Comments regarding Fast Growing Trees (formerly Empress Tree Nurseries, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com)

Fast-Growing-Trees order #606925 on 21Mar2013 of 8 royal empress trees. 6 currently growing from bare root stock- 2 have shown no growth. Sent 2 emails with no response, 3rd email I explained that I would be posting a negative comment here and got response to replace the 2 non-growing trees within a couple of hours. I will still never order from them ever again and suggest no one else does either. There are many other deserving mail-order businesses with better customer service to be utilized.

"On Jul 26, 2013 10:35 AM, Empress Tree Nurseries (aka Fast Growing Trees, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com) responded with:

We received an email correspondence from this customer on May 29th explaining that he had sent numerous emails we did not respond to. We have looked through our email system, and cannot find an email prior to this one on the 29th. The same day we received the email about an issue, we promptly added the 2 replacement plants to be processed. The replacement plants were shipped out 4 business days after the receipt of the original email. Our customer service manager has reached out 5 times via phone to make sure this customer has no further issues, and has not received a return call.
We sincerely hope our promptness with our resolution has satisfied our customer.
"

Terrible customer service, what a mistake my order has been. On april 4th, I ordered 5 Thuja Green Giants from them to start a privacy screen at our new house. All trees were getting "too big to ship" at 40% off and free shipping. The payment of $230 cleared my bank on the 5th. On the 9th, my wife was doing our budget and saw an additional $295 charge from them on our card. I assumed it was a correction of the first and they messed up the discount, wrong! I called them immediately the next morning to learn someone apparently had modified my order to add 5 extra bushes and a few bags of dirt. Thank God my wife caught this as soon as the payment posted. I figured it would be easy to clear up. The lady blamed me for the order and told me someone had access to my card, I assured her that did not happen. She said she would take care of it and refund the extra $295, leaving only my actual order of $230. She said she would cancel the whole order and reenter only my original items. I get a shipping notice that night via email. I call my credit card company to report the fraudulent charge. They told me I needed to wait 15 days since I had made a legit order from them, and this was merchant error not fraud. I called them the next day to get another lady. She pulled my order number and found nothing had changed. I had the same conversation with her and she told me they could refund the extra bushes, but the dirt had already shipped and I would be responsible for return shipping to get a refund. I thought that was ridiculous, why should I pay to return-ship 40lbs of dirt I didn't order, nothing they can do. Following the call I contacted FedEx to see if I could stop the shipment. Turns out it had been submitted for pickup, but not picked up. Per my banks suggestion I needed some sort of paper trail. I immediately opened a ticket with Fast-Trees explaining the whole situation. A weekend passes, I give them Monday. Monday night a small refund goes through, for $230 the amount of the part I did actually order. I called them again to find out they didn't ship anything yet and had refunded me for the 5 extra bushes but not the dirt. I again, explained the whole thing and told them I did not order the dirt. She flags an extra $65 for refund. Two days pass, I get a call from them. Apparently they need my credit card info to process my refund because they don't have it. I call them for the 5th time to finalize this. I call at 3:25pm, I am on hold for 41 minutes! A que tells me it will be 5 minutes, then ladies, without giving a chance to speak tell me please stay on hold. Most calls this lasts 15 mintues, but this time it happens 3 times for a total of 41 minutes. Then, an automated message comes on telling me they can't take my call today they've closed, leave a message, I do.

I still have not finalized this order mess up, it's now the 24th, I have tried to be friendly. What a joke this place is. I still haven't got their mistake cleared up, and have spent atleast 4 hours of my life working on this. I can't even imagine what these trees will look like. If I could get out of this order it would be a God-send. Never doing business with them again!

Terrible! I posted the whole story on another site.... ordered over 800 in trees and shrubs... had terrible luck, terribly packaged, dried up looking stems... called them, they reassured me, plant them and if they don't perform they'd replace... ok... well I lost over 500 in the ones that died... I got just over 100 in refund to use on there site... WTH?!?! Never again! Don't get suckered!!!! It was a very costly mistake. My own fault for NOT checking reviews......

