Comments regarding Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens)

I've had nothing but success with this company. I took advantage of their recent sales (June 07) and ordered about 15 items. 3 items arrived dead, but I blame DHL. DHL tracking showed the package arrive at their warehouse near my home on a Thurs, and not get delivered until the following Tues.

Based on the fair amount of negative comments, I was expecting a problem with customer service. I called the 800 number and was speaking to a live person in less than 30 seconds. She suggested a credit instead of shipping replacement plants in the mid-summer. She applied the credit to my card, and the whole call took about a minute.

The prices were great (on sale), the plants were healthy, and the customer service was top notch. I can't understand all the negatives???

"

Thank you for the comment. While I am sorry to learn that three of your plants arrived dead, it is great to hear that the problem was rectified. I am glad that your other plants arrived healthy!"

In February of 2007 I ordered two Mme Galen Trumpet Vines ( order # 4604070). I knew they would be sent when the planting time was appropriate but that time came and went with absolutely no e-mail as to their absence. I e-mailed them several times but never received a reply. Then I called and each time they said that the horticulturist would not release the plants for mailing. Then I e-mailed and asked them to cancel the order. My credit card was never credited. By this time it is June 2007. I called again and asked what happened. They had my money and I had nothing. They said that my funds were now a credit with the company. I would never have known this if I hadn't called. I told them I did not want a credit; I wanted my money back as I was never ordering from them again. It has yet to appear on my credit card. The "plant saga continues..."

"

I have located your order and I am in the process of reviewing your information. I would like you to know that I will be contacting you via e-mail shortly. We will make every effort to resolve this issue.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com"

I ordered a few plants from Park Seed early February 2007 and finally called the company in May to find out the status of my order. Since all my other orders from other companies had shipped. They said that it would not ship until August. My credit card had already been charged back in February and I was expecting the plants to ship for spring planting not August. I am very disappointed with this company.

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem, I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com"

I ordered a collection of three poppies (In particular, Manhattan and Harlem because of their color and repeat blooms, and one other that I cannot recall), a ground cover collection, creeping thyme (thymus serpyllum coccineus) and a reblooming daylily (Rainbow Candy) from Park Seed on April 3. I'm in zone 4 (wisconsin), so they don't ship until mid may. Several times in late May, I checked the site to see if my order had shipped. Even once having them email me an order status upday (on June 1). This was not very helpful, since the expected shipping dates were cut off (eg. POPPY COLLECTION Expected to ship 06/0). This was still better than what I got from the web site, which merely said it was expected to ship. At the time, my daylily was expected to ship 08/1 - I presume mid-August. Everything else was listed as 06/0.

On June 12, my order finally shipped - well, part of it - sort of. The poppy collection I have been shipped does not include "Harlem". I'm getting "Manhattan," "Burning Heart," and "Eye Catcher". I don't recall either of those last two. To my surprise, I got a daylily, but instead of "Rainbow Candy" reblooming daylily, I'm getting "Dragon's Eye" - not even a rebloomer. Every time I've looked at their site since I ordered, "Rainbow Candy" has been featured on the front page - and now they couldn't ship it to me? No sign of my ground cover collection or creeping thyme.

The plants arrived June 16. Bare root and dormant, of course, so it's hard to tell what condition they are really in. My other poppies are already starting to go dormant for the summer, so I suppose I may not know until fall if these are ok. I'm not sure where I'm going to put a non-reblooming daylily. I don't want to put some other poppy in the place I had planned for "Harlem."

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem, I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com

I am concerned that I have not yet resolved the issue at hand and would like an opportunity to do so; however, I have not yet received a reply from you concerning this matter. Please contact us at your earliest convenience. Customer satisfaction is very important to us.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com
"

Park was my main seed (and seed starting paraphernalia) supplier a long time ago and I had been perfectly happy with them, so I was a little surprised at what seemed to be several negative experiences listed here. I had never purchased live plants, though, which I imagine would be fertile ground (no pun intended) for dissatisfaction. I was attracted by their $1 seed sale recently, though, and seeing some plants I was interested in, thought I would take a chance and hope for the best. I had a very good experience and wanted to share it. I ordered several packets of seeds, some for as little as $.85, a blueberry bush selection, and 4 live plants. All of the seeds arrived within about 5 days from ordering. The plants (less one backordered bareroot plant) arrived the next day. The plants were in very good condition. The blueberry bushes are of a very good size (compared to what I have received from other companies), and quite robust looking. One of the potted plants had a few yellow leaves, but was quite bushy and should be fine. My only quibble would be the price ($11.65) for a Campanula "Samantha" in what was supposed to be a 3-inch pot. The pot is 2 and-a-half inches, which doesn't seem like a big difference until you compare it to a real 3-inch pot, and the plant is quite small, though apparently healthy. I also wonder about the "charge upon order" policy, as every merchant I've ever dealt with on the web (many) does not charge until the order is shipped. If they ship timely, though, which they did in this case, that doesn't really matter to me. All-in-all, I am quite satisfied and will order from Park's again.

