Comments regarding Wayside Gardens

Never a bad experience with this company. I've got a yard full of their plants. Always the best Customer Service people too. Gotta love'm.

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I am happy to hear that you enjoyed our products and service so much.

We would love to forward your compliments; if you would send us your order information, we can let the appropriate department know that their efforts were recognized and appreciated. Please email me your zip code, last name, and order number.

Thanks again,
Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Department
e-mail:JJohnson@parkseed.com"

I love Wayside's website and catalogs, and refer to them often. I've placed two orders in the last 4 years (one weeping cherry tree and 100 vinca minor rooted cuttings), and am happy with both - they arrived at good planting times (zone 6B), came with clear instructions, and were healthy plants that have done well for me. The billing was accurate, and I was not charged until plants were shipped. I'd buy from them more if my budget allowed.

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I am very happy to hear that you enjoyed our products and services so much.

I would love to forward your compliments; if you would send me your order information, I can let the appropriate department know that their efforts were recognized and appreciated. Please email me your zip code, last name, and order number.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Department
e-mail:JJohnson@parkseed.com
"

People who have complaints about Wayside Gardens should take note that Barbara Kirkland takes her time to post replies to try to resolve any problems. If you want a real negative experience, try ordering from Plantron Direct Gardening or one of their companies instead.
Wayside has a well designed catalog with many unusual plants. Prices are a bit high, but plants are larger than from other sources, except Parks which are the same and probably from the same stock. And they are packed as well as any in the industry.
I have some problem hardening off the plants up north I buy in the fall. Sometimes the zones they suggest may be a little risky. My Winter's Fire is in bloom now, but the buds on Winter's Snowman and Survivor did not survive 18 degrees F, this year. They should survive at least 10 degrees, or less. But so far the plants have come back. I should update my remarks after another year and a colder winter. The evergreen dogwood looks bronze after the 18 degree night, but I am betting on its survival.
Last year, my blue muffin viburnum failed to make it through the winter. They replaced it in the spring no questions asked, for the cost of reshipping. That's as good as it gets on line.
I would buy all of my plants from Wayside if I could always afford the prices. So I take my time, manage my budget, and get remarkable results. I have 6 camellias now, all alive, so far so good.

I'm a little surprised by Wayside's relatively low ranking on this site; I wonder if it's because of their volume and that bad experiences are talked about more than good ones.

After 3 orders of over $1,000 this fall:
Great website
Packaging is between better and best, although plants tend to come quite dry. That is a concern.
Hardy, slightly smaller plants. Root systems, the key to mail order, have been fair.
Prices are on the higher side, but they have a selection that is very hard to beat.
Sometimes there is substantial delay between ordering and delivery. My impatient nature has trouble with that.
Overall, you have to like them.

I placed an order with Wayside back in July for two items--a Gardenia 'Grif's Select' (hardy to Zone 6, but being given a shot in my Zone 5 garden in a protected area) and a Sinocalycanthus Venus.

Shortly after, I received my gardenia, and I was very happy with its size and lush, healthy appearance. My Sinocalycanthus was listed as "to be shipped" in my order status, so I figured it was just running late. Well, it never came, and by mid-October, I emailed the company to ask what was going on, as things were getting a bit chilly here in Indiana.

They said that the plant was waiting to be released for shipment and would be sent out in the next 7 to 10 business days. I waited apprehensively, but after this amount of time passed and there was no change in shipment status, we were now into November and serious frost. No way was I going to risk planting a quart-size plant that cost $30 so late in the year, so I emailed them to cancel the order and asked for a credit on my card.

Although I was very disappointed about the lack of updates on my plant, they did at least respond within less than 24 hours--on a weekend, no less--apologized, and said they would be crediting my card right away. That plus the fact that the gardenia was such a nice plant earned them my positive rating.

(Incidentally, if anyone else is looking elsewhere for the Sinocalycanthus--I had trouble finding it, which is why I ordered it from Wayside. However, I recently discovered that this plant is being listed by other nurseries as Calycanthus Venus, and a web search brought up other options that were more reasonably priced than Wayside's, so in a way, their delay has actually saved me money. Sadly, my order will now have to wait until spring . . . )

I just received a clivia. It was beautifully packaged and a nice healthy plant. I have ordered from Wayside for years and, sure, I have gotten a few misses, but overall its been quite good.
In defense of Wayside, their bareroot plants are clearly labeled as such and, as someone previousily wrote, these bareroot plants are high quality. Customers should always look first for plants at their local nursery anyway before mail ordering from any company.

So far my experience with Wayside has been positive. I recently ordered 4 clematis (2 jackmanii and 2 rooguchi) for fall shipping. All 4 plants were as advertised (i.e., in 2 1/2 inch pots). None appear to have disease or wilt and all leaves present were green and healthy. One of the rooguchis arrived with root damage, but, in all fairness, that could have (and probably did) occur during the shipment.

My only disappointment is that... I emailed Wayside to ask for advise on how to save the damaged plant and did not receive a response. I am fairly new to Clematis (but completely addicted) so had hoped their staff would be able to offer valuable insights.

