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My first experience with them this year sounds like everyone else's - spotty. The format of a plant by plant rundown is a good one:
Dwarf pear trees - all very inexpensive; 2 in excellent condition and doing well; 1 never broke dormancy and finally died.
French pussy willow - DOA - dried out and broken; never revivied.
Tree peonies - a bargain - quite inexpensive and all in good condition, doing well.
Phlox - good sized vigorous plants.
Foxglove - none of them ever woke up - all now rotted away.
American sycamore - never broke dormancy, now dead.
Butterfly weed - healthy dormant tubers - doing well
Bottom line - it's a grab-bag - you might get a great plant for a bargain, or genuine junk. I haven't tried to get a refund yet from them - will keep you posted.
I registered with this site simply so I could share my experience with Burgess Seed and Plant Company. My experience with them consists of two orders in the last 2 years. I'll make the first order experience short and sweet. It was a small order - around 4-5 plants - and all but one was received in mostly dead to completely dead condition. Like a devoted gardener freak, I planted them all just to see if I could revive them. No luck. All died. The order was something like this: 1-2 butterfly bushes (received dried out SMALL sticks), Walk-On-Me plants (thyme). I received 5 tiny, single strand starts. None survived. 1 Spice shrub. Received a dried out, barely rooted stick. No luck there either.
As I stated, the order was small and not much money, so I wrote it off as bad luck and left it there.
My second order was this year (2008). The condition of the order is below:
1 Dwarf Blueberry bush - rec'd FAIR plant and it seams fine.
1 Spice shrub - rec's pland broken down to about 3 inches tall with unwrapped roots which were brittle. No green was to be found. In other words - a dead stick.
1 Star Magnolia tree - Rec's with extremely dry, unprotected roots. I MAY have saved this one through extreme care and time, but it looks pretty weak.
Blue potato spuds (5) - rec'd them in a plastic bag. ALL were ROTTEN and MUSHY upon arrival. Nothing quite like the smell of rotten potatos! I threw them away!
2 French Pussy willow starts - rec'd both extremely dry and one was broken at the roots. No root protection and neither had and green on them. Both died.
5 Red asparagus roots - Rec'd VERY dry in a plastic bag with no moisture wrap at all! If you have ever planted asparagus before, you know they are difficult. Good, healthy roots are the key. Of the 5 roots, 2 seem to be O.K. I was highly dissapointed with this one in perticular as I have a decent bed of Jersey Mail Hybrid asparagus already and love it!
2-3 assorded seed packs - I figured 'who could mess up sending seeds? I guess they can! I rec'd 2 packs of what I ordered and one pack of something else entirely! Again, being the plant loving freak I am, I planted them anyway.
My 2 emails to them have been ignored. Needless to say, I find this company a complete waste of money and time. I could probably plant my $50.00 bill in the ground and water three timed weekly and expect a better plant than they could send! I will no longer order from them, nor communicate with them. Every grower I know will know my exprience with them as well. I have an extensive garden and landscaped yard I maintain and it is simply there loss.
**My suggestion is to not order from Burgess Seed. Not if you truly love plants. Order from them simply if you would like to send them a donation and receive twigs and rotten plants for your compost heap. Hey, at least that helps the O-Zone!
I would have to rate this company both negative and positive. If you are expecting to get large perfect plants, Don’t shop here. I made a few purchases of a variety of plants and will rate them below:
Hedges
100 Privet Hedges….they arrived small to medium size and the shipment was short by 5 pieces. I notified them of the shortage and they sent me 10 new ones. We planted them and all but about 5 are fine.
15 Jumbo Hemlock hedges $23.00….Mostly junk…received plants from 6 inches to 18 inches (and these are JUMBOS LOL. After 2 weeks most of them are dead
100 Hybrid Willows…they arrived small to medium in size. After about a week they started showing life and are growing very fast
Various ground cover…..Periwinkles, Walk on Me, Phlox, and Wintercreeper They are very cheap, but so small you can hardly see them in the bags…definitely not worth the bother.
Various vines….Arrived very small and didn’t think they would grow but planted them anyway. Silver Lace, Trumpet Hummingbird are growing very fast Hall's Honeysuckle, Passion Flower and sweet pea barely alive. Kiwi ….ordered 8 (6 f and 2 M) one female was received dead. The others are growing, but much slower than expected
Trees….
2 Magnolia…receiver 2 mini pots with 3 inch trees….After about 2 weeks they started growing but very slow @ $3.00 each, they could hva e been better but are ok.
10 Weeping Willow Trees… We received 10 sticks. We planted them and they are growing fine. Considering they were $1.00 each we are satisfied.
2 Fig Trees…@ $7.50 each JUNK..received 2 tree’s approximately 3 inches each. After 1 ½ months, still alive, but still 3 inches .
2 Red maple…only $1.43 ea. Received 2 sticks, but they are growing fine
Shrubs
2 Rose of Sharon @ $1.25 ea….received 2 …about 2 foot high well branched.. After 2 weeks growing very nice
10 Red Twig Dogwood total $7.50….received 10 small sticks. After 1 month they are growing ok
4 Hansen Cherry bushes. total $5.80….. Received 4 sticks about 2 foot. They bloomed after a few days and even got a handful of cherries on them.
2 Firethorn…total $4.75 ..received 2 approx 2 inches. After 1 month, growing very slowly, but alive.
2 Mock Orange…only $1.50 for both. Received 2 about 3 ½ ft high well branched. After 1 month, I stone dead, one is just barely showing some sign of life.
