Comments regarding Burgess Seed

I ordered (for the first time) from many plant catalogs this year. I was completely disgusted with Burgess and Four Seasons! I should have known it would be trouble with the first clue: no toll free number! I thought since both catalogs had the same number, I could make one call, place one order and pay one shipping fee. No such luck! That should have been my second clue, but, I placed two orders anyway. Burgess and Four seasons took forever to ship and when they did, it was partial shipments. I had to call 7 times (on my dime) to check on my order. Not one time did I get any satisfaction. Not once! So much for customer service. The plants? Out of 49 only 9 show signs of life. The next kick, you must save and send back the shipping label if you want anything done about your dead plants! The prices may be good, but, DO NOT ORDER FROM BURGESS OR FOUR SEASONS.

Follow-up. I finally received my order in early May. Far too late to plant in my area, but I made do. Only about 70% of the plant material arrived "healthy" the rest was rotted or dried out. Several of the bare root trees were broken to pieces. Of the 70% that were alive, only about half have survived. Tried to call, linecontinuously busy, so I faxed a certified true and exact copy of my packing list with a letter explaining the condition of the shipment. On 6/9/99 I received a letter saying that the certified copy (which is accepted by courts of law!!) is not good enough, they want the original, made no offer to replace the damaged/dead plant material, and stated they couldn't do anything to come to a "mutually agreeable settlement" without the original. They had enclosed an exact copy of my original order. The surviving plant material is marginal in quality and growth. This is truly one of those fly-by-night operations with many reasons why they cannot take responsibility for their plant material. I am not going to waste my time with a battle of correspondence - rather I am going to report them to consumer affairs. With so many other reputable dealers out there, this group by so many names, is not worth the hassle. My plants were given the best advantage after planting - I am a horticulturist and master gardener!

I bought seeds and roses from Burgess. I shared them with my daughter about 100 miles from here and did not save the packing slip. Burgess refused to replace any of the items, which all died or did not grow because I did not have the packing slip. Initially they said a copy of my cancelled check and list of what I bought was good enough and then refused to replace/refund without the missing packing slip. I know we live in an imperfect world and if a company will make good their products I have no animosity towards them and will continue to do business with them. I toss out any Burgess Catalog I receive after my experience.

In Feb. of 1999, I placed a $60 order with this company requesting they send the order immediately and now wait for the correct planting time. Here it is mid April 1999 and I haven't received my order. I've called them - the line is always busy and the message says to call back - their fax machine must be out of paper also, cause there isn't any answer there. My planting season is almost over, the temperatures are in the 70 to 80 degree range; the area I saved for these plants to be pampered in sits barren. I think I've been had. If anyone knows any way to motivate this awful group to either send the plant material or refund my money, let me know. I will NEVER order through a catalog again. Yes, the cost may be higher at a nursery, but at least you get something for your money.

Another company to add to the list of Plantron is Burgess. I ordered roses from them and when they arrived they were little more than sticks. What did grow was not the variety that I had ordered. They did finally make good with a refund but it took many letters and several threats to report them to the BBB and consumer protection to get it settled.

Last year I ordered four pecan trees and four hazelnut bushes from Burgess. All were just sticks as I expected. I planted all of them and kept them well watered. Only one of the pecans showed any response and it too soon died. I wrote to the company at least six times telling them all the plants had died. They finally sent replacements - in August! None of the replacements had any green at all on them. I planted them all and again kept them well watered. None ever showed any sign of life. I wrote the company again but never heard back. I will never order from Burgess again!

I made a $64 order to Burgess this winter. The order came incomplete. I had to call them to send the rest, which they did. When I later informed them that my English Walnut tree, and the 12 English Lavender plants came dead, I gave them a few weeks so see ifthey would come back, they said it would not be a problem. I was to write back and request my money back, or new plants. I did this only to receive a generic letter from them informing me that I should wait six weeks after delivery to give the plants time to revive. I had already waited six weeks, so I was a little upset.I wrote them again asking for a refund for the 12 Lavender plants, and to send another Walnut. They wrote back not mentioning the Walnut tree,but informing me that they needed to know how many Lavenders died. I had already corresponded with them in two letters that 12 died, and they were asking again. I have sent back another letter making my same requests. To this date Ihave received nothing from them. I would strongly recommend to keep away from ordering from Burgess. I would also like to inform people that all of the plants were small and close to death. The Rhododendrons are very misleading. They came with two half cut leafs to a plant. Five of the eight already died.

I've had mixed results with Burgess. Most of the 'twigs' have done surprisingly well, especially the hummingbird vines, the cherry bushes and the rose of sharon trees (which bloomed the first year and have grown about one foot this year. They're 18 months into the ground and are about 5 feet tall and cost only about $3.00 for both!) But all of my bare root flowers have died and a few of the twigs have died as well.My plants arrived in about April, which in the northeast isn't the best time to plant. I wrote my letter and included my credit card receipt and one of the two original packing labels. My letter included how pleased I was with the above-mentioned plants. Well, I haven't heard from them and I'm very disappointed. When I telephoned, the customer service rep told me I should get a letter of explanation in about 4 weeks. I should say that I was about 6 weeks or so over the one year time period, but then again, nothing blooms here in April!! The horrible thing is, had they replaced these items, I would've been such a strong and vocal proponent. Although I did have some success with them, I wouldn't order again through them based on the poor follow up and time of shipment.

