Comments regarding Richard Owen Nursery / Exciting Gardens
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Rating | Author | Content |
Negative | HeyKevin (1 review) | On Apr 28, 2005, HeyKevin wrote: BAD NEWs! I wish that I had seen your site to begin with. Though mostly nice to me throughout, I am stopping payment through the credit card and paying to make sure they receive all of this back. Plants were very small and nearly dead ...... took almost a month to process. |
Negative | frankm (1 review) | On Apr 27, 2005, frankm wrote: I ordered plants this year from this outfit half of which arrived doa. That's dead on arrival. The other half were miniscule. I planted them, (they were hedges) but even if they survive, I feel cheated since they were barely seedlings and for the price I was charged, I would expect that they would at least be plants. Sorry I didn't read the comments of others here before I ordered them. |
Negative | dizzywolf (1 review) | On Jan 7, 2005, dizzywolf Deming, NM wrote: Owen Nursery (aka Plantron Inc), bilked me out of $155 this last summer!! I ordered plants and they arrived at the post office in a ripped open bag, which was ripped because the cheap little plastic containers that the plants were in, busted enroute. I declined to accept the package. I was still debited in my bank account by electronic funds transfer, not only for the purchase price, but they used the same check number and debited my account an additional $25!! I have gone through BBB and it has not been resolved. I am starting a class action suit against this company, so if anyone here would like to be in it, let me know. |
Negative | bdotson (1 review) | On Jan 3, 2005, bdotson Wise, VA wrote: I ordered $54 worth of bushes from this company in February of 2004. After not receiving my stock by April, I sent several emails and made several calls to these people trying to find out what was the problem. I got three different explainations and no service. They missed deadline after deadline. I finally asked for a refund. Again, after several calls and excuses, I sent a registered letter, at their request, requesting a refund. After the alotted time and not hearing from them, I called the post office in Bloomington, Il who told me when the letter arrived and who picked it up! I called the company and got another crazy story about them not getting the letter yet. I mentioned the name of the person who picked up the letter according to the post office and got a, "Wait and let me check." The guy came back and said they found my letter and would get my refund check right out. And finally......they did! It was only $54 but I finally got satisfaction. However I didn't get my Winterberry bush for this season. |
Negative | bltodd (1 review) | On Sep 13, 2004, bltodd Heidelberg, KY wrote: on the 14 th of july i ordered 2 smoke trees,,, i have my canceled check , but no trees,, and not a word from the company,, i wrote twice, with no reply , |
Negative | skmunster (2 reviews) | On Sep 8, 2004, skmunster Muskegon, MI wrote: I also placed an order with Richard Owens Nurseries for a number of different plants. Not one of the plants I ordered survived. Not a single one. And I am not exactly new at this either. Daylilies shouldn't all die, especially when you order a whole collection (16, I think) of them. |
Negative | guava79 (2 reviews) | On Aug 6, 2004, guava79 Asheville, NC wrote: I thought that most mail order (website) Nurseries were pretty much up and up, until I dealt with these clowns. Sure, their prices are low, but "buyer beware"! You pay low, you get low, and I do mean LOW! The plants I recieved were nothing more than dried up sticks; I'm used to seeing dormant plants for shipping, but these were 99% dead! Still, being the optimist most gardeners are, I planted them, and the only thing that grew was the moss and weeds on the ground around them. When I tried to get some re-shipped, their instructions were to send the "original shipping label" back to them, and they would re-ship. I did. A month later, no plants. I called. "No record of your request yet - call back in two weeks". I did. "Should be arriving in a week." They did. Out of three replacement plants, only one had any leaves; the other two were small black plastic containers of dirt and green mush! |
Negative | rodolfofra (1 review) | On Aug 3, 2004, rodolfofra wrote: Last year on three different occassions, I place orders with this company. |
Negative | signorgelato (4 reviews) | On Aug 2, 2004, signorgelato Fair Lawn, NJ wrote: Over $ 130.00 wasted. Rotted material, immature dessicated material all lumped into a green plastic sack, with no packaging material. Don't order!!!! Very enticing catalog with oh-so-reasonable prices for absolute garbage received by the hoodwinked consumer. |
