Comments regarding Plantation Products, Inc.

I bought a pack of their Livingston Seeds, watermelon radish. They bolted within 30 days, never formed an actual radish, and when I threw them away the outside was red, not which as they should have been. Clearly misnamed seed of poor quality.

I recently purchased a pack of Ferry Morse Sow Easy Strawberry Alpine seeds (125 seeds) from Lowes for $2.49 and planted them, using a heated mat for faster germination. None of the seeds I planted sprouted, so I planted the remainder of the pack. Not a single one of the 125 seeds sprouted. I contacted customer service by email and asked for a refund. Five days later they responded with, "Unfortunately, we do not offer cash refunds. If you would like a replacement packet in the fall, I can do that. Please send your mailing address." My mailing address was already included in the body of the email and I responded immediately advising them of that. They responded six days later with "Unfortunately, we are out of the Strawberry Alpine. Either I can send the new seed in September or is there another variety that you could use." I did not wish to receive another packet of seeds with a zero germination rate nor did I want to have to wait four months to resolve this matter with new seeds of questionable germination success,which I could not plant until the following spring. There were no other seeds that I needed as my garden was already planted. I replied, "Since you are unable to provide a replacement item in a timely manner, just send me a cash refund." I have heard nothing since and it has now been nine days. I will not purchase Ferry Morse seeds again. they clearly do not stand behind the products that they sell.

I bought a lot of Ferry-Morse seed packets from Home Depot or Lowe's over the last few years. Ferry-Morse is part of Plantation Products, Inc. Most of the seeds worked as expected. However, one packet of "bad" seeds would be enough to waste a whole growing season. Some of the seeds in a packet of Super Sweet 100 tomato seeds were not true and the tomatoes from these seeds were the worst! Another example: a Ferry-Morse seed packet (//www.plantationproducts.com/catalog/cfProduct_Detail.cfm?p=2287), Giant White Globe Radish, is on sale at both Low's and Home Depot, however what are shown on the seed packet and at their website are long white radishes, something like daikons. I emailed the company about this inconsistency and hoped that they will correct this error. Unfortunately they didn't reply until a few weeks later and tried to defend their errors. I may continue to buy Ferry-Morse seeds.

Yesterday I purchased and planted the NF Blue Lake 274 Garden bean seeds. Roughly 1/3 of the seeds were damaged and broken. These were not the $.20 seeds previously mentioned but were priced at $1.99. I am extremely disappointed that there is no quality control. We'll see if they germinate.

We had planted huge drifts of marigolds in a previous year, and a neighbor liked them enough to give us two large-looking boxes of marigold seeds labeled American Seed. I was startled to find almost no seeds in the boxes - - just filler. Careful reading of the package does reveal that 97.80% of the contents consists of inert matter. I don't know how well the seeds germinated, since I ended up sowing the contents of the box in a mixed bed with seeds from other sources. Searching for American Seed reveals that there is a seed company of that name which prominently disclaims any relationship to the Plantation Products, LLC company that sells seeds under the American Seed name. I would have been quite irritated to spend money on this product, but as a free lesson in the importance of reading labels, it was not a bad deal.

I bought a packet of NK sunflower seeds from a retailer. The packet of seeds were cheap, about a dollar. I had my doubts but I figure they're seeds how can you screw that up? I began germinating a few NK seeds to check how well they grow. They grew fast and long so long they were unable to support their weight and needed support for their stringy stalk. I bought Burpee Organic seeds for comparison. I germinated a few 5 days after the NK seeds. The Burpee sprouts were the same length as the NK sprouts in a week. While the NK sprouts needed support, the Burpees were able to support themselves despite their length. One of the NK sprouts appears to be dying and all the Burpees are vital.

I purchased a packet of Plantation radicchio seeds from the Italian collection this spring - labeled for 2013. Upon opening the package I was surprised at how little seed was provided.

After seeing how few germinated, I felt totally ripped off. With 40 years of gardening experience, my best guess is that this was OLD seeds. In reading through this thread, I see that Plantation also packages Northland Grass Seed, which provided abyssmal germination last year.

Do avoid Plantation Products, and if you have had an experience similar to mine, do complain long and loudly to the retailers who choose to carry these inferior products.

TERRIBLE COMPANY. I bought pack of Rosemary and a pack of Thyme. They were a little expensive.. NOT ONE SINGLE SEED came up. I WILL NEVER BUY anything else from this company. I really wonder if there was any seeds in the pack. I think it was all natural insert matter.

