I follow their instructions, I consulted many websites to ensure proper germination conditions, I'm well-equipped, and I've experience in growing from seeds). None of the seed packs were labelled with season or even year harvested - could have been ancient for all I know. Save yourself the pain of wasted money, sad plants, frustrating lack of customer service concern, crushed hopes and dreams, and just don't patronize this business unless you can inspect the plants in person before purchase.

I was using Jet.com to get household paper goods. Saw that Hirts was offering seeds so I picked a few up knowing the name... The package came direct from Hirts address. The Elephant Ear Fig seeds were double zip top bagged closed with a tiny hand cut price of paper and the Money Plant came in an envelope with another companies name on it. I paid 3.50 for the money plant and the prepriced package I got have 1.95. I'm at a loss of why they didn't just send the seeds in plastic bags like the others and I would have been none the wiser... Thankfully Jet gave me my money back on them. That was about a month ago and after the other 6 packages of seeds I started those 2 did nothing. Thought about calling but what a waste of time that would be.

We have bought dozens of plants from Hirts over the past few years, but the most recent will be the last. Enclosed in shipments is a little flyer which says that plants shipped dormant (during the winter) will be replaced if they do not grow come Spring. We had that very experience this year with two plants purchased in Feb....which never "came to life" after a later planting. Hirts' response to our request for replacements?....."problems must be reported within 15 days" ! ! ! Nice...that makes the dormant thing a bald-faced lie.

Posted on April 14, 2015, updated April 14, 2016
Ordered some sedum from this seller. Had some problems, but customer service took care of everything quickly and to my complete satisfaction. Also, shipping is absolutely the fastest out of all sellers that I have dealt with. I would recommend them to anyone.

I just went to Hirts Gardens in Wadsworth Ohio. After inquiring about whether they were getting organic seedlings in, the owner (grandson of the founder) told me yes and proceeded to tell me they have them grown at a local organic farm from organic seed he buys abd delivers to them. After inquiring further and informing him that his employee had just told me it was NOT an organic farm, he became very hostile, defensive and rude. They are blatantly and purposefully deceiving the public by lying that some of their plants are certified organic. They are acting illegally and unethically. I will never go there again and will tell everyone I know to avoid the store. Worst retail experience I've ever had.

I was disappointed with Hirt's. First, they didn't answer my emails. Second, I asked them to combine two orders placed within a few minutes of each other. They didn't, and didn't explain why. Third, I ended up paying about three times for shipping what it should have cost.
The plants were fine. The communication and customer service were not.

I wish there was a rating below negative.Please never order from this so called company.As many have already figured out if you have problem with Hirt's ,you can not contact them directly!
Sometimes I get a plant from them that I have to nurse back to health before planting it.Other,or many times I would get a dead plant.

I've had mixed results from my orders from Hirt's. I just harvested Purple Majesty potatoes that were supposed to be purple all the way through as in their description/product photo and mine are purplish in the middle and white over that then a purple skin. These are not the variety I ordered. I also received a bunch of moldy Purple Passion Asparagus. Only a few of them survived.

Other items came in fine. Perhaps their suppliers are not very good or consistent.

With so many other wonderful suppliers online, I'm not sure I'll be buying from Hirt's again even though they had lower prices.

I ordered 16 plants. As I was pulling the shredded newspaper away I was excited to see green leaves appearing. Alas. 4 plants showing green - 12 plants soggy and rotten and smelly in their pots.
Never again!

I've bought from Hirt's on 4 ocassions, because I believe in second chances. After this last purchase though, never again.

First time, it was through their amazon webstore. All "bare root plants" arrived dry as a dessert. First off, received 9 instead of 10 and was sent a tansy in its the missing ones place. Of the nine, 2 seemed to have a bit of life in them, but died of crown rot. Meanwhile the ladybugs arrived half dead. Bad.

Second time I ordered some potted plants. All arrived In perfect condition, and have been thriving. My hopes were renewed.

