Willis Orchard Company
Reviews and Complaints

That's what they send! My wife ordered four from Willis, and they arrived DEAD!

They weren't even alive when they left the post office!

And in fact, a guy in a U-Haul dropped the box off and ran! Not a USPS, Not UPS, Not FedEx. A U HAUL! He didn't even ring the bell!

All I got were four "trees" in a small box, all tied together in a plastic bag that had dried roots with no soil around them.

We ordered an apple tree- We received and planted it in November- which they said would be no problem... by the following summer it still hadn't come to life....

so we called and they gave us a major hassle (no returns- only exchanges)... so we ordered a cherry and a maple instead, adding more money thinking it wouldn't happen again. It did. The cherry tree is dead, and the maple has sprouted a strange side twig so may(?) be salvageable.

When I call about a refund they dismiss and belittle me on email. Very unprofessional.

Huge disappointment. Shocked at their customer service

I ordered three willow oaks in early march. Planted them two days after I received them as per instructions.

They have been watered as per the instructions. This id July and there aren't any leaves on them as yet. When I scrape the bark 1/2 way up it is brown underneath.I have my hopes that they will produce leaves any time but I don't think that will happen. I know that you guarantee them for a year.

I would like to return them but I don't know what the procedure is.

Hopefully someone can inform me of what to do. Doug Trauschke Williston, S.C.

mrdoug@***.net

In fall 2011, i ordered 2 Thompson seedless grape plants as part of a @$400+ order (including shipping). Last year they produced what appears to be concord grapes, as the fgrapes were purple, and were heavily seeded. I called them today, as it took me this ling to find the suppliers original order. I was told to take a photo and send that to them.

This means that they want me, who paid them over $400 for an order must allow a formerly very satisfied customer to wait for an additional year to get the $11.90 Thompson seedless grape plants that I ordered 3 years ago.

Thank you Willis Orchards. I hope that the cents you made by sending the wrong product is worth a lost customer.

I ordered a very special lilac, Pocahontas Lilac Tree, and didn't realize it was coming from Georgia all the way out west. Not to worry.

The plant arrived beautifully packed, in excellent condition. The plant was slightly bigger than advertised and the packing held moisture so the roots were happy yet the packing was designed to be easily opened. I waited only 24 hours to plant. I followed the explicit planting directions exactly and in two days new leaves were sprouting.

They give careful instructions for good reason, the rest is up to the customer. I will definitely order from Willis again.

Ordered three varieties of 3 year old vines. Got vines that were obviously not 3 years old, pencil thin, many without any root, and suspect they are not the correct variety.

1/3 did not sprout in spring. When I called to get replacements in May they told me that I needed to give the vines longer to sprout and treated me like an ***. I sent photos of the dead vines and requested replacement. None came.

Go elsewhere if you want quality or service. It is a shame since I found out that they are located in the town where I grew up.

Two of four trees did not emerge from dormancy-All planted in pots and cared for equally-

20- dollar store credit-Want 19 dollars to ship again-Their reps are not helpful and this company does not in any way compare to the huge number of mail order businesses I have dealt with.

I have read many negative reviews about this company-Too Late for me but not for you. Do your research!!!

Go to Dave's Garden and really read all of the reviews in depth- There are also many other sources to tell you about their lack of product and lack of service.

I bought 4 persimmons trees And none of them survive except there was a bunch of other vegetations growing at the bottom of the stems.

I called and explain to them the problem and they told me to send them back which I will agree accordingly but who is going to pay for the shipping charges

I will not recommend to anyone

I expect a good customer service to handle this issue.

This will be last time I ever purchase a tree from Willis

I also hope that in future they will check their products before shipping them out

Thank you

ordered 4 grape starts in the spring of 2013. Paid more to get 3 year old grape starts and the website said they would produce grapes the next year.

Didn't get the plants until late November. It is now spring of 2014 and 3 are dead and 1 is just starting to bud and will not produce this year.

When we called we were told be had to send back the starts at our expense to get replacements and they wouldn't even be shipped until at least November again. We asked just to get a refund but they don't give refunds you have to get a store credit.

I ordered white oak trees in spring of 2013 and they sent me willow oaks. I had to send them pictures of the leaves to prove that they send me the wrong item. I then did not receive the replacements until fall of 2013. None of the items that were replaced survived. They said that they would not replace the trees unless I returned them pre- paid.

