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On Dec 13, 2009, cramsey1 Salt Lake City, UT wrote:
I bought 5 Raspberry Ann plants back in May of 2009. The canes looked ok when they arrived. They had no new growth at the roots or leaf buds but I expected them to be dormant. I planted them just hours after their arrival. Not one of the plants lived or grew. I called Burpee about a month after planting the canes and told them about the lack of growth. They said give them some more time. I called back in July when the canes were brittle with no growth on them or at their base. Because Burpee's did not have any replacement plants so late in the planting year, they agreed to refund my money or replace them. I wanted the plants so they said they will send them out next year during planting time. I will just have to wait and see if those arrive and if they grow or not. I also planted 5 canes of 2 other varieties of raspberries that I obtained from 2 different internet vendors and only lost one plant each of those. At this time I am giving Bupree's a neutral rating for now until I get the replacements and to see if those plants grow or not. In defense of Burpee's customer service department, they were very helpful and courteous. I am just hoping they follow through with the promised replacements and that those are health plants. I usually buy Burpee seeds and have had good success with them. This was my first experience with buying live plants form them. I am a little disappointed that the plants were not as high a quality as I had expected.
On Nov 21, 2009, Michaelp Orange Springs, FL (Zone 8b) wrote:
Posted on November 15, 2009, updated November 21, 2009
they keep changing the names of the varieties, --and when you call to get some more of the seed you have planted last year, --they give you the run-around, --but still not available-- for a seed CO. --- pathetic, ----I will be shopping else where
On November 21st, 2009, Michaelp changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
---the rest of the story-- after writing the above very negative comment, I was contacted by Marsha Lance, a customer service rep for Burpee, --it seems it was just my luck to get a very poor customer service rep on the phone , who gave wrong info, and refused to sell me the replacement variety, for the Salad Giant, Radish I wanted, --so Burpee is sending me a free pack of Salad Rose radish seed, -- they did try to make this right - so --I changed my rating to nutral, --
On May 19, 2009, brandywinefran West Chester, PA wrote:
Used Burpee for years and years. No problem with their products, but their shipping charges for seeds are just ridiculous. Almost $8 for shipping a few packets of seeds, which arrived for under $2 in postage. And they are local to us besides.
I understand handling charges, but it seems that the larger the seed order, the more you are "penalized" by high shipping costs. They need to provide a shipping charge specifically for seed orders, as I have seen other companies do.
With some trepidation after reading the reports here, I ordered 12 tomato plants at a whopping price of almost 60$ including shipping. They arrived about 2 weeks later (good) but 4 of the 12 (one third!) are completely ruined. They look like they have been through the blender! The others look fair or okay--only a little broken and messed up. Three are iffy; the others should make it. I think their shipper must have used the box for baseball practice and then put it by a heat vent in 90 degree weather. The ruined plants were just SLIME. The packaging appeared to be sturdy and the box was not damaged, so I think the shipper did not take the proper care. For the price of shipping they should have HAND carried to me!
We will see tomorrow what kind of reply I get from customer service, and I will post back here.
On May 15th, 2009, lilygrandma changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
I am changing my rating to neutral. I am pleased to report that Burpee contacted me through this forum quickly. I also (after about 20 minutes on hold) got to speak to someone who promised to refund the money for the ruined plants, and encouraged me to call back if the others, which were not in great shape, did not make it. I am coddling them, but a couple look pretty iffy. I will post back on how long the refund takes.
Unfortunately waiting another 2 or more weeks to get the plants replaced was not feasible, and the service rep could not promise I would ever get some of the plants. So I chose the refund.
I really think Burpee needs to look at their shipping process. It hurts to see plants mistreated so badly. Next year I will get seeds from Totally Tomatoes, probably, and grow my own. I did some this year for plants I could not get, and it worked out pretty well.
My previous experiences with Burpee in years past have been good. I hope they can get some of these bugs (heh heh) worked out.
I JUST WANTED TO LEAVE A COMMENT....I BOUGHT TWO PACKS OF BURPEE PETUNIA SEEDS
ONE PACK SAID 50 PELLETED SEEDS......I GOT 34
SECOND PACK WAS 15 PELLETED SEEDS.....1 GOT 4 FOR A $1.50 PRETTY EXPENCIVE SEEDS.....
