Comments regarding Thuja Gardens (formerly PlantsRus)

So THANKFUL I didn’t give my credit card to this joker. Like all others on this board, the availability and price drew (suckered) us in. After a phone call to confirm availability and check pricing for a cryptomeria tree for sale, but not listed in his website but available he asked that I order it online. He told me to wait a few minutes to update the site to show cryptomeria in stock. When I checked in 10 minutes later to order - he had his wife INCREASE ALL THE PRICES ACROSS THE BOARD on my order. My order went up $50 plus dollars ‘while they updated the instock items’. I called to ask him why price changed and he semi laughed, and asked where else I’d get them at that rate. I laughed back and said no thanks. STAY AWAY.

Received nice plants HOWEVER when one failed they were NONRESPONSIVE to multiple requests to honor their 'guarantee' and replace. They seem busy and bothered, and unwilling to deal with issues.

Vender is running a scam where he sells Edward Stevens Holly as a Male pollinator of the Nelly Stevens Holly. He charges a high premium for this "so called" male which is difficult to find and ships the Nelly Stevens Female. I was disappointed this spring to find my "so called" male pollinator covered in berries which prove it is a female. I'm posting this so future customers of this vendor are warned of his SCAM dealings. I should have listened to the previous negative reviews this vendor received.

Posted on April 10, 2015, updated April 15, 2015
I am in the middle of a dispute. I ordered trees in the fall, 6 green giants 5-6ft tall. Roy was kind of bad about communication, took a bit longer to respond, but I got my trees within a few weeks and they looked ok.

Fast forward to about 9 months. The trees did not fare well in the winter. Very burned. Most foliage is crispy and flakes off to the touch. I would say 10% of the foliage remains alive. I sent Roy a detailed email and his response was "brown doesn't mean anything, water them and they will come back". Well it has been a few weeks on a drip line and they are worse.

Roy has not responded to my emails now.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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!!!

DO NOT PURCHASE FROM THIS "COMPANY." I really doubt if this so called nursery is even legit. Placed an order in August 2011, for 2 plum trees, shipment to be at the end of the season(Sept) per Thuja Gardens. Credit card charged upon placement of order. Numerous phone calls to company only resulted in extensions of ship dates due to a variety of excuses all related to waiting for the trees to loose leaves. The final call to company was made at end of October when I was told the trees were "out of stock" but not to worry, our credit card would be credited. Surprise, surprise- that has not happened, nor can I reach anyone at Thuja Gardens.

I ordered the Nellie R. Stevens Holly last fall. The plants arrived in good condition. Unfortunately, 10 of the plants died. I have made 4 attempts to contact them and get replacements. I also filled out the form on their website. I have talked with an older gentleman three times. Today he told me that the orders were being processed. He would not look up my claim to insure they had the information. Each time he told me I would be receiving them in a week or two. Today when I told him I was getting frustrated since he will not look up my information, he called me an "asshole" and hung up on me. I am not sure if I will ever get the plants replaced or if I will get my money refunded. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THAT ANYONE USE THIS COMPANY.

I placed my order on the phone with Roy on March 21st for 15 Willow Hybrids. He said I should receive all trees within two weeks. I HAVE ALL EMAIL FOR PROOF THIS COMPANY IS A SCAM.


I called him April 2nd and he told me i would receive my order end of week. I RECORDED THE CONVERSATION.

I called April 25 and he told me i would receive my order end of week. I RECORDED THE CONVERSATION.

I called May 1st and he told me i would receive my order end of week. I RECORDED THE CONVERSATION.


Me (May 4th, 2011)
Hello,
May we get a expected ship date on this order? we placed it well over a month ago.

No response.

Me: (May 5th, 2011)
May i please get an expected ship date on this order?

No respose.

