Comments regarding Burpee (W. Atlee Burpee)

Well I never got to order from them as I have made 5 seperate attempts to request a print catalog from them over 6 months and have yet to receive one. So far, my experience with them has been negative. If it is this difficult to get a catalog shipped to me, I'm not about to trust them with my money.

I ordered some seeds and misc supplies. When I received my order, I found one item missing, and for another, had only received one item when I had ordered two. I couldn't find the invoice for that shipment, so I had no info about the missing items.

I sent an email to customer service, and they sent me a prompt reply on the status of the first item, which was being shipped from a different supplier, and apologized for being shorted the second item. They promised to ship the second one out right away, and I received it within 5 business days of my email to them.

When I was a kid, when they had a seed-selling program for the neighborhood, I used to sell seed for them/me.

If they ever do become solvent again, I MAY reconsider ordering from them. Until then, I'll stick to Stokes, Park, Sunrise and Ivy Garth.

I have ordered seeds and supplies from Burpee for the past three years. The quality of their seeds has always been good, even though they tend to be expensive. I have received my orders in a timely fashion. I will continue to order seeds from them in the future.

I purchased several packs of seeds in December-in several orders-as well as two of the new Burpee growing systems. Everything arrived quickly, and the growing system is working great. I sent one back due to not needing two (I am a new gardener, and went a little overboard.), and they sent me several seeds packets that I wanted in exhange. I talked to a Sue in Customer Service several times, and she was really helpful.
I am growing the seeds now, but, so far, I am very happy.

My grandmother always ordered from Burpee's. However, I don't think I'll be continueing the tradition. Why? High prices, poor service, and that mystery shipping date. Bleah, I'd rather support a smaller nursery with quality service.

I live in the heart of NYC so mail order gardening is a must. I have ordered from Burpee many times with excellent success. Last year (2003) I tried their plants, and while their selections are limited and one usually must order in quantities of 12, I found the plants to be hardy. The great thing- shipping costs are EXTREMELY low in comparison with other sites.

I just placed my 2004 plant order (already had gotten seeds from them earlier in the year). The plant varieties are improved and expanded.

Their website needs some improvement, but it is better than most.

Shop wisely and Burpee can be one of your suppliers of choice.

Burpee sent me the wrong order [slapped my UPS tag on someone else's box] They were very courteous on the phone and replaced my order no charge, told me to keep 'Ted's seeds...and if I couldn't use them, to please donate them to a school or local charitable organization who could use them.

I am really impressed by the quality of the seeds. I ordered some annuals and one of them germinated after 2 days with strong and healthy seedlings. The others took 3 days to germinate. Excellent germination rate too, if not 100%, very close to that.

The success I've had with their seeds has been far above average. And the fact that their own quality control determined that a certain tomato seed had a germination rate below their standards of 70%, thereby they sent double the seed at no cost is fantastic, especially for a mail order company. Their cost may seem high, but the quality that I've received as compared to other companies makes it worth it!

I have ordered a few times from Burpee's and my most recent order, placed last week, arrived quickly without any problems. I have also ordered some tomato plants which won't be shipped for a while, so hopefully they will arrive safely. (Will update.) Otherwise, I am willing to pay the slightly higher prices, as long as I know I can expect to get the quality that I am paying for. I would definitely recommend this company.

Burpee was the first company I ever purchased seeds from - Back in 1985, which still but a small blip in their long history. The pictures were inspiring. I continued to order from them until they began offering rack packs in the local stores. Coincidentally, it was in that time period that they were sold and resold? In any case, their selection dwindled, they dropped some of my favorite varieties, and I lost interest.

This year, I finally ordered from them via the internet. I received my seeds in only 5 days, which is notable because it was during the holiday rush. Everything was packed acceptably and arrived intact.

I do not recall ever having difficulty germinating their seeds. I hope I never do...

I am now eating and enjoying the BEST tomatoes I have ever had in my life---Burpee's BRANDY BOYs. I cannot rave enough about them. The taste is phenomenal. I have given them away to several people who are amazed at how delicious these Brandy Boys are.

I had a great ordering and delivery experience with Burpee. Customer service reps were helpful and nice to deal with.

