bad experience

        If shipped dead plants, I would definitely contact the company.
However, I did have a disappointing experience this year with Burpee (the
company that has just taken over Heronswood) and I didn't contact them
because it seemed like such a megabusiness that I figured it wouldn't do any
good and I'd learned my lesson anyway ...
        I have ordered perennials by mail order in the past from many
excellent sources with few problems.  Lately, my local sources have improved
and I haven't done much mail order.  However, this year I got a catalogue
from Burpee (from whom I'd only ordered packets of seeds, satisfactorially,
previously) in the winter showing wonderful glossies of annual starts of
plants I thought I couldn't find locally at such a good price.
        First of all, we had a very early spring in Illinois and I called to
ask when the shipment would arrive because I was ready to plant sooner than
expected.  It's a big company and nothing can be done about predetermined
schedules.  If the computer says May 15 in Illinois is the last frost date,
there's no arguing with it.  So I waited a long time and it was hot by the
time they shipped of course.
        And then there were the other problems. Well, the double impatiens
were all mislabeled, only one of the bicolor lisianthus is bicolor, and the
gazanias were two tiny to survive. I wound up buying replacements locally,
of course.  I will not try to buy annuals by mail again.

Susan and David in Urbana, Illinois, zone 5b
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index