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On Jun 10, 2008, MorsisX Lockport, IL (Zone 5b) wrote:
Ordered an albeit cheap tree peony, they sent me in late winter (for Chicago planting!) a twig thing that did not sprout. Had to break the frost to plant...
Contacted customer support and a they then sent me a viable specimen (at a better time to plant).
I ordered several live plants in the 2007 planting year. The buy one get one free on several of the items, on top of the $25 discount was too much to resist. If I remember correctly I paid about $26 for 100 strawberry plants, 4 hosta and 1 blackberry (3 plants)
My blackberry were moldy when I got them since they were not packed properly. They of course died. Customer service was very helpful and said they would replace them this year in 2008.
The Neutral...(aside from the plants - but I chalk that up to I get what I pay for)......as a some others have mentioned.....you get signed up for Junk mail. LOTS of junk mail. I can specifically track it to this company because for some really odd reason, they put the order under a misspelled last name and all the junk mail is coming up with that same last name.
I think the Junk Mail is the most annoying factor, almost bad enough to go towards Negative. Mostly because once your information gets sold once, it will be sold MANY more times. Be prepared for a flood of junk mail. If you don't compost your junkmail yet, it's a good time to start ;)
On Jan 26, 2008, Henry Field's Seed & Nursery responded with:
"
On May 27, 2008 8:13 AM, Henry Field's Seed & Nursery added:
Contacted the Customer on 4/22/08 for possible resolution; as of 5/27/08, have received no response."
I ordered potatoes, onions, and strawberry plants last year (spring 2007) from Fields. They arrived here in upstate NY mid April when there was a foot of snow on the ground! Is it too much to ask that a company this big could check zones before shipping?
On January 15th, 2008, rasely changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
I am changing the rating to neutral because shortly after posting this review, I received an apologetic email from a customer rep. The email, however, appeared to be a form-letter type response and didn't really address the problem of shipping time. As I emailed back, the plants were ok (not great but they did grow) so I wasn't asking for a refund, just that they pay more attention to shipping dates. I did order from Fields again this year (who could resist their $25 off coupon?) but for supplies, not live plants.
My experience with this company has been mixed. I first tried them right before they went bankrupt, and I never received the order I placed with them. I tried them one more time a couple years later after they were took over by Gardern's Alive and ordered a few trees from them, but they all soon died. Their customer service remains weak, but their shipping prices are very good. Be cautious when ordering live plants from them.
On Jun 14, 2007, brandie21 Tucson, AZ (Zone 8a) wrote:
I placed an order thru the mail with Henry Fields in January 2007 for a packet of Red Hamburger Onions Seeds, Petunia Seeds, and 150 peat pots, the total was only about 20 dollars. I had ordered from them before but I had moved since then so I corrected the ship to address on the order form and the sent it with a check.
After about 3 weeks I tried to check my order online but I was unable to, so I email customer service. I received a reply later in the day stating that my order had shipped the week before to the old address.
When I emailed them back to say that I no longer lived there and I had updated my address on my order form I received an email back telling me that the order was already shipped and I should go to my old house and pick it up if I wanted it because there was nothing they could do once it had shipped.
I responded that it was their mistake and there was no way I was going to my old house to get it. They responded that they would have to forward my complaint to their customer service board and they would respond in a timely manner.
Well, 2 weeks later I had no heard anything so I email them again and this email went un answered. A week after that I email them again and finally got a "real customer service person", she emailed me back and said that she had looked into it and would make sure I received my order within 2 weeks and sure enough, I received it within the week. Of course by then I didn't need the peat pots because I had to purchase them elsewhere but at least I have them for now.
Afterwards I spoke to my uncle, who has ordered from them for his farm and he said that he also had the same type of problem with them. There is no way I will ever order from them again.
On April 17th, 2008, brandie21 changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
I had said in my earlier review that I would never order from them again but I did and I was pleasantly surprised that the service was better than ever. I orders 5 or 6 packages of seeds, 6 Raspberry Plants, 6 Blackberry Plants, and 2 blueberry plants. I received 5 of the seed packets within 2 weeks of placing my order. Then about 1 week after that my raspberries and blueberries arrived, then about 1 week later my blackberries. About a week after that I received a refund check for the one pack of seeds that they were out of them.
This doesn't make up for the way they treated me before but I can at least give them some credit for treating me better. We'll have to wait and see what happens if I order from them again.
