The scoop on 'Papa Genos Herb Farm/Prairie Home Perennials'

I ordered three alpine strawberry plants and a few herbs I couldn't get locally. All arrived in good condition in the promised time frame and are doing well, despite a spate of bad weather that kept me from transplanting in a timely fashion.

I have ordered heirloom tomatoes from Papa Geno's for 3 years. The plants have always arrived very healthy and have thrived rather quickly in my garden. I highly recommend Papa Geno's for prompt shipping (per average last frost date) and great customer service. I will continue to order from them in the future.

I placed several orders with Papa Geno's earlier this year for spring planting. They offered to combine orders to save on shipping and kept me informed of my order status every step of the way.

All of the plants arrived right on schedule, and they were packed snugly and carefully. All plants appeared to be good condition except for a handful that were damaged in transit (I watched the UPS driver literally kick the box out of the truck and threw it onto my porch where it bounced a couple times, so this doesn't surprise me)

I was impressed that the great majority of the plants made it safely, and the pelargoniums and mints and rosemary are really lovely, fragrant, and exceptionally healthy.

They also included helpful growing guides for the scented geraniums and had clearly labeled the box so it could not be mistaken for anything but live plants.

Overall, this was a great shopping experience.

I've ordered pelargoniums from this company several times. The times I wasn't pleased , they were quick to help out and make things right. Plants were well packed . Good selection of scented geraniums.

Just received a box of plants from their end of season sale. I was pleased with them. The plants were small to medium sized but had excellent root systems on them. I will order from them again.

Plants are fantastic! Last autumn I bought quite a few daylilies and just before they arrived I got very sick and was unable to plant them. They sat in their box, unopened for about 8 (!!!) months. I'm finally getting better and I opened the boxes a week or two ago expecting to find mush that would go straight to the trash. Not at all! The majority were not only still viable but actually had new growth! I planted them and my dog promptly dug them back up the next day while I was at work. I planted them again and I believe that well over half will live. Amazing!!! Thanks for plants that will truly survive the worst treatment! I've already purchased again from this great company and will continue to do so.

Ordered sweet potato collection plus extras. Excellent packaging, healthy plants, great communication.

Papa Geno's product and customer service exceeded my expectations. In Spring of 2005, I ordered two perennial gardens from Papa Geno's. A couple of plants arrived broken - Papa Geno's originally promised to send the replacements after after they finished with their spring rush of shipments, but when I explained that I was pregnant and due very soon, they shipped my replacement plants right away...That's great customer service! My first evaluation of all the plants was that they seemed healthy but small...their size turned out to be irrelevant. I have an abundant, healthy, beautiful garden this year (and I didn't even do anything special to them over the fall and winter). I will definitely go to Papa Geno's first for all of my future plant purchases.

I ordered a bunch of scented geraniums from them. They have the best variety on the internet. I got the box and thought how in the world did they get all of those in that box. That was the best packing I have ever seen with plants. In fact I saved all the packing material so I can use it. I will definiately order from them again. Thank you so much!

I have ordered from Papa Geno's for about 3 years now. I have had great success with the lavendar and some of the perennials. I will continue to buy from them. I sent 3 lavendar to my sister in law and she was impressed at how well and how fast they grew!

Therese~Kansas

This is a response from the grower to the latest posting. Here is an exact copy of a response I wrote to a customer with a similar complaint:

"You paid half-price or less for all of the plants on your order, and the e-mail promotion and the website clearly announced that these were end-of-the-season plants, were of less than optimum quality, and that we reserved the right to make substitutions. I believe that you got what you paid for; regular price for the plants you ordered is $63.90; you paid $28.85. Most of the yellow leaves came from spending four days in a box without light, and that too is addressed on our website. As stated on the website, the yellow leaves will drop off and new leaves will form almost immediately. (And I mean within days, not weeks.) June happens to be the worst time to ship Scented Geraniums, but we ship 'em because people want us to.

Signed, Papa Geno's Herb Farm

I purchased 10 scented geraniums from Papa Geno's on sale. The plants I received were in terrible condition, one of which has already died. Most of the leaves were yellow and there were very few leaves to each plant. I emailed the company the next day with pictures and they promptly responded refunding half of my money. The refund was nice although, I wouldn't have paid half of that for the plants I received. The experience as far as the product was negative....I received very poor quality goods, but I rated neutral because they did quickly respond and there was a refund. I might consider ordering from them again, because of the positive experiences of others, but I would have to seriously consider it first.

