Blatantly Misleading. No Fine Print. No Accountability. I ordered a Clematis from McKay Nursery in a #1 container, which their site described as approximately a 1-gallon size. What I got was a 2.5-quart pot--dramatically smaller than what any reasonable person would expect when ordering a gallon-sized plant. I contacted customer service, and Matt Weaver responded by telling me that a "#1 container" is actually a "trade gallon," which, according to him, means 2.4-2.9 quarts. That's not a real gallon. And more importantly: that information was nowhere on McKay's website. No small print. No disclaimer. No fine print. Nothing. To justify this, Matt sent me a link--not from McKay--but from a completely unrelated company's website (NC Farms), trying to retroactively explain away the discrepancy. That's not customer service. That's deflection. If McKay is using a non-standard sizing system, it is their responsibility to be transparent about that at the point of sale--not after someone calls them out. The fact that this was omitted entirely from their site makes it false advertising, plain and simple. The plant might be healthy, but I paid for something I didn't receive--and the way it was handled showed zero integrity. Buyers beware: McKay's "gallon" isn't a gallon. And once they've got your money, don't expect accountability. read more

Buyer Beware! This company sells inferior plants online. None of my plants showed and life almost one year later! Do not honor their 1-year guarantee! BBB to be reported also. read more

I have worked with McKay going back at least 10 years and have spent 10s of thousands of dollars with them. This includes hardscape and plantings. 4 years ago we had them put in a walkway, small terrace with a seating wall, stairs leading to our driveway and a water feature on the front of our house. They finished the job just as the snow started to fly and I thought it looked amazing at the time. The following spring I noticed the black Techo block that they recommended looked like it was leaching lime. This made the block look dingey and grey. They came out a few times and contacted the Tech block Rep who came out and never did anything. So, I waited. The next season it looked worse and the Techo block rep (who was different from the previous year) said she would come out to look at it and never did. I called McKay again and they pretty much washed their hands of it (it's their vendor, not mine). Last year I called again and the Tech Block Rep (who was different from the year before) came out a number of times and made a diligent effort to correct the situation. This year, the block looks even worse and I called Tom Bergen at McKay and said I am not satisfied, and he will not even return my calls. Neither will Andy from Techo Block. I had another landscape company look at it and they said it would take $4K to "fix" it (the little seating wall cost $8K to put in). I researched with a stone company, and they have made a suggestion on how to improve it. I left a message for Tom Bergen asking that perhaps he could help me with the labor, at least. Tom does not return calls. Also, I required some maintenance on the paver they used and they promised to send someone out last year. They never showed up. In addition many of the plants (grasses) have died and other plants are overtaking the (supposedly nearly maintenance free) walkway. The previous job that I had McKay do included adding trees and cleaning up an existing garden in the back of my house. Within just a few years, they are all overgrown and growing into one another (I asked for as maintenance free as possible). I have hired another company to replace, remove, and replant the mess that I have with the poor selection of plantings. All McKay needed to do is make sure they fixed the problem, repair what I asked and not push me off to their vendor and then ignore me. McKay, you suck and I'll make sure I tell everyone about your terrible follow-up service. read more

Paid $100 for 3 Hosta that were in 3 gal pots. They could have been in 1 gal pots and look horrible for $35 a plant. The leaves are burnt and have holes in them. read more

McKay Nursery - Paid $35 per plant for these 2" tall plants that have burnt leaves. Said "3gal" they could be 1 gal plants - Landscaping Near Me - Waterloo, Wisconsin

See all

I have never bought online bare root plants before, a bit anxious to try it, but found the exact plant I desired at McKay Nursery. The service at McKay Nursery was exceptional, I especially want to thank Ann for her care, guidance and kindness. Being a bit nervous with the uncertainty of purchasing a bare root plant, Ann answered all my questions. She even made sure I purchased a guarantee for a minimum amount, so that I would have peace of mind. It is SO wonderful to deal with small, caring businesses in the world in which we live today. My plants are in the ground, keeping my fingers crossed they are happy in their new home. Not because of the quality of McKay, only the expertise of the gardener who planted them! read more

They do NOT guarantee their plants will survive! I ordered 7 bare-root raspberries, 3 of which did not grow. When I contacted them to replace the raspberries I was told the best they could do (because I did not purchase a warranty!!??) was send me 3 new bare-root plants at half price and $25 in shipping! Umm, no. read more

We purchased some lovely coneflowers last summer. They were planted an well established before the winter. We purchased 12 plants and only six survived. When I called to inquire about a warranty or getting some of the plants replaced, I was told I was supposed to purchase the warranty when I placed the order. I was hardly given the time of day. Never have I ever had to purchase a warranty for flowers or shrubs, etc. I guess New England does it differently. Buyer beware. read more

Beautiful plants were lovely and the right size for their pots (Sandcherry, Juniper and Salvia) Shipping is partly dependent on what happens during the shipping process. The box was undamaged and plants had been watered well before shipping. Prices were better with McKay Nursery than locally. Absolutely love what we received. read more

20 years ago we purchased 25 bare root maples from McKay... every maple is alive, 40' tall, and have gorgeous fall colors.

