Comments regarding Burgess Seed

Well folks, regardless of how NEGATIVE most of you were about orders from Burgess, the prices were worth chancing it. Afterall, I paid .50 or .75 for what Gurneys and other mail-order companies were charging $10-15. So even if HALF of what I ordered died I was getting a better deal. Anyways, yesterday I finished planting 20 shrubs and 25 Periwinkles I received last week and I am very pleased. These plants were the maximum sizes stated in the catalog and perfectly healthy looking. Forget the 'you get what you pay for' rule here. I am extremely happy about my order and will order again and again from them. Of course in doing so I expect sooner or later I will get a bad bunch of plants, but like I said, I've gotten more than my money's worth!

This was a more positive than negative experience, so I'm giving them a positive.

Basically, you get what you pay for. This company is extremely inexpensive, and I feel that I got a good deal, even though the order didn't turn out perfectly.

I went in on an order with a friend. We collectively ordered a bunch of shrubs & trees & bulbs. The shipping took a while, but when it finally arrived in late June (sort-of late to be planting trees & shrubs here in Oregon) I got busy & planted everything. Because of my quick action, almost everything survived, except the "sale" Colorado Blue Spruce.
Interestingly, the "non-sale" Colorado Blue Spruce all survived. Hmmm.
A few shrubs were out of stock, so Burgess compensated by sending Rose Of Sharon replacements and some extras.

For people who think mail-order shopping is fun, and who realize that you get what you pay for, I think Burgess is an overall satisfactory experience.

I am really amazed at the comments here(and it makes me a little leary about ordering again). I ordered from them three times last spring. They came in those bags, bare root but looking pretty good. I planted them and the only thing that didn't grow was a paw paw. I sent the shipping label back and recieved my replacement paw paw just fine. I also got shallots instead of jerusalum artichokes. I wrote them and told them I had not recieved the jerusalum artichokes(I did not tell them they sent shallots because could not see any reason that I should pay to send them back). They sent me the jerusalum artichokes no problem. My trees, bushes etc. are stil growing fine except the manchurian apricots which grew for a while then died but I really think that was just from our climate here in GA. None of my orders took very long to come in but then again I sent them a money order.

i ordered $102.00 dollars worth of plants from burgess and then found this watchdog page about the company, ive been waiting for the worst, eveything i ordered from them came today and it looks pretty healthy to me,, I had thought they should have mailed it earlier but we just had 4 inches of snow 3days ago, so, so far i am pleased and will plant and hope for the best{since i am totally new to gardening}

I had placed an order for 3 trees & 6 rose shrubs with Burgess. A week later I found this web site. The comments I saw made me sick to my stomache and I could only pray I would receive nice plants. I was told my plants would ship after April 1st. They arrived April 2nd. All my plants came in, total time from ordering, two and a half weeks. All plants are in excellent condition. Trees are small but I expected that. IT IS MAIL ORDER!!!

The rose plants are huge. A foot out of the ground and green. They look healthier than the roses I have in the ground from last year.

I think a lot of these negative comments are from people who think they are going to get a 3' x 3' shrub with dirt in the mail. Things have to be mailed bare root. Perennial flowers should be purchased in person. If you don't believe me, go dig one up, put it in a bag, and look at it in the morning. Of course it will look dead! And you didn't even mail it anywhere!
If ordered at the correct time, (earlier spring) you will receive them on time. When it comes to mail order you can not consider early April spring any more. That would be late spring if you think of all the orders they get.

I don't know, mayby I've been lucky, but I've probably placed a dozen orders with Burgess in the past 20 years and have always been pleased. I've ordered a lot of Periwinkle and found them to be the best source at the best price. I've had pretty good luck with their trees, better than some premium companies. Of course, at their price, you're not going to get large caliper trees, but what do you expect? There is a certain advantage to ordering small trees anyway. I got an order of 15 trees today and they look good. I'm happy with this company.

My husband and I ordered several different types of trees from this company. All arrived in time for planting and all were in excellent condition upon arrival.All trees started to leaf out within days of being planted and so far are thriving and healthy.
I had found this site after already ordering from Burgess, and was braced for an unpleasant experience.
I was pleasantly surprised to have no trouble whatsoever with this company and would do business with them again in the future.

