Read the other reviews, do not buy from this nursery! I am a botanist who has been dealing with importing rare plants from private and public entities around the world for decades, and this is one of the worst experiences I have had. Far undersized plants (based off advertised pictures), 1/3 of them rotted upon arrival. Took 2-3 weeks just to ship, and once asked for a partial refund based on the dead plants, they denied any responsibility. A credible nursery does not sell plants of this quality - heed this and other's warnings and avoid this nursery if at all possible read more

From San Diego, CA This was the second time I ordered from here. The first time was years ago and did not experience any issues, but this time was different. I ordered 15 plants on April 26, 2020. My e-check posted on April 30th and they indicated payment on May 5th where it is noted that the plants would be prepped and pulled and be ready for shipment. I did not get a shipping confirmation until June 5th. On June 9th I get an email stating that there had been an error in shipping. My shipment had been sent to someone in Pennsylvania and I was shipped his order. They sent me a new delivery slip for me to put on the box I would be receiving and send it out to Pennsylvania and did the same for the other customer. I can't recall if it was the same day or the next, but the person from Pennsylvania called me to inform me of the error. THEY GAVE SOMEONE ELSE MY PHONE NUMBER WITHOUT MY APPROVAL! The other customer told me he was told the person in charge of shipping had quit on them and that attributed to the error (seems like something is wrong at the company if someone quits and messes up orders on purpose). My order arrives today June 16th. There are 2 plants which were not shipped, 4 of the plants are in bad shape due to their shipping error, 4 plants which are not what I ordered (I ordered Kalanchoe eriophylla and they sent Kalachoe beharensis). I called their number and was told to send pictures of the plants which I did. The response I got was that there was nothing wrong in the pictures and that it is my responsibility to get the plants back to health. I have purchased plants from various places and I know that it is expected for plants to not necessarily arrive in good condition. However, in this case, it was due to their error. The plants spent an extra week in transit because of their error. He did not even address the fact that four of the plants are not what I ordered nor that two of the plants Euphorbia infausta were not shipped. It's as if all he did was look at the pictures and decide they were acceptable. After waiting an entire month for an order, for it to not be correct and sent to the wrong location, I say beware. Bottom line. Do not order from this place. Save your money, frustrations and order elsewhere. read more

I ordered four cacti that I had spent over an hour selecting and researching on the website for my son who lives in Texas as a Christmas gift. I live in SC so I called twice and spoke with owner who seemed friendly enough and then texted a few times with Austin the "manager." I repeatedly reminded him this was a Christmas gift, please select nice plants and add the "bow" to the box that the website mentions. Of course no credit cards...so we did the check payment and like everyone else on here. I no why now! I ordered 3 one gallon pots and 1 6" pot...I had my son open the box when it arrived and send me a picture...because I told him they were supposed to be 1 gallon pots...my son is too polite to hurt my feelings...but what he got was 3-6" pots and one 4" pot. One cactus is falling over and the others are just small unlabeled in dirty pots; really you can't even get creative Austin and put holiday pot sleeves on. HOME DEPOT does and its NOT EXTRA. I called the (formerly friendly) owner right away who said "what do you want me to do about it" and call Saturday when Austin is in..I said that will be after Christmas! He states yeah well there is no one that can help until Saturday a full week after the fact. Today I get texts from the same fake-concern-fake-manager Austin that everyone on here talks about...bottom line..sorry you're not happy with your order, no we won't send 1 replacement, the dirt must be loose, those are 1 gallon pots (even though they are NOT!!) and that bow costs $1.00 SOOOO put a friggin bow on the box AUSTIN I was already spending almost 80 bucks! I tell him several times I'm very upset and unhappy with the "GIFT" my son received and I get a text that says I understand, take care. WTF??? Austin can't possibly be a real "manager" seriously that's the best you got? Blowing customers off in a "friendly" manner isn't what a manager does. NEVER EVER SHOP HERE, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES ORDER ONLINE ESPECIALLY FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS...WHAT AN EMBARRASSING HURTFUL HOLIDAY EXPERIENCE!! CACTUS KING IS A RIP OFF read more

The Cactus King - This is what was delivered - Nurseries & Gardening Near Me - Houston, Texas

