Comments regarding Willis Orchard Company

My experience is similar to those of other people, though I never saw the product. I cancelled my order of some rabbiteye blueberries, because I found a lot of information on the internet that rabbiteye's (Native to GA, northern FL, AL) will not do well in western Pennsylvania, contrary to the zone map shown on the Willis Orchard website. I don't know if this map is indeed accurate. Regardless, because I was preparing the bed for the blueberries for my mom in PA (located on a ridge as well) while I live in CA and am currently in a rare summer visit, I didn't feel like dealing with plants not hardy enough for the region. I cancelled within 24 hours and wanted a refund, which was supposed to be a full refund as written in the agreement I digitally signed. They refunded promptly, but tried to rip me off for $10 for doing nothing.

The emails are shown below. I never got a response to my final email, and just referred this situation to my credit card company. My credit card company has now refunded the $10 to my account, but it was pretty irritating to go through this for such a simple situation.

Do yourself a favor and avoid this company if possible.


Date: Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:55:11 -0700
From: stoygop
Subject: Re: Willis Orchard Company Customer Refund Notification
To: jason

Jason,

The total amount I paid was $70.60, not $60.60 as this refund is for. Please refund the other $10. Thanks.

Campbell

--- On Tue, 7/21/09, jason wrote:

From: jason
Subject: RE: Willis Orchard Company Customer Refund Notification
To: stoygop
Date: Tuesday, July 21, 2009, 3:51 PM

Mr. Campbell,

The $10 is the cancellation fee that you agreed to prior to checkout. You also gave your electronic signature that you agreed to this transaction and to our company policies. We feel that a small cancellation fee is within industry standards and collection of this fee is to cover clerical costs associated with the order and the credit card transaction fees associated both with the initial charge and the refund charge.
This being said, should you decide to place a future order we would offer a $10 store credit off your total of $80.60 or more.

Best regards,
Willis Orchard Co.

From: stoygop
Subject: RE: Willis Orchard Company Customer Refund Notification
To: jason
Date: Wednesday, July 22, 2009, 12:23 AM

Jason,

This is simply not true. The agreement I digitally signed said,

"Cancellations
If a customer cancels an order within 24 hours of being placed, they will receive a full refund. Orders cancelled after this period, but prior to shipping will incur a 10% clerical fee."

Even that 10% fee would only be $7.06. You are just making up numbers, as there is no mention of $10 anywhere in the agreement.

The checkout page says, "Orders for Fall shipping will be reserved at the current pricing.
Cancellation of Fall orders will incur a 10% clerical fee."

This is more vague but does not apply to me regardless because the blueberry plants I ordered stated "Shipping now" both on the website and in my invoice (which is why I was interested in your company to begin with as everywhere else was only taking fall orders for blueberries). Perhaps this was an error on your company's webpage, as they now say "Shipping Fall '09", but I don't believe I am responsible for inaccuracy on your company's website.

Your company can charge any cancellation fee it wants and I would abide by it if that is what I signed. But this is simply not the case. I would have expected your company to honor the agreement as well.

Further, I cancelled my order extremely promptly (emails sent within 3 hours), going to some extra measure to do so since your company gives no email address anywhere on the webpage and I was canceling on a Saturday when your phones are not staffed. I was well within the 24 hour deadline entitling me to a full refund. Please refund my money. This plea is all I have the power to do by myself. If you still disagree, I will dispute the charges with my credit card company.

Campbell

Two years ago I ordered an Alberta Peach tree for $59.00 plus shipping. It came and looked healthy. I ordered two more smaller Albertas for 19.00 each. They looked dead on arrival. When I called to get a refund I was told that the trees were dormant and would grow in a year or so! I said I did not with to wait and I wanted my money back. The owner was quite rude. They refused, siting their "Friendly Return Policy" which states that they will replace the trees within a year, but will not refund. I would have to pay the return shipping and would get no refund of the initial shipping charges. I contacted my credit card and had them charge the purchase back, as is my right under the Fair Credit Act.

This year the first tree I ordered, which was healthy and grew, bore fruit, but the peaches were white! It was not an Alberta at all and now I have to cut it down and start over.

It has been too long since I bought that tree to charge it back to the credit card, so I guess I have to accept being cheated by the "Friendly Return Policy" (They cheat you with a smile!)

I contacted this company in the summer of 2008. I was looking for blueberry plants for zone8. I was told there was a sale on of plant that would work in my area and lo and behold they were on sale. I spent 99.00 on four large blueberry plants, that were supposed to be 3-4 years old and capable of bearing berries. When I received them some weeks later they were in newspaper and had jell around the roots. I was concerned because they had shipped from GA and the root material seemed small for the size of the plant. No dirt was visible and they had berries on them. They looked like they had been torn out of the ground. Blueberries and others in this family are sensitive to root disturbance. I planted them any way and by July/August they were dead. I contacted Willis Orchards and they agreed that "shipping" was a problem and they would replace the plants the following winter. So late December 2008 I received 4 more plants. Much smaller this time and budded out. Again I had concerns about the size of the roots and the fact that in December they were budded out (remember coming from Georgia) and would they survive in the NW, still Winter. Needless to say I planted them and tried again. They were clearly dead by April and so by May I asked for a "refund." I think the berries were processed incorrectly and were the wrong type for my area. I am an organic gardener, with much garden experience and a very green thumb. I replaced the plants with new ones that are thriving but these are local plants. I did contact the Better Business Bureau because Willis Orchards refused to return my calls and emails. I would not recommend purchasing plants from them especially if you are from out of state and not in the same zone. I do not want plants sent to me if I am clear about the zone I am in and clearly ask about the condition of the plants. I received a rather rude response back. I do purchase alot of plants online especially from Burpees and Gurney's and had good experiences. I also use local nurseries alot. I love Raintree Nursery, WA and Burntridge Mike Dolan I do expect some loss but when I saw the plant material I knew there was going to be a problem. I will not use them again. The blueberries I purchased from Raintree online, and Burnt Ridge and my local nursery are doing just fine.