9 Hibiscus total $5.75 received 9 about 1 inch. After a month 2 are about an 1 ½ but alive, the remainder show no life at all
3 Arkansas Ansonia total $10.95 Received 3 about 1 inch. After a month, there is nothing left but dirt.
2 Huron Sunrise Grass…..total $9.50 received 2 about 1inch…. After 1 month, growing about 3 inches now so very slow.
Various Roses…. Good price…received nice bushes but was short one. Notified them and they replaced the one missing. After a month growing very nice.
The purchases were made from Burgess Seed, Honeycreek Nurseries, and Direct Gardening. I contacted them by email and got quick response to the e mail; however; it took over a month for me to receive the missing items. It only takes 1 to 2 days to charge your credit card, but well over a month to process your order. I have not contacted them yet about the dead items that I received, so I can’t comment on how they will respond.
To sum it up, There are a lot of better nurseries out there, but not at these bargain prices. If you have the time to wait for these plants to grow, then you are getting a bargain. If they honor there guarantee to replace the dead plants, I will definitely shop there again.
i was so hopeful of my 24 Jumbo Canadian Hemlock bushes id ordered some months ago. The arrived after about 6 weeks in a inhumane sac suitable for referral to the cruelty to horticulture society. anyway. 6 were dead on arrival. the remaining 18 were planted and cared for. 3 days later a spring rain left not one needle left. 2 days later theyre all dead. Before they all succumbed id returned my shipping label with a letter requesting 6 replacements. They were allegedly shipped on 5/9/08. It is now 5/21. nothing. I just called a few minutes ago to check on them and i got the rudest woman i'd ever spoken to. ** dont get confused but after the survivors died i called again after sending in anohter letter. I was told that i must first send in the shipping label from the dead 6 (should i ever get it) before they can re-raplace the entire order. I asked the woman if i could pay extra for the replacements to be overnited. She said sure, just call and arrangment after the first order comes. So, i just called again because im sure theyre somewhere dead on a mail truck and asked about them. I told this 2nd woman how the previous had said i could pay extra for expedited shipping....
"we dont' do that kind a shipping".
"well the last woman i spoke to said i could pay extra for it"
"well she was wrong."
"ok, is there anyone else i can speak to?"
"nope"
"you dont have a supervisor or anybody etc...:"
"nope, well there are supervisors but they're on call.. ill put you on hold and let one know youre there, but a supervisor aint gonna get your order overnited anyway so youre wasting your time"
"fine ill waste it then"
(click)
and here we are. I could have driven to Burgess from NY 6-7 times for this order since may 9th. I've wasted a lot of money in my life but this is by far the worst.
I have purchased plants from Burgess and several of their affliated nursery companies. To date I have been shipped plants sealed in poly bags that did not grow, came in moldy, moldy and mildewed, bulbs rotted, other plants with an 80% growth success. I have my shipping paper work and will attempt to get replacements. To realize bulbs are rotten and not growing takes longer than 14 days. Final statement: I will send appropriate paper work to attempt to get replacements on those things which failed; however, I will not order from this company, its affliates, or any one connected with Plantron, Inc.
Unfortunately, I found this site after I'd already made a purchase. I kept my fingers crossed, but no such luck. I ordered 40 privet hedges, and received literally 40 sticks with roots sticking out the bottom. Paperwork was wet, thrown in the same package as the so-called privet "hedges", which I would not, under any circumstances, call a hedge or anything along those lines.
I returned them in accordance with the return policy, within two weeks with the original shipping label. I sent with a delivery confirmation, received a delivery confirmation, but every time I called to ask about my credit, they could not tell me whether they received them (though I had provided them with the delivery confirmation #), and they would always reply, "well, IF you returned them and IF we received them,...." they were absolutely clueless. I gave them the delivery confirmation #, date, time, etc. via phone and email, and FINALLY (after threatening to dispute with my credit card company) they issued me a refund for product cost, MINUS return and delivery shipping fees.
I WOULD NOT ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY IN THE FUTURE.
On May 7, 2008, supeernana Abilene, TX (Zone 7a) wrote:
Hi. Placed order with this company last year and then found this site. Was hoping I'd be able to post a positive, no such luck. I did try to do something another person had suggested, I planted some of the trees and shrubs in the ground and some in planters so they could be babied. Nothing lived. The plants looked dead to begin with but knew from reading here that had to be sure to let enough time pass for them to break dormancy or would get that line from the company. Well, sent a letter and the package label by certified mail asking for replacements, haven't heard from company yet. Bulbs didn't do well either as the glads had what looked like mold or mildew on them. Will wait and see but think I wasted my money with this company. Learnt a lesson the hard way, check things out first.
On May 5, 2008, muskrat_ranch Alberton, ON (Zone 3b) wrote:
We ordered trees 100 evergreens & approx 25 ornamental/berry/nut trees. Long way to ship, the Northernmost edge of Minnesota, but the trees arrived in good condition. Some of the hemlocks look rough (not fresh, dried out) but the bulk of the evergreens are pleasing, good size, roots, etc. Many of the ornamentals exceeded our expectations for size, root mass, esp. for the bargain prices. Will probably have to replace 3 runty Juneberries that are likely DOA & a maple with some root malady but we knew to save the shipping label & if we eventually get new ones with no hassle I'm cool with that. No breakage at all during shipping, probably getting a whole bunch of trees helped because they were all bundled together? I would not venture to buy more delicate items like perennials but would get trees again. If some catastrophe strikes & everything dies in June I'll post again. Bottom Line: Met our expectations for bargain trees, did not expect filet-mignon at these prices & so far are satisfied with what we received.
