Comments regarding Wayside Gardens

This past decade I have ordered a few choice plants from Wayside which arrived in good health and flourished. Recently I place an order for some bare root trees and shrubs. I did not receive all the plants, paid a hefty shipping charge and waited too long for their safe arrival. I opened the box immeadiately and was very disappointed to find dried out plants with a poor root system. I have contacted Wayside three times, I was told to plant the "sticks" even though the root systems were inadequate and completely dried out. I will have to pay shipping and contact the attorney general or better business bureau. Caveat emptor!

I had ordered shady lady anise and varigated thyme in 8/05. Unfortunately, they both died. I informed Wayside of this problem on 6/02/06. The plants were replaced at no cost to me and shipped the next week in great condition.

On April 28th I ordered plants from Wayside. Before the plants were shipped out, I called customer service and cancelled the order. A few days later, I noticed that Wayside Gardens had withdrawn $124.00 from my account. I called customer service and was told that their records showed I had cancelled the order and it appeared my bank account was debited in error.

Although it was an error on their part, customer service was not able to tell me when I would receive a credit since their refunds are done manually.

On May 26th, I called customer service to inquire about my refund and was told that a check had been issued. I questioned why I was mailed a check instead of having my card credited. Customer Service could not give me an answer.

After waiting another two weeks and not receiving the refund check, I called Wayside Gardens and was told that a credit had been issued to my account on May 22, 2006. Having never received the credit, I explained this to the customer service rep and told her that two weeks ago, I was told a check had been issued.

Although she was clearly put out by having to make a phone call, she did call accounting and I was told that a new credit would be issued sometime during the next 5 days.

Yesterday, I received a phone message explaining that there never was a check or credit issued in May. The customer service rep said however that a check had been issued two days ago. But, by the end of the message she stated that a check would be issued and I should have it in a few weeks.

I have had to wait over 45 days for a refund and I'm not sure I will ever receive one from this outfit. All I can say is if you are considering doing business with Wayside Gardens -- BUYER BEWARE!

I have been ordering from Wayside Gardens quite a number of years now and the last two years I have not received the good plants that I have in the past.

I currently have 2 dead trees in my yard, an evergreen dogwood and a wolf eyes dogwood. Since these two were rather expensive I am disappointed they did not live and since it has been a year I can't get them replaced.
Neither tree was is good shape when they arrived.

I also ordered hydrangea's that did not live.

Disappointed, yes, very. I don't know when, or if, I will order from Wayside again.

Thank you for allowing me to air my frustration.

npalmer

I have ordered plants from Wayside frequently and am very satisfied with both their customer service and the quality of their plants.

Usually, the plants do very well. I am careful to file my receipt and check it before one year expires. Some years, I have plants that don't come up again. When that happens, I send an e-mail to Wayside's customer service, and they always respond. They either send a replacement or a credit immediately.

Their catalog is beautiful, and I am always excited to get it. I often recommend Wayside to friends who admire my flowers.

I ordered my Caryopteris shrubs (longwood blue) may 21st and it was less than ten days until they came by US postal service. I was very concerned when I saw a postal truck at my home delivering my shrubs. But after careful inspection of the lot I was very pleased to see that damage was very minimal and in no way were any of the plants at risk. I am looking forward to watching these beatiful shrubs take blossom in the comming seasons. I found that the person on the other end of my order was very pleasant and helpful in the placement of my order. Over all it was a very good experience and I will order again.

Plants I received were decidedly over-priced given the quality. Ordered a "Caribbean Crush" verbascum which had two small leaves and four dead, rotted leaves on it when it arrived. Planted it as directed, It died. (Incidentally, I found it at a local nursery, for 33% less and with a leaf-span of more than a foot. Planted it beside the dead Wayside Waste and it is blooming now.

Also, ordered a six pack of geraniums that were supposed to be a new introduction. The picture in the catalog was completely different that the picture in the breeder's catalog that I saw after I ordered it. The geraniums arrived -- STILL IN THEIR PLUG TRAY -- and were shipped from a grower where I have friends working. (My grower friends tell me that Park and Wayside are THE WORST people to deal with in the plant industry. They are HATED by everyone at the grower's facility -- from growing to bookkeeping to management.)