I will be ordering twice as many Brandy Boy plants next year!

I too have fond memories of ordering seeds from Burpees as a child.

My more recent memories are mixed. The seed selection is not as varied, but what they have arrives on time. I have also ordered potted annuals from them, and they arrived in great shape.

So why not a positive review? A few years back I ordered two fruit trees, (paw-paw, I believe), and the poor things arrived completely dead. Not just as in unable to bud out, but bark falling off the branches, the stem beginning to rot on the inside, beyond-all-hope and expired-for-many-months-now dead. A Plantron company would be ashamed to send out plants in this poor of a condition! And these weren't el-cheapo specials - when you order from Burpee, you're paying a bit more than if you order from a discount nursery. I have NEVER received any plants as thoruoghly dead as these.

Granted, it was obvious from the label on the dead plants that Burpee had contracted out this item to another nursery, but still, Burpee has their own reputation to protect, and they should have done a better job investigating their suppliers.

I used to order almost all my seeds from Burpee, but I had such a bad experience with the company in the winter/spring of 2001, that I will never do business with them again. I start most of my annuals indoors under lights, so prompt delivery is important to me. After I ordered from Burpee, I waited and waited, but no seeds. I finally called the company and was told there was an unspecified "problem" with my credit card. The next person I spoke to said the first person shouldn't have told me that, that the problem was something else (I suspect their new computer system). I got the runaround for days from "customer service" before I finally got part of my order. Some of the seeds I ordered I never received because they were out of stock by the time Burpee got my order straightened out. And of the ones I did receive, the germination rate was unusually low for things (rose form impatiens & double petunias) that I had grown successfully in prior years. Never again! I can live without fancy impatiens and white marigolds.

I am not having a very good year with Burpee. I remember being a little kid and ordering seeds from the catalog with my dad and grandmother, so they were the first place I went when we decided to start seeds indoors this year for the first time. I ordered rudbeckia, echinacea, salvia, buddleia, lavendula and coreopsis. Very few rudbeckia germinated and none of the coreopsis at all. The lavendula germinated but never got very big and since they've been in the ground (about a week) most of them have died. As I said, this was the first year I tried this but if the seeds don't germinate you can't tell if you've done something wrong. Also, last summer I ordered some veg. seeds from them and there were some varieties that never germinated in the ground. I'm very disappointed with them and I'm not going to be using Burpee again.

I ordered 3 Limerock Ruby Coreopsis plants. The price was the lowest I could find on the net. They arrived at a time appropriate for planting in my timezone. All 3 plants were well packaged and in great shape. I planted one right away and a few weeks later planted the other one(I have given one to a friend). All are doing great. I have absolutely NO complaints about sales, service, or product quality. I also liked being able to "see" my order online.

Overall experience was good, atlthough I was initially concerned given the companies financial status. Seeds arrived timely, plants in good health, raspberry plants are thriving. I liked the email shipment notification as well. Well done.

Burpee seed, which I haven't ordered in over a decade, seems fine. The Burpee seed I bought at a local retailer this year germinated well, and I have no complaints there.

I bought perennials in 2001 from Burpee, and the plants were rather small. Still, all that were expected to survive did so. The only things that died were the things that couldn't stand up to the brutal conditions in some parts of my garden.

That said, there are better seed companies and better perennial companies out there--but Burpee still delivers a satisfactory product.

One of Burpee's subsidiaries is Heronswood Nursery, and their plants are great.

*sigh*
All in all very dissapointed. I expected more intelligence from such a long standing and large company.
The seeds came on time as well as the plants. Everything was what I had ordered.
My beef is with the 'packaging'. They need to use some kind of cover over the dirt in the plant cells. My hollyhocks had exposed roots as did my tomatoes. One tomato is looking really dead(maybe 1 tblspoon of dirt in cell). It looks like they started out with great plants and then didn't think ahead to allow for the mail people tossing them around. Too bad. Never again, they are too expensive for this mess.

I ordered an annual plant. It was expensive because it was a new variety. It was supposed to have pastel pink blossoms and that's why I ordered it. However, some of the blossoms on it were a bright color. It was strange looking with both pastel and bright colored blossoms on the same plant. The bright blossoms did not go with the colors of the other plants in my flower garden or with the pastel blossoms on the same plant.