I SENT BURPEE AN E-MAIL BUT NO COMMENT ......I DIDN'T ASK FOR MY MONEY BACK JUST WANTED THEM TO KNOW.
On April 29th, 2009, jjsges1 added the following:
After posting my comment Burpee contacted me by email and was very nice and said they would replace my packs of seeds.....and indeed they did, the problem is there were no pelleted seeds in either package they sent, just yellow powder. I think that shipping pelleted seeds are very hard to ship because the get crushed........I don't think they can correct that and I don't want any more seeds......Thanks for trying. Joyce
Similar to someone below, I placed an order for seeds in late January and when they arrived one packet of seeds was packed for 2008. I sent a complaint via e-mail. Customer service very quickly apologized and said they would send a new packet of seeds. When these arrived over 2 weeks later, the replacement seeds also were packed for 2008. Spending several dollars more for a packet of seeds directly from Burpee rather than at retail, one would expect the seeds to at least be fresh. The reason this is neutral rather than negative is because their customer service seems to be quite good trying to rectify their error. They definitely fell from my order first list to order only if I can't find it elsewhere list though.
On Mar 25, 2009, figaro52 Oak Lawn, IL (Zone 5a) wrote:
This was my first and LAST order with Burpee. First of all I took advantage of their coupon for $5 off a $30 order. I placed an order in the amount of $35.30 BEFORE SHIPPING. An item in the amount of $9.95 was out of stock (and I was never notified). Needless to say, they took away the $5 discount. Had they contacted me I could have added something else to my order. I made the mistake of being lured by the glitzy catalog. The seed packets are very skimpy compared to other mail order seed houses, and twice as expensive. How big of them to include a new $5.00 coupon good on my "next" $30.00 order. Well, there won't be a "next" order. Burpee products are so much cheaper in the retail stores. W. Atlee Burpee would be very disheartened if he knew how today's customers are being treated. What a fool I am to have actually paid $8.95 to have 5 packets of seeds mailed to me!
On April 1st, 2009, figaro52 changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
In all fairness to Burpee, I am changing my rating from negative to neutral. After I posted my original comment, Paul Hofer contacted me and offered to make good on the $5.00 coupon. A credit has been issued (although it's not yet hit my credit card account!). Even so, they've lost a mail order customer. If I use Burpee products going forward, I will purchase at the retail level.
I purchased some Burpee tomato seeds at my local nursery, based on the description of the tomatoes produced. No where did the packet mention disease resistance, however. The nursery looked it up in all the Burpee literature they had, but could find no mention of this seed ("Burpee's Summer Choice"). I called Customer Service and spoke with a wonderful person who could not find the seed in her info, much less the disease resistance. She said she'd research if further and call me back, which she did (thank you), but she did not have the info. I researched it on DG--no one knew--so I emailed Customer Service.
I got a nice reply in a few days, saying they would turn the matter over to their "Research Dept." That was 9 days ago, with nary a word. So, customer service employees, GOOD. Selling a seed about which your own employees know virtually nothing-BAD. No comment on the elusive "Research Dept." Will I purchase anything from Burpee again? Highly unlikely.
On March 17th, 2009, yotedog added the following:
Edited to say, I did finally hear from Paul Hofer at Burpee, at about the two week point, who did eventually send me the info that this variety has no specific disease resistance. So, again, they definitely have great employees. But I'm still wondering why it was so hard to get info on a seed they have on the market, in a timely fashion.
I recently tried to order from Burpee because I wanted to try their Sweet Seedless Hybrid tomato. I noticed that their website wasn't set up for international orders, and emailed them as to what I could do to place the order, since I couldn't even enter my billing address correctly. I got a prompt email telling me what to do, and also informing that my card had been accepted. Good service. I needed to have the packet of seeds sent to my friend in NY, and then she out it in an envelope and sent it to me. The only reason I'm not giving this company a positive is the shipping cost. I ordered 1 packet of seed costing $4.95 and had to pay $6.95 shipping! (and not even to me in Italy, but my friend in NY). Perhaps they could work out another system for shipping small orders of SEEDS ONLY, otherwise it isn't fair. My friend put the packet in an envelope and it cost one first class forever stamp plus 84 cents (to send to Italy), and I had to pay $6.95 to have it sent to her in NY!