I am a stay at home mom of 6 and garden every year to help offset the cost of food. So if it can be grown and eaten, I grow it.
I purchased a package of cantalope seeds from Plantation Products and planted 8 of the seeds. They all germinated, then died two days later. I planted the last 8 from the package and babied the daylights out of them. They all thrived! Only they turned out to be cukecumbers!
I also planted a package of Plantation Products Scallions. I now have a tomato plant in the middle of my scallions! You have to wonder 3 things at this point. 1) How did the wrong seeds get in the packs? 2) How many packs have wrong seeds? And last but not least...3) What are the scallions and that one tomato plant going to taste like?
I did contact Plantation Products and told them about this but was advised that I needed to send a letter addressed to the president of the company explaining what had happened. But was not given the name of the president and the person I spoke with would not comment on what the outcome of sending the letter would be. Sorry, but I won't be wasting more money on a stamp and envelope, nor will I buy Plantation Products again.

I purchased 2 Cucumber Garden Sweet Hybrid seed packets by Plantation Products May 8, 2011. I planted both packets the same day. Both packets were stamped for this year's production/planting. I have been vegetable gardening almost 60 years and have NEVER had this problem: Only one seed from each packet germinated. Their packets advertise 'Grow Up To 20 Plants' from one packet. Hogwash! I contacted Charlene Rose receptionist@plantationproducts.com
at Plantation Products who screens all of Mr. Joseph Raffaele's mail/email. It took a long time to get a response and then it was NOT satisfactory. I was hoping for 1) replacement of the 2 seed packets with same variety, 2) replacement with a different variety of 2 cucumber seed packets, 3) monetary reimbursement. None of these options took place. They sent me 2 wild flower seed packets which I never plant or grow; and then they would not communicate with me any more when I requested one of my 3 options above. I would NOT recommend purchasing any of Plantation Products seeds under any label name. I purchased these through a local Meijer store which is still selling the same Hybrid Cucumber seeds but now with a different photo on packet front and with same dates. I have since replaced the 2 seed packets at my own expense with 2 other varieties that had 100% germination. Do NOT buy Plantation Products' seeds!

I will never buy Plantation Products, Inc. seed again. There was absolutely no seed in the package. What a total waste of time and money.
Someone must have been sleeping at work that day. Where was the quality control?

To anyone thinking of purchasing Plantation Products seeds, don't waste your money. The germination rate is practically zero, I've had better luck with the 10 for a 1.00 seeds!

I decided that this year I'd like to try my hand at making my own hot sauce. I like the taste of cayenne peppers best so I picked up a package of "Cayenne Long Slim Red" pepper seeds which I came across at my local supermarket. They were labeled "Fredonia" and "NK Lawn & Garden" on the front of the package but "Plantation Products" on the back. I decided that I wouldn't need many cayenne plants, since I planned to mix the peppers with other varieties to get the blend I wanted, so I sowed only 3 seeds, hoping to get at least 2 plants. All my other pepper plants, which I started at the same time, germinated, but not those. I replanted 12 more of their seeds and after 2 weeks, none of those have germinated either.

Also, this year I thought I'd experiment with old seeds that I've kept just to see how viable they could be. I've been gardening since 1978 and have never thrown away any seeds, so I had plenty of material to choose from. I happen to love eggplant and my favorite is "Black Beauty", so I found the package of seeds I bought last year, which happened to be from NK Lawn & Garden Co. I did exactly the same as with the cayenne peppers, 3 seeds at first, then 12 more seeds, with exactly the same results. Nothiing germinated. In fairness, though, I did grow nice eggplants last year, and I believe they came from these same seeds.

Apparently both Fredonia Seeds and NK Lawn & Garden Co. are now Plantation Products, and their products need some quality improvement.

Incidentally, I was surprised to not be able to find any reference to "Fredonia Seeds" or "NK Lawn & Garden" on this website, because they've been around a long time.

I have bought a variety of flower seeds in the past 3 years from this company at Jewel stores and they have all either failed to germinate or have not been hardy enough to thrive.
I will never purchase any products from them again.

I bought a one pound box of Zinnia which was Dwarf Pumila, they germinated pretty good and then when they bloomed, they were suppose to be 2 to 3 inch fully double flowers. Sorry these flowers will do good to be as big as a quarter, beautiful colors, and seem to be good plants. Don't really think it is my flower bed, because we planted them in two different beds and have fertilized them faithfully with miracle grow. Just believe they over estimated the size a little, which was very disappointing, because they are all plants and no size to the blooms. Sorry this will be my last product I will buy from this company.

Thank you

I bought a large package of Zesty Italian Mesclun. Some of it grew very large, very fast. I cut some for a salad and ate it and about 1-1/2 hours later I got very dizzy and tired. I was ok the next day. A few days later when I was working in my garden, I looked over at the lettuce row and there was a flower blooming. Upon further examination, I could see that it was a Datura or Devil's trumpe which is a poisonous plant. Looking further, there were about 12 or 13 plants in the row. I don't know if they have anymore complaints about this, but I could not email them and am not going to waste a stamp to let them know. The leaves of the Datura looked like the lettuce in the row, so I did not know the difference.

