| Rating | Author | Content |
| Positive | crazy_turtle
Cambridge, ON
(Zone 5b)
(1 review)
August 16, 2009 | Ordered three times from this company. Although the roots I received were small they grew quickly into perfect healthy plants. Have also ordered seeds that germinated perfectly, and a large lot of gardening equipment that arrived packaged perfectly.
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| Positive | howie24
Oakville
Canada
(4 reviews)
July 22, 2009 | I ordered turnip seed from this company for the first time this year. The order shipped quickly and arrived within 5 days. Seed germinated without a problem. Thumbs up for this vendor. |
| Negative | mallika_1
toronto
Canada
(1 review)
October 09, 2008 | Ordered for the first time, but will NOT order ever again because:
- tiger lilies were all white, not the multi colour indicated in the catalogue
- the 'dinner plate dahlia' flowers were no where close to a dinner plate - was a mere1.5 inches across
-the calla lilies - have never given me a single bloom, and the plant has stayed an 8 inch tall bunch of green leaves
- the tube rose bulb - did not sprout at all
- am thoroughly disappointed since I have a great garden and do take real good care of all my plants - but this order from Vesey's is very very disappointing
- on a positive note, the customer service is very friendly, and I got a refund on the a portion of my order
- I rather shop at a local nursery for great plants for a fraction of Vesey's price |
| Positive | evr
Toronto, ON
(Zone 5b)
(8 reviews)
August 04, 2008 | ordered seeds and sphagnum moss -reasonable price and good quality. Professional packaging, but I didn't know when my order was shipped as they did not send me a notification email (I did receive a receipt/confirmation on my email though). Other than that, great customer service and shipping at a reasonable time (not price - they charge you different shipments for seeds AND bulbs...kinda pricey but not too pricey), got my package of stuff in less than 10 business days I believe. I would buy from them again even the shipping price is not cheap because they package well! |
| Positive | axelqueen
Winnipeg
Canada
(6 reviews)
June 01, 2008 | I have ordered several times from this company; each experience better than the last; the seeds I ordered grew very easily, and the seedlings have (so far) thrived in my garden...particularly the Foxy Foxglove, and the Helios Clematis (no small feat for a "let's just try this and see what happens" gardener).
But the best experience had to be with their roses; my best friend in Victoria gave birth to her first child in April, so to celebrate, I ordered three Morden roses from Veseys (a Blush, a Fireglow, and a Sunrise). I asked if they could include a little card with the order to congratulate the parents, and they happily obliged. I was very happy with the prompt and personal service, and my friend just informed me that the roses are blooming like there's no tomorrow.
Recently I ordered some Boyne raspberries to fill in a large gap in my yard, and though I wasn't expecting anything in their first year, the canes are bursting forth with healthy leaves. More happy! :)
I also really like their variety of...well, just about anything you can think of! I will order from this company again and again until I have a really bad experience with something, or my fingers fall off and I can't use email any more. |
| Negative | hummerplants
Campbell River BC
Canada
(2 reviews)
May 12, 2008 | Ordered three times from Veseys.
Three rose bushes for spring 2007, two grew one died.
Three Hardy Geraniums, they wre hard as rocks never grew.
Three hyacinth which bloomed nicely this spring.
Three Dahlia Tubers order this spring were small and poor
quality. Dahlia Tubers never poduced roots or sprouts. They
shrivelled up and turned black.
Very disappointed with the outcome of the Dahlia Tubers.
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| Positive | kathiegroomes
Morinville
Canada
(1 review)
January 29, 2008 | I always order from this company - I have never had better service, quality, or selection. I recommend Vesey's to all gardeners... they are also extremely knowledgeable in all areas of the garden, which is especially helpful for new gardeners. I have never had a seed, bulb, or live plant fail, and have always had my questions answered right away whether I use the telephone or email. :) |
| Neutral | crazy_gardener
Wainwright, AB
(Zone 2b)
(42 reviews)
August 27, 2007 | I agree, their seeds are of great quality and they have a great selection to choose from, always something different to try each year.
However their live plants are not at best, I’ve also had many mislabeled lily bulbs from them. Nonetheless, they do stand by their guarantee of customer satisfaction and have always credited my account with no questions asked.
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| Positive | saintartaud
Kansas City, MO
(Zone 5b)
(8 reviews)
May 27, 2007 | I ordered seeds from this company, so I cannot comment on their plants.
