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I've had 2 ordering experiences with Springhill. I could not help myself but to order from the buy one get one free or half price..something like that. Well, I spent over $200 on bulbs of the giant elephant ears and tree lillies. Neither never happened. The giant elephant ears never got any taller than 6 inches and the palm elephant ears never thrived, just stayed very small green shiny leaves. Of the 16 lily trees only 6 of those produced one flower each and about 8 inches tall. The others quickly gave up the ghost in the ground. Of the 16 ivy leaf geranium plants only 1 survived. The survivor turned out to be glorius red and hardy. I just brought it into the house last night, as weather was to change to snow.
I felt that the plants were much too expensive but I couldn't resist. I called customer service and that were just wonderful. The kicker is that the replacements didn't fare any better and in the end the total experience was bad and I ws out of pocket of over $253. I received replacement certificates of a total of $51.00
I didn't bother to call again to tell them all was a complete loss. I don't waste good energy of this kind of thing. I cant imagine what I would ever order from them again. Maybe I will frame my certificates to remind me not to make the same mistake again.
I've ordered from many nurseries and from farther distances from Michigan than Ohio and have never experienced this before. And just to let you know, I have a jewel of a green thumb. Plants are my life. People come every year to see my summer themes.
The only positive thing I can say is that they have wonderful customer service.
On Nov 6, 2009, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
"On Nov 16, 2009 10:41 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team will do whatever we can to rectify the problem. Our company is based on 100% Customer Service."
On Sep 1, 2009, littleguy2 Oakbrook Terrace United States wrote:
Spring Hill Nursery
i had ordered from Spring Hill for 10 to 15 years with sometimes good and sometimes very bad results. If i contacted customer service with a complaint about one plant in a collection that died, they would insist on replacing the entire collection or if i questioned the appearance of a plant on arrival they would insist on replacing it even if i said well wait and I'll let you know. Sounded great until they informed me that because of all my complaints they didn't feel i should order from them again. Great way to do business, if the product can't meet customer standereds get rid of the customer, way to go.
I ordered some Jackmanii clematis from Springhill, and one is just now getting ready to bloom for the first time. The problem is that I ordered and planted them more than four years ago, before I learned of Dave's Garden and this feature. Having read the reviews over the past couple years, I am just glad it grew (unlike the other several dozen plants I've ordered from Springhill and Michigan Bulb), and I fervently hope that the single flower is purple.
On August 22nd, 2009, go_cats added the following:
I received an email mirroring the message from Springhill customer service, asking for my account information. I explained that I did not retain the account information from four years ago, and haven't heard from Springhill since. And for those that are wondering, the flower on the Jackmanii clematis was purple. Whoo-hoo! Still won't pull my review to "neutral."On September 16th, 2009, go_cats added the following:
I haven't heard a peep from Springhill since the email a month ago. Even with Springhill's "$25 off an order of $50 or more," I can order plants that will grow, from other vendors, at lower prices. On Aug 7, 2009, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
"On Aug 7, 2009 1:37 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team will do whatever we can to rectify the problem. Our company is based on 100% Customer Service."
I have placed several orders from Spring Hill both this year and last year totalling over $300. My experience is consistent with every negative comment posted on this blog . I initially gave then the benefit of the doubt, but no longer. Here is what I experienced:
1. Half of the plants arrived dead.
2. The remaining half that arrived alive were so weak that many of them did not grow, or if they did break ground, they withered and died shortly thereafter.
3. What managed to live turned out to be entirely the WRONG item.
4. When I was lucky enough to receive the right TYPE of plant that I ordered, (daylilies) they turned out to be the wrong color (which I could not tell until months after I planted them). Several months later the plants bloomed bright pumpkin organe and yellow instead of the pink and purple varieties I ordered.
After the first two orderes were a train wreck, I called customer service and they agreed to re-ship some but not all of the dead plants. Some of the reshipped plants were also partially dead. The ones that did live turned out to be the wrong colors. It's just not worth it to continue trying to get this corrected. I think SpringHill.com should be investigated by an Attorney General or some sort of Interstate Commerce regulator.
With other good and reliable online and local nurseries, do NOT take a gamble on throwing your money away on SpringHill.
On Aug 7, 2009, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
"On Aug 7, 2009 1:45 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team will do whatever we can to rectify the problem."
This has been the worst online shopping experience ever!
