Comments regarding Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens)

Last fall, I purchased 4 Raspberry Splash Pulmonaria (lungwort) because Park had the lowest price. All four arrived in good shape and survived the winter and are doing well. My recollection is the selection and checkout process was fairly easy.

Last night on Park seed there was a 10 for 10 special on select seeds.
Web special 5 it was called. The totals did not change in the shopping cart to reflect to special. I called the Customer Care support which sounded like it was in India. The man was rude.

He denied the special even after I gave me this web site information. Then when he finally admitted that the site was advertising the special he said it was my fault the cart was wrong. I disagreed because I only had items from the special in my cart and there was well over ten. He put me on hold several times and each time it took longer for me to come back. Finally I could tell he was just waiting for me to go away because he said it was a IT department issue.

I cleared my cart. The special was taken off the site a few hours later though the page says 10 for 10. All of the items that where on the page are now missing. I work for two retail stores. We honor the prices posted. We would not post prices, blame the customer and then sneak off and change the prices rather then honor them.

The main problem with Park Seed is that they're refund window (for plant failure) is extremely short for perennials/shrubs. I'd recommend either:

- NOT ordering any perennials/shrubs from Park Seed; or
- requesting a refund for plant failure for anything that looks even remotely off, within 90 days of receiving the plant.

There's no way to take a "wait and see" approach. The perennials and shrubs I've received from Park Seed have always looked rather sickly, and if the plant doesn't do well, you're pretty much stuck with it.

I ordered vegetable and ornamental seeds from Park Seed in January 2021 and was very happy with what I received.

The foil packets that each seed came in were just large enough for the amount inside. I appreciate that their website clearly lists how many seeds each packet will hold; this helps me plan my garden for the year. No matter how small the seeds were, I never received fewer than were promised.

Their seeds are not the cheapest on the market, but honestly the amount of detailed instruction on how to start each and every packet of them was worth the extra dollar or so. Park Seed is also not the most expensive online seed company by far.

I would 100% recommend Park Seed to other gardeners.

Placed an order for three items (14th). All of which should have shipped together. I received the order in 2 days which was great, but missing one item (which was not backordered or delayed due to zone-shipping). Sent an email that day (16th). Did not hear back until the 22nd and they confirmed the missing item would be shipped within the week. By the 5th (2 weeks later), I had not heard anything. Spent three days on hold on the phone. Called each day and waited 2 hours before hanging up. Tried once in the morning and the late afternoon. On the 7th I was finally able to reach someone in about 30 minutes. She confirmed that the item was both in stock and had been shipping to my zone since my order. She was unable to provide me with an estimate on when the item would ship out, or connect me to someone else who could give me any more information. While the customer service rep was nice, the entire experience has been lackluster and made me wary of ordering through this company when many others have the same products.

Side note: the other two items I ordered were seeds which have a poor germination rate. Asked a friend who runs a large YouTube gardening channel, and he's confirmed that this company is one he hears many complaints from.

I am a Certified Texas Master Gardener specializing in propagation, our Association's newsletter editor, and contribute research articles, too. I am cognizant that the majority of reviews are negative, which is why I was concerned about ordering from Park Seed. I was pleasantly surprised. Their seed packaging is among the best I've experienced. Their ordering and shipping processes were clear and transparent. Seeds arrived promptly. I sent two inquiries on how to best start seed and grow plants from their Echinacea 'Cheyenne Spirit' seed offering. I got helpful, concise responses from a knowledgeable horticulturist. In my experience, their sales and customer service are well above average, and I would order from Park Seed again.

Posted on July 6, 2020, updated July 30, 2020
In all fairness I have ordered periodically from Park Seed for many, many years and have been happy with their products. My problem this time is that I never received my Campsis Summer Jazz Fire vine which cost $36.95. I ordered some seeds along with the vine. The seeds arrived. When I checked my order status in May, the site said the rest of my order would be shipped later per the appropriate planting time. I checked again in June but this time it said the second part of the order had been shipped. I had never received the vine so I emailed the company asking if there was any recourse and no one replied to my email. I live in a rural area surrounded by farmland so there are no "porch pilots" around. Perhaps my order was delivered to the wrong address? As a long-standing customer, I have never before claimed not to have received an item. Now I am afraid to order again for fear that I will be left "holding the bag" having paid for merchandise not received.

"On Jul 10, 2020 9:40 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park\'s Gardens) responded with:

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for your negative experience with our company. We are committed to working closely with our customers to resolve any service issues and will continue to focus our efforts on creating a positive experience. During this Pandemic we are working with a reduced staff and are receiving an astronomical amount emails daily, which is causing our response time to be much longer than desired. If you will email me directly with your order information and I will be more than happy to look into a resolution for you. Please reference this post.

Angela Davenport
Retail Communications Supervisor
J&P Park Acquisitions, Inc.
Park Seed, Wayside Gardens, Jackson & Perkins
Van Dykes Restorers
adavenport@parkseed.com"

I ordered several packets of seeds from Park this season. Most of the packets germinated fairly well and produced decent plants, although they were inferior to the products of other companies.

The packet of butterfly bush seed germinated way below 10% and the Mother of Thyme produced grass. Nothing faintly resembling any thyme, ever. Healthy, broad-leaved grass.

I emailed Park and did get swift customer service, along with a refund of the few dollars I had spent on the seeds.

But my loss of time and effort, along with my disappointment, will keep me from being a repeat customer.

"On Jul 10, 2020 9:43 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park\'s Gardens) responded with:

We understand people seek an outlet to voice their opinions and we do try our best to resolve all the complaints and concerns brought to our attention from all online garden forums. We value your Feedback and will take it into consideration and do some research on the seeds mentioned. If there is anything you need assistance with please do not hesitate to contact us.

Please accept our apology for any inconvenience caused.

