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Very pleased with the company's customer service. I received my order in 5 days, except for one backordered packet that arrived a week later. Their selection of heirloom vegetables is great and the prices can't be beat.
12/5/09....I have ordered from this company in the past
with no problems....Received my order very quickly after
placing the order....I did write on the order blank that I
would post a rating on this website about my seed order....not sure if that is important to a staff member who
is sending me the seed order....Regardless, seeds received very quickly....One disappointment was the amount of Harliquin Marigold seeds....only got 50 seeds
for the 2 packets I ordered....marigold seeds are so plentiful when they grow; not sure why they can"t give
more seeds that item....maryanne, zone 5, Ohio
I placed a very large order (over 200 varieties of seeds), books, etc., and am very pleased to have received everything I ordered, save spring planting materials and few back ordered items, in just over a week! Pleasant, responsive, and patient customer service for this first time gardener. Great prices on both seeds and their wide selection of books. A treasure!
On Nov 22, 2009, nhplanter Washington, NH (Zone 5b) wrote:
I am surprised by all of the negative comments here because I have ordered from Pinetree for many years and have been very satisfied. Yes, it's true, you don't get a lot of seeds, but the packets are priced accordingly.
I have read some of the negative reviews after I ordered and received my order from Pinetree. They were recommended on another gardening website and the price was right for me and they had the seeds I was looking for. It looks like the company had a bad spot for a while but if my order is any indication maybe things are looking up! I received my order in a timely fashion(about 1 week), everything was right and I am very satisfied. I planted some of my seeds today and if I have germination problems with the seed I will come back and post again. I hope they have fixed the problems and can be a good company to order from in the future for me and everyone cause their prices are good as well as the packet size, and selection.
On Jul 21, 2009, packetpete Feeding Hills, MA wrote:
I like the way they package - I have a hobby of collecting seed packets and these are very top quality - my seeds were also top notch! Fine people from a fine State!
A couple weeks ago I placed two orders with Pinetree Seeds and was very happy with the extremely quick shipping (USPS Priority Mail) and good packing of both orders. I ordered 4 books and 2 plastic canning funnels. The books were very high quality and so were the funnels. The prices were great too! The cost of the shipping was very reasonable! These were my first orders from PInetree Seeds and I was quite pleased with the experience. Thanks Pinetree Seeds!!
On Jun 27, 2009, icanfindroom Anchorage, AK wrote:
It sounds like Pinetree may be going through some growing pains this year, or other issues perhaps? I have used them for years because they have great prices on seeds and a good selection. Plus they have gardening books for cheap cheap cheap! I did order a catalog from them this year because I moved and I did have to ask twice and it took a month or so to get here. Very different from my past experiences. I will still order from them, I haven't had any problems with their seeds not starting for me yet. But who knows whats up. I would encourage you to give them a try. Just maybe order early and only a few items to see if they've pulled it back together. Here's hoping they do! There aren't many places you can spread your money out as well as Pinetree. Good if your a plant nut and can't make up your mind.
I ordered from Pine Tree around January 1st, because I had read reviews saying they took longer to mail orders out than other companies. It was a couple of weeks before I got my order, while most of my other companies shipped seeds within a week. However, I got their seeds in plenty of time for planting, and their prices are so LOW and the seeds have germinated incredibly well, so it's definitely worth it. Just order your seeds around January 1st!
Pinetree is unique among seed companies for their low prices and smaller quantity seed packets. For a home gardener like me, that's just perfect! Less expense, less wasted seeds (for example, I only need to grow a few tomato plants at a time to keep my family supplied for the summer)
This company has a good selection of both heirloom and hybrid varieties. They're not on the cutting edge of all the trendy varieties that some other companies offer; for that reason, I shop from Pinetree for "tried and true" heirloom peppers, tomatoes, squash and beans. The germination rate has always been satisfactory, about 75%.
I discovered Pinetree seeds four years ago. At that time I thought the customer service was very speedy. It's sad to read that is apparently not the experience so many other reviewers have had this season. This season I ordered my seeds a few weeks later than usual and I also experienced a longer delay in receiving my order. A careful examination of the ordering information notes showed me that January orders are supposed to ship in about a week, and Feb-May orders are 2-3 weeks. Well there you have it, plan accordingly.
I recommend Pinetree seeds for the customer who is happy to order popular, time-proven seed varieties (meaning, at least a couple years "on the market" after the other catalogs have introduced them) and especially for those people who tend to plan ahead and don't need their order "yesterday", LOL.
