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

I have ordered for several years from Park. I have had good experiences from their bulbs and seeds. However, last Fall I ordered 6 Echinacea Ruby Star plants and they arrived in terrible condition...they all appeared dead, so I called and they replaced them and the replacements didn't look good, but I planted them all including the dead ones, hoping for some life in the roots. This spring, I have 3 plants which lack vigor, but ARE putting out. I notified Park by email of this and they are sending me a replacement check for the expense. I live in the Deep South and I feel sending plants to this hot and unpredictable climate is chancy and will just use the check to order bulbs and or seeds in the future. They have been very nice about all of this and I will use them again. I only wish shipping could be better and more predictable weather-wise.

Customer service could not have been more pleasant to deal with. Now, if the deer won't eat the poor little remaining plants as they put out and try to live...

Pat

I placed my first order with Park Seed in May, 2004, and received it about three weeks later. All of my items were excellently packaged and labeled. All of the plants were potted up over the Memorial Day weekend and they all show signs of healthy new growth. I am pleased with my experience and I will order from this company again.

Have ordered from them twice. First order -neither plant made it through the winter...

Second order - 1 bareroot was DOA, other two are still alive... I guess that's saying a lot for Park Seed :)

DECOBUG

Very nice plants at fair prices. Was a little nervous when they showed up USPS - but they were fine inside. Would order from them again - they are all growing and look great!

I've been buying seeds from Parks for years and have always had excellent germination rates with them. I do notice they don't seem to have quite the selection of the more unusual/harder to find seeds (they used to carry more unique melon varieties)--instead are, unfortunately, tending to carry the same seed varieties that can be found elsewhere, even locally. I'm glad I saved seeds every year from a couple of the melons that they (and no one else, it seems) carry!
Of the seeds I bought this year I've had EXCELLENT germination rates!!! Seedlings I started some weeks ago are already hardened off and taking off in my garden.
This year I finally gave in and bought their 'fig tree' collection-which consists of a petite negri and an italian honey fig. After reading other reviews, and a few things on a forum, I was leery of what would show up on my doorstep.
I was VERY PLEASANTLY surprised! The italian honey fig (both figs arrived potted, not bare root) was large, already leafed out and with a breba fig! The petite negri was still dormant, but leafed out within DAYS and it now has four little breba figs on it!!!!!
I just wished I'd ordered these before--I am VERY, VERY HAPPY with my fig trees!!!!!!!!

My experiences with this company have generally been very good. Their selection of hard to find seeds is unsurpassed. The only problems I have had is when I have ordered plants. After a few attempts to order plants from Park's and others it is clear to me that your best bet is to buy locally if you can find what you want. Part of the problems lie with the nurseries and a part of the problem lies with the US Post Office. It seems that they can never deliver a plant in a timely manner or undamaged.
I ordered a yellow budeila from Park for about $6 two years ago and got a 1 inch twig in a very small pot even though it was advertised as a 6 inch pot. I was told that they were out of the larger sizes but assured me that it would grow to over 6 foot tall the first season. I thought-yeah right! But I was wrong it did exactly that.

Finally, a positive experience with an on-line order! I ordered bulbs just a few days ago and I got them yesterday. They're exactly what I expected, large healthy, expertly packed bulbs, ready for planting. I'm anticipating the arrival of the live plants that were also ordered. If this first shipment is any indication I believe that the live plants will be of the same quality.

I received a partial order from Parks today. I am very pleased with the plants I did get. However, I placed my order in February and since then have gotten two postcards saying they are out of things I wanted. I wish they could have told me that on the phone when I called in the order. Now, I discover that one more item is on backorder! It is a rose, so I doubt that I will get it at all. So, the plants I got are nice, but of an order totaling five items, I have only received two. It's pretty disappointing.

