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

To those of you who missed out on, or passed on the corkscrew vine plant.....that's unfortunate. I ordered one also. When I received it, it was a tiny little shoot, maybe an inch or so long. Like you, I thought it would be a lost cause, but I decided to give it a try anyway. I am so glad I did. It grew very slowly until we got an intense heat wave, high 90's, around the end of July, or beginning of August. The hotter the temperatures got, the more the plant grew. I'm not kidding when I say that I believe it grew 6 inches overnight...EVERY night. I finally bought a trellis that I believed would be way too tall, but I was wrong about that too. It filled the trellis, and since then I have been winding it in and out, keeping it full. I just had to bring it inside for the winter, and I am so delighted that I decided to get it. I so hope that I can keep it going until next spring again. It gets the most beautiful lilac/purple blooms on it, so unusual. I just received an email from Parks saying that they are back in stock. Maybe you should think about ordering once more. If you're lucky enough to get one, I promise that you will be amazed at the growth and won't believe your eyes when you see it bloom. Good luck!

I think they re-email quickly and respond to customers and suppliers very soon. An efficient company.

This year was the first time I ever ordered anything from Parks Seed and it was only seed. So far, their seed is the best I've ever gotten from anyone. My petunias are absolutely gorgeous! The colors and health of the plants are fantastic and what a fragrance. Same for most of the other seeds I've ordered from them. With some of the other company's I ordered from this year, it was hit or miss. Except for one which I will comment on in their space. I might order some plants from them for fall, not sure yet. Seeds are wonderful though.

On 7/19/06 I ordered a bunch of seeds and two bio domes. The ordered was shipped via UPS on 7/21/06. A couple of days later I received my order but the one of the bio domes was damaged even though the box was labeled fragile and I knew it had to be the UPS Guy lol I don't think companies are in the habit of sending of damage goods. I emailed customer support on 7/25/06 and on 7/28 and 7/31 Angie and Eva were happy to send me a new one.
By the way the my broccoli seeds are sprouting sooner than expected!!
Thanks Parks Seed

I received an email from Parks Landscape Nursery offering corkscrew vine (vinca caracella) for an extremely low price. I received the offer at the end of June. I had not been able to fine the plant where I live so I ordered 9. I waited about 2 weeks and then wrote an email to the company asking when the plants would be sent out. I received a response within 3 business days, thanking me for my order and advising that there had been a delay (with an apology) but the plants would be going out the beginning of "next week."

Well...I began to worry....thinking that the plants will never grow here on Long Island if they ever arrived. Lot's of negative thinking. What a waste of my mental energy! The plants arrived as promised, PERFECTLY PACKED and all alive and doing well. They're in the garden and growing FAST.

I was skeptical...and the reason being that I had a disappointing experience with Wayside several years ago. However I was willing to give Parks a try because the price was too good to pass up.

I will definately order the corkscrew vine from them again next year.

I have been very pleased with my experiences with Park's this year. I bought most of my seeds from them and they have done well. Also, bought plants from Wholesale division and I was very satisfied with the size and quality of the plants... at such a low price. I bought 6 self watering planters from the Wholesale division....one was broken on arrival and was replaced immediately by Park's.
And, I love all of the helpful information within the Germination/Culture Guide in the center of the catalog.
I will be ordering from Park's again in the spring.

Parks seeds has a new company Parkslandscapes.com. I placed my order on July19, 2006. I was notified on July 24th that my order had been shipped. On July 27 my order arrived in the best shape I have EVER received plants by mail. Thank you Parkslandscape. Outstanding job.

Although I don't, as a rule, order from southern nurseries for my northern garden, I took advantage of Park's early summer sale to order plants of Panicum v. 'Shenandoah' and Brunnera macrophylla. All plants were in small pots but were well rooted, and the Panicum arrived yet dormant (which was good). All are growing well now, a month later. I am pleased with the quality of Park's conscientious customer service, packaging and shipping. The sale prices gave excellent value.

Purchased 3 plants off of an eBay auction (seller Perfectplant) to learn this seller uses PARKS as it's supplier. The seller began to stall on shipping dates stating they had computer problems etc. etc Auctions ended on June 27th, and I paid immediately with Paypal.

