Comments regarding Crape Myrtles Inc. (also dba Crape Myrtle Farms and Lagerstroemia.com)

My crape myrtles arrived as expected. I knew they would be small, so no surprise there. They had leaves and seemed healthy. I planted them a few weeks ago, and they seem to be settling in really well. I’m looking forward to seeing them take off next year. :)

I lost $130 with this company in plants and return postage. I purchased 6 various crape myrtle plants at the end of February. They all arrived 3 weeks later and looked like dead sticks. There was a note from the seller that this was NORMAL. I doubted this statement, but planted all the plants anyway, thinking that the company should know better. What a mistake that was! A month later, I sent an email to the company asking about the unchanged state of the plants. Received a response from David Chopin asking for the photos. I sent the photos and got no response back. 1 month later as the plants still looked like dead sticks, I wrote another email asking why there was no response to my communications. There was a response "All refunds are in early June.
Which 3 plants?
Send it to my personal email address"

I re-sent all to his personal email. NO response.

Another my email - now July.

Response: "We have been shipping these trees for 40 years and they can be in the boxes 2 months.
If you return all plants we will gladly refund your money.
We have never received any pictures from you.
David"

I shipped the dead plants back and chased the company (now is August). The response: "Our guarantee is 90 days and it is now August. Why did you take so long?"

No refund yet.

Please consider my experience with this company and order your plants elsewhere.

We ordered six crape myrtles from The Crape Myrtle Company a couple of months ago. They had been sturdy well-packed plants, but one was broken in shipment.

When we e-mailed the company the response was quick and polite. A healthy replacement was sent immediately.(Each order also included a bonus plant similar to what we ordered, so a nice surprise.)

This is a great company to deal with. They have a good product and stand behind it.

I don't know how anyone could say anything negative about this company. I had a great experience and will order in the future and recommend them to my friends. I ordered several tress and they arrived quickly and in great shape. They even included a FREE one! I followed the planting instructions, which were super clear and easy to understand. The plants are thriving! I couldn't be happier. They even bloomed already. This company has a beautiful website and offer a quality product at an affordable price. I would highly recommend.

I purchased five miniature crape myrtles last fall once we got our new fence put in at our new home.

I knew I wanted something to brighten the backyard, but I wanted small so they would be easy to prune when necessary. I headed over to The Crape Myrtle Company and fell in love with several of their dwarf and miniature crapes.

I ended up purchasing five (3 Chisam Fire and 2 Houston) minis, but was actually shipped 6 (the last is a mystery plant, and it's currently in a large pot on my patio). The plants were well packaged and came with good directions for planting and maintaining them. Yes, they were sticks. They were dormant for the year, so I planted them and kept my fingers crossed.

I did call the company once to verify the watering schedule, and the man I spoke with was very polite and knowledgeable. I came away from that call feeling pretty good about the purchase.

About three weeks ago, each of the mini crape myrtle began leafing out. I am VERY happy to see this. It will take time for them to grow to their final size, but unless something untoward happens to them, I expect them to do very well.

Very happy I purchased these from this company. I will be adding a larger shrub at the back corner of my yard, and I suspect it will be a larger variety from this company.

Posted on June 22, 2014, updated June 22, 2014
I am so very thankful I DIDN'T see all these negative comments prior to ordering from this LOVELY company. I ordered a total of 47 C.Myrtles in 9 different varieties. They included additionally 4 FREE ones in the deal. When the boxes arrived, there was some leaf drop, which is actually to be expected. But if you understand the amazingly regenerative nature of C.Myrtles, you know that's really not a problem.

I have re-sold about half of these so far, receiving rave reviews on the quality and success. One was shipped to an ecstatic friend, who was so impressed with it. As for those I still have, all but one are doing fantastic. The ONE perhaps did not get just the right care... I'm not sure. However, I checked, and it is still green, so I am tending it. That is at worst a 98% success rate. Very hard to beat that when shipping across the country.

Additionally, I have had a few email exchanges and placed 3 or 4 phone calls. Nothing but courteous and helpful interaction. In dealing with the public myself, I have found that it is generally rude and/or inconsiderate people who see others as rude and/or inconsiderate. Treat people well and they will usually respond in kind.

