Comments regarding Fast Growing Trees (formerly Empress Tree Nurseries, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com)

All I can say is....CRAP! The plants I received, 2 lilacs, 1 wisteria tree, and 3 free strawberry plants were meager at best. Yes, they r alive, but barely. I took comparison pictures of all the plants I have next too plants sold around me from other nurseries. The comparison plants were about twice the size and quality, for half the price! I did send the company of these pictures, but will not be surprised if no response. I was never able to get in touch with them. I will NEVER buy trees from here again and will make sure non of my friends will either.
Also, the person from the company saying that you get a conformation email about when your items ship out from FED EX is completely FALSE! I never got an email at all!
Shame on you Fast Growing Trees!!!!!

I ordered at tree that arrived as nothing more than a twig and appeared dead. I called 4 business days after receiving the shipment to be told to keep it planted and call them back after a few weeks if there has been no progress to get a replacement. I followed those instructions only to find out when I called back that they will only give me 75% of the cost towards the replacement. When I asked for a refund I was told they do NOT refund purchases. I'll be filing a complaint with the FTC and my Attorney General's office and requesting an investigation into false advertising.

Oh and they even blamed me for not getting a full credit because I didn't call in within the first 48 hours.

All of this after being told the trip would ship right away and was in stock when I placed my order. After repeated emails and calls from me it eventually shipped over a month later.

Posted on December 19, 2010, updated December 20, 2010
Posted on December 17, 2010, updated December 19, 2010
Sorry to say, but the websites and the company run by the Zboch family:

Fast-Growing-Trees.com
FastGrowingTree.com
Evergreen-Trees.com
ThujaGiant.com
PaulowniaSupply.com

among others are fraud. They do totally false advertising (they promise a tree 5 feet tall and you get a 2 feet branch etc.). They are the most dishonest company I've ever dealt with; if you have a complaint they just ignore it and continue scamming other unsuspected customers at the same time.

I've described my whole experience here: //www.poloniainfo.com/fast-growing-trees-scam.html. My first goal is to get my money back; but if I don't I will have to move heavens to make sure this company is closed down.

Last February I called Fast Growing Trees nursery and told them my yard was bare and I absolutely needed shade, fast!!! Their phone salesman recommended that I buy 3 Hybrid Poplar trees- 5-6', 3 American Sycamore- 5-6' and 2 Bradford pear- 3-4', (for color they said.) I thought to myself when I got off the phone, wow, I just had a really good experience, I can't wait to plant my new trees. When they got here, though, the whole story changed. Everything was so small and the trunks so skinny. I thought, Now, I told them on the phone that I wanted shade fast! These trees arrived sloppily packed with broken branch tips and puny roots and smaller than advertised. When I called to explain, I was told that the trees WERE what I ordered because at Fast Growing Trees they measure the entire tree, starting the measurement from the root bottom to the top of the tree. Well I find that incredibly tricky and deceiving, especially when I explained that I didn't mind spending some extra money to dress up my new yard with nice trees. In searching for information about fast growing trees nursery, I found this forum for gardeners and also found someone else on "Complaints Board" whose own experience parallels my own awful situation. //www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/false-advertising-c83759.html
I am done shopping for trees on the internet. They wouldn't even let me return the trees for a refund! I'm going to write the Attorney General in N. C. to get results like the above victim did.

"On Dec 15, 2010 4:06 PM, Empress Tree Nurseries (aka Fast Growing Trees, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com) responded with:

We do not carry the Bradford Pear, nor do I have an order in our system from last February for the others trees.
Although I fear you did not order these from us, I can tell you that all of those trees are fast growers. For example, the American Sycamore gorws up to six feet a year so a five to six foot American Sycamore would be quite young. The same also applies to the Hybrid Poplar which grows up to eight feet a year.
In addition if an item arrives damaged it is our policy to request a picture (to process a claim with FedEx), and then re-ship immediately.
Please also see our Terms of Service. There is a return portion which outlines our return policy.
Regardless of where they were purchased, you did order fast growing trees, and I do hope you have given them a chance."

