Which online plant suppliers are good/bad?

[Magicpaintbrush]

It's that time of year where many of us will be buying lots of plants - I can't always find what I want at the garden centre so would then be ordering online, but I'd like to know which online plant shops other have found to be reliable with plants that arrive in good condition. I've had mixed results with plants bought from Sarah Raven for example - bought some Salvia sagittata last year, one was broken, and a couple of others had clearly been used to take cuttings from as they had missing stems. On the other hand, bought a rose from David Austin a while back and it's so healthy and thriving, arrived in mint condition with lots of planting advice. Would love to hear recommendations for decent plant suppliers.

I’ve had some very good plants from Gardening Express and some very bad plants from Farmer Gracy

I buy my plants from gardening direct. I haven’t had a problem with them

Very poor experiences with Sarah Raven and Hayloft. Hayloft and 'the hayloft girls' are annoying when you know it isnt a cosy nursery but a large warehouse style operation. I buy cosmos from crocus which are always good. However I try not to buy from online retailers because the results can be poor. I do have a bit of an ebay habit - buying plants inexpensively from small growers.

Crocus/Waitrose garden, they appear to be part of the same company.
some of the small sellers on eBay or Amazon have been good.
J Parker's

In person and I’m afraid the plants didn’t do well. Very disappointing

We always buy from Hayloft.

I no longer use Thomson and Morgan's. A couple of times, have had dead plants delivered - though I did get a refund.

The worst was when I ordered 50 English bluebells. Most of them came up pink. Yes, they were Spanish hybrids.

FWIW, my experience with Farmer Gracy has been good.

If you are after hedges/trees then I've bought several from Hedges Direct. All 15 barefoot saplings have survived and are very healthy.

I bought Hazel, Bird Cherry, Guelder Rose and a couple of other ones that I can't remember the names of.

I’ve been buying plug bedding plants from Brookside for several years and they are really really good, plus you can choose your despatch week. The plants are so well packaged that I’ve never had a problem. I’ve had mixed experiences with JParkers and Thomson and Morgan. The worst company I’ve ever used was RJ plants - everything arrived dead, their customer service was dreadful, and they delete every mildly critical post from their Facebook page.

Lincolnshire pond plants and alpines have been brilliant. Great plants and quick on delivery. Found them via Amazon. Loads of places I've found unreliable or rubbish.

Looked at local nursery first as I wanted to buy in bulk and they do deliver, but they had no similar offers and it would have cost me a fortune.

I live somewhere difficult for postage so am a bit limited.

thompson and Morgan I use a lot and have only had the occasional dud that they’ve been happy to refund.
sarah Raven…good in the sale.
farmer Gracy brilliant for bulbs.
forthergill good.
yougarden good till they stopped delivering here
ornamental trees excellent.

I've had good and bad experiences with Farmer Gracy and they're usually quick to refund if you complain. Their branding is just so slick, it's hard to resist sometimes! But the 'perennial' tulip bulbs I bought last year and which sent up the most incredible flowers have all (bar one) failed to flower this year, while older and cheaper neighbours continue to thrive, so I'm trying to wean myself off them!

Beth Chatto wasn’t that great when I ordered something. Wasn’t as well packaged and plant was tiny. But it was a while ago.

Never had a problem with J Parker.

I’ve had good and bad for a few. David Austen, I’ve had some great plants but then last year I bought one that grew suckers from the original plant and their customer service was awful and basically blamed me. Then I’ve had some great dahlia tubers from Farmer Gracy in the past and this year they are absolutely tiny and I have them in pots and they are not sprouting at all.
Peter Nyssen haven’t let me down yet, although I’ve only used them for bulbs not perennials.

Bought quite a few plants from https://langthorns.com and www.knollgardens.co.uk/ a few months ago and they seem to be doing well. They were delivered dormant (perennials), and have sprung back to life.

Gardening Express are excellent, bought from them for years and never had a problem, all large healthy plants.

Bought quite few trees from Mail Order trees and all have been excellent. Very well protected in transit.

A few eBay sellers have been good.

My go-to are Crocus, Burncoose, Gardeners Dream, Ornamental Trees, Grasslands and small ebay sellers.
Mixed results from Hayloft.
Used to buy from J Parkers, Thompson & Morgan etc, but not any more as the quality is poor.

Do check what you are going to get, I’ve been seduced in the past by offers and a tiny twig in a 9cm pot will show up, more the potential of a plant than a plant. When I’d have been better off getting a 4 litre decent sized plant.

Crocus, Burncoose (expensive but plant will be fantastic), Ballyrobert are usually my go to suppliers.
Bulbs - decide what I like on Sarah Raven, then buy it all cheaper on Farmer Gracy. Never bought plants from them but the bulbs are great.
David Austin roses are just brilliant.

I've also used You Garden a couple of times including my two Acers that are looking fantastic at the moment. Had them both around four years. Pleased with everything I've had from them.

Very disappointed with Daily Mail Garden plants in the past, never used them again and not had great success with Farmer Gracy which has really surprised me as they are so often recommended.

I don't buy very much online now as it's so disappointing when you don't end up with beautiful blooming flowers. Supermarkets and local market plant stalls have proved to be better with plants than online these days.

sorry wrong place

Urban Herbs are brilliant. Family.business with the most amazing selection of unusual plants. They arrive in perfect condition and are really healthy. They usually pop in a wee freebie too!

I've used Urban Herbs - the plants are good but quite expensive. Also small and in terms of growth stay quite small. Purchased once but wouldn't be tempted again.