Comments regarding Jung Seed

A couple of years ago I ordered June Bearing Strawberries (3 varieties) and Red Raspberries. All of the Strawberries were moldy and soft and some of the raspberries didn't grow. Jung was happy enough to send me more strawberries, but they arrived in worse condition than the first batch. They did replace the dead raspberries and the next batch were ok but I won't order from them again. I ended up ordering from Miller Nurseries and everyone of them grew. I've been growing strawberries for many years and have never seen plants arrive in such poor condition. I just throw their catalog away when it arrives.

I hesitate to post a negative review for Jungs, as over time, I'd be more inclined to rate them positive with caveats than the reverse. But sadly, my recent experience has been much like that described in flowers4birds' review.

Years ago I bought regularly from Jungs, then for some years I gardened less and bought locally. A couple years ago I began buying seeds and plants from Jung's again -- because I like that they have been a family owned business, I like their varieties, and I like that they are -- or were -- a good source for northern climates. I ordered over $400 from them last year and $200 so far this year, so while I'm not a commercial customer I do have some experience upon which to form an opinion.

I've been pleased with their seeds and non-living supplies, but there are problems with their formerly excellent live items. Ironically, it seems that poor inventory/shipping practices make the likelihood of problems greater when shipping to northern areas. The thing that has prompted this review is a small order fulfillment problem compounded by poor customer service, but concerns mentioned below are more longstanding.

If a supplier seems to be trying, I don't normally complain if ordered garden items don't all thrive -- after all, many factors that affect plant survival are beyond a nursery's control. But when a company that has already been making me wonder about their quality standards clearly makes a mistake and then more or less spits on me when I tell them they've done so, it gets my hackles up to the point that I'll be sure others are warned.

In the second of the two $100 orders I placed with Jung's this spring, I ordered some Ft. Laramie strawberries. The only reason I ever buy non-locally is that I want varieties that are not locally available, so, as always, I unchecked the Jung's "allow substitutions" box (which defaults to being checked) and also verified, when my email receipt arrived, that it showed, as always, "Allow substitutions: False"

When the order came, another variety of strawberries (one less hardy) had been shipped. I wrote, enclosing a copy of the info from my emailed receipt that showed the no substitutions info, and pointed out that as I'd ordered the Ft. Laramie strawberries online when they were listed as available, they should have been shipped, but if not, they should not have been substituted. Their reply was "I looked at this order and does not reflect no substitutions".

Considering that I had included a copy of my receipt information which DID show the no substitutions specification, I promptly replied that this answer was not satisfactory. They replied "As this internet order did not have a No Subs marked on it, we sent the replacements."

They went on to say that if I returned the substitute strawberries they'd refund the price -- which of course would be more hassle and expense than it would be worth -- and is obviously an inappropriate response, as this was clearly their error and I'd sent them a copy of the receipt info that showed it. They've failed to send me the merchandise I ordered and sending an unauthorized substitute does not authorize them to retain my payment. And it really shouldn't be necessary for me to tell them that.

Further -- I placed this order online at 2:43:07 PM May 6 and the Jung's website says that they ran out of Ft. Laramie strawberries May 12 -- they should have been able to fill my order without the substitution issue arising.

One might suggest that spring is a really hectic time for nurseries and perhaps they were just so backed up with orders that they didn't know what inventory that had -- but . . .

The order I placed with them in early February included some garlic sets. Their website says that live things are normally shipped to my zip mid to late April, but they didn't. When nothing had arrived by May 11, I emailed them and they said my order was on the way, shipped May 8. The order arrived mid May, without the garlic -- ran out of it May 1. (At least they didn't ignore the "Allow substitutions? False" on that order.)

When I pointed out to Jungs that if they'd shipped when their schedule shows they'd have had my garlic, they replied "the normal release timeframe BEGINS mid-late April and anytime beyond that point." Really? So if it comes in July customers shouldn't complain? There is clearly a problem here.

