On May 1, 2015 upon recommendation of Google Ad sites of ‘trusted stores’ and also the University of Pennsylvania list of nursery sites, I checked out the website of www.directgardening.com, and after lengthy searches had placed an order of $227.45 of multiple items. I had trouble originally with their site when it came to checkout, their system had issues…so I had to then call it in. Quantities, items, prices, item numbers, etc. There were 38 items in fact, many with multiple quantity. I paid for it immediately by credit card, and was told it would take 2 weeks to process the order. Ok, I wait. Then, after 3 weeks, emailed using their contact link on their site-I made an inquiry as to the progress of my order, any shipment dates and/or tracking numbers. I got some auto response, that the email was submitted to the ‘proper department’. Nothing else followed. So, I called. The number furnished online was constantly busy. It took almost 2 hours to get through with repeat dialing. I got a customer service gal…she hung up on me. Called back, again taking quite some time to get through. I was not rude, nor impolite so wasn’t sure why the first gal hung up. The second gal said they would send through an inquiry communication, however they had no real way to communicate with the growers or shipping department. I called at week 4. Again, no information to be had. No reason for any delay or backorder, again I was told they don’t have communication with other departments, and there are no management available within the company, nobody responsible..and even if they did have a boss, he didn’t do phone calls or emails with any customers. Hmm. Ok, I wait another week. Call again. Same deal. But, she ‘thought’ it should be shipping soon as they were processing orders placed 2 to 3 weeks after I placed mine. Oh, that’s encouraging. Not. However, they also have trouble processing multiple orders and mine was a ‘large’ one. Now that’s really encouraging. I asked her: if they didn’t want people ordering multiple items perhaps they should stipulate a restriction upon their website, otherwise people assume that the stuff listed and pictured is already growing in greenhouses ready to ship out and people like variety and order accordingly. Sorry I placed an order they couldn’t handle, obviously. This has been going on now for 6 weeks and counting. No information, sign of shipment, or tracking number, no way to communicate within the company..no boss or management taking any responsibility for how their company is run, no customer service…just plain repetitious runaround, and excuses, poor reasons at that about growing seasons, weather, mismanagement of their company, their systems…etc. All things I don’t want to hear. I want facts, information. At this time, it’s way too late to even think of planting this stuff as it’s already too hot/dry for it to propagate or transplant. So, I cancelled the order. Now, I am told it could take a couple to several weeks to even receive back my money for the order. Now, why is that? They took it fast enough. That is not customer service, it’s scamming people and not dealing with the very issues or problems they cause with their company failings to begin with. If customers placing orders is a problem..get out of business and don’t set up online stores. Don’t send out catalogs using yet another name either..or other aliases. Now, people are wondering if they are legit. I should have done more due diligence in checking out this company first prior to ordering, now…I wished I had. There are numberous Better Business Bureau complaint against them, literally hundreds of people who have had the same experience as I have with customer service issues, no deliveries or shipment of product in addition to those that did receive their order after much delay/wait…it was poor quality, root rot, diseased/infected plants, dead plants, poorly shipped/packaged plants..so again, they were not satisfied either with the ‘guarantee’ policies of this company either or the refund/replacement issues it causes. Don’t just take my word for it, do your due diligence. Check them out, read the complaint. They are too numerous, and we can’t all be wrong. I made the mistake of trusting they were a reputable company, don’t be as stupid as me and order. Or you may be reporting them next. .
Consumer Reviews and Complaints
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This complaint and/or review was posted on HolySmoke.org on 12:58 pm, September 06, 2018 (CST) and is a permanent record located at: https://www.holysmoke.org/scam/direct-gardening-review/.
