Comments regarding Southmeadow Fruit Gardens (Grootendorst Nurseries)

From another stung customer. Starting my first orchard, after retiring from teaching a year ago, I was intrigued by the selection of antique and heirloom fruit trees from Southmeadow, and sent an order totaling nearly $400 on March 5; the check was cashed March 21. Like some of the other respondents, I never received confirmation, shipping date, or anything, and never received the order. However, it was late spring before I tried to contact them about the order. Emails and phone messages brought no response, in fact, now all I get on the phone is bells and whistles. No response to a letter either. Better Business Bureau said they received no responses either, but they sent me a form for the Attorney General to be completed and sent along with canceled check and copy of order. I have scant hope of getting the $400 back, but the real sorrow is all those empty spots in my orchard, labels designating the spots where those trees were to go. By the way, trees from Miller, Raintree, Edible Landscaping, and Stark are doing beautifully.

Boy, do I wish I'd read the other comments before ordering from this company! My experience was similar to those who have posted negative comments before me. However, unlike the other reviewers, I actually dropped in on them in Michigan to check out the operation in person before ordering. I was excited about the extraordinary selection of heirloom varieties, and also that the trees started their lives in a cold place - my location is Zone 4, and I'm hesitant to order from a nursery in a much warmer climate zone. I went out in the field and was generally convinced they were a bona fide operation. Ha!!! I sent my check dated Feb. 4, indicating delivery for late April planting. With no confirmation of order, or check cashed, I started trying to contact them in late April. When I finally got through, I was told their mail was held up by irradiation for anthrax, and my order had not been received. This seemed unlikely, though I had encountered this problem in mail deliveries in the nation's capitol. I was told I'd be called back later the same day, or in the morning, but heard nothing. Much to my surprise, a package (Invoice date in March) arrived May 20, in the midst of 80 degree weather. The packing slip showed 8 trees, but 2 were missing, with no indication of back-order or refund. The trees received had all sprouted leaves which had subsequently dried out. I planted them all immediately, and have pampered and coaxed them since - 4 of 6 have shown growth 2 months later. Also, I paid premium for "bearing age" trees, and received trunks about 1/4" caliper size. I have called 17 times, e-mailed twice, sent a fax and a certified letter. From reading the other messages, this looks like a PATTERN of bad action. Anyone who's had trouble with them should report to the Postal Inspection service; this will establish a pattern. This is a law enforcement agency with real teeth. All it takes is multiple complaints. Information about filing such complaints can be obtained at any U.S. Post Office.

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Ewinters came to our nursery last budding season, she requested to see how budding was done, we were happy to entertain her. In our field we were told of her plans to make an heirloom orchard. She called us March 12,2003 saying that she had placed her order. At that time we had not received the order. We allowed her to fax us a list of what she wanted. Her order was filled with out payment to help insure that her trees would be available when the check came.
Mail has never been held up by “anthrax irradiation” too our knowledge.
We received her order and check on 4-28-03 she requested shipment for late April, the package was sent the same day including a forum letter that lists any particular varieties that are out of stock for that season and to let us know if a backorder or refund would be preferred. On May 23, 2003 ewinters called and requested a back order for 2 pear trees for shipment in our 2004 season. AT NO TIME did she ever mention any problem too us. Not by phone, fax, e-mail or certified letter.
If a package is not received, or spends too much time in transit after it has been mailed, we need to be notified.
As this web site has been recently brought to our attention and we reviewed her lengthy negative comments on it we were surprised. We recently received a letter from ewinter stating 2 trees died, and all the others are growing but that she believes they should be replaced. She then supplied us with a list of DIFFERENT VARETIES that she wants as replacements for the trees that she was originally so intent on having in her orchard!
We have chosen to send a certified letter to ewinters cancelling her back order, included a check for the amount of her 2 backordered, pear trees and have taken her out of our mailing list .
If any one has a problem with an order and feels they can not reach us by normal means, please send a certified letter to
Peter Grootendorst P.O. Box 211 Baroda, MI 49101, Who has been owner,operator of Southmeadow Fruit Gardens with his father for the last 13 years.
Our interest is the preservation of the heirloom varieties of the past that will please the populations of our future.
"

These people are crooks. (Now. They didn't use to be.) Stay away from them. Trees they did send didn't live--and the rest of the order, due since last spring, has not been shipped despite repeated phone calls.

