Comments regarding Raintree Nursery

I ordered several fruit trees and they arrived healthy and in great condition, though delivery was a couple weeks slow. I like their selection and the variety of root stocks they carry.

This was my first time ordering from Raintree, and I would definately order from them again. I ordered 12 fruit trees of 4 varieties and 100 strawberry plants of 2 varieties. The plants were very well packaged and arrived when I expected them. The roots were very nicely developed for both trees and strawberries. I really appreciate that the grafts were made several inches above the roots which allowed me to easily plant my trees at the proper depth without worry of burying the graft in dirt. I also enjoyed the multi-page planting instruction booklet that accompanied my order, it made for fast and easy reference prior to planting.
3 years ago I ordered from another major fruit tree supplier and I must admit Raintree's trees are much nicer. The grafts from that company were very close to the roots and I have had problems with rootstock trying to grow branches. The trees were about the same size but the roots from the first company were small and spindly, not very well branched. From that company I ordered 15 trees and only lost 2 but I feel these new trees will thrive and grow much more nicely than the others.
I did communicate with the customer service department via email regarding one tree, prior to shipping. One rootstock was unavailable but they had the same tree on a different (but just as adequate for my growing conditions) rootstock. I also called them prior to shipping to add more strawberries (origionally I only ordered 50, but later changed my mind). That call was quickly answered, order easily placed, and a confirmation email was quickly received.
Thanks Raintree!

I ordered a BlackGold Cherry on Gisela-5 rootstock. It was very well packaged, had a lot of roots, was well pruned. Lots of little buds. Looking quite happy in my front yarden right now. Will order from them again!

Very positive first experience with this nursery. Ordered several trees, all arrived very well packed with good root systems and minimal minor damage. The trees all look robust and healthy. Very pleased. Would definitely buy again from them.

I placed an order for three Surefire tart cherry trees on G5 rootstock, a sultane fig, and a Violete de Bordeaux fig. I ordered the trees in early december 2010 for spring. I found out the trees were going to ship the week of April 3. I had training for work that week which would have had me planting them in the middle of the night. I sent an email to raintree, and next thing I know my trees are on the way. I got the trees yesterday opened the box, and there were three of the best trees I have ever ordered. The trees had great roots. I was planning on whips. What I got was well branched six foot tall trees with a trunk almost two inches thick! These are on G5 dwarf rootstock. It has taken some of my trees on colt semi-dwarf rootstock 3 years after planting to get to the same trunk thickness. The fig trees came in trade size gallon pots with lots of roots. Again I thought they would be bareroot. The sultane was a little small, but figs grow fast. I should have ordered all my trees from Raintree. I will from now on.

I ordered 56 rootstocks for apples ,plums and cherries in January ,I was told then they would ship mid March, here it is almost the end of march and they haven't been shipped. I have called three times, te first time they told me they were shipping the following Monday and to call back then for my tracking # , I waited until Tues to call so I could get the tracking # only to be told they had not shipped and she could not tell me why or when they would...I only ordered from them as i needed the rootstocks to graft on and i had to buy my scion wood in Feb to get it if they dont come soon ive wasted over 100 dollars for the scion as it will be to late to graft them...I was going to place my order with them next year when i had the next 10 acres ready but not now will go somewhere else for the trees to fill it.

A bad experience, and I haven't even received my order yet. On February 2, I placed an order for a tree from Raintree, selecting the "ASAP" shipping option. I wanted to get the tree in the ground while we're still getting regular rain to allow it to establish roots while dormant. I received a response with my order information, saying that the tree would be shipped "In February". As it's the beginning of March and I hadn't gotten any further response from Raintree, I emailed them to find out the status. Their response was that there had been a snowstorm, and it would be AT LEAST 2 weeks before the tree ships--the tree will arrive mid-late March when I requested ASAP at the beginning of February.

I can understand the snowstorm was an unplanned event, but it occurred WEEKS after I requested ASAP shipping. Not acceptable customer service at all. And not an unusual occurrence based on others' reviews. Raintree is only a couple hours south of us, so we're well aware of the extent of the "snowstorm"--there's not really a good excuse for this delay.

If you are trying to time the planting of your purchases so that they can make the best start for your climate, you might want to consider another vendor.