As far as I'm concerned, *this* is the place to find those scented geraniums that aren't available elsewhere. If they *are* available elsewhere, they're outrageously overpriced, and guess what? They usually come from Papageno's anyway so why not buy from the source? What a terrific collection! I've ordered scented geraniums, herbs, and flowers from them and have always been extremely pleased with the prices and service. This year's order shipped today and I can hardly wait 'til it gets here! I recommend Papageno's. They deliver what they promise *and* they keep in contact via email regarding your order. I might not like the fact that they don't deliver year-round but it's worth the wait!

I ordered several Helleborus (Lenten Rose) plants from Papa Geno's last year and was ASTOUNDED at the huge size of the plants that I received. They were freshly dug - exactly as they had advertised them. What a treat and what a value. Contrast that to a large chain operation.

I will eagerly order from this company again!

I also enjoy their newletter that I get via email.

last time i ordered from papa geno's was 4 years ago (i think). i ordered from them two years in a row. i hadn't had a proper garden again (we moved into a new city and into an apartment, until we bought a house again) until this year, and i was late starting, so i didn't want to chance it. but just wanted to say that i LOVE this company, loved the newsletters that i used to get and was VERY happy with the beautiful plants and excellent service that i received from them years ago. i am planning my spring garden for 2005 and will definitely place an order with papa geno's.

I ordered several different herbs and basils from Papa Geno's earlier in the season and the plants are thriving and I'm enjoying fresh basil every day. I found the customer service people very pleasant to deal with and helpful with questions, as it'd been the first time I tried ordering live plants by mail order.

The spicy globe basil is a favorite, though it won't be available again until next year, they only ship during certain months.

I purchased strawberry plants from them.
I recieved my plants nicely packed, nice large, healthy plants in a timely manner.
I am totally satisfied with my order.
I will definately order from them again.
Great customer service, and caring attitude as well.
I think this company is a winner:)
Texas Tatum

I ordered a bunch of herbs from them, and I wish I hadn't. The plants they sent me were tiny, and some of them looked as if they'd been cruelly hacked up just to fit them all into one small box. Needless to say, several of them died just a few days after I received them, no matter how hard I tried to keep them. On top of that the order just took a long time to get to me. I will probably never use this company again because I'd rather not wait for the mail to deliver more debris for my compost heap.

I ordered scented geraniums from them last year, and couldn't be more pleased. The plants were in excellent shape and did very well the entire summer. In fact, they are in my sunny bedroom window for the winter (in pots) and will be going back out in the spring. They have a huge variety of scented geraniums, which can be really hard to find elsewhere. I also purchased a lemon thyme and that did really well too. I plan on ordering some of the harder to find herbs from them this spring. Excellant company!

I have ordered herbs from Papa Geno's for the past two years and have been very happy with the quality and hardiness of the plants. I will be ordering from them again this year and for years to come!

I've bought scented geraniums, lavender, and vegetable collections from them for the last three years. I always receive healthy plants & everything has always done well.

I'd recommend this company to anyone.

I just can't be pleased with Geno after ordering from others. The service is excellent but the plants are not as nice as the other online companies I've dealt with.

I ordered about 25 scented geraniums. Most arrived healthy, but about one half were not part of the order. That night, I sent an e-mail explaining the problem, they were very apologetic, and 5 days later the full order arrived in great shape. Anyone can have a bad day - their prompt and complete response was terrific.

This is a great place! There plants are great, healthy, and the company takes great pride in it's customer service. I would recommend them highly.

I love this place! They have the most amazing selection of scented geraniums of any company out there. Their shipping method is great - plants arrived last year in super condition. I would order from them again in a flash, without hesitation!

I have not ordered from them yet, but yesterday sent a request for information and received a reply in just a few hours. The representative took the time to actually contact a friend in the same city where I live, so he could give me growing information that was exactly suited to my climate. I am very impressed.

I have ordered online from them several times. The plants I have ordered were shipped on time and received in VERY good condition. I have had success with everything they have sent me, from scented geraniums to the hardier perennials. Another thing I liked was their shipping policy - they ship UPS or Fed Ex, and ship on Wednesdays only so that the plants get to you by the weekend and don't have a chance to dry out. I have been very pleased with this gardening company.