I placed a large order in February and it came 4 weeks later. I called after two weeks (hitting redial repeatedly) and spoke with the owner or manager. She said their business doubled last year and tripled this year, that she had hired an extra 25 people but still could not keep up with orders. She was very polite and sorry about the delay. My order was complete and the seed germination rate is fine.
A note with my order stated that they have put in additional phone lines and computers along with the additional staff.
I have read that because of the recession, many people are turning to growing their food to save money, and companies are running short of seeds/plants.
I plan to order from them again next year, but will do it in January.
I have ordered from Pinetree for years. Granted, I always order early, with the objective of receiving all my seeds by Christmas, but Pinetree has always come through for me. I had only 2 backorders this year, one of which was for a house plant. The other I received last week, in plenty of time for planting here in IL. I truly hope their apparent current problems will be solved soon, but in the meantime I intend to remain a loyal customer.
I placed an order with Pinetree yesterday morning, paid for expedited processing and just received a call (24 hours after my order was placed) from a lady call Anne to verify my postal code and advise me my order will be shipped Monday! I will post again when I receive my seeds, but I am very pleased with the company thus far.
On Mar 30, 2009, EricaKane Jemez Springs, NM wrote:
It certainly seems Pinetree is having a rough year. My seeds were late arriving as well. I phoned the company and spoke with Sharon, who explained they were very backed up. She said she would call me back--and then SHE DID--twice! Frankly, I was surprised. But she found my order and sent it fairly immediately after that. Yes, I waited longer than I wanted to. But I am so impressed that she followed up and stayed in contact, that I forgive all. So thank you Sharon! I'll be back.
I have ordered seeds from Pinetree for two years, and am completely satisfied. Their selection of seeds is vast--and they have varieties that I have wanted to try but couldn't find a seed source.
This year I ordered my seeds in early January and received them within 10 days. Then in February I decided to start some herbs from seed, and ordered again. I made a mistake on the order form and about a week after ordering, a nice lady from Pinetree called me to verify a number. I received the herb seeds in a week to ten days after the call.
Germination rate is very good, the seeds are exactly the variety as labeled, and customer service, in my experience is superb. On top of all this, their shipping rate is very reasonable!
On Mar 19, 2009, Sorcha_Saille Beaver Dam, WI wrote:
I've ordered from Pinetree for years and they've always been fairly slow, but this year they were VERY slow. I received my order nearly 6 weeks after placing it. I'd guess that the economy is hurting this (and many other) businesses, forcing them to operate with fewer employees than is optimal. That's why I'm staying positive in my review. I think we're all going to have to be a little more patient and understanding of the difficulties that many small businesses are going through right now. If we can all try to work together, perhaps next year, things will be back to normal. Now, I could be wrong, and Pinetree could just be doing a lousy job of shipping in a timely manner, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. They've been good to me before. I hope those who swear they'll never order from Pinetree again will give them another chance. It would be sad to see yet another small business go under in this current economic climate.
On Mar 14, 2009, OzarkCook Middle of nowhere, AR (Zone 7a) wrote:
To be frank, this company was the slowest of several to deliver my order this year (4 weeks as opposed to days with other companies). That said, the web site did contain a warning about delays. I also have to say that my order was correct down to the last detail. Like others, I'm pleased to be able to pay $1.25 for my first try at artichokes and $1.35 for my first try at Aztec tobacco. When my husband saw the box, he asked me how much I'd paid for it. When I told him $65 including shipping for 4 books and more than 30 packets of seeds (including two large packs of sprout seeds), he just smiled. Ah, yes, it was a bargain. If the seeds germinate well, I'll be ordering from Pinetree again.
I have ordered from this company n the past with no prblems but I usually order in January. This year I was running late and the catalog specifies that starting in Feb the shipping time can be as much as 3 weeks and the web site warned they were experiencing heavy order volumes and delays so I opted for the express shipping for $4.50 extra . I placed my order on the evening of 3/5/09 so if they were true to their word with the express shipping as it was by 24 business hours and I placed the order after closing that it should ship on Monday 3/9 and sure enough on 3/12 it was here and was postmarked on 3/9. The order was for 29 different packets of seeds of vegetables,herbs and flowers so even with the extra handling charge it only costan around 40 cents a packet to ship. Only 1 packet was back order and that was more of a curiosity- a WHITE GOLD ROMANESCO - but what matters is the various seeds that need a 10 to 12 week start indoors made it in time as I live in Central NY so planting time outdoors is the end of May.
On Mar 10, 2009, yardener Greenfield, OH (Zone 6a) wrote:
This is my first year ordering from this company. I placed my order back in late January along with my orders to other companies. Pinetree was the last to arrive but it was still timely, second week of February.