The reviews & complaints posted about Direct Gardening was submitted by a member or guest on this website. Any and all opinions and information are published as is. HolySmoke.org does not edit or remove any aspect of the report and is simply a consumer grievance free-speech platform. As such, HolySmoke.org cannot be held liable for the complaints and reviews posted about Direct Gardening as per Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
I placed an order with Direct Gardening
I placed an order with Direct Gardening on 2/20/2015 to be shipped in April. My credit card was charged the $56.43 on 2/25/2015. The plants arreived on April 17th, shipped in a green, plastic shipping BAG. The protective sleeves containing the plants were crushed in shipping. Two “Red Wind Forest Grass” were badly pinched to about an inch tall, but were plantable. The three “Blushing Bride Tradescania” were ruined in shipping, one was totally dry and two were water logged. None of them survived planting. Immediately upon receiving the plants, I contacted the company via e-mail and told them of the problem, requesting replacements for the three plants, a $15 value. After severals e-mails back and forth, where they did not read the attached previously-sent e-mails, I decided to write to the manager on May 7th. Included in my letter was the original shipping label, which they required to be returned under their Replacement Warranty. I have not received a response to that letter and I have not received any replacement plants. As a retired retail exectutive, I find that the poor quality of their plants is only surpased by the poor quality of their service. Their shipping is downright horrible! Their customer service people do not read the e-mails sent them, but merely respond with a single form letter. And their manager does not respond to letters of complaint. I will not be ordering from them again. And I would strongly warn others to buy elsewhere. If they can’t replace a small order of $15 promptly, without having the customer jump through hoops, why purchase more from them? Their written Replacment Warranty is ignored. There are many other companies, such as Bloomin Designs Nursery, American Meadows, White Flower Farm and Romance Gardens that have supplied me with quality plants. I will give them my business and Direct Gardening the boot. They lost a customer over $15. The other companies got $655.98 of my business this year. And their plants are doing well!
Had my plant box ready for a
Had my plant box ready for a variety of strawberries, ordered my strawberry plants from Direct Gardening and was very pleased with the varitey of strawberries they offered and their prices were very reasonable. Included with my order was some free plants for ordering ordering over $40 worth of plants. I understood that it would take approximately 1 1/2 to 2 weeks for delivery to California. Here is it, 3 1/2 weeks later and still no strawberries. Direct Gardening’s phone was either busy or no answer. The email response was very slow and repetitive, asking me for the same information that I had sent. I was so excited to recieve my plants and after such a long wait, I should have just bought them at my hometown nursery. I am now very, very upset that a company would go though so much advertisement just to screw their customers. I don’t do reviews unless it is well deserved, good or bad. I wouldn’t want someone else to go through what I did so this review is well deserved for Direct Gardening. DO NOT ORDER FROM THEM PLEASE…YOU WILL BE SORRY….I should have read the reviews on line before I ordered from Direct Gardening.
I placed an order on March 5th
I placed an order on March 5th 2015 for 10 plants which totalled $71.00. To date I have not received my order or any update status report. I have tried to contact this company by phone for several weeks at (309)662-7943 and the line is always busy. I have called at all hours of the day. Alway the same results – a busy singal. I have sent emails via their website with no response. I have requested my merchandise or a refund and still have not received any response. If this is not fraud and theft, it at lease is deceptive and poor business practices.
Should have researched this company prior to
Should have researched this company prior to ordering. Fortunately I didn’t lose a lot. Ordered 4 butterfly bushes from these folks that I received in July. They came as just sticks….no green on them at all. However I planted them as instructed. Waited a few months (3) for something to happen. Nothing did. When I asked for a refund is when I found out about their horrible return policy. 14 days. Most nurseries have a 1 year return policy. You really don’t know if anything is going to grow in 14 days. I will never do business with this company again.
I ordered $109 worth of plants from
I ordered $109 worth of plants from directgardening.com. None of the plants lived. I asked for replacements and was told I could not get any. I didn’t even ask for a refund just replacements.
Last August I was in search of
Last August I was in search of rare butterfly bushes. Was so excited when I stumbled across the site for Direct Gardening. I ordered several for myself and some as a gift to my mom in WV. When they arrived they looked like dead twigs but I was hopeful. So I planted them and watered and cared for them. I have been gardening for 26 years. Much to my dismay but really no surpise the darn twigs never did a thing. Honestly I believe they were dead when I got them. Also, the ones I sent to my mom died as well. I called the company and complained and they sent me a couple more. They wouldn’t replace my moms because she didn’t save all the original paperwork. Since the second batch I received died I have made numerous calls and complained but to no prevail. They only want to give me a $10.00 credit. I lose all the shipping cost and all the plants to my mom are a wash.