"

I am happy to hear that you were satisfied with your order.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
[e-mail:JJohnson@parkseed.com]"

The plants I received from Park were very poor quality. Of 9 plants, 4 were dead on arrival and the plants that were alive are pale yellow green and stunted. Whoever their grower is has no care as to what kind of conditon the plants are in when they throw them in the box. I'll never buy plants from Park again. They did credit my account for the dead plants but even the live ones won't see a bloom til late fall, if they live, because of their poor condition. (These are annual plants) I'm surprised that Park has no quality control. They're usually a good company.

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com

I am concerned that I have not yet resolved the issue at hand and would like an opportunity to do so; however, I have not yet received a reply from you concerning this matter. Please contact us at your earliest convenience. Customer satisfaction is very important to us.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com
"

I ordered the Dahlia Dinner Plate collection on May 11th. A little over a week later, I called to ask when it would be shipped. I was told there was a quality control problem and the horticulturalist would make a decision around June 1st on whether the bulbs would be released. Called back on June 4th and was informed the collection would not be shipped.

I said I had been receiving emails for two weeks, including one just a two days earlier, offering most of the dahlias in the collection and could we patch together an order of what Parks did have. We did that and I think I got 6 out of 8 of the ones which were in the Dinnerplate collection.

The order was shipped FedEx two day and arrived on June 11th. Second day didn't make a lot of sense as the order went out on a Thursday meaning it arrived Monday.

Bottom line is the shipment took a month and I lost a few weeks. The plants could be breaking the soil now. The substitute order was a few bucks less than my orginal so I have a credit. After I check my bank statement to make sure I wasn’t double billed (I doubt I was), maybe I’ll ask for a refund. Probably won’t bother.

Have ordered seeds and grow lights from Parks with no problems. Customer service is very pleasant when I have called. May order from Parks again but not bulbs. I don't mind waiting for orders but I do need to be informed both when an order is going to be shipped and when Parks knows they cannot ship.

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com

I am concerned that I have not yet resolved the issue at hand and would like an opportunity to do so; however, I have not yet received a reply from you concerning this matter. Please contact us at your earliest convenience. Customer satisfaction is very important to us.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com
"

In January I ordered the following items from Parks:

1 Angel Trumpet Collection -for Spring shipping - $14.95

1 Fig Chicago Hard Dwarf Fig - for Spring shipping - $14.95

I kept checking my order online. When the middle of May had arrived and no plants had arrived, I called customer service and was informed that the plants would ship on May 31st. Needless to say it was late May before I received any plants. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised at the the size, the health, and the excellent packing of the Angel Trumpet Collection. They are happily growing in pots on my deck now.
Unfortunately I had less than such luck with my Chicago dwarf fig. I had specifically ordered that variety because it is supposed to be hardy in zone 6. Needless to say, I was unhappily surprised to find that when I checked the status of the order online -the item which until late May had been listed as "in stock and reserved." had been canceled and another fig "Negronne" had been substituted. This would have been acceptable except that Negronne is hardy only to zone 7. I called customer service and told them that I did not want this substitution and wanted a refund. I was told that it was too late to cancel the order as it was in the process of being shipped, but that I could keep it as a gift and my $14.95 would be credited to my account. I thought this was kind of nice of them--until I received an email from another customer representative a few hours later telling me to return the fig.
To conclude this, another email to customer service resolved the problem. I was to keep the fig and would receive a credit to my account.
I must admit that I got frustrated with the changing shipping dates and the runaround about the fig and the credit, but everything was eventually resolved to my satisfaction.
I was extremely pleased with the Angel Trumpet collection and will undoubtedly order from Parks again. In fact I did. Today I used my credit to buy some Agroflash.

I ordered 12 plants from Park Seed. Of the 12 only 4 were alive and they were in very poor condition. The other 8 would best be described as over cooked string beans. They were like mush and fell away at the base when I picked them up.

I strongly advise you not to purchase plants from Park Seed. Seeds might be OK, but you are taking a risk with plants.

Also, I did not get any response from customer service when I told them this story.

