Stems Flower Farm

Great selection and friendly staff!

I was in love with the wide range of flower seeds offered by this company and immediately created an order. The seeds that came in look to be in great condition and package with care. None of the pelleted seeds are crushed, which shows how careful they are at handling and shipping the seeds. I will be making another order this year and I will continue to order from this company in the future.

I want to start by saying that Stems has the most impressive seed selection for cut flowers and the vegetable garden. I've browsed many seed shops from large to small businesses in both Canada and the US, and Stems undoubtedly has the best varieties. I love that you can choose from several colors for a single flower variety and also different color mixes. I purchased a few seeds from them a while ago and the germination rate is very good.

Over the past few weeks, I've bought seeds from several US and Canadian vendors, big and small, and I found myself a bit disappointed in Stems. Stems was actually the first seed company I placed my order with but they will be the last to fulfil it. The delay prompted me to look to other vendors to fulfil my wishlish items and so I could start sowing my January seeds.

While I understand COVID has negatively impacted many small businesses, especially retailers/farmers with a recent surge in seed demand, communication and transparency is key in managing customer expectations. We were about 9 months into the pandemic so it's safe to say that customers are already aware of staff limitations and potential delays. I found the communication from Stems to be disappointing - the ever-changing timelines, lack of response, and silence on their social media. They seem to be more reactive than pro-active in managing their business, and the small, quiet tweaks in their updates does little to help. Not to mention the December giveaway flopped midway.

The restock for Jan 3rd was cancelled after the scheduled launch, the option to combine shipping was a way to quell disappointment but added another element of delay, the brief weekly restocks were barely noticeable, and I anticipate that the Feb 8th restock will be also be delayed.

I spent quite a bit of money on my Dec 28th order and I don't know when to expect it. We're past the original Jan 18-22nd shipment date, 17 (now 19) day turnaround time, and I hope that the priority now is to just get the orders out instead of trying to restock things for a possible Feb 8th launch.

My review does not come from from a place of anger, just hope that Stems will do better to communicate with their customers and set realistic expectations from the get go. With that said, this is a one-off year for many and I will continue to support Stems in the future.

Always very excited to receive my seed order from this local Canadian company! Great quality, thoughtful growing information and beautiful packaging