Comments regarding Top Tropicals LLC

This is one of my favorite mail order nurseries--I've ordered from them 5 or 6 times now and the plants are absolutely wonderful--they always arrive in great shape and a number of them are blooming or almost ready to bloom when they get here. I also love that they are always getting new kinds of plants in their catalog--I'm addicted to tropical plants and always looking for something new and exciting! I will definitely continue to order from them.

This is an excellent company. I have ordered from them on a number of occasions. The plants well rooted and a decent size. Orders arrived in a few days. They were quick to substitute/refund due to unavailability. If the plants seem expensive, you certainly get what you pay for. They do seeds, too. These are dated, which is very useful for tropicals.

I've ordered twice from Top Tropicals and been very satisfied both times. The first order was ~1 year ago for a jasmine sambac for my parents in Ohio, and that plant is doing well (or so I hear). The second order was for a bay laurel, which I've just received. The plant is almost 4 feet tall, looks very sturdy, and had a nice-looking rootball. Although the leaves are not in "picture-perfect" condition (a few chewed leaves, some dried leaf tips, spots on some), it looks like normal wear and tear and I doubt it will be a problem in the long run.

Top Tropicals has one of the best if not THE BEST website! It is informative, easy to navigate and has everything one needs to know, buy, see and learn. But a visit to Top Tropicals is a must. Mike, Tatiana and their wonderful staff are attentive, helpful and great to do business with. It has been a great experience doing business with them, and I am proud to be their representative in San Juan, Puerto Rico. They always deliver on time, the plants arrive in good condition and my clients are happy. I recomend this site to everybody, and please, READ INSTRUCTIONS AND FOLLOW THEM. Remember, plants are plants, and they need tender loving care when they arrive to their final destination. FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. They will readjust to their new environment. To Mike and Tatiana, it is a pleasure doing business with you! - Marie

I ordered about $850 in plants for the botanical garden where I work. Everything arrived in great health and perfectly packed. We did have one tree snap in transit, but I don't believe that this is the fault of the company--just a shipping accident. Directions were included for our Cananga, which was appreciated. It seems as though most of the woody plants were air layered, so the new 'trunks' were quite thick and sturdy. Note that these are all grown in their natural environment outdoors and may be exposed to full sun. Obviously, if you are going to put them in a house, do not be surprised if they drop a few leaves as they acclimate. Service was prompt and all communication clear and courteous. Because everything is shipped bareroot, be aware that the soil ball you receive may be smaller than what is stated in the catalog, but importantly----the tree is the size that you are ordering. A-plus for great selection and high quality plants.

I ordered a Wrightia religiosa from Top Tropicals and when it arrived I discovered that the trunk of the plant was split vertically. After a frustrating telephone conversation with the owner we agreed that he would refund the cost of the plant but not the shipping. I then foolishly ordered another of the same plant. The second plant arrived obviously in very bad condition, leaves spotted and falling, ends of branches withered. The plant arrived with a note attached saying that it was still in dormancy (in mid April in Florida? I doubt that) but was perfectly healthy. Anyone can see that it is not. I am trying to keep it alive but feel that I was ripped off twice! If I ever try ordering from Top Tropicals again it will only be if I cannot find a particular plant anywhere else and feel that I really must have it. It is one thing to be able to visit a nursery and see the plants you are buying, but it is quite another thing to have to rely on the nursery to select plants for you. That means that you must be able to TRUST them and at this time I do not feel that way about TT.

"

This customer had ordered from us four times during last and this year.

So, we was well aware about our replacement policy which is posted on the website (there is a link on the top of online store). Per this policy we ship free replacement plant with next order or make another arrangements, however, S&H isn't refundable. This is our policy and if customer didn't agree with it he is free to buy plants anywhere else. We didn't object his complains regarding the plant. It could have been our fault, it could have happened during shipment. We told customer that free replacement plant would be shipped with his next order.

Long furstrating conversation took place because the customer was very impolite and requested replacement plant to be shipped immediately at our expense despite the policy. The customer cut telephone conversation short and we have no choice but refund money back to him.

If customer would be little more polite during that conversation he would get more results out of it. For example, he wouldn't have to reorder the same plant second time and pay for its S&H. It would be sent him absolutely free as replacement, because he ordered more plants.