Parks is yet another example of the 'bigger is better' syndrome which most companies seem to adhere to by purchasing other companies in order to stay afloat competitively. The problem with that of course, is that it's usually done at the customer's expense. I have ordered from Parks Seeds for years, so did my parents. Usually the best quality of seeds, superb research and nursery management has gone behind their product. However, one can almost watch the customer service decline with the merging or acquisition of another company.
I placed an order on March 26 of this year for seeds, seedstarting kits, etc. Over $120 order. It is May 4th and I've yet to receive the seed starting kit and supplies.
I ordered an item which was heavily promoted, emails sent with it highlighted, found on every web page they had. Ordered it and of course it was 'not in stock'. I waited and waited, emailed them twice with no response, called them twice and was just told to wait longer. I watched my order status and saw when the item arrived at Park's. My order was shown as 'reserved and in stock' for over two weeks but not shipped. Seems an item such as a seed starting kit for this time of year would be sent as soon as possible knowing a customer needs it promptly.
I've had several experiences over the last 3 years with slow delivery from Parks. I do agree they have the best seed packaging available and I do like their vegetable selections, but I wont' be ordering from this company anymore. Kind of sad since this has been a family preference for years.

I only order seeds from them and never had a problem with getting orders. Seed prices and selections are quite good, and I find their peat plugs immensely useful for rooting softwood cuttings and tricky/expensive seeds. I've never bought any plants from them and never will, since the selection is uninteresting and quite expensive, and I've heard way too many horror stories about wayside, which is owned by the same parent company.

The seed quality isn't particularly good (small seeds and crushed seeds are present in most packages) but germination rate is decent. Park gives dubious instructions on cultivation, not unlike those found at the back of Walmart seed packets.

I placed my first order for seeds and planting material and the items never arrived. So I had to get a refund from my post office. I replaced my order and only the seeds arrived. E-mails were not responded to so I called them on my dime. They reshipped the items and there was still a packet of planting items missing. Time for one more e-mail to get it finally all shipped. So many hours spent at post office, On phone with customer service and plant seeds started much later then my original plan. All in all be careful when purchasing you never know when or if your items will arrive.

I just received the three clematis I ordered from Parks in December. I am extremely dissatisfied because the plants I received and was charged $9 and $10 each for are about one inch in diameter 'plugs' with a tiny root system. These types of plants can be purchased by wholesalers for a couple of dollars or less each. Plants this size are meant to be grown on in pots for 6 to 12 months by greenhouses before sale, not sold to consumers to be planted into a garden situation. I plan to contact Parks about my dissatisfaction.

These guys have the best seed packaging in the business. The perfectly sealed foil packages keep the seeds far more viable than the paper packaging used by most seed companies. Every kind of seed I've ordered from them (100+ varities over the years) has had an excellent germination rate.

I've ordered a few "six packs" of interesting annuals from them also, and they have always been good, large plants and very well packaged. Can't speak to their perennials, shrubs, etc., as I have never ordered those.

I placed my order in early March for some bareroot and 3" potted perennials. Their online order status was always updated and easy to print out. When it was time to ship, they showed the shipping date (4/12) for each plant, and my plants arrived two days later.
They were packed VERY well. All the plants had good root systems and were labeled nicely. The packing materials and potting medium were nice and moist. I planted everything yesterday and today....now let's see if everything does well!

Purchased 3 Helleborus plants on sale. They arrived much quicker than expected, in wonderful shape and are huge. Am looking forward to future purchases.

Just got my rose sale plants and they are huge! They were 60% off and a great deal for the size. PLus they gave me 5 free seed packets to which they were all interesting seeds that I look forward to growing.

Thanks!

i live in georgia ( the south) so what better place to order from than parkseed company!! their plants are grown in the south- so it makes good sence.

I have ordered several times from them this spring alone!! and have been very happy- i got my orders in seperate boxes, and am still waiting on several items- but everything is going just fine.
Last spring I rdered some Banana plants (seed) and they all did wonderful!!! and are big and healthy now.