They went on to say that if I wanted things shipped earlier than the schedule called for, I could request that. Problems with that are (1) their schedule is OK, it's the "or anytime later" (which is NOT what the website says) that causes difficulties, (2) I did try once to get them to ship some nursery stock earlier than the scheduled date -- couldn't get a reply from them (3) their ignoring a clear "Allow Substitutions? False" on an order and more important, their failure to promptly correct their error when it was pointed out to them don't give much confidence in their reliability with regard to special arrangements.

In spite of the above there are still many things I like about Jungs live items:

I ordered some glads from them last year and both the specialty glads and the "bonus buy" glads were big and beautiful and -- left in the ground outside accidentally over the winter -- they survived! They were well protected and under deep snow but still . . . impressive superglads.

Ordered Ogallala strawberries from them a couple of years ago that came in excellent condition and are growing happily, keeping me busy chasing their runners.

Ordered some Techny Arborvitae this spring that at least looks promising.

But . . .

Iris I ordered from them last summer is alive and should develop eventually, but most were disappointingly small. (Though the Tete-a-tete daffodils that came with them were delightful)

Sweet potato plants I ordered from them last year were a 3 kind combo -- one bunch of plants was fine, other two were pathetic.

Only about a third of last year's Ft. Laramie strawberries were of the quality of the Ogallala's I'd ordered previously, most came dead or didn't thrive -- that's why I need more of that kind to reinforce the patch.

Last year's Autumn Britten and Caroline raspberries were about 3/4 good and about 1/4 marginal to sad, but did stay alive with extra care. This year's Prelude all look pretty sad, but I'm hoping they will revive.

This year's "bonus buy" glads were *very* small and in some cases soft -- wish I'd bought from Home Depot. Didn't order specialty glads this year so they might be ok -- don't know.

Candy onion plants this year came dry and beginning to shrivel, tied in bundles and tossed in the box, nothing around them to protect them or keep them at all moist -- sad, it looked as if they had been very nice plump plants when packed. I put them in a special nursery area instead of in the garden and it looks as if some of them will revive.

Pink lily of the valley was tiny little dry packets of dry roots in dry shavings -- looked like something one would buy from the markdown counter at WalMart in hopes of saving it. There was a little sign of life at the growth tips so I'm hoping, but they didn't look like even when shipped they had been anything a reputable nursery would be proud of.


So, problems with Jungs:

1) Quality of their live items seems to be declining

2) While their scheduled shipping times are OK, they seem to actually be shipping later than that, creating both planting and inventory difficulties.

3) They seem to have no inventory system that tells them what part of their inventory has already been sold to and paid for by customers whose delivery date has not come, meaning that, at least in springtime, northern customers (those to whom live things are shipped last) are more likely to get scruffy "bottom of the barrel" items or none at all if the supply runs out, no matter how early they order.

4) They do not send "order has shipped" emails or, better, tracking numbers, so that one knows when to watch for a package. This is automatically done these days by online sellers of even small non-perishable items and is much more important to ensure viability of anything live, so that it doesn't sit in the sun (or the snow) instead of being promptly cared for.

5) Their order form defaults to the "allow substitutions" configuration, and even if one unchecks that box, it rechecks itself if one makes any corrections when ordering, so it's necessary for anyone wanting to actually receive the varieties purchased to watch that box carefully, and to verify that the no substitution information shows up correctly on their email receipt. (Though, as above, even that doesn't prevent Jung's from denying that the info was there.)

6) I have never been able to find a note field on their online order form. I often use note fields for purposes like emphasizing "no substitutions" or requesting tracking numbers or making it clear that my address works for carriers like UPS and FedEx as well as for USPS.

7) Customer service, at least in some instances, leaves much to be desired. Perhaps the problem is that Ruth and Mary can't do everything themselves.

So many formerly great nurseries have gone downhill that even when Jungs is being downright naughty they're better than many of their competitors -- and I hope recent events are due to some sort of temporary problems. Their absurd response to their failure to observe the no substitutions specification, however, caused me to think more carefully about performance on recent orders. While I'll probably to continue to order from them and to recommend them, with cautions, for some things, I suspect my ordering will be much more limited than it has been the past couple of years.

I just used this company for the first (and last) time. I ordered a Helmond Pillar Japanese Barberry - the whole point of this plant is that it grows to 5 ft. while the spread is 2 ft. I received my 4 inch plant today - barely alive. $25.00 and shipping for this JOKE. No wonder they charge before shipment.