The dickhead owner answered the phone without a hint of kindness or patience in his voice. I politely asked about a plant listed on his site for 11$, which he now said was 15$. I began to ask why there was a difference and he interrupted loudly commanding, "WELL YOU MISSED THAT ONE. THIS ONES FIFTEEN!!" Which was followed by my stunned silence, until I said 'thank you' and he sarcastically retorted a thank you back and quickly hung up. Fuck this asshole. I got a plant from him once before years ago and he couldn't even be bothered for a little light conversation about his obvious interest, cacti. He just wanted my 80$ and for me to shut up. It takes a long time to grow these plants. But this piece of shit thinks HES the only one that CAN grow them and treats his POTENTIAL customers as well as his previous customers like shit. Don't give this dickhole your money. Let him die alone and sad and poor, like his attitude. read more

***BUYER BEWARE*** Do not order from this nursery. This man is running a scam. He will mail you a dead plant and then blame you for killing it. Read reviews from others here and go to google and read there. On top of that he has a provision on his website that if you do a charge back on an order he will charge your credit card $125. I'm hoping to save others from getting scammed like others and myself have. read more

This is still a really awesome place. They still have the best selection... Here is my problem. The place must have new owners because they have really cleaned the place up. And normally that would be a good thing but in this case it's NOT. While its a lot more organized, now its a lot more hipster-ish and the prices have tripled if not more!!! I hate to see this happen as a place vecomes more popular... It was such a cool place before as you can see in my previous review....where you kinda had to dig your way through the rows of amazing deals. Now it is not like that at all. I used to rate this place 5 stars hands down. But now, all I can do is 3 stars. And thats just because I onced loved this place or else Id give 2stars because if the outrages price increases!!! You need to let go of some employees abd go back to the family, thrifty kind of atmosphere as before... please. read more

Get ready to completely degraded. I wish I could give 0 stars. The owner cusses like a drunk biker, which is incredibly uncomfortable. The owner threw a attitude bc we didn't know the Latin names of the plants and yelled about how he'd be doing this for 40 "fucking years" and didn't want to help us verify we were actually buying the ones we had planned on and he walked away. We found a several we were gonna buy to see what we liked in preparation for our cacti garden landscaping, as it's over an hour from where we live, but after waiting at the check out for 15 minutes in 100degree heat, nobody came to help us pay out. Even though there were 5 workers standing 3 feet away, nobody helped. So we put the plants down and walked away. For good. If you want to feel degraded and get insulted, COME HERE! Unfortunately I have dignity, and refuse to watch someone yell and insult my husband for simply wanting to learn. This company is a complete sham. Brag about all your big movie sets, but your customer service is absolute crap. So glad we are finding another company for our cacti landscaping needs before we spent thousands here. You lost a good payday. Congrats. read more

OMG! Never order from them from website. It took 3 months to get 2 plants sent and when they arrived they had no roots. All I got was 2 sticks. I planted them and waited 6 months to see growth and only one barely survived. I took dead stick and drove there asking for credit towards another plant and they refused. Not even a discount on another. Required check or cash, no credit cards. I get why!!! Don't waste your time or money at this place. read more

Worst customer service ever!!! The owner sold me three diseased cactus plants and told me that it was growing a bark and that there wasn't anything wrong with it when I pointed out at the diseased cactus. I asked him if he can find a better looking one and he changed the subject about how a lot of people don't know that cactus are really trees and build a bark on them once they age and said it was hard to find these specific cactuses, like he sold out of them or something. I also noticed some brown spotting on one plant that looked like anthracnose on my thornless prickly pear. He said its due to all the rain we had and didn't seem too concerned. How could this business knowingly sell diseased cactus to any customer and stay open for this long with all these horrible reviews I have recently read. I should have read the reviews before I went to Cactus King to buy his diseased cactus! I guess it's my fault for entrusting him to be honest and telling me that the cactus he was selling me is healthy. I went home and did some research and realized that my cactus are indeed, diseased with fungus and red mites. I called him and he said no returns, refunds, or exchanges once I walk out the door. I told him that I did some research and found out that the cactus he sold to me was diseased. He just said "thank you, goodbye" and hung up on me. Lesson learned and I will never buy or recommend cactus King to anyone I know! read more

