Comments regarding Burgess Seed

I ordered $350 worth from eburgess.com and just after ordering I called to find out how long it would take to get my plants. The phone operator was very rude and after speaking with them and finding out the estimated time of delivery I told them to just cancel the order, they said sure. A few days later I called to get a conformation of order cancellation and was then told it had to be emailed or sent in writing to cancel. I emailed them and still have yet to ever see a cancel conformation or a credit back to my credit card. If any of the item get delivered my delivery carriers advised me to NOT OPEN anything and to write REFUSE on any packages and they would return them FREE to me. I will the have to file a BBB complaint and a dispute with the bank. They say it can take a few weeks to cancel but they really know that by that time they will probably ship. I was told by the bank not to worry and long as I had proof of cancellation, documentation dates, and DIDN'T OPEN ANYTHING REFUSED ORDER it shouldn't be any problem disputing it.

If they would have been a little nicer and helpful when I called I would have taken the order but they act as if we got you now you cant change anything.

I'll research a companies complaints next time before I rush into ordering.

I ordered $92.00 worth of seeds and bulbs from this company 12/08, and on March 1st called and asked about my order. I noted on my order that I would like the shipment NOW, as we live in south Arkansas and I start planting the second week of March. They sent half of my order (the seeds) after I called and e-mailed several times. The other half of my order (bulbs) "will be sent at the right planting time for my area" I'm not sure who decides this, since all my other bulbs are already coming up, I guess they weren't informed it wasn't their time yet! Guess I will have to enjoy my order next year. I will never order from them again!

I placed my order a few months back, I got it today 3-20-09 and have to say was not happy at all. This company CRAMED 7 trees,6 wisteria, 4 rose bushes, 16 cannas,6 peonys, 50 onions, 2 pampas grass, 12 yuccas, and 100 periwinkles into one green plastic bag. Items were moldy and looked half dead. I called the company and was told to return the items at MY cost then they would replace them. Needless to say the amount in shipping would be more than what the plants cost. I wish I would have found this webpage earlier and I wouldnt have ordered from them. Dont waste your time ordering from these people they are not interested in happy customers, they are only interested in the money. I will be contacting the BBB in Illinois about this problem if they dont fix it. I spent over $170.00 on mold and dead sticks, I think I could have spent it somewhere else and got better service. Stay away from this company!

The day after I ordered from this company (Burgess) I read all the bad reviews and almost died. On 2-24-09 I ordered 1-fruit cocktail tree, 1-5 in 1 pair tree, 10-strazzberry, 6-walk on me plants, 2-mock orange, 1-thornless blackberry, 1-sugar sweet cherry, 25 strawberry bargain, 1-pixwell gooseberry, 1-red white blue grapes for $92.40. They arrived in a green plastic bag 3-17-09 they were all fine. There was no smell and they all seemed in pretty good shape. Right now I have had no issues. I did however keep all the plastic bags that the plants came in and all their tags. I also kept the green shipping bag with the shipping label attached just in case I have a fatality. So far so good is all I can say for now.

I placed an order in the amount of $171 on Feb. 6th, 2009 and was told that my order would be shipped according to MY GROWING SEASON. Well since I living in South Texas my season actually started in mid-Feb for some vegetables and the first week in March for others. After several phone calls to their Customer Service Dept I was told that they ship according to "their gowing season" and that it was still below freezing in IL.

I have emailed them numerous times asking for a shipping date and have been told that it will be shipped either "this week or next week". Never a definitive answer. When asked for a refund I was told "We will forward your request to the appropriate department to try to cancel the order before it ships out. In the event that we are not able to cancel the order before it does in fact ship, as per our warranty, you may return the plants within 14-days of receipt, with proper postage affixed, for a refund of the purchase price."

Considering they have told me it hasn't been shipped then I should get a full refund immediately. But I suspect after reading all the comments in this website that I will be told that my order was shipped and they couldn't refund my money but then not receive the order for many weeks to come.

I refuse to allow them to keep $171 so I will take all steps inclusive of the Better Business Bureau, the Illinois Attorney General and the US Postal Service since they are a Mail Order Company.

