I am a fairly new gardener and have a slope I need a lot of plants for, so I ordered a lot of them from a cheaper catolog from 4 Seasons in IL. My first ever nursery order-by-mail. They first sent 6 Gaillardia which were in green slime-like-algae and were obviously never going to live.

In their literature they warn the plants will look dead. I was very upset to learn their return policy is 14 days for a refund and after that, no refunds, just replacements for up to a year if the stuff you plant from them doesn't make it. They tell you to give the plants at least 6-weeks.

Yes, I should have read the fine print but I didn't. It seems to me that they have you in a vise: you can't return 6-week old plants that haven't grown for money.You wait for replacements that might not grow either. This could go on forever! Plant, wait 6 weeks, relace, plant wait 6 weeks, etc. until I throw in the towel and just lose my money.

What are your experiences with these nurseries that sell dormant plants? Is 4 Seasons reputable? I have so much ground to cover that I really couldn't afford to buy from someone like Jackson & Perkins or White Farms in Conn.

Are all plants this dead looking even from the top most expensive nurseries? The rest of my order of ornamental grasses, 2 burning bush and 2 spirea arrived yesterday, I'm opening them today and have to decide whether to even put them in the ground and take a chance. Also, they arrived on a day with thunderstorms and lots of rain, and rain and thunderstorms are predicted for the next five days! Do I dare plant any of this stuff on my slope, or will it slide away in the rain and wind? I'm stuck. HELP.

Thanks for any advice and/or recommendations. Alleycallie in north-central Kansas