On June 13th, 2008, muskrat_ranch added the following:
Mid June: the ornamentals are all doing well except the 3 we suspected (plus one rugosa rose the dog ate). Sadly the Cdn Hemlocks did not survive. Many of the evergreens have died too, will go the replacement route. Ornamentals: thumbs up Evergreens: thumbs down Star performer: the Japanese Lilac
On Apr 30, 2008, sparkymarky Rapid City, SD wrote:
They offer a one year warranty. We spent nearly $100 on shrubs and all but a few of them died, most within weeks. We waited to warrant them until this spring to make sure the other few made it through the winter. Now, to spend nearly $100 you know there were a lot of shrubs at their price. Anyway, I saved and sent all the little tags in, and then they tell me they needed the PACKAGING...you know, those muddy plastic bags that they stuff all the little sticks in. So, I'm out the money, another year without shrubs around the perimeter of my property, and hoping I can afford to buy shrubs with my small gardening budget. BURNED!!
"From Eroyal Dutch I ordered 4 Black Magic Elephant Ears (No. 32426747)
From House of Wesley I ordered 2 Bat Flowers (No. 32426755)
Both are part of your Company according to my research.
First of all I am going to say that I find your customer service extremely poor.
I ordered AND IMMEDIATELY PAID FOR the following ON APRIL 9TH.
4 Black Magic Elephant Ears in the total amount of $43.39
2 Bat Flowers in the total amount of $28.99
Grand Total I PAID is $72.38
I have called three times to find out where my plants are. I was given a “parrot”
answer each time saying they have shipped and were shipped on APRIL 19th. No further
effort was EVER made to find out WHERE my plants are. Well, here it is, April 30
and I have YET to receive my plants. So I called again today to get my money refunded
and was rudely told that I could NOT get my money refunded and no attempt would
be made to put a tracer on this shipment until MAY 19TH????????? A MONTH for a
tracer on a shipment paid for (and supposedly sent on April 19th) is more than outrageous.
This should have been done immediately after my first call. THAT’S customer service.
I have also checked your rating with the Illinois Better Business and some other
sites on the web and, not to my surprise, your rating is “unsatisfactory”. Had
I known this, I would never have done business with your company. I intend to spread
the word among my friends and fellow gardeners about your “customer service” and
I how feel I have been ripped off. I know my order is small, but I do expect decent
customer service. Well, I tried to call AGAIN and speak with Richard Owen, President
of your Company, and was told he does NOT take calls from paying customers??? Interesting
and I have duly noted that. Please make note that I have NO intention of ever doing
business with your company again.
I want a refund in the FULL amount of $72.38 credited to my VISA. I should not
have to pay shipping on products that obviously I’m never going to receive. If
I ever DO get these plants, I will be returning them to you and I want to be removed
from your mailing list.
I expect a timely response to this email or my next step will be to contact the
Illinois State Attorney General’s Office"
On April 30th, 2008, Helen_C added the following:
Well, I called this "company" again today to find out why I still haven't received my plants. As per the norm, I got the usual song and dance from their so-called "customer NO service" so I asked to speak with a Manager. I was transfered to "Kevin", who sadly has no last name, and I was treated just as poorly as ever. I could not get any kind of an answer as to where my plants were and when I asked about a tracer being put on my order, I was first told that "policy" will not let them do a tracer for 30 days. THEN this clown told me that "we really don't have any kind of tracing policy with the post office".
I also tried to explain that I had received dead plants and Kevin asked me how I assumed they were dead and not just dormant. I figured that when a plant crumbles in your hand after removing it from their "shipping package" that it is safe to assume that it's past dead. So Kevin tells me that it takes up to 6 weeks for these plants to start to bloom. How does a plant that crumbles able to bloom?
I advised this Kevin guy that I'm finished talking with him and dealing with a company that does nothing but rip off people and my next step will be to file a complaint with the Illinois Attorney Generals Office, which I am doing today.
I'm out almost 80 bucks for the order I'm never going to get, plus I'm out another 25 bucks for dead (not dormant) plants.
DO NOT BUY A THING FROM THESE THIEVES AND RIP OFF ARTISTS!!
The plants I received from burgess were seedlings and the roses had a single pencil size cane. These people should take there operation to the swap meet where they belong. I am still waiting for the last part of the shipment, this is beyond fertilizer
I recently purchased 300.00 in trees and shrubs from this company, they were sent as described and I followed the directions for each tree and plant, I had less than 5 plants out of over a hundred that did not produce, I think that is outstanding for mail order, plus the fact that I have a green thumb (amature landscaper) but the money I saved was well worth the small loss and I will be ordering again next year.
On Apr 17, 2008, hoganhound Albuquerque, NM wrote:
Lots of stress in these posts about plants! Thats terrible and surprises me too...I Have ordered maybe 6 times 2007-2008 through burgess and friends, have had no problems as of yet. I see many posts regarding $100-$300+ orders...I would caution against such large orders from discount catalogs. If I dont know exactly what Im getting, nor in what condition it wil show up in, (IF I CANT PICK IT OUT!) well, then I would not spend an amount of money that would upset me if any problems arise. Rather, expect less from deep discounted sources, and you wont be (too) dissapointed.
Having said that, I have ordered small quantities of trees, bulbs, in/out plants and, so far, no probs...Tree seedlings are a bit small for my taste. If I can get it locally I dont buy catalog stock.
I want to say that if you want to dump $100 + dollars on plants, head to the local Native nursery and buy 2 really expensive, cool specimens and be much happier for it than with a large green bag full of "I forgot I ordered SO much" on your doorstep in 1-2-3 months. And, from time to times, for shts and gigs blow $10-$20 online...I and you will be happier and more confident/less stressed that way...isnt that the point of buyin plants? Good luck!
