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I'm wavering between neutral and positive-- depending on how they treat my request for replacement plants, I'd go with one or the other. I ordered about $60 worth of plants: Japanese toad lilies, assorted hostas and ferns, pink and fernleaf bleeding heart, Christmas roses, Rose Rugosa, native daylily and two hydrangea trees.
Shipping: I did not receive an email notifying me that the order had shipped, but it was on my doorstep just about two weeks to the minute of my having placed the order. As others have mentioned, the plants were shipped in green plastic bags-- with no protection whatsoever. Surprisingly, to me, everything seemed in fairly good shape (although some of the bareroot was very, very small indeed), and one of the Rose Rugosa had even started putting out green shoots.
Two months later, I've had about a 60% success rate and have submitted, in writing and with my original packing labels, replacement requests for the non-successes. The pink bleeding heart grew fabulously-- within two weeks, it was larger than the one gallon plants at the local nursery and has bloomed steadily. At less than two dollars a bareroot, I'd order it again in a heartbeat. Most of the hosta bareroot also did extremely well; the regal blue hosta did not sprout, but the others did and almost all of them are respectably large. The Rose Rugosa has all leafed out, and my lilies have sprouted (lost one or two to a cat charging through the flower bed-- hardly 4 Seasons' fault and I did not request replacements for these). My "failures" were the toad lilies (which sprouted eensy sprouts and then rotted), the fernleaf bleeding heart, the Christmas roses (no sprouts-- just died), and all but one of the ferns (one grew fantastically-- the others did nothing and I treated them all the same). The tree hydrangeas have also failed to come out of dormancy but, frankly, I wasn't expecting much for $2.01 for two "trees."
I would order from them again, but would probably limit myself to bulbs and bareroot hostas. Given how cheap they are and how fantastic some of the plants have turned out, they're a good value. If they actually replace my dead plants as I requested, I'd rate them positively-- they're cheap, they shipped quickly, and, truly, some of the plants are spectacular. It's a gamble, and you probably have to look at it that way, but so far I've been satisfied.
On June 18th, 2009, amf94597 added the following:
Well, just about three weeks to the day after sending in my request for replacement plants, the replacements arrived. Overall, I'm very pleased. I'm starting to suspect that it may be luck of the draw. I had two Christmas Rose roots, for example: one was quite large and the other was eensy. This time, most of the roots (with that one exception) were decently large and the hydrangea trees actually had some sprouts on them, so that's good. I did have the bleeding heart fern show up moldy (covered with blue fuzz/mold), so I'm not sure if I'll send that back or just console myself by admiring the fabulous bleeding heart and hostas I've purchased from them. Overall, a decent deal and a cheap way to try new things-- as long as you follow the replacement request instructions and are willing to be flexible. I've since dealt with other nurseries (rated highly by Dave's Garden members) and there is a noticeable difference. If money was no object, I'd stick with those, but otherwise I'd be more than game to order hostas and bulbs from 4 Seasons again,
We got our 3 English Walnuts in the mail today. They look OK. We planted them outside in pots. They were at least 1 foot tall as advertised. We will let you know in a few weeks if they come to life.
I would like to thank you D'gers for informing all of us that this company is affiliated with Burgess, as I am very unhappy with Burgess. I had received a coupon in the mail where I could get Trip L Crop Tomato seeds for $1. I promptly made out a check and sent it to them November 1st 2008. Come January they had finally cashed the check; and I called them (that was a week ago); spoke with a woman who assured me they had just been mailed out. Now, it's February, still no seeds, so I called again, this time a man tells me that I must send a copy of the check that was cashed, write them a letter, and they would see what they could do? No thanks, that is another waste of .45 for a stamp, my time and shows they do not keep up with their records very well, I offered to give them the check number of the check that had been cashed. I then received more catalogs from them and from 4 seasons, there is a lot of things in their catalogues I'd like to have; but, if they mess up the very first order???? And now that I know 4 seasons is connected with them, no way. There are too many great companies I can deal with out there.
joy112854
On Jul 22, 2008, autumn4vajb Lenoir, NC (Zone 7a) wrote:
Ordered one rose bush, one fern, and twelve carnations - all arrived dead, sent for replacements for all - rose bush looks much better putting on lots of leaves, most of the carnations are doing ok only two have died, fern has never even came up.