My only other thought on the negative comments is to wonder how many of these may be competitors or associated with competitors in some way. Just makes no sense otherwise.

I will be buying again and again from Dave Chopin at CrapeMyrtles.com; and I would recommend this company to anyone.

TLR

I live in North Florida and have placed four orders including full size, 6', and four types of miniature crape myrtles. I love them, and I've replaced my roses with these since roses in Florida have a limited lifetime. The miniatures are incredibly unique, permitting inclusion in the landscape in areas where standard varieties would never work.

i just order 20 crapemytle trees from this company and i got to say these were better than i expected. i dnt see what people are complaining about but from what i recieve you guys have got to be crazy or just dnt know how to plant thank you david for a great order.also wanting to get 20 minnie in the next month thank you so much

Posted on August 1, 2011, updated September 16, 2011
Posted on May 28, 2011, updated August 1, 2011
Posted on May 7, 2011, updated May 28, 2011
We live in Iowa and LOVE crape myrtles. We have brought some back to Iowa from warmer climates in the past and potted them. We take them in our building in the winter and bring them out in the spring. However, we wanted to try planting them. Last fall, I searched the web for crape myrtles and found this web page. I first called and talk with Dave..... (who by the way I have since learned has patented the miniature crape myrtle). He was very helpful and very honest. He said they have sold them in Iowa, but was not sure how they would survive an Ottumwa, Iowa winter. George & I thought the pricing was unbelievable for six plants and decided to order a selection of 6. To be honest, we figured it was a gamble, but well worth taking a chance at the price! George planted them last fall (2010), mulched them and did whatever else you need to do to winter plants. (I just watch things grow and enjoy the plants and flowers in our yard & on the deck! He does the work and enjoys that part, as well.) Anyway, every morning when we take the dogs out, we have been checking the crapes. And a few mornings ago, I let out a big scream and was so happy as the crapes have made it through this AWFUL Iowa winter and are beginning to bloom or flower!! We couldn't be happier with these plants! I actually recall my telephone call last fall and I had so many questions. Dave was so helpful. I felt like I was talking with a friend I had known forever. We will be ordering more in the future for sure. I would be happy to talk with anyone about our experience. I apologize for this being so lengthy, but I wanted it to be complete! Dave, keep up the great job of growing crape myrtles!
Lucy Starr, Ottumwa, Iowa

very top notch nursery!

I ordered 6 Crape Myrtles from this company. They just arrived are are nice size plants (as advertised) in excellent condition. I emailed Dave with a question and he answered quickly. Of course we need to see how they do in our winter but I expect they will do well as they are strong healthy plants. I have no complaints about my order. Excellent plant material for the cost!

I purchased over $200 worth of crape myrtles. 20 total. They were shipped small and tiny "twigs." I planted them anyway...very hopeful t redo my entire landscaping. I asked a question about one of them possibly being mislabeled and never got a response. Not one of them actually took and grew...never saw a bloom. I know I don't have a green thumb, but I was hopeful at least something would have taken. I'm in FL, so cold weather isn't a problem. :P

Now...2 years later I'm back to square one. I emailed and let them know none of them grew or ever bloomed (didn't ask for a refund or anything)and asked if I'd have been better with a larger more mature plant. I've gotten no response. I'm not surprised. I should have read reviews first.

I made an order for 6 Crape Myrtle trees of different varieites. They arrived in about a week and all were 3 feet tall and covered with leaves. I'm very happy with my order.

My recent crape myrtle order was shipped on Mon. and received Friday a.m. The plants were still damp, no wilting, and no leaf loss. I have ordered from this company before, and have always been pleased with the prompt shipping and condition of the plants on arrival. Also, I have never lost a plant and all previously ordered are still growing well and blooming with a long bloom time.

I ordered 6 plants from this company last August 2008. I live in zone 7. I had contacted them about hardiness and other conditions, prior to ordering, and all seemed fine. 3 plants look like they survived the winter. When asking about their warranty policy, they informed me that they replace plants if dead plants are sent back to them within 6 months. All of my plants were alive going into December. Then they all went dormant. The 6 month period would have ended in January. For me to get replacement plants, I would have had to dig up the dormant plants that may have been dead or alive, and sent them back to them for replacement. Obviously these folks don't guarantee hardiness. So, unless you live in an area that they don't go dormant, you won't have warranted plants. Not very good customer service. This company also goes by the name of "The Crape Myrtle Co."