"On May 11, 2009 10:10 AM, Jung Seed responded with:

I think you may be complaining about the wrong company. I went down and looked at these. There are none smaller than 12 inches. they all have growth and good root systems. The girls that package them said they have not had any smaller than that this year. Or maybe, you have the wrong bare root. People can make mistakes and grab the wrong item. Please call us with your information so we can take care of it, if it is ours.
We are sorry for the inconvenience,
Ruth
800-247-5864
ruth@jungseed.com
"

I've ordered from Jung in previous years and been happy with the shipping and quality and have recommended them to my friends. This year I ordered a goumi plant and wolfberry plant on 2/5/09 and was charged when the order was placed (which I'm OK with). When I received the order the last week of March, it included only the goumi and the packing slip indicated that the wolfberry was backordered. The goumi was healthy, but was only about a 4" plant. (Advertised as a 3 1/2" pot--the pot was bigger than the plant.) I called customer service on 3/31 and was told that the wolfberry would be arriving in a few days and it would ship as soon as it arrived. On 4/6 I checked their website and it listed the wolfberry as no longer available as of 4/1. When I called customer service again on 4/7 I was told that they would not be getting them. I had to ask for a refund.
I do understand that problems occur that can cause shipping delays and cancellations. What bothered me was that they had my e-mail and phone number, but I was never contacted by them concerning this and even had to ask that the purchase price be refunded.
The good news is that since almost every place was sold out of wolfberries by the time I knew that I would not be getting the one I'd ordered from Jung, I found one on eBay that arrived in excellent condition and was almost 2' tall for the same price.

Few years ago, I ordered several fruit bushes and a cherry tree. When the cherry tree died, Jung replaced it, and all plants have been doing well. I am particularly delighted with the cherry tree, I was not able to find anything comparable locally. So when it came to expanding my garden this year, I chose to go back to Jung for more. I ordered a plum tree, top hat potted blueberries, the same currant collection as in the past, and number of other fruit bushes. I have just received my order. Upon the first inspection, the plum tree is nice, but the rest of the bareroot part of order is awful (the potted top hat blueberries arrived earlier and they are as expected). The only one currant that is branched has no roots, the worst of the curants consists of one twig. This is in such a contrast from what I received few years ago that it's hard to believe it is coming from the same company. All other bushes were substandard also. For example, one of the bareroot blueberries is 6in tall and consists of 2 twigs, about 1/16 inch diameter. That can't possibly be a 3yr old plant! Two of my three gooseberries are similar to that, the third not being much better either.

On the plus side, the customer service is easy to deal with even in a situation that is this aggravating. I was inclined to return the whole order, but we settled on jung sending me a replacement for the three worst plants (those that had molded roots) and I have until October to notify them if the plants fail to grow. I am certain that the bushes will take several years to catch up, even if they do grow, but I can't find those varieties locally so I gave up and decided to plant them for now.

The plants that I received (with the exception of the good size plum tree with nice roots and the top hat blueberries)
were certainly not worth the price I paid. I am very dissapointed that the quality of their products cannot be trusted.

"On Apr 2, 2009 12:39 PM, Jung Seed responded with:

We are sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the size of some of the items from your order this year. We continue to use the same vendors as in the past, but growing conditions vary for our suppliers as well they do for home gardeners. The same items you may have purchased two years ago may not be the same size as recieved previously because of this but the plants are still normally very vigorous.

We are glad to hear that you contacted our customer service department and that they were ale to help you with the plants that arrived in bad condition. We do want our customers to be satisfied. If you have any other problems just be sure to let us know in the guaranteed time frame. Your business is always appreciated.
Mary, Jung Seed
"

I ordered two rose bushes from Jung's, on line, on March 11, 2009. As of today, March 25, 2009, they have not arrived, yet I have been charged for them on my most recent credit card bill. Today I called Jung's to discuss this. Customer service was not able to tell me when the items would be shipped to me, so I asked that the order be cancelled, as I do not appreciate being charged for something I never received. The Jung's customer service rep refused to cancel the order, stating something vague about the plants being in a warehouse and it's not possible to cancel my order. So, I have contacted my bank and am disputing the charge.