On May 8, 2008, outdoorguy217 Saint Cloud, FL (Zone 9b) wrote:
I ordered Sweet Potato plants and seeds on April 14th.
Positive:
I had to call the company to find out when the plants would be shipped as they had not arrived in the 7-10 days indicated when ordered. They told me they would ship the following week from the nursery. They did arrive this week in good condition.
Negative:
I ordered seeds at the same time as the plants. The seeds have yet to arrive. I was given two different ship dates during my first 2 calls to Burpee. On my last call I was told they were shipped on April 21st and I should have received them by now. The Lady said she would send a replacement seed order then said, um…we have one of the seeds you requested on backorder and they appear to have been on backorder for a while. She said she was confused because she was not sure if the backordered seeds had been originally shipped. She then said that she would send out a replacement order of all seeds they have in stock. She told me to call and cancel the replacement order if the original package shows up in the next week or so! So I guess they are holding my replacement order for a week???
The other “negative” about this review…The seeds on backorder are still on Burpee’s web with no mention of a backorder. The web page allows you to place the seed in your shopping cart. When does Burpee tell a customer that they can’t order something not in stock…after the order is placed?
I ordered 12 Lisianthus plants from Burpee,since these plants are
not very easy to find. They arrived in a timely fashion, yet all plants
fell out of container and the box was a total mess, not to mention
the roots all tangled up. I planted them right away and prayed for
their survival. The plants themselves looked fine upon arrival that's
why I give a neutral rating. Burpee can definitely do more to improve
their packaging.
Don't order a gift certificate! I ordered a gift certificate for a birthday. It did not arrive in the promised 10 days, though my credit card was charged immediately. When I contacted Burpee, they told me they were not sending out gift certificates until they printed their 2008 catalog. This was news to me! I regret that I will give someone a belated bithrday gift of having to deal with such poor customer service. Is an aplogy for an inconvenience they choose to force onto a customer meaningful?
On December 17th, 2007, morton8 changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
I might order from Burpee again. Their Customer Service was very responsive to my post here.
When I bought my house three or four years ago, I ordered a number of packets of flower seeds from Burpee (which my father had used for years and years for his vegetable garden). I was generally pleased with the seeds, which seemed to germinate well. They didn't send many seeds in a packet, but I was okay with the quantities (mostly). I give Burpee a neutral rating here because one of my last orders was for Dame's Rocket. I followed the instructions on the packet and planted the seeds in pots in early spring, but almost none germinated. Then I bought Dame's Rocket seeds from another source that said to plant them in late spring or even summer, and the seeds germinated like crazy. I ordered another packet from Burpee and planted them according to the other company's instructions, and the Burpee seeds also germinated fine. So, I emailed Burpee to suggest that they should change the instructions on their seed packet. I didn't complain unduly or demand a refund. I just thought they'd want to know that their instructions for germinating Dame's Rocket might be wrong. I got a very snotty email back that said they weren't going to give me a refund and their instructions were just fine. I guess no good deed goes unpunished. But I haven't ordered from Burpee since. So, maybe they should have at least humored me.
On August 1st, 2007, gsteinbe added the following:
I want to report that I received a private email from a representative of Burpee's in which the rep apologized for the snotty email I received from their customer service people. He asked if I had the name of the person who sent the email, since he would make sure to set that person straight on the nature of Burpee's commitment to polite customer service. Since the incident to which I was referring had occurred more than a year ago (probably closer to two years ago), I didn't still have the email or any information about it. I'm impressed and pleased that Burpee would follow up on this, but since my original rating was neutral rather than negative, I don't think I'll change it. I'll just say that I'm glad that Burpee cares enough to check into complaints, even neutral ones.
