Comments regarding Thuja Gardens (formerly PlantsRus)

I ordered 7 crape myrtles from Thuja Gardens that didn't survive. I fully expected a major hassle to get these replaced. When I called and talked to Mr. Roy, he apologized, and promised to send me some replacement plants a little bigger than my originals for the inconvenience. No questions asked! When they arrived I was shocked and surprised that they were twice as big as the originals! They were very carefully packed and very secure for the size of these plants. These were sent at no cost to me but I noticed he had paid over $100 to ship me replacements. These plants are beautiful and healthy and I am a very happy customer. I truly appreciate Mr. Roy standing behind his products. I will not hesitate to order again or recommend to a friend.
Amanda

I have ordered a tree within the last month with this company. I was to receive a confirmation email and did not receive that. We checked our credit card statement which indicates that the tree was paid for, but after many attempts of emails and phone calls have been unable to establish any type of contact with this company regarding our status on the tree. After reading these many posts from others and responses from the infamous "Roy", I must say that I truly am beginning to believe he is a scam artist and a thief. A thief is someone who takes something that does not belong to him and he took our money without giving us our purchase or even responding to our contact attempts to explain himself. I am very disappointed in Thuja Gardens and advice anyone from purchasing from this place again. As for the payment for a purchase, I plan to take action to the fullest to resolve this matter.

I ordered two trees over a month ago and have yet to get them. I called the 800 number shortly after placing the order and talked to someone with an attitude. He told me the trees will be shipped "early next week". I waited the week and nothing. A month later, nothing. I have called a couple of times and only get a voicemail where sometimes you cant even leave a message. Im so agitated right now. I just called and left a message and I hope this gets rectified. I will eventually have to go to the BBB if this continues. Be careful if you are contemplating placing an order.

My husband and I were having an extremely difficult time locating the Heritage River birch. It just wasn't available locally at all and hard to find a decent size through mail order sources.We came upon Thuja Gardens and after a couple of phone calls to a gentleman named Roy we went ahead and ordered our tree.
We were able to schedule a delivery time that would coincide with a vacation we were planning and the tree arrived just as promised.It was exactly the size we wanted and full of robust good health and beautifully grown. So far it has taken off in our yard and is quite happy in its location.
We are very pleased with our experience with this seller and will look forward to being a repeat customer!

We ordered 81 green giants last May (2008). Trees were the 16-18" size, they arrived quickly, perfectly packaged and healthy. It is now a year later and every tree has survived a lousy winter and is thriving! We didn't lose one!

They are all 2-3' in height now and are really taking off! The row will be stunning in 2-3 more years, not to mention the privacy it will provide. Roy was very helpful, and his company provides a quality product. I will not hesitate to place future orders with Thuja Gardens should the need arise.

Many Thanks, Roy!

Roy provided very useful information and directions for planting the 75 Giant Thuja trees I ordered. The friendly and courteous service rendered was most helpful. The healthy 1 gallon size plants arrived in excellent condition and were packed better than any other plants I have ordered from other sources. Thuja Gardens has continued to give me information about the progress of my plants and Roy always seems interested in their progress. I had some trees that died and we couldn't figure out the reason. Roy readily offered to replace them. I certainly will continue to purchase plants from Thuja Gardens.

We recenetly ordered 34 green giants and 6 crepes from Roy. Our items were shipped immediately and well packaged. All items were exactly as described. Unfortunately a few of our crepes didn't make it so we contacted Roy. He happily and quickly replaced these trees and we are very pleased with the whole experience. Since the order we've had many neighbors order from Roy. Thanks for the beautiful trees! We look forward to ordering more from you next spring.
Justin

Ordered Plants on the 8th of the month and they arrived on the 14th. Well packed nice looking stock.No problem what so ever with this company. Trees were planted on the Coast of Maine zone 5. If they don't survive for some unforseen reason we can blame Al Gore!!

As with many complaints I see on this page Roy does not send the trees of the size he advertises. I am surprised to see several reviews here state Roy responded to their emails though their complaints were about damage and not size. My emails were totally ignored. Once my cash was in this company’s hands they never returned emails with my complaints about the size. I never thought about checking the Better Business Bureau as I read here and wish I had. A company could not get a worse report. Answering my email would have done a world of good for this company’s reputation but now I think I will add my complaint to the Better Business Bureau for false advertising. I was very disappointed and wished I had ordered from another company.

