Comments regarding Jackson & Perkins

I rate this company as netural. Over the past couple of years I have seen their service begin to deteriorate.
I purchased a Our Lady of Guadalope hybrid tea in the spring.
It did horrible; I really nursed this plant to no avail JP would do nothing as far as a replacement or adjustment. I feel they are getting too large and don't care about the loyal customer.

I was pleased with most of the bare-root plants' quality, and the 3" seedling plants I've received were great. They were good about replacing the unacceptable ones or refunding my money if the plants were unavialable. I think their guarantee is too short for most plants, however. They are somewhat flexible on replacing out-of-guarantee plants if it's a matter of a month or two, but not beyond this. Be polite, but don't hesitate to ask for a supervisor if the associate seems unknowledgeable; they have a lot of seasonal help.

I would recommend mail ordering roses especially from Jackson & Perkins. But learn your garden, your zone and all the little quirks about your garden, believe me there are many.

I placed an order 05/04, Friday morning for two rose bushes which I had wanted to have for a Mother's Day gift. When I finalized the order it said I would have them by mother's day but then I noticed there was a 15.90 charge for express delivery. I didn't realize the shipping charges were going to be so high and I attribute this to my hastiness in placing the order, my error. When I noticed this I immediately called and asked them to be shipped regularly, without express shipping. The lady I spoke with was kind enough to take the express shipping off and my credit card was credited for the extra shipping charge. I assumed this would only change the delivery method on how the order was shipped, not hold the entire order up as I would interpret this as blackmail. Either you pay extra or we will be extremely slow in shipping out your product. Well, It is a week later. My credit card has been charged, and after severalemails and phone calls to get this order shipped out in a timely manner, the order was still not shipped, even after we received an email telling us it was. I spoke with an extremely rude supervisor today who said he would cancel my order and block me from ever ordering again.I cannot believe this is how they run a business. It seems like they really don't want business unless a person is willing to pay extra to have them shipped out quickly.I'm sorry but I don't need to do business with a company who lies to their customers. When I am told my order has been shipped I believe it to be shipped, not in the "process" of being shipped.

I bought 26 white Simplicity roses from Jackson and Perkins last summer. They bloomed great even after it snowed. I did everything that the info says to do for Hedge roses, but alas, this spring all but one is dead. I live in Rochester, New York and Jackson and Perkin's attitude was "too bad." They blamed it on theharsh winter ( which was actually wasn't bad) and stated their 60 day guarantee. We spent a lot of money for their roses and I feel that they should have lasted over the winter, otherwise they shouldn't be selling them to colder climates.

On Feb.1, 2000 I placed an order with J&P for three bare root roses. In about 3 weeks I did get 2 of them and the 3rd Fragrant Lace, is still coming!? I did try to find what is the hold up, called numerous times, even talked to the manager once only to be told that the order will be filled and is coming. Of course my credit card was charged promptly on Feb. 1st 2000. My family and I used to order from them since 1970's but after such treatment no more.

They are a little pricey but their quality is good and I have heard a lot of good feedback from others as well.

I've ordered J & P hybrid tea & floribunda rosesfrom their catalogs for approx. 7-8 years now, and have always been impressed with the high quality of the plants. This past winter was the first in all that time that I lost any of their roses to winter-kill, which is exceptional [in my climate.]One year, I ordered a J & P "Mirabella" rose, and what grew seemed to be a throw-back. It hadthe color of the Mirabella, but that was it. It looked nothing like any hybrid tea I'd ever handled. Well, I contacted the company, explained the situation, and was told I'd be issued credit for this plant. Tending to be rather forgetful, I never did anything about ordering a replacement for that particular rose, but I ordered other roses from them after that. Much to my surprise, approximately 2 years later I received a check from the company covering the cost of that "Mirabella"! Someone had taken the time to check thru the records, found an outstanding credit, and settled up with me. I thought that was pretty decent. J & P will continue to receive my business as long as they offer top-quality roses and treat me as well as they have. My one and only complaint is that they inundate me with catalogs! Too many too often! Rather than offer just a couple rose catalogs per season, it seems like they send a 1/2 dozen or more, changing only the cover design to make a person think there's something new inside. This is mass-marketing over-kill!

I just want to update prospective buyers from the Northeast about J & P's Simplicity Roses. After two winters I have lost 50 percent of the roses in all colors. I originally thought only the white ones were tender, but none of them are hardy. The roses that are left look terrible. They grew and looked wonderful during the first growing season, but after a few winters, they are doing very poorly. The ones that have survived are full of blackspot even after constant spraying. Carefree they are NOT!! Buyers beware!!

