Over the years, I've placed orders for both plants and leaves. The leaves have always arrived in good condition, but I have never received an acceptable plant from Tropical World. Plants mislabeled, wilted, or already dead and rotting from being overwatered or scorched by the heat. I live very close and my plants only ever spent a day in transit so it could not be shipping damage. Attempts to contact Tropical World for refunds or replacements have always been fruitless.
Great place.
I read the reviews and should have trusted my gut, but they had specific leaves I wanted... the package going from south FL to central FL, ended up in Indianapolis somehow. When the leaves finally arrived, of the 14 I received, 3 were in "ok" condition. The rest were either wet and mush or the stems were rotted off the leaf. I emailed immediately to report the condition but never received a response.
I cannot recommend this shop in good conscience. This shop had a lot of negative reviews, but they had a variety that I wanted. I called the nursery to confirm availability, and after talking to Bruce over the phone, who was very friendly, I felt confident in the legitimacy of this nursery. Bruce informed me that due to high temperatures, a lot of the plants were suffering and they had to throw out many plants. Still, I trusted that if I ordered, I would be shipped a viable plant. Along with my plant, I purchased premium shipping, which, in the description, says "includes insulation, cold pack or heat pack and immediate shipping on the next Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday." The website also says that there must be 4 straight nights of temperatures above 40 degrees. Despite there being multiple windows of time that met this requirement immediately after I ordered, the plant was not shipped until almost 2 weeks after I ordered it. Furthermore, before the plant was shipped, I emailed multiple times, but there was no communication from the nursery. When the plant was finally delivered, it arrived looking absolutely bleached/scorched. I know for sure this was not a result of shipping because temperatures in my area were between 35 to 60 degrees. I had no clue if the crown would make it. I have been growing african violets for 5 years now. I have ordered many african violets from nurseries and ebay sellers, and while some have arrived extremely small, they have all been in healthy condition, with the crowns intact. You can see from the pictures that the crown does not look green and healthy at all. I emailed asking for a refund. It has been a month and the nursery has yet to respond. At best, this nursery has very poor communication, and even poorer standards for what a healthy, viable plant looks like. At worst, they are knowingly shipping damaged plants. Either way, I am out of $32.
Bruce was an amazing tour guide today at his nursery. It was lovely to see him again and to actually visit his property. The property is an absolute gem and magical wonderland. It was an honor to spend time with him and his spouse.
