Plants By Mail Review, Grade And New Top 20 Rank

Plants by Mail Grade: B

Overall rating: 84

Top 20 Rank: #4

Recommendation: Buy. They send good plants at good prices.

Location: Loxley, AL

Why do we list location? This is so you can know, in most cases, where the plants you buy are coming from.

We evaluate and score 10 different categories. You can read details on what each category means and how we score it here.

Plants by Mail Nursery Review

Summary

(TL;DR) Plants by Mail came in at 84, which gives them a B grade and the #4 rank in our top 20. PlantsByMail.com is owned by a reputable landscape plant propagation and growing operation, Flowerwood. Based in southern Alabama, they have the weather to be able to ship year-round. The products we have ordered have always been in great shape, and their prices are very reasonable. They do seem to have more plants out of stock versus in-stock, but they are a string buy for us.

Now, for the rest of the story…

A new and improved website debuted!

Their site seemed stuck in the 2000s with the layout and design. Not anymore! Plants by Mail launched a new site in 2024 that was long overdue. The site loads a lot faster and has a clean look that is easy to navigate. There are still a few hiccups that need to be fixed, but overall, it is a huge improvement!

Their rating also went up because of the increase in their in-stock selection. We have always loved their online store; they have just had so many products out of stock. We checked recently, and they listed 284 evergreen trees and shrubs. 136 were in stock. That’s an impressive selection to shop from. A year ago, it would have been closer to 30 available to purchase.

We like the people behind the online nursery. With the new site, they could easily compete for one of the top spots and become a leader in the online plant nursery business.

We have ordered from them & recently traded a few emails with someone there. They care about sending good-quality plants.

Google Reviews kind of confirms our opinion. While they don’t have a lot compared to some other online nurseries, PlantsbyMail.com has 328 Google Reviews with a 4.9 average rating. You can view PlantsByMail.com Google reviews here.

Their prices for what is in stock are awesome. Some of the lowest we have seen from major online plant nurseries. On top of that, they offer free shipping on orders over $100. I’m pretty amazed they can offer plants so inexpensively.

And they send quality plants! We placed an order for a #3 container for the evergreen shrub Variegated Pittosporum, also known as a Mock Orange. Our total cost, including shipping, was just $35.97. You can view unboxing pictures and our Plants By Mail Review here.

Just from their prices alone, PlantsByMail.com is worth trying out. They are owned by one of the largest wholesale growers in the country. A very well-respected company within the industry. It’s obvious that they just haven’t focused much on their retail website. We always seem to find something that makes us hesitate to give a full endorsement. For example, we never got an order confirmation email for the order we placed. That’s just odd!

Although we saw a lot of out-of-stock plants, they do carry many of the popular evergreen trees & shrubs. We saw sizes ranging from 1 quart to 3-gallon containers.

As we mentioned above, Plants by Mail prices are pretty attractive. We saw 3-gallon Sky Pencil holly shrubs for as low as $36.98. You’ll pay upwards of $89.95 at other popular online nurseries. Just to give you a comparison Garden Goods Direct had a 3-gallon Sky Pencil Holly on sale for $79.95 plus a $17.48 shipping cost.

Plants by Mail offers free shipping on orders over $100. There’s no apparent end date.

Plants by Mail is related to a wholesale nursery, Flowerwood located in Loxley, AL. Flowerwood is very well known within the plant nursery world as a first-class operation.

Plants by Mail Guarantee is Good

Plants by Mail’s guarantee and return policy are also unique. It’s one of the most logical & reasonable we have ever seen. You can read it here (it’s pretty short) https://plantsbymail.com/guarantee/. Essentially, let them know within 30 days if something didn’t show up healthy. They will replace or refund your purchase. They also ask you to contact them if there are concerns after delivery but don’t require a replacement. They will note your order and extend the guarantee. Considering almost everyone else wants to charge an extra 10% (or more – looking at you The Tree Center) for an extended ‘warranty’, it is very refreshing to find someone who treats customers this way.

As someone who has worked with 4 of the largest online nurseries for 10+ years, I also like how they put some responsibility on you after you take delivery. We’re talking about a live product. They cannot control the weather, watering, planting, etc., after you take delivery. Plants by Mail wording is pretty simple. In this day of Amazon free shipping and returns, it’s nice to see someone ask for common sense. Here’s what they say: “The customer takes full responsibility for providing care to the plants once in your possession. The customer agrees to open the box and take care of the plants immediately. Failure of live, healthy plants to thrive is the responsibility of the customer after 30 days. However, please do feel free to contact us for planting and care assistance if you need additional guidance.”

Overall, there are some concerns but not enough to keep us from ordering from them. And, if they are associated with Flowerwood Nursery, they have some pretty impressive people behind them.

What were the red flags?

Plants by Mail is tied for the lowest Domain Authority with an online nursery that was just started 3 years ago. It could just be that the site never received much attention until recently, but it is a red flag.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Plants By Mail located?

PlantsByMail.com is located at 8001 N Magnolia S Loxley, Alabama 36551

Does PlantsByMail.com guarantee their plants?

PlantsByMail.com states; We guarantee delivery of only live, healthy plants to your doorstep. If the plant you receive is not an alive and healthy specimen, please take a photo immediately, and email it to [email protected]. Plants reported in 30 days to not be healthy, alive, or in otherwise good condition, will be replaced or refunded.

How soon do orders to Plants by Mail ship?

Orders typically ship the next day. According to their website; The majority of orders will be shipped the following business day, with the exception of orders placed on Thursday during times of extreme weather (hot or cold) that may be held over the weekend. Orders may be delayed by unpredictable weather conditions.

Disclaimer

All the information on this website – www.BuyEvergreenShrubs.com – is published in good faith and for general information purposes only. Buy Evergreen Shrubs does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this website (Buy Evergreen Shrubs), is strictly at your own risk. Buy Evergreen Shrubs will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website.

About the Author

About
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Doug Hall

President at Target Marketing Solutions

Doug Hall owns BuyEvergreenShrubs.com and has over 14 years experience working with some of the largest online plant nurseries. Doug has consulted for, visited and evaluated quality from over 50 plant nurseries. He also has extensive direct marketing experience.