Comments regarding Four Winds Growers

I ordered 2 dwarf Bergamot Oranges from Four Winds. These are difficult trees to find here in the US, but Four Winds had them, and they were GOOD GOOD plants. I ordered the 2-3 year old trees, and they came packed very nicely, pruned minimally, and with huge root systems. I was really pleased with the quality of those two trees, and I recommend their trees without hesitation.

Have purchased numerous dwarf and full size citrus trees as well as blueberry bushes over the past two years. Have been extremely pleased with the service and the plants. Couldn't ask for anything better!

Ordered a Mini naval orange tree. It came quickly was very well packaged and 3 months later it is growing like a weed and in excellent condition.

After reading the reviews, and reading the ONE negative, I felt the need to also report my experience with Four Winds. I am from Mass, and ordered 2 Citrus trees from them. Both were 2-3yr old trees, one being a Meyer Lemon, the other an Orange. Both arrived from Cali within 2 days of shipping, and their customer service was also very nice.

The trees arrived, and were in amazing condition. Bright green leaves, and even some beautiful new growth already on them. I was actually surprised at the size of the lemon tree for being only a 2-3 year old. I have had them for 2 weeks now, and the Lemon has started growing at a very very rapid pace, while the Orange tree is only just starting to grow.

I must also comment. Doesn't anyone else find it funny how out of all the reviews, there was only 1 negative one, and how he claimed that the only trees that he has killed were from Four Winds? Seems like someone who messed up, and is looking for someone to blame.

Myself personally, I am soon to purchase, a Lime, Grapefruit, Blood Orange, and most likely another Lemon down the road since I cook with Lemons a few times a week. I could not be more happy with how their customer service was, their shipping, and the quality of the trees, excellent company, and excellent product as well! Lets also not forget that this is the same farm that actually created the Improved Meyer Lemon tree back in the 50's. They clearly have the knowledge as well as the passion for Citrus Trees, I would not buy from anywhere else.

I ordered a one year old Centennial Variegated kumquat on June 22, it shipped on June 28 and I received it on June 29. The tree was healthy, about one and a half feet tall, and I'm satisfied with it. Not much else to say.

I ordered four one-year old dwarf citrus. I got an email confirmation, an email letting me know they had shipped, and four lovely little trees. They are bigger than I expected, very well packed, and healthy, happly little plants. thanks.

My husband has always wanted a grapefruit tree. He had gone so far as to pick out the type (Oroblanco) and nursery (Four Winds) before we had anywhere to put plants. Now that we do, I ordered (on January 21st) plants to arrive for his birthday (February 18th), choosing the expensive fast winter shipping and including a birthday message. They did confirm my order by e-mail. As I had heard nothing further, I called them on February 17th. The lady said they weren't shipping due to cold weather, and that no they don't always advise if they are not going to ship, seeming fairly unconcerned about the birthday aspect, other than to ask if I would still want the plants at a later date. Then she said, "oh, you ordered back on January 21st " - I thought.... - "we can't hold your order then as it will be over a month" - I was speechless.

My reaction was to burst into tears as I explained to my husband why I didn't have anything for his birthday. I would never have ordered again from this company.

However, my husband was determined and he ordered this tree from this company again in March. This time the tree arrived promptly and he is very happy with it.

i have purchased a number of trees from this nursery, which is based in northern california and i think has expanded to fast and its quality and value for the money is the worst i have ever seen at any large nursery. it looks like a rip off operation to me shipping very young trees in five gallon pots with no rootball grow out.

the first tree was an avocado tree...it was infected with root rot from the get go, as the avocado was planted in an elevated bed with soil amended with sand and mulch. after a heavy water in the avocado plant leafs drooped, which they never do when i have a healthy avocado. i had it for a year and it had all the symptons of root rot, which i verified. i had to dig up all the soil and throw it away and now have a great tree from a large commercial grower in its place. it is important to only buy avocados from growers who grow for commercial orchards as the plant quality is not high.

i purchased a dwarf citrus from these people and it also had to have root rot and be dug up despite being in a mound. after replacing the dirt and spraying a fungicide i have a lovely citrus in the same place.

i bought another citrus from them to find out it had a very bad insect infestation, and despite spraying the tree never produced well so i ripped it out. the rootstock was too weak and it was just a lousy tree despite my trying to mulch it back to health.