Direct Gardening Reviews & Complaints
DO NOT BUY FROM THEM. Last year’s order was fraught with problems but my daughter was told to plant and wait. So, when it was clear several plants were not viable, she asked for a refund. But she needed labels and dead plants sent back so she accepted a voucher which could not be used until this year since it gets far too hot to use mail service in summer. She used the voucher this spring and when she complained about the quality of some of these new plants, she learned that since the voucher was for last year’s plants and since the guarantee is only for a year, this year’s plants bought with last year’s voucher are not guaranteed. Since one of those was a gift of a Mr. Lincoln Rose for me as a mother, I am really dismayed. I have pictures of the pitiful plant with its tag and asked for a replacement. Request denied! Two years of disappointment and lost money. It’s truly the strangest thing I have ever encountered. Imagine that it’s the age of the money, not the viability of the plants, that is guaranteed. The company has no reason to send quality plants. The company insists its policy is clear but they cannot or will not explain why the guarantee does not belong to the current plant. DO NOT BUY FROM THEM.
Direct Gardening Reviews & Complaints
Don”t ever buy from Directgardening.com or www.eBurgess.com. These 2 companies are affiliated. I purchased 4 different types of shrubs about 2 weeks ago – Winter Hardy Boxwood, Forsythia, Purple Smoke Bush, and Spicy Sweet Shrub. Yesterday I got a package (a green bag) outside of my house. I opened the bag, and I found some single thin branches in it, and they just look like dead wood single branches but with roots. I was wondering who was playing a joke with me and put dead wood branches outside of my house. I then look carefully at them, they have loop white stickers w/names of the shrubs. I then thought “NO WAY”!!! These are not the shrubs that I ordered, right? In Burgess” catalog, for example, for the Spicy Sweet Shrub, it says “1-2 ft shrubs sent”, but what we got is 1-2 ft “STICK” sent. For the Hardy Boxwood, in the catalog, it says “3 year plants shipped”, not “6 inches tall herb like plant shipped”! Directgardening.com or eBurgess.com is a SCAM!!! Don”t ever order from them! I have never been this unsatisfied before!! ** Just a reminder, if you want to get a refund, you have to ship all the “sticks” back to them at YOUR OWN EXPENSE!! Regards, Teresa
Direct Gardening Reviews & Complaints
Dont EVER buy from this place! I ordered 6 blue spruce trees, got them, soaked the roots, planted them. Four of 6 died. Contacted them, they wanted packing slip. I didnt have it, they said send proof you bought them via usps. I did, they returned all papers, they wanted the dead trees. I had already replaced them, , threw the dead ones away. Now they wont return calls or emails. They stand behind nothing, their products are usually in bad shape when you get them People are getting ripped off!!
Direct Gardening Reviews & Complaints
For my first order (OZWIWDUCO-6/3/17), I ordered and received (6/9/17) 24 plastic containers of what should have been Snow on the Mountain ground cover. These are live plants and not bare root. Some of the containers only had dirt and others had a single stem rotting at the soil line. Other plants arrived healthy. I ran short of plants and ordered another 24 and these also arrived in a mixed state . As per their instructions, I requested replacements for 7 of the plants from the first order. Request was mailed June 28, 2017 with original shipping label. Called July 12, 2017 and no record of my request and was advised to wait a week. On July 14, 2017, I received my original letter, documentation and a standard note stating that I complained that my plants appear dead and much of their nursery stock shipped is dormant. This is not the case. No one really took the time to read my letter and provide a response to my complaint. Instead, I received a standard response to a non-applicable problem. I called again on July 14, 2017 and was told I need to wait 6 weeks for my dormant plants to come to life and if they do not grow to resubmit my request specifying the quantity, type of plant with appropriate documentation. I asked why did they not keep my correspondence and contact me. This is not how they do complaints. As I see it, this is nothing more than a delaying tactic in replacing live plants that should never have been shipped in the first place. Poor quality control. Even worse, representatives are not properly trained to deal with customer requests/complaints. I do not remember a 6 week waiting period to replace live plants. Now some of the plants from the second order have failed to live and I have to go through this again. Ugh!! At $4 a plant, I expect better. I would NOT recommend Direct Gardening as a source of plants. I would like my original request for 7 Snow-on-the-Mountain plants to be replaced as quickly as possible.