On Feb 21, 2008, MorsisX Lockport, IL (Zone 5b) wrote:
Word of warning, Beware their return policy!!! You must keep any shipping labels for the year after you receive the products (side note I have been told the clock starts when the order is submitted, NOT when it is delivered!!! Makes no sense with bulbs ordered in the spring, shipped in the fall, and you won't even see results until after the year has passed!) On the plus side, they have honored the guarantee w/o the shipping label and after a year.
Their prices are very good, but the quality is rather hit or miss. All of the shrubs I have received have been severely dehydrated. Immediate soaking in a bucket revived some but not all. I did get exactly what I ordered but they were shipped in a plastic bag, literally...
I orderd almost a month ago and only received a small part of my total order. Here's my advice: * you have 45 days to cancel any credit card payment. Just talk to your bank or credit card company, or do it online * I talked to my bank and the manager is happy to cancel the payment. They will deal with Four Seasons from there on and you get your money back. The manager said that Visa will trust a loyal customer over a company with very poor customer reports. If a lot of clients do this, the major credit card companies will not work with this company period. It is not righ waiting this long while the planting conditions in May are excellent. I give them one more week, after that i'll cancel the order. I won't even call or write them, i'll have the bank do that with Visa.
I placed an order on April 13,2007. $300.00 worth. Reading all of the bad comments makes we worry. I called the Company this mornig about my order, and was tols that 4 out of aproximate 90 have been send out last Friday. I asked how much longer I have to wait for the other plants, and was told that it would take 2-4 weeks in average, and that first come first serve will be send out. That is scary due to the fact that this could mean a long time. The company did not made that clear in the catalog, or anywhere else. I am worried.
On Apr 3, 2007, dominickbifano Pittsburgh, PA (Zone 6a) wrote:
Past two years I have ordered through them because of their selection and low prices: orders are timely and complete. Close to half of the products have not survived, this despite my care in following the instructions and a general knowledge of gardening. However, after writing to them with order label and letter explaning what I want resent, they have honored the return.
I just placed an order for almost $300 with 4seasons and I'm very worried. I just read all the complaints about the plants conditions on arrival and I don't want that to happen to me. Dormant state does not means "dead". I"m also very worried about the guarantee, do they really honor it?
On Jul 11, 2006, bettyglobal Myrtle Beach, SC (Zone 8a) wrote:
May this year I placed an order with this company.
6 Hibiscus, 4 shell vines, 4 hummingbird vines.
Although I was quite disapointed when I opened the package containing my hibiscus, I reread the info about dormancy, having a decent biology background, I came to terms with my 6 sticks. Out of 6, 4 are thriving beautifully so far, (2 months) one did not grow, and I killed one by soaking it too long.
4 Hummingbird vines - One thriving, two doing ok, and one is barely alive.
Shell Vine or Corkscrew Vine, 3 are thriving, one is ehhh ok...
As far as the FREE with every order merchandise, none of it has done anything for two months...sooooo... I am guessing that it's no good or I killed it.
I am new to gardening. I think I lucked up. But Yess, I did get a Royal Dutch catalogue shortly after. If I had read the reviews, I would not have placed and order with these people.
I am a beginning gardener, I spent $25, about 75% of my stuff is growing, so, I am happy. I just got the skeevies reading about the same company having 4 different names.....That is NOT cool.......
On July 13th, 2006, bettyglobal added the following:
to be fair, I thought that I should add.....
My "stick" hibiscus were only 50 cents each, which is why I went this route instead of $30 for a grown one. Since 2 died, they raised my cost to 75 cents each, which is fine with me, I am patient.....
