Comments regarding Pinetree Garden Seeds

I have ordered from Pinetree for the last two years. I have had good germination of their seeds. I enjoy their large selection of seeds. My only complaint is I wish they would have told me how tiny Egyptian Papyrus seeds are! I felt like I was planting dust. But I look forward to seeing if such tiny seeds will grow.

Excellent germination rates so far this year in zone 5b, Western MA. Black Krim and Cherokee green tomatoes, marigolds (I forget what kind),broocoli "magic", Long Island Improved and Red Bull Brussel sprouts are going especially well as is Tennis Ball lettuce which germinated in just four days! Older seeds from them, Raddichio Perseo and Basil Osmin are also doing ok. The mystery are the Chinese Pink Celery and Tango Celery; they germinated wonderfully, but have stagnated. This may be user error or more patience required, but some older tango celery seed I had around and started later took off quite well. Others have noted issues with their packaging, and this years was fine, but I have had that happen once in the past; they were fast to replace the lost item due to bad packaging.

I have ordered seeds from them for many years but this year things have changed for the worse. I’m an experienced greenhouse grower and the germination rate for this year’s seed was next to zero. Maybe they changed suppliers but the prices went up while the quality went down. One seed packet was just an empty envelope. I called immediately to ask for a replacement but have received nothing. The very expensive seed potatoes were finally shipped in just a standard cardboard mailer envelope and arrived damaged, the post office even put a sticker on there and tried to tape it back together. Very disappointing and I will be buying elsewhere next year.

Crazy fast speed, quality packaging, and INCREDIBLE diversity of selection at the lowest prices in the country. Can't sing their praises enough after being a customer for 13 years.

I ordered from Pinetree Garden Seeds this Spring. My order was shipped within days. Germination has been excellent on all the vegetable types I ordered.

Posted on February 7, 2011, updated February 4, 2022
Posted on February 16, 2010, updated February 7, 2011
I ordered seeds and plant material, for at least the third time, and although the potatoes, shallots and gladioli have not yet come--it isn't spring yet--the seeds as usual arrived with no mistakes or problems. Some complain that the packets are pretty chintzy--but that's the whole point of Pinetree, providing small quantitites of seeds for a low price. Often I don't need very many plants, so I'd rather just get a small quantity for $1.35 (typical price). Last year I got nearly my whole garden from this company and only had one germination failure, cinnamon basil--could've made them replace it, I suppose, but it isn't worth the trouble. I especially like Pinetree's lettuce and hot pepper mixes, and this year I'm trying the radish mixture.

This was the first year I have ordered from Pinetree. I ordered several packets of flower seeds in early January. Unfortunately the post office was having problems due to Covid. I seem to recall that the tracking number in my confirmation email didn't work; when I logged into my account on Pinetree's website there was a different number which did work. I discovered that my order had been shipped out promptly, but then was sitting in a USPS storage facility going nowhere for over two weeks. Finally it was delivered. The delay was not Pinetree's fault. Anyway, the seeds all grew just fine and I am enjoying my flowers very much.

I've been ordering from Pinetree for many years. Like others, I was attracted at first by the ability to order smaller amounts of seed, but I have stayed with them because of their customer service and the quality of their product.

This year I expected there might be difficulties, not only because of factors related directly to covid, but because so many new gardeners were getting involved. For that reason I ordered a bit earlier than usual even for my area (7a). My order was accurate and quickly delivered. Thank you Pinetree!

I have been ordering from Pinetree since at least 2005, but this year my orders contained seeds that were NOT what they should have been. Example, I ordered Bloomsdale Long Standing Broccoli, but out of the seeds sown, only 1 single plant was a Bloomsdale" and the rest an unknown spinach. Also my Romaine "Jericho" this year were not at all "Jericho" and I have grown this one for years so I am well aware of it's characteristics and appearance. Might have been a Covid thing and shortage of staff this year, other than that, so far everything I ordered was on point.

Ordered seeds from Pinetree. All were sent to me. I like the small sixed packets so I can order fresh seed every year.

