I'm judywhite and I'm jumping in here as a guest blogger to mention the very good first-time experience I just had with an online plant source: Romence Gardens & Greenhouses, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan (which is zone 5 here in the USA).

I had been searching in vain for plants of the hardy annual native plant Corydalis sempervirens (I needed plants, not seeds), and finally found them on this site. I emailed to ask how close the plants were from blooming, and immediately got back a nice response describing what they had. Then when I placed the order, on a Thursday morning, I received an email within about three hours saying everything had shipped! I had selected just the normal FedEx delivery, not expedited, and to my surprise, the packages arrived on Saturday morning.

And what packaging (above and below, click to enlarge) – I don’t think I ever remember getting such well-packed plants, complete with excellent instructions stuck to the outside of the box on exactly how to unpack everything, and then inside found more instructions (right, click to enlarge) carefully telling me how to treat the plants. The plant labels were even taped inside, on the box, behind the plants, instead of stuck inside the pots. Plants themselves were big and in excellent condition, still well-watered. The Corydalis were in bloom and in seedhead; the Digitalis thapsi was also in bloom. Prices were very reasonable, plus I had inadvertently managed to order during a sale.

The Romence Gardens website says they have been a family owned business for over 75 years, now in the 3rd generation, with over 1000 varieties of perennials, among lots of other stuff. Their motto: Great Plants! Great Varieties! Great Values!

The only small foible was that the plant of Lamium (aka Lamiastrum) galeobdolon 'Hermann's Pride’ that I had ordered came with a tag saying it was L. galeobdolon ‘Variegatum’ instead, even though the plant does indeed look like 'Hermann’s Pride'. (‘Variegatum’ is actually now ‘Florentinum’, says the RHS Plantfinder; 'Florentinum' is much more vigorous than ‘Hermann’s Pride’ and has broader leaves.) The packing invoice had the right plant listed. I just emailed them to make sure I received the right thing.

All in all, a very satisfied customer here. Communication fast and great, shipping almost immediate, packing outstanding, plants superb. Excellent value.

Romence Gardens & Greenhouses

265 Lakeside Dr NE,
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

616-451-8214; toll-free 888- 907-5268


by judywhite