I'm a rare and heirloom fruit tree orchardist with more than 500 trees and vines, and have been using Raintree Nursery as one of my bareroot suppliers for about seven years. I suppose a full 20% of the orchard is Raintree tree stock, as well as scores of assorted small fruits (berries, grapes). They are a trusted supplier. Good height and caliper on the grafted trees, good branch feathering, and decently sized root balls. Their Asian and European plum selections are extensive, with several hard-to-find varieties, and many plums, pears, apples and small fruits and berries from the former Soviet Union and Europe which are delicious and rarely offered elsewhere. Also, they have a degreed horticulturalist on staff to answer questions. That has been a great help. I've had perhaps two trees in all this time that had problems, and they sent me replacements immediately, no questions asked. Overall point total (quality of trees and shrubs, selection, and service) in my experience, among the best in the nation, and I've dealt with more than two dozen in the seven years I've been orcharding.

Purchased a "Goumi seedling" several years ago that bloomed and set fruit last year. Unfortunately, the plant ID was incorrect. This was an Autumn Olive, a relative of Goumi that fruits in the fall. Last year when I contacted the company, they promised me a replacement plant this spring.

I received their Spring 2011 catalog last week and discovered that the catalog incorrectly showed a picture of Autumn Olive fruit in the section for Goumi, and incorrectly claimed that Goumi fruits in August, instead of the correct late spring for Goumi.

Because of these two errors, I was concerned that I would not get a true Goumi replacement plant this spring. (It appeared to me that the company either does not know the difference between the two species, or that a mistake has been made that they are missing). I sent them an email pointing out the catalog problem and also re-communicated the problem that I had with the previous miss-id on the Goumi. Their email response was to tell me that they had a Goumi "crop failure" this year and would send me a refund for the misidentified plant. No mention was made of the catalog problem. Interesting timing of the crop failure discovery as well.

I am particularly frustrated that they chose now to send a refund, claiming a crop failure. They should have reserved a goumi for me last year, when they were initially contacted and when they promised a replacement. They should also have refunded the shipping on a product they sent that I did not order. Lastly, I believe that they learned that their goumi are autumn olive plants and rather than acknowledge a problem, chose to simply not communicate.

I have been a regular Raintree customer going back almost 20 years but have noticed that their plants have been getting smaller and have been seeing more problems with them more recently. I have mostly switched to dealing with One Green World (because of these problems), which has larger plants and has never sent me one with the wrong ID. It is sad to see what Raintree has become, as they were one of the first nurseries to start specializing in unusual edibles (to my knowledge) and used to have an excellent service record and reputation.

Throughout the last 5 years Raintree has always managed to mess up one thing in each of my orders. Something thornless that had thorns, a forgotten raspberry, an incorrect gooseberry. I even tried picking up at the nursery, they hosed me there also, they wander off, put the order together with bailing twine and bring it out, so a two hour drive later you can figure out they forgot something. This year I would only purchase two things, they were both special. I had prepared the areas for them three years ago and waited until the soil was perfect, I only had one place that either would work, a south facing wall on my western oregon house. The passion fruit and White Peach thrived, grew better then imanginable, the location was perfect, until just now, when, you guessed it, it is not a peach at all, nor a passion fruit. I hate Raintree in a way I cannot articulate publicly. For God sake, use One Green World if you actually want to get what you order. Plus when you go down there to pick up the employees are quick, the plants are bigger, they get the order right, and they are not rude. I used Raintree because they had a better selection, and see what it got me.

I have ordered three times from Raintree and have e-mailed them a dozen times. Due to experiences elsewhere over the years, I always call customer service when placing an order. That may not be quite as convenient in some ways, but dealing direct with a breathing life form eliminates plenty of pitfalls. The folks taking calls are on top of things, and they have sent what I ordered.
Out of four apple trees, one pie cherry tree, one black currant and four blueberry plants, only one failed to thrive. It happened to be on the first order; had I been on the ball I could have notified them in time and got a replacement. I'll own that mistake.
Part of the adventure in growing things is the difference in climate from their Pacific Slope/maritime cool and moist to my dry/hot and cold Spokane weather. Some things about their available stock they don't know and they are honest enough to say so. I learn as I go and will toss one of the apple trees for something that shows greater promise in the conditions I face here.
Their website is second to none in providing information regarding their stock to the home orchardist. Raising one's own apples presents both opportunity and pitfall; they've chosen well for the home gardener.
One example: they offer Queen Cox apple trees, stating they are more disease resistant than the original Cox Orange Pippin, just as fertile, and will grow somewhat smaller than COP. What I've learned since planting mine is that some folks believe Cox apples actually improve in flavor if raised on rootstock that may contain some viruses. EMLA26 is a virus-free clone of M26, and Raintree offers Queen Cox on M26. Savvy folks.