I've had mixed experience with Burpee over the last few years. They have a great selection of seeds, and most years the seeds I've bought from them have germinated well (primarily vegetables). This year, however, germination rates for most of the seeds I got (both veggies and annuals) seemed very low. I gave up on my coleus started from their seed when they were three months old and an inch tall. Finally just got plants from them - one of which was in miserable shape when it arrived but is starting to grow now. I had the same issue with the salsa tomatoes that another user had - not all of the ones that came up are salsa tomatoes! Haven't eaten any of the mystery tomatoes yet, but we'll see how they are.
On Jun 21, 2007, Ronni92 East Stroudsburg, PA wrote:
In March I ordered six sinonome to be delivered in April. When I received my plants ,the instructions were to plant them as they were not babied at the nursery and would survive very well in my area. So in went the babies with loving care and anticipation. Three weeks passed and only one tentative sprig with leaf attatched made an appearance.When I called for help an operator who obviously was shouting to another operator about my problem gave me advice. You see, I had to wait for at least three very warm evenings with 80 degree temperatures before the sononome could sprout. Four weeks later I again requested aid in the form of a credit card refund. Burpee apoligized and promptly credited me for the five dead plants.So you could say they did well by me and fixed their mistake.But I knew those flowers were dead four weeks earlier...
On Apr 16, 2007, rucereus Carpentersville, IL (Zone 5a) wrote:
I will start with a neutral rating as I haven't received the plants I ordered. As far as my experience with their seeds, the cosmos are doing well, the zinnias did not do a thing, and Saturday I planted more Zinnias, white wedding and envy. Will wait to see what happens there. I also noticed the packets of seeds did not contain the full amount ,they were all short a significant amount of seeds. Hopefully I will be able to change the rating to a positive after seeing what the new seeds do and the delivery of the impatients.
On May 22nd, 2007, rucereus added the following:
I'll leave my rating at neutral. The second batch of zinnia seeds were a bust also.I will chalk it up to my inexperience with seed propogation. The impatients arrived Friday. Very small but at the price I paid it's what I expected.They do have great root systems. All in all don't think I'd order from them again.
On Apr 14, 2007, rabbitrunfarm Alburtis, PA wrote:
i received 2 orders of perennial plants: one was very nicely packaged, the other had quite a bit of soil spillage and the plant tags had fallen out so i needed to do some guessing about what was what. an emailed inquiry about zone recommendations for a pampas grass they offered went unanswered. i would still order from them, but cautiously.
CLEOME did well/ok-the ones that germinated- 5 from the packet
The directions on the package did not indicate stratification needed-though I found this out afterwards while researching on internet, since many seeds did not germinate, apparently stratification helps.. and directions to do that on the seed package would help too:)
DAHLIA -ordered "CACTUS flowered Dahlia seeds" packet arrived with label "Cactus Flowered" Dahlia, but they grew to be small dwarf variety, nice flowers, but NOT Cactus, maybe they were Unwin or Rigoletto, 12" tall, not 3-4'
ASPARAGUS BEAN [yard long] and they never made any beans, just foliage, although other beans from other providers grown alongside did fine, not sure what happened
I wouldn't say totally screaming crazy negative, but the mislabeled seeds and the poor growing directions aren't" A+" either
I wasn't able to determine that they were bad beans or bad dahlias until end of season.. oh well.. but they did offer a refund without any problem, and there as a courteous email w/ apology
Will see how long it takes to get refund/credit -that would probably swing my vote to poz or neg
They gave refunds on their ultimate growing system when it was proven that it was not reusable. I've had good luck with germinating seeds, but their plants have not given me the best of luck. That's probably my fault - first year veggie gardener here. But for all the embellishment they give lackluster products on their website and catalogue (like for the tasteless red-lightning tomato), seedling packets are suprisingly stark, and once for the Kong sunflower, wrong. Also, both my best friend and I ordered about 9 tomato plants between us, all of which failed in the end - and it is beyond me why after ordering at about the same time and living only ~20 miles apart, hers arrived almost a month before mine. Their herb seeds were generally good though, and my Cherokee Purple seeds grew to give me delicious tomatoes.
