I ordered from them years ago when I was in my other house (so, say 7-8 years ago, something like that). As far as I can recall, I was pleased. I do remember dog-earing the catalog in subsequent years to order, but I moved and my garden plans were up in the air so I didn't order, but since I was thinking of ordering again, I must have been happy with them :p

Roots and Rhizomes has only a 43% positive rating on Garden Watchdog.

Judging from many of the comments, others have had the same problems I did when ordering several years ago - undersized plants (not inexpensive) received in poor condition. This is a good example of a seed company (I believe it's Jung in this case) running into trouble when it tries to sell plants. My catalog (impressive-looking) went into the trash immediately when I got it last week.

Funny you should ask, lol! I've been getting their catalog for a few years now, and just never got around to ordering from them. But they've always had a rather nice catalog, and in it this year I saw a daisy that I've been having trouble finding. So just the other night I sat down to go through it and pick one or two additional items (gotta make it worth that shipping and handling, after all, lol!).

Well, I close the catalog after making my choices, and I notice the address - and did a double-take! The address is the same as that of several other companies I've been warned off of. So I did a Garden Watchdog search and as Eric mentions above, the rating isn't so hot.

So, long story short... I'm still trying to decide! Since my order is small, I may take a chance, especially since what I really want is that daisy, and daisies are pretty tough customers, so hopefully it will ship and transplant well and survive. I don't know...

:)
Dee

I did look at GWD and do regularly when I want to check out a company. Sometimes I question the feedback especially if there seems to be somewhat of an equal divide between good and bad. For example (and I've had this experience with friends): if people are use to buying plants at the local garden center they are often shocked and angry when they receive mail order plants. For some reason, they expect the huge, fully leafed out and blooming plants they've always purchased in person. God forbid the plants are shipped dormant. I wonder if some of the feedback is based on that?

With that said, I'll never forget the last order I placed with Jungs many years ago. I purchased a whole bunch of phlox since they had a nice selection at very good prices. When I received the plants, most were in tiny, plastic envelopes and consisted of a couple of small roots with one very, very tiny new shoot. Some were only a few questionable looking roots. That was my last order needless to say.

Kevin

Kevin, I agree with you about some of the feedback sometimes. It really makes a difference what people's expectations are to begin with, and also how they react to something.

I've seen some folks on the forums write scathing things about a mistake a company may have made, and sometimes they come here and complain without ever contacting the company and giving them a chance to make good. Others, as you said, may expect bigger plants than most mail-order places send, or may not like bare-root plants. Some people might base their entire opinion on one order, or even one bad part of an order, be it plant-related or customer-service-related, and that one part turns them off completely.

So when a company gets a rating that is almost half good/half bad, with lots of neutrals thrown in, it makes it difficult to decide whether to use them or not.

That being said, I do think I will go ahead and order my daisy. And of course, lol, maybe one other thing to make that S&H worthwhile - but definitely only one thing, not the three or four others I had originally planned.

If it doesn't work, I'm out about $15. If it does work out, I've got a plant I've been looking for and another to boot.

Good luck with your decision.

:)
Dee

Roots and Rhizomes is Jungs, and the quality of the plants is not great. They're quite small, often bare root, and are much more expensive per plant than, say, Bluestone, which sells you well-rooted specimens. Avoid them if you can.

I have ordered from them many years ago. The plants were small but did survive and grow well. That said I would probably only order a "must have" plant that I couldn't find anywhere else.

I too have ordered a few years back from them. The plants weren't huge, but I can look out at my garden now and say that I have a number of healthy survivors from those orders!

I have ordered from them in the past...but no more.
Last time I ordered I got puny,unhealthy plants in plastic bags. Nothing survived.
I order often by mail, so my expectations are realistic.
I'm another one that pitches the beautiful catalog when it arrives.

I base my mail-order expectations on what I've gotten from quality companies. Roots and Rhizomes' standards have been far lower.

When I pay $8 or so for an ornamental grass, I expect more than a tiny sprig that'll take years to develop into a decent-sized plant. Ditto for minute perennial divisions or seedlings, when other firms (mail order or local) will sell you well-established plants for the same or less money. And I don't really take to dead Salvias sent dried out in a plastic bag without soil, or to receive a similar dead Salvia as a replacement. These were my experiences ordering from R&R.

My take is that a Garden Watchdog rating less than about 75% should be viewed with caution - 50% or less signifies consistent major problems. Since there are many companies with excellent reputations (see the "Watchdog 30") I don't waste time with problem firms, no matter how much eye candy is featured in their catalogs.

Just wanted to add that I didn't mean to imply that anyone that posted here with a negative response was wrong or did not have realistic expectations. I apologize if my comments offended anyone.

I was speaking more generally about reactions and expectations. In all aspects of life people have different expectations and also different reactions to things, whether it's buying a car or buying a cup of coffee. So while I don't ignore other people's experiences, especially if many have had the *same* experience, I do tend to take lots of things with a grain of salt.

Okay, I'm gonna stop now before I make things worse for myself!

:)
Dee

Dee

I agree with you. I was looking for feedback and that's what I'm getting from everyone. Thank you. Sometimes I'll take the risk if the company has something I REALLY want and can't find any place else despite what others say. Sometimes I don't.