I ordered 3 cherry trees for my daughter's birthday last year and it was a bit late in the season to ship them, so Raintree waited until early spring of 2010 to send the trees. Since they were coming according to Raintree's optimal schedule and because they looked like good sized trees (3 to 4 foot) and because I had sandy loam soil and a good sunny exposure, I figured no worries, these babies will thrive! But actually they were all three duds--many of the buds turned out to be dead and the ones that did pop produced little limp leaves that soon died away. I gave customer service my customer identification number but they never took the trouble to pull up the invoice. Later, they asked for the invoice number which I didn't have, and for a photo of the trees. Well, it started to feel like more trouble than it was worth, and I was definitely getting the run-around, so that's why I stopped trying to get my money back and posted this note. My suggestion to Raintree's customer service would be to take the time to find the customer's order, believe them when they say that the trees were not lively or alive, and offer something palpable to even the situation out--an explanation, an apology, a replacement, a refund--anything!

This year I ordered about 20 fruit trees- Asian pears, apples, a persimmon and a plum as well as some cranberries and salal. All of the plants looked great, but one Asian pear was missing and an apple that I didn't want was in it's place. Raintree replaced the tree right away. When another nursery couldn't fill my order, even though it was late in the season, Raintree was able to help me find appropriate substitutes. I find Raintree to be expensive, but dependable.

Posted on April 18, 2008, updated May 11, 2010
At this time, only a month into planting, I dont know how my fruit trees will grow, but the shipping was excellent, (worth the high priced shipping) Trees were tall, sturdy, leaved out upon planting, and service, when I called was excellent. Never have I seen such nice trees!
Only downside is that I cant afford to send another order THIS spring.

I've ordered many plants from this company over the last few years, and every time I've been pleased with the results. While all the blueberries I've received haven't always been as bushy as I'd hoped for, they have solid root systems that means they're flourishing by the end of spring. Good selection with great packing and a staff responsive to questions.

Early last November, as part of a larger order, I prepaid for a Kirke's Blue plum tree and a 'Mirabelle de Nancy' plum tree (now identified by Raintree as 'Gras Romanesc'), as part of a 4 tree, European style, 2 story espalier to be installed on the south side of my house. Yesterday I received this email from the Inventory Manager:

I'm sorry due to a miscount we do not have the Kirke’s Blue Plum you ordered. I have removed the unavailable item from your order and refunded your credit card $32.50. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

A miscount? This leaves me (at the last minute) with only one plum tree (with no pollinator), no other source for Kirke's Blue, and past most nurseries' deadlines for fruit tree delivery. I could almost forgive them for making a stupid (and human) mistake, but besides the lack of any real sincerity or concern, there was no suggestion for another plum tree or another source, no "what can we do to make it right?"

Suffice to say I will never order from Raintree again. I could understand a crop failure, that's the way it goes, but quite a bit of sweat, time and money has gone into installing the espalier so that it would be ready for this year's neighborhood Garden Walk. I hope visitor's to my garden will appreciate Raintree's 'miscount' excuse as much as I do.

Posted on April 14, 2010, updated April 26, 2010
Ordered Tehranivee sweet cherry, Hollywood plum & 2 apple trees. The cherry tree was HUGE, it looked like it was almost ready to grow cherries!..The plum tree was also pretty big w/lot's of branches. The apples trees were basically sticks, but I've heard apple trees grow fast. However, we ordered 2 NON-pollinating apple trees which are never going to produce apples since neither one will pollinate the other one. Didn't read the fine print when I ordered. Wish they would have brought that to our attention. So now in order to get any apples, we have to order 2 more apple trees of different varieties and these both have to be pollinators. (or take these out & start over). Also, there are 4 different seasons of apples, so you have to get 2 trees in the same season, prior season or the next season. Pretty complicated. Overall, good experience...especially since the cherry tree is so big!
Would order again....

Very pleased with my Raintree experience, especially their cherry trees on Gisela 5 rootstock. I ordered 5 trees, a couple hardy kiwis and a rosa rugosa. The trees all have excellent root systems and were as good as any other vendor I've ordered from. I'm always worried when ordering from across the country, that the roots will be a bit dry. Not an issue here...the order was packaged well and everything arrived in great shape for the most part. The Kiwi had leafed out and were a bit banged up from the trip, but nothing serious. I will definitely order from them again.

Once again very happy with the quality of the product from this company. I ordered 2 citrus trees this season and within 1 week of ordering I had two well branched and well rooted trees that were nearly 3 feet tall at my front door. Living on the East Coast, shipping products from the West Coast is always a little expensive, but the quality is worth the extra dollars.

