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

Last night on Park seed there was a 10 for 10 special on select seeds.
Web special 5 it was called. The totals did not change in the shopping cart to reflect to special. I called the Customer Care support which sounded like it was in India. The man was rude.

He denied the special even after I gave me this web site information. Then when he finally admitted that the site was advertising the special he said it was my fault the cart was wrong. I disagreed because I only had items from the special in my cart and there was well over ten. He put me on hold several times and each time it took longer for me to come back. Finally I could tell he was just waiting for me to go away because he said it was a IT department issue.

I cleared my cart. The special was taken off the site a few hours later though the page says 10 for 10. All of the items that where on the page are now missing. I work for two retail stores. We honor the prices posted. We would not post prices, blame the customer and then sneak off and change the prices rather then honor them.

The main problem with Park Seed is that they're refund window (for plant failure) is extremely short for perennials/shrubs. I'd recommend either:

- NOT ordering any perennials/shrubs from Park Seed; or
- requesting a refund for plant failure for anything that looks even remotely off, within 90 days of receiving the plant.

There's no way to take a "wait and see" approach. The perennials and shrubs I've received from Park Seed have always looked rather sickly, and if the plant doesn't do well, you're pretty much stuck with it.

Placed an order for three items (14th). All of which should have shipped together. I received the order in 2 days which was great, but missing one item (which was not backordered or delayed due to zone-shipping). Sent an email that day (16th). Did not hear back until the 22nd and they confirmed the missing item would be shipped within the week. By the 5th (2 weeks later), I had not heard anything. Spent three days on hold on the phone. Called each day and waited 2 hours before hanging up. Tried once in the morning and the late afternoon. On the 7th I was finally able to reach someone in about 30 minutes. She confirmed that the item was both in stock and had been shipping to my zone since my order. She was unable to provide me with an estimate on when the item would ship out, or connect me to someone else who could give me any more information. While the customer service rep was nice, the entire experience has been lackluster and made me wary of ordering through this company when many others have the same products.

Side note: the other two items I ordered were seeds which have a poor germination rate. Asked a friend who runs a large YouTube gardening channel, and he's confirmed that this company is one he hears many complaints from.

I ordered several packets of seeds from Park this season. Most of the packets germinated fairly well and produced decent plants, although they were inferior to the products of other companies.

The packet of butterfly bush seed germinated way below 10% and the Mother of Thyme produced grass. Nothing faintly resembling any thyme, ever. Healthy, broad-leaved grass.

I emailed Park and did get swift customer service, along with a refund of the few dollars I had spent on the seeds.

But my loss of time and effort, along with my disappointment, will keep me from being a repeat customer.

"On Jul 10, 2020 9:43 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park\'s Gardens) responded with:

We understand people seek an outlet to voice their opinions and we do try our best to resolve all the complaints and concerns brought to our attention from all online garden forums. We value your Feedback and will take it into consideration and do some research on the seeds mentioned. If there is anything you need assistance with please do not hesitate to contact us.

Please accept our apology for any inconvenience caused.

Angela Davenport
Retail Communications Executive
J&P Park Acquisitions, Inc.
Park Seed, Wayside Gardens, Jackson & Perkins"

No customer service.
Ive tried to contact them twice about some seeds I had ordered that seem to be lost in transit or something. The package has been sitting 30 minutes away from my house for 16 days now and i'm not sure how much time will be left in the season if and when the seed arrive. I understand a delay at this time, but not being able to contact someone when there is an issue is a big problem. I was hoping to have found a solid seed company that I could trust, but that isn't possible if there isn't customer service. I get the feeling that once you pay, the really don't care too much. :(

"On Jun 8, 2020 3:30 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park\'s Gardens) responded with:

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for your negative experience with our company. We are committed to working closely with our customers to resolve any service issues and will continue to focus our efforts on creating a positive experience. During this Pandemic we are working with a reduced staff and are receiving an astronomical amount of calls and emails daily, which is causing our response time to be much longer than desired. If you will email me directly with your order information and I will be more than happy to look into a resolution for you. Please reference this post.

Angela Davenport
Retail Communications Supervisor
J&P Park Acquisitions, Inc.
Park Seed, Wayside Gardens, Jackson & Perkins
Van Dykes Restorers
adavenport@parkseed.com
"

Posted on June 18, 2019, updated April 25, 2020
Posted on January 10, 2019, updated June 18, 2019
Posted on June 19, 2018, updated January 10, 2019
Park Seed is . . . fine. The seeds germinate fine, the plants are fine. The shipping costs are fine. The prices are fine. But . . . it is a big huge company. I received the catalog. I saw the pictures of the Park Seed heir posing in them. Not to get too into it but . . . not sure who they think they are fooling with that nonsense. :x

So I buy the seeds but they don't make me feel great. The company seems very soulless. And their are other minor complaints.

The packaging is horrendous. Black on dark gold foil- very hard to read, often printed smudged so totally illegible. Hard to discern from one another. Small size is easier to lose in cracks. They don't fit easily with rest of seed collection.

Also, everything in the supplies category on the website seems really, really overpriced. A twenty-five dollar hand seeder that resembles something parents use to clean out babies' noses? Hoo-boy.

I know some of this isn't the same as other people's complaints. But it is the real reason I will only be ordering occasionally, such as during a sale. There are just other places that make me feel better about what I'm purchasing, regardless of the price. Not everything about gardening is about practicality for everyone.

"On Jun 19, 2018 7:52 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park\'s Gardens) responded with:

We understand people seek an outlet to voice their opinions and we do try our best to resolve all the complaints and concerns brought to our attention from all online garden forums. We value your Feedback and will take it into consideration. If there is anything you need assistance with please do not hesitate to contact us.

Please accept our apology for any inconvenience caused.

