Comments regarding Four Seasons Nursery

This past winter, I had spring fever and placed an order for some very inexpensive rose bushes. To my shock, they were delivered the end of March--which is Very early for Wisconsin. I didn't have a place ready for them, but planted them close to the house. Well- they are beautiful right now !! (especially the cheapest ones) They are better than the expensive ones I bought from another place. And I don not have a lot of success with roses- but these were hardy.

I placed an order this summer for 213.00. When the order finally arrived, most of the items were of very poor quality or dead. I followed the very strict instructions on the package slip and returned almost 143.00 worth of the items for a cash refund. I ended up receiving around 95.00. When I questioned were the other 54.00 was,I was told that they did not receive those items. They were all in the same package. It is not my fault if they lost them in receiving. I am made numerous phone calls, sent 3 letters, and I still can not resolve this. First I am told they did not receive 6 items in particular that do NOT equal 54.00 then I receive a letter stating they did not receive 6 other items that still do NOT equal 54.00. I think they are just making up things to get me off their back. I would NEVER deal with this company. Even when you follow their very strict guidelines, you still end up losing! They will find a way to take advantage of you one way or the other.
The items that looked dormant when they arrived, are dead. So basically I ended up with nothing. Just out 118.00!

Received two plants from Four Seasons Nursery today..they arrived in excellent condition. Plants were well-packaged, and plants arrived sooner than I expected. Toni

I have ordered from 4Seasons for a few years with no problems. I even had some plants replaced before. However this year will be my last.

My order arrived in two separate shipments. Therefore, there were two separate shipping labels/invoices. Some of the bulbs in my order arrived completely rotted and slimy. Some of the plants were dead. We allowed the plants additional time after planting, in case they were dormant. However, they were, in fact, dead. Most of the items we ordered were part of pre-made “gardens” and came with guides on where to plant which plants. However, because some of the plants were dead, we cannot even finish our garden.

I sent a written request for replacement plants, along with one of my original shipping labels, around June 10. On June 21, the company sent my request back with a small slip of paper indicating that I should tell them what was wrong with each of the plants (I had only noted that a few were rotten; I assumed they were smart enough to figure out that the rest were dead.)

We followed the instructions and returned the request back to them on July 3. On July 21, the company sent back our original letter with a half sheet of paper asking for our SECOND original receipt (which only had ONE of the plants for which we were requesting replacement.)

I feel like these frivolous requests could have been made by phone, and that they are pretty much designed to get the customer to say, "oh never mind!"

I sent the company a letter (yes this is the THIRD piece of mail I've had to send them) on July 24, stating that we did not have the second original receipt and that if they did not wish to replace the heath because I did not have the second receipt, that was fine, but to please replace the other plants for which I did have the receipt, because summer is ending and I need to get the plants in the ground.

To date, I have received nothing in the way of replacement plants. Of course it's technically outside the 60 day period to dispute the charges, but Visa is taking a stab at it. This is my last order with this company and their "sister companies" (read: alter egos).

I had ordered 74.89 in plants in June. Got my order and soak them like I was suppose to then planted them. Out of 25 plants I have 9 that came up and lived. I have sent a letter and the mailing labels to the company. I was I would of know about this site sooner because I would not of bought from Four Season or Direct Gardening. Now I have to see when they will replace my plants and how long it will take. I am now in a short window for replanting because we have cold hard winters. Buyer beware of this company ships dead plants or just half alive.

I ordered 3 Queen Elizabeth Rose bushes and I knock out Rose bush on May 3, 07. I was told it was shipped on May 26. After many calls to find out what happened to my order I was told that i had to wait until June 26 for a trace to be put on the package. July 26 rolls around and still no plants. I was then told there were no results on the trace as yet. Then July 30 I was told that my order will be filled and sent out again but that they can't be sure. August 1 I call for the 200000 time and the man said I would have the order in 14 days. August 6 I call and the order cannot be found anywhere. Just over the 60 days deadline to get my money back by filing a dispute with VISA. But I DID FILE BEFORE THE DEADLINE because of the gut feeling to do so. So I will get my 30.63 back. I threw out the catalogue I got from these people yesterday. I will NEVER again order anything from them.
do.