I have used Burpee Seeds for years. I like the company. No, really - I do. The seeds are always of good quality and perform very well.

My main complaint these days is that over the last several years, Burpee has gone more "mainstream" with its offerings. By that I mean it has offered more and more hybrid varieties (ones they have developed, by the way) and fewer and fewer heirloom varities.

For instance. I love Burpee's Better Boy and Big Boy Tomatoes. Love them!!!! I grow and sell tomatoes (on a small scale) during the spring and summer months, and these plants are GREAT performers for me. BUT! If I want more of these plants, I have to go back to Burpee for the seeds unless I nurse rooted cuttings over the winter. I like being able to harvest my own seeds to replant the next year. There is a certain peace and security in that.

So, more and more of my business is diverted to the heirloom seed companies these days.

I usually order from Knoxville Seed and Greenhouse out of Knoxville.

I am still looking for an heirloom variety that will taste and perform like Better Boy and Big Boy. Anyone out there have any suggestions?

Myself, mother & grandparents had dealings with this firm
over the last 60+ years, myself about 30 years.

This is one of the oldest and most reliable firms, having
MOST of what you need, except specialty houses.

I would like to, however, say that in years this firm has
slipped in what they offer and gone to more popular and
profitable varities.

In past years they were neck and neck with Park Seed, but
I can no longer beleive this.In all these years I have NEVER
had a single problem, and think none of my ancient relatives
have either.

On a 1-10 scale I rate them 9+++

I placed a large order for seeds on February 3, 2003. I received the order (complete)on February 10, 2003. One variety I ordered had a low germination rate, so they doubled the order. So far I have had a great germination rate.

I can't think of any problems I have had with the products offered by this company. The only bummer is that I have to pay California sales tax on things coming all the way from Pennsylvania.

I got their 'Fourth of July' tomato seeds. They are supposed to have tomatoes on plants in 49 days. Indeed they did, and they were particularly very sweet. The plants did well all season, outperforming others. I also got their 'Paul Bunyan' sunflowers. They grew so huge! Another thing I grew from their seeds were morning glories, that did beatifully. I haven't got anything from Burpee's in a while, so I am going to have to buy from them again.

Burpee has always been a top-notch seed company, in my opinion. I recently ordered a bunch of seeds and received my order in full in just a week! One item I ordered had poor germination rates in their trials, so they informed me and doubled the seed count for free; a nice touch. They have a beautiful catalog and I especially enjoy their old-fashioned flower strains, particularly the marigolds and zinnias. Their customer service is prompt and efficient and their seeds are of very high quality. I've done business with them for years and have always been pleased.

I order 90% of my seeds and supplies from Parks, but when I can't get something from them, I usually turn to Burpee. This year was totally different. I placed an order with Burpee and it took two weeks for them to tell me that six of the nine items I ordered were not available. I finally received the three packets of seeds and they charged me the original amount to ship the entire order. I finally called them rather than chalk it off to a loss. The customer service rep was downright surly with me. I ended up telling her to do something downright nasty to herself (that's unusual for me). That in itself was worth the two bucks they ripped me off for. Never again!

I have ordered from Burpee in the past. Their plants are well-packaged, but merely average and higher priced than a lot of other mail-order companies. Their customer service is very slow to respond and doesn't follow through on what you have requested. In January, I ordered (2) of their annual packs. After finding the same plants MUCH cheaper elsewhere, I cancelled the order in February and asked that the amount they had charged to my credit card be credited back. They e-mailed me back and said they had cancelled the order, but did not credit my card. They never did respond to my e-mails asking about the credit, but eventually sent me a check instead __ for $4.00 less than they had charged to my card! There was no explanation and they haven't responded to my e-mail. I am left to assume that they charged me $4.00 for "handling"! How much handling could possibly be involved for little, tiny 6 packs of seedlings that weren't even going to be shipped until May? I doubt that they had even been planted yet! I'll be taking my business elsewhere.

