Comments regarding Renee's Garden Seeds

For the last few years, I've been having bad germination from my Renee's seeds, both bought in a garden store -- which might have bad storage -- and from the grower directly, which shouldn't.

Last year (2022) was my first year ordering from here. Despite a fair seed selection and good seeds, this year (2023) will be the last time I order from renee's garden. The decision has nothing to do with seed quality or variety and everything to do with seed prices and shipping charges. Most seeds are priced between $2.99 for common types and $4.29 for less common (but certainly.not rare.or unique offering that cant be found elsewhere). As for shipping, all I can say is WOW! I wouldn't have ordered this year either but accidentally submitted the order BEFORE seeing that tje shipping charge for 19 packets of seeds was almost $15!!!! Seriously? 15 packets would fit in a USPS envelope with postage at less than $5! I've found several other companies to try this year that I feel will easily suit my seed needs much better!

Also, last year my order (only a few packets) took almost 2 weeks longer to arrive than much larger orders from other companies. That time is crucial when my growing season is short (5b) and things need an indoor head start and hardening off.

I am responding to the review below, which is not quite correct. The situation is even worse than the one described. After ordering, I received a message that my order would be processed within 14 to 16 BUSINESS days, considerably longer than just 14 to 16 days, and that after that it might take 6-12 BUSINESS days for the order to reach me by UPS or USPS. I placed an order on March 12 and on March 24 I received an update that my order was expected to ship soon, although I haven't heard anything further and haven't received a shipping confirmation.

I am a little bummed because I had intended to plant these seeds with my class and at this rate I am not sure we will have time to harvest before school gets out. This was an opportunity that suddenly presented itself, so I did not have a chance to plan ahead. I thought the processing and shipping times were outside estimates, but apparently they are not, so be prepared!

I have never ordered from Renee's. I had a couple of questions about growing the seeds I was going to order and although it took a couple of days for the customer service folks to get back to me, they were quite helpful when they did.

The shipping time has been painful, but they did warn me, so I am currently giving it NEUTRAL.

Renees charges $7 to ship 3 or 4 regular seed packets by regular mail, which seems way too steep, but I bit the bullet and ordered.

I get a confirmation email that it could take up to 16 days for them just to mail it, and then another 6-12 days for the post office to actually deliver them. So we're seriously looking at up to nearly a MONTH for a few seed packets to arrive, that I paid $7 just for shipping? What is this, the 1980s?

Sorry Renees, but for what you're charging, you should be guaranteeing orders go out in 2 business days max, and even consider a faster shipping method.

I ordered from Renee’s Garden for the first time this summer. I ordered a few packets of perennial flower & herbs seeds as well as some saffron crocus. The seeds arrived in just over a week. The seeds had excellent germination & the plants grew well. The crocus arrived mid September, I planted them right away, by early November they were blooming. All but one of the bulbs bloomed and around half of them ended up blooming again. I was shocked & pleasantly surprised to see this. For comparison I had also ordered a few saffron crocus bulbs from another company (those bulbs were smaller & more expensive than Renee’s). Not one of that companies bulbs bloomed. So thank you Renee’s for the beautiful saffron threads I now have. I will be a repeat customer.

Ordered from this company for the first time this year. I am not inexperienced starting seed but the germination rates were a very mixed bag. Some things did very well others less than 50% or even 0% on the chocolate flower. My orders from fedco and baker creek were normal they came up like they should. I don't know that I wouldn't order from this company but I would be very careful about what I did order.

This was the first time I have ordered from Renee's Garden Seeds. They were very fast to fill the order and it arrived quickly. Nice to see everything I ordered was shipped and not backordered or out of stock, like a lot of seed companies do to you after you place an order.
I have used Renee's Seeds before, but never bought them online. Their online website has a much bigger selection than stores seed racks offer.
I am very cautious when ordering from seed companies online, and only have a handful of trusted seed companies that I use. I have just added another seed company. This company has my vote!