Never in my life have I seen a company like this. I ordered $80 worth of plants from Four Seasons and boy we were shocked to see what we got. It was just in a green plastic bag with 2 "trees" that were just sticks with bare roots and bags full of dirt and apparently had bare roots in it. I called the customer service and was told what I needed to do to receive a refund. A couple of days later I received a box with the rest of my order. I sent everything back a couple of days later all in the same bag (including the box), with the letter, the shipping label and the plants. I had emailed them almost 3 weeks later inquiring about my refund. I was asked if I i had done everything they said which I advised them I did. They emailed me and advised me that they credited back my account for $29.64. A far cry from the $80 I had spent. When asked about the amount credited they told me that they only received 2 out of the 24 things I ordered. I told them I didn't see how that was possible considering everything was in the same bag. I have filed a dispute with the credit card company and a complaint with the BBB. Like they say "Buyer Beware. If it seems too good to be true it probably is".

We ordered 146 trees last fall. They came promptly enough and we took great care in planting them. Well, they were these pathetic little sapplings and of course they all died. In contacting the company, we were told we had to supply the shipping label for the warranty to be in effect. Well...we didn't keep it, shame on us. But we'd just asked for replacements...not a refund. That was $737.07 ago. Well unfortunately there's nothing we can do now. I wished I had thought of the chargeback process through VISA as one of the forum contributors did. That is your best bet if you've used a debit or credit card. Deal with your bank or credit card company, but remember that there are time constraints for chargebacks, but you will probably get some kind of refund. Visa will deal harshly with companies that rip their customers off. Live and learn, I guess. Hopefully, people will stop doing business with this crooked company. Wow, are we sorry we did.

BUYERS BEWARE. STAY AS FAR AWAY FROM THIS "COMPANY" AS POSSIBLE. I MADE A PURCHASE IN MARCH 2007, CALLED IN APRIL, MAY AND JUNE. I WAS MAILED A SHIPMENT HISTORY SHOWING A "FARMER SEED AND PLANT CO." IN MINNESOTA SHIPPED MY ORDER TO AN ADDRESS IN NEW YORK TO A STREET NAMED "NON APPLICABLE", AND MY ADDRESS IS IN PENNSYLVANIA. THE COMPANIES INFORMATION REQUEST FORM WAS SIGNED BY A "JODY" AND SHE INDICATED THE ORDER WOULD BE TRACED AND RESHIPPED. HOWEVER, MY ORDER WAS NOT RESHIPPED AND A "CREDIT FOR MERCHANDISE" FOR LESS THAN THE FULL AMOUNT WAS MAILED TO ME. I DID NOT REQUEST A CREDIT, I REQUESTED A REFUND OF THE PURCHASE PRICE. MY NEXT CALL WILL BE TO THE ILLINOIS ATTORNEYS GENERAL OFFICE.

I ordered from this company in april of this yr and I ordered a blue moon rose along with the angle trumpet collection , everything came to me looking very well , with the exception of one angel trumpet and the blue moon rose , I contacted the company about the plants , they asked for the packing slip from the packing box and bag the plants came in ,I cut them off the bag and box and returned them along with a letter explaining to them that these two plants where very dead upon arriving , they have since replaced the two plants ,no questions asked ,all of my plants are thriving and doing great , I will not hesitae to order from them again .

My wife and I ordered close to a hundred trees from four seasons over a year ago. We ordered them in early spring, but four seasons refused to ship them until late fall, in october. We called four seasons multiple times to inform the that they needed to ship them as early as possible since we are over 7500 ft in elevation, they informed us that they would ship them early enough for us to plant them and get them established before the winter.

When we recieved our trees we already had snow on the ground, we called four seasons and informed them of this and were told to keep the original packing reciept and ship it back to them and they would replace the trees and send them again in the spring. We were told to write on the replacement request that we needed a spring shipment not fall. We did this and patiently waited until spring.

Spring came and guess what? No trees... We called four seasons and got the runaround. They refused to replace our trees stating that our year warranty had expired. We explained everything written above but to deaf ears. Instead we got a I dont give a @#$$ attitude.

These people are crooks. Their warranty is not worth the paper its written on. Their customer service is pathetic at best. They are unorganized and do not care one bit about the customers they are supposedly here to serve.

Do not do business with this company.

David Newton
Grants N.M.

I have purchased items from 4 seasons that arrived healthy and eventually died. With my shiping label they either promplty replaced the item or sent me a gift certificate. I've had plants and fowers die from mail order firms as well as stores. Things die.

