You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
Oliver is now with a company called botanical treasures.com and Redland Nursery,inc in homestead florida if you want to leave anything about him contact his boss John.
On Jun 24, 2006, thrinax from Homestead, FL responded:
Oliver is no longer assoiated with Redland Nursery or Botanical Treasures. We will resume mail order when we fine a new webmaster with php skills.
I placed an order with this vendor before checking here (I usually do). Their site looks great, and they have a great list of plants.
I placed my order and I was going to use Western Union but when I realized that it was a rip and I could wait for my order, I sent a message stating that I was sending a check instead.
I never heard anything back from them and my account continued to read "pending" on their site. I began calling, getting weird voicemail, and using their automated communication system daily. I also Emailed them directly once I started worrying (so I had a paper trail..).
Anyway I gave them final warning a full two weeks after my order (granted it's the holidays, but someone should be there some of the time).
I used online banking so I inquired with my bank if the check had been cashed. It HADN'T!!! They tried to contact them with no result. So I had them stop the payment.
The real shame is that I would have really liked to do business with these clowns. Also if they'd been on the ball, they'd have my money and me over a barrel.
Anyway, it appears that these clowns visit this site so here it goes, "sorry Charlie". I buy a lot of plant material, and you guys just lost out. Too bad so sad. I'm lucky I didn't get screwed like the other folks here.
Sent them payment for two palms in Sept. Never received palms or explanation. Verified they cash the money order... They do not respond to email & have had their phone disconected. Total rip off company.
Though I have ordered from this company 3 times in the past, I am sorry to say I have placed my last order with them after I have been unable to contact them by any means for a few months now. It is now much too late in the year for them to ship my frost-sensetive items.
I placed an order on June 15, 2004, for three tropical fruit trees, and promptly sent them payment of $94.00 for the plants and shipping. I recieved a notice of their intent to ship my items on July 12, 2004, complete with a tracking number and all. However, that number never became active, meaning the parcel was never delivered-- my items were never shipped.
I have been trying for months now to get in contact with someone there, by e-mail, by phone (the numbers I used in the past are no longer working), and I have even sent them a FAX about the matter. No response as of yet.
Also, last year they did not ship my order (placed on July 16) until October 15th. I live in New England, so obviously it was cold, and the Chocolate tree died because of that. I keep mentioning that I need a replacement for this item, but recieve no response about this, either.
I wonder if the people responsible are reading this? I have talked with you on the phone before, a few times. Why can't I reach you? Why don't you respond to my perfectly reasonable requests?
--- I would like a refund for ALL these items ( the Chocolate plant Included). This is more than reasonable, anything otherwise would be cheating the customer. Please. ---
I've used Palms and Gardens once before and got my order, but now I've been waiting since October 2003. I filed complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and am waiting on response.
I'm not sure, they're selling legitimate stuff either. I ordered California Fan Palm, but think I got Mexican instead, which freezes at 20F. California Fans are hardier down to 14F or even colder when temps are dry. I lost a few before they got to 20F.
I will recommend rarepalmseeds. They deliver and I am pleased with their product.
I filled fraud charges against them.In feb. 04 i ordered palms and for months got no reply from my e-mails.When i said i was going to file charges they e-mailed saying they had no record of my payment.I emailed back giving them the check #, when they cashed it and the name of there bank they deposited the money.I have still not gotten my money or plants yet. john
On Jun 27, 2004, joycemasterson Escondido, CA wrote:
I ordered a palm for Palms and Gardens last fall to try them out. I recieved the plant in about four weeks. I placed a second larger order in Feb. of 2004. They cashed the check I mailed to them but I have not recieved the plants. In May I emailed them and got no response. I phoned them and was told they had no record of payment but was promised the plants would be shipped the next day. I found the bank statement and mailed a copy to them. I have a copy of the checked which they clearly cashed. I have tried many times to phone them but there is no response. They have stolen my money and lied to me. Palms and Gardens is a crooked company and I hope I can prevent someone else from being victimized by them.
On June 28th, 2004, joycemasterson added the following:
Since I posted my experience with Palms and Gardens Nursery yesterday they have changed my password and I no longer have access to my account information. I guess they are at least paying attention to this site.On July 15th, 2004, joycemasterson added the following:
After Palms and Gardens blocked me from their web site, I filed a compaint with the BBB. After aacouple of weeks Palms and Gardens sent me an email saying the plants had been shipped. They finally arrived yesterday, almost five months after they were ordered. I ordered four plants, two each of two different species. The plants are small and I know two of the plants are not what the label says they are. I will never order from Palms and Gardens again and I will discourage anyone from doing so.
