Name: Gardening Express
Rating: 1.19

“I have been a customer of Gardening Express for a number of years, but sadly this will be my last order. I have over 50 years of gardening and growing experience, so I understand how to care for plants correctly and recognise when something is not right. A number of the plants I received died within a very short period of time, despite being planted into fresh compost and watered regularly using an irrigation system. When I contacted customer services, I was told the plants had failed because I had kept them in their pots for a few weeks before planting them. This explanation simply doesn't make sense. Garden centres keep plants in pots for months, sometimes even years, without them dying. In addition, other plants from the very same delivery are still in their original pots and are thriving. We're also currently experiencing drought conditions across much of the UK. Had I planted these particular plants straight into the ground, they would likely have struggled even more because the soil is extremely dry and hard. Keeping them in pots allowed me to water them properly while they became established. Another disappointing change is that Gardening Express no longer seems to live up to its name. Orders that used to arrive promptly are now taking between 10 and 15 days to be delivered. For a company with "Express" in its name, this is far from what I would expect. To make matters worse, I am still waiting for another order, and the level of customer service throughout this experience has been extremely disappointing. Rather than accepting responsibility or offering a sensible resolution, Gardening Express chose to blame the customer instead of addressing the obvious issue with the quality of the plants supplied. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend Gardening Express and will not be purchasing from them again.”

Gardening Express 1 star review on 30th July 2026

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Posted 1 month ago

“Dreadful products and dreadful customer service! High value order arrived in a non ventilated box, in the heatwave, 5 days after despatch. The plants were either dying or dead - and have all since died despite some expert TLC. On complaining, the AI chat bot function (the only option available) requested photo evidence, all of which was supplied clearly showing the parlous state of the plants. 6 days later, when a human (apparently!) responded they requested even further evidence - and I’ve still heard nothing back from this company 10 days after lodging the complaint. Seriously - avoid this company at all costs! Quality, whether relating to their products or their service, obviously means nothing to them.”

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Posted 1 month ago

“I wish there were minus stars available for this company. Terrible, old and leggy plant not fit for purpose. I tried to return it but only AI chat available, even after waiting 5 days for a response. I only got a standard letter again seemingly generated by AI. I replied to their initial response three times but again, their response has been, well, no response. this seems to be their way of dealing with unhappy customers, it is impossible to get anywhere with this company.”

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Posted 1 month ago

“Tiny half dead plant delivered after a months wait. Contacted customer services who said this was normal. It was dead two days later. No refund offered. The plant was not good value at nearly 30 pounds. Avoid !!!!”

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Posted 1 month ago

“My order was for 2 acers and 5 alliums advertising the latter as in bud and bloom. The flowers were all spent and leaves cut off. Looked awful. The acers were really poor shape. You would not buy them if in the garden centre. The response to my complaint was dismissive and lacked any concerns. Terrible experience. Will never use them again.”

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Posted 1 month ago

“The web site states despatch is usually within 3-5 days, or 5-10 days during busy periods; fair enough in theory. Fully expected 5-10 days for an order in July. Ordered an 'in stock item' After 3 weeks, with only the original order confirmation and no further contact, the order had NOT been despatched or even prepped for despatch, but now too late for use as intended gift. At this point tried to reach out to customer services... no telephone option, no e-mail address and had to rely on automated web chat which confirmed my request to cancel had been noted and passed to the relevant people who would get back to me within the next 3 days... day 3 came and went! Never got a response, purchase subsequently despatched and now reliant on refusing delivery when DHL attempt delivery. Order: #701226921”

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Posted 1 month ago

“Ordered 24th June, email update 1st July saying they had the order, since then chat doesn't work, emails not answered and no plants. This company needs shutting down and prosecution. It is a scam”

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Posted 1 month ago

“I ordered 12 roses. 5 did not grow. No-one would answer my messages.”

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Posted 1 month ago

“Avoid ordering. Im now on day 16 waiting for my order. Other sites are far quicker with deliveries. There's no direct telephone number to resolve the issues quickly, only via email, where there is no quick response. There's no issue waiting, provided you're kept updated. I'm just advised to track my orders, which purely states 'processed' and no other information. For future orders I will take my business elsewhere. Had I know there would be such delays, I wouldn't have placed the order.”

