Comments regarding Eldon Tropicals

This business does not respond to emails at all. Ordered an Indian clock vine 3 gallon from them in April and paid via PayPal. Was super excited to get it. Received absolutely nothing from them in terms of communication about my order and I now had to file a case in the resolution center after sending 2 emails that received absolutely no response at all. Such a shame as it seems this was once a reliable place to shop but no more. Buyer beware! I hope I can get my item or the money back.

I placed 3 orders that never shipped. Orders placed on 2/3/21, 2/24/21, and 4/10/21. I emailed the owner with no response and then emailed again. Owner responded stating she had sent an email to me and was waiting on response before shipping. I never received this email and responded and asked for the plants to be shipped. 2 weeks later and plants still have not shipped. I recommend looking into Aloha Tropicals or Brian's Botanicals. Aloha tropicals has shipped $2000 worth of plants very quickly.

Posted on April 28, 2021, updated May 5, 2021
I ordered two Anthuriums on 02/26, received a confirmation email and my payment went through immediately. I expected things to be a little slower than the two-week turnaround estimated on their site, but after a month with no correspondence I figured it'd be wise to contact them. I sent them an email on 03/30 and never got a response. Today, 04/28, I contacted them through filing a case with PayPal. The few other times I've filed a case PayPal waited to hear the other party's case, but this time I got a refund within minutes, which makes me wonder if something's up.

Really disappointed that I won't get to purchase Brigitta's lovely-looking plants, but two months with zero updates is a bit much. I can take delays and cancellations, but not being ghosted.

I ordered plants 8/24/2020. I was charged immediately.
I did not receive any confirmation of my order so two weeks later I called, left a v/m and sent an email. I got a nice email back explaining that the system must have failed and that my order was in line to be shipped out after Labor Day and that I would get a tracking email.
9/11 I emailed when I did not get an email - Briggita replied that she had the flu but would ship Monday.
9/24/2020, 31 days later, still no tracking information, no response to subsequent emails and I'm out >$100.
This is no way to conduct a business.

"On Sep 24, 2020 1:13 PM, Eldon Tropicals responded with:

You have requested cancellation of order and refund via PayPal several weeks ago (beginning of Sept)- which was recorded and PayPal was processing it. Amount was taken from my account 9/11.
Our site clearly states, that we whip within 2 weeks of placing order- but because of USPS was hopelessly backed up the last several weeks and packages were delivered in 7-16 days instead of 2-3 days, we held shipments to areas with lengthy back up. "

I ordered from Eldon on 6/20/20. I recieve an automated acknowlegement that they had received my order and they charged my credit card, immediately. After a month I emailed asking for a status and never heard back, I emailed again a few days later asking for an update and again, never got a response. This Saturday it will be 8 weeks since my order with no response and I will follow up with my credit card and get my money back. I don't want to do business with a company that has such poor customer service. At this point, she's had two months to check her email and let me know what's going on and everything else is extranious.

"On Sep 24, 2020 1:06 PM, Eldon Tropicals responded with:

Your plants were delivered as per USPS Priority tracking. This was a replacement shipment, since original shipment got stuck in transit for more than 2 months. Maybe at some point, will be delivered .......
"

I ordered from Eldon Tropicals on April 29th, 2020. Given previous reviews, I thought my plants would be delayed quite a bit, but I was ok with that given how healthy the plants looked. And especially with covid affecting shipping and material procurement (which I totally understand, I run a small business and have been directly impacted by delayed shipping timelines), I thought that my order would be quite delayed. Unfortunately, it is July 9th and I have yet to receive my plants or even communication from them.

I've contacted them 3 times. One time in mid-May to add a few more plants to my order since they hadn't shipped yet, a second time in early June to tell them that my credit card would expire by the end of the month, and the third time two weeks ago to ask about my order. I have not heard from them after they added more plants to my order on May 16th.

And again, I am totally fine with the delay. COVID-19 has impacted so much, so I understand that. What I don't understand is the lack of communication. A quick sentence saying that items are delayed for another month, that they'll get to my order soon, etc. would have been appreciated. 

Ordered a Puya mirabilis on 5/20 and was charged. Emailed Brigitta Monday, 6/8 as I had not received any shipping notification. She emailed back promptly that day and stated the plant would be shipped that week. On the 16th, over a week later, with no shipping notification I emailed again. No response. I emailed again on the 17th, no response. This is a difficult to find plant and I was very excited to find out this nursery had it. Very disappointed.