I wish I would have seen these reviews before i ordered from this Co.(BananaGardens.com). I placed an order a month ago(the account page on the website always says "processing") and after numerous e-mails(never responded to any of them), phone calls where I left messages(never called back once, the message says in an hour!), I filed a complaint with paypal as today is the last day to do so. I did get someone on the phone last Monday by calling the phone number for "placing wholesale orders" and was told that the order was shipped out that day by USPS 2-3 priority mail which I paid 23 bucks for. Well, today 5 days later and after leaving a message, getting a phone number that is disconected, I was transferred to someone's (the same guy) car phone. I wanted the truth or the tracking number. He told me he was on the road and would be back in the office at 5:30 and would call me with the tracking number. It is now 7pm and no responce and of course the voicemail recording states they are closed and won't be back 'till Monday. Will update this when I hear from Paypal or Palm&Gardens.
On May 14th, 2004, Philly added the following:
Received an e-mail from paypal this evening that the seller will be refunding my money within the next 7-10 days. (Good going for paypal). There was a note from the seller in the e-mail which said "Just because you choose priority mail dosen't mean will get your order 3 days after you order it" What???? Man! did that push some buttons of anger, that's right, your a jerk and I am stupid. I am glad this is over with this scam artist/Liar. So much for the order having been mailed out last Monday and having a tracking number for me. Now I am on the hunt for another seller for Musella lasiocarpa and manzana. This time from a reputable dealer, I hope.....
DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY!!!! I don't know if Olivier Baelde is the owner of this company or not - but I can tell you that he is a LIAR!!! I placed an order on April 16/04 through "World Wide Plants" which I later understood was affiliated with "Palms and Gardens". I called P&G and spoke to Olivier to find out when I should receive my order - he said to call back in two hours and so I did. Olivier confirmed that my order would be shipped on Thursday, and I should receive it by Friday or Monday. As I did not receive my order by the Monday, I called again on Tuesday. Like a broken record, Olivier suggested he email me the status of my order, however I suggested that I would call him back. When I finally got into contact with Olivier again after several attempts, Olivier told me that because I live in Canada I should have contacted him first so that I could arrange priority shipping as my order was APPARENTLY sent via US ground service, and would take a couple more days to arrive, but it should be OK. (No where on the website does it mention to call to make shipping arrangements??????????!!!!!!!!) On May 3/04, still not having received my order, I called Olivier again and was told that my order could not be tracked because it was sent US ground, and that he would send another order via UPS priority at his expense and would provide me a tracking number via email. Needless to say I never received any sort of email, and realized that I needed to get my money back from this crook. Paypal was a great help and got my money back from this fly-by-night company (luckily I requested my money back before 30 days after placing my order and did not lose recourse). WORST OF ALL, THE ORDER THAT OLIVIER SAID WAS SENT ON THURSDAY WAS NEVER SENT!!! This is just a brief explanation of my experience with this company, however there were many more:
- Unanswered phone calls
- Unanswered emails
- Broken promises (emails, status updates etc...)
- Rude interactions
Consider my experience and the others posted on this website before dealing with this company. OLIVIER IS A LIAR, FRAUD AND FAKE running a business that will surely go belly up if customers realize what kind of company they’re dealing with before it’s too late!
I placed an order on Feb. 2,2004. I have yet to recieve any plants. Their phone is disconnected and website is down. I have sent an email to have this corrected. I will never order from them again. It seems to be a very crooked company.
I ordered 2 palms on 1-8-04 and was informed they would be shipped weather permitting. The latter part of march, I sent an e-mail,no response. I then called and was told my order had been overlooked and would be shipped that day and to expect a e-mail with tracking #. No e-mail and no plants. I tried several times to contact oliver but no respnse through e-mail and phone messages. On 4-9-04 I sent a e-mail stating that I would follow up through gardenwatchdog and rip-off report.com, florida attorney general and paypal. Exactly one hour and two minutes later I received a e-mail stating my order was shipped usps priority mail + delivery confirmation and gave a shipping #, but they did not say when it was shipped. I paid for ups 3 day select which has drop off time and tracking, priority mail does not. The usps has no record of that shipping # and I still do not have my palms or my money as of 4-13-04 and they have refused to respond again! I would highly recommend NOT doing business with this company!
On April 17th, 2004, steveoregon added the following:
Received my palms on 4-16-04 with a different usps shipping # looked ok but I would never do it again.