I ordered quite a few items from this company and their co-company Richard Owens - the items shipped were small and in bad shape. When they didn't live I requested they somehow correct the problem, they declined. They wanted a copy of the shipping label which they had irremovably glued to the packages when they were shipped without it they say the guarantee is void; however, they do have copies of my order and know it is a valid order and request.

What a shame. I don't expect huge plants at the prices they charge but this is ridiculous!!
Last year I ordered from Four Seasons Nursery and the Salix trees that came were in excellent contition and thriving.
This year...a nightmare. I ordered several plants.
I placed my order and was charged in March. Plants just arrived yesterday (May 23) and the Knockout roses make you want to cry. 7.95 each for twigs 3 inches high.
I'm sure they won't survive. One item was missing from the order entirely.
I was informed that I have to send the orgininal label back PLUS the dead plants for a refund. Nobody else does this!!
They lost a customer.

I orderd almost a month ago and only received a small part of my total order. Here's my advice: * you have 45 days to cancel any credit card payment. Just talk to your bank or credit card company, or do it online * I talked to my bank and the manager is happy to cancel the payment. They will deal with Four Seasons from there on and you get your money back. The manager said that Visa will trust a loyal customer over a company with very poor customer reports. If a lot of clients do this, the major credit card companies will not work with this company period. It is not righ waiting this long while the planting conditions in May are excellent. I give them one more week, after that i'll cancel the order. I won't even call or write them, i'll have the bank do that with Visa.

Frankly, I can't beleive 4seasons nurseries has beeen able to stay in business this long. I placed my order over a month ago, 4/11/07, now 5/15/07 and have received three Lavender roots...but nothing else.

I have 10 trees pending and some other plants and have called 3 times to get an idea of when they might be sent. I was told they were all shipped out two weeks ago, but when I called today and spoke to a supervisor...I was told they were never shipped, waiting on the plum tree.

I order all the time on line and I will never order again from this company. Not only can't one speak to someone that can actually get one's order shipped, but the people that answer the phone obviously know nothing. Basically, there is no accountability with this company.

I placed an order on April 13,2007. $300.00 worth. Reading all of the bad comments makes we worry. I called the Company this mornig about my order, and was tols that 4 out of aproximate 90 have been send out last Friday. I asked how much longer I have to wait for the other plants, and was told that it would take 2-4 weeks in average, and that first come first serve will be send out. That is scary due to the fact that this could mean a long time. The company did not made that clear in the catalog, or anywhere else. I am worried.

I placed my order on 31Mar. My credit card was charged on 5Apr. Today is 29Apr and all I can get out of them is excuses. I have received NONE of my order, nobody seems to know anything about it. They can't cancel it, because it is "getting ready to ship." Well, every week they tell me it's getting ready to ship. They must hire minimum wage workers to send canned responses because it's obvious that nobody there actually KNOWS anything. I'm quite fed up. This is, without a doubt, THE worst online shopping experience I have ever had. I should have just gone to the local nursery or Home Depot and bought the plants instead of waiting around for a month. I do not know how these people stay in business, but they'll never get mine again.

I recently had to return my last order as I was not completely satisfied with the trees. I received a check for the full amount (minus shipping) within three weeks of the return. No questions, no complications, no hassels. This was my second order with them, and my experience with them has been very good. Having now dealt with their customer service and coming away completely satisfied, I would not hessitate to us them again

I placed an order on 3/27/07. My credit card was charged immediately; however, I did not receive any shipment until some time later. That shipment--in fact, only a partial shipment--consisted of 8 half-dead seedlings that did not even have their first set of true leaves on them yet. For this I paid $20.00? Three of the seedlings have since died, and the other five are hanging on due to some seriously extra TLC but I am not sure they'll make it either.

It is now April 24 and I have seen no other shipment from this company. This morning I emailed a cancellation request and followed up via phone to cancel the order and request a refund. I was told this cancellation would have to be in writing and that, while my email to the customer care department will serve as a request in writing, there is NO way to directly speak with anyone in the shipping department (which is supposedly where my cancellation will eventually need to go) or anyone beyond the very unhelpful supervisor I spoke with in an effort to make sure my cancellation would be processed. So now I'm stuck with the HOPE that I really will get my money back at some point.

Without a doubt the quality of product is quite inferior, even for their low prices. I will not do business with this company again and would not recommend them.

My recent order to Four Seasons Nursery arrived with the plants, mostly shrubs and trees in excellent condition. The trees were at least as tall if not taller than advertised, the bare roots were still moist on all products and the green on the spruce was remarkable. In the last 3 Springs I have planted some 600-700 trees and shrubs, I wish I would have found Four Seasons sooner.

