Comments regarding Orchids.com (Norman's Orchids)

Wish I knew about davesgarden before I ordered from Norman’s Orchids.

I ordered a $55 “in bud/spike” orchid and got a plant in a 3” clear plastic pot with soggy sphagnum moss that had no visible bud or spike. The pot was haphazardly taped to the shipping box which was stuffed with paper. The packing slip said “DO NOT REPOT your orchids for 30 day. Doing so can severely damage the plant.” I worry that not repotting might be even worse.

The only good news is that I specified that I wanted the plant on 4/13 and they shipped it via FedEx (my least favorite delivery company) overnight/two-day delivery and it actually arrived on time.

Where to begin. I ordered a phalaenopsis Bellina var coerulea, and was instead given a phalaenopsis bellina... Upon reaching out to norman, we state they are the same thing. Completely untrue. I requested a refund and he said I'd have to pay shipping costs back, so I sold the plant instead for a profit. He was not happy about this.. The customer service of this company like others have said is horrible. They do not take responsibility for their own mistakes and continually ship out the wrong plants to people. I wanted to like this place. Save yourself the headache and do not order from them.

dreadful customer service. please heed the warnings, you've seen how many negative reviews this vendor has. they are deserved. they shipped me a mislabelled plant (this was a mericlone, not a seed-grown plant and wasn't even close). I sent them a picture to verify the mistake but they refused to reply to my emails or calls. completely fraudulent. if you purchase here do not expect to get what you ordered, and expect to get no reply from the vendor.

I didn't receive any orchids from orchids.com simply because i was never able to finalize the order. I had just moved so my address on my cards were all updated recently and there were issues with orchid.com and i was blocked from paying online. I ended up calling them with the worse customer rep. I explained i had tried to pay three times already and was blocked from paying online and i explained about the move and he said there's nothing he could do so i was about to say well let's try a different card and he just starts telling me how he can't help me and i need to use the website without stopping to hear me tell him i already told him i'm blocked from paying on the website. and there was a note saying to contact them to pay. Then he hung up on me and refused to pick up again.

My guess is that this operation is very small and run by too few people who aren't specifically trained at what they are doing. I'm glad i looked for reviews from a non-affiliated source and am feeling like a dodged a bullet. For the record, i've been using that same card with the new current address with no issue so to me the problem is on orchid.com's end. It's too bad they don't seem to like customers.

I have been a long-time customer and had a good experience with their orchids -- sending them for gifts.
But the last two times the orchids have arrived in bad shape with few, if any, flowers or buds.
The latest happened a few days ago when I sent a nice orchid to my elderly aunt who was recovering from surgery. The orchid arrived without any flowers and two solo buds off of the plant. They also neglected to send the get well card. When I contacted them, they said they would only replace/refund when emailed a photo -- something my elderly aunt is unable to do. Even after being a solid customer, they would make no exceptions. Very poor customer service. Will never use them again.

I was very disappointed by my recent experience with Norman's Orchids. I purchased an orchid for my mom's 87th birthday. I have ordered from them before and expected to see a vibrant, beautiful gift for her. Including shipping, the total cost was $174.00. This was a big purchase for my mom.

It arrived a week ago tomorrow... on a Tuesday. I went to visit her the following Monday (6 days later) and was horrified to see that the blossoms were all falling off and the plant had only two buds. Not sure that they will even bloom.

However, these things happen, and I expected to resolve this easily with them. I called the company and asked to speak to someone in customer service. The receptionist would not allow me to speak to anyone. I asked to speak to her supervisor and again she refused, I asked to speak to someone in the sales department and she refused. This went on for 5 minutes. She said that customers were not allowed to speak to staff, instead I was to write an email to support@orchids.com and attach a picture. I was furious, after years in customer service I know how easy it is to turn customers off and this attitude did the trick for me. I had photos, so I sent an email immediately, within the hour with a picture as requested. I asked that someone call me back within 24 hours to discuss either refunding my money or replacing the orchid.

At this time (more than 48 hours later) I have not heard one word. The company has my email and my phone, and they have not contacted me.

To my mind, this is not a company that is customer service oriented.I certainly will not buy from them again.

Only buy IF you are willing to throw away your money.

