Mail order companies
- To: perennials@mallorn.com
- Subject: Mail order companies
- From: A* L*
- Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 07:39:29 -0700
My two cents' on mail order plants:
Probably 80% of my thousands of plants are from mail order, even
though we're within driving distance of a dozen excellent local
nurseries. My reasons:
1. Specific cultivars may not be available locally (lots of phlox
paniculata, but can seldom find special colors such as "Juliet,"
"Prime Minister," "Starfire," "Sandra," etc.)
2. Local nurseries may not have the stock I want at the time I want
to plant it.
3. Prices are generally higher than many mail order sources (even with
shipping)
4. I plant only own-root roses and few nurseries carry these locally.
My favorite mail order sources include:
Bluestone Perennials
Andre Viette
Plants Delight (best online ordering so far!)
AAA Plants (only 80 miles from here, but their mail service is
excellent, and they have a great website. They specialize in
grasses & hostas, which I nearly always order by mail to get a
much better selection and better prices)-- I may have this name
wrong but if anyone's interested, I'll look up the site and post
it.
Daylilies and bearded irises are also a mail order item -- again,
greater selection, better prices, easy to transplant. Same is true
of peonies, poppies, and siberian irises.
I don't order from White Flower Farm any more -- I've never seen an item
in their catalog that I couldn't get for much, much less than what they
charge, and generally better quality. And the statements in their
catalog are often simply not true! (E.g., they tout an astilbe
collection
with the assertion that astilbes are "rare and difficult to propagate.")
Tsk!
Kudos to Marge Talt with her great articles on online nurseries --
although I would not avoid a nursery with a poor website if they have
great plants, prices, & service. Plants first, technology second!
Anne - Chicago
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