Comments regarding Wayside Gardens

On 3/18/09 I ordered a Burgundy Iceberg Rose bush from them and on 3/31/09 the status said shipping soon. I don't recall when I got the bare root plant but the packing slip that was in the box says it was shipped on 3/23/09. I planted it and it has taken off and been growing nicely. I will try this company again if I find something else I like in the future. This was definitive a positive experience since the rose bush was a present for my wife. I would recommend this company to my friends and family.

Received 6 healthy grafted roses with very large roots and 3 quite large potted perennials(2 w/blooms). My order was shipped in 2 separate shipments, packaged wonderfully, as good as, or better than some other mail order nurseries. Nothing but praises for Wayside!

I have ordered twice from Wayside. Both times the plants have been extremely small for the price charged. When you buy online you expect to save some money yet still get a reasonably sized plant in the process. I had no problem with the health of the plants. Size does matter when paying top dollar prices. The only thing I can see that is very good is the Wayside catalog. It's great for reference.

I ordered the three new winter-hardy camellias last spring. They only had two, which they shipped in mid May, 2008. They grew throughout the summer, and made buds. However both died during the winter, though they were supposed to be hardy in my zone (6) and I had protected them with a wind guard and mulch around the roots. When I emailed this to the company, they stated that they were sorry but the guarantee had expired. I again wrote to explain that there was no way to tell until winter was over, but they said they had changed their "very generous past warranty" and now 6 weeks was the length of time to tell, and after that, it was your fault. Maybe that is true with some plants, but ones that are advertised as new and "winter hardy" for your zone should be just that.
Also, do not order for fall planting, because lots of the plants do not reappear the next spring.

Ordered Ice Plants (Table Mountain) and Gaillardia Fanfare in March. Finally shipped and received this Mother's Day weekend (Zone 5, according to their site should have shipped late March) after several inquiries into expected shipping date. Ice Plants were stacked on top of each other, waterlogged, several stinking rotten. The little Gaillardia were packed in with the large, heavy Table Mountain and several were broken. Planted them anyway, hoping they might make it...I wished I would have read about this company before I ordered.

Don't waste your time and money ordering from Wayside Gardens. The buddleia and the lilac that I ordered arrived nearly dead. The strawberry lemonade Buddleia was delivered in a smashed box and the plant was in really bad shape with dying leaves. The Bloomerang Lilac was waterlogged and branches rotting off. I sent them a photograph to document the condition of the plants upon arrival. They made no offer whatsoever to replace, refund, or credit. All they did was email me back claiming how many satisfied customers they have and how excellent their products are, and how they appreciated my "feedback". Having spent over $50.00 I would expect to receive better quality plants and customer service. I will never recommend this company to anyone, nor will I ever place another order with them or their affiliates (Park Seed) again. High Country Gardens and Territorial Seed do a much better job.

I have to agree with the hundreds of negative comments, don't waste you time parking your money in their bank account. I noticed a post saying the person got what they ordered and assumes they have cleaned up their practices, but I dare say you, sir, are one of the lucky few.

I have ordered from Wayside four seprate times over 3 years and only had two orders actually arrive and out of those two only one arrived the same year as I placed my order. Let's be frank here, how can every product be out of season or product quality "not up to their standards"?

They have the most beautiful catalogs but the worst track record for getting the product to the customer.

I ordered some trees for my mother for Mother's Day and they arrived nearly on time only to die that winter. I don't understand a japanese evergreen not being able to sustain in snow or a thuja giant, which is supposedly drought resistant and deep snow resistant dying in light snow.

I ordered a combo special of japanese sky pencil holly and a helmond pillar that took at least six months to arrive only to on the verge of death. The Helmond pillar died within two weeks of arrival and the holly soon after.

My other orders never arrived and after a year waiting for each i cancelled and got my refunds.

I had no issue with customer service when i called but often wonder why no one informs you when they decide not to send your product due to "quality" issues. It all smells so fishy. How do you get so big that you lose touch with those you do business with. They have lost out on hundreds if not thousands of dollars I may have spent with them, that I spend at local nurseries now.

Among this ranting I would like to add that I use chileplants.com to order my chili peppers and have never, in 6 years, had any issues what so ever. Someone is doing it right, why can't Wayside?