Also, my corkscrew vines had leaves AND flower buds on them when I got them, striaght out of packaging. And now after I have had them a couple of months 2 of them each have a flower. I read that some people don't have the pretty flowers the first year. I bought 4 of these and 6 of the hibiscus planning on things dying since I am a beginner, (not realizing that my 2 vines can be invasive) So, if everything else lives, I can share with friends!On Jul 11, 2006, Four Seasons Nursery responded with:
"
On Sep 7, 2006 2:39 PM, Four Seasons Nursery added:
We are glad to hear that most of the plants are doing well. We did dmail the customer on 7/12 reminding her of our one year replacement guarantee.
As one of the largest mail order nurseries in business, we do operate a number of gardening companies. This is becoming a more common practice in the industry with each passing year. You will find that a number of our competitors also have several titles. As costs increase, more and more smaller companies simply cannot survive on their own. In fact, all of our companies were individually owned at one time. These companies occupied specific niches in the marketplace that helped round out our offerings to the gardening community.
"
I placed an order with 4 Season's Nursery. I had the same problem trying to reach the company over the phone but my husband finally did reach them. I received the order in 2 shipments. This is my first year gardening at my new home in Maine. I love it. The previous owner had a green thumb so I am trying my best to keep up the beautiful gardens. I ordered a Blue Moon Rose which I noticed someone else ordered. Mine was a pinkish/purple color as well (not the blue they showed). It was so beautiful in the magazine I couldn't resist. They basically sent me a stem. My sister, who's a florist, looked at me with a really sad expression and told me that she didn't think it would grow... but it did and although it's not what I ordered it is beautiful. I also ordered a 3-in-1 Hydrangea and the 5 carnation plants which have grown a little but still have not flowered. I also ordered a Queen's Tear-- just because I was curious and other then a few more leaves nothings happened with that. I ordered 3 Black Rasberry Bushes and a Butterfly bush and received long stems (none of which have done anything and I planted as specified in the instructions). I also rec'd a bulb package. The bulbs looked moldy and none of them have grown yet. I figure I'll give it a bit more time to see what happens and then contact the company. I was disappointed that the rose wasn't what I ordered but there is no way I'd send it back ( I grew it from a stem).
On Jul 10, 2006, Four Seasons Nursery responded with:
"
On Sep 2, 2006 9:04 AM, Four Seasons Nursery added:
A dmail was sent to the customer on 7/12/06 offering replacments or a merchandise credit for any items that did not survive and addressing various other issues mentioned in the posting. We have not yet had a reply from the customer."
I am waiting on a complete refund or I will provide an example of the WORST mail order plant seller in the whole US DEE MOSS EL DORADO ARK
On July 5th, 2006, rock4303 added the following:
Still no luck.... I ordered over 70.00 worth of dead sticks and dried up bulbs and leaves..... On July 17th, 2006, rock4303 added the following:
I got a 21.49 check today.. over 50.00 short. I even sent back all the dead sticks and leaves....Still want my refund... My advice is IF you still order from them use a credit card and DO NOT pay till you get your plants then just send back all the dead sticks and leaves and be done with it. Yea they have good prices and pretty pictures,but if all they send is dead stick and leaves.....theyt want you to give up wanting your money back... it does take alot of time...On July 24th, 2006, rock4303 added the following:
Does anyone know the best way to contact the AG office in this state? I am sure they have heard of Four Season's I just want to be added to the list.
On Jun 21, 2006, alesha801 Riverton, UT (Zone 6a) wrote:
In response to the last entry. I also bought over 100.00 worth of plants this year. I ordered the 4th of May and still have yet to recieve it. How convinent. I will never order from them again. I did recieve a partial order of my strawberries and ferns. All of which are dead seeing that it took 3 weeks to get to me. I also threw my shipping label away. However when I called I actually got a sweetheart of a lady named "Jenny" that told me to just get a copy of the purchase from my creditcard and make a copy of what i ordered and send that it. I am definately going to do. Hopefully you could do this also. GOOD LUCK
On July 10th, 2006, alesha801 changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
UPDATE-
I have been in contact with Faith (who I might add is very on the ball) she is trying to make everything right with my order. Even though they havent gotten to me yet, I truly appreciate her effort to make me happy. I will let you know how things get to me.