I placed an internet order on March 28, 2007. After processing the order, I noticed the building and street address was missing from my order. I immediately called to have this fixed. The operator said she didn't see my order and was not able to cancel it or make changes until it showed but would take the information needed for the correct mailing address and forward it to the proper area.

Apparently my order showed up in their systems because when I called on April 6, 2007 to find out if my order shipped, I was told it hadn't yet shipped and it would take 1-2 weeks after ordering for shipping.

I called today on chance that today is the 2 week time frame, they would have a tracking number for me. I was told the order went out on April 5, 2007 and that they could not provide a tracking number. I asked if my address was correct on my order since I had asked for a updated mailing address and they told me it was shipped to the internet address given.

I explained I called for an update and was told they had no record of my call to update the address. I asked to pull the tracking number so I could call the Post Office with an updated address and was told I'd have to wait 30 days for the package to be undeliverable. When I spoke to a supervisor, I was told nothing can be done to get the tracking number, she was not in the shipping department. I asked if she would contact the shipping department and explain the situation she told me no. I asked for the next superior and was told she was it, there was no one else to go to. She said she could not contact shipping for information they don't take phone calls or request. I asked for a telephone and fax number for the president of the company, Mr. Richard Owens or the complaint department and was told Mr. Owens does not accept phone calls and there is not complaint deparment.

So I asked for Mr. Owens mailing address, THAT, she gave me!

I've forward a complaint using their customer service via email and followed up with a letter to the president, Mr. Richard Owens. I'm hoping for a response from SOMEBODY before 30 days.

I read all of the negative comments about 4 seasons before I ordered from them, but I chose to order anyway. I figured that the prices were low enough to give it a try. I'm glad I did.

My husband and I ordered 2 apple trees, 1 cherry tree, 1 red bud tree, 9 spruce trees, and 50 strawberry plants. Our order arrived within a couple of weeks and we planted everything within 2 days following their planting directions exactly. Now, I will admit that when the order arrived the fruit trees and the red buds looked like a bunch of sticks, the strawberries were all root with a little top, the spruce trees looked okay though. Of course, from reading these reviews, I had expected that and I figured it was no different than me digging up a slip from my neighbors garden and babying it to make it grow. About a week after we planted, the area received a deep freeze for about four nights straight. We covered the plants each night and continued to water each day. To my amazement the plants are doing great! My strawberries are growing at an unbelievable rate. I may have lost a few but the others are doing so well it's hard to tell. The apple trees and the cherry tree all have buds on them. It does appear that one or two of my spruce trees will not survive but I am going to give it a little more time before I ask for replacements. With a little more TLC they may even make it. The little red bud tree isn't giving me any sign one way or another yet but they are such hardy little trees I believe it will be fine too. Even the free seeds that they sent are coming up!

For everyone that complains about how the plants and trees arrive, please remember that if they mailed you full size plants you would pay much more. Smaller plants will actually do better because they are better able to adapt to their new environment.

All in all I am very pleased and would definately order from 4 seasons again!! They have survived better than the plants I bought last year from Walmart.

Last summer we ordered 45 red salix for a hedge. At such a low price (and having dealt with many mail order plant companies) we knew we would receive "dead-looking little sticks". Just as our "sticks" arrived - we had a death in the family. We took them out of the packaging, and stuck them in a couple of buckets of water. For the next 1 1/2 months, about once a week, we changed the water in the buckets until we got around to planting them (in the middle of a hot, dry July). Over half of them survived, and are still going strong after nasty ice/snow storms. We thought this was pretty incredible under such adverse conditions! We would order from this company again.

I ordered from this company over two weeks ago. I contacted them this week after waiting for some confirmation that the order went through and was told by the man who answered the phone that my order would be processed within two weeks. I showed him that it had already been two weeks and he told me he was sure it would happen soon. I still haven't received confirmation about my order and it still hasn't been processed. I have ordered from several different online garden companies this spring. This one is by far the worst and hardest to deal with. I will not be ordering from them again.

Very dissatisfied and disappointed.

Past two years I have ordered through them because of their selection and low prices: orders are timely and complete. Close to half of the products have not survived, this despite my care in following the instructions and a general knowledge of gardening. However, after writing to them with order label and letter explaning what I want resent, they have honored the return.