Unfortunately, I have to give this company a negative rating. The cherry tree that I ordered this Spring is looking pretty nice as well as one of the two berry plants that I ordered. One has not taken off, but I might just write it off. Anyway, the plants look nice, but their customer service is not good. I ordered my plants pretty early because they sold out of what I wanted last year. After a month of waiting, I called to see if they had shipped my order. I was told that they usually do not ship to Southern Illinois until later in the Spring. I understood this, but requested immediate shipment and they said they would get it out in a couple of days. I called after two more weeks and they said no shipment was scheduled and they wouldn't ship it out until later in the Spring. I requested again that it be shipped immediately and got the green light. A week later I called to confirm the shipment and to get a tracking number and again, there was no shipment scheduled and they had no record of the first two requests. I told them to either ship it the next day or cancel my order and guess what, I got them in three days. I know it's easy to overlook things with so much going on, but three phone calls to get something that I ordered is too much.

These guys really did a nice job. Customer service was polite and honest and they shipped the product ahead of schedule. Shipment arrived beautifully packed. Rootball was wrapped tight encased in gel medium and was quite moist upon unpacking. The 2 crepe myrtles that I received were dormant when I got them and were in the ground at least 2 months before they started to bud out. I thought for sure they were dead but when I called Willis they said to just leave them be and sure enough they came to life. My experience with Willis Orchard was very pleasant and I would definitely use them again.

The website for ordering is very easy to use. My order did come a little late because of the large amount of rain that affected orders in March/April 2009. When I called about my order or emailed for a status, the Willis Orchard person was always polite and patient. At the present, two of the five items ordered (grape vine and blueberry bush) may have been affected by the weather ... my evening email about this condition was responded to the next day with the promised one year guarantee ...I need to package these items and ship back to Willis Orchards ...the items will be replaced in the fall.

I will order from Willis Orchards in the future.

I ordered several trees for the first time from this company and when I called them, they were courteous and answered all of my questions before I placed my order related to the type of trees, chill hours, and how to plant them. After planting them and following all directions, one peach tree did not make it. I emailed customer support and within 24 hours had an email back with one suggestion how to check that it was not just delayed. After confirming it was not alive, I was told by their customer support that I can ship it back in exchange for another tree in the fall of equal size and value no questions asked. I then went to ship the tree and found out it would cost $100 to ship back to them, so again emailed them and asked if I could cut the tree in half to ship it back now changing the shipping costs to $20. Again, they replied within 24 hours and had no problem with that. I have had nothing but a positive experience with their customer support and willingness to work with me as a customer. I would recommend them as a reputable and honest company.

The dealings I have had with Willis Nursery are without question the worst customer service I have experienced from a mail order company. I have learned my lesson to simply purchase from a local dealer.
Basically, for a feel for this company's commitment to customer service, please read the mean-spirited responses that they provide to the postings on this web site.
I ordered two fig trees in March, which were supposed to be 6 feet tall, for $59.95 each. Upon arrival, they were significantly smaller, in the 4 foot range at best. In the meantime, I purchased larger, healthier fig trees locally for $39.00.
The fig trees from Willis Orchards were planted the day I received them. I watered them religiously, but they never budded. I returned the dead trees to Willis, roughly a month ago. Since then, I had heard nothing from the company, and an email from a week ago was not returned.
I called them today to determine the status of my order, and was told that the replacements would not be sent until this fall, since they had "oversold" and are currently sold out of this size. Finding this unacceptable, I asked for a refund and was told that they didn't do this. The person I spoke with over the phone was rude, quoted "policy" (even though this is supposed to be a family business), and cared less about my experience. I asked to speak to her supervisor, and she told me that she was the supervisor. I asked to speak to the owner of the company, and she said that he wasn't there and did not get actively involved with the company. When I told her that I was not a happy customer, she told me not to speak to her in "that tone of voice" and hung up on me. I called back, she answered, and when I asked who I was speaking to, she wouldn't give me her name.
Happily, this was a small order. However, I have now posted a complaint about customer service for the first time in my life, and I am 54 years old.
Do not order from this company: smaller sizes than advertised, no refund policy, and quite rude to customers.

Ordered 2 blueberry, 2 fig, and one olive tree on 5/9/09. I received a confirmation email after my payment information was verified, and a shipment notice as well. I was going out of town on a business trip during the intended arrival date for the shipment, so I called and asked to have the shipment delayed, so it would arrive when I was back to plant them.

I had another notice through email that the shipment had gone out anyway, and I emailed Shannon at Willis who confirmed their mistake, and that they would make good on the shipment if it turned out the plants from the first shipment hadn't survived (they didn't, they got left at a neighbors house, who kept them for the week I was gone, not very well).

I emailed Shannon who got Fed Ex to pick up the old shipment, and resent new plants which came in just a few days ago. They are actually more mature plants than I ordered and the blueberry bush had berrys on them ( not enough to eat, but hey they still looked good) the Figs while pruned back had small fig fruit on them as well.

