Comments regarding Wayside Gardens

Earlier this year I ordered a bulb for a beautifully colored mini calla. It was shipped when expected and began growing within a few weeks of planting.
Unfortunately, the flowers that grew were mostly white. I say "unfortunately" because they weren't supposed to be white at all. When I e-mailed Wayside, I received a quick and courteous response offering a credit for the item since the wrong one must have been sent.
I'm pleased that they accepted responsibility, but would like to see a guarantee that includes a refund, not just credit toward future purchases. And I wish I had those gorgeous flowers to cut and have in a vase at work.
I am going to order with Wayside again, and not just because I have a merchandise credit; I'd like to give them one more chance. I hope to be able to leave a 100% positive post after this next order.

"

I have located your order and I am in the process of reviewing your information. I would like you to know that I will be contacting you via e-mail shortly. We will make every effort to resolve this issue.

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

Thank you so much for the update."

The roses I ordered from Wayside took a while to arrive, but when they finally showed, they were in decent condition. I was a little concerned with the quality of the packing materials Wayside uses, but they seem to be doing okay.

I would probably order from them again, but I wasn't thrilled.

"

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

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com
"

You really can't blame Karen Parks Jennings. Wayside isn't even owned by the Parks family. Recently theformer ReMax executives bought controlling interest in the company.
Tony Avent of Plants Delight mentioned it in an e-mail which he sends out
"As always, there is news on the horticultural front. In the mail order
world, Donald and Glenda Hachenberger, former Re-Max realty executives,
have recently disclosed their upcoming purchase of Jackson and Perkins
Roses. The Hachenbergers also own controlling interest in Park Seed and
Wayside Gardens."

This might explain the problems Parks and affiliated companies are having with customer support. Non horticultural people rarely are successful in running this type of business. They are mainly looking for a profit and when they fail they just sell the business. I think sometimes they seem to view the investment as a hobby.

Thus customer service goes down the tubes.

When Wayside's sale catalog came out approximately 2 months ago, I decided to buy a rose from them because I had looked at everything locally and couldn't find what I wanted.

I placed my order and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally I emailed them and told them that if they didn't send it soon it was going to be too hot to plant it. I received an email back stating that if they didn't get it out before the hot weather set in that they would wait and send it in the fall.

Normally, this might be ok, but I had just had my new deck installed and got a planter for it and wanted the color this summer. Not, next summer.

Now, after reading the previous comments, I am in doubt of ever receiving my rose. It is interesting to note that they are affiliated with Parks as I do a lot of business with them. Now I am thinking I will take my business elsewhere.

Jeanette Smith

"

I have located your order and I am in the process of reviewing your information. I would like you to know that I will be contacting you via e-mail shortly. We will make every effort to resolve this issue.

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

This is neutral due to one positive and one very negative experience with the company. I will not be placing future orders with them.
I placed an order mid-winter for spring shipment, then a second in mid-spring. The second order (Cornus venus and a hardy Japanese maple) arrived as expected for my zone. I called on the original order and was told that part was backordered for two weeks. A month later I called again and learned the two items were now backordered, which was holding up shipment of the bareroot tree, Cornus alternifolia. The agent cancelled the two perennials and said the tree would ship immediately. Today I checked the order status to find that some idiot had cancelled 'alternifolia' and substituted and shipped 'controversa'. Problem: (1) the latter is four times the size of the first, (2) the latter is hardy to zone 6 and I am zone 4. Customer service assures me that my credit card will be fully reimbursed, but really, why do we provide phone, email, and zip code information if these people don't use it. It's going to break my heart to toss a perfectly good dogwood (were I anywhere else) in the compost pile! So Mr. Company Rep -- what's the excuse? My order number was 4572456.

"

I have located your order and I am in the process of reviewing your information. I would like you to know that I will be contacting you via e-mail shortly. We will make every effort to resolve this issue.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com
"

I have been considering ordering from Wayside Gardens, but am quite concerned about the huge volume of negative feedback....serious complaints it seems, as well.
What I am asking is, what seems to be at the root of so many dissastified experiences, and what is being done to improve upon each of the problems that have been noted?
I'd LIKE to order, but won't until I have a greater sense of WHY there seem to be so many mishaps and what is being done to improve. Can't afford to lose money on plants. I do have access to several good local nurseries, but your catalog does have some interesting plants that I have not seen locally.
Any reassurances available for (possibly) future customers? If so, can you post those assurances on this forum? It may help me decide, as well as others, regarding future purchases.