Posted on April 21, 2020, updated April 26, 2020
Ordered one plant from them, asked them about it 2 weeks in after waiting for any word. Sent them several more e-mails since then. I am at 4 weeks in I'm still waiting for them to ship my plant- I think I'll have open a dispute case unfortunately.

Third time ordering from Eldon Tropicals, third time being extremely happy with my order. Big, beautiful plants. Shipped from FL to OR and arrived in perfect condition. Friendly customer service. Definitely will be ordering more plants through spring and fall. Thank you for my new beautiful plants!!

Service is non-existent and pathetic. Order for 10 plants was placed on May 23 and received an order confirmation email. It is now July 13. I have emailed, called 1-800 number, and called cell phone during different days, weeks, and months. Absolutely no response. I rarely leave negative feedback for anything. I don't understand why you would have an online plant business and then do nothing? I am a reasonable person. Any communication would be appropriate, so I know what is going on. I WOULD STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE LIKE THE PLAGUE.

Placed an order a month ago for 2 plants, both stated available and no indication of been delayed of waiting x amounts of days for shipping, my bank was charged 2.5 weeks later, i emailed the company asking for status -no response- called the 352 area code phone listed on their web left a voicemail called again a couple days later the 800 number left a voice mail again will see when and if they response.. no customer service what so ever - I wish I would have read these comments before spending my money and energy on this joke of a company

Posted on May 20, 2019, updated May 23, 2019
Order was placed on 4/17/2019.
Called after 2 weeks and spoke to a lady with a German or Swiss accent. She asked about where I was located and said she recalls picking and shipping the order.
My cc was charged for the amount due on 5/13/2019.
It’s 5/20/2019 now. No plants. No return calls. No return emails.

The sad thing is I really want to do repeat business with this store. The prices are great. The selection of plants seem abundant. I’m super excited about hopefully receiving the plants I ordered.

But it’s really hard—-gimme something to work with brigitta!

Posted on April 12, 2019, updated April 12, 2019
Ok I ordered plants from Eldon Tropicals in January and I understand plants are still in dormancy so I expected a delay. Come middle of March I email Eldon Tropicals because it’s been three months and it’s the start of Spring and they tell me my plants have broken dormancy and they will be ready to ship next week and that I will receive a shipping number. I am excited and I wait for three more weeks and they finally send me a shipping label. But get this, for two weeks the shipping label is registered as being only printed meaning my package hasn’t actually been delivered to the post office yet. I email Eldon Tropicals and call Brigitta and I have no response. I am beginning to feel like this is very shady and the lack of truthful responses in contact with them is making me frustrated and weary. I would be ok if they would give me an honest date about the shipping date but I’ve been promised a shipment more than a month ago and still nothing, this is after already waiting over three months for my order to arrive. I feel I have been patient enough and if I do not receive a truthful response by next week I am done doing business with this company and filing a refund through PayPal. At least my money was taken through PayPal so I have security to get my money back. However, until then I will remain hopeful in that Brigitta will get back to me and I do really want the plants she has advertised to provide on eldon.

Shipping was quick
Packaging was fabulous!
Plants were large and healthy. Much larger than I expected.
They have earned a repeat customer

My first time ordering from them and I am very happy that I did.

Packing - Brilliant, easy and I am going to copy what they do next time packing plants: Each plant is wrapped in corrugated cardboard, like in a tube.

Plants - For those that don't know they sell "starter' plants. That means they are not in pots and the plants are typically very small. The roots/soil will come wrapped in plastic wrap. Now even though they are starter plants the ones that I received were larger than typical starters and very healthy. They all had this unusual sheen, like Thai silk, to them. So of course I had to know what they used on them and she told SuperThrive.
Furthermore they have some uncommon tropical plants than other sellers do not which is what I am always seeking.

Communication - excellent, very responsive and easy to contact.

Extra Service -
1. Since I was on holiday I requested the plants to be potted up since I don't have soil, pots, etc. They happily obliged and I didn't mind the extra shipping cost because of the extra weight.

2. I had requested for the plants to be sent at x date, before that date came they contacted me to let me know the weather forecast is below freezing in my area and they would like to send few days later. Very thoughtful. Which alerted me to contact all my other suppliers to wait on shipping my plants.

