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On Oct 7, 2009, Myrtlejane Charlottesville, VA wrote:
In 2006 we moved into a house with a back yard that was totally a blank page. The previous owner had planted a few scattered shrubs and that's all. So we had two raised beds installed and placed a large order from Spring Hill Gardens. The plants arrived at the proper time for planting as promised; they were well packaged and appeared healthy and ready to grow. The following spring (2007) most of the plants appeared and some actually bloomed the first summer. The following spring (2008) we succumbed to Spring Hill's "1-cent sale" and again placed a fairly large order. It was after this second order went out that I discovered Dave's Garden and the very numerous negative reviews for Spring Hill. I became pretty nervous, but relied on my previous positive experience to hope for the best. Again the plants arrived in good time and good shape.
When spring 2009 came, however a few of the plants from 2008 failed to appear. I called up to asked for replacements and was advised that new plants would be shipped in the fall. That was OK by me. Again some of the plants bloomed and some are still in the settling-in phase, but they are all healthy and leafy. Now it is October 2009 and we have received our latest order of day lilies. And nestled in amongst the packages were the replacement plants owed from the 2008 order.
I usually judge a company by merchandise and service and also by how they handle complaints and slip-ups. I don't know how Spring Hill could do any better by me.
On Sep 16, 2009, nford Hot Springs Village, AR (Zone 7b) wrote:
I used to be bothered by plants from Spring Hill which did not make it, then I read the book "The Ever-Blooming Flower Garden" and was struck by the author's account of how many she planted which didn't make it, and her's came from local nurseries, cost more, and should have been in better condition because they didn't have to go through the mail and because they were usually in pots and already off to a good start.
I saw a garden show yesterday where the landscaper paid $10 for a single daylily. Of course, it was in a pot and already had a bloom on it (gimmick). I recently got a reblooming daylily collection from SHN. After discounts, I essentially paid $15 for 10 daylilies. They are all doing great, but even if 8 of them had died, I would still be ahead of the TV landscaper.
Since I usually buy plants at half price from SHN and then get a $25-off the order total more often than not, I'm getting a LOT of plants for the money. On top of that, they replace plants that don't make it. So, yes, you're going to have some dead plants -- maybe even all of one type, which may be the plant's fault or it *might* be your/garden's fault, but I think it is still a very good value. I've looked at a lot of online places and have ordered from Wayside and Breck's, but I have not found any sites which are as consistently inexpensive as SHN, and I really haven't found their quality overall to be any worse than any place else, so I continue to buy from them.
On Sep 16, 2009, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
"On Sep 17, 2009 10:01 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
Dear Valued Customer:
Thank you for your kind words; we greatly appreciate you taking the time to post this. We strive for 100% Customer Satisfaction. We are always here to answer any questions you may have or assist in any way we can; just give us a call or email us. We look forward to serving you in the future. Happy Gardening!"
On Aug 2, 2009, ridgebax1 Pittsburgh, PA (Zone 6a) wrote:
I have ordered many plants over the years from this company. Some faired better than others but they stand by their guarantee without question. I really can't complain about a company that does that for their customers. Plants die, orders get mixed up, stuff happens but they always try to make things right, without a hassle and always a courteous email.
On Aug 2, 2009, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
"On Aug 6, 2009 2:37 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
Thank you for your kind words; it is greatly appreciated. Our company is based on 100% Customer Service; if you are not satisfied, then we have not done our job. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance. We look forward to serving you in the future."
I ordered a few plants but was unable to get home to plant them for 3 days after their arrival. In spite of this, most of them are doing fine. Their postage stamp orchard is amazing! All six trees are growing fast and healthy. Only half of my English lavender survived, but what did live after being in the package for almost a week is growing well. My Tophat blueberry died after a few weeks but that was most likely a soil problem on my part as it arrived healthy and thrived for at least two weeks. All in all, it was a great experience.
On Jul 11, 2009, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
"On Aug 6, 2009 2:47 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
Thank you for your kind words; it is greatly appreciated. Our company is based on 100% Customer Service; if you are not satisfied, then we have not done our job. Please contact us and we will be happy to replace your English Lavender. We look forward to serving you in the future."
