woodlanders is an excellent and interesting grower. i'm on the west coast so mostly use ca. growers. excellent catalogs at annies annuals and perennials and at digging dog. we have had a very warm winter here in reno so actually got some plants from annies a few weeks ago and a shipment from digging dog coming in april.

To add to Patty's list:

Lazy S's Farm Nursery

Avante Gardens

and my favorite for Clematis is Brushwood Nursery.

I used to love Bluestone before they went to the Coir Pots. These things just will not rot. I wish they would have left well enough alone. I'm not the only one who hates these pots. Do some research on them and you will find all kinds of Bluestone customers who have had nothing but trouble with them.

I still love Bluestone, I just peel off the pots.

I agree on the pots. I cut down on the corners with scissors and remove the pot. It's rather like scuffing up the roots on a root bound plant. The coir pots do not decompose here either. I've checked and on some plants it holds to much moisture causing crown rot. I also buried some deep under my cold leaf compost pile. Two years later and when I reach the bottom of that pile in the fall of each year. Their still there and I'm not kidding.

While I'm at it, I'd like to add that to me coir pots and plug wraps basically serve the growers not the gardener. It's easier to maintain plant moisture. I happen to speak with Chris from Hallson Gardens one day. Mentioned how I thought plug wraps were damaging my plants because they don't degrade and hold to much moisture in by the crown, Boy did I hit a nerve he ranted politely for a long time. He said he had contacted every supplier he could about the damage he has experienced with plug wraps. Kind of happy to find I wasn't the only person who felt that way. Bluestone is a good nursery but I too advise removing the pot. It won't hurt your plant and better safe than sorry. Just curious has anyone besides me shared this information with Bluestone.

The best biodegradable pot I have success with are the Ellepots (I think that is how you spell it) I got coneflowers in them from somewhere online the first time I had seen them and I order a lot of Hostas from the Hosta Farm and almost all their plants are grown in them. They are almost like a paper / peat pot. Bluestone needs to stop telling people to plant the pots and suggest that the pot be removed. They still produce quality plants but it's heartbreaking to put them in the ground only to see that the pot killed them.

Two other great nurseries not mentioned are Klehm's Song Sparrow Farm and Plant Delights.

The OP should realize that shipping/handling for some mail order nurseries is extremely high.

Schreiner's is great for bearded iris.
Song Sparrow is especially good for peonies.
Roots and Rhizomes has a wide selection of siberian iris but the plants they ship are teeny tiny - I keep them potted for a year.

Roots and Rhizomes is Jungs, and it's been many, many years since Jungs was a quality mail order nursery. Among other problems, you cannot pick a ship date without an additional payment of $15. No other mail order nursery that I've ever ordered from requires that.

I've not bought plants there, but Jung's seeds are high quality and less costly than any other source I've found. Used them for 30 years without a problem.

I have personally ordered from Santa Rosa Gardens and was very impressed with what I received and how it was shipped. Their customer service is also excellent. One great feature is they let you pick your ship date, so it's convenient for YOU, which I really like!

I have heard good things about Bluestone Perennials, but then again, also some people have not been happy with the pots. Also heard really good things about Lazy S and Romence Gardens.

Thanks to you all. I have placed orders with Garden Crossings and Lazy S. If I get snowed in another day, I am sure I will place more orders. I have a wish list from Santa Rosa and Romance. I`m not sure if I will loose my mind or my wallet before this snow is over here in KY.

Will be looking for space when the snow is gone! Lesley

Re Bluestone pots; They're fine if you don't plant them with the plant and think they will biodegrade. They won't. So, you just remove them as you would with a plastic pot, and voila!

I also wish Bluestone would quit advising people to plant the pot. I was able to rescue my plants in time to save them. I'll hazard a guess that many plants were killed after the switch. Until this post I thought I was the only one that had a problem with the pots.

I'm glad the seeds from Jungs are still fine. But would advise against ordering plants. They are affiliated with 8 nurseries now and all have extremely poor ratings.