Regarding dormancy. This winter was very long (in NY and in FL as well) and many tropical plants were in the state of dormancy in the middle of April, when nights were cold (yes, 60-65F is cold for tropical plants, which stop growing when temperature is below 75F).

We apologize for not able to make this customer happy and can only suggest that mutual respect helps everybody. "

I ordered two plants in early February 2005 for delivery to me in Indiana. They held off shipping due to cold weather, informing me by email, saying they would ship if the daytime temp was above 35C. At first I was pleased by their concern. They said they kept tabs on the temp by computer but shipment never occurred even though there were several weeks in March when it was fine (it was 40+ C a couple of weeks) and I finally requested they ship in April since they seemed a little overconcerned about the matter. There was no offer of using heat packs on their part. When the plants finally arrived in early April they were well packed but were disappointingly small. The Murraya koenigii was advertised as a 1 gallon plant. It was more like a quart-sized plant (rootball) or so, although it was healthy. The Laurus nobilis was advertised as "nice large plants", 1-3 gallon pot size. I got a half-gallon, spindly small plant, with many black spotted leaves with a suspicious shiny skin-like surface. They have a very nice website with a very wide selection of hard-to-find plants with much useful info as well, but the plants I received (after a long delay) fell quite a bit short of their advertised descriptions on their website.

I ordered four plants from Top Tropicals. They arrived promptly and well packaged. However, the received plant sizes did not match the description of these plants at their wonderful website. The Hylocereus undatus Guatemalensis was listed as 3 gallon size. It arrived in a 1 gallon pot, but could have easily fit in a much smaller pot. The Murraya koeniggii was a fine plant. But again, the root ball was more a 1 quart size, not the promised 1 gallon.
Similar results were noted for the Ceropegia ampliata and the Cymbopogon citratus.
Top Tropicals seems to have a wonderful assortment of interesting and hard to find plants, but I wish the descriptions would be a bit more exact.

I would especially recommend visiting Top Tropicals in person for those who live in south Florida. Meeting Mike was a treat. I ordered online, drove down to pick up and ended up leaving with an almost completely different order after eyeballing the selection! Things seemed to be a bit on the dry side, but Mike explained that they're working on a new irrigation system. No matter, roots were healthy, these plants took off after repotting without missing a beat!

The entire growing area is filled with blooming and fruiting exotica of all types. Mike flittered about showing me this plant and that plant, crushing leaves for me to smell, pointing out truly unusual specimens. I'm going back next week!

Every plant I bought is doing great and sending forth new growth. They've got quite a beautiful selection of fragrant bloomers and plants I've never seen offered locally before. Highly recommended!

The seeds I ordered from Top Tropicals arrived quickly! Their web site has complete, detailed germinating instructions! I know I will buy again from this company.

I just ordered plants from Tops tropicals for the first time and they are a great supplier. They have an amazing selection. I thought the prices were a little high but once I recieved the plants, they are well worth the money. Delivery was very fast. Packaging is perfect. They even have a heat pack to purchase so that us northerner's can get a tropical fix in the middle of winter. I can't say enough about the quality of the plants and the service of delivery to do this place justice. They have my business from here on out for my hard to find tropicals.

Dott

I ordered two Jasmine Sambac (a Maid of Orleans and a Grand Duke) and a Clerodendrum Phillipinum from them a year ago. All plants were packed well, and arrived healthy in spite of bad weather here in the Northwest. They also offer (for a small fee) to ship plants with a heat pack for those of us who have sudden cravings for tropicals in the middle of winter. All plants are still growing well indoors a year later. I continue to drool over their amazing selection and will no doubt order more in the future.

There are many great qualities about Top Tropicals that impressed me, however I have to give them a neutral for the condition of my Brugsmansia sapling I ordered. The website is wonderful with plenty of rare and unusual plants which you can't really find anywhere else. I love that they really took the time to include tons of useful and interesting info on plants such as medicinal uses, culinary uses, historical significance, and so on. They were also wonderful when I had to correct a mistake I made with my billing info. They responded quickly and fixed the problem immediately. They seem like wonderful people with reasonable prices also. But when my Brugs came its top was bent over, the leaves tattered, torn, and nearly wilted. There was some new growth on it, but the tips of the baby leaves were dark brown and crumbly. The rootball seemed poorly packaged as well. I'm not a brugsmansia expert, in fact this is my first one so maybe these plants can take this kind of treatment, i dont know. I have to take into account the fact that the plant arrived from south florida all the way to the frigid upstate NY. This may have certainly been the major factor in my plants appearance. But so far so good with a little extra love and care I think my plant is recovering. I think I will order from them again because everything else was great and there's plenty more plants that I need to get and only they seem to have.