In no other business would this be done. Customers should be charged once an ordered item ships, and not before, and certainly not when the seller cannot even tell the customer when it will be shipped.

I will not buy from them again.

"On Mar 25, 2009 3:00 PM, Jung Seed responded with:

We are sorry you did not get the correct answer when you called. If you email me, I would be happy to cancel your order if it has not left the building. If it has, I will be happy to explain how to return the roses at no cost to you and get your refund.
ruth@jungseed.com
"

I wrote the horticulturist for advice on edible flowers as I only know about nasturtiums, pansies and violets.
They advised me to go look it up online.
The same day, a customer service person from Brecks e-mailed me back and gave me a lengthy list and was very accomodating. I planned on placing a large order with them, but gave Brecks my business based on their attitude.
Chef

"On Mar 5, 2009 11:39 AM, Jung Seed responded with:

I'm sorry to hear you are dissatisfied with your experience with our company, but I have to question who you talked to. I take care of all the horticultural questions that come in and I know that I never had this question asked.

No matter what the question is, it is not my policy to tell a customer to 'look it up on the internet'. While I may provide a helpful link that contains product information or has fantastic photos, I do my research before contacting the customer.

Also, one of my areas of horticultural interest is edible and medicinal flowers. Not only would you have received a response with information, but it would have had detailed information.

Katrina
Horticulturist"

As with bulbous1, I simply didn't get a large part of the order. I ordered a lot of plants from several sources this spring, and part of the nursery stock did come. Eventually in June I figured out I was missing several roses from Jung. They said they had sent them! But I never received them. They did send more, but it was all very confusing and some were out of stock.

They have a nice catalog, but I'm going to try to resist in the future, because they were not really satisfactory this year.

I placed my order with some difficulty, negotiating an unnecessarily complex site, and nowhere was I told that the ferns that I bought were unavailable. So I am waiting, and waiting, losing valuable planting time. And then I receive a letter, snail-mail, telling me I would not be receiving them and that a credit had been processed to my card. Hello! What is wrong with this picture? Where is the explanation for the no ferns? And, what really annoys me, not a word about fulfilling the order as I was specifically referred to this company for these particular WI/IL ferns. WOW! Does this ever make me want to do business with these people again!!
I am really disappointed with their business skills and probably will have to locate another source for my plants. I just don't have confidence these people can do anything but the routine and have very little sensitivity to their clients needs which I find surprising as most gardeners are just the opposite. I guess there is always one....

I have ordered from Jung's for years and never had a problem with getting an order on time until now.
I placed an order online with Jung's on 3/19/08. They immediately charged my card for the amount. Most seed companies I deal with don't do that until the order is shipped. I placed many other seed orders two or three days after that. I received all but Jung's within a week.
I just called them to find out where my order was. The order was shipped 3/26/08, a week after they charged my card. And then the customer service rep told me it would take 14 days to get to me. What?!? From Wisconsin to New York State? No way. I have a bad feeling about this, and I will not order from them again. Companies like Fedco and Johnny's are much, much better.

"

Sorry to hear you are dissatisfied with the time it took to ship your order. This time of year it does take a couple of extra days to process seed orders due to the volume. It also normally does not take the full 14 days for orders to arrive but since it does occasionally happen our operators are instructed to tell customers to allow that much time.
You stated that you have always had good results in the past and we do appreciate your business. If you have any problems receiving your order, please feel free to contact us.
Ruth & Mary

As previously stated, feel free to contact us. We do appreciate when customers contact us directly with any problems so they can be resolved.
ruth@jungseed.com or 800-297-3123 and ask for Mary.
"

Their website is so useless and unworkable, I wasn't even allowed to put in my order! I took a long time to choose all of my seeds for this year. Then I tried to create an account, which meant waiting for an e-mail, activating my account, and then going back to try to get my seeds again. They wouldn't let me continue with my order because I hadn't put in the city and state, but their website wouldn't allow me to put in the city and state. Clicking on it did nothing.