I had placed a rather large order, over a hundred dollars with wayside, various plants and shrubs. Got a confirmation showing the order had been placed and received....this was done in February of 2009. I was told that my plants would be shipped at the correct planting time for my zone. Well, that time came and went. I sent numerous e-mails checking on the order status, and got no replies. I called them, only to be cut off. I asked that my order be cancelled and finally got an e-mail informing me that orders could not be cancelled. I finally got 3 of the evergreen trees ordered, and I must admit that they were all in good condition. However, after waiting and waiting for the rest of my order and been given the run around so many times, I asked again for a cancellation with no reply. I then get a post card in the regular mail, saying that the rest of my order had been sold out. This was the last straw. How can a place stay in business when they go around selling items that someone else has already bought? I finally asked for another cancellation, I told them I was very upset, etc. etc. and then I get a reply saying my credit card would show a refund in 30 days. I tried to print a copy of that e-mail but, apparently they have a block on their site, cause it came out all un readable. It has not been 30 days yet. But, I can assure you that if I do not get that refund, Wayside will be hearing from people higher up than myself, like my lawyer for example and the Better Business Bureau.
My best word of advise to all who are reading this, STAY CLEAR OF WAYSIDE GARDENS......THEY ARE A RIP OFF

I have been ordering from this co for many, many years. Last spring, I tried to get my C Card credited because an item I ordered was not available. It took several calls but finally got the credit. This spring I ordered one item only because I wanted to see how it would go. The plant arrived on schedule and in very good condition. Maybe they have cleaned up their act from what I have read on these posts. I hope so because they have a special collection of plants.

This is possibly some of the worst customer service I have ever received. I placed my order on the 20th and today (May 1, 2009) I called to check on the status. I was told by the rude, bored-sounding customer service rep that my plants had been shipped nine days ago via UPS and were due for delivery today. Anyone who thinks those plants are still alive, raise your hand. His response to my concern? "Well, they were alive when we shipped them. That's all that matters." Okay then. Thanks for that. :crosses wayside gardens off list of business that will ever get my business again:

i ordered brunnera kings ransom, coreopsis red shift, hakonechloa nicholas and ligularia osiris cafe noir. the plants arrived in two inch peat pots, like parks. the ligularia was not the one ordered, instead i got two pots of osiris fantasie, which i already had. these were lined out in a nursery seedling bed and mulched so i could keep an eye on the tiny things. they plants arrived in late august, which should have been plenty of time to establish. the plants went dormant within a few weeks, or so i thought. i gave them plenty of time this spring before diggin them out, all of them were dead. i called and was told the guarantee only covered 60 days, but i could talk to a horticulturist, (which coincidently is what my degree is in also) this would have put the plants into october which is when plants are dormant in michigan, so there was no way i could have known. i will never order from this company or any of their affiliates. i've asked to be taken off of their catalogue list and will make sure everyone i know is aware of this site and the experience i've had.

since merging with Park Seed, customer service is as bad as theirs. still waiting for an answer on my two orders. Will not be ordering from them again. Other companies with better sized and healthier plants and better prices than this company. I consider them on an even par with Springhill Now.

Although I said I would never order from them again (I had bought a weeping ornamental tree from them last year that died within a few months), I went ahead and ordered 3 ornamental oreganoes from them. I know these are not for my zone, I am using them as annuals here. They smell wonderful and are beautiful, as I have had them before. They came in the mail fast and are doing wonderful in my window. When it warms up enough I will put them outside.
I just needed to say that this one order has worked well, nice plants, quick shipping. I am saying neutral just because of the tree that died that came from them. In all honesty I don't know that some of that wasn't my fault too, watering, site location or planting depth. I had called the company about the tree last year, but was told to shade the plant and keep well watered and it should recover. Well, it didn't even faze the plant. It died anyway. I gave it all winter to recover, but alas it is RIP.

I hadn't ordered from Wayside for a few years (although I have been a long time customer), and I also had read many of the negative reviews in the Garden Watchdog. This month (April, 2009) I ordered (through the website) a dozen plants- six lonicera and six viburnum. The e-mail correspondence I had with the company was very prompt and very satisfactory. My order was delivered in two weeks, and I am happy to report that all of the plants were very healthy and robust. After this recent experience, I plan to order from Wayside again, probably in a few weeks.