Its a pain getting this nursery to replace my plants! Last spring my purchase of 4 crepe myrtle trees arrived on time and I anxiously planted them after they arrived. The trees were all marked Natchez Crape myrtle as ordered by one of the trees in August bloomed pink and the other bloomed purple. Fast Growing Trees in advertised "Lowest price online," but after ordering I found that the crepe myrtle trees at other nursery's online were half the price I paid. I still have not gotten my replacement and I have already lost a year of growing and flowering the wrong color!

"On Dec 14, 2010 4:37 PM, Empress Tree Nurseries (aka Fast Growing Trees, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com) responded with:

I have no record of four Crape Myrtles going to Marion, SC last Spring although if I am following your complaint it sounds like you possibly contacted us their second year in the ground.
I do wish you had contacted us during their first flowering season so we could have replaced them.
We do not have records past two years ago, however we are running a great promotion with free shipping right now if you'd like to add more Crape Myrtles to your yard.
They are beautiful."

I ordered a couple 2' tall trees from FAST-GROWING-TREES,
//www.fast-growing-trees.com and when they arrived they were only 3 inches tall! Well, I planted according to their instructions in well prepared soil. One tree lived, growing very slowly, not FAST as their namesake, FAST-GROWING-TREES, suggests! I contacted the company and was told to take pictures to send them. Finally after WEEKS of waiting, I was told my smaller than ordered plants could be replaced, but they only felt responsible for 75% of the plant cost and asked me to send them 25% of the plant cost, AND I'd have to pay the shipping AGAIN! This means was going to cost me $20-$25 to replace their poor smaller in size planr than advertised product. I contacted their local BBB- FUTILE! They do not care what FGT does as long as they are paying their membership premiums. This company does not stand behind their products, matter of fact, I'm convinced they stand ON it before they ship it! Don't Order from these guys, use The Watchdog to find a reputable nursery!

"On Dec 15, 2010 2:55 PM, Empress Tree Nurseries (aka Fast Growing Trees, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com) responded with:

I expect this customer ordered our one gallon size Empress tree. Our six inch to two foot size is changed to a one gallon when our nursery manager coppices them.
If this order was within the last year and half (which is when our warranty changed) we do not ask for money from the customer. When a tree dies our customer receives a coupon for a store credit to spend on any item they'd like. If you received your trees in the last year please contact us for your replacement coupon.
As for the BBB we are not members, we do not pay them anything. However, the BBB is not a government agency, nor are they an arbitrator. They do not have the authority to settle complaints.They are like any other complaint board except they give grades based on submitted information.
They do make money, but not from us.
"

My pecan tree order was supposed to be shipped out “immediately”, when I ordered the second week of August. After 3 weeks of anxiety and waiting, I started sending out emails to fast growing trees, but they answered nothing, no time! My vacation ended in mid October and to my surprise a box with a pecan tree had been on my porch, delivered and sitting for an entire week in the hot baking sun. When I opened the box it was full of scattered earth and a potted shriveled up pecan tree, D.O.A. On examining the 4 inch tall 3 gallon pot - that had been cut in half - it was clear that the tap root had curled around inside the bottom of the pot and had completely compressed the root system that was only 4 inches high, a circle, measured from the bottom to the top of the pot. For a 5 foot tree to be bottomed out with a tiny, distorted root system, I knew, was completely ridiculous for a pecan tree of that height, because the tree should have had a tap root that measured at least 2 ft. long, like a vertical tap root, and not wound around in a pot like a 4 inch wide bracelet. I grew up on a farm and I knew what a tap rooted pecan tree was supposed to look like. I returned this pile of pecan junk on October 14th in the original FedEx tattered box. I have been waiting weeks to get my refund on this fiasco order and can't get any action or answer from fast growing trees. Right now I am out my purchase price after suffering from a traumatic internet mail order event that I am reporting to the BBB.

