Comments regarding Burpee (W. Atlee Burpee)

I recently ordered seeds from this company. They all came up except for maybe 2 or 3 there doing great! I have one cantaloupe seed which looks like something else we will have to wait and see what it is.LOL! good quality and fast shipping considering our pandemic. will order again

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I got what I ordered, in a timely fashion and in good condition. Germination was fine. I found this company to be reliable and predictable, though better prices are easy to find elsewhere.

I ordered several petunia plants in unusual varieties I can’t find locally. Was I impressed with the large box UPS delivered with my twelve plants inside. The petunias were what you’d expect from the nursery, all busting with blooming color in four inch pots! They were so well packed that there wasn’t even one broken stem, excellent job Burpee!

I have ordered seeds from Burpee twice in the last two months. Both times my seeds were in my house within 5 days of ordering them. I do not understand why some people are having issues with this company. I have bought from Burpee online for yers and never have had a problem. The seeds that I have ordered have had excellent germination. I am an organic vegetable grower for 3 local restaurants, and I can always count on Burpee's seeds, they have not failed me yet. I do order seeds from other companies, but Burpee will always be one of my "go-to" seed companies.

Ordered three helenium. Well-packed, and super healthy when they arrived. My experience is a good one.

I ordered annual petunias (6-pack) and tall pentas plants (x3), both products arrived healthy. Got the plants at a discounted rate in the spring and would probably use them again.

Posted on June 12, 2017, updated June 20, 2017
I contacted Burpee when I received curly parsley instead of the Italian (flat leaf) parsley I ordered. A Burpee representative contacted me quickly in response to my email, noting that I should check the plants for a specific product number. I emailed Burpee back with the only three digits I could find on the plant labels. In my follow-up email, I also included three photographs, one of each of the plants I received, and I noted that the parsley in my photos looks very different than the photograph online at the Burpee site. Unmistakably, the plants I received are curly parsley. I have not had a response to my follow-up email. I contacted Burpee once more through the website, but I have received no response here, either. Buying from Burpee has been something of a family tradition for me, but this kind of customer service response is not OK. I understand how the wrong plants can be sent out from time to time. I don't understand being ignored, though.

Posted on May 3, 2017, updated June 6, 2017
Posted on March 31, 2009, updated May 3, 2017
I always thought highly of Burpee - but Burpee.com has changed that completely!
I placed my order online 3/17, I called to check on the shipping date and the $5 off coupon that did not come of on the online order. I was told on 3/19 that the order "is in the warehouse and would probably" go out by the end of the week (which would have been 3/21) OK fine. I called back on 3/24 because the status online never changed to "shipped".Again I have been told "it's in the warehouse and will probably go out by the end of the week"
This has been 2 different weeks! This is not acceptable and I requested for this order to be cancelled. The rep that I spoke to then says she will see if she can "catch it" from shipping today. I find it very odd that prior to my requesting a cancellation, the order would ship at the end of the week and now she's trying to keep it from shipping out today all within the matter of 5 minutes. I felt that Burpee's reps were making things up as they were going along, as there was a lot of "uh's and I don't knows" coming from them. I felt very uncomfortable and demanded the order be cancelled via email on 3/24. I recieved my refund on 3/27. I will never use Burpee.com again as the customer service is not what it should be, and that is not acceptable.

Burpee’s packaging of plants is BY FAR the best I’ve ever seen! I shop online for my plants a lot, and usually get 10+ orders each season.
They do unbelievable job at packaging, it’s so smartly designed, easy and super fast to unpack and recycle the cardboard, and the plants are large and healthy and happy with zero damage! None of those annoying peanuts, or shredded paper, or excessive taping... as we all know, just unpacking of plants can be such an unpleasant ordeal... This was just a pure delight, really a pleasure receiving and opening their boxes, admiring healthy plants, and I am looking forward to ordering again next year!

