Comments regarding Wayside Gardens

I, too, used to be a satisfied customer of Wayside (& Park's)
until 2004. The trees (weeping cypress, Japanese maples) I ordered were scrawny. I planted them correctly and not one of them grew. I even waited until 2005 to see if they might take off and grow. Nothing...just dead sticks! The roses (at least the ones they sent as I never received all of them!) had a greenish-gray "mold" on them. I cleaned them up, planted them and all I got was a few leaves and buds and nothing else! I thought I was smart because I had even purchased the 2-year warranty for most of the plants. Their system did not take my warranty request on one order and I emailed them about this immediately after I received my email receipt but was told I was out of luck. I wrote them (via USPS) in 2005 to see if they'd honor the warranties I had. NO reply as of this date! I thought it strange that in 2004 I received numerous email offers from both companies but none in 2005. Is legal action really necessary to get them to honor their warranty (which has nothing to do with a change in ownership/management)?

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Dear richardwl:
We are pleased to hear that you have been a longtime customer of Wayside Gardens and Park Seed and sorry to hear about the difficulties you have experienced more recently. Please give us the opportunity to resolve this situation. Our goal is 100% customer satisfaction so please contact us: 1-800-845-3369 or ereeder@parkseed.com. "

Way back during winter, I ordered a Meyer Improved lemon tree and a Dwarf Fig Negronne.

They finally arrived, now that it's warm enough to ship, and both look fantastic. They were potted. The lemon even has little bitty green fruit all over it. and new growth coming up. The fig was dormant, but budded, and is now starting to leaf out.

Very happy with my order!

I too have been a satisfied customer of this company for several years. This year, everything changed. I ordered 3 switch grass plants. What arrived were 3 carefully potted hairy bittercress plants. When I id'd them to the customer service rep I was told to find a 'good home' for them and to enjoy them. The good home was the trash can. They did then send the correct plants, 2 were scrawny and full of weeds, the other was mush, and when a replacement for the dead one was received, it was even scrawnier and more weedy than the others. I also ordered a Joe Pye Weed, which is an herbaceous plant. 2 dead sticks arrived, and although they were planted as the company recommended, there is no sign of life. I just got the replacement which looked identical to the original.
I am not even going to bother about the berberis plant.
I will not purchase from this company again. It is apparent that the people working there do not know one plant from another and I prefer to deal with companies that care.

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Dear JoanMakurat, Fairfax, VA:
We are pleased to hear that you have been a satisfied customer for a number of years and are sorry about the
recent situation. Please contact us so that we may resolve this to your 100% satisfaction. Please call 1-800-845-3369, ext. 3109 or ereeder@parkseed.com."

I too have been a loyal customer of Wayside for many years and was satisfied with their selection, quality, and service UNTIL the past 2 years. Prior to that, I had maybe 2 plants replaced. Now they send tiny plants at outrageous prices, some with little root systems, the packing is poor, and they have changed their replacement policy. I'm another customer they have lost.

I have no idea who has taken over the helm of this company, but they are running it into the ground. In speaking with their customer service reps, you can tell their hands are tied regarding refunds and replacements. For the prices they charge, Wayside should refund or replace the plants at their expense since they are not up the same standards of a higher priced, quality company like in the past. I resent being charged shipping again to replace a plant that was substandard or dead in the first place, and if I got it on sale, I have to pay the difference in price.

Regardless of what Wayside's message above is, they have become too big to care. It's sad too because they used to be a very reputable company where you could get quality plants, unusual varieties, and count on them thriving. Sorry to say that this is no longer true. I wouldn't be surprised to see them start advertising in Parade right along with Gardener's Choice.

Upper-level management at Wayside - Are you listening and reading the current feedback you're getting? It's time to take some action and correct your mistakes before they get any worse. Why do I feel like I'm going to be addressing a brick wall?

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We are listening. And, we continue to focus on providing the best and most variety of species and cultivars so that our customers have one of the widest selections available from mail-order retail nurseries. Our guarantee is to provide products of high quality, true to type, shipped properly, and to perform as advertised. We tell all customers that if this is not the case, to notify us as soon as possible, and we will gladly resolve the issue, offer gardening assistance, or provide a company credit equal to the value of the product. You mentioned receiving failed or unsatisfactory plants--please contact us right away and let us know the name of these plants so that we may have the opportunity to resolve the situation to your satisfaction. Please call 1-800-845-3369, ext. 3109 or ereeder@parkseed.com.