Negative | stephaniej (1 review) | On Jul 10, 2004, stephaniej wrote: I had the misfortune of buying from the Plantron, Inc under both the "Richard Owen Nursery" and "Four Seasons Nursery". In both cases, I had less than a 20% growth rate on the plants - |
Negative | StanAman (1 review) | On Jun 21, 2004, StanAman wrote: The items we ordered arrived in a sealed plastic bag and were for the most part rotten, the one exception being a fruit tree which resembled a twig from some desert region. The roots were dry and had been for some time, all the water in Nebraska couldn't possibly encourage it to bud. After reading the comments posted here I decided I have better things to do than fight a loseing battle. Another lesson learned about buying without checking it out first. |
Negative | bigdog49012 (1 review) | On Jun 15, 2004, bigdog49012 wrote: Placed order for ornamental grasses and hybrid willows. All arrived dead, moldy in a green plastic bag. Planted them with slight hope they would emerge from "dormancy". |
Negative | galan (1 review) | On May 20, 2004, galan wrote: 20 May 2004.......Ordered $61 worth of plants and 5 of nine were dead on arrival. Four were totally decayed and could not possibly have reached that state of deterioration in transit. The remaining 4 plants are all sickly and will likely also die. No response to my email complaint. Awful outfit and should be out of business, I say. |
Negative | JAppleseed (2 reviews) | On Apr 8, 2004, JAppleseed San Francisco, CA wrote: Merchandise diminutive in size, moldy, dry, broken, and most items not alive or died soon after arrival. Terrible deception and fraud involved with all associated companies. Tried to resolve, total lack of response. Company immediately charged charge card, but didn't ship some items until nearly two months later. Tried to cancel subsequent shipments after receiving first part of order which contained totally unacceptable plants and bulbs. They put me off, lied to me, and shipped the remainder of the items although I sent them 7 e-mails after not being able to reach them by telephone. |
Negative | LEBLANC1429 (3 reviews) | On Apr 5, 2004, LEBLANC1429 Santa Maria, CA (Zone 10a) wrote: Although I am not pleased with the quality of the plants I have received from this company, most of the perennial plants I received today (the third of a four-part shipment) arrived soupy and rotted in their plastic bags. I have requested their replacement. |
Negative | FlowerKing (4 reviews) | On Mar 9, 2004, FlowerKing Shawano, WI wrote: Save your money and order some place else! I ordered Iris |
Negative | jhegg (6 reviews) | On Feb 4, 2004, jhegg Lengby, MN wrote: I GOT ROYALLY SCAMMED BY HIS COMPANY AND ALL THE ONES THAT HAVE THE ADDRESS: BLOOMINGTON ILLINOIS...STAY AWAY FROM!!!!THEY TAKE YOUR MONEY AND LEAVE YOU WITH NOTHING BUT SOME DEAD, DRIED UP PLANTS, SHRUBS,TREES, THAT YOU NEED A "TWEEZER" TO FIND THEM...THEN WHEN YOU DO FIND THEM YOU JUST THROW THEM OUT.........AND THERE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS THE WORST!!!!!...DON'T GO THERE!!!!!!!!KEEP YOUR MONEY AND PAY ALITTLE MORE SOMEWHERE ELSE!!!!!!!!!NOTHING BUT MISERY....... |
Negative | winnie746 (1 review) | On Oct 28, 2003, winnie746 wrote: My husband order a med/lg supply of flowers, trees, etc. When the order arrived, we had nothing but dead, wilted and damaged products. Not one thing was plantable. So it seems that most people who think they are purchasing items for their gardens are simply donating money to Richard Owen Nursery for shipment of useless flora. I have written to them but have not received a reply, let alone replacements. |
Negative | garlic_fanatic (2 reviews) | On Oct 11, 2003, garlic_fanatic wrote: Time to add my review to this long list of negative comments. |
Negative | taracp (1 review) | On Sep 18, 2003, taracp wrote: On July 10 I placed an online order total of $131.93 for what looked like some very beautiful plants. Of course I did not expect my plants to arrive looking like the photos but neither did I expect trees shipped with no soil or bare root plants shipped with no moisture holding medium. Each plant I ordered came bare root and looked dead. |
Negative | dirtyoldman (3 reviews) | On Sep 10, 2003, dirtyoldman Birmingham, AL wrote: It is truly amazing to me that a nursery this bad has managed to survive so long. The problems people are describing now mirror my experience with the company 20 years ago. At the time, I had a grand scheme in mind for planting Paulownia trees to harvest for the wood, which is very valuable in Japan. So I picked up the Richard Owen catalog, saw 1-2 foot Paulownia trees advertised for a cheap price (I think it was about 4 bucks a pop) and quickly ordered a dozen that spring. |