I have no reason not to use them again. Good, easy to read catalog and fairly good prices.
On Mar 10, 2009, doghill6 Rogue River, OR (Zone 8a) wrote:
I never have trouble with slow delivery from Pinetree, but I do my order in January so they are much less busy. I love their small packets so I am not left with a bunch of leftover seed. Their year end sale is great, huge bargains. Just today I called to ask them about a problem germinating some seeds, and they answered right away and are sending a replacement pack. I like them a lot.
On March 25th, 2009, doghill6 added the following:
I got my replacement packet, planted them and they are all up. I think maybe Pinetree and some of the others are just getting a lot more orders from new vegetable gardeners, and are just overwhelmed. These are hard times and we all should try to be a little easier on each other.
On Mar 4, 2009, SatorArepo Charlottesville, VA wrote:
This a great company, if only for their wide selection and very reasonable prices. They said my seeds would ship in 2-3 weeks -- after 3 weeks, I was getting worried, so I emailed. They responded by calling me at home on a Sunday, and telling me exactly when my order was shipping. I have never experienced this level of personal customer service from a seed company! I've been very satisfied with the seeds I've started so far; germination of the cabbage seeds they sent me was terrific, almost 100%.
On Mar 4, 2009, cyndiehook Central, ME (Zone 5a) wrote:
Have ordered from Pinetree for many years. Great prices and good seeds. Never disappointed. It is always good to keep in mind that orders placed when catalogs first arrive will be fulfilled much sooner than orders placed during the busy season.
I've ordered from them for more than 3 years. Their seeds are very reasonable. This allows me to order more than I would with other companies and to make experimenting affordable.
This year I forgot to order one packet of seeds that I really wanted and called a day after I realized my mistake. The person that picked up the phone let me order the one packet without charging me another handling fee even though the packet was going to go out separately. This is the kind of service I love and I very vocally recommend them to other gardeners.
Their seeds always arrive promptly. Once I had all the seeds I planted on a specific bean fail (that was a freak thing because all the other seeds I've gotten have been fine). They offered me a new seed packet or a packet of something else.
Another nice thing they do is send a $2 discount coupon with your order so if you place another order within a specific time period you catch a price break.
They are the first company to mail out their catalogs in the winter. Just when I feel the loss of being in the garden, their catalog arrives allowing me to dream.
They rock!
On Feb 23, 2009, lilynmarigold Lexington, GA wrote:
I have ordered from Pinetree for years and have been happy with their merchandise. They have always delivered the seed in a timely manner and with the exception of a few packets of seeds over many many years, the germination of their seed has been good. I like their range of varieties, but at times would like a little more information on some of the seeds which they get from Europe and Asia, such as days to maturity. Their prices/packet size allow me to order and trial more cultivars, which cannot be done at the prices other companies charge. Overall, they deserve an A+ and kudos to their staff, who are knowledgable and curteous.
I placed a mixed order of seeds, supplies (plastic mulch and row covers) and some potatoes and bareroots that won't be available until spring. My seeds and the supplies arrived almost exactly two weeks later, with the seeds neatly bundled in the same order as on the invoice, making them easy to inventory. The bulk row cover and plastic mulch arrived neatly folded and free of snags or tears.
Pinetree has some of the best prices and a nice variety of heirloom and open-pollinated seeds. I've started the onions already, and although they're well-known for having low germination rates I got about 95% germination (and slightly more seedlings that I planned on).
On Jan 24, 2009, Chantell Middle of, VA (Zone 7a) wrote:
Although communications (i.e. when shipment has shipped and response to emails) seems to be lacking...shipping charges are MORE then fair. Great prices on a nice selection of seeds as well!!
On Jan 23, 2009, Wingnut Spicewood, TX (Zone 8b) wrote:
I love how you can buy 15 tomato seeds for a buck from them instead of 75 seeds for three times that much. That's really nice when you have a small garden and really don't need thirty White Cherry tomato plants. Yeah, you can save the extra seeds for next year, but what if you're trying them for the first time and find out you really don't like them? With Pinetree's prices, I can try out two or even three new varieties/plants for the same price as just one from other places, and not have that many (if any) seeds left over, so I think using them for my seed ordering has actually made me more adventurous.
I also like how their shipping is based on the dollar amount of your order. I had the largest amount ($9.99), and it probably cost a couple bucks less than that to send me, but who cares? It's SO much easier to calculate that way.
I just received the seed portion of my order from Pinetree yesterday. It was packed nicely and sent promptly despite there being over 70 items to round up. The corm/tuber portion of the order will ship in spring, so if there are any problems with it I'll post back here ~ otherwise, consider my experience a positive one. I will definitely order from them again, and will tell all my friends to order from Pinetree.
