Gardening ExpressReviews 594

Goods arrived badly packed. And I think the pictures speak for themselves... Between what you're supposed to receive and what you get there is an ocean. A "one leave" plant smaller than a plug plant in a 2 liters container... Instead of a nice big fern. Roots cut too short for the 5ft bare root Magnolia, which is not really a tree but just a slender stem. I do know that there is always a difference between what you see online and what you get, but there is a limit to what is acceptable. Be ready to be disappointed.

Purchased 3 lots of 2 cyprus trees 1.6-1.8m tall. Upon arrival the largest tree is 1.4m and the smallest at just a metre. Tried to get in touch with gardening express but there is no contact number so followed the support ticket route, 4 days in still nothing, again sent another ticket. I paid £269.85 for these and based on the sizes i recieved these trees can be purchased in B&Q for £29 each. I was quite happy to get this resolved but really upset that Gardening express couldnt be bothered to come back to me to resolve.

I join, as I write, 151 other dissatisfied customers of Gardening Express. I have tried to reclaim the money I paid six months ago for a dead hydrangea. A poor bare stick of a plant when it arrived, but I hoped with care it would show some sign of life by spring. It didn't. After several emails I finally was offered, according to the terms of their 5 year guarantee, not a refund but a replacement plant, BUT I had to return the dead plant AND pay for transport of the new plant. They also require the original receipt and plant label. I have simply given up, and they win, but I would never use this company again and would advise you to steer clear of them.

This is the second time we have given Gardening Express a chance... never again.

The first delivery was poor standard of plants, we were disappointed but gave them a second order... but never again.

The item description reads: "Supplied in approx 5 litre containers, as a standard, with a bushy head on a stem", what was delivered is a trunk with 2 straggly twigs... absolutely not a bushy head.

This is the second time we have used Gardening Express, we should have known after the first poor experience that we were running a risk.

I expect a refund, but wont be holding my breath after reading other reviews here... more fool me that I gave them a second chance and didn't look at reviews on an independent site like this.

David Davies

A very poor experience, made worse by appalling customer service. Over £180 spent on plants after carefully comparing websites and plant descriptions. Hebes advertised in 1 litre pot were sent as tiny plants in 500ml pots. A palm advertised as 1-1.5m arrived in poor condition with many dead leaves, viable plant around 70cm tall. Several grasses delivered in correct pot sizes were nothing more than the odd shoot of grass when compared to others delivered that were healthy. These show no signs of improvement despite the promises offered. I requested outstanding items were cancelled and refunded but these were delivered anyway and left outside insecure by Hermes. One of the four phatsias has shrivelled up and died.

Numerous emails to customer service have been met with stock and often repetitive replies that show no sign of addressing the matter, they are simply cutting and pasting replies from a template which is how the repetition occurs. There is no telephone number, neither does escalating the latter make any difference. The same stock answer is returned by email.

I have ended up with no option but to dispute the purchase with my credit card company and come to the internet to leave an honest review of my purchase.

Avoid this company and shop elsewhere, just look at the Trustpilot stats. Nearly 50% give one star, don't be fooled by the recent good reviews.

Awful company to deal with... customer service is truly appalling. Asked to cancel the order & have a refund, as no despatch of order when it should have arrived to me. Replies all tell me how my order is progressing... no mention of cancelling my order. Daily email exchange (they don't detail a contact number), repeatedly requesting thy cancel, all ignored by telling me of order status over & over, until eventually they state order despatched & can't cancel - Hermes received the parcel 3 days after I was sent tracking info... received very yellowed plants & hoping they will recover. Keeping in cold frame to bring on as daren't risk planting until plants have recovered. Not worth the effort of email as I know I'll just be fobbed off with information other than what I requested. Would score them 0 stars if I could - 1 is being generous to them. I'll never use gardening (not so) express ever again.

DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY. I have received 2 Phormium's@ £19.95 each, both arrived tiny, dead and withered - after sending photos with my complaint Gardening Express claimed the plants looked exactly as they would expect them to look! I also ordered a Cordyline which was described on their website as I quote a GIANT EXTRA LARGE SPECIMEN PALM and according to them RRP £139.99 (which now I have the plant is laughable), the Cordyline delivered was not mature, definitely not 'giant' and would have cost me around £30 at my local garden centre, I paid GE £39.99! The only reason to buy on line is to save money by getting better/bigger plants for the £ - this is the opposite with Gardening Express. The only way to get my money back now is to lose even more by paying to return the plants myself! I also doubt it's a coincidence that their contact links do not work on the website as I'm sure they would be inundated with complaints. Wish I could have rated them a minus star

Very poor quality plants supplied- all in broken aged plastic pots. £97.00 spent with them. First they said order was dispatched although I could not tract via Hermes as Hermes had no records of tracking number.

On arrival plants were stacked on top of one another and bound with cellotape and bin bags. Plants not labelled. Loose compost on top indicating they were old plants just topped up. Skimmia was yellowing badly, ferns were sickly too.

Have emailed them advising of my disgust and not using them again.,

I would strongly advise reading the on line negative reports of this company and decide to buy elsewhere.

Hope this helps.