I'm always sorry to hear about bad mailorder experiences. I hope everyone was successful in getting their money back or at least getting a replacement that grew. But I'm not ready to give up on Roots & Rhizomes. As long as I get what I pay for I'm happy. By this I mean I'm willing to nurse a smaller cheaper plant along for a year or two if it means I can buy more varieties than I would have otherwise been able to afford. And in my opinion R&R has more of the plant varieties I want (I'm thinking of their siberian iris selections in particular... these are newer harder to find varieties that haven't made it over to Bluestone yet). ps. I also ordered those phlox from Jungs..... needless to say I was calling for replacements.

Jane, I haven't saved seeds from melons, so I'm inexperienced. I wouldn't go with floating row covers, as pollinatoras may be able to crawl under them. I think you'd need to protect both the male and female flowers, by covering, or tying them up individually(the ones used in controlled pollinations). Then using a paintbrush to pollinate the females, with pollen from the male flowers. After pollination, the females would have to be protected until the fruit starts to form(so the bees don't pollinate as well). I'd look for better instructions than mine, on the internet, or in a book. Douglas

I only ordered plants from them once, and actually it's the ONLY time I ever ordered plants from anywhere, but I was mad. They had introduced what they called Red Brandywine Hybrid, this back in the 90's and I'm sorry, but I don't like OP heirlooms being converted to hybrids, and especially back then b'c it was the first time it happened. So I ordered seeds and a 6 pack of plants, started some from their seed, started plants from my heirloom Red Bandywine and put out a few of their plants. There was absolutely NO difference in my RB plants as compared to their supposed hybrid. They changed the name several times and I think ended up calling Buck's County Hybrid. I agree with the suggestion to buy plants from Darrels website Selectedplants.com it comes right up when you GOogle it. Prices are reasonable as compared to many other plant sites I know and packing and shipping are very good indeed. And a huge selection, but of course at this time of the eyar I have no idea what he might have left. You can e-mail him off his website about that or I think he may even give his phone number as well/ Another place with a good reputation is SSE ( seedsavers exchange). Go to the PUBLIC catalog at seedsavers.org and take a look. Not as many varieties as Darrel usually has, but plants are good as are prices and shipping. Carolyn, who thanks you for tweaking her memory about her one time plant buying experience. LOL

I've never heard of them either. I've read the same lackluster ratings and reviews of the companies tsugajunkie listed above, so I am hesitant to buy from them. Although I do think I may have ordered (small orders) from Seymour's and Totally Tomatoes in the past, years ago, before knowing they were part of that group. I don't recall any problems, and I have to admit, some of their catalogs (or the covers at least) are beautiful lol. I know, not a reason to order but I still enjoy looking a them! I suppose it wouldn't hurt to place a small order and see how it goes. I would check their return/refund policy first though. Are the seeds you want expensive, or hard to find elsewhere? Or finicky growers to begin with? :) Dee