I just placed an order for almost $300 with 4seasons and I'm very worried. I just read all the complaints about the plants conditions on arrival and I don't want that to happen to me. Dormant state does not means "dead". I"m also very worried about the guarantee, do they really honor it?

On Feb. 18,2007, I placed an order from Four Seasons Nursery for a Pink Dogwood; a Royal Empress Tress; a Golden Chain Tress and 3 Tree Rose of Sharon. I receive them today. There are in very poor shape except Tree Rose of Sharon.
1. The Royal Empress Tress is in tiny plastic bag. The stem is dark and hollow. It is in moldy and dead condition. The false advertising “we send one year old tress”.
2. The Pink Dogwood is tiny and in the pot. It is not mentioned in the magazine which is potted plant. The false advertising “We send strong, well started 1’ to 2’ tress”.
3. The Golden Chain is also in moldy condition. I don’t expect that will live.
I had good experience with 4 seasons before. I know what kind of condition of your bare root and dormant plant can show sign of life. But I am very disappointed this time. I think they will lose customers.
As my experience, you should not buy Magnolia; Weeping Cherry; Golden Chain Tree; Royal Empress Tress; Pink Dogwood and Creeping Phlox from this company.

A highly dissatisfied customer

S. Chang

MY EXPERIENCE WASN'T DIRECTLY WITH 4 SEASON'S BUT WITH ONE OF THE AFFILIATED GROUPS. GO TO DIRECTGARDENING.COM FOR THIS.
THIS IS ACTUALLY A GROUP OF NURSERIES THAT OFFER ITEMS AT A LOWER PRICE. THEY HAVE THE SAME ITEMS LISTED AND USUALLY AROUND THE SAME PRICES. IF NOT REALLY CLOSE.
IN RESPONSE TO THE PERSON THAT ORDERED THE BLUE ROSE AND GOT A PINK ONE, I HAVE HAD THAT HAPPEN TOO. IT IS A SIMPLE HUMAN MISTAKE. FOR THOSE THAT HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH PLANTS BEING "DEAD" ON ARRIVAL, I CAN HONESTLY SAY THEY AREN'T DEAD BUT IN A DORMANT STATE. I HAVE ALSO HAD SOME THAT DIDN'T SURVIVE OR EVEN POP UP AFTER PLANTING. THIS CAN HAPPEN. I SIMPLY WROTE A NOTE AND PLACED THE ORIGINAL SHIPPING LABEL IN AN ENVELOPE AND ASKED FOR REPLACEMENTS. WITHIN 6 WEEKS I HAD TH E REPLACEMENTS. WHEN Y'ALL ORDER EARLY AND THEY DON'T SHIP UNTIL APRIL OR LATER IT'S BECAUSE THEY ARE TRYING TO KEEP THE STRESS OFF THE PLANTS THAT CAN BE RELATED TO SHIPMENT AND CLIMATE ISSUES ALONG THE WAY.

I have used 4seasons nursery for several years. At their prices I do not expect large plants, but all in all they have done very well. The exception is this last year, where in Kansas nothing grew due to the very high temps and lack of water. I can not fault 4seasons for this problem. My experience has been good and If I want a LARGE tree I order one for a much higher price.

I ordered plants from this company last spring and nothing really grew. I asked for a mercandise credit. I ordered 12 Plum Hedges, and 2 snowball bushes. I received 12 sticks of whatever. I also received 2 snowball trees that had leaves on them. I am Hopeful. Due to the fact that I am not really expecting much out of this company, I won't know much till spring. I am giving them a chance, but I know that I am going to be very disappointed in these plants.
This is causing a problem in my relationship because my wife doesn't want me to buy anymore plants from mail order companies. I know that there are reputable companies out there (I've found a few, thanks to this webiste). The main thing is that I have received what I ordered and hopefully this is the last time I will ever have anything to do with this company. It's not worth the hassle.

"

Purple leaf plum hedges are a deciduous shrub and therefore, they do lose their leaves and are shipped in a dormant condition. Therefore they do look like "sticks" on arrival. The snowball bush also sounds as though they arrived alive since they did have leaves on them. We are glad to hear that the customer did plant the items and is giving them a chance. Since it appears as though they may have been planted during the fall, they will probably not begin showing signs of life until next spring.

We are sorry to hear that the original order did not make it and trust the replacements will do much better."

I recomend doing a serch on a company before placing an order with them. After my very bad experience with them I will not order from them or any aother company that is associated with them (there are several). I have never had such a bad experience with any company.