Great selection (lots of heirlooms, all the varieties I wanted so I won't have to order from two or three places). Great prices (a few varieties I bought were less than $1 per packet). Great customer service (the rep stayed on the phone with me for almost ten minutes answering all my questions).
I only had two issues:
1. no shipping conformation, so I had to call to see when my order had shipped.
2. they charged my credit card a few days before they shipped. this was to reserve my seeds, but still a bit annoying.
When I called, the lady I spoke with was very helpful. She even gave me gardening advice when I asked her about specific products. I had planned on two hills each of four types of zucchini, but I decided on one hill each as per her statement that "you could feed the world on four zucchini plants".
I plan on posting more when I actually start the garden (peppers in January, tomatoes and herbs in February, direct sowing in May), such as quality of seeds, germination rate, vigor of plants, yields, etc.
I liked the fact that they have plenty of short season varieties! My plant-out date is not until May 15th, and even when I listen to that we still sometimes get sleet that kills everything. (I have a sob story about last year's tomatoes--I had about ten beautiful heirlooms, some I started from seed, some gifts, planted them out on time, and only two made it because of our May 20th storm, the rest froze.) And we've gotten a light snow in September before, so I'm basically growing things that are 100 days to maturity, max. But I'm sure that all these short season varieties that I found through Pinetree will be great! They have such a good selection!
I have been ordering from Pinetree Garden Seeds for oh, at least 25 years now. I think I first saw them advertised in the Mother Earth News as a company that specialized in seeds that did well in short growing seasons for small gardeners. At the time, I was a beginning gardener at about 9500 feet of altitude in the Rocky Mountains.
Well, I was amazed to find that I could grow fantastic lettuce, brussels sprouts and leeks at that altitude in soil that consisted of little more than decayed granite and horse manure.
A few years later I moved to northern New Hampshire and grew fine gardens for quite a few years with their seeds and other products.
I'm back now in the Rocky Mountains, and still find Pinetree Garden Seeds to be absolutely one of the best suppliers of quality seeds in the nation. I have tried them all, and if I can get the seeds I want from Pinetree I will always prefer them over others carrying the same variety for viability, dependability, and price. And very often they carry varieties available nowhere else that are superior in flavor and robustness to more widely known types.
I ordered quite a few seeds from Pinetree this year. It was my first order with them, and it was quickly delivered from an internet order. Germination was great, even with the more difficult seeds. I will be ordering from them again, and really look forward the the 2009 catalog.
On Oct 2, 2008, Gardener6302 San Antonio, TX wrote:
Ordered two books and some seeds, on sale, from Pinetree on a Sunday afternoon. The package arrived Wednesday morning, a very good deal for $3.50 S&H. This was the third time I've ordered from Pinetree, and all three times have generated very satisfactory results. I agree with other commenters here that Pinetree provides excellent service at a very fair price, with primary consideration given to home gardeners, rather than commercial growers. I'll definitely order from Pinetree again.
On Sep 28, 2008, laurieeirual Boston, MA (Zone 5b) wrote:
I've been ordering from Pinetree for a while. I'm very happy with most of the seeds they've sent me. I'd say that perhaps 3% to 5% of the types I've ordered didn't germinate at all, which is okay with me because their seeds are cheap and I usually order too many anyway.
On the other hand, I had a bad experience ordering strawberry plants from them. I think I ordered some other green plant or bulb and wasn't too happy either, so have decided to only order seeds from them. (They did replace or credit me for the plants, but why go through the hassle again?)
My favorite seeds they sell are Sungold tomatoes and pineapple tomatillos.
I've tried many seed supply companies and have found Pinetree to be one of the best! Delivery of items has been quick on seeds and seasonally shipped plants/bulbs, seeds produce at an excellant germination rate, prices are more than fair. Their choices of products are numerous; the people involved are simply great to do business with. After 14 years of trial, error and failure with other suppliers, I keep returning to Pinetree as I can fully depend on this company's goods.
I've ordered from Pinetree only twice that I can remember - once a few years ago (2002) and once this year. Why did I wait so long to order again? Because I didn't need to order - the seeds I bought back in 2002 are still viable!!!! I've kept them in the refrigerator, and planted a few each year (I only do 3-5 tomato plants per year, so it takes a while to use up several packets of several varieties). Ordered some more stuff this year because I am finally running out of the old seed, I'm growing more food than I used to, and it was just soooo tempting, looking thru their catalog.
Now here comes the really exciting part....