I had a reorder place in Jan. 2008 for items thats didn't grow the previous year. I spoke to an agent on March 7th and she assured me that they received my reorder and it would be shipped in April because I'm in zone 5. Well, today after looking at this website I called to update staus only to find out that my order was shipped on March 19th. I haven't received the order so I asked to trace it. I was told that there was no way to trace the package until it's 30 days lost (april 19th). I expressed obvious concern that if this happened I would be planting in the first week of June the way they ship, and was greeted with 'there is nothing I can do'. I then asked to speak to shipping and was told that they can't contact shipping but wait until the 19th and they will trace our package. Well, if plants are sitting in a plastic bag within a plastic bag, in the back of a mail truck for 30 days, what kind of product will I receive? I asked why can I order something from Hong Kong and get it in a week, but I live in the same state as the company that sells the product and can't receive my product in a reasonable frame of time and got the 'there is nothing I can do'. There is no reason to keep dealing with this organizxation
On Apr 15, 2008, gardenerKB Marshalltown, IA wrote:
As explained in the catalog, the items ordered were sent at the appropriate time for planting. The bushes looked green and healthy and had nice root systems; the grasses were green and carefully packaged, also with nice roots. We chose Burgess because of the competitive prices and were not disappointed.
On Apr 11, 2008, Freds_Garden Varysburg, NY wrote:
Last year I ordered plants and they never usurvided. They were basically dead by the time I got them. We tried and of course the plants didnt.
This year I ordered some additional plants figuring ok. We will try again. Well the trees that came in were broke in half, no root stock and obviously were in that condition before they were shipped and they cracked like a dead twig.
After writing to them, the reply was, well we have this quarantee, of course we will replace it ...... but....... return the label and we will either give you credit or replace the plant. Obviously by the time you get the paperwork, the plants will be gone.
Maybe they are planning it that way and we should all let the attorney general know in your state as well.
This will be the last time I ever deal with these people and I am not afraid to let anyone know to stay away from this company.
First experience with Burgess seed were Blueberry plants which arrived broken and much smaller then the stated 12"-18". Decided to overlook it. Placed a second order for $110.00 worth of Trees, bushes ect. Called Burgess to ask if order had been shipped. No, it had not. Good, because I have had an unavoidable Emergency come up and must leave for a few weeks. I needed to Cancel the Order. I was told, I need to send in a written Cancelation request. And what if you send order in the mean time? Very uncaring customer service person said that was the best they could do. Very unhappy with this co. BEWARE-AVOID-once they get your money, you are at thier mercy and will see just how much they value thier customers.
Ordered 10 trees, 3 yuccas and 10 asparagus. All arrived healthy and free of mold. Some of the trees had a few small branches snapped. Overall OK. I think I will risk another order and see what happens.
Please save yourself the hassle and DO NOT order from this company. I wouldn't trust any of its affiliates either. I placed a $300 order with this company. I'm not going to go into every detail of my exchange, however, I will tell of the thing that ticked me off the most. I paid extra for a blueberry collection that was to be potted and delivered at 18-24" height. The cheaper/younger plants were stated as being 12-18" in height. The plants that they sent me and I paid EXTRA for were barely 8" tall, pot and all. I was nothing but pleasant and professional to them on the phone and only asked that I be credited the difference between the older and younger plants. They can't DO that at their call center and you must mail in that stupid all important shipping label and their billing department MIGHT take care of it. I told them that was rediculous in this day and age and I wouldn't be ordering from them again. Please save yourself the hassle. The enticing low prices and pretty pictures in their mailers are not worth the hassle. Spend the extra money and buy a plant from a more reliable and customer oriented business.
I was terrified to get my order, because I ordered before I found out about this site. The negative reviews definitely had me thinknig twice, especially since I ordered about $150 worth of products.
The only thing I'll say is that they sent me my products way too early. The bareroot things came when we had 7 inches of snow on the ground, so I wasn't really able to plant them. They also sent me the potted live plants, which I am keeping in a window and won't plant until May, because that's when we're out of danger from frost.
Everything that came was in good health. I ordered 16 carnation plants and they're healthy, and the Hosta and Astilbe roots were quite substantial in size. The Lavender was good, and the Gladiolus bulbs were a good size and healthy. The potted Gaillardia were small, sort of wimpy, and the foliage was yellowish. But, I took them out, planted them in potting soil, stuck them in a window and gave them ample water, and in just about a week they've grown a lot and are green and healthy. I also ordered nine rose bushes, with mixed reviews. Some of them were small and wimpy, but some of them were huge with thick stalks and an enormous root system. Looked fairly healthy, but we'll see about that. Overall, nothing they sent me was dead and I was impressed by the quantity of items I received for the money. I've got lots of work to do!
I ordered $66 worth of plants from this company on 3/15/2008. I ordered online and have not received any other communications from them, nor have I receive any product.
I emailed the about a week ago and never received a reply to my inquiry.
I tried to call them today, 4/3/2008, and their line was busy every time I called, no voice mail options or anything like that. This is getting ridiculous.
I then decided to come here and check to see if other have had problems as well, and after reading all the neutral and negative comments, I’ve decided I will NEVER, let me repeat that, NEVER EVER order from this outfit again.
My final rating will depend on the condition of the product when it arrives, IF it ever does, and if any of it lives.
I ordered a Climbing Blue Moon rose. Well, a rose arrived. There was no advance notification from the company, so I had no idea when it would come. I came back from a business trip to find an unmarked plastic bag crammed into my mailbox with a bunch of other mail. You would think they could mark the plants so that the mailman has some idea how to handle them! He's amenable to leaving things on the porch if he knows he shouldn't crush them.