"On Dec 14, 2010 4:24 PM, Empress Tree Nurseries (aka Fast Growing Trees, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com) responded with:

We do normally ask for one to three weeks for delivery of trees however at that time we did have some trees that were set for fall shipping. In an effort to keep the customer updated we can give order status updates via telephone, and we send automatically generated emails with FedEx tracking information as soon as orders leaves here. The tracking information letter would have an expected delivery date. LA would have a three day notice before delivery.
I am not sure I understand what is described next as our 3 gallon pots measure approximately 14 inches wide by 12 inches high. However, if an item arrives damaged it is our policy to request a picture (to process a claim with FedEx), and then re-ship the item immediately.
Finally, I would very like to check on your credit as they are usually done in 24-48 hours but I couldn't find a record of a pecan tree going to Slidel, Louisianna during the time you stated.
Please contact us if there is still an outstanding credit.
"

I recently ordered a few leyland cypress from fast growing trees and ultimately I would say I am dissapointed. The trees were small and the thickness of the crown was less than described. They even measure their plant size to include the pot but then don't make that very clear! I wont order from these guys again!

"On Dec 14, 2010 3:48 PM, Empress Tree Nurseries (aka Fast Growing Trees, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com) responded with:

As you made no mention as to the condition your trees it seems that you did receive healthy young trees.
The Leyland Cypress is a very fast grower so these and our Green Giants do tend to shot up quickly before filling out.
As for the size measurement it is stated on the description page for the Leyland Cypress as well as our Terms of Service that our sizes include the root system. This is common nursery practice.
I do hope that you will be as surprsed, and happy as other customers are with these once they have had a chance to witness what they can do in a growing season.

"

After waiting seven weeks to receive my pecan tree from Fast-Growing trees nursery, it finally got here. In July they advertised “Now shipping” “takes one to two weeks to receive your order.” After two weeks I started messaging with emails to no avail. They ignored replying, so I called, and they said “any day now.”

I paid $81.50 for an advertised 5-7 foot pecan tree, but it was only 4 ½ ft tall, shorter than advertised. The box was full of fire ants that apparently had nested in the pot, and on opening the box they stung me on my hand and then scattered everywhere, all through my garden. I think fast-Growing-trees should pay me extra for the insect spray I used to put on the fire ants.

My pecan trees leaves looked wilted, diseased and leaf galls warped the shape on some of the leaves. After planting this miserable excuse for a pecan tree, it only stood 4 ½ feet after planting IN the ground. They apparently included the height of the pot in claiming that the tree was 5-7 feet tall. That seems misleading to me.

If this sorry looking pecan tree doesn't live, I'll be writing another complaint about it later. I would not want to be ordering from this company again.

"On Dec 14, 2010 3:38 PM, Empress Tree Nurseries (aka Fast Growing Trees, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com) responded with:

I am sorry that your tree was delayed in shipping, typically if there will be a delay we do send an email to alert our customers.
Each tree description page as well as our Terms of Service does say that the shipping height includes the root system which is common nursery practice.
As for fire ants we strictly adhere to the agricultual laws and inspections.
All of our items must be sprayed before they leave our nursery, and we go a step further by placing all of our potted items on landscaping fabric for additional protection.
Finally, all of our items are covered under our One Year Warranty which is a very easy process.
"

Last fall I bought several shade trees from Fast Growing Trees Online Nursery that were advertised on their website as being fast growing to 3 feet per year but not only were they not growing at all, they all dried up and I think their shade trees are overpriced anyway! Before that bad experience I was considering the idea of buying a fruit tree orchard from them this year, but after seeing on their website that the dwarf Red Haven peach trees grow to 15' I decided their credibility based on my previous bad experience with overpriced dying trees and their blatant disregard about a 15 foot DWARF PEACH TREE, Ive decided to say no thank-you and goodbye!