Direct Gardening Reviews & Complaints
Go to davesgardening and read..280 complaints and growing copy paste address… davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/231/ My Complaint.. NO manager contact…read domain gardening.com owner of website name and call him Posted on November 8, 2010, updated November 8, 2010 I placed two orders in 2008…38 out of 46 trees were DEAD upon arrival…out of 46…4 YES 4 trees lived through year one…of those 2 survived to 2010… Now in replacement order…88% of trees were dead…or 12% WERE ALIVE ON ARRIVAL.. alive… You cannot get a manager…you cannot get real person…only get rhetoric…send your original invoice…we will send replacements..WHAT AN IDEA…YOU WILL SEND ME MORE DEAD TREES FOR THE PREVIOUS DEAD TREES…I did find one reference…so please mail and call this guy…I will find corporate ownership papers next…this is guy that owns the website name directgardening.com so call him and complain..and mail him …since they hide and you cannot get a real person.. I told them I am going to post your dead trees on ebay…I don’t want more dead trees and third growing season…I want a refund.. I emailed them this is your last warning I am going to drive there to complain..to only address I can find.. or have lawyer sue you..refund my money, give me a real person…no reply except get call from Bloomington police dept…here is website owner…call and ask for Rusty repeatedly…and mail him postal mail.. I will find corporate owner information and post that… DON’T BUY FROM THEM…THEY ARE A RIPOFF.. CALL RUSTY / MAIL RUSTY AND COMPLAIN HE OWNS WEBSITE NAME… Bledsoe, Rusty** [protected]@COMETOBUY.COM 3006 Gill Street Suite E BLOOMINGTON, IL [protected] US Phone: [protected] Fax: [protected] On November 8th, 2010, digosrick added the following: Update: According to Whitepages.com Rusty Bledsoe…is owner of Directgardening.com website domain name..so he is registered owner of the site… so according to whitepages.com here is his Information.. Negative unhappy customers …please start mailing and calling him.. He has our address and phone number so instead of hiding and ripping customers off ..it is only fair..Dear Mr. Bledsoe I wish you no harm but ” I WANT A REFUND..” Rusty Bledsoe Is this you? Edit 19 Hodgehaven Cir Bloomington, IL [protected] [protected] Household: Terri J Bledsoe, Glenn E Blesoe,
Direct Gardening Reviews & Complaints
I did a order on May 25, 2018 ref#EYNRXUVCJ the company processed my credit card the next week. Weeks went by on June 18, 2018 I called customer service and they told me they would ship on June 25, 2018. Today is July 2, 2018 still no product, called customer service again and was told I would have to write a e-mail to cancel the order and they could not tell me how long it would be before my money would be returned. VERY VERY BAD COMPANY I WILL REPORT THEM TO BBB IN THE AREA.
Direct Gardening Reviews & Complaints
I ordered 24 Indian Current Coralberries, 2 Pink flowering almonds, and 24 burning bush from Direct Gardening. I soaked the roots in water and planted all of these as directed in July of 2017. I watered all of these plants every other day. I waited until May of 2018 to see any sign of life. I sent a registered letter to Direct Gardening on May 9th, 2018, first delivery attempt was refused, finally on May 17th, 2018 they accepted the letter requesting replacements for all of the above mentioned plants but 7 burning bushes. With the exception of the 8 bushes, all others did not show any sign of life in 2017 or in 2018. I have emailed them 3 times now to get a follow up on the request for replacements, no response. I have tired to call them 20 times since May 17th, 2018 and receive a busy signal. I have been gardening for 25 years and have experience with growing bare root plants. I am very surprised of the amount of plants that survived. 14% (7 of 50) plants showed any sign of life in 2017 and came back in 2018. This is a very low percentage of survival. I would not recommend Direct Gardening at this point, even if you are an experienced gardener.