I can't believe that so many people don't like Burgess! I was doing an internet search to find their address/phone # to order more plants. I have ordered from them every year for the last 8 years, and it is true that plants come in plastic bags, and that shrubs look like no more than a handful of sticks, but you need to keep in mind that you are paying pennies on the dollar for them. Sure, I could go to my pricey nursery down the street and look at the plants and pay top dollar, but I prefer to order from Burgess. Almost everything I've ever ordered has thrived and is beautiful. Especially the hibiscus that are about $1, and the rose of Sharon bushes. When I did have a problem on one occasion, they sent free replacements. They do respond much better if you write rather than call. Try it, and keep the $ in mind.

My experience with the Burgess seed catalog is simply, you get what you pay for. I bought some strawberry plants from them, and as everyone else described, they came in a baggy and were sorrowful looking things. I didn't have time to plant them right away, and so I stored them in a refrigerator for about two weeks. When I finally did plant them, I'd say a good 90% of them grew. To be noted here is that they send you fifty plants for some ridiculously low price, so that if half of them snuffed it, you'd still be ahead (labor withstanding).I also had occasion to buy seeds from them, spinach, sugar snap peas ("laugh at drought, smile at rain, sweet as honey") and Romano pole beans. They did well and yielded well. My only cautions about Burgess are that the strains of some of the plants you get are weak, the blooms aren't as vibrant as what you might expect from a nursery, and that they market some trash plants (like Chinese elm) as some miracle, fast-growing shrub. It grows fast because it's a weed.So if you know about gardening, don't mind a little attrition, or want to plant in quantity, Burgess is your catalog. I also like the purple prose they use to advertise their products. But you may sacrifice quality for quantity. If you aren't familiar with the plants you're buying, you may be at a loss around soil conditioning, etc. Don't buy their bulbs, as they are pretty drab. You're better off buying from Breck's.

I have ordered from Richard Owen and Burgess. These two companies plus Four Seasons are all one in the same. They all have the same Telephone number in their catalog. I have had good luck with all of my orders. The plants I have are thriving and when I tell everyone that I ordered them from a catalog they can't believe it. I am about to send another order and hope to have the same luck!

We placed an order of 100 poplar trees and a climbing Blaze rose this spring, with Burgess. The trees arrived in a plastic bag and were bare root dormant (as the catalog tells you they will). The trees have already grown over 3 foot. The climbing rose bloomed this year too. The only problem that we had was that 5 of the trees died. They were planted close to a driveway and looked like they had problems with the exhaust. (Not the company's fault). But Burgess guarantees work. They are shipping 5 more trees. We are very satisfied with this company. For those of you that don't want bare root trees, please read before you order. Burgess clearly states in their catalogs how each plant will be shipped and packaged

Last year I too purchased items from the Burgess co. I am very dissatisfied. The trees, (all small sticks) did not respond. I too had rotten smelling plants arrive and all but one plant survived. I am in the process right now of trying to get my money back. I would advise others to look elsewhere for their plants. The price may seem cheap but that is just what you are getting- CHEAP!!

We live in Alaska and we placed an order for 75 Canadian hemlock shrubs and 6 Colorado blue spruce. The sales people were extremely helpful and friendly. The order was supposed to arrive the third week of May. It showed up on April 27th. The trees were packed in a series of bags, but they appear to be alive and well. They range in size from 5" to 24". Unfortunately the weather is still unreliable.

I recently (2-21-98) placed an order for Russian Olives with Burgess. When they hadn't arrived by April 10, I called. The response from Burgess was basically "We shipped them in March, ask the post office." I'm out $50.00 and Burgess will never se another dime of my money.

I, too, got stung by Burgess. I ordered over $100.00 worth of fruit trees and ground cover seedlings. They promised to ship them at the appropriate time of year. I got them in the second week of March, and the ground here was still frozen to a depth of about 8 inches. Some of the trees had already begun to leaf out, and the ground covers had mostly began to bud and leaf out. At the time, the mountains of East Tennessee were having night-time temps of 15 to 25 degrees, and daytime temps of not over 40. Surely, no one plants during this kind of weather. I tried to understand that all the rootings and plants I had received were dormant, but since there was considerable moisture in the plastic bags and absolutely no dirt, understanding went the way of common sense. I returned the labels as directed with a cover letter expressing my displeasure both in the quality of plants and the absurd packaging and shipping. As yet, I have not heard from Burgess, and frankly, considering the crummy plants and shipping policy, I don't expect to. If I ever purchase another plant or tree by mail, I hope somebody kicks me in the tail. The industry as a whole should monitor itself and prevent an outfit such as Burgess frompracticing such chicanery.

Yes, I too was disappointed with Burgess Co. I ordered a rose bush that I still am waiting for, and the eucalyptus plants, well if you call them plants, I will never order anything from this place again.