They have a fantastic glossy catalog and a very well designed website. Photos and descriptions are clear. These are not always necessities, but a definite bonus. I also like their all season vegetable seeds blends, which I've not seen from any other companies.
Everything I've planted this spring has come up nice and robust, especially the Picante salvia, broccoli & cabbage all season blends, and Touchon carrots. The two organic varieties I ordered, Tyee spinach and Bull's Blood beets, have done fairly well. I didn't have luck with the Magic Carpet thyme, but I'm pretty certain this was my own fault.
I will definitely be ordering from this company again. Absolutely no complaints. |
| Negative | egm
Ottawa
Canada
(7 reviews)
April 18, 2007 | Judging from the comments below, I guess not much has changed over the past few years. Of the items I ordered last year, I recieved cannas - City of Portland - that were twigs with root nodes on them - no tubers - I planted them and had small tubers by the end of the year - no blooms. From another source - other cannas that I planted last year flowered and multiplied. The bluebells arrived moldy and didn't survive. I chaulked it up to buyer beware - but they are not cheap. I ordered from Lindenbergs this year and just received my order. The canna tubers are large, firm and healthy - and 3 for $3.79. I have learned my lesson! |
| Negative | Fundygardener
(Zone 5b)
(6 reviews)
January 22, 2007 | Veseys seeds are great, true. But their service with regards to their plants is abysmal. When the plants I ordered arrived, they were decomposing and unhappy; the order was much later arriving than I had expected it to be, which may be why the plants were so unhappy. I find that they're going on their reputation and not necessarily listening to customer dissatisfaction, or doing very little to improve a situation. I was supposed to receive credit for the plants that expired, but never did. Hence I'll not be ordering from them again, and will think long and hard before recommending them--except for their seeds. |
| Neutral | flowercrazy39
Manchester, NH
(11 reviews)
August 04, 2006 | Ordered about 8-10 seed packets from this company and not a grower in the bunch. Really. They germinated okay but none survived and not by my hands. Very weak seed quality.
On August 25th, 2006, flowercrazy39 changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
I received an email from Vessey's offering me a full refund and I did receive it. I don't know that I'd order from them again but very much appreciate the refund and the effort made. |
| Neutral | Hannahbelle
Victoria, BC
(Zone 8b)
(2 reviews)
May 19, 2006 | Although I love looking at the catalouge when it comes, I must say I have been quite disappointed with the live plants I've ordered. They were very small and in dismal shape when they arrived and most of them did not make it, and here in Victoria BC Canada it is so temperate that we often joke that it's hard to kill plants. The Dahlia that did live (1 out of 4) was not true to name, instead of being a pink ball type, turned into a giant red dinner plate (pretty though it was...)
That said, the customer service representation was excellent and the gal I spoke to was very friendly and said that I would be credited for the lost plants, however when I placed my next order and asked to have my credit applied to that order, it was not done and I was charged full price for my bulbs.
I may try again with seeds but I think that would be it... |
| Neutral | Ceara
Gaspe
Canada
(1 review)
May 15, 2006 | We've ordered from Veseys about 8-10 times over the past four seasons. Ordered everything from seed starting equipment, to organic bug removal products, to seeds, bulbs, roots and shrubs.
We are very pleased with the handling of the seeds and garden supplies. All of these have always arrived quickly and in good condition.
However, the live shrubs we are not generally pleased with. They arrive rather small, and take quite a while to grow. Once, we ordered four lilacs because they were on sale, and two of them died. But we promptly received refunds for these and the next season we re-ordered the same lilacs at regular price and those came in much better condition.
The bulbs I haven't had any trouble with thus far, including the free ones. Some roots we ordered like daylilies are very small, and this is the third season since they've been planted and hopefully we will see them bloom finally this season. The other roots were not that healthy and died.
But this year, we put in an order for a bunch of lily bulbs back on March 3rd, expecting arrival before now, and they still have not arrived. The existing lilies in my garden are already up 5 inches and we are experiencing 80 F temps during the day. I fear receiving these bulbs too late will result in them not blooming this year. Or worse, spoilage from shipping in warm weather.
Have contacted them on the matter of the bulbs this year and was assured they would be shipping out soon, but this is the reply I received on May 3, 2006:
"The oriental lily order will be leaving soon and the larger spring bulb order will be a couple of weeks before it leaves."