On Mar 28, 2007, silfery Memphis, TN (Zone 8a) wrote:
I ordered some items that I knew would thrive in my area, and all in all the order was okay. Of my wood poopy cormbs, one was rotten, which the company promptly replaced. They were small, as was the Virginia Bluebell. My 3 heleborus look pretty good- they were in stabilized packaging (which prevented some of the problems other customers have reported.) My peonies were very cheap, and were better sized than the roots I'd ordered from another company (possibly Gurneys, so really, the same compnay!) a few years ago. I only placed an order from Henry Fields because the prices were good-- Once I'm richer and older, I'll use a smaller and more careful company, but for a 20-something in her first house, it's fun to order from the gamut of the Garden's Alive companies and get the cheapest prices possible. It's like playing a game, ordering just enough to get the $25 dollars off. I agree, however, with the previous commenters that it would be a lot simplier if the company would just sell the plants at a profit point that works for them. I know I won't have the time or paitence to play the numbers next year.
On Jul 20, 2006, stormranch Watsonville, CA (Zone 9b) wrote:
Bareroot trees are shipped with wet shredded newspaper around the roots, but it had slipped off of the roots on both trees that I purchased and the roots were dry. Both trees did make it, however. Hopefully they can come up with a wrap of some type to keep the material on the roots. Some plants ordered are not as healthy as I would like, but most do get going eventually.
On the positive side, prices are reasonable and replacement plants are sent with no questions if a plant dies.
I ordered a Gingko Biloba tree from this company last year in March, taking advantage of the coupon in the catalog.
When the tree arrived I was surprised how puny it was, a mere seedling, and considering the full cost was nearly $30! Sadly, the tree died and I requested a replacement. A customer rep told me that the new tree would arrive in Feb. 06 - I don't recall why it wasn't sent when I called (Sept. 05), maybe they were sold out.
When Feb. 06 rolled around I called the company again to make sure that the replacement order was still on track, and found out that it was in fact so. The customer rep. was pleasant and even found and fixed a mistake in my records.
A week later I received an email notifying me that the tree had been shipped out and about a week later it arrived.
This new tree is considerably sturdier than the first one, and I was very pleased to see it was even larger than the catalog had promised. The roots were a bit mangled in the wrapper, but I feel that this new plant has a good chance of survival.
The reasons I'm not giving this company a positive rating are as follows: the quality of plants varies too much, it seems to be a matter of chance whether a good plant or a poor one is received, and that's too much of a chance for me to risk often. Also, I find the fact that H. F. doesn't have a toll free number very annoying. When I call the company with a problem it can take a while to work things out, and I don't see why that should cost me even more money.
Lastly, I'd like the company to improve on their packaging. My tree was in a plastic bag, with wet newspapers bunched around the roots, and the whole bundle loose in a cardboard box. I think if the company invested in stabilizing the plants within the cartons, a lot of damage could be avoided during the lengthy shipment. To sum up my experience: the replacement tree is a very nice one, but why couldn't the first plant have been this good? I don't enjoy reordering plants - it wastes my time, effort and my garden also suffers, plus I won't be likely to use the company again.
On May 16, 2005, ChuckKottke Crivitz, WI (Zone 4a) wrote:
I had ordered a clematis, strawberry plants, and gladiolus bulbs from Henry Fields. The clematis arrived, but was not in a living state! Later, the strawberries arrived, and were very healthy looking plants. Finally, the gladiolus arrived, but many were moldy arounf the base of the bulb. Fortunately, Fields has a good gurantee, and is going to make good on the clematis and the gladiolus. It would be better if the plant materials were healthy to start with, as it is a bit disappointing to find dead plants, when the packages finally arrive, and one's all set to plant! I am hopeful that the replacements will be of better quality, and wish Fields would improve their initial plant quality, as this would only be wise and descent business practice. Perhaps they will improve this aspect, and future sales will reflect greater care with the live plant materials.
With Sincerity,
Chuck
On Mar 24, 2005, manuretea Medina, OH (Zone 5b) wrote:
I have ordered from Henry Field's for several years. this year I ordered some raspberries and strawberries. I was charged for them but never received them. I made several calls and even e-mailed them. They gave me several different scenarios as to where my order was. Lastly, they said my post office had them. Of course I called---not true again!
