• DirectGardening

DirectGardening

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Overview

DirectGardening has a rating of 1.6 stars from 399 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about DirectGardening most frequently mention customer service, credit card, and dead plants problems. DirectGardening ranks 106th among Plants sites.

  • Service
    52
  • Value
    47
  • Shipping
    49
  • Returns
    38
  • Quality
    46
107
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How would you rate DirectGardening?
Top Positive Review

“Yellow holiday cactii great starter plant and new modern packaging came in good shape even with our”

Robert G.
4/23/20

3 beautiful starter cactus plants with 4 to 5 stalks in soil that has already started to divide at top of the hard to find Yellow color cactii blooms. New modern day packaging in heavy duty green plastic bag with each cactii in their own celluloid preformed envelope that kept pot firmly in place, lightweight, and no paper to unpack. Completely happy - I did not expect blooming size, but will bloom nicely this holiday season. Like the bonus bulbs. Saw so many bad reviews, but completely satisfied here.

Top Critical Review

“Don't buy here”

Jim R.
4/17/20

Terrible retailer. Their stock was crap, packaged poorly and had to be replaced. And their customer service is worse. They may have cheap prices, but you get what you pay for. If looking here - stay away!

Reviews (399)

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Reviews that mention popular keywords

customer service (97) credit card (40) plastic bag (25)
Thumbnail of user michaelp3418
California
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
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May 14th, 2021

I wish I had read the reviews here, and elsewhere (about the same level of dissatisfaction), before I ordered.
This company will take your money in November, not ship until April ("We're closed for the winter"), be unable to tell one order from another, and not include most of the promised bonus plants with the order.
They ship bareroot trees (seedlings, actually, but that's OK for the price) when they get around to re-opening, supposedly in March, but actually in mid-to-late April but NOT at the bareroot planting season for your area (which for me is January/February).
What I received do seem to be either growing or growable (too soon to tell for sure).

Tip for consumers:
Don't purchase from Direct Gardening

Products used:
Bareroot plants

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user carolynb115
Florida
1 review
7 helpful votes
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April 30th, 2018

I ordered a Dogwood tree on April 5,2018 Still haven't received this order! Have tried to notify them NO RESPONSE! I feel they are ripping people off Thank god i didn't make a big order!

BIG SCAM! STAY AWAY

Thumbnail of user bobv205
Massachusetts
2 reviews
4 helpful votes
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April 9th, 2020

I ORDERED A DWARF FIVE IN ONE APPLE TREE OVER A YEAR AGO AND IT TOOK SEVERAL MONTHS BEFORE IT ARRIVED BUT WHEN IT ARRIVED I PLANTED IT AND NOT ONE LEAF GREW. I CONTACTED THE COMPANY AND RETURNED THE LABEL FOR A REPLACEMENT AND IN OCTOBER OF 2019 RECEIVED A REPLACEMENT. I PLANTED IT AS INSTRUCTIONS SAID AND NOW IN APRIL IT HAS NO GROWTH AND APPEARS TO BE DEAD. I HAVE 12 OTHER FRUIT TREES ALL BEARING LEAVES. IVE PURCHASED ALL OF MY OTHER TREES FROM TWO OTHER REPUTABLE COMPANIES AND THEY ARE THRIVING. THIS MAY BE THE LAST ORDER I PLACE WITH D. G.

Thumbnail of user peggyc344
Tennessee
1 review
0 helpful votes
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August 9th, 2021

Ordered a lavender tree peony & never received it. Order #*******. You cannot talk to a person. Anytime day or night phone is busy. Said by email they sent it but I never received

Tip for consumers:
Do not buy anything from Direct Gardening

Products used:
None

Service
Thumbnail of user omarj27
New Jersey
1 review
2 helpful votes
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September 18th, 2019

I ordered trees. Got bunch of sticks, no roots dead. Ripoff. Dont waste your money on this. I have emailed and fill the page on their website to contact me but nothing.

Thumbnail of user denniss633
New Mexico
1 review
0 helpful votes
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July 15th, 2020

That's what most of their plants do; exception is some of 'free' ones like gladiolas. Guarantee means it will happen again. Bare root and small root ball; trees never survive; 90% death.

