Clematis Tiaga:

No you are not overreacting. For that price you should’ve received far ‘superior’ plants!

debra..you're not overreacting..those plants are sad..I'm so sorry..what a disappointment..

Get the tape out!

Yes, I would be disappointed and upset. Sending hosta strength to this plant.

This 'Princess Kate' clematis I received from an eastern Canadian company, it was stated on the website to be a one gallon plant, what I received was merely a rooted cutting! I had enquired and was told that the plant is in such high demand that it could not possibly be offered as a two year old ... then, please do tell it as it is! I payed $27.00 for it plus tax and shipping, all too expensive for what was received, in demand or not!

That is so disappointing. I have received orders from 2 nurseries this year and they were very well packed. I would absolutely contact the seller.

I have yet to receive my hosta order. It concerns me because I ordered additional plants, two of which are annuals in my climate. No point in getting them in summer. I'm hoping they come this next week. I noticed on their facebook page that they were asking people not to inquire about there orders because so much time was spent on responding that it was slowing down orders :(

My other plant orders (not hosta) came with plants smaller than I have received in the past from the same vendor. I dismissed this last year because of COVID but this year they should have seen this coming. Don't take orders you can't fill. If you have to fill the order with starter plugs when the customer is paying for a 7" pot - yes this happened to me with an ornamental grass - then compensate the customer or let them know ahead of time so they can choose not to purchase. The hort industry is raking it in right now. They have more customers than they can handle so loosing a few won't hurt them. Not now anyways, but down the line they could be missing a few regulars and that could hurt. There, rant over, for now.

I would like to add that I did get nice plants from three other vendors so they are not all having these difficulties. Some have managed just fine. "5 vendors?" you say; what can I say, it was a long winter.

Looks like you have been ripped off. Those are not what you ordered. I've received most of my hostas but have one more order that hasn't arrived yet. I expect to get plants that are in good shape and are the size that they stated when I ordered. Reputable sellers send good plants or else let you know that there's an issue and offer to replace or send plants at a mutually agreeable different time. No reputable seller states on its webite,"don't bother us" They are in the sales business, it's up to them to handle their orders. It there's a major issue, then tell the public that. Rant all you want, it's ok, we all understand.

debra..if the seller's uncooperative..if you paid with a credit card call the bank and dispute the charges..

Thanks everyone for your support! I sent emails to both companies last night and sent several attachment photos on both. I asked for replacement plants without further shipping charges. If they don’t have anymore of the plant, for the clematis I said I would accept a clematis of their choice as long as it was pink because I have a purple one.

For the hosta vendor (never ordered from them before, but I am sure many of you have) I asked for a replacement as well, and again if they are not longer in stock, I asked them to send Diamond Lake. I also have a hosta coming, not sent because it’s “still growing.” Anyone ever had that? I am afraid of what that one will look like.

nw, thanks for the bank suggestion. All my hostas were paid by credit card. I will hold that thought until I get a response from the vendor.

beverly, that is exactly what the website said when I went to it. Please don’t call about your orders because so much time was spent responding that it was slowing them down, so you probably know the vendor. I haven’t mentioned either because I want to give them time to respond and make things right. I had never seen hostas sent this way. I am used to receiving them either bare root or roots with dirt wrapped in wet paper towels. They have always arrived in good shape when placed this way.

frozbud, I think what happened to you was terrible!! Did you even plant it? It looks like it would not survive.

Well I am off to check email and Dave’s garden. Have a great holiday weekend!!

debra

Oh, I forgot this part====>>>> when I sent one of the vendors the email, can’t call cause it’s a holiday weekend, there was an auto-response that said “if soliciting, please remove this address from your list so we can better serve our customers.” Wait........... I AM A FREAKING CUSTOMER YOU IDIOTS!!!!

No response from other vendor.

debra

I think I recognize the packaging on that hosta. Was it in an inner box?

I received an order of 5 hostas that were packed similarly and in individual inner boxes. These individual boxes were designed to prevent the potted hosta from sliding up and down; however, one of the five boxes was not assembled properly and that hosta had significant (but not unrecoverable) damage.

I know you don't want to be premature if the situation can be/is corrected but I would like a heads up on the company so I will not waste my time buying from them if satisfaction is not delivered. (In a future future post when everything is settled.)