Angela Davenport
Retail Communications Executive
J&P Park Acquisitions, Inc.
Park Seed, Wayside Gardens, Jackson & Perkins"

No customer service.
Ive tried to contact them twice about some seeds I had ordered that seem to be lost in transit or something. The package has been sitting 30 minutes away from my house for 16 days now and i'm not sure how much time will be left in the season if and when the seed arrive. I understand a delay at this time, but not being able to contact someone when there is an issue is a big problem. I was hoping to have found a solid seed company that I could trust, but that isn't possible if there isn't customer service. I get the feeling that once you pay, the really don't care too much. :(

"On Jun 8, 2020 3:30 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park\'s Gardens) responded with:

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for your negative experience with our company. We are committed to working closely with our customers to resolve any service issues and will continue to focus our efforts on creating a positive experience. During this Pandemic we are working with a reduced staff and are receiving an astronomical amount of calls and emails daily, which is causing our response time to be much longer than desired. If you will email me directly with your order information and I will be more than happy to look into a resolution for you. Please reference this post.

Angela Davenport
Retail Communications Supervisor
J&P Park Acquisitions, Inc.
Park Seed, Wayside Gardens, Jackson & Perkins
Van Dykes Restorers
adavenport@parkseed.com
"

I have ordered seeds from many vendors over the years and my experience with Parks seeds has always been good. The seed packaging in foil makes it easy to keep the seeds in once opened and the germination rated are always top notch. One example is the coneflowers I purchased where I had 100% germination which is very unusual for those plants in my experience. I will continue to use parks for my hard to find/germinate seeds!

I have ordered from Park for year. Most recent order was in March 2020. Slightly slower than i liked; however, they did indicate they were behind on shipping on their website. Order was shipped piecemeal which was better than waiting two extra weeks for all items. This season I have had reasonable germination rates with their seeds.

"On May 12, 2020 10:55 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park\'s Gardens) responded with:

We appreciate you taking the time to post on Dave’s Garden about how pleased you are with your order/product. Thank you! Your opinion is valued and we, of course, welcome feedback. It's customers like you who act as a reminder of why we do what we do and the importance of supplying only top quality products as well as to offer the best service possible. Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts!

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com

"

Posted on June 18, 2019, updated April 25, 2020
Posted on January 10, 2019, updated June 18, 2019
Posted on June 19, 2018, updated January 10, 2019
Park Seed is . . . fine. The seeds germinate fine, the plants are fine. The shipping costs are fine. The prices are fine. But . . . it is a big huge company. I received the catalog. I saw the pictures of the Park Seed heir posing in them. Not to get too into it but . . . not sure who they think they are fooling with that nonsense. :x

So I buy the seeds but they don't make me feel great. The company seems very soulless. And their are other minor complaints.

The packaging is horrendous. Black on dark gold foil- very hard to read, often printed smudged so totally illegible. Hard to discern from one another. Small size is easier to lose in cracks. They don't fit easily with rest of seed collection.

Also, everything in the supplies category on the website seems really, really overpriced. A twenty-five dollar hand seeder that resembles something parents use to clean out babies' noses? Hoo-boy.

I know some of this isn't the same as other people's complaints. But it is the real reason I will only be ordering occasionally, such as during a sale. There are just other places that make me feel better about what I'm purchasing, regardless of the price. Not everything about gardening is about practicality for everyone.

"On Jun 19, 2018 7:52 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park\'s Gardens) responded with:

We understand people seek an outlet to voice their opinions and we do try our best to resolve all the complaints and concerns brought to our attention from all online garden forums. We value your Feedback and will take it into consideration. If there is anything you need assistance with please do not hesitate to contact us.

Please accept our apology for any inconvenience caused.

Angela Davenport
Retail Communications Executive
J&P Park Acquisitions, Inc.
Park Seed, Wayside Gardens, Jackson & Perkins

I have purchased from this company in the past with good results. Unfortunately this year they went from positive to negative. This is on reference to order#WEBPS4544692. When I placed the order on 03/10/2020. I didn't receive an order number, shipping date or anything. I sent an email on 03/23/2020 and received a response on 03/26/2020 stating that my order was shipped on 03/11/2020 and if I haven't received it by 03/31/2020 to contact them. Fourteen business days to receive something sent from South Carolina to Tennessee seemed a bit long but okay. So I didn't receive my order on 03/31/2020. I then contacted Parkseed on 04/02/2020 and they stated they would issue a credit. Unfortunately some of the things I ordered were out of stock. The Zinnia seeds were integral to my garden design and they were out of stock. I was very upset. I called Park seed and spoke to a very rude customer service representative. The CSR told me I could use the credit to purchase the part of my order that wasn't out of stock and they would refund the rest. When I attempted to do that I realized that I was never issued the refund as the company said they would. So I sent another email on 04/17/2020. So far I have not received a response
My son has covid19. While he's not sick enough to be hospitalized, he is sick. I can't sit on the phone waiting a very long time to try to speak to someone from customer service. I reordered the seeds with my own money because I didn't want anything else to be out of stock. I have a garden plan and I really need the seeds. I can't wait for them to respond and
something else is out of stock. So now I'm out about$75 which is a lot for me because I'm not working. Hopefully I will hear from them soon. I hate to give the company a negative but I feel I did everything I was supposed to do and the company fell short. If this isn't taken care of in a timely manner, then I'll redesign my garden with annual seeds that I can get from another company.

"On Apr 18, 2020 1:52 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park\'s Gardens) responded with:

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for your negative experience with our company. We are committed to working closely with our customers to resolve any service issues and will continue to focus our efforts on creating a positive experience. Your input is very important to us and will assist us in our ongoing efforts to provide better products and services to all our customers. We greatly appreciate your business, and would like to continue to have you as a customer. During this Pandemic we are working with reduced staff and reduced hours making the wait time for customer service longer than desired as well as responses to emails being delayed. We apologize that your shipment failed to deliver after such a long time in transit. Unfortunately we are uncertain what has occurred to the shipment and certainly hope it will deliver to you soon. As a resolution I am issuing you a full refund instead of a credit on the lost order. And since you place an order on your own I will also be adjusting that order with a 50% discount. We hope you find this satisfactory. If I can be of further assistance please do not hesitate to email me directly.