Unlike others that were shutting down orders because of covid buying this site did not. On the advice of a gardening group friend I tried them out. They had a large selection of flowers. They warned of slower then normal send out times and it only took two weeks. I ordered way early so very pleased how fast they did come. I started many of them a week ago and so far I have dahlias and millet. After soaking the globe amaranth as suggested it literally sprouted the next day. Very happy with my purchase and will purchasing again.

Posted on March 27, 2017, updated December 18, 2020
Posted on August 30, 2004, updated March 27, 2017
Last fall I placed my first order with Pinetree. I ordered crocus vernus VERY late in the season so the results were only so-so, but that is to be expected. I also ordered oxalis, which were very good, but I was blown away by the gladiolus. I ordered 60, since at the price of $2.98 for groups of ten they were very inexpensive. Then I delayed terribly planting them, did not store them well in the meantime, and did not plant them deeply enough, requiring dislodging them in partial bloom to replant them, but the results are spectacular. Other in my area have glads but none of the size and vigor of mine. What would they look like if they were not abused? I intend to find out, when I place my next, and much larger order this fall.

Placed first order from the latest catalog on 12/12/20 - received the order on 12/17/20, just 5 days from one end of the country to the other - very satisfied with their Customer Service. I will be reporting additional information re: germination %, plant performance, etc. as it happens.

I just ordered my 2021 seeds last week, and in less than a week, I got my order -- all correct and in stock. The shipping communication was excellent.
I've ordered from Pinetree for years and suspect the recent negative reviews were at least in part due to COVID issues.
I can't speak to current seed-germination rates yet (will know that next year), but I haven't had problems with poor rates in the past.

This used to be a wonderful company. Loved the huge variety in seeds and the ability to buy just a small amount for very reasonable prices. I had shopped here since 2008 for all of our family’s seed needs but unfortunately will no longer do so. In 2017 all of our purchases had extremely poor germination rates, which I chalked up to a stroke of bad luck. In 2018 my order took forever to ship and when I reached out to the company, was told they actually didn’t have one of the seeds I had ordered in stock. Apparently nobody was going to bother to tell me this, they were just going to leave my order in limbo. When it finally showed up, the germination rates were absolutely atrocious - less than 5%. We have since taken our business elsewhere - growing seasons are far too short to waste on a company like this.

I ordered seeds from Pinetree. They were very delayed due to the Covid problems. I was not upset with them, but asked to cancel the order and get a refund. I told them that I would order again next year. I sent several emails and left a voice-mail. Today I received notice that they had shipped my seeds. They had plenty of time to stop my order. I will not be planting any more seeds at this point in spring and I had told them that detail. This is money down the drain. Maybe their product is good, but I will never know. I will never reorder after being ignored.

On 4/14/20 I placed a seed order with Pinetree and 1 other seed company. I got my seeds from the other company in short order. On 4/29/20 Pinetree refunded half my order and told me the other half would ship the first week in May. On 4/29/20 I placed an order with another company for the seeds Pinetree canceled on me. I got the seeds from the other company on 5/5/20. I contacted Pinetree on 5/5/20 by email asking where my order was and if it would ship. On 5/6/20 I got 2 emails from Pinetree, the first email said my order was being picked and packed. The second email said my order had shipped and contained a tracking number and link to track for the USPS. The link and the tracking number were bogus, the tracking number contained 31 digits. A USPS tracking number can only have 22 digits. I looked at Pinetree's Facebook page and saw another customer also got a bogus tracking number and tracking email of shipment at the end of April. Here I am almost 1 month later and I don't have my seeds. All I have gotten is a bogus shipping email with a bogus tracking number, and bogus link for tracking. I am a first time customer of this company. I will not be placing another order with them again. All the seed companies have been overrun with orders this year because of the COVID-19 virus. They are all short on help, but they are managing to get their orders out. There is no excuse for the poor service Pinetree is giving their customers. I saw on Facebook people have placed orders in excess of $100.00 and are not getting their seed or contact from Pinetree. My order was no where near that range thankfully. They took the money for my order the day I placed it on 4/14/20. I saw they did the same for other customers on Facebook. Taking the money for the orders without shipping is ripping people off. No money should be taken until a customer's order ships. All legitimate companies operate this way. Taking people's money without shipping is a ripoff! They have my money and 1 month later I have nothing, no seeds, nothing!