During my many years of gardening (87 years old) have used services of many seed providers. Like Renee's very much. Have ordered from them for several seasons and like the unique varieties she searches out. Service, delivery, etc., have all been fine as has been germination. A few friends have acted upon my recommendation of the company and they are happy , also.

These seeds are fantastic quality! I made a large order, and have had over a 90% germination rate so far. All plants that have come up appear true to label, I am excited for the flowers!
The customer service I received via email and phone was not the best I have seen, but it was not terrible, and got the job done.
The selection they have is superb, I was able to get most of my fragrant heirlooms from them.
The packaging is the best I have seen. The instructions are fairly thorough, though I do not see anything about stratification for those I typically stratify. The watercolor art is beautiful!
Definitely recommend, I will certainly be ordering again from this company!

Prompt delivery, hopefully they will grow!

Posted on April 2, 2015, updated April 7, 2015
Posted on March 24, 2015, updated April 2, 2015
I bought last year 2 packets from Orchard Supply in Portland Oregon offered from Renee's Garden: Sunflower seeds and Sea of Red Lettuce. The germination rate of both packets have been exceptionally low that even the cheap 25cents Dollar Tree packets are outperforming them. Considering how expensive these seeds are, I feel that the whole experience was quite negative, will not buy this brand again!

"On Mar 25, 2015 1:05 PM, Renee's Garden Seeds responded with:

I'm sorry we didn't hear from you last year - we did have problems with the Sea of Red lettuce in 2014.We replaced packets for everyone we could, but since you didn't buy from us online, we didn't reach you. Would you like me to send another packet of this year's seed? I don't know of sunflower issues, but if you can give me the name and lot#, I can look into it. I assume it was "Packed for 2014".

We stand behind the quality of our seed, and will replace or refund for disappointment of any sort. Hopefully we hear about problems with enough information about when and how the customer has planted, that we can offer suggestions to help gardeners succeed with replacements the same season. Please let us know what you would like me to do.

Sincerely,

Beth Benjamin hortadvisor@reneesgarden.com
Horticultural Advisor
Renee's Garden"

I've been ordering from Renee's Garden seeds for well over 10 years now. I carefully plan my garden annually and use their helpful tips and garden designs suggested on their web site. Their detailed tips and instructions come in downloadable PDF format, so that I can print up their garden plans, their recommended seeds for my gardening zone, and their lists of choices recommended for each planting season.

So far so good. My FB page has an album of everything I've grown successfully from Renee's Garden Seeds and I post pictures of my crops. Some seeds are not from them but most are. My friends call me Farmer Laura as a nickname, because of all the wonderful varieties of beautiful crop foods that Renee's has to offer.

Some of their seed packets will have a tri-color of pattipan squash, puple and green scallions, red yellow and orange carrots, pastel to red radishes, red, yellow and orange ice box watermelons, etc. You name it, its all beautiful colorful varieties that add interest and fun for the home gardener. I will continue to either order online from them or go to my local OSH where i can physically purchase their seeds.

Thank you Renee's Garden Seeds for all of your effort with your test gardens and constantly keeping up with everyone's passion to grow food crops from scratch. I will always trust your seeds to grow and reward me year after year.

Posted on October 6, 2012, updated June 9, 2014
Posted on May 10, 2012, updated October 6, 2012
Great communication, fast service. All around positive!
Five stars to Renee's!

I've ordered from Renee's for quite a few years. I usually buy from their end of season sale and still get good germination the next year. I love their pink and orange gomphrenas and the Chantilly snapdragons which I don't see elsewhere. I have always been very happy, and I really appreciate the way she combines interesting things in the same packet so you don't have to buy so many different individual things. I'm sure if I ever had a problem, she would make it right immediately.