I then started to get emails from Park Seeds regarding an order so I was really confused. I contacted the seller, and they said that they do sort of a co-business with Parks as a back up supplier??. Had I known that I would have NEVER purchased as I have had problems with Park orders in years past. Turns out Parks does not even have the blue Malva Marina I purchased. I see a subsituted plant tote for my plant purchase amount showing on my invoice at their website. WHAT THE HECK??? Have not even seen the two plants they've suppossedly ship to me. This stunt warrants a NEGATIVE comment just for the underhanded antics involved with the order.

Will post again when the plants arrive.

This rating is for Park's Wholesale. I had a good experence with the roses I ordered. My order was for blulbs,clemetris,and bareroot roses at very good sale prices. I soaked the roses for seven days. I planted half in pots and half in the ground all but one have leaves. The only one not leafed out is Berries & Cream which had the shortest roots of the bunch. The bulbs where a little on the soft side but I planted them anyway. I will have to wait to see if they were viable. Four cemetris, I have two growing by leaps and bounds, one never broke dormacey and the other I just misplaced! I have not contacted Parks yet about the failures. But I sure have some pretty plants doing great for a very reasonable price!

Ordered lots of plants from the Park Wholesaler sale this year and have been very satisfied with the plants and customer service. Ordering bare root roses this late is risky, but with good care they've all thrived and are blooming or budding. Lavender plants are growing like weeds. Shipping took a little too long for my comfort on one order and they promptly replaced an iffy hosta with 2 more of that variety! I'm happy and will definitley look forward to their next sale.

Barbara

I have done business with ParkSeed off and on for over twenty years. They have given me nothing but well packed, well hydrated plants.

Some have been sent while still dormant. I planted them, and cared for them as I would have had they been in full flower. Only a couple failed to break, and they were quickly replaced.

I've had only one or two DOA's--several years ago, and they were quick to replace them. When the problem were some less than desirable bulbs, they not only replaced them, but sent extras, as well. All did well and they sent what I ordered.

I have had excellent customer service from them. However, there have been times I found it necessary to request the assistance of a supervisor.

Their shipping rates are reasonable, although it seems there must be a better, more eco-friendly alternative to the peanuts.

They have horticulturists who are more than willing to answer plant, soil, or any other questions one might have. They answer emails in a timely manner..

As I stated previously, I have done business with them for over twenty years, and I will continue to do so.

I ordered a mix of plants, jiffy pots (on sale!), and seeds. All arrived quickly and were well packaged. I have started a few of the seeds and they were all quick to germinate. All-around good experience.

I ordered two corkscrew vines for $10 a piece. After about 3 weeks, and 3 phone calls to the company, they were finally shipped. To their credit, they were received in good condition, but I got the runaround on the phone as to when I would get them. ONE week after I got them, they are on sale for two bucks a piece. I e-mailed the company noting that I felt duped, and they offered that I could now order more at the two dollar price. Gee, thanks.

This comment concerns Parks Wholesale, another division of the company.

They've been running a sale, open to anyone, at 80% off regular prices, and I placed an order for 16 ornamental grasses and 20 ferns. Freight was free on orders over $100, so for $100.64 delivered, I got 36 plants. The plants were all advertised on the website as 3 and 3 1/2" pots.

The order arrived in a timely fashion, but had been very poorly packed. The styrofoam peanuts were not sufficient to immobilize the potted plants. Consequently, 22 plants were heavily damaged, with 50-100% of their foliage broken. Additionally, 5 ferns and 5 grasses were shipped bareroot, despite have been advertised as potted.

I called the company, and was assured that they would replace the damaged plants. My replacement order came today, and was a full duplication of the original order, all 36 plants. The packing was much more careful, and there was far less damage to the plants.

I give them a positive rating for excellent customer service and a real concern for customer satisfaction. While the original shipment was not satisfactory, they made it right.

I have ordered plants from Park Seeds frequently and am very satisfied with both their customer service and the quality of their plants.

Usually, the plants do very well. I am careful to file my receipt and check it before one year expires. Some years, I have plants that don't come up again. When that happens, I send an e-mail to Park's customer service, and they always respond. They either send a replacement or a credit immediately.

Their catalog is beautiful, and I am always excited to get it.