I ordered from Spring Hill this spring. Was a little uneasy because of the comments here, but really liked the pre-planned garden and prices, so I decided to give them a chance. I ordered a sun garden and some BOGO plants (asters, Clara Curtis daisies). My plants arrived when they said they would. I had some trouble with the scabiosa in the sun garden -- they didn't make it. So I e-mailed customer service. I couldn't find my receipt to give them an order number, but they found me and promptly sent replacements. All the plants are doing great. I knew they were going to be small -- the web site description tells you that. And what do you expect at such low prices (especially with a discount code I found on the web)? Anyway, I expected to need to be patient before I'd get to see any blooms, but the rudibeckia, scabiosa, and Clara Curtis are already blooming. The bare-root day lily has filled out so well I'm considering ordering one of the day lily collections. Yes, it will still be a while before these plants grow to full size, but overall I am very pleased.
On Jul 11, 2009, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
"On Aug 6, 2009 2:49 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
We greatly appreciate your feedback. Our company is based on 100% Customer Service; if you are not satisfied, then we have not done our job. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance. We look forward to serving you in the future."
I've ordered from them for several years - I am a sucker for the "One-Cent" sales and the BOGO offers. Athough the plants are sometimes a bit rough -looking at receipt, most take off and flourish. The company has always honored the guarantee with either replacement plants or credit toward other orders.
On Jul 8, 2009, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
"On Aug 6, 2009 2:51 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback; it is greatly appreciated. Our company is based on 100% Customer Service, and we do offer a lifetime guarantee on our plants. Please let us know if we can ever be of assistance. We look forward to serving you in the future."
On Jun 22, 2009, Sir_Plantsalot Watertown, CT wrote:
I also bought several of their garden collections but there was a backorder issue and substitutions made. I called with my concerns and they were handled quickly. I don't blame SpringHill for the back order though, I ordered on the last day of their 1/2 price sale. When purchasing online for a much lower price than garden shops in the area I don't mind if they are smaller, they all catch up after a year or so. They also sent me potted plants for the substitutions which was an upgrade. The most importaint thing is to get them in the dirt, even if it is just a temp garden. Happy Gardening!
On Jun 22, 2009, shadydame North Walpole, NH (Zone 5a) wrote:
I must admit that my experience with Springhill was my first foray into mail-order gardening. I received my orders in good time, although the first order was sent a little early. I am in southern NH, & we were still having frost warnings when I received my first shipment. I had a little bit of a struggle keeping things alive - and lost 1 Goatsbeard - but managed to eventually get everything into the ground. My second shipment came a few weeks later. Now, I've never dealt with bare root plants, so although I followed all the instructions, several of the plants either died right off the bat or didn't come up at all. I e-mailed Springhill & told them my problems. I waited for an e-mail to tell me that I was paranoid & insane; instead, I got an e-mail saying that they were shipping me replacement plants. I've already received and re-planted some (and yes, they're still alive!) I feel that Springhill went out of their way to help me get new plants, even if I didn't really ask for replacements. I appreciate their patience, and will certainly do business with them again next spring!
I agree with the comment that "forrej" posted--made me laugh, too--it does seem to me that some folks have already made up their mind that they will be dissatisfied no matter what a company tries to do in order to make them happy. I, however, am a happy Spring Hill customer. I ordered several plants last year (some lavenders, echinaceas & rudbeckias, globe thistles, a weigelia, and some astilbes), most of which shipped in the fall and the others early this spring (as per the appropriate planting times in my area). Each and every one is not only alive but thriving!! I will be ordering from them again...BTW their sales are awesome; that's what enabled me to make the big order last year that has turned out so beautifully in my garden.
I should add--I have had a problem with some impertinent rabbits nibbling on a couple of my Rudbeckias. If I possessed the mindset that some of these posters seem to have, I guess I would find a way to somehow blame Spring Hill for even that. C'mon, folks.
On Jun 10, 2009, livefreeordie Yeagertown, PA wrote:
I have used this company for many many years, any problems were taken care of right away, their prices are great, packaging is awesome. I would use them again in a heartbeat, and tell those that are unsatisfied that they need to be a little less "one way", some people think the world should move them to the top of the list. I think a lot of the problems are caused by ignorant gardeners.
Both as a private individual and as a non-profit organization I have been very pleased with Spring Hill/Brecks. They have great prices and good product. I usually receive plants in good condition. If not, they are replaced quickly and pleasantly. Our Club has ordered many items and I have had no negative feedback from any customer. I feel that some folks just like to complain. As I Mother used to say "they are very particular."