Order with EXTREME caution from these people.

I recieved an oder this Spring of trees & shrubs. Everything came in good healthy green condition. I planted them with a good helping of dry peatmoss, manure and triple super phosphate. Thay are all doing quite well. I have ordered from Wayside in the past and will continue to do so. Don't forget to give your plants a million dollar hole with plenty of nutrients and water when planting. :)

In April, I placed a rather large order with Wayside Gardens and most of the items were OK. However, one of the items was the minature rose "Hilde" which arrived smaller than 3" tall. (It actually looked like a sucker that you would prune off your plant). I called Wayside to complain, and spoke with a very pleasant and helpful customer service rep. She said I needed to talk to the horticulturist and later called me back to say I would receive a credit.

A couple of weeks later, I saw a credit for $3.00 on my account. After calling back again, they said that was what I would be receiving, but after discussing my dissatisfaction with Wayside, they said the entire amount would be credited. I still have not received my credit to my account. The customer reps deserve accolades for politeness and helpfulness (I can't imagine how many complaints they get), but why does it take 2 phone calls and still no resolution?

This and another mail order company that I dealt with have gotten me thinking about dealing with my local nurseries. Never would I purchase any plant that was the size of a few leaves and about 3" long.

I remember being told that I would get what I paid for, and with Wayside, I found this to be true - beautiful, healthy plants delivered to my house! The customer service people I have spoken to have been extremely pleasant, helpful, cheerful, and efficient. The plants I have received have been healthy and are showing good growth. This company handles thousands of orders! Wayside/Park Seed has had a couple of mistakes made on my orders that may have been human error on their side, but they were corrected immediately, efficiently, cheerfully, and to my complete satisfaction! I know human beings can make errors, the difference is in how they are handled. I love dealing with a company that has great products, shows it stands behind its products and has these terrific people working for them. I will recommend this company and work with them as long as their terrific customer service is available and their plants are so healthy. If ever there is a problem with an order, call them, they will fix it!

I just read the editorial above and had to respond. I'm a member of DG, but I ordered from Wayside this year on the recommendation of a family member. I did not read DG feedback before ordering.

I ordered, and paid extra for, what was pictured as a jewel-toned Lenten rose. It arrived wilting, but blooming. It's white. The whole point of my order was the color. I can buy white here, without putting it through shipping stress.

I also ordered two collections. One of the three hollyhocks had one wilted leaf atop a one-inch stem. One of the four toad lilies is leggy and scrawny, and probably won't survive. Another was "dormant" (you shipped me a tuber) and has never come up.

Overall, I had about a 50% success rate with my order. That just isn't enough to make me want to come back (no matter how pretty your catalog is). Yes, this was a small order. No, I didn't complain, so I don't know if Wayside would've corrected any of it. But it DOES mean that I am an unsatisfied customer that you are including among the 7 million. Nor did my experience with Wayside have anything to do with DG. So, it's possible that what people read here is not "statistically insignificant."

I placed an order in Feb for the proper planting time here. Now would be a good time. My credit card was charged a month ago, but the order didn't even ship until a week ago. I was told by Wayside that due to management changes this is now their policy to bill for orders that were not shipped. This would be easier to accept if I had received the order. Instead, I was told that it was shipped to the other end of America! A part of the west coast that I've never even visited! I was told that they would replace the order, but then received notification from their shipper-DHL-that my order had been delivered to my home hours ago. It was not, someone was home all day. I called DHL (their e-mail reply system doesn't work!) & was told that they sent it to the POST OFFICE-2 days ago, since they don't ship to my area! Why would a company selling a very perishable product choose a shipper that claims not to deliver in the area? I was told that another representative would call me within 24 hours, but of course they didn't. Now I've already paid for merchandise that I haven't received, & I have very little hope that this shipper will do any better the second time. Wayside sent the order to the other end of the country, charged before even shipping, & has chosen to ship via a very inept shipper. All in all, a very negative experience. I've spent a great deal of money with Park's over the years, but if they are adopting the same-charge first & maybe ship later-policy, I won't be doing business with them either!