I think this site can be used best if we just state what our problems are and let their technical group contact us to get it resolved. It sure makes it easier than trying to get threw on the phone. I am so far pleased. I just hope my plants get here the same way.
I ordered from this company because i was getting an extremely good deal for these plants. Yes its not going to go perfect, however with my limited budget, I have to take what I can get. When you love gardening as much as I do, I look for the bargins.
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. ALTHOUGH THE SHIPPING METHODS ARE UNDESIRABLE, AND MOST OF THE BULBS I ORDERED WERE VERY MOLDY AND SMALL, AMAZINGLY, THEY HAVE ALL GROWN AND ARE FOR THE MOST PART FLOWERING. I ALSO ORDERED THE HYBRID WILLOWS LAST YEAR FOR LESS THAN $1 A PIECE, OUT OF THE 10, HALF ARE GROWING VERY WELL. THE REST ARE ALIVE BUT NOT EXACTLY VIGOROUS. ALTHOUGH I WON'T BUY BULBS HERE AGAIN, I HAVE JUST ORDERED MORE OF THE WILLOWS AS THE PRICE CAN'T BE BEAT EVEN IF ONLY 50% DO WELL.
I consider myself to be a pretty good gardener! especially when it comes to shade gardens. I've had a really good experience with most online orders I've gotten, especially from Springhill! At this point I can't complain about Four Seasons, and like others, I just found this site which list all the complaints? I ordered about $50 worth of goods and received my first items about 3 days ago. It only took two weeks to get them, which isn't bad, and they came in fantastic shape!!! I was actually impressed with the packaging and the condition. I'm still waiting for the remainder of my order and will respond with additional comments when those items have come in! I hope the rest of my order comes in timely and in good condition so I don't have to come back again with a negative comment...HOWEVER! you can't complain too much if you hardly spent anything for such a large assortment of goods! Every single dormant online twig/root looking product I've ordered has survived except for half the stuff I received from the Arbor Day Foundation??? I may have just gotten a bad bunch/or the way shipping is going? You have choices! either spend very little and take your chances with a dud or a Great outcome! or go spend a good chunk of change some where else and hope that it takes as well with a more mature plant. Know your zones, know your plants, know your soil! Don't expect everything to look like the picture! and read the information given! This is no different than that BBQ Cheeseburger that looks so great on the tv commercial, but when you go to buy one, it's like nothing you've seen before? but it sure does taste good! and these prices in some cases may be surely what you pay for!
On Oct 29, 2003, Servants_heart Laurens, SC (Zone 8a) wrote:
I just after a three month wait received my order (6 Dwarf Cherry trees, 1 Persian Lilac, a Bargain tree or two, and some flower bulbs) from them in good condition and the plants are doing well. But I did only get the order after contacting them and telling them that I had heard all kinds of bad things about them!! hehehe! Don't know if I will order from them again or not-probably not even though they have really reasonable prices. To wait such a long time and then like some people maybe get moldy, no good plants and have a hard time getting the situation corrected is not worth the cheaper prices!! Well, SOME of their prices are cheaper--others are quite expensive.
On Oct 15, 2003, butterflygal Grady, AL (Zone 8a) wrote:
My co-workers and I ordered quite a few plants and bulbs last winter and received them this past Spring in pretty good shape. I was missing a couple of plants and a few of the plants didn't make it, so I called. I was told me I didn't have to send the plants back, just write a letter and sent the original invoice. I called back this morning and the replacements are suppose to be in the mail as I type. On the BBB website it gave me this number 800-544-8200 and they answered first ring :) Now, I hope the replacements will get here and they will do well!!!