In 2005, I purchased 5 varieties of miniature crape myrtle from you company.

3 of the varieties are not miniature and by no means can be passed off as miniature. The reason that these items were purchased was because they were miniatures and did not need any pruning. I would have never purchased them at all.

The 2 varieties Baton Rouge and Pixie White are in front of my picture windows. These received a massive pruning to get them to at least 2' tall. I did not put a tape measure to these, but they were at least 4' tall and wide, based on standing next to them.

The 1 variety Bayou Marie, I have not had a chance to prune yet, but I did put a tape measure on it. It was 6' tall and 8' wide. Nothing minature about this plant either. This was a front border plant, and it has overtaken shrubs behind it.

If I am in NC, and you are in FL these varieties should have surpassed minature size a long time ago.

Since I have to do all this pruning, basically pruning all the flowers off.

The other 2 varieties that I purchased are actually miniature. The Delta Blush and Mardi Gras.

Being that this website looked a little more "homemade" made me a little skeptical about the purchase. I decided to try three different nurseries from around the southeastern United States. This was one of them, and for the price, quality, and the quickness with which they shipped it was undoubtedly the best. I placed the order at the end of February 09 and received my trees promptly in the mail in less than two weeks, potted and all well worth the asking price. The owner also included a step by step guidline for the trees which was a nice touch, and all 6 trees are in the ground and have multiple growths. Do not be warry of doing buisness with this company, for they will not disappoint you, and will receive my buisness again in the future. Thank you for the good experience. BBuck

I ordered 6 tree crepes last Sunday, they were here on Thursday! All are well branched, approx. 4' high, lots of roots in their 4" pots, and were packed very carefully. They had to wait until this Sunday to be planted but didn't seem to mind a bit. All look very healthy and happy. I followed the directions to the letter for planting. I have high hopes for next summer.

Trees are usually 4 feet tall and well branched when shipped. That's what they advertised but that's not what I received. Save your money and buy your plants at Home Depot, Lowes or Wal-Mart. I have planted 12 crepe myrtles on my property from these stores and the 6 plants I just received just don't compare to what you can buy locally. Twigs measuring 18 inches tall and they advertise that they are going to grow "6-8 feet a year easily". Anyone have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale?

I want everyone to know that I am very pleased by my crape myrtle experience and with David Chopin as well.
First, when I opened the long box I was disappointed by the size and condition of the plants. I am working on lining them up on a very long bank - and - my husband and I do not have many years left on this huge property - so I really want these things to be up and running with a beautiful display of color and quickly!!!
But I went ahead and followed David's verbal directions and planted them. David, by the way, was very patient with me and answered all of my questions. I know I took up a lot of his precious time! Anyway, these little plants only grew to about two-to-three feet tall last summer, no blossoms. Now, we live on property with two-to-three varying climate conditions with extremes all on various parts of the property(!) And - we needed gorgeous, inexpensive, hardy plants - a tall order!
It was scary because we had two weeks of no water (broken main!) during 100+ degree heat; then a winter of many frozen mornings for approximately four months. Also, during the winter we have an inordinate amount of rain. And, do you know what, almost all of those precious ones made it! I lost about five, which sat in a lake of water during the rains, and called David and bought another set to replace those and order some more. Why would I blame David for the loss of those???
When I received the next set, a paper with written instructions arrived. Before planting, I really wanted to make sure again that we were doing everything just right, so I followed the directions to the letter. They all died! (This new set.) What I did differently was to put a 2-3" layer of mulch over the top. He also told me not to water them very much the first year. The only thing I did differently was to put the mulch on it which retained the moisture and eventually killed them. After reading the comments one person said to be sure that there was no bark in the mulch as it slows down the growth - but in my case it also retained way too much moisture.
So David asked that I send them all back. The sad thing is that when they arrived they looked fairly healthy (droopy, but possible for resuscitation, as in last year's group). I understand the reason for asking that the plants to be sent back is that he wants to see the actual damage before just sending out "free" ones to anyone and everyone, and also, to look at them and to actually check what the damage was.
It took about three weeks after sending them back to receive the next batch, which he sent back at no charge. They were, again, nice, about three feet tall and slightly droopy. I called back to thank him and offered to at least pay for the postage, but he adamantly declined! So I wanted to do something nice to express my gratitude and thus, here we are.
Since we are on a tight budget we could not justify buying the 2-foot boxes found at the local nurseries for approximately $150 each. Yes, I was hoping for these glorious gorgeous trees to arrive at my door and was originally disappointed - but hey - you get what you pay for, and in my case, you should see my long bank today! They are ablaze with color and very happy, with the new ones settling in very nicely!

