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

I really wish I had done some research before ordering from Park Seed. Had I even done just a quick search I would have found review after review of their HORRIBLE customer service. I have NEVER encountered a company that cared so little for their customers as Park Seed.

It was 11pm at night and I wanted to order the "deal of the day" also they were advertising "free shipping" on the home page so I went check out, entered the code and the system would NOT take the code. I had over $39 worth of stuff in my cart and was entering it in correctly. Since it was so late I gave up and decided to try again in the morning. However when trying to order the next day the cost of the flowers I wanted went up and still, the system would NOT accept the coupon code for free shipping. Naturally I contacted your customer service thinking they would do their job and make it right. However all I got was a snotty attitude, snide remarks and an agent who obviously had NO intentions on doing anything to make up for the money I missed out on saving. I was absolutely floored at the way Terri handled my issue, I have NEVER received such horrible customer service, it was so bad I made sure to save the script. I continued on to email the company thinking I may have just gotten a bad CSR.. NOPE!!! that was not the case, the person from info@parkscs.com wasn't any better.

Now on top of the HORRIBLE service Park Seed has processed un-authorized payments on my account. I made my purchase on 6/6 for $41.78 which was taken out of my account immediately. Now on 6/9 I had a charge on my account for $35.88 and a second charge for $5.90. This is NOT OK! This company has processed unauthorized charges on my account. DO NOT ORDER FROM THEM.

***PLEASE READ THE ABOVE INFO BEFORE ORDERING FROM THIS COMPANY***

I will be doing my best to warn others about this company, and will be submitting a BBB complaint. I hope at the very least this info can help warn others so they don't order from this company.

"On Jun 11, 2015 11:43 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Dear JackiO,

I have reviewed your posting on Dave's Garden Watchdog website as well as your Live Chat session and your email inquires. I would like to help with your situation and bring a resolution to your issue. First, please note that I will be issuing you credit back to your account for the difference in price of the 12 Delosperma Jewel of Desert Topaz plants in the amount of $6.00, we apologize that you were unable to process and submit your order on June the 4th while the Deal of the Day was valid. Second, to explain how your charges appeared, we charge for items as they ship and on 6/7/15 we sent in a pre-authorization for $41.78 and when we made shipment of the 2 packets of seeds on your order we billed only for them at $5.90. Once we processed the plants for shipment we pre-authorization the remaining balance of $35.88 and billed for this amount once the plants shipped. Giving a total of $41.78 that we billed you for. Pre-authorization are roll off accounts once the money due is collected. Customer Service is important and we always appreciate the opportunity to address any dissatisfaction with our products and services. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com

"

I ordered 2 wisteria plants, and a few petunia surfinia. The wisteria came and was packaged horribly and very small. The plants are all broke off and crushed. I emailed them to tell them that I need replacement plants or a refund because the wisteria are destroyed. I still have not heard from them. I haven't received my petunia surfinia yet. I have emailed them to cancel those because I will just go somewhere local and buy them. Don't waste your time with this company. Their plants are very small for what you pay and if there is a problem they don't get back to you.

"On May 11, 2015 4:42 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am sorry to hear the product was damaged. 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 several organic seed varieties and a 3 pound bag of organic fertilizer on April 4, 2015. As of this date, May 9, I have not received the fertilizer and had to buy locally. I have emailed and although their automated response says they will reply within 48 hours have received nothing. I have called countless times and chosen either their Billing or Customer Service option only to be left on hold until my cell phone battery dies. I realize the cost of the fertilizer is minimal, but a company as large as Park should care whether their service is complete and professional despite the size. If reviewing on Dave's is the only route to resolving this issue then so be it. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement as I have been a guest at Park (for professional gardeners and landscapers) in the past.

"On May 11, 2015 4:40 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

"

Simply awful in every respect. The so-called customer service said there's nothing they could do about it when I complained my order never arrived. There was no USPS tracking number generated, no nothing. If fact, the person at the company was somewhat abrasive besides being of no help whatsoever. Never again will I do business with them, nor should you.

BTW, the order did finally arrive after I raised a ruckus. It had not been shipped in the first place and what I got was their first attempt to ship, some two weeks after placing the order.