Angela Davenport
Retail Communications Executive
J&P Park Acquisitions, Inc.
Park Seed, Wayside Gardens, Jackson & Perkins

I have purchased from this company in the past with good results. Unfortunately this year they went from positive to negative. This is on reference to order#WEBPS4544692. When I placed the order on 03/10/2020. I didn't receive an order number, shipping date or anything. I sent an email on 03/23/2020 and received a response on 03/26/2020 stating that my order was shipped on 03/11/2020 and if I haven't received it by 03/31/2020 to contact them. Fourteen business days to receive something sent from South Carolina to Tennessee seemed a bit long but okay. So I didn't receive my order on 03/31/2020. I then contacted Parkseed on 04/02/2020 and they stated they would issue a credit. Unfortunately some of the things I ordered were out of stock. The Zinnia seeds were integral to my garden design and they were out of stock. I was very upset. I called Park seed and spoke to a very rude customer service representative. The CSR told me I could use the credit to purchase the part of my order that wasn't out of stock and they would refund the rest. When I attempted to do that I realized that I was never issued the refund as the company said they would. So I sent another email on 04/17/2020. So far I have not received a response
My son has covid19. While he's not sick enough to be hospitalized, he is sick. I can't sit on the phone waiting a very long time to try to speak to someone from customer service. I reordered the seeds with my own money because I didn't want anything else to be out of stock. I have a garden plan and I really need the seeds. I can't wait for them to respond and
something else is out of stock. So now I'm out about$75 which is a lot for me because I'm not working. Hopefully I will hear from them soon. I hate to give the company a negative but I feel I did everything I was supposed to do and the company fell short. If this isn't taken care of in a timely manner, then I'll redesign my garden with annual seeds that I can get from another company.

"On Apr 18, 2020 1:52 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park\'s Gardens) responded with:

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for your negative experience with our company. We are committed to working closely with our customers to resolve any service issues and will continue to focus our efforts on creating a positive experience. Your input is very important to us and will assist us in our ongoing efforts to provide better products and services to all our customers. We greatly appreciate your business, and would like to continue to have you as a customer. During this Pandemic we are working with reduced staff and reduced hours making the wait time for customer service longer than desired as well as responses to emails being delayed. We apologize that your shipment failed to deliver after such a long time in transit. Unfortunately we are uncertain what has occurred to the shipment and certainly hope it will deliver to you soon. As a resolution I am issuing you a full refund instead of a credit on the lost order. And since you place an order on your own I will also be adjusting that order with a 50% discount. We hope you find this satisfactory. If I can be of further assistance please do not hesitate to email me directly.

Angela D
Park Seed Customer Service Supervisor
adavenport@parkseed.com
"

Two dead petunias (and third is nothing to write home about), two miserable-looking bare-root roses (one should make it, not sure on second one), rec'd an email that the peony I ordered is not available, and no response to the emails sent to info@parkseed.com (the only email contact info I could find on parkseed.com) 20 days ago (and within the stipulated 48 hours after delivery of dead/damaged plants) that included photos of the petunias shipment.

The end-of-season prices were great - too bad the plants weren't. Stuff happens, but I guess what will make me never order from any of the Park Seed companies again is the non-response to my emails.

"On Jun 24, 2019 9:52 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am so sorry to learn that your plants did not arrive in good condition. I hope you have reached out to ur customer service department for an adjustment to your account. If not please contact me directly at the address below and reference this post please. I'll be more than happy to look into a resolution for you.

I am so sorry to that you failed to receive a response to your emails sent. Unfortunately during the peak season it may take several days to receive a response due to the sheer volume of emails/calls received daily. Researching I was unable to locate any additional emails.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

I tried to order a product and once I ordered the product it would disappear and not allow me to print off the invoice and no invoice was ever emailed to me. I called the company and tried talking with a very rude supervisor, Grace Nelson, who would rather argue with me about my order than fix my problem. She continued to argue with me about my order and how I never ordered anything. I finally ended the phone call because she refused to stop arguing with me about my order. I received a double order. My purchasing department accepted the orders and I was not able to return them but I guarantee I will never do business with this company again.

"On May 21, 2019 11:14 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, we never wish to disappoint our customers, and customer service is most important to us. Will you email me directly with your order information or name and complete billing address on the order. We will be more than happy to look into this and resolve this for you. Please reference this post.

Angela Davenport
Retail Communications Supervisor
J&P Park Acquisitions, Inc.
Park Seed, Wayside Gardens, Jackson & Perkins
adavenport@parkseed.com"

In March I ordered $160 worth of plants. In April, Park Seed shipped part of my order--five rosemary plants--and two withered and died a day after they arrived. Park Seed gave me a credit for those two dead plants.

By the end of April, I was still waiting for the other eight plants in my order to be shipped. They kept moving the expected ship date later and later, so I called to find out when I could expect my plants. During the first call, they said that the didn't ship on the Friday expected ship date because they did not want them to sit in the post office overnight. Monday came, however, and the plants still did not ship. I called the next week, and they said the plants needed more time to mature, but that they would for sure ship by the next Monday. That Monday has come and gone, and still my plants haven't shipped. I tried to contact them by Live Chat this morning, and I received an email message that their customer service staff was busy and that I could expect a reply in a few days.

It is getting hot where I live, and I fear my plants will not have enough time to establish. I feel as if the people at Park Seed lied to me each time I called just to get me off of the phone. So far, I have spent $160 and only have three tiny rosemary plants to show for it.

"On May 13, 2019 2:06 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, I would like to look into this and a resolution for you. Can you email me at the address below including the order number and the details you have posted here please. Please reference his post in your email.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

