Comments regarding House of Wesley

I ordered two offers of daylilies (50 bulbs) in mid-March. The company cashed my check promptly and told me that my order was shipped on April 11. When the order hadn't arrived by May 6, I emailed the company and was told that I should wait until May 11 to see if the bulbs arrive. (I live in St. Louis--less than 200 miles from their facility--I'm very skeptical that it takes a month for any shipment to make that short a trip.)

I actually waited until May 19 to contact them again, and requested a replacement order, but now I'm told that they'll attempt to track the shipment. I'm afraid that by the time I get my order--if I ever do--that it will be too late in the season for the lilies to have a chance.

I'm 38 now and recently ordered from this company more out of nostalgia than anything-- I had ordered a Manchurian apricot and 10 strawberry plants for something like
$4.50 and $2.95 respectively back when I was 8 or 9 years old. I remember how well the plants did, particularly the apricot (It was a 2-foot stick when it arrived, but got about 20 feet tall over they years, and was always the first thing to bloom in spring with beautiful pink flowers).

At any rate, I ordered again recently. I went into the transaction expecting small plants, and that's what I received. Of the 12 daylilies I ordered, 2 needed replacement when they arrived, and the replacement was prompt. The other plants (vinca and a 5-in-1 pear tree) have done well. What the pear actually produces remains to be seen, but the tree is certainly growing enthusiastically in this, its second Spring.

For these prices, I think of this as more or less a game-- it's fun to wait for the order to arrive, and I know that probably everything will not be perfect. But they do seem to honor the guarantee if you follow their instructions, and overall (again, for the price paid) I'm happy.

Some of the plants I got were all right. Small, most of them, but all right. But the ones that were not all right were really really bad. I got two separate shipments of soaked and rotting Lavender Angel Trumpets - both the original and the replacement plant were mush when they arrived; their lavender plants and walk-on-me plants were mildewed and desiccated. The two Empress Trees (original order and replacement) were dead and the stem/trunk was hollow. The Mouse Plants were nothing but tiny little rhizomes almost invisible to the naked eye. There were no planting instructions and I did the best I could but they never came up.

That was just the beginning of my problems with them. In the year since I ordered - and the less-than-year since I actually received that first order, most of the plants have died, even though I immediately put them into the ground. I have gardened since I can remember, I'm pretty darn good at getting things to grow, but one cannot resurrect the dead no matter how hard one tries.

In response to my requests for replacement, after sending them each and every one of the required original shipping labels, I am still being asked for original shipping labels, no matter how many times I tell them they have those original shipping labels. To my mind, the fact that they lost those labels at their end, should not become my problem.

Further, they continue to ask me to explain what was wrong with the plants that I have asked be replaced, despite the fact that I have told them each time exactly what was wrong with those plants.

Even worse, they keep sending back with their queries, the entire history of our correspondence, including, in some cases, copies of the very shipping labels they are once again asking me to send to them.

I am pretty much to the place that I think they are hoping that the year will run out whilst we're shipping the ever-increasing sheaf of papers back and forth; what they don't seem to understand is, I am a paralegal working for a law firm. I know what a warranty is and when the meter starts running on one. And my boss just loves this sort of project

Earlier this week I phoned in to once again ask them why in the blue-eyed jeepers they were sending me that dang wad of papers back again, and was told quite candidly by the person I spoke to in their customer service phone center, that I needed to not order from them ever again, that I should purchase my plants locally and was told further that I should not order from any of their other "fronts," being Four Seasons; Burgess; Honey Creek; Farmer Seed; Interstate; Kelly Nurseries; Richard Owen; and for goodness sakes NEVER from Royal Dutch. She steered me toward this website and was it ever an eye-opener. Sorry as I was to see that so many other people had suffered the same shoddy treatment and received the same shoddy product from this company, I was glad to see that it wasn't just me.

They have a very few days left to ship the plants I have asked for. After that, see Paragraph 6 above. I'm through with them.

To show just how through with them I am, I've even made them a separate folder on my e-mail page. I've called it "House of Weasels."