So I wasted all of this time. I still can't get my seeds. I e-mailed and am still waiting for a response. They're totally useless! Now I have to go through this whole process again with who knows how many other seed companies to get the seeds I wanted. I will never try Jung Seeds again. Even if they ever manage to fix this problem, who knows how many other problems will pop up. Sloppy and unprofessional.

"

We are sorry the website caused this person problems. We request the zip code be entered only. The system will auto fill the city and state. If they don't come up after the 5th digit is typed, press the tab key to tell the computer you are done entering information on that line.
I did send White_Hydrangea a d-mail offering to help at 7:40 am Monday Feb 4th, but I have not heard back yet."

Sending me a huge box full of styrofoam peanuts is infuriating. I won't order until they pledge to send a water soluble alternateve. Or straw. Straw would be fine.

Part of my order was wrong (I ordered a wildflower set with multiple plants and received a single day lily). I have sent multiple emails to the customer service address listed on the website (I send message from two of my email addresses in case there was something wrong on my end) and have received no response. Would not recommend based on customer service.

I bought 10 rose plants from Jungs. 9 were fine I returned 1 as it did not sprout and they would not replace it. They said I planted it wrong. I have been planting roses since 1967 and have never had one fail until now. I had been a steady customer of Jung. I told them I would no longer purchase from them.

I have had a positive experience with Jung Seed in the past. This spring, however, I received a potted Echinacea that died because it had been shipped without securing the soil in the pot. Consequently, the plant and the soil were scattered throughout the packing material. I contacted customer service, reported the problem, and asked the company not only for a replacement but also to be a responsible shipper by securing the pot and the soil in it as other mail order companies do. In addition, I received a rose plant from Jung's that arrived with desiccated buds and stems and subsequently has died. I will contact them about this problem as well.

"

I contacted this customer on Wed. 5/2/07 through d-mail to see what we could do to remedy the problem. I have not received a reply.

Ruth
Customer Service"

I just have to vent and Warning Beware to any of you whom may order from Jungs!
Given my background of being a professional nurseryman and also doing design work for clients and offering them gardens to view and walk around to see various plants they may want to add to their own gardens and where they can from( companies ect) I was appalled that when I ordered specfic plants from this company and they did not grow during the 06 season, that Jungs would not give me a replacement on them. I also own a nursery and as a nurseryman, did all that I could to get these plants to survive during 06- because sometimes plants die down and then come back. However, these did nothing all season.
So when calling jungs to let them know about what happened, later on i get this letter in the mail( a credit letter) for a whole $ 9.93. And they state they would go in this amount because their guarantee is only : if you recieve them in spring you have till october to call of the year purchased- if you recieve in fall you have until june 1st-...
I never did see any of this small print... maybe because i was so busy at both times of the season.
I find this very poor that they don't allow a 1 year guarantee, I know I don't appreciate a customer coming to me after 5 months and saying...hey, it didn't grow! Without allowing time for the roots to establish! Poor! Poor ! policies i say.
Now, if i had been asking for my money back- different story.
All i wanted was replacements. period!
Now i'm out my money, my plants and if i do order again i have to pay shipping all over again.
I did call jungs and all they kept saying...that is our policy.
SO BEWARE...THIS IS THEIR POLICY FOLKS-
Saundra

This is my first order from Jung and my last.I ordered several oriental poppies from them and they did not have one in stock (understandable) but then they only shipped one (not understandable).The root they sent in a plastic bag was very small compared to the larger plants sent by White Flower Farm.Will call them and complain.I hope they do better with Edmunds roses.

What a waste of time & money. Ordered 5 plants that were so tiny as to not be believed. One plant was all shriveled up when it came & died. Even though it was replaced pulling a tooth would've been easier. Nothing has bloomed & barely grown.

I have ordered twice from Jung and both times there were problems. Last year they didn't ship the blueberrries I had ordered even thought the shipping slip said they did. They informed me that they were all out of stock when I complained, they refunded my money. This year I placed my order in January and when my order came in May they were out of stock of the Honeyberries that I ordered. I enquired and found that because I had a late shipping date because of my Northern climate they ran out of stock. I complained at their on-line site and received a phone call the next day that they had got more Honeyberries from another supplier and that my order would be filled. 10 days later half my order came and when I called again they told me they got the amount wrong and were now out of stock again. I called another supplier and was able to still order through them.