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Posted 1 month ago

“I ordered several Acer plants from Gardening Express and unfortunately my experience was disappointing. The order took almost a month to be dispatched. During that time, I had to contact customer services myself to request an update. Shortly after my enquiry, the order was finally dispatched, which made me question whether it would have been sent at all without my follow-up. When the plants arrived, the compost was completely dry, one Acer had exposed and dried roots, several leaves were dry or damaged, and two nursery pots were completely broken. While I understand that live plants can experience some degree of transit stress, this was beyond the normal wear and tear I have seen when ordering plants online. Customer service refunded a missing packet of Petunia seeds, which I appreciate. However, they maintained that the condition of the plants was consistent with normal transit damage and did not offer any compensation for the condition of the plants themselves. I was also previously sent a compensation link that did not work, which did not inspire confidence in the complaint process. The plants may ultimately recover, and I understand that nursery pots are intended to protect the root system during transit. However, in my view, pots arriving completely broken, together with exposed roots and bone-dry compost, does not reflect the level of quality I would expect. Overall, I was disappointed both with the condition of the order on arrival and with the way the complaint was handled.”

Gardening Express 2 star review on 13th July 2026

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Posted 1 month ago

“Still waiting for my plants. Ordered on 21 June! Won’t be worth planting soon. Summer will have gone. Never again.”

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Posted 1 month ago

“My name is Mr Victor carter.and I placed a order with gardening express on the 18/06/26.order number 701211570.they sent me a email on the 25/06/26 to tell me my order was in the process of being ready to ship to me.but 20 days later still no plants,and no way of contacting them.i have placed many orders with gardening express and spent a lot of money over the years.but never again, they treat customers like mugs .I have been trying to contact them, but you can't no phone number to contact them either.i wished I never placed this order,and never will again.and I want my money refunded and stick their plants.”

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Posted 2 months ago

“Awful company to deal with, if you want plants for this summer then order the year before as their delivery service is awful and try getting a response from them, pay cheap you get cheap.”

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Posted 2 months ago

“After several purchases my recent delivery is awful, dead straggely foliage, leaves yellowing and dying. I paid almost £50 for this order which I woukd walk past if on sale in a garden centre as classed beyond redemption. Good luck if you try to navigate their website to complain its set up for you to fail. Absolutely no more orders from me. Buyer beware.”

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Posted 2 months ago

“Misleading website information and false advertising having spent over £200 with this company who told me wait for growth on the "twigs" they delivered. One plant still really poor and leggy but have been told I have to buy a box to return it to them and pay the return postage. And they will only give a refund on a gift card! Would never buy from you again!”

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Posted 2 months ago

“Misleading delivery information. I ordered based on the advertised 5–10 working day delivery time. Today is the 10th working day, and my order has still not been dispatched. Customer service simply said they are busy and that delivery may take 10–15 working days instead. This is unacceptable. Customers should be given accurate delivery estimates before ordering, not after they have paid. Very disappointing experience.”

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Posted 2 months ago

“Misleading delivery information. I ordered based on the advertised 5–10 working day delivery time. Today is the 10th working day, and my order has still not been dispatched. Customer service simply said they are busy and that delivery may take 10–15 working days instead. This is unacceptable. Customers should be given accurate delivery estimates before ordering, not after they have paid. Very disappointing experience.”

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Posted 2 months ago

“Misleading delivery information. I ordered based on the advertised 5–10 working day delivery time. Today is the 10th working day, and my order has still not been dispatched. Customer service simply said they are busy and that delivery may take 10–15 working days instead. This is unacceptable. Customers should be given accurate delivery estimates before ordering, not after they have paid. Very disappointing experience.”

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Posted 2 months ago

“I ordered plants took weeks to come and what I received was abysmal. Broken little seedlings. No joy after I complained will never order again from them”

Gardening Express 1 star review on 24th June 2026

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Posted 2 months ago

“I bought a wisteria tree, £70 plus delivery. The item arrived battered, leaves falling off, in generally poor condition and not at the height I purchased. I wrote to the company as soon as I opened the item, and provided pictures of the disatisfaction and effected plant. I received a response after chasing, advising me to send photos, and provide all the original packaging pictures to confirm it was bought from them... rude in my opinion when they can see my order, and tracking. I provided this on no less than 6 occasions, totally 20 pictures each time yet they still said they werent good enough. went round and round in circles for over a week, only to then be advised yes they can see there was an issue with the product delivered (despite my somewhat 10 emails and photos. they offered me £10 refund! avoid this company, awful products and awful customer service. The plant is basically dead.”

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Posted 2 months ago

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Courier
Average Delivery Time	Over 7 Days
On-time Delivery	Greater than 7%
Accurate And Undamaged Orders	Greater than 26%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Over A Week

Gardening Express Reviews