My experience with the House of Wesley couldn't be more positive. I ordered 2 silver lace vines, 3 wisteria vines and 12 red sedum. It took several weeks for my order to arrive, but I was expecting that and when it did arrive the wisteria were just sticks, the silver lace vines had many green leaves and the red sedum where a group of sticks. I read all of the negative comments on this site the day after my order arrived and I have to say I was worried. I planted all of the plants in large starter pots and to my surprise, they livened right up. In 2 days I could tell they were going to make it. Now about 2 weeks later (May 8, 2007) they are growing and I planted them in the areas that I originally had in mind. In my opinion, it is key to order the plants about 2 months before you are ready to plant. This will give you plenty of time to receive your order, inspect it and make any returns/replacements necessary. I would never order anything during the winter and expect it to arrive alive. I will order from the House of Wesley again. In looking at the Garden Watchdog website at all the negativity, I sure hope they are working to resolve the issues with customers who are not happy with their product. I'm just very happy that I did not have any problems.

I ordered three tree roses from HOUSE OF WESLEY and they came in a timely manner and were moist but looked dead. I planted them anyways,and nothing happened. In two months my guarantee will be up so I mailed the original for replacement, god I hope they ship something much better then I got. Wish me luck!!!!!!

I purchased 8 Thuja Green Giant evergreens. When they arrived, they were covered in a white mold or fungus of some kind. I called Wesley's customer service and was told that the mold was not out of the ordinary and they would do fine once planted. I planted them according to instructions and they all died within 3 weeks. By then it was beyond their 2-week refund policy, so I was issued a merchandise credit upon the return of the original shipping label. I'm glad I saved that shipping label, because had I not, I would have received nothing. Will I ever do business with Wesley again? Yes, but only to redeem my merchandise credit voucher. Beyond that I will absolutely never do business with them again.

I found my House of Wesley catalog today and was thinking of placing another order for a Himalayan Blue Poppy. Then I found this website and am so glad I did. My experience is similar to so many others I read about. In 2005 I ordered the first Himalayan Blue Poppy. It appeared to be alive when it arrived. I planted it per directions and it never lived. I did reach the company, and they asked for copy of my cancelled check. I did not have it, but did have record of sending it and bank statement showing check was received. They told me to wait a year. A year has passed and still no sign of life. After reading experiences of others, I will not order from them again, though I would love a blue poppy. I concur with so many others--this company is not reputable.

Last year I purchased an ornamental grass garden that was supposed to have a total of three different plants and a garden combo for a sunny location. It turned out that the grass roots were broad grass and nothing close to ornamental and the other part of the order was mostly dead upon arrival. Since then I check every catalog I get to see if they are related to Burgess - if they are the catalog gets tossed immediately.

On August 8,2006 I orderd a Blue Light Clematis and a Sum and Substance Hosta, I called the company and the customer service person was very RUDE.I told her i wanted a replacement or my money back. She kept telling me I had to send in my orignal shipping label.I had told her I did send in my orignal shipping label on Feb 15,2007. What did she not understand about that. I also told her I have the orignal final receipt from there company she said that was not good enough I had to send in my credit card statement. WHAT FOR ....BUYERS BEWARE SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM.

In 2006, I ordered red sedum and hostas...The sedum never came up at all, and only one of 6 hostas. I wrote them and finally got to replace my order by ordering BLUE tulips....that were PURPLE when they came out this spring...at least they did grow!!! The companies representative are very rude and not informative on any thing, especially return policies. The plants never came up, but they wanted me to say the plants died or they would not accept my complaints. If they never came up, How could they die!!! I will never order any thing from they again. Hopefully I can find a mail order company that that sells plants that live!!!

Wish I had discovered this site prior to ordering. Ordered $260 worth of items from John at 4 Seasons Nursery (same outfit different name) on 3/8. Specifically asked about inventory, verifying there would not be any backorder issues, if the order would be processed same day, and when the shipping would be as their shipping policy is vague at best. John stated that the order would be processed same day and the items would ship out "shortly". Well I called to get a status yesterday 3/14 and found out that you can not contact the nursery directly. The number provided in the catalog is to an answering service that can only regurgitate the same 4 sentences over and over. They told me that there was no way to predict shipping and that the order was processed on 3/12! Tried to cancel order, but they told me that you had to write a letter! So let me get this straight... You can order online or via telephone and provide your credit card info, but you have to cancel by written letter. Can you say scam! BTW, they charged the card quickly. I informed the answering service that I needed someone to phone me within 24 hours regarding the order or I would dispute the charge with Visa and make a report to the BBB. They did not care and they acted like this was an every day thing to them. All I want is to know if the plants will arrive in an acceptable time frame or should I shop elsewhere. I don't think that is too much to ask. After reading these notes on the list, I wonder what will arrive - healthy plants or dead sticks. It appears as if someone from the company monitors this site and adds the company line to most entries that are not favorable to the nursery. I do not need a generic email response from the company to this posting. I would like a phone call or number to call them. I will post updates to the situation as needed. Shawn 281.794.6594