See all

DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS SCAM ARTIST. Lyn has a nice little scheme going where he shows rare plants as available on his website, then he ships you completely common "substitution" plants in laughably poor condition. When you ask for a refund, he'll point you to his (completely non-legally binding) "terms and conditions" page, which is deliberately hidden and also totally insane: He reserves the right to make any "substitution" he sees fit without telling you, and there are no refunds or returns under any circumstances. Basically he's positing that by confirming your order (nevermind that these terms and conditions are nowhere to be found during checkout) you're agreeing that he can choose to send you rotten stalk of celery, and there's nothing you can do about it. When, after a month of politely and persistently requesting a refund, I said I would have to escalate the issue by initiating a chargeback with my credit card company, he threatened to charge me $250 (not sure how he envisions doing this?) and "come after me." Shopping at Cactus King in person may be a fun experience, but online shoppers beware: Lyn Rathburn is running a scam, using the webstore to offload dead, damaged and totally common plants that no in-person shopper would ever pay money for. It's going to catch up with him, in this life or the next; But in the meantime, spare yourself the headache and stay far, far away from him. read more

The Cactus King - Nurseries & Gardening Near Me - Houston, Texas

See all

The absolute most incredible selection of cacti at the best prices. We were looking for a new saguaro to replace ours that died in our move to Texas. We found a great looking one that is even bigger than our old one at a fraction of the price. The service was amazing- they wrapped our cactus up tight and helped us load it into the car (I don't ~think we met the owner as per the other reviews). Will definitely be coming back, can't recommend enough! read more

Had a great time at Cactus King today! I scored 2 great buys and will return again! If you are a cactus collector this is the place to be! I could honestly stay here for hours! read more

Gosh, I wish I would have turned to yelp reviews before ordering from this place. Fellow readers beware. There is a reason that there are so many bad reviews AND it is creepy that the manager Austin takes the time to write these long and detailed responses to all the reviews. It is almost like they take pride in F^(King people over to then go on and read the reviews and chuckle amongst themselves while sending out some placating vacuous response. Weird. Seriously Weird. Anyway cut to the chase. Here is what happened to us. Was looking for a specific type of cactus. Single columnar torch cactus, healthy, about two feet tall for interior display. I called talked to Austin and he assured me that he had just what I was looking for. He said we only accept check, which I thought weird, but now realize that the reason is so that they can screw customers without having to worry about the charges being disputed by credit card. So the cactus is packed up on a Thursday and arrives to me on Tuesday afternoon. I bring it inside and leave it in the packaging and then pot it the next afternoon. The top is black with rot. I take pictures and send them to Austin. He sort of insinuates that the rot is my fault for not potting it immediately. I call his bluff. we go back and forth via email. The situation devolves from there with him sending me fake "auto reply" emails that say he is now out of town. I call the store and talk to the Great Lyn Rathburn himself. He laughs at me during our conversation and then hangs up on me. This place is a scam. Total scheisterville. Don't get fooled. read more

The Cactus King - Don't buy from this place or you will get a rotten cactus like this one. - Nurseries & Gardening Near Me - Houston, Texas

See all

I wish we would have checked here before placing our order. We placed an order for a mothers day gift we ordered an Agave Royal Spine, we even called to confirm that they were in stock and we're assured by Austin that they were. They only accept check or money order so we sent a money order via certified mail so I could guarantee it was received. We then called to verify that it would be shipped and nothing was mentioned about it being out of stock...Then we receive the plant and it's not what we ordered, it's one of the parent plants to the hybrid we ordered. We contacted Austin and he said that by the time the got our payment they sold out of the plant we ordered, so per their fine print they sent the closest thing...With that being said if the plant was in stock when the order was placed one should have then been set aside pending payment not sold, especially since they were contacted to confirm availability...They should have pulled it and allowed at least 3 or 4 days for payment to be received instead of just selling it. Also since the plant was sold out even though it shouldn't have been they should have made an attempt to contact the customer to give them a choice on the replacement. Be careful ordering from this company, what you order probably won't be what you get, and if you try to contact someone, you'll be told it's in their fine print. The way they do business is very poor, and it will cause customers to not come back. It's really disappointing because we thought they would have all the plants we have been looking for, but I guess we will look else where. read more