Burpee seeds was getting a little expensive so I decided to give these guys a try. The variety of seeds available was decent and I liked the prices.
1. They gave me a reasonable shipping estimate which would have had the seeds delivered well before the following weekend so I canceled my other plans that weekend since spring was around the corner. THE SEEDS DID NOT ARRIVE.
2. I tried to look up the shipping status of my order on their website. You can't just see your orders, you have to know your order number and enter it, so more cumbersome than most websites. NO ORDER STATUS INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON THEIR WEBSITE.
3. I called. NO ORDER STATUS INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON THEIR AUTOMATED PHONE SYSTEM.
4. The phone automatically transferred me to the next available representative. I was pleasantly surprised that they had somebody answering the phones in the evening. IT RANG AND RANG AND NOBODY EVER ANSWERED. Nor was there ever any indication given that they were closed.
5. In the morning I tried their website chat option. it kept saying somebody would be answering in 5 minutes. I let it run just to see how long it would take somebody to actually reply. IT TOOK 3 HOURS FOR THEIR CHAT PERSON TO REPLY. He waited five minutes before disconnecting.
6. I called again. The rep said that the entire order had been delayed because one of the seeds was backordered. HE PROMISED THAT EVERYTHING WAS READY AND THE ORDER WOULD SHIP THE FOLLOWING DAY.
7. When I mildly expressed my disappointment that the entire order had been delayed, RATHER THAN MAKE ANY ATTEMPT AT AN APOLOGY HE SAID THAT HE WAS SORRY I FELT THAT WAY AND THEN PROCEEDED TO HANG UP ON ME.
8. That was eight days ago. STILL NO SEEDS.
9. I called back today. Guess what? THE ORDER HAS NOT YET SHIPPED.
10. I was a little upset. I asked them to cancel my order and refund my money. Once again no genuine apology or attempt to make it right and, wait for it... SHE HUNG UP ON ME.

Between the lousy customer service, the lies, and the quaint North Carolinian accents, I couldn't help but be reminded of the excruciating experiences I have had with Indian call centers. NEVER AGAIN PARK SEED!

"On Apr 1, 2019 1:01 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am sorry to hear of the type of service you received. This is not typical and will not be tolerated. Please accept our apology. Customer Service is important and we always appreciate the opportunity to address any dissatisfaction with our products and services. Please email me directly at the address below and include your order number and mention this post. I want to look into this and address appropriately. We are so sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

George W. Park would be mortified seeing customers being treated like I have been by his company. This is in regards to order # WEBPS3825208, 802180, (same product).
At first, when I found the website and the growing dome, I was so happy and inspired. My friend then purchased the 80 cell dome for my birthday.
It took the company several days to ship it. Tracking reported for 3 days without ever being received by the post office.
When I called in regards to the shipping, I was told that it is the post office who didn’t log the product.
When I finally received the package, it was a tiny box with on small package of plant food and an invoice for an 80 cell dome. For that, I took a day off to receive the package.
I called again, got a runaround, sent pictures of the box and invoice and insisted to have the product ASAP because I was ready for seeding.
I then received a promise in writing to receive it on Wednesday, March 6th.
The invoice stated a 120 cell dome in addition to the 80 cell dome.
So, I took Wednesday off to receive the package (we live very rural). When it was 2 PM, I called the company who told me that the package was just sent out that very day and is to be expected by Thursday.
The product arrived on Thursday and I lost 3 days. There were not even instruction included. This is by far the most expensive growing dome and it was handled like it had no value.
It seems to me that this company doesn’t care much about good customer experience. This growing dome winds up costing me almost 3 days income in addition to the overpriced product.
I learned that this company has no integrity and because of it, eventually no customers.
I am grateful though for the lesson learned - NEVER PURCHASE FROM ANYONE WITHOUT INVESTIGATING THE COMPANY FIRST!!!

"On Mar 8, 2019 4:42 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am sorry to hear you are dissatisfied with our service. Please accept our apology. Customer Service is important and we always appreciate the opportunity to address any dissatisfaction with our products and services. I apologize first that when the original order shipped, that our packing department made such an error of only sending you the fertilizer. I see the representative you spoke with entered the replacement order and flagged as NDA next day delivery, what she failed to tell you is due to the volume of orders we process daily we have a 1 to 2 day in house processing time before shipment. I understand your frustration and I am so very sorry that our company has disappointed you. We never want to let our customers down as we do value each one of them. Please accept our apologizes. "

I placed an online order on 12/15/18 and utilized Amazon Pay which meant I was immediately charged for the order. So far, my order has not been filled (1/02/19 more than two weeks) with no explanation as to the delay. When I check status updates it indicated an anticipated ship date of 12/19 however it indicates the order has not been shipped. The order only includes in-stock items.
I consider this delay unacceptable. I have purchased from Park’s for about 30 years and it used to be a good company. About 4 years ago I placed an order which was also not sent for weeks and customer service could give no concrete information about shipment time. Now you can not even reach a real person when you attempt to contact the company. I stopping purchasing from Park’s for several years due to the bad experience. I wished I had not tried again.
I would like to say that I have ordered items from three other companies within the last month and seeds and such have been sent out promptly 24 to 48 hours so I do not think my expectations are unreasonable.
DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY OR TIME WITH THIS COMPANY.

"On Jan 2, 2019 2:09 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology for the delay, currently there are a couple of items on your order that have not came in from our supplier for the 2019 season. I have flagged your order to split ship all available items asap. The items we are waiting on are the Heliotrope Mini Marine seeds, Algoflash Fertilizer 6-6-6 All Purpose Plus and the Algoflash Flowering Fertilizer . We are so sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

I have purchased seeds from Park for many years, even some plants over the years. But this year they are using the same customer service as "Wayside Gardens" and "Jackson& Perkins"....
I've gardened for 50 years. I'm a master gardener. Most of my plants have flourished with few returns. This year, unknown to me, several of the online plant sales, that I have used before, decided to required proof of dead plants or damage. The first problem was my petunias arrived with evidence of Bud Worm damage (person I talked to had never heard of Bud Worms) and the strange smell they get with Bud Worm damage. They told me to send them pictures. When they received them the horticulturist said they saw no worm!! Duh, the worms are small and hard to find. However, the photos showed chewed flowers and buds. One of my concerns about planting them was the Bud Worms would get to my Geraniums too. Which of course they have and the Petunias have suffered all season until I finally through them out.
I have had other plant problems too. One problem was they notified me by email they were mailing them, early March, I called them and told them that I had added a note not to send until May and not to send them yet as the ground was still frozen with snow on it, he said "can't change it just store them in a cool place where they won't freeze." The ground still could not be worked until the middle of May! Guess what those plants looked like when I went to plant! Some of them were bulbs so they were okay, but several (six)of the plants were already shriveled up and dead, I planted them anyway but to know avail.
Tell me one good reason I should have to dig up bulbs, or plants, that are dead and take photos of them, just to hear some person say I must have planted them wrong or didn't water them or any thing else they can think of to refuse to replace or refund the plants. I am never going to do business with those companies. I will just buy locally, I can see the condition they are in before buying. No one saves money buying online anymore. A disappointment, as the advantage is they have unusual plants I can't get locally. Definitely not worth the hassle!