I recently ordered quite a few plants from Burpee. As a positive, they do have a very good selection. Most of my plants were fine. However, I ordered a hibiscus which never shipped with the order. When I called about it, they said it would ship from somewhere else. The package did eventually arrive, however the 4" sprig was just loose in a small pot. The dirt had completely come out due to poor packaging. I attempted to revive the plant, but it had been days without soil or moisture - so you know the outcome.
As a second positive, I called Burpee to complain and their customer service was excellent. They told me my account would be credited and it was. I could not help but think, though, that if I were ever in a nursery, I'd never pay $10.00 for a 4" sprig.
I have ordered from several companies and Burpee had to be the worst of all with packaging plants. Every plant was out of the container and the dirt was everywhere in the box. Although the plants are growing I hope they improve on their system of pleasing the customer.
On Feb 10, 2006, 3boysmom Vicksburg, MS (Zone 8a) wrote:
I placed a small $30 order of seeds only. It took 3 weeks to receive it, although my credit card was charged the day after the order was placed. Nowhere on the site did it say that seeds could only be shipped after certain dates. I really doubt the mail could take that long. I am not too impressed.
I ordered some viola plants on Sept. 8, 2005 and did not receive them until Oct. 6 which I thought was a little slow. However the weather was unusually hot in Sept. so I thought that might have caused the delay. The plants arrived in decent shape except for poor root development which disappointed me considering the cost. They did include 5 free copper plant markers which were very nice.
On Jun 3, 2005, Biker1 McLean, VA (Zone 7a) wrote:
I have purchased seeds from Burpee's for years and years. The quality and selection are great. The reason for the neutral is that, like the other reviewers, I have received poorly packaged plants on the edge of death. This year I asked for a refund which was quickly and cheerfully given. Burpee's should really learn how to package plants properly.
Last year I ordered seeds and was very happy with them. This year, I ordered seeds again and a tomato plant collection.
The seeds, as before, did very well, almost 100% "took". The exception is some pole bean seeds. Started 2 weeks ago sowing beans and as of today I have 5 little bean plants coming up out of over 50 seeds.
The only thing stopping me leaving a positive for Burpee is the plants I received. Terrible! Small plants for price (averages about $3 each), out of the pots, one had only one side stem that was not broken! I am nursing that plant back to health (may not get any tomatoes, short growing season, but gotta try.)
On May 24, 2005, boilermaker2000 Gilbert, AZ wrote:
I have the same complaint as many other people - the packaging. I ordered Lisianthus plants this year, and all but one plant had been tossed from their packaging and consquently died. I sent an email including a picture to Burpee, and they issued a refund, although I did have to call them to find out that a refund had actually been issued.
On a positive note, because I ordered early I got two free packages of seed. My seeds germinated quickly and I have several productive cucumber plants and a nice patch of mixed flowers (mainly zinnias) as a result.
I will stick to ordering seeds and supplies from Burpee, but I don't plan on ordering live plants again.
On May 22, 2005, GingerC Murrells Inlet, SC (Zone 7b) wrote:
I wish this company would find a better way to package their live plants. The plastic tray is o.k., but the clips do nothing to keep the dirt where it belongs....with the plants. I've had this problem with them in the past and wasn't going to order this year, but they had a few varieties I couldn't resist. So I ordered a dozen of each (the minimum), and received healthy seedlings, but alot of them had no soil around their roots.
On May 11, 2005, Vashur Wichita, KS (Zone 6a) wrote:
I am a long time customer of Burpee(1975) but this was the first year I ordered live plants. My seeds came right away but since Burpee doesn't confirm orders I just had to look through the catalog to find out when to expect my herb plants. They did come today and ontime I might add. The packaging was less than adequate to say the least but the plants are all still alive. I have read a lot of the comments here about the Burpee live plants and I must say that this is the only place I have ordered premium priced plants where the packaging was inadequate. They use kind of an egg crate deal which keeps the pots immobile but does nothing to keep the soil in the pot. This seems like a simple thing to correct but evidently not...