On recommendation of our landscape designer, we've ordered a number of plantings from the Burgess arm of this company. Will see how the plants are upon arrival and planting, but will not hesistate to contact my credit card company to rescind payment if the merchandise is not healthy and as described.
Would recommend that other gardeners who've had bad dealings with them in the past do the same.

It took a very long time to receive a torn plastic bag which held a dry stick in one corner. My postman saw it in the substation and the part of the label which was left had part of my name and he brought it in my house asking if it was mine. I called the company and explained that I had no label to send back as it was distroyed. They told me to get a copy of my credit card where the charge was made and write a letter, which I did inspite of the fact that all this information I'm sure was in their computer. Another long wait and I got my letter and contents back stating that I needed to send the shipping label. I called the company and asked to speak to a manager or supervisor. A young lady came on the phone and told me to send the correspondence back with another letter which I did. I complained about the thin plastic bag used for shipping and I was told that was their customary method of shipping. I think that stinks. If it doesn't work fix it. I spent about eighty dollars and after reading the comments and being annoyed by the long wait I feel I have little chance of recovery. I wish I had found this web site before I ordered because I now have several catalogs with those same items and I will check them out before I place another order. I would call us even if they shipped my pink dogwood, the wisteria and the pink pampas grass. I can't believe a company that is so careless with customer service can continue to exist. I have to ask if the people at Burphee Sead can read? To the manager don't send me one of your "we'll take care of it letters if only..." Just send me the above listed plants in condition to plant and I surely won't bother you again. What a terrible experience this has been. Amen!!!

I have done business with the House of Wesley. The products purchased were guaranteed to live and did not. I requested a replacement and sent original shipping label to them as per their request. The replacements did not live. I have notified them by phone of this problem twice. The representative informed me in our phone conversation that the problem would be corrected if I sent a letter explaining everything with pictures and copy of cancelled check to them. I have complied with this request. Everything that I have sent to them they have returned to me but have refused to replace replacement trees that have died. They have never addressed the strawberry plants or asparagus plants that died. I sent the original label before time for the experation date which was returned in the back of the package. I fell the company has shown unethical business and advertising practices. I am very disappointed and angered by their lackadaisical attitude. This leads me to believe that whomever grafted the products for 2005 have made an error in grafting the 5-in-1 fruit cocktail trees.

I called Richard Owens, CEO, of House of Wesley and was
told that he did not come to the office but he would return
the call yet he never did. I shall never use any of these
companies again!

The latest company “Richard Owens Nursery” 2300 East
Lincoln St. Bloomington, Il 61701-6100 has raised its
prices and add $1.00 on its shipping charges. Instead of
addressing the current problems this company continues to
open new company names with same merchant for the unsuspecting public.

The following is a list of the House of Wesley

(309) 663-9553 listed with the BBB:

905 Four Seasons Rd Bloomington, IL 61701

905 Four Seasons Rd Bloomington, IL 61701-5996

1700 Morrissey Dr. Bloomington, IL 61704

1704 Morrissey Dr Bloomington, IL 61704-7107

1706 Morrissey Dr. Bloomington, IL 61704

1708 Morrissey Dr. Bloomington, IL 61704

1800 Hamilton Rd. Bloomington, IL 61704

2300 East Lincoln Street Bloomington, Il 61701-6100

"

The guarantee for our products as stated in all of our publications is for one year. It does not extend with each replacement issued. If this were the case, it could be extended indefinately.

The majority of this customers orders were out of warranty at the time she contacted us. She claims that she returned her original shipping label for replacements on strawberries and asparagus when she was within the one year time frame, but that we returned the information to her for clarification of her needs. We have repeatedly requested that she return the paperwork to us with clarification of how many of each is dead, but she continues to ignore our requests.

We would also like to note that House of Wesley was started in 1954. We have continued to advertise and sell nursery stock every year under this same name."