On June 5th, 2009, forrej added the following:
Actually, my mother used to say that folks who were hard to please and dissatisfied with everything were "very astute." I do feel that Spring Hill tries very hard to satisfy everyone. Perhaps there should be a customer rating from "easy to please" to "extremely astute" and the astute should be forwarded to someone in India who doesn't speak the language well. The "easy to please" should get the better plants and service.
The plants I ordered arrived looking healthy and in good condition. My order was approximately 2 weeks late, but I can live with that.
I placed my order before reading all of the negative feedback, and was concerned that I would not receive healthy plants, but that was not the case.
I will most likely order again from Spring Hill.
Also...their packaging was excellent.
Thanks!
On May 23, 2009, debspice Saxtons River, VT wrote:
I have been ordering from Spring Hill by catalog for years and this is actually how I first began my gardens by buying a complete garden. I have always been extremely satisfied, if something did not make it, even months later they would immediately replace it. Over the years a few things did not come up or maybe some did and some didn't and I would just write to them with the amount that didn't make it and a shipment would arrive. Recently ordered 3 coneflowers and they were big healthy plants well packed. I have never hesitated to order from them mainly because of their replacement guarantee.
On May 23, 2009, Tex68 Long Branch, NJ (Zone 7a) wrote:
I'm guess I'm crazy or just one of the lucky ones to have a pleasant experience to give this company a positive rating. BUT my order was through HSN (Home Shopping Network) and not Spring Hill directly. So I'll give HSN the credit.
I remember my Mom used to order from Spring Hill years ago before they changed ownership and she had no problem with them. After reading all the neg ratings regarding shipping here at Dave's Garden, I hesitated to order from Spring Hill. I was looking for a particular dwarf rose bush (pink magic rose) and they seemed to be the only one that carries them.
I also remembered that HSN carries the same kind of roses and when I went to HSN's website it says 'Spring Hill'. That is where I learned that Spring Hill is HSN's supplier of plants they sell. I kind of hesitated but then I was thinking this is HSN. If Spring Hill is going to screw-up my order, HSN's reputation will be on the line. I ordered the roses (package of 5) on May 13th and receive them yesterday, May 22nd, 4 days earlier than the estimated delivery date. It was shipped through UPS and received them as described in small containers, yet very vigorous looking and already got the pink blooms on them. And I know they came from Spring Hill directly because the address was from Ohio where Spring Hill is located and not Florida where HSN is.
So I guess if you find something that only Spring Hill carries and if HSN offers them as well, get it through HSN. I think under agreement with HSN, Spring Hill have to ship their products as scheduled to protect HSN's reputation.
You get what you pay for. If you expect to get plants at 75% off the cost of the nursery you are going to get small plants not on time. I've waited 2 months for my order with the delivery date changing all the time, I finally emailed them and they promised to send my order ASAP. I received part of my order and it contained everything promised in small plants which are growing nicely. One of them did die and I contacted them to send another, we'll see if they do.
I recommend them strictly for their price, you can't beat it but you will have to put up with not getting your items in any type of time period. It almost seems as though they are growing the plants after they are ordered! Use the 50% off coupon from retailmenot!
On May 14th, 2009, afinity added the following:
Oh and they don't charge your credit card until they send the plants.
I had a great experience with Spring Hill. The delivery date did not change for me and the plants arrived in perfect condition. Everything was labeled and packed well.
Springhill nursery may have cheap plants but then if they never ship them to anyone it is easy to sell something cheap. i ordered on april 27th 2009 and every day my shipping date changes sometimes it changes three or four times in a single day. they never reply to an email so forget about getting a response through that. and all they can tell you when you call them long distance is that your order is in the process of being picked and boxed and will be shipped as soon as they can. some of the plants i ordered started out being shipped in 1st week of may the next day it was the middle of june then the next day it says it will ship in mid may it is now may 13th and the order showed will ship in june 8 2009 in the morning now in the evening it says the order will ship may 20th. it is a constant shell game with these people and after spending almost 100 dollars on plants i am fed up with this company. i have contacted the BBB but still have not gotten a solution to the problem. even the BBB can not get these people to ship the plants they took my money for. I have talked to my credit card company and they said they will not allow the charge to stand so at least i will get my money back. bottom line avoid springhill gardens like the plague it is.