Angela D
Park Seed Customer Service Supervisor
adavenport@parkseed.com
"

I've ordered over $1000 worth of plants and seeds for the 2019/2020. Most online. Only once did I not receive something as promised from Burpee. I decided to try Park Seed company and I also placed 3 other orders for other companies online at the same time on Jan. 6th. Of the 3 companies, this was the last order to arrive. When it did arrive, 1 seed packet was not included. This must be a mistake and I recounted and reviewed all the see packets. Yes, one was missed and also one was to be shipped at a later time. I called the company first thing the next morning and reported my findings. Lady asked me to review it another time as it was shipped. I had to stand my ground and say it wasn't shipped. There definitely was one item missing. Thankfully after confidently standing behind my findings, she entered it to be shipped again. Hopefully I receive that packet soon.

"On Jan 17, 2020 1:05 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park\'s Gardens) responded with:

We understand people seek an outlet to voice their opinions and we do try our best to resolve all the complaints and concerns brought to our attention from all online garden forums. We value your Feedback and will take it into consideration. If there is anything you need assistance with please do not hesitate to contact us.

Please accept our apology for any inconvenience caused.

Angela Davenport
Retail Communications Executive
J&P Park Acquisitions, Inc.
Park Seed, Wayside Gardens, Jackson & Perkins
adavenport@parkseed.com "

Two dead petunias (and third is nothing to write home about), two miserable-looking bare-root roses (one should make it, not sure on second one), rec'd an email that the peony I ordered is not available, and no response to the emails sent to info@parkseed.com (the only email contact info I could find on parkseed.com) 20 days ago (and within the stipulated 48 hours after delivery of dead/damaged plants) that included photos of the petunias shipment.

The end-of-season prices were great - too bad the plants weren't. Stuff happens, but I guess what will make me never order from any of the Park Seed companies again is the non-response to my emails.

"On Jun 24, 2019 9:52 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am so sorry to learn that your plants did not arrive in good condition. I hope you have reached out to ur customer service department for an adjustment to your account. If not please contact me directly at the address below and reference this post please. I'll be more than happy to look into a resolution for you.

I am so sorry to that you failed to receive a response to your emails sent. Unfortunately during the peak season it may take several days to receive a response due to the sheer volume of emails/calls received daily. Researching I was unable to locate any additional emails.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

I tried to order a product and once I ordered the product it would disappear and not allow me to print off the invoice and no invoice was ever emailed to me. I called the company and tried talking with a very rude supervisor, Grace Nelson, who would rather argue with me about my order than fix my problem. She continued to argue with me about my order and how I never ordered anything. I finally ended the phone call because she refused to stop arguing with me about my order. I received a double order. My purchasing department accepted the orders and I was not able to return them but I guarantee I will never do business with this company again.

"On May 21, 2019 11:14 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, we never wish to disappoint our customers, and customer service is most important to us. Will you email me directly with your order information or name and complete billing address on the order. We will be more than happy to look into this and resolve this for you. Please reference this post.

Angela Davenport
Retail Communications Supervisor
J&P Park Acquisitions, Inc.
Park Seed, Wayside Gardens, Jackson & Perkins
adavenport@parkseed.com"

In March I ordered $160 worth of plants. In April, Park Seed shipped part of my order--five rosemary plants--and two withered and died a day after they arrived. Park Seed gave me a credit for those two dead plants.

By the end of April, I was still waiting for the other eight plants in my order to be shipped. They kept moving the expected ship date later and later, so I called to find out when I could expect my plants. During the first call, they said that the didn't ship on the Friday expected ship date because they did not want them to sit in the post office overnight. Monday came, however, and the plants still did not ship. I called the next week, and they said the plants needed more time to mature, but that they would for sure ship by the next Monday. That Monday has come and gone, and still my plants haven't shipped. I tried to contact them by Live Chat this morning, and I received an email message that their customer service staff was busy and that I could expect a reply in a few days.

It is getting hot where I live, and I fear my plants will not have enough time to establish. I feel as if the people at Park Seed lied to me each time I called just to get me off of the phone. So far, I have spent $160 and only have three tiny rosemary plants to show for it.

"On May 13, 2019 2:06 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, I would like to look into this and a resolution for you. Can you email me at the address below including the order number and the details you have posted here please. Please reference his post in your email.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

Burpee seeds was getting a little expensive so I decided to give these guys a try. The variety of seeds available was decent and I liked the prices.
1. They gave me a reasonable shipping estimate which would have had the seeds delivered well before the following weekend so I canceled my other plans that weekend since spring was around the corner. THE SEEDS DID NOT ARRIVE.
2. I tried to look up the shipping status of my order on their website. You can't just see your orders, you have to know your order number and enter it, so more cumbersome than most websites. NO ORDER STATUS INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON THEIR WEBSITE.
3. I called. NO ORDER STATUS INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON THEIR AUTOMATED PHONE SYSTEM.
4. The phone automatically transferred me to the next available representative. I was pleasantly surprised that they had somebody answering the phones in the evening. IT RANG AND RANG AND NOBODY EVER ANSWERED. Nor was there ever any indication given that they were closed.
5. In the morning I tried their website chat option. it kept saying somebody would be answering in 5 minutes. I let it run just to see how long it would take somebody to actually reply. IT TOOK 3 HOURS FOR THEIR CHAT PERSON TO REPLY. He waited five minutes before disconnecting.
6. I called again. The rep said that the entire order had been delayed because one of the seeds was backordered. HE PROMISED THAT EVERYTHING WAS READY AND THE ORDER WOULD SHIP THE FOLLOWING DAY.
7. When I mildly expressed my disappointment that the entire order had been delayed, RATHER THAN MAKE ANY ATTEMPT AT AN APOLOGY HE SAID THAT HE WAS SORRY I FELT THAT WAY AND THEN PROCEEDED TO HANG UP ON ME.
8. That was eight days ago. STILL NO SEEDS.
9. I called back today. Guess what? THE ORDER HAS NOT YET SHIPPED.
10. I was a little upset. I asked them to cancel my order and refund my money. Once again no genuine apology or attempt to make it right and, wait for it... SHE HUNG UP ON ME.