This is the second year I have ordered from PineTree through their web address: superseeds.com. I have been very pleased with my seeds. They have filled my orders correctly, mailed them promptly and communicated via email when the shipping occurred.
I live in Florida but look at their seeds for short season crops that will survive a frost (although we haven't had one for the last five years) and for unusual, new or ethnic seeds. They are also one of the few companies that offer mushrooms although I haven't been brave enough to attempt them yet.
The seeds I have planted have grown well despite my relative inexperience and our hot & humid weather.
I expect to continue as a regular customer. I expect to continue as a regular & happy customer. Their mail order catalog is FREE.

I was hesitant to order seeds from Pinetree because of some recent negative reviews. I ordered my first seeds from them last fall/winter. Now that the growing season is over I'm confident placing my review. I had a great experience. I did reduce my original plans to order ~50 items from Pinetree because of the poor reviews here (got those seeds from Johnnys and The Sample Seed Shop instead - both favorites of mine). But I still got a fair number (~25 items) of seeds from Pinetree including all our seed potatoes and a number of flower seeds. Everything performed top-notch, and the wave petunias were phenomenal. I've gotten petunias from a local big box store in the past sometimes and thought I'd try starting them from seed this year. They way outperformed the purchased seedlings I've gotten in the past, probably because mine started from seed were treated well and not root-bound in those crazy six-packs you get at big box stores (I know, I know, I shouldn't be shopping for plants at those stores but sometimes I get a few annuals just to fill in a spot in the garden.....).

Thanks Pinetree, for great seeds. I'll be ordering from Pinetree again this year.

Our family has ordered from Pinetree for several years. Usually everything went well, but this year the peas we ordered did not produce plants that were as described. We got tree different kinds of peas from the same seed packet- none were the peas that were what we ordered. None of the feverfew seeds sprouted after two plantings. Pinetree did refund our money for the peas and feverfew, but that hardly compensates one for the work involved and valuable garden space used. Now the pumpkins are getting ready to harvest. We planted Musquee de Provence and they are staying green instead of the orange-brown color they should develop. One developed a yellow stem and I harvested it today. Beautiful dark green color. IDK what to think at this point. We also got a gourd mix and had a less than 50% germination rate. Got three types of gourds. The kind with more than one fruit has several large and soft cucumber-like gourds. Too many other minor problems to list. We will not be buying from Pinetree again.

I have had good germination rates with their seeds, and their live plants have been healthy. No complaints.

I placed my order on feb.15 and had it on feb.22.great company I really like the small size packs and the prices are great too.thanks pinetree

Posted on January 13, 2018, updated January 29, 2018
I will be continually updating this review. I will also be writing a comprehensive article this spring reviewing many seed companies and will post information online for everyone. I will cover prices, seed quantities, shipping costs, time from order to delivery, germination rates, cost per seed vs cost per plant (based on seed cost, and germination), customer service, and more.

This first review is regarding shipping.

Shipping is VERY QUICK.

From 8 seed companies I ordered from Pinetree was the first to arrive. 1 suggestion would be to improve packaging as the packets are plain paper and the seeds are loose in them. Simply by putting the seeds in small zip lock bags first and then placing the zip lock bags in the packets would be the best quick fix as it will improve viability of the seeds greatly.

Love their website and original photos.

I have had great luck with their seeds. They are reasonable and come in the right size packets. (I can't deal with 2000 foxglove seeds!) No problems with germination at all.

I have been ordering the majority of my seeds from Pinetree for many years. Last season, I ordered several seed packets as usual. After planting, I discovered that one seed packet, which was white kohlrabi, had a terrible germination rate. I even replanted using the leftover seeds, and I ended up getting three plants from a total of around 50 seeds.

I also planted what was supposed to be "Giant white radishes," and it turned out they were tiny red radishes, and very hot, almost inedible. Other seeds I got from them had a little lower germination from what I got in the past, but still bearable. I Emailed the company. After over a week, they Emailed back that they would refund the money for the packets. I said I didn't care about the few dollars for the packets, but I wanted some assurance that I could order seeds and expect a good germination rate and the correct plants to grow from them. They never Emailed me back. Sorry, but I cannot buy from them again.