Me: (May 11th, 2011)
Hello,
This is the fourth email i have sent you. I placed my order over 2 months ago and have not received any update. I got a chance to speak with you serveral time as well as on the phone 2 week ago, and was told all should ship out about 2 week ago. I have not received anything and I don't have any fed ex confirmation. Please advise as to when I should be receiving the willow hybrids?My final comment. I am hoping to receive some feedback by you this week. I hope this is not a scam. If I don't receive any feedback, I will have to call my credit card company to challenge this charge, as I have no other choice since you have not got back to me.


Roy Respose:
May 12th:
This was refunded on 5/11/11 Out of Stock Winter Damaged

I have all recorded conversation and emails for proof. I am going to post this every site I see so others are not fooled into their low prices.

Posted on May 4, 2011, updated May 5, 2011
Posted on May 4, 2011, updated May 4, 2011
I ordered 100 thujas last year and all started out fine when they arrived in April. They were planted in rows and mulched twice during the season. They were also watered on a daily basis. There was positive growth and all looked well. The winter was mild and this spring quite a few appeared brown. Dead. Last month (April) I phoned and Don asked me if they were brown and brittle. I told him yes and he responded, "well then they are dead." Duh! I knew that and told him almost half were dead and asked what to do. He said go to the website and fill out a form for replacement. I asked him if he wanted me to email photos and he said no. I filled out the form and have heard nothing. There is no pattern to the dead ones. In a row there are dead ones next to live ones. After an investment of $1300 and hours and hours of watering / mulching I don't think I have the energy to replace the dead ones, but this may not be a problem since customer service doesn't seem to be a priority to this business. I had high hopes for these trees based on all the hype, but they have turned out to be a real loser, both financially and time spent. Because of this I can't recommend this business or this product.

The policy at DavesGarden.com for posting reviews includes this: "If your experience was negative, you should try to resolve the matter privately before posting your comments." A valid piece of advice. But as the negatives herein cite, Roy is not reliable for responding to complaints or general questions, and can be quite unreachable via phone or email. And rude and unreasonable when you do reach him, reviews say.

I'm Bob Borzotta, a network news consultant on neighbor dispute stories and author of Neighbors From Hell; I guide people in managing conflict close to home. Fast-growing evergreens are a useful tool for blocking out blight, reducing noise and enhancing privacy -- they're great for suburban yards.

So I decided to purchase four Leyland Cypress trees from Thuja Gardens last month to review the experience for my NeighborSolutions.com readers and newsletter recipients. Now, I know produce farmers and I suspect Roy's work as a tree farmer keeps him just as busy. No excuse for surliness, but perhaps that's just a personality flaw.

My review is not at all positive. I eventually cancelled my order due to not receiving the trees and getting no response from my emails and phonecalls to Thuja Gardens. For full details of my review and experience, and recommendations on how to deal with situations like this, see //neighborsolutions.blogspot.com/2011/05/looking-for-trees-to-block-out.html.

Oddly enough, after I cancelled with Roy, I received a FedEx notice he'd shipped something weighing 63 pounds -- way too light for 20 gallons of soil and 20 feet of evergreen. Today a single box arrived with what may have been one of the trees I ordered. But not having heard from the company that they needed more time, or that I should go to hell, or anything, I refused the delivery.

Roy is a tool. I'm surprised someone hasn't decked him already. If your a type A personality; don't even call him. Course, if you're reading this, it's probably too late. I couldn't keep professional with this guy as hard as I tried. Luckily, I didn't even order from him, so no frustration there. Call him up and tell him you want free shipping and listen to him cuss. He promised me a deal 2 months ago on 32 trees and now plays stupid. Enough said - guy is a jerk.