I ordered few plants from this company on march third,2005 when my order arrived I was surprised to see they did not send plants but little twigs in good faith I planted these twigs but needless to say most of the sticks did not make it I sent them e mail telling them my problem they requested the original shipping label which I sent, they did replaced the sticks with cutting no bigger than a pencil head again I planted these things in pot with good soil because I did not think they would have a chance in the ground but no shoots came up. I waited till our weather in Oregon got better to see if any of these twigs would make it nothing sprouted and there were no sign of these twigs in the pots, so On May first I e mailed the co. telling them the problem but no response from the 4seasons nurseries, then my son found their customercare e mail and forwarded all my e mail to them, they responded they need to have the original of the second shipping label So I did send the label,again there was no response from them I kept e mailing them till finnally they answered me by saying your gurantee was expired, the company may give you some leeway since you live in area that warms up later in spring. I waited and waited but no plants came. So I e mailed them again this time they said they will not replace these plants because the gurantee expired in April but on the shippment label it says the gurantee is good till June 30, 2006.
I am going to have my attorney deal with this crooked company. I am 70 years old and my only hobby is my little garden. I am going to make sure no one will deal with them in Oregon..

"

We have a one year replacement guarantee on all of our product. From the details the cusotmer has written her guarantee would probably have expired in March 2006. There is nothing on the label which would have indicated that her guarantee expired on June 30, 2006. However, every label is printed with an explanation of our nurserystock dealer license (all mail order companies must indicate this) and our license must be renewed on June 30 of every year. "

I ordered plants from a mailing I recived and have have had a very good experiance. All plants were packaged very well and arrived in perfect conditions. I read the negative comments on this sight, after I placed my order, but I must say they come from new guys in the gardning community. If you don't understand don't complaine.

I received one of their catalogs in the mail. They do have a stunning catalog and had some items that I hadn't seen elsewhere so I decided to try them. This was before I found this web site. I also don't have a problem with items being shipped bareroot if they are healthy and grow.

I ordered on 3/30/06

2 pink hardy fuchsia
2 red hardy fuchsia
6 poker primrose
4 pink hollyhock
1 weeping tree rose

The packaging was bad. The primrose and hollyhock were small plants but they are thriving and doing well. The weeping tree rose never budded after several months so I dug it up and replaced it with a tree rose from Jackson Perkins which was way cheaper and was also shipped bareroot but is budding and doing nicely. Only 2 of the fuchsia ever sprouted and they're still very small.

I didn't try complaining since they have a bad return policy but I definitely won't be ordering from them again.

"

The customer would have a one year guarantee on the product. She simply needs to return the original shipping label and let us know how many of which item is dead and needs to be replaced. She could also select different items if she would like for the value of the credit. We do not require that the plants be returned and hope she will reconsider taking advantage of our guarantee.

A followup dmail was sent to the customer on 6/22/06 offering an adjusment. We have not yet had a response."

I placed a good sized order with House of Wesley quite some time ago. A few plants arrived fairly soon after. From the condition of the plants and the way they were packaged I had a premonition that this was not a reputable company. The plants I received were in pretty bad condition and had rubber bands wrapped around them so tightly that they damaged what plant material had survived. I didn't even recognize one as a plant...it looked like a pile of wet dead leaves. Planted these plants...amazingly three have survived; the other two promptly died.

I checked this website and that gave me an idea of what would happen next. Weeks went by and then yesterday the rest of my "order" arrived....a sad pile of distressed "plants" or piles of dead sticks with labels. I have thrown better looking material in my compost pile.

What a complete fraud this company is. The saddest thing of all is that they are preying on gardeners with their catalog with pretty pictures and descriptions. When I think of how I carefully chose my plants and placed my order. How can these rip-off artists sleep at night?

Shame, shame, shame on them. They will say that they will replace plants that die for one year...well, I for one, don't want another pile of dead plants sent to me...it's too depressing...and they know full well that people will just give up...that's what they count on.

I will report them to the FTC and BBB. Why are they still in business. That's what I want to know?

"

We wish this customer would refer to our guarantee. If she wanted a refund, she need only have returned the plants and the original shipping label within 14 days of receipt. Otherwise, we are still happy to issue replacements for which the customer need return the original shipping only (not the plants) and let us know how many of which item is dead. We can then issue a replacement or merchandise credit. The majority of our orders do arrive in good shape and most customers are happy with them. Every mail order company survives on repeat customers, and we have been sending plants through the mail since 1954."