"On Dec 14, 2010 1:33 PM, Empress Tree Nurseries (aka Fast Growing Trees, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com) responded with:

I am sorry that you didn't take advantage of our One Year Warranty it is a very easy process.
If you purchased several trees and they all died we would look at watering practices, soil and growing zones as potential problems.
As far as dwarf trees there is not a maximum height size, but rather a size smaller than standard.
For example, a standard mature peach tree can reach heights of 25-30 feet, so at 15 feet the Red Haven would be a dwarf. Another example would be the Tulip Poplar. A standard mature Tulip Poplar can be 70-80 feet, a dwarf Tulip Poplar (Little Volunteer) can be 30 feet at maturity.
Perhaps you will give us another chance in the future and allow one of our sales representatives to help you chose trees that will do well in your area. "

In March I placed a large shade tree order with Fast Growing Trees Nursery and when the trees arrived the tulip poplar trees were already leafed out but the leaves were wilted. The ginkgo tree looked dormant but was the wrong size- 1 foot too short! Instead of getting two sawtooth oak trees, they only sent me a sycamore tree- wrong size and tree labeled river birch, neither of which I ordered. Either they mixed up the tags and sent me part of someone else's order that was mis-labeled. All in all the online experience of ordering shade trees from fast-growing-trees.com was an utter disaster. Their phone operator gave me a run around so I will just quit ordering from them!

"On Dec 14, 2010 10:56 AM, Empress Tree Nurseries (aka Fast Growing Trees, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com) responded with:

There are times when trees can become stressed during the shipping process which can present in wilted or dropped leaves.
However trees usually rebound quickly once they reach their new home.
I am sorry you feel that you had a bad experience, in the rare occasion that a customer receives the wrong product we would promptly re-ship the correct product.
In an effort to make it as easy as possible for our customer we do not ask that the mis-labeled or wrong item be returned, instead we ask that the customer email us a picture.
In the end we hope that the customer can find a good home for the mis-labeled tree as well as the originally ordered trees.
This being anonymous I have no way to look into your account, however your trees are covered under our One Year Warranty."

Posted on August 20, 2010, updated August 24, 2010
I ordered an August Beauty gardenia from Brighter Blooms, aka Fast Growing Trees, which was infested by whiteflies and clearly sick upon receipt. The company was quite reasonable and after sending photos of what they had sent to me, they sent a replacement Dwarf Radicans gardenia free of charge. Unfortunately, the replacement specimen which was sent appeared to be infected with a virus which caused spots on the leaves and yellow leaf drop, and eventually death within a few weeks. I requested a refund from the company for the price of the plant, since the replacement which was sent was unsatisfactory. I am still waiting to hear back from the company. Probably just an unlucky experience, and I cannot say if this is typical for this company or not, but I will update further as events warrant and would change my review to positive if they issue a refund.

I ordered two hybrid poplars from this nursery to avoid having to rent or borrow a truck to pick up trees from a local nursery. The trees they shipped are both less than 2 inches in diameter and have hardly any leafy branches. Neither tree has even a dozen leaves total and the leaves they do have are almost all brown/yellow and chewed full of holes. Neither tree can stand straight and one is so bowed over that it has to be tied back just to keep the tip from touching the ground. They don't even look like saplings, they look like tall, sickly weeds. How a company could even ship such an embarrassing product is beyond me.

http://www.fast-growing-trees.com is a scam. I should have known from the name, that it was too good to be true and not to mention all of their alias's! At the very least I expected green, live plants but instead I was sent leaf-less, hollow royal empress tree straws with dried out roots that could not even be revived with a good soaking in water. When I called the 800 number listed on fast-growing-trees website I was told by the representative that my royal empress trees were not dead, they were dormant. Well that's just malarkey!!! The only thing strait up and down about this company is how dead the plants are that they mailed to me! CAVEAT EMPTOR!

They shipped my order and answered my questions quickly. All of the trees arrived in excellent condition. Packed well.

I purchased four Emerald Green Thuja trees advertised as "5'-7' tall" through Brighter Blooms Nursery. I measured the trees after arrival and the heights varied between 48" to 52". Eventually, I filed a complaint with the BBB. Better Blooms Nursery manager Alyson Smith requested that I upload photos of the trees to her, and I did. The trees were photographed with a ruler next to them. After viewing the photos, Alyson concluded that the trees were of the advertised height because they also calculate the container size in the height of the tree. I visited several local nurseries to shop for and measure new trees (all of their trees were advertised with accurate height information) and questioned the merchants about the practice of adding the container size to the trees, and the common response was that although unethical, its just something that some nurseries do. Mmm.....Brighter Blooms Nursery refused to replace or pay the difference relating to appropriate tree height. Their final offer was to offer me 10% off for future purchases! My best advice is if all possible, go to a local nursery. Do business with these people at your own risk.

