newbie, I did that with about 3 items since they started selling this way. [g]

I noticed that too but wasn't sure if that was just a new look to their old "specials". Man, I will be so bummed if that is what they are doing! I so look forward to ordering when they go 50% off but now I don't think it is worth it to do it the new way as you are limited and then have to order again and pay shipping again every time the ones you want go on sale. Oh well I guess I will just try to find everything I want locally or try it from seed next year. Hopefully though they are still planning one big 50% off sale! Crossing my fingers. ~Meghan

I think I'll give them a call tomorrow and see what they're up to. :-)

Heads up folks the sale has started,I just placed my order. Not everything is 50% off some are 30 and 40% still a nice savings. By the way thanks for starting this thread it reminded me of the sale! Now I can look forward to a package.

Just placed my order! Lots of goodies at half-off. Everything that I bought last year came back strong and healthy.
Yay! Can hardly wait for the plants I've picked this time!

Ok, stupid question about this store, when it says the price is for groups of three, does that mean for that price you get three, or you have to buy three to get that price?

What it means is for that price you get three of the same plant. Hope this answers your question.

Those three plants are really small.

So is it worth ordering? I have a fair bit of ground to fill, and this seems like a good price. Will it just be a while for them to fill out? I'm worried that I'll end up over planting if I have small plants and end up with too much in the bed, but there is so much I want!

They will grow. I just wanted to warn you about how small they are. Think 2 inch square 3 packs.

I bought upright sedums earlier this spring and that is how they came, they were the 3 for price. But they settled in well and are growing like mad.

Some of the online stuff that i've bought; I just plant some zinnias around it the first year cause it doesn't do too much. For example; last year I ordered some spindly little yellow loostrife; and they struggled; but must have built up some roots; cause this year they're taking off like crazy.

I placed a big order last year during this sale and everything this year is growing like gangbusters! One exception is the agastache that wasn't hardy to my zone but was extremely beautiful the first year, sadly it didn't make it but I knew the risk. Most of what I planted from them has completely filled in the border where they were placed. Highly recommended.

Oh I'm so happy they still had the 50% off sale! Got my order in! Whew! Boy I noticed they went up a bit again this year. I can only afford to order from them when they go half off.
~Meghan

You want Agastache that are more cold reliable check out the ones at High Country Gardens. All the Agastaches in my yard are from them and they come back over winter. They do need very good drainage and plant high and then keep the mulch off the crown of the plant.

I noticed today looking over at Bluestone that the Woodfield Hybrid Lupines that I ordered at 50% off are only 30% off today. So they must change things around.

I was surprised to see they still had the 50% off sale. Yes, they have gone up on price again, but I just calculated what it cost per plant and it is costing me $3.00 per plant. I feel happy about that. That's for a perennial and for a shrub and for a clematis too. That's pretty good. No shipping either, because I always mail back the box to them. You get a credit for shipping on your next order regardless of size.

Yay! Thanks for updating! I got:

hydrangea moonlight
hydrangea endless summer
digitalis mertonensis
digitalis ambigua
baptisia purple smoke
dicentra rosea

I have plant happiness!

Megan

Sarcare,

even though the containers are small, the plants are healthy and strong, and you will have rapidly developing plants soon. In my opinion, it is still a good deal, shipping included.

uuugghhhh - my husband told me about the sale today - he saw it on Twitter - $149 later I finally hit the submit button .....but.....on the positive side I saved $126 - lol - this is my 3rd year ordering from them and while the plants are small they are healthy and perform well in the garden .....

Lynne

I did it, I ordered TONS! Some things I'd never heard of, or thought to try. My mom told me not to worry so much about what I plant, since much of it wont make it. So I'll try different things and see what lives. I'm excited for my new plants, it will fill the garden right up!

Good for you sarcase! Gee, your Mom seems a little skeptical. [g] You have every reason to think that most of what you buy will make it with a little care. As long as you try to give each plant what it needs for sun or shade and water you should have a lot of success.