We had already ordered our crape myrtles when we came across the negative comments on this website. My husband called and spoke with the owner of crapemyrtles.com. My husband explained that we were very nervous about our purchase now. The owner of the company told us we could cancel if we were uncomfotable, but gave detailed instructions for raising healthy crape myrtles.
We crossed our fingers and kept the order.
The "sticks" arrived and we followed his instructions precisely.
This summer we have the most beautiful, brilliant, red crape myrtles! Just what we ordered. All of our plants have survived and thrived.

I ordered the special 20 plants for $125. I received my order when the owner told me I would. I received big beautiful trees. Some had blooms on them when I received them. They were packed very good in big boxes and packed tightly with newspaper. The owner was very kind and polite to me and answered all of my questions for me. Thank you Mr. Chopin for making this a very memorable experience for me. I will be ordering from you again and recommending you to all of my family and friends.

I bought 6 Muskogee crape myrtles from crapemyrtles.com last year. They were rather small - 3-4 ft whips, basically - but then they were much cheaper than anywhere else. They grew quickly and bloomed a little last summer. All have done well, although a few branches did not leaf out this spring; however I am at the northern edge of their range, maybe I will mulch them down this winter. They are already forming a nice privacy hedge for my patio, the tallest one is over 10 ft and bushy. No complaints here!

This company spent all thier time making a fancy web site and no time on caring for their plants.
Twiggy,leggy small plants,the worst I have purchased on the internet.
Misleading pictures...
NO WARRANTY

I am not a representative of this Company, though I will be franchised to propagate these plants in the Spring of 08. I did tour this facility, and so think I will offer this to all. This Company uses nothing but NEW Boxes to pack their Trees in. These Plants go Dormant, as they have started to do, even in Florida, and are the LAST Plants that will Leaf out in the Spring. They Flower best in POOR Soil, and Nitrogen will lessen the Blooms, and take away the Cold Hardiness of the Plants too. Make sure there is NO BARK in the potting soil, it will slow down the growth. Personally, I found touring this Facility a nice experience, with nothing but friendly People, willing to answer any questions I had, and cannot understand some of the problems others have had, unless they have a quick Mouth because they do not understand the Nature of the Plants, or what can happen during shipping, which is not the fault of the Nursery itself, no matter which Nursery ships Plants.

I am writing on be half of my mother --Lorraine--who does not have a computer or internet service, so this is a quote from her "excellent phone service, ordering took place on October 6, 2007, received plants on October 15, 2007. Plants were about 3-4 feet tall and in good condition, fully branched and leaved. Shipped in 4 inch pots. I would order from them again." Ordered 20 plants "as of October 17, 2007 all plants are still alive."
as a side note: my mom lives in Washington state and just moved from Michigan--she found a catalog from 5 years ago in a pile of papers/catalogs, etc. decided to call the number to see if the company was still in business--to her surprise they are! and the prices were still the same; she called to report this to me in Sarasota, Florida right away, b/c this is a Florida based company.
From Julie:
I read to her over the phone all of the negative comments from past experiences and we noticed that comments are cumulative from year to year--there are comments on here from 2001 through present day! Yes people and companies make mistakes, but seriously you have to look @ all the facts. I am a med student and if you read a study that says green onions have been shown to make 75-100% of people studied have heartburn then you may be inclined not to eat green onions. However if you look and see that only 4 people were surveyed and the study is being conducted by tums antacid, then you would know this study is not a conclusive study.
So I urge you to look at all of the information--I looked at other companies with poor reviews and many of them had complaints such as tulips ordered were pink and they came up yellow. Some said poor customer service, others all plants were black and moldy. I know this is just my opinion, but I urge all consumers to look @ more than just the numbers--consider the source and the reason behind the numbers to see if they are accurate.
Thank you

I wish I would have checked these ratings b-4 I purchased....
I ordered six plants and they are pathetic twiggy half dead....They advertise : "All of the plants we sell are very full and well-branched"...well their definition of "well branched" is not the same as mine. !!