I ordered some Orderly Privet Hedges,Hybrid Willows,Hostas,Magnolias,Purple Plum Leaf Plum Hedge,Mock Orange, and Snow Ball Bushes from Four Seasons and had a relatively good experience with most of them. The Magnolias are growing beautiful with many flowers on it this Spring. The Purple Plum Leaf Shrubs are flourishing beautifully and are about 4-5 feet tall now. They are very rich in color. The Snow Ball Bushes were growing very rapidly. A matter of fact they grew so big I had to keep pruning them. Some of the orderly Privet Hedges did die. The Hybrid Willows did not fair too well. Only 1 out of 10 survived. I think it's my fault for putting them in the incorrect spot where the soil might have had a poor drainage problem. Only 1 out of 6 of the Mock Orange Shrubs survived possibly I put them into a poor soil mixture (clay soil). But, otherwise the experience was pretty good. I followed the directions on how to plant everything. I planted them a day or two after I received them. I also soaked the roots in water for a few hours before planting. The customer service was helpful. I think I would order from them again.
I order about $70 of trees and shrubs. All but one almond tree arrived in good shape and I planted them immediatly and they have budded and seem to be doing fine. Emailed them and they said they would ship the other tree out ASAP. I can't complain but I wish they would have checked a bit better.
I ordered $70 worth of stuff from this company last spring (Spring 2002) and right after ordering found several Internet sites saying it was all a scam and boy did I feel stupid. But then, it didn't turn out so poorly. I mean, sure, many of the plants arrived in poor shape, but for the price, I didn't really expect that much. Out of probably 20 trees/shrubs, approximately 5-7 have survived... and it wasn't really all that surprising because the things that died, I rather expected to die because they weren't quite right for my soils and we had a really bad drought this year. But the sand cherry and the forsythia and the lilacs did fine (I knew they should grow here) and then the five roses were pretty decent (four of five were definitely alive)... but they died due to dog exposure (MY fault). Of course, it took about 9-10 weeks to get my order, and I will NOT order from them again, but my experience was not completely 100 percent awful. You get what you pay for!
My friend and I decided to place a trial order with Four Seasons simply because the prices were so low. We did receive our product, June 25th, although I'm not sure when she ordered it. The 6 hibiscus roots seem to be viable with a few inches of green shoot. I planted my 3 today, June 26th, in Northeast SD. We will see.
I WISH I WOULD HAVE SEEM THIS BEFORE, I JUST PLACED AN ORDER WITH THEM AND I HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANYTHING AS OF YET. IT IS SPRING AND I SHOULD BE PLANTING THE PERIENNALS THAT I ORDERED. I WILL KEEP MY FINGERS CROSSED AND LET YOU KNOW HOW I MAKE OUT.
I placed an order on March 28th for some water lilies and two mole traps, now I am wondering if I will receive anything, since reading all the complaints, I will not order from them again regardless of how and when my order arrives. Also, I will take note of one of the complaints and do all my correspondence by certified mail. I thought it was against the law to charge your credit card before the articles were shipped.
I ordered about 20 plants from Four Seasons Nursery this past spring. Of the approximate 20 only 1 lived. All the rest when pulled from planters, planted in Miracle Gro, had these reddish/yellow grub insects all over the roots. I had saved all the packaging, so the 19 were returned with the grubs all over the roots in the same bag. I got a gift certificate for the balance of these 19 plants. The only surviving plant was a "Blue Moon" rose that turned out to be lavender and it took 6 weeks to show any growth. I must say that when it started growing, it ended up being over 6 feet tall with huge 2"+ blooms. I'm going to use my certificate since I actually paid for it already.
I ordered rose bushes about two months ago, my credit card company has already paid them, I still have not received my order. I got another catalogue from them two weeks ago and they thanked me for the order and said they were giving my order prompt and careful attention. Still have not received order.