Because the internet has made it very convenient for most of us to look for information, when I was looking for gardening ideas and plants that would grow well in my area, it seemed easy to browse Fast Growing Trees (it pops up quite easily).I saw the beautiful pictures of the mature trees and plants, and what seemed to be knowledgeable descriptions and instructions and... I trusted. The FREE SHIPPING on plants and trees had the immediate intended effect (removed a huge objection to buying trees and plants online). Anyone that has payed for shipping knows that free shipping on bulky things is too good an offer to pass, not to mention that you get a $7.00 discount for signing up for their emaiI newsletter. So I spent a good hour happily choosing over $1300 in plants for our front yard. Before ordering I called them to ask when the plants were likely to arrive to coordinate with the landscaper. The salesperson told me: "If you order now, I can bump you ahead on the line so that you get your plants next week" Beautiful plants, free shipping and, special treatment! How nice! so I ordered over $1,300 in plants from Fast Growing Trees by phone BEFORE reading reviews (so very unwise). I was just to taken by the pretty images and the easy to use website. I did not read the terms and conditions, I think that most of us trust that merchants act in good will.
It was after one week of no receiving any notifications that I called them to ask when the plants were coming, they told me they had not shipped them yet and that orders to the Midwest usually shipped on Wednesdays (it was a Monday). Something about the way this customer service person talked to me did not feel right, he was not rude but much less nice than the salesperson and much less willing to give information. So, finally, I typed "Fast growing trees reviews" in my search engine, and oh, boy! so many complaints. To be fair, some people seemed happy with their purchase but the vast majority had something negative to say about the state in which the plants/trees arrived and the subsequent customer service. Because they had just told me that the order had not shipped I called them right away trying to cancel my order. This time I could not get through, the pre-recorded message was that they had an "unusually high volume" of calls (not a good sign) and that I should try again later. So I did, same robot answer. I called several times, always the same message. Could not get through.
Fortunately I had paid with a credit card, which, by the way, got charged the same day I placed the order although they had not shipped it yet . It was through my credit card company's customer service that I finally got through (she called them and got through immediately, they do answer to credit card companies) and in a 3-way call she helped me cancel the order, of course they charged me a 10% cancellation fee - I later found out that they actually charged 30 cents more, I don't know if they miscalculated in their favor intentionally, it was a bit so I let it go- They were clearly unhappy and non-committal about it. The salesperson was curt and said that she was not even sure if she could cancel because the plants were transported somewhere else before shipping and she would have to go and check, if the plants were already wrapped, bad luck, I could not cancel. The credit card person asked if they (Fast Growing Trees) would call me later to tell me if they could cancel the order, the saleswoman said : (sullen silence) -sullen "yes". Well, she never called me.
I called Fast Growing Trees again the following day, I got through and another customer service person told me that the order had been cancelled. My card received the reimbursement a few days later minus the 10% and a bit. It was a costly mistake but I am happy that I did not lose more with these people, if the tree and plants I ordered had arrived in poor condition or had died after being planted, I can only imagine the huge loss of time and peace of mind dealing with their so called customer service department.
I had in the past ordered plants by mail (White Flower Farm) and when the plants did not arrive in the best conditions, they immediately issued an apology and a refund to my credit card. Fast Growing Trees is in no way even close to courteous when things don't go their way.
The irony is that by driving around in my area, I found several local nurseries that have the plants I saw online at the same or lower price. These are plants I can see and touch before buying. What I learnt is that it is worth looking in your area first, a little footwork can save you a lot of sorrow. If none of the local nurseries have what you want, then look online but before you buy, make sure you check reviews outside their website. My advice is to STAY AWAY from Fast Growing Trees. I think that they were sort of forced to cancel my order because I got help from my credit card company but that if I had tried on my own, things would have been different.