Third order was wet and disgusting. The plants were half rotted (bblack and gooey), and just wretched. Thankfully, they issued a refund after emailing photos of the mess, but still, I was shocked. The order was terrible, but the refund made it a neutral experience.

So I took my latest gander at them. Ordered two concord grape vines "iin quart pots". Well after I placed my order the listing changed to "4 inch pots". I was miffed, but whatever. "Plants" arrived yesterday. They look like the peeling dried out twigs of the tree in my yard. I even pruned one of them a bit, to see if there was live, green tissue on the inside. Nope. It is 100% dry as a bone.

I'll be emailing pics of these twigs to them, and will hopefully be refunded. Needless to say, I will not be buying from Hirt's ever again

Posted on September 25, 2014, updated September 25, 2014










HIRTS & AMAZON DO NOT PUT THEIR COSTUMERS FIRST-

Neither Amazon or Hirts Nursery can figure out what their return/refund policy is on dead plants. I ordered and then received ten 4\" Boston Ivy plants that where delivered over 2 wks. ago. Upon delivery I promptly opened the box and the potted 4\" plants looked... weak. I planted and watered the plants the same day, there where no return instructions or planting instructions with the shipment. Four days later the plants where dead.
I called Amazon told them about my problem -Amazon said that they would contact Hirts and Hirts, would have 2 days to reply/respond to the problem (turns out Hirts did not). Almost 2 wks. later and 4 more phone calls (of which I was told 3 times there would be a replacement of product or refund) I discarded the shipping box and 10 planting pots.
AS OF TODAY Amazon changed their position- Amazon told me I HAD to now dig up the 10 dead plants and ship them back to Hirts- and see if I could get a refund from Hirts. When I checked Hirts web site (which is a Co. Amazon is representing ) Hirts has NO return policy posted under returns. See: http://www.hirts.com
After all the time and inconvenience this has cost me I would have been better off going to Home Depot Wal-Mart Sears etc. Where the employs can clearly speak to you, and tell you what the policy is. Where the costumer is treated with respect.

I thought my experience was unique. Thanks to the internet, I find it is not.

I don't have very much luck ordering plants online, but my experience with Hirt's Gardens has been one of the worst. I ordered through Amazon, thinking I had their backing if all went bad.

Well, it went bad straight off the bat. I ordered 14 - yes, stupidly, 14 - Hibiscus and when the plants were delivered in June, they were sad looking indeed. No, they were NOT cheap, and for their size, should have been 1/4 of the price. I immediately sent a note to the seller, saying they did not look good and doubted they would make it through the winter. I should have at that time sent them back and gotten a refund. Big mistake. Hirt's Gardens said nothing about a refund and said they would make it through the winter.

Well, here is it is, 5 months later, and the plants have not grown one iota. They barely flowered, and are stunted. No, of course they will not make it through the winter. I again contacted the seller and was told to file a claim through Amazon. Amazon denied my claim and told me to send back the plants.

So, let me see, I paid a great deal of money for 14 sick plants, and now I am being told to send them back (Amazon offered to comp me the shipping) and wait for a refund from a disreputable seller, who may very well deny my refund.

I decided to thank Amazon, even if they let me down this time, put up a horrid rating on their site, and let Hirt know what I think of his company. THEN, I find out there are others who have been duped by this disreputable seller.

Thank you for the moral support. Doesn't help with the money lost or the poor 14 dying plants, but misery does love company!

Moral of the story: DO NOT BUY FROM HIRT'S GARDENS!!!

Bought 4 fig trees from Hirt's Gardens and one of them was not doing that well and starting losing leaves within 2 weeks and finally died within a month. After contacting Hirt's Gardens to see if they can replace the tree and their answer was and I quote: "Problems must be reported within 14 days" and that's it. Sent them a couple of more emails and I got totally ignored. Will NEVER buy from such seller. And wouldn't recommend them to anybody.