This is the second time I have ordered from orchids.com. First time I spent $140 a year ago. This time my friend and I place an orchid order right after the holidays. The original delivery was for dec29. They held it due to weather. We were okay with that. They finally shipped it on Jan 9. We have been in contact with them the whole time up to the day they shipped it. We received it two days later. On Jan 11.

Now we decided to unbox it at my house because I have a YouTube channel. As soon as I put my hand in the box the orchids were dripping wet. The box and peanuts were soaking wet. We ordered 8 orchids. They only shipped 4 and charged us for two shipping. We only got one box. It was $270 worth of orchids. They invoice had two orchids marked as out of stock. Those they refunded after we emailed them.

They never informed us it was out of stock. We spoke to them before they shipped the plants. Two plants weren't even in the box. They failed to include them. We called the customer service number. She said there was nothing she could do and to email their support. We emailed their support and included pictures. We told them we had it all on video if they wanted to see it and we told them two of the plants were missing. All we got were generic reply. They never called us. They never acknowledged the missing plants They never answered the phone again. They closed the account before we even got the return shipping label.

We shipped the plants back to them in slightly better condition than they had arrived. The peanuts and box had dried out. The plants were still dripping water a week after they sent them to us.They received the plants Jan 18 Exactly one week after we received it

Have yet to receive a refund or any reply. They basically stole the money. I have enclosed the link to the video. From what I've been told and from other people contacting me and researching. They love you if you have no problems but pretend you don't exist if you do.

We were calm and nice to the lady on the phone. We were respectful in the emails and have no problem disclosing them. We just want a refund. A full refund including both shipping charges. It is now feb 5 and we have received nothing. Going to file a complaint with the better business bureau and the state attorney general of NY and California.

Enclosed is the video. I also have pictures. The same ones they received when we emailed them. We received this box early in the day. They are a west coast company. After the first call they never answered their phones again. No one sends dripping wet orchids in winter. [HYPERLINK@www.youtube.com]

I ordered two hobby plants from Norman's in Sept. 2017: a Blc Siamese Doll and B Aristocrat, both listed as, "mature size." I was very unhappy with their packing, as the plants weren't wrapped at all- just dropped in the box with peanuts! Both came potted in a soggy, compressed nugget of sphag, and had to be repotted immediately. B Aristocrat was indeed bloom size, but the Siamese Doll was a small seedling, at least 3 years from bloom size, (I know this because I have a mature specimen of Siamese Doll- it's 12 inches tall.) What I received from Norman's is about 4 inches tall. Clearly, NOT, "mature size." Despite these issues, I can't leave a neg rating, because the plants did arrive healthy, and are now thriving.
Some companies will "WOW" you with the size & quality of their plants, and the care they put into shipping them. Norman's is not such a company! But if they have that special something you MUST have, you will probably get a healthy plant. Just don't expect accuracy in terms of their size descriptions.

My first purchase from this company was simply breathtaking. I bought three phalaenopsis orchids for my kitchen and they were thriving and a joy to behold. I wound up purchasing several pricey gift orchids for various recipients. I then made a second purchase for myself. The orchids that arrived did not resemble whatsoever the orchids pictured on the site. Firstly, I ordered three of the same. Two were matching the and the third was a different color. These were meant to be displaced all in the same location. Next, the orchids picture had 4 stems and I was sent two with 2 stems and one with one stem - sparse and spindly and not at all like what was pictured. Next, the orchids began to fail almost immediately - after one day. The blooms began to dry up and fall off and the leaves - many of them - started to turn yellow, droop and brown out at the tips. I emailed them, photos included, for six days straight - showing them the horrendous condition of these plants and how they were progressively getting worse each day. I received no response whatsoever. Finally, I called and they claimed they never received my emails. I was only requesting that they replace these three totally unacceptable orchids with three new ones - the same ones I had ordered the first time. They said they would send my request to "claims." Wow. Who was I dealing with - a national concern like Amazon or Walmart? Two days later they contacted me and offered me a $10.00 credit and I would have to repackage and send back the three dying orchids at my own expense. The order was well over $100. They told me the orchids were failing because of "direct sunlight." The orchids were never exposed to direct sunlight. I am only hoping that the several gifts I sent - over $150 each for one orchid - arrived in good condition. I would never know because the recipients would probably not tell me if they didn't. Believe me, you do not want to do business with this company. You could be lucky and receive healthy orchids, but if you don't, tough luck to you. Horrendous customer service. They will not back up their merchandise - even with explicit photos showing the failure of the orchids.