I placed an order earlier this year for strawberry and blueberry plants. I had been so excited about them and when I received them they looked like mangled weeds and the pot for the strawberry plants looked like a very cheap child's toy, I was so disappointed. I wrote a negative review for the strawberry plant kit on their website and believe it or not, they screen their reviews and do not post those they do not like. Instead they sent me a replacement certificate for half the cost (as if I would order that again) and I used the certificate to order plant pills/fertilizer since I figured that was the only safe choice from this place. I had to pay a few additional dollars for the pills which was fine but then about a month later I receive a check in the mail for my out of pocket expenses which I discover is because they cancelled my new order and did not return my replacement certificate.
I have very serious concerns about this company's ethics and I do hope that there is a reasonable explanation for all of this which I have yet to discover.
On Jul 7, 2009, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
"On Jul 8, 2009 8:07 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team is checking into the issue you had with your order and will do our best to rectify the problem in a timely manner. We will be contacting you directly with a resolution. "
On Jun 25, 2009, organic_kitten West Blocton, AL wrote:
I should have know better, but they advertised a plant I wanted and was unable to find anywhere else in an internet search. 4" pots it said on the website. What I received was a dried out tangle of bare roots with no packing to keep it in any kind of viable shape,
Six of the "plants" sans the 4" pots" fit into a small 4"X5" envelope. I planted them and 4 of the 6 finally put up a little green leaf. I don't know if they are what they are supposed to be, but I doubt it.
I will never order from these people again.
On Jun 25, 2009, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
"On Jul 1, 2009 12:03 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team is checking into the issue you had with your order and will do our best to rectify the problem in a timely manner. We will be contacting you directly with a resolution. Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team is checking into the issue you had with your order and will do our best to rectify the problem in a timely manner. We will be contacting you directly with a resolution. "
On Jun 24, 2009, heuchera_lover Gladstone, MI wrote:
On 6-3-09 I ordered two Blue Polemonium, one lot of three Scabiosa and one easy care shade garden. The next week I called and was told my order shipped. My credit card was charged on 6-8 and I received the box with the first two items on 6-12-09. The website said that their last shipment date was 6-8 or 9 so I was surprised that the invoice said the shade garden wouldn't be delivered until 6-20 to 7-4-09.
The day of receipt, I planted the three Scabiosa, which were somewhat yellowed and small, and the two Polemonium roots, following the instructions Spring Hill sent. As of today, I have yet to see anything coming out of the ground from the Polemonium. The Scabiosa are doing okay, greened up with fertilizer and watering, but really haven't grown much, although it's been nearly two weeks and we've had great weather.
A week later, waiting for the shade garden, I decided to log in to the website to check the order status. It was then I saw it said "cancelled." I called Spring Hill and asked why I hadn't been notified, as I had been waiting on it and passed up opportunities to buy plants locally. They verified my email address but couldn't explain why I wasn't contacted. I got an apology and that was it.
Fast forward to today: I couldn't remember the exact date I received my partial order so I checked the box for the tracking number. The label said "USPS" so I checked tracking on their website. I couldn't get it to track so I called the customer service #. Took at least 10 minutes to get to a real person to find out it was actually a United Parcel Service tracking number. Spring Hill can't even get the label right, I guess.
From now on, I will buy from my local greenhouses, even if it means I don't get exactly the variety I wanted. I don't have time for substandard service.
On Jun 24, 2009, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
"On Jul 1, 2009 12:04 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team is checking into the issue you had with your order and will do our best to rectify the problem in a timely manner. We will be contacting you directly with a resolution. "
I ordered in SH for the first time at the end of April 2009 , First I called to talked to a sales representative and investigate the company and since they answered all of my question then I went for it. I spend almost $200 worth of plants.
They took a little long to come, but some of my plats came and they look in very good shape. They were very well packed and they look very healthy.
I planted them as soon as they arrived and they are doing GREAT!
Now I'm waiting for the rest of my plants, 2 complete gardens, and on their web page the date continue to change every time I looked, so I wrote them an e-mail asking what is going on. They send me an e-mail back , and told me that my 2 gardens are in backorder...less than a week after that I got a little card in my mail box from them CANCELLING MY ORDER!!!!!!!!!! I never heard such a thing!
If they didn't have enough plants in stock or other surcess to complete the orders, then...DON'T SELL!