I ordered three climbing roses from J&P in June. When they arrived, they looked like great plants. Each one had five or six canes and the roots were even budding out. After planting, however, the canes began to turn brown and die, so that each plant was left with only one good one. I have coddled and cared for them as directed, but they are "just barely surviving". I was shocked when looking at my order slip that they only guarantee things for 60 days.I would think a company of their reputedly high quality would afford their customers at least the normal one year return policy, if not the lifetime guarantee now given by many nurseries. I would have called earlier to complain, but wanted to give the plants every opportunity to flourish before calling the company. I guess my consideration of them just cost me a replacement or refund of the three roses. I also am dismayed to see that they do not have an 800 number for asking questions. Making your customers pay for this "privilege" is not what I call customer friendly. It would be nice if a person could buy one plant to see how they like it, or if they only need one to fill a certain spot, instead of having to buy three and wonder what to do with the other two. Overall, based on these things, I am disillusioned and disappointed in the company's policies and treatment of their customers. It is too bad, because they do carry things that are hard to get elsewhere, but based upon these concerns, I will not be doing anymore ordering from them in the future.

My experience with J & P roses purchased from local, quality nurseries after drooling over the J&P catalog have left a lot to be desired, compared to the catalog descriptions they give. I am the fifth person I have run across in the Denver area who is shovel pruning my 11 pink Simplicity roses because of poor performance and lack of disease resistance- constant mildew. This is their third full summer and they aren't even close to the photos given. I purchased two Taboo roses because of the photo and wonderful description. The buds and flower have never again looked like they did coming from under nursery fluorescent lighting. The flower is much more of a floribunda in form and the plant is very sensitive to mildew. My Oklahoma rose fits their description much more precisely as a velvety black-red rose. My e-mail to J&P elicited a standard "we'll pass on your comments to the appropriate person" response. And last year, when I was looking for own -root English roses, I had a difficult time in finding out from J&P that all their English roses are grafted.

I only could afford one plant -- I got Pristine from J&P and it was absolutely beautiful! In five weeks the plant had a huge, gorgeous flower, the size of a dinner plate. In eight weeks it had several lovely blooms. I was really very pleased. Saving up cash to order more!

We've had nothing less than absolutely satisfactory dealings with J&P over the years.I've yet to have any of our rose shipments fouled up, and was very surprised by some of the negative postings I found on this site. Only once did we receive a rose that, to me, looked a bit "rode hard and put up wet." I called J&P the next day to let them know that one of the three roses we ordered wasn't up to snuff. Their rep was pleasant and apologetic, indicated that she would get a replacement out right away, and that was that. No hassle, no fuss. And the replacement plant was a beauty!I have been disappointed on occasion to find that a rose of my dreams was sold out, but that has always been my fault. The J&P catalogs come early, and I've learned that if I order promptly, I don't run into out-of-stock problems. Only when I decide late that I've got to purchase Rose Whatever, do I stand the chance of being disappointed. I might order from other suppliers from time to time, but J&P is our primary and trusted source of quality roses.

I have had a very good experience with Jackson & Perkins. I am a beginning gardener, and last spring I ordered a variety of perennials from them. I had excellent results. Out of an order of 9 plants, only one didn't survive - sunset hyssop. I called them, told them that I had treated the plant in the same way as the other two that I received of the same type, and they promptly replaced it. And although I didn't order them through the mail, I bought two J&P roses in my first year of gardening. Despite terrible conditions, abuse, and inexperienced pruning, they have flourished, even though they have been replanted once or twice since they were first put in. They survived a move, and a few days in plastic grocery bags before I was able to plant them at my new home. However, one of the previous reviews did remind me that my credit card was charged for part of my order that did not arrive this year. I called and worked it out, no problem other than the inconvenience. My only other pet peeve with J&P is that they generally only sell perennials in lots of three. When broken down, their prices are comparable, but I don't like having to buy so many plants.

I like the enormous roots on the bareroot roses. The staff is very helpful, and they have sent me replacement plants, Spanish Lavendar, when it was my fault they didn't make it. I am very happy with their service and plants.

I will never purchase from JP again! They charged my credit card (May 99) for a rose they weren't shipping for a year!

I ordered roses this year from them and quite frankly over all I am disappointed. They portray themselves as totally top of the line but even though most of the roses are doing okay I have seen better. They did replace (quickly) 2 that didn't make it in the first month, but I'm not sure I would order from them regularly.

