wilsonbrosgardens.com Reviews 25

I ordered several Camillia plants for my home 2 years ago. The plants arrived smaller than expected. Now 2 years later the plants have remained the same size as when they arrived. I sent an email to customer service which was useless. They could care less. Will never buy from them again.

6/7/26 Upfront I will alert you that Wilson Brothers Gardens will likely issue a rebuttal to my statements. I have been a serious plant collector beginning in 1991. I specialize in the unusual, mostly shrubs and trees. I was invited to write an article for the Rhododendron, Camellia and Magnolia Group (England) Journal, which I did, and it was published in January 2025. I ordered a 3-gallon Magnolia grandiflora ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty’ from Wilson Brothers Gardens on 5/8/23. The tree arrived on 5/12/23 p.m. with a label on the side of the container identifying the tree as “Bracken’s Brown Beauty Magnolia 3g.” On 5/13/23 I contacted Wilson Brothers Gardens via email because the backs of the leaves on this tree were not brown – an identifying characteristic of ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty’ and the ONLY reason I ordered this tree. My email included photos of my tree and a screenshot of the description of this variety from the Wilson Brothers Gardens website, as well as screenshots from the websites of Missouri Botanical Garden, The Tree Center and Monrovia, all specifically mentioning the brown backs on the leaves. Additionally, I have four other specimens of ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty’ in my collection, all displaying the brown backs on the leaves. Those four specimens are of varying ages, some younger and some older than the tree from Wilson Brothers Gardens.

Wilson Brothers Gardens replied via email on 5/13/23 and offered many “reasons” for why my tree did not (and still does not) have brown backs on the leaves. They suggested that it could take 2 -3 years for the brown backs to develop. They said the shape of the leaves indicates that it is ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty.’ They said the tree may not be getting adequate sunlight (my other four specimens all get the same amount of sunlight as the tree from Wilson Brothers Gardens). I contacted Wilson Brothers Gardens on 5/14/26, now the suggested 3 years since I received my tree. The email exchanges continued until 5/21/26, before which they even suggested that I wait until mid- to late-summer 2026 for the brown backs to develop. Their final email on 5/21/26 stated that they had done all they could do, and that they are convinced that my tree is ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty.’

On 5/20/26 I contacted US Bank (the credit card I used for this purchase) and disputed the purchase. I handled my dispute via chat with US Bank because I could provide details in writing that may not have been grasped in a phone conversation. US Bank initiated a case to investigate the dispute. On 6/2/26 US Bank sent me a letter (received 6/6/26) stating that my purchase was outside their “60 days from statement date” policy to initiate a dispute. I did explain during my chat with US Bank that Wilson Brothers Gardens instructed me to wait 2 -3 years for the brown backs to be visible. If I had initiated a dispute when I first
received this tree from Wilson Brothers Gardens, US Bank would have contacted them and probably would have been given the information about waiting 2 – 3 years for the brown backs to develop.

The tree I received from Wilson Brothers Gardens is NOT Magnolia grandiflora ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty.’ It is more likely the straight species Magnolia grandiflora, which is not what I ordered. All the intended “helpful” explanations from Wilson Brothers Gardens do not convince me that this is anything other than a case of a mislabeled tree. The delay incurred while I waited the 2- 3 years suggested by Wilson Brothers Gardens resulted in my financial loss and a tree in my collection that I did not order.

On another note, I have placed two prior orders with Wilson Brothers Gardens, and both of those items arrived in good condition and are as described.

Honest professional friendly transactions. This one is in my top 5 possibly number 1.

Problem began by Wilson bros sending me a different variety plant than I ordered. After contacting them, they tried to convince me it was the correct variety. I had a horticulturist verify the variety of the plant received was not what I ordered. Wilson would not send a label for the return. I had to dispute the charge on my credit card. A simple mistake could have had a simple solution, but Wilson did not want to handle it that way.

They sell plants that are not good for your zone. Give you poor advice and then do not honor their 6 month warranty because the advise they gave you voids it.

Hello, I want to tell you how happy I am with my Concord Barberry bush.I was amazed. I opened the box, the plant looked full and fresh , like in the garden center. It was packaged so well. I appreciate it. Thank you for the effort.I planted it, and hope it will grow and keep thriving. E A Rutz

They have a good selection of things that can be tricky to get mail order. Howver after buying 2 osmanthus heterophyllus I ran into poor customer service. They looked great on arrival but were very root bound. I trimmed the roots and put them in a perfectly amended hole in part sun site, watered every 3 days during a nice spring period 40s - 70s. Within a week spots were showing so I started with the antifungal spray. By 3 weeks they were totally brown. They were over $100 a piece so I reached out to the company to see if they had any advice if it was worth it to try again and maybe get some store credit to offset some replacement cost. Or maybe advice about something better suited or to do differently. No response after 3 weeks and 2 emails. Maybe they couldn't know exactly what happened. Maybe they don't have a fungal problem but my site does. But for the price they should have responded, over $300 they could consider the situation and say something productive.