Jung's sent me a mislabled rose (that is, not the rose I ordered) and then refused to refund or replace the item, claiming the rose they did send was at least the same color as the one I'd ordered and, well, good enough.

Never again. I will stick with the small rose vendors for roses.

LIR

This is just a note about the quality I have seen in Jungs seeds. We live not far from their retail store, and in a time crunch we picked up some 'Ring of Fire' sunflower seeds and some 'Evergreen' bunching onion seeds.Both have had terrrible germination....terrible.

I am a regular Johnnys customer and the same day I planted Jungs and Johnnys sunflower seeds....same soil...same conditions....rows were next to each other. As normal Johnnys seed always comes through...Jungs right next door, slim to none.

As for the onions we have not seen any. I thought maybe the low germination on the sunflowers were a fluke, but I'm not thinking that way anymore after seeing no germination on the onions.

From now on, I remain true to Johnnys even if I am in a pinch and have to pay shipping and allow more time....because at least I know it WILL germinate.

m

Last year, I ordered two honeyberries from this company. When the plants arrived they were disappointedly small (6-8 inch twigs) and not healthy. I had ordered other honeyberries from another company that same year, which were easily 10 times better plants for a dollar or so more, much larger and much healthier. Those plants bloomed and fruited this year. One of the ones from Jung's died. This was my first (and last) experience with this company.

The packing slip listed the varieties that I ordered, but the two plants shipped were clearly labeled as being different (and wrong) varieties. Thinking that there had been a shipping error, I called the company and spoke with customer service. They said that they had knowingly and deliberately shipped the wrong items, since the correct ones were "unavailable". They refused to refund my money. My order, which is standard parctice for me, clearly stated that no subsititions were permitted. The varieties shipped were not ones I wanted, and the ones I did not get could not be ordered from other vendors due to lateness of the shipping season.

My understanding is that it is not legal to knowingly advertise one item and then deliberately substitute another of lesser value. They sent what I did not order, against my instructions, and what they sent was of lesser value to me. I was bitterly disappointed at the way customer service talked to me and how they handled this whole situation. I will not do business with them again and considered filing a complaint against them in their state.

"

We are sorry to read about your bad experience with us. Unfortunately, last season our catalog was already printed before we were informed of the crop failure of the varieties of honeyberries listed, so it was necessary for us to substitute similar honeyberry varieties.

It is our policy that if you are not satisfied with a substitute, you are entitled to a refund. Our operator did not inform you correctly, for which we sincerely apologize. If you would like to call or e-mail us with your name and address and/or order #, we would be happy to straighten this matter out for you.
Customer Service
Jung Seed Company"

I noticed that Jung offered bareroot woodland wildflowers for sale. I emailed to inquire if their stock was ethically propagated. To their credit, they responded quickly and honestly. However, there response revealed a depth of ignorance that is shameful in a company that purports to hold high standards of gardening and to be environmentally sensitive.

Yes, they DO purchase their woodland wildflowers from collectors who remove adult plants from the wild. Most alarming was that they told me that their collectors assure them that "the area has increased in wildflower population over those years. The gathering of the wildflowers helps to stimulate the seed distribution to the area, causing more new plants to be established than what are gathered."

I was amazed that any company could promote such a lie, let alone believe it. There is ample scientific research that demonstrates the negative effects of wild collection on genetic diversity, genetic fitness and species survival in general. This is especially true of these woodlands species, which take longer to grow (e.g., Trillium takes 7 years from seed to bloom) than many of their sun-loving cousins. In addition, adult plants that have grown with a particular set of soil and mycorrhizal conditions are far less likely to transplant well. Read the comments of another person on this site who reported how the Dicentra that she'd ordered from them promptly died.

I am asking gardeners to write to Jung expressing their disapproval of wild collection and to refrain from purchasing from them or their affiliates until such time as they discontinue the practice. There are other companies that ethically propagate their woodland plants. These should receive our business.