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com

I am concerned that I have not yet resolved the issue at hand and would like an opportunity to do so; however, I have not yet received a reply from you concerning this matter. Please contact us at your earliest convenience. Customer satisfaction is very important to us.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com
"

I've been ordering from Park Seed for many years and previous to this year was always happy with plant size, quality, and delivery. Not anymore.

I ordered via phone on April 12 -- more than $100 worth of plants, vines, and shrubs. My credit card was immediately charged. On May 7, I called about delivery status and was told that several plants (gallardia and dianthus) required release by the horticulturalist at the end of May. I asked that the available plants be shipped sooner, and was told they should be sent by week's end. Not! About two weeks later, the plants that supposedly were not available for shipping until the end of May arrived, and those that were supposedly available on May 7 are now suddenly delayed!

I just called customer service a few minutes ago and was informed that my remaining vine and shrub will be shipped about June 15, two months after paying for them!

Let me also say that half the plants I received were of poor quality, one may not even make it, and the clematis is a one-inch wisp.

I've gardened for years, designed perennial gardens for a living for quite a while, still hybridize daylillies, and am often asked for advice and referrals. I'm on every plant grower's mailing list. Park will lose me as a customer unless its leaders give me a good reason to return. My order number is 4713820.

"

I have located your order and I am in the process of reviewing your information. I would like you to know that I will be contacting you via e-mail shortly. We will make every effort to resolve this issue.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com"

I ordered a few packets of seeds in January and was floored by the cost for shipping. The site had actually calculated the shipping incorrectly. I emailed the company and because my card had already been charged (in under 24 hours from ordering) they issued me a credit for the difference. I still waited almost a month to receive a mere 4 packets of seeds. I highly doubt I will ever order from this company again, except to redeem my credit, and even that is dubious.

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com

I am concerned that I have not yet resolved the issue at hand and would like an opportunity to do so; however, I have not yet received a reply from you concerning this matter. Please contact us at your earliest convenience. Customer satisfaction is very important to us.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com
"

I have ordered from Park Seed many times, and each time I received the correct items promptly. I find their website very useful with all the info they put in, especially the little info "quickbox" on the bottom right of almost every item. Thank you!

"

I am glad to hear that you are happy with our service. "

Park Seed Company of Greenwood SC sells seeds and plants via their website and printed catalog. They operate under several different names.

Their site layout is ok but sometimes confusing because of their multiple business names.

Shipping and Handling charges are stated on the site and to us seem a little high for some things like seeds.

The site pages do not always load fast but are basically acceptable.

Their customer service reps are always confused and seemingly respond with stock, canned answers. All but one was extremely rude.

They cheated us out of nearly $600.00 by fraudulently advertising Thuja Green Giant trees as highly deer resistant with no disclaimers to the contrary. The trees we received are clearly no more deer resistant than any other tree or plant. We asked for scientific evidence to back up their claim and they could/would not provide any.

As it turns out we were not shipped Thuja Green Giant trees but instead they substituted, without our knowledge, a different tree, Thuja Steeplechase. Only subsequent to the delivery of our order did they posted any information about the Thuja Steeplechase tree.

We ordered 40 Thuja green Giant trees from Park Seeds in Sept of 2006. Several weeks went by and no communication what so ever. We called on the phone and they had NO record of our order and eventually blamed it on a computer problem. Finally the trees were shipped in mid Oct. Twenty support stakes were not shipped and back ordered. The stakes were finally shipped in Jan '07 after numerous phone calls and emails.

The trees were advertised on the Park Seed/Park Landscape et al web site as being highly deer resistant. "...plant these trees around the perimeter of your property and keep midnight nibblers away" is a direct quote from the website.

My wife and I are experienced gardeners with over 35 years experience. We planted the trees precisely as directed by Park. We lost ALL 40 trees to deer while other trees and plants appeared to be untouched. After phone calls and emails we were told that "no plant is deer proof only deer resistant" This is something we already knew but Park's advertisements clearly implied otherwise. Only after we notified them that we were turning to the NY and SC Attorney's General offices did they offer to replace the trees. What good will that do as they obviously are not deer resistant but indeed are ATTRACTIVE to deer. We want our money refunded. Who warranties all our time, some 60 -70 hours for planting and replanting these trees?