Posted on May 8, 2016, updated May 30, 2017
Posted on May 5, 2014, updated May 8, 2016
Posted on May 3, 2014, updated May 5, 2014
For several years I have purchased Dragon Wing Begonias, tomato plants, perennials and roses from Burpee because I felt they were a good price and quality. For three years in a row the Dragon Wings or perennials were mangled or small and they gladly replaced the items. On Friday 5-3-14 I received a box of Dragon Wings (several weeks before last expected frost) and the plants were mangled. I called and the rep asked how plants could be mangled in the box. I explained it looked like they had been run through a grinder. I took pictures and tried to pull out root balls...The rep was indifferent and I told her I had taken pictures and wanted me to send the pictures or return the plants. I told her I did not want to go to all the trouble and asked for a refund (although I stressed I would really like to have the Dragon Wings. Finally I asked for a full refund and asked for them to stop sending me a catalog.
I will NEVER buy anything from them again. What has happened to this once great company?

"On May 5, 2014 9:48 AM, Burpee (W. Atlee Burpee) responded with:

We were very sorry to learn about these problems and have sent a direct message requesting more information so that we can make sure these issues have been resolved. As always, we welcome all feedback from our customers so that we can continue to meet their needs. "

I want to know what Burpee puts on their plants? I ordered numerous plants from burpee, I must say I was disappointed when I received them via Fed-ex. I was expecting bigger plants for what I paid for. I got angry and said I'd never order from Burpee again! Was I wrong, it's been 3 weeks since my order arrived,and I'm glad to say I planted exactly as the instructions said. I can tell you that at 3 weeks my blueberry bushes have grown about 3 inches the 25 strawberry plants I have planted are taking off like there's no tomorrow, they already have flowers and runners. I was so impressed I canceled from Stark Bro's. and re orederd from Burpee today! And I plan to order from Burpee in the future!

This spring I placed an order for two "Sunshine Blue" and one "Misty" blueberry plants. When my order arrived the two "Sunshine Blue" plants looked great. The third plant looked a little rough; some dry and dead falling leaves and was a "Jersey" blueberry. Jersey blueberries are zoned 3-7 and I live in zone 9. This might explain why the third plant looked rough.
I contacted Customer Service through E-mail to let them know I received the wrong plant. They responded in less than 24 hours, were polite and helpful. The customer service representive asked for a photo of the plant (I included the label) and I received the correct blueberry plant within a week. It arrived in excellent condition.

From February to March (I placed 5 orders) I ordered several seed packets along with 16 live tomato plants and 9 live pepper plants. I received them via UPS in large boxes. Their condition is spectacular. They are quite tall, slightly bent over in their plastic shipping enclosures, but look healthy. The seeds I ordered all came a week or so after my order was placed. One specific type of tomato plant I ordered 4 of, came super leggy and very limp. The plants needed sunlight, oxygen and water. They’ve been in the garden outside for about 2 weeks and are dong spectacular.

My only problem with Burpee was with ordering onions. Firstly, for my zone (#8) onions were to begin shipping March 11. I ordered Walla Walla onions on March 22. After that it took 2 ½ weeks to get to me. I called Burpee a week and a half after I placed my order to see what was going on. Apparently my onions were coming from a vendor in Texas and it takes 2-3 weeks to prepare the order. Okay. If I had known that I would not have ordered onions from Burpee. The next day, after I called, the onions shipped and were delivered in great condition. Secondly, I clicked on the bulb option on the Burpee website and I got onion starts. Which is okay, I just wanted to try something new. Oh well. Also, Burpee Customer Service... if you email them a question or concern you will not receive an answer. Call if you need anything. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure I got them in the ground too late so they will not bulb up. Next year I’ll purchase onions from a different company because this was a waste of time and money.

Nonetheless, regarding the live plants, I am surprised that mine came in such great condition since there are sooo many complaints about live plants being delivered dead. Mine were/are very much so alive and doing great. Also, I don’t mind the price. I bought 9 different kinds of tomato plants, from hybrids to heirlooms from Burpee this year. I realize that buying from your local nursery or farm store is a little cheaper than Burpee but at my local stores you can’t find this many different varieties, so to me, the price was fair. Also, for all five of my orders that I placed this year I never had to pay for shipping. They always have a free-shipping coupon or a 20% off coupon, which is great.

I would recommend ordering from Burpee and I will be ordering more from them next year!

Posted on February 6, 2015, updated February 17, 2016
Burpee has good seeds, but takes entirely too long to get them to the customer, especially considering their prices!

