Gardening Express Reviews 

A middle man company reselling excess stock from Nurseries who save money by having automated systems and slow or non existent customer service. A shame, as prices are excellent and some products delivered are very good value for money. A real mixed bag, and not delivering on customer service promises.

Quite disappointed, wish I read the reviews before ordering.
Plants arrived tightly packed into cardboard boxes, all squashed and some on top of each other, leading to broken plants. Also in the boxes on the plants were two slugs and 1 snail!!

I ordered 12 of the same plant and they arrived looking dead, nothing like the photos provided, all cut right down - out of the 12, 1 has survived. So disappointing.
Other plants I ordered arrived and were just scraggly stems, so weak they are just floppy. The salvia’s just lay limp on the soil.

Complete waste of money. Delivery extremely long, plants look like they are from the reduced section.

Avoid this seller. Very bad customer service. The 2 Campsis plants purchased were yellow, unhealthy, and effectively half-dead on arrival. They rejected the collection for a refund or replacement. I purchased another 2 very healthy, green, and live Campsis from other sellers for a much lower price and quick delivery

Ordered a giant mop head hydrangea on 16th August, I’ve had no notification when the plant will be delivered. I wish I had used PayPal for this order, where I could have claimed a refund for non delivery. There should be a box for no stars!!

I had previously bought from Gardening express and had good experience with reasonable quality plants, (albeit rather small), most of which survived! This time the plants arrived broken and half dead. I planted all to see if they would survive, 2 of 5 plants have completely died and the others look beyond saving but still just slice. I took photos of everything on arrival and emailed customer services more than a week ago- but no reply!

Terrible, complete scam! Don’t touch with a barge pole! Wish I had read trustpilot before I “ purchased” total waste of time and money! Never expect to see anything and if I do it will be totally dead! How can these people sleep at night taking money from honest people! I will never buy online again but go to my honest local garden centres instead.

Late delivery and when the plants eventually arrived they were poorly packaged and half dead. Raised a query via the AI chat resolver - only to be told my delivery was older than 14days so they couldn't help. If it had arrived on time yes that would have been the case, but after providing several screenshots of the DHL delivery note the AI bot eventually agreed it had just been delivered, and someone would be intouch. A week later, nothing, so reaches out to the AI bot to be told to be patient, and someone would be in touch within 3 working days ... Still nothing! Absolutely terrible service, wish I'd seen reviews on here before ordering! Avoid!!!

Wish I'd read the reviews before ordering. Sent damaged pots and incorrect plants. Haven't responded to help requests.

They don’t even deserve 1 star. Buy cheap plants, that look good on their site, but you will receive absolute crap. Only contact is with a bot, and ultimately you’ll have to go through your bank to get refunded. Avoid

As with other reviews for this company I had to wait weeks for my delivery. One plant was missing, 1 was dead, 1 was almost dead and the other was OK but very pot bound. No response to emails and no telephone number. Money down the drain. Reported to trading standarfs

I contacted the Gardening Express Help Centre multiple times after receiving three extremely poor-quality plants. The plants were advertised as one-litre plants, but two of the stock plants arrived as little more than bare sticks, while the scabiosa was effectively dead.

Despite repeatedly contacting the Help Centre and explaining the problem, I have received no meaningful response or assistance. There appears to be no reliable way to speak to an actual person or get a problem resolved.

Receiving unacceptable plants was bad enough; being completely ignored afterwards made the experience even worse. A help centre that provides no help is utterly pointless. Do not waste your time or money.

Plants delivered were of an unmerchantable quality.
There is NO WAY to contact this company by email, or even through their so-called "chat box". When prompted to ask a question, the screen is TOTALLY UNRESPONSIVE so no contact can be made.
Why don't they have a normal email address??????

Bought plants from this company on 13th July they stated delivery in 5 to 10 days still waiting over a month later when I queried my order I was told it was within their normal processing time frame so I would advise anyone thinking of ordering from them ( DONT ). UPDATE i have just received an e-mail from them they reccond that the packaging department didn't send my order as they thought the plants were of poor quality ( a bit like the company ) so they are waiting for more stock to arrive with all the negative reviews i think it about time Essex or Leigh on sea trading standards took a look at this company ?.

