Comments regarding Brian's Botanicals

I purchased colocasia coffee cups this spring and received them quickly and well packaged. They are doing well in my zone 7b garden, and are about 3 feet tall at the moment and getting larger with each new leaf. I'm new to aroids, and had a couple of questions that were answered well.

Laura

I placed an order for 2 philodendrons last Wed. night. On Monday evening I emailed Brian to ask when the order might be shipped. He responded almost immediately that the plants were packed earlier that day and would be shipped USPS the next. The plants arrived today! Both were healthy and VERY well packaged. One of them was much larger than I expected. I will do business with him again. Gorgeous Philos, Brian!

I have been happy with orders from Brian in the past. There was once a mix up, but it was handled quickly and I was pleased with the result. Nice healthy plants were sent and he was very communicative with me. Overall, I'd be happy to order from again.

Very pleased. Communication was good. Shipping was quick and all items were packed with care. The plants were all a good size. One was much larger than I anticipated. I will definately be a return shopped to his website.

Plants arrived in ecellent condition, and I was surprised to see how large most of them were. Will order agin soon!

I ordered (3) of the Musa 'Bordelon' banana's from Brian's and they arrived yesterday in great shape and even larger than I thought, about 2' tall. Brian's Botanical's kept me informed via email on the status of my order and let me know when they shipped out. I will definitely order from them again in the near future. This is truly a first class operation that sells beautiful, healthy plants.

I decided to make the 8-hour trip from PA to Brian's store so that I could see his operation firsthand. I originally intended to just reserve some plants for next spring, but ended up buying about $120 worth of plants and making the trip back with a fully loaded car (Colocasias hardy gingers and Petasites on the back seat and a Tetrapanax, two Trachys and a few other plants on the passenger side floor).

I was greatly impressed with Brian's operation as well as the variety of plants he had, as well as his being able to tell me what he has had make it through the winter or not (invaluable since he is in the same climate zone as me). All the plants at his store were healthy and vigorous.

I will not hesitate to buy from him again, and I look forward to going there next spring to get some of his Cannas (especially the Musafolia) and a few other plants.

I ordered three plants from this company. Like other postings, I also received no confirmation other than my Paypal receipt. After 10 days and no plants, I sent an email. No response. Sent another. Brian then emailed me and said he received my payment but didn't have my order, and requested that I resend my order. I replied, and my plants arrived shortly after that. Two were great, one was broken at the stem. I emailed him, along w/ an attachment of a photo of the broken plant. Brian immediately responded, and then sent me a replacement plant right away.

My impression is that this company is trying hard, and will follow through on its promises, even though each email isn't immediately responded to. Brian is honest, and I would order from him again. What more can you ask for: honest service, and a remedy if problems arise? That's all any of us can do.

I just received A. Robusta and A. Brian Williams in perfect condition. They are a nice size and very healthy. I definitely will be shopping there again.

Unfortunately I have to add to the negative commentary. Good business is about communication and follow through. This company does not seem to know how to do either.

Like another posting here, I never recieved a confirmation other than a paypal charge. An initial E-mail inquiry went unanswered. I then received a box of plants that I did not order and one of the plants had no id. No packing slip was included. A second inquiry to Brian's still has gone unanswered. I never received the plant I ordered nor any explanation for the mistake.

I have never been disappointed in any of the unusual plants I have ordered from Brian. They have always been of great quality, packaged well and fairly priced. He is very knowledgeable and willing to help, and I will continue to purchase from him to further my collection of tropicals.

I may be a lone dissenting voice in the wilderness of favorable comments, but my experience was far from positive. An order that I placed on the 28th of one month didn't get shipped until the 10th of the following month. There was never a confirmation of my order (only a PayPal charge), and when, after a week of waiting, I emailed Brian seeking the status of the order, I never received a reply. When the plants finally arrived, the two of them that had been wrapped in aluminum foil were in poor condition: wilted, battered, and with badly broken roots. The other plants, which fortunately were in pots, were somewhat small, but well packed and protected.
I greatly respect Brian's knowledge of aroids, and his remarkable efforts at hybridizing unusual varieties and thereby broadening the range of plants available to gardeners, but I would like to have seen a comparable commitment to the practical matters of his mail order business.

Prompt delivery 2 days after I ordered. Plants were very healthy and well packaged.

I was very pleased with my order. I received my plants in only 2 days, they were nice large plants, in perfect condition and beautifully wrapped. I will definitely order from him again.

I've dealt w/ Brian's thru His Ebay Site, Online Site and had orders picked up at the store.
Every time the deals were done quickly, correctly and w/ better plants than I expected. If a plant is sub-par they don't ship them.
The packing there is to be commended also.
There is probably no single dealer selling plants like his anywhere else in the world.
If you want impossible to find Tropicals go here first.

Not to be downplayed is Brian's vast knowledge of Aroids, Canna, Palms and Bananas. (shared here at Dave's liberally)
If you need an ID odds are you'll find it there.
Also the years of experience in wintering 'sub-tropicals' in the ground makes them a 'go to' spot to try your luck.

My last shipment arrived yesterday. Perfectly!

I accidently placed an order through paypal twice and emailed them to see about what I could do about it but noone bothered to email me and one of the orders has come out of my bank account. Now, my money is tied up in this SNAFU and noone at their company has bothered to help me. I am leaving this as a negative until I see how they handle things. I would CALL but it is not a free call and I have no access to long distance where I am.

rec'd my order today from brian. it was beautiful. nice healthy plants! quick shipping and great packaging. wish i had seen his site before i had placed this season's orders.next season it'll be one of my very first stops.

Got alocasia Brian Williams and Coffeecups. Received excellent specimens, very carefully packed. Also purchased a dwarf white canna, 4 rhizomes healthy as can be. Excellent vendor, highly recommend.

I've bought more from Brian that I care to count. Always superior plants at excellent prices.