This was my first (and likely my last) order from Wayside. I ordered some seeds from Park, and upon completing my internet order, I saw an offer for a free (with purchase, of course) Orange Meadowbrite echinacea from Wayside. It was too tempting an offer to turn down, so I ordered two coreopsis.

All three plants arrived last week looking very sad and wilted. I'm not sure I can blame Wayside for all of that, as at the time they arrived and sat on my front porch for several hours, the temperature was around 100. But when I unpotted them to plant them, I saw that the roots of all three plants were wrapped completely around the soil balls, almost to the top. Of course I like to get a plant with plenty of roots, but I prefer them to be growing down. Anyway, I planted and watered them, and they look a bit happier now.

I used to place large orders with Wayside until this year. I placed a small one and had the same experience as some of the others of ordering a gallon sized plant and getting a stick in a quart instead. I called C/S and they refunded some of my money, and the stick has leafed out, which is of course good.

I've always had inconsistent quality from Wayside, but kept on ordering because they would replace the dead plants, had a great selection, and end of season sales. But now, because of the high prices and comparatively small plants, I will definitely look elsewhere first. I think their new plant guarantee has guaranteed that.

A suggestion for Wayside: Instead of spending so much time and money on mass marketing of the catalogs several times a Season; why not put more energy into plant quality and shipping. Your carrier does not deliver on Saturdays, so this year, I had plant orders that shipped from your company and another company on the very same day. I got theirs on Saturday, from Oregon-I'm on Long Island-yours sat over the weekend and didn't arrive till Monday-looking a bit dried out. Guess which company made me happier?

I ordered a rose collection from Wayside which was a group of Star roses. The roots were all very desicated. Only one of the five has leafed out, and they are all blind shoots. Wayside has been reticent to help, refund or replace. I also ordered azaleas and other plants. With a couple of exceptions they arrived in generally poor condition and under sized. The last was a Golden Lights azalea which just arrived last week. It was very dry.

I may try them in the future for specific items, but my experiences this year lead me to believe that I am better off to shop elsewhere.

I ordered several plants which were shipped from March through May. The first part of the order (shipped in late March) was mostly satisfactory with the glaring exception of the "Black Lace" Sambucus. This is advertized in the catalog as a one GALLON container. What I received was a four inch tall plant in poor condition in a one PINT container. Definitely not worth the $29.99 charged. This was followed up in mid-May with part of the Butterfly Collection - the coreopsis - in terrible condition - leggy and mostly rotted. I called a week later when the rest of the order had not shown up and was told that it was being held for the aesclepias tuberosa, but could be rushed to me. Four days after I called it was finally sent. Keep in mind that by late May in Northern Virginia, the temperatures are in the upper 80s and it's not a great time to plant since the soil is drying out. I received the order (sans aesclepias) on 31 May. It was in horrible condition. Two potbound leucanthemums with woody, knobby roots growing out the top of the pots, a dead, rotted gallardia, one more extremely leggy, dying gallardia, a dead phlox with a weed growing in the pot, two echinaceas growing fungus, and a bare root buddleia. I wouldn't have minded a bare root buddleia in April or March, but I doubt it will make it in the summer heat. I called Wayside to discuss the pathetic condition of the plants and was told that if I had wanted them at the appropriate planting time, I should have called and requested them. COMPLETELY ABSURD!! The website states that Wayside sends plants at the appropriate planting time! Furthermore, none of the semi-live plants in the Butterfly collection were fit for sale at a brick-and-morter establishment. We sent the collection back to Wayside (at our expense - more than $20) so you don't have to ask how angry we are. I highly doubt we will ever order from Wayside again. After the Sambucus rip-off and being sent plants that weren't fit for sale in their nursery, not to mention sent LONG past ideal planting time in No. Virginia, I can't imagine wasting more money and time there. I am so disappointed. I had been told Wayside was a first class nursery but that must have been a long time in the past.

i ordered twice from the company this year. The sedum 'Black Jack" that i received looks nothing like the catelogue picture. the leaves are a dull green with only a hint of black dots along the center veins. I've seen the actual plant in a local nursery last year and this isn't it.
I received the two sedum plants bare root in April and they have grown but are only 5 inches tall.
the second plant, Cotinus 'Golden Spirit" arrived in the same shipment as a 4 inch tall stick with two sets of leaves. Today it is an 8 in tall stick with some leaves. At $29.95 that's a pretty expensive stick.