I still do not have all the plants I have ordered in March. It is now September. I have given up on getting the refund or all the plants that I have ordered.

The folling is a letter I sent to the company. I did receive a reply that told me yet another lie (You requested a reshipment).

After being told 3 times that I would receive a refund. I was told to write. I did. I have never requested a reshipment! I do not have all the plants I ordered and have been told 3 times I'd receive a refund which they obvisouly arent giving me. The letter is as follows:


Dear Ms. Azery;

In reference to:
Order # 31786679

To be shipped to:
Bxxxx Nxxxxx
XXXXX Xxxx Xxxx Xxxx
Xxxxxx, XX Xxxxx

I should not have to be writing this letter since I have been told 3 times by customer service that I would receive a refund. I had a 4 page letter detailing each and ever phone call that I have made to 4 seasons. I have reduced that to the important details.

First; I have never requested a replacement shipment.

On March 17th
I placed an order.

April 17, 2006
Received a partial order. At that time I called.

On May 31st
After much waiting and several calls where I could not be given any information about the order:
I specifically requested a refund.
I was told I would receive a refund and no more plants would be shipped.

On June 16th
More plants arrived several weeks after I canceled the order. The order was at that time still incomplete. I called; I was told I’d receive a refund. Since I was told I’d receive a refund the incomplete order was not an issue.
Since it was your fault the plants shipped; I was told I did not have to do anything with the plants and I would receive a refund!

Monday June 26th
I called again to check the status of the refund. Explaining the situation. I had most of the plants but was told again that since 4 seasons shouldn’t have shipped them that the refund was being processed and it should arrive shortly.

July 6th
A letter arrived saying that I requested a reshipment. I never requested a reshipment.
I called again and was told at that time that customer service can’t do what they told me that they would do and I needed to contact you by letter.

Again I reiterate, I have never requested a reshipment. I did however specifically request a refund On May 31st and was told I would receive one.

Having been told 3 times I’d receive a refund. (The order is still incomplete I am requesting yet again for a refund!

I want the refund especially since the order is still incomplete.

A highly dissatisfied and agitated customer;


Byron Newton

"

The following dmail was sent to the customer on 9/6/06. We have not yet had a reply.

"I have seen your recent posting on garden watchdog and am wondering if I can be of assistance.

First of all, we would like to note that your original order was shipped in 2 packages, on 4/11 & 4/12. According to our records, you acknowledged receipt of the 2nd package containing the 3N1 hydrangea, but in a phone call to us on 5/12, said that you did not receive the first package. It is in this phone call that we have a record of your request for us to trace and reship the order.

A trace was performed on this package. The "quick" tracing results were inconclusive, so we had a perform a full trace on the package. It ended up that the shipping company was not able to provide us with proof of delivery, thus the reshipment was set up and then shipped on 6/13/06.

Your posting does not indicate what part of the order you are still missing. Was this package missing items from it when you received it? In other words, are there items listed on the label that were not in the package? What items were missing?

Please let us know and we can help you proceed with making sure that this is taken care of.""

I ordered LOTS of plants from Four Seasons and what turned out to be two other companies under them. I did NOT know it at the time that they were all basically the same outfit.

When my plants FINALLY arrived, they were in very poor shape, a lot of them either dead of dying or in moldy conditions.

I tried REPEATEDLY to contact them, to get replacements or refunds, to no avail. When I did FIANLLY get a response, after sending a registered letter threatening to report them, I was told that my "guarentee" had "expired", since the guarentee STARTS the day you PLACE the order!! NOT the day you get the order. So they deliberately wasted enough time between shipping delays and refusing to respond to let their pitiful guarantee to "expire" I lost nearly $200 in the episode. Needless to say, I NEVER order from any of these people again.

Just wanted to let others benefit from my misfortune!

"

Our guarantee reads in part as follows: "If any item you purchased from us does not live, for a FREE REPLACEMENT just RETURN THE ORIGINAL SHIPPING LABEL along with your written request within 1 year of receipt."

The guarantee does NOT start the day the order is place as the customer states above. We attempted to contact this customer via dmail regarding their order to clarify the situation, but have not yet had a response.

One year is more than enough time to know whether or not the plant will survive due to any fault of the merchandise and it is substantially longer than many other nurseries and retail centers."

4 Seasons Nursey made an error and did not send me items I paid for when they shipped out my order at the end of May, 2006. I requested a refund since it was so late in the season to plant the bulbs. I live in a short growing season area. They requested I send them the original shipping label, which I did,with a note explaining the issue. I again requested a refund.