i would never, ever buy another plant from 4 winds. their business got to big with the big box stores and their quality is terrible. simply the worst i have ever seen. and all the really good commercial nursery for avocado and citrus are in SOUTHERN california or Central california where most of the avocado and citrus commerical crop is. these guys are in northern california making tons of money selling immature, and poor quality trees to retail suckers.

reliable growers i can recommend are dave wilson nursery, sierra gold, la verne nursery, c&m nursery, and browkaw nursery all of whom grow for large commercial producers.

avoid these guys their quality is gone and they are sitting on large extremely valuable land in fremont california and look to be coasting waiting for a land sale to a developer i expect.

i wish i could send them a bill for the dead and diseased trees and all the effort i spent nursing their poor stock.

rich guys at 4 winds and fruit poor and poor customers. i wish someone had been honest about these guys and suspect many of these posts are pure bullshit.

i am pleased to see that several of the nursery nearby where i live have stopped using 4 winds this year and are going with La Verne, so now i dont have to drive down to Piru to pick out my orchard stock

I have over 100+ fruit trees. I know what I am doing and 4 winds are the only trees i have killed, but largely due to their sending out clearly diseased trees and weak shoddy trees.

try the growers i recommend especially if your buying a lot of trees and you will be very happy with them.

whatever recipe 4 winds had, if they ever had one, is clearly gone.

state inspections don't mean squat the people that inspect nursery stock dont know what they are doing in most cases.

"On Apr 22, 2010 2:00 PM, Four Winds Growers responded with:

Four Winds Growers is sorry that you have not had good luck with some of our products. Your experience is not typical and we hope that you will contact us directly to discuss your situation. If a customer has issues, we appreciate having an opportunity to respond and try to correct the problem.

Four Winds Growers is a family run business that has been in operation for over 50 years. We pride ourselves on our plant quality and customer service. We do not sell plants that are diseased.

If there is ever a problem with our products, we encourage customers to contact us directly at cs@fourwindsgrowers.com. We stand by the plants we sell and will do everything we can to insure that you are satisfied with your purchase."

My 2 little kaffir lime trees came and already feel like part of the family. What a wonderful company to work with! They notify well before they ship just in case the date doesn't work for you. The trees arrived with plenty of foliage and nice size root balls. Perhaps a little pricey...but the ease of doing business with the company is worth the extra money. Jocelyn

Ordered 2 1-year trees. Wonderfully packed (their boxes are ingenious) and arrived promptly -- I'm in CA, so shipping was fast and inexpensive, though I imagine it's pricier if you're further away. The trees are larger than I thought they'd be at 1 year -- the rootstock is thicker (about 1/2") than the scion (about 1/4") but I imagine the scion will catch up quickly, and the trees are about 18" tall and leafed-out beautifully. They weren't cheap, but seem to be well worth the money -- MUCH better than getting a skinny whip from somewhere else. I look forward to delicious fruit in a couple of years!

My love for Four Winds started quite a few years ago. I had to make a business trip to the San Francisco area. My trip involved a stay over a weekend. I had heard about Four Winds, and decided to pay a visit to the nursery! I went there, and met an older gentleman. He was so very pleasant, and seemed to appreciate my interest in citrus and dwarf trees! He proceeded to take me in a golf cart, and gave me a tour and first-hand explanation of the nursery and of the dwarf tree process. I got to watch the workers grafting the new trees onto the root stock, and the process is truly interesting and amazing! I don't remember the gentleman's name, but I will never forget that visit. I did leave with the purchase of a tree, and have bought and grown several, in containers, since!

I will always give my thumbs-up to Four Winds. Their products are of high quality, and the assortment they have is quite extensive!

THANK YOU FOUR WINDS!!!

Four Winds was my first online plant ordering experience, and it was a nice one indeed.

I ordered 1-year calamondin and yuzu trees. Shipping was a bit pricey - I wanted the trees here (cross-country) quickly, to limit any potential shipping damage; their service was prompt indeed. They were very swift in responding to my lone question.

And both trees have done quite well. A bit too early for them to bear any fruit, but the calamondin was quite lush when it arrived and has continued to do well. The yuzu looked - at first - a bit over-pruned, but as soon as autumn temperatures hit here, it responded with a big burst of very vigorous growth, and is looking like a very happy plant indeed. So overall I am quite happy with both.

