Urban Sprouts — Attraction in Renton

BUYER BEWARE I attended the Bonsai Terrarium class with my husband and son as a Christmas gift. We were so excited to learn about how to plant and grow our Bonsais! The teachers were very informative and helpful. The store itself was beautiful and made the experience that much more special. Everything was so fun until the end of the class. We noticed as people were cleaning up they were told to bring their items to the cashier for check out. When it was our turn to leave they scanned all of the items we used and pleasantly said "Your total is $500". WHAT?! When the cashier saw my reaction she said "We can set you up for monthly payments". Like I'm at a car dealership or something. This was a total surprise to us. At no time during the class was it mentioned that ALL of the supplies used (including the bonsai) were a separate charge. There also was 2 separate times that I asked one of the teachers if items were part of the class and she said yes! There was definitely upselling as I was brought sand, rocks and even a fish to put in my terrarium. Needless to say we felt completely scammed and sucker punched. To top it off the next day there was water all over my table as my terrarium leaked! I will say that there is one line in the description of the class that says "Your booking fee covers your instruction fee plus a $10 credit to use towards your supplies used!" However, it was never mentioned again during the class. Also, when I went to my confirmation email there are no additional details explaining what to expect. It just said I purchased 3 tickets. I definitely think they could do a better job of informing customers on costs. As much as I wanted to support a small local business this left a bad impression on me and my family. I will be returning to the shop but it is only so they can repair my terrarium as they will not give a refund.

I am giving 2 stars because the class was informative and fun! The transparency and integrity of the business could definitely improve.

UPDATE Changed to 1 star due to all 3 of our bonsais now being infested with bugs!!! I had to move them away from my other plant so it didn't spread. SO FRUSTRATING!!! I was supposed to go back to the store and have them fix my terrarium as it leaked all over my kitchen table. I am so upset with all of this that I don't even want to go back. I'm afraid I'll be triggered. Buy your plants at Grocery Outlet! You'll get price transparency, great customer service and healthy plants for...

Sorry, this is going to be the longest review: Cute store with a lot of good plant selections and staffs are nice. Price is higher than other stores to be honest for most plants, and their pots are pretty expensive. I purchased 4 plants, couple of pots and soil from this store in past few months and there has been success but unfortunately more failures for me.. :( The reason for the failure is the soil they use. I know it is supposed to be a good organic soil, it smells good and fresh but it is definitely not suitable for indoor plants where plants don't get as much sunlight and air circulation. If you buy plants from the store I would not recommend to get it repotted in store for the same reason. Most indoor plants need very well draining soil but the plants I had repotted in store or the ones I repotted myself using the soil I got from them ALL failed. It just would not dry and its organic so it caused serious fungus and fungus gnat issues every single time, I had to try and go through all sort of things like hydrogen peroxide, mosquito bits, sticky traps and etc.. Other than fungus gnats the soil started to show all kinds of soil bugs that I didn't even know what they were. The staffs will say they are just bugs living in organic soil and they are safe but I really don't need a pot infested with all kinds of bugs in my room. I had a small rubber tree in 5 inch ceramic pot sitting right in front of my south west facing window (bought and repotted in store). The soil took 3 weeks to be maybe 70% dried during summer and of course the plant didn't do well and dropped leaves. Even with a lot of pumice added, my 2 succulents that lived for 2 years on the same spot got root rot and died, and other plants as well were all not growing or slowly dying and with fungus gnats always flying around them so I ended up just repotting all of them again with different soil. The only ones that are doing well in their soil are the one that I keep outdoor and couple of plants that I potted in terracotta pots with a lot of extra pumice added. When I asked them what kind of soil they use for succulents, because I ordered a sanseveria plant from them, the staff told me that they use only one kind of soil that will work for all kinds of plants. I have never heard such magic soil ever existed and its very misleading. Maybe some people living in a very very bright and dry indoor environment are okay with their soil, I don't know. It just never worked for me and caused a lot of...

I should have read the reviews before patronizing this store. I’ve worked very hard to not have pests on my plants. I had my Monstera repotted and mounted here. I also bought a ZZ plant which they potted as well. Both are now infested with gnats. The Monstera is now also in a pot that is way too small and overflowing, so it’s hard to treat the gnats with my method (my 18 other plants aren’t infested).

I called to tell them the issue. They suggested using hydrogen peroxide after letting the plant dry out, which in my experience has not worked. They also suggested bringing the plant back in for treatment. If the plant came from your store infested, why on earth why I bring it back for treatment? They are aware that gnats are an issue in their store, and it’s almost as if it’s intentional, so we have to pay them more for treatment afterwards. I spent a small fortune in the store already, and now have to spend another fortune to get rid of a problem they created in my home.

On another note, they also offer free delivery which is great only in theory. I cannot lift and carry the two plants because they are heavy, so I accepted the free delivery. They don’t not communicate when it’s time for drop off. They left the plants outside my front door and I wasn’t even aware they were outside. I was under the impression the driver would bring them inside. Otherwise, I could have brought them home myself. A friend ended up carrying them up the two flights of stairs for me. Clear expectations are important and it would have made a difference if I knew what their delivery service actually entailed.

To top it all off, this store is extremely overpriced, even in comparison to other small businesses. Although this store is close to me, I won’t be shopping...