I should have read reviews prior to purchasing, but it's too late now. There are lots of bad reviews about them on the net and lot of people complained after lack of and rude customer service after sales.

I have been a customer of Hirt's gardens for a long time, I have been satisfied each time my orders arrived until this May. I ordered 4 Let's Dance Blue Jangles Hydrangeas. Within two days of planting them in my garden, they browned and wilted and looked as if they were going to die. I sent a message along with pictures with my concerns. They replied give it fertilizer and water so I did exactly that. Five weeks later, only three made it (they are still very small in size but alive). I sent a message with pictures and asked that they replace the one that died. They gave me a refund so that they didn't have to spend money shipping another one out to me. This is not how they should treat good customers. I have ordered 4 or 5 times from their eBay store this year but I guess they are not interested in keeping their return customers.

I ORDERED AND PAID FOR TWO CADILLACS. THEY SENT ME CORVAIRS.

Did they honestly think that we wouldn't notice if they sent the plainer and cheaper 'wild species' of dogwood instead of the more coveted, attractive, and EXPENSIVE cultivar that we paid for?

To add insult, I had to pay nearly $10 out of my own pocket to return them to Hirt's just to get a refund on the price of the plants (they declined my offer of them paying for the return shipping costs). Fortunately, the purchase was through Amazon's website. Upon alerting them, Amazon refunded me the return shipping charges I incurred, as a gesture of good will.

NEVER AGAIN!

Posted on June 6, 2014, updated June 6, 2014
Ordered several overpriced plants from Hirts on ebay in 4" pots. Two of them six plant were possibly worthy of the 4" pots they were in. The others could have been placed comfortably in 1" pots, being nothing more than seedlings. One plant was dead and dried out, showing signs of previous spider mites. It appeared that it had been shipped that way. That kind of damage could not have happened during two days of shipping. They refunded that plant, but another "plant" that was shredded from the masking tape they used to "secure" it in the pot, they claimed wasn't from them. I asked for replacements because two different varieties are necessary for pollination and fruiting, but they gave refunds, which does me no good since the plants that remain will bear no fruit without the pollinators. I will not be ordering from them again.

I had been a repeat online customer of these guys. Placed an order via their website. They DO NOT PROCESS THEIR OWN PAYMENTS. Amazon does. During the checkout process the cart came up with an error stating that the item could not be shipped to my address. Offered to let me put in a different address or select from the previous address. Nothing worked so I called Hirts -the person i spoke to suggested that it was amazons problem and gave me the number for them. I called, i was bounced around before a manager in the payments division said all we do is process the card any restrictions placed on shipping was done by hirts. From there i called back hirts. The person i spoke too this time said the person i needed to talk to was in a meeting and could call me back. They Did....he did not want to hear about it. When I told him this was pissing me off he got a case of HurtFelioma and hung up on me.

$360 + Order. 100+items Return Customer hours spent shopping for products 2+ hours over 2 days dealing with various support people and they are so wealthy can hang up on you for getting their feelings hurt cause i said i was getting pissed.

Theses guys don't deserve any more business if that is how they are going to handle customer service. Its too bad i had been happy with my previous purchases but now i am going to crusade to share this tale of woe....

Posted on February 12, 2014, updated February 12, 2014
The first two weeks after my order arrived, I thought this place was great, too.

Then the plants started dying, one by one. Sixty dollars gone.

I tried calling the company, several times a day, for several days. The phone rang and rang. I finally found an e-mail address and was told by Matt Hirt to send a picture of the crispy corpses. I told him I didn't have a camera (I like my low-tech existence). I was told to send back the evidence. (I will insert here that in 20 years of ordering plants from Dutch Gardens, Michigan Bulb, Springhill, etc., I have NEVER ONCE been asked to return dead plants. I simply call the company and get a replacement. Done. Professional.)