A++++++++++
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THANK YOU WAYSIDE!!!
Great company.
I had for Moms day gotten a gift of roses from my DH. One arrived
in not such great shape, and I called Wayside; that was back in May.
They said they would replace it.
I had thought about it since then, but not being a bothersome type person, I figured they had either forgotten about it or maybe would get to it.
I was so pleasantly surprised when my mail lady honked today and gave me a package marked Live Plants. I knew almost immediately who it was from, and was i SO HAPPY. `
I am glad to be dealing with a company that stands behind its merchandise, not like some others.
I have great plans for this potted Climinbing New Dawn, as it was one of my most wanted roses ever, and I hope to have many blooms and years and compliments about it, as I can give to Wayside on their keeping their word and not forgetting about the little gardeners.
Again....thank you.
sheri williams
Hastings,MI
WigglyPaw Farm
Heritage and Endangered Chickens
We Farm with Percherons!

Great experience with this company. When I ordered in August, I was told fall shipping to my area would begin September 13th. I received my plants, in remarkably good shape, on September 18th. I will order from them in the future.

This was my first order from Wayside Gardens. I am very happy with my purchase. I ordered the Echinacea Razzmatazz, which no one else had available. They came in one week from ship date. Very fast shipping. Also, I was very impressed with the packing. All the other companies I have ordered from pack the pots in packing peanuts and half the dirt is spilled inside the box. Wayside put some sort of material to cover the dirt so that very little was lost. Will order from them again.

I have ordered no less than 20 times from Wayside Gardens. I am shocked that so many people have reported negative experiences, but I suppose that as Wayside stated at the top, with millions of orders going out, there are bound to be problems. Have I had probelms, sure, but they always made good on them by either replacing the plants with issues or refunding my money. Always great customer service and never a reason to go elsewhere. Perennials from Wayside have almost totally made my gardens what they are today and I will be returning in the future.

I ordered several bareroot rose plants last year from Wayside Garden and was very pleased with both the plants and the service. My ordered arrived at the right time in spring and the plants were in perfect condition. All of the plants have flourished.

Over the past winter 2005/2006, I placed about $1200.00 worth of different plant orders. I live in MN and shopping via catalogs is the only way to garden here in the wintertime. I ordered many new introductions and began receiving my orders in mid may and into June. Most of my plants received were in good condition, bareroot stock was ok, some did well while several never got started. Wayside did credit upon request for the ones that never got started. The only glitch I ran into was upon ordering their bareroot oriental poppy collection. None of the 8 bareroot plants took off. After several phone calls, I was finally credited the amount charged. For my last experience, I called several times to check shipment of my primadonna coneflower, I was told it wold be shipped on several different phonecalls. Mid June, I received a package with substitution plants, not my primadonna. I was surprised to receive these plants since upon initial placement of the order I checked the box for no substitutions please. On top of this, the replacement plants were ones I previously ordered through them earlier in the year. I called customer service explaining the situation and a few different employees argued with me on this fact, changed my story around telling managers that I wanted to keep the subs and receive a credit which was bunk. I wanted a refund or credit, not plants I already have. About 1 month after I returned the substitution plants I did receive a credit voucher. In past years, they had good customer service, this year I feel I heard a miscommunication among employees a common comment made. I would do business again with them, but I advise one to carefully monitor your order.

I made a large order of Impaitens earlier this season that were gorgeous. And the price was very good considering the size of the plants I got. I ended up needing less than I originally thought because of their size, so I ended up sharing the left over plants with my neighbors. Leftover plants given free to neighbors = happy neighbors+pretty neighbor's yard=me being happy!

I recently bought a flat of Alternanthera "Red Theads" from their retail store that were very nice looking and very cheap. Fortunately the purple/red foliage will make my garden look a bit more formal. They are still in the flat right now but they will soon be serving as ground cover around my mailbox and a border for a small bed.

Along with the Red Threads, I also got a Dogwood. I can't tell much from it right now, but it looks promising. It's in a gallon size container and about 1 1/2 foot high right now. I hope to get it in the yard soon if I can find a place.

I have gotten a bad plant from them before but I called the 800 number and they sent out a better looking plant, but most everything I have ordered from them has been better looking than anything I would find at my local nursery or Lowe's.

Also, they have alot of exclusives and things that are new or new to our market.

I have found the best way to get park's/ wayside's great plants at a decent price. Ebay. They ahve en ebay store and at first I was cautious. but The stock I was sent was the real thing. Double knockout roses for $30 in the catalogue? I bought three for $11-$14 each. These arrived in gallon pots as big as you'd find in a garden center. I bought two endless summer hydrangea for $8 and $5 These arrived in gallon sized pots with blooms! I even got a native amethyst falls wisteria which is sold out nearly everywhere for only $7 instead of $25.00. Great deals, Great plants. shipped VERY well and VERY fast.

I ordered 7 roses and 9 clematises from Wayside in Febreary 06. Plants arrived in time for planting and were in wonderfull condition (except 1 rose, which was small, but alive). All other roses were huge, with 5 or more big healthy canes. They broke dormacy as soon as they were planted and were covered in blooms in June. Several of the bareroot clematises failed to grow. I notified the company and Wayside immediatly promised replacements and even issued store credit for the small rose that was not performing as good as others.
Excellent customer service and good quality plants!

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.

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.

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. :)

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 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.

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!

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 .

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'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 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'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.

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 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 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.