Last year (2005) I bought an Angel Trumpet plant and some moonflower seeds. I had bought other Angel Trumpets from other companies and none of them ever lived or bloomed. This one did...in late July, it was just loaded with blooms, I was taking pictures and sending them to all my friends. It has lived happily inside over the winter and now it's back outside and is already blooming again. And my Moonflowers were beautiful. I had bought a pack of seeds for a friend in northern IL too and hers did very well. We saved some seeds and they are growing well. I've been tempted to try those Thugi or something like that trees and wish someone that has tried them would post....I need something fast growing to replace three trees blown over last week in a storm.

I would have to give them a B- for a grade. One of the plants I got last fall was too small and did not make it through the winter. Yes they did give credit, but when shipping costs as much of the plant it's hard to feel good about reordering it.

My experience is unlike the recent ones I just read. I have been in contact with them by e-mail wanting to know when to expect my orders. They told me this week and two of the three orders arrived today. I ordered Dragon Wing begonias and Pentas and they are very healthy looking plants. I do have one more order coming and we will see how they do on that one but so far I give them a positive rating.

Ordered and planted two kinds of tulips bulbs in the fall. They all came up and look beautiful.

With seeds, you always win some and lose some. Their bulbs are nearly 100%, I actually think these stray cats got a few of my crocuses. Their customer service is prompt. Their seed packets probably have the best overall protection and "shelf life". They're prices are much lower than Burpee and their selection is wide.

After having difficulties and tons of inconvenience with a couple other mail order companies, I was on the verge of giving up and just driving the over an hour each way from my home to search for garden products.
A friend recommended Parks, though, and they are a breath of fresh air! I planted too many seeds, because usually all of the seeds I plant don't come up. That wasn't the case with the seeds from Parks, however. Every single seed I planted came up! I was thrilled. Their shipping is really fast, too. I love that, being the impatient gardener I am. I was especially thankful after one of my greenhouses had a mishap and I lost half of my seedlings. I ordered more seeds from Parks and had them in less than a week! So there was still time to start over. I recommend them all the time, now.

My seed order was pretty good. Seeds always seem fresh and never have much problem. I wish I could get some of the corkscrew vine seeds. I guess I better order them in December next year. No major complaints with the company though. We took a ride up to their gardens one year. Real pretty trial gardens.

I ordered several things from parks this season. All the seeds came in plenty of time to order them, and I was very pleased at the state of the potted plants. Very good quality and shipped excellent too, just have a bag ready to put all the foam peanuts in.
Will order from this company again!

I have ordered many live plants from this company starting in Spring '05. I have had good luck and been well pleased, as everything has been healthy when I received it. I don't think I've lost any of my Park's plants, even due to my own occasional neglect.

The only disappointing experience I had was when I ordered a Biodome this past winter ('06). It took so long to get here that it was just about too late to plant seeds. But, I will continue to shop with this company.

I guess I've ordered from Park for about 5 decades now. I remember my grandmother ordering from Park. I have never had a problem with the company. Mostly I ordered seeds, occasionally plants. My grandmother never complained about Park either and she was so happy when "the catalog" arrived.

I recently turned in an order for a few seeds and one Sky Pencil Holly. They have all arrived (seperate shipments). The Holly was in excellent shape and now resides in a 19" diameter pot. You can bet your bottom dollar I'll be ordering from them next year.

There are only a handful of suppliers that I'd give my 100% approval and Park is one of them. I rate them A+ in all respects. :-)

This was my first order. I got the Festina beans and Argoflash. Got it FAST. No complaints here. Thanks

On March 26, 2006, I placed an order with Park Seed for Purple Millet seed and copper garden markers. The order was shipped on March 31. While I cannot yet vouch for the seed germination rate, the markers were awesome--high quality at the best price I have found anywhere and they were BYGO!! A positive experience and I will definitely order from Parks again.

I have only been a customer of Park's for about a year now, My first purchase was some small bedding plants, I ordered out of season (in the dead of winter) and as soon as it was warm, bam! they were on my doorstep in wonderful condition. I have since purchased thousands of seeds from them (both at retail and through their wholesale company which is also great). My experiences have been nothing but positive in working with them. they always answer their phones quickly and their sales reps are courteous and efficient. whenever I have a question about an order they find the answer if they don't know it already. wonderful company, plan to do business with them for years to come!

