Claire Austin Hardy Plants Reviews 

I recently bought some plants from Claire Austin which I had not managed to get anywhere else. They arrived promptly as promised and were extremely good, healthy plants and very securely packed.
I will be ordering more from Claire Austin.

I recently placed a fairly substantial order with Claire Austin. The plants were delivered quickly and very securely packed.
They were all in excellent condition and I was very pleased with the quality.
I have used Claire Austin before and will certainly do so again.

Avoid at all costs. I paid 30.00 for 3 campanula and 3 scabiosa.I received 3 single yellowing stems. The 3 scabiosa were not much better. When I emailed I was told by Ms Austin to go to my garden centre if I wanted a larger plant.Plants very expensive and poor quality. Disgusting attitude.

I have had very poor service from this nursery. Earlier this year I purchased several plants including two of Erysimum Bowles Mauve. None of the plants were outstanding but one the Bowles Mauve was just a stalk with the leaves lying on the pot and the other was a weak plant that couldn’t survive. Sadly they were rotted at the base of the stems. I immediately took a picture and contacted Claire Austin to be told by the person there that I should try with the plants because they may be okay. They weren’t! I have just been sent replacements for the Erysimums. The nursery should be ashamed of the condition of the poor things. Both are small, weak and once again, the stems joining the roots appear to be rotting. I shall of course try to make something of the plants but I strongly advise against using this company. I certainly will not do so again.

My order was dealt with very fast. Plants arrived today and I am delighted. They are big strong healthy plants and I am totally delighted. Excellent quality and fab service. Recommend this supplier.

I’ve just received my replacement order because the courier failed to find my house and the initial plants were not looking good after a week in transit. This was not helped by incomplete addressing by Claire Austin. I planted the 9cm plants to find they were predominantly plugs that had been put in 9cm pots with fresh compost. Consequently the compost fell away revealing the plugs. Not what you expect when buying 9cm plants. Crocus may be more expensive but the quality is vastly superior.

Have just received 6 lovely healthy plants from Claire Austin.
It was a very good experience from start to finish.

Before ordering my plants. Expensive for what they are and one of them arrived dead with no living root system.

Company has not responded to my email requesting a replacement or refund for this dead plant.

Will not be buying from this company again.
Avoid...

There are many excellent suppliers of healthy plants, I buy from a number of them. Sadly my experience with Claire Austin was more than disappointing. The plant that arrived was so tiny, no root system and will not survive, I was more than shocked when I unpacked it. When I contacted Claire Austin their tone is that you as the customer no nothing about horticulture, so just plant it, it's early in the season. I will not purchase from them again, please think carefully as it may not be a joyous experience when you open the box.

Very disappointed. When my plants eventually arrived one was in a very poor condition. I asked for a refund or for another plant to be sent out which they have refused, advising me 'to just plant it and see'.
I don't claim to be an expert but my time at horticultural college is enough to know that this plant will not the healthiest and I expect better having paid £5.20 per plant. I never place reviews but felt I had to express my level of dissatisfaction and will never order from this company again!

Just received my order and as many have mentioned, I've paid for 6 pots of compost, the plants are barely visible and need a microscope to see them.
Don't want to hear they aren't forced etc.
I should have shopped Dutch
Don't waste your money on this company

We were so impressed with some roses purchased from David Austin we thought (wrongly) the same standards would apply. We ordered nearly £200 of plants; they were shockingly poor quality. However mistakes happen so we reached out to explain that some of the plants were dead on arrival or in fact broken. The response from Ms Austin directly was that they had left her alive the day before. We sent some photos and again received a negative response and were told we’d need to wait for them to grow and next year they would flourish. Strange advice given the photos clearly showed they were dead or broken. We reviewed the terms and conditions of sale which are appalling and block you from trying to have any dialogue with them about problems. This can’t be correct in terms of consumer protection or legislation. Eventually we gave up but actually I am considering on my lists of many things to do a small claims court action. Just to note I do have all of the emails and photos if trust pilot want to verify this review.

From start to finish (order to delivery) I would say was just over a week and with updates sent along the way. The plants arrived very well packaged and in exceptionally good condition! In these trying times to run a small business must be so difficult but to do it and excel is something else. Based on this experience I would recommend to others and return again myself. Thank you.

The six plants I ordered took 6 days in transit, two were very small, yellow and almost dead, the others were small, yellow, wilted and covered in brown spots. On pointing this out to Claire Austin I was told "just cut off the yellow leaves and they'll be fine". When I replied that I was disappointed with the quality of the plants and that if I cut off all the yellow leaves there would be little left I received no reply.
No apology, no offer of compensation and no courtesy

Positives : plants arrived on time and well packaged
Negatives : plants very small and I do not consider value for money. One plant was yellow and was just a tuft in the pot. I’ve heard their customer service is rubbish so I’m not going to contact them about it, I just won’t be a returning customer.

Plants arrived on time and very well packaged. Beautiful, strong and healthy plants, ready to plant out and as described. I will certainly use this nursery again.

Plants arrived but where there should have been Black Knight Delphiniums there was bare compost. I phoned and was told they would send replacements. None arrived. After a long period I phoned again and asked for a refund which they said would be done. Again nothing. I wrote on 26th April asking where the refund was. Three months later they tell me they have now refunded me on 12th June. There is no sign of the refund in my credit card statement. My original order was 24th March, so I am not very impressed, even allowing for Covid!

Ordered 5 plants and although it did take some time before they arrived, which to be fair, we were advised would happen due to the Covid19 situation. When they came they were very well packed. I was pleased with them. Very healthy and not damaged at all. From reading other reviews I was expecting very tiny plants which I would have to pot on before planting in the garden. To my surprise they were bigger than I thought they would be and planted them straight away. Some are already flowering. Although they are a tad expensive for the size, hence 4 stars instead of 5, I would definitely buy from the nursery again.

Excellent, high quality robust plants that have flourished. Slight delay to delivery of a second order due to Covid-19 but a quick response from customer service and plants arrived safely.

Having ordered many plants from catalogues and websites over the years with varying degrees of disappointment, i’ve been massively impressed with the quality, care of packaging, online advice available and delivery. All plants supplied (more than 15 now) were in great condition on arrival and have now grown to healthy specimens.

Very happy and will be coming back for my third order and more.

Great customer service when I had a discrepancy. It was solved and new products were sent to me within 72 hours of my complaint. The plants are in a healthy condition. Will purchase from you again. Thank you!