Between the lousy customer service, the lies, and the quaint North Carolinian accents, I couldn't help but be reminded of the excruciating experiences I have had with Indian call centers. NEVER AGAIN PARK SEED!

"On Apr 1, 2019 1:01 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am sorry to hear of the type of service you received. This is not typical and will not be tolerated. Please accept our apology. Customer Service is important and we always appreciate the opportunity to address any dissatisfaction with our products and services. Please email me directly at the address below and include your order number and mention this post. I want to look into this and address appropriately. We are so sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

George W. Park would be mortified seeing customers being treated like I have been by his company. This is in regards to order # WEBPS3825208, 802180, (same product).
At first, when I found the website and the growing dome, I was so happy and inspired. My friend then purchased the 80 cell dome for my birthday.
It took the company several days to ship it. Tracking reported for 3 days without ever being received by the post office.
When I called in regards to the shipping, I was told that it is the post office who didn’t log the product.
When I finally received the package, it was a tiny box with on small package of plant food and an invoice for an 80 cell dome. For that, I took a day off to receive the package.
I called again, got a runaround, sent pictures of the box and invoice and insisted to have the product ASAP because I was ready for seeding.
I then received a promise in writing to receive it on Wednesday, March 6th.
The invoice stated a 120 cell dome in addition to the 80 cell dome.
So, I took Wednesday off to receive the package (we live very rural). When it was 2 PM, I called the company who told me that the package was just sent out that very day and is to be expected by Thursday.
The product arrived on Thursday and I lost 3 days. There were not even instruction included. This is by far the most expensive growing dome and it was handled like it had no value.
It seems to me that this company doesn’t care much about good customer experience. This growing dome winds up costing me almost 3 days income in addition to the overpriced product.
I learned that this company has no integrity and because of it, eventually no customers.
I am grateful though for the lesson learned - NEVER PURCHASE FROM ANYONE WITHOUT INVESTIGATING THE COMPANY FIRST!!!

"On Mar 8, 2019 4:42 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am sorry to hear you are dissatisfied with our service. Please accept our apology. Customer Service is important and we always appreciate the opportunity to address any dissatisfaction with our products and services. I apologize first that when the original order shipped, that our packing department made such an error of only sending you the fertilizer. I see the representative you spoke with entered the replacement order and flagged as NDA next day delivery, what she failed to tell you is due to the volume of orders we process daily we have a 1 to 2 day in house processing time before shipment. I understand your frustration and I am so very sorry that our company has disappointed you. We never want to let our customers down as we do value each one of them. Please accept our apologizes. "

I have been gardening since 1968 and always found Park Seed to be a reliable company with great prices. Last Spring I ordered 3 bottles of Algoflash from Park Seed because they had the lowest price. When they arrived, one of the bottles had a broken seal and had leaked all over the others, even though they had been taped shut before being shipped. I was was more than disappointed.

I notified Park Seed, hoping they would refund me for at least the one bottle. Instead, to my surprise, they shipped 3 more bottles for free. This time they used extra packing and all arrived safely. This is customer service that goes above and beyond what is required or expected....and it is really really smart.....because now I will buy my Algoflash and as much of my other gardening items as posssible from Park Seed. In a day and age where most companies are run by employees who don't really care, Park Seed is the exception. Thank You Park Seed for making your little part of America great again.

Hermanson

I placed an online order on 12/15/18 and utilized Amazon Pay which meant I was immediately charged for the order. So far, my order has not been filled (1/02/19 more than two weeks) with no explanation as to the delay. When I check status updates it indicated an anticipated ship date of 12/19 however it indicates the order has not been shipped. The order only includes in-stock items.
I consider this delay unacceptable. I have purchased from Park’s for about 30 years and it used to be a good company. About 4 years ago I placed an order which was also not sent for weeks and customer service could give no concrete information about shipment time. Now you can not even reach a real person when you attempt to contact the company. I stopping purchasing from Park’s for several years due to the bad experience. I wished I had not tried again.
I would like to say that I have ordered items from three other companies within the last month and seeds and such have been sent out promptly 24 to 48 hours so I do not think my expectations are unreasonable.
DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY OR TIME WITH THIS COMPANY.

"On Jan 2, 2019 2:09 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology for the delay, currently there are a couple of items on your order that have not came in from our supplier for the 2019 season. I have flagged your order to split ship all available items asap. The items we are waiting on are the Heliotrope Mini Marine seeds, Algoflash Fertilizer 6-6-6 All Purpose Plus and the Algoflash Flowering Fertilizer . We are so sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

I have purchased seeds from Park for many years, even some plants over the years. But this year they are using the same customer service as "Wayside Gardens" and "Jackson& Perkins"....
I've gardened for 50 years. I'm a master gardener. Most of my plants have flourished with few returns. This year, unknown to me, several of the online plant sales, that I have used before, decided to required proof of dead plants or damage. The first problem was my petunias arrived with evidence of Bud Worm damage (person I talked to had never heard of Bud Worms) and the strange smell they get with Bud Worm damage. They told me to send them pictures. When they received them the horticulturist said they saw no worm!! Duh, the worms are small and hard to find. However, the photos showed chewed flowers and buds. One of my concerns about planting them was the Bud Worms would get to my Geraniums too. Which of course they have and the Petunias have suffered all season until I finally through them out.
I have had other plant problems too. One problem was they notified me by email they were mailing them, early March, I called them and told them that I had added a note not to send until May and not to send them yet as the ground was still frozen with snow on it, he said "can't change it just store them in a cool place where they won't freeze." The ground still could not be worked until the middle of May! Guess what those plants looked like when I went to plant! Some of them were bulbs so they were okay, but several (six)of the plants were already shriveled up and dead, I planted them anyway but to know avail.
Tell me one good reason I should have to dig up bulbs, or plants, that are dead and take photos of them, just to hear some person say I must have planted them wrong or didn't water them or any thing else they can think of to refuse to replace or refund the plants. I am never going to do business with those companies. I will just buy locally, I can see the condition they are in before buying. No one saves money buying online anymore. A disappointment, as the advantage is they have unusual plants I can't get locally. Definitely not worth the hassle!

