Gertens

Luke Allen was very friendly and helpful today when I voiced my concern about a pricing issue. I got the customer service that I felt was appropriate for my issue. Luke listened to me, acknowledged my concern, and took action. Thank you Luke.

I use to love Gertens but customer service has gotten so poor

This place is chaos on a massive scale. Avoid at all costs! They have no easy, logical system for checking people out and loading up their cars. To do so, you must sit in your idling car in a long que in a narrow, congested parking lot. It’s ridiculous.

My co-​worker and I went to Gerten’s for the 1^st time thinking we would be walking out with almost $ 1000 worth of plants. We left spending $ 0 since the customer service was the worst I have had in a long time. They sent us from end to end and back to the other end just to find out that they didn’t want to help us. I will never go to Gerten’s again because of their staff and poor service. Too bad for them really since we went to spend money. I am in the customer service industry and was appalled at their lack of service or better yet, their poor service. Training is in order for all employees.

If you are at all interested in plants and gardening, odds are you know about Gertens-​one of the largest green houses and garden centers in the twin cities area. Every time I go it seems they are even bigger than before with everything you need to beautify your home from flowers and plants to statuary, vegetables, landscaping materials and even grills. We’ve been getting stuff from them for years and have to say their selection is absolutely huge.
They have lots of helpful staff to direct you around there massive outdoor lot and numerous green houses. If you want the big stuff, boulders etc you drive just a little down the road to the huge landscaping supply area where you weight your vehicle on the way in and again on the way out to determine how many pounds of stepping stones (or whatever) you chose for that weekend project.
Gertens can get pretty busy once the planting season gets in full swing and the crowds on Mother’s Day weekend can remind you of the state fair.
Price wise expect to pay a bit more than the Home Depots and Menards but you can expect really high quality and a wide selection. For example, today I was tempted by a few of the nice size heirloom tomato plants which included «mortgage lifter, brandywine and black krim.
A great store a bit out of the way but worth a drive.

I experienced Gertens today for the first time – it is not even spring planting season yet and yet they still have many live green blooming plants. I browsed a lot today and found all kinds of cute ideas for gifts for people in my life no matter the dedication level they have to gardening or space. They have lotions, candles, books, signs, cards, doormats, apron, flags in addition to all things garden. They have seminars and how to– events posted on the website. I do think it can get overwhelming here so take a snack and go when you are in the mood to ponder.

This was a mixed-​bag experience. Robin gave us great service. Other people seemed apathetic or frazzled. Ultimately, they sold me what I needed and made a (rare, according the them) pricing exception, which was unexpected and nice.

Gertens has anything you could possibly need to landscape your yard. Period.

They have a ton of product but after going here as both a civilian consumer and a contractor I have to say the staff is a little slow to help. Maybe it its because it its so huge and they are understaffed. Pretty expensive too. Almost double markup from other retail establishments from my research.

Having now gone to Gertens on and off for the last 3 yrs since we moved to Woodbury I have now decided that no longer shall I see an offer of plants or shrubs or anything that gives me the oppurtunity to kill it that is too good to pass up.
You see I love plants. I dont really know alot about house plants but I do enjoy them. I hate it when they die despite my best felt intentions on keeping them green.
We have now a number of plants we have named in memory of relatives who have passed on so our green thumb pursuits have taken on a bit more urgency.
What I have seen from Gertens is their plants are just better. They start out looking better and they last longer and seem hardier thru out their stay at our home.
The turning point in my attitude came as the result of our christmas tree purchase.
So I have bought a large but unknown number of trees over the years. Pretty much all of them have in common the propensity to shed enourmous amounts of sock penetrating needles. Usually starting the morning following the night we put it in the stand. Regardless of how well watered we tried to keep it they without fail became a true fire hazard within days of being hung with their festive decorations. Well Gertens tree was never expected to do anything but reinforce the bad habits of it previous brethren of the coniferous kind.
Wow what a difference.
It not only lasted with very little needle fall out until well after christmas but was so healthy we hated to take it down. There are to this day a few scattered branches that broke off during its trip back out the door laying on my drive way that are still holding their respective needles with tenacious hope of never falling off. I am impressed and am now a true Gertens devotee.
Only 4 stars? Yeah I have yet to find perfection.

