Comments regarding Burpee (W. Atlee Burpee)

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.

I've just had rather good experience with this company, despite some problems with their web site. I did not get an automatic confirmation that my order was received, but when I contacted their customer service people they were able to find and confirm the order. Ok, it took a couple of days to exchange email, but nothing out of the ordinary. It took 2 weeks to get the seed, again, not bad. And some of the seeds I planted 5 days ago have already sprouted!

In the spring of 2004 I ordered a set of tomato cages, three big mama hybrid tomatos, and several packs of seeds.

I did not have any issues with customer service or the web site. I have used the tomato cages the last two years and they are very sturdy. The tomatos arrived in excellent condition and provided plenty of tomatos throughout the season. The seeds were good as well.

I ordered seeds from Burpee twice within the last six months or so. Each time, my order was shipped promptly and packaged well. I received my seeds less than 10 days after submitting my online order. Their website was easy to navigate and the checkout process quite simple. Overall, I was very pleased with my experience with Burpee and will order seeds from them again in the future.

Our healthy and well-rooted plants arrived in perfect condition and in a timely manner. We consider this to be great service, which we have always gotten from Burpee, for many years.

All the plants are growing really well and we look forward to a beautiful garden and lots of delicious vegetables.

An extra bonus: a company that cares enough to use recyclable packaging.

Jack and Alice

I received my 2 orders right on time. The perennial plants were beautiful, really big and the shasta daisy is blooming.

All the plants were well rooted and the prices were fair -- Burpee ships a one-year-old perennial, the same as I would buy at a garden store for more money.

Both my tomato plants and flowers arrived the week before Mothers' Day. I love their tomato-growing tips/instruction sheet with lots of good information. I had no problem with the quality, and they had great root systems.

I am most pleased with Burpee using all recyclable products for their packaging: no plastic bags or peanuts, and their tomato package is fantastic.

GG

I rate Burpee a positive based on the fall planted
bulbs that I have ordered from them. All have been
beautiful this spring (tulips, iris, daffodills, crocus). I would order from them again based on the results of these bulbs.

C&NN

super fast shipping and excellent seeds. Will be a repeat customer

Last year I order several seed varieties and the special 18 pack of Lisianthus. The seeds came within a few days of my order and the lisianthus arrived at the appropriate time for planting.

The seeds were fabulous. I grew my first lavender from seed and it even bloomed non stop the first year. I have tried to start lavender for several years running with no luck. Of the lavender I started, admittedly only about 50% germinted in my less than perfect starting conditions however I lost 0 to dampening off or any other perils.

The lisianthus unfortunatly was pretty beat up when it arrived. I don't think it was poorley packaged it looked more like someone had shaken the box up and down and then stomped on it. I don't think Burpee was negligent it was just one of those things. When I called customer service they immediatly refunded my credit card, sight unseen. I don't know if I will buy live plants through the mail again - seems iffy and there is great stuff available locally - however I will use Burpee for seeds again especially if they increase their selection of heirloom veggies.

Last year I ordered Pysedelic spring viola- no germintation - but I had a HUGE problem with damping off last year- I didn't call them - SHOULD HAVE.

This year took a chance bought more Pysedalic springs and wishbone flowers which are pelleted-- when I opened the package to plant the wishbones half the pellets were smashed. I called then and spoke with Ann who was very helpful, told me to plant the surviving pellets and "dust" and that they would also send a new package- also upon realizing I lived near their company- emailed me directions to the burpee store in Warmenster (guess where I'll be going this spring?) the email even has suggestions for places to stop for lunch!

She also assured me the Burpee garuntee even covers the .97 cent seeds from Walmart!

Overall very pleased - pricey- I only order from the catalog what I can't get anywhere else and am drooling over. but worth it.

I've ordered Lisianthus plants from Burpee ever since they began carrying them years ago and have always had good luck with them. Last year, the 18 plants I ordered arrived in a box that appeared to have gone through a war zone. Inside the box, only two plants remained in their cells, and several had broken in half. I photographed the outside and inside of the box, emailed the photos to Burpee, and asked for replacements. Unfortunately, they had sold out of Lisianthus entirely. They refunded my money, apologized profusely, and sent a very generous merchandise certificate. I just placed my 2005 order for Lisianthus, and while I hope they arrive in good condition, I feel confident that Burpee's customer service department will do whatever it takes to stand by their products.

Last summer, I ordered pennisetum rubrum from them, an annual grass. For about half the price of other nurseries selling the same plant, these plants did very well for me in my garden.

While I may not order all of my 2005 stock from Burpee, I am ordering the same plant and some seeds this year from them.

It was our first time trying to grow potatos in our area. We ordered some Yukon Gold potatos and some Kennebecs. They (the mini- tubers) arrived in a nice package with good instructions on how to plant. They all grew, as well, and we had potatos all summer and well into fall!! There were so many we could not dig them all and some still remain in the ground today! I would definitely order from Burpee again. I do understand that some people have had poor service and I am sorry for that. I intend to keep trying!

Expensive but good service, good selection but they could use more open pollinated seeds.

I am happy with Burpee's seeds, but their prices are higher than those of several other reputable seed sources. I ordered 38 seed packets back in January and received all of them in plenty of time for propagating them indoors under lights. I raised some indoors and some outdoors. Most of the packets had terrific germination rates, but the alchemilla and stevia both netted zero plants and the lemon balm produced only one plant. All but one watermelon split before they were even ready to pick, same with the cabbage. Everything flowered and produced prolifically. It was beautiful, except for the mutant Black Beauty eggplants. Some of them looked like three or four (or more) had grown together to create one vegetable, but there would only be one stem. Despite all of this, I still like Burpee. However, next year I am buying most of my seeds elsewhere, mainly to get a bigger selection and a better price.

I have been getting Burpee seeds for years without problems. I ordered Strawberry plants as well as Rubarb and they came in time for planting and have produced bouniful plants.
A good company to deal with from my prospective.

I ordered 12 tomato plants from them this year and only 3 plants arrived dead. Customer service was kind and offered a refund which I recieved today. I only had to call them once, unlike other companies where you have to call over and over again. I would buy from them again.

I am a second-generation Burpee customer, following my mom who has been ordering from them since the 1970's. My first order from them 3 years ago took quite a while getting to me, and the plants were healthy but not packed very well so two were damaged. However, my orders from them this year have been processed and shipped promptly. Seeds are always great quality with high germination rates. I was fortunate enough two years ago to be able to shop at their main warehouse, and it was obvious to me by the aged condition of the warehouse that they had not made any changes in their order processing in quite some time, but judging by the vastly improved speed in which I received my last order, it seems like they are finally making the improvements they have so desperately needed for such a long time. They're not perfect, but I will definitely continue to order both plants and seeds from Burpee.

I ordered three tomato plants and so far I am pretty happy with them. The plants are a tad smallish, and it seemed like it took a long time for them to get here, but overall I'm OK with them.

I've ordered twice from Burpee's: once in 2002 and again this year. Both times it was a positive experience. This year I ordered some chilli pepper and watermelon seeds and some raspberry canes. The seeds were shipped promptly and the germination has been close to 100%. The raspberries were shipped when the catalog said they would be shipped for my state, arriving on a Friday, which was timely for a weekend planting. All 5 canes are now growing and appear healthy. I would certainly order again in future years.

Overall, I'm happy with Burpee, though I don't know that I'd order from them again. Walmart carries the common varieties for 67% the cost. Seed quality is always superb. Prices are a bit high. If you want their special hybrids, go for it, but if you want plain jane cultivars, go to a local Walmart and pick up your seeds there.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.