Comments regarding Jung Seed

I have ordered from Jung in the past. I have always had good orders from them.

I realize they are having some trouble this year, but the items that I ordered arrived in fairly good shape. My items did arrive later than last year, but still in plenty of time for planting. One bare root item was rotten when I received it, so I emailed them. They never returned my email, but I received a replacement item in about two weeks which looked much better.

It did take three shipments to receive all of the items, but I found that nice because it gave me time to plant things since I had a rather large order.

I ordered a set of three birch trees and was very surprised when they arrived and were four feet tall each. The roses that I ordered were very nice plants.

Like many others, I did not have a good experience with Jung's this year. I have ordered from them for many years, with no particular problems. This year I placed an order on-line for seeds and plants, including 2 kinds of asparagus and 3 kinds of onion plants. The seeds came in good order, although in 2 different batches. On May 15th I received one of the onion varieties in a small box (I'm in the far north, so the timing on that was okay) and also in the box was the packing list for another box which should have had all the other plants. When I tried to call, almost impossible to get through; I finally did by just waiting with the speaker phone on while I worked on my computer. With the first call I was told they would "put a trace on it and get the plants to me ASAP." I probably should have just asked for a refund then, but figured if I could get the stuff within a week I'd still be okay. Eight days later (on June 5th), had not heard anything so called again; I was told the order was supposed to be shipped out "after June 3rd." When I requested a refund (to my credit card) the customer rep said she would do that, no problem, and apologized for the trouble and asked me to just call and let them know if the package ever somehow did show up. Just checked with the credit card company and the refund is there, in fact they refunded a couple of dollars more than I was charged. I'm undecided as to whether I'll order from them next year; if I do it will likely not be a large order, but I do hope they get their act back together as I've always found their prices reasonable and the products and service (in the past) at least as good as most other companies.

I ordered several items from Jung's this year (seeds, supplies, and live plants & trees). I was satisfied with everything except the trees. The plants looked good, seeds are fine. I was disappointed that the trees I ordered arrived with no wrapping or anything to protect the roots from drying out. Of the four trees I received weeks ago (2 shagbark hickory and 2 swamp white oak) only one of the oaks has put out leaves. The other three appear dead. I suspect that they died because the roots had gotten too dry, but I planted them the day I got them, so I'll lay the blame on Jung's. One other criticism: the planting instructions included with my trees recommended that the tree roots be soaked in water for many hours before planting, which I did. A few days later, I received an order of trees from a different company (Musser), and Musser recommended *against* soaking trees in water before planting, commenting that it washes away beneficial bacteria on the roots. Makes sense to me.

I too am waiting for seeds that should have been started indoors and even outdoors now. I ordered in February. Jung was my favorite company for the past 3 years. I went out of my way to continue with them. They need help. I will call them one more time (Can't get through). Probably won't use them next year.

just a kinda ok place for stuff. nothing out of the ordinary and the catalog is almost "childish" in a fashion. An "old house" out of fashion, like Gurney - et al.

On a 1-10 scale I rate it 6 !

I ordered seeds, and other equipment, bulbs and plants near the 26th of January. I still do not have my order. I patiently called many times and the lines were busy. When I did finally talk to someone almost 2 weeks ago she assured me that the order would go out that day. E-mails have not been responded to. The seeds needed to be planted by now. Last year they filled my order in a timely way and all seeds were great.

I have only ordered from Jung's once, but I don't expect to do business with them again. Lured by their low prices, the fact that they are relatively well-known, and that a friend had had a positive experience, I ordered a bunch of stuff - lilies, bare-root hostas, and some perennials. When my order arrived, it didn't look too promising - bulbs were small and shrunken-looking, bare roots dried out & very puny, one or two little plants obviously DOA. I planted them with high hopes anyway, and while most of them have hung on, none of them are what you'd call thriving. I didn't bother to complain to the company, figuring I had taken a risk in ordering from them in the first place, so I can't speak for their customer service department, but I won't order from them again. Cheap prices are no good if the plants are of poor quality - from now on, I'll stick with Bluestone & a few local growers.

I ordered from Jung for the first time this past spring. My bareroot plants arrived in mid-April, which is far too early to plant in southern Wisconsin. The plants looked healthy, but two of the five plants I ordered died. I contacted customer service and promptly received a credit that can be applied to a future order. (However, if I lose the credit letter, I'm out of luck. You can't use a copy of the letter and Jung will not attempt to make good on their guaranty a second time.) I also ordered a number of different seeds. The germination rate was very poor. Many varieties didn't germinate at all. The weather this spring was unusual (cold and wet at normal planting time), so I will try Jung's seeds once more. So far I haven't been impressed, but I'll reserve a negative rating until I see how successful my second order is.

I placed a very large order with Jung's in April. I must say that about two thirds of the plants were in very good condition. However, the other third was in bad shape and I attribute this, not to the original quality of the plants, but to the packaging. I imagine that if the order were fetched personally, I would have been quite pleased. However, I live in NY state and that is not possible. The packaging was sub-standard and so, the plants were subjected to unnecessary stress. I may try once more in fall after speaking with the people at Jung's. If the result is the same, I am going elsewhere.

I may give this company another chance, but so far their service is uneven. Spring plants were shipped very early, so it was impossible to get them in the ground quickly. Some looked very good, others not so hot. I have seen better merchandise, but I've seen worse, too.

Have ordered from Jung's for over 30 years. They used to be really excellent, but quality and size of plants has definitely slipped in the last few years. The Helleborus I received from them last year were absolutely TINY, MINISCULE, dormant tissue cultures for a hefty price. They are still ok for ordering standard seeds and plants, but it is best to avoid newly listed things as they will often be small with somewhat inaccurate descriptions. Customer service is good, but the president of the company didn't deem the letter I wrote him of merit to bother answering. Order with care.

I'm a master gardener who has been gardening for about 15 years. It is my private opinion that you should only mail-order the plants that you cannot buy locally. Use the catalog plan if you want, but go to your local nursery and buy the bigger healthier version. Most mail order companies mail their plants in their dormant state and these will have to be tended constantly to survive. If it is a plant that you want that is not available locally, then the extra attention may be well worth it. I order allot of roses through the mail because I prefer the older varieties that many nurseries do not carry. (I have been very happy with Jung's roses) Also when ordering, be sure to check the description of plants when shipped. Some companies send the plants in small pots, which is better then bare root.

I have had good luck in this area (SW WI) with Jung's seeds. I am close enough so that I can travel to the Madison location and pick up bare root and nursery stock, so I don't know how they do mailing. I think that their merchandise is best suited for this area; when I lived in California, I had poor luck.