"On Feb 7, 2015 9:59 AM, Burpee (W. Atlee Burpee) responded with:

We are grateful for the kind words about our seeds, but sorry to hear that your seed order took a long time to receive. These items usually ship within a few days from our warehouse if we have the product in stock. Plants are shipped at the proper planting time from our nursery. In addition, we sell a wide range of seed varieties in local retail stores. We have reached out to you so that we can look into what may have caused any delays for you. "

I have been ordering seeds and plants from Burpee for years. I am always disappointed in the live plants, which are sadly much smaller than I expected and sometimes I can kill them much easier than I expect. I have had a LOT of luck with their ferns though, and most of their bulbs.

*** I am a terrible gardener, but have been getting much better these past few years***

So far, I am going to say their seeds are AWESOME. Compared to the four other brands I have bought, most of the time their seeds not only germinate, but last longer than expected.

However, don't buy the Stevie seeds unless you are an expert gardener. Don't buy live plants unless you are at least an experienced gardener. They need more help than some other places.

I have never contacted their customer service before, and I don't know if they would help with the problems.

Not everything goes smoothly in any walk of life, gardening included. Good experiences with this company overall. Not particularly fond of paying so much for certain 4-inch plants (e.g. unique berries), but they are definitely grow-ers if not show-ers. Had a mixup with my order (shipped wrong product) that caused me not to get my strawberry until the following spring, but, once it arrived (healthy, albeit tiny), it was planted and, without any regard to my expectations, grew with gusto. Don't judge a plant by its top, I suppose.

First time order from Burpee, ordered Lewisia on sale. The plants were fantastic large plants with a great root system. Very pleased.

Strawberry plants arrived in EXCELLENT condition!

I ordered 3 purple wonder strawberry plants and then happen to read all the negative comments here. My initial thought was... I just wasted $34.

But to my surprise... the plants arrived in excellent condition!

Each plant was PLANTED in a 4" pot. The packing in the box protected the tops of each plant and kept the dirt from falling out of the pots. Genius! Plants I have bought and carried home from a store have had more damage than these plants!

The dirt was still moist after 7 day shipping period.

Their communication was excellent. I was sent an email with tracking number and expected arrival the day the plants were sent.

Plants were shipped within the time period described on their website.

VERY happy!

oh, i was skeptical and really didn't look forward to ordering here but they seemed to be the only online supplier of Salvia 'Wendy's Wish' at the moment.
i ordered one plant on march 29 and it arrived today, april 2. it was healthy, with a very good root system and packed well.
i'm very pleased.

Posted on February 27, 2015, updated March 26, 2015
Posted on February 25, 2015, updated February 27, 2015
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Posted on February 21, 2015, updated February 24, 2015
I try to help out a local food bank garden. I received an email for free shipping on Presidents' Day. I have used their seeds more than any other company in the past. I did not hesitate to order some Espoma biotone liquid. They have great products. I couldn't find the same product elsewhere so I called Espoma. They said they hadn't manufactured the product for 7-8 years and it the good bacteria was only viable for 2 or three years. I called customer service back within minutes of placing the order to cancel it. They told me it would be awhile before I was refunded my money-it was already out of my checking account. Still no refund!

"On Feb 24, 2015 5:18 PM, Burpee (W. Atlee Burpee) responded with:

Dear Burpee Customer,

We apologize that this situation has occurred with your order. It appears that this product was listed in error on our website, and we have had this item pulled from our product selection online and all items have been discarded. Please know that this kind of situation has never occurred before with our company. At this time we have reached out to you via DMAIL so we can get obtain your order information and ensure that you are refunded accordingly. Please, can you contact our customer service team as soon as possible so we may resolve this situation for you? Thank you again for alerting us to this problem, and we apologize for any inconvenience this situation may have caused you. "

Very positive. I love gardening and have a half acre garden. I placed a large order with Burpee and I was very happy when they plant arrived strong, healthy and well packaged. The prices are a little higher but it was well worth it. I have done a lot of mail ordering and this has been the best.

This is my first year starting a garden. I ordered some tomato seeds and bare root strawberry plants. The strawberries came much sooner than I expected, but I hurried and got the bed ready, and now (6 weeks later) they are blooming up a storm. Only 2 of the 50 have died.

