Are Costco Hydrangeas Are Worth Adding To Your Garden? Here's What Buyers Say

Hydrangeas (hydrangea spp.) provide large, showy blooms in a wide variety of rich colors. If you're thinking of adding hydrangeas and are a Costco member, it makes sense to take a look at the warehouse store's plants. The retailer sells a 2-pack of potted 3-gallon hydrangeas for just under $80, offering two types of hydrangeas. 'Limelight,' a panicle cultivar, has conical blooms that turn from green to white to pale pink. 'Penny Mac,' a bigleaf mophead cultivar that blooms throughout the season, is one of those hydrangeas that may bloom in pink or blue, depending upon aluminum content in the soil and its pH. One of the major differences between the two is pruning times: Some hydrangeas can be pruned in late winter, and some never should be.

Currently, the plants are seasonally available online which can delay shipping, depending on when you order them and where you live. Of the more than 375 purchaser reviews on the hydrangea product page, over 180 rated them at 5 of 5 stars, and yet around 100 people (more than 25%) gave the hydrangeas only 1 star. Overall, the product has a 3.7 star rating. While some were pleased with the plants they received, others had mixed experiences, including some people who ordered additional plants at a later date that disappointed, compared with the first order. In general, it appears that ordering hydrangeas online from Costco is, as purchaser A123F wrote in their 3-star review, "a roll of the dice."

Costco's website says its hydrangeas are "guaranteed to arrive alive," and ships them through UPS ground for free, with an express-shipping option that costs extra. Assuming you're part of the 75% of satisfied customers, planting hydrangeas in the optimal spot in your garden can eventually provide a colorful statement for your outdoor space.

Many reviewers said their plants arrived unscathed, though some noted the soil was a little dry on arrival. Some users had an excellent experience. For instance, Pjs3000 (5 stars) ordered six plants, reporting, "They are absolutely beautiful plants and they came packaged like I have never seen before nice heavy duty cardboard box, which I can re-purpose and then the plants had stakes and material to keep the plants wet." Reviewer Liam317 (4 stars) said they "couldn't be happier" with their purchase of 20 plants, and said, "...this vendor did better with shipping live plants than most." Liam also noted, "I hope you don't expect it to be perfect like one you would get from a nursery."

But some purchasers had a completely different experience depending upon what they ordered, or when. For instance, one anonymous reviewer gave 1 star, reporting a mixed bag: "We purchased 6 of the lime lights and 6 of the penny macs. Penny Mac's were beautiful, healthy and about to bloom. Unfortunately the 6 Limelight's were underwhelming – clearly a 1 gal that was just repotted into a 3 gallon with NO Roots at all deeper than about 4 inches." Melissa (1 star) calls their purchase "expensively disappointing." "It's almost June and all I have are some twigs in the ground and only 1 of my 4 plants even have any leaves. (I bought two 2-packs) Considering the quality of the plants I'd say they are more expensive than what I could get nearby." Some reviewers also mentioned browning leaves, although there may be an easy fix for when your hydrangea leaves turn brown. In the end, if you have the option to buy hydrangeas locally, it may provide the most satisfying experience. If not, Costco may be a contender for ordering online.