"On Aug 30, 2018 2:13 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, I would like to look into this and a resolution for you. Can you email me at the address below including the order number and the details you have posted here please.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

Posted on June 29, 2018, updated July 7, 2018
I ordered a bareroot persimmon tree from Park Seed. I expected that it would grow given the proper care, but it never even leafed out. Park Seed refused to make any adjustments. Their guarantee states "Please understand that we cannot accept responsibility for the results of extreme weather, neglect, unforeseeable acts of nature, or ignoring our hardiness zone recommendation." I would understand their refusal if the tree had died due to winter kill, but our weather has been lovely, and entirely above freezing, since I received the tree. As such, I believe that their guarantee is misleading. Please be warned that Park Seed does not guarantee any plant that is ordered outside of their recommended hardiness zone, period.

"On Jul 2, 2018 8:26 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am so sorry to learn that you disagree with our guarantee policy when ordering outside of the recommended hardiness zones. We understand people seeking an outlet to voice their opinions and we do try our best to resolve all the complaints and concerns brought to our attention from all online garden forms. I would like to assist in bringing a solution to your issues. Please email me with your name, address, and order number so that I may help you with this situation. We at Park Seed would like to make your experience better. I would like to review your account so that I may bring a better resolution to your issue.

Angela D
Park Seed Sales Executive
adavenport@parkseed.com

The plants were supposed to ship on 4/11. I purchased with a gift certificate. In May I checked the status and it was set to AUTHAUTH. When I spoke with support they said the order failed because there was no credit card with the order (of course not I used a gift certificate). I didn't get an email or any contact to let me know the order failed.

When I called support said they would bump priority so it shipped out in a day or two. 8 days later it still hadn't shipped.

I called to cancel and support said they couldn't cancel because their supplier used a P.O. and said although it's not my fault they could not cancel. I could refuse the package when it was delivered and they would refund LESS a 20% RESTOCKING FEE - FOR AN ORDER THAT THEY MESSED UP - go figure! I asked to speak with a supervisor and was told they would call back and guess what - No call. Oh well I will spend some time posting reviews on the internet and never order from them again.

"On May 22, 2018 7:21 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, I will be more than happy to assist you, please email me directly with your order number and reference this and let me look into this for you please.This does not sound typical and I am really interested to see what has occurred here.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

Nice catalog and website, but the very expensive seeds of petunias and geraniums arrived in foil packets with misleading generic planting instructions and silly glassine envelopes inside. The instructions prescribed planting 6-8 weeks early,, much too late for these kinds of seeds, and the glassine envelopes either held the seeds inside them by static electricity or spewed them all over when the paper was opened.If Park is only putting six seeds in a packet, the seed should be pelleted and placed in a vial.

"On Mar 5, 2018 4:10 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Although we do use vials for fragile seeds and clay pellets, we try to save the customer money by relying on glassine envelopes for tiny seeds. (Shipping is cheaper and because the packaging is easier, we can pass the savings along.) The best way to open the envelope is with scissors. We use these glassine envelopes because very small seeds tend to get stuck in the edges of the Park's-Pak foil envelope. Glassine, over many years, has proven to be the best material for handling our seeds.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

I ordered a Portabella mushroom kit from Park Seed. It did not ship on time, so I emailed to find out when it would ship. I emailed three times with no response. Phoning the company leads to an automated message center with no option to speak to a human that I could find. I finally fished around the internet and found Angela D's email, and emailed her to request the order be canceled. By the time she got back to me, she said it was too late to cancel the order (this is because no one answered the original three emails sent to their customer service email address).

The kit did not grow, and two emails for growing advice to the producer of the kit (Mushroom Mountain) went unanswered. I have grown a couple species of mushroom from kits before, and this is the only failure I have had.

I did not email Angela for a credit, since I do not want to deal with Park Seed again.

So, poor product, no manufacturer support, and no customer service (well, without jumping through hoops to directly contact one special person at the company) from Park Seed. Avoid at all costs. There are a lot of decent companies out there selling similar products -- take your business to those other companies. Also, there is a list of businesses 'associated with' Park Seed here on DG (likely, those are just the same company with a different name to give the illusion of variety) -- avoid them as well.

"On Jan 4, 2018 1:31 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, I would like to look into this and a resolution for you. Can you email me at the address below including the order number and the details you have posted here please.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

Posted on February 12, 2008, updated June 30, 2017
I order from Park seed every year and have been pleased with their service. One year I emailed as a coleus packet didn't germinate and they sent a replacement right away. This past weekend I had a question on a partial order and was surprised when my email was answered immediately over the weekend (had expected to wait until Monday at least). My experiences with the company have always been positive.

Posted on May 26, 2017, updated June 16, 2017
Here is my experience with J&P

Ms Davenport,

You should not apologize for the inconvenience but for the $71 lost in the purchase of dead rose plants. I would like to mail the dead plants to you since they are of no use to me. Please provide your address.

You know, I was just looking for any kind of concession but nothing is coming. I will continue to post my experience with J&P in as many sites that I can find. People will know that when one purchases a J&P plant there is 60% likelihood the plant will die within a year. The number will be an eye opener for anyone who reads my review. The dead plants were faulty, I reported it within 90 days refund period, and J&P does not back their guarantee.