The tomato seeds had a pretty good germination rate, and seem healthy so far.

Overall, very satisfied.

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Posted on February 19, 2010, updated April 8, 2012
I ordered some early seed starting supplies a few weeks ago from this company.
An error was made by their shipping department.
One phone call and the replacment was here within a weeks time . I am very happy with their pleasant response and will surely be ordering from them again.

"On Apr 10, 2014 8:42 AM, Burpee (W. Atlee Burpee) responded with:

We were very sorry to learn that your replacement plant arrived in poor condition. We have emailed you directly with the email address where you can send images. We appreciate these as they help with our quality control at our nursery. We do apologize for the inconvenience and look forward to resolving the issue."

Expensive seed but always high quality with excellent germination. Customer service is helpful too. I've grown Burpee seed successfully in several very different zones. Good selection of OP seed and hybrids.

I received several dormant raspberry and blackberry canes, as well as two leafed-out blueberry starts from Burpee as a birthday gift from a friend. The dormant canes were well rooted-out and packed with moist woodchips in a plastic bag. As far as one can tell with dormant plants, they seemed healthy enough. I received two blueberry plants, which I think is one more than was actually purchased. Granted, one of them looked rather weak and wilted, but I appreciate the extra plant and the attention to detail that was extended to the packing of the plants. I just ordered several grapevines from the company, and am hoping for consistency. It is a bit of a bummer that you can't combine special offers- it makes it so much more fun when you feel like you've gotten a killer deal. Especially because they seem to have rather high prices.

Today I ordered 3 Tomato plants from Burpee's. I was unaware of the many negatives of this company. However, I will give them a positive until they prove different and then I will post results. The reason I ordered so early was to be sure I got first dibbs on the good plants. Will post later with results.

I have ordered seeds from burpee about 15 times over the years. I always get what I order and it is shipped on time. I have ordered seeds from other companies too, but Burpee has become my go to for seeds. I have always had success with their seeds and they have a nice selection and nice prices.

I have never ordered live plants from them. I live in Houston, so I have a lot of better options around for live plants. This is the main reason I have never ordered live plants from them.

I have also never had to contact their customer service for any reason, so I do not have any information to share in that regards.

i've only ordered seeds from burpee so i can't comment on plant orders. i've gotten a few bad batches of seeds with poor germination rates but in general, i've been pleased with germination rates and the resulting plants. i have dozens of seed packets from them and will continue to order from them in the future. one of my order took over two weeks to arrive but all the other orders arrived fairly promptly.

Ordered 3 seedless tomato plants rather late because I couldn't find locally. Live plants arrived three days after on-line shipping notice in excellent condition. Rest of order came 3 days after live plants. Well pleased. Distance apparently not a problem. Will not be hesitant next year to order from Burpee.

I thought that I had written a review for this company before I guess I have not.
I occasionally buy vegetable seeds from this company. I have had good results. They only have smaller amount of seeds in the packets on the seed racks so I will buy cantaloupes, peppers, cukes, etc. For corn, beans and okra for example, I will not buy from them because I need more seed. I am very satisfied with what I have purchased from them because the germination rates are dependable.

Last year I ordered seeds and plants from Burpee. My seed germination rate was about 99% for quite a variety of flowers and vegetables In fact, last year’s lettuce is once again thriving this spring with no help whatsoever from me. I had a few failures (pink Lily of the Valley and White Calla Lily) which were all refunded when I called the company. (with an apology “I’m sorry it died.”) Great customer service. Excellent packaging and shipping. Some of the tiny flower seeds are shipped in a mini plastic tube in the package and are brightly colored so you can see them. Some items shipped early due to March 2012 being more like summer. I also use quite a few bags of the Burpee Wildflower North American Mix seeds and the results are exceptional. A few of the smaller flowers bloomed all through winter. Last year in August I planted four types of sunflowers with success and this year I planted 15 types starting in mid-March including the Strawberry Blonde Hybrid “The first rose-pink sunflower!” As of mid-April, they are sprouting right on schedule. (direct sow Zone 7b)
The Burpee website is very user friendly – it’s great for planning your flower and vegetable garden. I appreciate all the How To information and customer reviews. I am also impressed by all the new introductions for flowers and vegetables and decided to try planning the On Deck Hybrid Corn – which I planted in the garden and in a large container. I am glad I ordered early as the On Deck Hybrid Corn is listed as “sold out” in mid-April. The printed catalogs and website both feature stunning true-to-life photos that certainly motivate my buying habits.