Last summer I received some evergreens that were less than what I expected. I contacted the company via US Mail, returned my mailing label, as required (after making a copy for my files) and requested replacement for the three trees. I received the replacement trees today and they are perfect, could not be more satisifed with their replacement policy at this point.

I ordered roughly $30 worth of merchandise from Burgess last year in February. The seed arrived within a few weeks, the seedlings, bulbs and roots in early spring. The one dissapointing item was the wisteria, tiny and, apparently, D.O.A. Height discriptions were exagerated on shrub cherries, etc., but acceptable. I chose Temptation corn because of it's purported cold hardiness, and it produced incredible ears very early. Free "Shamrocks" and various items did well, but a terrible grasshopper infestation destroyed my extensive garden in early summer, even eating the Horseradish I had ordered from Burgess, which was up and doing well, so I can't comment on the ultimate success of many things. Unfortunately, I just mailed out an order this morning for almost $40 worth of items, including half a pound of Temptation corn seed and various trees. I just happened on this site as I was looking up the Wesley web site, to see what other items they offered. I had nearly sent in an order to them for around $20, but will now wait to see how Burgess treats me this time before ordering from any of these companies. Prices are cheaper by far than other companies, but I always knew there was a built in scam...when you see half a dozen companies with identical ads, you know something is up.

I ordered 70+ fruit trees most all of them grew to my expectations and bloomed and fruited the first year. But the Manchurian Apricot trees just were never good stock so I sent back for more then I recieved them and half of them grew it had to of been the fall shipment that is bad because when I get a fall shipment from them it doesn't do as well but when you order and get a spring shipment it does well. They will replace you plants if they do not grow but no refunds unless you send the trees back within 30 days. I had wonderful expirence with the seed I bought for my farm. All the bean seed and the corn seed grew wonderfully. I bought about 12 lbs. of bean seed and 3lbs of corn seed and the seed grew better than the seed I ordered the year before from gurneys. If you are not satisfied with burgess' then you can order about the same things from Gurneys but usually a higher price. I also ordered 100 strawberry's and they grew wonderfully and I picked several quarts of strawberries off of them the first year. JUST DON'T ORDER MANCHURIAN BUSH APRICOTS! AND YOU'LL BE FINE

I have ordered from this company and at their prices, did not expect much, and was not real disappointed at what I received. Yes some of the perennials come rotten, but when you get 10 of them for $1.00, then I'm happy if only 1 survives! Usually half of them do. I have never ordered anything at regular price from this company. The 2 Mock Oranges I ordered for $2.98 did VERY well, outgrowing one I had planted 2 years before. So it's kinda hit and miss, you get what you pay for, with this company. I have never dealt with their customer service. And always received my plants in a timely matter.

I bought 160 assorted trees and bushes which all arrived looking like sticks, but truthfully that is what I expected, it's been 5 weeks and most all are budded out or in some cases leafed out and doing fine. I received all the freebees and planted everything and hope these too will do well. I've also just placed a new order for various berry vines I'm hoping they will all come looking as good as the kiwi, which is the most impressive thing from them yet. I've not planted them yet but repotted and maybe today shall carry off to my house in OK and if they grow as promised may cover several dead trees the winter ice storm got last year. I believe maybe over the next few years to have really changed the look of my little paradise. Just remember to keep planting this planet up.

I just finished planting my apricot trees and cherry bushes from Burgess. I was very impressed at the quality. I was afraid that the plants had arrived too early for my region but the weather station said this was exactly the right time of year for fruit trees. The plants were all healthy and beginning to grow.