Charged my CC long before it was shipped, it took them over a month to ship, they never responded to my emails, they never answered the phone. When I recieved my shipment it was in yellow trash bag with no padding or support, most of the plants looked damaged or dead, but somehow most of them made it.

I recieved 28 plants:

3 butterfly weeds - 2 are alive and doing well, 1 is dead
2 bloodroot - Its past its time, so I'm not sure if its dead or alive
3 Ligularia - 3 alive and doing well
2 Black barlow Columbine - Both Alive and doing well
1 Golden Chain Tree - DOA
1 Cardinal Flower - DOA
3 Trillium - All are past, so unknown
1 jack in the pulpit - alive and doing well
1 Virginia blue bell - Alive
6 Robin hood roses - all alive
1 Gunnera - dead
4 Free Lillies - all alive

19 alive and well
5 unknown
4 dead

I will not be returning the dead plants, its not worth the effort (time & shipping cost) the customer service is non-existent. I will not order from them again, nor from any catalog of this kind, its a gamble, yet in the end I do not feel I was robbed. The price I paid for 2 alive & 1 dead, butterfly plant is equal to what I would of paid for 1 plant elsewhere. I lost a couple of dollars on the other plants, the big loss was the gunnera which when I think about it was a silly purchase in the first place.

WHAT A WONDERFUL ONLINE EXPERIENCE.WE ORDERED 10 HYBRID WILLOWS,AND 1 BURNING BUSH ON 4-19-06....THE COST WAS ONLY $21.20.WE RECEIVED THE TREES,AND BUSH ON 5-24-06.ALL IN GREAT CONDITION .PACKED LIKE TREES SHOULD BE,AND MOIST.THE BUSH WAS WRAPPED SEPERATELY...IN FINE CONDITION.I HAD EMAILED THE COMPANY TWICE ABOUT MY ORDER,AND RECEIVED A RESPONSE ,THE NEXT DAY......THIS COMPANY REMINDS YOU SEVERAL TIMES TO KEEP THE ORIGINAL SHIPPING LABEL,AND IF ANYTHING GOES WRONG FOR UP TO A YEAR.THEY WILL REPLACE IT FOR FREE.HOW GREAT IS THAT????..BOTTOM LINE IS WE RECEIVED GREAT PRODUCT.IN A TIMELY MANNER,IN PERFECT CONDITION....FOR A TERRIFIC PRICE...WHAT MORE CAN YOU ASK FOR????? WE WILL PURCHASE FROM HOUSE OF WESLEY AGAIN.....THANK YOU....................................................

indeed, this business should be called house of rip off and rudeness. please save your money, and support a local or reputable company, I wasted $200 on moldy dead sad plants, and I know that I'll never get a refund. I wish I found this site b-4 ordering. live and learn.

"

We do have a one year guarantee on all of our product. The customer need only return the original shipping label within one year and let us know how many of which item is dead. We will then be happy to send either replacements or a merchandise credit that can be used to purchase other items of his choosing.

"

Butte, Mt Placed order on April 14, 2006 and received order on May 16, 2006. All items were there and everything was in good shape. Nothing rotted in fact the rose bushes had brand new growth. I did call them after the 3 wks just to find out when to expect delivery as we have a very short growing season here. I got right through and was told I could expect shipment to arrive the following week. Shipment arrived as stated. I feel for those who have had problems with this company and I must say I was worried. But as for me I was very pleased.

I had ordered 24 Thuja Green Giants totaling $137 and some change. Two days after I had placed my order, I found this website and got scared. My husband was the first to call to cancel our order and he was informed that it was already cancelled. When I got home that day, I found this to be odd. So I called again to make sure it was cancelled because I definately didn't want the trees. The girl that I spoke to said that it was strange and said that she couldn't guarentee that my order would be cancelled because it was already in process, but she would put the request to cancel through. About 2 days later, the money was taken out of my account, so I thought that they would be shipped and I would send them back as soon as they came. After about 2 weeks, I called again to check the status of my order. The girl who I spoke with told me that it did not ship yet and I told her that I had put a request to cancel it. She put me on hold and came back to tell me, "I'm sorry that you were misinformed, but if you wish to cancel, you must send a letter through the mail to cancel." I found this completely ridiculous since I placed the order on the internet and had to cancel it via snail mail. Needless to say, my husband called. I'm not quite sure how that conversation went, but he told me to send and email to customer care to cancel it. (I do know that he asked the girl that he spoke with to talk to her manager and she wouldn't let him....imagine that. There probably isn't one since all the employees apparently don't know the policies.) The next day, I sent my email. In my email, I simply told them that this entire experience was ridiculous. I said that I understand that everyone has a Cancellation Policy, but ALL of their employees need to know what it is. I told them that if my money was not credited back to my account by May 3, 2006, that I would be turning them in to the Better Business Bureau. Needless to say, my money was deposited back into my account on May 6.

