Comments regarding Wayside Gardens

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."

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.

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!

"

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. "

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

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.

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.

I have made a couple of purchases with Wayside. Though the plants are sometimes a little small, they appear to be healthy enough. The shipping has always been on time and sometimes I even get it early. I like to shop around, so for everyday things their prices are sometimes high, but often they have things that I can't find anywhere else.

Overall, I will buy from them again.

In 2004 I ordered echinacea Razzmatazz for fall shipping from Wayside Gardens since they had gone on sale from $19.95 each to $9.95 each and that made them affordable for me. I placed orders on two separate occasions, one for three Razzmatazz, and one for two more. The orders were received and planted, and of the five plants two survived. I notified the company well within the year's time limit stated in the guarantee, asking for replacement rather than refund even if I had to wait for the replacements. Wayside, who had up to this point had always had the best replacement policy I know of and who had always been so easy and nice to deal with in earlier transactions, replied to my email and said that Razzmatazz was sold out until fall but if I would resubmit my request when it was back in stock, they would be happy to replace them. Having never had anything but positive experiences with this company, I believed them and resubmitted my request for replacements a few months later when the echinacea again appeared as available. I got a reply from customer service that my replacement plants would be shipped in the fall.
After waiting ALL YEAR for these echinacea to be replaced, I checked the order status and saw that the line had been cancelled. A few days later I received two merchandise credit certificates in the mail totalling $35.49. Upset, I emailed customer service again and reminded them that we had agreed on replacements, not credit, and that I had waited all year for these replacements to arrive. I got a reply that due to fuel costs the decision was made to issue credits rather than replacements and that I could use the certificates to repurchase the plants. Of course the Razzmatazz had gone back to the original price of $19.95 each in the meantime. I emailed back and told them that the correct thing to have done would have been to give the customer the option to pay that extra shipping and that I would have done so if given the opportunity. Also that in case of credit given, it should have been given on one certificate that could be used one one order rather than two. Also I stated that I was very unhappy with the way this had gone, I may or may not redeem the certificates and that they had lost a customer. I received an email back that stated that I could enter one certificate on the website and email or call to have the other deducted from the order, and that they were not trying to make me place more orders.

What is the purpose of a merchandise credit rather than a refund to your credit card??!

Needless to say, I am still very unhappy with this event, have not redeemed the credit certificates as yet and can no longer recommend this company who did not keep their word to me as a former loyal customer.

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We're glad that we were able to resolve this matter to DianaT's satisfaction! We realize that sometimes there are miscommunications and errors on our behalf. We try our best to avoid them, but when errors do happen we greatly appreciate a customer like DianaT who is willing to give us a chance to make it right. We look forward to meeting her gardening needs for many years to come!"

I have ordered many things from Wayside over the years, some have been dissapointing, like a $50 spruce that was nothing more than a stick 9" high with one tiny branch, and others have been very good such as their roses. The one time something didn't grow they immediately refunded my money with no hassle.

My most recent order was quite satisfactory. The ferns, honeysuckles and gardenia arrived in nice shape,with good size and took right off growing. The daisies when first blooming did not resemble what I ordered, so I called CS and they told me to let it grow awhile first. They DID turn out to be the correct plants.
Overall this company has been pretty okay. And they do carry some of the unusual/harder to find plants and varities.

I placed an order with Wayside, and overall I was very pleased with the packaging and plant quality. A Tricyrtis I ordered was a bit on the small side, as well as an Iris (Pride of Ireland.) However, a peony I ordered was a very healthy size, and the Camellia, Nuccio's Pearl, was larger than I expected. My only experience with their customer service was that they did cancel a Clematis I ordered 2 months ago, and did not immediately notify me. I should be getting my second shipment from them in the next week or so, and I am eager to see how those plants turn out!

Dear Dave's Garden.

As ones who disapprove quite strongly of violence and/or sexuality on the stage (or anywhere else for that matter), I and my sister remain quite fervently grateful for the convivial and tres sympathique dealings we have consistently had with the cheerful, helpful, remarkably well set-up,and surprisingly well-informed staff of "Wayside Gardens." Living in North Carolina, we find it both easy and refreshing to jump in our "auto" and take a trip to Wayside. A trip to Wayside both soothes and excites!----albeit neither is done to such an extent as to leave one either dozing or rattled. Wayside strikes the "perfect balance".

