Are you basing last years prices on the 3 packs or 6 packs in some cases? It kind of sounds like you are when you quote the Salvia 'May Night' for $5.66. If you are, those were small plants. I'm assuming the ones they offer this year will be larger sized plants in comparison. At least I hope they are.

Kevin

Everyone has gone up. All you can do in this economy is search for local nurseries. I use to almost exclusively order all my plants. I did that because although the plants were small I could buy more and experiment at a lower cost. The online business has changed. They try to sell (sometime) larger plants and charge more. Notice I said sometime, because some are just raising prices sending the same little plants or small root system and charging more.

The last two years I started searching local nurseries even the big box stores Lowes, Home Depot and have found I can get a bigger plant, better quality, and at a much lower price than what I can order online. If you shop your local places some will even order a plant that you want with their regular orders if you tell them in the Fall. Just imagine getting a large plant locally for 9.00 but ordering the same plant and paying 15.00 plus shipping. It is crazy.

I realize some do not have transportation or live in very rural areas if you can only order online all you have to do is wait for the sales. All the online companies will offer sales. The point here is we can no longer pull out the catalogues in the winter and start shopping at a reasonable price.

You are going to have to be patient and become a informed shopper. Wait for the sales. Prepare your beds and make space for the late orders if you have to order late in the season. Get those bed in the best shape ever. Lots of compost rich fluffy soil. Make a marker where you want the plant and sit back and wait as soon as it hits your door step at the price you wanted to pay. All you will have to do it plop it in the ground where you already have the marker.

Good Luck and happy gardening at an affordable price. LOL

aachenelf ,

I was quoting the "three plant prices for" cost right out of the 2011catalog that I'm looking at. Yes the plants were small, but by the time August came the small plants they sent were large plants. I don't care about large plants if I have to pay 60% more for them, plus higher shipping because of their weight. I don't care to pay for their new biodegradable pots either. No I won't do any more business with Bluestone.

And Marquest, your thoughts are worthy of consideration. I've noticed very competitive prices last fall at some of my local businesses. Good idea about asking a business to order something special. Thanks for the input.

It was disappointing to see the people at Bluestone make such poor decisions. You'd think they would know the public wouldn't stand for a 60% price hike. We're already paying big time price increases in food and gasoline..

By the way, I noticed on Dave's Garden, the Watchdog section that Bluestone is getting more negative reviews about their price hike.

I noticed too that they aren't in the top 30 anymore either. Sad.

Karen

Not to be insensitive, but have you noticed the price of food lately? *Everything* is going up, it's not just plant material. While I'm not privy to Bluestone's books, I'm going to assume they got socked with price increases on their end (e.g. gas, electric, water, supplies, shipping, etc.) so of course to stay in business they have to pass that price onto the consumer - just like every other business. It sucks...but that's reality.

Well, maybe not *everything* is going up - certainly not salaries....

Summer I know it is hard to see the prices go up but I bet they had increases also, utilities, soil, the purchase of the plants they sell. Just as we have seen our expenses go up I am sure they are in the same sad boat. So I cannot knock them too much for raising their prices.

I know it hurts but things are what they are. I always try to put myself in the place of someone else. If it was my business and it was what put food on the table for my children I would have to raise the prices to cover the business. I could not take the food out of my children's mouth to keep prices low for people I do not know.

I do not see many online Mom and Pop online nurseries surviving this economy.

I think shoppers in general are so stuck in this "buy only when on sale" mode, they just naturally revolt when one of their past favorite businesses for whatever reason doesn't follow the trend of lowering prices. I agree with some of the above comments. Some businesses simply can't do it.

In addition, we've become so accustomed to finding better deals online than shopping locally. For example, the last 2 or 3 electronics purchases I've made have been online - better prices, no sales tax, free shipping.

With plant purchases, the opposite seems to happen. You can find better prices if you shop locally, but you have to be willing to spend your time running around to the various nurseries (assuming you have a bunch of 'em in your area) in hopes of finding what you want. I for one, am not willing to do that. I simply hate shopping. I despise it! Period!! (The only exception being grocery shopping. I know I'm odd, but for some reason I love doing that.)

I was very satisfied with my Bluestone order last spring and will be ordering from them again. I realize the plants won't be as large, but they'll grow up quickly and I'll have exactly the variety I want with no shopping around on my part. Like I said above, the ability to do it from my home is worth it to me.

Kevin

Bluestone has simply changed its business model. Customers who were used to the old one are understandably unhappy, but it remains to be seen whether this will work for them in the long run.

Every plant mentioned in the opening post is a common variety widely available at local nurseries in most places. Much better to seek out healthy plants at those outlets and avoid shipping costs and potential damage.

Given current economic conditions, I wonder if seed houses that sell perennial varieties are experiencing a boom in business.