I decided to place an order with Raintree this spring, and am glad that I did. 3 blackberry hybrids, 1 grape, and 2 gooseberries. When the plants arrived, I noted that they were packaged better than any plants I have ever received. The blackberries were in pots, with plastic bags wrapped over the pots to keep the dirt from falling out. The gooseberries and grape were bareroot, and the roots were in moist shredded paper, wrapped in plastic bags. All were in a triangular cardboard tube, which protected them well. All plants are large and healthy. Compared to other nurseries, the prices were decent as well. A good experience and I will be a return customer.

Ordered for the first time from Raintree.. was concerned about the negative and neutral ratings of the past. I ordered this past January, set a delivery date and the two cherry trees and the fig tree arrived on time last week. Both trees were of excellent size and the fig that I thought would be on the small size due to past reviews was a nice size that actually arrived in a pot, not bare rooted like the trees. Both of the trees were in lovely shape, well packed and I was able to get them all planted yesterday. The only communication glitch I experience has to do with the UPS site not updating their information in a timely manner as to the delivery date.. not Raintrees fault. I did call Raintree and was updated as to where the trees were in their delivery and was able to figure out their arrival time from that. I will be ordering from this company again.

I ordered 5 Patriot blueberry bushes, 1 Queen Cox apple on EMLA 26, 1 Stella cherry on 3CR178, 10 EMLA 27 apple rootstocks and 2 Red Pearl lingonberry bushes from Raintree. Everything arrived the other day and to my surprise was of better quality than the plants I ordered from other nurseries. I am very happy with my plants and will definitely be a repeat customer.

I recently received an order of apple rootstock, and was pleasantly surprised by the caliper (larger than advertised) and by the quality of the roots. I was also impressed by how carefully the order was packaged.

I bought two blackberry plants that were advertised as "1 year plants". I expected to receive plants with primocanes at least 1-2 ft long. However, what I got looks more like recently rooted tips: one has about 6 in green growth, and the other about half an inch (basically just now sprouting from the root). They look healthy, but definitely not the size they let you believe. I will try to avoid them in the future.

I have ordered two different seasons from Raintree. Both times the transaction was easy, and healthy well sized plants were sent at the proper planting time. I'll definitely order from them again.

I have done business with Raintree for years and consider them the reason why I am so interested in edible landscaping. I have never had a problem with the plant material either mailed to me or picked up at the nursery. I have failed to water plants as much as they needed and the one time a plant mysteriously died it was replaced. They also have awesome events during the year especially the cider squeeze. Sam Benowitz the owner is very environmentally concious and the nursery is in an amazingly gorgeous area. I recently purchased blueberries from an out of state orchard and it was a dismal failure. I did this because Raintree was sold out of the variety I wanted. I will not do that again. (Willis Orchards - Dismal Experience) I give Raintree and staff 5 stars!

My experience with Raintree has been very positive. This year (2009) I ordered 4 fruit trees (peach, red tart cherry, 3 in one plum, apricot) and a gooseberry bush. I received everything I ordered. They also shipped when promised. All trees/shrubs are doing great! Several years ago I ordered a serviceberry and it too is growing fine. I just placed an order for a lemon and lime tree. Also, their selection of fruit trees and fruiting shrubs is excellent.

I pre-ordered a 4 in 1 Asian pear tree late last year since I know these types of items tend to run out from companies. At the time they offered a free item with any order over some dollar amount for ordering early, and I qualified. So I picked a cranberry viburnum.
This spring they shipped the week I specified and sent an email reminder to me. The pear tree looks great. The trunk is wider in diameter than I expected and all the grafts look good. The viburnum was a big surprise. I was expecting a little twig. I got a nice shrub! It is at least 2 1/2' tall planted and is going to look really good very fast.

I recieved an email several days after placing my order giving me a shipping date and stating that my card wouldn't be charged until that date.

What actually happened was that my card was charged a full week ahead of the date I was given, and I have yet to recieve the promised shipping number.

Not such a big deal, except that I hadn't yet transferred funds over to that account, since I didn't anticipate that charge to be deducted until the date I was given, and I incurred fees as a result. My fault for not having the money there already, but still, I feel it was poor communication on behalf of the vendor. I have placed preorders with other companies many months in advance and not had this issue.

Note to Raintree:
It would behoove you to stick to the dates provided in regards to payment, especialIy if it is going to take several weeks to process your orders. I have heard really great things about your merchandise, and was pleased with your prices and selection. I would have loved to have left a positive review, but in light of the poor communication, I just can't.