I have ordered from companies such as Henry Feilds, Springhill Nursery and Garden's Alive without any problems and assumed that I received their solicitation due to my orders from these companies. As a consumer, I should have done more research but it truly surpises me the amount of complaints against this company and related companies and they still continue to operate. Obviously, the correct consumer regulation department has not been approched with this company's activities.

I ordered some seeds and some plants. The seeds came, but the plants didn't. After one month, I emailed them for a status. They responded promptly, and this is what they said. "Seed will start to ship this month. We will begin shipping nursery stock in March and will ship to the warmest climates first. Houseplants and tender perennials will begin shipping in April." I was charged for the plants already, and have already waited five weeks for them, and now I have to wait another two months? I wish I had read the comments on this site first. I gave them a neutral because they did respond to my status email quickly, and that was to their credit.

I've ordered from Burgess and their other companies before, and always got low quality tiny sticks in the mail that grow and then usually die the same year. I should have known that a peach tree under $10 dollars was too good to be true. It still is alive, maybe 18 inches tall, but it's still thinner than a pencil and I had planted it over 2 years ago. I think I'll be lucky if I get a peach from it in 5 years.

I did get a decent wisteria vine from them for only 1.99, and it is still alive. I did manage to keep 1 out of 10 red cedar plants alive that they sent me, and now it's 6 feet tall. That was over 5 years ago that I bought it. I had bought some royal paulowina trees, which were barely alive and died (the main stem was pruned and turned black), they did send me a replacement, but that too was sickly and died even though I took good care of it. I bought a 'dwarf' sand cherry from them, and I kid you not the bare root stick they sent me was 3 inches tall! I thought it was just some stem that had broken off! It never even broke dormancy.

I also got 2 paw paws that were shipped bare root (which you just can't do with paw paws, they have a long tap root that doesn't like transplanting, and every other plant company I have seen them advertised with are ALL sold potted), and were dead on arrival.

However, I AM very happy with the key lime, olive and musa cavendish that I bought from them, they are doing very good. Their house plants seem to be of higher quality than their outdoor plants.

I have ordered from this company twice, both times the plants I received looked like they had been sealed in plastic until they were black and slimey, no signs of life at all. I ordered an assortment of rose bushes, and got 9 of the same variety, all were dead, dried sticks when I got them. When I tried to get them to do something about it they said I'd have to pay return freight, which I would have had about $40 tied up in freight charges just go get a refund. These people apparently are in business only for $$$, don't care about customer satisfaction or return business. I'll never do business with them again,,, Thanks for the list of companies they're affiliated with.

I placed an order for a large group of Hellebore plants $49. The plants arrived rotten mildewed and slick. I called and stated that the condition of the plants was that they were dead.
They then resent plants that were in similar shape. Calling again the company informed me that they had already resent plants and that was "all they could do."
I'm out the dollars and the plants, they are out of my business!
Shabby money grubbing operation.

In november I received a coupon in the mail that basically said, fill this out, send us $1 and we will send you some Triple L tomato seeds, so, I sat right down and did so. Now, I noticed the check finally was cashed by them in January, I called and the woman claimed I should have the seeds last week, never got them, it's a week later now. So; I called again, they wanted me to get a copy of the cashed check and send to them. I saw things I wanted, and people that know me, know I don't place small orders when I order something; but, told the gentleman, that I didn't feel secure ordering any more products from them until I have received what I had ordered and that I thought it was a waste of my money to get a copy of the canceled check, enclose a letter and lay out the postage again for what???? That's ok, if a company can not keep their books any better than that, and if they don't care enough to send what is paid for and promised they won't be getting my business again. I will stay with Burpees, RH Shumways, Jung's, Gurney's, Boca Bob's (a person who sells garden supplies and is a member of this site), and the other companies I have dealt with in the past.
joy112854
joy112854

Beware of Price Increases!!