I love this company. First of all, they really do have excellent tropical fruit trees. Second of all they provide superior customer service. TopTropicals was they ONLY place in the US I could buy the Akee tree. They were resonably priced and they shipped a 3 gallon tree 2500 miles with no damage.

I'm a South Florida landscape designer and perfumer so I was very happy to find TT. I visited their nursery, and quietly watched as orders were packed. They examine each leaf (!) and pack the plants beautifully, very carefully. Among the best in the business.

There are many plants to choose from there, so I limited myself to the fragrant ones, and am still amazed at the selection and good health of the plants. Tatiana and Mike are dedicated to building a loyal client base, and it shows.

I recommend them 100%.

What a wonderful family-owned business. Hard to find and unusal tropical plants is what first drew me to this site as well as a recommendation from a friend. My plants arrived SUPER fast and even in the heat of Florida summer very little wilt if any. The plant size and rootball system were well above what one would expect. Best of all.. their prices!!

We had never ordered a plant online before so we didn't know what to expect. About two days after placing our order for a Cinnamomum Zeylanicum we noticed a very large box in the mail. It was a beautiful tree of almost 3 ft. in height.

Thank you Very much
Juan Barba

I ordered two plants. I don't order plants online that I can get locally, so the plants I order are usually uncommon and hard to get. I expect most online nurseries to send smaller plants because they are easier and less expensive to ship.

The two plants I ordered were large and in fabulous condition.

I will definitely do business with them again.

I ordered several difficult to find plants a while back, and
was very impressed with them overall. They were reasonably
priced, very well packaged and quickly delivered. I'm happy
to say they're all healthy and thriving.
I can't wait to order more!

This is a great operation run by a polite Russian couple. Extensive selection of unusual tropicals and tropical fruit trees. Since I lived nearby, I called to ask if i could drop by in person. they accomodated me very willing although their business is run exclusively over the internet. Not only that but i was given a discount for shopping in person. I bought a lovely Michelia champaca which is extremely difficult to find even here in South florida. The plant died but it was entirely my fault since I bought it extremely healthy and it remained so for 2 months later. these people are great. I recommend them 100%!

I ordered Clerodendrum philippinum and Clerodendrum sahelangii from TopTropicals and I got my plants in less than a week and the plants I received are very big (one is about 2 ft and other is abput 3 ft). I am very happy about the plants and I would order again from these people. They have very reasonable prices too.
Padma.

I recently received my first order from Top Tropicals.

The plants arrived in healthy condition and there was absolutely NO damage, due to their bullet-proof packaging (it's impressive).

I am also impressed with this company's selection of unusual and hard-to-find plants. Their Web site was the only place on the planet where I could find some of the plants for which I was looking. And the people there know their plants and offer helpful advice.

Their Customer Service is outstanding. E-mail inquiries are answered promptly and in a friendly manner. When I sent a nasty e-mail complaint about what I THOUGHT was a problem (turned out it wasn't), it was promptly answered in a friendly and professional manner and a replacement and discount on my next order was offered. After my chagrined reply, Mike (owner) sent another nice follow-up email. These folks go out of their way to ensure customer satisfaction.

This has definitely been a positive experience, and I look forward to many more orders from Top Tropicals.

Wow I was so amazed at the quality of the plants I recieved. So big and healthy. Fabulous root systems. Great communication and quick delivery. Moderately priced. Well worth every penny spent. Will order from again. Highly recommended.

My 3 selections from this company arrived in perfect condition - not even a yellowed leaf. The packaging was superb, the plants large and robust with a well developed root system. I would not hesitate to order from them again.

Top Tropicals is a great company to deal with.Plants arrived well packed and healthy- and as advertised.
Communication was prompt courteous and helpful.It was nice to do business with them, and I will be ordering from them again.

I ordered four plants from Top Tropicals and was very pleased with all of the plants. They were large, well packed, and not too expensive. I will be ordering from them again in the future and can highly recommend them.

I have ordered from Top Tropicals twice this year. Plants are shipped promptly and arrive in great condition. Their offerings are healthy, vigorous and big for the price, and the service is great. They add new plants often, and will accept "wish lists". Highly recommend.