I guess you have to get a little tough in order to get the service that you deserve. Although the company did refund my money before my trees were actually shipped, the whole experience was one big nightmare and headache.

Don't even waste your time.

after I purchased I found this sight & read it with great fear, I called house of wesley to ask about return policies and such. the lady on the phone was kind. They cashed my check april 14th, today may 11 I recieved every item I ordered, 20 spruce and 8 vines. They were all damp and had roots. along with the order I recieved a step by step booklet on how to make the plants thrive. I can not wait to order more, for these prices you can not expect oprah's personal gardener (you get what you pay for)

I was very impressed and WILL order again

In May 2005
I ordered 4 climbing shell vines for $ 22.00 from House of Wesley. They arrived in June.
They were in flimsy packaging and the tiny cheap pots they were in were crushed. The four vines were dried out twigs. I called and they said they were dormant and to give them some time to start growing. By July there was no sign of any growth and they had even disentigrated to dust.
I called to complain and I was told I could qualify for a replacement IF I tore the original mailing label off the box and returned it to them. By then I though I had thrown it away.
never mind that I had the invoice and credit card receipt. That wasn't good enough for them.
I finally did get my four shell vines in a plant & seed swap, when a nice man from NC sent me four seeds and they grew immediately.
Ironically, I found the box in March 06 on my utility room shelf. I had some things stored in it.
Not that it would have done any good if I had returned the mailing label last year. I' m sure I would have gotten more dead twigs.
Of course they will never get my money again.
They should be called, "House Of Rip off"

Dawn

"

A d-mail was sent to this customer on 5/9 reminding the customer of our one year guarantee. She would simply need to return the label and let us know what died. Since she already has the shell plants, she could use the merchandise credit to purchase something else. We have not yet had a response from the customer."

I wish I found this site before I spent $280 with DirectGardening.com. This is just one of the names they use.

Following web sites are theirs as well.

http://www.eburgess.com
Web Site Address: http://www.excitinggardens.com
Web Site Address: http://www.houseofwesley.com
Web Site Address: http://www.kellynurseries.com
http://www.4seasonsnurseries.com
http://www.directgardening.com
http://www.eroyaldutch.com
http://www.farmerseed.com
http://www.honeycreeknurseries.com
http://www.interstatenurseries.com

They also use following names:

House of Wesley, Inc.
Richard Owen Nursery
Four Seasons Nursery
Burgess Seed & Plant Company
Honeycreek Nurseries, LLC
Royal Dutch Gardens
Direct Gardening
Farmer Seed & Nursery
Kelly Nurseries

Plants that I received were in VERY BAD condition and more than 90% didn't come up at all. Packaging was so bad I couldn't believe, some plants were mold and completely destroyed in shipping. I contacted them for replacement but never heard from them back. Also I spend at least 5 hours on phone trying to reach them but it is always busy.
Called better Business bureau and learned that complaints are filled daily against them. I don't know it filing complaint with BBB help but will try it as well.

Don't waist your money and time with this company !!!!
It is unbelievable that they are still in business, they are nothing else but cheaters.
They should be put out of business

"

We sent a d-mail to this customer on 5/9 offering assistance in checking on the status of the replacement. To date, we have not had a reply.

We have become aware that many customers who have found Garden Watchdog and sign up only to make a posting are not familiar with Dave's Garden "d-mail". This is Dave's form of e-mail and the only way in which we have to contact customer who have made a posting in an attempt to assist them. We would suggest to all Garden Watchdog users to check their Dave's Garden mail box periodically.
"

I ordered $ 90 of merchanise ($27 dollars was a credit slip from your company) on March 1st and have yet to receive ANYTHING....Also i have tried to reach you by phone for several hours for several days and the line was busy.. I had the operator check and the line was "not working". ..I would like either to receive my shipment or money returned to my credit card in a timely fashion or I will be contacting my attourny and the better business bearuea ...thank you kindly

"

Our phone # does work, although we have been very busy. We sent a d-mail to this customer on 5/4 requesting more information and offering assistance in checking on the status of her order."