"On Aug 30, 2018 2:13 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, I would like to look into this and a resolution for you. Can you email me at the address below including the order number and the details you have posted here please.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

The plants were supposed to ship on 4/11. I purchased with a gift certificate. In May I checked the status and it was set to AUTHAUTH. When I spoke with support they said the order failed because there was no credit card with the order (of course not I used a gift certificate). I didn't get an email or any contact to let me know the order failed.

When I called support said they would bump priority so it shipped out in a day or two. 8 days later it still hadn't shipped.

I called to cancel and support said they couldn't cancel because their supplier used a P.O. and said although it's not my fault they could not cancel. I could refuse the package when it was delivered and they would refund LESS a 20% RESTOCKING FEE - FOR AN ORDER THAT THEY MESSED UP - go figure! I asked to speak with a supervisor and was told they would call back and guess what - No call. Oh well I will spend some time posting reviews on the internet and never order from them again.

"On May 22, 2018 7:21 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, I will be more than happy to assist you, please email me directly with your order number and reference this and let me look into this for you please.This does not sound typical and I am really interested to see what has occurred here.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

Nice catalog and website, but the very expensive seeds of petunias and geraniums arrived in foil packets with misleading generic planting instructions and silly glassine envelopes inside. The instructions prescribed planting 6-8 weeks early,, much too late for these kinds of seeds, and the glassine envelopes either held the seeds inside them by static electricity or spewed them all over when the paper was opened.If Park is only putting six seeds in a packet, the seed should be pelleted and placed in a vial.

"On Mar 5, 2018 4:10 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Although we do use vials for fragile seeds and clay pellets, we try to save the customer money by relying on glassine envelopes for tiny seeds. (Shipping is cheaper and because the packaging is easier, we can pass the savings along.) The best way to open the envelope is with scissors. We use these glassine envelopes because very small seeds tend to get stuck in the edges of the Park's-Pak foil envelope. Glassine, over many years, has proven to be the best material for handling our seeds.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

I ordered a Portabella mushroom kit from Park Seed. It did not ship on time, so I emailed to find out when it would ship. I emailed three times with no response. Phoning the company leads to an automated message center with no option to speak to a human that I could find. I finally fished around the internet and found Angela D's email, and emailed her to request the order be canceled. By the time she got back to me, she said it was too late to cancel the order (this is because no one answered the original three emails sent to their customer service email address).

The kit did not grow, and two emails for growing advice to the producer of the kit (Mushroom Mountain) went unanswered. I have grown a couple species of mushroom from kits before, and this is the only failure I have had.

I did not email Angela for a credit, since I do not want to deal with Park Seed again.

So, poor product, no manufacturer support, and no customer service (well, without jumping through hoops to directly contact one special person at the company) from Park Seed. Avoid at all costs. There are a lot of decent companies out there selling similar products -- take your business to those other companies. Also, there is a list of businesses 'associated with' Park Seed here on DG (likely, those are just the same company with a different name to give the illusion of variety) -- avoid them as well.

"On Jan 4, 2018 1:31 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, I would like to look into this and a resolution for you. Can you email me at the address below including the order number and the details you have posted here please.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

While I am normally pleased with their products, this time I am not happy. I ordered 4 Bloom-A-Thon Azaleas. When I ordered them, I was advised they would be shipped to me in Sept 2016. The order was not delivered to me until Monday, 10/17/2016 at 11:41am. On Dec 4, 2016 I notified them that one of the bushes completely died to the ground and got no response. In April of 2017 I contacted ParkSeed and advised them several of the bushes were not growing. At that time they told me to give it about 6 weeks. On May 19th I contacted them again. Luckily two of the 4 bushes were alive. I received a response form them stating that this is their busy season and they would get back to me as soon as they can.

Now its June 2017 and I am being told its too late to do anything. Yes I did call, and waited and waited. Like most people, I do not have time to waste being on hold on the phone. I am better off shopping local for now on.

"On Jun 16, 2017 2:59 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, I would like to look into a resolution for you. Can you email me at the address below including the order number and the details you have posted here please.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

Having ordered from this company one time before with no issues, I was really disheartened about my recent experience. I placed an order on 5/9 for a 6 pack of geraniums and some strawberry plants. The strawberry plants said they were shipped today but I am still waiting for the geraniums to ship. The anticipated ship date was listed as 5/12. I contacted customer service to cancel the order and was told that I cannot because a shipping label had already been created for the geraniums. I was told that the absolute latest the order would ship would be 5/31, with an arrival date of 6/2. I am very frustrated about the lack of communication about shipping and updates about possibly shipping delays. I asked if there was any way they could refund a portion of the order or shipping and was told they could not. After this experience, I do not think I will be ordering from this company again.

"On May 17, 2017 9:08 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, unfortunately with the 6 pack Annual plants our grower has a 3 week window to get all orders shipped. Once we send the order information over to them, we do not know which week your order will actually shipped. We can say that the grower only ships on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays via UPS 2day express. With the being the last shipping weeks for the annuals, the last delivery possible would be 6/2/17. I am so very sorry that we are unable to give you the exact information you are requesting about your order.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

Posted on April 26, 2017, updated April 28, 2017
Posted on April 25, 2017, updated April 26, 2017
I just had an extremely negative experience with Park Seed, and I’d like to make others aware of this, as well as other reviewers’ experiences with them. I found consumer ratings for Park Seed on four websites, with the results summarized below. My rating is NEGATIVE, or 1 star. I’ve come across bad companies before, but Park Seed is the worst of the worst! I won’t deal with them again. “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” The details of my situation are described below.

