Comments regarding Burpee (W. Atlee Burpee)

I've never had a failure from Burpee seed. Each year, I get seed from Burpee for our can't-do-without crops like tomatoes, sunflowers, spinach, cabbage and lettuce.

Their prices are higher than some places, but I don't mind paying extra for reliability.

Their customer service is good. This year, they sent me a seed-starting kit whose bottom tray was cracked. They sent out a free replacement; I got it within the week.

After reading the comments from other gardeners, I was quite worried about ordering plants from Burpee. However, I couldn't find yellow impatients elsewhere, so I ordered them from Burpee this winter. They just arrived, and they look great. The packaging was excellent, and the plants are healthy. I'll buy from them again.

I will start with a neutral rating as I haven't received the plants I ordered. As far as my experience with their seeds, the cosmos are doing well, the zinnias did not do a thing, and Saturday I planted more Zinnias, white wedding and envy. Will wait to see what happens there. I also noticed the packets of seeds did not contain the full amount ,they were all short a significant amount of seeds. Hopefully I will be able to change the rating to a positive after seeing what the new seeds do and the delivery of the impatients.

i received 2 orders of perennial plants: one was very nicely packaged, the other had quite a bit of soil spillage and the plant tags had fallen out so i needed to do some guessing about what was what. an emailed inquiry about zone recommendations for a pampas grass they offered went unanswered. i would still order from them, but cautiously.

An off-season internet search in the winter of 2007, established Burpee as offering the best price on Reflective Red Mulch Film in the 100’ by 4’ quantities. My on-line order for this product arrived within 10-days without incident, in adequate, if not exceptional packaging.

I would not look to Burpee as my seed vendor, but would use them in the future for similar purchases.

I have always got great quality plants and seeds from Burpee. My family has ordered from them since 5 years after they started. All their plants grow. Greg
Waverly, VA

I went against my better judgment in ordering from this company. I had read the reviews on this site, but I was so intrigued by some of their seed offerings. I placed the order on Feb. 25 and on March 8 I had still not received the order, although it was only for a few packs of seeds and I live in the same state as the warehouse. When I did finally get them (on March 10, 2007) the pelletized pentas seeds were completely crushed and no longer pelletized. The torenia seeds were completely missing. There were no seeds in the packet whatsoever. I will call them about that, but by the time they come it will be too late to start them. So, the lesson I have learned is that I will pay very close attention to the Dave's Garden reviews from now on!!

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Hello,
I work for Burpee and would like to apologize for your poor Burpee experience. Can you provide me with your name and zip code and we will ship your seeds out right away. Please send your information to PHofer@Burpee.com
Cheers.
Paul
"

Things came as ordered. Surprised to not only get $5 off, per their promotion at the time, but also got one of the seed packets I ordered for free.

A tad slow in delivery.

It was a good one!
My seeds may or may not havve been in the big boxes with tomato cages. Burpees's took me at my word.
Coukd I have missed them? Sure, but i wanted them bad, so not likely.
My past dealings were uneventful, and that's how it should be.

I ordered a seed starter kit and four packs of seeds plus they gave me a free pack

The order was on time and packed great I would definitely order from them agian

After 20 years plus buying from Burpee, I can't do it any longer.

1- Their guarantee only works if they (Burpee) respond to your comments/complaints

2 - In 2005, after taking my order, and not receiving anything for 4 weeks, I called and was informed that my entire order was being held due to one iten (seed starting formula) was not available, whne my order finally arrived, several of the items I ordered were not included, with a note that they were no longer available.

3 - In 2006 upon receipt of my order, I was informed that one item was no longer available. Also, germination rates were unacceptable (compared to seeds purchased from other providers) - Biker Billy peppers (excellent peppers) - a total of 4 seeds germinated out of a packet; New Guinea Impatients - 6 seeds germinated out of a packet. I also ordered their new Salsa Tomato, and as plants grew, it became obvious when fruit set, that not all plants were "Salsa" tomatoes - half of my plants were of some other variety all from the same seed packet, which were terrible.

I emailed and called Burpee to inform of my experience, and they provided no solution nor did they respond to my emails.

I recommend Territorial Seed - Far Superior experience with product and service.

As Christmas approached, I was looking for a different gift for a few friends. I received an email from Burpee with a pitch for "The World's Greatest Ketchup" - so that looked promising. Ordered a couple for some friends and one for myself. Shipping was FAST. I received my order within a few days and my friends called right after I received mine. I thought the ketchup was very good and my friends loved it. The ketchup come in 4 bottles with 4 different flavors. All are good.