I placed a small order because they had something I couldn't find from my usual sources. That variety was quite expensive, but even more expensive from another company. The seed count was correct and they were packaged in tubes to avoid crushing, a plus with such expensive seeds. I ordered a couple of other things too and all of them germinated well. Also, they arrived quickly so my experience was quite good.

Posted on May 12, 2009, updated March 7, 2013
With some trepidation after reading the reports here, I ordered 12 tomato plants at a whopping price of almost 60$ including shipping. They arrived about 2 weeks later (good) but 4 of the 12 (one third!) are completely ruined. They look like they have been through the blender! The others look fair or okay--only a little broken and messed up. Three are iffy; the others should make it. I think their shipper must have used the box for baseball practice and then put it by a heat vent in 90 degree weather. The ruined plants were just SLIME. The packaging appeared to be sturdy and the box was not damaged, so I think the shipper did not take the proper care. For the price of shipping they should have HAND carried to me!

We will see tomorrow what kind of reply I get from customer service, and I will post back here.

I have ordered from Burpee from time to time and have no real problems. I tend towards ordering vegetable seeds, and only rarely flower seeds. The seeds have been of good quality, and produced excellent results. While I now look for seeds coming from smaller producers, I have to praise them for what they have done for me. The one time I had problems, sunflower seeds that turned out to be the wrong color and corn seeds with poor germination, the company immediately offered a refund with no problems, which I received quickly.

Due to the pretty bad reviews for Burpee here, I've not ordered from them at all. But I got an email from them touting their new hybrid container corn. Who doesn't want to be able to grow sweet corn in a container? So I ordered 2 packets along with 2 packets of tomato seeds. So far so good. I received the full order in a very timely manner, packed well. All that remains is seeing how good the germination rate is and watch some growth. As of right now, I'm rating them positive as they served me well with my order.

I think it’s probably just human nature that we tend to post comments about vendors when we have a problem with them. I certainly have done so here in the past. But when I put together my list of recommended seed suppliers for a Senior Gardening posting this year, I realized that I should make a positive comment here about each of our suppliers that have performed so well over the years.

Burpee was the first mail order seed catalog we used almost forty years ago. Over the years, we got away from using them in favor of other vendors such as Stokes, Johnny’s, and Twilley. But in the last few years, we’ve gotten back to using Burpee for items such as garlic, Mr. Big peas, and several flower varieties.

We’ve not had to make a claim on any seed or supplies ordered from Burpee over the years. That says a lot.

//www.senior-gardening.com/features/suppliers.html

This year gardening was challenging with dry, extremely hot weather. I planted Big Daddy Tomatoes from Burpee seed. I didn't get them set out until late, but they did well and exceeded my others. Also,I planted their new stringless Italian type pole bean. They did not set beans early because of the weather, but when it began to cool in August they began to set on in abundance. I have never seen more beautiful beans! I am very excited about both varieties! Burpee has always been considered a quality company by me in my many years of gardening experience.

I had a fifteen year old unopened pack of Lobelia Crystal Palace seeds by Burpee. Inside the pack is a smaller "Life Lock" packet. The seeds are very tiny and numerous. I planted all of them in a hanging basket and it seems most germinated! I thinned them down to a few plants which are growing well and blooming.

Burpee was the first garden catalog I ever received as a five-year-old gardener, and I'm from Pennsylvania, so I'm sure nostalgia influences my favorable impressions of this company.

This year, however, I've been impressed with an array of discounted and free shipping (no minimum) offers I've received from their company emails. I had one rare perennial plant I was eying up for a while, and I was able to have it shipped for free, just one plant! It's been growing beautifully. Started small at the end of may and now it's HUGE and happy in a difficult spot in my garden.

In twenty-five years of ordering, I've never been disappointed. I will say that their common plants/seeds are overpriced, but they do have some rarer varieties which are priced fairly. Add free shipping, and you're good to go!