Their perennials are great. One of the few companies that ships a well rooted plant that has been overwintered. They have a neat boxing system that holds plants in place with no damage.

I've been buying Burpee seed for probably 25 years or more, always by catalog in the past, but more recently from local stores. Several local hardware and home improvement type stores have carried Burpee seeds and not only could you get them instantly and take them from the store but they also offered them at a significant discount. Well, my complaint is that Burpee seeds are no longer available at these stores. Seems as though something bad must have happened between the buyers and Burpee. Perhaps I should be complaining to the stores (which I did), but I can't help but feel that Burpee is at least somewhat responsible for the stores' dropping of their excellent product.

I have no complaints about Burpee's offerings -- just their ordering procedure. I've been a customer for 25-30 years, so I'm (if anything) biased *in favor* of Burpee's. However, when I tried to place my seed order tonight (2/1/03), I was appalled at the lack of customer service.

First, the order dept. is only open M-F 9:00 am - 7:00 pm, Sat. 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.!! (These hours are printed on the order form, but I haven't recently encountered *any* catalogue retailer with such limited hours.)

So, I went to the website (despite having had trouble with it last year). I dutifully entered all the SKU (item numbers) for seeds I wanted to order (including the "Veggie Bargains" listed on the order page), except for the last item, as I had one more item than the website had fields for ordering. After figuring out which item I would have to do without, I proceeded to "Checkout" -- whereupon I was informed that the "quantities I ordered were not available" -- no hint whatsoever *which* items, however (all quantities were 1)! After much toil & trouble, I determined that the culprits were the "bargains," once they were eliminated and all the other items were re-entered, the order went through -- I think!

I did fire off a quick email to customer service -- but I doubt that it will be much more successful than my email to Burpee's a few years ago, when I chided them because I did not receive their catalogue until several weeks after I received my *orders* from other catalogues.

Have ordered from Burpee for years. No problem with regular catalog ordering. Seeds arrived quickly and all seeds grew when I followed the proper planting procedure on the packet.

Their live plants are well packaged and extremely fresh when they arrive--I was pleasantly surprised and have ordered live plants from them the last three years.

Most of their seed is pretty good, their Breeders Choice corn is great. It germinates in my cool Northwest area where some other seed will rot & is REALLY good. (I obviously like sweet corn) It has never failed to ripen in the last 4 or 5 yrs, even during one of the 'cooler' summers. They also have quite a large selection of anything else you may want, though I usually order most of my seed from a nursery closer to home. Breeders choice will not freeze well (thats what Golden Jubilee is for) but is the best for on-the-cob.

Afer several years of positive experiences w/ this company,
I have to say that this year, the variety of vegetable
plants(tomatoes) available for mail order was scant and the
overall quality for both the veg. and flowering plants was
amazingly POOR. The plants arrived late for zone 6 and very
sickly as well. They also sent me the WRONG tomatoes, which
I could not see until they turned red instead of yellow! To
be absolutely fair, the herb seeds were OK. The other issue
I have w/ Burpee is that unless you can order on-line, your
choices(for plants) are limited. There are some folks out
there (like my 78 year old uncle) who do not have access
to a computer and aren't likely to get one, so it seems a bit unfair to them. Very disappointing, for such an old
and previously reliable source.

I was excited to plant tomatoes earlier than normal this year due to the mild winter we had in central Jersey and the warm temps early in the spring. I ordered $60 worth of tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers. Of 12 plants, 8 of them survived. Also, one of Burpee's policies, and one they aren't polite about considering I'm a new gardener, is to hold the plants regardless of order date until they think it is well past the last frost date. I was sure the plants would be producing fruit by now if they hadn't held back the order or killed some of them with their flimsy packaging.

I have ordered seeds from Burpee for several years now. They have always arrived promptly and just as ordered. I have never had to deal with customer service, which says something postive.

I have ordered from them a number of times. Everything I have gotten has been very good quality. The web site has helpful planting information. Their prices are reasonable. I would definitely order from them again.
The only problems I have had are items being out-of-stock and marked as in-stock. Also, they have mis-billed me twice on different orders, but they did not hesitate to correct the billing errors, although it did take some time to get it all straightened out.