Thumbnail of user roseh190
Ohio
1 review
1 helpful vote
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June 4th, 2020

My $227.52 order, 129 items came in a plastic bag about 14"x 36" which included THREE Rose's with branches sticking OUTSIDE of the bag. The only semi-healthy plants were the small mums. My order was TWO WEEKS late, I cancelled the order after not receiving it in FOUR WEEKS and they said they were sorry that I cancelled but it was already in shipping on May 22nd. On May 31st, NINE DAYS later they sent another email stating it had just shipped. So according to their own emails, my order Sat NINE DAYS in their shipping dept. This is why DEAD MATERIAL goes out to customers! One of my $17.98 rose sticks are brown! I'm attacking their emails as proof of the nine day gap. Of course they billed my credit card a week AFTER I CANCELLED and then shipped very low quality material. Will NEVER EVER recommend or buy from them again!

Thumbnail of user reneej43
California
1 review
2 helpful votes
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August 6th, 2018

I bought 8 climbing roses thinking if you pay as much as they charge 72$ for 8 climbing roses. You'd think something worthy. I received 8 dead dried broken twigs they were between 4-6" long. I called and complained, and way told to return which cost me over 14$ and due to their tricky wording. Since it was 14 days from ordering to returning, they refused to refund my money! And they feel that I should have to reopder then, pay shipping AGAIN AND LOOSE EVEN MORE MONEY FOR MORE TWIGS! SHAME ON THE DISHONEST RUTHLESS PEOPLE!

Thumbnail of user samanthak40
Wisconsin
1 review
2 helpful votes
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August 7th, 2017

Doesnt even deserve 1 star.
Avoid ordering from this company. Poor customer service doesnt even begin to describe it. They ship thier products in plastic bags. Sometimes jammed full of plants. They do not send shipping notifications, so my plants were sitting outside in a cold package delivery box in March in Wisconsin for who knows how long before I discovered them. I was expecting this order for spring planting, but there was still snow on the ground here when they shipped. Also they shipped from Illinois, so I know they are aware of the northern weather. Needless to say, nothing grew after I had to keep them inside under grow lights for a month before I could plant them. I had ordered online, but they insist on conducting returns or exchanges by regular mail.
Then they mailed back my return request asking for which plants died, when I specifically told them NONE of the order survived. And I had to mail everything back again, with my replacement items attached. They mailed me a gift certificate and asked that I tell them what Items I wanted them to replace it with. So I had to mail the whole thing back Again!
When I finally got my replacement plants, all the "live" plants they shipped me were clearly already dead before shipping, and they insist I wait 6 weeks to get more replacements. I even emailed photos of the obviously dead plants. It is August and my original order arrived in March, so that is how long it takes to be thoroughly screwed by this company.
F this company for sure.

Thumbnail of user dianem561
Wisconsin
1 review
2 helpful votes
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September 20th, 2019

I ordered 2 trees. I got 2 dead 4" sticks. When I immediately wrote to them they NEVER respond. I mailed and emailed for 3 months with no response... finally gave up and learned a $40 lesson.

Thumbnail of user stephaniev57
Pennsylvania
1 review
0 helpful votes
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June 22nd, 2018

I bought 6 spruce trees, 4 died, they wont stand behind them. They make up their policy as they go along. Horrible products, horrible service, total rip off... do NOT buy from them!

Thumbnail of user merles20
Alabama
2 reviews
6 helpful votes
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March 26th, 2018
• Updated review

I already wrote a review, just wanted to post a photo of the big canker above root.If planted in rose garden all the other roses would becone infected. Eventually killing all of them.

Tip for consumers:
Don't!

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Diseased roses
March 26th, 2018
• Previous review

I have ordered two roses. Got one late Fall 2017, it died. Had massive dieback when I received it. The second one, delivered two days ago had a massive canker between graft and root. They won't replace rose that died, and have not responded to the photos I sent of recently delivered rose with big canker bulb. Will never order from them again, and will inform every gardener I know. M. Sanshu

Thumbnail of user danag171
Kentucky
1 review
1 helpful vote
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May 14th, 2020

See copy of the email I just sent them. Do not waste your time or money!