On May 2, 2005, MarianneJounam Somerville, MA wrote:
I have had very good luck with Burpee's seeds. The quality seems to be very reliable. The only seed-related complaints I have are that the seed selection in garden centers is nothing like the selection in the catalog, and the seeds ordered from the catalog do not have the picture of the plant on it. I have not had a good experience with their plants, however. The plants I ordered arrived as if a bomb had exploded inside the package. There was soil and pieces of plants everywhere. A refund was no problem, but I wanted the plants!. Not worth the risk to order plants from Burpee!
I have had good and bad luck with seed ordering from Burpee. But I rate them with a negative because of the perennials I just received from them. As others have written, their packing was a real problem. But besides that, they shipped me a Buddleia that wasn't even more than a seedling for $8.00. The roots weren't even established in the pot. The Echinacea species I ordered were half dead seedlings, also for a lot more than I would have paid if I had known the state they would be in. Customer service told me they were shipped in a dormant stage and the roots were healthy. But I know a seedling when I see one, and the roots were too undeveloped for these to be mature plants! Very disappointing, because the catalogs are so enticing and because I have had luck with seeds.
On August 9th, 2005, Cyanidae changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
The Echinacea died, but the Buddleia made it with some pretty major coddling. Seeing that others in the yard that I bought for similar prices at garden centers grow with no trouble, I still blame the packing and age of the plants Burpee shipped.
I want to add that my garden (veggies from seed) this year was outstanding. They did a great job of describing which varieties would do well in our climate. I won't be buying any more perrenial plants from them, but I still love the vegetable and herb seeds!
I have ordered a few times from Burpee's and my most recent order, placed last week, arrived quickly without any problems. I have also ordered some tomato plants which won't be shipped for a while, so hopefully they will arrive safely. (Will update.) Otherwise, I am willing to pay the slightly higher prices, as long as I know I can expect to get the quality that I am paying for. I would definitely recommend this company.
On July 24th, 2004, srgrapes changed the rating from positive to neutral and added the following:
I received my tomato plants when I expected them, but they seemed to suffer considerably from shipping. I was able to rejuvenate them after several days and they are doing well now. I also purchased a red currant bush (bare root) which I had been unable to locate from other retailers. Not sure if it was something I did wrong or if plant was dead upon arrival, but it has been about two months and the plant looks the same. Dead. I will order from Burpee's again but only seeds and items that are on sale.
On Jan 2, 2004, autremike Ludlow, MA (Zone 5b) wrote:
Burpee was the first company I ever purchased seeds from - Back in 1985, which still but a small blip in their long history. The pictures were inspiring. I continued to order from them until they began offering rack packs in the local stores. Coincidentally, it was in that time period that they were sold and resold? In any case, their selection dwindled, they dropped some of my favorite varieties, and I lost interest.
This year, I finally ordered from them via the internet. I received my seeds in only 5 days, which is notable because it was during the holiday rush. Everything was packed acceptably and arrived intact.
I do not recall ever having difficulty germinating their seeds. I hope I never do...
On January 14th, 2007, autremike changed the rating from positive to neutral and added the following:
Well, I ordered from Burpee this year again and got a good quick delivery. No quality defects observed at this time.
What I am extremely disappointed about is the pricing difference from the rack packs and the catalog. See below:
Even though I already ordered from them online, I purchased a pack of Big Boy tomato seeds.
Rack Pack: 100 mg of seed for $1.79. Origin India lot 3. Packed for 2007. Packet colorful with a picture of a tomato.
Catalog Pack: 75 mg of seed for $2.50. Origin USA lot 3. Packed for 2007. Plain packet.
So... I get less seeds for a higher price (before shipping is added) in a boring package by ordering online. This is true for many of the other seeds on the rack packs. When adjsuted for volume, the pricing difference is over 86% higher! I do not get it.
I put neutral there because I did agree to the pricing when I bought them. I doubt that I will ever trust them again to order online.
I too have fond memories of ordering seeds from Burpees as a child.
My more recent memories are mixed. The seed selection is not as varied, but what they have arrives on time. I have also ordered potted annuals from them, and they arrived in great shape.