On May 15th, 2009, hopefulcpl added the following:
on may 15th I finally received and Email back from customer service at springhill nursery Andy from customer service said the plants and trees i ordered are out of stock and they are working to get them shipped to me as soon as possible. as a token ( their wording ) of apology they did take an additional 10% off my order total. I am fine with that gesture but would still like to know why the website says they have these items in stock when they do not have them. hopefully my trees and plants will ship soon. we will just have to wait and see since the order says it will now ship between june 1 2009 and june 22 2009.On May 18th, 2009, hopefulcpl added the following:
UPDATE:
C/C got charged May 15th for the order and I E-mailed them right away to find out what is going on since order online says it has not shipped. received an E-mail on May 18th telling me order was ready and would be shipped in 2 -3 days and allow an additional 3 - 7 days for delivery. will update again if and when order actually arrives and what shape the order was in.
(EX. DEAD OR ALIVE)
On May 22nd, 2009, hopefulcpl added the following:
Still playing the shell game with this place. they were contacted by the BBB in Ohio and did respond to the BBB. in their response they told the BBB that the order had been on backorder but it was now in stock and was in the process of being shipped from them to me. this was on Monday 18th of may 2009. I responded back to the BBB that this was still not acceptable as they have told me the exact same thing for 2 weeks now. these people at Springhill nursery are bold face liars and need to be called on it and the State of Ohio needs to pull their business license. it is now May 21st 2009 and still shows on their website that the plants will not ship until May 28 2009 and that date changes everyday to a further date. beginning to think that I will never see the plants I ordered and that this company is committing mail fraud as well as internet fraud.On May 23rd, 2009, hopefulcpl added the following:
On May 23rd 2009 I received an E-mail from springhill nursery telling me that my order had shipped minus one thing that I knew would not ship until august.
I immediately tracked the order as they said it shipped via UPS. The order was logged into UPS system and showed it was on Lexington Ky. hopefully it will arrive on Tuesday the 26th of may as UPS says it will and I hope the plants are still alive and in good shape. I will update as to the arrival and condition on the day I receive them. I still think they need a lot of help as far as relating that things are on backorder and to how long it will take to receive them. but after everything I will say the customer service agents do appear to be very friendly never rude. they just unfortunately are kept in the dark and cannot give customers the answers they need to. they do reply to emails after you get them to reply to the first one but it takes quite awhile to get a reply. I feel this is because they are overwhelmed with customer complaints. On May 23rd, 2009, hopefulcpl changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
On May 23rd 2009 I received an E-mail from springhill nursery telling me that my order had shipped minus one thing that I knew would not ship until august.
I immediately tracked the order as they said it shipped via UPS. The order was logged into UPS system and showed it was on Lexington Ky. hopefully it will arrive on Tuesday the 26th of may as UPS says it will and I hope the plants are still alive and in good shape. I will update as to the arrival and condition on the day I receive them. I still think they need a lot of help as far as relating that things are on backorder and to how long it will take to receive them. but after everything I will say the customer service agents do appear to be very friendly never rude. they just unfortunately are kept in the dark and cannot give customers the answers they need to. they do reply to emails after you get them to reply to the first one but it takes quite awhile to get a reply. I feel this is because they are overwhelmed with customer complaints. On May 26th, 2009, hopefulcpl changed the rating from neutral to positive and added the following:
finally plants delivered all seem to look healthy and in good condition except one and it looks ok. the tree just lost all of its leaves in the delivery box hopefully it is ok and will survive . The box was very well packed and the plants were in it tightly so they did not jostle around inside the big box. after waiting a month for the order to arrive and all the problems I am now happy I have the plants and they look good. I still wish when I had placed the order that they would have sent me an E-mail with the confirmation note telling me that they were out of stock on the items I ordered rather than let me sit and watch the dates change daily. I have suggested that to their customer service so we will have to see if they start doing that.
On May 7, 2009, StellysPapa Dothan, AL (Zone 8a) wrote:
Guess I am one of the lucky ones concerning SpringHill. I placed an order 2 weeks ago for some ferns and got them today May 6. They are all healthy looking plants. Wish I could say the same for a few other nurseries I've done buisiness with this spring. There's got to be one good apple in the barrel.