The Cactus King is by far the WORST establishment I have ever done business with. I received a completely rotted cactus in the mail. After trying to contact Lyn the owner multiple times unsuccessfully, I finally got through and he said he would require pictures of the plant in order to replace it-fine-I emailed him the pictures of the clearly dead and decaying cactus. After being told to consult the terms and conditions, I called Lyn to discuss the fact that it was not right that he sent me a dead plant. He proceeded to berate me, yell at me, and tell me that it's not his fault that I cannot keep a plant alive, that he is not responsible for the destruction I do to my plants, and that he would do absolutely nothing for me. He proceeded to yell a little more at me and then hung up on me. BUYER BEWARE. I wish I could give this place 0 stars because that is what it deserves. It takes a considerably long time for a cactus to show that much rot. I am so disgusted with Lyn and this establishment. read more

The owner and workers always happy to help. Huge selection at great price. Funky sculptures, bottle trees and eclectic junk. Cash or check only. You should budget time Cactus every where hot houses full succulents. read more

See all

I doubt that one can find a more diverse selection of cacti and succulents for sale anywhere. They have great prices on high quality, healthy plants. All of the staff are very friendly and helpful. If you like desert plants, then I'm sure that you'll love a visit to The Cactus King. read more

Cactus King is hands down the worst nursery I have ever bought plants from. Two of them died right away and when I checked them I saw that they were never rooted. Half of them were mislabelled, I found out later from a botanist friend, who also told me I overpaid for everyone. Watch out for these people!!! read more

I will not go back to this place. I went today to get a few sansevieria plants. Was I ripped off....I was charged $25 for two 6" in pots. I went home and looked on their website and what I purchased is listed as $6.00 each for the exact same thing. Lesson learned... I will not go back. read more

What's with all the bad reviews? Cactus King is awesome. They have every type of cactus and succulent you could possibly want, hundreds more than I've seen anywhere. Staff were hard to find, but definitely helpful. If you need a cactus or succulent, come here. You won't need to try anywhere else. read more

See all

Horrible experience. This is the worst business I've encountered. Do not waste your time ordering from this company. First, my plant didn't arrive and I e-mailed to follow up. They told me their website miscalculated my shipping so I would need to send them 100 more dollars than I had been charged. I did not want to do this and asked for my money back but was told this was not an option. I could have a store credit, minus ten percent. They then told me the website wasn't broken and the hundred dollars was because they were substituting a larger plant. I agreed to this and the plant I got was horribly bent and had only one limb. It was nothing like the description or pictures of what I had ordered on line. So, for $300 dollars and many calls/e-mails, I got something I hate that is nowhere near in quality what I paid for. read more

I ordered 2 five-gallon Agave Americana from the cactus king. The cost was 19.99 each plus tax and shipping which equaled over $77.00. When the package arrived I received 1 gallon rather than five gallons. I emailed the company with no response. I then called and was asked to text the number with the problem. After texting the number, the response was "I talked to the owner and he said they were five-gallon plants and we don't give refunds. I will never do business with this company again. If you decide to, make sure you do it in person and not online. read more

Again they should recieve zero stars. I emailed company about their terrible plants. My response was that I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and should be happy with what I received. I called and spoke with the owner and he was a complete jerk and just talked over me the entire conversation. When he couldn't intelligently answer my concers he hung up. Buyers please beware especially if ordering online. read more

The Cactus King - My response from owner on their terrible shipping. Really professional for a so called business owner. WOW. - Nurseries & Gardening Near Me - Houston, Texas

We read the reviews after we had already placed an order, not the best practice. Needless to say we expected the worst but are happy to report that our order arrived yesterday in fine shape. The two smaller plants that we ordered were in great shape and the large agave looked good although somewhat smaller than expected. In summary in was 15 days from placing the order to receiving shipment and we are pleased with the plants. read more

This place has a wide variety of cactus. There are small succulents close to the back and big cactus throughout. There is no parking lot, so just park on the gravely entrance and walk in. You'll have to flag down a worker to pay. Come dressed cute so you can take pictures with all the cool art and beautiful cacti. read more