This all happened last summer. Still no replacements, and no refund. Since then, I have called the company, and sent nearly 40 e-mails. Every time, I get the same old runaround from both Matt and Al. They both pretend they've never heard of me or my problem: "We get several e-mails a day. Can you remind me of what your problem is?" It's shockingly stupid because the history is right there in that same e-mail, but Beavis and Butthead think it's hilarious to screw with people.

I e-mail every few days and tell them I want my flowers replaced or a refund. And every e-mail is ignored. Around the 8th or 9th one they will respond with the "Huh?" reply and then continue to ignore me. So, I've told them I'm sharing my story all over the Web until they do something.

Now, those of you who haven't had a problem... Good for you. Keep your fingers crossed that you don't need anything in the future. I'm from Ohio and I was really glad to support a local business, but these sad excuses for business people are just con artists and scheisters.

I purchased a Vietnamese Gardenia from Hirt's on Ebay. Being kind of rushed the day I received the plant I did not fully inspect the plant and placed it with my other tropical plants. Upon close inspection the following day I found the plant to be infested with aphids. Additionally, there were several brown holes in the leaves. It is not a plant that you would choose to buy if you saw it for sale. I had to spray all of my plants with both insecticide soap and neem oil as a precaution. My first, and last, plant from Hirt's. Lesson learned. Oh, I wrote to them and heard nothing back. My advice, avoid Hirt's Gardens.

Purchased their 'Chesnok' Red Garlic Bulb - FIERY - Jumbo Bulb on eBay. The following is the exchange of emails regarding this item. This listing is still active.

I wrote;

Received jumbo bulbs today and was disappointed by the size of the bulbs. These (my opinion) are not jumbo and suggest that you consider revising the description and title of this item. I look forward to you response and will hold my feedback until Thursday evening.

They responded;

That they checked with the Holland grower and they are correctly graded as jumbo.

I provided Hirts with the following;

MSU Extension Bulletin E-2722 provides the following information on grading and size.

Garlic is graded on the basis of appearance and size. Poor-looking bulbs with missing or diseased cloves or split or badly stained skins are graded out. Bulbs with good appearance are graded into size categories based on diameters of large (>2.5 inches), medium (2.0 to 2.5 inches) and small (<2.0 inches). Another category, Jumbo (>3.0 inches), can be added if enough bulbs reach that size.

The garlic that I received was not in the stated category of Jumbo. I look forward to a timely response.

Hirts responded;

the garlic is grown in Holland is graded by Holland. They do not use the MSU Extension Bulletin.

I responded with;

Thank you for the response and I will tell you that assuming on this transaction has resulted in garlic that is smaller than I wanted and garlic that was exported rather than grown in Ohio. I hope you will reconsider your wording on this auction. Please note that I have not asked for resolution as it's always buyer beware and I accept my role in this transaction.

In closing this is a prime example of never assume and ask before buying.

I ordered ghost chili plants and received red savanna habenaros . What a disappointment. Will never order from again

I ordered 4 tomato plants from Hirt's Gardens via Amazon on June 26, 2013. They were supposed to be mailed immediately; however, I did not get them until July. The plants were totally dry, in fact the medium they were planted in felt like cardboard. They were wilted, yellow. and half dead. They were covered in packing peanuts and this was the only packing material. I emailed them and told them I had been ordering from companies online for many years and these were the worst looking plants I had ever received. After contacting Amazon they emailed back telling me to send a picture. I thought about it and emailed them back to just forget it and I would just give them bad reviews instead. They did issue a refund but told me I would have to mail the plants back to them next time or send pictures. I just want everyone to know about this company . There will never be a next time for me!

Bought three fargesia rufa bamboo plants from Hirt's on Amazon last June, and to my amazement, they arrived looking very healthy. After extricating them from the accursed styrofoam peanuts that seems to be the company's signature, I planted them in a semi-sunny spot after amending the soil with compost and watering them in. I had also purchased a larger specimen locally, so I planted it a few feet away from the other three. So far so good.

