Comments regarding Thuja Gardens (formerly PlantsRus)

From the very beginning, my experience with Thuja Gardens was superb. The information online was extremely helpful, and the trees I ordered arrived in packages that were very secure -- it was as though I just brought them home from a local nursery.

Roy was very helpful when I called regarding information about my order. Unlike many folks, he actually answered his phone; did not have to rely on voicemail and hope of receiving a call back. Roy also responded to my emails very quickly, which was even more surprising.

When I changed my order to take advantage of a reduced price for buying two trees instead of one, Roy quickly refunded the cost savings back to my bank card. He also provided FedEx tracking information when my trees were shipped to my home.

I most definitely recommend Thuja Gardens for anyone who wants to order trees and plants online. Roy will look after you and make sure you get what you expect.

I ordered 14 Murray Cypress and 4 Emily Bruner's from Roy at Thuja Gardens. It was a nightmare!!! I ordered them on a Wednesday and got an email stating they would ship the following Tuesday. The email also stated that I should not call because I would get an email from Fed EX with a tracking number. I waited until the Tuesday that they were to ship and sent Roy an email asking about my trees. BTW he already charged my credit card even though they had not shipped. I called Roy and spoke with him about my order Thursday of that week. He told me that he had emailed me to let me know that the Emily Bruner's were on back order and that he was waiting to hear from me if I still wanted the 14 cypress to ship. I never got that email. So I told him yes, please ship the 14 cypress. He told me he would call later that day to let me know they had shipped. He also told me that the Emily Bruner's would ship the next Monday. He never called me back. I still had no FedEx tracking number either. I waited until the following Tuesday and called him again. This time he gave me another story. He told me that he would look into my order and would call me back in an hour. He said that he would make sure I was happy by the end of the business day. He also told me that the Emily Bruner's were still on back order. I did not get a call from him; on a previous call he made sure he had my correct phone number and I verified it was correct. I sent another email to him asking about my order and reminding him of all of our conversations. Again, not one reply from him. Finally, I called one more time and his message machine box was full so I could not leave a message. I then had to call my credit card company to dispute the charges. I sent Roy one more email asking him to cancel my order since I don't trust him or his company. Just today ( it had been a 5 days) I received two emails from Roy; one was a reply to my cancellation email and one was a "your order is cancelled" email. Every time I spoke with Roy he had a different reason that my tress had not shipped. He did not call me back when he promised me he would. I would steer clear of this company.

Bought 25 thuja trees and was surprised at how fast they got here. Sent two emails to Roy and both were responded to very quickly. Just finished getting all the thuja in the ground and they look fantastic. All were packed well and arrived in great shape. Will definitely do more business here.

We bought Green Giant Arborvitae trees from Thuja Gardens. The trees we received were great - very healthy and also the correct size we ordered. We received everything that we ordered. The costs of these trees was also very great and much better than other sites. We also couldn't buy these trees in our city. So we will buy more of them from this company in the future. Roy Lawing responded to me very quickly with good communication in email also. So overall we are very happy with these great trees and we love them.

I simply could not believe my eyes when my order of 100 Thuja trees arrived. They are the best I have ever seen. That said, while communication was a tad slow; it was WELL worth the wait> I look forward to ordering from these guys because you can tell they really LOVE their plants!

I ordered 25 Thuja Green Giant Hybrid arborvitaes Seedlings and received my shipment in a timely manner. They transplanted well and all already triple the size. I am super excited about the product and would recommend placing an order with the company.

With respect to the customer service, it has been great. Any email has been replied to and with great information. I am extremely happy that I choose to order from Thuja Gardens.

A+! I would highly recommend Thuja Gardens for their superior product and outstandingly positive customer service!

I purchased 12 of the five gallon green giant thujas in the fall of 2013. We had a very very hard winter here in Hamburg New York. The average daily temperature in Feburary was 8 degrees. Three of the 12 trees I had planted died. After speaking with Roy Lawing at Thuja Garden Center and explaining the situation, he promptly sent three replacement trees free of charge. The replacement trees were of very high quality. To date in the last three years I have purchased a total of 50 Thuja Green Giants to create a privacy screen in my back yard and these were the only three that died. The trees always arrive in excellent condition and help is always available via e-mail or phone if I have any questions concerns about the trees. They are very hardy and survived the drought of 2012 with minimal watering. I would recommend the trees and Thuja Garden Center to anyone needing trees of high quality and reasonable pricing. ---- Alan Kaczmarczyk Hamburg, New York.