I went in this past Saturday afternoon in search of a mini Christmas tree… They had 40% off all trees until Monday (¹¹⁄₇), so I thought I better check it out! They had very few tree’s under 5 ft tall, and everything else would’ve been way to large for my space. I didn’t end up purchasing a tree, however I picked up a handful of ornaments at $ 10 bucks a pop! Eeek… Kind of pricey, but I could totally justify the price for the quality.

Let me just start by saying that I kill plants. It’s not intentional, it’s just what happens when I try to grow things. But the staff at Gertens has always been engaging and easy to work with.
I kill fewer plants when I buy them at Gertens, and part of that is the plants are locally grown, so they are acclimated to our crazy Minnesota climate. I kill fewer because the lovely people at Gertens explained to me that because it’s called an annual doesn’t mean it comes back annually… it means that my chances of killing it are 100%. So, they directed me to the perennials — the plants that DO come back!
So, their knowledge has been super helpful to me.
I also like that they know a lot about the accessories they sell down to which types of clay pots can be kept outside in winter.
We got our potted flowers for my wedding here. It was lovely, and the people were — again — super extra helpful. They were annuals. My church killed them when I was on my honeymoon.
All in all, they are a local organization with locally grown plants that are more likely to survive in our winters, and their staff is knowledgeable and helpful in getting everything done. They’re a bit pricey, but I don’t kill these plants as much, so in the long run, I pay less.
But four stars instead of five? We had a bad experience ordering mulch. The rubber mulch that came in was completely different than what we ordered. They were both rubber, but not at all what we wanted.

Here’s the thing you need to know about Gertens: They grow their plants there.
Is this important when you’re buying annuals? Not necessarily. You can buy your annuals anywhere and by the end of the summer you’ll end up with the same thing (basically…unless the place doesn’t do enough work pinching/​stunting the annuals and you end up with some leggy-​ass impatiens…).
Is this important when you’re buying perennials and trees and shrubs? Yes.
Yes. Yes. Yes. I cannot describe how important this is. I mean, if you want your plants to over-​winter here.
I worked at another nursery (now defunct) for many years in college. We’d get shipments of perennials and shrubs that were grown in the south. They’d be theoretically zone-​4 (that’s the coldness zone we’re in in the cities here) hardy, but didn’t have the acclimation to cold that allowed them to survive the winter. Certainly not if the winter was tough (cold without a lot of snow for insulation). I also know that the truck that shipped us those perennials and shrubs would then stop at Home Depot, Menards, Lowes, Walmart and Target directly after us.
So the fact that Gertens grows their perennials and shrubs here is REALLY important if you want them to come back next year.
This also means that they have a higher-​than-​average selection of University of Minnesota hybrid plants. Fruits that fruit more in this climate… perennials that are hardier and have wicked-​awesome flowers.
It also means that while they have their fair share of seasonal staffers to cover the traffic that don’t know a whole lot about the plants, there is always an absolute-​expert there.
They’re pricey maybe – but how pricey are they when you consider that what you buy elsewhere has a far lower chance of survival?
And also: It’s going to be busy in the spring/​early summer. I mean, heck, what other nursery has overflow parking in two lots AND down the street when they’re in the middle of nowhere?

From Seeds to Trees you will find it All here and of Great Quality, I was here on just a recon mission today and found a bunch of Great ideas with the help of a couple employees their knowledge is Second to None! thats what brings me here every spring!

Gertens has a great selection of flowers/​plant to choose from. If you are not sure exactly what you are looking for (I have no clue when it comes to plants) the people who work there are really knowledgeable and can help you find what you need.
Gerten’s is larger then it looks from the outside, which is nice because they have a lot to offer.
If you don’t like crowds, I would avoid going on a major holiday… it can get a bit crazy, otherwise the place is great for all of your gardening needs!