SCAM! BUYERS BEWARE! I SPENT 1700.00 WITH THIS COMPANY & WAS PROMISED ROBUST BIG TREES (WHICH I PAID ANYWHERE FROM 50-100 A PIECE FOR) AND I RECEIVED TINY, UNHEALTHY, DRIED UP TWIGS!! THIS IS A COMPLETE SCAM! DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY FOLKS, YOU WILL BE SORELY SORELY DISAPPOINTED!!!!! I AM ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGED. ALSO, WHEN I CONTACTED THE COMPANY (IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE INADEQUATE TWIGS THEY CALL TREES ARRIVED) I WAS UNABLE TO GET ANY GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE & ENDED UP HAVING TO DO A DEBIT & CREDIT CARD DISPUTE & THEN CANCEL MY DEBIT & CREDIT CARD. TRUST ME FOLKS, DONT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID!! DO YOUR HOMEWORK AHEAD OF TIME!!! I GOT DUPED, SCAMMED, HOODWINKED!! DONT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU

What a joke, I paid 39.00 and 10.00 shipping for a 10" twig and 3 leaves. This was a gift and I am so unhappy, I will never buy from them again, I wish I had known about their other names and checked out Daves list. Live and learn. Joyce

Posted on June 11, 2012, updated June 12, 2012
My husband ordered a meyer lemon tree for me as a gift for Mothers' Day. A week later, the tree had not arrived, so I emailed them and he called them. They placed him on hold and no one ever came to speak to him in the 30 minutes he waited. I did receive an email response saying that my tree had not yet shipped, and that it would arrive in a few days. No tree ever came. I have emailed and called several more times, with no response from the company. This was a very expensive tree, and it has been a month since the order was placed. I feel that they have stolen our money.

I ordered 6 Leyland cyprus trees,that were advertised at 4-6 feet.I called the company prior to ordering and they assured me that they would be more than 5 feet and full.I shoped around local in NJ at homedepot and a couple of local nurseries. The trees they promised me over the phone( a nice 5ft leyland cyprus ) were going for about 100-120 $,so at 85 $ and free shipping it looked like i could save a few bucks and the reviews on there site were all positive. Well the joke was on me and we all know the old saying "if it sounds to good to be true.......". What i got were these 2-3 foot young trees!!!! The size that you can get at any homedepot for about 25$!!!!!!!.Wish i had found this site prior to ordering!!!! The company website has all positive reviews,tried posting on the website but never was allowed,so that must mean they use false reviews. I am sure the positive reviews on this site are mostly false. Bottom line I got ripped off for about 400$,company is a SCAM!!!! beware!! I will contact my credit card company and other agencies,maybe we can get a class action going.

Buyers beware, this company is a ripoff...

I recently placed an order for two peach trees. Later I found similar trees in our local store with less than 1/3 of their online prices. So I called them to cancel the order. Before I requested the cancellation, I asked if they had shipped my order yet. The service waman on the phone told me I had to wait till next week. So I requested her to cancel my order. She told me there would be a 10% charge for cancelling my order. I asked her why. She told me because they would be charged by the credit card company for credit refund.

I have been shopping from the internet since the mid 1990's. This is the first time this ever happened. First of all, they should list this policy clearly on their checkout page. Second, they should not even charge my credit before the shipment. Third, I have never heard of this 10% charge by the credit card company for credit refund. I think she was lying to me.

Would never order from this company again.

