Sorry to hear this Debra. I ordered plants (not hosta) several years ago from a well known vendor that advertised in Better Homes and Gardens magazine. I had the same experience as you. I did get replacements but they were even smaller than the first ones I got. I decided I wasn’t gonna be disappointed again and have not ordered since. I dont have time for the tiny plants they send to mature, getting too old to wait. Glad you let others know your experience, save others the disappointment.

Sherry

Sorry to hear that. I rarely order perennials online unless they super rare. There are several good nurseries around here luckily and I rather travel and choose fullest pot chocked with roots myself. In the past Bluestone perennials were good online but now shipping just too expensive even if you get plant on clearance.

As a personal experience with butterfly bush they are iffy here, have full full die back and look dead for most of the spring, it takes forever to establish. I have couple going and they are nowhere near magnificent pictures you see.

I've had trouble establishing butterfly bush too- zone 5 Wisconsin, lower 6 Illinois, upper 6 Michigan. I've found that you gotta protect them pretty hard the first year or two. Deep mulching, wrapping or windbreaking, that sort of thing. Even established, the couple I got now are growing in a pretty sheltered spot in the garden and aren't super plush yet. Goats beard can be sort of slow to settle in, and need a longer establishing time than some other perennials can take.

Butterfly bushes sometimes don't survive the winter in colder zones, so while it's disappointing it may not be the fault of the vendor. I've had my "Black Knight" for many years, so they're very well established and I don't have any trouble with them. I don't know anything about the cultivar you chose, but I do believe that newer cultivars aren't as tough as the old tried-and-trues in many cases.

I had 'Black Knight' Buddleia here too without a problem, for many years. I agree with porkchop that the newer varieties are a crapshoot. I suspect the breeders are trying to increase novelty and don't care if the plant is actually a good garden plant. And that is an awful lot to spend on a 4" pot. What time of year did you plant it?

I wondered about hardiness too. I looked up that cultivar and they claim it's hardy to z5

But I've read a lot of posts about how iffy Buddleja can be in your winters so I'm sceptical.

Prairiemoon I planted them last June probably. They grew and even began blooming. I guess my complaint was, 1. they advertised as appropriate for my zone and 2. they were quite costly. My usual vendors readily stand behind their plants and will replace or refund without question. So I won’t shop with a vendor who doesn’t. I was not given any instructions about
protecting them though the winter. They may be slow to bud out, but there was not any green on the plants or roots.

debra

no offense, but i think some of you are not choosing the good vendors. i have learned that the best vendors are worth their seemingly high prices. i believe that no nursery owners are getting rich unless they're some huge operation. these days all of my buying is mail order.

i always go to Plant Delights first, when looking for a plant. they are the best and most organized of any nursery i have seen . other' perennials +' vendors are Dancing Oaks, Digging Dog, Fieldstone in maine, and a few others. for woody plants [i'm in Ma.] i go to broken arrow in ct. they have EVERYTHING. then Garden Crossings and Wilson's because they usually have woodies in 2-5 gallon pots.

@djacob... If it is advertised as hardy in your zone, than you should not have to coddle it. I rarely buy anything that is borderline hardy here, because I don't have the time or interest to baby things And if you planted it in June, it should have been ready for the winter.

@ HU87 - Thanks for the tips on what vendors you have had good experiences with. Although, I've been to Broken Arrow. I'm sure you are right that they offer a lot of unusual varieties of woody plants. I bought a Clethera 'Sherry Sue' that I've never seen in anyone's garden or for sale somewhere else, but I did find them to be pretty disorganized. It's been awhile since I shopped there, so hard to be more specific than that, but that is what I remember about my two trips there. Also they were not an easy drive. A little out of the way. Do they do mail order? What has your experience been with Broken Arrow?

Where do you buy 2-5 gallon pots of woodies? You don't mail order them, right?

HU,

I decided to try them as they were new to me and no offense, I thought those prices were pretty high. I shop mostly

Hosta vendors. I have found plenty of good ones online, my favorites being Hornbakers, The Hosta Store, NH Hostas, In the Country and Mason Hollow. They are all reputable vendors who stand behind their plants. For me to spend as much as I did, I expected much better service. They won’t get another chance with me. Thanks for your input.

debra

I've used NH Hostas and I was very satisfied with my order.

wilsons?

where?

Yes, where was the Wilson's?

Its a mail order place, not wilsons in lexington ma, PM

Thank you for recommendations!