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Dont believe the propaganda from the company printed at the start of this page.I have ordered for over 20 years from this company,many of them large orders.Several years ago the quality of the plants took a noticeable dive plus promised plants never arrived.I called the company and complained and the gentleman who handled my call agreed with me.He said they were aware of the lossof quality and that new ownership was going to change that.He urged me to stay with them and impressed by his honesty I have ordered from them since.But there has been NO improvment except with the catalogue.My order from wayside arrived the other day and some of the plants are in good shape ,some are incredibly small while others are in bloom.Most of the plants appear not to have been watered and several look like they are near death. I called customer service and complained and asked about plants ordered but not sent.The person who took my call knew only what she read frpm a sheet,could not even pronounce the names of the plants,and could care less about my complaints.She did inform me that they were sold out of some plants.This was the first I head heard that they were sold out.They did not send the plants but did not indicate on the invoice they were not coming.I'm through with them.I also order from White Flower Farm,Bluestone,and Song Sparrow,and allone has ti do is lcompare them with the scrawny unhealthy plants from Wayside to know where to order plants from next year.How the once great have fallen.

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Dear sacerdos1, McLean, VA:
We greatly appreciate your business of more than 20 years, which you describe in your posting. And, we thank you for your patience during the time of transition. In regard to your most recent situation of stressed and/or missing plants, please give us the opportunity to resolve this to your satisfaction. Contact 1-800-845-3369, ext. 3109 or ereeder@parkseed.com. "

I had ordered 3 plants last October - 2 of them are coming up great, but the third one is not doing anything. I phoned Wayside at their 800 number this morning and was told I could have a credit OR I could re-order the plant but have to pay $6.95 shipping again (and this is on a plant that costs $3.71. I don't think so!! I also received a shipment of a Wisteria tree a month ago. I looked bad when I received it and I immediately emailed Wayside that I was very disappointed with the plant (including shipping my cost was $28.00). They told me to plant it and that it would take 6 weeks to look good. Well, it still is not doing anything. I am very disappointed with this company as I have been told it is very reputable. I won't order from them again!!!!!!!

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Dear Gardol, Harrison, OH:
We are delighted to hear that two of the three plants you ordered last October are doing great and so sorry to hear about the third. We would appreciate having the opportunity to resolve the situation regarding your concerns on shipping as well as with the wisteria. Please contact us to let us know the plant that failed and to give us a chance to work this out with you. Please call 1-800-845-3369, ext. 3109, or send a message to ereeder@parkseed.com."

I ordered and have received the Fragrant English Rose Collection from Wayside and am very pleased with my order. Each of the six roses arrived in great condition with a strong healthy root system. I have planted these and anxiously await growth and bloom.

I will order from them again.

I just received Sambucus Black Lace (very hard to come by) and Sambucus Plumosa Aurea from Wayside. I am absolutely thrilled with the product and packaging. Black Lace is 39" above the soil line, multiple stemmed, well branched, very healthy and hydrated. Plumosa is bareroot with awesome sized roots up to 40", two stems, thumb size 29" tall, just starting to leaf out and is healthy and well hydrated. I will definitely be doing more business with this company. 5 stars.

I ordered plants from Wayside for many years. I was about 80% satisfied... no one is perfect. Four years ago I noticed a precipitous drop in quality. Plant material was dried out, rotted or simply DOA. I will not order from Wayside again.

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Dear drtsc Danbury, CT:
First of all, thank you for being a customer for many years. We are glad to know that you estimate your satisfaction at 80% and that you have a magnanimous perspective that allows for some mistakes. However, we would appreciate having the opportunity to resolve your past disappointments since our goal is to achieve 100% customer satisfaction. Please contact us at 1-800-845-3369, ext. 3109; or ereeder@parkseed.com."

I have been a Wayside customer for several years and feel that their current marketing hype and growth have negatively effected their business. To cap it off, last fall I was shipped a katsura tree that was injured or damaged. I have ordered the same tree from them in the past. Immediately upon opening the package, which had other unaffected items, I called them up, told them it looked fried, the leaves were falling off and they said call back in the spring if it did not make it. I gave it a bit this spring, everything else surrounding it is fine, I just called. Sorry, the customer service person says, we have changed our plicy and we no longer offer replacements, but an in store credit. I said, well, I really would like one katsura tree, I have this area planned for it, and I would like the promised replacement. Oh sorry, she says, it now costs more. So you'll have to pay additionally. Some complaining and she said well I can make a note not to charge you the price increase but you will have to pay extra shipping and handling. I think retroactive customer service policy changes are a bad idea, folks. I think you have lost a customer.