I recently ordered trees from Thuja Gardens and although a mix-up occurred, Mr. & Mrs. Lawing came through with flying colors in customer service. Not only did they correct the problem but they went above and beyond their responsibilities to compensate me for the confusion. I would definitely do business with them again. I give them an A+ for customer service.

I purchased 6 trees from Thuja Gardens last year. I was encouraged by the 18 month guarantee. Unfortunately, over the winter, I lost 3 of the 6. I dreaded calling and putting that guarantee to test, but Roy absolutely made it right. He had me measure the remaining trees so he would know which size to send. I provided him with the info on a Monday morning. He said the replacements would ship on Tuesday (and emailed me to let me know they were on the way!) Sure enough, they arrived on Wednesday. They looked great! No problems at all! Would definitely buy from them again!

I placed an order in March 2014 for 57 Murray Cypruss trees and received delivery in less than a week. I was very impressed with the quality of the trees and the time and effort that was put into the packaging. Roy and Thuja Gardens have delivered more than I expected and I have been very satisfied with my experience. I will not hesitate to order again from these folks again. Thank you so much!

Very Happy Customer! I ordered a clump of three 5' to 7' Heritage River Birches from Thuja Gardens on 4/03. On 4/08, I was surprised to receive an email notice from Roy that I had been refunded nearly 55% of the purchase price. When my order arrived on 4/11, I opened it to find three beautiful, carefully packed 4' trees with healthy root systems, lovely shapes and tiny leaves! I paid far less than these were worth! The trees were doing great until a rabbit bit one off two days ago. I was crushed. I emailed Roy to ask if I could order just one birch instead of a clump and, get this, Thuja is sending me a free birch!! My experience with Thuja has been great. I look forward to doing business with them again, and I will recommend them to friends!
-Helene Lubaroff (ldycabdrvr)

I ordered 10 Murray Cypress trees at the end of 2012. They were nice trees and grew very fast. Unfortunately they died over this winter. We had unusually fridged temps, which I am sure is why they died. Thuja replaced them for me, no problem.

I rarely find the need to post negative comments about companies, but I did not have a positive experience with my first and only attempt to make a purchase from Thuja Gardens.

On March 19 of this year, I placed an order online for two hollies from Thuja Gardens. Shortly after that, I received a notice and Tracking Number from FexEx that my order was tentatively scheduled to ship on March 21st. About 10 days later after the order still showed as still awaiting shipment on the FedEx website, I kindly emailed Roy at Thuja Gardens merely to inquire if there was delay since I had received a Tracking Number a week earlier with no more follow-up. No reply.

About a week later, I emailed Roy again and asked him to please let me know if the order was not going to ship by April 10th because I was going to be out of town for several weeks starting on April 21st. After about a week with no reply, I finally receive a one line email from Roy on April 9th stating: “ships on April 10.” So I think, “okay, great. It should arrive in time for me to receive it and plant it before I leave.”

Another week passes and I still had not received my order nor have I received any notice from FedEx, UPS or Thuja Gardens that my order has even shipped. It is now Thursday evening, April 17th and it is obviously too late for my order to be received before April 21st if it hasn’t shipped, so I kindly requested that my order be cancelled since I would not be home to receive any shipment. Instead of cancelling my order, I received another short email from Roy the morning of April 19th stating: “Should receive on 4/19/14 Monday at the latest.”

Well, nothing arrived on Saturday, April 19th nor did anything arrive on Monday, April 21st, the day I was leaving. What was particularly irksome to me was that I was being promised on April 19th that I was going to receive my order here in Connecticut from Thuja Gardens down in North Carolina that same Saturday or in two days on Monday when it would have had to have been shipped days ago for that to happen. So I was being promised to receive a same-day shipment for something that had not even been shipped!

At the point, I was finding the entire process with Thuja Gardens to be more than a bit shady. Rather than mess around any further, especially since I was going out of town, I contacted my credit card company (which, by the way, Thuja Gardens was quick to charge in full immediately back in March) to request a full refund.