ALSO OUR CREDIT CARD WAS DEBITED THE DAY WE PLACED THE ORDER AND NOT THE DAY THE MERCHANDISE WAS SHIPPED. BEWARE NO CASH REFUNDS FROM THESE PEOPLE. This order totaled nearly $600.00

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com

I am concerned that I have not yet resolved the issue at hand and would like an opportunity to do so; however, I have not yet received a reply from you concerning this matter. Please contact us at your earliest convenience. Customer satisfaction is very important to us.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com
"

In February, I placed a seed order with Parks. After 5 weeks and no order, I started investigating. I spoke to many uninformed customer service reps along the way and finally received most of my order by the end of March.

To make a long story short, here's the email I just wrote to the whole Parks gang....

"After a very frustrating ordeal with an order I placed with you (order
4586743), Jay Johnson emailed me with an apology and a gift certificate
for $25.

The gift certificate doesn't work. I entered the number at checkout
(xxxxxxxx) in the designated spot....tried it several times in fact....even
tried it through the link in the email. The response by checkout was
"There is a problem with your submission:
The gift certificate was not found"

Guess the jokes on me.

Barbara McAllister"

LOL!

"

I have located your information. The gift certificate is valid and should have processed easily. I would like you to know that I will be contacting you regarding this matter shortly.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com"

I've been very patient with Park Seed Company only to be disappointed again. Last year I had a go-around with PSC which I posted the story of it here in Dave's Garden forums. The PSC rep wanted to be given another chance, gave me free product and promised my case was an isolated incident. Fool that I am: It wasn't.
Here's this year's fiasco in list form:
1. Mid March I placed two separate orders with PSC: the first was for 2 Snow Fire Heuchera, the other was for a white/green/and pink Chinese Evergreen houseplant (costing $49.99).
2. Waited (impatiently) for spring to arrive.
3. Last week of April I received an email stating my order would be shipped. However the numbers they sent me for the shipping date were all jumbled and made no sense.
4. Wrote to PSC asking for the correct date.
5. Three days later I received an email stating the orders would ship the first week of May. Nothing arrived.
6. Mid week two of May I called PSC and was told that my heuchera would ship in AUGUST and that my other order was "in the pink" -- meaning it was ready to ship at any moment.
7. Since PCS offered no explanation for the delay in the heuchera I cancelled the order. I was told by the rep that I would receive a credit on my card. (And as you can guess, I STILL don't have the money back.)
8. After a few days, I check the Web site and see no indication that the order has been shipped, so I call PCS. The rep explains that because the Chinese evergreen is a houseplant it is considered an annual and annuals are scheduled to ship May 21. (OK, at this point what I don't get is: Why is EVERY response different as far as the ship date??) The rep tells me she's very sorry (blah, blah, blah). She was good enough to tell me that the problem with the heuchera was one of quality control and the new batch would not be ready from the grower until August. (And they couldn't have sent an apology email out to customers who purchased that??)
9. May 22, checked the Web site -- my order is "In stock and reserved." (Funny, that's what it said about my heuchera until I cancelled it. Better yet, why doesn't it say shipped?)
10. Call PCS...same response -- very sorry, set to ship, should be there in a couple days. I told the rep that if it's not here by Friday I will simply cancel the order.

Folks, if your transactions are small, I'm sure Park Seed Company will be able to help you. However, for me and many others they have proven themselves to be totally unreliable with large orders and plants and do not deserve the business of honest, hard-working Americans.

It surprises me that the FTC has not taken exception to Park's declaration that they are "Always Dependable." That is definately false advertising.

This was my first time ordering from Park's. I ordered a Teller's Blue Hydrangea and it was beautiful. I was really surprise that the plant was much bigger than I expected. I have ordered hydrangeas from QVC in the past and they were working with Cottage Farms at the time and I got 4 itsybitsy plants that seemed to take forever to look like the one that Park's sent. Very Pleased

I ordered several mimosa trees, roses and crepe myrtle bushes in late 2006 from Park Landscape. They arrived just fine and I potted them up carefully and put them in our fairly-warm garage until outside planting time came. Long story short, the plants failed (except the knockout roses, which are fine). I had had other plants from Park fail, as well, and sometimes I asked for a merchandise credit and other times I just let it go. This time, however, I was very irritated by the number of plants in this order that died after tender care. I wrote Park an email and told them I was very disappointed and wanted to purchase those plants locally, so I wanted my money back this time...no merchandise credit. I received an email from "Cris" at Park who said that was fine...they would issue a credit card refund within 30 days. I thought nothing else about it until I realized I had never received the promised credit to my card. I emailed again and was told by "Cris" that I wouldn't receive a refund after all and would only get a merchandise credit. I was amazed! I produced this person's original email to me, promising a refund and sent it back to Park. "Chris" wrote back and said (basically) "oh, in that case, a refund will be issued within 30 days". I responded that I wanted the refund done within the next 7 days...not wait yet another 30 when Park hadn't honored their original promised refund. If I had not been on top of all of this, I would have likely missed out on getting any sort of refund since I was told one was forthcoming long ago, when actually it would have never come! This is definitely not evidence of good business practices on their part. I've had lots of great internet buying experiences, but this was not one of them!