I'm going to start with NEUTRAL with the reservation to change (probably to NEGATIVE) when my replacement plants arrive -- I placed my first order this Spring, concerned about high prices and wondering about the "quality" -- However, I gave it a try -- I was more than disappointed.
Wayside says - If you want to see what our products are really like - place an order -- I DID THAT -- and got
small, sometimes, very small divisions, a very dead annual
(basil) and a straggley Gardenia (for a big price) - A few other things (order over 100.00) were barely satisfactory - but I will give them time to "grow". I totally understand premium prices for premium products but I dont' feel I got the
later. Why would you ship on a WEDNESDAY and have a package languish in a warehouse over a weekend - My package was apparently in transit a total of 7 days - I am on the same coast -- If it were shipped on a Monday, I should have had it Friday at the LATEST -- The Shasta daisy was
miniscule - and the few leaves it had were mostly smashed by the rubberband -- i CAN'T CALL THIS the HIGH QUALITY that Wayside describes in their comments above. I would value the ability of their plants to withstrand stress -- if they could just do that for the time they are in transit - I have
ordered much more tempramental tropical plants from California to the East Coast with no difficulty or degredation due to shipping. The box from Wayside has no arrows or indication of "keep vertical" " this end up" - or lay flat -- so it probably spent much of the time UPSIDEDOWN - who knows. The very robotic tone of "those plants are still available" was not appreciated. When someone says they
are disappointed - and that this was my first order and quite possibly my last - that's time time to say We're sorry - loud and clear -- Every comment I made - from "I'm not a happy puppy right now" to "the Dead Basil is Unacceptable" was
totally ignored - I got one small, insincere I'm sorry at the end. I await the replacements and will be happy to "change my tune, based on what I get" I don't think it's fair of wayside to suggest that folks reporting their experiences here are NOT "SERIOUS GARDEN ENTHUSIASTS" either. I have been gardening for over 50 years. How serious is that ?
I know and appreciate good customer service when I experience it. I work for a Fortune 100 company with millions of RETAIL CONSUMERS, and when folks have problems, we at least say We're sorry and offer to fix it !
I await the "fix" part. Hope the don't send the replacements out on a WEDNESDAY !!

As a long-time Wayside customer I must say that for many years I was thrilled with the plants I received from them. In fact, I remember my very first order from them because I was delighted to have been sent a free rose as a thank you for the order. However, beginning in 2004 I, too, have noticed a change in their quality and, even more importantly, a lowering of their committment to customer satisfaction. In 2004 I purchased a home in Washington (my original orders were all to my home in Florida) and placed a large order late in the growing season. Almost all of the plants arrived moldy and did not live. To their credit Wayside did refund all of my money although I did feel as though they felt I, a long-time customer, was being dishonest. I also had problems with most of the plants I ordered last year. Most disappointing were three longed-for gardenias. Eventually, after speaking with a supervisor, they agreed to replace my gardenias instead of the company credit (which, since the plants had been bought during a sale, would not allow me to replace the plants) they preferred to issue. And, happily, the replacement gardenias were beautiful and healthy. I will not hesitate to order from Wayside again as many years of positive experiences aren't wiped away by two disappointing years but I am concerned that they seem to be placing less value on customer satisfaction than in the past. I hope this trend will soon turn around and they will return to being my favorite mail-order source.

I ordered a tricyrtis "Raspberry Mousse" and a heuchera "Peach Flambe" from Wayside. Though the plants were small upon arrival, they appeared to be very healthy. Both have both grown significantly in the couple of weeks since they have been planted.

I've ordered from WSG since 2003 with mostly good results. I wouldn't order perennials from them again because my experience has been that they have been painfully small and immature. I lost iris, eryngium, joe pyeweed, leucanthemum to name a few and am still waiting for daylilies bought and planted in 2004 to bloom, but I did not call customer service regarding any of these. When I did call to c/o about a rose bush, it was replaced without question. That said, I was a bit nervous after reading someone elses recent experience with a clematis order. Fortunately, my clematis arrived today in good shape. Both packaged well, nice root systems, soil still damp. The rooguchi has several 6-10" vines with healthy green leaves. Arabella arrived bareroot and dormat. It has 4 sprouts approx. 1/2-1 inch long. Right now it doesn't look like it was worth what I paid for it, but it was beautiful in the catalog and I'll keep my fingers crossed that it will bloom before too long.

A couple of weeks ago I received a dwarf avacado from Wayside. It arrived in excellent packaging and looked very healthy.

I planted it in a large pot on our deck and, despite our cool, wet spring weather, it seems to be thriving. It is strong, with good leaf texture and color and has already grown a bit.

Time will tell whether this avacado will be successful and bear fruit, probably a lot of time, but, so far, so good.

I am impressed with the quick shipment and excellent packaging and instructions for this specific tree.

I have been getting roses, perennials, shrubs, and trees from Wayside Gardens for the past year. After ordering from a company in Ohio a couple of years ago and receiving such small, immature plants, I have been thrilled with the maturity, quality, and size of the plants I’m getting from Wayside Gardens. The bare-root roses have been very large with amazing roots. The potted plants are mature with established root systems, ready to be planted the day I receive them. I’m paying a little more at Wayside, but getting high value. Wayside also has many interesting plants you can’t find elsewhere. I’m glad to discover Wayside.