Interestingly enough is that I looked for a possible burgess site to contact them because my second of two shipments has not arrived. As frustrating as that may be the first package which included red maples, weeping willows, red weigelas, hemlocks, astilbes and painted daisies all came in good shape with many of the plants already having swelling or open buds. The jury is still out on the astilbe roots but the root system seemed fine and I am confident that they will sprout. Oh yes, there were also two peonies and one snowball bush and they are both doing quite well. Even if I never receive the second shipment, which must have only been a few more plants, I am completely satisfied with their quality of plants.

Last summer, I ordered some blackberry & raspberry plants from the Burgess Co. They came very late in the fall and didn't at all look alive! I was told that they were "dormant" and to give them time. I took good care of them, mulched them and everything. Come springtime - not a one out of over 2 dozen was alive. I sent in the packing slip requesting replacements along with paying for a pear & apple tree (5-in-1 types). The replacements DID ARRIVE along with the 2 apple trees in the late spring. The berries looked very dry and not at all alive. My dad who was a landscaper told me that they were already dead. He also told me that 1 of the trees was also dead. Either way I gave them a try. After 3 weeks nothing showed signs of life except the apple tree (which was the only thing my dad said WAS ALIVE.) I called them and was told that I should give them the "scratch test" to see if they're alive. I did. They were dead and I called back which is no easy task. The phone lines are very busy. The woman on the phone told me to write a letter telling of my problem and to send the packing slip. I did. After several weeks I received a letter saying that I needed to give the plants MORE TIME. They would not take my word for it that the plants were dead. I gave more time and sent the packing slip back along with another note! The summer has passed and I have yet to hear from them. I will call again to get a response from them, but I am disappointed at the amount of time (1 yr.) I have lost. I hope to receive satisfaction soon. I will keep this site informed of the outcome!

I too, have been stung by Burgess. I purchased blackberries, peach trees, blueberries, and a pear tree from Burgess. The blackberries were stalks which never grew, and the peach trees were barely alive but the pear tree is doing fine. All the trees were tiny though. You could get a better deal at K-mart or Lowe's and you can see whether they are already dead before you buy them. I have had better luck with the House of Wesley which I suspect is a spin-off from Burgess but they have a number in their catalogue and were very helpful, courteous, and speedy in clearing up a mistake on my order. The hedges that I ordered were in very good shape. I have had limited experience with them but they seem to be o.k. for the price that you pay.

I have had similar (good) experience with Burgess with the exception on some extremely small willow trees, but they are growing. I got some really good Hostas from them and, believe it or not, part of them where their specials. They have been extremely slow with their biological supplies i.e., praying mantis, grasshopper spore, etc. but the plants were excellent for the price.

My husband and I order a lot of edible landscaping plants, seeds, and bulbs from catalogs. We order from several, including Burgess.

I was drawn in by Burgess' low prices and catalog's pretty pictures. My first shipment of lilies, sedum, phlox and myrtle came in a plastic bag which gave no protection to the plants. The shipping label said that I received 12 phlox, but all I received was a little mass of roots in a wet, plastic baggy. No instructions were included on how to separate the plants or prepare the soil for most of my order. They did include a generic booklet on planting trees, some seeds and other plants but it was not much help. The booklet used the words "dormant" and "give your plants a chance" a number of times to try to soothe their customers' fears. Of course, no phone number is to be found anywhere in the catalog or on the shipping invoice. I also received a couple of mystery plants that were included in the shipment with no label. I will say that the lilies looked fine though.The second part of my order arrived today (4/3/97) in which the lavender and spreading evergreens actually came packaged in a box and each plant looked hardy and well developed. The plants were in there own little containers with soil to keep them alive. Now I am confused to whether this company is as bad as this site says they are.

A couple of years ago, my husband and I ordered some trees and bushes from Burgess. We only spent about $20, but we received a lot for our money. We received 100 bushes and approx 6 fruit trees. There was one mistake with our order; we received a pear tree, instead of a cherry. We called the company and told them about the mistake and they sent us TWO cherry trees and allowed us to keep the pear. WOW! I was impressed with their service. However, I was very disappointed in the twigs with a few roots they sent us, but not being one to give up, I then planted the "sticks". And surprisingly everything grew! The peach tree gave us peaches the very next year, despite the warning that it would take three years to bear fruit. The bushes are doing quite well. And the cherry trees are about 8 to 10 feet tall.My experience with this company was initially disappointing, but surprisingly successful. I would recommend anyone doing business with this company.

Last year I placed small orders with a number of unknown sources just to see how they would respond (that was before I had discovered this excellent list). Richard Owens and Burgess are the same outfit (only slightly different catalogs), and the comments apply equally to both. As far as I'm concerned they come just this side of fraud. Absolutely everything I ordered from them arrived crushed, dead and in some cases actually rotting. When I opened one of the packages the stench was nauseating. I didn't even bother to contact them because anyone who would send such abysmal merchandise in such miserable packing is not likely to pay much attention to customer complaints. They're obviously just in the business for one-time customers. I can't imagine anyone ordering from them twice. Hopefully messages like this will help save people from ordering from them even once.