Finally, our other order of trees and raspberry vines came! We ordered this list of trees and raspberry vines below on April 25th.
- Belle of Georgia Peach Trees – Dwarf avail. (Tree Height: Dwarf 2-3ft (grows 40% normal size))
- Elberta Peach Trees – Dwarf avail. (Tree Height: Dwarf 2-3ft (grows 40% normal size))
- McIntosh Apple Trees – Dwarf avail. (Tree Height: Dwarf 2-3ft (grows 40% normal size))
- Granny Smith Apple Trees – Dwarf avail. (Tree Height: Dwarf 2-3ft (grows 40% normal size))
- Yellow Delicious Apple Trees – Dwarf avail. (Tree Height: Dwarf 2-3ft (grows 40% normal size))
- Gala Apple Trees – Dwarf avail. (Tree Height: Dwarf 2-3ft (grows 40% normal size))
- Heritage Everbearing Raspberry
- Latham Red Raspberry
The website said it would take 7-10 days to arrive. On April 30th we got a ship confirmation email. I was so excited! Then on May 2nd we got another ship confirmation email for the same order. Then I was confused and concerned. We were already trying to plant late in the spring season and now, it was just getting later. But still we waited. Then on May 7th we got an email invitation to review the product and we still hadn’t received them yet!
Needless to say I was becoming a bit anxious. We checked a couple of times with the local post office to make sure they were not there. They had no special deliveries for us nor had that returned anything because we had not picked it up. I sent an email to the nursery online inquiring about the two shipping notices and that we still had not received the order. We are still just over 10 days, but I was beginning to worry about how long these trees and bushes could last in that gel they put on them for dry root shipping.
On May 9th, they responded and basically told me to be patient. They were saying it was 7-10 from the time the order ships to arrive and not from the time of the order. But of course that is not what the website said. I even went back and double checked behind myself. Additionally, their records showed the order shipped on May 2nd and not April 30th. They told me it had not been 7-10 days from May 2nd yet so not to worry. Well, I was furious and worried, but said OK I’ll calm down and attempt to be patient and wait more.
Then on May20th they still had not arrived! I emailed them again because I could never get anyone on the phone number listed. Now, their website was saying all shipping was done for the season. The next day on May 21st they responded apologizing and saying that there was most definitely an issue with the shipping and they would send us a new order right away. Well, OK finally an answer I can somewhat accept. But now it is almost June and I wondered if the trees will even live when we plant them.
Finally, they arrived on May 29th. The box was long and appeared very roughed up and damaged. When Jon opened the box, it was of course just another bunch of sticks with tags on them. A couple of the trees had pieces on the top that were cracked and about to break off. I wished I’d taken a picture to show you the condition they were in. This did not look like $85 worth of product nor service!
Jon clipped the broken tops off smoothly and planted the trees in a row along the edge of our yard. The raspberry sticks we planted in the back yard along the wire trellis we had put up. We watered them good and added pine needles as mulch around them.
Still, I am concerned. It is hot and they have not been able to start growing and take root before it has turned so hot. They were damaged in shipping. I still wonder if this was the first shipment or the second shipment and how long they have been in this dry root gel.
This process was such an aggravation and the service was poor. I am not in the habit of bad mouthing people or companies, but I would not recommend buying from https://smithnursery.com online. Quite honestly, I would recommend if at all possible to buy from local nurseries. I still think plants will do so much better if handled and transplanted from soil to soil rather than the dry root method. You will not need to worry with possible damage during the shipping process. You can actually see what you are buying and know the condition of it. If for some reason there is a problem, it will be much easier to deal with someone local in person rather than email and attempting phone calls. And of course it is always nice to support local small businesses.
We had check around at some local nurseries, Walmart, and Lowes but could not find exactly what we were looking for. We also started looking late in the spring season. One of our local nurseries said she did not have them, but could order them for us. We thought we could order them just as easily as she could. Well, apparently not.
Wish us luck with these. I don’t know if they are going to do well or not.