Gertens has a great selection of flowers/​plant to choose from. If you are not sure exactly what you are looking for (I have no clue when it comes to plants) the people who work there are really knowledgeable and can help you find what you need.
Gerten’s is larger th

How do you get through a transaction without saying anything???
I only went to this overpriced, over populated, over grown gardening mecca for a Christmas gift for someone who said this place is too expensive. I couldn’t agree more.
I found what I needed on my own because God forbid someone be bothered to help me. I purchased a bowl for $ 13 and didn’t get a hi, I didn’t get a did you find everything okay, or a thank you.
As I was walking out cursing the place under my breath I actually considered getting in line at Customer Service to return the damn thing, but the line was too long and I was too irritated.
By the way I didn’t find everything I was looking for. I had already been at Patina that day and they have a lot of the same stuff for less.
Gertens = No
Patina and Bibelot = Yes

This garden store does have everything you could ever want in a garden store, but it is entirely too huge for me.
And, it is more expensive than I am willing to pay, unless I cannot get what I need from a smaller store.
They do have very good customer service, though.
This used to be a much smaller store, but they remodeled into now what amounts to a «garden city». No thanks.
I prefer the local little «ma and pop shop» down the street, called Schueller’s that is out Babcock Trail. (sorry, no number and I don’t have the address, I only know how to get there)

Have you ever dug up everything in your garden with the ambitious idea of making it better? Then you are familiar with the numbing feeling of biting off more than you can chew …
There was no UNDO button so my husband and I got in the car and drove all the way to Gerten’s, recommended by our landscape designer. The sight of the humungous nursery with endless rows of plants almost instantaneously replaced sick feelings of resignation with impossible optimism (this hopefulness is what had gotten us into this cycle in the first place).
We went list in hand and the perennials were easy to find, in alphabetical order (not so for annuals). Buying them late in the season meant sale prices :) Also accumulated MANY points on the Gertens rewards card. Saved all receipts and tags. Within one year, they replace all plants that do not come back and I did have to replace about 10%.
Fantastic collection, best prices I have seen so far in a nursery, knowledgeable staff (except during early summer when you may have to hunt a bit), and healthy plants. Totally worth the drive.

This is the only place I will stand in line at the registers for a half and hour or more. You think I’m joking? Try going to Gerten’s on Mother’s Day when the weather is sunny and warm. You can see the crowds for miles, kind of like watching an ant colony build a house (or zombies hang out in a mall parking lot.)
It’s terrifying.
I live right near Bachman’s in Minneapolis so I usually only get to Gerten’s in May to begin my planting, but it’s a day I look forward to all winter. The only problem is that this place is huuuuuge and I spend months worth of grocery money on things that I’m probably just going to end up throwing out in the fall.
Whatever, gardening is my shit.

Gertens is amazing and all gardeners should go there just for the look-​see if nothing else.
I tend to do most of my annual and perennial shopping at the parking lot huts (Linders mostly) and at Wal Mart’s garden center. So walking into Gertens — a huge compound stuffed to the gills with flowers and trees and shrubs — it took my breath away.
They have at least two buildings and I don’t know how many acres. I went there looking for papyrus (they didn’t end up having it actually which bummed me out) and ended up buying a bunch of stuff I hadn’t seen at the other garden shops. Like black eyed susan vine.
In terms of their quality it is without a doubt grade A. Last year my parents brought me over a large combination pot for the edge of our deck. I was nervous about it because I knew it was expensive and it was just beautiful and I thought for sure I would kill that sucker dead. And last year was MEGA hot so I worried that having it on the deck it would just fry it’s little flower brains out. Well that thing was gorgeous all summer long. It got just huge and was literally the show piece in our back yard.
And now I have bought some of their plants for planting and can attest to the richness of the soil around the plants. Quite a difference between the dirt and root quality of their plants and the ones I bought at Wal Mart.
It is also a good place to get interesting pots — garden gnomes — squirrel proof bird feeders — trellis — veggies… They have a gift shop where they sell everything from grills to Paula Dean’s BBQ sauce. They also have a landscape center across the street where you can get garden rock and mulch and pavers. We have bought dirt for our garden beds there in half yard quantities — they will load the stuff right into the back of your pickup or trailer. I am sure they also deliver but we have never looked into that.
The only reason I avoid that place is it makes my wallet scream every time I drive into the parking lot. The plants are spendy. I can’t say they are overpriced because the quality is so high — but $ 50.00 definitely will not get you very far there.