I am fast approaching the limit of what I can accomodate in my apartment, but I am planning to order another couple plants from them in the near future.

2 year trees aren't very big, just in case you didn't know that. They even told me to buy locally first, but I wanted to know that I was getting exactly what I wanted.

I was disappointed in the size of the trees for almost $40 a piece. Later I looked at lowes and their trees were 2 times the size for half as much, same variety.

I was very happy with the condition of the trees, they even held up a couple of days bare root until I could plant them. I talked to the owner when I called with a question on the weekend and they were very nice people.

So while I would never give them a negative, I wouldn't go positive based on the size of the trees that I received. Neutral seemed to fit as I just wanted this to inform others that the 2 year trees are not very big. With all that said I'd order from them again if I really needed to buy a rare variety as they have many, they did provide viable trees, and the customer service was excellent. So don't let me scare you off, but remember 2 year trees aren't very big (12-20inches).

I have been ordering from Four Winds Growers for nearly twenty years now. I have even visited with these fine folks and toured their operation in Freemont, CA. Just ordered and received a 2 year old Eureka Lemon tree, and as I expected, it arrived in perfect condition. As you can see from everyone that has left comments, I just don't think you can go wrong by ordering from Four Winds Growers!

I've ordered twice from Four Winds, the first time about two years ago and recently again last week. I've received a 2-3 y.o. nagami kumquat and kaffir lime, and a smaller 1 yr kumquat.

The quality of the trees has been great each time. The kaffir lime is now 4-5 yrs and hasn't fruited in my too-dark apartment, but both kumquats have done amazingly well even without outdoor exposure.

One warning: the shipping is quite prompt and arrived earlier than the stated delivery date each time. This was actually problematic for me, as the first time this happened no one was around to receive the trees and they were stolen out of my urban apartment mailroom. Four Winds replaced them. If you've got shrinkage issues with your mail, be sure to watch for the trees a day early and don't rely on the delivery date.

I ordered seven dwarf citrus trees in April. They all arrived well packed and in good shaped. Shipping was expensive but all plants were as advertised and in great shape. I'd definitely order from them again.

This was my first time ordering from an online nursery, and I was a bit nervous. I just received my Dwarf Meyer Lemon tree, and it is in great health and much larger then I thought it would be. It already has buds! Shipping was very fast, even though I paid by check. The plant arrived before my check even cleared!
I will oder from them again in the future.

I teetered back and forth about ordering some dwarf citrus from
Four Winds because of the price(cost + shipping to Mississippi).
After receiving my plants, I can say that I was pleasantly surprised.
In fact, I went around my school showing off my trees and giving out the Web address.
Thanks

Early spring of 2007, I ordered Meyer lemon, Satsuma mandarin, and Meiwa kumquat trees. All arrived in excellent condition - the kumquat tree even had some fruit.

I failed miserably at maintaining them, but I got some helpful suggestions when I emailed the company. I feel they went above and beyond in terms of customer service.

I recently ordered 3 dwarf citrus trees: Meyer Lemon, Mexican Key Lime and Cara Cara Navel Orange. I've mail ordered plants for many years, and these were absolutely the best, most health looking plants I have every received. The shipping was prompt. The website is full of helpful info.

If I ever need additional citrus plants, I'll definitely order from them again. Highly recommend.

I got a kaffir lime (2-3 year) and it looks great, a little oddly shaped and lopsided but that can be fixed. It had tons of great looking leaves on it and it came with a free grasshopper:) Shipping was very fast and not much damage to the tree, a few outer broken stems and leaves. I will definitely buy from them again.

Container gardening in mountains of northern New Mexico.

Two years ago, bought (all dwarf) from Four Winds Growers: 2 Seville Orange, Bergamot Orange, Nagami Kumquat, Meiwa Kumquat, Limequat, Calamondin, Improved Meyers Lemon, Kaffir Lime, Mexican (Key) Lime, and Bearrs Lime.

All arrived promptly and in excellent condition, some in fruit. All have grown and fruited in containers, in South facing solar room in winter (to upper 30s) and outdoors in summer (low 90s). Hand pollinated flowers with Q-tip during early spring bloom. Buzz buzz.