I received my Dynamite Red Crepe Myrtles and I knew I was in trouble. The UPS box was crushed in the middle and looked as if it had been folded in half. Sure enough when I opened the box 18-20 inches of the trees tops had been snapped off! Not happy was I! Anyway, I put in a formal complaint with UPS and notified Roy @ Thuja and he responded to me that two new trees where on their way to me and that he wanted to make sure his customers were happy. I couldn't ask for anything more than that! Thanks Ron I know this had nothing to do with you but you pulled through for me!

I RECENTLY PURCHASED A TREE FROM THUJA GARDENS AND UPON ARRIVAL IT WAS DAMAGED. I E-MAILED ROY LAWING AND HE IMMEDIATELY SENT OUT A REPLACEMENT. I CAN'T RECCOMMEND THIS COMPANY ENOUGH AND WILL CERTAINLY DO BUSINESS WITH THEM AGAIN. IT WAS NICE TO DEAL WITH A COMPANY WHO REALLY CARES ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS. THANKS TO ALL WHO HELPED. SHANE THACKER

There were good and bad parts of my experience.

Good: Roy was very responsive to my questions and concerns, both by phone and by email. Also, the trees were shipped in pots (versus bare-roots), which was great because you don't have to worry about them dying if you can't plant them immediately. A lot of online nurseries ship bare roots...i assume because shipping is cheaper.

Bad: The first set of trees did not appear to be secured within the shipping box. AND UPS appeared to have treated the box badly. The trees were broken and pitiful when I got them. However, after a few phonecalls and a bit of confusion, Roy shipped me three new trees which arrived in MUCH better condition, although they weren't as full as I would have hoped and a lot of branches were STILL broken even though they had been secured much tighter within the box.

So, I'm neutral. I probably wouldn't do this again because it was probably more trouble than ti was worth. I also think there should be a note on the website about the policy of waiting until the trees start to branch out before shipping them...i was expecting them to arrive a lot sooner. But I am hoping that I can bring the damaged trees back to health...and that the good ones turn out beautiful come summertime!

I ordered 10 trees to plant in my back yard because I wanted to block my neighbors. I placed the order on April 21 and hopped for delivery in a week. I e-mailed on April 27 (a week after ordering) to see if Roy had an idea of when the trees would arrive. He responded the next day: "Late this week.
Roy"

May 4 and still no trees so I e-mail Roy to ask if he has a tracking number or a way to find out where the trees are. He e-mails me back the next day: "Sorry,Out of Stock-Refunded".

That is it no apology or time frame of the refund or let me make it right. Just "Sorry,Out of Stock-Refunded"

If you are going to have a website you need to keep your stock updated and more importantly don't mess up and think it is alright.

I have not gone through the refund process but I am sure that should be fun. I will be sure to update all on how that goes.

I ordered a Tonto Crapemyrtle at the beginning of April. It arrived a couple weeks later. I was getting a little anxious because it seemed to take a while to ship and I didn't hear from Roy. One day to my surprise it showed up it this very tall box. I'm glad I happened to be home that day to get it out of the sun and that box. I was so disappointed when I opened the box and found these 12" twigs and some tiny yellow leaves. I thought is was dead. I was ready to send it back. I ordered a 3-4 foot tree and this was not a 3-4 foot tree. It had a big root ball so I thought I'd give it a chance. I am so glad I planted it! It has been almost a month and I am soooo happy with it! It has grown some beautiful leaves and is getting big. It looks like it will be a 3-4 foot tree this summer. It was the perfect addition to my garden and I love seeing it get bigger every day!

I just ordered several trees. I picked this company because they stand behind their product unlike many of the other online nurseries that I spent the day sorting through and canceling out at the last minute upon reading their conditions for sale with absolutely no guarantee. Within a few seconds of placing my order there was an order confirmation in my email box. So far so good...

At the end of March, I purchased 1 Muskogee & 6 Lippan crape myrtle trees from Thuja Gardens & so far, I have been quite impressed with Roy's selection of trees! My Muskogee arrived in sturdy, elongated box & inside, the tree was securely wrapped in plastic; very well protected & in great condition! My 6 Lippan's should be arriving some time next week & I can not wait to line my walk with them!! I will definitely purchase from Thuja again for any landscaping needs in the future & I encourage others to give Thuja a try! Roy waits to ship your precious trees to ensure that they are stable enough for transportation, so do not be discouraged if it takes a few weeks to receive your order, it will be well worth the wait! If you plan on purchasing trees & are discouraged from doing so on-line, then rest assure, you have nothing to worry about when ordering from Thuja!