I think some of the people who live in northern states, who order from a southern company-- or a southern state who orders from a northern company is just not working, maybe because the plants, seeds and such are grown and used to that part of the country--- south for south, hot for hot.. and cold climate for cld.

I have not had any problems with parkseed company, and I look forward to getting the emails, and the catologues from them! *knock on wood* that all of my dealings will be nothing more than wonderful with parkseed company.

I ordered over $100 dollars worth of plants from Parks before I read about them here. I received my order and the plants were extremely small, some didn't even have leaves. Several plants were back-ordered. I received those plants about 4 weeks later and they were nothing but black slimy sticks about 1/2 inch tall. There is no way these things will live. And the prices are very high for the size of pots I received (even if they had plants instead of sticks in them!). I will email the company about this but with the feed-back I've read here, I'm not very confident about getting an acceptable resolution.

I think some weight should be given to the timing of positive experiences when including them in an overall rating for a company. It seems Parks had many more positive comments from 2-3 years back than they have recently. This seems to skew their rating. Think twice before ordering plants from this company!

I have to say the bulbs and seeds I ordered were fine and I have no complaints on them at all.

i will rate this negative, only because of how i've been dealt over the phone....

i've dealt with parkseeds in the past (for seed) and had nothing but "goodness" come from them. Since then, i've tried ordering live plants... this seems to be their downfall. my orders were place in 2003, and early 2004.

i can currently goto to my local hardware store (yes hardware store) (ACE, HOME DEPOT, ETC), and buy strawberry plants.. they are everywhere but at my house... parkseeds shows my order (still) as "in stock and reserved" after waiting first 9 days from calling them last i am told today "we will ship them immediately" btw... immediately to them is 1 week. The lady reported it takes them 3 days to pack them and then another 3-4 days to get delivered. UG!

so i moved on to two other orders still "in stock and reserved", one for clematis(also available locally now), the other for achimenes & hibiscus... after my inquiry i was told they were still waiting for them to "come in"
i said "huh", your site has them ALL MARKED as "in stock and reserved" you mean they arent? the response: "well sir they are reserved for you, you will get one when they get here"... apparently "in stock and reserved" means in somebody's warehouse, not theirs!

(maybe they need to open an ace hardware or home depot closer to them ?)

as a funny little side note:my order from directgardening.com (i placed after parkseed) is already here, and growing nicely. go figure.

thanks for listening

'g'

I received the bulbs and plants that I ordered in a very timely matter and was extremly please with what I got. Everything was package well and little extras were sent with my order

Ordered a couple of Calla and Dahlia tubers via the website. My order arrived via Priority Mail four days later, this is my first experience with this company and the tubers were large and in excellent condition.

I ordered the new variety of calla, Naomi Campbell. They came Friday. They were excellent quality; large, fully turgid. Most had multiple meristems. Also, the spring catalogue lists terra cotta pot hangers as a "bonus". I have been looking for them for 5 years now. I ordered 40 from the company, which shipped quickly. Quality and timely shipping is what keeps a company on top.

Today I received the "live plant" portion of a multi-part order which included seed packets and seed starting supplies. I am completely satisfied with this company's
product and timely e-mail responses to my inquiries. I was especially impressed with the superb condition the rooted brugmansia cutting. I am awaiting a much larger order of all "live" plants due to arrive within a week or so and will update this report accordingly.

I placed an order over $125 lately and didn't receive the free standard shipping as advertised on their website. Questions sent to the customer services were avoided in their responses and eventually ingnored. Will not order from them again.

About four years ago I placed an order with this company for 24 Oriental Lily bulbs so I could split them with my grandma who lives about a half mile from me. About half of the bulbs failed to grow. I would have understood if I was the only one growing them, but my grandma had about the same success rate as I did, so I don't think that it was our fault. When I called the company they were very rude to me on phone and questioned my ability to grow them. They only replaced half of what did not grow. So since there are many other catalogs out there I have not ordered from them since.