I received my shipment of 15 different seed packets. So far I've tried 5 (Cat Treats Bonus pack, Echinacea 'Paradise Mix', Lettuce 'Garden Babies, Lettuce 'Rhapsody, and Carrots 'Circus Circus')I'm 4 weeks into planting the seeds and am at 0% germination with the exception of the Cat Treats Bonus Pack (which is doing great and my chickens LOVE it.) Overall I like their website and seed packet information, but the seeds themselves aren't winning me over. I'll still use Renee's as a great resource for garden info. Luckily it's still early enough in the season that I was able to re-order from my tried and true Seed Saver Exchange.

"On Mar 27, 2014 10:27 AM, Renee's Garden Seeds responded with:

Hello,
I'm sorry to hear of your disappointing experience. We do guarantee our seeds and germination, and would be happy to replace those which we unsuccessful. We hope that when people have problems, they'll contact us directly so we can not only replace the seeds soon enough so they'll get results the same season, but hear enough about how, when and where they've planted so we can offer some suggestions. Our email and phone are both on the packet or on our website, and we do hope to hear from you, and that you'll try our seeds again.
Best Wishes

Customerservice@reneesgarden.com

Renee's GS is my go-to company for most of my seed purchases. I love the selection offered, particularly the packs that contain multiple varieties of an individual vegetable. Many of those packets contain color coded seeds so you know which variety you are planting. I have had no problems with germination, but a good part of my success can be attributed to the excellent information provided on the lovely seed packets. Also I have done most of my buying on-line, not locally, where seeds sometimes are not kept in the best environment. The website is easy to navigate with photographs showing you what each plant & flower looks like. There are periodic sales & shipping is prompt. I highly recommend Renee's!

I was very excited to shop at Renee's. I was looking specifically for Heritage and Organic varieties. My lemon cucumbers barely managed to germinate, non-productive however. The Signet marigolds I bought were a huge disappointment. Of the 50 seeds I started, only 1 germinated! Yes, one out of *fifty*. And then it never blossomed :~)

"On Nov 4, 2013 2:27 PM, Renee's Garden Seeds responded with:

Hello AlawonB,
I'm sorry to hear of your disappointing experience. We hope when people have problems, they'll contact us directly so we can not only replace the seeds soon enough so they'll get results the same season, but hear enough about how, when and where they've planted so we can offer some suggestions. The soil may have been too chilly still (usually the problem for folks with cucurbits), and also for the marigolds (if you started them right in the ground at the same time) - they like warm soil as well. If you'd contact us at this point, we'd be glad to replace them for next season. Our email and phone are both on the packet or on our website. I hope you'll try our seeds again."

I bought Renee's Garden seeds from OSH when I was living in California. Since moving to Hawaii, I've ordered their seeds by mail order. Delivery was fast & as promised.

More importantly, their seeds are consistently excellent. I'm able to get unique boutique items from them and their planting instructions are unparalleled. The seeds cost a tad more than your usual hardware store purchase, but there's more in each bag and they do sprout. So much so that I can count the seeds out one by one and see each one grow.

Nice packaging, excellent product, terrific service. Keep up the good work!

My only experiences with Renee's have been positive. They offer excellent and unique vegetable mixtures such as tri-color bush and pole beans and some hard to find varieties such as "Charlotte" swiss chard and 'Sea of Red' lettuce. The cut flower selection is also excellent and they are one of the only sources for "Chantilly" mixed snapdragons which is a breathtaking mixture. Renee's also has kept their prices down below $3/packet and offers good online photographs for all their varieties. Highly recommended.

We called to let this company know about a problem we had with their seeds. Very poor germination. We know how to plant seeds and didn't have any trouble with any of our other seeds. I tried three different attempts to get them germinated. It is a new variety and I was really excited about growing them, especially harvesting them! Their rep, "Heidi", let us know that they are not in the business to give away free seeds. Wow! I am pretty sure we paid for the seeds that were duds. So, that would not be free seeds. Is it wrong to expect to get some plants out of their seeds?
I am going to Orchard Supply Hardware today, to let them know the way that Renee's. responds to problems with their seeds. Hopefully, they will care more than Renee's did.