I just placed my first order with this company, and I'm happy with their service so far. They were extremely prompt -- I ordered over the weekend, the plants were shipped Monday, and they arrived here in Asheville this morning. I wouldn't ordinarily order orchids in bloom, for fear the spikes would be damaged, but I saw a clone I really wanted at the local orchid show last week. When I realized Orchids.com had it, I couldn't wait to order. Their packing was excellent -- it took quite a while to get the plants separated from the packing material, but you would never guess these three plants in full bloom had been shipped all the way from California. I know I shouldn't comment on other peoples' experience, but I couldn't help but notice some of the problems seem to arise from customers not understanding what they were ordering. It is true as someone pointed out that the plants are in the thin flexible pots with sphagnum moss, and some of the roots are broken. However, in my experience this is pretty much what you see from all the large growers. It's a function of what they have to do to culture massive numbers of plants. The plants all look healthy and strong, and after they bloom, I will repot then in a bark mixture and different pots that are more suited to my growing conditions. Bottom line is, I would definitely order from these folks again.

If you absolutely must order from Norman's Orchids, use an email address specifically for spam (everyone should have a junk email address) because they WILL spam you and there is no way to unsubscribe unless you close your account. Also, place your order with a credit card because you may need to do a charge back since that is the only way you will ever get your money back when Norman's refuses to refund you for their mistake.

I ordered a bright yellow orchid with a red lip based on the description and photos on orchids.com. Well, when it arrived it was a greenish-yellow orchid with a magenta lip and obviously nothing like what was described or pictured. I emailed customer service with a photo and asked if I had been sent the correct plant and their response was that the plant is blooming like one of its parents. This made absolutely no sense to me. The orchid was clearly in bloom so they already knew it wasn't a bright yellow orchid with a red lip. How difficult is it to update your own website with the correct description, if not a new photo? Since their website looks like a Geocities page, I suppose updating the site was just too technically challenging. Interestingly, I noticed they took down the listing a few days later.

I was offered either a full refund if I returned the plant at my expense or a partial credit for keeping the plant. Never once did anyone ever apologize. I had no interest in keeping the orchid since it was very ugly to me and--once again--it looked nothing like what I thought I was ordering and I was not going to pay any amount of money to return their plant.

They're great at fulfilling orders since it involves taking your money and their plants are definitely healthy but if you have a problem, don't expect any satisfaction or even an apology. Their lousy customer service is not worth all the rare and beautiful orchids in the world.

I have been ordering from Normans Orchids for 5+ years. I have never had a bad experience. I am very guilty of looking at photo and buying without reading description and have purchased things not appropriate for me, but that is on me. Everything I have received has been in great shape. Just placed another order, can't wait to recieve!!!

My review is nearly identical to trospero's review. This was my 2nd order from Norman's. The first order was fine, but this last order was very disappointing. I bought two in bud Cattleya orchids. The blooms lasted 3 day on one orchid and the blooms on the other orchid were dead on arrival. Both orchids also need re-potting. I will not buy from them again.

Ordered two "in bud" Cattleyas. Two days after ordering I was told one was no longer available and did I want a substitute, and I said yes. The plant they subbed was 2X the price of the one I ordered and I was not told that at the time. I should have checked to see if it was the same price, yes - but how much effort would it have taken for them to say "by the way, the one you want as a substitute is twice the price - is that okay?"
The other plant arrived in a 5" clear plastic liner pot, in old Sphagnum and had obviously needed repotting two years ago, as its growing lead was two growths over the edge of the pot. One of its leads had been hacked off, (disease, or just careless handling?) and most of the roots outside the container had been chopped to mere nubs. Overall, the plant had the look of one that had been neglected for a long time and had been carelessly prepped for shipping. I contacted the customer service to express my displeasure and was greeted with a response that essentially said to me they didn't care.
Well guess what? Neither do I. Norman's will not get another penny from me. Oh, and the second plant? The buds have not developed and so I paid a premium price for an "in bud" plant for nothing.
Uncaring customer service on top of that? No thank you.