//www.resellerratings.com/store/Park_Seed_Company Rating 1.0 / 10 (25 reviews)
[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com] Rating 425 positives, 107 neutrals, 421 negatives
[HYPERLINK@www.yelp.com] Rating 1.5 / 5.0 stars (31 reviews)
[HYPERLINK@www.sitejabber.com] Rating 1 / 5 stars (13 reviews)

I bought seed packets of 10 different vegetables. Thankfully, 8 did well. But one packet of peppers took 3 weeks to germinate, never grew more than 1” tall, and never developed true leaves, after 7 weeks! And with one packet of 10 watermelon seeds, only 2 of the 6 seeds I planted germinated (33%, which would increase to only 60% if the 4 unplanted seeds were viable).

I called Park Seed and spoke to Robin. She told me that Park Seed wouldn’t do ANYTHING about the watermelon seeds “because they only guarantee 80% germination.” I responded that the germination was at best only 60%, but she had nothing further to say. She said nothing about the dwarfed and useless pepper plants. I asked to speak to a supervisor. Robin took my phone number and told me that one would call me back, but she wouldn’t say when. I doubt anyone will ever call back.

The Park Seed guarantee, on their website, says nothing about 80% germination; it simply states “We guarantee all Park Seed products to be high quality, true to type, shipped properly, and to perform as advertised. If your plant has received our recommended care and doesn't perform to your satisfaction, notify us and we will replace it free of charge or provide the cost of the product as credit toward a future purchase.” Evidently not! To avoid disappointment, DO NOT BUY FROM PARK SEED!

"On Apr 26, 2017 9:11 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I would like to assist in bringing a solution to your issues. Please email me with your name, address, and order numbers so that I may help you with this situation. We at Park Seed would like to make your experience better. I would like to review your account so that I may bring a better resolution to your issue.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com

On 3/20 I placed an order for 7 packets of seeds. All items were designated "available to ship". As of 4/6, the order status page still listed the anticipated ship date as 3/22. There was no communication at any time about any delay or backorder.

I contacted the company via live chat a week after ordering to get an update, and was told my order was scheduled to ship at the end of the week. It did not. An inquiry via web form on 3/30 received no reply. When I contacted them again via chat on 4/6, I was told one item had been backordered and was undergoing germination tests, and would ship by the middle of the following week. (This item is still listed as available to ship.) I canceled my order at this point. I would not have ordered at all if it had been clear it would not ship promptly.

The customer service representatives were very polite, but the delay, coupled with the lack of communication about item availability means I won't be ordering again.

"On Apr 6, 2017 11:00 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, I will be more than happy to assist you, please email me directly with your order number and reference this and let me look into this for you please.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

I placed an order on 3/11/17 for a six-pack of lantana plants, and received an email confirmation with an estimated ship date of 03/31/2017. Well, the end of March rolled by and nothing - no plants, no email with a shipping update or confirmation, but boy oh boy, every day there's a marketing email from them in my inbox encouraging me to buy more.

Yesterday I decided to call and follow up on when I might expect these plants to be shipped. After getting a recording about "all of our associates being busy but please hold" and then being on hold for 10 minutes, I gave up, called back and tried the "automated order update" option - which gave me a message saying that the "system was down so you're being transferred to customer service - please hold".

Yep, another 10 minutes and nobody picking up, so out of desperation I called back and tried the "to place an order, press 1" option - surely SOMEBODY would pick up that line, right? Nope! "Please hold..."

So I sent an email stating my inability to get them to answer their phones, and letting them know that I would be cancelling my order if I didn't have a response back by close of business today with a firm ship date. Naturally, I didn't hear a thing from them - not a phone call or email - so I have now sent them another email cancelling the order. I am really wondering if they are actually still in business...

"On Apr 5, 2017 9:09 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, I will be more than happy to assist you, please email me directly with your order number and reference this and let me look into this for you please. During our peak season we do have longer than normal hold times and email responses may take a couple of days simply because of the shear volume of calls and emails we receive.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

Posted on May 9, 2011, updated March 26, 2017
Posted on March 12, 2011, updated May 9, 2011
I just got an order of seeds. I'm not happy. First of all, the seeds were fairly expensive, a couple of them were something like $4/packet. I bought 10 packets and a lot of them only had 15 seeds in them.
What really gave me a bad feeling about the whole deal though is that one of the packets had a sticker saying 'packed for 2011' on it, and I removed the sticker and underneath 'packed for 2010' was printed on the packet. To me, that seems like fraud. I don't care if seeds DO last from year to year, if you've marked them packed for one year, don't change it next year and expect that your customer won't notice. It isn't true that it was packed for 2011.
Next year, I'll pay less somewhere else, and do my research first to make sure I'm not paying premium prices for year old seed.

"On Mar 27, 2017 12:05 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am so sorry to learn that your seeds from your Fall order failed to germinate. All of our seeds are tested and must meet a 80% germination rate before we will sell them. Our Guarantee on seeds is 6 months from the date of receipt. Please call our customer service department and report the seed failure and we will issue a credit for you.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

I ordered two bundles of strawberry bare roots from Park Seed. Of the 25 Tribute strawberry roots, I have 25 living plants. Yay. Of the 25 Pineberry strawberry roots, I have 3 (maybe 4) so-so plants. I received both bundles at the same time, planted at the same time and with the same medium. I tried to give the Pineberry time to show signs of life but as the dead roots started to mold, I had to separate them from the healthy plants.
And to top it all off, my negative review on Parkseed.com was removed.
At first, just my opinion of this one product was negative, now my opinion of the entire company is negative.

I purchased some heavy duty 1020 perma nest seed trays on parkseed.com and they arrived damaged. My error was that I did not inspect the package within 48 hours. My initial thought was, I have ordered these trays through Fedco seeds in the past and Ive never had an issue. On seed planting day, I removed the trays from the box and noticed they arrived damaged, but still usable. The box it arrived in was large and filled with bubble popcorn. The trays had enough room for movement during shipment. I called customer service, and i alerted the customer service clerk that my order exceeded the 48 hours. She had me go through a long process where I was on the phone for over 15 minutes . She then tells me that there is nothing they could do. She stated "The trays were still usable so there is no need to refund you the money and you exceeded the 48 hour time limit." I understand not reimbursing the full amount for the trays or replacement but I shouldn't have to pay full price for something that arrived damaged regardless If the 48 hour mark has been exceeded. There motto should be " If we send you items that are damaged its okay because you can still use it."