I just received my plants. I am very upset with my order. Not only did I wait six weeks for my order, but you shorted my delivery! I ordered 200 vinca roots. Received 8 bags that were suppose to have 25 plants in each. There were four bundles with 3 plant in each bundle. 3×4=12 not 25.12×8= 96. You shorted me over half my order. I also ordered 6 Black-eyed-susies. Three were fine, the other bag had three rotted roots. I will never order from you again! I will tell everyone I know not to order from you.

I realize you are super busy, but I would have had more respect for you if you had simply canceled my order and refunded my money.

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

Thumbnail of user mam187
Michigan
1 review
6 helpful votes
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September 3rd, 2015

I ordered a blue clematis plant. It did not bloom until a year and a few months later, and when it did, to my disappointment the flowers were a blackish red. I contacted "Customer Care" explaining that I purchased the plant over a year ago but had no way of knowing the color until they actually bloomed, so I would like it replaced with the blue plant that I had ordered.

First they asked me to send a photo of the plant that I received (which I did), then they said to send by postal mail the original mailing label (e-mailing a scanned copy was not acceptable for some reason). Luckily I saved it, so I took the time and expense to do this, but received no replacement or reply for over a month. When I wrote to find out why, they wrote back saying they will not be replacing it because their guarantee had expired, but I could place another order for the blue (and pay again).

I called their phone number, and the woman who answered said she does not make any decisions and cannot answer any questions. If I wanted to discuss it, I would have to WRITE their owner/manager Grace Avery by postal mail since she does not accept phone calls or e-mails.

Very incompetent and dishonest company.

Thumbnail of user shelleyj42
Idaho
1 review
0 helpful votes
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May 30th, 2020

I ordered plants on April 11 with a promise of 3 to 5 weeks delivery. On May 30 I still have not received them. They have not even shipped. They do not answer the phone and email is double talk!

Thumbnail of user stephaniea359
Illinois
1 review
2 helpful votes
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May 5th, 2020

Twenty nine of my plants arrived dead. I ordered them on March 28th. I waited as their website said due to the Covid 19 slowdown. I understand it's effecting many businesses. My whole order consisted of 53 gladiolus bulbs, 3 balloon flowers, 1 peony, 28 strawberries, 3 wild cherry trees, 1 dwarf Stella cherry tree, 1 lemon tree, 1 lime tree, 1 tangerine tree, and 1 orange tree.

The cherry trees were sticks in a bag. Seriously. They had no soil and no moisture. They did not send me the Stella dwarf that I ordered. They sent me a nectarine as a substitute instead. Again it was a stick in a bag. Nothing looked like the pictures on their website. The cherry trees were a Mother's Day gift.

The plants took six weeks to get here. I was ok with that because everything is running slow. Companies are short staffed. I understand this. However I never received shipping info. They just showed up. I even emailed them two weeks before to ask about shipping and tracking info. I never received a response.

I'm so disappointed in this company. Based off of the many reviews I probably won't get a refund. I will never order from them again.

Thumbnail of user brianb2557
California
1 review
0 helpful votes
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June 21st, 2021

Ordered Aspen trees from them and they said that they wouldn't bud the first year because they put them in a dormant state... at the same time they say they give you a 1 year replacement guarantee... huh.
No budding ever happened in the 2 years since.
The thing that irks me off is that I have contacted them 5-6 times via email & their contact form (Their phone is always off the hook busy)
I have never received a reply. Today was my last email to them in which I told them I would start posting reviews if no response. After that I searched for reviews about them...
OMG... Everyone is so pissed off at them... you can read all the reviews here and other places.

I ONLY WISH I HAD READ THE REVIEWS BEFORE ORDERING ANYTHING FROM THEM. WHAT KIND OF BUSINESS WOULD ACTING IN SUCH A MORONIC WAY.
THEY DESERVE A NEG 10 RATING.
RUN PEOPLE.

Thumbnail of user juanitaf53
Georgia
1 review
0 helpful votes
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May 26th, 2021

Ordered never received products. Can't get anyone on the phone! I pray no one else orders! I plead the blood of Jesus on every one who is a part of this scheme They will not prosper!

