DOA's Six Tips For Reading Plant Company Reviews

I've gotten a few catalogs this season I'm unfamiliar with, or have never ordered from personally.  I like to check "The Scoop" on Dave's Gardens first to see what other customers say about the company and their plants.

https://davesgarden.com/

I read the comments positive and negative, to get a feel for what is offered and to get an idea if it will do well in my garden.   Keeping in mind that we sometimes seem to live in an era of negativity and trolls, look past some of the wilder claims and look for these things:


Size of the plants and condition.

Size itself isn't an indicator of good or bad, but if the plants are small, and are in poor condition with wilted leaves, or no discernable green growing anywhere, even a careful gardener will have trouble getting plants to survive.   Plants are remarkably well suited to travel in a box across the countryside.  If a nursery is a good one, they'll look pretty much like they did when they were packed.

Correct Plants Arrived

It happens with some varieties of plants that you can't tell for quite awhile if they're the correct plant, it's not until they bloom that you can tell.  There are rare cases where a identifiably wrong plant has been sent.

Customer Service

You should be able to ask any questions, anytime and get a quick response.  If your order was incorrect, there should be a speedy replacement.

Backorders

When ordering, there should be an option for you to say yes or no to having your desired plant on backorder.   If you say no backorders, your money should be refunded instead.   I think backordering plants is inadvisable, as there is no telling how long you may need to wait for something that may have sold out.

Plant Selection

Pay attention to Plant Selection choices.   There may be fewer if the nursery specializes in a particular plant, but they likely reliably have the plant.    A nursery you don't know may seem to have a wide variety of plants but perhaps they have only a few of each and you'll end up disappointed.

The Name Means Everything

I am always more comfortable with nurseries that give common and botanical names of plants so you really know what you're getting.  Nurseries that make up names like fou fou plant!!!  Steer clear.