I've ordered from Burgess before and found low quality, but decent prices. I get lots of seed catalogs, but looking at them all Burgess had about the best prices. I placed an order on 1/11 and had about 12 items with a total of $103.51. A few days later I get an email saying:

"While processing your order we did notice an error regarding the price of some of the items purchased. The following items are incorrect on your order confirmation:

2 Std Blk Tar Cherry $1.50

The correct price for this item is 2 for $14.99, which would bring your total to $117.00. Please let us know if you wish for us to proceed with processing at this corrected total. "

Basically prices went up $15 on a $100 order (15%)!

I own a business and if there is a price mistake, I eat the cost and try and keep the customer happy. Burgess does not! They quoted me a price, but did not honor it, so I cancelled the entire order and will place it with Park Seed or Stark Bros.

I've used many catalogs over the years, but never found one as dishonest at Burgess. I will never order from them again.

I ordered some berry plants and two fruit trees (all bare root) early this year for delivery in the spring. Most of them looked DOA and did not grow, including six black raspberries, three boysenberries and two pawpaw trees. The only success was with the dewberries, four of those five grew.

I called and was told that replacements could be shipped if I returned the original packing slip. But I was skeptical that a second shipment would be any better. I was also skeptical of the requirement to send the "Original" packing slip.

I asked if I could drive to the store and pick up replacements and was told yes. But I was *NOT* told then that the address in the Burgess catalog (905 Four Seasons Road, Bloomington, IL) is either fictitious or obsolete!

I drove there on the last Saturday of May to get to my replacements and was very surprised when I pulled up to an empty lot at the address given in the catalog! Fortunately, a couple of local men in the parking lot of a business across the street knew that Owen Nursery (a mile or two away at 1700 Morrissey Dr.) is really where the "Burgess" products ship from.

I went there, described my problem and showed them my original packing slip (which they did not keep) and was given replacements at no charge. I chose to purchase potted pawpaws instead of bare-root plants, and just paid the difference in price between bare-root and potted plants. (After I had ordered bare-root pawpaws, I learned that they are rarely successfully transplanted that way.)

The replacement boysenberries plants grew nicely and the pawpaw trees also did well. Only one of the six black rapsberry plants survived, even though I planted them the same day they left the cooler.

I will not do business with Burgess again. Sure, their prices are cheap, but the quality is low, and customer service: forget it!

We ordered from this company because they were local and the price was fantastic. Will never order again. The product came mold , bug ridden and doa.

The return policy is absurd as they have records themselves. No email of confirmation was sent at any time. Very difficult to deal with and inferior product in comparison to other catalogue nurseries we have dealt with in the past.

The quality of what I received was very mixed. Even among single collections of shrub and climbing roses, some exceeded expectations; roughly half were DOA. Hydrangeas were very disappointing.

They also make you jump through too many hoops to get a refund--insisting on an original label even when they have computer records and you have an email of exactly what you ordered.

I am going through the return process now; when it is completed, I will adjust the rating up or down.

Great for the price. If you've orderred from Arbor Day expect about the same from Burgess. You won't get a 5 foot tree in the mail. Not EVERYTHING will survive. But for the price, if you have time and a bit of patience you can relandscape your yard for a fraction of the cost.

Good for people just starting out. Buy a mass of stuff to fill your yard and supplement it with one or two more expensive things from a local nursery.

I orderred hardier, easy-to-grow things from them (lilacs, trumpet vines, bulbs, peonies) and only lost less than a handful from the order. Again, for the price...very hard to beat.

What you get will be small, but with patience and time will be beautiful.

I ordered 200 trees, 100 hybrid populars (screen) and 100 hybrid willows. Aprox $324. Received order in 3 weeks (end of May 2008. Expecting dead sticks, but was very suprised the "dormont stakes" were sprouting tiny white roots, and yellow/white buds! These were perky stakes! I own a small 75acre farm and I needed line trees. So far all trees have taken root both in ground and 30 are in pots. So far only one Willow (in a pot) did not make it. Now considering that I would have spent over three times that much with a local grower (if I could find the tres I wanted) I made out very well.
The order arived at the post office, by DHL. I have a p.o. box, so I had the postmaster call me when they arived. The order arrived in a large heavy duty green plastic sack. (about 40lbs). The inside of the sack was damp as to keep the stakes moist. (the paperwork was damp too, but so what)
It is now the end of July 2008 and the trees have grown over 14inches so far! (Tom from Mercer, PA.)
ps: I will order from these people again.