3. Package arrived on date promised according to UPS but stolen from my porch. Since I was only there a two more days and still really wanted the plants Eldon Tropicals rushed to pack me up all new plants (no time for pots this round) at no charge, rushed them down to UPS just in time to make it for "Overnight Delivery" to me, of which of course I paid (very expensive).
UPS stated they will refund the shipping charges to Eldon Tropicals of which they will refund to me. Will update once that happens.

Thank you again so much Eldon Tropicals. First class service.

Customer service was excellent. I ordered two Colocasia gigantea and the packaged arrived damaged in shipment. I opened it up and both plants had stems that had snapped. I contact Brigitta at Eldon and told her what happened. She recommended that I put the plants in a shady location and that she would send out two more. One plant did not make it, but the other is looking good and the two new plants came in excellent condition.

I would highly recommend Eldon Tropicals.

I ordered two plants from the company close to where I live and a week later had not received any information, although my PayPal was processed the same day I ordered.

After a week, I called. No answer. I called a second time. I finally did a PayPal 'complaint; hoping to get a response. I did.

The company said that they had up to 14 days to ship and they had been at a plant show, and both of these were on their web site. I did find the 14 day number on a 'shipping tab' which I didn't even see the first time around and never saw where they posted anything about being away for a plant show. I wouldn't have minded a delay if I knew it was happening.

I was told on Friday that she would be back at work on Sat and would check into the order and get back. No word, and on Tuesday I sent them another message through Paypal. They cancelled my order and issued a refund which will take up to a month to process.

All I really wanted was someone to talk to me and send me the plants! All in all, a disappointing experience.

Placed my order for 2 Vanilla Orchids on April 15, 2018. Paid in full immediately!! Order confirmation sent same day.
Inquired about my order April 21st via email. Brigit responded back April 25th, Planning on shipping either today 4/25 Or 4/26/2018. As well as a tracking number.
Here it is May 3, 2018. Have not received my order nor has anyone responded back. Very unhappy customer!! They were quick to take my money!! Still have not recevied my order!!

I would like to know if Eldons Tropicals is still in business . I have sent several emails regarding an order I want to send in that is being held up due to weather but have not been getting any replys

Posted on February 8, 2015, updated January 28, 2018
Posted on October 15, 2012, updated February 8, 2015
I am posting now a long overdue feedback. I know the Eldon Tropicals nursery for almost 10 years. It is an excellent on-line nursery, but usually I go there in person to browse among their plants.

They have a unique selection of a few hundred kinds of rare and hard-to-find plants. The nursery is clean, free of plant diseases and it really is a paradise for plant enthusiasts. They have sometimes only a few of a single kind of plant, but the variety of selection is just amazing.

I know from experience and from seeing their operation, that they send nice sized plants, and more often than not the plants are way larger, nicer than their listings suggest. They are generous with gift plants to many of their customers if you order on-line or go there in person. Of course you can't expect a gift plant every time, but with larger orders, returning customers or having any other good excuse, you will likely to end up with an extra plant on top of what you have paid for.

They charge my card only at the time of shipping – or when I go their to pick up. (Most on-line companies charge for the plants at the time of the order placed. If later on it turns out, that they are out-of-stock of a particular plant, THEY make THEIR decision about a replacement plant. Than, in a couple of weeks they will send the plants. Sometimes it takes longer. Some companies have a practice to send the shipments quite late after the credit card charge was made, thus preventing complaint about the merchandise, or getting back the price of it, if otherwise it would be the course of action. I'm sure, some of my fellow plant-shoppers had such experience too.)

Thank you Eldon for being there for the rest of us plant-nuts for hunting down new and new plants every time I go there, or browse your inventory on-line.

I ordered 2 plants, both listed as in stock. Almost 3 weeks after placing, paying, and receiving confirmation of my order, I called and left a voice mail requesting a status update. No call back. I left another message a day or two later, and got an email that said my order would be going out the following week. Really? I sent an email that basically said why does it take an entire month to send an order. My plants came early in the next week. Never got an email with an explanation, which I requested, or a call, or any other communication. The plants were actually quite nice, but not nice enough to make up for such bad customer service.