AvoidFASTGROWINGTREES.COM
I ordered a mimosa tree. I received my tree on Thursday 3/22 and sent a message through their website that day with pictures attached.
I didn't get a response within the business days stated so I called.
I was told I would get an email within 24hours, when that didn't happend I called again. I had to leave a voicemail with the person I had talked to.
Then I received an email a day later, that basically ignored everything I had concerns with:
"this is perfectly normal for the mimosa. It will be perfectly fine to plant. if you have any questions, please let us know" I emailed back that day, and got no response.
I waited a week and sent a last email saying please respond, and waited another week and here we are.
Basically for $100 I received a long stick with some clear dead parts on top, and very little roots.
Not a single branch coming off the main shoot.
It was thrown in a pot with some new potting media. It looked as if it was hacked off. To summarize,
bad product, and even worse customer service. I have ordered from other companies before and know wha
to expect from a tree. DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY. I gave them every chance to make it right...

BEWARE. Very fraudulent company. Plants are much smaller than promised, sometimes the WRONG species and often DOA. All of these happened to me on my ONE order. They refuse to issue refunds, make YOU pay return shipping for their error, and fight dirty with credit card disputes. All of this has been documented by others. I lost over $100 dealing with them. BE WARNED!

Disorganized, dishonest or both. I placed an order with them on Thursday and requested them to ship 3 weeks later because no one will be home to receive the shipment. About 6 hours later I decided to cancel the order. Called the company the following day (Friday) in the morning to confirm they received my cancelation instruction. Alison confirmed cancelation. On Monday I received notification from FedEx that a shipping request has been generated by the company. Called Fast Growing Trees again and told that I have already canceled my order and to stop shipment. They told me that FedEx already picked up the tree and they can do nothing about it. Checked FedEx web site and found they had not picked up the tree and that only a shipping request was initiated. Checked FedEx again 2 hours later. Tree has not been picked up yet. Obviously the person I talked with at Fast Growing Trees was lying. I will never again deal with this dishonest company.

Last fall, I ordered a siberian crabapple, 2 royal empress trees, and 2 forsythia bushes from this company. They didn't appear to be in the best shape, so I put them in the ground, added some miracle grow transplating fluid as per intructions on the box so they wouldn't die. Within days the royal empress and siberian crabapple trees were dead. I waited until spring thinking maybe they'd come back, but they didn't. They were dry and brown all the way through the "trunk." I called Fast Growing Trees, and was told it could take a little bit for them to get me this code giving me 75% refund in the form of store credit, which I was fine with because I read their policies before I bought from them. I have been calling them on and off since March, and have recieved no phone calls back, no emails, and I check both my inbox and spam to make sure I wouldn't miss their email. The last time I called was about a month ago, and the woman told me that they had fallen behind, but they were working on it. Take my advice, and order from a nursery that actually follows the policies they set for themselves to follow, and don't get ripped off by these people. On a scale of 1-10, I give them a 2. The only reason for that is because I was able to revive the forsythias.

They sent me 5 dead trees then refused to send new trees or refund me my money.

Total Rip off!!!!

All I can say is....CRAP! The plants I received, 2 lilacs, 1 wisteria tree, and 3 free strawberry plants were meager at best. Yes, they r alive, but barely. I took comparison pictures of all the plants I have next too plants sold around me from other nurseries. The comparison plants were about twice the size and quality, for half the price! I did send the company of these pictures, but will not be surprised if no response. I was never able to get in touch with them. I will NEVER buy trees from here again and will make sure non of my friends will either.
Also, the person from the company saying that you get a conformation email about when your items ship out from FED EX is completely FALSE! I never got an email at all!
Shame on you Fast Growing Trees!!!!!

I ordered at tree that arrived as nothing more than a twig and appeared dead. I called 4 business days after receiving the shipment to be told to keep it planted and call them back after a few weeks if there has been no progress to get a replacement. I followed those instructions only to find out when I called back that they will only give me 75% of the cost towards the replacement. When I asked for a refund I was told they do NOT refund purchases. I'll be filing a complaint with the FTC and my Attorney General's office and requesting an investigation into false advertising.

Oh and they even blamed me for not getting a full credit because I didn't call in within the first 48 hours.

All of this after being told the trip would ship right away and was in stock when I placed my order. After repeated emails and calls from me it eventually shipped over a month later.