Ordered plants and STILL waiting on delivery 7 weeks later!!!!! You cannot even contact them !! Only option is chat through AI avd you get nowhere!!!! The company is absolutely horrendous!!!!!

Bought plants at what we thought was gonna be a good price waited weeks for delivery and when they were delivered the plants were half dead and still awaiting the arrival of two more plants. I would advise you stay well away from this company.

Wish I had read these reviews before ordering. Ordered an evergreen winter flowering clematis. Not cheap and when it finally arrived it was a pathetic specimin and I am struggling to keep it alive . In May I ordered one from a different company. Same price and, faster delivery and in a bigger pot looking really healthy. They were out of stock but wished I had waited. Never again Gardening Express.

Zero Star Review

In my experience, ordering from this company has been a mistake every time.

The website creates a very misleading impression of what you are going to receive. The photographs show much more mature, established plants, while the plants delivered to me have been dramatically smaller and of very different ages and quality. I have even received plants described as being “in bud” that had clearly already passed their flowering window and required deadheading.

As a professional buyer, I often purchase large quantities of the same plant. The variation between plants can be astonishing. Some appeared freshly potted, while others had old, woody, hanging stems. None matched the fresh, upright plants shown in the photographs.

The packaging is another major problem. Plants are apparently packed to fit a standard-sized box rather than being properly protected. Pots have been taped together so tightly that they arrive crushed, with stems and roots damaged before transit. Plants are living products, and the packaging shows very little consideration for that fact.

Delivery has also been frustratingly slow. The overall experience has left me with the strong impression that plants may not necessarily be readily available when ordered, although I cannot know what happens behind the scenes. What I can say is that the delays, inconsistent plant quality and condition on arrival have repeatedly been disappointing.

Customer service has not improved matters. There is no telephone support, leaving email as the only practical way to raise a problem. When you have received damaged or completely unsuitable plants, that makes resolving an issue particularly frustrating.

I use YouGarden regularly, as well as established suppliers such as David Austin Roses and the Royal Horticultural Society. The difference is enormous. YouGarden, for example, provides fast delivery and considerably more protective packaging, while its website gives a much clearer indication of what you can expect to receive and what the plant can develop into.

That comparison really highlights the problem here: this company seems far more focused on selling plants than on delivering plants of a consistent, acceptable quality.

The constant offers and marketing may look attractive, but based on my experience, I would strongly advise other nurseries — particularly professional buyers purchasing in quantity — to look elsewhere.

Don’t be persuaded by the photographs or the “offers”. Think very carefully about what you are actually likely to receive. My experience has been damaged plants, inconsistent quality, misleading expectations, slow delivery and non existent customer service.

I will never order from this company again.

Here is their customer support contact gecs at gardeningexpress.co.uk (had to split it out like that to get round Trustpilots rules 😉)

Updated 27/08/26 - After I threatened legal action and a chargeback through my bank, I received an email saying they would refund for the plants not delivered. This was received today and they had deducted £6.99 for carriage. I will be proceeding with a chargeback claim for the carriage as that charge was based on them delivering the full order, which of course they failed to do and was the whole problem!!

Dreadful service. Not sure if they’re deliberately not fulfilling orders or just inept. Placed an order 23 July for 7 plants. They do say orders take 5-10 working days to be delivered. On 3rd August I received one very sad looking fuschia. The label on the package said it was parcel 2. No sign of parcel one so I contacted Gardening Express. There is no telephone number, email or postal address. You’re just directed to their online chat.
The chat bot infuriatingly promises to forward the issue to the team and there will be a reply in three days. It’s now 14 August and despite me regularly contacting them through the chat, I have got nowhere. Still waiting for my outstanding 6 plants. I have tried asking for a refund, but to no avail. AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!!

Absolute scam. Ordered a £80 flower pot announced to be delivered soon by mail and never had it - the transporter ( who answered very quickly, bless them ) said they had a label created but never received the parcel from Gardening Express. 0 customer service, simply talking to a bot in a loop. Avoid.

Avoid at all costs purchases a standard rose which arrives dead and although a 5 year guarantee they ignores my emails and didn’t honour their pledges.