Posted on January 2, 2017, updated June 30, 2017
I order from them every year - great pricing, best shipping prices around, their selection meets most of my needs and I've had fantastic germination from their seed. I'm in the process of placing orders and just reviewed a spreadsheet I keep of seeds, have to say when I look over what I've grown and tried to grow over the past years - their seed has consistently given me healthy plants (whereas some on the Watchdog 30 have consistently not germinated). I'm so glad I reviewed my list (it was surprising as I hadn't sorted or tracked it by vendor in awhile). I trashed a few other orders - may place a second at Pinetree. The first one shipped almost immediately. I'm a fan of this company.

I have been using Pinetree for the past 5 years now almost exclusively.What attracted me to them was the smaller size of the seed packets- I want fresh seeds and don't need say 200 cabbage seeds - the 25 or so in their packet was a more useful size for a small backyard garden. The lower price for a seed packet was also attractive. It is rather unfortunate that the germination rate with Pinetree has now become so low that I won't be able to order from them anymore.Lettuce seeds well below 50% peas below 50% many of these seeds were a complete wash out.I get better germination rates of 2 year old seed packets purchased freom Lowes than fresh seed from Pinetree. Though I don't want to incur the extra cost it looks like I am back at Johnny's from now on- I have never had a failure from them and the stated germination rates are accurate.

Have ordered from this company for years. Don't trust ordering online because my computer skills are not great. Mail ordering works well for me. Have had no problems with germination of seeds, but I have my own potting mix that never fails...First order sent in wintertime..got message they would be late due to Maines bad weather events...If I had problems with this company, I would not reorder from them...problems haven,t happened yet.

They always have items I really want - they ship fast - the seeds are inexpensive - what is not to like? I am also gettin fancy strawberry plants in the spring - 3 pineberry, 10 june bearing, 10 everbearing - I do not want 25 plants of each - happy I spotted these. I like this company.

Posted on December 29, 2006, updated November 25, 2016
I have ordered vegetable seed from Pinetree for several years. Their packets have smaller amounts of seed suitable for home gardens (and cost less) so I find it easier to order new every year instead of trying to reuse old seed. Most of their seeds germinate and perform well in our New England climate. I experimented one year with Jicama, Okra and a few other hot weather plants which did not do well, but then I didn't expect them to here. Their flower and plant selections don't look too exciting, but they have a good selection of vegatable and salad seeds and I recommend them.

Posted on January 26, 2011, updated November 13, 2016
Posted on December 4, 2010, updated January 26, 2011
Posted on August 6, 2010, updated December 4, 2010
Posted on April 23, 2010, updated August 6, 2010
Posted on February 21, 2010, updated April 23, 2010
Posted on February 2, 2010, updated February 20, 2010
Posted on March 23, 2009, updated February 2, 2010
The website is buggy as all heck. During the ordering process, I would order items, browse for a while, comeback and find out my cart was now empty. This was very, very frustrating.

After finally completing my order I discovered that there really was not way to contact anyone at the firm as the phone was always busy. After waiting 20 days without receiving a shipping notification I faxed in a cancel order as the phone was busy, e-mails were not responded to. I assume they are simply going through growing pains in a busy season. However I have certain expectations. One is that I know if my order will be filled, and two that I know when my items will be shipped and an anticipated ship date.

We all know certain plants need to be started indoors in certain climates, in particular Tomatoes, Peppers, and Alpine strawberries from seed. When you cannot get a confirmation that the order will be filled nor a shipping date you have to make a cut date to go to the local store and buy your seeds.

I'll try PineTree again next year and order very, very early. Once again I suspect the problem is simply a growth related issue. But currently, I would certainly not use them for an order after February if timeliness is important.