Yesterday, on July 20th, I received a package from 4 Seasons with the bulbs! I emailed the company and again requested a refund since the bulbs will do me no good so late in the season. The company told me I had to send the bulbs back and refused to send me a postage paid mailing label.

I called the customer service number, at my expense, and they again told me it was my problem, to ship the bulbs back at my expense and request a refund. The cost to ship the bulbs back will likely exceed the cost of the bulbs and I seriously wonder if they will refund my money.

The company refuses to acknowledge the shipping error in the first place, sent me plants I cannot use so late in the season and now says I need to send the bulbs back at my own expense! The customer service supervisor informed the representative who told me the company will not change its policy -- incur the cost to send the bulbs back and maybe I'll get a refund. The customer service supervisor refused to talk to me since she was on the phone and was then leaving for the day.

I don't think this company has ever heard of customer service. I will never order from them again. They are very hard to deal with, make multiple mistakes and care nothing about customer satisfaction.

"

It was our mistake that the replacement of bulbs was sent out for the missing items rather than the refund she had originally requested. The customer did not need to return the bulbs as it was our mistake, however we did request that the original shipping label be returned. The customer did this and a refund of $3.49 for the bulbs was issued."

May this year I placed an order with this company.
6 Hibiscus, 4 shell vines, 4 hummingbird vines.

Although I was quite disapointed when I opened the package containing my hibiscus, I reread the info about dormancy, having a decent biology background, I came to terms with my 6 sticks. Out of 6, 4 are thriving beautifully so far, (2 months) one did not grow, and I killed one by soaking it too long.

4 Hummingbird vines - One thriving, two doing ok, and one is barely alive.

Shell Vine or Corkscrew Vine, 3 are thriving, one is ehhh ok...

As far as the FREE with every order merchandise, none of it has done anything for two months...sooooo... I am guessing that it's no good or I killed it.

I am new to gardening. I think I lucked up. But Yess, I did get a Royal Dutch catalogue shortly after. If I had read the reviews, I would not have placed and order with these people.

I am a beginning gardener, I spent $25, about 75% of my stuff is growing, so, I am happy. I just got the skeevies reading about the same company having 4 different names.....That is NOT cool.......

"

We are glad to hear that most of the plants are doing well. We did dmail the customer on 7/12 reminding her of our one year replacement guarantee.

As one of the largest mail order nurseries in business, we do operate a number of gardening companies. This is becoming a more common practice in the industry with each passing year. You will find that a number of our competitors also have several titles. As costs increase, more and more smaller companies simply cannot survive on their own. In fact, all of our companies were individually owned at one time. These companies occupied specific niches in the marketplace that helped round out our offerings to the gardening community.
"

I placed an order with 4 Season's Nursery. I had the same problem trying to reach the company over the phone but my husband finally did reach them. I received the order in 2 shipments. This is my first year gardening at my new home in Maine. I love it. The previous owner had a green thumb so I am trying my best to keep up the beautiful gardens. I ordered a Blue Moon Rose which I noticed someone else ordered. Mine was a pinkish/purple color as well (not the blue they showed). It was so beautiful in the magazine I couldn't resist. They basically sent me a stem. My sister, who's a florist, looked at me with a really sad expression and told me that she didn't think it would grow... but it did and although it's not what I ordered it is beautiful. I also ordered a 3-in-1 Hydrangea and the 5 carnation plants which have grown a little but still have not flowered. I also ordered a Queen's Tear-- just because I was curious and other then a few more leaves nothings happened with that. I ordered 3 Black Rasberry Bushes and a Butterfly bush and received long stems (none of which have done anything and I planted as specified in the instructions). I also rec'd a bulb package. The bulbs looked moldy and none of them have grown yet. I figure I'll give it a bit more time to see what happens and then contact the company. I was disappointed that the rose wasn't what I ordered but there is no way I'd send it back ( I grew it from a stem).

"

A dmail was sent to the customer on 7/12/06 offering replacments or a merchandise credit for any items that did not survive and addressing various other issues mentioned in the posting. We have not yet had a reply from the customer."

I just received 2nd shipment of my plant material. What I received was not even close to what I was expecting. I paid $145 for the plants and these look like dead roots and scrap. I expect any greenhouse to do the initial propagation and send us something alive. The magazine and the website is very misleading. I planted the scrap and white lily pips is the only one that shows some sign of life. I will wait and see. Will post another review in about six weeks. In any case this is not what I expected.