Anyway, this poor squashed bareroot plant is not even the rose I ordered. It is a Climbing Blue Girl rose, according to its label. I know these are not the same thing, and I don't know if I'll like the Blue Girl. I received no notice from the company about any substitution. Sigh.... I've decided to plant it and see how it does, but I'm not happy with the company and wouldn't order from them again.
On April 25th, 2009, neon_sky changed the rating from neutral to negative and added the following:
As of April 25, 2009... It survived. It even thrived, although it arrived damaged. BUT, this is not only not the Blue Moon I ordered, but now that it's flowering it turns out not to be a Blue Girl or any other "blue" rose. It is hot pink, with a salmon-coral blush to the outer petals!!
As I was planting a "blue" garden when I put this in, it is quite out of place. And after waiting a year for it to bloom, I am quite unhappy to see that it's some other climbing tea rose!
I'm going Neutral as of now, it may turn negative later but will not be positive.
I ordered over 150.00 in fruit trees (apple and "fruit cocktail), shrubs (Hardy Privet, Rose of Sharon), berry bushes (blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry) in early Feb. I was quoted a time frame of later April - Early May which was fine as I have a lot of work to do in the yard before planting (ie: fencing, mulching, etc)
The first part of my order arrived on March 26th, the rest arrived on March 29th. IT is still freezing here, actually snowed today. The timing is way off. In addition many plants appear to be less then 1 year old, while others appear to be 2+. I have some pieces of hedge that are over 3 feet tall and others that are less then 1 foot tall.
Also, I received 2 pieces of "sticks" that were labeled as Rose of Sharon, they have no roots at all, when i called and requested replacements I was told to return the shipping label... for a stick. Now I have to wait to plan the rest of my hedge due to their poor laborers.
AS mentioned. If everything survives and I get my replacements for defective trees this will be a "neutral" and I will probably buy from them again as the prices are great. If the plants don't survive or the warranty isn't honored this will be a negative. I doubt I'll be buying from DirectGardening.com or Burgess anymore unless the plants I have perform extremely well
On Mar 29, 2008, Idahoan Boise, ID (Zone 6a) wrote:
I have ordered from Burgess for years with no complaint. I placed an order this year and the seed portion arrived before the live plants. The live portion arrived today. I ordered creeping phlox and they arrived green and moist with new growth and the bulbs look just fine.
I have ordered from Burgess Seed & Plant in the past. I am fully satisfied with my order and I am getting ready to place another order this weekend for over $150.00 worth of plants. My last order I placed was a smaller order of Colorado Blue Spruce and Wisteria. The pine trees arrived in the green bag, but was moist and all had very strong root systems. The wisteria upon first look I thought I was sent a stick, I did a scratch test and they was fine. I planted the wisteria, wisteria is a very slow growing plant they take about 5-7 years to actually get large flower blooms. They are still alive and about 4 ft tall now, for wisteria that is a very impressive growth rate. Two of the pine trees did die, but that is a chance a person takes even if they are buying from a well known greenhouse. I do not think 2 out of 12 plants dying are bad odds. Some of the pine trees upon arrival was a little rough with black needles and some needles falling off, but again for the price this is to be expected. However, I planted the trees despite some of their apperance looking a little frail gave them plenty of room for the root system and today they are all about 3 ft tall and they all look great. As with the wisteria, colorado blue spruce are slow growing as well but their growth rate has also impressed me. I also planted the free peach seeds and they were not only interesting but very flavorful as well. I will be sending another order to Burgess for some more plants and trees, I am very impressed with the prices and the plants. Buying from a greenhouse costs three times as much and you still take a chance of something dying. I have had great luck with Burgess. I also might add, Burgess cannot keep up with the weather in every state, as many states such as Ohio have many days that are unseasonable, I wait to place my order until it is time to plant, that way I avoid getting plants to early. Thank You Burgess for the great prices and great plants.
Months ago I placed an order for two musa banana plants (grow bananas at home!)...but I was disappointed that shipping was only by date, not by weather. So a week later I found banana plants elsewhere! And I called to cancel my order and the "nice" lady that answered said that it is company policy to have me handwrite and sign a letter, and mail it to the company to cancel the order! I replied "you're kidding me" and in the most sassiest of all sassiness the lady replied "NO I'M NOT FRIGGIN' KIDDIN' YOU" so needless to say, I had an irate person on the phone, I asked what the price of the order was, it was under $20...and I said, fine just send them. Then the lady became nice...and started telling me how to take care of banana plants. She said that the leaves will appear dusty, and that I should take a child's toothbrush and rub the leaves clean, and then take the toothbrush and stick it in the dirt, and this is how I pollinate the plant, and this is what makes it produce bananas. Like a good girl I sat there and listened to this, knowing that that is impossible! And guess what? Edible bananas do not need pollinated! And had they been edible seeded bananas, the pollination is done with their flower! Not their leaves and the soil. Well, needless to say, that "dust" on the leaves is a waxy substance, that yes, it does need cleaned off, but it will not pollinate my plant. So I got off the phone with her (she told me I would get a big pamphlet on how to take care of my banana [in the first box she says, like it will come in it's own box...LOL]), her having taken me for a fool...turns out a week later my "plants" show up. During a cold week, with a box full of holes, the plants laying on their sides, bags over the pots (which did nothing to keep the soil in BY THE WAY), dirt totally covering the leaves...and plants that are all but dead! After over a week, they are still just dying! And one was an inch tall, the other maybe 2, both with only 3 leaves! And I know the problems not on my end, because I ordered 44 from somewhere else, and they are all doing fine! After finding this site, and having my own experience as well, I will never do business here again!