Last February I called Fast Growing Trees nursery and told them my yard was bare and I absolutely needed shade, fast!!! Their phone salesman recommended that I buy 3 Hybrid Poplar trees- 5-6', 3 American Sycamore- 5-6' and 2 Bradford pear- 3-4', (for color they said.) I thought to myself when I got off the phone, wow, I just had a really good experience, I can't wait to plant my new trees. When they got here, though, the whole story changed. Everything was so small and the trunks so skinny. I thought, Now, I told them on the phone that I wanted shade fast! These trees arrived sloppily packed with broken branch tips and puny roots and smaller than advertised. When I called to explain, I was told that the trees WERE what I ordered because at Fast Growing Trees they measure the entire tree, starting the measurement from the root bottom to the top of the tree. Well I find that incredibly tricky and deceiving, especially when I explained that I didn't mind spending some extra money to dress up my new yard with nice trees. In searching for information about fast growing trees nursery, I found this forum for gardeners and also found someone else on "Complaints Board" whose own experience parallels my own awful situation. //www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/false-advertising-c83759.html
I am done shopping for trees on the internet. They wouldn't even let me return the trees for a refund! I'm going to write the Attorney General in N. C. to get results like the above victim did.

"On Dec 15, 2010 4:06 PM, Empress Tree Nurseries (aka Fast Growing Trees, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com) responded with:

We do not carry the Bradford Pear, nor do I have an order in our system from last February for the others trees.
Although I fear you did not order these from us, I can tell you that all of those trees are fast growers. For example, the American Sycamore gorws up to six feet a year so a five to six foot American Sycamore would be quite young. The same also applies to the Hybrid Poplar which grows up to eight feet a year.
In addition if an item arrives damaged it is our policy to request a picture (to process a claim with FedEx), and then re-ship immediately.
Please also see our Terms of Service. There is a return portion which outlines our return policy.
Regardless of where they were purchased, you did order fast growing trees, and I do hope you have given them a chance."

Its a pain getting this nursery to replace my plants! Last spring my purchase of 4 crepe myrtle trees arrived on time and I anxiously planted them after they arrived. The trees were all marked Natchez Crape myrtle as ordered by one of the trees in August bloomed pink and the other bloomed purple. Fast Growing Trees in advertised "Lowest price online," but after ordering I found that the crepe myrtle trees at other nursery's online were half the price I paid. I still have not gotten my replacement and I have already lost a year of growing and flowering the wrong color!

"On Dec 14, 2010 4:37 PM, Empress Tree Nurseries (aka Fast Growing Trees, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com) responded with:

I have no record of four Crape Myrtles going to Marion, SC last Spring although if I am following your complaint it sounds like you possibly contacted us their second year in the ground.
I do wish you had contacted us during their first flowering season so we could have replaced them.
We do not have records past two years ago, however we are running a great promotion with free shipping right now if you'd like to add more Crape Myrtles to your yard.
They are beautiful."

I ordered a couple 2' tall trees from FAST-GROWING-TREES,
//www.fast-growing-trees.com and when they arrived they were only 3 inches tall! Well, I planted according to their instructions in well prepared soil. One tree lived, growing very slowly, not FAST as their namesake, FAST-GROWING-TREES, suggests! I contacted the company and was told to take pictures to send them. Finally after WEEKS of waiting, I was told my smaller than ordered plants could be replaced, but they only felt responsible for 75% of the plant cost and asked me to send them 25% of the plant cost, AND I'd have to pay the shipping AGAIN! This means was going to cost me $20-$25 to replace their poor smaller in size planr than advertised product. I contacted their local BBB- FUTILE! They do not care what FGT does as long as they are paying their membership premiums. This company does not stand behind their products, matter of fact, I'm convinced they stand ON it before they ship it! Don't Order from these guys, use The Watchdog to find a reputable nursery!