Over all while my order process was a bit shaky the nice people at Willis made sure I got what I paid for, and it all looks very good.

I ordered a lemon tree and a red oak that should arrive this fall but I wanted to comment on the lemon tree. Its amazing - arrived the other day and I was a little nervous based on some of the negative comments. But it arrived and is larger than i expected, covered with dark glossy leaves and even has some small lemons on it.

I do understand that others may have had some negative experiences with Willis, but my experience was extremely positive.

I had ordered two different mulberry trees, 1 apricot tree and 1 raspberry plant. These were ordered in November and I live in the midwest, so the ground was frozen. I received them about 1 - 2 weeks later and I could not plant them. I emailed them and told them that I could not plant them due to the ground being frozen, so I put them in a pot in the basement to keep them dormant. They said that should be OK. The mulberries started to grow over the winter, the raspberry and apricot did not sprout at all. The mulberries started to die off. I let Willis know the status of my plants. In the spring I planted them and the mulberry trees dried up, the raspberry turned into a dried stick, however the appricot started to sprout leaves last month. I emailed Willis again and they said I had to send them back. I asked if they paid the shipping on the returned plants and they would not.
I have dealt with many plant companies and they all ship the plants for the planting season for your area. They told me it was my fault since I did not designate when I wanted them. Customer service is not on the top of their list.
I shipped back the plants, at my cost, and told them I wanted a refund, I do not want more of their plants from this company. I have not gotten a respsonse back from them nor have I received my refund.

VR, Char
I will not buy form them again.

I ordered 3 fig trees last fall. They arrived in good condition and I planted them. None of them survived the South Carolina winter for whatever reason. I emailed willis orchards and received a response from shannon that they would replace my figs at no charge. About 1 week later, I received my replacements. They were larger than the ones in the fall and the roots contained a water containing crystal to keep them moist. I am pleased with my interaction with willis orchards and would order from them again

Hello! although, I'm very new to DG, I have started to write my reviews on certain companies. I purchased two Banana Grand Naine trees from them in late May. I honestly don't remember, exactly how long it was, before I received them but, I think 4 days. We ordered the $45 size, which didn't contain offshoots.

When we recieved tehm, we put them in 5 gallon pots right away, even though they were in 7 gallon pots, at their nursery. also, when we opened the bag, that was taped around the roots, one of the mother bulbs was completely detached from the root system. Now, we really didn't know what to do with it but, didn't want to make the call, to call willis. as they would probably tell us to plant the tree, as is and see what happens. We just dropped the bulbe in the pot, as it would do better there, than over the pasture fence.

It has now been almost 3 weeks, since we received them. We stil have two healthy Banana trees. The tree with the broken bulb produced a full size leaf, even before the tree, with no damage. No, I don't understand it either but, thats what happen. Honestly, it was beautiful, watching the leaf unfold over a 3 day period, into the largest leaf, I've ever put my hands on. Plus, we have two offshoots, coming up from both of those plants. If they take care of us, each time, in this matter, we'll only purchase from them. as we have 5 acres, that we plan to fill up with fruit trees.

Oh yeah, we only made one phone call to the nursery and all questions, were answered promptly and it was a girl named "erin or Aaron" or however it might be spelled. I read the reviews here and it sucks that other people, haven't had good purchases from them. Hope this helps.

My husband placed an order and gave Willis Orchard our credit card number. Later we get a call from Willis Orchards stating they wrote down a wrong number and needed the number again. Yet again they called with the same issue, they must have written down the number wrong yet again. I was trying to be nice although they didnt see it that way. They found me rude when I couldn't understand how they were not able to write down 16 digits correctly if not the first time then at least the second time. I was in customer care for years and would have been red faced enough to have to call back the first time let a lone a second time and admit that I messed up again. They found nothing wrong with their lack of competance and found me to be rude. They also stated that they did not understand my frustration with them not being able to get the credit card number correct. I tried to speak calmly with the guy after Cynthia passed my call to him but he was adament that I was rude and he was cancelling the order. Wow.

I was feeling bad about the call and although I felt I was not rude and that it was reasonable to be frustrated I still felt bad, however, I felt much better and relieved after finding this site and reading all the other horror stories and now feel that we have dodge a bullet and what seems to be inevitable additional rustrations after the credit card is charged. Now at least we do not have to fight to get our money back, to get our product, get replacements, return at our costs their product, etc

Thank you Dave's Garden for your site and thank you to all the "customers" that had to suffer to save us.

Based on reading Willis Orchards responses to other postings, I am guessing they will say I screamed and yelled but I did not and they will probably also make it seem like it all our fault and take no responsibility for the call..

This was my first attempt at a home orchard. I was really confused and apprehensive, and almost abandoned the idea completely. I looked at the company website and got useful info and decided to proceed. I made my order, and received a prompt shipment. I did not know what I was supposed to see, so I followed their planting and care instructions.
While planting, I noticed that they shipped me a Rome apple tree instead of the Red Delicious I had ordered. Since my other apple was going to be a Golden Delicious, I would have pollination issues,so I decided to call the company.
I was greeted by a woman who was efficient and courteous. After Informing her of the issue, she told me I would receive a replacement. She was very pleasant and professional.
2 days later, I received the tree. It was gorgeous and healthy. My entire orchard of 8 trees and 3 grapevines are growing wonderfully. My experience with this company was enlightening and rewarding. I am a salesman, and do a great deal of customer service. If anyone has had a problem with this company's service, I would ask them to take a look at themselves as customers.