I feel I should defend Wayside a bit - MOST of the time I was pleased with my order. I used to order hundreds of $'s worth, especially tempted with the big clearance sales. Their customer service had been quite responsive in '03 and '04 when I did call about a problem; I thought they were pretty good about shipping another plant out to me on a few occasions when I received the wrong daylily or received something that was near death - these occasions were only a small percentage (~2%) of the total shipments and usually related to the clearance sales (leftovers; late in the shipping season). Many of the plants in my garden are from Wayside or Parks. I've gotten some real nice heuchs and Japanese maples and hostas; packaged very nicely. Other plants are sometimes less impressive.

I haven't been getting emails about great clearance sales etc. lately to tempt me, and have found better sources for daylilies (got aggravated with the mislabelling on a few that kept getting sold out early and made me wait) so order less frequently now. I consider Wayside Gardens a reputable mail-order gardening company and appreciate them finding some of the best new varieties.

I sent to orders to Wayside. I haven't received all of both orders but was sent a very dead, brown crunchy Clematis which they were to replace. Today, I received the replacement which is ever bit as dead and brown crunchy as the first Clematis. I did receive a nice Chilean Jasmine that I ordered from them. I could maybe understand one dead Clematis but to replace it with another just as dead Clematis is not acceptable. I knew before I opened it that as dry as the contents around it was, the vine was going to be dead. Why couldn't Wayside see that when they picked it up to send out????? Pictures have been posted of both dead Clematis at [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]

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Dear ahelms,
We are looking into the issue that you raise regarding the clematis. Our goal is 100% customer satisfaction so we welcome your immediate call when something is amiss. Please contact us at 1-800-845-3369 or ereeder@parkseed.com to give us an opportunity to resolve this issue with you. Thank you."

My experience with Wayside goes back 3 years. I have placed thousands of dollars worth of orders with this company and I have 99 packing invoices in a three ring binder from Wayside alone. There seems to have been a shift in the way that the customer service department treated customers during 2005 as compared to the 2 prior years I had ordered plants from them. My disappointment began with a huge order placed over the Labor Day weekend in 2004. They had a wonderful sale and I had just dug 2 large new gardens. I eagerly awaited my shipment and tracked it. After it was recorded as shipped, three weeks passed and the weather was warm for September, it was no surprise that the order arrived looking baked. The customer service rep insisted that the plants would revive and that the plants had been packed to withstand this type of shipping disaster. The box had been brutalized and I should have never listened to anything but my common sense. The plants performed predictably badly and when I called in the spring for replacements, I was told that most of the order were plants shipped in the fall. I called during the summer and was directed to call once the fall plants were available. I carefully marked my calender so as not to forget to call before the year was up. I don't know why Wayside could not have kept track of this problem themselves, but if the result had been satisfactory, my inconvience would have been a minor problem. When I called in the fall, I was informed that there was a new policy in effect that required me to pay the shipping on the replacements. I protested and the customer service rep relented "just this once". The replacements looked like they were the leftovers that noone else wanted. It is especially aggravating as each of my 99 packing slips has the Wayside Guarantee on the back side claiming that full credit or replacements would be provided if I were not entirely satisfied and no mention was made of shipping costs being my responsibility. It is of dubious legality to amend a guarantee after it has been issued and the prior guarantee (in effect when I purchased plants) included shipping. The customer service rep treated me like I was either dishonest or a bad gardener because I was calling about the replacement of so many plants (from the order that took 3 hot weeks to arrive the previous year). Few of the sad replacements received in October, 2005 had any chance of surviving, given their disasterous appearance, but despite my careful labelling and record keeping, I have no intention of bothering trying to get the replacements replaced. I do not want to pay postage on plants that are no more likely to arrive alive than their predecessors. I had the additional disappointing experience of ordering a hydrangea "Kardinal" in 2/05 and receiving it on 10/17/05. I had tried to order this beautiful plant during the two previous years and it was sold out. The eagerly awaited plant arrived looking very small and the leaves were quickly killed by an early frost. I am hoping that the roots survive the winter, but I am not sure if I want to pay postage on another plant that may arrive too late to become established by frost if this hydrangea is not successful. I had an identical experience with Buddleia Strawberry Lemonaide with an early order and late arrival and concern about survival. I also ordered 6 Caryopteris Summer Sorbet and 12 Gaillardia Oranges and Lemons that arrived looking dead. I carefully planted them and when they were clearly dead (an experienced gardener knows a dead plant when she sees one), I called for a refund and the customer service rep again made me feel like a plant killer and I was too mortified to tell her that they were all dead and understated the situation and received a partial refund. I had empty spaces in new gardens awaiting these plants and wanted robust plants and not refunds. I think that the customer service reps can probably not imagine what the plants we receive look like and I wish that I had taken the time to send them digital pictures because I would have felt more confident demanding a refund. From now on I will avoid being tempted by the beautiful catalog and focus on ordering plants from less glossy catalogs that are cheaper and arrive looking healthy.