"On May 17, 2017 6:03 AM, Eldon Tropicals responded with:

Very sorry for delay-. Yes, plants were shipped 3 weeks after placing order.- should have been shipped sooner. "

Posted on April 18, 2017, updated April 18, 2017
Posted on April 17, 2017, updated April 18, 2017
Ordered 2 vanilla plants. After a couple of weeks hadn't heard anything. Made several attempts to contract them in which they never returned phone calls.
We finally received an email response that stated they would be shipped by next week. It stated We would receive an email with our tracking number.
The poor excuse they used was they were behind because they were waiting to ship to colder climates. This is garbage as we live less than a 2 hour drive and are actually slightly warmer during the winter. How does another order to a cold climate affect shipping to a warm climate?
It's now been 2 full weeks since this sorry excuse for an excuse was sent to us. We still have no response. This reminds me of contractors who keep making excuses instead of doing work they've already been paid to do.
There is no excuse for not skipping as they have received payment confirmed through PayPal and the weather here has been more than warm enough for the past month.
Guess they want to wind up on the news.

"On Apr 25, 2017 11:52 AM, Eldon Tropicals responded with:

Ouch- this hurts -
Our website clearly states, that we will start shipping Vanilla plants beginning-mid April. in 2017. I've received a less than friendly email from customer, which also included specific threat- and this feedback - so decided, to cancel order & issue PayPal refund.. After that received 'additions' to this feedback and 3 more, emails, with some more threats and accusations , that were totally personal in nature and as such unacceptable.
.We are a small family owned nursery, and we do our very best to serve our customers, and fix every issue that comes up right away.."

Received my first mail order (a 4" pot size Silk Oak Grevillea robusta ) and I'm very happy. The plant arrived healthy and beautiful. I have been trying to grow my own from seeds obtained from a specimen on the UF campus, but they seem less promising compared to Eldon's lovely young tree.
It's delightful to see a nearby nursery cultivating beautiful flowering plants and trees. I hope more Florida residents find out and start planting their own, with Eldon's help soon!

Just received my second TACCA INTEGRIFOLIA from Eldon Tropicals. The first was excellent in all respects, but unfortunately was drowned by an over zealous home-sitter while we were on vacation. The second plant puts the first plant to shame - it is awesome...almost 5 feet tall with two big, gorgeous bat flowers and more on the way. This was a special gift for my wife. She was speechless. The quality of plants I have received is clearly outstanding, but the creme de la creme of Eldon's is the personal attention their customer representative, Ms Brigit, extended to us. So for Brigit and the Eldon team, our sincere thanks for an awesome plant and your superlative service

What do you/I expect when we place an order for plants? We want the plants to arrive in excellent condition and be in a healthy state.

My order from Eldon Tropicals arrive in GREAT condition, the packing superseded anything I have ever seen or experienced with other mail order nursery"s.

I ordered three Pine Cone ginger plants, the packing was so good I could of left the ginger plants in that packing for a week and the soil would of still be moist, of course it would be a mortal sin if I did that. I am just trying to make my point.

I received an email about package delivery and the next day my package arrived with a surprise. They include one Alocasia Pluuhea Nigra plant for free.

After placing my order I did email them a few times looking for my order. My emails were answered in a timely manner.

I would like to suggest they have a tracking method on their web site.

I would order again from this company.

Awesome deal and great plants.

I ordered two peppercorn (Piper Nigrum) vines late (after closing) on a Tuesday in late October. The website looked a bit stale and possibly neglected. The price was great, better than most online sources I'd seen. The web site said the plants were in 4" pots, and the photo of the plant showed a soda can (for size reference), with a small round (4 inch) pot with a small vine growing and three leaves developed. I was prepared for a small plant, but the price was good for me, and I have time and a green thumb, so I'm pretty confident a live small plant won't take too long to grow bigger.

I did call them directly after lunch on Wednesday. I was slightly concerned by the stale look to the web site and some of the non-positive reviews here. I wanted to make sure they received the order (and noticed that the order was there), and I also wanted to assure them that there was no frost or dangerous low temperatures in the forecast for my area for the next 5 to 7 days, and to inquire as to when they planned to ship. I was told my order would ship on Thursday by Priority Mail and I should expect it Saturday.

On Friday morning I noticed an email from the USPS showing that Eldon Tropicals had shipped me a package Thursday, and the tracking number was included, and the expected delivery date was Saturday.

My package arrived Saturday, and when I opened it, I was pleasantly surprised to find two excellent pepper corn vines in small 4 inch pots. The plants I received had 3 and 4 vine runners on them, not just one straight start of a vine shown in the picture on their web site, and each runner had 4 to 6 fully developed leaves. On one plant, there was even the bud of a bloom already forming. These plants were much larger than shown on the web site, and in excellent condition. I have a picture of one of the plants on my blog here at Dave's Garden, if anyone wants to see it.