I received an orchid from this site as a gift, but the friend who gifted it to me understood that I knew more about orchids, and what I want from them, than he did. So he had me point out the one I wanted, rather than try to surprise me with something that might be unsuitable.

After some research, I chose Dtps. Purple Martin 'Champion'. It was very securely packaged when it arrived, and the plant was-and remains-healthy. I have had no contact with any of the site's representatives, so I cannot speak of their conduct, but I am happy with my plant.

I purchased some orchids from this company. It is my second order. Some of the orchids is of different color then on the website. The color is much different then the site. Let say I order white and they gave me an orange color. I contacted them to have this resolve, and to send the correct orchid. The company said I will have to pay for shipping return to them. I disagree. i did not order an orange orchid so i should not have to pay for return to get a full refund. I call the next day to get a resolution. There was no resolution, because they stand by their rule to have me pay for return shipping. When I try to get in their website to check on my orders and log in to my account, I can not get on, because the company block me from their website. The orchid I order is not a seeding orchid. It is a mericlone orchid. The supervisor refused to come to the phone to resolve this matter. Horrible experience I have ever had with an orchid company.

I have bought orchids by mail and in person for over a decade at Norman's Orchids. I have found the personnel to be always attentive and polite. My orders have been sent on time and the plants have been excellent. The showroom always has a large number of plants in bloom. I appreciate the correct labels on the plants. Well grown, correctly labelled orchids are not as cheap as the ones you can buy in the big box stores but are worth it.

I ordered plants for our local orchid society raffle table. The plants were nice sized, packed very well (no breakage, missing tags and came when promised) - we got our money's worth.

Norman's Orchid Nursery
3.0 star rating
14 reviews Rating Details

Category: Nurseries & Gardening [Edit]
11039 Monte Vista Ave
Montclair, CA 91763
(909) 627-9515
we have flowers all year long for your special occasions.
A corner of our show room stocked with wide varieties of orchids.

Production Department is fullfilling an wedding cut phalaenopsis orchids order.

Norman's Orchid Nursery, Montclair, CA

Norman's Orchid Nursery, Montclair, CA
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Hours:

Mon-Sat 9 am - 5 pm
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes

Price Range:
$$
Parking:
Private Lot
Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes

Dogs Allowed:
Yes

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14 reviews for Norman's Orchid Nursery
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Review from Carol D.
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1 review
Carol D.
Choctaw, OK

5.0 star rating
9/29/2012

I've been a long-distance customer of Norman's for more years than I want to count. His plants are consistently well grown, offer a wide diversity of genera for any orchid-aholic's tastes, and provide both known and not-yet-known species and hybrids. I primarily grow phalaenopsis, though have a diverse collection of other genera. Yes, there are phal specialists, and I purchase from several of them. But Norman offers such a wide range of plants - including some really quite rare and appropriately expensive items - that he will always be a prime source of additions to my collection.

The packing is meticulous - I've never received a damaged plant. I've heard that some people had some difficulty with customer service, but in all of these many years I've never experienced any problem and have always been treated courteously and professionally. I have no experience with the gift side of the business, since I'm a confirmed hobby grower with a willingness to grow things for several years before seeing bloom spikes. I'd be very surprised if that side of the business were any less professionally handled.

If all you want is a pretty coffee-table plant and don't care to actually GROW it, you might be happy with the big box store NOID offerings. A real orchid supplier doesn't sell no name short-lived plants that might make a brief impression before heading to the compost pile. A real supplier offers quality, well-grown, interesting, and rewarding plants you want to have in your collection. And Norman is a real supplier.

I've placed multiple orders in the past and have never encountered a problem. If I have questions about plants I call and speak to a courteous young lady that helps me chose the perfect plants. I tell her what I am looking for and I receive exactly what I wanted. I just wish they were much closer so I can go visit their premises. I give them a 5 star rating and they have wonderful service.

