Still Disappointed with Gurney's INFERIOR fruit trees
Nomen Nescio
Henry Field’s Seed & Nursery Company
P.O. Box 397
Aurora, IN 47001-0397
Dear Mr. Hank Fuller:
Thank you for sending out 4 beautiful apple (3 sundance & 1 honeycrisp)
trees as replacements earlier this month.
As you may recall back on March 23, 2008, I forwarded a letter
concerning my disappointment and growing dissatisfaction with Gurney’s
customer service and nursery products after I purchased approximately
~$450.00 of fruit and nut trees last year. As I already noted, these
replacement trees were requested because several of my original trees
didn’t become established during the 2007 growing season, so I needed
to re-order replacement stock.
After receiving the four trees noted above and after reviewing your
company catalog, virtually all of my original fruit/nut trees that I
received for the 2007 growing season pale in comparison to the four
replacement trees that you recently sent. I estimate it will take 1-2
more growing season for my 2007 trees to catch up with the 2008
replacement trees sent. I have to wonder why this is? Meanwhile, my
2007 inferior growing stock seems to be struggling to re-establish
itself this Spring.
Why is Gurney’s (aka Henry Field’s) sending out puny twigs when your
company is capable of sending much larger stock as replacements? Why
don’t my 2007 trees resemble pictures, depictions and/or descriptions
of those published in your Spring catalog? As I noted previously,
virtually everything that I received from Gurney’s during the 2007
growing season is inferior in almost every respect (height, diameter,
size, fewer branches) versus what I could buy at the local Walmart,
Lowes and Home Depot. I seem to have paid a premium (plus shipping and
handling) for Gurney’s tiny trees and bushes versus what I could buy
locally.
Signed,
Still Disappointed in Baltimore, MD, USA
Boron Elgar
<nob...@dizum.com> wrote:
>Customer Service Center
>Henry Field’s Seed & Nursery Company
>P.O. Box 397
>Aurora, IN 47001-0397
>
>
If you are going to order online, try Starks. They were recommended to
me by a nursery manager and it is a brand often carried by local
nurseries - at least here in NJ.
I have had good product from them.
http://www.starkbros.com/access?action=product&productID=8883&collection=0
Sheldon
>>
> Why is Gurney’s (aka Henry Field’s) sending out puny twigs when your
> company is capable of sending much larger stock as replacements? Why
> don’t my 2007 trees resemble pictures, depictions and/or descriptions
> of those published in your Spring catalog? As I noted previously,
> virtually everything that I received from Gurney’s during the 2007
> growing season is inferior in almost every respect (height, diameter,
> size, fewer branches) versus what I could buy at the local Walmart,
> Lowes and Home Depot. I seem to have paid a premium (plus shipping and
> handling) for Gurney’s tiny trees and bushes versus what I could buy
> locally.
Why are you buying bare root mail order when you can buy larger potted
plants from a local nursery... the only time I buy bare root stock
mail order if it's something I can't find locally.
Boron Elgar
wrote:
Because the money saved, even with shipping, is considerable.
A large, local nursery has my Stark Brothers dwarf peaches at 3 times
what I paid at Stark online - and that includes shipping charges. I
went all over NJ and parts of PA (while there for other reasons)
searching for these particular dwarf peach trees and no one - I mean
no one had them in stock or anything similar at a reasonable price.
http://www.starkbros.com/access?action=product&productID=8310&collection=0
I wanted to buy culinary bay plants locally and the only local nursery
that had them wanted over $50 (no typo there). Even online they were
not cheap, but in searching on the web, I found a source that sent me
two and including shipping, it was $16.
It isn't that we do not have good nurseries around here, we do. I
never pass a nursery without going in and looking around - no matter
where I travel - so I know what they carry and what they charge
If I want exotic seeds, I get them online. I grow a lot of
out-of-the-ordinary plants and the web is the way to do it with the
widest selection and best prices. Why should I pay $60+ for everyday
phalanopsis orchids locally when I can get much more rare and
beautiful ones for $15 a pop from a grower and breeder. (although
Trader Joe's often has fabulous deals on orchids and miniature roses)
Online is the best place to find unusual cultivars and a lot of the
ordinary, too. No question. I don't get bedding plants there, but I
get almost everything else online. I don't waste gas wandering from
nursery to nursery and I get better items at better cost.