I ordered from Burgess early last spring and just recently from Four Seasons Nursery, which I didn't know until recently they are the same company. I had very good luck with my order from Burgess, I received my order in a timely manner and everything came in excellent shape (nothing dead and everything lived). I just hope the order I've placed with Four Seasons Nursery this spring is just as nice. After reading which are mostly complaints, I'm a little weary, as I have spent a great deal this year. I tried the number given in the catalog to check on the status of my order but it's ALWAYS busy!!!
I still have not received my Four Seasons order even though it is now past planting time for the bulbs and other items. After reading your other comments here, I am real concerned that I'll not receive anything of value whatsoever! I have been trying to call them to cancel my order but the line is always busy (no doubt fielding similar complaints).
I have had mixed results from my order from Four Seasons. I got Dwarf Burning Bushes where 90% leafed out. All but 3 are dead now, but that was due to a literal plague of grasshoppers this summer. (according to the extension agent we had 3 times the density of grasshoppers needed to be considered a plague!) On the downside, none of the other plants ever grew and apparently were DOA. These included "walk on me", a thyme ground cover, sedum, lavender and Harry Lauder's walking stick. Much of this is probably due to arriving during hot weather (as if Texas has any other kind), but other nurseries have had much better survival despite similar weather. My order arrived when I expected and was 100% correct
I have had a generally favorable experience with these companies, mostly in ordering their "bargain" plants. Got a few mountain ash and pink smoke trees from them 3 or 4 years ago and was surprised by the size for, I think, $2 each. Also their perennial hibiscus roots--a great value, a dozen for something like $3. They have also performed well for me. Drawbacks are their "no refund without shipping label" policy--the label is taped onto the green plastic mailer, need scissors to cut it out. Also their shipping fee (which went up to over $6 this year) is OUTRAGEOUS.
I ordered 96 Canadian hemlocks, and several fruit and ornamental trees from them. They arrived eight weeks later. All the hemlocks were dead. The other trees were in pieces - broken, damaged, destroyed, now all dead. I immediately contacted them via certified mail. They mailed back my shipping label and asked me to wait six weeks and see what happens. Six weeks have passed. I will contact them again via certified mail.I am very dissatisfied with the poor quality of their products. They shipped 100 trees via the s-l-o-w-e-s-t, cheapest postage, wrapped in a flimsy sheet of green plastic! My plants must have boiled in a P.O. van over the Memorial Day holiday! They stunk! They were smashed, broken, twisted, and covered with a putrid black slime! Foreign, non-native species of caterpillars and beetles emigrated to my garden from their packages. Luckily, my written correspondence with them was via certified mail. I just contacted my credit card company; now, I will have them contact the company. I will send them another letter today. As far as my credit card company is concerned, a valid dispute exists here; I do not have to pay for this. The bank will send me documents to sign, and they'll be after them, too.
On May 1, 1999, PattyStroe Unknown updated their rating to Neutral and added the following:
Just want everyone to know that I was completely reimbursed for my entire order of dead plants from Four Seasons. My credit card company required copies of all my correspondence. Luckily, I sent everything via certified mail, and I made copies of everything. After sending my copies to my credit card company, along with other correspondence, my account was credited. Whenever I order any plants by mail, I use my credit card. If I have any problems, I WRITE to the company via certified mail. Phone calls are not effective. And, after all is said and done, and sent (via certified mail), my credit card company gets my refund. This only happened once. I will not deal with Four Seasons or any of their subsidiaries any more.
I placed an order for a Dwarf 5 in 1 Pear and similar Apple tree which were sent with just bare roots and no footballs and which I planted the very next day after receiving them. I watered them everyday for 2 months. There was no growth. When a gardener came by he told me that they were dead. I sent a letter and the Shipping Label per the instructions back three weeks ago but have yet to receive a reply. That was the only nursery I found that had these plants. I hope that they will honor their name and reply soon.