Beware this operation. I wish I had read these reviews before I ordered. I ordered a Clematis from Wayside. When received, it was less that 1" tall and the three shriveled leaves were wilted. When I went on line to complain, I noticed that they had reduced the price of this item to $12.99 from the $19.99 that I had paid. They never satisfactorily addressed either the quality issue or the pricing issue. Stay away from them!

Paid $23.16 (w/s/h) for 1 single Eryngium 'Jade Frost'. What arrived was the tiniest of seedlings that they had crushed under excelsior when packing. The poor seedling had been smashed to death and reduced to mush.

In my recent order from Wayside Gardens, there were three different tags stuck into the dirt of each potted plant.

The first tag gave the plant height at 21".
The second tag gave the plant height at 24-30".
The third tag gave the plant height at 3-4'.

Yes, you read this correctly. The given plant height for the same plant ranged from 21 inches to 4 feet. This was not a case of mistaken identity--the same plant name and variety was printed on each tag.

To top it off, in each pot there was also a small slip of paper that stated, "I'm Not Dead -- I'm Dormant! I am a dormant bareroot plant, which means that I'm "sleeping" right now. Dormancy is the best time to ship plants, because we need less water and fresh air. To wake me up, just follow the instructions enclosed with your order. I'll be up and growing before you know it!"

Very nice, except for the fact that the plants were not bareroot and they were not dormant. This was not a case of mistaken identity either. My order included only two plants, they were both the same variety, they both came in a pot with dirt, they both had little green leaves, and they both included this please-wake-me-up-I'm-bareroot-and-dormant message.

I will never order anything from Wayside Gardens again unless it is the only place on earth where I can get what I am looking for!

WAYSIDE GARDENS IS AN INFERIOR NURSERY. THE PLANTS I HAVE GOTTEN THUS FAR HAVE BEEN SUBSTITUTES, SLOW SHIPPING, OFTEN DIE EVEN WITH THE BEST CARE. JUST LIKE PARK SEED A HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPT. THE ONLY THING THEY ARE GOOD AT IS TAKING YOUR MONEY. I WILL NEVER SPEND ANOTHER PENNY AT WAYSIDE. LOCAL NURSERIES FOR ME FROM NOW ON. I HAVE HAD TREMENDOUS LUCK WITH MUSSER FORESTS OVER THE YEARS.(MY STATE PA)

Received my order today. Siberian iris were in perfect condition and well packed. I have ordered from Wayside in the past and have not had any trouble but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

I ordered daffodils last fall - they ran out of the item that I ordered - but didn't tell me that when I placed the order over the phone. Instead they sent me a different variety that I didn't want. I had also ordered the mixed crocus bulbs last fall - they are coming up now. In the catalog picture the colors are yellow, blue and white - but they only sent me white and yellow bulbs - very unattractive. I won't be doing business with them again.

On August 3,2008, I ordered plants which were all noted "FOR FALL SHIPPING" I received three of the four items, very small, scraggly plants which I will know soon if they are living. Hopefully they will come up. The main item I wanted, the Platycodon "Fairy Snow" was not included with no explanation. I waited a couple of weeks and kept checking the online status, which still said " to be shipped". I emailed and then called. I finally got the message that this item had been discontinued. Until I actually called again and got a real person on line, no mention was made of refunding the $20 I had paid (credit cards are charged when the order is placed). I was told I would get a merchandise credit. It never showed up, so i asked for a refund. I was then told it would take approximately four weeks for it to show up on my credit card. Still hasn't. HOWEVER the new status on the order shows it "to be shipped". I have still not had a reply from the company on any of my calls, unless I actually waited on the phone for them. They have not called or emailed me.

Once Parks took over, Wayside has become the worst. I placed an order, gave my phone and e-mail, checked on it days later and found that almost everything was going to be canceled/delayed. Why do they ask for the phone and e-mail if they don't contact you? What once was one of the best has become the poorest. In these times, they better think ahead!

I am disappointed with Wayside.

I ordered 13 POTENTILLA MANGO TANGO. Just about all of them arrived in awful shape. Six were dead. So they sent replacements. However, the remaining ones (7) needed to be nursed back to health. When some (4) of these plants died, they refused to send replacements. According to them, the "guarantee has expired"!