I had been a loyal customer of Jungs for over 25 years and had recommended them on many occasion. However, over the last few years I have seen a decline in quality of their plant material and overall customer service. This year, part of my order never arrived and they were unable to provide replacements. While they did refund my payment, I will probably never place another order with them.

After sending three email messages to customer service and making one phone call, I have not received my refund yet of several dead plants. I have been a customer for years. In the phone call in June, the customer rep said I would receive a refund. Two months later - nothing. In the phone call and email messages, they are very vague.

I've ordered from Jung's for several years, and their quality has been going downhill for me. This spring I received three monkshood plants - one was mushy with no leaves protruding, another was moldy. The hops plant was poorly packaged, but managed to barely survive rattling around in a box too big for it. The kiwi plant was ok. Time will tell if the monkshood will survive, but they don't look promising. For the last two years, about half of the content of each order needs replaced due to the poor condition of the plants when they arrive.

2003: first time with Jung. Tomato,pepper,hostas all arrived dead and a month late. Strawberries arrived even later with mites. Seeds arrived end of June! What am I going to do with tomato and celery seeds in N.Illinois on June30?! Also, no shallot,onion seed included order, no refund for shallot seed.Never complained. Should have. They sent letter with strawberries stating that they had a fire and hoped I would pardon the poor service. I find it very odd no one else mentioned the fire letter for 2003 season. 2004: I decide to give them benefit of doubt. No plants this time though, just seed. Fax order March 12 2004. Email them on the 16th; How come no confirmation? reply: were sorry, your order#abc total $35.55. I reply back: Strange, my total should be 21.95. Reply back: were sorry, your order#xvz and your credit card was denied. I call: my credit card is fine, just used it 1 hour ago. Customer service: sorry you need to call credit dept. Long story short: credit is fine, Jung is not. Customer service suggests I go elsewhere. I agree. Fool me once shame on Jung, fool me twice shame on me.

they used to be the company my dad "swore by"......now they have gotten to be the company to "swear at"...year after year he ordered from them...now he wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot-pole..if your only dealing in "seeds" you will get them..(how can you go wrong with them) but plants, blubs, rizomes..are a joke...don't know what happened the past few years with their "high standards" but they have went down hill fast!!!!Plants/bulbs/etc.....small usally rotten when you get them-moldy, dead or won't thrive at all...DON'T RECOMMEND AT ALL....unless you don't mind throwing money away like i have done with this company.....

I have done buisness with this company for years and let me tell you they are going down hill fast. I advise everyone to go elsewhere. Any nusery items you get fail to grow. They are almost dead if not dead when you recieve them. The seeds have the worst germination I have ever seen. They have lost alot of us as customers. Let me give you all a tip. Go to a local nursery or department store like Walmart to purchase your plants. Dealing with Jung Seed is not worth the headache you are going to get.

In spring 2003 I ordered several rose bushes from Jung. One of the roses, Iceberg, was totally dead when I received it. I called them and told them that the rose was dead and they said it's just dormant and I should go ahead and plant it. Well, I knew it was dead, there was no green anywhere to be found. I called them back again and told them I wanted a refund. They said they don't give refunds and they would send me a replacement. Believe it or not, the replacement was also DEAD. I was irrate at this point and I called them again and told them that the replacement was dead and I wanted my money back. They said they would send me a credit that I could use toward a future purchase, but no money back. I will NEVER order from them again. However, on the bright side, the other three rose bushes were very healthy and doing great.

I ordered azaleas, one peony, etc. from J.W. Jung Seed Co.

During my four month wait for the ordered items to ship, I contacted the company several times to inquire why the delay. It was very difficult to "get through" to customer service. When I was able to contact them, I was told that "Oh, I guess that we can ship some of the items, now, but the peony is on back order." After waiting for another couple of months for the peony, I finally was able to speak to a customer service rep, who informed me that the peony would not be available, because the entire crop of that particular peony had failed. When I asked why I had not been informed earlier about the crop failure instead of being told the peony was on backorder, she commented on the problems that the company had been experiencing with providing customer service, etc.