Thank You

"

I have reviewed your above posting and I am seeking the opportunity to address this matter. In order to rectify the problem, I must request that you contact us providing your email address.


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

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

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com
"

I ordered two butterfly bushes, a Sambucas and leptodermis oblonga. Although I paid the same price for each of the butterfly bushes, one arrived in a very small container and was very scrawny and lopsided. The other was larger, wilted, and also lopsided. The leptodermis oblonga was dried out. The Sambucas was alright, but much smaller than I expected. Overall, I was disappointed.

"

I have located your order and I am in the process of reviewing your information. I would like you to know that I will be contacting you shortly. We will make every effort to resolve this issue.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com
"

I ordered 2 Mandevilla laxa from this company online. The transaction was easy. The cost was around $60 for two one-gallon containers. They arrived packaged well, however when I got them out I was surprised to see one of the plants had literally ONE leaf! It looked so sad I could hardly believe I paid over $30 for it. It (the leaf) was also quite brownish yellow! The other plant looks satisfactory, but very thin. I think it has a good chance of surviving with a lot of TLC. I'm hoping to bring the one-leafer back to a happy existence as well. We'll see how it goes....for now I'll stay neutral, but I will not order from here again.

"

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

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com"

We placed our order with Wayside Gardens on March 4th (Order # 4596882 if anyone from Wayside is reading this). According to their website they start shipping to Zone 6 on March 19. We ordered three roses (one bareroot), a hydrangea, and a kerria japonica. After checking our order a few times on their website we inquired on April 28th why nothing has been shipped. The response? - "Order is under review by nursery manager". Huh? I sent another email and I called - same reply - that the nursery manager is holding up the shipment because the plants are not strong enough to be shipped. (??) I said - it's May, when do you think these plants are going to be strong enough? No explanation.
Wayside shipped a part of our order last week and we received two bareroot roses on May 12th. Will all due respect to Wayside nursery manager - we don't think that mid-May is the best time to plant a bareroot rose. Let's hope they'll survive.

We are still waiting for the rest of our order to be shipped.

"

I have located your order and I am in the process of reviewing your information. I would like you to know that I will be contacting you via e-mail shortly. We will make every effort to resolve this issue.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com"

Ordered 4 plants. Website is no help on updates and customer service knows nothing either ( although very polite about it) After waiting 6 weeks and being told they would ship, was told all 4 plants would be released in the fall! Was I supposed to wait? Supervisor was very nice and even called back the next day to advise me of my credit being done. I had ordered last year with no problems but I'm done with them now.

"

I have located your order and I am in the process of reviewing your information. I would like you to know that I will be contacting you via e-mail shortly. We will make every effort to resolve this issue.

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com"

I purchased an Empress of China for approximately $100 last year. The tree was planted properly and got excellent care throughout last summer and fall.

When my other dogwoods showed signs of growth this past week, I noticed that the Empress of China looked dead. Further examination today showed that it was dead.

I contacted Wayside Gardens and was told that they couldn't do anything about it as the guarantee states that I should have notified them "as soon as possible" when there was a problem. I did, in fact, notify them as soon as I discovered the problem. Go figure.

I would also note that the Empress of China currently sells for $70 at Wayside Gardens. I can't help but wonder whether the 30% reduction in price says something about the quality and viability of this tree.

I'll buy my future plants, shrubs, and trees at local nurseries whose guarantee means something.

"

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

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


"

I had admired the beautifully photographed plants in the Wayside Gardens catalog for over a year before I finally purchased from them. The prices seemed high, but with the quality of their catalog, it also seemed that the plant quality would be better than the other mail-order companies.

I finally ordered a bi-color butterfly bush and prairie petite lilac in Fall 2006. The lilac was the plant that put me over the edge. I was very excited about the prairie petite lilac, because lilacs are my favorite flower, but I do not have enough room for a large bush. This bush grows to only 4ft but produces the same fragrant blossoms as a standard shrub. Wayside Gardens was the only place I could find this plant, so I gave them a try.

The plants arrived promptly before the end of my planting season and were packed very well.

Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed with the size of my lilac bush. It was one short branch, about 3 inches in height. This disappointed me, because it cost $25 + shipping. I really expected more for $25. It has started budding already this Spring, and I am happy to see that. I was afraid it would not make it through the Winter with as small as it was. I hope this little guy grows fast!

The butterfly bush is an adequate size. However, I suspect that it is not a bi-color but actually a black knight. The old shriveled flowers on it looked all dark purple when I received it, and not bi-color. I will wait for it to bloom before filing a report though.

I rated this company a neutral, because I was really disappointed with my lilac bush, and their "guarantee" is rather ambiguous. I suspect that if my lilac bush had not made it through Winter, they would not have replaced it. The guarantee is very open-ended and subject to their own interpretation, I'm sure. It would be polite of Wayside Gardens to list the size of the plants when they ship them instead of indicating what size pot they ship in. Honestly, I would not have ordered a $25 shrub that is only 3 inches high had I known before hand.

Here's Wayside's reason for their packing method:
Mar 05, 2007
The Truth About Styrofoam Packing Peanuts
A few years ago, we tried natural packing peanuts. Natural packing peanuts are great for shipping dry goods. They are bio-degradable and that makes them friendlier for the environment than something that might not decompose as easily. When the packing peanuts made from starch touched the moist roots of the plants we were shipping they became soggy and dissolved. Customers would either receive a soggy rotten mess or dried out plants with no packaging material around them.

Until someone can design something that is both bio-degradable and will not break down when it gets wet, we do not have a better solution than styrofoam packing peanuts. They keep plants moist and safe, and they hold up for the entire trip.

Customer service does get calls from time to time about the styrofoam packaging, and we have tried. We have not yet found a dependable replacement. On the other hand, some people like to take helping the environment into their own hands. Reusing the packing peanuts would be one way to keep them out of the land fill. Some of our customers have said that they are great for improving drainage in a large container plant, if you put packing peanuts, instead of gravel in the bottom of your container. There are also local drop-off site, where you can take your packing peanuts after you open your package. These organizations will redistribute these peanuts for companies to reuse and prevent waste. Go to http://www.loosefillpacking.com and look for a drop-off site near you.

If you have any other Ideas for Styrofoam packing peanuts, please leave a comment and let us know.

John Durst
Wayside Gardens Voice
jdurst@parkseed.com

To make a very long story as short as possible...I perused Wayside catalogs for years, and finally decided to take the plunge and order a number of plants from them in August, 2006. My credit card was charged promptly. I began receiving plants, one at a time in October. The third shipment I received (having ordered "trade gallon" (3 quart) pots) arrived in 2 1/2 inch pots - no change in price. I canceled the rest of my order, e-mailed, returned the 2 tiny plants, and then began the refund request ordeal. After weeks of e-mails and no refund, I telephoned the Customer Service number. I received my refund just before Christmas! To complete the story, the 2 plants which I kept (euphorbia and spirea), despite proper care, have died. There are many more details, but this should suffice to alert others. My order number was 45353276.

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I have located your order and in the process of reviewing your information. I would like you to know that we will be contacting you via e-mail shortly. We will make every effort to resolve this issue.

Sara Conrad
Customer Contact Representative
email SConrad@parkseed.com"

Had great service in the past but my two last orders were not a good experience. Will not be ordering daylilies of any kind from them again. Too expensive to have them substituted with cheaper ones I already own or to have arriving in rotten condition. I blame the plastic wrap. Holds in too much moisture and rotted they are by the time they arrive. Never recieved my Romantic Returns. Most of my daylily collection was not saveable. Ruby Throat survived but I had to go buy from more reliable sources the other daylilies in that collection. No refund was offered.

Now in the past before these last two orders, when it came to plants like Primrose lilac,in great condition it arrived. It was carefully packed like the other plants were when I bought from them over the past twenty years.

Would hate to lose this source of unsual plants that they offer but dare not risk the loss of money due to rot. Will see if things improve but most likely will not be ordering from them this year.

"

I would like to further research your above posting. To do this I must request that you please e-mail me with your full name and address. If applicable please provide an order reference number. Thank you.