Fruit quality is wonderful. I use the fruit to make marmalade, and the leaves of the Kaffir lime for Thai cooking. Their Meyers lemon is far more delicious and exotic tasting than store-bought Meyers lemon. The Bergamot marmalade is beyond description, it is so perfumed and spicy. The kumquats are huge and very juicy.

I have two other Nagami kumquats from a local nursery that I have used for marmalade for 10 years and they are still about 3-4 feet tall with minimal pruning. So far I have kept the Four Winds trees wacked back to less than four feet tall, and they are growing nicely bushy. The oranges may eventually want to be a bit larger. All in all, I am extremely pleased with the trees that I ordered from Four Winds Growers.

ordered etrog, mandarin, and meyer lemon- arrived when they said they would- the meyer lemon had about 50 blossoms on it when it arrived- not sure yet whether the blossoms will survive the shipping. the etrog had about 5 blossoms- in the two weeks since i have had the tree, it has grown another 5 blossoms and seems to be doing really well. the mandarin has had a massive growth spurt since arriving and currently there about 100 blossoms developing.

so overall- am thrilled so far with the trees. i also received clear answers to several emailed questions.
overall- 10/10 so far.

I got some larger and some smaller citrus, 4 kinds. They arrived promptly and look great, and still look great. The larger plants are really big and lush!

I bought 4 trees from Four Winds and am extremely pleased with them. They came is a box that looked small, but all four trees have big canopies and long healthy roots. They even include wood chips (unfortunately redwood- of which I try to buy NO products) to add to your potting soil.
I'm very pleased and already planning my next order!

Onr local nurseries often carry Four Winds citrus but I was interested in a Kaffir Lime when they do not regularly sell. Past experience had taught me that to special order it from the nursery was a guarantee that they would jack up the price. I purchased it and another obscure citrus directly from Four Winds through their website. Email communication was superior. They even dropped the price of shipping in half when they realized that the distance shipped was short! The plants arrived quickly and are in terrific shape. The kaffir lime is much larger than I would have expected for a 2-3 year old tree...very impressive.

I ordered three 2-3 year old dwarf citrus trees. They arrived late last week. They are beautiful little trees, well leafed, in perfect condition. Two are flowering. Shipping is very reasonable, up to 3 for combined shipping. I can never resist a shipping bargain. Definitely recommend these folks.

Karen

Wow, ordered a 2-3 year cara cara orange dwarf. The tree was sent from California to Philadelphia and arrived in perfect condition. It is awesome. Great size and bushy and flowering. This company has got to be one of the best on-line sellers I have come across. They carry a wide variety of dwarf citrus and I am sure I will go back for more. Reasonable too.

As a NJ native of 24 years, I've been growing all kinds of citrus indoor (most of the time), in low light conditions. Not only have I ordered around 10 or 15 trees in the past 5 years from my friends at Four Winds, but ALL BUT 2 are still on this earth doing just fine. the 2 I lost where from over watering and fertilizing. I can't believe after all these years, that they actually have been making it easier and easier to have cold hardy, vigorous trees anywhere...even your basement will do, if it has light. If anyone ever has a problem with this vendor, than I challenge you to figure out what you did wrong and try again. It worked for me, and 6 years later I love the challenge of growing limes outside in NJ, and reaping the 40 lime bennefit.
Thanks for your time,
Chris J,
Hillsborough, NJ

Am really pleased with the four plants I ordered! They were beautiful--full and healthy (Satsuma, Meyer lemon, Kaffir lime and Bearss seedless lime)!

Prompt service. Nice plants. Highly recommended!

I purchased a Buddha's Hand and an Owari Satsuma, both 2-3 yr old trees. The trees arrived in beautiful condition. They were well packed, not a single broken leaf! I had a question a couple months after I purchased the trees. They responded immediately. I will certainly buy from Four Winds again.