Posted on September 30, 2010, updated September 30, 2010
1st this is NOT a company. What it is: One very unprofessional Jerk who has NO business doing business with anyone! My initial phone contact left me with a most distasteful attitude of "Roy" but I gave him the benefit of my doubt. I told him repeatedly Not to send the ship of 20 Thuja trees until after 10-4-10. He said Okay. He shipped them anyway 2 weeks before I told him to. I emailed him 24 hours after He shipped them after getting a notice that they were shipped. I emailed him and let him know how "hot" I was. He wrote "Chill out" just put them in a shady place, they'll be alright. I had already told him I had no shady place. He told me not to get my blood pressure up! I told him I was filing a dispute with visa which I did and visa got me a refund. He them shipped them again and again I tried repeatedly to get him on the phone. His answering machine picked up making me have a long distance charge-this happened many times. He would not answer email-they came back as undeliverable. Think of the worst names you could call a guy and then apply them to Roy. He is a total Jerk. He is not a BUSINESS! He is a one man operation. He told me that! If you deal with him-you will be sorry. bulldogharry@comcast.net

"On Oct 15, 2010 8:40 AM, Thuja Gardens (formerly PlantsRus) responded with:

Jesus Loves You"

Posted on July 31, 2010, updated August 21, 2010
I have had made at least 3 separate purchases from Thuja Gardens. The last purchase was in fall of 2009 and 2 did not make it. I called and got a answer and he told me to call back the next day. I called and then he told me to email him the information. I did that and no response. I then mailed him a letter requesting 2 thuja replacements and it has been close to 2 months and no response, no replacements. I use to be happy and recommend him to others, I won't do that anymore. Very bad customer service and does not live up to warranty.

"On Oct 15, 2010 9:01 AM, Thuja Gardens (formerly PlantsRus) responded with:

When one customer out of many have trouble submitting a form,the problem is on their end.However, We are use to taking the heat for it.
Not a Perfect World,
Roy"

Buyer Beware. If you receive your plants or trees and they are healthy, everyone has a positive thing to say. But notice how many postings show a problem with Thuja Gardens' customer service if you are not happy with what you receive. I have been trying to resolve something for over a month and have been completely ignored until I cancelled my credit card payment. Then bingo, Roy called to find out why. They don't like customers who have problems with their merchandise. Notice how many people simply could not get them to respond or send replacement trees. Why? In my opinion, customer service is absolutely atrocious. I was just chewed out by Roy. That's right. He chewed me out for not being happy with his product. In this day of lousy customer service, I should not be so shocked to find that another business has forgotten who their customer is.

I purchased 6 Leyland Cypress from this company. Two were a foot shorter than ordered. Two have what appear to be a fungus, with apparent needle blight. They do not answer phone or return calls or emails. NEVER AGAIN

Same problem as others. Never received ack of the order or shipment. Countless attempts to get hold of "Roy" or any one else. Filed complaint with BBB. I want this company out of business!

I have ordered a tree within the last month with this company. I was to receive a confirmation email and did not receive that. We checked our credit card statement which indicates that the tree was paid for, but after many attempts of emails and phone calls have been unable to establish any type of contact with this company regarding our status on the tree. After reading these many posts from others and responses from the infamous "Roy", I must say that I truly am beginning to believe he is a scam artist and a thief. A thief is someone who takes something that does not belong to him and he took our money without giving us our purchase or even responding to our contact attempts to explain himself. I am very disappointed in Thuja Gardens and advice anyone from purchasing from this place again. As for the payment for a purchase, I plan to take action to the fullest to resolve this matter.

I ordered two trees over a month ago and have yet to get them. I called the 800 number shortly after placing the order and talked to someone with an attitude. He told me the trees will be shipped "early next week". I waited the week and nothing. A month later, nothing. I have called a couple of times and only get a voicemail where sometimes you cant even leave a message. Im so agitated right now. I just called and left a message and I hope this gets rectified. I will eventually have to go to the BBB if this continues. Be careful if you are contemplating placing an order.