I ordered a large order from Burgess in spring 2001. They arrived just when they said they would-April 1st. The plants seemed small and dead, but I planted them all right away. It is now July 2001 and I have beautiful gardens with huge plants. They are all blooming and blooming over and over. They are even surviving the nearly 100 degress temps we are having. One of my rose bushes is even blooming and I have tried at least 5 from others sources that didn't survive here. Maybe one or two of the more than 50 plants I bought didn't make it, but that is a much better rate than I would expect. I would have paid a lot more if I would have bought these plants from the nursery. In fact I have a nursery on my block, but I will buy again from Burgess, because I can get unusual plants that I have never heard of before

It's 2001 and I ordered from Burgess. I ordered from them in 2000 and everything was okay. This time I am $60.00 out and no plants, can't get any contact with the firm. They do not answer the phone. Sending an e-mail does no good. I will never order from them again. Learned my lesson the hard way...[One week later]: After sending several emails I finally received my plants. They were in good condition and I take back my remarks I made earlier. Anyone wanting to get in touch with the plant company about their order should send email to the shipping dept.

I placed a huge order last year from Burgess privet, lilacs, weeping willows, red buds, mock orange, fairy roses, boxwood, firethorn. The quality was definitely a mixed bag...redbuds were about the size of a 1/2 piece of dry spaghetti, lilac & mock oranges weren't much better. The real pleasant suprises were the two things I was most worried about...the boxwood and the fairy roses. Although still pretty small compared to some of the more expensive mail order varieties from Wayside or Jackson & Perkins, for the money I felt they were an excellent value. I planted everything carefully but a lot of the plants died.I wrote to Burgess about six weeks ago & to their credit, I just received my replacements today & everything looks darn good. For me personally, I have a lot more time & patience than I do money, so I don't mind saving a couple of bucks & buying smaller plants...I would buy again from Burgess since they did honor their guarantee.

I have very good luck with Burgess hedge plants - Honeysuckle, Rose of Sharon, privet. Of the few plants that did not survive I sent I returned my shipping label to Burgess and received new plants just as they said. I have had only fair luck with phlox and sedum from Burgess.

I ordered from Burgess early last spring and just recently from Four Seasons Nursery, which I didn't know until recently they are the same company. I had very good luck with my order from Burgess, I received my order in a timely manner and everything came in excellent shape (nothing dead and everything lived). I just hope the order I've placed with Four Seasons Nursery this spring is just as nice. After reading which are mostly complaints, I'm a little weary, as I have spent a great deal this year. I tried the number given in the catalog to check on the status of my order but it's ALWAYS busy!

I'm the tree hugger in the family so I've placed several orders with several companies over the years, including Burgess. I recall one day when my wife happened to be around while I eagerly opened up a package from Burgess. When she saw me pull out a few scrawny sticks from the bag she expressed horror and shock that we'd been gypped. I indicated that I saw nothing wrong with the order and proceeded to plant the stock. Now, several years later, those trees are taller than our house and my wife has come to appreciate, just as I once did, what can become of a scrawny bare stick from a mail order company.

[One of] the best places that I have had luck with is Henry Burgess. (They are100% guaranteed or your money back.)

I have mail ordered plants for many years and last year was the first time I received a Burgess catalog. As my gardens are pretty full already I half-heartedly thumbed through the catalog and placed an order for some of their ridiculously low priced plants not really caring if they made it or not. I received two rose of Sharon trees, two pink weigelas, three lavenders, a pink smoke tree, and a rhododendron. Amazingly all of the items arrived in extremely healthy. Many months have passed and my rose of sharons are nearly four foot tall and vibrant. Every item I purchased from Burgess is healthy and thriving. I am anxious for my next catalog to arrive so I can once again "clean up" on the bargains. This is also the fourth year I have purchased items from Stark - all with successful results.

Last year was the first time ordering from Burgess and after reading all the negative comments - I consider myself lucky. The order arrived on time, packaging was O.K. and everything I ordered lived.

I can't believe that so many people don't like Burgess! I was doing an internet search to find their address/phone # to order more plants. I have ordered from them every year for the last 8 years, and it is true that plants come in plastic bags, and that shrubs look like no more than a handful of sticks, but you need to keep in mind that you are paying pennies on the dollar for them. Sure, I could go to my pricey nursery down the street and look at the plants and pay top dollar, but I prefer to order from Burgess. Almost everything I've ever ordered has thrived and is beautiful. Especially the hibiscus that are about $1, and the rose of Sharon bushes. When I did have a problem on one occasion, they sent free replacements. They do respond much better if you write rather than call. Try it, and keep the $ in mind.

