Victoriana Nursery Gardens Avis 

Super, healthy little plants, well packed and delivered in a timely fashion. Will purchase from this nursery again.

I am an experienced gardener that has made many online orders to small British nurseries and suppliers over the years and without exception every one has been a positive experience - except with Floriculture International Ltd, trading as Victoriana Nursery.

I ordered asparagus plants on 20/3/24 and at the time the website stated that they would be dispatched from mid/late April and realised that earliest orders would be made first. On 20/4/24 I had an email to say my order was on its way to the pack house to be dispatched that week. This was followed by another email stating "our system over released on plants" and my order would not be dispatched. The website was then quoting mid July for dispatch. I emailed and was reassured the problem was not due to import issues as the asparagus was home grown and I accept that plants have their own timescales.

On 30/4/24 I received another email to say my order had moved to the pack house and would be dispatched the following week, only to be followed by an apology that "an incorrect email had been sent out due to a computer bleep" and quoted late June dispatch.

I have lost faith that I will ever receive my plants and so have requested a refund. If Victoriana Nursery want to remain a viable business and attract and retain customers, I suggest they invest in a new computer system, but I will not be ordering from them again.

First time ordering from Victoriana.
10 Asparagus plants safely arrived, in good condition, moist, and very well packaged.
Promptly planted and looking great.
Will deffo order from them again.
Many thanks to Serena and the team there.

Supplied tree which proved to be dead, and refused to refund or replace, Serena surly and rude in correspondance as per another person's review. Do not buy from this company.

I’ve been buying seeds and plants from Victoriana Nursery for years, mostly chillies, peppers, tomatoes and herbs and have never had reason to complain.
Even when the post office took a delivery back to the sorting office for a very hot weekend and, separately, a courier delivered the box upside down, the plants grew and produced well.
I’ve had to stop part way through writing this to take a delivery of herd plants, from Victoriana Nursery! Perfectly packaged and very healthy plants! The packaging is, I think, excellent - the paper keeps the plants in place and moist and goes into my compost bin.
My only experience of their customer service is the fact that they hand write delivery instructions on their packaging - I’ve never experienced that from larger companies and am grateful for it.
I’ve also had no issues with seed germination. This year I had 100% germination and survival rate for almost all of the tomatoes and peppers. Leaving me with an embarrassing amount of both!
I particularly like the fact that they are a small independent company offering some heritage and unusual varieties.
My only regret is that I never got to visit the nursery - I had planned to visit with several other plot holders at my allotment - but Covid struck that year! Hopefully, one day in the future, we might be able to do so.
So thank you, Victoriana Nursery. We appreciate your service and will continue to be very happy customers.

I ordered several plants, all arrived quickly and in good conition except for 5 broad beans. I stuck them in water and contacted the company by email sending a photo. I got a reply straight away reassuring me they would recover and they are sending me 5 replacements. Very good customer service.

Refused to replace or refund dead tree they sent me stating time scale of reporting issue to them. Appalling customer service from Serena who was surly and unhelpful. This company doesn't adhere to any customer service policy.

I would advise everyone (and there are many!) who have received poor quality plants and substandard customer service to report this company to Trading Standards as I have done.

I will never use this company again and would strongly recommend that you don't either.

Purchased online a potted loganberry plant described as 60cm tall [incl pot]. Most disappointed, a very meagre plant, a single weak shoot with [10cm tall] with a caterpillar nestled in the growing tip. On complaining and asking for a refund, I was fobbed off with excuses like, 'It actually isn't unusual for Loganberries to die back to the base and re-grow, it depends on the year.' and eventually they agreed to refund 'However you may return the plant (at your cost) for a refund. The plant we have sent will grow away exactly as you would have expected.' The point is that this was an extremely poor plant, not as described and the nursery only reluctantly agreed to a refund but without refunding for outward delivery. When I said I would drop it in, I was told to leave it by the greenhouse door with a note. Seems they avoid phone and face to face contact with customers. The most annoying thing is that this nursery is listed on the RHS website, I would have expected better. Please don't buy from them, poor quality plant and poor customer service. I feel slightly qualified to comment as I am a commercial soft fruit grower and for 10 years ran a wholesale plant nursery. I would be happy for the nursery to respond to my comments.