I am going to try to backcharge my credit card..

Mail-order nurseries that demand you send in dead plants in order to get a refund generally have one thing in common - lots of consumer complaints and bad reputations.

A company that requires you ship dead plants, old shipping labels etc back to them is arguably just trying to create enough hassle for you that you give up and stop pursuing refund/replacement of plants.

We ordered the landscaping special package and received our crepes in several long boxes. Each plant was nicely wrapped and moist and there were newspapers seperating each plant as well. The plants themselves were healthy looking with green leaves and a general healthy appearance. Unfortunately, seven of the crepe myrtles did not make it and we shipped them back in order to get the replacement trees as promised. We did not receive the replacements so we called and spoke to the owner of the company who told us that the dead plants had never been received. The owner of the company sent the replacement trees anyway, even though he had never received the ones we sent back. (I know that the company never received the dead crepes, because our package with the dead crepes was returned to me yesteray!) When I called to explain this situation, the owner of the company was very kind and generously insisted I keep the replacement crepes anyway! How refreshing to receive such a great customer experience! The replacement crepe myrtles look as good as the original ones and I would recommend this company for your crepe myrtle needs.

I placed an order at http://www.crapemyrtles.com on April 18th. AFTER I placed the order I discovered all the negative comments here and got pretty nervous. On Tuesday April 24th I called the company and asked the status of my order. The lady who answered was pleasant and told me my order would ship tomorrow and gave me the fedex tracking #. Today is Friday April 27th and I have 6 nice plants about 2.5 feet tall that came in 4" pots (no bare root, dead looking sticks). The box was wrapped well and I am very pleased with my plants. I will certainly order from them again!

Very rude, would not answer questions I had concerning purchasing, such as plant size and shipping arrangements. Told me to go to Wal-mart and hung up. I don't think they want to be bothered about the details concerning their plants....I cannot nor would not recommend this company, period.

If I had read these reviews I would never have ordered from this company; however, I had already ordered and received my plants before ever discovering this site. So far, I have no complaints about my order, which was for 10 different crepe myrtles. They were sticks in tubes when they arrived which didn't surprise me since the prices are low. SO FAR all my sticks have done very well, look quite nice and have grown considerably. My only concern is that they are truly the varieties that I requested - time will tell.

I will change my rating to positive if the varieties are correct!

HI!
I ordered 6 dwarf crape myrtles on September 5, 2006, and received the order on September 18, 2006. It arrived in a very long box, and packed very nicely with newspapers in between each potted plant. Each potted plant was covered with nice leaves, and approximately 3-5 feet in length. Each plant could be identified by the marker, and was packaged very nicely. They arrived in approximately one week, and cost $12.95 to ship it to Washington State from Florida. The amount for six dwarf crape myrtles was $59.00, which made the total purchase $71.95. All of these crape myrtles I ordered are hardy to Washington's climate, and where I live is between a zone 6-7. I am very comfortable that these will adapt and grow very hardy where I live. I am not sure why this nursery has received such poor ratings from everyone. They seemed quite helpful when I contacted them by phone, and sent me exactly the right crape myrtles for my zone and in excellent condition. I planted all of these the same day they arrived, and they kept all their leaves. I used miracle grow potting soil on them after taking out the original soil, and mulched them on top. I followed the directions that they gave me, and I am sure that I will have beautiful crape myrtles next spring. I don't know what more you can ask out of a mail order nursery than what they provide. I don't think that many of you know that plants cannot arrive in the same way you would go purchase them at a local nursery. If you want the plant to be grown, then you need to pay the price along with that. It takes time for any mail order plant to grow, and that is not any mail order nursery's fault. These plants were superior to any I have received by mail order, and they were not bare root like many I have received in the past from other mail order nurseries. I believe that if you want to order plants through mail order then you need to research what mail order means. You need to be prepared to take care of the plant, and give it the time it needs to adapt to it's environment. I think that you should also read very carefully the time frame that each plant needs to take for development. For example, if you are to order a hardy crape myrtle, then if you live in a very cold area, and border the zone for the plant, then you should order them in spring, and give the plant lots of time to develop their roots. I ordered my crape myrtles the beginning of September, and intend to follow instructions entirely. I am very happy with my purchase from Crape Myrtles, Inc.