Boron
Sheldon
> On Fri, 13 Jun 2008 21:53:22 -0700 (PDT), Sheldon <PENMAR...@aol.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> >On Jun 13, 12:10 pm, Nomen Nescio <nob...@dizum.com> wrote:
>
> >> Why is Gurney’s (aka Henry Field’s) sending out puny twigs when your
> >> company is capable of sending much larger stock as replacements? Why
> >> don’t my 2007 trees resemble pictures, depictions and/or descriptions
> >> of those published in your Spring catalog? As I noted previously,
> >> virtually everything that I received from Gurney’s during the 2007
> >> growing season is inferior in almost every respect (height, diameter,
> >> size, fewer branches) versus what I could buy at the local Walmart,
> >> Lowes and Home Depot. I seem to have paid a premium (plus shipping and
> >> handling) for Gurney’s tiny trees and bushes versus what I could buy
> >> locally.
>
> >Why are you buying bare root mail order when you can buy larger potted
> >plants from a local nursery... the only time I buy bare root stock
> >mail order if it's something I can't find locally.
>
> Because the money saved, even with shipping, is considerable.
>
> A large, local nursery has my Stark Brothers dwarf peaches at 3 times
> what I paid at Stark online - and that includes shipping charges. I
> went all over NJ and parts of PA (while there for other reasons)
> searching for these particular dwarf peach trees and no one - I mean
> no one had them in stock or anything similar at a reasonable price.
>
> I wanted to buy culinary bay plants locally and the only local nursery
> that had them wanted over $50 (no typo there). Even online they were
> not cheap, but in searching on the web, I found a source that sent me
> two and including shipping, it was $16.
>
> It isn't that we do not have good nurseries around here, we do. I
> never pass a nursery without going in and looking around - no matter
> where I travel - so I know what they carry and what they charge
>
> If I want exotic seeds, I get them online. I grow a lot of
> out-of-the-ordinary plants and the web is the way to do it with the
> widest selection and best prices. Why should I pay $60+ for everyday
> phalanopsis orchids locally when I can get much more rare and
> beautiful ones for $15 a pop from a grower and breeder. (although
> Trader Joe's often has fabulous deals on orchids and miniature roses)
>
> Online is the best place to find unusual cultivars and a lot of the
> ordinary, too. No question. I don't get bedding plants there, but I
> get almost everything else online. I don't waste gas wandering from
> nursery to nursery and I get better items at better cost.
I've no idea what you consider a lot of money, you probably can't
afford a telephone. I always call nurseries first rather than drive
from one to another. There are plenty of local nurseries here in NY
that sell beautiful large balled and burlaped fruit trees and/or in
large pots at very reasonable prices, even Lowes and Home Depot and
Agway and others sell trees from the very same wholesalers (you can
phone those for availability too). Locally grown is always better
than shipped in from who knows where. And I have news for you, Stark,
etal, don't grow all their own stock, they buy from the huge
wholesalers... there's a big network depending on planting zones.
I've purchased bare root mail order trees because I was impatient to
wait for local nurseries to open in spring, you lose quite a few years
waiting for them to grow into something resembling a tree, and in my
experience some don't make it, they will reship but you lose a year.
And for what you get mail order costs more, Stark fruit trees cost
over $20 each plus shipping for a bare root pencil caliper twig.
Just last week I bought four fruit trees from a large local nursery,
they cost $60 each but they are 6'-8' tall seven year old trees in ten
gallon pots, already bearing fruit... they have many larger fruit
trees too but those are dug as custom order. This is a very reputable
nursery on 120 acres that's been owned by the same family for over 100
years (wholesale and retail), amazing array of plants, well worth a
trip just to look... I'm on their email list, they are running a 20pct
off sale on everything all this weekend, Friday through Sunday:
http://www.schoharienurseries.com
There are plenty of nurseries to choose from near where I live, I
don't bother buying mail order anymore.
http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/upstateny/2003102806014837.html
I like this one too: http://www.storysnursery.com
---
Sherwin
I have to disagree with your assessment of online nurseries. Stark and
Gurnee are not high quality outlets. For one thing, they do not tell
you what kind of rootstock is being provided, possibly because they are
grown by someone else. Rootstock's are important to determine the
actual size (not all dwarfs grow to the same size). I get trees from
places like Raintree, where they tell you exactly what is being
provided. Some of these online nurseries will do a bench graft for you,
anotherwords a customized tree with your choice of rootstock and scion
variety. I do occasionally take a chance on a locally bought tree if it
looks healthy and is the variety I am looking for. There is no big
advantage of paying extra money to get a larger tree in a pot. A small
whip will grow very quickly and in a few years will match the size of
these larger trees. Unless you have no patience and must have a fruit
bearing tree immediately, there is no reason to pay extra for that.