Two years ago I ordered two lemon trees, lured in buy cheaper prices than other companies. It took so long to receive my order that I called the company to see if they had lost my order. When I finally received my two "sticks" they were full of bugs. I planted them seperately away from other plants and one died within a few days; it was eaten completely by these bugs. The other suffered badly. When I called the company for a replacement, they instead told me to go to a local garden center for advise and get something for the bugs there. No replacement at all! I will never buy from them again.

You would think with a company that sells plants, more effort would be put into quality. That is not the case with this company. People take great care in all the prep work, only to wonder if the 1 inch dead stick they sent you is going to do anything. After 6 weeks of waiting, to still have a 1 inch dead stick in the ground. Now comes the real fun part of jumping through their hoops so you can get a replacement dead stick. A whole year is wasted so you have to wait until next spring to get your plants from a "real" company. In the end you saved nothing. You wasted your time, hard work, and money. While a few did grow (if you call producing a single leaf growth) here is my success record. The rose bushes were 0 for 2. The rose trees were 0 for 2. The lilacs were 0 for 5. The raspberries were 0 for 5. The butterfly bushes were 0 for 2. The blackberries were 1 for 3. The weeping rose plants were 0 for 2. The climbing roses were 1 for 2. The apricot trees were 2 for 2. The sweet cherry vines were 2 for 2. Now it is important to note that really nothing is a sucess. The few things that are alive are just that, alive but a single shraggy leaf on a dead stick is nothing to brag about. This company does not sell inexpensive plants, it sells CHEAP ones. If anyone is looking for a real bargin, I have some dead sticks you can buy for a real low price. I will even give you some pictures that show what they would look like if they were alive and healthy. Maybe I should start a seed company? Oh wait, Burgess is already doing this.

This was my first mail order from a nursery. Sadly I stumbled upon this site too late. I tried to cancel my order but it was too late. (funny considering how long it took to process in the first place) I decided to do my best to be objective and patient.

I ordered several nut and fruit trees and some grape vines. I did this not just for fun but because I aspire to produce a portion of my families food. Since they take so long to develop losing a season is very costly some day.....

My trees arrived in a very sad state. Dried out twigs in a bag. They did not have soil or moisture as promised by the staff via phone. A few looked way past dead. They also did not measure to the height stated online.

Thanks to this site I very carefully kept my shipping labels. After the stated time requirement plus extra I had to send away for my replacements. I had one walnut, one almond and one maple die right away. I had One apple die and grow in from the rootstock (not exactly a good thing). Admittedly one apple fared well as did my mini citrus collection, grape trio and banana.

I got the replacements today, they look just as sad. One did have moisture in the form of mold growing on the roots. In the end I will still not have everything I wanted even after replanting. Aside from losing a valuable season I also lost a great expense on my modest budget. The quality was very poor even in the items that did survive. I cannot afford to just waste hard earned money on junk. I would have been better off sending twice the cash for half the wares somewhere else. In the end I would have gotten more.

Buyer beware, don’t be fooled by pretty pictures and too good to be true prices.

We ordered "premium Blueberry mix" plants early in 2008 so we could have a blueberry crop this summer. We received 4 premium size plants and 2 small plants. As it happened, only the small plants thrived and the larger plants died. We then contacted them to replace the plants and mentioned the discrepancy between what we paid for and what we received. They ignored this and sent us another 4 plants that were about 4" high and pretty beat up from the shipping. When I again contacted them about this discrepancy, they requested we send back the original mailing label and one of the blueberries. Since we have only 4 blueberries on the six plants I have decided to forego the $9 difference and instead leave feedback for the way our account was handled and the frustration we encountered in dealing with Burgess seed.