My experience with the Burgess seed catalog is simply, you get what you pay for. I bought some strawberry plants from them, and as everyone else described, they came in a baggy and were sorrowful looking things. I didn't have time to plant them right away, and so I stored them in a refrigerator for about two weeks. When I finally did plant them, I'd say a good 90% of them grew. To be noted here is that they send you fifty plants for some ridiculously low price, so that if half of them snuffed it, you'd still be ahead (labor withstanding).I also had occasion to buy seeds from them, spinach, sugar snap peas ("laugh at drought, smile at rain, sweet as honey") and Romano pole beans. They did well and yielded well. My only cautions about Burgess are that the strains of some of the plants you get are weak, the blooms aren't as vibrant as what you might expect from a nursery, and that they market some trash plants (like Chinese elm) as some miracle, fast-growing shrub. It grows fast because it's a weed.So if you know about gardening, don't mind a little attrition, or want to plant in quantity, Burgess is your catalog. I also like the purple prose they use to advertise their products. But you may sacrifice quality for quantity. If you aren't familiar with the plants you're buying, you may be at a loss around soil conditioning, etc. Don't buy their bulbs, as they are pretty drab. You're better off buying from Breck's.

I have ordered from Richard Owen and Burgess. These two companies plus Four Seasons are all one in the same. They all have the same Telephone number in their catalog. I have had good luck with all of my orders. The plants I have are thriving and when I tell everyone that I ordered them from a catalog they can't believe it. I am about to send another order and hope to have the same luck!

We placed an order of 100 poplar trees and a climbing Blaze rose this spring, with Burgess. The trees arrived in a plastic bag and were bare root dormant (as the catalog tells you they will). The trees have already grown over 3 foot. The climbing rose bloomed this year too. The only problem that we had was that 5 of the trees died. They were planted close to a driveway and looked like they had problems with the exhaust. (Not the company's fault). But Burgess guarantees work. They are shipping 5 more trees. We are very satisfied with this company. For those of you that don't want bare root trees, please read before you order. Burgess clearly states in their catalogs how each plant will be shipped and packaged

We live in Alaska and we placed an order for 75 Canadian hemlock shrubs and 6 Colorado blue spruce. The sales people were extremely helpful and friendly. The order was supposed to arrive the third week of May. It showed up on April 27th. The trees were packed in a series of bags, but they appear to be alive and well. They range in size from 5" to 24". Unfortunately the weather is still unreliable.

Interestingly enough is that I looked for a possible burgess site to contact them because my second of two shipments has not arrived. As frustrating as that may be the first package which included red maples, weeping willows, red weigelas, hemlocks, astilbes and painted daisies all came in good shape with many of the plants already having swelling or open buds. The jury is still out on the astilbe roots but the root system seemed fine and I am confident that they will sprout. Oh yes, there were also two peonies and one snowball bush and they are both doing quite well. Even if I never receive the second shipment, which must have only been a few more plants, I am completely satisfied with their quality of plants.

I have had similar (good) experience with Burgess with the exception on some extremely small willow trees, but they are growing. I got some really good Hostas from them and, believe it or not, part of them where their specials. They have been extremely slow with their biological supplies i.e., praying mantis, grasshopper spore, etc. but the plants were excellent for the price.

My husband and I order a lot of edible landscaping plants, seeds, and bulbs from catalogs. We order from several, including Burgess.

A couple of years ago, my husband and I ordered some trees and bushes from Burgess. We only spent about $20, but we received a lot for our money. We received 100 bushes and approx 6 fruit trees. There was one mistake with our order; we received a pear tree, instead of a cherry. We called the company and told them about the mistake and they sent us TWO cherry trees and allowed us to keep the pear. WOW! I was impressed with their service. However, I was very disappointed in the twigs with a few roots they sent us, but not being one to give up, I then planted the "sticks". And surprisingly everything grew! The peach tree gave us peaches the very next year, despite the warning that it would take three years to bear fruit. The bushes are doing quite well. And the cherry trees are about 8 to 10 feet tall.My experience with this company was initially disappointing, but surprisingly successful. I would recommend anyone doing business with this company.