David

-----Original Message-----
From: Angela Davenport
To: David
Sent: Fri, May 26, 2017 8:30 am
Subject: RE: three rose not doing well [3679191:4339324]

Dear David,

Thank you for the order information. As you know the warranty is expired on your order as of August 2016.

I see your order was noted on 6/15/16 that you had emailed advising that your Pope John Paul rose was not growing and the representative advised you to do the scratch test and the Epsom salt treatment. After that it appears you did not contact us back to advise if the rose was responding and growing. If the customers do not let us know before the warranty expires, we are unable to make any adjustments.

There are many factors beyond the initial guarantee period that can cause an otherwise vigorous and healthy plant to

fail, most of which are beyond our control. They include severe winter weather, drought, disease, insect damage, marauding animals, etc. While proper care and winter protection will go a long way toward ensuring your plants will have a long and healthy life, even this cannot unconditionally guarantee that environmental conditions will not impact the survival of your plants. Because of this, we are unable to extend our guarantee beyond the initial growing season. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Angela Davenport
Retail Communications Supervisor
J&P Park Acquisitions, Inc.
Park Seed, Wayside Gardens, Jackson & Perkins
adavenport@parkseed.com

The JPPA Family of Brands:

From: David
Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2017 6:13 PM
To: Angela Davenport
Subject: Re: three rose not doing well [3679191:4339324]

Hi Angela, Thank you for your help. Below is the original order and its 2 Pope John Paul II Hybrid Tea Rose (I really like this one) and1 Sugar Plum Hybrid Tea Rose.

Capture.JPG

-----Original Message-----
From: Angela Davenport
To: David
Sent: Thu, May 25, 2017 1:34 pm
Subject: RE: three rose not doing well [3679191:4339324]

Dear David,

Thank you for reaching out to me for assistance. Can you advise me what the name of the 3 roses were that died and I will speak with our Manager to see what resolution I can get for you. We will definitely do something to help you. Please accept our apology for any inconvenience caused.

Angela Davenport


From: David]
Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2017 2:17 PM
To: Angela Davenport
Subject: Fwd: three rose not doing well [3679191:4339324]

Hello adavenport,

one last try to change your reputation. Below is my experience with the organization.

-----Original Message-----
From: David
To: info
Sent: Mon, May 22, 2017 5:47 pm
Subject: Re: three rose not doing well [3679191:4339324]

Very disappointed in the way you do business. I called and tried to understand why 3 out of the 5 rose plants I purchased died and j&p does not back up their product. Wasn't looking for a credit but a replacement. Anyway, I will be posting the following review in as many sites that I can find. Hope fully I can warn others of your business practice. When I first contacted you within the 90 day period about the weak plants you should have replaced them

In May of 2016, I purchased 5 rose plants. By toward the end of June, 2 of the plants were barely sprouting and one plant had no sprouts. I contacted J&P and they gave advice to use Epstein stalk on it. That did help the 2 plants plus the one that would not sprout. I did get roses from all 5 plants. We had a very mild, extremely mild winter and 3 of the plants did not survive even though I covered them with weather protection. The 2 remaining alive plants are doing great and I can see roses developing.

I sent J&P 2 emails letting them know what had happened and if they could do something about it. There was no response so I called and the rep told me there is no guarantee of the plant after 90 days. I explained the issues I had with the 3 plants within the 90 period but the rep said they survived within the ninety day period.

J&P does not back up their plants as they advertise or would not consider any accommodation to myself. So the simple math is 3 plants died out of 5 so J&P plant survival rate is 40%. Definitely not a good deal. By the way, the rep only gave me one line that she kept repeating, "J&P guarantees the plant for 90 days". What a rip off. Lesson learned.

-----Original Message-----
From: David
To: info
Sent: Fri, May 19, 2017 3:05 pm
Subject: Re: three rose not doing well [3679191:4339324]

Hi, Its going on about a week and I have not received a reply. Don't you stand by your plants or at least at a minimum tell me what I did wrong. Would not like it if the other plants did not survive the next winter.

David

-----Original Message-----
From: David
To: info
Sent: Sat, May 13, 2017 6:06 pm
Subject: three rose not doing well [3679191:4339324]

Hi,

Out of 5 Roses I purchased, only 2 survived the winter. It was a very mild winter and I did cover the plants for protection. I do want to replace them plus purchase 3 more, but my experience is not good.
Can you do something?
David

"On May 26, 2017 2:32 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Dear David,

We understand people seeking an outlet to voice their opinions and we do try our best to resolve all the complaints and concerns brought to our attention from all online garden forms. As a onetime customer courtesy I will issue you a Merchandise credit for the 3 roses mentioned. We do not like to disappoint our customers and we hope this will help restore your faith in Jackson and Perkins. Going forward, please know that all products have a 90 day Guarantee and we need to be notified during the Guarantee time frame. You did contact us last year in June, nut once the representative advised you to do the Epsom Salt treatment we did not hear back from you until after the guarantee had expired. Please accept our apology for any inconvenience caused.

Angela Davenport
Retail Communications Supervisor
J&P Park Acquisitions, Inc.
Park Seed, Wayside Gardens, Jackson & Perkins
"

While I am normally pleased with their products, this time I am not happy. I ordered 4 Bloom-A-Thon Azaleas. When I ordered them, I was advised they would be shipped to me in Sept 2016. The order was not delivered to me until Monday, 10/17/2016 at 11:41am. On Dec 4, 2016 I notified them that one of the bushes completely died to the ground and got no response. In April of 2017 I contacted ParkSeed and advised them several of the bushes were not growing. At that time they told me to give it about 6 weeks. On May 19th I contacted them again. Luckily two of the 4 bushes were alive. I received a response form them stating that this is their busy season and they would get back to me as soon as they can.

Now its June 2017 and I am being told its too late to do anything. Yes I did call, and waited and waited. Like most people, I do not have time to waste being on hold on the phone. I am better off shopping local for now on.