Oh, and this pamphlet that tells me how to take care of bananas? No, it is a generalized pamphlet, a few sentences on every plant, nothing I wouldn't have known already, plant and water! Protect from cold...REALLY!
I rated my experience neutral, because Burgess fully kept its part of the agreement, which is what I expect when I do business with a company. I gave Burgess my money, and in timely fashion Burgess sent the seeds and plants I ordered. Compared with other experiences reviewed here, mine might be considered positive. On March 9, 2008, I placed an order that included largely seeds and bare-root trees. I was apprehensive after reading other reviews and placed only a modest order (~$40) for inexpensive items. My order arrived in two parts, seeds on March 25 and trees on March 27. The trees were small (appropriate for the price) but alive and mostly well-rooted. Our delivery person drove into our yard to deliver the trees. I was available to process them immediately by planting in a protected area, where they will remain until replanting during fall after they go dormant. Burgess really means 'bare-root'. The trees arrived with no protection to the roots other than the plastic bag in which the trees were shipped. Had my trees sat roadside on a hot day, their outcome might have been different, but since they were processed immediately I am optimistic over their survival. I will mention two minor disappointments regarding my order, the first of which is my issue, not Burgess'. I ordered their 'tree sampler', their choice of inexpensively-priced, overstocked trees. I dreamed of receiving exotic, flowering and ornamental trees that would adorn my yard at a remarkably cheap price. I received a fine assortment of trees, none of which fits well into my landscape. I hasten to add that Burgess did its part by sending live, well-rooted trees. I might advise, though, unless you have a large space to fill with any available trees, you might pass on the tree sampler, since I guess exotic flowering and ornamental trees are unlikely to be overstocked. A second issue I raise concerns a $3.95 packet of watermelon seeds that contained a total of only seven seeds. Instructions included with the seeds indicated that I should plant 3-4 seeds/hill and thin to a single plant/hill. At almost 60 cents/seed, I will not be following their planting instructions! If my seven seeds provide me with all the watermelons I want, I will be satisfied that I got my money's worth. Nonetheless, seven seeds for $3.95 might be a bit stingy, and I will keep my packing slip should ultimately I be dissatisfied with my purchase. Overall, at this point I believe that Burgess fully met my expectations, and if my satisfaction continues I will not hesitate to order from them again.
On June 17th, 2009, rwand changed the rating from neutral to positive and added the following:
My elevation of last year’s neutral rating to this year’s positive rating is based wholly on my experiences with orders to Burgess and not intended as an overall assessment of the company, which according to complaints posted here has problems with both product quality and customer service. One previous reviewer stated in effect that a positive review of this company does a disservice to humankind; nevertheless, failure to document positive experiences does a disservice to prospective satisfied customers who might be dissuaded from ordering plants based on only negative reviews being posted. Fortunately, with neither of my orders during two successive years did I experience the nasty, smelly plants or the rude customer service reported by other reviewers.
In January 2009 I placed a $60 order for largely inexpensive trees, shrubs and seeds. I limited my order because of problems that others have encountered and did not want to invest more than I could afford to lose. My $60 purchased a large number of plants and varieties of seeds. As explained by Burgess would happen when I ordered online, the seeds arrived promptly and the trees and shrubs arrived in April. As experienced last year, most trees and shrubs arrived bareroot in a large green plastic bag. Also like last year, our delivery person dropped off the plants at our house, instead of attempting to cram them into our mailbox at the end of a long driveway. I immediately planted the trees and shrubs in pots, and most came out of dormancy and developed green leaves. Most were well rooted, and some (e.g., forsythia) were very well rooted. A few trees arrived with skimpier root systems; these trees have not leafed out and may not survive. If this occurs I will request warranty replacements.
I only recently planted this year’s Burgess garden seeds, but I noticed since placing my order in January that most seeds of my selection were also available for equal or lower prices at various times and at various local garden shops; based on this experience, I think neither Burgess’ selection nor prices for seeds are necessarily better than can be obtained locally by budget-conscious gardeners in this area. However, I have not seen prices for trees and shrubs that are competitive with Burgess’.
A few seeds (seedless watermelon) and trees (some blue spruce, redbuds, and trees from their sampler) from last year’s order did not survive. (Last season I ordered redbuds also from both the Arbor Day Foundation and from my local conservation district, and every redbud from these sources survived; thus, I believe the Burgess redbuds either arrived in poorer condition or were of inferior quality.) This winter I requested warranty replacements. The replacement seeds arrived promptly, and based on information Burgess provided I expected the trees to arrive during the spring. Several weeks after having received the last of my 2009 order, and after most of my 2009 trees and shrubs had emerged from dormancy, I inquired of Burgess customer service via e-mail regarding the status of my warranty replacements. I received a canned reply stating that my trees had been shipped and would arrive in 7-14 days. (7-14 days?! Considering that their bare root trees are shipped with unprotected roots, I am surprised that the company uses a method of shipping that could have the plants in transit for as long as 2 weeks.) My trees arrived about 10 days after my query, and I found them to be in poorer condition than either my original 2008 or my 2009 order. The roots were completely dry on the redbuds and the tree sampler replacements. The blue spruce were wrapped in a second plastic bag and seemed to be in somewhat better condition. Ironically, a key to bare root planting is not to let the roots dry before planting. Too late! These trees did fit the ‘dead stick’ description frequently used in reviews published here. Nevertheless, I planted the trees in pots, watered religiously, and waited. Almost amazingly, most of the dead sticks have developed a few small, green leaves, and I have some hope for the others. If any fails to survive I will request a replacement and hope any replacement arrives in the condition my original 2008 and 2009 orders were received.