Negative | damartian (1 review) | On Sep 2, 2003, damartian wrote: IN MAY OF 2002 I ORDERED 8O HYBRED WILLOWS (VERY FAST GROWING). THESE WERE TO BE A NATURAL PRIVACY FENCE AS WELL AS AN ENCLOSURE FOR A PRIVITE GARDEN. WELL, IN JUNE 2002 THEY TOOK MY MONEY FROM THE ACCOUNT I HAD FURNISHED THEM , AFTER FINDING THIS OUT, I EXPECTED TO SEE MY ORDER ARRIVE SOON. WEEK AFTER WEEK WENT BY , AND STILL NO TREES. I STARTED CALING AND CALLING AND AFTER MANY (AT LEAST 10) CALLS AND AN ASSORTMENT OF AT LEAST 8 DIFFERENT LIES, I HAD HAD ENOUGH, BY NOW IT WAS NOVEMBER. MY NEXT CALL WENT TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF IL. AT THIS TIME THEY HAD MY MONEY FO 4 MONTHS. (THIS IS AN ILLEGAL PRACTICE). ONE AND A HALF WEEKS LATER I RECIEVED MY TREES , IN A DARK GREEN PLASTIC BAG WITH NO BREATHER HOLES (KEEP IN MIND THEY ARE QUICK GROWING), NEEDLESS TO SAY , THEY CAME OUT OF HIBERNATION AND STARTED BLOOMING. I PLANTED THEM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE BUT A WEEK LATER WE GOT A SNOW STORM (I LIVE IN MICH.) AND OBVIOUSLY THEY ALL DIED. WHEN I CONTACTED THEM ( NEEDLESS TO SAY I WAS PISSED) AFTER ALL I HAD PLANNED AN ENTIRE SUMMER OF LANDSCAPING AROUND THESE TREES. THE COMPANY COULD HAVE CARED LESS ABOUT THE AGRIVATION THEY CAUSED ME. AFTER SENDING IN MY RECEIPTS FOR A CREDIT VOUCHER (THEY REFUSED TO REFUND MY MONEY) , AFTER WHAT THEY DID, ADDING INSULT TO INJURY. I HAVE PLACED ANOTHER ORDER ( A YEAR LATER MIND YOU) ONLY BECAUSE OF THE VOUCHER, AND AFTER A MONTH AND A HALF THEY STIIL CANNOT OR WILL NOT EVEN VERIFY THAT I SENT THEM THE VOUCHER OR THAT THEY RECEIVED MY ORDER . I AM ON MY FOURTH PHONE CALL TO THEM ABOUT THIS PROBLEM . THE CO. SEEMS TO BE VERY UNORGANIZED, AND COULD CARE LESS ABOUT ITS CUSTOMERS. I THINK THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF ILL. SHOULD HEAR FROM MORE OF US , THEY WERE VERY HELPFULL TO ME.ITS TIME RICHARD OWEN NURSERY WAS PUT OUT OF BUSINESS.! |
Negative | plantroom (1 review) | On Aug 10, 2003, plantroom wrote: I sent an order to richard owens nursery, a short time later my hasband and i both became disabled and unable to plant the shrubs we had planted, since the order had only benn sent out 2 or 3 weeks earlier, i thought they would cancle the order for me. Instead they rushed me my order, in august in the middle of a drought, In the case they sent out the order way to early. And we could not plant it had we been able. So now I have to fight them with trying to get my money back which is only $44.76. I doubt that amount will make or brake them. It won't make or brake me either. But I learned a valuable lesson, check on places like this before you order. If I had only done that I might not have placed the order, but it would not have mattered since we both became disabled so suddenly, but these are not the kind of people I wish to do business with. |
Negative | cop_joe (1 review) | On Jul 31, 2003, cop_joe wrote: I ordered a Blue Damson plum tree in 1999. It came looking like a stick with little root. It survived by constant care. |
Negative | dillonj (1 review) | On Jul 16, 2003, dillonj wrote: I along with another co-worker ordered about $50 in plants and bulbs. Firstly, our order took almost 2 months to receive. The first part of the order some of the bulbs were moldy and rotten. Not sure if any of the "free bulbs/seeds" will come up. I know one of the house plants I received was three very small clippings and within 1 week shrivled up and died. Outdoor plants I received looked unhealthy and I planted according to instructions and 6 weeks later no growth or activity. I was elated to see such great prices, but now I know why. I would not recommend this supplier to anyone. I sent an email to their customer service and was told that I could return the items with their return label. I'm not going to do that because chances are I will get the same quality of merchandise. I am an avid gardening person and I was totally disgusted with the quality and condition of the merchandise this company sent. Don't waste your money on this company |
Negative | jimdejager (1 review) | On Jun 9, 2003, jimdejager wrote: We ordered plants from this company on April 21, 2003 . They cashed our check on May 8 , 2003 . When we called to inquire about status Mid May , their customer service rep told us , after the check cashes & they still don't ship you the goods till 6 to 8 weeks later . When we complained about this procedure , the customer service rep stated they were a subcontracted service & they couldn't do anything .......... basicially told us "well , too bad , that's the procedure "................. We'll never buy anything from this company again & we go out of our way to tell our friends ................ Buyer be ware , when dealing with Richard Owen Nursery! |