"On Mar 20, 2017 9:13 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, I will be more than happy to assist you, please email me directly with your order number and reference this and let me look into this for you please.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

I ordered an 8 cell seed starting dome on January 11, 2017. The status page said the expected ship date was January 14, 2017. I contacted them in late February and they could not explain why it hadn't shipped. After several contacts they said they came in and would ship within a week. They didn't. I contacted them again on March 2, 2017 because the status page still said the expected ship date is January 14, it showed zero items shipped, but they had a shipping number with no tracking. Again they couldn't explain it, but said they were backordered. I asked them to cancel the order and they said they would try, but probably wouldn't be able to since it showed a shipment number, even though it hasn't shipped yet. They are required to cancel the order since it's over 30 days if I understand the law correctly. They never gave me an update on the order until I contacted them late February.

"On Mar 2, 2017 1:25 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, I will be more than happy to assist you, please email me directly with your order number and reference this and let me look into this for you please.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

I place an seed order recently since the company had a great selection and prices so for my first year ordering seeds I decided to try them. When I placed my order I used their free shipping promo code. When my order totaled it said shipping would be a few buck, which I figured had to do with the fact that I am in Alaska so I was fine with it. After I submitted the order the confirmation page said I had just been charged $23 for shipping. We are talking for packs of seeds that could easily fit in a $6 flate rate box. So I called the company the next morning to cancel the order. They told be I would have to refuse the package at delivery since it had already shipped. After 2 weeks and no package I decided to look up the order status and find a tracking number for my package. Looking at the tracking history I realized the shipping label wasn't even created until 4 days after I had made the call to cancel. My order had not already shipped when I call to cancel. Now I see it is in Federal Way which often is the last stop before it ends up on the barge up to Alaska which may take an additional week or more. So pretty much I was lied to and paid ridiculous shipping amount for the slowest shipping option. Won't be ordering from them in the future.

"On Mar 2, 2017 1:22 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

We are so sorry you were disappointed in our service and for any inconvenience it has caused. But I do want to let you know that we are would never intentionally mislead our customers about the departure of an order. And I would like to review your order to see what happened please. Also unfortunately the website can not tell the difference in seeds and other products. We charge a 20.00 upcharge on anything shipping to Alaska, except on seeds. We can refund the $20.00 fee back to your account, please email me directly with your order number and I will be more than happy to take care of this for you.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

I ordered seeds and some seed starting domes from Park. The seeds came right away, no domes. Please note, it did not state at the time of ordering that the domes were out of stock. I never received a message telling me they were out of stock and when they would be shipping. I emailed them 3 times, as per their " email us with any questions". No response. I tried calling several times, never able to contact a human. The longest I spent on hold (and then hung up because no one had yet answered) was 9 minutes 28 seconds. I tried calling at different times of day to no avail. My domes showed up 4 weeks after the original order and then THAT day (Feb 14, 2017) I receive an email stating "Your order shipped 2/8/2017". That is all totally unacceptable customer service. I will NEVER order from this company again. I will update this review when I see how the seeds work out.

"On Feb 20, 2017 10:13 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am sorry to hear you are dissatisfied with our service. Please accept our apology. Customer Service is important and we always appreciate the opportunity to address any dissatisfaction with our products and services. Unfortunately at times items can become back ordered and unfortunately we do not have a automated program that will notify our customers of the back order. I am so sorry, unfortunately during the peak season our emails can fall behind due to the volume received daily and due to the call volume in our call center our hold times can be long. We do our very best to respond as soon as possible. Again we are so sorry for the inconvenience caused, please accept our apology.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

In October of last year I placed an order with Park Seed and most of the seeds that I received had a sticker that said "packed for 2015."

Just a few months later I got a 0-10% germination rate from almost all seeds in my order, several varieties. It's clear to me that they sold me old seeds that were past their prime. To sell 2015 seeds in October 2015 is very deceptive, especially because they are not labelled as such on the site. Even at garden stores they give seeds away that late in the year, but instead Park Seeds sold them to me representing that they were good, when in fact more than half of my order did not germinate after a few months because the seeds were old.

I assumed this was a mistake and was prepared to order from Park Seed again. I wrote to them a few days ago to see if I placed an order now if the seeds would be 'packed for 2016' or 'packed for 2017.' They told me I didn't have to worry about it because the seeds no longer have dates on them. This indicates to me that Park Seed are well aware of this issue but are trying to hide the fact from consumers that they sell seeds that are near the end of their shelf life.

It appears that it's common practice for Park Seed to sell old seeds and now they are just trying to cover up that fact by not putting a date on the packaging, which every single reputable seed company does. I'm disappointed and feel ripped off.

"On Oct 31, 2016 2:48 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Currently, our seeds are not dated. However, they are tested in our seed lab and we guarantee at least 80% germination. When a seed's germination level becomes low or a seed is exhausted, we do replenish the stock at that time. Because we re-stock regularly, the seed you order could be several days or months old. Generally speaking, our seeds are fresh and replaced each year. Our seeds should be good for at least 1-2 years; even longer if our customers refrigerate them in an air tight container. We do store our seeds under ideal conditions; therefore, regardless of the time of order, the seeds purchased should perform well for you. Also, when we were date stamping the packets, all new empty packets are stamped early in the year, however we replenish seeds several times a year. We apologize for any inconvenience caused or any confusion caused by the date stamp on the 2015 seeds packets.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

I have been buying my seeds from Park Seed for many years with great success so this growing season I decided to buy several different live plants from Park that were unique and not seen locally where I buy from. I was very excited to receive my plants and expected top quality but I was completely disappointed. I made several different purchases and the timing of the delivery time was poor as my account kept saying they were being shipped. When I received my plants the size and quality were terrible! I had ordered three six packs of San Francisco Begonias that were barely alive. They were root bound beyond anything I have ever seen and brown leaves and dried up. The roots were not a healthy color at all. I have been able to nurse a few to live and after two months they are just looking like starter plants. I bought several Ice plants that came root bound...dried up...horrible looking. Most have died. I purchased several other Ice Plants from another supplier and could not believe the beautiful large healthy plants that were packaged so nicely when I received them I was embarrassed I had to plant them next to the ones from Park...and they were much cheaper. I also bought the Cheyenne Spirit Cone flower from Park and they should have come in a casket! They look like my dog chewed on them or a child dug them out with a spoon. They were hacked. I was so disappointed in every plant in that pack. I also ordered Bacopa...the plants were maybe an inch or two of a cutting that was fried up. For the amount of money I paid I expected top quality plants. I sent a lengthy email to the company on 6/10/16 and never received a response from them. Very disappointed in the customer service. I would never purchase a " so called" live plant from Park Seed ever again.

