Having ordered from Silver Star Vinery in the past and gotten nothing but great plants from Debbie (not to mention the countless other people who I personally know and have had the same success with her plants), I do have a question. Have you contacted her and described the condition the plants arrived in or was your first response to vent here on this forum? It is quite possible that the damage was induced in transit by the postal service. If you haven't yet contacted Debbie, then I view your posting as nothing more than a rant and a great disservice to a truly great source for clematis.

This was not postal damage. I have ordered clematis many times on line from various vendors. I have never seen anything like this.

Did you contact Debbie to discuss your concerns?

She is very reputable.

I have ordered clematis from silver star vinery several times and wouldn't hesitate to do so again. Every time the plants were superior...plants that she has raised for some time before making them available for sale. All have massive healthy root systems. Also Debbie has gone above and beyond the call of duty to help me and to save me some money. I highly recommend silverstarvinery.com

If you are going to post a warning like that I feel that you have a duty to report the dealer's response when you contacted them about the order you are unhappy with. I have seen many positive reviews of Silver Star Vinery in this forum by members I respect and the company has a perfect rating on garden watchdog on another website. Yours is the first negative I have heard.

Ann,

First of all Debbie has the healthiest clematis I have ever bought. 2nd the pots have to be removed for 2 plants to fit in a box and there is nothing wrong with this procedure. 3rd, the rootballs are wrapped in damp newspaper so they remain intact and do not dry out and there is nothing wrong with this either. If a stem is broke, there is no need to get your ------- all twisted up, this is only March and several more will grow back in its place. If you knew anything about clematis, you would have known that none of this will hurt the plant, all you needed to do was place them into a bucket of water while you were getting everything together and preparing to plant. I think what shocked you the most was that the pots were missing and you were not prepared to plant them which you should have been. The bottom line here is the clematis weren't poorly packaged, you were just poorly prepared. Debbie does not need customers like you so in the future why don't you take your business to someone who deserves the headaches you are going to give them and leave the good, hard working people alone. I'm more than sure it would be greatly appreciated.

I just received two plants from Debbie. This was my first order with her company. The plants arrived in great shape with huge root systems. They appear to be in excellant health.
I did not find the packaging of them unusual and there was no damage to the tops or the roots of my clematis. I potted them up right away to hold them over for a few weeks until better weather arrives.

I'm sorry that you feel like you've been ripped off but wouldn't hestitate ordering from this company again.

Cherrie

Isn't it illegal to send plants in soil/potted to California? Meaning don't plants have to be sent bareroot? That was my understanding when I exhanged plants with a CA person. I do think the with the massive roots of Debbies clematis, that yours will be just fine if you give it some time to grow and settle in.
Good Luck!
jenn

I've never received a one gallon sized plant in the mail in a pot. Pots often contain soil bare of roots and add to the weight.

I feel the OP is wrong in posting criticism without giving Debbie a chance to respond. Something I see constantly on the eBay boards as well.

I lurk here all the time, but rarely if ever have posted, but I could not miss this opportunity to post my experiences with Silver Star Vinery. It has been a very pleasant experience. I have bought dozens of clematis from them, and the reason being that my first experience was so great!

I have ordered from many, many places before and I only buy repeatedly from where my experiences have been good. As the owner of more than 50 clematis and near 300 roses, I only buy from what I consider the best, and as a long-time gardener, who comes from a long line of gardeners and before that planters, I have nothing but good things to say about Silver Star. The owner has been very patient with me to explain the clematis and which ones work in my area, and never hesitates to do all she can to deter me if I am wanting something she feels will not work in my area. I respect her advice and her advice and plants have proven to be wonderful.

I am very happy that the plants are shipped in the manner in which I receive them; it cuts down on my costs and ensures there is not going to be any contamination of soil into my area, if that is a problem with the vendor sending into my state from another state.

Perhaps lack of experience in gardening on the part of the OP is the reason for this misunderstanding. As I like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, I think it is just a lack of experience in receiving bare-root plants.

I totally agree with you Patricia. I talked to Debbie on the phone this morning and this Ann told Debbie in an email, she was not welcome to call her house to get this matter straightened out. We know debbie and we know how nice her clematis are. Maybe it would be a good idea to just let this matter drop and quit posting on the subject as it is upsetting quite a few people and just let a dead dog lay in peace. Any further support can be emailed directly to Debbie, Thank You