Numerous reviews have been posted here regarding Burgess’ requirement to return the original shipping label for warranty replacement, often from customers who did not keep the shipping label, making me watch for statements on terms of the warranty. The need to return the original shipping label was described on the Burgess website before I placed the order, with confirmation of my order, and again when the order arrived. I will not judge whether or not Burgess’ requirement for the original shipping label is reasonable, but the company makes their requirement readily available at several steps in the process of placing and receiving orders.
As recommended by other reviewers, if a gardener wants immediate gratification from his/her plant purchases he/she might be dissatisfied with Burgess’ plants. If plans are short-term, and a gardener wants beauty from his/her plants already this year, he/she might consider spending more at a local nursery. But if plans are long-term, e.g., landscaping an area for future use, Burgess might allow a gardener to landscape within a limited budget.
If you are the type of gardener who enjoys the challenge of starting with small plants and nurturing their growth, if you are the type of gardener who buys closeout plants from the corner table at your local garden shop and enjoys seeing what you can make of the plant, you may well be satisfied with your purchases from Burgess.
Despite negative comments from other customers, I decided to risk $30.00 with Burgess seeds. I ordered one packet of seeds and 2 pairs of Elderberry plants in mid January from their web site.
The seeds arrived in a timely manner, along with my free promotional Peach vine seeds and tomato seeds.
I had not received my Elderberries by March 15th, so I e-mailed customer care to find out the status of my order. I received an e-mail the next day telling me I would get my order within 7-10 days. However, I got the package 2 days later on the 17th. Makes me think that customer care is not completely informed about shipping dates; or they are just telling customers what they think they want to hear.
The Elderberry plants were packed in a green plastic shipping bag. I think a box would have protected them better - but they were in good shape despite this. A tiny scratch test on each bare root plant revealed that they were alive and well. They were a healthy size as well, with pencil width stems.
I received a 2nd free set of the Peach vine and Tomato seeds in the mail with my Elderberries. This was probably an oversight on their part.
Overall, I'm happy with the plants and seed, but I'm left with the feeling that I was lucky - this time. I will probably order from them them again, but I still wouldn't risk more money than I'm ready to loose.
Also, this company does not send e-mail shipping notifications for customers who have ordered on-line. I hope this will change - it would help belay the wait and worry of dealing with a company with such negative reviews.
I ordered ten hybrid poplars and ten hybrid willows. When they arrived the shipping bag had been torn and the plants were dry and roots bare and dry. I was slightly panicked but I decided to soak them in buckets for a couple of days, then I planted them in my yard with a little compost, and to my surprise, within a week every last one of them has green leaves on them.
I have ordered trees from more expensive companies, and even the arbor day society, but have never had this kind of success. I have an entire acre to replant, and will definately order more trees from you.
I think a lot of people who order from mail order catalogs, expect these large blooming leaf filled trees to come in the mail, but with a little patience and dilligence, sometimes good things happen to bald dry roots with sticks attatched.
I ordered 2 Tulip Trees, 2 Willow Trees, 2 Concord Grape Vines, 1 Himrod Grape Vine, 1 Canadice Grape Vine, 2 Gooseberry bushes, 3 Heritage Raspberry bushes, and their strawberry collection. I ordered these plants on Feb 26 and they arrived on March 8 (a bit early for my area, NJ, but luckily the weather was ideal for planting). All plants look healthy and fresh. Many had new growth showing. Plants were moist. The plants did not have anything wrapped around the roots to contain moisture, so you really need to act fast to get the plants in the ground when they arrive.
I am keeping a diary of how these plants grow at the following web site: http://www.geocities.com/rbaker31/Burgess.htm for those who are interested. If the web site gives you a data transfer message, please try back later. Thanks!
On Feb 20, 2008, DMgardener Mount Orab, OH (Zone 6b) wrote:
I sent a mixed order of plants, bulbs, and seeds on Jan.9. I recived part 2 of the order first strangley enough containing the seeds with out the free seed ( you got bounus seeds if you ordered) so a few days later I called them. Customer service was very nice, and after finding my order in the system she told me that the free seeds would be sent with the plants and bulbs in package 1 witch will come in march. I will order again next year.
On March 23rd, 2008, DASIYS changed the rating from positive to negative and added the following:
I am writing this update because I just recieved part 1. In the plant and bulb catagory I ordered: 3 stargazer lilies, 20 gold potato sets, and 1 yucca. First of all, everything was very moldly and the yucca was NOT a yucca(I am very sure that it was just a weed, it was obviously DEAD). If the potato sets were and good they would weigh at least 5 lb., it weighed less then a pound and the lily bulbs were packed in 1 tsp. of peat and were, get this, 1 in. around ! I will NOT order next year!
I ordered The sub-zero rose collection and the Tree peony collection- cost me over a hundred dollars. The items died and the next Spring they sent me the same collection as a replacement. The items came a month early because there was a warmer spring in most the country...but I live in MN and it was still freezing when my plants arrived at my door. I called the customer care (ironically named) line. basically told me to keep the plants indoors til it was warm and then plant them. Long story short- they all died. I called and emailed Burgess every day for 2 months. They gave me the run around until finally I was told my warranty was up and they would not replace them cause I waited to long. It was impossible to speak with anyone with any authority. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I was sent a letter saying that Burgess was making me an offer for compensation but I never received ANYTHING! After months of emails, letter and phone calls, I finally gave up.