Decided to try Burpee this year. Ordered some plants and they arrived in fairly good shape and at the right time for planting. The packaging is cardboard with some stuffing inside that is supose to hold the soil, however, some of the soil had fallen out The plants did well, however. Ordered throught the internet and it was fast and easy that way.

I have been a long time customer of Burpee and have always had good results with its products and the customer service has always been outstanding. This year has been no different. All the seeds that I had ordered in the spring had good germination and the yields from the tomatoes and peppers were greater than ever before..... Keep up the good work!

Ordered seeds

COLEUS did great, good germination

CLEOME did well/ok-the ones that germinated- 5 from the packet
The directions on the package did not indicate stratification needed-though I found this out afterwards while researching on internet, since many seeds did not germinate, apparently stratification helps.. and directions to do that on the seed package would help too:)

DAHLIA -ordered "CACTUS flowered Dahlia seeds" packet arrived with label "Cactus Flowered" Dahlia, but they grew to be small dwarf variety, nice flowers, but NOT Cactus, maybe they were Unwin or Rigoletto, 12" tall, not 3-4'

ASPARAGUS BEAN [yard long] and they never made any beans, just foliage, although other beans from other providers grown alongside did fine, not sure what happened

I wouldn't say totally screaming crazy negative, but the mislabeled seeds and the poor growing directions aren't" A+" either
I wasn't able to determine that they were bad beans or bad dahlias until end of season.. oh well.. but they did offer a refund without any problem, and there as a courteous email w/ apology
Will see how long it takes to get refund/credit -that would probably swing my vote to poz or neg

I've ordered seeds from Burpee more than once, and I've never had any trouble getting them to grow. I've only had two problems with them: they once sent me an empty packet of strawberry seeds, and I also ordered Walls O' Water from them once, and one had a broken tube. I suppose the former was probably a glitch in the system, and has not happened again. The latter was probably the manufacturer's fault, not Burpee's. I never tried to get replacements for these.

Total disappointment! For what they charge maybe they could say when something's no longer available! Why would I waste my time ordering something when they don't have it! But they don't tell you that! Never again!!

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We tried to contact Plantactic to get information on what they ordered, but they have not provided us with any details. At W. Atlee Burpee, we pride ourselves on providing, up-to-date inventory information on our website. We will remove any items that become out of stock. Furthermore, W. Atlee Burpee provides a 100% satisfaction guarantee - if at anytime during the first year, you are not satisfied with your product, we will promptly refund or provide a replacement for you.
Happy Gardening!
"

I planted Burpee's "Zinnia Giant-Flowered Series" and the flowers have been absolutely beautiful--I will definitely plant them again not only for the beautiful color and long-bloom time, but for the butterflies as well.

I also ordered some trellis netting from them and their customer service was knowledgeable and friendly. They were the only place I could find that had the trellis netting in the size I wanted. The netting arrived within a few days and I was very happy with their service.

Thus far my experience with them has been nothing but positive.

They gave refunds on their ultimate growing system when it was proven that it was not reusable. I've had good luck with germinating seeds, but their plants have not given me the best of luck. That's probably my fault - first year veggie gardener here. But for all the embellishment they give lackluster products on their website and catalogue (like for the tasteless red-lightning tomato), seedling packets are suprisingly stark, and once for the Kong sunflower, wrong. Also, both my best friend and I ordered about 9 tomato plants between us, all of which failed in the end - and it is beyond me why after ordering at about the same time and living only ~20 miles apart, hers arrived almost a month before mine. Their herb seeds were generally good though, and my Cherokee Purple seeds grew to give me delicious tomatoes.

I grew up with Burpee. As a youngster I spent much time looking thru their catalog and have so many nostalgic memories of the vegetables and annual flowers that I raised from Burpee seeds with my family back in Ohio. I and most of my extended family now live here in California and have continued to patronize Burpee through the years ....until now!

Several years ago Burpee purchased Heronswood Nursery. For those of you not familiar with Heronswood, Heronswood was the premier nursery in this country for rare and unusual plants. Dan Hinckley, the former owner, was the man responsible for so many of these introductions. Their catalog was a jewel in and of itself, just a wonderful read. Now Burpee bought the place and trashed the whole operation. The catalog was reduced to some glossy piece of garbage a fraction of the size of the former catalog. The former witty writing style was replaced with bland commercial script. Now they've closed the entire operation under the guise of wanting to better serve their national gardening audience. How was the dismantling of this treasure in the best interest of any gardener in any part of the country?

I and my family will never again buy anything from W. Altee Burpee !