On May 2, 2009, roseydew3 West Jefferson, OH wrote:
I placed a medium sized order with this company. This first shipment was a collection of 4 clematis. It arrived in excellent condition. Well-rooted, lots of leaves, moist soil. Couldn't have arrived in better shape. Hopefully the rest of my order will arrive in the same excellent condition.
On Apr 30, 2009, karebear81184 Brookline, MA wrote:
I ordered about $100 of plants for only $80 using a discount coupon I found online. I got some astilbes, geraniums, daisies, rudbeckia, verbascum, salvia, and vincas.
I received the package within a few weeks (these are living things so it's not as simple as pulling them off a shelf) and everything was packed carefully and looked as I expected. One of my two rudbeckia was missing, so I wrote a quick note to customer service and within two days I got an email saying they had put two more in the mail for me (which I've also received and looked great).
Most of the plants arrived with no leaves on them and no signs of life but I have been helping my mother with her gardens since I was a little girl, so I knew that this is what plants look like when they have been dug up from under the snow in April and then put in a box and sent across the country!
The geraniums showed up as little straggly roots but they are looking amazing now and some are even 6" tall! The vincas came with good leaves and are doing well. A couple are already starting to trail and root. One out of the six is not doing too great, the growth that was on it when it arrived has died, but it has a little shoot coming up so I think it'll be alright. The astilbes looked like dead pieces of driftwood but all are putting up little fuzzy shoots! The salvia are doing very well and growing so fast I'm going to have to stake them in a couple of days. As for the verbascum, daisies, and rudbeckia, they have been growing slowly and looking a tiny bit tired, but I just reread the Spring Hill website and realized I was giving them MORE water to try to perk them up... and those 3 plants do not like wet feet. So once I stop drowning them I think they will do great.
The beautiful plants you see in the catalog are about three years old, so I am expecting this first summer to be one of greenery and careful attention. I'll add to my post when they bloom.
On Apr 28, 2009, floatingfeather Indianapolis, IN (Zone 5b) wrote:
I decided to give this company a try since I know friends who have had great success with them. I used the $25 savings certificate for an order over $50. I received my entire order in a timely manner, that is not the issue. I found out about this site 'after' my order was placed, but decided for wishful thinking in the grand scheme of things, since I had no experience to write about. I ordered 3 blue fragrant lavender and we planted them in a timely manner according to the planting directions. I know a dead plant when I see one, (these were wilted when we received them and I had hoped they'd bounce out of it). Two out of the three are dead and the third one looks iffy. I called the Customer Service last weekend, and told the lady they'd been in the ground one week and two are dead. She said that perhaps they are in shock, give them another week and see if they bounce back. They have not and the third one is looking sickly now. They are dead or dying. I've read on here that the company can black ball you for too many dead plants. That scares me as I also ordered three snow in summer and they look sickly too. I emailed the company about this 2 for sure dead ones on 4/27/09 and haven't received a response yet. I doubt I'll be ordering from them as I'll just stick with my local nurseries. I wish I'd paid attention to the warnings. The pictures in the catalogs make everything look so good and it is our desire that we get that result too, but we've got to have good plants to work with from the get go....not wilted ones.
On May 8th, 2009, floatingfeather changed the rating from negative to positive and added the following:
I was pleasantly surprised that I did speak with their customer service department and I not only was given the two plants that died, but an additional third one, just as I'd received in the beginning, and just the way it was packaged, three in a grouping-at no charge, just as their policy states. These look extremely healthy and are in the ground and I'm hoping they will take off and look like they did in the catalog.
I just wanted to share because I guess I was going into this very skeptical from others reviews, but until I experienced it myself, and had a resolution in a positive way, I would be willing to give this company another chance.
On Apr 10, 2009, dakota57718 Black Hawk, SD wrote:
I ordered 2 "planned gardens", an assortment of bare root and potted plants. My order arrived yesterday. It was well packaged and everything looks good - the potted plants are very healthy, and the bare roots are well packaged and not dried out.
So, what is the problem, you ask? Well, this is Zone 5. Our last frost date is May 26th. We still have a foot of snow on our still-thoroughly-frozen ground. We are WEEKS away from being able to plant anything here. And yet, here is the accompanying planting information, telling me to get things planted asap, a day or two for the potted plants, up to 3 weeks for the bare roots. Not gonna happen!
I have contacted the company by e-mail and have received prompt responses, so possibly this should be a neutral rating - which I will change it to if the company follows through with replacing plants that don't survive to be planted.
