Comments regarding Publishers Clearing House

I have bought 3 plants from them in the past 2 roses and 1 tiger fruit. The roses were not up to a standard I would have expected for the price, while they are growing there is only one single shoot on them. The Tiger fruit is growing but not as fast as they said on their advertisement now I realize it maybe the conditions in my garden. I decided to give them another try and ordered their Giant Blueberry plants, Well they arrived and I have never seen anything so pitiful in my life. Packed in a box covered with one square of plastic bubbles which had crushed and broken the plants. On top of this I don't know how long they had been packed but the soil was extremely dry and from the looks of the withered leaves that had not been broken off it had been dry for some time. Unless something is done to monitor the companies that are supplying their plants I will not be purchasing anymore plants from them.

I have ordered from PCH dozens of times. For the most part I was satisfied with the merchandise ordered. However, when it comes to flowers and bushes it's a different matter entirely. PCH does not list the growing regions when offering horticulture products. I had to research each and every horticulture product offered before deciding whether or not to order it. At least half of the plants and flowers offered to me were not suitable for my region and would not survive the harsh Northeast winters. I contacted PCH customer service about listing the region for each horticulture product offered and was basically given the runaround. I'm tired of wasting my time researching these offered products. It would be such a simple matter to list the growing regions. The response I received from PCH was a non-response that solved nothing.

This is my letter to PCH:

"I am often offered flowers on PCH. The information I need concerning flowers is never included in the offering. I live in Northeast Ohio and all flowers, bushes and trees must be winter hardy and be for zones 5 or 6. I have to research each flower offering to determine if they will survive in my local climate. They often will not survive a winter in Northeast Ohio. Why don't you provide the hardiness zones with the offers? It should be a very simple matter to identify which zone each flower, bush or tree is appropriate for. Researching all these flowers is time consuming and I am at the point where it's easier to simply ignore the flower offers."


This is the response from PCH:

"Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us. We value your input and appreciate your suggestion. We will continue to evaluate all such issues based upon the feedback we received from consumers like you. Thanks again for taking the time to contact us.

All plants and/or flowers are shipped directly by the nursery at the optimal planting time for your region. This ensures that the horticulture product you receive will flourish to its highest expectations."

I don't blame the growers for sending me horticulture products that are not suitable for my region. They are simply fulfilling orders. I blame PCH for not caring enough to ensure that I get flowers and other plants that will actually germinate and survive the winter.

I have decided that I will no longer order ANY products from PCH. It's their loss, not mine.

I have never ordered anything from them, because I can't even find their plant products. I must say I don't care for their website and did not even know that they sold plants. They don't sound like they should be in the plant business; I thought it was the "prize patrol" magazine company!

I ordered strawberry plants and 50 Gladiolus bulbs Feb 26,2003 I have never recieved either of the plants the checks have been cashed. I am very unhappy with this Co., I have sent emails and have never even gotten an answear. L. M. Hayes.

I don't normally "go for" companies like this, they just seem so untrustworthy, but I ordered bulbs/plants from them a few times... much to my misfortune. The first time the bulbs arrived, after I had gave up on ever seeing them, they were not the "exotic" bulbs promised just mislabeled common bulbs... and to make it worse they were so horribly dried out they were rock solid shriveled lumps.... so I sent them back. Then a few months passed and again they had a offer that caught my interest, I decided to give them another chance. I ordered a set of "exotic house plants" (I have only the desperation that winter brings to blame!), months later they had still not showen up... but a overdue bill for them had stating they were going to turn me into a collection agency. I wrote the company telling them I had not recieved the plants and that I was unhappy with recieving a threat letter as my first notification that there was a problem. The letter I recieved back stated "I'm sorry you can't order any more of the 'exotic plants', that offer is expired". Order more?! So I contacted them online, and recieved a similar response... it's been a few months now, I haven't recieved another threat letter or any other mail about it from them. I don't know if they ever solved the problem, maybe my letter finally got to someone who could read english. My sister had ordered from them several times this year, she's never recieved a single one of the plants she has ordered, but on the bright side she's never recieved a bill either. I really could just kick myself for getting involved with them! If anything ever shows up from them, I'll promptly return it... the "free" pen they sent cost $5.26 shipping & handling! They are right up there with Michigan Bulb as one of the all time worse rip off companies.