I recently ordered six plants from them. I ordered late and the plants came in during 100 degree days. They were in shock and I lost one of the six. The three Brandy Boys recovered the quickest. They were nice plants and a good size. The only complaint I would have is they shipped by UPS and it took 6 days in the heat. If I ever order again will ask for another shipper and if that isn't possible I may not order. I never called them and asked for a refund on the one that didn't make it. I thought their shipping was very reasonable and their plants were as cheap as most I've looked at and packed a lot better. Of the mail order places I've done business with I would rate them in the top 3.

I like Burpee. They are not good for everything, but they are a large company and have great customer service. Just tell them, this plant died, and they PROMPTLY either credit your card or send out a new one. They are LIGHTNING fast with shipment. On the negative side, they do run out rather quickly, seemingly quicker than most nurseries. I have not really had any bad experiences with them. Everything has been pretty good. I don't think they are that expensive; certainly cheaper than a lot of nurseries, and you obviously get what you pay for. Their plants, though a little smaller, seem to always grow....about 90% with my experience. I purchased quite a lot from them and only had 2 plants die on me. Their packaging is very good. Seeds are very fresh, though, a bit pricey and in plain bags. I would prefer the photo packaging considering the cost.

I recently ordered quite a few plants from Burpee. As a positive, they do have a very good selection. Most of my plants were fine. However, I ordered a hibiscus which never shipped with the order. When I called about it, they said it would ship from somewhere else. The package did eventually arrive, however the 4" sprig was just loose in a small pot. The dirt had completely come out due to poor packaging. I attempted to revive the plant, but it had been days without soil or moisture - so you know the outcome.

As a second positive, I called Burpee to complain and their customer service was excellent. They told me my account would be credited and it was. I could not help but think, though, that if I were ever in a nursery, I'd never pay $10.00 for a 4" sprig.

I have ordered from several companies and Burpee had to be the worst of all with packaging plants. Every plant was out of the container and the dirt was everywhere in the box. Although the plants are growing I hope they improve on their system of pleasing the customer.

I always thought Burpee was just a seed company. But last fall, I noticed they had very desirable perennials. I placed an order with them and was very surprised. The entire order contained the largest mail-order perennials I had ever seen. Big, tall, leafy plants. I am very satisfied and will order again.

I ordered 3 perilla plants from Burpee. I think the plants might have been in good condition when they left Burpee's nursery. However, by the time they got here only one plant was in good condition. Both of the other plants had branches broke off and laying in the dirt in the bottom of the shipping carton. Burpee ships in cardboard boxes which does little to protect the plants. Even though they said they will refund me the money, I am still out the plants and it is too late to replace them.

Positive so far, I ordered 117 plants from Burpee. I received 9 flower plants early in the season and they are doing great.
I just got the bulk of my order and I was missing 3 tomato plants and 18 flowers. They told me that they were very sorry and that they could not ship them because they were out of stock. They told me they would give me a refund. I also inquired about 3 tomato plants that looked questionable. They told me if they died to give them a call and they would also be happy to refund my money. Ordering on-line was very simple, and when I called about my order I was not on the phone more than 5 mins. If they do refund my money. I will be pretty satisfied.

A very strong NEGATIVE regarding Burpee, and I will never deal with them again. After a month and countless e-mails regarding my order that never showed up (most of which went unanswered), I still don't have the seed potatoes and garlic bulbs that I ordered. They falsely claimed that they delivered them, but there's zero indication of that, only their word, which is obviously worthless.

I just bought a new house, and for the first time in my life I have my own garden! Or I will once I fertilize, compost, cultivate, water, weed...etc. I was so looking forward to starting my first vegetable garden. I haven't worked on a vegetable garden since I was a little girl planting alongside my grandmother.

And Burpee, singlehandedly, ruined it for me. That, and they stole $50 out of my pocket, so I can't afford to replace their order via another company. So this year I look at weeds and dead dirt instead of potatoes and garlic.

Stay away! They once may have been a reputable company, but they aren't any longer.

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We here at Burpee are proud of our customer service. Your order was shipped from our facility on 04/28/2006 by UPS. The UPS tracking number for your order shows that it was delivered to your front door on 05/03/2006 at 8:41 AM. Have you checked with your neighbors? Even though we have evidence that it was delivered to you, we issued a refund to your credit card on 05/10/2006. We cannot control what happens after an order leaves our facility, so consider that, before you vent your anger to us or any other merchant you deal with. "

Last year I had ordered Lisianthus plants...the order I received was a mess. When I opened the box all I could see was a box of dirt. The plants all came out of the cell packs and I actually had to dig through to find them. I immediately called Customer Service and my plants were replaced. The second shipment was in somewhat better condition...I babied the seedlings and had a nice result.