Negative | ocarina (2 reviews) | On May 31, 2003, ocarina wrote: Several months back, I returned shipping labels because of plants that would not grow. Several weeks later, then returned the labels, stating I "needed to send labels". What did they think those green things were? Some of the dead plants were not on the labels sent because the label they were on was sent previously. I was waiting to see of some of the other plants would grow, which they didn't. I sent those labels back along with a note stating as such. So far, there has been no response whatsoever from them. I feel they hassle people so they don't have to honor their "guarantee." |
Negative | BHorton (1 review) | On May 20, 2003, BHorton Killen, AL wrote: I placed an order with this company on 4/4/03. They charged my credit card on 4/9/03. I am still waiting for my order to arrive. Our planting season in Alabama started in March. Calls to their Bloomington, Il number is a waste of time. If you don't get a busy signal, you get a rude employee who gives you the runaround. Emails to them are also a waste of time. I called my credit card company and complained and they are notifying them of my dissatisfaction and are going to credit my account. I was instructed NOT to pay the amount Richard Owen Nursery charged to my account. I lived in Bloomington til 1984 and am extremely disappointed in this company and their attitude. I will never order from them again. I tried to cancel this order 4/17/03 and was told my order was ready to ship any day. They told me in order to return the items once received, I had to pay the return postage and couldn't just refuse the order as I told them I was going to do. My credit card company instructed me to "refuse the order" and to not take possession of it. If the order ever gets here I do plan to refuse it and have it returned at their expense and not mine. I would avoid this company at all costs. Trying to resolve a problem with them takes the patience of a saint. Now I guess I'll try and call them one more time ......... |
Negative | markc4 (1 review) | On May 17, 2003, markc4 wrote: 90% of the order dead or moldy. i should have known better, the prices were too low. i just got greedy and got burned. unfortunately, it was a fairly large order. oh, well. off to walmart. from now on the owens catalog goes in the trash where it belongs. |
Negative | rrmc (1 review) | On Apr 28, 2003, rrmc wrote: I received my order several weeks ago. The roots were DEAD not dormant. I ordered over $ 50 worth of plants. I have 2 lilies sprouting. Those were very expensive daylilies. This was the WORST mail order company I have ever done business with!!!! |
Negative | yschaffer (5 reviews) | On Apr 6, 2003, yschaffer Shaker Heights, OH (Zone 5a) wrote: This company runs hot and cold. I placed an order with this company for the first time in two years. When I received my order two years ago, everything arrived dead. Not dormant, DEAD! Much to my surprise, the order I received this week, contained live specimans. I was pleasantly surprised. But, don't get too excited. Ordering from this organization is at best a crap shoot. You just never know. |
Negative | Intriguing1 (20 reviews) | On Apr 4, 2003, Intriguing1 Tulsa, OK (Zone 6b) wrote: I had already placed a couple of substantial orders from this company before I found this website. After I read the reviews, I waited anxiously to see if I would have the same results as many others have had with this company; dead or dying plants, the wrong items, or no items at all. I'm happy to say that I received both of my orders, all correct items, and all plants are thriving and sprouting or budding. I may simply be lucky compared to everyone else, but I cannot complain based on my results. The only disappointment I do have with this company is that the packaging is terrible, and my orders came too early for my zone (5)... as a result, until it is warm enough to plant outdoors, my kitchen looks (and smells) like a nursery! On May 10th, 2003, Intriguing1 changed the rating from positive to negative and added the following: I was initially very pleased with my order, and while at first my plants seemed healthy and more than willing to grow, each and very item reached a growth "plateau" after about a month and ceased growing beyond. Unfortunately, these were not healthy plants at all, though they appeared so at first. I suspect that Plantron and their affiliates purchase the discards from other nursery companies and pass them off as first quality plants to unsuspecting consumers... like me. |
Negative | pattiann1953 (1 review) | On Mar 12, 2003, pattiann1953 wrote: I ordered $96 worth of plants from this company unaware that I had placed the order too late for shipment until next fall and yet they took the money out of my account. I am so angry because when I called to cancel my order and tell them to put the money back in they said I had to write a letter, not an email, to cancel. I thought it was illegal to take money for nothing. Well I have written the letter and we shall see. |