Tl;dr: Do not do business with these people. They don't follow an agreed-on plan, they damage your property, their plants die, and they charge thousands over what was quoted and then argue with you. Got a recommendation for these folks from a local patio outfit. Landscape designer came out to meet with us, gave her the rundown on everything we wanted done. After a lot of back & forth trying to get the designer to create a plan that included plants we actually wanted to see they sent us a quote. Took forever to get the work scheduled, then the crews showed up as a surprise one morning. Landscape designer, who was supposed to be present, was nowhere to be found. Discussed the work with the foreman, asked for two additional hostas to be removed, and ensured that their plan for the landscaping left enough room between it and the property line. During the work they ran their skid steer into one of our raised garden beds, crushing the metal and breaking the wooden parts, and effectively concealed the crushed metal from us during the walk-through. The grading that they were to do on the side of our house to improve drainage resulted in water flowing back towards the house, not toward the street. They positioned plants incorrectly, such that my wife and I had to move plants ourselves after the fact. They left absolutely no instructions about plant care, and required us to look it all up ourselves. When asked the landscape designer pointed fingers at others, who, when asked, had no idea what we were talking about. Their mulch sprouted hundreds of unsightly mushrooms throughout the summer. They laid down that nasty plastic mesh with straw in it to cover grass seed, despite explicitly asking them to leave reseeding to me and to NOT use that mesh because it's environmentally unfriendly and gets caught in mowers, etc. 30% of the plants have died and they did not replace any of them as warranted. And on top of it, they charged us $2000 above the quote. When asked why the difference they stated that: - the requested removal of the hostas was a change ($1000 a hosta? I don't think so. Their foreman laughed when I asked about that, saying it's one of the easiest things to do, but according to them he's the one that cited this as a costly change) - some edging around a tree was difficult because the tree has roots (the whole discussion with the landscape designer was around this fact, because the whole point to that portion of the design was to deal with the roots and uneven surface. Beyond that, the idea that trees have roots probably shouldn't be a surprise to a competent landscaping company) - grading one side of our house required a skid steer and was more difficult than originally planned (while the need for a skid steer should not be a surprise, we did accept that the work there may have been more than expected. Regardless, they severely damaged our raised beds and did not grade the yard so it drains away from the house) We have since asked for a refund and agreed on figure, acknowledging that some work was more difficult. They refuse to honor their end of the agreement and actually refund our credit card, despite saying they have, and continuing to point fingers back & forth within their company and at our credit card company. They have stopped responding to inquiries now. At our credit card company's suggestion we have opened claims against them now, and if this doesn't work will have to go further. At best these people are incompetent, at worst they're corrupt. Don't do business with them. read more

The worst landscape company I have ever worked with. Our landscape contract with them was signed in May 2018 with a 50% down payment. After constant calling to follow up on when the work would be started/completed, they finally started the work in September and did not follow through on the work that was contracted. After discussing with the service manager nothing was done to solve the poor service or the incomplete work. I highly recommend that you do not use this landscape company for any work whatsoever ever. read more

Sorry to say this company was a huge disappointment. I specifically ordered a plant based on the photo I saw online. I was unable to buy in my area so I splurged and easily paid 3x the price just so I could have it. It arrived 2 days later and was the wrong color. When I called SEVERAL times to speak with customer service no one would answer. Finally they said that in a couple of years it would look like the photo. I have since contacted another nursery that said this was a lie. Thanks for taking my $$$$ and not being descent as to offering to absorb the cost of YOUR mistake not mine by having me return it shipping provided by you. I would NEVER do business with this company again and highly suggest that consumers READ THE REVIEWS!!!!! Not good!!! read more

This is the second house in which we have used McKay's landscaping services. Shawn is incredible!!! She listens very carefully to your "wish list", takes into account all of those things us non-experts can't fathom, and comes up with a lovely design. But let me tell you, the design on paper is one thing... the garden is quite another. I have a gorgeous garden, bursting with color from spring to fall ( not to mention winter interest with branches and other textures) and it is all virtually care-free. She took into account the color of the house and all of the contours of the property. All of our plants were guaranteed and the installers were wonderful, even on a hot, hot day. Kudos McKay! I hope I never move, but if I do, Shawn will be recruited to landscape!! read more

Natalie's reply from McKay did not surprise me. I wouldn't agree to pay them additional money because I didn't have any confidence that McKay would do a good job. Also, since the builder paid for the initial landscaping, that option was now off the table since the job was completed.. So, now I was being asked to absorb all the cost of the "fix." Mind you, this was after Tom, the sales director, acknowledged that the area they had proposed to fix was poorly planned out in the first place. When you hire an expert, you expect them to use their expertise to do a good job. That didn't happen here. I will post some pictures of McKay's work, after new growth is done for the season, with some additional comments within a few months. At that point, you can judge for yourself if you would like to hire McKay. read more

McKay is helping me nicely with a problem I'm having in planting my Wyman crabapple tree.

Experts in Horticultural & Landscape Architectural Design Services

Last summer I bought some Red-Twigged Dogwood shrubs to update the flowerbeds in front of our house. The staff at McKay was very helpful in guiding us through the purchasing process and providing us reading material on how to plant and care for the plants since this was a DIY project. I love how the red color bark looked against our white siding all winter long. I can't wait to see them this summer. read more

McKay keeps our outdoor landscape and yard looking beautiful. Everything is top notch from the exceptional staff to the excellent nursery stock. We recommend McKay to our friends and family. We have been working with McKay for many years, and look forward to continuing to work with them. read more