Thank you,

Bobbi

My husband and I were impressed with some "mini crepe myrtles" in a bed at our bank. I got on the internet; came up with their "crape myrtle ad", requested catalog and prices which I immediately received. Unfortunately, I did not check with BBB or anyone else as to their reputation. We ordered 40 minis at $250.00 + $25.90 for shipping. We received very short, small plants with few leaves and most of them looking dead. We had expected well branched plants in 4" pots. I bought the planting material they recommended and planted them. I waited a few weeks and decided maybe all were living except five - it turned out to be six - that were dead. I was told to return the dead plants and they would be replaced. Many e-mails and phone calls later, I'm still waiting.

The receptionist and Dave Chopin both said when first notified that they would replace them - but that was just talk. ..........The catalog is gorgeous; the prices are very inflated and the plants are nothing like the catalog description. ...... Hopefully I"ll prevent someone else from making the same mistake I did.

I ordered six miniature crape myrtles. When they came, two were dead and two more died shortly thereafter. I contacted the company several times to ask about their replacement policy. That was a year ago; I still haven't heard a word from them.

Unfortunately, I ordered from this company BEFORE I was aware of this Web Site; I had not read the ratings. I was completely won over by the company's Web site and the catalog that they RUSHED to me. I ordered the 'landscaper's special'...20 plants for $125.00. I knew they were miniature crape myrtles; but, the catalog stated that the plants would be of 'good size, with multiple branches.' I sent the order, and a check. The check cleared quickly...my plants did not arrive until 3 weeks later, and after I spoke with the company. It was extremely disappointing to receive the 'sticks'...most below 8" tall, with 2-3 leaves. That is it. I had looked forward to planting the little shrubs...and having a wonderful long border of these plants. Well, I decided to plant the 'sticks'...it is my fault that I did not check out the company more before I ordered. I planted them in an out of the way spot...we shall see if they grow or not.

WARNING!!!! This company will intentionally sell you less than what you ordered. They sold me 42 crape myrtles smaller than what was advertised and not in the correct sizes requested. They said they would replace any trees that died with in a year. Well, half did die and I only requested 9 replaced. They have ignored all my attempts for replacement never returning any calls. When I did reach someone, they were so stupid not knowing anything about anything. So I left a message one day pretending that I wanted to place a order and low and behold, I received a call back within 5 minutes. When I asked whom I was speaking with (he said Dave) and told them the real reason for my call was to get a replacement for the dead trees he simply hung up! I then called back and of course no one answered the phone. I left another message and indicated I was not happy with being hung up on....but they never returned my call. NOW UNDERSTAND THIS. THE OWNER IS DAVE. AND WHEN HE HANGS UP ON A REPLACEMENT ORDER YOU KNOW WHAT THE COMPANY IS ALL ABOUT....THEY SUCK.

Warning! This is probably the worst company to order plants from. It certainly was our experience. During the Spring of 2002 we made a large order of Crape Myrtles, we were "verbally" given a total of three consecutive delivery dates, each after the first delivery date was not met...and they were never delivered. When I complained to my Visa Company and they charged back my money...the order appeared on my front door step...over 7 weeks past the first promise date of delivery. I sent the entire order back. Spoke to David Chopin (Owner) and he stated that he had to wait and ship them during the proper time of the season, but agreed to a refund. To my suprise Chopin turned on me and contested my actions with Visa...he lost! This woke me up to internet shopping in general. Thank you Garden Watchdog!!

My experience with the Crape Myrtle Co. at http://www.crapemyrtles.com is exactly like the others I have read only I am 2 years or so later than the first ones listed on your website. I ordered 28 plants at a cost of $175 on May 6, 2002. I received the same twigs in 2 inch pots every body else has received. Oh how I wish I had called the BBB before placing my order. It is now June 4th and the best they have offered to do is replace the plants. I told them I wanted the "1-gallon sized, 2 - 4 foot, full-branched plants" they offered on their website and in their Notebook they mailed to me. What I really want is a full refund.