Direct Gardening Reviews & Complaints
I ordered seed potatoes for $17.97, plus $9.99 shipping, totaling $27.96. They arrived timely but wet and smelly. I planted the ones I could salvage, and not a single one grew. I followed their ludicrous rules and returned the shipping label, a copy of my invoice, and a handwritten note. They STILL won’t honor the guarantee that is on their website. Even though their prices are cheap, try to find a more reputable company. I just ordered seed potatoes from Potato Garden. They had some good reviews on “Dave’s Garden”. (Picture is correspondence they returned including green shipping label.)
Direct Gardening Reviews & Complaints
I ordered some trees and good faith after a month and many reminders got the package containing some seeds a pamphlet and some sticks instead of trees after lots of emails and reminders I was asked to send back shipping label, three went after seeing ding the labels a5 first they refused having received the labels, few emails later and after providing tracking number now they say they want to the trees back, ridiculous and horrible company refusing to issue an refund Instead asking you accept replacement voucher, highly fraudulent company
Direct Gardening Reviews & Complaints
I placed a order on 07/06/19 and have not received them yet and the phone number for contact is always busy please help me get my order. SOON.my plan was to finish my gardening before the summer months are over its 07/18/19 and I’m still waiting and gardening is not up to part without my yellow roses and my orchids that was free for ordering with this company. thank you in advance.
Direct Gardening Reviews & Complaints
I placed an order with this company on 8/26/15 and received my order 2 weeks later. Part of my order was missing although the label indicated that the items were included. The items I did receive were of very poor quality and one item that was actually still living was completely smashed. I called the company and explained the situation and was advised that I would be required to cut the label off of the packaging and send it to the company with my complaint and them my items might be sent out. Why is it that the customer has to do the work to fix this mess up??? I did my part by placing my order and paying for it and waiting for it to arrive. I expect any reputable company to take responsibility for their mistake apologize and send the missing items out by express mail and offer to return at least part of the original shipping costs for my inconvenience. With that being said it proves to me that this is a company that cares very little about quality and reputation. I have ordered from several gardening companies over the years and have never been this disappointed and disgusted by a company and their polices and attitude as I am with this company. I will never place another order with this company.
Direct Gardening Reviews & Complaints
I plan to report my grievances with everyone and anyone/any where and any place I can. If I had only done my research before ordering!! The business is a joke, a blunder of true idiots! They should be closed down!! Took 8?weeks to get my first order, never received a second order placed while I was convinced my guarantee was being honored on the first order!! Had to file a complaint with my credit card company because after 10 weeks of follow up and given the run around on when it would ship. I was told it may be too late to cancel the second order that it may be in processing. I thought I would split my side with laughter…how long does it take to process? What a package of true NUTS! Got my money back on my second order thanks to Chase but never received my replacement plants. Their guarantee is as valuable as the cat crap covered up in my flowerbed!!
Direct Gardening Reviews & Complaints
I purchased 0ver $500 worth of Creeping Thyme last Fall from this company. When I received them I took pictures, they were dead and black and dry feeling. I emailed the pictures and was told they were dormant and wait until the Spring before filing a claim and they will replace them. Now, I sent an email with all the previous emails and pictured from them to have them send me more Creeping thyme to replant. I was informed I had to give them the original label. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? WHY didn’t they tell me to save the label for return? I have a copy of the label and it is perfect but they say they won’t accept that. I will be going to the Better Business and will be getting a lawyer to sue them for false advertising and as a scam if they don’t make this right. It’s not like I want my money back. I just want healthy plants I paid for. I would give a minus 10 right now if I could.