I gave Burpee's another chance this Spring and again ordered Lisianthus seedlings. Each and every one of them was perfect. I replanted them into some larger cellpacks and they're doing just fine.

I've also ordered seeds from them and have had no problems...they've arrived quickly and provided me with excellent results.

I'll absolutely order the seedlings again next year. I am very happy I gave them another try this year. I was not disappointed.

I recently ordered 3 Brandywine tomato plants from Burpee's internet site. I added some plant labels to make the shipping charge palatable. They did not have the plants at the time of shipping and shipped the plant labels with a note in the box merely stating that the plants were unavailable. Now I understand that cash flow is important but I do not understand why an item remains on a website that is not available. Burpee went through the trouble of putting a note in the box...would it have been so difficult to send an e-mail before shipping the partial order advising me that the plants were not available, giving me the option to cancel? I called Burpee and they did credit back my card but they can't compensate me for the inconvenience, the aggravation and the time I've wasted. Of course I can't find the brandywines at local nurseries. In the "computer age" inventories are easy to track and so Burpee I give you a negative for putting cash flow before people and ethics.
Robert Oliver

This company is the pits.. It took forever to get through to customer service to place an order. apparently I'm not the ony one. They took the order for seeds & plants with the seeds comeing a few days later. The plants weren't so lucky. Either the company or the shipping department have a problem filling orders. Only half the order came on the shipping date that was promised . I tried calling customer service & never got through, only because I later found out they only have one person to answer incoming calls. I live near their Warminster place so I went down there. Even bigger problem. The place is enormus but it's surrounded by a chain link fence & you have to go through the guard at the entrance. The office door is locked so that you need someone to let you in & that's where I found out they have one telephone operator. She called her boss who had to call someone else who finally admitted they never got my plant that was ordered. I got a refund in the mail the next month but after all this I'm staying away from Burpee's.

The shipping was fast, and the germination rate fantastic. Much better than the burpee (or other brand) seeds I buy locally.

Well, nothing's bloomed yet, but I ordered three flowering perennials, they all got here at the right time and they look great. Especially the chrysanthemum sheffield, which I have been scouring the web for; I finally paid for it and it's looking terrific, for April! I don't do seeds yet. LOL.

xxxxxxxxxxx, Carrie

I ordered a bunch of seeds, some Perilla and a Verbascum from Burpee. The seeds arrived within a timely manner well packaged. Unfortunately the Perilla was out of stock, but I received a refund check in the mail right away so I didn't really have time to be disappointed. The Verbascum arrived yesterday, good packaging, moist soil, looking good with just a few dead leaves which I promptly trimmed . I would definitely order from this company again, especially because they were so quick to tell me they were out of an item instead of me finding out weeks (or months) later.

I ordered tomato seeds and Biker Billy pepper seeds. I have already started my seeds and every tomato seed has come up. The pepper seeds have not come up yet, but it has only been 14 days, so maybe I will get lucky. I will only update this experience if I get seedlings on the peppers.

I have ordered annual and perennial flowers seeds from this company for three years and found that they offer a good selection of seeds at reasonable prices. I typically get great germination rates and grow strong plants from their seeds.

My only complaint with this company is how they package pelleted seeds.

I ordered Dragon Wing Begonia seeds last year and when I opened the seed packet, all of the pellets were crushed. I tried to sow the powder that was left but had minimal germination. I contacted Burpee and to their credit they sent replacement seeds promptly - but those were also crushed.

I ordered the Dragon Wing Begonia seeds again this year and only some of pellets were crushed. Still frustrating but better than last year.

I think that they should consider a change to the packaging to better protect the fragile pellets. Both Parks and Jung seem to do a better job of packaging their pelleted seeds.

I will still continue to order from Burpee but I will likely order the Dragon Wing seeds from another company next year.

I bought seeds on thier website. I recieved them. They germinated. They were shipped fast, so I didn't have to wait long and got my full order, plus some information on seed starting. I was very happy with my transaction and plan on visiting again. Thank you.

My seed order was shipped quickly--I think I got it in less than a week. Ordered seeds last year and also had good luck. I have not ordered plants, which seem to be the main problems others are citing.

I have ordered a few times from Burpee over the last several years. Their catalogue is a lot of fun to read through, and I always get sucked in to buying new seeds to try.

Our most recent order just arrived today. Items (seeds and seed-starting tools) were nicely packaged. The shipping prices were reasonable and delivery was quick. So long as the rest of our order, some young impatiens, arrive as promised in the spring and our seeds have a good germination rate, we will definitely continue to be repeat customers.