Thoughts on PlantOGram

[stephen]

Hey, everyone. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on PlantOGram. I purchased 2 mango trees from them. It was shipped on Apr. 30 and arrived on May 7. Sadly the box arrived in poor condition with a large dent, and the trees came damaged with the trunks broken on both trees, and fallen leaves in the box. I took photos and emailed PlantOGram that same day to let them know. I sent a follow up email yesterday, but I haven't heard back in about a week. Any thoughts on what you would do? I'll try to baby these trees, but I'm afraid they may not make it. I checked out the roots, and there's a rotting smell coming from the soil. Should I change the soil? Pretty bummed, but I guess lesson learned.

[DSotM]

Sounds like shipping didn’t pay care to “fragile live plant” label. Mine came in good shape and have done great. Since they haven’t responded just file a complaint with your cc company and you’ll get reimbursed through them.

[stephen]

Sounds like shipping didn’t pay care to “fragile live plant” label. Mine came in good shape and have done great. Since they haven’t responded just file a complaint with your cc company and you’ll get reimbursed through them.

Thanks for your response! I've actually never done that before. I think I'll wait a bit longer to give them more time to respond. Maybe things are busy for them? They were super responsive when I had questions regarding shipping. But they stopped responding once I told them about the problem.

[K-Rimes]

Hey, everyone. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on PlantOGram. I purchased 2 mango trees from them. It was shipped on Apr. 30 and arrived on May 7. Sadly the box arrived in poor condition with a large dent, and the trees came damaged with the trunks broken on both trees, and fallen leaves in the box. I took photos and emailed PlantOGram that same day to let them know. I sent a follow up email yesterday, but I haven't heard back in about a week. Any thoughts on what you would do? I'll try to baby these trees, but I'm afraid they may not make it. I checked out the roots, and there's a rotting smell coming from the soil. Should I change the soil? Pretty bummed, but I guess lesson learned.

Unfortunately even the best shipped plants are still susceptible to poor handling. Even extremely well put-together tree boxes have arrived with the plants hurt inside. The real issue right now especially is that we're in hot times of the year and if a plant sits around in a hot truck or post facility, it's going to be extremely stressed on arrival.

I tend to avoid ordering plants online now, especially during the summer or hot periods. Look at your 14 day weather and choose a cold window if you must.

[murahilin]

Sounds like shipping didn’t pay care to “fragile live plant” label. Mine came in good shape and have done great. Since they haven’t responded just file a complaint with your cc company and you’ll get reimbursed through them.

Thanks for your response! I've actually never done that before. I think I'll wait a bit longer to give them more time to respond. Maybe things are busy for them? They were super responsive when I had questions regarding shipping. But they stopped responding once I told them about the problem.

I would hold off on filing a complaint with your CC company. Plantogram has usually been pretty reputable and responsive.

Also, it's a mango tree. They're pretty hard to kill. Dropped leaves is a much better sign than leaves that have dried and stayed on the tree.

[kh0110]

I have been a Plantogram customer for years and there was never an issue.
However, I noticed a few things for the last year or so. They started to rootball the plants the way Top Tropical does and they use the same soil that smells like it comes directly from the sewer.
The choose-your-plant feature no longer works, it comes up out-of-stock all the time. And as you have noticed, the response from customer service is almost non existent even for plants availability inquiries.

There could be a change of owernership or something. Bought by Top Trop?

[stephen]

I have been a Plantogram customer for years and there was never an issue.
However, I noticed a few things for the last year or so. They started to rootball the plants the way Top Tropical does and they use the same soil that smells like it comes directly from the sewer.
The choose-your-plant feature no longer works, it comes up out-of-stock all the time. And as you have noticed, the response from customer service is almost non existent even for plants availability inquiries.

There could be a change of owernership or something. Bought by Top Trop?

Thanks, murahilin! Yeah, I'm still hoping that they'll reply. And kh0110, that's pretty insightful! I'm glad that I'm not the only one who noticed the rootball having a rotten smell. It totally caught me off guard. The soil that they use looks like it's mostly made up of forest products along with some kind of fine polymer that holds moisture. So all of the ground up bark and other organic material stays moist but decomposes over time. I'm not really sure, but I imagine that would promote root rot in the long run. Did you end up changing the soil?

[palingkecil]

Hey, everyone. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on PlantOGram. I purchased 2 mango trees from them. It was shipped on Apr. 30 and arrived on May 7. Sadly the box arrived in poor condition with a large dent, and the trees came damaged with the trunks broken on both trees, and fallen leaves in the box. I took photos and emailed PlantOGram that same day to let them know. I sent a follow up email yesterday, but I haven't heard back in about a week. Any thoughts on what you would do? I'll try to baby these trees, but I'm afraid they may not make it. I checked out the roots, and there's a rotting smell coming from the soil. Should I change the soil? Pretty bummed, but I guess lesson learned.

I am sorry about your trees. I always give a B1 solution for any of my tree that distressed, seems to help. For acid lover plants, the fish emulsion works like a charm to revive them. If I were you, i will try to change the soil with the fast drain one, water with B1 solution once a week, keep the soil moist but not wet. If it still does not work, just dispute the CC.  I just ordered a Sweet Tart from Jim Barrett in Florida, they are cheaper than TT or Planto. Hopefully they also do a better job in packing it.