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

I ordered two plants from Wayside this past fall of 2006 and am anxious to see what they look like come spring and summer. I ordered them early enough in fall that they could be planted and stretch their legs out. Much to my surprise they actually started to bloom just a little. So they were very healthy. Which surprised me because the packaging and root system wasn't very good at all. But I figure that after all of the negative ratings on here I would only order a few. So we'll see if they survive and what they look like. We're having a very mild winter so far in the Northeast so hopefully they'll do fine. Will add something when they grow and the time comes to really rate them.

"

I would like to further research your above posting. To do this I must request that you please e-mail me with your full name and address. If applicable please provide an order reference number. Thank you.

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

I have ordered from this company several times. Some of my experiences were quite good. Some were not so good. I agree with the people who say they send small plants; however, when they send BARE ROOT clematis, then they can't be beat. Most of their clematis come bare root, but a few, mostly those that are the newest around, come potted. Those are the skimpy ones. But the bare root ones have nice, large, healthy root systems.

Wayside used to do excellent packing. Then they got very sloppy. I, too, had a huge order that looked as it if was just thrown in the box. But my last order was packed exceptionally well.

The thing I like about Wayside and why I continue to order from them is their guarantee. They give a full year guarnatee. They don't ask you to send the plant back or anything foolish like that, they know that most gardeners are honest people, and I think they figure there are a lot of people out there who won't bother with reporting it when some plant fails. Well, I report it! I order my plants online so I make my complaint and follow it up with a copy of my order so that they will have the purchase number, etc. So I always figure that it is worth the risk if I see something I really want in their catalologe.

On June 9, 2006, I ordered 5 female Winterberry plants and 1 male plant, to ensure pollinating. I received the 5 bareroot female Winterberry plants in June, which I duly planted, and which are doing well now (August). My gripe is that I never received the male plant I ordered, despite an acknowledgment of my order. I waited. . .and waited. . .and waited, finally contacting Costomer Service a few days ago. I received an e-mail telling me that the male plants had been sold out at the time of my order. I quote from the message:
" I apologize for the error in availability status on our Web site. Our records indicate that 47001 was sold out at the time your order was placed. We update our Web site manually and items that have recently sold out may appear as available. We try to remove all sold out items as soon as they become unavailable. However, because we were approaching the end of our shipping season, items were very limited and sold out quickly. No charges were made against your credit card on this order, since the only item was sold out at the time."

Fine, but my gripe is that I wasn't notified of all this at the time, and I "wasted" the summer without my pollinator! No berries for the birdies this winter! The company should have told me right away that I wouldn't be receiving the shrub.

I have also received some on-sale Clematis that arrived shriveled and never recovered, while some I ordered at the same time were fine. (I am expecting a refund for the defunct ones.) My experience with Wayside is that when they are good, they are very good, but when they are bad. . .watch out. It's the uneveness of the service which discourages me.

I ordered several items from Wayside this past year. Though the fall shipment hasn't arrived yet (trust me--you don't want to plant in July or August, so be patient if you placed an order during these months), the shipments I have recieved to date have been satisfactory.
My first order came in April. I only ordered two or three items at that time, but one was a rather pricey Japanese maple (all JMs seem to be pricey). I planted both plants and neither one seemed to do well from the onset. From the looks of them, I suspect that they sat in a cold place too long during shipment. When I explained my situation to Wayside, they immediately replaced the Japanese maple and credited my account for the other plant.
My biggest problem was the same that everyone else seems to be experiencing--customer service and/or the computer systems have too many "glitches". I later ordered three rose bushes (buy one get two free--a real deal) and tried to use my credit from my earlier plant several times. No go--the computer system would not allow it. I contacted a sales rep who said my account would automaticaIly be charged the lower amount once I submitted the order. Fortunately, I doubted this. Once I placed my order online, I contacted customer service via email, mentioned that the order coming through should have my credit applied, and to please notify me with the total price. By the time a customer service representative got my email, my credit card had already been charged the full amount. The customer service rep said "we'll apply the credit to your next order". I was pretty hot, since I had spent way too much time trying to get the credit that rightfully belonged to me. The rep finally conceeded and issued a credit back to my card.
By the way, the roses that came we'ren't what I ordered, but they were a better, more expensive rose. I came out ahead on this one. And with many of the specials, Wayside is upfront with stating that they may substitue with plants of equal or greater value.
All of the plants I have ordered from Wayside so far are doing well, and you can get some unique items from them. I truly beleive that they are working on improving their computer and customer service capabilities. Be patient but persistant with them, and I think that you'll be happy with their plants in the long run.
I for one am willing to give them another try, and hope that by next spring my neutral rating will be upgraded to positive. We'll see how things work out with my fall orders.
Garth Wadleigh