Sherwin
Boron Elgar
wrote:
>I have to disagree with your assessment of online nurseries. Stark and
>Gurnee are not high quality outlets.
I recommended Stark's. Gurney's is garbage, through and through.
>For one thing, they do not tell
>you what kind of rootstock is being provided, possibly because they are
>grown by someone else. Rootstock's are important to determine the
>actual size (not all dwarfs grow to the same size). I get trees from
>places like Raintree, where they tell you exactly what is being
>provided. Some of these online nurseries will do a bench graft for you,
>anotherwords a customized tree with your choice of rootstock and scion
>variety. I do occasionally take a chance on a locally bought tree if it
>looks healthy and is the variety I am looking for. There is no big
>advantage of paying extra money to get a larger tree in a pot. A small
>whip will grow very quickly and in a few years will match the size of
>these larger trees. Unless you have no patience and must have a fruit
>bearing tree immediately, there is no reason to pay extra for that.
>
> Sherwin
Although many in this group have above average interest in the trees
they put in, there are a lot of folks who really do not know a lot.
Doesn't make them bad propel, but they just haven't; acquired the
knowledge nor do they really want to acquire it. Gardening is fun for
them, but not something they plan on making a large part of their
lives. Think of them as Joe Gardener or, if they have found this
group, perhaps Joe Gardener+, and they are not going to seek
particular rootstock or even know to ask when something is purchased.
Although it is wonderful that someone does have such knowledge, be
practical and realize that most do not seek it or know what to do with
it if it is offered up to them.
Most of the nurseries around here in northern NJ do not grow their own
fruit trees, but get them in from Monrovia, Stark or similar. I am not
even talking about Home Depot/ Lowe's places, but general nurseries.
Their bread and butter is bedding plants and ornamentals and you'd be
hard pressed to find anyone specializing in fruit trees. In fact,
you'd be hard pressed finding anyone who could even answer questions
about the fruit trees they sell, other than what's on the tag, if any,
or the price, if no info is on a tag. Have I asked? You bet I have,
and early this past spring I have done all the asking at about a dozen
specialty nurseries in northern NJ & Eastern PA. I even went from
nursery to nursery on recommendations from previous nursery owners.
If one lives in a more rural or in an agricultural area, one *may*
find a nursery that specialize in something other than the usual
decorative garden plants and trees and *perhaps* get more info. Many
of these specialized nurseries are also online, though, with some
selling both retail and wholesale and some only selling wholesale.
Even the local ones may only sell wholesale or have a minimum number
for tree purchase
It isn't like the old days where all the nursery stock was grown on
the back 40 by Ma, Pa and the kids.
I got my 2 dwarf peaches online at Stark, after wasting gas and time
shuttling from one nursery to another seeking them. I'll let you know
next year how they fruit, but they sure are fine tree specimens right
now.
Where in NJ could I possibly have purchased an Arebequina olive tree?
Nowhere, that's where. So I got online and I have a fruiting olive
tree in a tub on my back deck.
If you are fortunate enough to have a local supplier who knows the
provenance and can give you detailed info about the stone or other
fruit trees they sell, then bravo, I recommend using them, but don't
expect most people to have such access, nor to even understand what
such access means. It ain't gonna happen for most peeps.
Boron
Sheldon
> > I've no idea what you consider a lot of money, you probably can't
> > afford a telephone. �I always call nurseries first rather than drive
> > from one to another.
> >
> > where. �
> >
> > And I have news for you, Stark, etal, don't grow all their own
> > stock, they buy from the huge wholesalers... there's a big
> > network depending on planting zones.
>
>
> Gurnee are not high quality outlets. �For one thing, they do not tell
> you what kind of rootstock is being provided, possibly because they
You are not disagreeing with me... you are agreeing with me... you are
paraphrasing precisely what I said.