This is not the case with many other "nurseries". In quite distasteful contrast, the dowdy and physically-unappealling young staff of "White Flower Farms",equipped with their unrequested "salty yankee humor" seems able to do nothing that does not offend. So, we do not go there anymore. Our niece, as a sensitive nursing mother, left midway through her "tour" of the nursery, and her newborn child cried throughout the entire visit---- which I should think more than proves my point. And their "Amos Pettigrew" fellow sounds dreadful. We were, at least, spared the experience of meeting him during our visit to WF "farms". I have no doubt it would have upset us.

Wayside delights, though. My sister, who is a great reader and quite active in our own parish altar guild, ordered a very nice bush from them, which was mailed to us here at our home and which, since we had it planted, is doing quite nicely. It has been planted under the bird-feeder so that we might see it each morning when Our Friends the birds come for their breakfast.

I do, however, have one SERIOUS complaint against Wayside Nursery. It is placed too far away. We do not, as a general rule, travel often in South Carolina. We prefer to visit friends in Charlottesville, which, as anyone knows, is in the OTHER DIRECTION. We end up, after riding in a "car" for three hours, closer to White Flower Farms than we are to Wayside. As you'll understand, this isn't pleasant for us to consider, particularly since it might give an incorrect impression of our intentions in travelling.

My only other complaint is that, while the Wayside catalogue is chock-a-block with lovely photographs, the print is often diffcult to read, and I often cannot find where the catalogue has gone in the house. I have, at times, spent upwards of fifteen or twenty minutes searching for the catalogue, which is an irritating task.

Sincerely,

The Rev. David Terry
Durham, NC
http://www.davidterryart.com

Great experience with this Company. I completely over ordered in the spring -they were so kind about canceling some requested orders. Further, I ordered 8 hydrangeas - one died and they were out of stock but immediately refunded the price - no hassle. I'm also extremely impressed with the quality of the roses I ordered - they look beautiful. I was extremely pleased with my experience and have already ordered more plants for fall delivery.

I have bought plants from this company and find them to be a first class company to deal with.
I did have some plants that did not make it but they promply repaced them,no questions asked.
They sell hard to find plants and there customer service and packing is first class.

I am fully satisfied and impressed with this company. This year was the first time I've ordered plants via mail. I ordered roses, trees, and clematis from Wayside. Their shipping prep for the plants is exceptional. When it was 90 degrees outside, my plants arrived moist and sprouting. I will order from Wayside Garden again!

I've ordered several plants from this company over the years. Most recently I ordered two roses, a clematis and a honeysuckle. All were unavailable through other companies. Their prices can be a bit high but still reasonable for plants that are not always available elsewhere. Once their sales kick in, their prices are quite reasonable, even low. My most recent order arrived Friday, about 4 days after placing the order. All plants were in good shape, the roses had growth on them, as did the clematis. The honeysuckle was properly potted as described and in good shape.

I have had a couple plants fail to grow in the past and each were replaced the following season by the company without problem. I didn't even have to call them to ask for my replacements when the season arrived. Will order again.

I have placed three orders with Wayside Gardens (two have been received already). I have been pleased with what I have gotten so far. I just got my second order today and had one bareroot daylily, six assorted potted plants, and one rose. The box was a bit beat up, but as for the plants, they seemed fine. The potted plants weren't huge, but all were alive and ready to plant. The daylily was bareroot, but already had growth sprouting out the top. The rose is huge!!! As for my first order, I received two mini ginkos which have been growing happily since I planted them.

Tonight I placed my third order for a bunch of different plants. I was a little nervous after reading the feedback on this site, but I have had two reasonably good experiences with this company, and I hope my third is just as good. Also they do respond to their emails in a timely manner. I accidently ordered a plant for the wrong zone, and they immediately changed my order when I asked them to. As for the my prior orders, the plants have all come labeled and look right to me. I will make sure the colors are correct when they grow, but it seems like I have gotten just what I wanted each time.