WOW, what incredible dwarf citrus trees. I ordered four 2-3 year trees: Moro blood orange, Varigated Lemon, Owari Satsuma Mandarin, and Improved Meyer. ALL of the trees are tall, beautiful, full trees with extremely healthy leaves. The trees were so tall and full that the top stems of two of them snapped (not a problem, only lost a few leaves). These trees are NOT the tiny little trees you receive from so many "Big" nurseries that send you catalogs in the mail. What you see online is actually what you get (or better!). Considering how much better (and bigger) these trees look than the ones I've owned for several years, I only hope I can keep them looking great! The cost was $36 each because I ordered 4, and shipping was $14 each. This is a GREAT PRICE because two years ago I received a lemon tree from one of those "fancy" catalogs (I think it was Wm-Sonoma) that was smaller and not nearly as pretty... and currently retails in their catalog for apx. $65 PLUS shipping! Regarding shipping: I live in Atlanta, GA. I ordered the trees on May 20 (Sat.), Four Winds, in Sacramento, CA, shipped them Monday the 22nd, and I received the trees Wednesday the 24th! I cannot say enough nice things about these trees. I am blown away by the health and size of the trees. BUY! You won't regret it!

Nothing but GREAT things to say about this company! All the trees I have purchased are, quite simply, the best trees that you can buy for the money.

I have purchased these Four winds trees which are in containers or in the ground:

2 Kaffir Limes
Indio Mandarinquat
Eustis Limequat
Meyer lemon
Bearss Lime
Rangpur Lime
Palestine Sweet Lime
Australian Finger Lime
Owari Satsuma

Great customer service!
Excellent response time on Inquiries!
Quick Turnaround on orders!

Nice information on the website about growing trees indoors and which varieties do best. I'll be looking for your trees at OSH. Thanks.

We have thriving true dwarf citrus from these good folks: two Meyer Lemons and a Moro Blood Orange.
We love the website, and have directed friends in other states to it for information as well as the temptation to buy. We also love that being near neighbors, our local nurseries not only have Four Winds trees in stock in season, but also get information enough first to post it for us to read there, and also for folks at our local nursery to be able to talk with us intelligently about the trees, and their care.
Highest recommendations for the company, both to deal with and for the excellent work they do with true dwarf citrus cultivars.

Hello everyone...
I live in Florida and i was looking for some Kaffir trees to buy..
I contacted Toby from 4 winds and he explain he couldnt help me due to the strict canker laws in Florida.First i was surprise of the speedy response by Toby and 4 winds.I was sad tho i couldnt buy his wonderful trees and didn't realize the canker nazi's were still in power.I had a beautiful Indian river grapefruit tree 20 foot tall and 12 years old and very healthy growing in my backyard.One day i came home from work and found my tree gone nothing but the stump.
So i if im a little harsh on the Canker Krooks you know why :=/
Well even tho Toby couldnt help me out he pointed me to someone in Florida who can sell me the trees.I am writing this positive note because Toby and 4 winds took the time to help me even tho i didnt buy anything from him.I must say Toby A+ on all your help and if and when they ever lift the ban you will be the first person i will buy my trees from.

Having the winter blues, I caught the citrus bug. So I searched all over the web and landed at Four Winds. The web site was really helpful in making my choice the Cara Cara Navel. I live in NY and we had a very mild patch in Jan. so I went for it. It arrived a week! Trying to slip it in between cold fronts was amazing on their part. E-mails, every step of the way. Its a healthy lush dark green tree pruned perfectly. 2-3 years old 2.5' h & w. Straight trunk with clean neat graft, well established bareroot securly packed in clean moist cedar chips.
I give this purchase 5 stars...
1. Very easy website to order from.
2. Very healthy tree,
3. arrived in winter unscathed in a week!
4. Communication through emails.
5. Great price tree/shipping...
Hope this helps, Mantis212

This summer I placed 2 orders with Four Winds. My first 'trial' order I got 1 2-3 yr old MidKnight Valencia Orange and a 1 yr old Trovita orange. They came within 5 days of me placing the order. They were both packed well and were very healthy. I just didnt like the size of the 1 yr tree. It was less than a foot tall. I think that it is worth paying the $8 extra because there is such a difference in size between the two ages. My MidKnight Valencia was great! It had big dark green leaves, I love it!
Then yesterday I just got my latest order in the mail. It was a 2-3 yr old Owari Satsuma, a 2-3 yr old Robertson Navel orange and a 2-3 yr old Cara Cara Red Navel Orange. All came within a week of my order and were in great condition! My two Oranges both have immature fruits on them! I'm very satisfied. The prices might be slightly higher than other companies, but to me these beautiful trees are worth it! Toby is very nice and helpful as well. This is one of the better mail order companies out there!