Instead I make sure everyone I know never does business with this company. I hope everyone reading this doesnt fall for their "Low Price" garbage- because the Service and product you get is just that- GARBAGE!
I ordered plants from Burgess. When they arrived mostly were dead, not dormant but dead! 4 out of 5 trees were dry out, branches braking like dead wood. Irys was switch to different one and completly dry. Few of daylilies had either cut off tops or dryied out, they wre only roots. I called the catalog saying I'm going to ship all back to them, I was told they don't want them, neiter me. I called my credid card to pay only for the plants wich I kept, those sent to me alive. the rest I sent back. No more orders for me from this catalog, not worth a penny . It cost me money for shipping both ways, but mostly the disapointment I got. It looks to me like someone played bad joke on me, for the money I was willing to pay for plants and shipping.
On Oct 27, 2007, jonlundstrom Saint Louis, MO wrote:
Stay away from them. I ordered from them and the bare rooted stock is usually DOA and the guarantee is a pain to collect on. The only plants from them I have had luck with are the rose of sharon. The bulbs are OK too, but I would stay away from this company.
On Sep 17, 2007, wisconsinfarmer Chicago, IL wrote:
I can not begin to tell the terrible experience that we have had with this particular seed company and would absolutely not refer Royal Dutch OR its affiliates. We have a farm and a city garden. We are very knowledgable gardeners/farmers and have had great success with nurseries in the past. Throughout the past 2.5 years we've ordered in excess of $1000.00 worth of plant material/bulbs through Burgess Seed and Royal Dutch. NOTHING has survived or even shown initial growth potential. On the first order we received 72 Giant Thujas, $500.00 worth of trees guaranteed to grow 18" a year. They immediately died. This year we ordered the peonie tree collection( and several other bulbs/plants/trees) and a landscape architect told us that it was all dead upon arrival. We have not been able to get refunded while we have followed their return credit/refund policies and as a result l feel that this company acts fraudulently. They keep your money and send you dead material. We are not interested in replacements as their plant material is a waste of time and money. I strongly urge people not to buy this product for they will surley be disappointed, out of luck and money.
Negative is putting it mildly I can tell you that. I'm telling everyone I know that gardens NOT TO ORDER from this company.
I have ordered from seed companies by mail before, this was my first time with Burgess. It was quite a large order.
Most of the items would have been shipped by other companies in the spring of 2008 when it was time to actually plant the items.
Oh, no, not Burgess. They arrived quickly during a two week stretch of over 90 degree weather. The poorest packaging I have ever seen. No protection what so ever. Basically just thrown into a big plastic bag.
I put everything in water for a few days to see if that would help. Nope, 96 percent of what I ordered did not live.
I will never ever order from this company again. I guess that old saying is correct " if it seems to good to be true, it probably is." The next time I order, I will order from companies I can trust.
To anyone contemplating using any Plantron catalog. A WORD OF WARNING. I worked for the company for several months a couple of years ago. First of all, their Customer Service department is made up of temporary workers who receive approximately 8 hours of training before taking the first phone call. Second, customer service representatives are blatantly told to lie to customers and maintain the company line about waiting weeks for plants. Third....plants are kept in a warehouse where they are quickly bagged and tagged and placed in large tubs to be picked up by the post office. Customer service reps have the most minimal information available to them when a customer calls. To be frank, I quit when they asked me to lie to a customer about her shipment. I refuse to compromise myself in that fashion. As far as the supervisors go, their job is to monitor the calls taken by the temps and they are always available, but they chose not to answer phones. Buyers Beware!! Just thought everyone would appreciate some honesty from a former contracted employee for Plantron and its subsidiaries.
My advice to anyone considering ordering from Burgess (or any of the number of plant/seed companies in their family) is DON'T DO IT. I ordered stock last year which died. They told me I had to wait until the following season (this spring)before they would reship. When THOSE failed to grow as well, I called about a replacement and was told to put the request in writing. I was assured replacements were available and would be sent within two weeks. That was in May. This week I called to track down my replacement order. I was then told, by both the operator and a supervisor, there is no replacement warranty, even though I have a copy of the shipping label which says "you must return this shipping label for the Replacement Warranty to be valid". I spoke with a supervisor about the negative implications for their poor public relations (even the operators are rude) when they fail to stand behind their dead products. He didn't care, even though I told him the first thing I was going to do after hanging up the phone from talking to him, was to write about this experience on the web. Actually, the first thing I did was to call them back to remove my name from their mailing list!
I am extremely disappointed with Burgess Seed & Plant Co. I purchased 2 dwarf june berry plants for $7.48 plus s/h. They arrived bare root in a green plastic envelope with the regular mail. There was no protection and the stems were broken. I planted them anyway, hoping that they would grow. I waited the recommended time of 6 weeks for growth but nothing bloomed. I called the company and explained my situation but I didn't realize that I needed to save the green plastic envelope with the shipping label for replacement or refund. I was then told to send a copy of my credit card receipt as proof of purchase and also state that I no longer had the green plastic bag. I mailed all the requested paperwork and waited for a response. After 2 weeks, I called them back to see any results but was told to wait another week because they hadn't received it. I called back after another week and was told I could not speak to a Supervisor and that a note would be written to check on the status of my plants. I called yet again after another week and was told they hadn't received the paperwork. This time the person said I should have written on a separate piece of paper that I no longer had the shipping label and not on the copy of my credit card receipt. I feel like I'm in a refund maze. I know for the money It's probably not worth the fight. I would appreciate being sent my second set of dead plants though.