I called Willis Orchard Company to ask a few questions before purchasing trees for my yard. When I called, a woman answered the phone and I introduced myself, then proceeded to ask my questions. Half way through my first question, I was told, "I don't have time for you right now -- go to the website" and she hung the phone up on me. I tried calling back however, she didn't answer the phone. Needless to say my questions were never answered, and I decided not to purchase from a company that has no regard for customers (potential or current). I suppose it worked out for the better, considering this company has a 50% success rate with making customers happy, which is probably more than I should expect after being treated the way I was.

I don't know what the final product is like, but I'd urge people to be very cautious dealing with a company this blatantly rude and disrespectful. Customer service obviously isn't important, and my money is better spent somewhere else.

"On Jun 10, 2009 10:04 PM, Willis Orchard Company responded with:

Actually, as of this comment, there have been only 99 total comments posted on this site in two years. And, most are positive comments and a few of the negative are not even our customers. Yet, we service this many customers or often twice this many in a single day. This is a rant and slander site that in no way reflects 99% of the customers we are annually engaged with for orders or customer service. "

my name is armando and on jan 29/09 i order a 4to5ft keylime tree from willis orchards,so few months went by,but some time at the end of april a long box was delivered to my house via fedex,so i opened the box and to my surprise it came out that box the most beautiful tree i have ever seen come out a box! the tree was green with flowers and fruit on it aready;there in front of my eyes was my tree !so i thank all of the people involved in shipping this tree to me;.from growing it to packaging to the perfect timeing in shipping it to me; thank you so much! my tree is aready in a wisky half barrel and is doing just wonderful! thank you again to all ,from the girl who took my order to the shipper and everyone in betwenn.
have a good day!
Armando Bustamante

I ordered Paw Paw trees in November and received them quickly. I planted them immediately, as it was beginning to get cold. In April, the trees had not put out leaves. I contacted them via email and asked what I should do. They told me to send them back and they would promptly send more out. Though it was a hassle to dig them up and find a box to send them in, I sent them back on April 31. I had still not heard anything from the company by May 20, so I emailed them asking about the return shipment. I got a response saying that the return was not recorded in their system and asking if I had delivery confirmation. I checked the tracking number and the trees had been received on May 5. I sent the information to Willis Orchard. I have still not heard back from them, and it is May 28 - 23 days after they received my return. I am anxious to resolve this and hope that by posting on this site, they will be more willing to work with me for a satifactory resolution. At this point, I would prefer a refund.

When I received my order the plants look all dead,no buds,no life, there were mail on a Holliday then a weekend, in a box on a UPS truck for over10 days.
I succeded to bring back 5 out of seven but still in nursery with care and finnally have buds after 90 days but two still no buds. I could'nt believed the shape of those plants I received even the UPS driver was supprise.
The plants are guarrenteed but a hassel to go through there proceedtures. I went to a local Nusery and bought the remaining trees I aquired to completed my landscaping.
Bottom line! go to your local nussery to buy your plants.

I recently bought two blueberry, a fig and a nagami kumquat at the 3-4 foot size. They all arrived very quickly, in very good condition, and all were every bit of 4 feet. The blueberries had berries and the kumquat had small oblong fruit already on it. I also got a 4 foot olive tree that was at least 5 feet or more and will look awesome in a pot by my pool. Finally, I also ordered a banana plant that arrived as a large bulb with a green trunk. I really didn't know what to do with it so I called and spoke with a very knowledgable man that told me every thing I needed to know about growing bananas in my area and how I should plant it. The banana leaves are already coming out of the trunk at a very fast rate of growth. I definitely will recommend Willis Orchards and will buy from them again in the Fall.

"On May 24, 2009 6:31 PM, Willis Orchard Company responded with:

Thank you for sharing your experience. I know we have thousands of satisfied customers like you, but only a very small percent of satisfied customers visit this type site and make posts. Yet, the vast majority of unsatisfied customers definitely will go out of their way to make posts. Actually, it is good for D.G. for there to be more positive posts because it validates this website as more than just a place to rant."

The "Best" of all the nursery companies I purchased from this year. Bought blackberries, apples, plums, almonds and two citrus trees. All of which were good size or better than what I ordered and all is growing well, except 2 out of 10 blackberries. I called about getting replacements and was assisted by a very nice and professional lady named Cythia. Of coarse, I didn't fuss and cuss about things either. But there was no problem with getting them replaced, as I have had with some other companies. I would highly recommend willisorchards.com to anyone interested in fruit trees because their trees are of good quality, are well packaged for delivery, and they honor their replacement policy. I give them an A++ which is way more than the other mail order companies I have tried.

"On May 24, 2009 6:39 PM, Willis Orchard Company responded with:

Thank you very much for your favorable grade. This says alot coming from an avid gardener that has compared our product and service to those of our competitors and given us approval over them. We do try very hard and do care about satisfying our customers' expectations, despite what is said about us on this site. Again, thank you and we look forward to serving you again....hopefully soon."

I ordered about $350 worth of trees. One was a 7 gallon Nagami Kumquat for arount $160 that was to be between 4-6 feet. I drove for five hours to pick it up. It was a little over 4 feet high. When I got it home I discovered it to be a Meiwa Kumquat with round fruit. They are not the same. I phoned and was told that the man who picked it out said, "they will start out round." NO THEY WON'T. And they are still round. They decided to ship another. They sent the exact same thing again. Now the problem became mine. I would have to dig both up and box both up and ship both in order to receive a refund.