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com"

I have ordered from Parks a number of times (online) and have never had any problems receiving my items. I rec'd a gift certificate for Xmas and promptly placed my order: Biodome, seeds, etc - and everything arrived fine. I have also ordered a number of their green plastic trays for my plantlets and all have arrived with no problems.

This is my 3rd year ordering from Parkseed and I'm happy with the plant quality and shipping.

Although this year I had 2 minor problems, First problem: one seed packet was empty, I emailed the company and got quick response that they will mail replacement and it came fast. The second was they forgot one seed packet for my 2nd order, again I emailed the company and got fast response and the seed packet came fast too within a week.

The Double Knockout Rose was a WOW, big and healthy. While a lot of company ship their plants with very little care, Parkseed packaging always good only small dirt come out of pots and the important thing is the plant still in pots and healthy.

The Butterfly bush Adonis blue although it was small but healthy (I found another company sell this with same price and bigger pot 5.5" but hey I'm just glad that my plant arrived healthy).

My order #4635358 and #4576439. Please say thanks to anyone who take care my orders.

My only concern is about the plant and seed prices, sometimes they have very good price but sometimes they charge twice the other company for the same size of plant. I felt increasing prices on this year catalog.

"

Thank you for your kind comments. I will pass along your information to the appropriate departments.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com"

I have been ordering from Park for the past few years. Typically everything has been reasonable for the most part. I usually combine orders for about three of my friends to cut down on shipping. Well, this past years experience (order #4583266) has really got me down.

We order a bunch of stuff, and for the most part everything came in except the cucumber and the lily of the valley. When I ordered everything I was told that everything was in stock. I even forked over the extra shipping charge for the lily of the valley. Well about six weeks after I order I was concerned because the cucumber had not come in. I had to call them a few times to find out the status. The company had no clue when the seeds would come in. Finally after a few weeks I decided to order something else. Mind you these seeds were about half the price of the original seeds and there was no mention of a refund for the price difference. At the time I was willing to eat the difference.

About a week ago I was getting worried about the lily of the valley as it still had not arrived and it was time to plant. I called and tried to get some information. I was finally told that they would not ship until September at the earliest. I did not order the plants for September delivery! Had I known this piece of information I would not have ordered them! I asked to speak with a supervisor who was 'busy.' I was told that they would call me back by the end of the day or by the beginning of the next day. Well, five days later no word. I sent a complaint to customer service via email five days ago. Again, no word. The next step is to contact the BBB and the attorney general's office. At this point all I want is my money back and the extra money that I paid for the shipping AND the difference in cost for the cucumbers. If they are really nice I might consider ordering from them next year. I have never had this frustration with that other large seed company that starts with a 'B.' I should have stuck with them!

What happened to customer satisfaction? Customers beware!!

Travis

"

I have located your order and I am in the process of reviewing your information. I would like you to know that I will be contacting you via e-mail shortly. We will make every effort to resolve this issue.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com"

I placed an order with Park last fall for the first time and was impressed with the whole experience. One of my plants did not make it thru the winter and I emailed them a replacement request. I received my replacement within days, as a matter of fact, I placed a small order the same night and I received the replacement a day BEFORE the new order. I am extremely satisfied with this company and would not hesitate to order from them again.

This was my first year ordering from park seed and everything went fine. I only ordered seeds and some started onion sets. Everything was shipped when promised and the orders were complete. I would shop here again without hesitation.

Received two Pinky Winky hydrangeas. Vey small (as I expeted as they were cheap) and they are actually alive and were packed well. My first experience with Park and I was nervous but they came through.

I placed an online order with Park Seed on March 21, 2007. I ordered a Jiffy greenhouse (72) and paid extra for fast shipping. Approximately 4 days later when my order had still not arrived, I called them to inquire about the delay. They told me the item was on back order and would not be available to ship for 6 weeks! What aggravated me was that at no time was I ever informed about the item being on back order. Anyway, I went ahead and cancelled my order. Well, today I got my credit card statement with the $49.90 charge, but no credit! Again, I had to call Park Seed customer service. They had my original order on file, but the person I spoke with said she never received an order to refund my account. This is totally inept business practice if you ask me and I will NOT be placing another order with this company. What a shame, because it looks like they have some good products and plant stock.

