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Frequently Asked Questions - (FAQ)
About Us
Who are we?
Contact Us
How do I contact your company?
General
What does "cal." or "caliper" mean?
Who is Paradise Palm Company?
What are chill hours?
How do I have a catalog mailed to me?
My plant is shorter than I ordered!
Methods of Payment
What payment methods do you accept?
Minimum Order
What is the minimum order for Willis Orchard Co.?
Ordering Information
How do I place an order?
Is it possible to pre-order or to have an order delayed?
Return Policy
What happens if my plants arrive damaged?
How do I return a plant that dies within the first year?
Is there a restock or cancellation fee?
Shipping
What is the shipping cost?
Where can Willis Orchard Company ship?
Do we ship bare root or in containers?
When do trees begin shipping?
What service do you use to ship my plants?
How long does it take for an order to ship out?
Soil Requirements
What is the best type of soil to use on my plants?
Watering
How often should I water my plants?
About Us
Who are we?
The owner, Jason Willis, has been in the nursery business for the past 17 years. A naturalist and conservationist, he opened a containerized long leaf pine seedling nursery that grew nearly 1 million trees per year. After a few long years as a grower of conservation trees, he moved back into sales and management of a very large mail order nursery company. Due to personal conflict with that owner's disinterest in customer service and his unethical general business practices, Jason decided to open Willis Orchard Company (and its sister niche company, Paradise Palm Company) to offer customers an alternative source for all the fruit trees, nut trees, berry plants, and ornamental trees he knew so much about and loved to work with.
Throughout the past 17 years of working for other nursery owners and serving thousands of customers he has learned the right and wrong ways of doing mail order business, Jason's goal is to bring the best of what he has learned to his two new companies. His mission in business is based on two of the strongest pillars of business: excellent customer service and only the best quality products.
We at Willis Orchard Company want to earn your trust and business, and believe you will notice the difference in the superior quality of product and services received from Willis Orchard Company compared to other mail order companies that offer similar but inferior products at equal or less cost than ours.
Thank you for choosing Willis Orchard Company to supply your nursery stock needs.
Sincerely,
Jason Willis, Owner of Willis Orchard Company
Contact Us
How do I contact your company?
Our physical address is:
Willis Orchard Company
5590 Hwy 133 S.
Moultrie, GA 31788
Our mailing address is:
Willis Orchard Company
PO Box 119
Berlin, GA 31722
Please call to schedule an appointment for pickup orders, as we operate primarily as a mail-order company.
Our toll free number: 866-586-6283 or 866-876-2945
We also have email: orders@willisorchards.com
If you are attempting to find out the status of your order or your concern is urgent, please call rather than email.
General
What does "cal." or "caliper" mean?
"Cal." stands for caliper; caliper measures the thickness of the trunk on a tree. When a tree is said to have a 1/4" cal., that means the trunk is 1/4" thick.
Who is Paradise Palm Company?
Paradise Palm Company is our sister niche company, specializing in palm trees. Some orders may show as being charged by "Paradise Palm Co," but not to worry, it's still Willis Orchards and you will receive your order as normal. Paradise Palm Company may be found at www.paradisepalmco.com.
What are chill hours?
Chill hours are number of hours below 40*F in the winter. A lack of chill hours is generally only a problem for very warm areas, such as Florida.
How do I have a catalog mailed to me?
Since we have no printed catalogs or other printed material, we cannot send one to you.
My plant is shorter than I ordered!
Check that it is pruned: many of our plants are pruned by up to 1/3rd before shipping, both because it helps the plant grow better once planted and also because it helps to keep shipping costs down.
Your tree should be the proper caliper thickness and have a root system matching that of what you ordered. These trees will branch out in the spring just as normal.
Methods of Payment
What payment methods do you accept?
We accept all major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover) through our online shopping cart, as well as through telephone. Checks or other payment are accepted only through arrangement by telephone.
We are also a Verified Authorize.Net Merchant
You can shop at Willis Orchard Company online with confidence. We have partnered with Authorize.Net, a leading payment gateway since 1996, to offer safe and secure credit card and electronic check transactions for our customers.
The Authorize.Net Payment Gateway manages the complex routing of sensitive customer information through the credit card and electronic check processing networks (see an online payments diagram). The company adheres to strict industry standards for payment processing, including:
128-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology for secure Internet Protocol (IP) transactions.
Industry leading encryption hardware and software methods and security protocols to protect customer information.
Compliance with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard.