I was a little hesitant about ordering as 20% of feedback left was negative, but I went ahead an ordered anyway.

My fig was taller than I expected, shipped promptly and when I asked to speak w/ the horticulturist before placing my order, I was promptly connected. Order taker and horticulturist were helpful and polite.

Many of their prices are lower than some of the prices on fruit trees I could get locally. I have saved their catalog and it will be required reading next winter when I plan my fruit tree purchases. Will not hesitate to buy from this company in the future.

My original order with Raintree took place last year, spring of 2008. I placed an order with them because they had an exellent selection of hard-to-find edibles, particularly Alpine strawberries, of which I ordered a whole case of 18, in order
to recieve the quantity discount. ($100 seems rather costly for only 18 strawberry plants, but believe me, they are worth it.)
The majority of my order was very satisfactory, and arrived in exellent condition......the one exception was the case of Alpine strawberries. They had been overwatered and tightly sealed in plastic, with predictable results: The plants were steamed to death in the bags.
I notified Raintree right away, and they agreed to replace my strawberries the following spring, (2009.)
The replacement plants arrived today, looking as if I had picked them up at a local nursery! The trip from Washington state to Tennessee is a long one, and I am quite pleased. They did not even charge me for the shipping. After the mixed results last year, I am now confident to give Raintree a positive rating.

I got three different shipment dates when I called/emailed and requested when my order was going to ship. When I did get it, I received less than what I ordered of each rootstock with no explanation. When I requested a confimation of my original order by email after delivery I got nothing in return. All but two of the lovell rootstock were dead when received, but the rest look fine. I was very disappointed in this company that appeared to have so much to offer.

Justin, TX

Raintree was the only place I could find that had the fig I wanted, Violette de Bordeaux. I also ordered an Eversweet pomegranate. Both were very well packaged, arrived in excellent condition and had lots of roots. I agree with other user comments that the company could be more prompt about emailing the status of your order but I am happy with the plants and would order from them again.

Mixed results. Ordered raspberries, blueberries, fig, and a pear tree. The raspberries worked out well - not surprising since raspberries are easy to propagate. Blue berry bushes were very tiny. After two years, they are still less than 1 foot tall. The fig was also very small, but figs grow fast. The pear tree had no roots at all. Not just bare root, but no root. The ad says that their fruit trees are "well rooted". It grow about 2" the first year and almost died. The 2nd year it grew another 4", but looks like it will make it now. Raintree did refund my money on the pear.

My very first order from them just arrived. 3 Sunshine Blueberries. The plants are larger than expected and look healthy. I have no complaints with shipping, plants or service.

Add another bad shipping experience. I spoke to them on the phone the last week of February (Tina?), explained that I was getting ready to be out of town for two weeks, and I really needed my 4 trees & 2 bushes mailed by March 2nd. I was assured they'd go in the mail on Monday the 2nd.

They mailed either Thursday or Friday that week instead, then sat on my porch for 10 days.

Add to this the fact that, compared to the trees I got from Peaceful Valley, the Raintree root systems were a joke. The Butterfly Bushes were twigs.

It took Raintree six weeks to complete an order, even with ASAP shipping requested.

I ordered various bare root from Raintree Feb 6th and selected the 'ship ASAP' option. After 2 weeks, when I still had not received a confirm e-mail, I called. I was told that they were so far behind that my order probably wasn't even in the system yet and to call back if I hadn't heard anything within a week.

I called back and received an order number at the end of February. Last week, FIVE WEEKS after I placed my order, I again called to ask what the holdup was. This time, I was told that my credit card had been declined. I decided that I had been patient enough, said that was fine but that I was surprised nobody had contacted me, and let's just cancel the order. At that point, I was told that they'd get it shipped out the next day. It arrived today.

Ordered a Rosa Rugosa Alba. Just received it yesterday, was totally amazed at the size of the rose bush and the very healthy roots on it. The bush is 3 feet tall, and very strong looking. Arrived in perfect timing for spring planting in my area. Just perfect, can't wait for my first rose hips tea :-)

On 8/12/08 I ordered two low chill Cherry trees.
Spoke to Raintree in October of 08, and was told that delivery was due spring of 09.
3/12/09 delivery, found that that the two cherry trees were unavailable.

If they had informed me that these trees were unavailable, I could have purchased them from another nursery.

This is the first and last time I will deal with Raintree, I have lost a years worth of growth.