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com"

I just received 5 peonies today (order ref # 4732533). They were very well packed. Two of them (Coral Charm) were of extremely impressive size. I actually had to pot them up in 2 gallon pots because the roots were too long to fit in a one gallon pot.

The reason this is neutral is I also ordered two Kopper Kettle Itoh hybrids. They were so small they fit in my hand. Neither had roots half as big around as a pencil. In addition one of them had the biggest root broken in half. There was one eye on each tiny little thing. Now these peonies (my birthday present from my mom) were $45. EACH!

I took pictures and will send them to Parks when I get them downloaded. I will change this comment either to positive or negative depending on how they deal with this situation.

"

I have located your order and I am in the process of reviewing your information. I would like you to know that I will be contacting you via e-mail shortly. We will make every effort to resolve this issue.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com"

On 12-13-06 I ordered a brugmansia cherub by phone from Park. I was told then it would ship in January for our zone 8. Today it is May 2, 2007 and I still do not have the plant but have been given at least 6 different shipping dates by phone and e-mail. Today I was told to call back in 20 min. after they had an employee go to the department and check the status of the plants. When I called back it was sorry that dept. was closed so he could not check , call tomorrow. They would not let me speak to a supervisor but got information from one that is now saying shipping will not be till the end of May!!! I was last promised it would ship April 30 after being told many other shipping dates. I canceled my order today after waiting almost 5 months with nothing but misinformation. I had a similiar problem with them last year but decided to try one last time. Never again. Park is not the company it once was and I am finished with it. Do not order live plants from them. My order # was 4446162. I wonder if I will get the refund check that I was promised today. Are you listening management at Park?

"

I have located your order and I am in the process of reviewing your information. I would like you to know that I will be contacting you via e-mail shortly. We will make every effort to resolve this issue.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com"

I've been buying plants and seeds from Park since 1980. I've had plants that did very well, plants that didn't. But their guarantee was good enough that I was always pleased to receive replacements. I've purposely waited to see if plants that weren't doing well would perk up the next spring and have received replacements when they didn't.

Well, apparently as of April of this year, what is written above in the vendor's comments is no longer true concerning their guarantee. Park will now only stand by its plants during the current season. This is according to one of their telephone customer service representatives.

This change was done without notifying any of us who had bought plants last year and will now not be able to receive replacements for those that are dead.

I'm sorry to take a company that I have been dealing with for 27 years off my list of companies to buy from, but Park has left me with no choice.

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com"

I had already read about Park before I placed my order, so I knew what I was getting myself into. I ordered some bare root strawberry plants and growing bags from them a few weeks ago. I had to stay on top of them to get things like my tracking number for the package. That's not really a problem, just a fact of life with nearly any company.

The plants arrived on time and bone dry. After getting everything sorted out, a few of the plants seemed as though they might be rotten. Turns out I was right. About half of the plants have not come out of dormancy nearly 3 weeks later (though I still have hope for a few of them). One of them was in such bad shape that when I went to check on it, the whole crown squished under my fingers, while the plant adjacent to it was actively sending out new growth.

When I first got the plants, I called to figure out what the cultivar I had been sent was. It apparently is one created by the people at Park's, but they don't seem to really know anything about it. One email (pre-sale) told me I would be getting everbearing varieties, but my chat with a horticulturist after I received the plant turned up nothing. She could only tell me a few bullet points about the plants, and had no idea what sort of strawberry it was, which sounds like poor record keeping on the part of the nursery.

I was wary after that experience, but when I called to talk about the 50% survival rate of my plants, they offered to either send me new ones or give me a credit. It's really too late for new plants (the ones they sent me in the first place really should have been checked out a bit more closely before shipping) but the credit will come in handy. I don't think I would buy bare root plants from them again, but I'll probably end up using that credit they gave me. They don't have the best plant material, but I found their customer service to be pretty decent overall.

I have ordered seeds and supplies from Park for the past couple of years. I have had no trouble with this company and will order again. If you are considering ordering from this company, PLAN TO ORDER EARLY - by the end of January at the latest. They are a very well-known seed company and get overloaded when spring rolls around. If you order early, you will not have to worry about seeds selling out and you will have a cushion against backorders.

Keep in mind that their varieties are best suited for the south. Their seeds germinated quickly and prolifically for me and produced vigorous plants. When I plant freshly purchased seed from Park, I only put one or two seeds in a cell, expecting very close to 100% germination.