And then the Hirt's bamboo began to die. I watered some more, put some extra mulch around them, but nothing did any good. By winter they were dead, but the larger one just a few feet away sailed through winter with no problems and is thriving now. They obviously were shipped with some kind of disease. I ordered them because they were cheap, just asking for yet another lesson in "you get what you pay for." And I got it. That'll be the last time I order from Hirt's, and I will spread the word among my gardening friends to stay away.

Posted on February 28, 2013, updated May 25, 2013
I have purchased many herb & perennial plants from Hirt's over the years and have been very pleased each time. The plants are always healthy and reasonably priced. This is one of my favorite online nurseries.

I have ordered over 100 plants from various etailers. Hirt's Gardens has to be the worst. I ordered an unusual butterfly bush from Hirt's and when I received it I was amazed. It was a single twig with some scraggly root hairs hanging from it in about 2 ounces of dirt as poorly packaged as I have ever seen. I immediately contacted Hirt's via EBay email and reported the condition of the plant and the packaging. I told them I would try to make it grow. I created a "safe" environment for it to no avail. I'm now trying to get a refund. Hirt's is giving me the runaround. If you can buy your plant somewhere else, DO IT! I should have heeded all the "negatives". ALAS!

I ordered four epazote "plants" from Hirt's Gardens off Amazon. I was sent four pots of germinated seeds. The tops of the pots were sealed with masking tape. During shipping, the germinated seeds stuck to the tape. Hirt's Gardens misrepresented his product with a photo of a plant on Amazon. I requested a credit. Hirt's replied that I would receive the credit if I removed the negative comment regarding the seller off Amazon. After the credit was issued, Hirt's sent me three e-mails in one day demanding that I remove the comment. I am not going to bullied or harassed by a company. This man needs to learn to conduct his business honestly and ethically. He has changed his name on Amazon from "Hirt's Gardens" to "Hirt's Herbs." I wish I had seen this site prior to my purchase and read the other 104 other negative experiences with Hirt's Gardens!

Posted on March 21, 2013, updated April 24, 2013
I ordered a new variety of winterberry by Proven Winners, "Berry Poppins" and "Mr Poppins" in 4" pots. Hirt's had the best price and availability though Amazon. They were in their dormant state. In one shipment the box was to small and the stems were broken in half. These are small plants already so it didn't leave much left. I contacted Hirt's with pictures and requested replacement plants. Mr. Hirt chose to refund and said I could reorder. As time progressed the remaining plants started to put out leaves except for three. Contacted Hirt's and requested replacement plants. Again, he chose to refund with no explanation. In both boxes there were no planting instructions although the invoice mentioned "follow enclosed planting instructions". I will say Mr. Hirt was very prompt in responding to my email, in most cases same day. Also, each time issued a refund right away through Amazon. He even sent me the Proven Winners tags when they came in. The quantity I ordered was for a landscape design. With the plants being a new variety they are hard to find. So, I am left short plants for the design but do not feel comfortable ordering from Hirt's again. I wish I knew why they didn't want to send replacement plants in both cases.

Didn't see an E-mail link to the company, so...
Cheers for the speedy delivery of two kiwi vines and a banana plant: Ordered on Wednesday; received on Saturday.
Jeers for using plastic popcorn and overstuffing three plants into a USPS shipping box. The kiwis are fine; the banana has two broken leaves/stems and looks less than stellar. Will not order from them again as long as they use popcorn. There are a multitude of shipping options other than Styrofoam which are far friendlier to the environment and kinder to the plants.

I had an experience like the posting dated Apr 4th, 2013 on this web page. I had received my shipment the first week in March. The poor wrapping was the same. The calls were unanswered. I my case there were a few additional items that I had to deal with. One being aphids. I opened my box of plants from Hirts and a swarm of aphids flew out of the box and unfortunately all over my other plants that had just been delivered from other responsible companies. Further, after calling Hirts and speaking with two different people (who were not friendly and did not sound concerned about my new bug problem which their company had caused) and calling and emailing with pictures 5 times. I gave up. I do not recommend this company at all. Anita L.