This company is just miserable.

"On May 2, 2015 11:57 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 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 and review what happened with the shipment of your order.

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

This Spring I ordered plants from 3 businesses Burpees, Chileplants.com and Park Seed. Everyone delivered plants at the projected times except for Park.. I have called and emailed about this issue several times. I still have not been contacted about when I can expect delivery of the plants that I ordered. The plants were originally to be shipped on 4/3. This was the 1st time that I have ordered from Park and at this rate will be the last time. No one seems to be concerned about this problem. My order number was WEBPS1188604. I am an extremely dissatisfied customer.

"On Apr 28, 2015 2:47 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I would like to assist in bringing a solution to your issues. I will review your order and email you directly shortly. We are so sorry to that we have disappointed you in the delay of your order being shipped..

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com

"

Still waiting for seeds ordered two weeks ago. Says they shipped on 4/9, but now it's the 20th and still have not arrived. This company is a two bit operation that talks out of both sides of their mouth. When asked why the tracking number didn't work, they blamed it on the USPS first, then they said small packages weren't tracked. Why give me a tracking number if it doesn't work? Why do they charge almost $7 for shipping 5 packets of seeds from SC to NJ? And then, after almost 2 weeks, they are not even here yet. Never again will I order from this company and I will be sure to tell everyone I can to never deal with them.

Scott R Smith

"On Apr 21, 2015 11:02 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 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 recently ordered 4 seed packets from Parks seed and was charge 26.95 for shipping and handling!!!! This is the last straw for this long time gardener. NEVER again. I did contact this company and have been assured that they will get back to me. I am still waiting and am NOT holding my breath. Don't do business with these crooks.

"On Apr 20, 2015 7:59 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

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

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

Unfortunately I have to leave a negative review for Park Seed. If my review makes one fellow gardener think twice before ordering through this company it will be worthwhile. I will start by saying I gave the company a chance to make things right prior to posting my experience and there was never any effort made on their part.

Generally I order almost all of my seeds from Baker Creek, but received the Park Seed catalog and thought I would branch out. I ordered $50 of seeds from them in January and received them in a reasonable period of time. This review isn't going to go into the poor germination of those seeds, because what upsets me even more is the lack of appreciation for their customers. Due to an email promotion I received in March for "free shipping" I thought I would take another look and purchased another $20 of seeds. I placed this order on 3/12. I noticed the charge on my credit card on 4/11 and by that time I couldn't remember what I ordered. I called the company and they said the credit card is charged when the seeds ship. They provided me a tracking number to check on the package myself. I explained it was ridiculous the seeds shipped 1 month after ordering. The caller stated "they ship based on your zone and proper planting time". My entire order was for seed packets! Clearly it is now 4/17 and TOO LATE to plant flowers from seed. After the call I checked the tracking and was given a "no such tracking number exists". Contacted the company again. Was told packages under 1 pound cannot be tracked. I was also informed the seeds were on backorder and that is why it took so long to ship. I asked why I wasn't notified of the backorder and was told they currently do not have an automated system for backorder notifications. Really? Do I care? How about a little customer service and someone takes the time to send a quick email to notify their customers when an item is not going to ship because it is on backorder? If one item is on backorder, how about shipping the other seeds that are available and giving me a chance to cancel the others that would not arrive on time? I explained I would be refusing the package and expect a refund. I can only imagine how long it will take to get my $ back.

Bottom line, there are plenty of great seed companies out there who would appreciate my average spending of $300 on seeds each year. There is no reason to risk ordering from Park Seed. I actually came to this site before placing my order to research them and for some reason didn't listen to the warnings. I hope someone listens to mine.

"On Apr 18, 2015 9:23 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am so sorry to hear you are dissatisfied with our services. Please accept our apology. I would like to help you with your situation. Customer Service is important and we always appreciate the opportunity to address any dissatisfaction with our products and services. We ship thousands of orders each year, and our goal is to offer only the best in both products and service. Unfortunately, because of this volume, there are instances when it is simply impossible to avoid a mistake or prevent an error from occurring. When that happens, we will make every effort to correct the problem. Our way of assuring that your gardening is successful, is our willingness to make the appropriate adjustment whenever a customer expresses dissatisfaction with any product purchased.