As of May 15th, they still have not arrived. Will wait and see what happens. This is why I vote Neutral. Good customer service and nice packaging, but live plants aren't always 100% and a little on the small side. I wish the bulb shipping would be a lot faster. |
| Neutral | girlndocs
Tacoma, WA
(7 reviews)
March 30, 2006 | I ordered some pansy seeds I was hoping to wintersow and was dismayed to get an email receipt saying I could expect the seeds (in stock, not backordered) in 3-4 weeks!
That's just too long. First class US mail can travel cross-country in 4-5 days, I've received Canadian cross country mail in not much longer, and I can't remember a company I've dealt with that had more than a 48-72 day turnaround on orders. |
| Positive | DONBROWN
Halifax
Canada
(12 reviews)
January 05, 2006 | A good reliable company for seeds. I would not order any more blubs or rhizomes from them since the prices are very high and on the one occasion that I did purchase rhizomes, they were rotted and the situation was not able to be resolved. |
| Positive | hillfarm
Quesnel, BC
(Zone 4a)
(24 reviews)
October 24, 2005 | I have only ordered seeds from Vesey's, not bulbs or plants.
I have had consistently good service & the seeds always germinate well.
Caveats: Keep an eye on prices here - some are a bit high in comparison to other sources. A number of times a few items have been back ordered (in a largish order) & have shown up much too late for planting the season ordered.
Overall a reliable seed source. Lots of sunflower varieties & the vegetable selection for short season climates is quite good. |
| Negative | 2zeus
(Zone 7b)
(12 reviews)
October 19, 2005 | Lousy results with plants from this company - I'm on my 2nd replacement tuber for a calla lily, and none of the 3 bloomed, dahlias were the wrong colour and unhealthy, and a replacement for an oriental lily which was the wrong colour was the most pitiful little thing I've ever received mail-order!
Only thing I've had from them that was good was lily bulbs; plants have been scrawny, and either never grew, or were unhealthy. If it weren't for the credit I have for plants that were unacceptable, I wouldn't deal with them in future, and won't once the balance is spent this year. |
| Neutral | WillowPolson
Groveland, CA
(Zone 8b)
(10 reviews)
July 16, 2005 | I ordered 2 rose bushes, and they arrived so late in the spring (late April) that the ones in my yard were already completely leafed out and had buds on them. I even emailed them to explain how warm my California climate is, and to let them know that I needed them sent immediately, and was told "please be assured we will ship your order as soon as possible". By the time they arrived, it was already getting warm and dry here, and one of the two dried up and died despite my best watering efforts.
As a Certified Master Gardener, I have never lost a locally-purchased bare-root rose, which are planted in January, not April. Since they don't seem to be able to ship out their roses early enough for California, I won't be buying from them again. The only reason my review is neutral is that the one surviving rose is doing well and has had four flowers on it this year already (the vigorous Dr. Brownell yellow). Scentimental was much less strong (some branches were rather twiggy) and it basically shrivelled up and died, even though both plants were coated with wax very heavily and I planted them the day after I received them. |
| Positive | redbull
Joliet, MT
(Zone 4a)
(3 reviews)
May 15, 2005 | We ordered and received seeds and roses. Everything was delivered as agreed. The roses were high quality well packaged plants. We are very satisfied. |
| Negative | spklatt
Ottawa, ON
(Zone 5a)
(2 reviews)
March 21, 2005 | Good selection, prompt shipping and very good, thorough sowing info included with each seed order. They will inundate you with "special offers" and other flyers, though - hence my rating is only neutral as opposed to positive.
On August 24th, 2009, spklatt changed the rating from neutral to negative and added the following:
Last fall I ordered daffodils, allium, phlox paniculata and fritillaria. They were being shipped to a colder gardening zone than where my billing address is, and I mentioned this in the order - but Vesey's did not take this into account and the shipment arrived after the normal end of the planting season. The daffodils were the only thing that worked. The alliums came up some white, some purple and some not at all, although only purple were ordered. The phlox and fritillaria were not seen again after their roots were planted in the ground.