"On Jun 16, 2017 2:59 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, I would like to look into a resolution for you. Can you email me at the address below including the order number and the details you have posted here please.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

I've been ordering from parks for a few years now, but only seeds. This year i decided to try plants. I ordered tomato plants on 2 occasions and they arrived in very poor condition both times. I emailed them the first time and never got a response. I gave them another shot hoping it was just a fluke. The next set of tomato plants also arrived in bad shape, but this time i was able to nurse a few back to life. I ordered 2 white peach trees and a 6 pack of pepper plants on my last order. The peppers arrived in good shape and continue to do well. The peaches arrived very beat up with nothing on the roots to keep them moist. Most of the buds were heavily damaged. I planted the peach trees anyway to see if they could bounce back. After all of this I will keep ordering seeds from parks but I think I'm done with their plants and trees.

"On Jun 14, 2017 2:10 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am so sorry to learn that your plants did not arrive in good condition. I hope you have reached out to ur customer service department for an adjustment to your account. If not please contact me directly at the address below and reference this post please. I'll be more than happy to look into a resolution for you.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

The good: On April 21 I ordered 3 Rozanne Geraniums and 3 packets of seeds. The geraniums came quickly and though they were packaged pretty well with shredded paper, they just are not tough plants and were a bit broken up. They have survived though and 2 out of 3 are doing really well. The third will make it, but only has one leaf. The price was very good for this patented hybrid and I kind of wish I had ordered more.

The bad: I have been waiting, waiting, and waiting for the 3 packets of seeds to ship that were ordered at the same time. I FINALLY got a notice that they are shipping 2 days ago (May 16), though the tracking link isn't working, so I don't know if they have actually shipped. This is really annoying. The seeds are going to arrive after our last frost date, and maybe that was their intention? If so, I wish they would give an option to ship immediately because I was planning to start them in a greenhouse with other plants and put them out as seedlings after the last frost date. Now I've lost a whole month of growth and that's a real bummer, not to mention that it has been an incredibly warm spring and we haven't had a frost in 6 weeks.

I'm not really sure that I will order from them again, though it seems they can have some deals that can be worth the gamble.

"On May 19, 2017 8:53 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I would like to assist in bringing a solution to your issues with your seed shipment. Please email me with your name, address, and order numbers so that I may help you with this situation. We at Park Seed would like to make your experience better. I would like to review your account so that I may bring a better resolution to your issue.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

Having ordered from this company one time before with no issues, I was really disheartened about my recent experience. I placed an order on 5/9 for a 6 pack of geraniums and some strawberry plants. The strawberry plants said they were shipped today but I am still waiting for the geraniums to ship. The anticipated ship date was listed as 5/12. I contacted customer service to cancel the order and was told that I cannot because a shipping label had already been created for the geraniums. I was told that the absolute latest the order would ship would be 5/31, with an arrival date of 6/2. I am very frustrated about the lack of communication about shipping and updates about possibly shipping delays. I asked if there was any way they could refund a portion of the order or shipping and was told they could not. After this experience, I do not think I will be ordering from this company again.

"On May 17, 2017 9:08 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, unfortunately with the 6 pack Annual plants our grower has a 3 week window to get all orders shipped. Once we send the order information over to them, we do not know which week your order will actually shipped. We can say that the grower only ships on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays via UPS 2day express. With the being the last shipping weeks for the annuals, the last delivery possible would be 6/2/17. I am so very sorry that we are unable to give you the exact information you are requesting about your order.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

Posted on April 26, 2017, updated April 28, 2017
Posted on April 25, 2017, updated April 26, 2017
I just had an extremely negative experience with Park Seed, and I’d like to make others aware of this, as well as other reviewers’ experiences with them. I found consumer ratings for Park Seed on four websites, with the results summarized below. My rating is NEGATIVE, or 1 star. I’ve come across bad companies before, but Park Seed is the worst of the worst! I won’t deal with them again. “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” The details of my situation are described below.

//www.resellerratings.com/store/Park_Seed_Company Rating 1.0 / 10 (25 reviews)
[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com] Rating 425 positives, 107 neutrals, 421 negatives
[HYPERLINK@www.yelp.com] Rating 1.5 / 5.0 stars (31 reviews)
[HYPERLINK@www.sitejabber.com] Rating 1 / 5 stars (13 reviews)

I bought seed packets of 10 different vegetables. Thankfully, 8 did well. But one packet of peppers took 3 weeks to germinate, never grew more than 1” tall, and never developed true leaves, after 7 weeks! And with one packet of 10 watermelon seeds, only 2 of the 6 seeds I planted germinated (33%, which would increase to only 60% if the 4 unplanted seeds were viable).

I called Park Seed and spoke to Robin. She told me that Park Seed wouldn’t do ANYTHING about the watermelon seeds “because they only guarantee 80% germination.” I responded that the germination was at best only 60%, but she had nothing further to say. She said nothing about the dwarfed and useless pepper plants. I asked to speak to a supervisor. Robin took my phone number and told me that one would call me back, but she wouldn’t say when. I doubt anyone will ever call back.

The Park Seed guarantee, on their website, says nothing about 80% germination; it simply states “We guarantee all Park Seed products to be high quality, true to type, shipped properly, and to perform as advertised. If your plant has received our recommended care and doesn't perform to your satisfaction, notify us and we will replace it free of charge or provide the cost of the product as credit toward a future purchase.” Evidently not! To avoid disappointment, DO NOT BUY FROM PARK SEED!

"On Apr 26, 2017 9:11 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I would like to assist in bringing a solution to your issues. Please email me with your name, address, and order numbers so that I may help you with this situation. We at Park Seed would like to make your experience better. I would like to review your account so that I may bring a better resolution to your issue.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com

My overall interaction with Park Seed is positive. A general note is: plants shipped directly from them are in better shape. I live in Zone 8, Greater Seattle area.