As with many complaints I see on this page Roy does not send the trees of the size he advertises. I am surprised to see several reviews here state Roy responded to their emails though their complaints were about damage and not size. My emails were totally ignored. Once my cash was in this company’s hands they never returned emails with my complaints about the size. I never thought about checking the Better Business Bureau as I read here and wish I had. A company could not get a worse report. Answering my email would have done a world of good for this company’s reputation but now I think I will add my complaint to the Better Business Bureau for false advertising. I was very disappointed and wished I had ordered from another company.

I ordered 10 trees to plant in my back yard because I wanted to block my neighbors. I placed the order on April 21 and hopped for delivery in a week. I e-mailed on April 27 (a week after ordering) to see if Roy had an idea of when the trees would arrive. He responded the next day: "Late this week.
Roy"

May 4 and still no trees so I e-mail Roy to ask if he has a tracking number or a way to find out where the trees are. He e-mails me back the next day: "Sorry,Out of Stock-Refunded".

That is it no apology or time frame of the refund or let me make it right. Just "Sorry,Out of Stock-Refunded"

If you are going to have a website you need to keep your stock updated and more importantly don't mess up and think it is alright.

I have not gone through the refund process but I am sure that should be fun. I will be sure to update all on how that goes.

Man, I wish I had read the comments here and checked the Better Business Bureau as suggested. The trees I received were a lot smaller than are shown on the website. I emailed and received no response. The website makes no mention of the ability to simply return the trees and get your money back. And after seeing the trees who could trust the promise anyway? I think half the positive post here was posted by Roy himself. His spiteful and sarcastic remarks towards those with negative feedback is an indicator of his business tactics. He would not get negative feedback if he shipped what he advertised or answered his emails when questions arise. But I guess he is too busy writing positive post about his own company to be bothered with answering complaints from customers or to respond to the Better Business Bureau. There are too many businesses with good ratings to risk your money on these trees. Roy, some advice, go take some pictures of the real trees you ship and put them on your website.

Do not buy it from thujagardens.com. The trees they send are about 1/4 the size of the tree they show in there sample picture. The Better Business Bureau give them a giant F with a warning. Look them up at the BBB by their phone number not address. I just don't want anyone to make the same mistake I made. The trees they send are nothing like the picture and they don't return emails or calls after they have your money. I really should have checked the BBB first.

"On Apr 28, 2009 12:21 PM, Thuja Gardens (formerly PlantsRus) responded with:

If anyone orders from Thuja Gardens and is not happy with what they recieve(for any reason)all they have to do is have UPS pick up and return to seller at no cost to them.This person I would think must be very unhappy in life.They would rather run down my business than ask for a refund. GOD BLESS THEM."

This man stole my money. I wouldn't recommend anyone order from this company.

"On Mar 27, 2009 5:51 PM, Thuja Gardens (formerly PlantsRus) responded with:

I have no idea who wrote this garbage.This is what I do not like about this site,people can just say whatever they want without anything to back it up.Makes me wonder if texasgardner68 even knows what company they ordered from. We have not had any problems like this with any of our customers.All I can say is NOT GUILTY. If you need trees,give me a call,see if you think I am that kind of person.
(828)273-5771 Ask for Roy"