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Dear lillyo,
We are privileged to have such a dedicated, enthusiastic gardener as yourself for a customer and we truly regret that you have had a series of frustrating experiences. Our goal is 100% customer satisfaction and we would appreciate the opportunity to resolve this situation with you. Please contact us at 1-800-845-3369 or ereeder@parkseed.com. Thank you."

My complaints go back to 2004. I ordered plants and they arrived half dead. The company ran out of what I wanted and issued a credit. Later in the year I ordered 15 bushes (for a friend) - it was early order to be shipped in Sept. They contacted me in Sept. saying they were out of stock. I had a credit (issued from the above mentioned incident). I sent the credit back to Wayside and requested to be removed from their mailing list.
I placed quite a few orders with the company over the years and was extremely satisfied. Something must have happened in 2002, 2003 because things I ordered were substandard. Some items, admittedly, I was late planting and certainly didn't blame the company, however, some of the orders were just "not good."

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Dear sacajawea,
We are glad to hear about the satisfactory experience that you have had with Wayside in past years and distressed to hear about your experience in 2004. Our goal is 100% customer satisfaction and we can accomplish this most effectively when we hear about difficulties as soon as they occur. However, we are most delighted to have the opportunity to resolve issues whenever we learn about them. Please contact us at 1-800-845-3369 or ereeder@parkseed.com. Thank you."

I have ordered for years and have recieved great looking plants that have preformed well in my garden. Wayside is the best for roses - they are huge - and Japanese Maples, bulbs, shrubs, and perennials. I received an Echinecea collection that was fantastic. Also, I planted an Evergreen Dogwood call Empress of China that is not available anywhere and it is doing great. I don't want to do their marketing but Wayside is the best mail order company out there period.

Ordered 24 3" pots of white creeping thyme. They arrived quickly were packed well. The plants were in good condition. I just ordered 24 more this morning.

I purchased over 100.00 in Lankgonese Lillies a couple of years ago. When I recieved them, they looked very dry and old. Since this was the first time I had ever ordered from Wayside Garden I chalked it up as my inexperience. So I purchased special planters and special soil and I planted my bulbs when they told me too. I watch and waited and they never came up. I called the company and they said to wait a while longer. which I did. They still didn't come up. I called the company back and they sent me replacement bulbs. These bulbs looked alittle better than the first ones and they were packed in some dirt, as the first ones weren't. So my son and I again planted them in special soil. We marked them, watched and waited. But they never came up either. I am not one to spend alot of money on flowers. This was the first time and will be the last. I dearly love looking at the catalog. When I get it all I do is tell everyone I got my Wayside garden catolog as if it were a People or Newsweek or something. I plan and plan on what I would love for my yard to look like. I want to get a yellow lilac tree and a Weeping Cherry. However, if I can't find it somewhere else, I won't get them. I'll just keep taking my catalog to other garden centers to see if they have anything similar.

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Dear Akito,
We are glad that you are inspired by the beautiful plants in the Wayside Gardens catalog and are so sorry to hear about the trouble you have had with the lilies. Please contact us so that we can work out a solution with you. Please call 1-800-845-3369 or [email: ereeder@parkseed.com]."

Wayside was yet another company that I was hesitant to order from because of all the feedback but I took the chance on an Austin Rose collection at a very good price. I was pleased with each of them, some had huge root systems. And all were healthy and packaged well.
I'd try them again.

I ordered some plants last year and lost 2. They didn't look good on arrival but I tried to save them anyway. The double mandevillia(another purchase disappointment) never grew or bloomed or thrived. I contacted Wayside and I was instructed to use a slow release fertilizer on the mandevilla which I did. It still did nothing. I brought it in the house to over winter. Then it died. As for the 2 plants I lost I was sent 2 credit certificates. I thought wow I will now be able to replace my 2 dead plants. I was happy to work with the company with the credits. However I called today to place the order for the replacement plants and I was informed I must pay shipping. I feel this was very unfair. The customer service representative was very uncaring! NOW I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!! Which won't happen. As a result, I will never do business with Wayside again. And when those beautiful cataloges arrive, they will go into the trash along with the dead plants I got ripped off with!

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Dear dogmomky,
Our goal is 100% customer satisfaction and we would appreciate the opportunity to resolve this with you. Please call 1-800-845-3369 or email:ereeder@parkseed.com.