Received an order of 12 Simplicity bare roots; roses were packed in a large carton and wrapped in plastic to retain moisture. They look wonderful, very healthy, strong canes (minimum 4 canes per bush) and the root structure looked fantastic. I also received great instructions onhow to plant them. One complaint: what's up with a (900) phone number for talking to their experts? I realize these folks are busy, but to charge a customer for some advice is a little much. I work in an office that handles over 60 tech questions per day, and we don't charge people to call us. That sort of turns me off. But the roses look great, and they were shipped very well. [update 4/2000] Well, I have to rescind my previous comments about J&P - their customer service and rose quality has sunk to desperate depths. I had placed an order in August of 1999 for more Simplicities, and out of the 14 I ordered, 3 were shipped grade 1.5, with only two canes each. J&P guarantees IN WRITING that all their roses are grade 1 (minimum 3 pencil-thick canes each). Eight of the grade 1 roses were barely within the specs of a grade 1 rose. Broken canes were evident on four roses. When I called to complain about the two-cane roses, I was told that the roses are harvested at the time of shipment and grade 1.5 were all that was left. I had specified a late March date because of my zone. Angrily, I said, "So even if you order way ahead of time, you get penalized with the lesser quality roses just because of your shipping date?" J&P said they were sorry and would replace the roses, but still couldn't guarantee my receiving grade 1 replacements. So I was stuck. THEN I found out the real truth: J&P harvests their roses in Nov, Dec and Jan and leave them in cold storage until shipping. So not only was I knowingly shipped inferior product, the CSR lied to me as well. Evidently J&P is monitoring this site, because they emailed me about my earlier comment on their (900) phone number. I'm still waiting for myreplacements, so after they read this, it will be interesting to see what they send me. It's customer service like this that has J&P ranked in the lower echelon of rose mail orders. I will no longer order from J&P.

I have ordered from J & P for 7 years, and have received beautiful roses and perennials, all which are doing well. I lost one rose and they replaced it no questions asked, I am sure it died because of my lack of experience. I have the pink simplicity roses and in spite of the deer attacks in the late summer and early fall they continue to thrive. I also have ordered many which are doing well. They have shipped my orders at the right planting time for us in middle Georgia.

I ordered 5 bare root rose bushes from them in the spring of 98. They were packed great and delivered at the right time. Also very friendly on the phone when I ordered. They are growing beautifully (no problems at all.) I will definitely by from them again and highly recommend them.

I ordered a gift for a friend's Birthday. Will, by the time the gift arrived, it was all wilted. Not sure who held it up! She called Jackson and Perkins, and they sent out another rose gift that day. They did not ask her to return the previous gift, but suggested that it might come back with some serious attention. I have ordered their roses and find the company to be dedicated to customer service.

I've bought roses for J & P for a number of years. The majority have lived and they have replaced some that I have lost when I felt the loss was not my fault. They were extremely gracious when I called one morning in a panic (May 95) after a major hailstorm had devastated my garden. My roses were beaten to pulps and I didn't know what to do to save them. A master gardener spent time to tell me exactly what I should do to help my bedraggled roses (including using nail polish to seal some of the wounds!) I eventually only lost two of the thirty rose bushes I had at the time.

Two years ago I purchased the pink simplicity hedge roses fro J & P. After I received the first order, I decided to order some more. They were out of the pink. So I ordered six of the white hedge roses also. When I received the order, there was only 1 rose in the box. I called the company, they were now "out "of the white. The next winter, I ordered six of the white hedge roses early, they arrived early, we had floods, they were dead before I could get them in the ground. I called just a few days shy of the 60 days. Again, they were out so I could not reorder. My question is if they are always out, how do they get their roses for next year. So now I have a row of hedge roses, some J & P pink, some Spring Hill pink, and one white one. I have several bare spots where I needed the others and now need to replace some. What's a gardener to do? Spring Hill will get future orders from me; Jackson and Perkins will not.

Their customer service/order personnel are just delightful to talk to. Each time I have called-once to order, once to question about the plants' performance-the woman on the line has been very friendly, helpful, and personable. She looked up the order for me, answered all my questions about the plants, and cheerfully replaced what had not come up. Talking to this woman was like talking to an old friend. The poppies that came up, are growing beautifully.

I have ordered from Jackson & Perkins for several years, mostly perennials that are hard for me to find elsewhere. I have always had good luck with their plants.

I have received the two roses I ordered from J & P two weeks ago, happily pleased with the health of the plants. They already have started sprouting leaves.

Jackson & Perkins couldn't do enough for me. When I repeatedly goofed up my internet order, they made personal phone calls, just to make sure they understood my order. Answered every question [with satisfaction] I could possibly throw at them. I received my 1st order from them [3/20/98] my vine was in mint condition: moist, and just lovely. I can't wait until my roses come in. I trust J&P, I'll order from them always!

I am very disappointed with Jackson & Perkins. I ordered 6 Bleeding Heart plants that came as promised as a root stock. There were no directions in the box and I had no idea what to do with them. When I called the toll free number to ask how to handle them, I was given the customer service number, and then customer service gave me a 1 (900) number to ask questions to. I am not going to pay for information on a product that I ordered from a company that is suppose to be a top notch authority in gardening. I am very angry and still have no idea if I planted my root stock correctly.