Ordered a grow light and various seed starting supplies from Parks. Equipment arrived all the way across country in a reasonable time span and order was filled accuratly.

Some lettuce seeds I ordered from Park had a low germination rate. So I emailed them and explained I'd followed the instructions to the letter. They quickly volunteered to send another pack of seeds, free of charge, of course. I had them in about nine days. I haven't tested the new seeds for germination (getting too warm for lettuce crops here already) but Park gets a positive just for customer service.

We have used Park seed for many year and have always been pleased with their products and service. We now order over the internet which speeds up dellivery time.

I recently received my order. I ordered perma-nest trays, seeds, terra latches and Algoflash fertilizer. I got my order promptly but the fertilizer was the wrong one. I called the customer service number and got right through. A friendly person helped me to get the correct fertilizer shipped out and it arrived promptly also. I was pleased I got to keep the wrong fertilizer and didn't have to deal with shipping it back to Park Seed. I am very happy with the quality of the perma- nest trays and this site is one of the few places you can order these trays without ordering a huge number of them.

I ordered a few seed packets from Park's a little while ago and they arrived today. They were nicely packaged and arrived in a timely manner. Provided that germination is good and they're what they should be, I feel certain that I will order from Park's again.

ordered a number of packets vegetable seeds,order arrived quickly.there was one pack of seeds missing,contacted park seed through email and it was shipped following day.cant beat that service....thanks again park seed

This is the second year I have purchased from Park Seed. The orders arrived in a timely fashion, and I was especially pleased with their customer service and credit policy. Last year I (against my common sense) ordered the Strawberries in hanging bags, and set about trying to get them to grow. I followed the directions, they kept dieing. I finally planted them out, they still didn't make it. When I called to have Park make good on their "guarantee", the customer service reps were wonderful. They did ask how I handled the plants, I explained, and they cheerfully credited my account for the full amount.

Nell (CSR) mentioned DG, and that she looks up plants and availability occasionally in the Plantfiles and such, as well as keeping an eye that DG-ers are happy with Park. She also said that they have made some small changes in their exchange/credit policy, and ask that if you are having trouble with something you ordered from them, that you call and ask for help. They have staff horticulturists available for your assistance. If after seeking help from them, your purchase doesn't thrive, they will be happy to credit your account. I thought this was reasonable.

I ordered seeds twice from them since this year's catalog came out. The first order was extremely large, the second more modest. Both orders were received within a week and a half. I'm very happy with the level of service for seeds.

I have ordered from this company for as long as I can remember (≥15yrs) - they are one of my favorites to buy from. Mainly because their customer service has always been so friendly and helpful - Even when I used a credit card that I forgot I had and insisted that it couldn't be me. When I finally got my brain back, we both laughed so hard that we almost lost the connection! (It was a football bet that I won and my husband lost - hence HE had to buy the plants from the catalog that year!).

The catalog is great, the website easy to use - especially the quick order option. The only disappointment I have had over the years is that the plants usually don't survive the shipment or the first weeks planted out. I am not sure why this is....and not all of them die. The perennials for the most part make it (maybe 60 % of them) but the shrubs and trees don't. I have tried the tall ilex and failed everytime. Very disappointing. Also the azaleas don't make it in shipping. In fact, I recently advised my husband to avoid buying shrubs and trees from catalogs because of the disappointing survival rate (with the exception of Musser Forest - one of the best for getting tree saplings).

I haven't noticed any germination problems or plants that are not true to their package or catalog description. I do agree that the "order status" component of the website could be improved (as mentioned...how could something I ordered on Feb 24 be shipped to me on Jan 27th? I believe in relativity but that is a little to freaky for me in a euclidian (?) based world view).

Overall this is one of the companies that I order from time and time again.

Placed a first time order with them was for Biodome seed starting kits. I am pleased with how prompt they processed my order. One suggestion they should do is with shipping is to use something else other that styrofoam peanuts to package the products. It took some time to clean up the mess that was made geting the product out of the box There are more environmentally friendly peanuts that are bio degradable. If they are going to use them might I suggest that the product first be put in a bag then placed in the peanuts.