I ordered white oak trees in spring of 2013 and they sent me willow oaks. I had to send them pictures of the leaves to prove that they send me the wrong item. I then did not receive the replacements until fall of 2013. None of the items that were replaced survived. They said that they would not replace the trees unless I returned them pre- paid.

I ordered white oak trees in spring of 2013 and they sent me willow oaks. I had to send them pictures of the leaves to prove that they send me the wrong item. I then did not receive the replacements until fall of 2013. None of the items that were replaced survived. They said that they would not replace the trees unless I returned them pre- paid.

I ordered 4 PawPaw trees to be shipped to me in the Fall. I received them mid November after the ground was frozen. I had my professional Gardner come out and install them the same day they arrived. He told me that this time of year that they would not survive, they should have been shipped a month earlier.

He was right, I have 4 dead trees. I sent an email asking for a replacement & they said that I would have to pay shipping & handling charges to get replacements or send the dead ones back at my cost & they would send out replacements.

I asked them how it was my fault that they sent them out to late & they replied that this is their procedure and there is nothing they will do for me.

Its back to Gurneys for me! Their replacement policy rocks and Willis Orchard sucks.

Don't do it, not even for a second, Willis Orchard is a rip off.

DOA 2 flowering peppermint peach trees. 1st response from them: "Send photos." The 2nd response was "wait," last response was "you return and you pay, we'll send trees." We wondered how could a business continue, treating customers like this.

In November of 2011, we placed an order for over $2k worth of trees - husband later said he'd seen some bad reviews, but they were the only company offering balled & burlapped trees of that size, so he decided to give them a shot anyway...

The trees arrived in late March of 2012, shipped FedEx Freight at a cost (to us) of over $400 for shipping. When I'd called Willis Orchards to inquire what root ball size to expect, so that we could have the appropriate size holes ready, I was told 20-24". The baskets they were in were, in fact, 12'. The trees were NOT balled and burlapped at all- they were bare-root stock that had been severely root-trimmed, and set in baskets of wood chips; there was not a trace of soil on the roots. (a balled & burlapped tree is dug with the root ball intact, wrapped in burlap and the root ball secured in a wire basket) The cherry trees had less than 6" of root - several had less than 4". We planted them anyway, and hired a young man to water them every day, because we knew they didn't stand a chance otherwise.

Most of them sprouted a few leaves before they died. It was obvious that most of them were dead by August. I called the company, and was told that in order to avail myself of their guarantee, I had to send back the lower portion of the tree & root ball within a year. In November, I pulled up the ones that were dead beyond any doubt(no digging was required, no roots had grown), packed and shipped them off - at a cost of over $70. I left five trees that hadn't gone completely grey yet in the ground... (most were also dead, only the peach survived, but I couldn't be sure until spring, which was 2 months after the guarantee expired).

After some phone calls, I got an email with a $700 credit. Husband said to order smaller, bare-root trees this time, on the assumption that the butcher job done to the root system of the others was so they'd fit into the small baskets, and have them shipped in November. I tried - but despite Willis Orchards' assurance that I'd have fall shipping, and multiple emails to them inquiring where my trees were, I finally called last week - and they shipped them the next day. I also had to pay the $177.65 shipping for the replacements - their credit voucher was good for product only.

The trees that arrived yesterday don't look bad - in the ground, where you can't tell that the roots were subjected to almost the same butcher technique. The roots on these are mostly 8-10" long, and I'm hoping they have a little bit better chance, but I'm still not optimistic. Since their guarantee is a one-shot deal, (they don't guarantee the replacements at all) if nothing else, I know I won't ever have to deal with this company again!

Last year I purchased three trees from Willis. They arrived in a timely manner but after planting two of them took a really long time to start budding out (June from a March planting). The other never did. I contacted Willis and they told me to do a heavy pruning. There was no effect and by August all of the bark was gray and the twigs brittle. I contacted them again and they said they would issue a "store credit". What this means is that they will give me my $16.95 back for the tree but I have to pay the full minimum shipping amount which at the time was $17.50. They took no responsibility for the failure. I even offered to pay actual shipping (about $4.50 according to THEIR shipping calculator) but they refused.

I spoke to Willis several times about the problem and the last thing I heard was that the rep promised to "talk to Mr. Willis on Monday and call back". That was last September.

They have low prices but, as you can see from many other reviews, you'll end up paying about the same as better quality companies when you factor in failures plus the headaches of dealing with people who really don't care.