We have contacted dogmomky and worked out a resolution. Our customers' gardening success and satisfaction are important to us, and we look forward to assisting dogmomky with her gardening projects in the future. "

At the moment I have giving them a Neutral because I have contacted them and am awaiting response.
I placed my order with Wayside in early September 2005 and received an email confirmation on the order that it would be shipped in a few days. The order finally arrived the end of October and when I opened the box there was a messed of dried up plants and plants dumped out of pots with dirt and plants all in the box. I went ahead and planted them hoping that I might be able to save them and get them to growing. Well now after nearly 4 months I have 1 of the plants living out of the 9 that I ordered and I had paid over 65.00 for plants and shipping. At the moment I would NOT recommend anyone place an order from them.

This is my second order from Wayside in two years and the first one was great and this one was fantastic.

I ordered the David Austin collection of 6 roses and what I got was beyond my expectations. They had HUGE canes and a great root system. After 11 hours of sitting in a bucket of water ( each rose due to it's size had to get a seperate bucket) they all started sprouting new leaves.

Customer service was great since I called a few times to inquire about shipping dates to Tampa, Florida.

Will order from them again..

Marta Acaba
Tampa, Florida

This will be my first time ordering from Wayside but so far the customer service has been good. I will post again come spring after I receive my order. I have 5 plant orders coming in from different companies. I will see how Wayside does.

I haven't ordered from Wayside in over 10 years. 10 years ago, the roses and bulbs I ordered were completely satisfactory--very nice plants at acceptable prices. I haven't ordered in recent years because the prices just seemed too high given the size of the plants listed in the catalog.

I have ordered from Wayside several times. All shipments were packed so well that I almost couldn't get the plants out! [Good thing] On one instance that the plant did not survive, a credit was issued without any problems. I do believe that they can be a bit pricey, but I am getting a full size plant that is normally in excellent condition.

My most recent purchase was this past fall and I can't wait to see how my purchase will grow this spring! Of that purchase I am very excited to see how my Butterfly Bush Collection does! Previous purchases that I will be checking for second year growth will be the Lacecap Hydrangea and Helebores.

Last August I placed a $100+ order for a Huechera "collection" as well as for several hostas, to be shipped and planted in fall. Upon ordering, all items were supposedly "in stock", and I was given an estimated delivery date of mid- to late-September. However, as planting time approached, the estimated delivery date began to drift backward, from late September, to early October, to mid October, to late October. Starting in early October, I sent several emails voicing my concern that I would not get these plants in the ground soon enough if the delivery date kept being postponed. I received non-commital replies until, finally, the customer service rep suggested I cancel my order if I was so concerned. I replied immediately, telling her to go ahead and cancel the order, but her reply was that I was now too late, as the order was being filled. However, the plants were still not shipped for several days, and when they were shipped, four of the nine plants were not included, as they had become unavailable. (Of course, by that time it was way too late in the season for me to search for replacements from another company.) I was not charged for those four plants, but I was never issued an apology or given priority to reorder the "missing" plants in spring. All in all, it was an aggravating experience, and I will NOT be doing business with Wayside in the future.

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We have attempted to contact curtisbrown to resolve this issue. Our goal is to reach 100% customer satisfaction, and we can only do this by your willingness to communicate with us

You have had an awful experience, made much worse by really poor communication on our part. As gardeners we all know how disappointing it is not to receive every plant we have ordered, or to receive them at a different time from when they were expected. But we can deal with these irritations (usually caused by the weather, a crop failure, or some other natural force beyond our control) as long as we're told about them in time to prepare. You didn't get this information, and for that we are deeply, deeply sorry.

I'm not going to offer you excuses (I think you've heard quite enough of those!), but I did want to share with you everything I've learned about your order from all the folks involved here at Wayside:

First, I met with our packaging and shipping department to find out what happened to cause the repeated delays in shipping your order. As you probably know, we ship according to the USDA Hardiness Zone guidelines, using your zip code to determine your exact shipping date. The shipping schedule varies each season according to the weather, and these shipping dates are updated each week throughout the season. We do this in order to make sure your plants arrive at peak planting time for your climate; we don't want to ship plants to areas experiencing unseasonably warm or cold temperatures.

With this in mind, let's look at your shipping schedule. Your order was placed in August, at which time the shipping schedule for Madison, Wisconsin, said "mid- to late September" -- the best "ballpark" estimate of proper planting time. By the time mid-September arrived, though, parts of your shipping region were still unseasonably warm, so the schedule was pushed back. This continued to occur for several weeks, and each time you checked, we had probably updated the shipping schedule with the latest information, so the date varied.

The frustrating part of this is that your particular neighborhood may not have experienced that unseasonably warm weather. Zip codes are bundled into small groups to receive ship dates, so there is a chance that your garden weather wasn't the average for your area. But we make sure that all zip codes within each group are pretty close in temperature, so that it's not possible to delay shipping too late for any particular gardener in a given area.

So now that we have figured out the shipping delays, let's see what happened to make 4 of your 9 plants go out of stock. It is true that all 9 were in stock at the time you placed your order, and they were reserved for you at that time. (We don't "give away" plants to the first available shipping areas; once you place your order with us, we hold your plants until your shipping zone opens up.) As the fall season began, however, we removed some plants, as we always do, from availability because we weren't happy with the growth progress they had made.