"On Dec 15, 2010 2:55 PM, Empress Tree Nurseries (aka Fast Growing Trees, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com) responded with:

I expect this customer ordered our one gallon size Empress tree. Our six inch to two foot size is changed to a one gallon when our nursery manager coppices them.
If this order was within the last year and half (which is when our warranty changed) we do not ask for money from the customer. When a tree dies our customer receives a coupon for a store credit to spend on any item they'd like. If you received your trees in the last year please contact us for your replacement coupon.
As for the BBB we are not members, we do not pay them anything. However, the BBB is not a government agency, nor are they an arbitrator. They do not have the authority to settle complaints.They are like any other complaint board except they give grades based on submitted information.
They do make money, but not from us.
"

My pecan tree order was supposed to be shipped out “immediately”, when I ordered the second week of August. After 3 weeks of anxiety and waiting, I started sending out emails to fast growing trees, but they answered nothing, no time! My vacation ended in mid October and to my surprise a box with a pecan tree had been on my porch, delivered and sitting for an entire week in the hot baking sun. When I opened the box it was full of scattered earth and a potted shriveled up pecan tree, D.O.A. On examining the 4 inch tall 3 gallon pot - that had been cut in half - it was clear that the tap root had curled around inside the bottom of the pot and had completely compressed the root system that was only 4 inches high, a circle, measured from the bottom to the top of the pot. For a 5 foot tree to be bottomed out with a tiny, distorted root system, I knew, was completely ridiculous for a pecan tree of that height, because the tree should have had a tap root that measured at least 2 ft. long, like a vertical tap root, and not wound around in a pot like a 4 inch wide bracelet. I grew up on a farm and I knew what a tap rooted pecan tree was supposed to look like. I returned this pile of pecan junk on October 14th in the original FedEx tattered box. I have been waiting weeks to get my refund on this fiasco order and can't get any action or answer from fast growing trees. Right now I am out my purchase price after suffering from a traumatic internet mail order event that I am reporting to the BBB.

"On Dec 14, 2010 4:24 PM, Empress Tree Nurseries (aka Fast Growing Trees, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com) responded with:

We do normally ask for one to three weeks for delivery of trees however at that time we did have some trees that were set for fall shipping. In an effort to keep the customer updated we can give order status updates via telephone, and we send automatically generated emails with FedEx tracking information as soon as orders leaves here. The tracking information letter would have an expected delivery date. LA would have a three day notice before delivery.
I am not sure I understand what is described next as our 3 gallon pots measure approximately 14 inches wide by 12 inches high. However, if an item arrives damaged it is our policy to request a picture (to process a claim with FedEx), and then re-ship the item immediately.
Finally, I would very like to check on your credit as they are usually done in 24-48 hours but I couldn't find a record of a pecan tree going to Slidel, Louisianna during the time you stated.
Please contact us if there is still an outstanding credit.
"

I recently ordered a few leyland cypress from fast growing trees and ultimately I would say I am dissapointed. The trees were small and the thickness of the crown was less than described. They even measure their plant size to include the pot but then don't make that very clear! I wont order from these guys again!

"On Dec 14, 2010 3:48 PM, Empress Tree Nurseries (aka Fast Growing Trees, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com) responded with:

As you made no mention as to the condition your trees it seems that you did receive healthy young trees.
The Leyland Cypress is a very fast grower so these and our Green Giants do tend to shot up quickly before filling out.
As for the size measurement it is stated on the description page for the Leyland Cypress as well as our Terms of Service that our sizes include the root system. This is common nursery practice.
I do hope that you will be as surprsed, and happy as other customers are with these once they have had a chance to witness what they can do in a growing season.

"

After waiting seven weeks to receive my pecan tree from Fast-Growing trees nursery, it finally got here. In July they advertised “Now shipping” “takes one to two weeks to receive your order.” After two weeks I started messaging with emails to no avail. They ignored replying, so I called, and they said “any day now.”