Bottom line - no good nursery should be shipping to Zone 5 the first week of April!!
On May 1st, 2009, dakota57718 added the following:
Update: I've been contacted by Donna from Customer Service, who wanted to know what plants needed to be replaced (I said the potted ones - they have not survived indoors waiting for our last frost date to come and go.) Donna has replied that they will be shipped in May. I will update again when the plants arrive. On May 15th, 2009, dakota57718 changed the rating from negative to positive and added the following:
On May I received replacements for the potted plants - they are in good shape and the timing for this shipment is right for planting. So I am changing my rating to a positive, given that they made good on their guarantee.
On May 15th, 2009, dakota57718 added the following:
I wanted to add a whole separate rating for the bare roots but can't figure out how. Anyway, the bareroot portion of my original order is turning out fine - they are growing and I am very impressed - beautiful healthy plants. Especially the lungwort, astilbe and pink bleeding heart.
I would highly recommend Spring Hills bare root plants.
But the potted plants, though healthy, are really small. And with ship times being an issue for Spring Hills, I would probably look to my local nursery for them - more bang for the buck, and they won't be showing up 6 weeks before your last frost date.
Overall, I'm satisfied with Spring Hill and will probably buy bare root plants from them again.
I have to say that I was greatly impressed with the customer service at Springhill. I Received my plants as stated. When ordering by mail, I have learned not to expect what I would get at the store due to shipping constraints, so I consider how plants do when actually growing. I received defective plants and I emailed them one evening, not expecting a reply for several days. I was shocked to have received a response the next day with a shipping # and expected delivery date! The plants that made it are growing well, a white feather hosta beautifully filling out already.
I am having issues with a a Blue Sea Holly now that is dying and the other Black Barlow Columbine has rotted as well, but I anticipate smooth sailing when I call to report it.
I would recommend Springhill and am planning to do business with them again.
On Apr 8, 2009, pinballer3 Brighton, CO (Zone 5a) wrote:
I ordered 3 Sensation Lilacs with a $25 discount and they arrived on time packed in plastic air pillows with no problem. The new top growth was a bit yellowed due to too much time in a box. The roots were thick and healthy. Upon being exposed to sunlight they greened right up and started growing quickly.
I received an order confirmation, a shipping confirmation, was billed correctly and have had no reason to call customer service.
These are easy plants, certainly not exotic, but nothing went wrong.
I have about 10 Mock Orange shrubs that I ordered from Spring Hill two years ago. The shrubs are just beginning to leaf out this year and I am waiting to see if I get blooms this year. I am very impressed with the vigor of these plants, they grew to well over 8 feet in two years (with Bayer 3-1). I also have several roses from Spring Hill which have been very hardy and performed well (JFK, Audrey Hepburn and Royal Amethyst)... this is more than can be said for about a dozen J&P roses I lost to canker, poor grafting or just general unhealthiness.
On Apr 3, 2009, starlady42 State College, PA wrote:
I found a coupon in an online forum to get $20 of merchandise free from Spring Hill - just pay shipping. I therefore got a dwarf orange tree, including pot and soil, for only $7.95. Although I was a bit nervous given all the bad reviews here, I figured it was only eight bucks. It was shipped promptly (indeed, earlier than the estimate said, which I guess might be a problem for some folks but wasn't an issue for me) and arrived today in great shape. I'm looking forward to enjoying oranges!
I submitted my first online order with them on March 25th, the items were shipped on Sunday/Monday and I recieved today.
Privet Hedge, Freedom roses and a few other bare root items.
I was really nervous after reading some of the reviews, However the items were well packaged, moist and looked very good.
I read the mixed reviews and decided to take a chance on Spring Hill, as it is the only way I could afford to fill my garden areas. I ordered approx $95 of plants after $25 coupon. It was a mixture of plants and bulbs/roots/etc.
Customer service has been excellent for me - responses in no longer than 1 day and replies within an hour in some cases.
I asked a question about shipping and charges before I ordered and reply was very quick, detailed and answered all my questions.
I placed an order and it was shipped in 2 shipments -
1) Fern collection shipped a week early and incl. a Painted Fern shipped as small plant in good condition (packaged &received in good condition)
2) The rest of the order was shipped to reach by the first day in the estimated shipping range. The plants (8 total) were all in good condition, except 1 was a little yellowed. My poker primrose even had a little 1" poker already growing. Roots, bulbs etc were all packaged well.