Their packets of dried kelp are a good buy. Each makes a gallon of concentrate that lasts a long time when mixed and sprayed on for foliar feeding. I really like the Kozy Coats for tomatoes and their Sun Grip Gloves.

One last note - their Biodome is very popular and works just fine, but I do not recommend it. It is made of styrofoam, a very environmentally-unfriendly material. Also, the soil sponges Park's recommends using with it are expensive and unnecessary - cell trays can easily be filled with a moistened seed-starting mix. I much prefer the Deep-Root Seed Starting System from Gardener's Supply. It's made of sturdy plastic and is dishwasher safe. Hopefully Gardener's Supply will keep carrying this wonderful item.

I wasn't aware that Parks and Wayside are affiliated (should have checked here first !), or I wouldn't have ordered plants from Parks. I stopped ordering from Wayside long ago, because of their weak, tiny plants, most of which died shortly after arrival, if not dead already when the box was opened. How is it that plants that I've ordered from other companies, far north of Parks/Wayside's warm and cozy southern exposure, are husky and healthy, but the Parks/Wayside plants are inferior and spindly? Something's wrong here.

I ordered 3 geranium "Purple Pillow" - two of them DOA. I also ordered two butterfly weed "Ice Ballet". They are both about a quarter inch high, but at least they are alive.

I e-mailed Parks about these plants and my total disappoinment. They did reply, and are sending replacements for the "Ice Ballet", but since they no longer have "Purple Pillow" in stock, they could only give me a credit to use on my next order.

As if there will be a "next order".

Like many others in the Watchdog group, made an online purchase in late March'07 which included a Biodome and some seeds. Most of the seeds arrived within days of my purchase, but the Biodome and another pkt of seeds didn't. Called customer service to find that the Biodome was backordered, which was never detailed online (it read "in stock; ready to ship"). Was told there was a demand spike and would arrive within the next several days. Worried, I placed an incremental order for a second Biodome. When asked about the straggling seeds, I was then told they too were backordered (how come it didn't come up in the last phone call I made?) Called some week+ later (late last week) and was told that the Biodome inventory was now in, and that my order would most likely ship over the weekend or first thing this past Monday. It's now Thursday and I called today wanting to status my shipment, to which the barely intelligible Cust Svc rep said that nothing had shipped ... "they were still processing orders". I got testy, and then it came out that Park is "waiting for lids and bottoms". I asked to speak to her supervisor, and was told that Veronica Jackson would call me as soon as she got off the phone. An hour and a half later, no call from supervisor Veronica, so I called CS back and exploded. Talked to "Tasha" and told her to cancel my order and issue a credit immediately; when asked for the total credit I should expect, it was some $20 dollars less than it should've been -- Tasha and her system couldn't even do the math right. What are they hiring there? My third grade niece does better math and can talk more appropriately.

Park Seed: (a) is technologically disabled with an inept online ordering system; (b) needs to send their CS team to remedial class about managing customers and expectations; (c) and Park president/ceo needs a reminder of what cancellations like mine and others do the bottom line. Note that I fronted my cash the entire time while Park piddled and told stories about inventory and I've now lost my window to seed. They have no initiative to even contact the waiting customers and let them know order issues. The company was lightning quick to charge me, but hope Tasha doesn't botch the credit similar to some other consumer feedback.

Park Seed is a downer and I won't return -- please read carefully and consider before placing any orders with this group.

"

I have located your order and I am in the process of reviewing your information. I would like you to know that I will be contacting you via e-mail shortly. We will make every effort to resolve this issue.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com
"

I placed an internet order with this company on March 27, 2007 for seeds, heatmat, a couple plants, biodome and refill sponges. All items were listed as "ships now" or "for spring shipping". I am in zone 7 so spring shipping was supposedly underway for my area.
Some seeds and heatmat shipped March 30. Other seeds and items came one or two at a time through April 20, but still no biodome. I then called and was told it would ship on April 24. Today, April 26 (a month after ordering), it still has not shipped so I called and cancelled it. It's too late to use it this year anyway. If items are on backorder or will not ship within the week customers have the right to know that before placing an order.

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com
"

I plased a large order (around $200) to this company around Feb. 20 well that was fine, I places a nother order to a differant company that same day. About two weeke later I got a post card saying that I owed $8.19 so I payed it so my order would be shiped. Around a month affter I payed the amount, I resevid the first part of my order, refeel sponges for the18 cell whopper planting cell and the Rootainers. Around mid april, I resived my two pakages of refill sponges for the original 60 cell block. To this day three weeks befor the last frost date, I have not resevd collection c add the right light and the parks original whopper planting dome. I had to buy additonal seed starting supplies for the growing season. I would recomend only buying seeds frome this company.