I've been ordering from Pinetree Seeds for about 20 years, and always recommended them; however, I think it's time for a change. In addition to poor germination of seeds and what I assume was improper labeling (as mentioned by others here) when I didn't get what I thought I had planted, as well as problems with their website, I now am frustrated by their customer service. I placed my order for almost $150 on Black Friday to take advantage of their 15% off sale, only to find out that on Cyber Monday, they were offering both 15% off and free shipping for orders over $75. When I complained that I felt duped because I could have saved the shipping if I had waited a few days, and asked if they would be doing the same next year, this was their response: "I'm sorry you missed out on this deal. I'm not sure what next year will bring. I would think we'd carry the same special, but only time will tell." No offer to refund the shipping. This is not what I consider good customer relations and I will be seed shopping elsewhere next year.

Posted on August 24, 2014, updated November 10, 2015
I ordered Crystal White zinnia seeds that were supposed to be rounded, one foot tall plants with smaller white flowers. What they grew into were 2-3 ft tall plants with large white flowers. I ordered Candy Cane zinnias that were supposed to be pink and white striped flowers and what grew were zinnias that were the colors you get with zinnia seeds at the Dollar Store - loud pink, orange and yellow flowers. I ordered sunflowers that never sprouted at all.

I am sorry to post a negative comment as I have purchased from them for several years and appreciate the low prices. But both last year and this, my experience has been negative. Seeds are mislabeled, the package name is correct but what's inside is not. Kentucky Wonder Wax seeds grew some type of super tough "green" bean, not the yellow variety. Vermicelli winter squash seeds turned out to be some unidentified summer squash. Bush watermelons turn out to be indeterminate vines of some type. One package of delicata squash was actually empty. They did replace it, though the cust. service rep on the phone commented that she "hoped they would get it to me in time to plant, as they were very busy". But most times no one is there when I call, and their website never seems to work when I want to leave comments or reviews. Very frustrating overall.

Posted on April 20, 2015, updated June 3, 2015
I've ordered from Pinetree for many years. The last few years the germination rate had been deteriorating. This year I had several total germination failures (eggplant, hyacinth bean, tomatillo, more). I'm a long-term seed grower and have had almost 100% germination success with seeds from other companies this year.

The 10 strawberry plants I ordered were alive but teeny -- the smallest strawberry plants I've every seen. I'm hoping they'll survive.

As much as I like Pinetree's prices, I won't be ordering from them anymore.

The web site is Byzantine and needs to be made customer friendly. Payment is by PayPal, which requires membership. Payment by check using the US Postal service was misplaced by the company. My seed order was delayed a month. The plants I ordered were sold out by the time I was contacted, even after I called to confirm that my order had been received. I am disappointed before I even receive the order. I only hope that the germination rates on their seeds are good. I wanted to try this family run company and placed a substantial order. I usually shop at Johnny's and the Seed Savers Exchange. In future, I would not use Pine Tree Seeds and would not recommend the company.

I've been ordering from Pinetree for seveal years and have been very pleased with their service. This year I ordered via internet and did not receive my seeds. When I called to find out what was going on, I was told that they had received my order but were unable to locate a tracking number so they would resend my order tomorrow rather than spend time trying to figure out what happened to my order.

Things I like most about Pinetree are:
1. The quality of their seeds; I always have good germination rates.
2. The seed packets themselves are plain with pertinent information plainly visible - no searching necessary amongst the glitter.
3. Seed numbers are reasonable; as a small gardener I have no need for 40 or 50 seeds per pack as they end up getting too old to use before I can finish the pack.
4. The cost of their seeds is about the lowest I've been able to find (perhaps in part due to low-cost packaging). All my seed packs were under two bucks.
5. Reasonable shipping. On a couple of my orders from other companies, the cost of shipping was equal to the cost of the seeds.

I highly recommend Pinetree Seeds.

I placed an order on the phone on 1-26-15 for seeds. The person on the phone was very nice. I received an email when the seeds were shipped and they gave me a tracking number so I could see where my package was. I received the seeds Feb. 2, 2015. I have one item on back order. If they had told me that on the telephone I would have ordered it else where. I really liked the prices in their catalog and I think the order shipped very quickly.

I have ordered from PineTree many times over the last 20 years and never been disappointed. Their selection has even improved over the years. Small quantities of seed at a fair price, and quick service.