I recommended this place to all my plant friends & landscaping companies that are interested in Cactuses because you really could find any cactus there!!!! If you want a small cactus like the ones from the big box stores, you should come here first & probably will find cooler ones for a better price I believe! Sometimes the pricing is confusing & I have talked to Alfredo about it but Check it out!!! They really have almost every type of cactus type out there & also just a neat place to stop by! read more

The Cactus King - Me & my "zig zag cactus" @ cactus king! - Nurseries & Gardening Near Me - Houston, Texas

I received 4 cacti in the mail that look absolutely HORRIBLE! They look dead and are withered!!! When I contacted the company, asking for a refund she said that I had no idea about what bare roots cacti looked like and that they were all shipped healthy. Such sad sad lies. STAY AWAY FROM ORDERING AT THIS HORRIBLE COMPANY! read more

Ordered three plants through this website and received only two of them. I phoned twice, left a message, and followed up with an e-mail and never heard back from them. When I phoned owner about the missing plant the third time, they told me they were out of stock. I then asked if they'd be refunding me, and they said "yes", however almost one month later I am still waiting. Just phoned them today and they said they couldn't issue the refund because of my PayPal account / credit card ?! WTF? If you purchase from them, purchase in person, with cash (unless you enjoy being effed over). read more

Its been a year since my incident with CACTUS KING! They are just now responding to my bad experience by commenting on it here on Yelp. That is just idiotic. This business owner needs help and Jesus. read more

The only place around that requires payment upfront with no guarantee of what you are buying. after buying 5gal and 2 4" pots of cactus online and paying with bank draft as instructed to "insure" availability, weeks later I got 3 undersized cacti of different varieties that were undersized. Expensive shipping too. After multiple emails and literally 10 attempted phone calls, I get a "no refund" response. This King stinks but he thinks even his own sh!t doesn't smell. Stay away. read more

My friend and I have been excited to visit this place for a while--we are both cactus enthusiasts, and I have a large collection at home. We finally got to go today, and were very excited to be there--both of us posted about it online, took pictures, and shared where we were with our friends. She intended to get at least one for herself, and I intended to get one for myself and one as a gift for my aunt's birthday. Here is an interaction we had with the owner (I assume) after I picked one up and took a photo to send to my aunt (after which I indented to buy it). It's hard to express his tone in this way, and I'm trying to be unbiased, but his tone was EXTREMELY kurt and rude throughout this interaction. Him: Why don't you just buy all of them? My friend: I wish! Him: Why are you taking pictures? Why? Me: Because I like them. Him: Well, don't. Then he left, leaving my friend and I staring at each other in disbelief. A few moments later he came back and said: Him: You touched the cactus and you were taking pictures. It's $40 for half an hour if you want to take pictures. That's what we charge. Me: I was taking a picture to send to my aunt, I was going to buy it for her. Him: Well, that's what we charge. $40 for half an hour. Me: Okay. I get it. But I haven't touched any of the other ones. I've only touched this one and it's because I wanted to get it. Him: Well, I caught you touching this one, so I have to assume you touched all of them. Do you ladies understand that? Me: Yes. But how are people supposed to take them to the register to buy them if we can't touch them? Him: Then bring it over and buy it right now. Me: I don't really want to anymore. Him: Then get out. GET OUT! It seems like the owner assumed that we didn't intend to make any purchases and didn't believe me when I said I'd literally touched nothing. There is not visible signage that discourages photos or touching. The thing about the pictures we were taking is that they weren't harming his business in any way--since when does spreading the word about a place where you can get a cool product hurt your business? And kicking a person who collects cacti is a pretty dumb business decision. Neither of us will come back, and we will discourage other people from doing so as well. He lost our business not only today (because we were literally both about to buy multiple cacti), but permanently. I haven't written a business review in years, but this interaction was completely ridiculous and unfair. I am a respectful, kind, quiet customer who loves cacti and was really excited to visit this place, and ended up having my day ruined by a jerk who assumed something about me with absolutely no basis for doing so. I'd go somewhere else if I were you. read more

I have never purchased a cactus from here but I absolutely love the space and the owner from an artistic standpoint. I watched his business grow from a small space to a big ass cactus farm. It's kind of like the Orange Show except cactuses. Even if you hate cacti you should still come visit and look at the weird cactus artwork. read more