[Viking Guy]

Never had a bad experience with Plant'O'Gram.

I know I have been beyond busy this season trying to keep up with crazy demand.  I'm sure they're overwhelmed.  Try calling or reaching out again.

[stephen]

Hey, everyone. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on PlantOGram. I purchased 2 mango trees from them. It was shipped on Apr. 30 and arrived on May 7. Sadly the box arrived in poor condition with a large dent, and the trees came damaged with the trunks broken on both trees, and fallen leaves in the box. I took photos and emailed PlantOGram that same day to let them know. I sent a follow up email yesterday, but I haven't heard back in about a week. Any thoughts on what you would do? I'll try to baby these trees, but I'm afraid they may not make it. I checked out the roots, and there's a rotting smell coming from the soil. Should I change the soil? Pretty bummed, but I guess lesson learned.

I am sorry about your trees. I always give a B1 solution for any of my tree that distressed, seems to help. For acid lover plants, the fish emulsion works like a charm to revive them. If I were you, i will try to change the soil with the fast drain one, water with B1 solution once a week, keep the soil moist but not wet. If it still does not work, just dispute the CC.  I just ordered a Sweet Tart from Jim Barrett in Florida, they are cheaper than TT or Planto. Hopefully they also do a better job in packing it.

I'll def try again. And thanks so much for the tips, palingkecil! May I ask where you get your B1 solution? And how do I order trees from Jim Barrett? Do they ship to California?

[palingkecil]

Lowe's or Home Depot carries the B1, just bought a half gallon for $9.98 from Lowe's. Amazon carries it too, slightly higher price. Any brand is fine, just remember to dilute it with water.
I found Jim Barrett nursery from facebook, then i got a cell number of one of the sales girl, so i text her to order or to help me find certain variety of tree. They do ship to California. Let's wait if my tree arrives well, then everyone else can order from them.

[stephen]

Yes, please keep us posted on the trees you ordered from Jim Barrett.

And great news, everyone!! PlantOGram came through. I finally heard back from them and they said that they'll send me a replacement. I'm so relieved!! That makes me feel better about their customer service. I'm guessing they were just swamped. Thanks again for all your thoughts! I'll keep you posted once I received the new trees.

[kh0110]

... but I imagine that would promote root rot in the long run. Did you end up changing the soil?

The stinky soil used to rootball the plant works fine, don't change the soil and DO NOT loosen it when you doing the repotting. The plant has been rootballed for shipping instead of shipping out a bare rooted plant. So, just let the plant grows out a bit first before attempting to replace the stinky soil. Actually, I wouldn't replace it but just bury it in a pot that is a tiny bit bigger. You don't want to disturb the plant's roots at that stage.

And NO fertilizer until the new plant has flushed at least a few times and is showing sign of needs. That stinky soil could feed for a 2-3 months.

[palingkecil]

Just want to update that I received my Sweet Tart tree from Jim Barrett's nursery. It is about 4 ft tall, healthy, and well packaged. The picture is here.

[stephen]

Just want to update that I received my Sweet Tart tree from Jim Barrett's nursery. It is about 4 ft tall, healthy, and well packaged. The picture is here.

Oh that looks great! Will you be planting in the ground? What soil will you use?

And do you happen to know what kind of rootstock they use?

By the way, I haven't received my replacement trees from PlantOGram. I hope they're good on their word. I'll keep you posted!

[palingkecil]

Just want to update that I received my Sweet Tart tree from Jim Barrett's nursery. It is about 4 ft tall, healthy, and well packaged. The picture is here.

Oh that looks great! Will you be planting in the ground? What soil will you use?

And do you happen to know what kind of rootstock they use?

By the way, I haven't received my replacement trees from PlantOGram. I hope they're good on their word. I'll keep you posted!

I will plant it in the ground. It is on turpentine rootstock. Sweet Tart is one of the variety that will do well on Turpentine rootstock in SoCal according to mango gurus here. My native soil is not clay, so I will use native soil mixed with a little sand (to make it more sandy loamy) and mychorizae.
I heard that Plantogram customer service is pretty good. Hopefully your replacement trees will arrive soon. What varieties did you order?

[stephen]

Just want to update that I received my Sweet Tart tree from Jim Barrett's nursery. It is about 4 ft tall, healthy, and well packaged. The picture is here.

Oh that looks great! Will you be planting in the ground? What soil will you use?

And do you happen to know what kind of rootstock they use?

By the way, I haven't received my replacement trees from PlantOGram. I hope they're good on their word. I'll keep you posted!

I will plant it in the ground. It is on turpentine rootstock. Sweet Tart is one of the variety that will do well on Turpentine rootstock in SoCal according to mango gurus here. My native soil is not clay, so I will use native soil mixed with a little sand (to make it more sandy loamy) and mychorizae.
I heard that Plantogram customer service is pretty good. Hopefully your replacement trees will arrive soon. What varieties did you order?

I ordered a Fruit Punch and Coconut Cream.