Man, I wish I had read the comments here and checked the Better Business Bureau as suggested. The trees I received were a lot smaller than are shown on the website. I emailed and received no response. The website makes no mention of the ability to simply return the trees and get your money back. And after seeing the trees who could trust the promise anyway? I think half the positive post here was posted by Roy himself. His spiteful and sarcastic remarks towards those with negative feedback is an indicator of his business tactics. He would not get negative feedback if he shipped what he advertised or answered his emails when questions arise. But I guess he is too busy writing positive post about his own company to be bothered with answering complaints from customers or to respond to the Better Business Bureau. There are too many businesses with good ratings to risk your money on these trees. Roy, some advice, go take some pictures of the real trees you ship and put them on your website.

I purchased a Lipan Crape Myrtle (3'-5') from them in the beginning of April. I called first to see when it would ship. Roy had told me that he waits for them to bud prior to shipping to be cetain it survived the winter. He said that the usually bud around the 20th of April. He also answered many other questions I had about the tree.

I received my tree on the 20th. It was packed excellent and looked very nice. It was as advertised, two main branches with multiple branches and about 4' without counting the container. It had just started to develop many small buds. It took me a few days to plant it, due to my schedule and the weather.

Now it's been planted for about a week and the buds have already rapidly developed into small branching leaves. It is doing great. I'm very happy I ordered from him.

I'm didn't have any trouble contacting them as others have reported. I called him twice before I placed my order and got Roy both times and he was very helpful answering all my questions. I also Emailed him after placing my order (late in the day) about something I forgot to add in the comments section and he responded the next day.

Thanks alot Roy. Great service and products.

I ordered my Thujas from Roy of Thuja Gardens late in the afternoon on April 15th, the trees were shipped the day after processing. To my pleasant surprise I received them early Tuesday morning well packaged, maintained and received.

I was very impressed by the speed and quality of the trees I received. I was a little hesitant at first never ordering trees online before but Roy has changed all that. Anything purchased in the future will definately be thru Thuja Gardens.

I ordered 7 of the 3'-4' thuja trees and to my amazement everyone of them was close to 4 feet tall, green and obviously beautiful in quality.

I do understand people bash companies online, but I made sure I did my research on the proper way of caring for and maintaining these trees. The day I received them I immediately opened the box, removed the wrapping, lightly misted the roots and let them stand in the sun for the first day.

I created a 5 foot wide bed with my tiller, and properly planted the trees according to valuable information online. I than created a bed of mulch and began enjoying my new trees. I can't speak for everyone, but from my experience it has been a great one and if there was a way to post up pictures I would be more than happy too.

-Michael K / Buffalo, NY (Zone 5)

Do not buy it from thujagardens.com. The trees they send are about 1/4 the size of the tree they show in there sample picture. The Better Business Bureau give them a giant F with a warning. Look them up at the BBB by their phone number not address. I just don't want anyone to make the same mistake I made. The trees they send are nothing like the picture and they don't return emails or calls after they have your money. I really should have checked the BBB first.

"On Apr 28, 2009 12:21 PM, Thuja Gardens (formerly PlantsRus) responded with:

If anyone orders from Thuja Gardens and is not happy with what they recieve(for any reason)all they have to do is have UPS pick up and return to seller at no cost to them.This person I would think must be very unhappy in life.They would rather run down my business than ask for a refund. GOD BLESS THEM."

I found this Dave's Garden website just recently (03/2009), but I ordered from Roy's thujagardens.com in the spring of '07 and '08. I ordered the hybrid Green Giant. All my trees were vigorous and healthy and well packed. I got them quickly and I spoke with Roy directly on one occasion to get a small filler order. He was courteous and professional and I got the order promptly.
I think that it's a great thing his company is doing - these hybrids are far superior and he is paving the way for widespread distribution of better plant types. I saw a couple of horror story comments on this company, but I can't speak for these people. My experience was very positive and trouble free.

This man stole my money. I wouldn't recommend anyone order from this company.