Decisions, decisions...

I was bad. Just made an order.

Linda

It is all YOUR fault...the bad news is....I have no willpower. The good news is... I may actually start the bed in the strip between the street and sidewalk that I've been dreaming about for ages now that I will be getting so many new plants! I am doubling the glucosamine/chondroitin dose in anticipation of bending, kneeling, digging.

I may have to put another order in, because there are even more plants I want. no self control.

The last time I ordered from Bluestone was 2008. Last year was my year of getting plants for free: i.e., trading and swapping. This year I wintersowed for the first time and told myself that was all the perennials I'd get this year.

Now, not only have I been to two local plant sales (where I went to get blueberies, and was pretty good, coming home with only about 5 things I didn't set out to get), I'm sending $150 to Bluestone! I think half of that is for Heuchera. Oh, and thanks to organic_kitten's post, I've ordered from American Meadows as well. So much for my resolution this year.

~CA

I've been looking for winter daphne locally with no success. Same with dwarf oakleaf hydrangeas. Was able to order both from Bluestone along with a few yarrows.

Thanks for the heads up!

I was good (not bad) and placed a second order ;~) Love gardening I am making my own green space thats my story and I am sticking to it.

Wow, I nearly lost my mind on that website. I don't think I have ever ordered plants online... I can see a lot of dangerous temptation in my future. Anyway, I put in a new path and am going to need lots of low plants to edge it with, so I'm using that as an excuse. :)

I ordered:

MYOSOTIS sylvatica Copindi
HEUCHERA Obsidian
BOLTONIA asteroides Pink
RUDBECKIA fulgida sullivantii Goldsturm
PHLOX paniculata David's Lavender
SCABIOSA columbaria Butterfly Blue
VERONICA Royal Candles
SISYRINCHIUM Angustifolium
CAMPANULA Carpatica White Clips
ACHILLEA Ballerina
ANTHEMIS E.C. Buxton
COREOPSIS rosea American Dream
DIANTHUS barbatus Indian Carpet
DIANTHUS deltoides Arctic Fire
ARMERIA Dusseldorf Pride
SALVIA Syl. X May Night (Mainacht)

Yayyyy!! Waiting for the mail just got SO exciting!

My order came today. I think this is the last time I give Bluestone any business. The sale prices were good, but their shipping leaves much to be desired. They put the pots in the bottom of a box and covered the plants with Styrofoam peanuts. That was the extent of the "protection". The dwarf oakleaf hydrangea had one branch that completely broke off and another that was bent and needed to be cut off. It should put out new growth, but had it been packed properly that would never have happened.

The best mail order companies I've used are Lazy S's Farm and Almost Eden. They both know how to pack the plants for shipping to prevent damage, moisture loss, and dirt escaping from the pots.

My Bluestone order came today also and was packed the same way, plants on the bottom and the rest of the box filled to the top with Styrofoam peanuts. For me it worked well, the plants came in just fine. But then mine were not shrubs but some Lupine plants so a broken leaf here and there are no big deal.

my order came today also and it was the same type of shipping but everything was perfect - I have ordered 3 years from them - same type of packing and no problems. I will continue to recommend them to anyone :) ......

Lynne

natal, I'm wondering if there isn't a big difference in price between Lazy S, Almost Eden and Bluestone? I'm sorry about the problem with your oakleaf hydrangea, I'm sure if you call them, they will either ship you a new one or c*redit you for it.

The only problem I've ever had with Bluestone is that I ordered 3 Pam's Choice foxglove and only one of them was true to form, so I've got 1 Pam's Choice and 2 sports. I haven't experienced much damage.

Prairiemoon, I did email them and sent photos of the damage. Haven't received a reply yet.

Shipping costs for Almost Eden are comparable to Bluestone. Lazy S's rates are considerably higher, but then their packaging is excellent and their plant sizes are larger. Each quart size pot has moss covering the soil, foot tall bamboo sticks in each corner of the pot to protect the contents, and then it's all secured with plastic and rubberbands. Nothing moves, nothing gets bent or broken.