Now the same tree sells for $59.95 to match the price of the tree at TyTy Nursery also in Georgia.

They either don't know what they are doing or they have used bait and switch tactics. Either way, I'll never shop there again.

"On May 24, 2009 6:59 PM, Willis Orchard Company responded with:

You drove 5 hours and surely picked out or approved the tree you took with you. Anyway, I am sorry to hear this story as well as the plug for our competitor. "

I ordered a plum, a peach and an Apricot from Willis in the spring of 2008. They arrived promptly and well packed. A little smaller than advertised, but nicely branched and with good roots. I am an experienced gardener, with years of bare-root plantings under my fingernails, which might explain why I have had better luck than others posting here, but my trees leaved out quickly and grew vigorously. Now, only one year later, they all three have fruit! I just received a sugar pear from Ty Ty (Aaron's) dead-on-arrival - I shall replace it from Willis and stick with them from now on.

"On May 24, 2009 6:54 PM, Willis Orchard Company responded with:

Thank you for putting your confidence in us over our competitors. I truly hope we will exceed your expectations on your next order with us. But, it is fantastic to hear that all your trees are thriving and fruiting well, after only one year. Thank you for validating three things for us. 1. Delivered Promptly 2. Packaged Well 3. Since yours are already fruiting, you know that you were given the Correct Variety of trees, as ordered. Again, thank you and best wishes with your fruit trees."

This has been the worst experience I have ever had with any online order. I bought two fig trees and a blueberry plant that all said "shipping now' about two weeks ago. They didn't ship so I emailed them to ask when they will be shipped. I asked that they will not be shipped until May 27 because I want to plant everything at the beginning of June. I got an email back saying that they are scheduled to ship on June 27th! I was surprised about the delay so I called back and they told me that was a mistake and that they will ship on May 27. They also said they wrote a note to not ship earlier then that. Lo and belod I got a shipping notice yesterday so the plants will be here on May 27 instead of a week later. I emailed back but of course didn't get a response. I don't understand how a mail order company can have such terrible customer service. I also asked to add another blueberry plant to my order when I called so I can get cross polination which I didn't realize I need when I placed the order and was told they don't do add ons to the order and that I need to place a new order for a minimum of 50 dollars (for a 6.95 plant).
Aweful, terrible, experience. I am never buying from them again and that's even without seeing the plants yet.

"On May 21, 2009 5:49 PM, Willis Orchard Company responded with:

typo said June. Clearified May 27, arrival two week from order date. sorry."

The worst experience I have ever had in 30 years of buying plants via mail order. Received a bareroot pomegranate tree over a year ago that never leafed out. I phoned the company several times and was told that they would replace it. In the fall, I called again and they asked me to pack up the dead tree and mail it back to them. I did in November of 2008. I called them about Christmas time to ask if they had received it (they had) and when could I expect my replacement tree. They told me that they would begin shipping trees at the beginning of the new year. When by the end of March I had still not received a tree, I called to inquire and was told that it would be another two weeks, they had very obviously forgotten about my order. The bareroot tree arrived at the end of April. It had been fully leafed out when it was shipped, because the dead leaves were inside the box and a few shriveled ones still clung to the branches. I planted it anyway, even though I should have known better -- it was not going to leaf out again. I called today hoping for an apology and some assurance that on the third time they would get it right. No, I was told that they don't replace trees a second time and it was my fault for calling in March asking when I would receive the replacement. Nothing was their fault, they had done nothing wrong. Absolutely, the worst mail order plant nursery I have ever dealt with - just read some of their responses to some of the negative postings already out there. Avoid at all costs.

"On May 20, 2009 8:02 PM, Willis Orchard Company responded with:

She called screaming and demanding shipment of a second free replacement, now when they are actually leafed-out, and was politely told we offer one replacement per item. More yelling at us and this post because she didn't like that. But some companies don't give replacements at all, but we do. Records indicate return in Jan. and replaced in March. What did we do wrong to deserve her wrath? Original order of 6' pomegranate like 3-400 others that we sent to other people. She received it and was happy, then. But it died, so we send her a free replacement. Unfortunately, it apparently has also died but hundreds of others lived. Is it our fault? Actually, we do not blame anyone. That's why we give a free replacement."

I recently made an on-line purchase of 3 different banana trees, and a Brightwell Blueberry Bush. While waiting for my order to arrive (about 12 days) I ran across this website along with many negative comments about Willis Orchard. I began to get extremely nervous about my order. When my order arrived yesterday afternoon, I was so surprised that I took pictures and decided to post my experience here as well. Of all the on-line orders that I have placed this spring; (Autumn Ridge Nursey, Spring Hill Nursery, Cherry Hill Nursery, Mendocino Maples Nursery, etc...) my order from Willis Orchard was the best packaged, best looking, and most satisfied I had received yet. The blue berry bush was loaded w/ berries. The root system on all 4 plants was immaculate. Even to the point that I had a little difficulty planting them from so much root to spread out. I immediately washed all of the packing gell off of the root system and planted in their locations. I cannot speak for anyone other than myself, but I can assure you that what I experienced from Willis Orchard was nothing near the negative comments I read. Now Autumn Ridge Nursery is a different story but I will not get into that here. I am going to try & post the pictures I took last evening for proof of my statement.