I have had some less than perfect experiences with mail order places, but I can't think of any that I didn't resolve successfully. Either I got new plants or my money back. This includes several on the GWD list that have many comments about poor customer service. Sorry, I rarely get that, but I think it has something to do with how I treat people. Just a theory, but from what I know about the customer service industry it makes sense.

Kevin

I received the Roots and Rhizomes catalog last week. I was curious, but I read through the feedback on Gardenwatchdog and I decided not to order. If you read the feedback it seems that the company has problems with shipping which worries me more than the small plant size. Anyway, since it is a Jungs company I can hope that some of the plants will show up at their nursery which is only a few blocks away. Then I can pick out a nice, big, healthy plant and I don't have to worry about shipping.

athenainwi - I didn't know Jungs had a nursery? I'm very curious as to what it's like since their mail order business has such a bad reputation.

Kevin

Jungs is also here in Madison WI. Very nice nursery, good service, nice plants. No complaints at all. I have ordered from Jungs and R&R mail order. Although the plants did grow, they were smaller than other suppliers I have ordered from. I have had excellent results with those from several of the GWD top 50.

I'm in Madison, and I'm right next to the west side nursery. The part that I hate is that they don't have everything in the nursery that they have in the catalog. Some of the most popular plants are only sold through the catalog so the catalog doesn't run out. But there are plants at the nursery that they don't have in catalog so it evens out. The nursery ends up with a good selection and it works much better to see how the plants look before you buy one and be able to pick out a nice big one. They have a great bare-root room in early spring, and then nice potted roses and larger potted bushes and trees later in the spring/summer. They have trellises and garden statues as well as plants. The rose selection can be a little hit and miss - I found that the smaller Sun Prairie nursery had a greater variety of roses although the Madison nursery had a larger quantity. They have a lot of daylilies but they don't often have any description so you have to know what you are looking for. I haven't had any problems and I look forward to buying more roses and bare-root trees from them this spring.

Diggerdee,

Just wondering what the name of that much wanted daisy is. maybe we can all help you out finding another supplier?

Marianne

Marianne, the daisy is Highland White Dream. The only place I've seen it (before R&R) was Wayside. IMO, they (Wayside) have not had a very high quality product in the last few years, but their prices are quite high. I figure if I'm going to go with an iffy nursery, I might as well pay the cheaper price, lol!

Certainly if anyone knows another place I can get this daisy, I'd be grateful for the info.

Thanks!
:)
Dee

Roots and Rhizomes is one of the ones that gets burnt before reading. I've had too many bad experiences with Jungs and their affiliates to go down that road again. Fool me once, shame on you - fool me twice, shame on me!

I'm always sorry to hear about bad mailorder experiences. I hope everyone was successful in getting their money back or at least getting a replacement that grew.
But I'm not ready to give up on Roots & Rhizomes. As long as I get what I pay for I'm happy. By this I mean I'm willing to nurse a smaller cheaper plant along for a year or two if it means I can buy more varieties than I would have otherwise been able to afford. And in my opinion R&R has more of the plant varieties I want (I'm thinking of their siberian iris selections in particular... these are newer harder to find varieties that haven't made it over to Bluestone yet).

ps. I also ordered those phlox from Jungs..... needless to say I was calling for replacements.

Kevin
I entered your daisy name in Google...hit I'm Feeling Lucky...and one of the sources that came up was....Home Depot!!

kato - I'm with you as long as the price is appropriate to the size of the plant. I also don't mind raising plants from wee little things. In fact, I rather enjoy it. That's probably why I start so many things from seed each year.

Here's something else I learned when I receive those challenged plants like Jungs sends out. Don't plant them directly in the garden. I always pot them up and either grow inside under lights or even a sunny window until they achieve some size. Then I transplant them outside. I still ask for a replacement or refund.

plantladyco - It was Dee who was looking for that daisy, but thanks.

K

Wow, plantladyco, what do you know? You're right - there it is at Home Depot! I was never even aware that they had plants available by internet!

Of course, now I'm more uncertain than before, lol! A 3-in pot from HD for $9.95, or a 2-in pot from R&R for $5? I'm not sure who has the better (worse??) plants, lol!

I think I will give R&R a shot for this one, and then check out HD in early spring to see if they carry it locally - you know, as a backup.

Thanks for your help, plantlady! Much appreciated!
:)
Dee

Dee
I just got a catalog from Paradise Garden
They've been selling online for a few years and now have a print catalog.
They have the daisy you want.
It's expensive (14.95) but I have ordered from them before and they do send large plants.

Dee:

Since you're right there in Connecticut, you might want to
check out White Flower Farm - they carry a remarkably similar cultivar to WG's "Highland White Dream", but their
plant is Leucanthemum "Christine Hagemann". I have the two
photos from their catalogues in front of me and darned if I can see a difference! The price may
be a dollar different, but I'd surely rather bet my money
on WFF's quality and full guarantee; and, if you had the
time and inclination, you could visit WFF and actually see
their version in bloom this next season before you made
any purchase. Good luck. . .

Carl

Thank you both for your help, plantlady and Carl. I appreciate you guys helping me out. I'm going to check out Paradise Garden's website.

Carl, would you believe I've never been to WFF?! I've driven by twice, nose pressed against the car window, but I've never made it inside. I'll check out Christine Hagemann though, and see what I think.

Thanks again!
:)
Dee