"

The customer returned the product and the original shipping label as per our guarantee for a refund. The refund was issued in August."

I made a pretty large order over $130 and even though it is my fault for losing the shipping labels, though it was an internet order with a reciept from them, I am leaving negative because of false advertising. I have photos of every item as proof for anyone interested!

This is a sum up of my order:

Dwarf Flowrering Cherry - as described and doing well
4 yr old Colorado Blue spruce "atleast 1-2 feet tall" - doing well, but largest is 6" 4 yr. old?
Rose of Sharon Hedge - as described and doing well
Red Bud Tree 1 1/2 - 3 ft tall - got 2, both 4" tall, on survived one did not
3 yr old Blue spruce - were larger than the 4yr olds, but dried up and brown, did not survive
3-n-1 Hydrangea - Arrived potted and moldy, 1 of 3 survived one set, and 2-3 on the other.
Evergreen Rhododenron - arrived very very small and moldy and are trying to survive. Though you can buy very nice large plants at Lowe's for same price!!!!
Red Oak - as described and doing well
Weeping Cherry - very very small, but surviving
7 Rose Color Special - All arrived moldy, 5 of the seven did survive and are doing okay. 2 did not survive.
Red Maple - Read the print they are red in spring and fall not all year!! recieved 9. only 3 of the nine have gotten leaves, the others look like dried up twigs.
3-n-1 Rose of Sharon - 1 of the 3 survived the other 2 show no sign of life!!
Early Richmond Cherry - Doing okay
Sugar Sweet Cherry 1-1/2 - 3 ft - Actually 7" but doing okay
Rose of Sharon Tree - doing well
Magnolia, potted - Very very small trying, but not looking good
Poplar Shade Hybrid 2 - 3 foot - 1 was 2', other was 1 and 1/2, and 3rd was 10". All come out of a main stock at a severe angle, tough to try to make grow straight, and though they are showing some signs of life, still have no leaves yet. They look like they are trying, but not doing well.

Note: I have several other plants and trees that I purchased locally that are all side by side with these, that are all doing excellent, so it is not a soil problem, and they are pampered.

Bottom line: If you want Rose of Sharon's or Dwarf Flowering Cherry - Good place to get them, anything else or items that are the size they are advertised to be, Look somewhere else!!!

I ordered in ealry March this year for $98 bulbs and plants. They charged my credit card the very next day, but I didn't receive my order until mid April..
Everything was sent in a green plastic bag and when I opened it, I got a shock . It stank terribly. There was one plastig baggie with 30 Lily bulbs that have been totally rotten. When I opened th plastic baggie, it hit me in my face, the smell was that nasty, that all I could do was to throw them immediately into the garbage can. Plants have been missing and also other bulbs I ordered haven't been complete. Even the freebies they have promised, have been short. I contacted the company the next day per phone, but couldn't get anybody, so I emailed them. One week for a reply! They asked me to send the dead stuff back with the address label. As if I could send this stinky stuff back. After 2 months and no satisfactory, I contacted the BBB and tried to get my refund with their help. 2 days later I had a partial refund and 5 days later I got a coupon for the rest of the refund, which I won't use, since I have to pay shipping again and probably get again rotten bulbs.
All I can say is, stay away from this company.

"

This customer placed an order 4/8/06 which shipped 3/30/06. According to her emails, it was received 4/4/06. She wrote to us on 4/4/06 and we responded to her on 4/5/06. We know that she received this email because she replied on 4/5. Thus, we do not understand why she claims it took one week to receive a response. She sent later emails as well, all of which were responded to either the same day or the following day, as is our normal procedure.

The customer returned the original shipping label. A refund for the missing items and a credit voucher for the dead items (the items were not returned) was issued on 4/26/06. There has been no complaint about the remainder of the order. The BBB corresonded with us after this was done and we sent a letter to them informing them of our actions. They have since closed the account as "resumed resolved."

The only other thing we would like to point out is that the customer does not have to pay a packing and handling fee for merchandise she would select equivalent to the amount of the voucher. It is considered to be a replacement order on which these fees are pre-paid. (This is explained on the voucher itself.) Thus we hope that she will chose to utilize the voucher.

An error was made in our original order regarding the date the order began processing. This should be 3/8/06, not 4/8/06. The rest of the information in our posting is correct."