I ordered seeds AND asparagus and jerusalem artichoke tubers all back in February, knowing the plants wouldn't arrive 'til spring. Received the seeds quickly, then, believe it or not, FORGOT I ordered the plants. Bought some asparagus at the local big-box nursery & planted it. When the Pinetree plants arrived, I pulled them out of the box, confirmed they were good & healthy - and stuffed them back in the box to wait til the weekend to plant. Then waited another weekend. And another. Finally decided I'd better do something quick. Extended the asparagus bed & added about half the Pinetree asparagus crowns (which had started to sprout in the box) Planted the other half in a new bed elsewhere in the garden. Set the Jerusalem artichokes aside to plant later in the day. Then had some unexpected company stopping by and went into turbo-clean mode (throwing stuff in boxes & trashcan so I don't look like a total slob). Yup, I lost the jerusalem artichoke tubers. A month creeps by. The poor, abused asparagus is growing healthy & happy & about twice the size of the big-box-store stuff! And, here's where it gets REALLY bizarre. I found the jerusalem artichoke tubers, in a box in the hot, humid garage, where they'd been accidently tossed back in early April! I figured they were probably dead and useless, but opened the bag just to check. To my surprise, two of the tubers still displayed healthy-looking root and shoot nodes. I planted them in a pot, and, believe it or not, THEY ARE GROWING!!!!! All I can say is, Pinetree sells some REALLY strong plants, if they can survive that kind of abuse & keep on ticking. Yes I would order from them again (and I promise I'll take better care of the plants this time).
On May 8, 2008, jayt36 Ashland, PA (Zone 6a) wrote:
After the frustrating experience that I had with Wayside Gardens, I suppose I became a bit paranoid. In checking my orders from various companies I found that Pinetree Gardens had indeed shipped the seed that I had ordered and they were in perfect condition. I had also ordered two live plants which I expected to be shipped at the proper planting time for this area. When I checked their online catalog, I found that both of these plants were "sold out." I called Pinetree and talked to the nicest lady you can ever imagine. She told me indeed the plants were "sold out", but since I had ordered early, my plants would ship next week. I can not tell you how nice it was to deal with a knowledgeable person who did not try to give me a runaround.
I definitely will continue to order from this company.
On September 13th, 2008, jayt36 added the following:
What a pleasure to deal with a reputable company like Pinetree. I recently had an email from them listing their summer close out specials. It noted that some of these items might already be sold out. I placed an order for 4 shrubs at $3.00 each with shipping of $3.00. The order came this week. Only two of the shrubs were shipped. The other two were indeed "sold out." But unlike some other companies, they only charged me for the two that they shipped. The plants were in unusually good condition and large sized. They also sent me a $2.00 coupon for my next order. It is indeed a pleasure doing business with this company.
Again this year, great selection, service and germination rate for several seed varieties. I'm particularly excited about Bacopa blutopia which I've not seen offered by others in the U.S. to retail consumers. A good number of my mature perennials were started from Pinetree seed and continue to be outstanding. For value, there isn't anyone else like them, and I've ordered from no fewer than 30 MO companies in my gardening life.
On Mar 25, 2008, MGinTraining Norwalk, OH (Zone 5b) wrote:
Wow, I was floored by the negative comments since I have been ordering from Pinetree for probably ten years or more without a problem of any kind with seeds, books, products OR customer service.
BTW, the reason that they give less seeds (and a correspondingly cheaper price) is because they are specifically geared toward the backyard gardener. In one catalog now many years gone, I read about how Dick Meiners started out with the idea that most gardeners did not need as many seeds as came in most seed packets. I LOVE this approach. There's not nearly as much waste this way, which is good eco stewardship, IMHO. Think about it...how many of us with yards and not market stands need 50 zucchini seeds for instance??
Pinetree has a good selection of interesting varieties, and when I asked them if they'd consider carrying a particular tomato I had really found worthwhile, they said they'd pass on my suggestion. Fast forward a couple years and lo and behold they were carrying it! AND when I planted some older Sungold and SunSugar seed (late) last season, they sprouted like champs and proceeded to take over the garden bed they were in. We spread some of these vines out at end of season and had some close to ten feet long.
I've found that you get what you give with customer service. Having done customer service work myself, it can be very hard not to return diatribe for diatribe. Even if you are displeased, try to remember that the voice on the other end of the line is doing the best they can with what they've got. They are not trying to thwart you or hold up your order!
Re the person who was told to "give it a try" and see what happens -- unless it was said to me directly in a nasty tone, I'd not have been offended. Via email, you really cannot tell tone. The suggestion was just a simple statement of fact. How else would you get to the next step of figuring out if replacement was needed?