As for cost, they are no worse than other nurseries around here. Plus I don't have to drive all over the place looking for what I want. Most types/colors I cannot find around my area and at least it is delivered right to my front door. I just love that!!!

Wayside Gardens was recommended to me on the Garden Talk forum over at BHG.com. My expereince with them has been wonderful

I ordered a Sweet Autumn Clematis, a Fillamentosa Yucca and their "Easy Grow" Lily Collection which included 3 "Casa Blanca", 1 "Caravan", 1 "Formosa", 1 "Silk Road" & 1 "Scheherazade". The Clematis, Yucca & Formosa Lily all arrived in 2 1/2 inch pots with VERY GOOD root structures, all started to show new growth almost immediately and are continuing to grow well a couple of months later. The rest of the Lily's were sent as bulbs with roots attached, all are growing and looking very strong and healthy, I am looking forward to a good show!

The order was placed online via their website which kept me informed as to the shipping date (the correct time for my zone) and my credit card was not charged until it was packaged and shipped. The order arrived five days later in good strong packaging, the plants were moist and didn't look any worse for their time in the mail

I did have cause to email them regarding questions I had with planting times. They responded quickly and reassured me that I could plant my order as soon as it arrived even though my last frost date was not for another month. Their customer service was great to deal with and I will definitely be ordering from them again

I have been dealing with Wayside Gardens and Park's Seeds for more than ten years. Both have supplied me with excellent products. If I can't get something I ordered to grow, they cheerfully replace it.

I ordered twice from this company and both times the items arrived on time and in good to excellent shape. The bare root roses were fine although the second order I put in where for sale order roses and when the order came the roses were much smaller than the first order, BUT they were healthy, just smaller. The rest of my plants are all doing fine. I would order again from them as they do have quite a variety of plants.

My magnolia soulangiana arrived quickly and in very good condition. They charge a lot for plants, but can be a time- and energy-saver if you know exactly what you want and can't get it locally.

I have dealt with this Company for 4 years. They have always been friendly and have replaced everything I asked for. Once I lost an invoice but I knew what was on it. They were not able to find it. An hour later Annette, the saleslady that I had spoken to earlier, called and said she had located it. Another time I had called about the "Gold Heart' Dicentra. It never turned gold. To make a long story short they replaced it after a year and a half. This is long past the guarantee. A+++ Linda

It's all about customer service, and this year Wayside impressed me greatly. Last year I ordered two bare-root roses from them. Neither survived an overly-wet spring. At the end of the season, Wayside sent a "how are your flowers doing" follow-up e-mail. Nice touch. On a lark, I responded and said they hadn't made it. Several days later, to my astonishment, I got a nice e-mail from one of their CSRs saying the plants were guaranteed and replacements would be sent next growing seaon.

True to their word, two brand-new bare roots showed up on my porch early this spring. Both are doing beautifully. Wayside stood behind their products, and are to be congratulated for it! Thanks, Wayside, for restoring my faith in mail-order gardening!!

I first started ordering thru the sister company, Park Seeds, which I have had excellent service over many years. I got their catalog, I believe, because of this affiliation.

I only order the more exotic plants thru them, because their run-of-the-mill plants are not usually competitive with other websites. Even when compared to the same plants sold by Park Seeds, you will often find their costs higher.

However, when it comes to customer service, both companies excel. My orders have always been received in a reasonable timeframe, and in satisfactory condition. Their seed packaging is without peer. Refunds and replacements are never a problem.

Numerous orders over several years. They are easy to work with, consistent and packaged well. You do NOT have to call and wait on hold if you have issues. Emails are answered and orders corrected. WSG is my first stop for unusual, unique or hard to find plants. In 2004 I sent an email concerning a couple of tubers which had not sprouted. I had a very quick response that replacements would be shipped. Before they were sent I noticed they had indeed started to sprout and called to cancel but they keep them with compliments. While talking with the rep I mentioned a couple of hydrangeas that did not make it through the winter. I wasn't asking for replacements but she had them on order. I received them this spring.