yes, i read the replacement notice and decided that a company credit would do me no good. if i was not satisfied with the initial plants that were sent, why would i want a certificate good for more plants? just because a customer does not complain is not a reason to count them as a satisfied customer.

the second shipment of a medieland rose and a budelia "Adonis Blue" have done much better.

all plants from both shipments have been grown under the same conditions, but two have flurished and two have sulked.

i did contact the company to complain about their choice of shippers. I was told that there was no option to choose another carrier as they do not use either UPS or USPS.
They lie! The carrier they use has contracts with local post offices for the actual delivery of the shipment.
Wayside always ships out on Friday. The carrier delivers the order overnight or on the next Monday or Tuesday to the local post office, and the order is then delivered to the customer by the postal employees on the following day.

Wayside says they pack each order so that it can stand 5 day's shipping time. The only reason an order needs to withstand 5 days shipping time is because of their method of shipping, not because timely delivery is not available thru other carriers.

I ordered two dwarf fig trees. They came well packed, and are doing great. I have ordered again since. Pretty pleased with them.

Ordered 7 cryptomeria japonica; 1 actively began dying soon after I planted it; I think it dried out during shipping. After watching and waiting and babying it I gave up. Wayside replaced it with a nice specimen immediately after I e-mailed them regarding the problem.

I have been ordering from Wayside for several years and have had my ups and downs with them. Sometimes they sent good plants and other times they were subpar. I think their quality control is often sacrificed to mass sales. The past few months I have noticed they seem to be changing their business model. Gone is the one year guarantee on all plants shipped and their new introductions were much sparser this spring. They seem to be trying to promote a lot of "garden accessories" such as pots and trellises this year at the expense of plants. This is not welcome. I ordered twice with them this year and one of the plants ordered in February did not ship for over two months. When it did ship, I had an email notice that the plants ordered were unavailable and I was being sent three comparable plants plus 3 buddleias. It was a very generous substitution and the buddleias really were nice. I will probably order from them again but it will probably only be items unavailable from other more reliable vendors.

At the beginning of May I put in an online order to Wayside Gardens. I have been hesitant about ordering from them due to their ratings.
I ordered a Clematis plant and was to get a free pink knockout rose.
I was very happy when I received my plants in a timely manner and they both looked wonderful. They were both packed very well with instructions for planting. Both plants are doing great!

After reading Dave's editorial about how they have pleased so many customers, I was appalled with his flippant attitude towards the ones that were not satisfied. One would think that your company would desire and strive towards being the best. Word of mouth is the best advertisement (especially for anything that is mail ordered). Dave as a past customer your company has been hit or miss with me. Some plants have died and others have lived. I have never bothered to call because it was too much trouble. I won't be ordering from your company anymore because it's not important enough to you to try to get those unsatisfied customers back. What if I were one of those customers? I haven't been there yet nor do I want to be. So rather take the chance with your company who seems to not care about the small percentage of unhappy customers I will order elsewhere.

Last week I received my first order from Wayside Gardens and was very pleased. I ordered a bareroot weeping redbud tree, an Endless Summer Hydrangea, and a Knock out Rose. The order arrived 10 days after it was placed. A few days after I placed the order I did call to upgrade my shipping to 2 day and found the change process went through without a hitch by friendly helpful service. The tree was 4 feet tall, well packaged, with a wonderfully shaped weeping habit and a strong healthy root system. The hydrangea is still in its container on my back patio and growing beautifully , and the rose is also doing fine. I look forward to watching them grow into strong healthy additions to my yard .

I ordered plants last fall from them, they kind of dragged their feet on shipping them and they got put in late and small. A couple of them did not make it through the winter and I did get credit, but take out paying the shipping charges again for small plants and it's hard to feel good.
They are quite a lure because they get new plants, but you could be frustrated by what you get.

