Shrubs on E-Bay?

Has anyone ever ordered any shrubs from e-Bay? Was it a good or bad experience? Did the shrubs arrive alive, did they thrive when you planted them? Any nurseries you particularly recommend?

I haven't had any experience in that regard. If you don't get a response here, I'm sure you'll get some info at GardenWeb.

Windy, I have never bought shrubs through e-bay. There are many fine mail order nurseries that do a good job of shipping. What are you interested in buying and where are you located. I ask because the nurseries carry differing collections and shipping costs matter. By the way the online sites of nurseries are great resources.

I started out googling "red ossier dogwood" and got several e-bay sellers, but I didn't page through to find any nurseries. The e-bay sellers prices are very low for a one year old shrub, and the shipping is not too bad, either, but it seemed too good to be true. I wondered, then, if anyone else had ever used e-bay to purchase shrubs.

I get a number of catalogs, but even there I'm not sure of the quality of shrubs ordered by mail. I blanch at the prices of the shrubs in the nurseries near me. I took out a fence, and I want to put in at least 4-5 dogwoods as a living fence in its place, so I can't afford to pay 40-50 dollars per.

You should be able to find red-osier dogwood very easily. And there's no way it should be $40 per shrub at your local nursery - you should be able to find it for $10-15 for a gallon pot, I would think. Or if you're patient, buy one then take cuttings late next winter - you can propogate your own. I've even taken fresh cuttings and stuck them in damp ground and they've grown - but you need a mild late winter for that.

I agree with Talbin. Here is a suggestion (a radical one for me because I usually buy wholesale and the H word is verboten) try Home Depot. They get their plants from decent growers and if you get the material soon after it arrives at HD the quality is usually great. I do not know if they have the red osier or not but they might. The price (you didn't hear it here) is sometimes cheaper than wholesale. Reliable mail order sources include White Flower Farm (pricey but a great resourse), Heronswood (It used to be the best but it was sold). Rare Finds Nursery in Jackson Nj. There are many others.

Good Luck!

The cuttings thing appeals to me. I am now rooting pussy willows, and I think a forsythia (I got these branches at church on Palm Sunday, so I don't know exactly if they are forsythia, but they look like it).

Question, Talbin: I pruned antique climbing roses last fall so I could get into my back door (slight exaggeration). A piece got under my outdoor foot mat, where it stayed nice and moist and unfrozen all winter. I noticed it this spring, and it is sprouting leaves, but no roots. How can I root this?

>7 Windy: Windy: I don't know much about propagating roses, or what happens if you dig up a cutting that accidentally took root. I would look for a good book, which I don't have. Maybe someone else has a suggestion?

not from ebay

Pollysmith, are you warning against purchasing shrubs from e-Bay? Have you had a bad experience?

Propogating roses can be dicey. You can try sticking them in the ground or potting them up and leaving them outside (but water please!). It takes time if it's going to work at all. They are fussier than forsythia and pussywillows. The success rate is very low.