I paid $81.50 for an advertised 5-7 foot pecan tree, but it was only 4 ½ ft tall, shorter than advertised. The box was full of fire ants that apparently had nested in the pot, and on opening the box they stung me on my hand and then scattered everywhere, all through my garden. I think fast-Growing-trees should pay me extra for the insect spray I used to put on the fire ants.

My pecan trees leaves looked wilted, diseased and leaf galls warped the shape on some of the leaves. After planting this miserable excuse for a pecan tree, it only stood 4 ½ feet after planting IN the ground. They apparently included the height of the pot in claiming that the tree was 5-7 feet tall. That seems misleading to me.

If this sorry looking pecan tree doesn't live, I'll be writing another complaint about it later. I would not want to be ordering from this company again.

"On Dec 14, 2010 3:38 PM, Empress Tree Nurseries (aka Fast Growing Trees, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com) responded with:

I am sorry that your tree was delayed in shipping, typically if there will be a delay we do send an email to alert our customers.
Each tree description page as well as our Terms of Service does say that the shipping height includes the root system which is common nursery practice.
As for fire ants we strictly adhere to the agricultual laws and inspections.
All of our items must be sprayed before they leave our nursery, and we go a step further by placing all of our potted items on landscaping fabric for additional protection.
Finally, all of our items are covered under our One Year Warranty which is a very easy process.
"

Last fall I bought several shade trees from Fast Growing Trees Online Nursery that were advertised on their website as being fast growing to 3 feet per year but not only were they not growing at all, they all dried up and I think their shade trees are overpriced anyway! Before that bad experience I was considering the idea of buying a fruit tree orchard from them this year, but after seeing on their website that the dwarf Red Haven peach trees grow to 15' I decided their credibility based on my previous bad experience with overpriced dying trees and their blatant disregard about a 15 foot DWARF PEACH TREE, Ive decided to say no thank-you and goodbye!

"On Dec 14, 2010 1:33 PM, Empress Tree Nurseries (aka Fast Growing Trees, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com) responded with:

I am sorry that you didn't take advantage of our One Year Warranty it is a very easy process.
If you purchased several trees and they all died we would look at watering practices, soil and growing zones as potential problems.
As far as dwarf trees there is not a maximum height size, but rather a size smaller than standard.
For example, a standard mature peach tree can reach heights of 25-30 feet, so at 15 feet the Red Haven would be a dwarf. Another example would be the Tulip Poplar. A standard mature Tulip Poplar can be 70-80 feet, a dwarf Tulip Poplar (Little Volunteer) can be 30 feet at maturity.
Perhaps you will give us another chance in the future and allow one of our sales representatives to help you chose trees that will do well in your area. "

In March I placed a large shade tree order with Fast Growing Trees Nursery and when the trees arrived the tulip poplar trees were already leafed out but the leaves were wilted. The ginkgo tree looked dormant but was the wrong size- 1 foot too short! Instead of getting two sawtooth oak trees, they only sent me a sycamore tree- wrong size and tree labeled river birch, neither of which I ordered. Either they mixed up the tags and sent me part of someone else's order that was mis-labeled. All in all the online experience of ordering shade trees from fast-growing-trees.com was an utter disaster. Their phone operator gave me a run around so I will just quit ordering from them!

"On Dec 14, 2010 10:56 AM, Empress Tree Nurseries (aka Fast Growing Trees, Paulownia Supply & fastgrowingtree.com) responded with:

There are times when trees can become stressed during the shipping process which can present in wilted or dropped leaves.
However trees usually rebound quickly once they reach their new home.
I am sorry you feel that you had a bad experience, in the rare occasion that a customer receives the wrong product we would promptly re-ship the correct product.
In an effort to make it as easy as possible for our customer we do not ask that the mis-labeled or wrong item be returned, instead we ask that the customer email us a picture.
In the end we hope that the customer can find a good home for the mis-labeled tree as well as the originally ordered trees.
This being anonymous I have no way to look into your account, however your trees are covered under our One Year Warranty."