On April 19th, 2005, manuretea changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
I made one more call to their customer service. Dead raspberry plants(they snapped into pieces when touched)arrived three weeks after shipping was confirmed. Today, I received replacement raspberries. The invoice was dated April 14-----five days is much better than three weeks. These plants are in great shape!
On Jan 10, 2005, celtic_cross East Flat Rock, NC (Zone 7b) wrote:
I read the Watchdog daily; it's my favorite part of the website when I'm not looking to grow something. Most negative remarks come because companies DID charge the order before it was shipped. Companies I typically deal with DO wait until the order is shipped before billing a credit card. Your experience was just unfortunate, it sounds; I certainly wouldn't terminate business with a company because of something as innocuous as changing credit card companies mid-stream. Best thing to do is to call them and explain the situation; if they're rude and uncooperative at that point, then bring on the negative complaints.
Positive experience with their seeds. I'd order again.
Negative experience with plants - poor quality and poor survival.
Negative experience with potato eyes - poor quality and many did not sprout at all.
I ordered them from twice. years ago - great prices same as with Gurney's. First time order was Ok, not great but OK. Second time they sent absolutley and obviously dead plants. I asked for a refund (which I got and soon) and canceled the asparagus they were to deliver later. I found their return policy fair and appreciated that. But after seeing those misarable dicarded plants I never placed an order with them after that.
I've ordered from Field's three times in the past four years. Seeds (and seed potatoes) always did well but plants and trees are another story--some arrived in good condition and are growing well; some were dead on arrival; twice they sent wrong varieties. I'll order seed from them again but not live plants.
Their seeds performed fine, but I would definitely not buy live plants from them again. Almost all of the plants that I purchased from them on several different occasions died. I think one problem is poor packing and/or slow shipping.
They said they are under new management and try to get back their reputation. They still have a mirror companey names Gurney's. Both has some format catalogs and websites. Good thing about them is that they have trees.
Last Spring I ordered many items from Henry Fields; however, I did not receive a few things, which I had paid for. I attempted to call them; however, I could not reach anyone. I also wrote a letter to the company; however, I did not get a response.
Henry Fields has new owners as of October 2001. Go to the website, http://www.henryfields.com and go to FAQ's. They explain about the bankruptcy and purchasing the company at court in September 2001. I made a nice order and was rewarded with an offer of 2 fruit trees. Please make a note about the new owners in your information. They say they are previous customers and they have hired back some of the 3000 who lost their jobs. The owners are gardeners. Lets give them some enthusiasm.
I ordered a Pear Tree and seedless Grapes Last year from Henry Fields. They arrived looking dead. I planted them and they are doing great. Recently I received a catalog and was planning to order more items then came across this web site. After reading comments and now finding out about the bankruptcy I will order From Michigan Bulb.
We had a very bad experience with Henry Fields. We ordered in response to a sale offering $.49 and $.99 plants. I guess you get what you pay for! The order arrived full of bugs--looked like flying ants. All the salvias died. Nine of the 10 asparagus never came up. The bleeding hearts have sprouted little leaves and never grown, etc. The toad lilies and Virginia Sweetspire are the only things we ordered that are growing. Our money for the entire order was refunded, so that was good, but not worth the hassle.
I receive the Gurneys & Henry Fields catalogs and I can state categorically that they are one and the same. Every price is the same and catalog descriptions are verbatim. This is a very strange marketing approach!
I ordered some supplies and plants from Henry Field's this spring. The supplies were a better price than my local garden stores (organic fertilizer) and Field's had Hybrid Gerbera daisies for zone 5, which I haven't been able to find anywhere else. Everything was carefully packed and shipped, but, the plants had the pale color of iceberg lettuce, as though they hadn't seen the sun for a week. I'm trying to revive them before planting and Field's has offered to replace them if they die. After reading all the complaints on this website about plant quality it seems as though Field's has good plants, just poor shipping and handling administration. I will continue buy from Field's for their range and prices on gardening supplies, but, won't order plants until they improve their mail order techniques.
Henry Field's and Gurney's catalogues are set up in the same way and their items are very similar. And the problems are the same. Do not bother with their very interesting special bulbs or live plants. The seed specials are always ok, but bulbs and roots arrive less than lively. In fact, they tend to arrive more dead than alive.
Fields must have had some storage problems with bulbs this year. My first order arrived mostly crushed, musty and moldy. However, they immediately sent replacement stock without complaint. The bareroot climbing rose they sent has yet to show signs of life after planting, but it is still early April.