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 by issuing you a refund for the order.

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

I ordered two seed packets from Park Seed which took 18 days to leave their warehouse. I emailed their customer service team during this time to ask why my order was taking so long to fill and never received a response. When I received my seeds, I felt that it wasn't a good value for the volume. With so many competent competitors in the marketplace, I will not be ordering from them again.

"On Apr 16, 2015 8:36 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am sorry to hear you are dissatisfied with your product ordered. 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
"

On 4/4/ (Saturday) I ordered two seed packets on line. After filling in the details, address, card # etc. the review page showed an estimated shipping cost of something like $5.00. When I submitted the order the shipping cost suddenly became $24.95!! This for an order weighing not more than one ounce!! I immeadiately tried to cancel the order by using the order number but was given a canned response that it might take up to two days for the order to be registered.
Tried again on 4/5 (Easter Sunday) with same inability to get a response.
Ditto on the morning (Hawaii time) of 4/6. Finally located a phone number on their web site on their shipping page (also difficult to find). This shipping site noted that to ship to Hawaii there would be a surcharge of $20.00--- this apparently was regardless of the nature or weight of the order.
Was able to speak with a Letricia (SP?) who tried to stop the order but found it was already on the truck. I stated I would not pay such an outrageous charge and would dispute the credit card charge. She suggested I refuse shipment when it arrived. I replied that I had other things to do instead of sitting by the mail box.
Later in the day I received and e-mail from Parks proudly announcing my order had been shipped.
How inept for them to use FEDEX to send 2 seed packets when a first class envelope would cost 50 cents.
Seems like they are heading for another bankruptcy and it is well deserved.

"On Apr 7, 2015 2:01 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am sorry I was unable to contact you directly, I do not have any of your order information. 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 refund you for the $20 upcharge on your shipping. I look forward to receiving your email.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com

When the plant I ordered (in addition to the bare root strawberries) arrived, the quality was.... wait, there was no quality, the plant was ll but dead! Yellow and rolled leaves, broken stem. It appears from the other reviews that quality is not something in which this companies believes. When I called them to express my discontent, I was greeted with an attitude befitting an adversary, not a customer. I was told I would be given a refund on the plant and a partial refund on the shipping with in 5-7 days. I will report back then are the veracity of their customer service representative.

"On Mar 19, 2015 9:27 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

We are sorry to learn of the condition of your plant upon arrival. Please accept our apology. Customer Service is important and we always appreciate the opportunity to address any dissatisfaction with our products and/or services. We ship thousands of orders each year, and our goal is to offer only the best in both products and service. Unfortunately, because of this volume, there are instances when it is simply impossible to avoid a mistake or prevent an error from occurring. When that happens, we will make every effort to correct the problem. Our way of assuring that your gardening is successful, is our willingness to make the appropriate adjustment whenever a customer expresses dissatisfaction with any product purchased.

We have been operating for many years and are known in the industry for offering only the best products and service possible. Our continued success is due to the many satisfied customers who return year after year. They know that we will honor our promise to them of offering only the best. We hope to be able to include you among our many loyal customers by reconsidering your decision and continuing to look to us for your gardening needs.

If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to email me.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com

Posted on February 27, 2015, updated February 28, 2015
I can't comment on the quality of the seeds or plants yet, but the communication and shipping is terrible. I placed my first order over a month ago and when I still have not received the product or even an email about it's status I call to find out one of the items is on back order. This is funny because it showed as available when I ordered it and was still showing as available at this time. Since I did not want to waste more growing time I cancel the order and make a new order for varieties I was to confirm are available. So the expected ship date is 3 days later, not sure why it would take that long, but OK. Now we are 3 days past that expected ship and still nothing on it's way and no communication on the status. The expected ship date still says 3 days ago! Even at the dawn of the Internet I don't think I've experienced such a poor shipping and communication process.