I'm very happy with my plants. One is growing in a nice hanging planter in my kitchen now, and the other is in a 3 gallon container in my "tropical room" with two of the longer runners in smaller nursery pots next to the main pot, hopefully setting roots for more vines for me to grow, trade or sell.

Posted on July 18, 2013, updated July 16, 2015
Posted on September 12, 2012, updated July 18, 2013
Posted on March 22, 2007, updated September 12, 2012
i am very pleased with the plants i purchased recently. the customer service was awesome too. the box was damaged in shipping (not their fault) and one of the plants was broken. i emailed and was given a replacement plant immediately. they have a good selection of tropical plants and the prices are right. on a side note, i found this company quite by accident while looking for a specific plant. the company name leads you to believe that they don't sell plants, but perhaps garden "objects". check them out for unusual tropicals!

My friend and I visited Eldon Tropicals last week. What a delightful, informative Lady she was! They have a large variety of healthy beautiful unusual plants and I certainly will make that trip again and again!! What a pleasure.

Posted on February 7, 2015, updated March 16, 2015
One of the worst online store. I ordered Grewia asiatic plant from them. Got only order pending email from them. Payment cleared within a day of order via Paypal. Sent an email to seller after two weeks, again no reply. After three weeks of initial order, received USPS package with semi-dead plant. Tried all I could to save plant but it completely died a week after arrival.
Lesson learned never purchase from this vendor.

Ordered via internet website, received confirmation email right away. The next day Brigit from Eldon sent me an email asking if I wanted to change my shipping preference it would be cheaper and faster. This was great, and she also changed by order to additional plants. I received the plants within 3 days of my order and they were all in excellent shape and size. Hou, TX

After I placed my order through the web site in March, there was no news for several weeks. Eventually I sent an e-mail asking if they could estimate when my order would be shipped. They replied that part of the order should arrive about next Tuesday, the rest has not been shipped because the plant hadn't broken dormancy. Nothing happened, nothing ever arrived. I have inquired several times since, never got a reply, and it is now almost July. I regret very much that I have to give them a negative rating, as I know they have been a reliable vendor in the past.

Posted on June 14, 2014, updated June 19, 2014
Placed two orders on March 1. No communication in the interim, never received plants, no refund if unable to fulfill. Have contacted them, am waiting for response, will update then.

The company Eldonaccess excellent in terms of
1 - The plants that I requested and sent to me are certain items that are offered on the website.
2 - There is interest in the packaging and conservation so as not to be affected plants during shipping.
3 - Commitment by the date specified in the international shipping without delay.
4 - On top of that she gave me free two plants did not order it purchase.

Beautiful plant! I ordered an EVERGREEN WISTERIA - MILLETTIA RETICULATA. It arrived in great condition, looks very healthy, great service.

Great place 5 star treatment and beautiful plants. I found plants here that I couldn't find in Puerto Rico and the prices are the best I've found in Florida for pre-bonsai. Love it and will return again and again.

Alex

I placed my order in the spring so the weather wouldn't be too hot or too cold for them. I waited several weeks and saw my bank account had been charged for them right when I ordered. So I called the company and she said they would send them out the next day. So, I waited a couple more weeks and then called again. 2 long distance phone calls from Washington State, and was told they had been sent so would have to be replaced. Within a week I received the plants.

I had to think about the rating on this, but decided since the plants are growing and healthy, to give it a positive.

In early January, i ordered 4 plants. In mid- March, 2 plants arrived. The plants I received were well packed and are doing well. It took numerous emails to receive 2 plants. After 4 months and 6 emails I cancelled the remainder of my order. Communication and status updates were very poor.

"On Jun 5, 2013 10:22 AM, Eldon Tropicals responded with:

We are very sorry that customer was not happy with our service. Ginger plant was not shipped with order, since it did not break dormancy Refund on ginger & full shipping charge for whole order was refunded promptly."

I ordered from this company first time. Perfect service, wise packing method to set stress-less shipping. I recommend to buy from this company. Voytek from Chicago

Posted on January 17, 2013, updated February 22, 2013
Posted on January 17, 2013, updated January 17, 2013
Ordered two Irises from this company after a google search for a beauty called 'Ann Chowning'. I was very happy to get them and surprised to get them so fast. Great packing method, love the care that went into this, and the plants were happy and healthy upon arrival. I love this company!