Until last fall when I received a coupon for $20 of free merchandise. I thought this would be a good chance to try them again. I ordered two bulb items. I received an email saying that they had been shipped so I was watching for them. UPS always leaves their packages in our garage or on the doorstep. For some reason they decided to leave the package in a vehicle we rarely use, even though it was hot and sunny. I never thought to check in there (we live on a farm - if that is the case it would be like an easter egg hunt to look everywhere they might possibly leave it) so I figure it was about a week before I found the package. Half the bulbs we dried up and the other half were covered with green mold. I know this wasn't Park's fault, but I thought they may be able to do something. I called them and the lady on the phone said they could be replaced but we should wait until this spring to see if they grow. I told her what an awful condition they were in and I doubt they will grow. She said let's just wait and see. This would not have been such an agrevation if I had not previously had problems with this company.

I have never had this bad of luck with a company and I actually order quite a bit of plants through the mail. All of the other places that I have ordered plants and bulbs from have had much better customer service and have been much more willing to keep their customers happy.

It is very doubtful that I will order from them again. As it is now I don't even look at their catalogs so that I am not tempted to order from them again.

After shopping around the internet, I ordered seeds from Park's January 20. The web page indicated that the seeds "ship now." My email confirmation indicated that the seeds "ship now."

When I didn't recieve my seeds by February 2, I checked my order status. There, I learned that my seeds were EXPECTED to ship in May. After an e-mail, I was told the order status function wasn't working properly and assured that I could expect the seeds in early to mid-february. Today, February 20, my online order status indicates that the seeds are EXPECTED April 5. I called and was told that they get new seeds any day and it MIGHT be earlier then April.

I don't mind waiting on order...IF I'm told up-front. But Park's happily takes your order without mentioning they're out of stock and haven't a clue when they'll receive the items ordered.

To their credit, Park's let me cancel my ordder and I was never charged. Likewise their customer service was always polite. For myself, that didn't make up for the time and aggravation of keeping tabs on my order.

Here's another case where I wish I could do a split rating. I've had good success with most of what I've ordered from Park's- I've had strangers come up off the street and ask me where I got such pretty tulips from. The tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and spring crocus that I ordered have all been great. Here's the problem- the more "exotic" stuff I've ordered hasn't been good. The fall blooming crocus came up but never bloomed the first fall, then were never seen again. The winter hardy glads never came up at all. So... stick with the "basics" and you'll do just fine with Park's!

Seed starter kit and seeds rapidly arrived in good order

I just received my first order from Park Seeds. The order was accurate and shipped very quickly. I ordered the Styrofoam Seed Start Kits and they seem to be really nice (I've only tested them with some easily germinated seeds but they wick the water well).

I do wish that the web site would tell me when an item is back ordered rather than allowing me to order and then only telling me once the order is received.

Parks continues to be my favorite plant/seed company to do business with. In fact, this year it will be the only company I order seed from. If any company out there is doing things right, Parks is the one. I feel their prices are very reasonable, their selection excellent, the quality of seeds and plants outstanding and no one can beat their customer service. Here's an example of the only problem I can remember having with their seed. Two years ago I ordered 2 variegated clivia seed for $20. The seed grew, but the foliage did not show the expected variegation. After a year, I called them and told them of the problem and also said I would like to wait for awhile longer to see if the variegation would eventually show up before getting a refund. They told me that would be fine and they would put a note on my account. I waited another year before requesting the refund and they did it. No questions asked. I received the refund within a week. To me, that's incredible service. Their staff is very knowledgeable and incredibly friendly. What more could you ask for? I love this company and anxiously wait for their catalog each season. Simply the best!!

I like Park Seed more than most. I haven’t had a major problem, and the “Biodome” they sell is clearly better at getting starts going then any of the “cheap” methods I’ve used.

My one beef which makes this a neutral is that last year I ordered more “biosponges” for my propagation domes. After a couple days, I noticed that there was something growing in with my seeds that was not vegetative. Mushrooms. Little brown conch-shaped mushrooms were growing all over the sponges.