I have to say I was stunned, almost overwhelmed by yesterday's delivery of my plants that I ordered in March. I was a little apprehensive after reading the posts of the recent decline in service so maybe my sense of relief is amplifying my response but I have never seen such big, healthy and impressive plants from a mail order before. Sure I was disappointed that they had to make substitutions but the plants that they substituted are by far double or triple the size of the plants I originally ordered. And they are close, if not superficially identical to the plants that they replaced. I had to call their customer service three times in connection with this order and each time my call was answered with no or minimal waiting, the service personnel were friendly, helpful and very courteous. My only displeasure / disappointment is that my black bamboo was not shipped in the package as indicated on the invoice. However, I called immediately and was assured that if it could be replaced it will be, and if not I will be refunded the money. There is some uncertainty about the availability of the plant which is why I am going to leave my final rating for after this issue is resolved. If I am disappointed with not receiving the black bamboo I will be tempted to downgrade the rating to neutral - it was solely due to it that I ordered at all from Wayside - and I ordered early to ensure availabilty. However I do understand human error and if it is gone, it is gone, there is always next year. But with the plants I did receive (heuchera's , sedums, a hosta, a grass, a minature tree, iris, junca) I am awed at their vitality and colorfulness. The packaging was surely one of the best that I have encountered. No doubt I will order from them again (unless the black bamboo issue ends up a mess - which I have every hope that it will not be!). On a day that I vowed I was going to give up gardening forever due to many personal trials and tribulations, the receipt of these plants revived my will to give it at least one more year.

"

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
JJohnson@parkseed.com"

well...wonders never cease! i have ordered from wayside before and had always been extremely disappointed in their plants. replacement after replacement...then just finally giving up all together.

however, this year, i was informed by a friend that the ONLY one carrying cercis 'heart of gold' would be...huh....wayside. i very much wanted the tree, however, i didn't know if i was going to be willing to go through the hassle that always follows one of their orders. i placed the order and also added a variegated lemon tree. i made VERY sure that the ship date was the 2nd week in may. i had the customer service person repeat it twice took her name and hung up.

wouldn't you know it. the order came in APRIL!! bare roots and april don't go well together in this area. i had no place to store the cercis or the lemon tree, so i was going to have to just watch them die. i called immediately, i was so angry...but to my surprise the customer service person says to me. "well, i see it right in front of me, you were very clear and it's very clear that we were not to ship until may" . i didn't have to argue she replaced the plants.

today i rec'd them. the lemon tree is large and beautiful. the cercis on the other hand almost look dead. they shouldn't be this dormant so i'm not really hopeful about them. however, the point being they as least did ship them and the way they packaged was excellent...for once. so maybe things are changing. we'll see....what happens with the cercis. i'm going to give the all i have!

This was my first time ordering from wayside. When I received my order I was a little disappointed. I ordered 3 plants to try the company. The size is very small for the money and only one of my plants had growth, one had a tiny crown on top of the soil and the other one no growth at all just soil and roots. I planted them and waited too see what would happen. I called the company to tell them that nothing was happening with one of my plants and they said to give it a week or two to see if it would come up. I did, and nothing happened. I called them back today and they are sending me a replacement right away. So I will say that the company is a little expensive, but they seem to take care of their customers. I am very pleased that they are sending me a replacement at no charge.

After reading all of the comments on here I admit I was a little nervous about ordering from Wayside, but went ahead with a small order. The Tiarella, Heuchera, and Ursula's Red Fern were perfectly fine, lots of new growth, good size, but I was very disappointed in the Bacopa 'Giant Snowflake'. After I did this order I saw this plant at a few local nurseries (I bought it from Wayside thinking I wouldn't be able to find it) and they all looked large, freely flowering, etc. The one I received in the mail looks like it was touched by a late frost...very small, no flowers, spindly brown leaves. I will probably just go buy one from one of the local places now.

