Reviewing Nurseries

General Fruit Growing
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I forgot to add some points in my review of nurseries.

Shipping-
a)Almost everything on Ebay or Etsy was sent to me by USPS. Nothing was damaged and nothing was lost. 2-3 days and i had whatever i ordered after they shipped.
b)I dont think any of the professional nurseries even offered USPS. Most of them used FedEx Ground… a few used UPS.

c)FedEx Ground- guy shows up in a rented van or a vehicle he found on craigslist… no uniform or dress code… if he has a bad day or his vehicle breaks down you will get it when you get it. I am not knocking these guys but just saying that i wouldnt choose them ever if there was a dropdown menu with a choice of shipping.

d)UPS- I get emails when the driver is near…then again when it is delivered. I always worry on a hot day that my plants will cook in that hot truck… but so far it hasnt happened.

Heres how i feel about it- To the nurseries that save a couple of bucks on FedEx Ground and profit a couple of extra bucks… at my expense… Just letting you know that i would have paid a few extra bucks for UPS if you offered it as an option. I would honestly like a choice of USPS too…

Packing materials- Please stop using peanuts. I hate them. The puffed bags of air are dumb too.

Personal Opinion- I really think that the USPS needs to have a special rate for plant material. Personally i think growing plants for food and the environment and pollinators are just as important (More Important) as their special rate for ‘Media’ and ‘Books’.

If USPS can be trusted to carry live poultry… surely they can be trusted to ship plants.

Special Review- To those nurseries that gave me FREE shipping… thanks. I know you padded the cost of your plants to offer me this wonderful deal. Its ok though i understand why u do it…it does work.

Special Rant- To the nurseries on Facebook and the quaint permaculture or niche nurseries that list plants that i want and show pictures of them… and when i message you… you say that you dont ship anything… local pickup only… best of luck to ya… I will get it eventually. Someone out there will take my money.

Box Stores- if i had to rely on my local box stores and local nurseries to have orchards and things to eat… it would be pitiful. I would have a Honeycrisp Apple, a Belle of Georgia Peach, a Heritage Raspberry, a Natchez or Navaho Blackberry, Bluecrop blueberries and an AU Rosa Plum. The strawberry plants no longer even have names… it just says Strawberry.

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122

Who the heck pays $23 for one plant shipped :crazy_face:

Again my point on Ebay… 2 plants for $16 and free shipping.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/275819912040?hash=item403825db68:g:zrEAAOSw6Gljvi3T

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c)FedEx Ground- guy shows up in a rented van or a vehicle he found on craigslist… no uniform or dress code… if he has a bad day or his vehicle breaks down you will get it when you get it. I am not knocking these guys but just saying that i wouldnt choose them ever if there was a dropdown menu with a choice of shipping.

A truer statement has not been made based on my experience with ANY shipments from them.

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124

guess i should have checked ebay also. :wink:

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125

At least when I sell on places like Facebook or Craigslist I meet in person. If I give something away free I mark it as such and say it is at the end of the driveway and list my location. If selling I prefer to meet at a police station. It does annoy me how many websites offer a certain product or list it online only to say they do not ship it though. There is a website that always pops up whenever I look for trees because they always seem to have what I want but they are a CA nursery that does not ship. Sometimes you find something of value with big box stores if you get lucky. My Home Depot was selling Comice pears, Weeping Santa Rosa plums, 5 in 1 cherries, Babcock peaches for some reason etc. this year. I had never seen them selling those previously. I do enjoy the online nurseries as they do seem to have a large selection though. I have ended up just frequenting nursery that are online and have good selection that I feel I can trust.

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126

There is a local blueberry farm about 25 miles from me that is selling plants on their page… $5 each and they have several hundred of them. Only due to the fact that facebook has some kind of algorithm did i happen to see the post 5 days after they posted it. Facebook knows that i am interested in plants and growing things and is getting creative in showing me things… i dont like it really but sometimes things like this are welcome.

I cant find a darned thing on FB marketplace… its too weird. It wants to show me things that i was interested in a few years ago as well… I did buy a few things on there though but it was by sheer luck and determination that i even found them. Their search engine is terrible or maybe its my fault…

Anyways i contacted the farm about the blueberries and they were really hoping that i bought them all. I told them i may buy a couple of each variety and none of the ones that i already have… they then ghosted me.