I ordered two hybrid poplars from this nursery to avoid having to rent or borrow a truck to pick up trees from a local nursery. The trees they shipped are both less than 2 inches in diameter and have hardly any leafy branches. Neither tree has even a dozen leaves total and the leaves they do have are almost all brown/yellow and chewed full of holes. Neither tree can stand straight and one is so bowed over that it has to be tied back just to keep the tip from touching the ground. They don't even look like saplings, they look like tall, sickly weeds. How a company could even ship such an embarrassing product is beyond me.

http://www.fast-growing-trees.com is a scam. I should have known from the name, that it was too good to be true and not to mention all of their alias's! At the very least I expected green, live plants but instead I was sent leaf-less, hollow royal empress tree straws with dried out roots that could not even be revived with a good soaking in water. When I called the 800 number listed on fast-growing-trees website I was told by the representative that my royal empress trees were not dead, they were dormant. Well that's just malarkey!!! The only thing strait up and down about this company is how dead the plants are that they mailed to me! CAVEAT EMPTOR!

I purchased four Emerald Green Thuja trees advertised as "5'-7' tall" through Brighter Blooms Nursery. I measured the trees after arrival and the heights varied between 48" to 52". Eventually, I filed a complaint with the BBB. Better Blooms Nursery manager Alyson Smith requested that I upload photos of the trees to her, and I did. The trees were photographed with a ruler next to them. After viewing the photos, Alyson concluded that the trees were of the advertised height because they also calculate the container size in the height of the tree. I visited several local nurseries to shop for and measure new trees (all of their trees were advertised with accurate height information) and questioned the merchants about the practice of adding the container size to the trees, and the common response was that although unethical, its just something that some nurseries do. Mmm.....Brighter Blooms Nursery refused to replace or pay the difference relating to appropriate tree height. Their final offer was to offer me 10% off for future purchases! My best advice is if all possible, go to a local nursery. Do business with these people at your own risk.

We received a 5-7 foot Kwanzan Flowering Cherry tree as a Mother's Day gift this year. The tree cost $99.95 plus shipping for $29.45. Good grief Charlie Brown! The tree arrived in a timely fashion but was barely 4'5" tall with a few leaves on tiny branches around the base and several leaves along the skinny trunk. If we were to include the root ball (different from the pot size), the tree was not quite 5' tall. Additionally, the terminal bud had been trimmed off and the stem was blackened below the cut for about one inch. The nursery, Fast Growing Trees, has a no refund policy and will not replace the tree unless it does not thrive. It matters not that the tree was undersized and missing the terminal bud. As they say, "Buyer beware!" We're done with mail order plants.

I recieved two eucalyptus trees from them and opened them as soon as they arrive both developed brown leaves one completly died the other I nursed back to health. I tried the replacement program on their websight it kicked me out 5 times so I tried the chat line and the guy wasn't helpful and his responses were very long in comming. finally I e-mailed them with a picture and they sent me a e-mail back with a number and sent me back to their replacement program. When I tried it worked only problem was it was for a much smaller tree than what I ordered and it was still going to cost me money so I called them and the women said she would have to get back to me nope didn't happen so I called a couple of days later and had to leave a message still no call back. I finally ordered the smaller tree I have never had so much trouble with a company in my life. It won't happen again.

Firstly paulownia supply had a special if you ordered by midnight. I sent a couple of questions that needed to be answered on 5/14. I resent another email 5/18. I figured with no email responses the delivery and follow up customer service would be the same. I finally received an answer 6/30. One of the questions was "How do you get dormant seedlings at this time of the year"? Answer "The trees are coming out of their winter stage" ?? Not a very good answer in the middle of summer. BBB have had complaints on this company. Be careful, research your plant company first.