"On Jul 6, 2011 4:45 PM, Renee's Garden Seeds responded with:

We are very sorry that you had a problem with germination with your seeds - we work hard to insure that our customers have success with our seeds and are very concerned if there is any problem. Our policy is always to gladly replace any seeds that were not satisfactory, and apologize for any misunderstanding that may have occured in your conversation with Heidi. Please allow us to replace your seeds and offer you some additional packets to compensate you for your time and effort. Please contact me at sue@reneesgarden.com with your mailing address and let me know what seeds need to be replaced and any other variety would like to try and we'll get them to you asap.

Posted on February 18, 2009, updated February 21, 2011
I have bought many seed packets from Renee's; both in the retailers around me and online on her website. I have called them to ask about the situating of a certain seed, and the lady on the phone was helpful and friendly.

I have good germination rates, and most seeds I put outside immediately.

I will keep buying these seeds; there are many seeds in a pack, and the take off great!

When you buy online, the seeds arrive within days! The information on the pack is great, no guessing here, and the packs look pretty too!

Very prompt delivery on my order. I really only wanted to buy Mina Lobata Exotic Love Vine because I couldn't find them anywhere else... but was required to purchase two more seeds. Didn't really see why that is a requirement with the $3.95 delivery s&h charge. They didn't really have anything else I really needed so it was hard to choose two more. Anyways, they were delivered promptly and in good condition. The packets contain plenty of useful information and I'm looking forward to winter sowing them.

Between their charming packages, fast and friendly service, and genuine desire to "do the right thing" for their customers, Renee's has never let me down!

We had more water this year than we could deal with -- we assume that we caused the wet year simply by purchasing drip irrigation! However, we started a number of Tomato, Pepper and Eggplants from Renee's Garden Seeds -- and bought about 30 plants from our local Agway. At first, the Agway plants (Bonnie's) were outdoing our own, started from seed plants, then, as all the wet (and related diseases set in) the only harvest we got was from our Renee's started from seed plants. We do not pretend to know why this happened -- but for 2010 we will start all our tomatoes, peppers and eggplants from Renee's seeds and grow our own plants. Also, we put a table in out garden -- thanks Renee for the idea. We now dine in and from our garden.

I have been pleased with all of my purchases from Renee's Garden. The seeds arrived quickly and in most cases I plant half a packet and save the other half for the next year. Renee's Garden doesn't include commercial amounts of seed. It is more geared for the family garden. I did grow over 40 tomato plants from one seed packet, but that was too many for my family veggie garden and I had to give most away. This year I'll be sure to only grow half the packet.

I tried Renee's for the first time this year based on positive comments at Dave's Garden. All the positivity is well-founded. I received my mail order within 4 days, complete and accurate. Each seed packet is a visual, prosaic and scientific delight. The packets are bountiful and a high ratio of seeds made it all the way to being healthy plants. I will continue to purchase seeds from Renee's Garden.

I stumbled across Renee's Garden Seeds in our local hardware store last summer and was overwhelmed with the detailed sowing and growing information contained on each packet. I took some home and was very pleased with the germination results (and the resulting plants). The cats especially seem to adore the cat grass.

Living in the city, with only container gardening available, I particularly appreciate the easily marked and diverse collection of container varieties (from eggplants to sweet peas). I ordered more seeds directly from the website this year this year (which arrived in a very timely fashion) and will continue to order in the future!

I have used Renee's seeds for several years, dating back to when she was with Shepherd's. I have always been pleased. I was especially surprised late this fall, though, when I ordered some sale seed (dated 2008). I was working overtime then, so I did not notice when my shipment came up a packet short. Renee's did notice, though, and I got an email apology and a packet of 2009 seed without ever having sent a complaint! Now that's service from an honest company!

I appreciate so many things about Renee's, including her collections, so that a home gardener with a medium-sized garden can get even more variety. It's true that I could get bigger seed quantities elsewhere, but it's the diversity I crave, and additional seed would just be overkill. I eagerly await each newsletter, and I love reading the tips posted at the web site.