Ordered 2 pomegranate trees- received 2 half dead sticks- packed them up and called to say I was returning them and was told I had to send photos and get ‘permission’- went to Lowe’s and found a healthy, bushy pomegranate tree for a third less- sorry excuse for a nursery- 0 stars-

I'm really sorry Wilson Brothers has had some problem reviews. My experience was completely the opposite. I had been unable to find a mature Chinese Chestnut tree locally so happened upon WBG with a standard Internet search. I found what I wanted, ordered it online Saturday and at 1:00 PM Wednesday it arrived. The tree was advertised to be 4'-5' but when it arrived it was almost 6' tall. The packaging was superb, the cardboard alone must have cost them $10. Unboxing the tree was a fair amount of work but worth it, attesting to the care with which it was packed for shipment just one state away.

In the future if I can't find what I need locally, Wilson Brothers Gardens is my first go-to. For me, they are doing online business the way it should be done. And no, I don't know anybody there, never spoke to nor had any communication with them other than placing the order. They don't know me from Adam. I'm just a satisfied customer and hope your experience with them is similar to mine.

I purchased a Korean fir tree in a three gallon pot. I received the tree quickly, it looked healthy, and it was a decent size. That was the end of the positive experiences.

The tree I received was terribly crooked. It wasn't crooked in just one direction, such as just leaning back. It had curves in the trunk as if it had grown for a while in one position where it had to grow at an angle for sun, and then moved to where it had to grow in a different direction for sun. A pine should have a straight trunk and not be wavier than a snake.

I could also tell the tree had been fastened to a stake for most of the time it had been growing because the upper portion of the tree had no branches on one side. I like pine trees with branches on more than half of the tree.

I would have never considered purchasing such a terrible specimen if shopping in a nursery. This tree would likely be sold at a bargain price or thrown out altogether since it may never have been purchased if someone actually saw it in person.

Against my better judgement, I planted the tree. It was a Sunday and I needed to get it done before Monday and my schedule got hectic. The more I looked at the tree, the more I doubted it would ever look decent.

I emailed the company and provided a photograph clearly showing the trunk. I received a quick reply saying it couldn't be returned because it had been planted. The email included different ways to try and improve the tree. I don't want to spend years using multiple stakes trying to straighten out the trunk and hoping it fills in where there are bare spots. I have too little faith this tree will ever look decent and it is going in the trash.

Don't risk buying a tree from Wilson Bros Gardens since they obviously have no quality control beyond the tree is alive. They should know people are going to want a decent looking pine tree and not one with a trunk as wavy as a snake and bare spots.

I ended up removing this tree and purchasing a different type of pine at a local nursery. The new pine was straight and full. Seeing as how this tree was going to be front and center in front of my house, it was important it looked great.

UPDATE 7/5/2025
I went to wilsonbrosgardens.com to add photos to my review, but strangely, I cannot find it. Was it deleted because it was critical of their product? Only they know.

I have exactly same problem .Last year I purchased single trunk ginko tree. Unfortunately tree died. No response to my emails, costumer service was rude . $275 went to trash.PLEASE do not buy from this people.

The plant (a one gallon azalea) was very reminiscent of a cheap last season's bare root raspberry plant and nothing like the quality mini bush that I was expecting and paying premium dollars for. It was a stick with very few yellowish green leafs and a root ball no larger than a child's fist stuffed into a one gallon pot. It was as if someone replanted it from a four inch pot just days before shipping.

Because the Azalea still had some bare root qualities, I decided to plant it and hope that it survives... Not that I'm giving it much hope... but with one of God's miracles and my green thumb it may still turnout to be the star of the garden.

Just wish I had read and paid heed to the reviews on this site before ordering.

My advise.. don't do business with this company.. If they don't care about what they don't need to be in business.

Same story as everyone else, ordered plants, poor quality all around. One tree wilted even after being watered, this was within days of receiving the order. Plants did not fill the one gallon pot. Contacting support to get them to honor their guarantee is pointless.

I had very same experience as mentioned by another customer with a plant purchased in March 18, 2025. The plants received in March were advertised as 1-gallon size but only the pot was a gallon. Plant roots did not fill the pot and were small. I delayed in contacting customer service about disappointment in plant quality since previous experience with their products had been good. One plant began to slowly decline. I contacted customer service and we went back and forth with emails and photo attachments. Every reply to my inquiry was unacceptable and a dismissal to my concern. There is something wrong with the plant, virus or disease. A refund or replacement of a true 1-gallon size place was never offered. Customer service is truly poor. I am disappointed that this nursery will no longer be one I choose to find plants.