Heard from Bluestone. They're sending a replacement hydrangea free of charge. I'll let you know how it fares.

Well, it seems that what they are doing is fair. Besides, the packing really isn't bad. Most plants should come thru in wonderful shape.

Besides, the packing really isn't bad.

Rita, it is compared to some of the others. And I hate those Styrofoam peanuts.

Here is a link that might be useful: how Lazy S's Farm packs

I know how Lazy S packs, I have gotten plants from them before. I just got an order this week from them. Plus another great packer is High Country Gardens. Unpacking an order takes forever. I just don't think the packing is bad. Ok, its not the best in the industry but not bad. But it was your plant that got damaged, not mine so different views. And they are going to reship it.

I used to buy from a place that no longer ships. They sent plants in pots, wrapped in newspapers secured with elastics. Each plant that was of an inch or taller had a piece of toilet tube strapped around the stem, everything was packed in with more newspaper and they hot glued the pots to the box with a dot of glue. It was the best packaging ever.

girlgroupgirl, if I had to pack everything like that I might stop shipping too...lol.

Ha, that is exactly what I was thinking when I read how they ship.

Bluestone emailed me Tuesday that my plants would ship this week. Then again on friday saying they are backed up because of the sale, and mine will go out next week. I hope they still have the things I ordered!

~CA

This was my order from Lazy S'S (received in April). Excellent plants. Big healthy. I ordered plants that could not be found locally for less.

{{gwi:673012}}

{{gwi:673013}}

I ordered from Bluestone a few times and had some plants that were the wrong color...but, due to the size of the plants, it was a year before I knew they were wrong. They sent me new plants a year later...but, those were also the wrong color...the salesperson on the phone decided to go out to the greenhouse and personally gather the plants herself as she was embarrassed by all the mixups..those were the right color. They told me to keep all the plants and I gave the wrong colors to friends.

I would order from Bluestone again if they had something that I couldn't find locally. Everything on their website that I want is also available locally for larger plants and similar prices.

The Lazy S order is indeed impressively packed. I have bought from them so I was aware of their packaging. As far as bluestone goes, I only buy things from them that I can not get locally. This spring I bought two types of Sedum that I just can't get around here. Then when the sale came, I bought the Lupines.

The Lazy S order is indeed impressively packed.

Yes it is!

Bluestone's is not! I won't order from them again!

Here's my replacement. Actually looks worse than the first.

{{gwi:673014}}

broken branches removed:

{{gwi:673015}}

I agree that Bluestone's packing is a bit spare, but in all the years I've ordered from the, I've had exactly two plant that needed to be replaced. The plants grow rapidly and fill in beautifully, especially if your soil is prepped and waiting.

This garden was planted almost entirely with tiny starts with Bluestone. This was how it started:

{{gwi:673016}}

Same garden, one year later.

{{gwi:215134}}

Bluestone is one of my favorite online plant sources.

Maybe it's best not to order shrubs or anything that can get broken branches and just stick to the perenials that just easy regrow any damaged leaves.

The hydrangea really is a sorry sight. But the garden in the above picture is really beautiful. I know my little sedums that I planted early this spring are thriving and the lupines ordered much later are looking fantastic in their new homes.

I think your hydrangea will bounce back.

I ordered from them for the first time but the order hasn't shipped yet.

a2zmom- your garden looks terrific.

Merindah, it probably will, but that's not the point. I'd rather deal with a company that takes more care/pride with the product they sell. Lesson learned.

Merindah. thanks so much. That garden is currently being renovated a bit (that second picture is 4 years old!) and this year I ordered Lobelia Cardinalus, Lobelia Fan Scarlet and a Salvia Plumosa from Bluestone. We'll see how they do.

One thing I do like is since the plants are so cheap on the half price sale, I'm willing to take a chance on a plant that I don't know much about. I've never seen Salvia Plumosa in person, but for seven dollars I figured, go for it.