In the past I have had good results with seeds from Vesey's, but every time I have tried live plants and bulbs, it has gone wrong. Not a single live plant has ever appeared, no matter what gardening zone I was living in at the time. I doubt I will order from Vesey's again. |
| Positive | cathaleen
Prince George
Canada
(10 reviews)
March 19, 2005 | I have ordered seeds for many years, and always fast delivery of the order. Have also ordered plants from Veseys, and have always been happy with the products and the speed of delivery. For Northern Gardeners working with a shorter growing season, this is a great company to use . |
| Positive | toomanypotatoes
Perry, MI
(17 reviews)
March 01, 2005 | Seeds were received within two weeks which was better than I expected (they're Canadian I'm in US). They had seeds I couldn't find anywhere else and very small seeds were shipped in nifty little plastic vials so they didn't get 'lost' in the packet. That's pretty cool when your paying a premium for those Wave petunia seeds:) |
| Positive | Karrie20x
Spokane, WA
(Zone 6a)
(1 review)
January 24, 2005 | I received my perfect order from them in record time. I was very pleased. |
| Positive | SugarMaple
Southbridge, MA
(Zone 5b)
(11 reviews)
October 26, 2004 | I ordered two types of seeds, one plant, and a couple of books from Veseys this year. The seeds germinated and grew just fine. I'm not too thrilled with the silver lace vine that I received, though. It looked pretty nice when I received it, but it was rather small and didn't grow well at all. I later found out that it is an invasive plant, so I'm only half-disappointed that it isn't doing well. Shipping is slow since they are in Canada and I am in the US, but it didn't affect my planting schedule. Overall, I like Veseys because they have some things that I just can't find anywhere else and because they are in a worse gardening zone than I am in. If it grows there, it'll probably grow here. |
| Positive | roseofkaren
Palatine, IL
(Zone 5a)
(2 reviews)
August 16, 2004 | I ordered some seeds online & printed out the conformation page. Later in the day, I looked at the page & I noticed that I had ordered the wrong variety of the specific seed that had precipitated the seed order! I emailed the customer service department of my error, and they promptly (within 2 hours) responded that they would fix my mistake. When the seeds arrived, they were indeed the order I intended to make in the first place. |
| Positive | heatherg
(2 reviews)
July 14, 2004 | I've ordered seeds and bulbs from Veseys many times, and have been happy with what I received. They gave me free shipping instead of "bonus bulbs" when I asked for it. The bulbs arrive in plenty of time for fall planting. |
| Negative | digwell
Shelburne, NS
(Zone 6a)
(2 reviews)
June 22, 2004 | I have no complaint with the seeds. However, the live plants have been less than satisfactory. Although the three bare root roses that I received from Vesey's were in good condition and are now growing fairly well, a butterfly bush has failed to show any signs of life at all in over six weeks. I was also very disappointed with the size of many other of the bare root plants they sent. A clematis, advertised as a "heavy two-year plant" was a scrawny four-inch long root with the tiniest bud of top growth that has yet to appear above ground. Six siberian iris were each smaller than my little finger, and two purple coneflowers had only single leaves with a small fringe of roots. For the price I paid, I could have bought larger and sturdier plants from local garden centres. Friends had highly recommended Vesey's, and my disappointment is greater because of it.
Company representative comment on June 24, 2004:
We were able to contact "Digwell", and were happy to be able to resolve this issue to their satisfaction.
Veseys |
| Negative | yumiko
Nanaimo, BC
(Zone 7a)
(5 reviews)
May 14, 2004 | I order roses,seeds and bulbs.
Roses - looked good from outside,but very moldy inside.
1 of three did not make it.
Bulbs - They are OK except tree peonies.
They sent me replacement but second one was no good again.
Seeds - they are fine
Customer service was good.They gave me full refund for
damaged plant.
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| Neutral | abrowe
(17 reviews)
March 10, 2004 | I ordered two bare root roses from Vesey's in the early spring of 2003. I waited and waited for them. They finally came in late June, pretty late for planting bare root. They enclosed an apology with the roses, and sent a free rose bush as a consolation gift. Because it was so late, I had a hard time keeping the roses moist until they sprouted, but all three did survive and blossom. I ordered seeds from Vesey's this spring, and they have sprouted well, although they took quite a while to be delivered. If you're not in a hurry to receive something, than Vesey's is a fine choice, but I doubt I'll order roses from them again. |
| Neutral | binoche
Dartmouth
Canada
(Zone 6a)
(3 reviews)
February 16, 2004 | I have always found Vesey orders to be prompt in past years...and so I ordered live shrubs in 2003.
