Armstrong Garden Centers — Attraction in Torrance

UPDATED 2025: A while ago I gave this location 5 stars and a positive review. My family has been shopping here for many years and we really love the amazing environment, generally great customer service, and variety of plant options.

However, I have to change my overall rating to 2 stars because of a bad experience with the assistant manager. I believe his name was Jose. He is rude to customers and does not understand the first thing about management. His behavior is definitely more reflective of a newer employee than someone who has experience overseeing others or more complex situations. I honestly cannot believe such a nice store would promote someone with poor communication, conflict resolution, and critical thinking skills.

He is also a tad on the racist side, showing preference to customers who share his ethnicity and snubbing others from my experience. I know that the negative treatment I received from him is not reflective of the whole store (hence the 2 stars instead if 1 star). But it was SUCH a negative experience, I will probably never set foot in this store again even after so many years of patronage. If this is the kind of person that can be assistant manager now, it doesn't inspire confidence in one's ability to have a pleasant shopping experience.

I do know that the main manager of the store IS very nice, intelligent, communicative, proactive, and interacts well with customers, so only because of him and his attitude + professionalism will I MAYBE return one day . . .

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

This is an amazing store in many ways. I have to personally commend an employee named Russell. He is extremely helpful, knowledgable, and friendly. Like honestly, working with him is one of the best customer service experiences my mom and I have ever had. And I don't just mean at this store, I mean in general! What an awesome...

I’m reevaluating my review for Armstrong. I’ve bought many plants, succulents, mini palm, money tree, English ivy, string of hearts-which I keep inside. Yet when I took my string of pearls to be dx because it wasn’t drying out (8days and still wet) I was told it was my fault, even after explaining the water never ran through the bottom holes the one and only time it was watered. This woman takes my plant and mangles it, sticks a sissor into the bottom holes and then tells me, it could be many reasons; could have been packed to tight. She then said it became suffocated! Again I said, “The water NEVER RAN THROUGH THE HOLES, THE ONE AND ONLY TIME I WATERED THE PLANT… 8 days ago; it should be dry now.” I see the woman start to sweat but never once asked if I had a receipt or if I wanted to replace it. On top of that she kept my plant! I’m done at this location!!!

Email sent per Armstrong request, still awaiting response.

I’ve read the other 2star reviews for Armstrong and many are like mine.. Plants that aren’t properly potted, molded smelling plants. Infestation or diseased plants. When customers would have issues like this, the old owners, no questions asked, would refund or replace if you had a receipt or had an Armstrong account. Sadly not...

I visited Armstrong Nursery today to buy a Bouganvilla that was advertised on your website. The price on the website was $12.95 for a one gallon plant. I could not find someone to help me out on the lot, so I had to go back to the office to let me know where I could find the plant. The first person could not bring up the ad on the computer. The second person surfed the site and I had to show him the ad. He told me that very few plants would be available. It was morning and already there were only a few as explained by this salesperson. Then he said that Armstrong rarely gets these plants since they usually "don't make it." This tells me that there are plants that will probably die. If they die on the lot for you, then how will we, the patrons, be able to grow these Bouganvillas? My question is to ask if you're enticing us to come in but then having nothing worthwhile to buy. The salesman said that there were bigger plants for prices ranging from the mid-thirties to the fifties. I was about to buy other items but changed my mind after experiencing what had...