60731f9b_Comments_regarding_Forestfarm__Content
[Rating] Negative [Author] nwark (6 reviews) [Content] 
On Mar 4, 2009, nwark Fayetteville, AR wrote: First, I'm somewhere between neutral to negative, with a definite negative lean. Ordered from Forestfarm mainly because they had all of what I was looking for in one place, even though shipping cost is excessive compared to others for similar size plants/containers. All ordered plants arrived, however one of the rarest most difficult to find plants arrived with approximately 2+ feet cut off the top. To be fair the plant is taller than advertised, but in no way does that justify cutting off so much of the plant. I realize it would have taken a bigger box to ship it, but the weight difference would have been negligible, and IMHO the cost of cardboard would have been covered by the high shipping cost. I would have rather had a smaller un-hacked plant, over a larger plant that I will have to shape back to a single leader. Add to this, the lack of communication, with the exception of to basically ask for more to be added to the order. There was NO confirmation of order until I called and asked. There was NO email with tracking number of the shipping company. Normal practices of online merchants. The website IMHO is illogically organized, that is not at all "user friendly". You don't even have "flowering trees" as an options for category. How many look for those? I would bet it's more than one or two. All in all, not the great experience that so many have raved about. Could have been much worse, but I doubt I will order from them in the future, and won't recommend them. Only say that they have some not so common plants listed. There are better online plant merchants IMHO. On March 5th, 2009, nwark added the following: To clarify as to how I came to the conclusion of 2+ feet. Dia. at the point of initiation of last years growth = 0.85 CM Dia. at point of leader removal = 0.65 CM Measured dia. change = 0.20 CM Distance from growth initiation to leader removal = 21.5 inches Assuming natural final diameter of leader at natural termination of growth equals 50% of initial dia. = 0.425 CM Difference between measure dia. at leader removal to assumed natural termination = 0.225 CM Calculated additional change to natural terminus / Measured dia. change: 0.225/0.200 = 1.125 1.125X additional growth of the measured non-removed central leader: 1.125 X 21.5 = 24.1875 inches So an estimated 2'+ of additional growth of the central leader was removed. What's more this cutting of the central leader contradicts their own planting instruction of not pruning the central leader. And since the plant consists of a single leader (the proverbial stick without branches), this is most distasteful. I may be wrong, but to me this doesn't seem to support the assertion that they care about their plants. After having though about this some more, I'm firmly in the negative category. On March 11th, 2009, nwark added the following: About Forest Farms comments: It had been my intent to let this matter go, with no further comment. I would have been one negative comment, with many positives. Then after their reply, it was my intention to do a detailed analysis of FF's contention of death of the growing tip. But instead I will only state that I disagree for many reasons from extensive research, that they will receive in a D-mail. As for the rest about pruning/production techniques (University of Florida is very helpful here) etc. have done research on that in the past, and will disagree there as well for many reasons. In regards to SPAM filters goes, thought of that, checked it daily, didn't happen. No notification for whatever reason. As for the website, hope it turns out better. Plenty of "plant" people, and other small businesses do better, both large and small. The online part is as important as the plant part. IF done right, it will help sales and customer sanctification. I do not want a refund as I do have the plant in hand, along with a few others. They do appear to be healthy, and a couple are a bit better than expected, while others are as reasonable expected (a positive). Therefore I can't justify to myself in taking a refund. All have started to grow (another positive). Too early for my climate, but that is because of differences in climate and has nothing to do with FF. FF has many rarely seen species listed (a positive), and many you will not find on their website unless you know where/how to look (negative). For me however, my rating will remain negative as an overall experience. I wish them no ill will or harm in the future, but that future is very unlikely to include me. On Mar 4, 2009, Forestfarm responded with: "On Mar 8, 2009 6:21 PM, Forestfarm responded with: Weve written to NWArk, explaining the situation. Since he hasnt responded to us or amended his posting, well post our defense here. First, we do love plants, and would never wantonly mistreat them. The 1-gallon Cotinus obovatus, often a shrubby plant in any case, that NWArk received was trimmed because the top had died back (although it was still larger than we promised it to be, as he has noted). All Cotinus do that to some extent when they are young plants. Until they are older, the current seasons growth doesnt seem to harden quickly enough before frost in fall. We could have shipped the whole plant to him, but then he probably would not have liked receiving one with a dead tip, either. We have grown Cotinus for many years, and they always sprout from the stem below the dead part. Sometimes one leader will emerge, sometimes several. It will only take a minute of his time to rub off any sprouts that arent wanted, and to encourage a new leader. Its really not that big an issue. Loss of a leader happens in nature all the time, with various species. Pruning of the leader is a common practice with one of the largest tree-growing wholesale nurseries in the country. Without the pruning, there can be 3-5 of unbranched whip growth, leading to an ungainly tree. Proper pruning encourages formation of a more balanced and esthetically-pleasing head on a tree. Although one should always think ahead when pruning, especially when pruning a leader, we do not make a blanket statement saying never prune a leader, because it isnt true. On to some of the other issues that NWArk raised. Our website does send an automatic acknowledgement when an order is placed. However, spam-blocker software can intercept the message; perhaps thats why he didnt receive it. Although we gladly do it if so requested, our website does not yet have the capability to email tracking numbers. We do expect that to happen within a few weeks, however, when our new website is finished. Were professional nursery people, not techies, so we ask for your tolerance in that our online presence may not be as good as that of some of the large merchandisers, who just sell other folks products, and have lots of money to throw at online features. Our packing, for the security of the plants, means that we use a box that holds four 1-gal. pots. UPS charges us the same, whether the box is full or not. As a courtesy, we try to contact customers to tell them that they can make the best use of their shipping dollars by filling the box (the phone number he gave us on his order form was disconnected, though). We do this as a service to customers, not to coerce them into buying more. It is always the customers choice. We did offer to give him a refund for the price of this plant, although we know it will grow out fine. Ray & Peg at Forestfarm "
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