"On Mar 3, 2015 10:51 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

We have reviewed your posting on Dave's Garden Watchdog website. 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 assist you. We want to help. 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

A big mistake to do business with these jokers. Seed quantity is pathetic and so is the germination rate across 7 different species.

"On Aug 26, 2014 2:49 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

We have reviewed your posting on Dave's Garden Watchdog website. 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 assist you. We want to help.


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

I would not say I am their big customer , just a little one, order 6 flower seeds and 1 spinach seeds packets. The delivery took 1 week and came well packaged but the seeds packets had instructions which was hard to read. Most of the seeds germinated well but did not transplant well. So I ended up loosing most of my time and effort :( . Lobelia is pretty easy to grow and was directly sown but never came up whereas last year's seeds from another company did very well under the same conditions. Same with Heuchera, did not germinate,the packet says 25 seeds but I don't think they were 25(the seeds were pelleted). I am disappointed. I wrote to them about the issue but did not get even courtesy reply. I would not go back again to them!

"On Aug 26, 2014 2:48 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

We have reviewed your posting on Dave's Garden Watchdog website. 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 assist you. We want to help.

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

This was my first time ordering from them. I received my order within a few days and was pleased with the promptness of service. I am certified as a master gardener and never have problems direct sowing seeds into our fertile soil. Entire packages of seed failed to yield a single germinated seedling. Marigolds? They are easier to grow than weeds, and yet mine did nothing. Osmin basil? The same problem. Zero germination. Packages of zinnias fared somewhat better, with 50-60% successful germination. Since we are Zone 5, the window for direct sowing seeds is tight. The failure to have seeds germinate has left us with many empty spots that had to be re-sowed with store-purchased seeds and our own stock of saved seeds. These were used to replant with 95% success. So it was the Park seeds, not the soil, elements or pathogens that were the culprit. Too bad, as they have an excellent selection. But I will never order from them again.

"On Aug 26, 2014 2:46 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

We have reviewed your posting on Dave's Garden Watchdog website. 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 assist you. We want to help.


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

Posted on November 11, 2013, updated June 19, 2014
Posted on June 28, 2013, updated November 11, 2013
I'm not sure what to rate...

I mean, i had a good experience a year back, got good seeds and germination. but reading the comments,it seems that they have really been slipping. so, i'm gonna stick with neutral. i thought about ordering again, but now, not sure.

"On Aug 26, 2014 2:45 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

We have reviewed your posting on Dave's Garden Watchdog website. 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 assist you. We want to help.

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

Do NOT order from this company or from Wayside Gardens. If you want to waste your money just go out into the backyard and burn it - less time consuming and less stress. Ordered some lantanas from Park Seed. They came in - get this - a big loose envelope mailer with absolutely no packing material to protect the plants. I've been mail ordering plants a long while and have never received plants like this - bulbs perhaps but plants? Needless to say all but one croaked. Stupid me, I thought this was a fluke and instead of calling them up and pitching a fit - I came back for more. This time I ordered 8 plants. I really wanted this specific lantana and couldn't find it anywhere else. As is the norm - it took about 3 weeks for them to ship the plants out and when the box arrived - I popped it open to see that once again the plants had not been secured or protected in any way. They'd just been beating around in the box. Nothing was left but little stems. Now understand that this year alone I've ordered probably thousands of dollars in plants. Recently bought an old fixer upper and the yard is a gut job. So, starting from scratch with plantings. I've gotten scores of plants that were healthy and had been carefully packed. Of all of them - I had one plant that had been broken (type of plant with a very fragile stem) I called up the company and they apologized profusely and sent out a replacement plant that day. Stupid me I thought I'd get the same customer service from Park Seed. Not even. Could not have cared less. Told me that I had to take pics of the plants and email them with an explanation to their "horticulturists" at Plant Doctor (aka expect no reply) dot com. Days pass and I call again. Told that it might take days for these supposed horticulturists to review my pics. Call again and instead of asking for customer service I went straight to the horticulturist. This guy was actually helpful, marked my account for a refund and then directs me back to customer service. Again, could their customer service be any worse? This woman tries to give me a store credit (no way will I ever shop with them again) AND she tries to - get this - NOT refund me for the shipping and handling! Yep, she tells me, okay, you'll be getting a store credit for x amount. I ask why the difference of the amount vice what I paid? She says I won't be refunding for S&H. I flip a nut at this point. Explain that there is NO way I will pay for S&H for plants that were dead on arrival BECAUSE of their improper packing! We go back and forth and finally she snippily states that I'll be given refund for the full amount but that will take 5-10 days. We shall see. In the mean time I had an equally bad experince with Wayside which - go figure - are aligned with Park Seed. Paid a small fortune for 2 clematis that I could have bought from Brushwood for half the price. But these were supposedly 2 quart plants. The pots were 2 quart but the plants themselves were minuscule, wilted, and beaten up from shipping. I compared them to some clematis I got in from Brushwood that were 1 quart plants yet 3 times the size of the Wayside clematis, vigorous, and healthy. Again, had to do the same thing with Wayside - send pics to their "horticulturist" for review. I did get a response back saying that the plants in question were beautiful and healthy and had no issues. I will never ever spend a single dime with either of these companies, nor with any of the companies affiliated with them such as Jackson and Perkins. Shoddy service all around. Ridiculously undersized plants, horrible packing and shipping and the customer service is the worst I've ever seen. Their guarantee is a joke. The only bright light is that these weren't massive orders where I lost hundreds of dollars. The bottom line is - I can not say enough bad things about either one of these companies.