I have been a customer of Wayside for several years, along with several other mailorder companies. Wayside, unfortunately, has been the only one to really upset me. I bought some plants on sale last year, they arrived at my home dead and dying. I was thinking "well, there's a one year guarantee, they'll replace the plants if they don't make it." Well, one particular shrub (buddleia "Strawberry Lemonade" that I was anxiously awaiting had arrived with only 1 leaf alive on it. Being that it was getting into summer, I planted it and hoped for the best. This spring I emailed them that the plant did not survive. I got a response saying that they would credit me (merchandise credit) $12 for the sale price I paid last year, and if I wanted a replacement, I would have to pay the full $19.95 plus shipping, again. I thought that they would replace the actual plant, like most companies with a guarantee do. I call this a waste of my time and money - on the rare occasion that I have received substandard plants from this or other companies in the past, unless the product was completely out of stock - a replacement was sent.
I personally have no use for merchandise credit, since I won't be able to replace what I had wanted without paying almost the FULL amount again! - and am considering whether or not to buy anything from them again. I am also still waiting on a order from Feb, and have heard nothing, but "it will be shipped soon" from them. I am most disappointed because this is a company that I thought I could rely on for selection and QUALITY. I am sorry to see the decline in customer service.

I've ordered a lot from Wayside this last year after moving to a new home. I've been satisfied with everything except three Potentilla-Sunset I received last October. Two didn't make it and one has only a tiny green sprig alive. I spoke with them today and they are replacing the two definitely dead ones no charge. I will try to baby the third one along and cross my fingers. The CS Rep did say that in the future they will be charging shipping for replacements but N/C this time. I am very satisfied with their service and will order from them again.

After a pause of several years I decided to order again from The Wayside Gardens. I previously read with some dismay the many negative comments I saw posted on the Garden Watchdog and felt chagrined, for in previous years I had had nothing but the best experiences with this most unusual purveyor of plants, some so rare and unusual you just could not find them elsewhere (when John Elsley was on the board) --- Only years later they would suddenly pop up in local nurseries.
If ever I had troubles, (once a rare cherry tree did not make it past six months, and a few times I received substitute roses I complained about) the Wayside people were always quick to make good and replace the item or give me credit.
With some curiosity I decided to test out Wayside and check it out for myself again: I ordered several hundred $ worth of roses and rare, new hybrid lilies, and my shipment arrived: timely and within ten days of ordering: well packaged, live plants in good condition, moist soil and carefully packed; bulbs of superior size and quality with emerging shoots and bare root roses healthy, with buds and happy. I also received a gift of coppermarkers and more are yet to come. So I can only say that for over sixteen years now, I continue to be happy with Wayside and will order again. If there ever was a problem, these people are obviously working hard to improve things and I feel like ordering with confidence again. Thank you Wayside: you are expensive but you are worth it.

I have waited for an order from Wayside Gardens for quite awhile. The first shipment was sent on Feb. 21, 2006. The first order was exceptable, but I received the last part of the order today and I am mad. I had ordered Wayside' Caryopteris Collection, mainly because there were two Caryopteris' I wanted and one I already had, but could find a place for it. Instead of emailing me to let me know that there was a problem with the order and that the one Caryopteris that I really wanted was not available, they sent me two of the one Caryopteris that I already had(Caryopteris, 'Summer Sorbet') and a butterfly bush.
Wayside has said that these are more expensive, but I already have 6 butterfly bushes and I didn't want another one, I certainly didn't want another Summer Sorbet. I understand that they didn't know that I didn't want these plants, but they could have emailed me to let me know that the one I wanted was unavailable and at least give me a choice of whether or not I wanted something else.
I now know why Wayside always charges my credit card before shipping the order!

I have been a longtime and generally satisfied customer of Wayside, but my most recent experience was disappointing.

I ordered a Princess Alexandra Clematis in October 2004. What arrived was somewhat dubious, but I planted it and expected growth the following spring. It died over-winter and I contacted the company last spring. They sent a replacement that didn't look much better. It barely grew all summer, but since I had read the clematis are slow-starters, I was patient. This spring, it had again died.

Having constructed a trellis specifically for this plant, I contacted them again, telling them that I wanted to try again.
Instead, they gave me a store credit for a future purchase.

Perhaps they met the letter of their guarantee, but they did not meet the spirit of satisfying customers. I will be cautious about future purchases.