I could probably drive there and they would likely sell them to me but i kinda dont want to fool with them now.

Oh and i dont like Etsy’s search engine either. No matter if you select ‘newest listings’ you still get the old ones that are top sellers or paid ads first… then they throw in other things that i have bought in the past in the mix along with stuff i didnt even search for. At least thats what happens to me…maybe im not doing it right.

If facebook ever figures out how to compete with ebay and etsy they would be a real powerhouse… but as of now they are the worst.

I dont even look on craigslist anymore…

Seedsavers used to be cool… but i havent checked it out in a long time…

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127

To me Facebook Marketplace is similar to Craigslist and Ebay and Etsy are the similar ones. Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are locals selling items and trying to meet. EBAY and Etsy are small shops trying to sell online. Even Ebay does not have Etsy’s addictive buying practices down. Ebay is it generally you buy it and move on. They have a similar listing but it is kind of avoidable. With Etsy it is easy to keep buying in my experience because it tracks things you just clicked on like Ebay to show what you may be missing out on but with Etsy they list things really well compared to what you have bought in the past. If you buy needlepoint ornaments it will show you needlepoint ornaments and other types of ornaments you may be interested in for example. I likely set out to buy a few ornaments last Christmas and ended up buying a few thousand dollars worth of ornaments last Christmas due to their compelling and addictive buying structure on Etsy. I also have ghosted people on Craigslist but lots of people have also ghosted me on there too. I was giving away tires and someone asked for more pictures and I told them I posted pictures. They responded saying no pictures with a link again. I just ghosted them as it was free tires and knew someone would pick them up without posting an array of pictures. There are so many customers who contact me when I post something on Craigslist and I answer their question only to never hear from them again. It is common on places like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace due to the nature of it. You are typically contacting lots of people at once at one gets the product.

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128

I can say that as a fruit beginner that my three big orders to St. Lawrence, Fedco, & Hartmann’s were great.

(beginner I say - knowing nothing of timing I was way too lake in March 2021 when I first looked into fruit, and still to late in Jan. 2022, so this year I hopped on within days of sales opening in December & finally ‘hit’ it & was able to get plants.)

St. Lawrence ties with Fedco for best catalog (fedco for lots of info & fun clip art, StL for lots of original art),

St.L. had great communication, shipped (as I now realize) in perfect timing (last cold snap beginning of April) & had the best packing - $550 or so wrapped up in one sturdy ‘dumbell’, with everything sort of expanding as I unwrapped. They’re also 100 years old this year! Great selection for north of course. And I was able to add on to the initial order a couple times (before I felt like they’ve got a lot of other things to do), They’re just kids, Allyssa & Connor, but they sure seem to be taking off, know what they’re doing, & keeping the nursery going strong! Ah, to be young, bold, & taking over a huge well-known company!

Fedco was great too - though the Mt. Royal plum crop must’ve failed as that got cancelled, but I was able to order some stuff that St.L. didn’t have. Making changes after order placed is impossible (efficient but of course I after the fact saw stuff that…) I like them for seeds & supplies also. Fedco shipped 1st week May, a month later than St.L.

Hartmann’s was also great - Danny H. phoned me after I made a casual inquiry by email last winter, and subsequently gave a lot of advice by email, adding a bunch of stuff to my evolving order that didn’t show up on the retail side. So very nice to be able to assemble an order like that.

So I really dove into his lingonberries & allåkerbär (Rubus arcticus; ‘ground cover raspberry’ as they call them; a terrible sounding & lame name in my opinion!), also a bunch of Ribes (great selection), other Rubus, cranberries…

The only thing was I only ever had a vague guess at actual cost (since so much wasn’t on the retail; only the wholesale side & I was buying quantities of 1-3 plants ea.), let alone shipping (potted plants = about 50 pounds when shipped), but when finally billed after shipping (2nd week May), I was pretty happy with the final costs of under $300 for about 38 plants. As potted plants they weren’t/couldn’t be as sturdily packed as the St.L & Fedco mostly bare-root stuff, but it was only a day or so UPS from Hartmann’s in SW MI to me in the UP & I think everything survived OK wilt a few lost leaves here & there.

A couple for minor things got left off the shipment, not sure if form unavailable or getting lost in the whole email chain ordering (I never did an actual ‘order form’, just told Dan what I wanted) but in any event it was a bit of a relief as my lot is getting pretty full from this fruit-batty spring project… I can wait until next year & see if there’s room!