I notice that during this time, others have posted positive experiences with Thuja Gardens. I can’t explain why my experience was so different. I never received any explanation for the lack of shipment from Thuja Gardens and in fact, I received little communication at all from them. A simple “we are out of stock of that item” or “we need to postpone your shipment to a later date” would have sufficed. At the very least, I would say that they are very hit or miss in terms of customer service.

Posted on April 26, 2014, updated April 26, 2014
I have been using Thuja Gardens for two years and have had four orders completed. Shipment was made immediately and all the items were in good condition. In the course of dealing I have obtained over 20 different shrubs and tress, and I have had one item which did not do well, mostly because of deer damage. Larry sent me a replacement at a fraction of the cost, even though I suspect the issue had nothing to do with the shrub I received. Would recommend him to anyone. Bill from Pittsburgh.

I just received my 100 trees they looked & smelled great. I will order more plants from this company. Very happy with everything.

I placed an order for 6 Murray Cypress 3 gallon trees in September of 2013. The trees arrived within a week and were one of the best looking trees I have received from an internet order, not only were they healthy looking it was one of the best packaging jobs I have seen.
I planted the tress within two days after arrival and maintained them daily as you would do with any new plant. They took off like wildfire never wilted or became stressed and even grow a few inches.
In January of 2014 I noticed that they were not doing very well they were losing their color. I was not very concerned due to the unusual cold and long winter we had in Pa. last year.
April 19th 2014 I contacted Roy at Thuja Gardens and explained that the trees have died. With no questions asked replacement trees were ship April 22nd and I just received them April 25, 2014.
In my opinion Roy and the Thuja staff are top notch. I would not hesitate to place a another order from Roy.

I ordered 8 Thuja Green Giant trees (1 gallon size) from Roy in January and they were shipped immediately. Then I ordered 4 more in April since I was so pleased with my first order. The trees from January have already doubled in size and are extremely healthy. I can't wait to plan the other 4 and create the privacy screen across my back yard to hide the apartment complex behind me. Roy is great to work with - Thanks for the fantastic service

My experience with Thuja Gardens has been outstanding. I have ordered and planted over 100 green giant thujas on my property, using the provided planting instructions, and not one has died. The trees are remarkable. They grow quickly, are nicely shaped, drop nothing in the fall and deer do not eat them. I smile when I drive past neighbors yards where they have planted other evergreen varieties as several in the row are always dead. They should have ordered from Roy at Thuja Gardens. I recommend Thuja Gardens to all of my friends and neighbors who ask about my beautiful trees and will continue to do so. Wonderful prices, product, shipping and service Roy!

I ordered 4 Nellie R Stevens Trees. They arrived within 4 days of ordering, free shipping. They were packaged 2 per box. I ordered 3 foot trees and that's what I received as advertised. They were in potted moist soil with fertilizer in the soil. I planted them promptly and they look marvelous. I did a review of this company prior to ordering and am completely satisfied with the final product.

Awesome company great people they have the best service and by far the very best plants I have ever received
I have bought from almost all on line companys selling
plants ( Thuja Gardens ) has shown me how much I have been missing when it comes to getting top quality stock and the people are very helpful if you buy from anyone else your cheating your self
my experience was the best I have ever got

thnx Thuja Gardens..you will be getting all my bizness

I guess what you need to understand is that this is not CostCo or Amazon. This is a guy in the country growing a lot of plants. My experience was not necessarily smooth, but that's mostly because of some freak storms in the south, which delayed shipping. He doesn't answer emails 24/7 and he isn't always quick to answer the phone, but he is a professional businessman once you get in touch. When everything finally arrived, the plants were exactly what I wanted. The plants were in a bit of shock from the 5 days in a box (and probably from the surprise snow before that) but they are greening up nicely after just a week. The packaging was excellent and the plants seemed to be well cared for. I'd definitely use this place again.

Thuja Gardens provided me top-notch service and plants. I called and spoke with Roy. He did me right. He did what he said he would do. The 125 Murray Cypress arrived within the time stated. The boxes were all in good condition. When I opened the boxes, the plants were very firmly tied in and packaged. The plastic pots with root balls were neatly wrapped and tied in plastic bags, with no wetness inside the box. The plants and potters were tied in with nice plastic twine. (I admit that I used some of the twine to replace my work boot laces - very tough stuff.) After a trip from NC to CA, the plants arrived vibrant and beautiful; lovely green with plenty of turgor. Obviously, Thuja knows how to pack and ship these plants! The size of the plants was as stated, and for one-gallon size they are big: 24-36 inches. I will buy from Thuja Gardens again.