Not only have I lost money on this, I am left with bare areas in my beds which will be difficult to fill.

On a previous order, I had received dead plants and some that died after planting (they were too far gone to survive). I should have learned my lesson and avoided using Wayside. But gave them the benefit of the doubt.

One would expect a reputable company to stand behind their product.

I made the mistake of ordering 3 Kordes Moonlight from Wayside Gardens this past spring. They arrived and they were very healthy roots. I planted them and they took off but when they bloomed looked nothing like the picture. They were bright bright pink! Not an ounce of yellow except when they first started to bud. Also the description said Moonlight was thornless. Not these - big massive thorns.

I thought at first that maybe they sent me the wrong rose but to send me THREE wrong roses? I don't know. At any rate, it was certainly not what I ordered or was led to believe I ordered from the picture and description. I made them give me a refund but let me tell you it was a major hassle - it took months. And they would not refund my shipping. The roses ended the season with quite a bit of black spot. I'll be shovel pruning these roses come spring. I will NEVER order from Wayside again.

Ordered and recieved my plants in a very timely manner.
The Plants were in good health and in pots as stated they would be. Have placed another order with them so shall see if it arrives in timely manner as the first one did, and is in as good as shape as the first.

In late September I found Wayside Gardens as part of an internet search and simply ordered 3 cryptomeria trees for $60 plus change. Days became a couple of weeks and nothing arrived. When I called Cusotmer Service they told me that my shipment had been "back ordered to next spring which was the optimum plating season". I had not been contacted in any way by Wayside Gardens with this information and was surprised to hear this. When I initially ordered the trees, the agent told me that the trees could be planted beautifully in the fall. Since I wanted these trees this fall, I immediately asked for a refund so I could order the trees from somewhere else. They told me I could only have an "in- house credit". I balked and was able to get a committment for a refund on the card I used. Weeks passed with no refund. Another phone call to Customer Service revealed that they can "take up to 30 days to process the refund". Well 30 days came and went. Today (November) I called them again about the fact that no refund had been issued to my card. They told me an "in-house" refund had finally been issued. WHAT?!?! They would have never told me this had I not followed through and called again. I do not want an in house refund. I actually do not want to do business here again. At this point, I am awaiting a promised refund to my credit card. I hope it comes before 2009.
My opinion is not to order from Wayside Gardens.
Since then, I found another on-line nursery and ordered 4 cryptomerias and 6 forsythias...they were very inexpensive and beautiful...have already been planted...And yet, I still cannot get my money back from Wayside Gardens. That's the plain truth.

I have had poor experiences with WAYSIDE GARDENS and have finally requested to be taken off their mailing list. My last order I cancelled after waiting for months for the order... and then finding that what "customer service" was telling me was not factual. I would most certainly avoid WAYSIDE GARDENS. There are many other reliable mail-order retailers.

After 25 years, I decided to order from Wayside Gardens again. I was allured by two Hosta that I wanted - Hosta plantaginea 'Venus' and 'Aphrodite'. Through a web search, I found that Wayside Gardens sold both of them. "What could have been more convenient?" That is where I went wrong! My package arrived today; I am disgusted. The 'Venus' which cost $19.95 was 75% rotten with two very small viable axillary buds. It was not worth my time to plant. The 'Aphrodite' which cost $12.95 was so small that I barely found it amoungst the tightly wadded wood shavings. The plant was actually two shreds of a plant comprising two miniscule crowns - both rotten.

I called the Customer Service number and complained and they promptly refunded my purchase price - but would not refund my $12.45 for shipping the dead plants. When I explained that I should not have to pay for shipping of items that I essentially did not receive - the agent said that it was not the policy of Wayside to refund shipping.

So the long and short of it - I paid $12.45 for two dead plants. I will never shop from Wayside Gardens. And that includes their affiliated companies such as Parks Seeds and Jackson & Perkins.