Problems encountered:
1) Of 3 Dwarf Gaillardia ordered, 2 were the same, 1 looked totally different. No mention on packing list that one was substituted.
2) A couple of the Liatris bulbs felt a little soft.
So, I emailed cust service (directly from last correspondence I received) to ask if that was normal for the bulbs (I've never worked with bulbs) and to find out how I determine what the 3rd oddball plant was.
I got a response same day saying they were forwarding my questions to their master gardener and got a reply from Karen @ Gardens Alive (next day) apologizing for any inconvenience and informing me replacements are being sent for the above items and will reach within 1 week. (which I did not even ask for at this time)
I guess I must have been one of the lucky ones because I can't think of any company in the last couple years which has been as pleasant to deal with as Spring Hill.
As far as the plants go, I have no doubt that they will grow wonderfully. The rest of the roots, I will have to see. I'll update later when the plants have some time to settle in.
On Mar 11, 2009, morgen San Luis Obispo, CA wrote:
I ordered plants from a recent promotion that including shipping the plants now and paying later.
I ordered a couple of weeks ago and just received my order. Here's how it looks:
Pink Coneflower-just roots in plastic bags with what looks like peat moss-we will see
Starburst Ice Plant-Nice sized plants-green and plump- packed in plastic air pillows
Crazy Daisy-Smallish plants but healthy and green packed in individual plastic cartons
Bear's Breech-Really nicely packed-larger plants than I expected and very healthy.
I'm pleased with this order and will definitely order perennials from Spring Hill again and will happily pay my bill immediately.
I just found your site, but I have to tell you about my experience with Spring Hill Nursery. We saw the Sorbet Peony in their catalog 3 years ago and ordered it for a specific spot in our garden. The root arrive looking really nice so into the ground it went. It sprouted and the plant was green for the first two years. The third spring, we got our first flowers. Imagine our disappointment when what we thought was the Sorbet was, in fact, a standard red Chinese Peony. I called the company and explained what we had and offered to dig up the plant and mail it back to them. The customer service rep I spoke with said to wait on that and that she would see what they could do since it was 3 years from the date of the order. 10 days later, we received another peony root, clearly labeled "Sorbet" with a note attached that said we should enjoy the Chinese Peony and in a couple of years should really enjoy the Sorbet. These folks are tops in my book. That's customer service to the max.
I've ordered 2 times from Springhill. The 1st time (2007) we had a extended Spring freeze delaying shipping. I had no problem cancelling my order and getting my money back. The other time I ordered Spring 2008 with 50% coupon & my plants came in plenty of time for the season and were packaged beautifully. The plants were healthy and I was quite impressed. I had 95% success rate and the only death I had was due to a bad plant placement and rabbits.
On Nov 23, 2008, agingacresfarm Lebanon, TN wrote:
We have ordered from them twice. They were very pleasant to work with. One order came in one bulb short and they immediately sent out another package of 10 bulbs in return mail. The complete order other than a couple of carnations were healthy and much larger than we expected and packaged perfectly. The carnations that we lost were replaced and sent to us within two weeks. No hassle or having to return shipping labels - a simple phone call to very pleasant and helpful customer service - nothing like farmer's seed ( the rudest woman I have ever had to deal with). We just placed another order with them and know that our plants will be shipped in spring - as posted on website.
This past spring, before ordering from Spring Hill, I read many of the reviews which were very mixed. This of course made me very nervous but since I was getting everything 50% off I took the chance. I'm SO GLAD I did. All their flowers turned out beautiful. I ordered my flowers early so Spring Hill would have plenty of time to process my order and ship them at the perfect time for my zone. I'll be ordering from them again, as will my friends!! Note: I ordered 30 plants.
Ordered about $200 worth of plants (at a 50% discount), all showed up neatly packaged. All but 1 grew well. I would order from them again if they have a good promotion.
On Jul 20, 2008, composthappens New City, NY wrote:
I am sorry to read about people's negative experiences with Springhill. This spring I received a catalogue with an offer where I could buy up to $25 worth of stuff and not have to pay anything. How could I go wrong? So I bought a white tree peony named Goliath and paid like $2.00. It is growing nicely in my yard, and I hope there will be flowers in the next few years. Although my Dad bought a Mock Orange from them 4 years ago that was supposed to be very fragrant. It didn't bloom until after he died and Mom was waiting for it to bloom in his honor and she was really angry because it had absolutely no fragrance AT ALL!!!!! I told her to call them but she has not gotten around to it yet.