I ordered crown vetch and creeping red sedum on 3/29/06 and paid on-line with a debit card. I sent an e-mail on 4/18/06 asking when they would be shipped. On 4/19/06, I received an e-mail back advising they were still getting plants from the fields and I was scheduled for spring shipping. This is 5/2/06 and I have heard nothing else, nor have I received any plants. I will post another comment when, and IF, I get my plants.

"

A d-mail was sent to this customer on May 3, but they have not yet responded so we are unable to check on the order. Most of the orders placed the first week of April were shipped last week."

I ordered from this company on 3/31/06. As of yet I have not received any thing. I would really like to get my plants or my money back. I have tried to call and call I have already sent then 2 e-mails. I will not do business with them again.

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A d-mail was sent to this customer on May 3, but they have not yet responded. Most of the orders placed at this time frame were shipped last week, but we are unable to check on this customer's order specifically without more information."

I had never ordered flowers from mail before so I was going completly by faith that I would be delt with fairly. I do not consider myself to be naive. I do how ever find it very hard to swallow that this company is still in business how much would it take of people losing money and complaining before the powers that be cuts these companies off from the money racket they are running it shouldn't be hard to do I mean after all if I dont pay my bills or if I break into someones house and take things which is exactly what this co. is doing they would throw me in jail before night fall, Yet these companies can make no steal millions from consumers and all we can do is write this e-mail knowing the whole time they are stealing more money from people even at we type! I think we should contact a laywer and since we apparently are not going to see live plants or our money we could give the lawyer all of the money that we are awarded. I know we are still not getting what we have coming to us but atleast they dont get it either. I think we have to hit this company where it hurts. Hit them where they hit us in the pocket book that will get there attention either they will have to close or start dealing with people fairly. I only lost like 35.00 I almost sent another order before I got my last one when I thought I would look up wesley house on the internet and see if I could see the status of my order. It had been ordered 4-ever. BOY I am glad I did or they would have took me to the cleaners again.

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We have sent a d-mail to this customer asking for clarification of their problem. It doesn't sound as though the customer has tried to contact us with his problem and we hope he chooses to do so in order that we might help.

House of Wesley has been in the mail order nursery business since the 1950's. We ship hundreds of thousands of packages each year to satisfied customers. "

i odered asiatic lillies, bi color butterfly bushes climbing blaze roses they look great large healthy plants for very little money I don't know how they do it but the plants look great and my yard will be the envy of the block.

I ORDERED SOME TREES FROM HOUSE OF WESLEY ON 3/29/06. SENT A CHECK WITH THE ORDER. TO THIS DAY HAVE NOT HEARD ONE THING AND NO TREES. TRIED CALLING THE TELEPHONE NUMBER LISTED ON THE CATALOGUE AND ALL I GOT WAS A BUSY SIGNAL FOR A DAY AND A HALF. YOU CAN'T RESOLVE A PROBLEM OR FIND OUT ANYTHING IF PEOPLE WON'T ANSWER THEIR PHONE. THIS IS THE LAST TIME I USE HOUSE OF WESLEY AND WILL TELL ALL MY FRIENDS TO BEWARE.
BOB
JACKSON, MO.

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We have sent a d-mail to this customer asking for more information to help him with his order. Our phones have been very busy. We do have extended phone hours at this time of the year. In addition, customers may email us from our website or from the email link provided by garden watchdog in our company profile. We typically respond to emails in 1-2 business days."

Despite warnings to the contrary, I ordered a Patio Tree Rose and Climbing Shell Plant from House of Wesley. The rose arrived 6 weeks after ordering, shipped in a thin plastic bag with absolutely no padding or moisture control. Many of the branches and roots were broken off in shipment due to the poor packing. I was very saddened to have to clip it back, but the branches could not be saved. The resulting plant was very sparse and unbalanced. I had no hope for it. I planted it in a large container and wished it the best. After only a couple days of being planted, the rose started to sprout buds. I have been watering it regularly and giving it plenty of sunshine, and it seems to be doing great. The broken branches have not started to regrow, but I'm not sure how long that takes since this is my first tree rose.