Wilson was-for a while- the company we looked to for quality service. Their plants are impeccably grown: if you're a customer, you know what I mean. They are top quality, healthy specimens, that (if you know your growing zone) grow almost effortlessly once placed in the ground- with minimal issues.
The area of service that I wish to address, however, is their customer service (or rather their lack thereof...).
On or around the date I've registered, my wife and I ( after receiving plants from the company for 5 years) moved to a different state. I put in my new address, and began ordering plants that would help to make our yard "ours". After putting in a few orders, we sat back and waited for "Tennants" to our new garden to arrive . The problem was, somehow part of the orders reset to the old shipping address, with part arriving to our home. Unfortunately, since the larger part ( translated, more expensive part) of the orders were the one's sent to the incorrect address, upon calling to try and work out some arrangement, we were met with a rude gentleman (Justin) who basically said "you made a mistake...not our problem, have a great day"
Unsatisfied with Justin's response, I sent an email (in which it's basic content said the following:

"Firstly, the fault is not mine. Else, why would I have received plants to this address? Your response shows that you didn't attempt to read anything that was sent. Instead, making the arbitrary decision and keeping the money was the solution? In essence, you bypassed years of purchasing in order to keep- what would relatively be-a few dollars ( in comparison). I have been a regular customer since before 2020"

The email was sent "up Wilson's chain " to (Gabie) who's basic message was "sorry we don't deal with address issues " ( as if there computer-or whatever system handles that, has a mind of its own).
As a result, we parted with me sending them the following email message:
"I am truly disappointed. The company must have changed management, because after over 15 years of doing business with them, they abandoned all "customer service " practices. It came to a head when -after moving to another state- I put in an order for four plants. I put the new address in for shipping. However, their system changed the address back to the former shipping. They sent it to the previous address. When I realized what had happened and tried to explain, they accused me of having the items sent to the wrong address 😑. Then they basically said "you made the mistake...too bad, cause we've got your money " They are no longer the reputable company they once were!!"
There was no "let's see what can be done,....nothing. Hence, the two stars ( and if it weren't for them producing such excellent plants, they wouldn't have gotten those 2 stars).

Have purchased three plants from Wilson Brothers. Two of them returned because they were damaged when they shipped them to me. Poor packaging. The third died at the 6 month cut off. When I contacted them, the representative talked to me for months about the plant and then offered $20 credit for a $60 plant. It was diseased and died. Don't buy from them.

I received a tree with spilled soil, brown and broken branches and no root system that was not even still in the pot. Per their instructions I notified them immediately of the condition it was in along with photos.
I was told to give it the weekend and if it continued to get worse they would "of course" cover it. This was told to me via email by a woman named Gabie. When I sent pictures of it's continued browning and decline on Tues 16th I was told it looked better and a refund was not going to be given at this time. I was told to give it until next year to see how it looks.
I have been offered compensation at some future non specified date in a year and money off more plants by a manager named Spencer if the tree dies.
It would be funny if not so pathetic.
I have been emailing, calling, submitting pictures since day one and they no longer respond.
This is the worst company I have ever dealt with, they will not abide by their own guarantee of " healthy, well packed plants" and will lie until you go away.
I now have a dead tree and they have my 150.00 Don't walk run away from them because if you get a poor specimen that has been beaten in shipping they will not stand by their policy.
No reputable, decent company would do this to a customer. I was honest about it's condition from the day I received it, have all the correspondence, photo evidence, even tried to call and speak to an owner and no one answers the phone...ever.
My next stop is the Georgia Dept. of Consumer fraud protection with all my emails, photos, their guarantee along with others complaints about the very same treatment and money loss.

I ordered a tree and the tree came in very damaged condition. I paid for this tree $159.00 I requested a replacement and they refused to replace my dead tree. I supply them with pictures, but they don't care, Be meticulous when ordering from this company. I will be posting the review on every social side. They have a satisfaction guarantee.

Last year I invested about $750 into "hardy" lantana from this business. I chose this business because they are local to the Atlanta area. Of the 18 plants I purchased, only 3 survived. I called the company in early May of this year to ask about the warranty. I was asked to wait until late June to give the plants every chance to come back. I contacted the business as directed and was told that my warranty expired in between the two contacts. In short, I asked for warranty replacement. They asked me to wait and I did which voided my warranty. Then they told me I should have known better. Is someone you want to do business with?

I have ordered numerous plants over the past 2 years and I have been so impressed. Last year I ordered seven 3-gallon bushes (cranberry viburnum) and five 1-gallon geraniums. All the plants arrived in great shape and thrived immediately. They are already showing new growth this spring, so I know they are alive and well. I have already ordered twelve 1-gallon plants and a 5-gallon bush this spring. Im always surprised by the size and vigor of the plants I receive. This is my #1 go-to shop for my garden!