I ordered in February 2003, paid by check. The order didn't arrive (surprise!), so I started calling and emailing them about once a week, starting in April. They promised to call me back a couple of times, but didn't, of course. I had assumed they had gone out of business, but then I saw they finally cashed my check in May. After everything I have seen here, I certainly have my worst suspicions of mail fraud supported. If there is anyone among the other victims that knows how to figure out what ISP is hosting Southmeadow's website, it would be great if you could mail them, point them to the Garden Watchdog site, and ask them to discontinue service to Southmeaddow. I would do this, but I don't know how to figure out who their ISP is.

One Wickson apple tree was ordered in January, 2003. They promply cashed my check and have never shipped my tree. I had four telephone calls with them and got excuses.

I ORDERED 6 APPLE TREES FROM THIS COMPANY IN MARCH OF 2003
FOR DELIVERY IN THE SPRING OF THE SAME YEAR, THEY NEVER RESPONDED TO EMAILS ALL THE PHONE CALLS GAVE THE SAME RESPONSE,WE WILL BE SHIPPING TO THE WASHINGTON STATE AREA
NEXT WEEK, THEIR SHIPPING SEASON IS NOW OVER AND STILL NO TREES I THOUGHT MAIL FRAUD WAS ILLEGAL AND A FEDERAL OFFENCE IN THE U.S.A.THIS COMPANY HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO RIP OF THE CONSUMER FOR FAR TO LONG

As Supervisor of Baroda Township I have received many calls about SouthMeadows Fruit Gardens. NONE of them are positive. Only yesterday(5-20-2003) I sent a Police officer out to talk with the new owners. They are totally unresponsive. We are ashamed to have them in our township! I would not order anything from them. We are trying our best to correct their many problems.The previous owners (Grootendorst's) were fine people and ran a very reliable business. Feel free to contact me with your problems as we are starting a file and are turning everthing over to our Police Department.

I ordered from this nursery on October 27, 2000. My trees were not delivered in 2001 nor in 2002. At that point I asked for my money back....I am still waiting. I have contacted the Better Business Bureau...they are aware of the problem but can't seem to do anything. I have contacted the attorney general of Michigan who didn't do anything either. I call them usually on a monthly basis and they have the gall to say the check is in the mail. One time they said it was sent 'a week ago' and they were 'surprised' that I didn't get it so they said they would send another one out. Right! I also contacted the city of Baroda and the person there said they wish they would get out of town. He said he goes by there everyday on his way to work and there is just a trailer sitting on the property. Looks like no work is being done there. These people are down-right THIEVES. All I can say is SCAM,
THIEVES, and I will try to get this word out as best I can.
STAY AWAY FROM SOUTHMEADOW FRUIT GARDENS!!!!!!!

Ordered Mahaleb cherry rootstock Feb. 4, 2003 after assurance that it can be shipped end of March or even middle of March--I needed it for bench grafting. Called April 2, said will call back--they did not. Called April 3, said will ship April 4, called April 8, said shipped this day Priority mail, refused to give tracking number. Called again April 11, said should receive in a few days. Extremely rude, said "why should I talk to you", hung up. Tried to call April 14, April 15, April 17, April 18. ORDER NOT RECEIVED. A milder version of the same happened in 2002, but I assumed it to be an chance abberatio. DO NOT ORDER ANYTHING FROM SOUTHMEADOW AS THE SAME WILL HAPPEN TO YOU WITHOUT FAIL.

Rip-Off artists,Scam, Cheats, Crooks, Jerks, pathetic and Scum are the words that come to mind when I think of this "place".
Money sent but I have never received anything from them.
Warning....DO NOT send this company any money.

In the Winter of 2001 I ordered five apple tree whips to be used for espalier. In the Spring of 2002 when I didn't hear anything from them, I called and talked with Judy and she said that she pulled my order as the trees were too large for espalier. My order would go on backorder and I would receive them in a year. Meanwhile, my check for over $100 was cashed immediately. Now, more than a year later, I have called numerous times, emailed, requested a refund, and threaten to have my lawyer contact them. STILL nothing. I am most upset that a company could get away with so many false "orders".
They should be made to pay us what we are owed.

I ordered 3 fruit trees in late October 2002 - the check was cashed in early December. No acknowledgement nor shipping date was sent. By mid March the snows were melting in northern NJ; in the space of 3 weeks I left (probably) 10 voice mails, 5 emails and 2 faxes. No response to any of them. It seems that customers are an annoyance and irritant to this company. The trees finally arrived today without any planting instructions - now I'll see how they grow.

Much the same as previous complaints-- Ordered a tree, they cashed my check, said it was in the mail every week for a month, then did not respond at all to emails, faxes, phone calls. They are thieves.