I am a palm tree enthusiast student from Europe. In the beginning of 2003 I decided to buy some cold hardy palms over the internet because the offer is very poor in our country and somehow I found Palms & Gardens Nursery Inc. (www.palmsandgardens.biz) that would have everything I needed.
I placed the order the 28th of February 2003 (!) and paid (the 7th of March 2003) by cheque the 53.63 Euros (plus 15 Euros of bank fee) because I wanted to prevent any credit card violation. Since I have not received anything many days after the payment, I became suspicious and found out that P&G inserted a new phytosanatory certificate item (US$ 50) on their site, compulsory for foreign orders. After many email sent they finally answered me, that they have received the cheque and that they will ship the plants the next week. They also wrote that since the phyto-certificate was not present at the time of the order, I had not to pay for it.
And then nothing happened for a long time. I begun to write emails again till they finally answered I am not ordering shoes or books, that they are shipping the plants, but they are not sure if they will survive since I had chosen (thanks God - I would probably lose another 50 euros) a slow shipping (and cheap) method - that ironically I had chosen from their own web site!. And again nothing happened.
I have written many emails, even with the proposal of returning me the money by Western union if they are not able of shipping me the plants or even that they could send me some seeds for that amount - but they ignored me.
I finally decided to contact the very kind people at the Palm Beach County Consumer Affairs, but after some promising words from P&G at the beginning they suddenly stopped to collaborate, so the Consumer Affairs office had to close the file and suggested me to post my experience to http://www.ripoffreport.com, because there was nothing else to do.
After more than a year I can say P&G is sure I am not going to take legal action because of the small amount of money and the distance (I am from Slovenia, Europe) involved, so they decided to go the easiest way: take the money and send nothing - consider by yourself how it is called this.
On April 23rd, 2004, mikop added the following:
It has passed already a month since my submission and much more than a year since I have placed my order... They are still like a ghost to me: Dear gardeners, stay away from this company!!! Just do not let them earn money in such a way! Somebody may think the amounts are small, but you have just to multiply by some hundred or thousand innocent people and you can easily get....at least a nice car!On May 11th, 2004, mikop added the following:
Unfortunately I did not know who I was dealing with.....
Could somebody please advise me what else could I do to have my 70 euros back?
And.....LISTEN...... IF YOU HAVE TOO MUCH MONEY, GIVE IT TO CHARITY, NOT TO THESE THIEVES!
In mid 2003,I was reading all the negative reports circulating the internet about "Palms & Gardens" and decided to place a small order anyway as a test to possible future orders.Order was placed on 6/21/03 for 5 plants advertised in quart pots as liners.Shipping was to be 2 day ups air.Plants were mailed 7/14/03 and arrived on time.Only 4 plants were in the box and they claimed the 5th would be shipped in August.Only 1 plant was in a quart pot.The other 3 came in 1.5" X 7" cones.All plants were very small and were little more than sprouted seeds with none containing more than the first three seed leaves. Other companies' liners that I've ordered for the same plants were considerably larger/older.The prices were reasonable but you get what you pay for.The problem was in trying to get the last plant that was due to me.It was promised in August.I started calling in September and they didn't think they wanted to ship the last plant I had ordered due to a quality issue so we agreed to a substitution of the plant.Oliver said he would send it right out.Needless to say,it took many phone calls and several unanswered E-mails over the next five months to get the final plant. It shipped on 2/4/2004,by usps even though I had paid for premium shipping of ups air.It came(unidentified) in the 1.5 X 7 cone.Of the first 4 recieved,1 died within 2 weeks of reciept.I had transplanted all into 1 gallon pots so maybe that was my fault.All in all,I would not recommend ordering from this company due to the extremely poor customer service,and misrepresentation on the size of the pots, which greatly increased the shipping prices.(Over 1/2 the cost of the plants)
On December 5th, 2004, aztropic added the following:
I just wanted to update and add to my original experience with palms and gardens.The plants I received from them have now gotten two growing seasons under their belts and are now identifiable as to their species.(They only had 1 or 2 seed leaves when received) Unfortunately,2 out of 5 were not the species I ordered! Oliver will promise you the world but has no integrity when it is time to deliver.They have a nice website to view for the pictures, but save yourself a headache and order from someone else.I recommend J.D.Andersen,Kopoho palms,or jungle music.