Especially excited to try the 6 varieties of lingonberries & prepare the soil (with mycorrhizae, pine needles, feathermoss, & duff from Lake Superior pine forests as part ingredient).

Visiting Hartmann’s to see the tissue culture operation & greenhouses is definitely on my list of travel ideas if I get down that way. I really like their selection. Paying the bill & comms with staff after shipment/billing was easy.

Least great, and not quite a supplier others here can deal with (though they have their own local) - but cheaper & a fundraiser, is my local Conservation District annual spring plant sale, since I can often not get quite straight info on rootstocks, etc. However this year they had Italian plums (which started my initial plum lust when I had some at a place I rented in Idaho years ago so was great to add to my plum list), which when delivered is labeled ‘early Italian’ (that’s OK, esp. for $22.50). I couldn’t get info on rootstock from the Cons. Dist or the alleged supplier, but they said their source was Van Well’s. Also tried a Madison peach (why not I say?!).

I’m again not sure of supplier, but my two different elderberry plants (‘ranch’& ‘wyldewood’ weren’t labeled so I guess I’ll never know - but plants look good and $6.50/ea!). Have also bought a few blueberries & raspberries in last couple years at good price (I think Hartmann’s supplies a lot of these for cons. districts, in N. MI says Danny H.). Their ‘native’ plants (sometimes from 500 miles away in MN) have been useful also in past years. I’m guessing that bigger, richer, fancier cons. districts are more precise – but this is the mostly non-agricultural, non big-city, take what you can get Upper Peninsula so not compalining. Plus I work with them in my USFS work in invasive plant control so they’re my colleagues! Underpaid & overworked, but four cheers for Conservation districts!

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129

I jinxed myself on the praise of USPS.

Last week i ordered from several sources…heres whats going on.

Thursday- I ordered something from Etsy. It arrived at my local hub on Friday. Saturday i should have gotten it. It is now back at the post office where the shipper sent it from. I guess they read the return address as the shipping address? This one will likely not make it back to me.

Friday- I ordered 2 things from the same vendor on Ebay. I did place two orders and they didnt combine shipping so 2 parcels. One will be here today and the other is still in California. Both shipped same day and same place…both priority mail.

Friday- I ordered a private sale and it was shipped late in the day from Oregon. I will receive it this morning.

Wednesday- I ordered cuttings from a friend… they shipped it on wednesday. Tracking shows that it has not left the hub in his hometown since wednesday.

Very inconsistant… and nonsensical.

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130

Here’s what I’ve used so far in the two years I’ve been growing

Twisted tree - picked up local everything was fantastic

Edible acres - picked up local, GIANT trees one was over 5’ shipmast black locust.

St Lawrence nursery - great communication shipping was extremely good.

Route 9 nut co-op - response time was lengthy but the important part was they gave me a good notice on shipping, they also packed their tree extremely well.

I hope my luck continues.

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Planting Justice-

On their site you can subscribe to something that they are out of stock on…and get an email when its back in stock. So i got an email last week and i ordered the plant that became back in stock.

I got a confirmation email on my order… and a nice note saying that due to how busy they are this time of year will take up to 4 weeks to ship.

Personally if i had a nursery and that was what i did for a living i think i could go out and get a few plants and put them in a box and tape it up and put a UPS label on it in about 15 mins. With their workforce of ex felons ‘Planting Justice’… maybe there is a shortage of felons in California?

I dont like the idea of planting something mid June… will see how it plays out. At least their main page has a nice logo that says ‘Fast Shipping’.

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132

I ordered from one of the BIG gardening catalogs last March. The order was split up and I received the last couple items in November last year. Unsurprisingly, plants planted in November in Michigan do not fare well over the winter months…ugh…

Thankfully they offer a “guarantee” of replacement or credit. The items were still in stock when I contacted them and they returned my email giving me a credit. when I emailed back pointing out that they were still listing the items in stock I was told that since the item # had changed the new products were a differen size or improved in some way… SURE lol

Scott

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I ordered a sweet treat pluerry start of May to replace a dead apple tree. I then checked the shipping and they are planning to ship things out on the final week in May 29th. I am leaving on vacation on June 6th so hopefully it comes in time.