The Cactus King - Nurseries & Gardening Near Me - Houston, Texas

Been here twice in my life. Both experiences have been memorable. Interesting, quirky garden center with lots of interesting folk art. This stuff is folk art, right? In 2005, my friend and I stumbled upon this plant center while we were lost. He ended up buying some succulents. They were super cheap at the time because succulents weren't trending yet. In 2016, when my oldest son wanted a saguaro for Christmas, I immediately thought of this place. Picked one up for a decent price and lugged it back home. I'll definitely bring the kids next time. Will be a fun and free way to entertain them. read more

This place should be renamed Cactus Asshole. What a jerk and I don't know how someone like that even stays in business. Probably not doing too hot why he has such a poor attitude. He was defensive and rude right off the bat when I called to explain that the 80 dollar hanging basket I purchased had broken on the ride home due to the fact it was rotted in the center. Also train your employees to help someone to the car and lend a hand securing the damn thing so it doesn't tip over. Ever heard of a little customer service you fool! I don't think that's too much to ask. Not like the place is ever overrun with customers anytime I've ever come. Sorry but I won't be shopping here anymore and that's too bad cause I really love cactus. It's too hard to give money to such a creep. read more

This is my FAVORITE plant store in all of Houston. They have the most cactus, agave, and succulent species to choose from. They also repot the plants for me when I ask them for such a reasonable fee. Took away one star because the plants can get a little pricey, and I have seen them cheaper elsewhere. The nursery is such a joy to browse through, it really is such a spectacular view of plants. Remember to ask about sunlight and watering tips because the staff is very knowledgeable and can help you from killing your plant. read more

Let me start off by saying that if you live in/anywhere near the great state of Texas and have a cacti/succulent addiction then this place should be on speed dial and a monthly visit - no matter the drive time. Even out west in the likes of California / Arizona you'll be very hard pressed to find a nursery that can compete on variety, selection, plant sizes and prices. The selection of Euphorbia's here dwarfs almost anything out West. If you pride yourself on finding unique & well priced cacti from the likes of Home Depot & smaller nurseries then prepare to have your mind blown! I can't even count the number of times I've laid eyes on larger specimens in other nurseries only to be told Not for Sale or it's owners stock. At Cactus King you'll not only find those larger specimens for sale, but in all shape & sizes along with friendly hands to help pack that 6-ft beauty into a compact car. Visit this place in person (with cash or check of course!) and marvel at how lucky we are to have such a unique & spectactular cacti collection in the state of Texas. read more

Guys loading are very kind and helpful. Called in advance to make sure some succulents were available for this job. Was told 7/8 kinds were available for me.. since I'm 100 miles from the store this was important. I showed up to find only 1 plant out of the 8 kinds available. Ontop of that I was told he had dozens available. Wrong, there were 2. read more

So many succulents and cacti. All of different sizes. They carry every type. Such an awesome place for cacti lovers. read more

The Cactus King - Huge nursery of cacti - Nurseries & Gardening Near Me - Houston, Texas

See all

What a unique place, guess you have to like cactus! Great selection , well priced, cash only read more

They don't call him the Cactus King for nothing.. what a PRICK! A very rude guy with ZERO customer service skills. He is very condescending on the phone when you ask questions. Then he tells me that they only accept checks or cash for online orders because of internet theft (what company does that!? But silly me, I played along since he had a variety of cactus that I was looking for) well, seems to me that he only accepts checks for online orders since you can't stop payment (seems to me that HE is the one committing internet fraud) once you receive your shriveled, wilted, tiny, dehydrated "clippings" (some were just chopped off from the main plant) that NOBODY would ever purchase in person and that you would never even embarrass yourself giving away to a friend or neighbor for free rather less charge them for it.. He should be ashamed! Plus, they were packed SO unprofessionally in newspaper (potting mix everywhere from being tossed around unsecured in improper packing material. So, I texted him & sent him the pictures as you can see in the screenshots which he clearly read (see the bottom of the one picture where it says read) but he has never responded & that was 2 weeks ago! What kind of reputable company does that!? If you are planning on ordering online do NOT order from here! Order from a company that accepts your credit card so you will be protected & can fight the charge if need be..I also reported him to the Better Business Bureau. With all of the bad reviews from people who ordered online how is he still getting away with this!? read more

See all