"On May 15, 2009 10:24 AM, Willis Orchard Company responded with:

Yes sir. We appreciate your praise, as it is true that we have thousands of very happy customers just like you. And you're right, the majority of these negative posts are from generally angry minded people that are vindictive because their tree naturally died and they now don't like the replacement policy that they originally agreed too. You would be ashamed to know how many of our fellow Americans that call us screaming and cursing over one of their trees that didn't transplant. But thank you for your honest evaluation in comparison to other nursery companies. I know for fact that there are literally thousands of unheard customers out there, just like you. "

Very early in 2008 I ordered a compact stella cherry tree and a purple vitex tree off the internet from Willis Orchard. When I received my order I planted the cherry tree in a raised bed with good black topsoil and well aged manure. The cherry did not break bud. I called the company and was told that it would bud out give it some fertilizer and wait. I did exactly as told. It did not bud out. Called the company again and was told to send it back for a replacement. I did on July 16, 2008 with a letter asking them to send the replacement tree around April 15, 2009. Well, in the fall of 2008 they sent a replacement cherry tree. I went ahead and planted the tree which was my mistake. I should of sent it back. It is now May 14, 2009 and the cherry tree never broke bud. I have been gardening professionally and privately for decades. I called the company back and told the woman the story. I never was able to finish a sentence without her interrupting. At one point she asked for my name and zip code and I was told that I had received my replacement tree and I would not get another tree. I then asked for my money back and she said that was not going to happen. I reminder her that I had wrote a letter asking them to sending the replacement tree in 2009 and she said she didn't know anything about that. I asked to speak to the owner and she refused many many times. When I asked her her name she told me it was none of my business!! I told her that a negative response would be placed on Daves garden and I would file a dispute with the Better Business Bureau. She didn't care and was yelling by then. Pls read the other customers experiences with this outfit before placing your order. BUYER BEWARE!!

"On May 15, 2009 11:02 AM, Willis Orchard Company responded with:

When planting trees in the early planting period and your tree doesn't live, we send replacement at the next planting period which is the Fall. What's wrong with that? When you are provided product twice, as promised, and you unfortunately were unsuccessful both times, does not mean you now are given money also. That's irrational and not what was promised. Then to make negative posts about our company when literally hundreds of other people planted that exact same tree and were successful, sounds like vengeance. And when someone screams, curses and demands in your face, what do you do? It really doesn't matter what you do, because what ever it is, it will never make that person like you..... even if you give them $19.95."

Back in February, I was looking for a mulberry tree for my backyard. I did a google search and found Willis Orchards to be near the top. Their website was very complete, professional, and not only did they have mulberry trees, but other trees I was interested in as well. So I ordered a black mulberry, a white dogwood, a japanese maple, and a saucer magnolia for a total price of $164 including shipping. Not bad. The following week, I called to check when they were going to ship. March is a great time to plant trees here in Idaho. The man who answered asked what state was the order from, then said they would be shipping to Idaho in "1 to 2 weeks." So 2 weeks went by, I called again, was asked the same question, and was told the same thing. "1 to 2 weeks." Never was I asked what my order number was, or any other specifics. So, after another week, I decided to call and cancel my order. Cynthia answered, and after the initial, "What state was the order from?" question, she actually asked for my zip code and found my specific order. Then stated that she was moving it to the "Ship" pile. My order hadn't even been considered for shipping until a month after it was placed, even after two previous calls. When I asked her why, I could feel the tension start in her voice. She said that she and her company doesn't know what to do when a northern order is placed. I thought that maybe calling and asking would be appropriate, but communication is obviously the least of this company's priorities. I then told her that I would like to just cancel the order, and she said, "Fine." and was about to hang up when I caught her and asked, "Will my credit card be credited for the full amount?" She said minus the restocking fee. All this company had done to this point was charge my credit card and move the piece of paper from one pile to another. I asked how much, and she said $46.XX. Needless to say, I was upset. She said that this was clearly stated on the website and there's nothing I could do. I said if I didn't cancel, when would I receive the order. This was on a Thursday, she said they would ship tomorrow and I would receive them by Wednesday at the latest. I said if I recieve them by the end of next week, I would be happy. Well, the next Tuesday I called again just to make sure the order had shipped, and was asked,"What state?" Then, "Idaho orders will be shipped in 1 to 2 weeks." This was now the end of March, by the way. I told this man that Cynthia promised me the order would be shipped no later than last Friday. He said, "Well then, I'll let you talk to her, bud." After three minutes on hold, I hung up, called back and spoke with a genuinly nice person named Erin. I had done a little research, and found the website stated that a 15% restocking fee would be applied to cancelled orders, which was $24, not $46 as Cynthia had stated. I told her this, and the rest of the whole debacle after she asked why I was cancelling my order. She was very apologetic, and said that there may be no charge at all because nothing had been done, but that she would need to talk to the owner first. Three days later, my credit card was refunded, minus $20. That just shows the priorities of this company. I wouldn't have written this negative review if they would have considered customer service at all. They don't. But that's not the end of the story. A week later, a box came to my door from Willis Orchards. I thought that maybe one of the trees had been shipped and that was the $20 charged, not some petty "restocking fee". After opening the box, I discovered that all four trees had been shipped. Well, more like a box of sticks with 4 labels on them had shipped. Obviously this company can't communicate amongst themselves let alone their customers. After carefully deciding what to do, (I didn't want to be charged again!) My wife and I decided to take the better road and communicate back to them that their trees had shipped and what would they like us to do. My wife called and the person who answered was immediately belligerant. My wife was scathed for opening the box and was asked why she did so? My wife then asked why she was being rude to her, we were just trying to help them out. The reply was that, "You just didn't like the question." She said to tape the box back up, and leave it on the porch. After my wife stated that she was going to make a complaint with the BBB, the lady started yelling so my wife hung up. The box has now been sitting on our porch for over a month. Tomorrow, it will go in the trash. After checking their rating on the BBB (Under Paradise Palm Company) we decided their existing "F" rating reflected their business appropriately, and so we are just explaining our experience with them to other potential consumers. This is only our experience, and it seems from the other reviews that some people are indeed satisfied by their service. I can only suggest to them that communication is key for an online business, and they sorely lack in that department. If you "Don't know what to do" for a customer, how hard is it to call that person up and ask? Until this is remedied, I cannot recommend Willis Orchards to anyone.

