The USA Nursery Not honoring warranty Internet

I called them shortly after I received my trees in April of this year.  The woman I talked to told me to give the trees and bushes a few more weeks to see if they started to grow. 

I waited four months till 8-17-17 and called them during normal business hours (3pm ET) and was greeted by an auto answer system which said they were unable to take calls and to leave a message.  The voice mail was full.  I checked their website and found that they are no longer accepting orders for spring planting.  This makes me believe that they are not in the office part of the year. 

Back to the trees and bushes.  Of the 7 plants I received, only 2 trees grew.  The rest were dead on arriaval in California.  Either they were dead when they were shipped or died in transit.  So, I suspect it is all over for me on this claim.  The guarantee says I would have to return the entire plant and pay postage on it inorder to receive replacement.  But the lady said I would be required to send a piece of it.  I suppose I waited too long. Since the office hours are on Eastern time, the shipment was across the entire United States. 

Perhaps it was a bad idea ordering from so far away.