Whoever is supplying the biosponges to Park is obviously not properly sterilizing them. This wasn’t a big deal to me, as I know a bit about mycology and microbiology. It was more fascinating than anything else. But it isn’t good business to be allowing plant propagating material to be sold which is infested with who-knows what. The sponges could be made from compost carrying Mosaic virus for all I know.

So if you buy the biodome or sponge refills, it would be a good idea to sterilize the sponges by processing in a pressure canner at 10 lbs plus altitude for at least 30 minutes. This will kill all mycological pathogens, and most plant affecting bacteria and viruses.

I purchased 3 live plants from this company this last spring. 2 were potted, and 1 was sent bareroot. Normally I do not like to pay that high a price for perennials but they have a very nice variety and I could not resist purchasing a couple of them. The bareroot one was very small, but alive when it arrived. I planted it and it sent up one tiny leaf and died off. The 2 potted plants were nearly dead when they arrived, with 75% of the folaige actually black, and very sick looking. When I called and complained they did offer me either a refund or replacement plants, I requested a refund. Somehow they got that wrong on the computer and I was sent replacement plants in the fall. These looked exactly the same! They were black and very sick looking.

While I have heard good things about their seeds, I will not be placing another order with this company. They were quick the second time to issue my credit card a refund, but I was not pleased at all with the quality of their plants, or the service.

I ordered seeds. They came in seven days. I have to admit I didn't sit and count them, never occured to me. I might next time though. They grew and were what they were supposed to be.

I ordered several plants from them this year. They arrived in well-packed, small pots. Some were in good shape. But there are a few that I'm not so sure are going to make it. They have some unusual varieties but their prices are high for what you actually get. I may up or downgrade this experience depending on how the plants do and how the company responds with any complaints that I have.

New Catalogs will soon fill our mailboxes. I have always looked forward to receiving the Park Catalog and it's partner catalogs: Wayside Gardens, Park Countryside Gardens, Park BUlbs.

The seeds I have received have germinated well. I have been able to add many new plants at low costs to my garden by using seeds.

The roses I have ordered have responded better than any other company's dormant roses. I've especially been pleased with the David Austen, i.e., English rose types. I will definitely be ordering more now that we have moved to a new home.

I have had very good success with park seeds. I always get what I order & the packs often contain more then listed. I really like the clearance sales that they offer. I pick up ALOT of seeds for a fraction of the cost. Very generous deals.

I just received my order from Park Seeds yesterday. I phoned them to ask why none of the seed packets have dates on them and to tell them that the packet of onion seeds, which really need to be fresh, were even OPEN, not sealed at all. The response I got from their "hort" representative was "we don't have to put dates on our seeds" and "uh-huh, that can happen." So I have no way of knowing if these onion seeds I've planted will even germinate or how old any of the seeds might be. I must say that I was dismayed by the attitude as well as the fact we gardeners have no assurance of getting fresh seeds from this company.

I ordered several types of daffodils last year, and the bulbs of one variety were rotted. I called the company, and they sent a replacement bag - which was similarly rotted. I called again, and they offered a replacement, but it was much too late for planting by then, so they credited my credit card. On the positive, the customer service person was very pleasant. But I thought if they had a complaint about the quality of a certain cultivar they ought to make sure the replacement is good before they sent it. The other bulbs were so-so, and the whole order was sent a little later than it should have been for planting here in South Dakota.

I have dealt with this company for a number of years. I even went and visited them in South Carolina about 5 years ago. I believe that at one point they didnt have the problems they now have.
I have been the victim of low seed counts per pack, poor germanation as well as not being able to get a catalog. They assure me that I am a valuable customer (I spend $50- 75 per year at Park) but havent received a catalog in 3 years. I have been forced to purchase over the internet and have begged for a catalog without success.
I am looking elsewhere for quality seed at a good price.