"On Aug 26, 2014 2:42 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

We have reviewed your posting on Dave's Garden Watchdog website. 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 assist you. We want to help.

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

We made a large order of vegetable and flower seeds from Park this spring. Sure, the packets are all foil-lined and look fancy, but I won't ever order again. Most packets had very poor germination, and the number of seeds per packet was incredibly skimpy. I ended up replanting with seeds I had leftover from another company. The old seeds did far better than the seeds from Park.

"On Aug 26, 2014 2:38 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

We have reviewed your posting on Dave's Garden Watchdog website. 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 assist you. We want to help.

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

Wow, these guys suck. Bad shipping, bad arrival quality, horrible customer service. Never again from Park Seed for my money.

I ordered 75 strawberries from them. They shipped them regular UPS from the east coast to the west coast and the poor berries had black rot all over them by the time they spent 10 days in a ups trailer. Other places I have ordered have always sent the berries via 3 day mail so I was very surprised by the slow shipping.

I cleaned up the berries and it looked like most would make it but after potting them into one gallon pots, I noticed I had a lot of pots left over. So, I counted my berries...51....really 51 instead of the 75 that I paid for. Please make sure if you order from these guys you count your items carefully.

So I sent an email to them explaining the concern. They asked me send pictures of the berries for the hort guy to review. Hmmm....how do I send pictures of berries I didn't receive? Should I send a pic of a pile of dirt?

It's not worth my time to fight with them. Suffice it to say I will never from theses guys again. Bad shipping, bad arrival quality, poor service.

"On Aug 26, 2014 2:36 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

We have reviewed your posting on Dave's Garden Watchdog website. 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 assist you. We want to help.

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

The seed that I've ordered from Park's has been true to type with good germination rates. My main issue with them is that to ship 5 packets of seed ($12) from S.C. to V.A, they charged $7!! However, like J.C. Penny's, they offer sales constantly, so just wait for a free shipping offer (which they've had one this season already) to order, or be prepared to pay outrageous shipping charges.

"On Aug 26, 2014 2:35 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

We sorry to hear you are dissatisfied with our shipping charges. We would like to hear about your situation. Would you please provide us with your name, address, order # , and phone number and we will gladly work with you toward some sort of resolution in this situation.

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

Attempted seed order today of 12 packets = $27.36. Park applied shipping cost of $28.95. Outrageous! Is this how they make their profit? Good thing I checked the shipping charges before I hit the order button. Any company who thinks its ok to charge shipping fees like that will not get my business. Be careful that it doesn't happen to you.

"On Aug 26, 2014 2:34 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

We have reviewed your posting on Dave's Garden Watchdog website. 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 assist you. We want to help.