"On Mar 27, 2009 5:51 PM, Thuja Gardens (formerly PlantsRus) responded with:

I have no idea who wrote this garbage.This is what I do not like about this site,people can just say whatever they want without anything to back it up.Makes me wonder if texasgardner68 even knows what company they ordered from. We have not had any problems like this with any of our customers.All I can say is NOT GUILTY. If you need trees,give me a call,see if you think I am that kind of person.
(828)273-5771 Ask for Roy"

Roy has been a huge help in getting our trees to us on a timely basis and in great shape. I have had terrific luck with the trees, only loosing a couple, especially since they were planted in one of the worst droughts in NW Florida history.Roy has been a great help in answering our questions about mulch fertilizer etc., and encouraging us that we will be delighted as the trees get established. he was 100 % right. I just placed another order and will continue to do so. THANKS ROY!!!!!!!

I ordered 25 Murray Cypress Trees form Roy this Jan. I recieved 25 Thuja's instead. I did't even know the difference but Roy was quick to let me know the Murray's were on the way. He also told me to keep the Thuja's plant them and let him know how they did in the fall. All the trees were beautiful when they arrived. He also spent about 30 minutes on the phone with me when I ordered to help me decide which trees would do well in my area. I will always deal with Thuja Gardens for any online tree orders. More companies should practice the personal service and knowledge of thier products.
Sincerely,
Adorable Doggie Grooming

Hello Roy,
Well I just put my order in for a 170 of your 10-12" trees. I ordered
about 100 last year too.
It was a pleasure to speak to you last year and glad you advised me
about how the
trees may turn a bit.
If you had not told me I would of swore they were all going to die.
Happily all but 2 made it and out of that one was due to a battle with
my weed whacker the tree didn't fair so well. :-(

I hope to buy some of your crape myrtles next fall and some other
flowering trees but just can't do it all this year.

I hope you had a good growing season I'm sure it was better than last
with the drought. Well Roy im looking forward to receiving my trees take
care and god bless.
Mr Frank Mohrbutter
Newton N.C.

I've been gardening for over thirty years and have dealt with many nurserymen and plant sellers. I like trying new places and I'm very happy that I placed an order this past spring with Roy. We had to replace two of the thirty one trees we put in due to an accident and I ordered two more of the same size and Roy sent three bigger trees. That's pretty much unheard of these days.
Just wanted to thank him again for his generosity. I showed the trees to a friend yesterday and he will probably be getting in touch with Roy soon to place an order. Roy is wonderful to talk to, sounds like a fellow I'd like to hang out on the porch with, talking trees!
Roy, I need some willows for along my brook, so I'll talk to you again in the spring.
Thanks again,
Greg Spencer

I purchased 43 Thuja Green Giant evergreen trees in January 08 from Thuja Gardens. I received the trees when promised, got planting instructions from Roy himself and have had them for 8 months now. The trees are beautiful and even growing faster than I had expected.

Several times over the past 8 months, I have called Roy to ask questions and he has always been very helpful, professional and accommodating with my questions.

In the next 6 weeks, I plan to purchase another 23 trees from Thuja Gardens and Roy. These trees have exceeded my expectations.

Thuja Gardens & Roy have been a pleasure to work with and I would highly recommend them to others.

Thank you for sending the replacement 3 gal TGG for the one that died.It came in excellent condition and is all ready in the ground.

Thank You Again

I ordered trees last year from here to replace some that I had received from another nursery the year before that had all died. When I received them, they were much nicer trees that I had received the year before. I planted them and they stated very good. I needed some more this year and just received them and they are even nicer. Very good quality of trees. Would do business with them again. Thanks

I ordered 26 trees from Thuja, everything was to plann, trees showed up in three days, I was able to prep area so when the tree came it was just hours for them to go into the ground. One problem was two of the trees were only 1' tall compared to the 3-4' trees taht I had ordered. Infomred Roy and sent a picture. Roy apologized when he saw my pricture and said that he would send two more trees free of charge so that my ordere would be complte.

Thank you Roy and i look forward to ordering more tree in the future from you, NICE JOB!!