If a particular plant is not available within a reasonable traveling
distance then mail order is fine. But if I locate some plant I
really gotta have in the next county or even the next state then I'm
more than willing to drive a hundred, even two hundred miles and I get
to peruse another grower's nursery that usually proves very
interesting, I'll get to actually look and choose before buying and
I'll probably purchase a couple three other plants, all that makes my
trip well worth it, I consider it an enjoyable outing/entertainment.
I truly don't consider someone who isn't willing to get up off their
duff and go out of their way further than their keyboard any kind of
gardener. And as to fruit trees, I wouldn't be interested in
something that isn't suitable for growing in my zone (I don't want a
fruit tree for a potted houseplant when what I want is fruit), and
everything that does grow here is readily available locally. I can't
imagine buying a bare root fruit tree, a twig that's barely into it's
second year and having to pray it lives while waiting five, six, even
seven years before it produces its first crop... even already
producing balled and burlaped and potted frruit trees need at least a
two year recovery when transplanted. At this point in my life I'm
simply not willing to wait five-six extra years just to save a few
dollars while waiting for my first piece of fruit... I'd buy them at
the stupidmarket first. Fruit trees do grow relatively fast but none
grow that fast that I would buy a twig rather than an actual tree.
I'm very pleased with those four trees I recently purchased, they're
doing very well and I'd not be surprised to have a few fruits next
year, and certainly teh following year... doesn't affect me one iota
that I paid twice mail order prices... when I look out my window I can
actually see a trunk, a dozen branches and more on each, and leaves,
lotsa leaves, even bright shiny new leaves already.
When people buy those teensy fruit trees mail order it's all about the
measly few dollars and no other reason whatsoever.
Sheldon
> On Fri, 13 Jun 2008 21:53:22 -0700 (PDT), Sheldon <PENMAR...@aol.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > Nomen Nescio wrote:
>
> >> Why is Gurney’s (aka Henry Field’s) sending out puny twigs when your
> >> company is capable of sending much larger stock as replacements? Why
> >> don’t my 2007 trees resemble pictures, depictions and/or descriptions
> >> of those published in your Spring catalog? As I noted previously,
> >> virtually everything that I received from Gurney’s during the 2007
> >> growing season is inferior in almost every respect (height, diameter,
> >> size, fewer branches) versus what I could buy at the local Walmart,
> >> Lowes and Home Depot. I seem to have paid a premium (plus shipping and
> >> handling) for Gurney’s tiny trees and bushes versus what I could buy
> >> locally.
>
> >Why are you buying bare root mail order when you can buy larger potted
> >plants from a local nursery... the only time I buy bare root stock
> >mail order if it's something I can't find locally.
>
> Because the money saved, even with shipping, is considerable.
>
> A large, local nursery has my Stark Brothers dwarf peaches at 3 times
> what I paid at Stark online - and that includes shipping charges.
"Considerable" money saved... bullshit.
You saved no money at all because you did not get the same tree... you
didn't even get a tree, you got a twig... if anything you paid more.
In fact you don't know if you even have a fruit tree, you won't know
for sure for at least five years, probably more. You're just cheap is
all... and I know better than to discuss buying anything with a
cheapskate.
Buying fruit trees mail order is false economy... anyone with
functioning brain cells would have bought the tree from the local
nursery... actually there was nothing to think, it's a genuine,
bonafide no brainer. You really scrooged up... why didn't plant a
peach pit... ahahahaha. . . .
sherwindu
Sheldon wrote:
Says you. I have several nice mature trees in my backyard that were
bought as 'twigs'. You have to buy from a reputable supplier for mail
order. Starks is not one of them. If the twig is on a dwarf rootstock, I
have had fruit appear in the second and third year. You may have lot's
of time and cash (for gas) to drive around and shop for fruit trees. I
think the chances of finding interesting varieties of the size rootstock
you want are pretty slim. Then again, if you are looking for Red Delicious
or something similar, you will find these at local outlets. There is also a
problem of transplanting more mature trees. They are much more likely
to die from transplant shock, unless you get them with a humunguous
root ball that is a pain in the butt to plant. Ordering from reputable
nurseries
(and there are quite a few) opens up so many more choices of varieties.
Maybe you just enjoy shopping?
Sherwin