I had an exceptionally good experience. I ordered samples from 3 different site to test the thuja's to plant 32 trees during an initial landscaping project wave and more later.

Thuja Gardens delivered instantly, communicated well (emailed me to call to discuss a larger than 3g rest post). The first test tree I received was excellent and I followed up with the 32 for a privacy hedge. Delivery was again instant with tracking and phone updates. Trees arrived extremely well secured, root balls wrapped, fertilizer discs for all. They were very lovely, fragrant, healthy and much taller than the other stores I had tested. In fact, I felt that I might have received accidentally the larger size for the same price. I much appreciated Roy's informative videos about sizes and tips.

The experience has been very good and better than other online plant orders. I will follow with a second batch in the next wave of our landscaping project.

Placed an order for 2 dogwoods on 10/11. Called 10 days later and was asked to send an email as a reminder because he was on the road. I did as asked. Never got a response. Sent another email 5 days later and still no response so today i emailed them to just cancel the order. Sure wish i had found this site and was aware of these issues before i wasted 2.5 weeks trying to get two dogwood trees. Business must be booming for them if they can ignore internet sales.

We've had two excellent experiences with this company this Fall.

We ordered a dozen Thuja Can Can plants on Sept 1st and received them within 2 weeks. They were packed very well and arrived in excellent condition. Based on this experience we ordered six Sunny Knock Out rose bushes (3 gallon). They shipped a week later and again were packed expertly and arrived in great shape. The roses were even bigger and healthier than we had hoped for.

I highly recommend Roy and his company. I am not affiliated in any way other than being a happy customer.

My experience with this company was excellent. I ordered a half dozen Little Gem and Bracken's Brown Beauty magnolias this spring, they were delivered on time and in excellent condition, but, more importantly, they set some kind of record for growth and blooms for their species. I was awestruck by how well they did and continue to do, and plan on ordering more this fall. I give ThujaGardens a 5-star rating on all aspects of the transaction.

This company has very poor customer service. At the time of order, I was told that the trees were available and would be shipped immediately. I waited several days for a shipment confirmation and when I didn't receive one, I attempted to contact the company by phone and email. I was never able to get through to the company by phone. I tried to call numerous times throughout the day and no one ever answered the phone. I then attempted to reach them by email. After I sent several emails with no response, I finally received an email response 4 or 5 days later from "Roy." He claimed that my trees hadn't shipped yet because it was too hot to ship them ... that was just baloney as it's been very mild on the east coast the past few weeks. He told me that the trees would ship the following Monday. In fact, they weren't shipped until Wednesday, more than 2 1/2 weeks after I placed the order. The trees were packaged well and seemed to be in good condition upon arrival but they were definitely smaller than the 3-4 feet advertised on the website. Based on my experience, I will not order again from this company and would not recommend that anyone else order from them.

I placed an order for a Brandywine Maple on 9/14. On 9/23 I emailed the company. I also called later on 9/23 but it was after business hours. I called again on 9/24 and got told my order would probably arrive the next day. An hour later it arrived. I had not received any email stating when it would arrive (as their website states they will). When opening the box I was disappointed. The tree had a disease on the leaves-black tar, leaf spot). The top was also noticeably cut. I did read on another website " Please keep in mind when purchasing, that plants must be trimmed and pruned throughout the growing season to maintain their health and allow them to fit into the shipping cartons, so actual sizes will somewhat vary throughout the season. " so I'm guessing that's what the cut was about? I called thuja gardens about the disease, got told it rained a lot this year-that the tree will be fine once spring arrives, and that they have an 18 month guarantee. I went ahead and took pictures of the leaves, and emailed them to the company for future reference. I am leaving this review neutral while I wait for spring..

In March 2012 we placed two orders (200 plants total) for Thuja Green Giant seedling for our small 20 acres farm with 10 acres of woods and 10 acres of field to start our nursery.
Shipping was very fast and plants arrived in absolutely great condition with very developed root system.
All 200 plants survived and now, 1year and 5 months later, we have beautiful plants 5' 3" tall at sunny location and 3' to 4' tall in shadow area. These plants love sun, so next time I'll plant them at full sun to reach full potential.
Great experience, will buy again from this company.