I have intentionally not read any of the other reviews yet, before I wrote this review.
I knew it was probably a shaky idea to order from such a catalog but I thought, what the heck, and ordered a few things that I didn't know if I could find at local stores.
They first charged my credit card immediately in full, and would not respond or tell me when the items were shipping. They have order checking on the website, which I tried and which they promised in an auto reply they would inform me in 24 hours of the status of the order. I did this three times and received no answer whatsoever.
I e-mailed them and they did answer in a few days, saying that this "years harvest was late".
Then they sent me two items, with 3 bulbs backordered. One plant was substituted without warning for another plant in which I have no interest. The plant rootball (the substitute plant) was smaller than the smallest plant you would buy from a local nursery, at twice the price! It is like a "plug".
The two things I received were VERY small, and along with the expensive above average shipping cost (the box weighed 1 lb) was a very poor value overall. I feel mostly ripoffed. Hopefully they will send the exact bulbs instead of substituting whatever they have extra on stock, but I don't trust them. I don't know if they refund. Don't order plants from this place. I have ordered from many places on the internet, and I've never had such shady service as Wayside.

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
[e-mail:JJohnson@parkseed.com]"

I am a 3rd generation Wayside customer who grew up with the Wayside catalog being treated as the gardening bible. Had many informative conversations with the Wayside customer service department in my younger years but since Parks took over EVERYTHING has changed. At first I excused them because of the transition but after so many disastrous orders and the increasing prices as the plants got smaller I have completely stopped ordering from any of the Parks family companies.
My mother and I truly miss what Wayside was.

I ordered a bunch of plants from Wayside several months ago, which were supposed to ship at the beginning of September. It's now mid-October and I've had to cancel the remaining pieces of the order as they're still on back-order and it's getting too late to plant. (unfortunately, I hadn't discovered this page yet and probably would not have ordered from them had I seen the reviews)

Their website is useless for trying to track order status - "to be shipped" is a common status - ummmm, what does that mean? do you have them? are they in the shipping room now? (no, this typically means they are on backorder) "in stock and reserved" is another goodie - if you have them and it's past the shipping date, why haven't you shipped them???? If it is after hours, it asks for you email and they will email you the status. I probably pushed that button on 6 different occasions and have never rec'd a communication from them. You will not receive shipping notices either.

The plants that I did receive were really in awful condition. Some columbine with mold on them. Daylilies with no foliage. Penstemon with a single stalk and little to no leaves. I ended up just outright tossing some of these miserable little things and hitting the 50% off sale at the nursery instead.

The last of my plants are on their way (supposedly) and guess what? They're substitutions! Not what I ordered. I'm not happy about it as the colors are an important part of my selections. For example, I'm being sent a yellow potentilla instead of the red one I had ordered, which is going into a garden space that is focused on red/pink/purple flowering plants.

Anyway, I will not order from wayside again.

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
[e-mail:JJohnson@parkseed.com]"

I ordered four things in July. The total was over $60.00, which was immediately charged to my credit card. In August, I called about my order and was told it would be shipped the first week of September. I asked "customer service" (oxymoron in this case) to pass along my concerns about being charged before shipping and she curtly replied she would not - that I had to go to the website to make the complaint. By late September, I had not heard from nor received anything from Wayside Gardens. I contacted them through email and was told that they would be shipped the week of September 29. My order still did not arrive - but no emails or notices regarding the delay. Finally in early October, I called "customer service" and was told that two my items had been shipped the day before and she had no idea when the others would be shipped. Again, the representative was curt and unfriendly - no apologies at all. I said I wanted to cancel the rest of my order and have my credit card credited. She said she would do this, but given all of their misrepresentations to date, I suspect I will have to fight for it. When I finally received the partial order - it was after we've had frost and the plant looks dead. And to top it off - they've now added an extra $3.00 fuel surplus charge on the shipping! Shipping was almost as much as the measly little plants I received. Needless to say, Wayside will not be getting any more business from me.

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
[e-mail:JJohnson@parkseed.com]"

I ordered 3 Heucherella 'Stoplight'. My account was charged on 7/1/08 and I didn't receive the plants until 9/18 (I understand they can only mail certain times but they should charge when the order is processed) . Mailing time was half-again as long as most companies. When the order came the plants were plug-sized with three leaves each of about 1/2 " diameter. I have had problems with Wayside before - mostly with the size of their plants, but this is ridiculous. It will take me a year to get them to a size I can plant in my garden, if they survive! And they charged me $41.95 for the three.