The merging of mail order nurseries is becoming more and more common and I have noticed that most of the parent companies are European ?? Like everything else the greenhouse/nursery business is becoming more like a factory focusing on mass producing a "product" rather than taking pride in producing beautiful, healthy plants. Mom and Pop's or Family owned nurseries are who I try to stick with. Their websites or catalogs might not be as fancy as the large corporations but they take pride in what they produce since their is a real face behind the crop.

Watch for coupon codes and sales from both Bluestone and Santa Rosa. They both have pre-season/off-season sales that you can stack with coupons, so register at both so you can get the codes. Or go to the 'All Things Plants' deals forum (this may be bad form - linking to another garden forum, but 'bleh, I say'): http://allthingsplants.com/forums/view/deals/

Also, be sure to check the Garden Watchdog before buying from a new source.

Just talked to Pat at Bluestone to clarify that my 3 orders would be combined as they promise. She offered to indicate on my account that I should be sent an email everytime I add to my orders so that I can see how the shipping is being combined. I really appreciate that.

Then I told her about this thread and the concerns expressed about the coir pots. She said that each year since they started using them they have worked with the supplier of the pots to make them thinner. She recommended that if roots can be seen coming through the pot, that the pot should not be removed, and only if necessary, to cut slits in the sides of the pot.

Since this is my first order with them, I have no actual observations to make but I will check the plants carefully when they arrive and then decide how to proceed.

As usual, YMMV

d boll: What are the small nurseries you deal with? All the ones I used to deal with have closed their doors.

Re Bluestone, here in my garden. I did try cutting slits as recommended in their instructions that came with the plants. But I'm sorry to say it did not work. I was able to find that many of the plants were not growing. I had also order from Santa Rosa late sale some of the same varieties. Those plants had come two weeks later and were all ready growing. I checked the coir pots below the soil. The roots had not grown out of the pot. When pot was then removed plant grew normally. Imo thought this was due to the pot drying and the roots were not able to follow the moisture by growing down. It's just not worth the risk to me and i've had no problems removing the pot even those with roots extending from pot. Those tend to dry up while readjusting to sun light anyway. I still love Bluestone and have ordered nearly every year for 15+ years. I would think some have had luck with the pots but not me.

Sibilation, thanks for the heads up :o)

I made my first purchase at Santa Rosa Gardens last fall when they had a "clearance" sale and all the plants I received were SO nice. I placed a christmas order for spring delivery already (with a xmas present for doing so). I heard they also have a similar sale in the spring (not sure if this is a late spring, summer or ?? when specifically sale)

Bluestone had 50% off specials every Friday in February and I know they had this Friday sale ongoing during the summer last year

@laceyvail - I know what you mean... one of my favorite Hosta sources Q an Z closed this year. I am a Hosta nut so my favorites list consist mostly of growers who specialize in Hostas and shade perennials. My List: Naylor Creek, Bridge Wood Gardens, Green Mountain Hostas, The Hosta Farm, and for perennials: Digging Dog Nursery, Edelweiss Nursery and while they are considered family owned Garden Crossings. Garden Crossings is owned by a member of the Walters Gardens Inc. family which is one of the largest perennial growers in North America so not exactly what I would consider a Mom and Pop shop.

Woodlanders, in Aiken, SC was mentioned above by daves10. I haven't received anything from them in the mail since I live close enough to pick up at their nursery, but I can assure you that they have wonderful native and tropical plants. Well worth looking at their website.

If you go to this URL:

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=watchdog+30

...and click on the first link, you'll get a list of mail order companies, many of which specialize in perennials. You're unlikely to go wrong with any of them.

I prefer this page, top 5 nurseries by category -

The Annual Garden Watchdog Top 5 Awards

thanks for the list, d-boll, but I don't grow Hostas. It's like saying to the deer, free lunch here. Over 95% of what I grow, and it's a very large garden, range from somewhat deer resistant to highly deer resistant. I just don't have time to spray more than a few tempting plants, and hosta a simply too tempting.

One of my very favorite nurseries was Seneca Hills Perennials. the owner carried a number of unique strains of uncommon perennials (i.e. spectacular strains of Arum italicum pictum with highly unusual markings on the leaves) and a few woodies. I miss that nursery very much.