Thumbnail of user punkyb
Texas
1 review
5 helpful votes
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October 4th, 2019

I ordered over $130 in plants from DirectGardening, THEN saw the reviews... within a couple days of ordering, I canceled. They said they would attempt to cancel but the order was already in process... that was on 9/24. Total BS, I JUST received the order today and EXACTLY like everyone else, I got DEAD CRAP! I AM sending back AND I am disputing the charge with my bank! Everyone needs to file with Bureau of Consumer Protection/FTC, BBB, and leave reviews EVERYWHERE! Total crooks!

Thumbnail of user johnl1056
Georgia
1 review
0 helpful votes
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June 14th, 2018

Placed my order April 28th, it arrived June 14th, nothing was properly wrapped, hydrangea trees completely bare and dried out. Wish I had found the review page before I ordered. This company could get it for plant abuse of their was such a thing. Just Horrible is the best word I can say for them. I also ordered fruit trees, the adds say 3-4 foot trees, the little babies are maybe 18" high. Not sure but I think they confused the centimeter side of the ruler.

DISGUSTED WITH THE COMPANY.!

Thumbnail of user shellyl101
Florida
1 review
1 helpful vote
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July 5th, 2020

My only regret was that I didn't read the reviews first.
I ordered plants, that I never received, They also charged my account and did NOT REFUND MY MONEY when I cancelled the order!

There are literally hundreds of HORRIBLE REVIEWS!
They should be investigated for fraud!

Thumbnail of user beckym251
Illinois
1 review
0 helpful votes
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October 26th, 2020

This company goes by 8 other names as well.

Do not ever, ever, **ever** order from this company, ever. They don't ship plants, they lie; they ship roots. If you do end up with a plant or I should say barely a sprout, it will die.

I ordered in April, they took my payment in May, and I got a tiny bag in mid-June. Half of everything arrived dead. I shipped back, at my expense, half of the order and they have not issued a refund. The rest of my order? Died.

In fact, they're claiming I didn't pay them at all which is utterly absurd as I have the bank statement showing paid. Now they're threatening me with legal and police action, harassing me, trying to extort money I already had paid them. Half of which they still have not refunded.

They do not answer their phones. They reply by email so slowly and never with any actual useful information. These people are total scammers and I do not know how they sleep at night knowing what they do to people.

Reported to BBB and will report them other places. They need to be shut down.

Avoid at all costs.

Tip for consumers:
Hot tip: do not order from them at all.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user raye85
Missouri
1 review
4 helpful votes
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March 5th, 2020

BEFORE I INVESTED SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS IN MY REAL ESTATE PROJECT, I REVIEWED ALL THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE RATINGS AND THE LATTER SO MUCH OUT WEIGHS THE GOOD SO i'M NOT ORDERING FROM DIRECT GARDENING.

Thumbnail of user rickg124
New Jersey
1 review
5 helpful votes
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May 19th, 2018

This company should not be in business. They charged my credit card and 3 weeks latter still no product even shipped! NEVER do business with this company!

Thumbnail of user darrellh41
Tennessee
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 26th, 2018

I ordered a North Start Dwarf Cheery tree from Direct Gardening. It arrived dead, not dormant. Brittle branches, loosing roots and dead buds are not signs of a dormant plant.
It indeed was a dwaft. It measured a little over a foot. Their website stated the tree was 3-4 feet tall. The tree was delivered by the USPS in my standard size mailbox. How do you fit a 3-4 foot tree in a standard size mailbox (mine is about 20 inches deep)? You can't. Total misrepresentation and in my opinion fraudulent.
The tree was shipped in a plastic bag and not a box. Customer Service is slow. Took them 4 days to get back with me on first email to them. Still have not heard from them in regards to my second email. They are not very responsive and timely which makes me question their motives (14 days to sent the tree back for a refund)
I tried to keep an open mind about this company and give them a chance to make things right. Bottom line, there is NOTHING I can say that is good about this company. In my professional experience (over 40 years), these type companies ultimately fail and end up in bankruptcy court.

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