Ordered because of impressive catalog and low price coupled with their stated replacement guarantee.
Purchased both a garden order and a tree order initially. The garden order plants arrived in fair condition, small, and poorly rooted. I planted what I could and bought other garden plants locally. The Tree order was even worse, with some trees having no roots at all. Planted anyway with expected results. provided root starter and drip lines, but failure rate was near 80%.
Since after 3 weeks it was obvious to me that some trees would probably never root, I ordered a third order and double planted the trees. The trees received on the second tree order were in the same shape as the original order, and have had even a higher failure rate so far. (90%)
Sent Burgess an email after a month and requested replacement trees to cover the failures of the first tree order Mailed the required shipping label (why they need this is beyond me, since the have the order in house) and then waited for two more weeks before they responded. The customer service responses were very brusk and non-involved. Never did they admit either a problem or suggest a solution. Their last communication indicated I would have to wait for 6 weeks, per their policy. (I thought that a month plus 2 weeks WAS 6 weeks ?) But they further stated that they would only adjust the orders all at once at one time. (Why and where is this policy stated? Seems like they make it up as they go along.)
Meanwhile the growing season continues on and I still have no growth on the Burgess products nor any affirmative action from Burgess. I've written off the company as a scam and purchased elsewhere, but I think it unfortunate that such a company continues to thrive.

Last year I ordered 9 pawpaw trees from burgess. When they arrived I at first did recognize what they were. There was a green bag rolled up and stuffed in the mailbox. When I opened it, there were nine sticks inside. It was obvious where the tap roots had been broken from carelessly pulling them up. Had there been a complete root system, the plants would still not have stood a chance being as how there was NO DIRT OR WATER in the bag whatsoever. Upon scratching off a portion of the bark, it was obvious that they had been dead for quite some time. Regaurdless, I planted them in pots just for the sake of seeing if jesus would raise them from the dead. After a couple of weeks, they were rotten and broken. By this time, the 14 day money-back guarentee had expired, leaving replacement as the only option. I guess I could have returned them for more dead sticks, but what would be the point in that? Then I would just have to pay shipping over and over. Being as how pawpaws are the only thing that I have ever ordered from them, I can't knowingly say that all of their products are bad. I do know that absolutely no effort was put into making these trees live.

By the way... during the same season I ordered two pawpaws from Burnt Ridge Nursery... they came in pots. Strangely enough, they are growing today.

Ordered plants. Dug big deep holes and put lots of sand, peat, and rich organic matter around sickly or doa plants. Lost over 75% of plants. Sent in original shipping lable to Burgess for replacement plants. Never contacted by Burgess. Called, and was told to call back. Called back. Bottom line: Burgess did not and will not make good on bad plant stock shipped to me.

Fool me once....

ANYONE THAT GIVES THIS COMPANY A POSITIVE RATING IS IN THE MINORITY AND DOING THE GARDENING WORLD A DISSERVICE!

The End.

Customer service is awful. After trying to contact them by e-mail and never receiving a response I reached them by calling their ordering line. I explained that I had purchased 100 privet hedge last summer, they had started growing, and over the winter every single one had died. I asked what my options were and the rep told me that I could get a voucher for more plants or I could get a refund for the cost of the plants. Per the reps instructions I wrote a letter stating I wanted a refund and sent along my original receipt, and waited. It has been a number of weeks and I finally received a letter with a voucher. They said I needed to read the warranty closer because it states you only have 14 days for a refund. It was their rep who explicitly told me that even though it had been numerous months, I could still get a refund. Their own staff doesn't even know what is going on. VERY FRUSTRATING TO DEAL WITH!!!

Ordered peach trees and received twigs. They are shipped in a green plastic bag. Called Burgess, told them I thought the trees were dead, they told me to wait 6 weeks to make sure they were not just dormant. Waited the 6 weeks, called and asked for a refund, told Burgess I did NOT want a replacement, a credit voucher or other items from them. I am totally dissatisfied with the items I received. Not at all what I expected. Wish I would have seen this website first. Burgess told me that after 14 days I can NOT have a refund. Please help. I do not want anything else from them, expect a refund.

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.

what a horrible business you got there Burgess!

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.

stay away from this company, no good!!!!!!!

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.

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.

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.

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!!

Extremely negative in my opinion.

This is the email I sent them...

"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"

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.

Jerry

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