Just got a call from them and they are going to send them FEd Ex. I'll keep you posted on the outcome. Maybe I jumped the gun a little, but they were supposed to be shipped 4/1/7, so that's over a month late. But I really felt like it wasn't going to happen.

I bought two apples from them three years ago. They are still smaller than the tree I just planted from Adams County Nursery this spring. They'll likely be another 2-3 years old before I even know if they are the right variety.

~Chills

I wish I would have found this out before I just ordered over $40 worth of trees from them. Has anyone had good luck from them? I ordered two fruit trees and 6 shade trees.

Well I got my trees yesterday, 6 weeks late, but late is better than never. Hope they do well and all live. I think it's important for gardeners to share there experiences to help others decide where to spend there dollars. When dealing with a company that you have no previous experience, it some times is a gamble.

Hello there. New member and first time post. I recently ordered 7 full dwarf fruit trees from Autumn Ridge (along with plants for my wife). The trees I received were about 12 to 15 inches long (as advertised) and about the size of a pencil in thickness. But the problem was none of them were grafted. That means they cannot be dwarf fruit trees (apple, pear, plum). I contacted the company and explained the problem. They agreed. Said they would send replacements and I should send back the wrong trees. Well, a week later I received 7 replacement trees. Again, none were on grafted rootstock and still the small size or smaller. I contacted them and explained the problem. They apologized and I asked for a credit back on my charge card. They agreed. I mailed back 14 trees and they said they credited my account but I will have to wait and see my acct statement.

My last orchard I planted was a commercial 300 tree fruit orchard and 200 plant vineyard in Indiana. I now live in central Tennessee. This time I am only planting a private orchard on my two acres. I prefer antique varieties when available.

I wonder about those who might not have my expertise and planted the trees they received and watched them grow over the years to a full size tree and probably planted way to close to other trees or their house.

I prefer to order from Miller's Nursery in New York or Raintree in Washington. They both ship great fruit trees at a reasonable price.

Anyway, that is my experience.

Well I sure have had an eye opening with this company. It's more like a scam company. What I ordered and received were a real disappointment. Out of 17 trees, only 2 have sprouted, and their species is not to be trusted. I have reported them to the BBB out of Nashville, and are currently waiting for the outcome. Wish I had heard all the scuttle-but re: them before I had ordered. I'm really grateful this forum is available.

Update: The trees are mostly dead and were shipped dead.

Before you order from anyone, you HAVE to go to gardenwatchdog.com Its not the final word but its a good step in the right direction. It used to be the ultimate answer until the "nursery" in Georgia threatened a law suit for the negitive feedback from their customers. If you use autumn ridge nursery as a search engine, here, at gardenweb you would probably get other people's horror stories. Do both of these things before you order from any nursery.

Are you people getting the trees at a very good price from this nursury? If not I don't understand why anyone would buy a tree mail order or online. Myself I want to see the tree before I buy it and pick out the best one or reject all of them if they don't look acceptable, so I buy local. Also, how much does shipping add to the price? Do they come with a one year guarantee like most big box stores and some local nursuries give, and if you have to return the tree do they pick up the shipping charges?

californian--

I can only respond in light of my own experience. You can get mail order trees from most places in the $20-30, plus shipping. So there is no question that going to the big box or local nursery will provide you trees for less money. Most mail order nurseries do have make-good policies, although I think you're still out the shipping in most cases.

So why do people order online? For me, it comes down to accuracy and selection. What nursery or big box is going to offer a hundred different varieties of apples? From heirloom to European cider apples to the newest varieties from Cornell? At the big box, the cases of mislabeling are legendary. It may indicate "semi-dwarf" but does that mean a mini-dwarfing rootstock like M27? Dwarfing rootstock like Bud 9, M9, Geneva 16 or M26? Semi-dwarfing roostock like M7, Geneva 30, M111 or M106? (And on and on and on...)

While that may not matter to a lot of people, it matters hugely to me. I'm growing trees in difficult soil at 7,000 and the technical "specs", if you will, can make the difference between my orchard thriving or not.

A quick look at Cummins Nursery or Raintree or Trees of Antiquity's online catalog and you'll see what I mean.

That doesn't mean local nurseries and Home Depot don't have a place. They absolutely do. It's just you asked if it was a better deal to buy online and the answer for me is:
While it costs more, it provides quality, value and choice I couldn't do without.

My two cents worth, anyway.

Don

I agree with every word don said

Speaking of Cummins Nursery. I emailed them asking them if they can replace my "dead" surefire cherry that I planted this spring, but I haven't heard back from them yet. I will try again in a few days. To be fair, that is the only one that has died on me from them.

Goodground, you may want to call up Cummins -- Jim is not always reliable on responding to emails. I am sure they will replace the tree, they have always been very good to me on replacements.

Scott