Posted on September 20, 2012, updated September 20, 2012
fast and easy

Posted on September 11, 2012, updated September 12, 2012
I ordered (SO# 5130460) a Yu Pin Lady ‘Rev Velvet’ Phal – MC1522. It arrived in 3 days. The plant is not what I ordered. It was in bloom and not the color of the photo on thier web site. The flowers were bruised and within the week of arrival the petals dried crisp and dropped off. I sent an e-amil asking them to check thier record so we could solve the problem. No response. My phone calls have been re-routed until disconnected. I have also sent an e-mail through this site.
I will still try to solve this mis-order but I strongly recommend purchasing from another dealer.

Plants arrived in tip top condition, in bloom or bud, as described. All leaves and roots in healthy, actively growing condition. Shipping promised and delivered within 2 days. Really appreciate the "hobbyist" listings.

Unmistakably the best source for quality orchids for the hobbyist or if you are just shopping for that special gift! Gorgeous, healthy orchids, many crosses quite unique. Fantastic quality, fair prices, careful packing, and fast shipping.
Norman's Orchids has one of the best online store in the business; user-friendly with robust search features and accurate photography and detailed descriptions of their plants. Highly recommended.

After purchasing my two plants and ordering them. I emailed the company and Norman replied to me quickly with my answers. After receiving the plants, I was totally amazed about the size and even one was in full bloom and it was just awesome.

Shipping was fast and concrete as stated when expected delivery of the plants.

I will buy again from Orchids.com
Thanks Norman!

I have bought plants from Norman's Orchids for 2 decades and the plants ALWAYS arrive in perfect shape because they are packed to travel across the country. The plants are of a quality that can not be found at the big box stores and I know from visiting the nursery that plants will not arrive here with hidden weed seeds or insect pests. Norman has a full time employee whose job it is is to pull weeds in pots and under the benches. My orchid benches always hold at least 100 of Norman's very special orchids. Dot- Fort Lauderdale

It is always the negative reviewers that always bother in even leaving such nasty comments for such an awesome company. I can say I've been ordering from Norman's Orchids for over 5 years now and not once have a had any issues with them. I call speak to customer service and always get the answers I am looking for. Without a doubt they are the best and they know their stuff. People have to realize orchids from this company are live and of course some are not perfect but I can guarantee you they are not "SICK", sick are those of you that come in sites like this and leave your nasty comments. Really though if this company could get all their positive customers to review I can guarantee you it will be much much more positives than negative because they really know what they are doing and they have the best out there.

Be aware that they only honor claims for 7 days. They sent a sick orchid to my mom for Mother's day. It died just after the 7 days.

My last several purchases from Normans Orchids have been outstanding! Customer service was excellent, on time responses and zero problems with my order from start to finish. Plants arrived as scheduled per shipping policy, foliage and roots on all plants were very strong and healthy. Spikes arrived as mentioned, 1-3 per plant and some plants in bud, another in flower. Norman has really been offering a broader, diverse selection of some of the most recent, cutting edge hybrids. I will continue to watch the website weekly for updates and look forward to future purchases.

I have to admit that I am shocked by so many negative reviews on this website. I had an unpleasant experience with orchids.com. I am now wishing I had come here first as I would never have ordered through them. I had placed an order through the website and my interpretation was that it was a two day delivery. Right or wrong, I am obviously not the only one who has had trouble interpreting this, please reword your website. The true trouble began when I phoned them to tell them I was unhappy with the delivery date. The man I spoke with would not listen to me, he spoke over me and when I told him I was upset that he would not listen, he hung up on me. I was a bit stunned. I wrote to them and have tried to follow up with phone calls, but they do not answer and their mail boxes are full (of complaints, I am wondering?). In reading all of these reviews and the very unprofessional attacking responses to others' responses, I can see that it is best to take my business elsewhere. I am guessing by so many dissatisfied people that they just don't care. What a shame, my mother-in-law collects orchids and I had hoped I had found a source for gifts. Customer service is very important and they fall quite short.

Made order Thurs; delivered Sat; beautiful, clean and healthy plants received in excellent condition. This has always been my experience with Orchids.com. They ship quickly. Their website is excellent with good photos and descriptions. We will also be trying their product Mega Thrive as a growing aid.

