A+ OP
A+ thread

Well done everybody.

I can't believe I'm actually rooting for a tree to die.

Yeah maybe back in the day when you could "float" a check. You can't do that anymore. Most checks get verified for funds instantly now. The assumption now should be that they're just old or tree thieves.

Check fraud can be charged as a felony in many states.

even worse than stealing a tree, as their bank will give nursery a charge when they return the stopped payment check to them.

FYI - you specifically opted NOT to pay for a service. You paid for and received a live tree. It died because you don't know anything about landscaping and refused to pay for the knowledge and expertise that such a service would provide.

Regardless of whether what you did is considered a crime, what you did is wrong and your attempts to justify it are clear examples of cognitive dissonance. You may not be a bad person, but you've done a ****ty thing. Hope you seek to right your wrong in time.

Also, as was mentioned, have your soil in that area tested.

Sorry only fake lawyers here

FYP, but I admit my edit doesn’t have much ring to it.

Sparks: it’s bad to steal trees.

Agree with the cognitive dissonance observation. It's probably why I posted in the first place.

Having said that, I really think Moon Nursery here in Huntington Beach (for inquiring minds) has committed the larger wrong. Here's what I want to tell the owner/manager of the place: I have a lot of fruit trees in my yard, all of which (except that previous apricot) are doing great. The soil in my back yard is an outstanding loam, maybe a smidge acidic with a pH of 6.5. All my fruit trees are on the same drip watering system. I have lots of people over my house for events, and people almost always comment on the fruit trees. So when they ask me, where'd you get your trees, part of the answer will be Moon Nursery, but I'll never go back there again because they kind of punked me on an apricot which I paid a premium for. What I would rather tell them is, yeah Moon Nursery, and they're awesome. I had a tree once that didn't perform, and they replaced it, no questions asked. But I won't tell them that, because I'm not going to lie to them.

That's the story I want to be able to tell. For $70, Moon Nursery has earned a lifetime of bad press, from me anyway. This was SUCH an easy decision for them, a child would know what the right thing to do was. But, they decided to blow it. I reacted as I did which I don't feel great about, but fact is, they fumbled here, in my opinion.

Jesus christ dude.

LOL Sparks bought down the street from me

Oh geez we’re neighbors

Also I’ll buy you a pint downtown if you can explain how Moon possibly committed the larger wrong than you

We have almost zero stores that will accept cheques any more. Garden centres might be the exception though because their customer base seems to be largely retired.

He's saying he thinks they made a dumb move from a business perspective so that justifies defrauding and stealing from them.

Sparks do you really think it was a good idea to post the real name and location of the nursery? Think about how badly any random person on here can **** with you now

If you’re not going to lie to your guests, then you need to proudly tell them that you defrauded the nursery out of a fruit tree.

FYI your guests don’t give a **** about your sick ass fruit trees.

He never meant to steal from them. One thing just led to another.

It's not really stealing if the item no longer exists in its original form.

That's what makes dine & dash so awesome.

Their policy of replacing failed trees that they plant themselves seems reasonable. I understand it's not that hard to dig a hole but part of the cost is essentially a warranty. My guess is they think a 30% discount puts them pretty close to their average cost.

Assuming that's true, the 2 trees they sold for $200 just became 3 trees for $165 (assuming the bank charges $35 for trying to cash a stopped check, that was the charge in 2002). If they figure each tree costs them $70 then the total sale/getting scammed was worth negative $45.

I'm really hoping the owner of that nursery is one of those petty, angry people who never let something go. That you find yourself in small claims court paying not only for the check, but the owner's cost to recover the money.

I was not expecting a full fledged discussion about the ethics and planting of trees when I saw this title. LMAO

Because comedy gold is worth so much more than a tree.

Normally you'd have to sneak into a comedy club to laugh this hard.

HD doesn't sell 15 gal fruit trees, or of course I would have.

Oh I'm not hiding from this at all. I'm actually hoping for a call, which hasn't come. Might just call them to close this out. I'll provide my little rant, and if they want their money, I'll just send it.

Any guesses on what the owner/manager is going to say? He might want his money, maybe even plus whatever a bank charges for a returned check (if they do). I'd send him/her that if it's requested. They might also say sorry, all good. Guess we'll find out.