We are often asked about this, and many gardeners even request that we ship plants that we consider too small or too slow-growing to be viable. Everyone knows that there are true green thumbs out there -- the folks who can grow absolutely anything, and usually outside its hardiness range, too! -- but we have learned over the years that we simply can't take the risk of shipping substandard plants. The shipping process in itself is stressful, and then comes transplant shock. We stake our good name on shipping big, healthy, top-quality plants, and when one fails to meet our standards, we remove it from inventory. We have been known to remove entire crops for the season when they didn't live up to our expectations. In the long run, we have found that it's far less frustrating for our customers to wait another season for a plant than to try to coax along a poor specimen.

Now, the huge mistake we made was not communicating all of this at the time. You made repeated inquiries, taking a lot of time (that you could have spent in the garden!) to try to get information. And even when your order arrived with the missing items deducted from the final price, you were not given an apology or the opportunity for "first dibs" on those missing plants next season. As gardeners and customers ourselves, all of us at Wayside know how bad that feels, and we are heartily sorry to have caused you this trouble and disappointment. We know we can't make it right, but we would like to try to make it better. Will you contact us at ereeder@waysidegardens.com?"

My gardening buddy and I ordered more than $200 in plants from Wayside Gardens in spring 2005. When we finally received our order -- it was much later than their estimated shipping date -- we were very disappointed. The plants were puny to say the least! And those were the ones that were alive! We ordered a couple of expensive coneflower collections, including the dwarf coneflowers and the sunrise and sunset coneflowers. Most arrived in small pots with soggy soil and showed no signs of life at all! When I contacted the company and reported that the plants were dead, the customer service representative tried to convince me that they were just dormant. She told me to plant them and to give them about three weeks to start growing. Despite my insistence that the plants were dead, she continued to claim the plants were dormant and that many customers had made the same false assumption I was making. She told me to call back later if the flowers did not grow. The dormant plants never emerged because as I had informed them, the plants were dead! Many of the other plants we ordered also did not survive. The pricey ornamental grasses were mere sprigs. Those that did survive grew only about three or four blades. The golden bleeding heart plant for which I paid around 13.00 was just a few sprouts. Ironically, it grew better than anything else I had ordered! Still yet, the price I paid was not right for such a measly plant. Overall, more than half of the plants we ordered died or never grew and the ones that survived didn't grow very well. I called to report it. The company's one-year guarentee promised it would replace the plants or give customers a credit, whichever the customer preferred. The representative told me the company would replace our order in the fall of 2005. I kept waiting for the replacement plants, but instead, I received a company credit for $85.00. I just received my spring catalog from Wayside. To replace the plants we lost, it would cost us more than $100, not including postage and handling! I can say without a doubt that neither I nor my gardening buddy will ever order from this company again! It has a beautiful and colorful catalog, and with the prices it charges, one would expect to receive spectacular plants, but what you get instead are twigs and sprigs that struggle to survive. I think Wayside Gardens needs to improve its performance or get into a different business. I spend hundreds of dollars every year on new plants for my gardens, and I can ensure you that this is one company that will not get another penny from me once I use my credit!

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We have attempted to contact gardengirl3 to resolve this issue. Our goal is to reach 100% customer satisfaction, and we can only do this by your willingness to communicate with us.

We have contacted gardengirl3 & the issue has been resolved. We look forward to doing business with her again!"

What a beautiful catalog! It is a great inspiration. However, after years of drooling, I made an order and was completely disatisfied with the quality. It was a few years ago and I won't order from them ever again. The only thing I really remember was a Japanese Iris. I have a couple already, so I know what their roots should look like. What I got, which was called one plant, was a collection of miniscule nothings (ie multiple tiny plants) with no roots held together with a rubber band. I'm glad I did not order an expensive tree.

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We have attempted to contact Phrederica_VA to resolve this issue. Our goal is to reach 100% customer satisfaction, and we can only do this by your willingness to communicate with us."

I receive the Wayside Gardens catalog and find it to be wonderfully inspiring. However, I have placed numerous orders with them and am very disappointed in the quality of the plant items I have received. All of them have been nearly dead; a very few perennials have survived. Wayside Gardens will replace the plants, but the replacements are not high quality, well cared for plants either. I will no longer deal with the company.

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We have attempted to contact pzandrews to resolve this issue. Our goal is to reach 100% customer satisfaction, and we can only do this by your willingness to communicate with us.