CAUTION - Roy was very nice to begin with when taking my order. He said I caught him out in the greenhouse/nursery, but took time to take my order. He said my order would ship on Tuesday, June 3. I called back on Wednesday, June 4 to get a tracking #. He then informed me my order would ship on Thursday, June 4. He had a new crop and only wanted to send me the best, and these looked really good. I called back on Thursday afternoon in hopes of getting a tracking # in advance of the order arriving on Friday. I took time out of my lunch hour (along with a friend) to come home and check on my shipment. Had it been there I was going to water them because we've been having temperatures in the upper 90's. The shipment was not here. When I got home Friday afternoon, still no shipment. So I called Roy in hopes of getting a tracking #. He informed me (4 times) that no one was in the office. If Customer Service hours are 8 a.m. - 6 p.m., why was there not anyone still in the office? At this point he was very nasty over the phone. He never cussed me, but may as well. He told me that I received the UPS Confirmation via e-mail and that it probably went into my junk box, and/or I deleted it not know what it was. I've ordered other things via the Internet and would be somewhat familiar with that information. He still guaranteed my shipment would be there today (Friday, June 5). Said I could call back on Monday to get the tracking #, but still guaranteed I'd have the package that evening. What good would it do to have a tracking # for a shipment of dead trees? UPS typically runs late in our neighborhood. We watched for UPS until 9:00 p.m. that evening. Still no shipment. I called Roy back on Saturday and left a message. Now he's not answering the phone as he so quickly did the week before. I called back on Monday in hopes of getting someone in the office and still no answer. Left yet another message. Monday afternoon around 5:30, I received a call from Roy. Said he was receiving a package back and did I want another order to be shipped back out. I said no. Why if I didn't get the first shipment would I be a dumb-ass and try again. I will NEVER order from this place again. I have now contacted my local county agriculture department and trying to find someone more reliable. Just be careful if you place an order with this company.

"On Mar 27, 2009 6:03 PM, Thuja Gardens (formerly PlantsRus) responded with:

I will make a short story out of the ABOVE -- UPS lost this order, needless to say by the time it was returned to me it was no good. I called to see if he wanted me to reship or refund. In 12 years I have never had a customer more upset over a $32.00 order.We think UPS does a fine job shipping our trees,however we do have a problems with packages ever now and again. WHAT DO YOU DO ????"

Hi Mr. Roy! Thanks for shipping the giant arborvitaes. We got them yesterday. All looks great and healthy. You sounded so nice and very kind on the phone and my husband and I are very pleased with the plants. May your biz prosper to the max and may God be with you and your family always! Thanks again.

Roy,

I just wanted to let you know that we are really happy with the Arborvitaes that you sent us. They are really healthy and look better than we could have hoped for.

Matt & Amy Salo

I purchased bare root Thuja trees. I had a gardening company plant, and within five days they had grown at least 3-4 inches. They look really good, and I plan to plant 15 more. I am very pleased, and they are everything that they said they were. Thank you. Kate Irving

Placed my 2nd annual order last Thursday evening. Called the following Tuesday at 4:30 PM to inquire about my order. Roy said he would begin to ship to my planting zone starting the following week. Due to my travel schedule at work, I needed the trees in 3 days!

Roy then saved the day! He went to his packer and had him stop filling his current order and fill mine in his final 25 minutes of work so it could ship that day. An hour later, I got an email from UPS saying the trees would be delivered on Friday! Perfect!

Where else will the owner of a company answer your call on the 2nd ring and treat you like their most important customer?

No need to look anywhere else for your trees.

I ordered 51 Fujah Green Giant bareroot shrubs for some property we'd recently bought as a privacy screen. The price I paid was by far the very best I could find on the internet and I was amazed at how quickly they were shipped. They arrived in perfect condition (and I still can't figure out how they packed all those in one small box without even the least bit of harm to the plants!!!) They were very easy to plant and didn't wilt down at all. During the planting I realized I'd even received a bonus of one free shrub! Can't beat that! I would definitely reorder from this company and have already recommended this website to my friends. I give this company a five-star rating!

I ordered 20 bare root thujas and they are excellent. They are healthy and beautiful, and still alive and kicking a week later. The trees were a lot bigger than I expected, almost two feet for a bare root, which is unbelievable. I ordered items from other online suppliers and everything was dead and only sticks, no green. I like Roy, he's very personable! I will be ordering more from Thuja Gardens and would highly suggest ordering from him. It's the best money can buy. I guess people don't appreciate it, until they order from other online suppliers. These trees are worth the price and were very healthy and shipped on time. A fantastic seller!

My trees arrived yesterday as promised in time for spring break. They all look wonderful and I will be planting them this weekend.
Thank you so much. I will let you know how they do over the summer.
Patty O.
Branson, MO

The process went smooth thanks to Roy Lawing. Roy was very explicit and helpful before the purchse of 7 Leyland Cypress and a few Maple trees. He gave and guided me with full instructions to start and care for the product (Trees).
About Thuja Gardens: I searched for countless, in excess of over 20 sites and when found Thuja Gardens that was it! User friendly and easy to view.
Thanks Roy for all your work and attention and keep up the good work!