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

PARK ADVERTISES SEED THAT THEY DO NOT HAVE!!
Placed a seed order with them on January 8th. Today is February 19th, and i STILL have not received all my seed.
I was calling once a week, and was told that the balance of my order would ship within a week every time.
Now they're telling me that the seed is "backordered" and they don't know when it might be available. They will not substitute a comparable variety.
Just looked back on their website - they are still offering these seeds for sale without mentioning that they don't have any.

"On Aug 26, 2014 2:31 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

We have reviewed your posting on Dave's Garden Watchdog website. 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 assist you. We want to help.


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

Posted on January 16, 2014, updated February 6, 2014
I placed a $53.83 online order for seeds with Park Seed on Jan. 13, 2014 using a visa debit card that had only been activated that day and had not been used for any other purchases or transactions. On Jan 14 $53.83 was withdrawn from my account by '-JACKSON*PERKIN' (the name of their partner company). On Jan. 16th I called Parks to see if the order had been shipped and was told that a few of the varieties were on backorder and that the reduced amount would be withdrawn from my account shortly. When I questioned the payment that had already been withdrawn both the customer service rep and the billing dept both insisted that the withdrawal was not theirs because it did not say J P Parkseed Wayside. They coldly and repeatedly suggested that this was an unauthorized transaction that had nothing to do with them. They seemed surprisingly unmoved that the breach had to have occurred on their end given that this was a new card and the name on the transaction was that of their partner company. When I asked that they cancel my order immediately until I cleared this up they refused, stating that it was already in the process of being packaged and my account would be debited upon completion. I promptly hung up, called my bank to report the fraudulent transaction, and cancelled the card. I will not be dealing with this company again. The lack of concern over the 'security breach' and their insistence on processing this order under these conditions has left me questioning their integrity if not their honesty. What reputable company wouldn't be alarmed on discovering that their online site had been highjacked? And why the unwillingness to cancel my outstanding order? Buyer beware!

I have ordered from Park Seed for many years. However, this year I'm not the most satisfied customer. I tend to order early since some things I have to begin in January/February. So as soon as I was able I placed my order (Dec 26). Because of the size of the order I was able to get a $10 discount. However, a week and half later they finally sent out their catalog - with my original order (and no discount) I would have been able to have received free shipping which was greater than the discount. Because they had already shipped part of the order they were unable to make any adjustment (according to customer service). I hate to be picky but this is not what I consider good customer service and will be minimizing future orders with them. I guess the early bird doesn't exactly get the worm.

"On Aug 26, 2014 2:24 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

We have reviewed your posting on Dave's Garden Watchdog website. 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 assist you. We want to help.

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

Posted on September 26, 2013, updated September 30, 2013
Posted on September 26, 2013, updated September 26, 2013
Last spring I ordered a number of items. Most were good, but I received two of three live plants in bad condition. A Muscadine Grape arrived dead (not dormant). It was not properly packed. They issued me a credit refund. A few weeks later a female died. It had arrived losely packed with no roots. It was simply a stick. They gave me a merchandise credit. This summer the male Kiwi died. Ap;parently, they are not appropriate for Zone 9, although Park's catalog stated they were. I received no credit because it was past 90 days. They agreed to send me an $18.95 credit card refund. That was 30 days ago. They promised again to refund in 3 to 5 days. No refund. Now, they don't answer emails. I have done business with them for 30 years. No more. Poorly packed merchandise at inflated prices. Lowes had better quality at 30 % of Park's price, and they guarantee for one year.

At the end of April I ordered a Davidia involucrata Sonoma tree for $80. I received a crooked 20 inch stick with a growth tip that fell off within days of arrival. No response to e-mail, so I let it try to grow for a few more weeks. It did get a new growth tip and now has sat without any leaves or growth for most of the summer - their response to my complaint by 'phone is: "We don't guarantee spring items after 90 days." That includes crooked sticks they pass off as trees.

Posted on June 20, 2013, updated July 28, 2013
This year I ordered several varities of seeds from Parkseed
I had about 15% germination on 1st bunch...called Parkseed and they sent another round of the seeds...I am stilll waiting for something green to stick it little green head up....