"On Jul 29, 2016 3:17 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I would like to assist in bringing a solution to your issues. Please email me with your name, address, and order number so that I may help you with this situation. We at Park Seed would like to make your experience better. I would like to review your account so that I may bring a better resolution to your issue.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

I bought 2 50-seed packets of celosia, but had only a 48% germination rate. . .with all seedlings surviving transplant into my garden Needing 77 celosia plants, I made a 2nd order, buying ONLY an additional 50-seed packet, but had only a 36% germination rate . . with only one seedling surviving after transplant into my garden.
While the company responded the 7th day after my seed guarantee claims, notifying me that the cost of the seed would be refunded, they refused to refund the shipping charge I paid to have the 2nd order of substandard seed sent to me, citing "company policy".
I will no longer do business with them OR their known affiliates. It is not right, just or honest to charge the customer for shipping substandard seed.

"On Jun 24, 2016 12:08 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am sorry to hear you are dissatisfied with our service. I would like to help with your situation. Would you please provide me with your name, address, order # , and I will gladly work with you toward some sort of resolution in this situation.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com
"

I placed an order for tomato plants on 4/27/2016 and as of today (5/26/2016) I have not received them. I called their office today and was told the plants could be shipped as late as 6/10/2016. When I placed the order, their website indicated these plants would be shipped beginning 5/16/2016. Today when I checked their website, it shows these plants "now shipping" Why is their customer service department saying one thing and their website saying another? Maybe they don't know what truthful means!

I live in Ohio which has a limited growing season so young plants received in the middle of June, if they survive the summer heat, would not have time to mature and produce many tomatoes by the end of the growing season. With this in mind, I requested that my order be cancelled and my money refunded. The response I received was: "Unfortunately we cannot cancel your order". I asked to speak to a supervisor and after several minutes of stalling, Jessica finally connected me to Chantra who said she was a supervisor but again said she could not cancel my order. She did offer a solution; Refuse the order when it arrives and it will be returned to their vendor. Their vendor will in turn notify them that the order was refused and then they would refund my money...sometime in July or August. I said I did not want to wait 2-3 months to get my money back and asked to speak with her supervisor, Brad. Unfortunately, Brad (and all of the other upper management people) was in a meeting and would have to call me back. I will contact my credit card company to see about getting my money back.

In doing some research on the internet, I discovered that Park's Seed has had a long history of not being dependable when it comes to fulfilling internet orders. And their customer service is horrible!!!

I ordered from them last year and had no problems so based on that, I would say you have a 50/50 shot at getting your plants! Beware!

"On May 26, 2016 3:22 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, unfortunately when the orders are sent to the fulfillment center we are unable to make any type of adjustments. The final shipments did begin the week of 5/16/16 and will continue through week of 6/6/16. The 6/10/16 date would be the latest the order would deliver. We realize this is very inconvenient for you the customer and we are so sorry. However, as the Supervisor Chandra stated you can refuse the delivery and we will refund you for the order. The refund will not take 2 months to be given as well. This will take place as soon as the fulfillment center lets us know the package has returned. Your information has been given to the department Manager, Brad and he will give you a call at his earliest convenience.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com
"

Posted on April 19, 2016, updated April 19, 2016
I ordered the Calibrrachoa assorted mini pak - 6 plants, 2 each of scarlet, tangerine and blue 87827-PK-6a. (order # WEBPS 1930876) The shipment arrived with all the plants jumbled up in the box, but they survived well enough to be planted, although 2 were broken. Some had blooms, some didn't, but after a couple of days, it was obvious that there was a packing error, since there were no blues, but 2 red and 4 tangerine. I emailed and aside from the automatic response, never heard back despite the 48 hour time mentioned in the email. After 3 days, I called and after a long wait, was tole that the relevant department would get back to me, implying that they'd send the missing plants. Five days later- nothing. Called again and spoke to another helpful and sympathetic person who, after talking to her supervisor, said they'd refund me about $5,( waay less than 1/3 the price!). This was not acceptable and so finally they offered to send me another order, but not until May 18, another month. I am very dissatisfied. This is no way to keep a customer

"On Apr 19, 2016 9:47 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am sorry to hear you are dissatisfied with our service. Please accept our apology. Customer Service is important and we always appreciate the opportunity to address any dissatisfaction with our products and services. Annual plants are very tender, and because of this, we do try to avoid extended periods of storage. Therefore, our annual plants are started and grown for each individual hardiness zone. Therefore we only have 3 shipping periods for annual plants. Annuals grown for your zone begun shipping the week of April 4th. The plants grow for the next shipping period which begins the week of April 25th have already sold out, this is why your replacements can not ship until the last shipping period which begins the week of May 16th. We are so sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com

First time customer this spring with two orders totaling about $60. The products sent and customer service proved extremely disappointing. Hydrangeas were dead within 4 days of planting. I contacted customer service as instructed via e-mail. They did not respond even though a reply within 48-hours is promised. So, I called the (800) number and was told I would need to supply photos of the dead plants to prove it. Sent that exactly as instructed and was blocked by their spam filters (apparently the system is not equipped to handle attachments). I was also told on the phone that the asparagus ordered wasn't dead enough (roots arrived moldy and didn't produce sprouts after three weeks of ideal weather conditions). They wanted me to call back in another three weeks on these, presumably requiring I go through the send e-mail for no response and/or a bounce until the 90-day guarantee window expires. It boggles my mind that a company charging premium prices would make a customer spend so much time trying to resolve an issue they created with poor product then add insult to injury with required instructions to begin a discussion about resolution that are impossible to comply with. That's not a product guarantee.

