I’m definitely going to update everyone on how it goes because I think we’re all curious.
You’re exactly right about the lost year of tree growth, which honestly, BR didn’t care about. They only responded with a partial refund when I forcefully pushed the issue.
I’m taking all these experiences as learning lessons.
Just curious if you let them understand that many fruit growers have been following this episode. It’s certainly good that they bit the bullet and gave you a refund, especially since you gave them a sizable order. But if they had the chance of losing their reputation as well as one customer, It’s easier to see them adjusting the cost for you.
It’s really tough for many businesses these days because the labor market is so tight. As a small business owner I’ve tried to avoid any big surge in business because it puts so much stress on things that it actually can lower your profit. Also, internet orders can disappear as fast as they appear and you may never know why.
The world of microorganisms is one that is often mysterious for anyone who works in dirt. I typically don’t trust anaerobic processes, and most healthy fungi that associate with plant roots are obviously aerobic. Still, many plants seem to tolerate rot as long as the overall environment is healthy. Aquatic plants which root in the anaerobic muck at the bottom of a pond, for instance, usually have developed ways to transport oxygen within their own system to keep healthy roots.
So, the roots actually may be coated by some benign type of fungus , or at least one they can tolerate. If so, I’m really curious what’s going on. On the face of it it looks pretty scary.
I received a white current from them that had the same webbing on its bare roots. I soaked it for few hours and then planted it. Currently it’s leafing out just fine.
bokashi is a well-known fermented soil amendment. Because it is fermented, it will smell bad. Although white might be a reason for nervousness, as in white rot fungi, bokashi has fungi in it too. I’m not saying they did a good job, but bokashi is a respected form of composting anaerobically.
I have made many orders from Burnt Ridge over the years. Generally, lower price. Sometimes, bad quality. And sometimes, they just say, “Tough! Deal with it. It’s not my fault.” I consider it the risk of the lower price, but they do have some plants that others don’t carry.
John S
PDX OR
You would be surprised what some sellers try to get away with. I bought from a company called Berries Unlimited and they sent me all dead of dying plants. The blueberry they sent me they claimed was not theirs because theirs are bigger. The raspberries they sent me were dead. I gave them a bad review and 1 year later they responded asking how my plants were doing when they knew I could not respond saying dead. With Fast Growing Trees they sell a 1 year warranty and a 30 day warranty stating the will thrive and live. The tree I got had the description change from when I got the plant to they can’t guarantee the varieties and it came with frozen leaves. It took about two weeks of calling to get a replacement. We never had a frost here so it had to be in shipping or before shipping the frost happened.
I did inform both nurseries that this was a topic of discussion amongst several fruit growers and other business owners. That may have been why they chose to extend the refund. Mainly I framed it that way as helping myself to confirm that I wasn’t crazy and that this wasn’t standard practice.
You’re right… the nursery trade is so hit or miss sometimes and it’s sad that it’s buyer beware. Forums like this have always helped me make good choices as to where I choose to shop. My personal favorite nursery is Trees of Antiquity which I’ve been using for over 8 years, before I even had a business of my own. Their quality has been consistently high that entire time.
I’ve never shopped with fastgrowingtrees. They advertise on the SiriusXM shows I listen to while I’m working and for some reason I always got a bad vibe from the guy in the commercial. Like that spidey-sense feeling that something is not right, but like I said, I’ve never been a customer.
Yes, I think you’re right. Trees of Antiquity is a little more expensive and it makes sense that they back their stuff a little more and do higher quality. I appreciate you posting so we all have good info about the nurseries.
John S
PDX OR
I just had another tree come in from One Green World and took pictures so you can see the difference of my order to yours. Here are some pictures of my Mountain Rose red fleshed apple tree.
Your green baggie looks like it is lying over there throwing a tantrum at being discarded.
I definitely think this one looks better than whatever they did to his.
My thought upon seeing your photos was “what that heck is that?!?!”.
My order from Burnt Ridge arrived yesterday, and it seemed to be acceptable given that it took about a week to make it from them to my Vermont driveway. All items accounted for, labeled, and still fairly damp, though one conifer looked dehydrated. I don’t know what happened or didn’t happen when they severely mangled your order, but I really hope you can still claim any losses for the plants they didn’t refund. Also appreciate the time you took to relate your experiences.
@Ged I am in the Champlain valley too! Northern end. My order from Burnt Ridge came the day before yesterday. It was beautiful. Best roots of the year and the only Pear that wasn’t damaged or infected.
@krichberg I would imagine whoever’s jammed all those root stock in the box was pissed and was fired or quit very shortly after. That’s the kind of thing somebody might do right before they leave for lunch and never return.
Hey Ben, good to have your view from way up there! I will say that the pear rootstock I ordered is the most mature I’ve ever received. Not a pencil with wispy threads that I sometimes have seen.
But I know there is a wide range in how well rootstocks propagate, so it could just be OXxF 333 is more sturdy in that regard.
Unfortunately such scams or incompetence exist in any market. There are probably different places to get reviews of online nurseries. Daves Garden Watchdog https://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/ is one of the more organized. They try to highlight the best companies and the ones that get the most reviews, so small sellers might not show up. Sort of a BBB for this niche.
Anyone who’s been ordering over the years knows that circumstances can change and mistakes can happen anywhere. The best dealers will go out of their way to make good on problems, and respond quickly. But these times are way out of anyone’s experience. I used to buy great finished compost from a local company by the truckload, put in the truck bed with a front loader. But they also bag it and sell to wholesale accounts. Since the Pandemic they’ve stopped selling bulk and can barely keep up with orders for bagged products. If a company isn’t ready for that kind of tsunami all hell breaks loose.
I now place orders in the fall as soon as the websites will take them. It might not help if the seller can’t restock, but at least I know if I’m going to have to keep looking elsewhere.
At the start on Covid-19 in 2020 no one was prepared for the amount of new gardeners. Two years later I would say companies should have gotten their act together. I think at this point companies have just realized they can make a bigger profit by selling retail instead of bulk and not staffing. If customers will pay higher retail prices and you can justify staff shortages than why not sell retail only. I have seen online nurseries double their prices with since 2020. Since online nursery are still cheaper than many local nursery they can afford to raise it but local has radishes prices too
Doncha just love auto-correct? My phone and I fight over what I’m trying to say all the time!
I did not even notice auto correct happened.