Placed order on March 25th by phone for Celebrity Pink Morn petunia along with other seeds. On May 30th first blooms opened which were not Celebrity Pink Morn but another variety which I determined to be Ultra Crimson. Sent email to Park regarding situation. Received email that I would receive a reply within 48 hours. On June 4th sent another email that it had been more than 48 hours and I had not received a reply. On June 5th received reply that they needed more information and asking for order number (order number was included in the subject line of each email sent including their email to me). Replied stating that the order number was in the subject line and tha it had been a phone order, gave catalog number and mailing address. The seeds were inexpensive but I would have liked an acknowledgment that they were sorry for the mixup at the least. Have not heard anything else from them. They are off my list of companies from which to order in the future.

Posted on May 29, 2012, updated June 14, 2013
I always thought highly of Park Seeds from reading past reviews, unfortunately I did not read recent reviews. I noticed that they charged 2 different amounts on my credit card (my e-mail said 12.55, they charged 12.56 and 12.59). It's been on there for several days and normally if a refund is pending it will say that, but it's still not. I wish they would have communicated the error but when I called customer service, I was told that it could be a temporary charge the credit card company does and that 12.59 is my actual charge...I was going to place a second order but stopped when I saw that on my bank statement and no communication (except for when I called). I'll keep this neutral until I actually receive my order.

It breaks my heart to have to post this negative review of Park's Seed. I have ordered from them for years and was very pleased with their service and products. In 2012, I got my seeds promptly but my plants came a little too late. I had a feeling that their financial problems might be catching up to them. I decided to give them one more try in 2013 and it has been a disaster. Only 2 of the the 12 plants that I ordered were delivered. The rest of them were cancelled with no notification that they could not ship the other 10 plants. Customer Service did manage to reach me because the bank had changed my credit card number a few days before Parks tried to process the order but it no mention was ever made about not being able to fill 90% of the order. I was only charged for what was delivered so it could be worse. I feel terrible for their employees who are stuck working for a once proud company going down hill very, very quickly. The poor gals in customer service are still very polite and spend most of their day apologizing. What a sad situation.

I ordered some seeds from Park Seed as they offered some things that I had never seen sold locally. I ordered a pack of Astra Double Mix Balloon Flower Seeds (supposed to have double blooms). When they bloomed, they were not Astra Double Mix Balloon Flowers, they were single flowers and much more common variety than advertised. I emailed them to inform them that the seeds they sold me did not produce they flowers they advertised. It has been over a week and I have not heard back. They appear to just ignore emails that aren't about shipping.

I also contacted them when half of my order was not received. They just kept telling me 'it was shipped today' no matter when I asked. And this was weeks after the site said that the whole order was shipped. The seeds did eventually arrive, but the customer service was useless and did nothing but lie to me.

So, considering I have dealt with: poor customer service, lies, being simply ignored, as well as being sold the wrong product in the right packaging, I am very unimpressed with this company. It seems like they are trying to scam people into buying common seeds by saying they are a rare variety. I can't see me ordering from them again. I will try to stick to local shops for my seed and plant requirements in the future.

Posted on March 5, 2013, updated June 6, 2013
I ordered their "whopper" biodome seed starting kit. Shortly after receipt, I opened the styrofoam block with "biosponges" (soil plugs). There was a strong smell of mold and it was covered with white, hairy mold, on the top and along the sides of the plugs. I emailed the company immediately asking for advice. I heard nothing. A week later I emailed again, stating it was my second request. Again, I heard nothing. I realized the company wasn't being forthright, when I entered a negative review on the product webpage, but it never got posted. There were only two reviews on the product page (each was 5 [out of 5] stars); mine was a 2 star review stating (in a straight-forward, not inflammatory manner) that the "biosponges" I received were moldy and I didn't want to risk my seeds, time, and grow light space by placing my seeds in moldy media. That review never appeared on their website, so they apparently filter negative reviews. And, again, I never heard from a company representative, even though an email is required to post a review.

Posted on August 31, 2004, updated May 31, 2013
I have ordered from Park's for years with great success. I have spent thousands of dollars with them over the past 30 years and for good reason. I've never received a dead plant, a moldy bulb, seeds that didn't germinate, or anything that was unacceptable. They also have some unusual varieties I can't find anywhere else.