"

Dear Gardener,

The majority of our plants are 1 year old specimens. The Heuchera Stoplight was to be shipped in a 3 inch container, and be about 2-4 inches high when received. We apologize that you are unhappy with your product. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
[e-mail:JJohnson@parkseed.com]"

I ordered two different Gaillardias on-line. When I received them, one looked marginally OK--mostly drooping yellow leaves, but it is Fall--but the other variety was nothing but green slime above the root line. And the roots didn't look so good either.
I wrote an email asking for an explanation and/or a replacement. After a week of no response, I sent another email. Again no response. Finally I called. The operator I spoke with said nothing about the slime other than they were out of that variety. I was promised my money back for that plant. Hopefully that will be the case, but I will not do business with them again.

"

I am concerned that I have not yet resolved the issue at hand and would like an opportunity to do so; however, I have not yet received a reply from you concerning this matter. Please contact us at your earliest convenience. Customer satisfaction is very important to us.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
[e-mail:JJohnson@parkseed.com]
"

I ordered a siberian iris and two razzmatazz echinaceas earlier this year. After 3 -4 weeks I received a piddly bare root iris that was barely enough to plant.
I was told that the echinaceas were on back order: by reviewing this site I knew what that meant. It would be unlikely that I would receive them in any kind of timely manner, so I focused on getting a refund. Its about 6 months later and Im still waiting for that refund. Looks like Ill be waiting a loooooong time judging by what people say about their customer service. I wont be ordering from them again.

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. Unfortunately, the information contained within was not sufficient to locate your order in our database. In order to rectify the problem I must request that you e-mail us with your billing information, including zip code and order number if available. We apologize for the delay in processing your refund, and hope to have this matter resolved for you as soon as possible.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
[e-mail:JJohnson@parkseed.com]
"

I have purchased plants several times from this company and, up until recently, have been happy. Plants have arrived healthy and have done well in my garden.

A recent experience now results in this post. Earlier this year I ordered two toad lilies (pretty expensive compared to other companies). Wayside ran out so informed me they would ship later in the year. My purchase finally arrived a few weeks back. Two pathetic little plants, one already close to death - a stem devoid of leaves. SInce planting, one lily has dies and the other is not doing well. I emailed Wayside to ask for resolution. So far they have ignored my email. I just contacted them again and await a reply. If this fails, then my only recourse is to let the credit card agency handle it. A real shame. Others beware!!!!

Unfortunately, I discovered davesgarden.com and the rating page after I placed my order with Wayside. Needless to say, I was a little worried after reading all the negative commentary; however, Wayside was the only source I could find for a specific Hydrangea I was looking for. I placed my order on September 12 and continued to check the website for the status. My plants shipped on September 17, and on September 19, I emailed them requesting a tracking number. They replied 2 hours later and I was able to track my shipment through FedEx (I do think it's poor customer service that Wayside doesn't supply this communication to web customers). According to the FedEx website, my plants were scheduled to arrive that day (the 19th). I called FedEx to verify my shipment was on time and was told they (FedEx) had mistakenly put my plants on the wrong truck and they would not be arriving on the 19th. Since I was having them delivered to my workplace, that meant my plants had to sit in a truck all weekend long. I can't blame Wayside for that mistake. When I received the plants, they were packed well, and we're miraculously still moist. The plants are okay; they're a little small and the leaves are somewhat yellow with some blight, but this may be from sitting in a pot for too long. If I saw them in a local nursery, I probably wouldn't pay $20 a piece for them (maybe $10). Overall, they should be fine once they're in the ground and getting some nutrients. But after reading all the negative commentary, I probably wouldn't take another chance on Wayside Gardens.

I placed an order in August and after a month of waiting asked about the status of my order. I was told it would ship in mid-October, which doesn't work when you live in Minnesota. So I cancelled my order and requested a refund. They replied that I would receive merchandise credit. So I had to call them and so no, I want my money back. They charge you when you order- not when the order ships like they should (and most other mail order companies do). Also, this is just Park Seed in disguise.
Don't waste your money.

I have been ordering plants by mail, and later online, for over twenty years and have never received an order of such poor quality. I placed an order with Wayside Gardens for three specialty coreopsis. Based on the pieces of plant mixed in with packing peanuts, the plants were of poor quality before they were shipped. They were not secured in the shipping box, but rather just thrown in with the peanuts. The plants arrived as broken sticks. The company refused to refund the cost of the plants.