Gurney's Seed and Nursery Co from Indiana, USA

I give this nursery 9 out of 10 acorns.

Website address is: www.gurneys.com

I found Gurneys selection to be good.  I didn't go through the site a lot, because I was searching for Sweet Sixteen apple trees on the recommendation of a member here.  The website is easy to navigate and has a lot of information.  Overall, I found the website to be attractive and nice to deal with.

The prices were good on the particular item I ordered.  Like all nurseries it seems, some of the prices were very good and some were high in my opinion.  Price is rarely the deciding factor for me when I am ordering trees, so I don't shop around as much as I could.  I tend to deal with companies that I have dealt with in the past that have been a good experience, and that shipped me trees and plants I was happy with more so than just going by price.

I ordered two Sweet Sixteen apple trees this order.  They arrived quickly, were packaged well, and looked good.  

I planted the trees a few weeks ago now.  Both leafed out pretty quickly but within a few weeks, one was clearly out-pacing the other.  Over the last couple weeks, the leaves on one of them shriveled and died.  So, I had a 50% success rate from this order.  Previous orders were much better, with no losses on any other order from this company.

So, why was I compelled to write this review when I had a 50% loss on this order?  I'll tell you why.  I e-mailed Gurneys this morning at 10:30 and told them what happened with the tree.  I received a response at 4:00.  This was their response:

"Thank you for contacting Gurney's. We appreciate your order and time to correspond with us. We extend our sincere apologies that your Sweet Sixteen Apple tree failed to grow or thrive; I know that is very disappointing and can be bothersome. I am more than happy to make this right and issue our merchandise credit, XXXXXXXXX, in the amount of $40.08. Unfortunately, our Spring season has come to an end, therefore, we are not able to reship the items. The good news is our merchandise credit will never expire and will be on your account to use whenever you are ready.
If there is anything else, we can help with, please feel free to let us know. Have a lovely day!

Sincerely,

Meagan #2652

Customer Care Team"

Any time a company is willing to credit me the full amount of my purchase, no questions asked, no pictures of the dead tree necessary, no questions about how I planted the tree (with the underlying assumption that I killed it), no hassles whatsoever, that is a company that will have my business again, and that I will recommend to others.

Sounds like you had a much better response with Gurney's than I did the two times I bought from them. The first time (about 27 years ago!) I ordered a bunch of spring flower bulbs and ended up with a bunch of moldy, dried up rock-like things that were supposed to be anemones, and several daffodils and tulip bulbs in much the same condition. I tried to get my money back but they basically told me tough because it was a sale! That was before the internet so all I could do was talk to someone in the accounting department who was very uncooperative. I swore I would not order from them again and didn't for about 15 years. Then I decided to give them a second chance when I was looking for some rhubarb plants and they were the only nursery that sold the variety I wanted. I received 3 dried up sticks labeled rhubarb and knew I had been had again. This time, when I called to complain, the woman I spoke to tried to convince me that I was at fault for not planting them in time. I explained that I received them that way the day before but she was adamant that their plants were all fine and that something must have happened on my end. She was extremely rude and unhelpful. I finally gave up and just threw them away, vowing never to buy from them again. I haven't either. I have found so many better companies to deal with that I'm pretty sure it will be a cold day in hell before I try them a third time. Your story gives me hope, but I am reluctant to take a chance. It's like that old saw ... 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me'.

Deb Stephens wrote:Sounds like you had a much better response with Gurney's than I did the two times I bought from them. The first time (about 27 years ago!) I ordered a bunch of spring flower bulbs and ended up with a bunch of moldy, dried up rock-like things that were supposed to be anemones, and several daffodils and tulip bulbs in much the same condition. I tried to get my money back but they basically told me tough because it was a sale! That was before the internet so all I could do was talk to someone in the accounting department who was very uncooperative. I swore I would not order from them again and didn't for about 15 years. Then I decided to give them a second chance when I was looking for some rhubarb plants and they were the only nursery that sold the variety I wanted. I received 3 dried up sticks labeled rhubarb and knew I had been had again. This time, when I called to complain, the woman I spoke to tried to convince me that I was at fault for not planting them in time. I explained that I received them that way the day before but she was adamant that their plants were all fine and that something must have happened on my end. She was extremely rude and unhelpful. I finally gave up and just threw them away, vowing never to buy from them again. I haven't either. I have found so many better companies to deal with that I'm pretty sure it will be a cold day in hell before I try them a third time. Your story gives me hope, but I am reluctant to take a chance. It's like that old saw ... 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me'.

I fully understand. I would probably feel the same way. I can only tell you that this is my 7th or 8th time dealing with them and I have always been happy with my plants. I have heard a number of people say they hate the company.  I'm sure some of them have personally had bad experiences,  and some have heard stories from friends or family like you that did. Maybe the company has new management, or got enough complaints to change, or maybe I've just been lucky.

I have had very poor experiences with Gurneys although I have not bought from them in about 15 years. The seeds were ok but the live plants....weren't. Moldy or dried out, generally a 80% or so death rate before they came out of the package. If they are under new management or some such that might change the outcome, but I throw out the catalog without even drooling on the pictures. Pinetree garden seeds gets most of the drool now.

My experience was terrible. I ordered asparagus crowns and they were covered with mold (last year). I've heard that the quality of the company has gone down over the years. At least they refunded my money promptly.

I give this nursery 8 out of 10 acorns.

Website address is: www.gurneys.com

I ordered seeds and rhubarb starts from Gurney's and I have to say that it has been a mostly positive experience. They have a rather wide selection of seeds, as well as having heirloom seeds specifically sorted. The average cost of $2.99-$3.99 seems to be the market average compared with other seed companies and you receive a fair amount of seeds in my experience per pack. I find the planting instructions/information to be of good quality and the reviews on the products have good nuggets of information without it being censored.

My main gripe with the company comes from their packaging. When I received my rhubarb starts they were packaged in a lot of plastic that understandably is molded for a good transport experience but I believe their are more earth friendly options that could be subbed out. I believe if they utilized better packaging, they could easily be moved up to a 9 out of ten.

I don't believe this will be my primary seed source, but I wouldn't hesitate to use them again in the future.