"On May 15, 2009 11:05 AM, Willis Orchard Company responded with:

Sent free product and still not happy???

I ordered Raspberries and Blueberries from this company in late October of 2008. I did not get anything from them till really late November. As result of that almost all raspberries and blueberries were dead at the spring time. Called them back and was told that they need to get dead bushes back and I will get a replacement. After I shipped dead bushes I did not anything from them. Called them back and the person on the phone was extremely rude and unfriendly. She told me that I will get only one shipment back and it is going to be at the fall. If I want my blueberries now I need to pay for them.

"On May 15, 2009 11:14 AM, Willis Orchard Company responded with:

Requesting replacement in May, told the plants are already growing in the field and would not be wise to transplant until Fall. But that's not what they want to hear so you are called rude, mean, ripoff, etc..Try to do the right thing and still get slammed???"

In all of my years of gardening this is by far my worst experience. I ordered 12 trees and I do not think any of them are going to grow except the peach that has appears to have a bad case of bacterial canker. What a total disappointment, these plants were not even worth the shipping costs. Big red alert here!!! Worst quality that I have ever experienced.

"On May 15, 2009 11:24 AM, Willis Orchard Company responded with:

Had a man call who bought 250 pecan trees and said he only had 12 that didn't make it. He bought 200 more for us to ship with his 12 replacements,"this Fall". I wonder what the difference was between these two? Big Red Alert!?!?!?"

I ordered for about $300 of plants that were supposed to be shipped in autunm, I placed the order in May and they cash the money right away, they didn't wait til the shipping date to cash the money.
With no email or communication ( I tried to find out but no answer from them ) 6 months aftyer getting paid the plants arrives on December 23th at 3 PM, WHO IS READY TO PUT PLANTS AND TREES in the GROUND ON DEC 24tn.
I was mad, real mad, but on Dec. 24 in the morning me and my son, who was visiting with his family, start planting the plants, we did it even if Santa was having fun at us, in this spring I realise that one plant that I paid $9.99 was dead, it didn't work for this one, this was the cheapest plant that I bought from them, I wrote them an email about it and their answer was that they will replace it but only if I return the dead plant ant they will send me another plant in November or December which to me is unnacceptable, I could have said that it was the tree that I paid $79.99 that was dead but I was honest with them and they laft at me, this is the worst place I have bought items on the Internet. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS PLACE, it will end up being a NIGHTMARE for YOU TOO, it's a lot more than what I wrote but it will be way too long to read, but even after that you still decide to buy, be patient, make sure you do not need your money for something else while you are waiting for shipping, and before clickink OK, start to learn to bread by the nose for relaxation because you will need it.

Good luck
NO MORE FOR ME, I will pay more somewhere else before buying something from them.

P.S. I bought a new plant somewhere else to replace my dead one

"On May 15, 2009 11:45 AM, Willis Orchard Company responded with:

We typically just ship gift orders at this time, unless they call for immediate shipment. I'm not sure, but a regular order arriving that day would be unusual. But he placed an order in the summer, got the summer prices, and the best planting time for the deep South is Dec. and Jan.. Only lost one $10 tree out of $300 but still filled with animosity and hate.
(I ordered an airline ticket in April, was charged then, but my flight doesn't leave until late July. But, my price is fixed.)"

On March 3, 2009 I placed an order for two Angel Red Pomegranate Trees (one 2-3' as a gift for my Italian neighbor who has taught me how to grow figs and grapes, and who mentioned that he wished he could get a Pomegranate tree, and one 10-12" for myself) and a Santa Rosa plum. After a month, when I didn't receive an email to confirm that the shipment was made, I called Willis and spoke to a pleasant woman who told me that it would ship to my region in another week, which it did. I received the trees (Order Number 1066884688) on Monday April 20. I had told my neighbor, Reno, about my gift to him and so we opened the shipment together. All three trees were wrapped in the same gell packed scrap of plastic. The trees were in poor condition. The roots were sparce and broken, and I couldn't see any young capilary roots that would indicate good healthy stock. There were no green leaves or buds at all. The Santa Rosa plum was a single trunk with no branches, and the top 6-8" inches appears to be desiccated. The 12" Pomegranate, which I immediately potted and put in my greenhouse, had the same desiccated appearance, and when I gently bent the top two inches to test if it was limber and alive it snapped. The larger Pomegranate (3') seemed to be somewhat more alive, but the roots don't appear to be healthy, and my friend and neighbor, Reno (an avid experienced gardner) said he didn't think it would survive. We planted it and the Santa Rosa immediately, but don't hold out much hope. In contrast I have received two other shipments from two other nurseries both containing vibrant healthy specimens that I have total confidence in. I have read the positive and negative comments posted here as a result of this experience, wishing I had read them in advance of ordering from Willis Orchards (24 negatives and 55 positives is not a good record). I have not tested Willis' "friendly return policy" but who needs the frustration, expense and hastle of returning dead trees and the loss of a growing season? I'm not angry or vindictive, just disappointed in the quality of the products.