So why not a positive review? A few years back I ordered two fruit trees, (paw-paw, I believe), and the poor things arrived completely dead. Not just as in unable to bud out, but bark falling off the branches, the stem beginning to rot on the inside, beyond-all-hope and expired-for-many-months-now dead. A Plantron company would be ashamed to send out plants in this poor of a condition! And these weren't el-cheapo specials - when you order from Burpee, you're paying a bit more than if you order from a discount nursery. I have NEVER received any plants as thoruoghly dead as these.
Granted, it was obvious from the label on the dead plants that Burpee had contracted out this item to another nursery, but still, Burpee has their own reputation to protect, and they should have done a better job investigating their suppliers.
I am not having a very good year with Burpee. I remember being a little kid and ordering seeds from the catalog with my dad and grandmother, so they were the first place I went when we decided to start seeds indoors this year for the first time. I ordered rudbeckia, echinacea, salvia, buddleia, lavendula and coreopsis. Very few rudbeckia germinated and none of the coreopsis at all. The lavendula germinated but never got very big and since they've been in the ground (about a week) most of them have died. As I said, this was the first year I tried this but if the seeds don't germinate you can't tell if you've done something wrong. Also, last summer I ordered some veg. seeds from them and there were some varieties that never germinated in the ground. I'm very disappointed with them and I'm not going to be using Burpee again.
I ordered an annual plant. It was expensive because it was a new variety. It was supposed to have pastel pink blossoms and that's why I ordered it. However, some of the blossoms on it were a bright color. It was strange looking with both pastel and bright colored blossoms on the same plant. The bright blossoms did not go with the colors of the other plants in my flower garden or with the pastel blossoms on the same plant.
On April 30th, 2003, lettucehead changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
I later ordered seeds for morning glories that bloom most of the day. Since most morning glories bloom in the morning, I was happy to have morning glories that bloomed for a longer amount of time.
When those plants reproduced, some of the offspring did not have solid color blossoms like the parents. Some were an irregular smoky look. People told me that they liked the smoky morning glories, but I just didn't expect to see a change like that.
I don't like the prices of Burpee, so I don't do business with them anymore.
On Apr 19, 2003, tomato_lady Crossville, TN (Zone 6a) wrote:
I have used Burpee Seeds for years. I like the company. No, really - I do. The seeds are always of good quality and perform very well.
My main complaint these days is that over the last several years, Burpee has gone more "mainstream" with its offerings. By that I mean it has offered more and more hybrid varieties (ones they have developed, by the way) and fewer and fewer heirloom varities.
For instance. I love Burpee's Better Boy and Big Boy Tomatoes. Love them!!!! I grow and sell tomatoes (on a small scale) during the spring and summer months, and these plants are GREAT performers for me. BUT! If I want more of these plants, I have to go back to Burpee for the seeds unless I nurse rooted cuttings over the winter. I like being able to harvest my own seeds to replant the next year. There is a certain peace and security in that.
So, more and more of my business is diverted to the heirloom seed companies these days.
I usually order from Knoxville Seed and Greenhouse out of Knoxville.
I am still looking for an heirloom variety that will taste and perform like Better Boy and Big Boy. Anyone out there have any suggestions?
On Mar 17, 2003, Kelli L.A. (Canoga Park), CA (Zone 10a) wrote:
I can't think of any problems I have had with the products offered by this company. The only bummer is that I have to pay California sales tax on things coming all the way from Pennsylvania.
I have ordered from Burpee in the past. Their plants are well-packaged, but merely average and higher priced than a lot of other mail-order companies. Their customer service is very slow to respond and doesn't follow through on what you have requested. In January, I ordered (2) of their annual packs. After finding the same plants MUCH cheaper elsewhere, I cancelled the order in February and asked that the amount they had charged to my credit card be credited back. They e-mailed me back and said they had cancelled the order, but did not credit my card. They never did respond to my e-mails asking about the credit, but eventually sent me a check instead __ for $4.00 less than they had charged to my card! There was no explanation and they haven't responded to my e-mail. I am left to assume that they charged me $4.00 for "handling"! How much handling could possibly be involved for little, tiny 6 packs of seedlings that weren't even going to be shipped until May? I doubt that they had even been planted yet! I'll be taking my business elsewhere.
On March 5th, 2003, greenleaf52 changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
In the interest of fairness, I finally did receive full credit for this order.