I also love their sales, sometimes at 75% off. Make sure you sign up for their emails and you'll get the sale notices. This is where you can save a LOT of money.

I have read a few negatives about Park's on here and I'm very surprised by them. I've had exactly one problem. When a bottle of fertilizer arrived, it had leaked and was almost empty. It was replaced immediately. I am very impressed with their quality, selection, and service. Plus they don't rip you off on postage. Now that's a big deal.

Many of the seed I purchased this year failed to germinate. Some of the packets had none that I saw. I was suprised, I thought Park was one of the best.

Posted on February 11, 2013, updated April 30, 2013
Posted on January 10, 2013, updated February 11, 2013
Posted on March 31, 2006, updated January 10, 2013
I have ordered from Parks several times this year and will continue to do so. I ordered bareroot roses and was amazed at the care taken in packaging. I was concerned about keeping them a while before planting so I emailed, and got a prompt, professional response -- and the advice turned out to be 100% correct. They may as well go ahead and put me on the top of the loyal customer list.

I placed an order with Park seed on March 30th 2013.Three packs of seed ..Simple.. postage was high BUT I wanted these seeds..They arrived on April 29th.. Sorta late for planting indoors in Ga.When I called the company after 2 weeks had past ,they said oh gosh those are on back order .. I asked why they could email me with all their promotions but not able to send email with the back order info .?? well sorry she said but they would ship part of the order now and the back order later .. well that didn't happen either.. then praise the garden gods the order shipped and i could follow it with a tracking # yada yada !!Took 5 days to ship usps via ups from S.C. to Ga. I will never order anything from Park again and will tell all I can of their poor customer service and shipping. Go sit in some manure Park, if its not on back order!

I only ordered two varieties from Park seed company. Purple Hyacinth bean and Imperial Star artichoke. The Purple Hyacinth bean took a few tries (over 2 years) to germinate. The Imperial Star artichokes never germinated, no matter what I did. I used the exact same techniques that I had used to germinate plenty of globe artichokes in the past to no avail.

One order was enough for me. Park Seed may have been around for a while, but if Park has what you want you may try another seed company first. No package of seed worth the price you pay for it if it none of the seeds germinate.

I ordered luffa,moon and stars watermelon,peanuts and sweet potatoes. They sent the first three items and back ordered the sweet potato slips. One watermelon sprouted, 3 luffa sprouted and so far no peanuts. I have still not received my sweet potato slips. Bad co avoid. It is too much work to put a garden in and plant bad seed.

I ordered many seeds and plants from parkseed this year.

Some of the seeds arrived several weeks after ordering them. I was not contacted by the company to let me know there were any problems. I received 1 pack of begonia seeds 5 weeks before frost (and 10 weeks or so after I had ordered them) which was useless. They also replaced one packet of seeds with another kind without asking me. The average time it took to receive seeds I ordered was about 3 weeks. That is too long.

I had very few germination problems.

I canceled part of one order with no problems. Lovely. They told me, however, some of the order had shipped out already and couldn't be canceled. I had assumed those plants were not coming, and so made a different order based on that assumption. So I wanted to cancel that.

I tried to cancel that part of the other order. I contacted them twice by email, sending to two email addresses, over the course of a week. No response. I received the plants I didn't want, and now I suppose I have to pay for them.

I called someone to cancel my future orders with them. She could not have been kinder and was very helpful. She asked me to forward her my attempts to contact the company asking to cancel. I did. I have not heard from the company with an apology or an offer of a refund of the plants I didn't want.

Most of the plants I did receive were in fine, albeit not excellent condition. Lavender is struggling, but it has been cold. I received three Arkansas Blue Star Amsonia hubrichtii plants, two from Park Seed, one from Wayside. The two from Park Seed are dead in the ground. No green, no nothing. The one from Wayside is doing well. All other plants seem to be doing reasonably well.

Given their lack of responsiveness, however, I will not be using them again. Another seed company I used sent me all seeds within a week. Obviously, I prefer that sort of service. I'm mostly upset about the lack of responses to my emails.