On April 2002, I ordered 6 comice pear trees. I was told by the company that they would be shipped in the Fall. I NEVER received my trees. My check was cashed immediately - $98.55 - I telephoned and emailed this company at least 20 times and never received an answer. BEWARE OF COMPANIES THAT REQUEST CHECKS ONLY!!!!! I will contact the BBB.

I ordered 6 gooseberry bushes from them in the winter of 2001 & was told they would be shipped in the spring. I didn't receive them & called. I kept getting the run around that they would be shipped the next planting season. They quickly had my check cashed but I have never received my gooseberries. I have written & called numeras times. Please don't order from them.

I sent for 3 apple trees in the winter of 2000. They cashed my check immediately, and sent me confirmation of my order. By March of 2001, I had not received my trees. I called, and faxed every 3 months or so, and never did receive my trees. I believe this was the period of time when the nursery changed hands.

I sent this company a check in February of 2002 to purchase two apple trees, as they don't take credit cards. The check was cashed immediately. I emailed them in April & May to check the status of my order. My queries were ignored. Their website states they always ship by mid-May. In Mid-May I was able to reach them by phone & was told shipment would be in a few more weeks. I cancelled, asked for refund & followed up with registered letter. I received a package two weeks later when the temperature was 95, too hot to mail living plants. I refused it & sent another registered letter asking for refund. This was ignored. Their business motto seems to be "take the money and run". Never again.

Positively the worst mail order experience EVER! I ordered 8 peach trees and now 2 years and numerous phone calls later I have received NOTHING. Much like the other comments on this page, I too got the major run around from these clowns and of course no plants. I later called the BBB serving that part of Michigan and was told that good ol Southmeadow has a pile of complaints against them - many of which are similar in nature to mine. I did file a complaint with the Michigan AG and was essentially told that their hands were tied but that I could pursue private litgation should I so choose. Gee thanks. Check with the BBB before you place any future mail order. It can all be done on line. I lost $179.40.

I've also had difficulties with this nursery, primarily trees ordered, then dying and not being replaced, as promised. As I recall, I had to badger the company constantly regarding replacement trees, only to be given the run-around. After more than a year of this, and the trees still not having arrived, I simply went out to a local nursery and bought the trees I needed. Not the trees I wanted, mind you, but something, anything, to fill the holes in the orchard. I plan to order from Southmeadow again (hope springs eternal), but pray that my experience will have just been a strange glitch in a fascinating operation.

Beware! They seem to have gone a long way downhill since eight years ago. In my experience, this is definitely a nursery to avoid if you value your time, money and peace of mind. Their customer service is the worst I have ever known from any nursery or indeed any mail-order outlet. To cut a long story short, I placed an $80 order with them in October 2001, paid by check (which was prompty cashed), received an acknowledgment stating "ship fall 2001" but have not yet received any plants (April 2002). Today I called them for the SIXTH time since November, and received the same kind of delaying tactics and empty promises that I had received on all five previous calls. When I mentioned that I had fully documented our interactions and would file a complaint with the Michigan Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division or the Better Business Bureau, they said this: "you can do what you like, but you're gonna feel pretty stupid when those plants arrive today or tomorrow" and words to the effect that they were very busy and did not have time to talk to me any longer. I asked the name of the woman to whom I was talking and she hung up the phone. (I called back and she told me she was "Judy" and hung up again.) I will follow up on this message if the plants indeed arrive.

Let me add my twenty-five dollars worth of opinion to this. Southmeadow took my order, cashed the money order, and promised March delivery. To make along story short, all I ever received in return was a lot of empty promises. No tree. No refund. After about the third phone call, they quit returning my calls or answering my email. I have reported their shabby service to the Better Business Bureau. Avoid these people if you value your time and money!

I would like to add my own experiences with them. My first order of 6 trees was filled without a problem in 1998 - one variety was unavailable that year so they substituted, which was OK by me. In 1999 I re ordered the tree that was unavailable the previous year, along with some gooseberry bushes. They cashed my check, but never sent the order. Repeated emails, phone calls, and letters produced either the ol' run-around, or stony silence. Requests, and later demands, for repayment were not answered, nor did they claim the certified letter I sent them. I went to the Postal Service without avail: they need a PATTERN of incidents of this nature to act. All told, I still don't have my plants, or my money, or even an explanation - which is the worst part of the whole fiasco. They did, however, have the audacity to send me a 2001 catalog anyway.

I ordered from Southmeadow in October 2000 and still (it's almost June 2001) have not received my plants -- they cashed my check promptly, however. I have written, called, and emailed them to no avail.