I ordered approximately $200 worth of plants from Spring Hill in fall 2007. Mostly basic perennials: Shasta daisies, monarda, coneflower, achillea, and the like. Nothing tricky. I knew that because this is mail order, the plants would be smaller than locally purchased plants, but I'm starting a garden from scratch and have the time and patience to let them grow. (I don't have the cash for the prices our local nurseries charge!) This was before reading all the poor reviews, so I was a little worried!
I'm glad to report that this summer I'm showing about a 90% success rate with my Spring Hill plants, which I consider quite good. (NC is in drought conditions, after all, not to mention our heavy red clay.) The stuff that didn't grow (lost about half the lavender; asclepias didn't break dormancy) was my fault--poor site selection, a few things were marginal for my microzone. I'm not asking for replacements, because the results would likely be the same and I knew they were riskier choices for my garden. For the rest, planting in fall and patience on my part is paying off.
The pink delight butterfly bushes are now each about 4 feet tall and blooming their heads off! I had little hope for these, as they arrived in 4-inch pots and were nothing but a couple of short sticks. I also had to move them several times due to some emergency landscaping fixes. Once the weather warmed up, though, they started growing like weeds. Wow!
The Shasta daisies, yarrow, and marguerites have grown bigger even than the site descriptions, have taken over the front bed, and have been blooming nonstop for over month. Monarda's big and blooming. Rudbeckia plants are sporting huge leaves and many, many blooms. Same with the coneflowers.
All in all, I'm very pleased with the results of my fall order from Spring Hill, and have put in another order for delivery this fall. My experience with perennials is that it's better to plant them in fall instead of spring. Shipping conditions are better, meaning better plants on arrival, and the plants have the winter to establish strong root systems.
Regarding customer service, I honestly have given up expecting good service from ANY company, but when I emailed to report that my butterfly bushes hadn't arrived, replacements were sent as soon as they were available and shipping conditions were appropriate. Good enough for me.
I placed two orders this season online, one with the 50% off coupon and the other with up to 70% of offer. A few of the plants did not grow. Although I realize the sucess rate from ordering mail order plants is not usually 100%, I sent a detailed replacement request and the replacements arrived super fast and much to my delight I received more plants that expected. I even have blooms on the Lupine, which I have never had any luck growing. There was only one plant, Columbine that was out of stock. I was told they would send it next year. Overall, I am very pleased with the my plants and the Customer Service and will order online again.
On Jun 10, 2008, flowermaiden Saint Maries, ID wrote:
Generally, I've had good experiences with Spring Hill. I appreciate that theirs is often the first of my several plant orders with several different companies to be delivered. I often get theirs before I receive anyone else's. I have had great luck with their columbines and quite good luck with their white dragonflowers and delphiniums. Once in awhile, a bareroot plant fails to break dormancy and may have been dead when I received it, but that is rare. When plants are dormant, it's hard to tell if they actually are still alive. If I order twelve plants and eleven grow, I feel I've done quite well. And these are the kinds of numbers I've usually experienced. I think it is unrealistic to expect 100-percent dormancy emergence, though it's nice when that does happen. Many factors can effect a plant's coming out of its dormant state, that might not be caused by any fault of theirs.
They always send me an e-mail letting me know when my order will be / has been shipped, so I know what to expect, and it always arrives within the time-frame they indicate.
I have used their coupons and have saved quite a bit of money. I also belong to Garden Solutions, and I get a members discount when I order.
I intend to continue ordering from Springhill, and am surprised by all the negative reviews I see here.
I was very satisfied with Springhill nurseries the plants arrived as described and on the date they were scheduled, I had ordered the red perennial garden collection and every plant has grown beautifully and is the envy of my neighbors! I also ordered the primose lilac and it too is looking very healthy and beautiful, I have to also mention that I ordered the old fashioned purple lilac and left it in its container while on vacation, I forgot to mention to have it watered with my other plants much to my surprise it was barely allive I planted it and 3 days later there were several leaves on the plant I'm looking forward to the future with my trees and plants and would definitely order again from Springhill nurseries.