I've had a positive experience with Wayside in almost every instance. I love their rose sales and usually get too many roses from them because of the great prices. The only caveat I would add is that you need to keep impeccable records of your purchases; the dates, order numbers and names of what you ordered. That way if you get a mis-labeled rose (or item) or one that doesn't make it, you can get a replacement as long as you report it within a year from your purchase date. They have a great customer service policy and are very quick to refund, credit or replace when there is a mistake or bad plant. I've gotten a lot of great roses from them...I think they are much better than they were years ago.

I highly recommend this company!
I've always received the best quality plants and customer service from Wayside's. I've purchased from them throughout the years and have never been disapointed. I love the roses they carry and their prices on hard to find ones are unbeatable. Thanks for the great bare-roots you recently sent! My Red Eden bareroots were monsters in size! The branches were fat and green and the extensive root systems were the best I've seen yet in any of my mail-order bareroots.
Thanks again,
Chola

I placed an order for a Weeping Siberian Pea (Carangana Pendulosa) it was delivered very quickly but obviously damaged in packing or shipping. I called spoke to customer service they will send another and told me I did'nt even have to bother to send the damaged plant back. I'm pretty amazed at that kind of response .

Last year I ordered the new echinacea 'Meadowbrite' and also 'Razzmatazz'. Neither of those plants came up this spring and I notified Wayside via email and they promtly responded that they would send replacements. I am most pleased with a company that stands behind their product since so many of them do not. I am not nearly as reluctant to try something different from a company that will replace them if they fail. A positive for Wayside.

I have ordered from Wayside Gardens for about 8 years. They are the one mail order company from whom I will purchase perennials. I also have had wonderful success with their Roses. The Rose Catalog is fully of great info and the plants are great. I ordered roses about 3 years ago from Jackson Perkins and Wayside - the boxes arrived on the same day - Wayside canes were at least trible that of Jackson Perkins. I will continue to order from them often.

Ordered 3 dormant Sedum cultivars which were good sized and healthy, leafing out within a week. Shipment arrived in a timely manner.

I have been purchasing plants for several years from Wayside Gardens and I am very satisfied with them. The few problems I have had were promptly and courteously resolved. They're a bit pricey for my budget, but nearly always offer some unusual cultivar that I can't live without. I didn't know they were affiliated with Park Seed Company, which is my favorite mailorder company for both seeds and plants.

I started with an order of a packet of seeds and one small plant. My previous experience with mail order nursuries hadn't been great, so I was "testing the waters."

Not only did the seeds and plant arrive promptly, but the plant was in PERFECT condition when it arrived. I don't know how they did it, but it was *not* wilted or broken in any way; the soil in the pot was well around the roots, and was still moist. I promptly planted it in my garden, and it is happy and healthy today.

I was impressed, so I placed another order, this time for a larger plant. I received it today, and it is also in PERFECT condition: Nothing broken, soil well around the roots, soil still damp.

I highly recommend this mail order company, and will order from them again and again.

I have ordered from this company a couple of times over the past several years. I have received healthy plants that have done well. Ordered from them again this spring; hope this year's experience turns out positive as well.

My order for three Tricyrtis hirta 'Miyazaki' (Toad lilies) arrived in a timely manner, packaged well and looking very good. I began planting three days later and was very impressed with the first two plants rootballs. I was thinking about the glowing review I was going to post on Dave's Garden when I up ended the third plant and was suprised to find a heaping handfull of slightly moist potting soil quickly slipping through my fingers. I was left with barely anything to plant. Being a good mother I did plant my runt with it's brothers and it will be watched closely and babied. In the end I decided I've gotten far worse "suprises" from my many local garden centers and that's why I give the positive review. I will probably order from them next year if I see something that tickles my fancy.

I have bought Angel trumpets from them a few years ago and although they were just a stick the size of a pencil they grew and flowered the same year. I just received a catalog from them and look forward to ordering again. I am counting on a good experience again. If I'm not happy I'll let you know.

A good source for hard to find and unusual plants if unable to locate them elsewhere. mostly small specimens.