On 01/08/2004 I placed and order on the website for Palms and Gardens (http://www.palmsandgardens.biz/palms/index.php). My payment was through PayPal, and they show my payment cleared through their account. PayPal list it in my account as follows; Palms & Gardens (The recipient of this payment is Verified). I checked the status of my order online after my payment cleared and was received and saw no order posted. I then called them @ 1 (877) 500-6840 and spoke with Olivier to check on my order. He did find my order and while we were on the phone he updated their website showing the order. He told me the order would be shipped by the end of the current week and that I should expect to receive an email with my tracking number from USPS shortly there after. The next week after having not gotten a tracking number I called again, only to be assured by Olivier that they would be sent on 01/26/2004 and he said I should expect to receive the palms on 01/28/2004. Monday the 26th came and went so on 01/27/2004 I spoke with Olivier for the last time. He said they hadn't shipped my items because their recoreds showed my payment hadn't cleared yet. This was an excuse he hadn't mentioned on either of the two prior phone conversations. However on Palms and Gardens website in my account it shows for payment as follows; Payment Date: 01/13/2004 Payment Method: Paypal. So I asked Olivier to cancel my order, he said he would and he stated the money would be in my PayPal account 'by the end of business today'. As of 01/31/2004 my PayPal account has not been recredited for the canceled order. After having placed an order with Palms and Gardens I now find myself having to fill out 'Transaction Disputes' for 'Reason for Dispute: Non-Receipt' with PayPal and my financial institution.
How pathetic to respond to your negative feedback stating that a customer is a liar!!!
I order palms from everywhere!!! I know when a company is out just to make money or actually has a passion for what they are doing.
This company is just there to make money, I have placed 2 orders to this company. The first one just as tampabay stated they make excuses on delivery time, and availability status. It took me 3 months to recieve seeds promised to me in 2 weeks. I had to call them 2 or 3 times!!
The other order was for a palm I ordered that was almost a foot less than advertised.
They have a good selection but makesure its a good deal because if you do recieve it, its gonna ned some TLC!!!
Order at your own risk, I first emailed to make sure the palm was in stock. About a week later I got an email saying that it was so I placed the order. 2 months later nothing, I then started emailing still nothing, after a few phone calls I learned that it has been out of stock and they should have them in anytime. About a week later I called again and he said he just mailed it, two weeks later I recieved it, post marked a week later than the date he said he sent it.
On January 10th, 2004, tampabay added the following:
1. He has no record of my purchase under the name tampabay - well normally thats not the name I would use when purchasing something - it also not the name on my credit card.
2. When I post feedback - I post what happeneded if it was negative or things I noticed about the company such as high shipping prices - over priced plants - bad customer service - or a positive experiance. My experiance with you was bad.
3. "We believe this user tampabay is in fact a competitor"
Ok and I do this out of my condo right you have been here - if you are really in the legal department you should watch posting assumptions about customers.
4. You choose to contact me about my purchase now - over 9 months after I first placed it? I tried contacting you many times with no luck over the first couple months. I have the tree now - I just would not order again.
5 And finally thanks for calling me a LIAR - thats some A+ customer service there. On Jan 1, 2004, Palms & Gardens responded with:
"Dear Clients
We want to respond to this negative feedback due to the fact that it is completetely false and misleading.
1. We do not have any record from a user called Tampabay on the watchdog site waiting several weeks for an order.
2. this user posted on the same day on gardenwatchdog 3 negative feedbacks to 3 different nurseries growing palms
(you can review his comments by searching the user tampabay)
negative feedbacks posted to
Negative Green Escape Palm Trees
Negative Jungle Music Palms & Cycads
Negative Palms & Gardens
We believe this user tampabay is in fact a competitor trying to discredit palm nurseries growing palms with false comments or feedback to discredit other nurseries.
Comments posted were untrue and we tried to send several emails to this person asking for the order number and the order date but we never had any answer back.
Watch closely the feedbacks and make sure to review the feedback history of the posters. It may be in fact unfounded reviews from competitors.
I ordered 10 caryota gigas plants 8-10 inches. They sent smaller 4-5 inch plants and I had to threaten them with fraud before I received a refund of the difference. I would never shop here again.
I ordered two palm seedlings advertised as being grown in quart-sized pots. When they arrived it was very apparent they had very recently been upgraded into those pots and had not been given a chance to become established. One has already withered and died from not being able to uptake water or nutrients because it had no roots. When I brought this to Palms and Gardens attention, they emphasized the fact that they ship their seedlings in pots as opposed to bare root to reduce transplant shock, but I replied that if they only recently had been ripped from their compots this was of little or no use. Anyways, was not at all happy and would not order from them again. Whoever I was dealing with there (the owner, I think) was very rude and acted like he couldn't be bothered. BEWARE AND STAY AWAY!!!