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com
"

As many of you have stated, I wish I would have read the reviews before ordering from Park Seed, as it would have saved me time, money and alot of frustration.
I placed an order the first week of March for 3 Sunny Spot Seed Mats, 3 Dry Spot Seed Mats, Sunflower seed tape and 4 plants. My CC was charged that day for the total amount ordered. The Sunny Spot mats and Sunflower seed tape were shipped two weeks later, but the 3 Dry Spot Mats showed "to be shipped" on their web site and I was not notified by the company of any expected delay, so I assumed they were in transit.
The plants showed as not being able to ship until end of May so I cancelled them and requested a credit since I live in Zone 8 and need to plant early. 10 days passed with no credit so another phone call was placed. The credit was not issued for another week.
I still had not received the 3 Dry Spot Mats, so one more phone call was made and I was told that I would receive them by March 23rd. March 30th passed with no shipment so I e-mailed their support team to cancel the order and request a credit. A response e-mail was sent on April 6th from Angie/Support Team stating a credit had been issued and she apologized for the lack of customer service in not notifying me that the seeds were not available.
It is now April 17th and a credit has yet to be issued despite what Angie stated in her e-mail, so another complaint has been issued and I'm not sure this will be resolved without using other means.
Pre-warning, do not order from this company unless you have money to throw away, and alot of free time to do follow up phone calls and e-mails.

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com
"

just wanted to let everyone know i visited the garden center here in hodges and had a blast. everything looked so beautiful. i could hardly control my spending. the staff there were quit busy with custermers and each one of the staff was more than willing to help me find everything i needed. i cant wait until flower day here (june 23 2007) at parkseed. i would encourage everyone reading this blog to visit there garden center and trial gardens it was a very exciting experience.

Website has many problems. It took me 3 days to successfully order and I was only able to place a partial order (all seeds). I have tried many times now to replace the rest of my order and have not been able to do it. The system places many more items in my cart and duplicates items so it is nearly impossible to get the cart to work. Once I finally did last night the website froze in the second step and would not let me place my order, after trying a few more times I gave up. Possibly it is a good thing after reading the posts here (I was planning on getting biodomes, heatmat, and other non-seed items). It is really too bad as the site is easy to navigate and they seem to have decent items for reasonable prices.... I am half thinking of canceling my first order if my seeds are not going to be shipped promptly as some posts seem to suggest....We will see how my 1st order goes and I will update.

For years I have been trying to like this company, but they make it difficult

I placed an order on March 17. Some seeds, a pro seeder and the "add the perfect soil collection (two biodomes, one heat mat, one heat mat thermostat - I had intended to get serious about seed starting). Every item in the order was marked as "ships now". Assuming this to be true I spent the extra 5.00 for second day delivery.

The order was split up into order numbers 4638921 and 4638922.

Then the orders dribbled in. First the pro seeder. Then a couple of packets of seeds. But the majority of seeds (a collection of seven herb seeds) and the "perfect soil collection" still sit there unshipped, 30 days later. Its almost useless to me for the upcoming gardening season.

The same thing happened about five years ago. I made a lage purchase of seeds and selected second day delivery. It took over a month to be delivered. And during that time, their web site was off the air most of the spring. (Yes, I know, fives years ago is an eternity in the internet age.)

The funny thing is, if I order a few packets of seeds and choose regular delivery, I seem to get them in just a few days. Maybe asking for second day delivery is the kiss off death.

Whatever - the bottom line to me is that if you are counting on a company that actually tells you if an item is in or out of stock, if you are looking for fast service and fast delivery, park seeds just can't do it.

And as i said in the beginning, I tried to like this company, I really did.

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com
"

We order several large orders a year. Excellent !!

I'd placed an order for a specific seed packet (assorted colors for watermelons) and had added a few other packets to help defray the shipping and handling charges. I'd gotten an order confirmation email including all of the seeds I'd ordered, but once the package arrived, I was short the one thing I actually wanted.

They didn't charge my credit card for the missing item, but if I'd known that the "Item is no longer available" then I wouldn't have made the order to begin with.

If their ordering system is this screwed up, then I won't bother buying any more of their products. Also, I'm now getting their spam mails for my trouble...

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I have located your order and I am in the process of reviewing your information. I would like you to know that I will be contacting you via e-mail shortly. We will make every effort to resolve this issue.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com
"