I have ordered plants and seeds from Park Seed for a few years now. When I order plants that are shipped directly from their warehouse, they are always in fantastic shape and shipped in a timely manner: strawberries, raspberries, hydrangeas, pomegranate, lily bulbs, and seeds. I usually order everything in spring, mid March to early April. Items are usually shipped on the Monday/Tuesday after order and arrive a week after shipping.

When ordering plants shipped from their outside distributor (not Park Seed or Jackson & Perkins), the quality of the items are less consistent. Last year, when they used a distributor in Michigan, the rosemary was ~1 inch tall and dying. Additionally, the plants were not packaged well for shipment. This year, they used a distributor in Ohio and they are MUCH BETTER. The tomatoes plants are healthy and large. The packaging for the shipment was superb. The tomatoes were shipped overnight!

I am glad they fixed their distributor problem. Overall, my experience is positive. My plants growing fantastically in my garden (except for the rosemary).

On 3/20 I placed an order for 7 packets of seeds. All items were designated "available to ship". As of 4/6, the order status page still listed the anticipated ship date as 3/22. There was no communication at any time about any delay or backorder.

I contacted the company via live chat a week after ordering to get an update, and was told my order was scheduled to ship at the end of the week. It did not. An inquiry via web form on 3/30 received no reply. When I contacted them again via chat on 4/6, I was told one item had been backordered and was undergoing germination tests, and would ship by the middle of the following week. (This item is still listed as available to ship.) I canceled my order at this point. I would not have ordered at all if it had been clear it would not ship promptly.

The customer service representatives were very polite, but the delay, coupled with the lack of communication about item availability means I won't be ordering again.

"On Apr 6, 2017 11:00 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, I will be more than happy to assist you, please email me directly with your order number and reference this and let me look into this for you please.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

I placed an order on 3/11/17 for a six-pack of lantana plants, and received an email confirmation with an estimated ship date of 03/31/2017. Well, the end of March rolled by and nothing - no plants, no email with a shipping update or confirmation, but boy oh boy, every day there's a marketing email from them in my inbox encouraging me to buy more.

Yesterday I decided to call and follow up on when I might expect these plants to be shipped. After getting a recording about "all of our associates being busy but please hold" and then being on hold for 10 minutes, I gave up, called back and tried the "automated order update" option - which gave me a message saying that the "system was down so you're being transferred to customer service - please hold".

Yep, another 10 minutes and nobody picking up, so out of desperation I called back and tried the "to place an order, press 1" option - surely SOMEBODY would pick up that line, right? Nope! "Please hold..."

So I sent an email stating my inability to get them to answer their phones, and letting them know that I would be cancelling my order if I didn't have a response back by close of business today with a firm ship date. Naturally, I didn't hear a thing from them - not a phone call or email - so I have now sent them another email cancelling the order. I am really wondering if they are actually still in business...

"On Apr 5, 2017 9:09 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, I will be more than happy to assist you, please email me directly with your order number and reference this and let me look into this for you please. During our peak season we do have longer than normal hold times and email responses may take a couple of days simply because of the shear volume of calls and emails we receive.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

Posted on May 9, 2011, updated March 26, 2017
Posted on March 12, 2011, updated May 9, 2011
I just got an order of seeds. I'm not happy. First of all, the seeds were fairly expensive, a couple of them were something like $4/packet. I bought 10 packets and a lot of them only had 15 seeds in them.
What really gave me a bad feeling about the whole deal though is that one of the packets had a sticker saying 'packed for 2011' on it, and I removed the sticker and underneath 'packed for 2010' was printed on the packet. To me, that seems like fraud. I don't care if seeds DO last from year to year, if you've marked them packed for one year, don't change it next year and expect that your customer won't notice. It isn't true that it was packed for 2011.
Next year, I'll pay less somewhere else, and do my research first to make sure I'm not paying premium prices for year old seed.

"On Mar 27, 2017 12:05 PM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

I am so sorry to learn that your seeds from your Fall order failed to germinate. All of our seeds are tested and must meet a 80% germination rate before we will sell them. Our Guarantee on seeds is 6 months from the date of receipt. Please call our customer service department and report the seed failure and we will issue a credit for you.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"

I ordered two bundles of strawberry bare roots from Park Seed. Of the 25 Tribute strawberry roots, I have 25 living plants. Yay. Of the 25 Pineberry strawberry roots, I have 3 (maybe 4) so-so plants. I received both bundles at the same time, planted at the same time and with the same medium. I tried to give the Pineberry time to show signs of life but as the dead roots started to mold, I had to separate them from the healthy plants.
And to top it all off, my negative review on Parkseed.com was removed.
At first, just my opinion of this one product was negative, now my opinion of the entire company is negative.

I purchased some heavy duty 1020 perma nest seed trays on parkseed.com and they arrived damaged. My error was that I did not inspect the package within 48 hours. My initial thought was, I have ordered these trays through Fedco seeds in the past and Ive never had an issue. On seed planting day, I removed the trays from the box and noticed they arrived damaged, but still usable. The box it arrived in was large and filled with bubble popcorn. The trays had enough room for movement during shipment. I called customer service, and i alerted the customer service clerk that my order exceeded the 48 hours. She had me go through a long process where I was on the phone for over 15 minutes . She then tells me that there is nothing they could do. She stated "The trays were still usable so there is no need to refund you the money and you exceeded the 48 hour time limit." I understand not reimbursing the full amount for the trays or replacement but I shouldn't have to pay full price for something that arrived damaged regardless If the 48 hour mark has been exceeded. There motto should be " If we send you items that are damaged its okay because you can still use it."

"On Mar 20, 2017 9:13 AM, Park Seed Company (aka Park's Gardens) responded with:

Please accept our apology, I will be more than happy to assist you, please email me directly with your order number and reference this and let me look into this for you please.

Angela D
Park Seed Sale Associate
adavenport@parkseed.com"