They come well packaged and look healthy. We planted them and have watched them grow. We have assisted the privets with Root stimulator and have seen a couple of inches difference in height since we planted them back in December. They do seem to be a resilient plant. One thing I am not sure about is they grow differently, some of them have to 2 branches that grow long while others have there branches staying clustered and growing evenly. But they look nice and seem to grow fast which is what I need.