I received a shipment of Phalaenopsis from orchids.com yesterday and as always, was very pleased. The condition of the plants was excellent, good root systems, most in spike or in bud. The packing was also excellent. Three plants were shipped in bloom and they looked great on unpacking. I have grown Phalaenopsis for 20 plus years and consider orchids.com as a premier vendor and grower.

My wife and I are 'newbies' in the orchid collecting experience, having only 3 or 4 phals for the past 6 years or so...sometimes they bloom, somtimes they don't. After discovering the diversity of the orchid species (I purchased a Sharry Baby at a local grocery store (!) and immediately realized how much I underappeciated the orchid genus/species), we began to order orchids online, ultimately from four different growers (we now have 19 orchids, comprised of 10 genus).

All of the growers provided satisfactory plants and service, but one stood "head and shoulders" above the others: Norman's, (orchids.com). Their plants were the best "bang for the buck". But more importantly, being the neophyte, I had some concerns that I needed addressed and when I dealt with their customer service rep (thanks Fabby :-) ), I was treated as a valued customer with respect and concern for my complete satisfaction....I can't recommend their organization highly enough.

I received the two orchids I ordered with orchids.com today, and I was very pleased. The packing was carefully done and there was no sign of damage on either plant. The in bud/in spike Dendrobium I ordered had about 20 fully formed buds on it, and the mature Paphiopedilum actually came not only in flower, but with new leaf growth as well. It was a pleasant surprise. Both plants look very healthy with no sign of fungus or infestation. I'm not an expert but I have a little experience with orchids and I would say their condition is as good or better than any orchids I have bought in nurseries or plant shops. This was my first time buying orchids online and it was a great experience. Despite the negative reviews, I would recommend orchids.com and I would order from them again.

I greatly regret giving negative feedback, but after 3 poor quality plants on 3 separate orders, I feel I must comment. One, an intergeneric oncidium was infested with scale. The second was a phalaenopsis with broken roots. The last was a species phalaenopsis that turned out to have mites. In all fairness, I admit I did not contact the company partly because of their difficult reputation and partly because I try to fix plant problems myself. I kept thinking I'd give Orchids.com another chance, that perhaps I was just unlucky. After I realized my last orchid had mites, I decided that, unfortunately, I could no longer buy from them no matter how wonderful their orchids look online. To clarify: I am not and cannot comment on their customer service only upon their plants.

I love Norman's Orchids and had purchased at least two time from their very organized web site : Orchids.com .
Just received one one their July special with two beautiful blooming and very unusual phalaenopsis which you can only found from this company. I received a instant order confirmation right away and another email of UPS air tracking next day. With limited orchid resource at Pacific Northwest , this is a A+ source for quality and unusual orchids.

BEAUTIFUL HEALTHY ORCHIDS!
I recently ordered several orchids in bud/bloom from this company. They arrived super fast and were clearly lovingly packaged with a great deal of care. Two of my plants were in bloom, simply gorgeous, with approximately 10 open flowers each! I was impressed by how healthy the roots were and love their huge online selection. I have only positive things to say; fortunately I was not deterred by all the negative comments posted here otherwise I would not have been able to acquire such beauties. Given how lovely the flowers were I decided to place another order right away!

I placed an order and right away I received an email stating that the order was going to be delayed due to severe weather which was absolutely fine with me since I didn't want to receive frozen orchids. 2 weeks later Customer support followed up with me and informed me it was safe to ship order but some of the items I choose were sold out and no longer available and gave me other item numbers that were similar to the one I choose. I was happy that they went out of their way to ship out my orchids and make sure they arrive safe. I've purchased orchids from other companies in the past and the experience with them was awful, orchids arrived frozen and very damaged. Their heat packs work great my orchids arrived safe, healthy, and very happy its been over a month since I received my orchids and I'm happy to say its still blooming. This company really knows what they are doing and Customer Support is always very helpful. Its sad to hear other people past experiences and all I have to say is you really have to be a true orchid grower to know what this company is about. They are one of the few standing that have such a big variety in exotic orchids. My joy.

I've placed dozens of orders with Norman's over the years and have always been 100% satisfied. Their plants are healthy and happy, and they're shipped with so much attention to detail it's amazing. If it weren't for Norman's Orchids, I might not be the gardener I am today.