I placed an order with Wayside prior to reviewing any of the commentary. I had mixed results. The pricing and shipping was as promised. My first two shipments arrived looking great and all plants appeared happy. I did find that the three shrub roses I looked healthy but seemed to take a long time (2 months) to restart their growth in my garden. They didn't die off- just seemed to sit with no new leaves and wait. They were planted in early June and the very very hot weather set in so that was likely the reason. My other items (climbing rose, honeysuckle) are very healthy and happy.

My disappiontment occurred when I didn't receive one of the climbing roses I ordered. This happened to be the reason for my entire order as they were one of the few sources with this variety. They didn't send me an email notifying me of the shipment- the box appeared with what must have been substitute plants. They didn't ask if I wanted my money back or what I wanted; I just got a substitution.

They did happily refund my money, tell me to keep the substitutes and place a reorder for fall when my rose was to come back in stock.

I give them a neutral for not letting me know about the stock error and just shipping without asking. The plants I received were in good shape, packed very well and are growing nicely.

This company's catalog and website give exaggerated and misleading information about a number of plants it sells - more so than any other nursery in my experience.

This generally takes the form of overstating bloom season - often to claim that a plant blooms all summer or summer into fall, when experienced gardeners know otherwise. Just one example - the company claims that Pyrethrum 'James Kelway blooms spring and summer and gives "two seasons" of color.

//www.waysidegardens.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10151&langId=-1&mainPage=prod2working&ItemId=43773&PrevMainPage=advsearchresults&scChannel=Container%20Plants%20AS&SearchText=p11.v94;p4.v7&OfferCode=SH3

In reality, most gardeners who successfully grow this plant can expect (at best) a few weeks of spring bloom.

So it's recommended that you carefully check the catalog claims with a reliable source before ordering.

There's also the question of whether one would want to order from a firm that basically tells you in its company statement not to trust the word of your fellow gardeners on this site.

I ordered from "Parks" mid- June. I actually made 2 orders about 1 week apart. Their prices were irresistible.

The first order received was within a week's time. All plants were happy and healthy. All plants were in the ground in 5 days and are doing well.

Well, 3 weeks later, the remaining plants I am waiting for are not here. I have emailed the company 3 times and still no plants, and zero response or updated status. I am waiting for 18 more plants and in the heat of July, it is a horrible time to put new plants in the ground.

So, except for the amount of time it is taking, and I should know that I get what I (didn't) pay for, "Parks/Wayside" is okay.

I sat all winter and poured over catalogs to plant in my garden in a newly purchased home. I have a 44 x 4 ft. garden space. i spent almot $100 (alot of money on my budget). I ordered Cannas, Perinial pkg. and serveral rose bushes. I followed the directions to plant and was so excited. Well, that was in April, and the daylilies that I ordered can't be found. I ordered 9 climbing rose bushes. So far, only 4 have leaves. I did the scratch test on the 5 which have't sprouted all, but they are dead. No growth on the roots. One American White had a BIG flower, but that's all. My Joseph's Coat (1) have finally started to bloom--only leaves. All of my daylilies-I don't know where they are. My Cannas hve yet to sprout. The perrenial garden is a joke. Most of the plants---I don't know where they are.
I spoke with TIFFANY and she said to send my mailing labels and they would refund my money. I am so disappointed. After viewing this website, my only wonder is when I will get this refuund. I wanted to invite my coworkers over for a backyard party and impress them with my garden. A lesson learned. It's a shame that people like me who are on a budget and want to have something nice are subjected to such a rip-off. All I wanted was a nice garden to sit and look at and marvel at my "green thumb" (This is my first time at gardening). I wish I had have known about this website. I would put extra money in my "plant fund" and purchased more expensive plants from a more reputable company.
I and going to give them one more try with just a couple of plants and we'll see how things work out. Such a glutton for punishment!!!

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

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

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

I also ordered hydrangea's that did not live.

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

Thank you for allowing me to air my frustration.

npalmer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jay Johnson
Customer Contact Representative
JJohnson@parkseed.com"

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

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

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

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

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

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 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 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."