It is my first time buying seeds from this company. They came in promptly, in colorful pretty packages with information and planting instructions on back.
Look forward to watch their transformation into beautiful flowers in my garden next year!

I bought most of my vegetable seeds from Renee's Garden this year as it was recommended by a Master Gardener I know. The only thing I am uniformly happy with is the lettuces. The germination rates have been very poor, especially compared to Johnny's Selected Seeds where I have shopped for several years. I also noticed small quantities of seeds as mentioned elsewhere.

I love the selection of seeds she offers. I have ordered from the website, and bought the seeds in a store nearby me. The seeds I ordered came very quickly. I would buy from this company again. No complaints here.

This year's seed order (2008) arrived promptly and was filled correctly. I have ordered from this company for the last few years, and the seeds in past years have had good germination.

I love Renee's Garden seeds, her choices of veggies and flowers, and the way she packs multiple varietals in the same seed-pack and have two or three different things from one packet. She also started, grew, and sold the larger company Sheperd's Seeds (now run by White Flower Farm folks, making them bi-coastal) and has made this splendid smaller collection just thrive.
We buy seeds every year; old favorites and new things to try.

I PURCHASE A PACKET OF CARDINAL CLIMBER VINE SEEDS FROM A LOCAL NURSERY. THE GERMINATION RATE AND TIME WERE EXCELLENT. THE VINE WAS HEARTY AND A FAST GROWER. I ALSO LIKE THE PACKAGE WITH THE PHOTOS AND EXTENDED INFORMATION AVAILABLE. I WOULD STRONGLY RECOMMEND THIS SITE.

I was disappointed with the tiny quantities of seeds in my seed packets. The sweet pea seeds in 3 of 5 packets were in pieces!!! Renee's used to have better quality control than this!

"On Jan 7, 2010 11:57 AM, Renee's Garden Seeds responded with:

Our sweet pea packets should have 30 35 seeds for all varieties.Let us know which others you felt were low. If a filling error happened, we would be happy to replace the packet immediately - just email or call us. We do ship in padded "jiffy packs", but the realities of the post office mean that once in a while a packet gets mashed in transit. Once again, if you had called or e-mailed us, we would have sent them a replacement the same day - and would still be happy to send you new seeds for this season.."

Renee's garden was one of my first discoveries for seed sources on the internet. I adore her varieties and the germination rate has been great. However, success maybe taking its toll on this company. My most recent order (7/2007) I ordered zinnia and cupid's sweet pea along with some others. These packets contained few seeds and in the case of the zinnia it was mainly chaf and many of the sweet pea seeds were broken.

For the price ($20 for 6 packs of seeds), definitely a huge disappointment. I will give this company another shot next season because I adore some of the varieties offered. Hopefully I won't see this again, if I do I will be taking my business elsewhere.

"On Jan 7, 2010 12:07 PM, Renee's Garden Seeds responded with:

I'm sorry to hear of your disappointment with our seeds. Thanks for letting us know - we think our seeds are well -tested and top quality, so when something goes wrong or a gardener has problems, we really want to hear about it so we can help. We will be glad to refund your money, but we'd rather replace the seeds and have a chance to talk with you to find out what happened and see if we can give you useful advice so you can have a good gardening experience with Renee's Garden Seeds. We do ship in padded "jiffy packs", but the realities of the post office mean that once in a while a packet gets mashed in transit.

If you call our toll-free number 888-880-7228 and leave your telephone number for Beth, our horticultural advisor, between 9 and 5 PST, she can contact you to find out more about your particular situation and take care of seed replacements /refunds so you can try again if you'd like.
"

I've ordered from Renee's company several times. The quality of the seeds is really something. The flowers have been phenomenally beautiful. Try the heirloom morning glories. To die for. The packets the seeds come in are helpful and really pretty too. I highly recommend Renee's.

I ordered many seeds for my winter garden from her site on line. Every kind of seed I started not only germinated, but I even had Bells of Ireland!! (a hard one for us in zone 9) Her choices of heirlooms are outstanding and will order again!!