The other products that arrived were of poor quality. The azaleas arrived without 90% of their leaves: It appeared from the condition of the plants, that they had been packaged for shipping, but then had been set aside for quite awhile before shipping.

I won't be ordering from J.W. Jung Seed Co. ever again.

I will never deal with this company again. I ordered 1 shrub, 1 tree, a pastel lily collection, Plox, and Dutchman's Breeches. Dutchman's Breeches did not grow at all. The Phlox and lilies turned out completely different from the catalog's description and pictures. Now I won't know what the shrub and tree will be until maybe a few years from now. Don't trust them any more.

My experience wasn't good with these guys this year (2003). Kept waiting for seeds to arrive. When i finally reached them they said they were behind weeks. Not cool. Needed to get some things in. Cancelled order and went to Johnny's. They did send back a refund right away. No apologies from customer service. Oh well - win some/ lose some........ peace & love,,,,,

We ordered from Jung for over a decade and while our experiences with them were always good, our experiences with them the past few years have been poor. We ordered quite a few perennials from them last fall. About half arrived dead. I called Jung and asked for replacements. I was told to plant them anyway and to wait until this spring for replacements. They didn't come up. I called. The replacement plants were dead and consisted of nothing except a few tiny roots in a plastic bag. A neighbor had a similar experience. We're not ordering from Jung anymore.

In the middle of April, I ordered four bareroot roses from Jung. I received an immediate email response that they had received my order. After four weeks and still no roses, I emailed Jung. Eight days later they emailed me back, saying that my roses were on "product hold and would be released for shipment soon". Hmmmm, what the heck is product hold??

I called them. I was on hold for 45 minutes. They said product hold means due to the anticipated weather in my area (zone 4)they were holding the order until it was warmer. It was in the 70's here when I called, and I'm about three hours from Jung. I asked the lady to please release my order and send it.

I just received them about a week ago (about two weeks after I called).

I will never order from Jung again, which is a shame because the plants are very nice.

have used in the past but this year. I order 4 items. 2 were out of stock recieved a check after 2 months wait. 2 items that finally arrived had all buds stripped off and dried up. small weak roots. plants will never make it. instant death. this is the last time I will order with them.

I have to agree, they have fallen down on the job. I have used Jung in the past, and this year, I placed three orders, approx $300.00 total. The first was seeds - it took 5 mailings, some at the last minute to get this filled.

Then, Hostas - all were delivered, very tiny (TC?) roots, but all but 1 are growing. One is a weird sport, not a rosette of leaves but a tall stalk with a rosette at the top and scapes with buds on the mid-stalk! (Francee).

The third, late order was for one clematis and sweet potato plants. The clematis came, with a limp, white sprout 4" long. Planted same day in improved spot. Has shown no gowth, but according to them I have to wait 45-60 days to complain!

I was charged for the sweet potato plants (4/19)a week before the Clematis was shipped, but have never received them. I have made three e-mail enquiries (can't get through on CS lines), with NO reply at all. On 5/22, a CS rep did answer, said order was sent to a conractor for fulfillment- I said why bill me, not supposeed to bill until shipped. She said they were having weather problems, but were due to ship 5/3-5/13. This was on 5/22! emailed again yesterday. no action. Cancelled charge through credit card co. Don't ever order from them unless you have this kind of hold so you don't get gypped. I do believe they are having problems.

I placed an internet order with this company on 4/22/03. I got an email confirmation of the order. By the middle of May, I was wondering where my order was. I tried emailing the company twice with no response. I tried calling and got a busy signal. My original order contained two bareroot roses, which it's now too late for. I'm very angry that I've waited a month for perennials I could have gotten elsewhere and had in the ground for several weeks now. It appears the company is out of business.

I've ordered from Jungs for over 20 years. Gernerally, I've been pleased and they've been very good about replacing things I wasn't happy with. They once replaced over 300 sedum plants that had gotten mold and mildew on them because of a shipping problem.

HOWEVER, this year's been an absolute disaster. My order didn't come and I've spent WEEKS trying to get through on the customer service line. Always get either a busy signal or "hold." They're not answering their phones or their e-mails. I think they've gone out of business.