Bought various chill and tomato seeds pre chatted them and got around 5% germination (old seed) contacted Serena Shirley who has you didn't follow our germination procedure we can't help you ??? snotty useless customer services, it was not just a few that didn't germinate nearly all were duds. yet seed from various other sources was 95% successful there selling old useless seed and don't care about the out come

Plant (a grafted grapevine) arrived in very poor condition. The top part of the plant (the scion) appeared to be dead and the compost smelt strongly of mould. On phoning the company I was told that in dormancy vines often looked dead and it would break into life in the spring. I am not holding my breath.

Excellent delivery service within 5 days of ordering. Plants well packed and in very good condition. Instructions for care and ongoing growth enclosed. Website informative and genuine family business. Organic. Will definitely buy from them again.

The director here is so rude she refused to resolve my issue and told me to ask my bank for a reverse charge instead of sending me a prepaid label, i showed her photos of hundreds of pieces of paper stuck i side plant it damaged roots if i had pulled them out,
She did not care,
I will stick with buying from tamar organic instead atleast no chemicals used and you get better customer service,
The director implied her business is not doing well anymore and they are saving money which is why she refused to refund me or resolve my issue with a prepaid postage.

I ordered 10 Jerusalem artichoke bulbs in August for £14.95. They were not available until October 30th. Postage was £5.95. When they arrived, 9 of them only in number, they were shrivelled, small , dry and soft . As a gardener I feel sure that anything that is soft is not healthy. I contacted the nursery and explained and asked to return the items. They said I could only do that at my cost. Which would have meant I would have spent around £10 in total on postage and been left with nothing. I probably would have had to insure the return which would have cost me more.
They agreed to send the 10th bulb which arrived, in stark contrast to the others, in very good condition with sprouts and measuring much bigger.
Why is everyone on the internet always trying to cheat everyone?. They had healthy bulbs, why send me unhealthy ones just for the sake of a few quid.

I will not use this nursery ever again. I do not think they are trustworthy and they do not honour their agreement with the customer.

The grapevine arrived in good condition despite the state of the packaging, which was a tall oblong cardboard box. The box was severely squashed and torn. The plant in its pot was ‘loose’ inside the box with no supporting material. How it survived the trauma experienced by the box is beyond me. The plant itself appears to be fine. Only time will tell.
Dennis Mott - Cambridgeshire

I recently bought a pair of Goji Berry shrubs from the nursery. Amazing service. Brilliant little plants. Well packaged and sealed and delivered on time with Royal Mail. I'm a repeat customer of this absolute gem of UK Horticultural diversity. My kiwi vine came from there and has thrived. The chilli selection is encyclopedic as is many varieties of plants for all locations. Highly recommended. Staff are great too.

Lovely looking plants. A delivery hiccup, not the fault of Victoriananursery has been sorted out happily. I also bought some seeds which have germinated so look forward to pak choi sometime soon.

I highly recommend this company. I ordered some Aubrieta plants for my rockery and they exceeded my expectations great price well packaged healthy plants on receipt with fast shipping. Great communication too. So refreshing to have a positive experience. Thank you 😊

Couldn't find stock elsewhere as late in the season so first time using this company. Value price so wasn't expecting much. Paid for tracked service which was great. My 4 plants arrived wrapped in wet newspaper & plastic bag in a cardboard box - single shoot each. Two plants were green but two were yellowed and I found the shoots were broken but hoping they grow. For the price paid I am happy if I get 50% success.

Very impressed with this company.
I ordered an apple tree and I rate their service as excellent. Communication was very good with regular updates and it arrived well packed and looking very healthy.
Their service when dealing with my enquiries prior to ordering was also excellent. Very quick and helpful. I will use this company again without any qualms.

I ordered a golden sage from them, and when it arrived it was distorted with black spots on many leaves, clearly not a healthy plant. I got in touch with them (sending a photograph), expecting a refund or replacement, but they recommended me to leave it for a while and see how it got on. I was rather taken aback, since I don't expect to have to nurse bought plants to health, unless they were on the bargain trolley, but I did wait two weeks and it was no better, so I contacted them again. This time I was told that it was normal for sages to have black spots, and that there was nothing wrong with the plant. They will not give me a refund or replacement. Any of the other nurseries I have dealt with in the past have always refunded me if something arrived in poor condition, or sent a replacement if available. Looking down the comments here, I conclude that they are capable of sending out plants in good condition, but clearly one cannot rely on this. Personally, I shall never use them again.
I am an amateur gardener of many years' experience, and have grown common sage from seed. I have also had golden sage in the past, and it has not been covered in dark blemishes.