We received a 5-7 foot Kwanzan Flowering Cherry tree as a Mother's Day gift this year. The tree cost $99.95 plus shipping for $29.45. Good grief Charlie Brown! The tree arrived in a timely fashion but was barely 4'5" tall with a few leaves on tiny branches around the base and several leaves along the skinny trunk. If we were to include the root ball (different from the pot size), the tree was not quite 5' tall. Additionally, the terminal bud had been trimmed off and the stem was blackened below the cut for about one inch. The nursery, Fast Growing Trees, has a no refund policy and will not replace the tree unless it does not thrive. It matters not that the tree was undersized and missing the terminal bud. As they say, "Buyer beware!" We're done with mail order plants.

I ordered an Empress Tree from Fast-Growing-Trees.com. To be honest, I thought it was VERY pricey ($29.95 for a 2 year root stock), but I researched these trees and found they can be invasive. This was the only company I could find that mentions having sterile seeds, so I decided to go with them. My shipment arrived yesterday as a potted tiny little tree-- and honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect. The tree was a little bit wilted but recovered quickly once it was watered and they had gone through a lot of trouble to try to keep the little thing safe within the box, going as far as to staple the pot down and wrap around the pot in cellophane.

The tree came within 2 weeks which is quite timely, and had an instruction booklet with it that even had some organic garden remedies inside--nice little bonus! The ONLY thing I have a complaint about is that the order confirmation was not sent to my e-mail address after I purchased the tree-- though it did appear in my inbox once I had received a shipment verification. I would prefer an instant confirmation, though, like most websites give.

Otherwise, very pleasant experience and I can't wait to watch this sucker grow!

I recieved two eucalyptus trees from them and opened them as soon as they arrive both developed brown leaves one completly died the other I nursed back to health. I tried the replacement program on their websight it kicked me out 5 times so I tried the chat line and the guy wasn't helpful and his responses were very long in comming. finally I e-mailed them with a picture and they sent me a e-mail back with a number and sent me back to their replacement program. When I tried it worked only problem was it was for a much smaller tree than what I ordered and it was still going to cost me money so I called them and the women said she would have to get back to me nope didn't happen so I called a couple of days later and had to leave a message still no call back. I finally ordered the smaller tree I have never had so much trouble with a company in my life. It won't happen again.

We ordered 10 Azaleas, 1 butterfly bush, 1 crepe myrtle
We received them in great condition 2 days after being packed in NC, we are in FL packaging was great and plants were still moist.
They shipped via Fedex Ground
We planted all the plants almost at once we were ready
I wish I could say the same about plants from another nursery with catalogs, call centers in India and locations reported in MI, OH , IN or wherever they are part of a large rip off operation as reported on Daves
We will use fastgrowing trees in the future

In January, 2009 I ordered 2 apple trees and 2 rabbiteye blueberries from fast-growing-trees.com. I followed up with a phone call after my order was placed, because I did not see the varieties of blueberries on the order receipt. The staff was very helpful in getting the order corrected and ensuring I got the varieties I wanted.

The plants arrived promptly, packed extremely well, and in excellent condition. No complaints on the quality of the stock or the packaging at all. My only wish is that their prices weren't quite so high, but you get what you pay for I suppose.

Overall I recommend, however, since finding this site I have learned that there are other nurseries of equal quality that have better pricing.

I ordered a tonto crape myrtle from fast-growing-trees.com, which appears to be the same nursery as Empress Tree / Paulownia Supply / fastgrowingtree.com.

After ordering, I did some online research about the company and realized I should have done the research before ordering.