The Climbing Shell plant was shipped three weeks after I received the rose. It arrived in perfect condition in a small pot. I have no complaints about this purchase other than the fact that it spent 8 days in a box with no sunlight. Despite that, it seems to be fine.

Although the rose does appear to be growing, I will not order from House of Wesley again. Their poor packing is just unacceptable, and they charged my credit card 4 weeks before they actually shipped the item. I gave them a neutral rating, because my experience seems to be better than most.

I guess that I got off easy as I only lost about $50 from House of Wesley. When my original order came, most were dead and some were even moldy. Some of the Blue Spruces survived but NOTHING else. I sent back many plants and after not receiving anything for 9 months (yes a full season later) I called and complained and they sent me more dead trees. How can these folks stay in business? I guess by naive folks like me - I mean, did I really expect to receive beautiful plants like they show in their catalog? But one thing that bothers me is that they claim that a lot of their shrubs "grow 2 to 3 feet (or more) per year". That is a blatant lie!

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Without specific information regarding this order it is hard to know the exact situation. Typically, we stop shipping trees/plants from Nov.1 each year until March 1 of the following year. As long as plants are available we ship every other month of the year based on climatic zone unless requested by the customer.
Our information on growth rates is supplied by many sources including growers, planting guides and respected horticulturalists. All growth rates can vary based on growing conditions in a given year. This customer is simply wrong to say that no shrubs can grow 2-3 feet per year."

I've been fooled by these goons a number of times. Each catalog is slightly different, so you think you have to order from one or the other to get what you want! This was a few years ago, when I was a rank beginner. When my order arrived looking like sticks and mush I thought it was my fault. (I remember solemnly planting three dead redbud sticks in the front yard with my kids, and carefully planting mushy Christmas and Lenten rose bulbs.) They did send me vinca one time that grew, but I was too naive to plant it. Since then, I've learned a lot, and found a lot of BETTER mail order companies. I'm delighted to see that my four favorites are in your top 30!!!! Plants should NOT arrive needing immediate intensive care - they should be able to survive if your neighbor puts the box upside down, or if you're sick in bed and can't wait on them hand and foot!

How does this place stay in business? I ordered plant material from these guys and it arrived mostly dead and rotted. I contacted them and was advised I would have to communicate by mail and return the plants and the original packing slip. I did this, stating the problems. I was advised by mail that it had been more than 14 days, so the best this company could offer would be a replacement certificate. Well, the replacements arrived and they too were dead and rotted...Should I go for a third round? Probably not. That was just $150.00 blown to the wind.

Like many people we see posted we placed two orders for plant stock from the house of wesley. Our plants took a very long time to get here and when they arrived in multiple shipments most of the order was dead. All of the calls to their customer service number were for not. We were treated rudely and told "We will not refund your money unless you send back the shipping label and the plant stock". I offered to call my mastercard company and complain about the items and stop payment, to which I was told that would be stealing and they would send me to jail.
Never again will we do business with these people. There has been no effort from them to make things right or to correct their flawed customer service and wimpy plant stock.

ALL THE PLANTS WERE DEAD. SOME WERE EVEN MOLDY. HOW DO YOU STAY IN BUSSINESS?

I had a recent fiasco with another Plantron co., Farmer Seed, so I thought I would also add my comments on a purchase from H.O.W. that was a few years back.

I purchased 20 various daylilies, 12 blue spruce, 3 weeping willows, and a blue moon rose back in the early summer of 2002. Everything was dry on arrival and very poorly packaged. The lilies were clearly dead or diseased, and the rose lasted part of the summer with one flower that looked diseased. One willow looked like it was alive, but never grew a leaf. It is now almost 3 years later, and everything is dead except 2 of the blue spruce, which still have not exceeded a height of a foot and are under constant intensive care. I paid $42 for this mess and I have two runt blue spruce to show for it. You do the math.

I purchase thousands of dollars each year in trees, shrubs, and bulbs from various local nurseries and many online suppliers for my on-the-side landscape and nursery business. I deal with a lot of very small bare-root trees from places like ArborDay.org where you can get them cheap, but they arrive wet and alive and grow like crazy. I've never seen a level of poor quality like the Plantron companies stick you with. And, if you have a problem, they will not make it right. It is not worth any amount of savings for this amount of aggrevation.