Thank you Roy!

Our hardiness zone: 6B
New Jersey, 08501

I was a little skeptical ordering from Thuja Gardens given the mixed reviews, but I went ahead and placed an order on August 8th, 2013 late in the day for 6 Little Gem Magnolias and 6 one gallon knock out roses. In the comments section I wrote to ship immediately when available when checking out. You immediately get a receipt displayed and an email confirmation within 10 minutes. It says to then just wait until FedEx sends you a tracking number. I was very patient and by the evening of August 13th I did infact recieve a tracking number stating it would be delivered on August 14th, 2013.
Sure enough the next afternoon on the 14th, 3 big boxes arrived and everything looked just as expected and packaged up very well. Given the positive experience I've had I do plan on ordering more from Thuja Gardens, most likely some Green Giants next. I hope this review helps someone. Thanks!

I have ordered trees from Thuja Gardens last year and again this year. Both times my order was received promptly and the trees were in good shape and ready for planting.
I will order again from this company when I have a need for nursery plants or trees.

If you're expecting fast and responsive customer service, this is not your company. They never responded to any of my 2 phone messages or 4 emails. The only way I was able to deal with them was by chance catching someone that answered the phone, which was few and far between.

I originally ordered 100 hybrid poplars and some maples

They kept telling me week after week they were about to ship, until they finally came clean and said they hybrid poplars had died in the cooler. They eventually shipped only the maples, and credited my card. The maples arrived today, and are in great condition.

If you're just ordering a couple of plants that would likely be in good condition, you'll probably be fine ordering from them. However if there's any kind of customer service need (e.g. questions, warranty, shipping issues) be forewarned that contacting them could be a chore.

I purchased a Heritage Birch tree from Thuja and had a very positive experience. I received my order confirmation immediately and received my order in about 10 days. The actual transit time was only 1 day which is great for the tree. The packaging was good and the tree looks great. I am happy with my purchase.
I have seen the negative comments after I completed my order and must admit I was a bit concerned but, in my case, all went smooth. Thank you Thuja!

Order was received within 10 days of purchase, freight prepaid that is certainly reasonable. Plants arrived in good shape and as described, and by far less expensive than the closest online competitor, including ebay.
Absolutely no complaints, as long as the plants survive.
Thanks Roy.
(26) Cryptomeria Radicans

I have been an arborist and botanist for over 20 years. In 2012, I aquired a large tract of land and purchased plants from Thuja Gardens. I received confirmation of my order and by April had received no word of shipment. I attempted to contact the company multiple times with no reply. I was finally able to speak to someone in May who told me that the order was shipped and there was nothing he could do. I mailed a copy of my credit card statement and a copy of my email confirmation asking if they could track the shipment. Still no reply. I contacted the BBB in June and they were unsuccessful in their attempts to resolve this issue. I was told that they would be put on the 'dispute' list for 3 years. I never received the trees or my money back. I hope that this helps anyone wishing to deal with this disreputable company.

Thuja Gardens - 10/02/2012 I ordered a Brandywine maple . When you order online - Thuja Gardens clearly states you will be notifed by the shipping company the day your tree is picked up, and true to their word that is exactly what happend. I heard nothing, so I started looking for feed back on the seller -- and became a little concerned. On 10/10/2012 - I wrote an email inquiring to the status. On 10/11/2012 received a note from the shipping company - and the tree arrived on 10/13/2012. Seems to be a perfect speciman in great condition. This company did exactly what they said they would do - so I rate this as positive.

Another sucker was just drawn in to this website and taken for their money without any response (phone and email) as they claim. If they can get away with being PlantsRUs and shut down and now reopened as ThujaGardens....I guess they will never have to deliver any product! I have contacted the BBB of Swannanoa but that won't stop anyone else from getting ripped off. I would like to shut these people down for good....or least get some kind of WARNING across their site!! BAD PEOPLE!!!

I just wanted to share with you that we recently purchased 40 (3-4 foot) green giant thuja's which arrived within one week of our original purchase date and they all looked GREAT! They were very full and healthy and all of them appeared to be in beautiful condition. Roy Lawing and his staff did a fantastic job packing and shipping them and I think you will be very happy with anything you purchase from them.