"On May 15, 2009 12:02 PM, Willis Orchard Company responded with:

Sound like he bought the smallest youngest trees available, except for the 3' pomegranate that he is indeed happy with. Not sure what type, size or age product bought elsewhere but a young 2' plum would not have a big root and branches yet. Maybe, maybe if these do grow well this summer he will be happy. If not, we are happily willing to honor our replacement policy."

In 2008 I drove over to Berlin, GA to Willis Orchards to buy a Black Mission fig tree, but last fall the fig produced a yellow fig, which i think was a Celeste fig. Willis Orchards did replace the wrong fig tree, but that replacement is now dead. Also, my Cavendish banana tree lived last year but is now dead, even after warm temperatures of 90 degrees. The guava trees looked great last year, and actually had guavas on them, but two guava trees shed all of heir leaves this winter and show no signs of life. The 6 foot loquat tree survived the winter but shows no signs of new growth. as a dedicated, avid gardener, I am mot impressed with Willis Orchards Nursery.

"On May 15, 2009 12:15 PM, Willis Orchard Company responded with:

This is a bogus post. Personally bent over backwards for this man and he has rewarded me with this fraudulent post. He has been given far more than he ever paid for and if he can't grow these type trees in Moultrie, where they are growing all over town, then I question the word "avid". "

I placed an order for an Oconee pecan, 2 persimmons, 3 Chickasaw plums and 3 Mayhaws in late March. The order arrived in about 4 weeks which is not bad considering the busy shipping season. The pecan and persimmons were all much bigger than I expected. The 1' - 2' persimmons were both 2 1/2 feet tall. They were pruned nicely to ballance to roots and top. They were packaged very well with plenty of gell and they were shipped via FedEx to minimize the stress associated with shipping. I will definitely place another order next spring.

My experience with Willis Orchards has been very satisfactory. The Apricot trees I ordered came in on time and were healthy. Their cusomer service people have been very helpful and gracious answering any question I had about my bare root trees. I plan to order from them again.

I placed an order with Willis Orchard on 3/15 for over $500 in merchandise. I called yesterday (4/28) and- although they're entirely computerized I was told they'd have to "check the warehouse" for my order, and that due to extreme cold temps in their (GA) and my (CA) regions, my order wasn't shipped. I called their weather bluff, and requested immediate notification of shipment. They returned my call only after I had to call them again today, requestion some kind of action, and the girl said she would call me back with a tracking number. Lo and behold~ I just got an email from Mr. Willis (a hotmail account no less), notifying me of a pending REFUND. That's all well and good (depending on WHEN I get it)~ but what about the $300 I paid a crew to dig holes for me expecting immeditate delivery~ when I couldv'e dug them myself at leisure over six weeks? Or what about the fact he used MY money interest free for six weeks- at least? I *WILL* be calling the BBB, and anyone else I can get to listen!

"On Apr 29, 2009 5:30 PM, Willis Orchard Company responded with:

Mr. Lewis leaves out the part where he lies to our company as to which state he lives, in an attempt to illegally import fruit trees into California. When ordered online, he placed Colorado as the destination so we held his with other Colorado orders until April. He did a few other raunchy deeds, including this post, but I will spare you the details. Let me just say "be objective when reading these posts, as there is always another side to the story that is untold and even a few negatives are acceptable when there are literally thousands of unheard satisfied customers". You know it's true that an angry or malicious person will go out of their way to slander others. But, a satisfied happy person moves on with their peaceful life unheard."

First time mail order customer who was pleasently surprised. I placed my order and then came across the negative feedbacks... I was more than a little worried... But then my order was received (a little later then expected) and I was pleasently surpised. I ordered an orchard ready Alberta peach, a 5 foot black fig, granny smith, and 3 Thompson grape vines.... All of which looked beautiful.... I planted them immediatly and am waiting anxiously to see if they'll take off...I will definetly be ordering from willis orchard in the future...stay tuned for updates

I had a great buying experience with these people. I really recommend going to their site if you can, because Jason is very knowlegable and helped me with a lot of good information about the Pomegranates I bought and Cynthia made my ordering process so easy. I am planting a grove so finding a reputable company that will stand behind their product is very important, and I have found the right place. I bought several hundred small pomegranate trees from them in February and they were still dormant from the winter. I trusted Jason when he said he would replace any that did not come out in the spring, and a few did not because of the coldest winter freeze I can remember. I told them that some didn't sprout and they are replacing them without delay. I just bought more trees from them and am going to get them tomorrow. It is great to do business with trustworthy people.

Ordered 2 paw paws, 2 mayhaws, 1 blackberry, and 2 muscadines from this company--none have broken dormancy yet and it is almost May--they were planted as soon as they arrived. Definitely do not order paw paw trees from them as they cut the tap root almost completely off and the trees have almost no roots when they arrive--my research tells me you have almost no success when they are transplanted this way. Will not order from them again.

"On Apr 29, 2009 5:38 PM, Willis Orchard Company responded with:

It is true that paw paw trees have a relatively small black taproot and are considered a bit temperamental to transplant. But, we have many many successful customers growing paw paw trees, so don't be discouraged from trying. Also, we did agree to replace any of this customer's items, that do not survive, with new trees.