Okay, so I'm a very obsessively self controlled person, especially about plants. The other day I went to Home Depot and ALL their lemon trees had dried out rootballs ON TOP of the soil and the trees were fallen over. I was livid and they weren't even my trees. The HD Garden Center people were just lounging around, no one rushed to their aid with water and soil when I complained either.

SO... with that said, when I got my trees from Willis I was more confused than anything. They came as sticks with their roots all mixed together with this weird jelly stuff. My husband and I soaked the roots in water and then planted them the next day. That was in December? (I can't remember when they arrived, I know it was MONTHS after we ordered them because we ordered in late summer and I think they wait to send them because it's WAY too hot to ship to south Texas until late fall/early winter). Anyway, here we are at the end of February and they are right on schedule so far. I ordered 2 Paw Paws (still haven't done much, no new growth, but the little sticks are still kickin' I'm pretty sure they're waiting for spring), 1 Hong Kong Guava (this one came with leaves, and the leaves have been hard and dried out now for months, the baby "trunk" is also a little dried out and I THINK it's dead, but because it's had to work harder with all those leaves, it may just be stressed. I tweeted Willis Orchards from @Sillystephwhat and they responded with their refund/exchange policy link), 1 crabapple (this one actually BROKE in half when we first got it, so my husband and I stick the top part that broke in the same pot, gave it lots of water and TLC and the trunk part has grown leaves, and the BROKEN stick has leaves growing out of the top of it!!! Hopefully they both survive), 1 Nonpareil Almond (this one has SO MANY LEAVES! none coming from the actual stick, but they're all comin out from the root ball... they might make good cuttings once the rest of the tree starts gettin leaves), and 1 American Elderberry (THIS ONE IS DOING SO FABULOUS! It's my favorite). So, in a nutshell, I've been happy with their communication. I've been happy with my plants (even though they were just sticks with mixed rootballs, they were HEALTHY unlike those darn lemon trees I saw at Home Depot... Healthy plants are sooo important, I've tried to rescue and play doctor one too many times from Walmart trees and let me tell you, once they get sick or are uncared for for so long, it's HARD to bring them back).

I typically buy from a bamboo nursery in Bayside, Texas (Naylor's Nursery) because they have a lot of choices, but there are some fruit/nut trees that they don't carry, so I am certainly planning on ordering from this company again.

To those of you upset with how they are packaged (Billie S. with the fig/mulberry issue), and those of you who have not yet ordered, I highly suggest you OPEN THEIR PACKAGE IMMEDIATELY to soak them in water and separate them right then and there, it's the best way to keep them apart and save money on shipping. If you really want them packaged separately you should place 2 different orders and pay for the shipping for each one. It's expensive, but that's the price you pay for healthy plants straight to your door.