However, I was very pleasantly surprised by both the speed of delivery (from NC to CA) and the quality of the tree. It was packaged and sent within a week, and I received it about a week after that (within 2 weeks from order date, well within their estimate of 1-3 weeks). It still had most of its leaves and there were four separate trunks. It was packaged very well with cardboard supports inside to keep the container from moving during transit. There were a couple of broken twigs (to be expected) but the main stems were all intact. Here is a picture of it immediately after I unpacked it:
//www.vegetablesofthemind.com/images/misc/homeImprovement/crapeMyrtle/crape_myrtle_potted_3_sized.JPG
(couldn't figure out how to link to the picture, so copy/paste to your browser to view)

I suspect that the online criticism I found were part of a defamatory smear campaign by competitors. The people who complained all seemed like they didn't do much to resolve their issues before blasting the nursery on the internet.

Ordered an empress tree and multiple green giant/ leyland cypress from fastgrowingtree.com for a privacy hedge. Online ordering was simple. Trees arrived quickly and in great shape. Next spring I plan to order a few flowering trees.

In early June I wanted peach trees for dh for Father's Day. Local nurseries were out of stock. I went online and chose Fast Growing Trees because (1) they had dwarf peach trees for my zone and (2) they advertised "as seen in Martha Stewart Living". So, I figured if it's good enough for Martha, it's good enough for me!

They were very courteous with their email explaining a three week delay due to their busy season - that was much appreciated!

When they arrived, they were wonderfully healthy looking and full. Now, weeks after dh planted them in hot, humid summer weather, they are still looking good. I can't wait to see how they look next year!

I own and operate a small animal rescue sanctuary in northern Arizona just south of Las Vegas. I ordered some fast growing trees (Empress/Palowinia) from Diane M. and not only am I pleased as punch with the care, followup and courtesy provided by Diane, the animals are all going to benefit from the shade in this horrible summertime heat. The prices were very good, the company and Diane did everything they promised and then some. I could not be happier with Palowinia Supply and Diane M.

Even with a very limited budget, we plan to place another order next fall. Our biggest problem here is securing the water since everyone drives to get their daily water needs. Ours is 17 miles away.

THANKS TO DIANE AND PALOWINIA SUPPLY!!!!!

Randy N. Warner
President
http://www.21stcenturycares.org/

The two Paulownia trees arrived in good condition last June. I planted one in full sun and one in partial shade. The one planted in full sun grew rapidly to about five feet, then stopped. A drought had crept up on us in this area (SE PA) and I had not been watering it frequently enough. New leaves became brown and deformed and then were attacked by caterpillars and earwigs. I treated it with insect oil spray and the insects were gone and I am watering both trees almost daily, as the drought is persisting. This tree looks much better now and the large leaves are not as droopy. All in all, I am happy with my purchase so far and will do my best to keep up with watering and insect treatment, as needed. The one in partial shade looks healthy, but is only about 18" high, as expected.

Firstly paulownia supply had a special if you ordered by midnight. I sent a couple of questions that needed to be answered on 5/14. I resent another email 5/18. I figured with no email responses the delivery and follow up customer service would be the same. I finally received an answer 6/30. One of the questions was "How do you get dormant seedlings at this time of the year"? Answer "The trees are coming out of their winter stage" ?? Not a very good answer in the middle of summer. BBB have had complaints on this company. Be careful, research your plant company first.

I ordered one empress tree and recieved it in less than a week. It was delivered on July 1st but I was out of town so I could not pick it up from the post office until after the July 4th weekend. It was wrapped in damp newspaper and plastic and was very pleased at what I saw. Now hopefully it will grow gracefully but I don't have either green thumbs. I am moving and if this tree does well I will try them again in my next yard.

Warning Stay away! I purchased two Paulownia Trees on 6/8/05 for $52.64 I was given an ID # 8216682 . As of this date nothing has arrived. Numerous E-mails have all gone unanswered. Two toll calls placed and if you are lucky to get someone they ask for your name/telephone # and tell you someone will call you...I am still waiting. BBB of Charlotte, NC has listed numerous complaints about this company. Currently, I have been assigned someone from thier office to help me get some response from them about my order.. If no help I will contact Attorney General for false and deceptive practice...