Negative | JMLRCYMNTS (7 reviews) | On Jan 20, 2003, JMLRCYMNTS Greeley, CO wrote: I had a bad deal with these folks several years ago....never got it resolved (to my satisfaction)..now when their catalogs or affiliates show up I don't even open them...they go straight into the trash. Too bad! |
Negative | groovin (7 reviews) | On Jan 20, 2003, groovin Windom, MN (Zone 4b) wrote: I ordered plants from this company several years ago, and that's the reason I found and joined Garden Watchdog! None of the plants lived, most were DOA, and customer service? This nursery never heard of it. |
Negative | Cowgirl (1 review) | On Jan 13, 2003, Cowgirl wrote: I placed a large order from excitinggardens.com back in October. My plants were shipped to me wrapped only in plastic. Almost all were broken. One plant listed as shipped was missing. I e-mailed the company outlining the problems. They wanted me to mail back to them the wrapping they came in (which had already been thrown away - I'm sure they count on this) to obtain refund or replacement. I told them that if they charged my card for the plants that I would dispute the charge. I never heard back from them. They will never get an order from me again, nor will any of their affiliates (see list under Plantron Inc.). |
Negative | LindaTurley (1 review) | On Aug 19, 2002, LindaTurley wrote: Please don't order from these people! I ordered in May 2002, and 90% of the plants they sent were dead! Can't get my money back. BEWARE! |
Negative | Bill578 (1 review) | On Jul 26, 2002, Bill578 wrote: I called them to cancel my order of 7/6. I called them on 7/10 and as they requested sent a cancellation request letter. I also e-mailed them every day. For 2 weeks they told me they had no record of my order, both from Customer Service on the phone and by e-mail. I kept telling them if they did find my order-DO NOT process it. Wait for cancellation letter. On 7/26, they said, "Order already processed, credit card charged and first shipment on the way." I went POSTAL and e mailed a strong cancellation reply and talked to Customer Service by phone. They said they did not know if they could cancel balance of order and to return first shipment with enclosed label. Where have I heard that one before? I immediately filed a complaint with the Illinois Better Business Bureau and am going to fill out a Dispute Charges form with my credit card company.For Anyone thinking of doing business with these people- DO NOT. They do not know what they are doing, or worse, the DO know what they are doing and it is unethical at best. |
Negative | SandyShull (1 review) | On Jul 20, 2002, SandyShull wrote: My experience with Richard Owens was in February this year I ordered 18 Blue Spruce and 20 Stella d'Oro Daylilies, one Wiegla and one Wisteria. The blue spruce were moldy. I planted them and only 4 are still alive. The day lilies were so dried out and tiny, I wondered if they would survive. Most of them did make it thanks to alot of rain right after I planted them. At WalMart I got 20 more of these daylilies for half the price, and they were ten times better looking. The wiegla and wisteria were just mere sticks, but they have leafed out, and the wisteria looks quite nice. I have ordered some tree peonies, hydrangeas, wieglas, and butterfly bushes from them a week ago. I will write when they arrive probably in a month or two and let all of you know what I receive. If it is a bad as the last shipment, I will never order from them again. [update 8/17/2002] I wrote you about a month ago and mentioned that I wished I had found you site before I sent in my order to Richard Owen Nursery. I received two out of my 3 packages today. The third has not come with 3 hydrangeas, but I am not holding my breath if the condition of the two I received are any indication of what I am going to get. Here are the facts. I ordered 4 daylilies, and they seem to be okay. It is hard to kill a daylily. I ordered 5 butterfly plants, and they are a joke. Two arrived as 3" sticks with absolutely no roots on them, and the other three are so moldy I doubt they will grow, and they are about 3 inches tall. Next, I ordered 5 peony trees at about $10 apiece. Two actually are sprouting and look okay, but the other three have lots of roots and absolutely no growth buds to indicate that they are alive. They may make it since it is really hard to kill a peony because they are so hardy, but I have not planted tree peonies before. I will not be ordering any more plants from Richard Owens or their other affiliated companies. Just wanted to let you know what I got. |
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