I have experienced a larger than expected die off rate with Jackson and Perkins roses over the years, not to mention also being dropped from their catalog list after having requested a replacement of a bad specimen rose.

We have ordered from J & P for more than 25 years, and were always pleased with their quality until this past year, 1996. We received weak scraggly tea roses of very standard varieties.The roots were poor, there were only 3-4 pencil thin canes, none approaching the finger thick canes of previous years. These were 3 Medallion, which have been humungous from them in the past, French perfume, new to me, and now looks like a one year container rose and Oklahoma, which is still struggling. I was terribly disappointed in the quality, I tried again this spring, ordering Fragrant Cloud, thinking it might have been a fluke, once again, very poor quality. Though not as bad as last year, with 2 pencil thin canes and one average size cane. My Fragrant Cloud from the local nursery here, also with a J/P label on it, was what I usually expect from the mail order, four large sturdy canes. I have ideal growing soil - about 10 feet of loam. Those poor scraggly J & P roses struggled and are still struggling. I will not order from them again. They must have outgrown their ability to insure good quality products we had come to expect of them.

I've ordered many rose bushes from Jackson and Perkins during the last 10 years, and never had a problem with any of my orders. They were shipped on time and they actually watched the weather in your area delaying shipment until ok. The roses turned out absolutely fabulous. Please note that I haven't ordered from them the last 3 years. However, I don't think the quality and service changed since then.

I have ordered the pink Simplicity hedge roses twice, once when I lived in Arizona and last year from California. I get a tremendous amount of compliments. I must completely agree with the complaints about shipping date misunderstandings. I was repeatedly assured that the 55 roses I ordered would arrive on a certain date, which was important since I was going to be out of town before then. You guessed it, they arrived a week early and I had to come back from my trip early to get them planted. It nearly killed me! I also ordered a potted gardenia they sold for Mother's day one year and it was very puny. It never bloomed and eventually failed. Of course my mother didn't tell me this until it was too late to do anything about it, but maybe others can benefit from my mistake.

I'm a newbie with roses, with gardening as whole. But I decided I didn't want the department store $5.00 roses and went all the way. I bought 10 roses in March '97, 4 of which were from their test panel. 9 out of the 10 were blooming within 5 weeks, the only exception was the one of the test roses. That rose was replaced when I told them how poorly it was growing. I compared their Don Juan and Double Delight with ones I bought at a hardware store that had the same name. The difference was really big, as in bigger petals, no rootshock with the bareroots, and the flower and fragrance was much more enhancing. I know I paid over twice the amount than I would have from a hardware store but it was worth it.

Received the order on time. My sister took her two roses and planted them she is a novice gardener. One rose appears to be thriving the other one is appearing to be dead. Called the nursery and explained and they were real nice about it. They are sending her another rose right away with some additional instructions as she lives in a very harsh climate.

I live 1/4 mile from where Jackson and Perkins roses are grown. I have ordered probably 100 rose bushes and trees in the past years. Last year I ordered 3 rose trees. I have never been so disappointed with their product as I am with these. Their trunks are crooked and they barely got leaves much less flowers. I will never order anything from them again.

Excellent quality roses that arrive in tip top shape. All roses that I have ever received from them either directly, or through a local supplier have thrived wonderfully. I highly recommend them. Even through you're going to pay a little more, its worth it.

I have been ordering from this company for more than ten years. They are number one in my book for the quality and service that they give to each order. Give them a big smile.

Jackson & Perkins: I placed a (rather) large order in late February. When advised that they would ship on April 15, I specifically negotiated the shipping date to "week of April 29". I received an order confirmation that clearly stated "LATE APRIL" in the shipping date column. The bulk of my shipment arrived on April 17th, followed a few days later by the remaining 3 plants inexplicably shipped separately. All the plants appear to be very strong with good root systems and nice, fat canes. While it was somewhat inconvenient to receive this shipment two weeks before it was expected, I was able to rearrange my life to spend the weekend planting roses. Luckily the weather co-operated and the new bed was ready or it might have been a disaster.

Just got my first order from J&P--30 White Simplicity Roses for a hedge. Very impressed with the plants--magnificent roots and canes, and all in the same box. Good instructions too. The only problem is they were two weeks earlier than I was told at ordering--we were not ready. Enclosed was a note saying that many people had called requesting earlier shipment, so here were my roses. I'd rather have received them as scheduled. Ended up taking time off to do the planting. However they are looking good and I'd order again. I'm awaiting some lavender plants that are due here this week.