However after receiving such small specimens......I'm afraid this WILL keep me from ordering live plants in the future. Even though my shrubs were planted as soon as they arrived, they were that small that it was impossible for them to attain much height by winter. Their small sizes have me concerned for their welfare, even though I have taken great pains to provide winter protection. I believe i could have taken my own cuttings from neighbours and ended up with larger specimens on my own. |
| Positive | JenniferRuth
Oklahoma City, OK
(7 reviews)
February 06, 2004 | I was pleased with what I got from them, but judging by my experience last year (first time I'd ordered from them), be forewarned that if you order roses, they will arrive in the U.S. much later than roses you order from nurseries in the U.S. The seeds came promptly. |
| Positive | Emaewest
Timberlea, NS
(Zone 6a)
(2 reviews)
August 23, 2003 | My family has a long history of dealing with Vesey's. My grandfather and mother always got seeds there. I, myself, have only been ordering from them for two years, but have found their products to be top-notch.
I ordered bulbs late last year (November) and received them within a few days. They were all half price because it was so late in the season. I didn't think they'd do very well because of how late it was when I planted them, but the pink daffodils and hyacinths all came up. I had some trouble with the checkered lilies, but that was my fault because I planted them in the wrong spot and some of them got trampled.
I have ordered seeds from them as well. The germination rates are fantastic--practically every seed I planted sprouted.
A note about customer service: when the daffodils came up, they were a pale yellow and I thought "Dang, they sent me the wrong bulbs!" so I called them up to complain and they graciously offered to replace them. A couple days later they changed to the peachy-pink colour they were supposed to be so I sheepishly told them that, no, they hadn't made a mistake--it was just me being impatient. The fact that they were willing to replace them, sight unseen, shows they really know how to provide good customer service. A real class act! |
| Negative | alison59
(1 review)
June 04, 2003 | I ordered almost 100 iris' from Vesey 3 years ago. I planted them in the fall and in the spring less than 1/2 of them came up. I called Vesey and was very impressed when their customer service rep offered to send me 50 iris bulbs free of charge. However last year less than 1/2 of the replacement bulbs came up and of the whole crop (many in the ground now for more than 2 yrs)only a handful are stong enough to have buds this year. Several of the tubors also had borers and had I not realized it before I planted them I could have infested my entire garden. I have not been impressed and will not order iris' from them in the future. |
| Positive | cap1
(1 review)
May 26, 2003 | This is the first year I have ordered from Vesseys and I am very impressed indeed! I am a fairly new gardener and botched when I planted my hostas(which by the way arrived swiftly and in great shape)so I re-ordered them. The wonderful person I spoke with at Vesseys listened as I explained about trying hostas for the first time and showed empathy when I revealed they had died on me...she took my order and ten days later, a fresh shipment arrived...at no extra charge! There was a handwritten note stating that all gardeners experience problems at one time or another and they hoped I would enjoy my new plants....will definately buy from them again!! |
| Positive | Savvy
(1 review)
May 18, 2003 | In my experience Vesey's has been first rate. I have ordered spring and summer flowering bulbs, shrubs and other perennial roots over the last 8 years. I have had timely response to customer service inquiries and the staff I dealt with was very knowledgeable. I recently received a Hydrangea which arrived in less than pristine condition and it was cheerfully and speedily replaced without my having to return the old one. |
| Positive | Dawn_BC
(16 reviews)
April 02, 2003 | OK....I would highly recommend looking for bulbs/plants elsewhere.
Theirs seem VERY small for a higher price.
I have complained about their clematis's that I paid a fortune for, but they were happy to give me a refund, while I still got to keep the plant.
BUT their seeds are great. I have had some varieties that didn't sprout & they'll always send a new package FREE of charge.
I always buy seeds from this company. |
| Positive | jimcarter
(4 reviews)
March 28, 2003 | I ordered a wasp trap and tomato seed from their Canadian site. The order arrived promptly and the seeds germinated without problem. What more could one ask? Oh, one could ask for good price. Veseys have this too!
Also be sure to check out their sale section where you might find additional bargains. |
| Positive | catalinetta
(4 reviews)
February 14, 2003 | I bought a book from Veseys this summer and it arrived within two weeks of my order, in good condition, and I was not charged until well after the book arrived. I really liked them and will order from them in the future. |
| Positive | gbateman1
(13 reviews)
January 16, 2003 | Ordered about 6 different kinds of seeds from them and received them all promptly with instructions and nice resealable packets. I got a large quantity of seeds for the price and shipping was very cheap, I don't think they added any extra shipping charges since it was so low. I'll let everyone know in a few months how the plants turn out but so far so good. |
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