CAUTION - Roy was very nice to begin with when taking my order. He said I caught him out in the greenhouse/nursery, but took time to take my order. He said my order would ship on Tuesday, June 3. I called back on Wednesday, June 4 to get a tracking #. He then informed me my order would ship on Thursday, June 4. He had a new crop and only wanted to send me the best, and these looked really good. I called back on Thursday afternoon in hopes of getting a tracking # in advance of the order arriving on Friday. I took time out of my lunch hour (along with a friend) to come home and check on my shipment. Had it been there I was going to water them because we've been having temperatures in the upper 90's. The shipment was not here. When I got home Friday afternoon, still no shipment. So I called Roy in hopes of getting a tracking #. He informed me (4 times) that no one was in the office. If Customer Service hours are 8 a.m. - 6 p.m., why was there not anyone still in the office? At this point he was very nasty over the phone. He never cussed me, but may as well. He told me that I received the UPS Confirmation via e-mail and that it probably went into my junk box, and/or I deleted it not know what it was. I've ordered other things via the Internet and would be somewhat familiar with that information. He still guaranteed my shipment would be there today (Friday, June 5). Said I could call back on Monday to get the tracking #, but still guaranteed I'd have the package that evening. What good would it do to have a tracking # for a shipment of dead trees? UPS typically runs late in our neighborhood. We watched for UPS until 9:00 p.m. that evening. Still no shipment. I called Roy back on Saturday and left a message. Now he's not answering the phone as he so quickly did the week before. I called back on Monday in hopes of getting someone in the office and still no answer. Left yet another message. Monday afternoon around 5:30, I received a call from Roy. Said he was receiving a package back and did I want another order to be shipped back out. I said no. Why if I didn't get the first shipment would I be a dumb-ass and try again. I will NEVER order from this place again. I have now contacted my local county agriculture department and trying to find someone more reliable. Just be careful if you place an order with this company.

"On Mar 27, 2009 6:03 PM, Thuja Gardens (formerly PlantsRus) responded with:

I will make a short story out of the ABOVE -- UPS lost this order, needless to say by the time it was returned to me it was no good. I called to see if he wanted me to reship or refund. In 12 years I have never had a customer more upset over a $32.00 order.We think UPS does a fine job shipping our trees,however we do have a problems with packages ever now and again. WHAT DO YOU DO ????"

Ordered 20 Green Giant Arborvitaes (10 quart size, 10 gallon size). I received 10 of the quart size a few weeks later. Where are my other 10 trees? I have made numerous attempts to contact this company via phone and email to no avail. I even complained to PayPal about the transaction; I paid for 20 trees! I ordered these trees to have a privacy screen for my family. I had to hire someone to dig 20 holes in the ground because I have 3 kids under 5 and cannot possibly do it myself. The rain washed away the 10 other holes a month later. Where are my 10 one gallon trees Mr Roy???

"On Apr 28, 2009 12:39 PM, Thuja Gardens (formerly PlantsRus) responded with:

To say the least this lady ordered 1 Quart Size & Small Liners,no 1 Gallons. We do not use Pay Pal.The lady got what she ordered,if not happy..should have sent them back for a full refund. What do you do? GOD BLESS her and her kids."

Order several trees via Paypal. 1 day later I got a message from PayPal, that the charge had been reversed. Naturally that left me in limbo right in the middle of planting season. Was a "re-charge" forthcoming? Would I ever see trees? Did I just give my credit info to some hack? I'm gla I stumbled onto Dave's Garden. At least now I know that Roy is TRYING to run a real business, but as I can see from the other reviews, he apparently has the business sense of one of his trees. So anyway, to make a long story short, I've sent him 3 emails and of course have received no response. Since I consider the ignoring of emails from customers, to be THE cardinal sin, I'm giving him a hearty NEGATIVE, and will be thankful for the reversed charge. Sounds like I dodged a bullet.

"

Dave's Garden should take this rating off the site. This order was voided the same day it was recieved,how did that cause limbo in the middle of the planting season?We recieved no Emails.Person got an Email from PayPal saying the money had been refunded because we do not ship to CA...mabey person does not know what refund means?I say person,because we do not have customers from CA.That information is listed on the very page that the order came from (We can not ship to the following states of:AZ, CA, Or, HI)this is due to the strict regulations of the CA Agriculture Department.I spend enough time trying to keep customers happy,I do not deserve this kind of criticism from someone that is not even a customer.I try to treat people the way I would want to be treated,but some people tries my patience.