"On Apr 13, 2016 4:33 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am sorry to hear you are dissatisfied with our service. I would like to help with your situation. Would you please provide me with your name, address, order # , and I will gladly work with you toward some sort of resolution in this situation.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com
"

I ordered 3 six-packs of flowers. I selected the first week of April as the delivery date. I called the company a few weeks before the delivery date and was told over the phone that I would receive the plants on Friday of the first week of April. I sent them an email a week later to confirm the delivery date, and they responded in writing that my order would be shipped the first week in April. So, I scheduled my landscaper to come out on the second week of April to plant everything for me.....and guess what...flowers have not been shipped. Now they tell me that I can expect the flowers on Friday of the 3rd week of April. They will not issue me a refund or allow me cancel my order, even after I forwarded them the email they sent me which confirmed the plants would be shipped the first week of April. I will not buy from this company again.

"On Apr 12, 2016 12:06 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I would like to assist in bringing a solution to your issues. Please email me your name, address, and order number so that I may help you with this situation.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com
"

I've been buying seeds and plants from Park for decades with no problems until now.

1. My password quit working. I tried several times to get them to send me a new password and they said they did but they didn't. I finally got a new one by calling.

2. My order history shows only my last order, nothing from the last 20 years.

3. I tried to find my shipping history and couldn't so I initiated a chat. The response was a blank screen.

4. Via phone I found out that my hibiscus (ordered over 2 months ago) were on back order and wouldn't be shipped until next month.

I'm going to find a better company to order from in the future.

"On Mar 25, 2016 11:20 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Dear Gardening Friend,
I am sorry to learn of your disappointment with our product/service. Please accept our apology. Customer Service is important and we always appreciate the opportunity to address any dissatisfaction with our products and services.
I am so sorry that you failed to receive one of the auto populated passwords when requested, it is unusual that you would not. It is a possibility that it may have went into your spam folder. We apologize that you are no longer able to view your long term order history, in the recent years our website updated and changed and older history is no longer available. I apologize that you were unable to Live Chat with a representative due to a blank screen, I will look into this to see if there is an issue. Unfortunately from time to time we will have plants back ordered due to many different reasons, mostly due to weather change and harvesting the plants. We never want or mean to disappoint any of our customers. We ship thousands of orders each year, and our goal is to offer only the best in both products and service.

Ordered 7 packets of seeds, most on sale, entered a promo code good for "15% off any order" - simple enough. Was charged full price minus 15% percent so $6 more than the sale price. I would have been happy with the sale prices, I was even okay with $6.95 shipping, but to bump the prices to full price and then take off the 15% is so dishonest and smarmy. The promo code should state "off full price" if that is the case. I called to cancel the order and was told I couldn't but that I could send the order back when it arrives. Again, only $6 but beyond dishonest. Lots of great seed companys to choose from, stay far, far away from this one.

"On Mar 8, 2016 1:08 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I would like to assist in bringing a solution to your issues. Please email me your name, address, and order number so that I may help you with this situation.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com
"

I have to agree with those who have had poor experiences with Park. I sent a question to them via their website email form, regarding some seeds I intended to purchase. I received a reply thanking me for my interest, and letting me know that someone would be contacting me within 48 hours. A couple hours more than 48 later, and still no reply. So i used their website's chat feature to ask my questions.

I was ok with the answers I got about the seeds themselves, but having in mind all the negative reviews posted here, I figured I'd dig a little deeper. I asked if the seeds happened to be on back order. I was told that they can't tell until I actually place an order. That is absolutely ridiculous in 2016, even if it is true. Fortunately, I was told that I could cancel if they are on back order, since my credit card wouldn't be charged until the items shipped. Fine, I guess.

So, I asked about shipping. It would take 7-14 days standard shipping. No problem there. But I was told, as someone mentioned here, that they will ship "at the optimum planting time for your zone." I'm in southeast PA...so they'd ship sometime in...April? May? Whenever they think it's safe? Add a week or two for the actual shipping, and I'd be getting the seeds much later than I needed them.

I asked if I could get them shipped now, in case I wanted to start them indoors early. I was told, "If we ship before the optimum planting time it will null the warranty." I didn't even bother going into how silly that is. At least the person was friendly and polite.

So, yeah. Proceed with extreme caution when ordering from them. They won't be getting my business unless some of these things change.

"On Jan 29, 2016 4:43 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, it appears there was some miscommunication via our Live Chat. I would like to address your questions in regards to the back order on seeds and the shipment time of orders. The Angelonia Blue and White seeds in the Serena variety are not back ordered at this time, they are available for ordering and shipping now. The statement you seen "shipped at the optimum planting time for your zone." This is in reference to live plants and bulbs only, seeds and accessories ship within just a few days of ordering. All of our shipping Policies can be reviewed online, just follow the link below. Again we are so sorry for the wrong information given and any inconvenience caused.

http://parkseed.com/shipping-policies/a/6/

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com
"

Last spring I ordered seeds for the platycodon variety 'Komachi' (this is the type in which the blooms never fully open and look like little balloons). I had grown them successfully from seed before, but lost them to a drought a few years back. The seeds this year germinated and grew into plants which are now blooming. Unfortunately, none of them are the variety 'Komachi.' but rather are the typical open-bloom platycodon that I can buy at any garden center. I feel I have wasted months of time and effort trying to grow a special variety with nothing much to show for it.

"On Sep 24, 2015 1:43 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

We have reviewed your posting on Dave's Garden Watchdog. We want to resolve the problem but are unable to locate your order with the partial email address provided by the site. Please forward your order number or complete billing address (including zip code), and any other pertinent information to my email address below. I want to help and look forward to hearing from you.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com
"