I loved Bluestone. I prefer getting small plants at a low price but some people definitely don't. I assume Bluestone is selling larger plants now. Maybe they feel like that's what most people want.

I've been looking around for someplace that still has cheap perennials. Has anyone ordered from American Meadows? They have a range, some only 3 or 4 dollars right now and their ratings are good. They're in the Garden Watchdog top five. They have perennials on sale but I don't see when the sale ends.

Here is a link that might be useful: American Meadows

Got home and there was a 15% off coupon from Bluestone in the mail. Should take the sting out of the 60% price increases you're talking about. :)

There's a nursery in my area that holds a promotion every spring, in which it sells starter-size perennials, $1 for a three-pack. It's wildly popular and the place is jammed (they hire off-duty cops for traffic and parking control). I've wondered why more nurseries don't do this - maybe the profit margin and the extra customers they lure in aren't worthwhile enough.

While we have nothing that cheap, there are several places that sell 2" potted perennials for $3 and under. Taking shipping charge into account, I always thought that compared reasonably well to what Bluestone used to sell. Particularly since there always seemed to be one runt in those 3 packs.

Some replied back saying that Bluestone probably had price increases of their own to deal with. Yes, I could understand that if that was the only reason for the increases. I wouldn't care if that was the reason. I wouldn't want them to go out of business because of increases in their costs. But as someone else posted here, they have changed their business practice. They decided to take a chance and do something different. Here's what they did:

They've decided to grow larger plants and put them in biodegradable pots which go right into the ground. Apparently they figured people wanted larger plants and didn't want to deal with plastic pots. I don't think they talked to their customers to see if this would fly or not. I think this isn't what the majority of gardeners want. I've never had any trouble getting perennials started from small plastic pots. I loved the low cost and small plants. Go figure why companies shoot themselves in the foot.

The old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" would have been a wiser thing for Bluestone. Small plants and plastic pots are a good thing.

I never ordered from Bluestone, but I do understand your comment re: companies shooting themselves in the foot. I have seen this so many times with various businesses - they find their niche market then decide to target a different market and what ends up happening? They alienate their loyal customers and never really catch the new market they are wooing and then they fold. Happens time and time again, usually results in a slow, painful death...

(I'm still ticked about how Land's End quality went down the cr*pper after they got into bed with KMart/Sears. Idiots.)

Bluestone's change was actually announced last July, I believe it was. I put a link below to a discussion about it last August, which includes some quotes from Bluestone about their reasons.

I haven't looked at my catalog yet. I'm disappointed in the change - I liked the little 3-packs and the lower prices.

While I can understand why they made changes - costs, trying to stay viable in a business that counts on discretionary income, etc., I'm not sure this will work for them. I'll probably buy something from them (used to buy almost EVERYTHING from them!) just to try out the new system, but I'm reserving judgment till then, and certainly wish them luck. I wouldn't have a garden without Bluestone.

Not a single local nursery in my area has the great guarantee Bluestone has. One of the locals has a sign that reads "If you buy it and it dies... it's dead. No refunds or replacements". I prefer Bluestone's guarantee to that!

Dee

Here is a link that might be useful: Bluestone catalog shock from August

In my area not only are small private nurseries going out of business, but the nurserymen who grow the plants are getting out as well. Most of (if not all) of the little nurseries left around me are merely resellers. Their stock is limited by their own small buying budgets and by suppliers who increasingly are unwilling to ship in small lots (small as compared to the box stores). Bluestone has always been my mainstay for one plant in particular. I really never worried about it wintering over (it's only about half hardy) because Bluestone was so inexpensive to buy from each year. The nurseries around here seem to be either disinterested or incapable of stocking plants that I request so after hearing about the Bluestone changes, I'm now thankful that we are having a warm winter and hope it continues for the sake of this one plant alone...Maryl

This is why I look for plants that are easy to propagate at home!

One thing I wonder about is if there has been a change in ownership. Sometimes drastic changes in policies occur when the person who started the business decides to sell and retire and an ambitious new owner sees dollar signs, not fully understanding much of the company's business came from good relationships and not "the highest price we can get."

Notice the post by Dee above and her link. It will get you to a thread written in July or August of last year. That's when Bluestone Perennials first made the big change in their business. It's a shame about all this. I used them almost exclusively when I started my perennial garden in this house, but now it's time for a change. I just can't afford Bluestone anymore.

Try Dee's link to the July/August thread about Bluestone's business change. Lots of upset gardeners posted there.

Hi,
I received a back order from Bluestone in the fall last year which was in one of there new pots, the bad news is it could not retain moisture and arrived so dry and crispy it was ridiculous. I did consider the fact that the temps were warmer in the fall than in spring but I still believe it would have done so much better in plastic.

Wendey