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On Aug 27, 2007, crazy_gardener Wainwright, AB (Zone 2b) wrote:
I agree, their seeds are of great quality and they have a great selection to choose from, always something different to try each year.
However their live plants are not at best, I’ve also had many mislabeled lily bulbs from them. Nonetheless, they do stand by their guarantee of customer satisfaction and have always credited my account with no questions asked.
On Aug 5, 2006, flowercrazy39 Manchester, NH wrote:
Ordered about 8-10 seed packets from this company and not a grower in the bunch. Really. They germinated okay but none survived and not by my hands. Very weak seed quality.
On August 25th, 2006, flowercrazy39 changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
I received an email from Vessey's offering me a full refund and I did receive it. I don't know that I'd order from them again but very much appreciate the refund and the effort made.
On May 19, 2006, Hannahbelle Victoria, BC (Zone 8b) wrote:
Although I love looking at the catalouge when it comes, I must say I have been quite disappointed with the live plants I've ordered. They were very small and in dismal shape when they arrived and most of them did not make it, and here in Victoria BC Canada it is so temperate that we often joke that it's hard to kill plants. The Dahlia that did live (1 out of 4) was not true to name, instead of being a pink ball type, turned into a giant red dinner plate (pretty though it was...)
That said, the customer service representation was excellent and the gal I spoke to was very friendly and said that I would be credited for the lost plants, however when I placed my next order and asked to have my credit applied to that order, it was not done and I was charged full price for my bulbs.
I may try again with seeds but I think that would be it...
We've ordered from Veseys about 8-10 times over the past four seasons. Ordered everything from seed starting equipment, to organic bug removal products, to seeds, bulbs, roots and shrubs.
We are very pleased with the handling of the seeds and garden supplies. All of these have always arrived quickly and in good condition.
However, the live shrubs we are not generally pleased with. They arrive rather small, and take quite a while to grow. Once, we ordered four lilacs because they were on sale, and two of them died. But we promptly received refunds for these and the next season we re-ordered the same lilacs at regular price and those came in much better condition.
The bulbs I haven't had any trouble with thus far, including the free ones. Some roots we ordered like daylilies are very small, and this is the third season since they've been planted and hopefully we will see them bloom finally this season. The other roots were not that healthy and died.
But this year, we put in an order for a bunch of lily bulbs back on March 3rd, expecting arrival before now, and they still have not arrived. The existing lilies in my garden are already up 5 inches and we are experiencing 80 F temps during the day. I fear receiving these bulbs too late will result in them not blooming this year. Or worse, spoilage from shipping in warm weather.
Have contacted them on the matter of the bulbs this year and was assured they would be shipping out soon, but this is the reply I received on May 3, 2006:
"The oriental lily order will be leaving soon and the larger spring bulb order will be a couple of weeks before it leaves."
As of May 15th, they still have not arrived. Will wait and see what happens. This is why I vote Neutral. Good customer service and nice packaging, but live plants aren't always 100% and a little on the small side. I wish the bulb shipping would be a lot faster.
I ordered some pansy seeds I was hoping to wintersow and was dismayed to get an email receipt saying I could expect the seeds (in stock, not backordered) in 3-4 weeks!
That's just too long. First class US mail can travel cross-country in 4-5 days, I've received Canadian cross country mail in not much longer, and I can't remember a company I've dealt with that had more than a 48-72 day turnaround on orders.
On Jul 17, 2005, WillowPolson Groveland, CA (Zone 8b) wrote:
I ordered 2 rose bushes, and they arrived so late in the spring (late April) that the ones in my yard were already completely leafed out and had buds on them. I even emailed them to explain how warm my California climate is, and to let them know that I needed them sent immediately, and was told "please be assured we will ship your order as soon as possible". By the time they arrived, it was already getting warm and dry here, and one of the two dried up and died despite my best watering efforts.
As a Certified Master Gardener, I have never lost a locally-purchased bare-root rose, which are planted in January, not April. Since they don't seem to be able to ship out their roses early enough for California, I won't be buying from them again. The only reason my review is neutral is that the one surviving rose is doing well and has had four flowers on it this year already (the vigorous Dr. Brownell yellow). Scentimental was much less strong (some branches were rather twiggy) and it basically shrivelled up and died, even though both plants were coated with wax very heavily and I planted them the day after I received them.
I ordered two bare root roses from Vesey's in the early spring of 2003. I waited and waited for them. They finally came in late June, pretty late for planting bare root. They enclosed an apology with the roses, and sent a free rose bush as a consolation gift. Because it was so late, I had a hard time keeping the roses moist until they sprouted, but all three did survive and blossom. I ordered seeds from Vesey's this spring, and they have sprouted well, although they took quite a while to be delivered. If you're not in a hurry to receive something, than Vesey's is a fine choice, but I doubt I'll order roses from them again.
On Feb 16, 2004, binoche Dartmouth Canada (Zone 6a) wrote:
I have always found Vesey orders to be prompt in past years...and so I ordered live shrubs in 2003.
However after receiving such small specimens......I'm afraid this WILL keep me from ordering live plants in the future. Even though my shrubs were planted as soon as they arrived, they were that small that it was impossible for them to attain much height by winter. Their small sizes have me concerned for their welfare, even though I have taken great pains to provide winter protection. I believe i could have taken my own cuttings from neighbours and ended up with larger specimens on my own.