I ordered from Four Seasons at the beginning of April, and the only reason I did, is because my mother-in-law orders every year, and never has a problem, a few things have died in shipment for her but she wrote them and they sent her replacements immediately, but she has the biggest green thumb there is; she can make anything live. I see though that they have cashed my check on the 17th, today is April 30th, and I am getting worried about my order.
We have ordered twice from Four Seasons and being in Zone 8/9 the plants seem to arrive to late in the season. Our day temperatures at the end of March reach the mid 80's and in May can very well reach the 90's. We do not have an e-mail address or we would notify the company direct.
I found your site of catalog and company reviews. Thank you for having this on the internet. Unfortunately I found it too late. I ordered from the Four Seasons Nursery and it took a month to find that my check had been cashed but no plants. According to them my order is scheduled to be mail early next week (5/9/97). And since I have to cancel my order by mail, the letter will probably cross in the mail with the order shipment I decided to wait a little longer and see what happens. So far I am not at all pleased. However, I have warned them that I expect an order of good quality to be on its way. I will make sure I keep the original mail slip - I have a bad feeling so far.
I received one of supposedly two packages a little late. The plants inside appear to be slightly shell shocked but ok. I am still waiting for the other half of the order. UPS cannot track it because no UPS tracking number appears on the shipping label, which I saved. I cannot contact the nursery even at my own expense because the phone appears to be off the hook. A risky proposition I would not do it again. I am disappointed because I need a rather large hedge and their prices on tiny shrubs was quite good.
I placed an order with Four Seasons Nursery in February 1997. I wanted to call them to check on my order, but alas, no phone number in their catalog! I obtained the number from your list, and called them. Not only could the customer service representative NOT look up my specific order, she could not tell me an approximate time plants would ship to my area in Colorado. She said it depends on the weather---NOT!! I asked for her to cancel my order and send me a refund. She said that had to be done in writing, and a refund would depend on when they could find my order and check if it has shipped. Again, a runaround. I am sending a certified letter today (3/28/97) requesting a refund, with a note that if it is not received within a timely manner (14 days) I would take legal and other appropriate action.If Four Seasons manages to process this request in a timely manner, I may forgive them for their poor customer service. Otherwise, I will follow up with legal and other action. In any case, I will let you know how things turn out. [update] Here is "the rest of the story" from Four Seasons Nursery. I sent a nastygram requesting a refund and cancellation of my order on 3/28/97. I sent it certified mail. Four Seasons received it 3/31. I gave them two weeks to give me my money back. Well, I was patient, and waiteduntil 4/21 to call them. The customer service person this time was really nice. She looked up my order, and said that a cancellation had not been put on it. She said they were shipping to my area, but she would do what she could to see to it that my order was cancelled and I received my refund.The next day, 4/22/97, I received my complete order - 100% accurate (I must have ordered 20 items, so this is an accomplishment). I thought about sending it back, but decided to peek at the plants first. All the items were in good condition. The tree peony I ordered was 1/2 the price and twice the quality of the one I received from an upscale nursery a few daysearlier. I called Four Seasons and told them how they could improve their customer service and reputation by giving the customer service reps information. I also called and cancelled the refund. The customer service rep this time was also really helpful. I guess I will wait and see if Four Seasons starts improving their customer service. I really think the problem is that they do not have the orders in a database that is accessible to the customer service reps, and they do not understand the importance of being accessible for questions. If price is the major consideration and you don't care that you can find anything out about your order, then I think this company is just fine. I was very impressed with the quality of the plants they sent. Their prices were also a LOT lower than the upper scale nurseries. I may use them again if I want to place a small order, want to save money and don't care if there is a problem.
Good prices. Trees ordered @ January were shipped in May (when they deemed appropriate planting time for Wisconsin). Temps here were already in the 90s. Roots were dried out and half the plants didn't survive. The $10 apple seedling looked like it was dead for a year. They advertise a one year guarantee if you save your original shipping label (I can't find mine). Curiously, I didn't receive a catalog from them this year, however I received catalogs from several other companies using the same address as Four Seasons Nursery.