For additional information regarding the privacy of your sensitive cardholder data, please read the Authorize.Net Privacy Policy.
Willis Orchard Company is registered with the Authorize.Net Verified Merchant Seal program.
Minimum Order
What is the minimum order for Willis Orchard Co.?
Minimum order is $35 plus shipping (shipping is 25% of the order).
Ordering Information
How do I place an order?
You can order through our online shopping cart using Paypal or Google Checkout.
or
You may contact us by telephone and place an order with your credit card.
Is it possible to pre-order or to have an order delayed?
Of course! To pre-order, you need to place your order as you normally would, and the preordered items will ship at their designated ship date (as noted on your order).
To have an order delayed, you will need to contact us to let us know when you want it shipped. You will need to contact us through email or phone as soon as possible, because we try to ship out most of our products the same day, if at all possible.
Return Policy
What happens if my plants arrive damaged?
Nursery stock is perishable. All shipments should be immediately and carefully unpacked and inspected on arrival and then placed in proper storage if not planted within 30 days. Any problems with the condition or quality or quantity of goods received should be brought to our attention immediately. In the rare event that you should receive a package from one of our carriers that is obviously damaged in delivery, please report to the carrier the damaged package and refuse delivery, then call us to inform us of the problem, and we will promptly ship you a replacement order.
How do I return a plant that dies within the first year?
Please refer to our Friendly Guarantee.
Is there a restock or cancellation fee?
There is a 15% restocking/labor fee with a minimum fee of $20.
Shipping
What is the shipping cost?
Shipping cost is 25% of the order, with a minimum charge of $15.
Example: I ordered $40 worth of products, shipping charge is $15. Total charge is $55.
Example 2: I ordered $100 worth of products, shipping charge is $25. Total charge is $125.
Where can Willis Orchard Company ship?
We can ship all over the continental United States, with the exception of California; due to agricultural regulations we are not permitted to ship into California. Citrus cannot be shipped to Florida, Arizona, or Texas.
Do we ship bare root or in containers?
Our trees are shipped in a state called "semi-bareroot." We remove the soil around the plant's roots and replace it with a moisture retaining gel called Terrasorb. This keeps the roots moist during transit and lessens the weight of the tree for ease of planting when you receive it. Large orders may be shipped via freight carriers and the trees may be left in the containers. Container grown trees can be shipped in the pots if you request and you are willing to pay for the additional freight charges. Freighted trees are sometimes (not always) shipped in pots.
When do trees begin shipping?
Our evergreen plants ship year-round. Most of our trees are deciduous, meaning that they can only be shipped in their dormant state, void of leaves. These trees are typically shipped later in the fall (around October), through winter, and into spring, ending in April.
We encourage you to order well in advance of your expected delivery date. Many items will be sold out by spring. Therefore, if you want spring delivery, we strongly suggest that you place your order in the Fall.
What service do you use to ship my plants?
Nearly all orders ship UPS ground; in some cases, orders must be shipped using one of our freight carriers.
How long does it take for an order to ship out?
Unless you specifically request a future ship date, we give an estimate of 7 to 10 business days to ship an order during the busy season of November through April, due to large order volume. In many cases, however, orders are received much more quickly than that, but unless prior arrangements are made, no guarantee is made as to arrival date.
Soil Requirements
What is the best type of soil to use on my plants?
Dig the hole two to three times as wide as the root system to allow loosened soil for new root growth. Palm trees like well drained soils so to add 1/3 sand or pea gravel mixed in with the extracted soil is recommended for compact or heavy clay soils. However, the hole needs to be just deep enough so that the tree is planted at the same depth at which it was grown. Do not bury the trunk. The base of the trunk should be at ground level. Backfill the hole with the soil and or gravel mix. Tamp the soil with your foot to remove any large air pockets that may exist. Now build a soil barrier around the circumference of your hole to form a dam that will return water. Finally, water the palm tree. Soak it. Adding a two or three inch layer of mulch around the tree is recommended.
Watering
How often should I water my plants?
Frequent watering is crucial for newly planted trees. Water your tree daily or every other day for the first two weeks. Over the course of a month or two, taper off watering to twice a week as the tree establishes itself. It is very important not to allow the soil to dry out with your newly planted tree. After a few months, the tree will acclimate and routine watering will not be so critical for its survival. As for how often to water after this point, will depend on the climate, the seasons, and the frequency of rainfall. In most cases, a good soaking two or three times a week in the summer months and decreasing to once a week in the colder season should be adequate.