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134

I have plants planted in the fall that have lived. I have 2 bubblegum/Toka plums that were shipped last September (1 from Stark Bros and 1 from Fast growing trees) and then I have a major pecan shipped around October. All survived. When I get issues with shipping is when they send it in December or January like Grow Organic Peaceful Valley. That is when I see my plants struggle. During the fall they may not look the best as they loose their leaves quickly and just don’t make too much growth. Their growth tends to skyrocket the next year however. With winter shipping my area is like a frozen wasteland. I have been told that is the time to plant trees but I have had little success over that time opposed to fall or spring.

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PS to my Hartmann’s review, I just counted my plants (lots) & found that as others mentioned they actually sent me about 10% more than paid for/ordered. I’ve gotten a little lazy (or catching up with other garden plantings) since the plants are in pots but after a week or so I need to get them in the ground!

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136

@sadivnik

Yes, Hartmann’s are an excellent nursery.

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137

I am no longer going to buy local cane fruits. In the pot are two boysenberry plants i bought at my local feed and seed store. Beside it is a heritage rasp that i bought at rural king. All are wineberries. Last year i bought Fall Gold and it also was wineberry. This is obvious fraud by whomever is doing this. I bought all of these for my no care food forest… but i already have invasive wineberries and dont need to plaht more let alone pay for them.

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138

Argh…

I picked up sunburnt and neglected already fancy potted “patio raspberries” at Walmart on clearance for $7, well worth the cost with soil, fertilizer, and a nice pot included. They already have berries on established canes.

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139

This is a review for JungSeeds.
I ordered pear package from them - 3 dwarf pears for $96, not bad price tag these days. Though all of them looked OK when planted, only two decided to grow. Third one is actively dying. I called them today, because their warranty is just for 3 months since shipping received. They didn’t even ask for a picture. just said because they do not send trees anymore this year, they will issue me a certificate. And they did - for $33 - one third of the order plus tax. Now, what can I do with that cert? The single tree even this year was more expensive than $33. Next year it will be new price and counting shipping I will probably have to add another 30-40 backs to replace the tree. It doesn’t feel fair. I will probably just skip the tree and use the cert on the seeds I buy there anyway.

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140

Bunch of different nurseries in no particular order:

Edible Landscaping, B+
The product was decent, if a bit expensive for what I got. Very little communication from this vendor though. Website is pretty outdated.

Hirt’s Gardens, A-
Very healthy product, but small. Shipped well, good email notification and tracking.

Petals from the Past, A+
Great prices, good plants.

Etsy: Blue Skies of Texas, A++
Huge plants, very fast shipping, great price. These guys are great.

Willis Orchards, F
All plants in four different orders were either dead, or the wrong species, or both. Decent customer service.

Scenic Hill Farms, A-
Good plants, well packaged. Decent prices.

Woodlanders, B
Prices were ok. Plants had pretty bad fertilizer deficiencies. Very good selection though.

Mail Order Natives, A+
Great prices and hard to get plants.

Just Fruits and Exotics, A
Very good plants and variety, but a bit pricy. Good packaging.

Madison Citrus Nursery, A+
Very healthy plants, good prices, good variety.

One Green World, A-
Decent prices, great plants and selection. Slow shipping but good packaging.

Annie’s Annuals, A
Good prices, nice plants. Old site.

Wanderlust Nursery, A
Great for rare stuff, good plants.

Raintree Nursery, B+
Good plants, seems pricy for what you get.

Stark Bro’s Nursery, B
Ok prices, decent plants. Very poor packaging.

Walden Heights Nursery, A+
Huge, healthy plants. Acceptable prices.

Stan McKenzie Farms, A++
Great guy, great prices, great plants.

Sequoia Trees, A+
Heathy plants, good prices.

Greenwood Nursery, B+
Decent plants, some harder to find stuff which is nice.

Ebay: wikeva-2, A
Nice plants, grew well so far.

Ebay: passiflorista, A+
Some otherwise impossible to find plants, good communication, good prices.

Etsy: MightyOakTree, B+
Decent plant, a bit pricy.

Etsy: JennifersJungle, A
Good, healthy plant

Etsy: West Tropical Garden, F
Wrong plant, terrible communications

Etsy: BuyComfrey, A
Nice plants and decent prices.

Etsy: CompanionPlants, B+
Very good plants, but more pricy than I’d expect

Etsy: TreeSeedMan, A+
Great prices and quantities.

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