On Dave's garden when you enter a negative for their company the company will usually respond to help you quickly. They want to resolve a problem before it is published for all his readers to see. This might get you a response quicker than a phone call or email.

Debra, I potted the pathetic clematis up in hopes of its survival. Despite it being a hard to come by variety, had I spied a runt plant like this at a local nursery, I certainly would NOT have paid even half that price because of it's low availability and that's what I had told the supplier and of its value being in the range of 1/3 of what I had paid!

How frustrating! It looks like the Designer Genes was shipped without the wooden spikes to prevent shifting and minimize damage during shipping. The plant will survive, but it is disappointing this year. The order I received 2 days ago from a different vendor was not in great condition either.

Ben, it was an inner box as you said.

frankie, I will keep you all informed about how this goes and reveal the vendors names if not satisfied with their responses. I also will report on Dave’s Garden

.

frozzbud, did your pathetic clematis survive?

utog, I potted the hosta, I know it’s not dead, but I still am owed a hosta in good condition now.

debra

Djacobz, I've had the clematis all of two weeks and so far it remains green at least, lol.

I feel your frustration. Ordering early and having to wait and then getting that. I usually check the garden watchdog, but sometimes I get a little too excited and hit order too quickly. I've only been disappointed with dead/dying plants once (that I can recall, lol) and the nursery quickly refunded my money. Often times I wish for larger plants, but when I order the hot new cultivar, that's what I get. This year I'm frustrated by the late deliveries. When I order in November/December and request shipping the last week in April, I don't expect to wait until the first week of June. Perhaps the northern nurseries weren't shipping that early and I did ask them not to ship a couple weeks ago and last week was scorching hot, so all in all, this is a better week for them to ship. I do have one shipment waiting at the post office as we speak. Its a little questionable shipping over the holiday weekend, but I do want my plants sooner, rather than later.

Agreed, Debra. If that hosta came from where I think it did, shipping was quite costly. The plant should not have been shipped so poorly, and the vendor should want to improve.

I am happy to say that I had an email from the hosta vendor this morning saying they would gladly send a replacement plant and when would I be ready to receive it? I said I was ready now to receive. Let’s see how this goes. No word from the Clematis vendor yet. Will keep you posted!

debra

Omg Debra, keeping my fingers crossed everything works out to your satisfaction. i havent ordered any hosta via the web in a long time. I can live without the rare ones, my local nursery has a great selection, i find unexpected ones at times. I hope your Designer Genes does well for you, I got rid of mine this season, it was a poor performer here

Sherry

Happy to say the other vemdor for the Clematis contacted me as well and are sending a beautiful replacement plant. I am very happy with the response of both vendors!!

debra

I'm glad your getting responses. I too got reply's from two vendors this week. I hope to have delivery soon. Unfortunately, it was 91 here yesterday 96 predicted for the next three days and back to 91 before the highs get back into the 80's. I hope the plants are OK. They will likely be in the mail over the weekend.

I have two supposed to come today and it is almost 90 ........ :-(

debra

My last order is sitting over the hot weekend somewhere. I hope it arrives OK today.

Well, I was worried but my plants arrived in perfect condition. They look great except for the sloppy potting up job that I did. They are happily soaking for the moment. I will plant them soon.

My last order finally arrived a day later. A full week in transit during a hot spell. The box was pretty beat up, but that didn't bother the plants. What did bother them was the heat and excess water around the plants. Most of them were fine. A couple had some rot in the leaves. A couple had some minor rot in the roots where the paper towel was still wet. One plant was very wet on the crown and it completely rotted all of the eyes. Of course it was the most expensive one. So my "Wildest Dreams" will have to be delayed.

I am sorry, Steve. My order last week arrived fairly beat up and soggy, but it has rallied well this week. I removed all of the see-through leaves and kept them in part-shade to full-shade in potting soil. This week, there is new growth. I think all of mine will survive hot-wet-rough shipping, but they will not be pretty this year. Luckily, none of mine were expensive.

Oooooo, steve I, I would be upset if my ”expensive one came in like that…….not considering a request for replacement??

debra

With the heat and postal service they suggested waiting a month, but its not going to get any cooler, so maybe early autumn would be better. They also suggested potting up the roots to see what happens, which I had already done. Hosta are tough, so we'll see. The rest of the plants received a couple days of rain and perked right up.