I purchased "Marigold : Dwarf French Double Mixed Colors Seed Mixture" at a local store 3 July.
The front of the box claims "COVERS 25 Sq. Ft." in bold letters.
Box is marked as "Pckd for 07, sell by 12/07" and states "Contains at least 325 seeds" of (2.2%) Tageta patula and (97.8%) inert matter so the seed is supposedly fresh and viable.
I created a four(4) inch strip along the 30 feet of the driveway cleaned and prep'd it for the seed, etc. That 10 sq. ft. which is less than half of what the box claimed for coverage area.
I have been watering the strip three or four times a day every day for nearly two weeks to make sure it stayed moist. This was no easy task. Once, even twice, a day would have been easy... but it has been hot here and ground dries fast ...

I have about a dozen plants spread over 30 feet.
That is less than 10% germination rate.
It looks like ...well, it looks *bad*.

Now I have to go find and buy more of the marigold seeds in order to fill the *HUGE* and RANDOM empty spots and spend another two weeks watering. Or I have to spend fifty bucks on the plants and transplant them. The whole point was to spend a few bucks, watch the seeds sprout and grow to cover the area in front of the hedge roses.

There is no way the company can compensate me for the time lost.

Do *not* buy from the these people. They liars and thieves who promise whatever is required to sell the product(the lie) and will steal your valuable time(the theft). Time is money in my book.

Oh, unknown to me at the time of the July purchase, this is my second bad experience with this company and product. Two years ago I purchased some cans of flowers making similar promises(COVERS 12 Sq. Ft. ...). I got about the same results: a half a dozen plants that lived.
I never bothered planting one of the cans and upon checking it, just found it is from the SAME company: American Seed, Plantation Products, Inc. of Norton Mass.

If anyone at PP actually reads this I'd like to point out that if the box had said "Covers 5 sq. ft." which is the actual truth, I would have nothing to complain about. I also would have bought and planted at least 2, probably 3, boxes and should have a 30+ foot long, 4" strip of marigolds along the drive.

Hi. Was first pleased to purchase from Walmart (in Zephyrhills, Florida, our winter location,) packets of your seeds for only .30 cents each. However, yesterday, when I harvested several of your "grey zucchini" squash from the garden here in North Boston, New York, their intense bitter taste made them impossible to eat. Were these gourd seeds? The fruit did resemble the picture on the packet. Your distribution of seeds at such a low cost is to be applauded. However, I had to chuck two very mature plants into the compost pile. Am left wondering what the problem could have been to cause the bitter taste!?! So far, the Early Yellow Crookneck has made only a few wilted fruits, so we cannot provide you any feedback on these.

My wife and I recently bought a 1.25 lb box of Perennial Garden Wildflower blend. The box states that 90% of the contents is inert ingredients "to aid even seed distribution".
I opened the box and found 100% of the contents to be the inert ingredient material.
I was very disappointed.

A packet of Clarke's heavenly blue morning glory seeds purchased contained only 12 seeds of which only three germinated. I feel let down, ripped off. I thought anyone could grow morning glories!

I purchased two 5-pound bags of Northland grass seed. I broadcast the seed on my property and watered, by hand, twice daily for the first 8 days and then daily.

· About 7 days after seeding I noticed a weed coming up over most of the area I seeded. The weed growth has several interesting characteristics.
· All the weeds came up within a few days from the first observed one.
· The weed is of only one variety – identified as Henbit by the Extension Service
· This weed is present only on my property and does not extend onto the four adjacent properties, even though there is no fence or other demarcation between properties. They are contiguous.
· I walked up and down the streets near my house and my property is the only one with this weed.
· These weeds were not present on my property before I seeded.

It is very improbable that this weed came from a pre-existing source on my lawn or that it was an airborne infestation. The conditions outlined above strongly support the source of this weed were the seed I purchased.

I called Plantation Products, the manufacturer of the seed. They offered to refund the $20 I paid for the seed. I do not consider this an acceptable response. They not only supplied a defective product but the result of that defect caused extensive damage to my lawn, as well as the cost to me of additional time and money to destroy the weed, reseed and water. If the seed failed to germinate, product replacement may seem like an acceptable option, but in this case the seed did germinate and the result of that germination was the destruction of my lawn. They did not supply the product promised on the container but instead their product was such that damage and additional cost ensued.

Weedkiller to kill this weed is $30 a gallon and a spreyer to apply it is $25. Considering the damage to my lawn (little grass, mostly henbit) I do not think it unreasonable to request that the manufacturer pay for correcting the damage.

I tried calling the company president about 10 to 15 times but could not get a response. I either got a recording and no return call or twice, a secretary who put me throught to a recording. The store I purchased the seed from wrote to the company's sale manger for me. This got no response.

Very poor germination rates and with impatiens, zero germination. I started impatien seed from 4 different companies and the other 3 did great. Other seeds were smashed in the package. I ordered on-line. They were out of some of the items I ordered but didn't contact me for substitutions, they just didn't send them. They did send the wrong variety of one item I ordered. I requested a refund for the seeds that didn't germinate and never heard anything back from them.