Roy D. Lawing DBA Thuja Gardens"

We ordered trees size 18"-24" from Roy (Thuja Gardens). What we received was few at just 18", and the majority are around the 12" size. We contacted Roy a few times to get this resolved, he advised us that his packers had pulled from the wrong batch of trees, and as a result, we were sent the smaller size trees even though we were charged at the higher price. He met us in the middle, and credited us back for some of the price difference. After we planted the trees, we realized that we would need about 6 more trees, so we placed another order of the gallon size 18"-24 ", and our credit card was charged. A week later we got a email from Roy that he was about 1 week behind, and therefore the trees wouldn't be shipped for 3 weeks. So, it took a month to receive trees after our credit card had been charged. When we finally received that shipment of trees, they were all around 12" in size. ( We paid for the 18-24" size.) We also noticed that after we placed the order and he shipped them to us, he changed his website to reflect the gallon size trees as 16-18" (the trees we received were still smaller than that) We attempted to contact Roy a few times with no response. We FINALLY received an email from him several weeks later to ship the trees back to him and try another company since we were not happy. Roy is very unprofessional to deal with. BEWARE, he sends smaller than advertised trees, and is very difficult to deal with, and it is hard to get a response from him in a timely manner.

I purchased 26 Thuja green giant trees for my Son in Lexington NC from this Company. They were delivered April 5th at 4PM. Well more than half the trees have died now. . They are under a 90 day guarantee - so I E-mailed this company - See below my E-mail & Roy's answer.

rita leocata wrote:

I purchased 26 1 gallon Thuja Green Giants trees from you on the phone and they were delivered to my Son in NC on 4/5/07: Ten of the trees died. I will be returning them to you and I want to know if you are going to replace them or refund the money ?
Please respond - Mrs. Rita Leocata -

His Answer:
From: Roy Lawing
To: rita leocata
Sent: Saturday, May 26, 2007 8:13 AM

Subject: Re: 10 thuja green giants

When did you plant these trees? Its a wonder he did not loose them all...the April freeze came on the 6th.

I then called Roy and advised him that the trees were not planted till 2 days later and were well protected from the freeze. His response was - he lost $17,000 due to the freeze and was not honoring his guartentee. This man & company is unprofessional & nasty. I would like to warn any one who is thinking of purchasing plants from him that he is a cheat.

BEWARE--of Plants R US-- and of ROY!! I purchased 5 thuja trees fo a total cost of $107. I was told that I would receive this shipment in the fall. Well, here is fall no trees! I contacted ROY and was told that the order was lost (now remember, I had to contact ROY- 3 times before I was able to get a response. He would say he would get back to me and NEVER did) I was promised that the order would be shipped on a Monday. I called ROY to confirm that it was shipped--ROY said " I meant to get ahold of you." (Sure you did ROY, sure you were going to get back to me like the other 3 times). Now ROY, was telling me that he had no record and could do nothing about it, even though my credit card statement clearly showed I was charged for them. I then had to call my credit card company to set things straight. So there IS a happy ending, but it took 5 calls to PlantsRUs, who did NOTHING and a call to CHASE who did something.

Look there are lots of companies that sell these trees, go to them not PlantsRUs and not ROY--He won't do a thing!

Oh, by the way, the reason the Shipping is free--- they don't ship!!! LOL

"

We get calls from people from time to time checking on orders they have ordered from other nurseries, even get checks written to other nurseries. When Rev. Mattax first contacted me I done everthing I could to pull up his order without any luck so I talked with Paypal and had no luck finding any order in his name. Rev. Mattax waited 6 weeks after he should have recieved his order to contact me,when I told him I could not find his order he was very mad....and with good reason. When Rev. Mattax contacted his card company they contacted PayPal. At that point I recieved a chargeback from PayPal and could actually pull up his order. As one can tell from the comments above, it was to late for me to try to make things right with Rev. Mattax. I'm not here to put down PayPal, they are a big business but I had problems trying to run my business with them processing my customers credit cards. This was my problem not my customers, I do fell bad about what happened to Rev. Mattax. I do have a new credit card processer now and feel alot more in control of my business through better availability to customer information.

Roy D. Lawing DBA Thuja Gardens"