As you know, plants are living organisms. All of the aboveground growth -- leaves, stems, and even buds, if they are present -- have to be constantly fed by nutrients the plant manufactures using sunlight, air, and water, and draws up from the soil. But when the plant is shipped, it loses several days of sunlight and some water. If it’s a small plant with a good root system, this loss isn't too damaging, and it usually transplants easily. But if it's larger, often it can't recover from the stress, and may suffer transplant shock. That’s why we ship smaller plants. And some plants do even better when shipped "bareroot" or dormant without any aboveground growth at all. Some of the plants you received that looked “nearly dead” may have been dormant.

We stake our good name on shipping big, healthy, top-quality plants, and when one fails to meet our standards, we remove it from inventory. We have been known to remove entire crops for the season when they didn't live up to our expectations. In the long run, we have found that it's far less frustrating for our customers to wait another season for a plant than to try to coax along a poor specimen.

We are sorry you had trouble with your plants and hope that you will give us a chance to make it right. Will you contact us at 800-213-0379 so that we may assist you?"

I enjoy looking at their catalog because they have a lot of unusual varieties, but the prices seem awfully high. This fall, two items I had my eye on went on sale, so I decided to give them a try. I ordered a bamboo and a hydrangea. When they finally arrived, the hydrangea was so dried out, it was practically dead. The leaves also showed signs of having powdery mildew. The bambooo was very dry too. I planted both, and they seemed to perk up, but the jury is out until spring.

Great selection, great prices, great plants. I have been ordering from Wayside since I began my gardening experience 10 years ago. I always look forward to receiving my catalogs because there is always something new and different that I will not find elsewhere. The information contained in the catalog is also useful. The orders are always shipped on time and with great care. Not once have I received a mislabled plant. It is unfortunate that a few people have had some bad experiences. I recommend this company if you want unusual plants (not the cookie cutter varieties other companies offer) and great quality plants. This is not a discount company, but worth every penny.

I recently ordered a Royal Heritage Hellebore from Wayside Gardens. I've actually never seen a Hellebore plant in person, so in light of other members' comments about mislabeling, I hope that this plant is true. Otherwise, it was shipped immediately and very well packaged. It arrived at my house on a rare day (in SE TX) of freezing temperatures, but was perfectly fine when I removed it from the box. Unlike some other members' experiences, this plant was not a dead stick - it had nice, green foliage and new budding growth. The only negative thing I can say about the plant itself was that it was extremely rootbound - it was so rootbound that I had to cut the container away from the plant which was not an easy accomplishment given the thickness of the container. It seems to have survived this process, so no harm done. I was also disappointed in a "fuel" surcharge that is added to your shipping charges to account for an alleged rise in fuel costs but is not disclosed until after you enter all of your payment information. Other than that, my experience has been positive.

Their catalog is wonderful and exciting, but the plants I've ordered are mislabeled. Also, I ordered a pricey japanese maple for my mother that died within a week of her receiving it, and they kept trying to replace it with an inferior variety. She was talking with their "horticulturist" who kept insuring my mother that she had a "full-sun" variety (was not, would definitely die if in the sun, and any gardening book would have told her that!). Really disappointing. Icing on the cake was when my 2 white tree roses bloomed.... RED. :-)

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We have attempted to contact redoute to resolve this issue. Our goal is to reach 100% customer satisfaction, and we can only do this by your willingness to communicate with us.

Dear Redoute,

On behalf of everyone here at Wayside, let me apologize for the terrible experiences you have had. The Japanese Maple you purchased as a gift sounds particularly aggravating, especially since your mother knew what she wanted as a replacement and was unable to get it. Of course you are quite right that there are very few climates where full sun would be ideal for a Japanese Maple . . . and if your mother lives in south Oregon, as you do, that would certainly NOT be one of them!

Will you or your mother please call us once more at 800-213-0379? I hate to ask it of you after you have been through so much, but we do want to make sure that a satisfactory replacement was finally sent -- and if not, to see what we can do to make this appalling situation better. We understand that your mother has now lost a season of growth, but it's nearly spring planting time in many parts of the country, and if we can possibly do something to help mitigate this situation, we certainly will.

Now, about your tree Roses. I can tell from your "web name" of Redoute that you are a Rose lover, and it is absolutely maddening to count on growing a certain Rose, get it all planted and thriving nicely, and wind up with the wrong color of bloom! How I would love to tell you that this is a one-in-a-million error, but as you know, tree or standard-form Roses are grafted onto a 2- to 3-foot trunk when not in bloom, and the possibility for mix-ups in this process is inevitable. Our Rose growers are among the very best in the world, but they are not infallible, and occasionally Roses do become mislabeled during the grafting process. (And you can't even trust the buds -- so many are a different color from the petal interiors!)

Will you please call us and let us know the status of the Rose situation? We know that in cases like this, we can't really "make it right," but we certainly would like to try and make it better. Dedicated gardeners like you work too hard to put up with mistakes, and we are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience and annoyance this has caused you. Please contact us."

Nice Catalog , and I have to agree hily overated.