I ordered several shrubs from Wayside in February 2006 almost the minute the catalog arrived. I received these shrubs (a dwarf buddleia collection, weigela, clethra, a honeysuckle vine, and a spiraea) on April 21, 2006. After just 2 days in transit, they looked really stressed; one buddleia flopped over at the tips, the other was in a smashed pot and smaller than what I was promised, the spiraea had tiny yellow leaves like it had been grown in a closet, and the clethra's leaves were wrinkled and spotty. Even though I ordered very early in spring, early enough to take advantage of catalog offers, the second buddleia in the "collection," which was supposed to be in a 1-gallon pot, came in a 4-inch pot, as if they had run out of that type of plant by the time I ordered. That 4-inch pot was so badly broken every time I move it another piece chips off.

In all the pots the soil is loose and mounded higher on one side (the plants were shipped on their sides in a crate full of packing peanuts, and a lot of the dirt just fell out of the pots all over the inside of the box). There were packing peanuts stuck in the leaves and branches, and no fun getting them all out either. There were some kind of wood shavings packed on top of the soil, and that went all over the place when I removed it too.

I received an order from another company a few days before and the plants looked fine and were packed in recyclable materials (newsprint paper). I have ordered everything from mail order companies in the past including houseplants, shrub seedlings, lucky bamboo that came wrapped in newspaper, bulbs, and seeds, and this shipment was literally in the worst shape I've ever seen.

The worst part of this is that the packing slip claimed the price on the collection had been reduced to reflect the smaller sized pot, and it was not. I checked the original order confirmation to be sure. I e-mailed the company when I received the order to ask about the "discount" and got their standard autoreply that my e-mail would be answered within 48 hours.

I waited six days, four business days, and e-mailed again about the order to ask for a refund of the difference between pot sizes. I got another autoreply and 24 hours later still haven't heard a word from a real person.

It was pretty much the same when I placed the original order -- the catalog I received had a $20 off sticker on the cover, but I had to e-mail twice and call to make sure I'd get that $20, and it finally came through as a "refund" several days later.

I think it's really funny that when you access this page the first thing you see is a company rebuttal asking users to not pay attention to the negative feedback like everybody who posts a complaint here is some kind of whiner! Why don't they resolve problems to customers' satisfaction before they have to post feedback here to get an answer?

I don't plan on ordering from Wayside ever again, and I wish I had read all the feedback on this page before I gave them my money. Low prices usually adds up to lousy service, and this is no exception.

For every dissatisfied customer who speaks up, there are at least 10 other people who feel the same way but don't bother to complain, so think about that when you read that whitewash about "satisfied customers" in the company rebuttal.

I received an order from Wayside April 22, 2006, of the Sunrise and Sunset Echinacea. They were packed very well, and appeared undisturbed during their shipping. I was delighted with the healthy green plants that were sent. This was my first order with them.

I have received some very nice plants from this company -- but I have to post a negative rating because I ordered rose bushes that were no longer available and the company never bothered to tell me that I would not be receiving my order. I only found out after calling to check the order status. If I had been informed that the roses would not be coming, I could have looked much sooner for replacements. I am VERY disappointed.

I've been holding off putting in a rating based on plants I ordered last fall. They were so tiny and one, a zebra daylily, didn't look like it was going to make it at all. I'm happy to report that the two clematis are fine and growing well this spring and the dayliliy looks like an entirely different plant; nice and healthy.

I also received an order I placed this spring and I've been worried about how the plants would look. They arrived today and looked pretty good. Two alstroemeria and a daylily. I wish they hadn't shipped so early. While I could plant the daylily out. I'll have to hold the alstroemerias until it warms up a bit.

My only real complaint about Wayside is their prices. I don't mind paying a few more dollars for something I can't find elsewhere, but some of their prices are ridiculous. 10.00 for an asiatic lily bulb is too rich for my blood.

I got my plants last week. I gotta say they looked pretty good. Of course they were a little "peaked" from being in the box, otherwise fine. I mean, you gotta expect a little stress while they're in the mail.

Can't complain too much. I've been pretty happy with the Roses and things I've gotten from Wayside. The people are always nice when I call and real helpful. Pretty refreshing, compared to some businesses I've had to deal with.

I've got a yard full of stuff from Park Seed and Wayside that I've accumulated over the last 10 years. A few years back I had a plant that didn't do well, but they were quick to give me a credit. That was so long ago I can't remember which company it was.

They're a pretty big operation, I think. My plants this year arrived in fine shape. I guess I'm not their biggest customer, but they've always done right by me.