I really wanted my 2 gardens . Very dissapointed :(
On Jun 24, 2009, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
"On Jul 1, 2009 12:04 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team is checking into the issue you had with your order and will do our best to rectify the problem in a timely manner. We will be contacting you directly with a resolution. "
Five years ago I ordered a Primrose Lilac (the yellow one) from Spring Hill Nurseries. It arrive in deepest winter (Minnesota ya know) and was way too young to be away from its mother. After babying it and nursing it along, it is finally a lovely size and shape and finally blooming. Unfortunately those blooms are purple!!! I have been carrying on an email game with Spring Hill in which they have offered me a replacement or a refund. I'm contacting the Attorney General and Better Business Bureau. Please do the same!
On Jun 9, 2009, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
"On Jun 12, 2009 10:25 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team is checking into the issue you had with your order and will do our best to rectify the problem in a timely manner. We will be contacting you directly with a resolution"
I ordered from them over $100.00 worth of plants that were suppose to be here in April it is now June they still are on back order I called them today 6-7-09 told me still no plans to ship them. I canceled my order with them and told them they lost a repeat costumer I used them last year and the butterfly bush died and I replaced it glad I didn't asked them to I would not have gotten it till Christmas the way they are going. They were very rude and not helpful at all like they didn't care if they lost the money or not. THIS COMPANY SUCKS. DO NOT ORDER FROM THEM.
On June 24th, 2009, thearicks added the following:
They resent my butterfly bushes. They cut the tops off to fit in the box. and the leaves were a bit yellow. They are suppose to send a gift cert. we will see been waiting since the 12th for that. tried to put a picture of the plants on here wouldn't let me. sorry.On Jun 7, 2009, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
"On Jun 8, 2009 1:47 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our apology for any inconvenience we may have caused you, and we ask that you consider giving us one more opportunity to provide you with world class service. Please understand that our company is based on 100% Customer Service. We are trained and qualified to answer any questions you may have or assist you with any problems that may arise."
I ordered daises, cone flowers, petunias and clematis from Spring Hill Nurseries. When they arrived I was immediately disappointed in the shape they were in. The cone flowers, daises and clematis had absolutely no leaves on them, just roots. I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and plant them anyway. It has now been two months and only 2 of the 6 cone flowers have any leaves at all, the ones that do are only 2 inches high. Only 3 of the 6 daises have leaves and the clematis must have been dead when I planted it. The Petunias which were touted as cascading looked healthy when I took them out of the tiny plastic containers they came in but have yet to cascade. I also believe that $32 for 15 tiny petunias is exorbitant. The petunias I purchased at Home depot are doing much better. I have requested my money back since the lifetime guarantee states they will refund my money.
I've ordered from this company several times over the past few years and have had problems similiar to the ones posted already. The plants they did send were usually small and in very poor shape. I gave them more than one chance, but will not order from them again.
I too, ordered 3 reblooming lilacs this spring, only to receive a refund check today for the $15.42 it was to cost me. The ad read 'Only $4.49 when you buy two or more'. Could it be that there wasn't a demand issue that canceled my order but rather the recession? Since they ARE available for purchase on-line at the regular price $19.99 apiece, could this be the reason I wonder? I too, wanted the lilacs very much but if this is how the company treats their customers, and reading the other problems people have had with them, I'll shop elsewhere, thank you.
On May 31, 2009, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
"On Jun 19, 2009 9:57 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
The customer replied back to us after our contacting them with; I am VERY happy to say that I received the plants as promised in a very short time after my email was sent to them. Thank You very much to Dave's for their emense help with this matter. And a thank you to Spring Hill for their promt response in correcting this mistake.
Thank You and I recommend anyone having the same issue, recontact Spring Hill."
I mail ordered Josee Lilacs in March, 6 weeks later had still not received them or any notice from Spring Hill. I emailed them to see what the status of the order was. Their response was the lilacs were backordered and I was to check back with them at a later date when they would look into it again. I was furious with their lack of professionalism and integretity as a company. They never notified me to let me know the plants were backordered, then when I inquired, they seemed to not care when or if the order was ever filled. After several communications via email w/ them, they said the bushes would be mailed May 25. On May 27th I emailed them inquiring if the plants had been sent. The response was that the demand was greater than expected and it was past their shipping dates, so I would be receiving a refund check in the mail. I really want the plants more than the refund check. I would really like to communicate with the owner or president of the company to express my dissatisfaction. I think they never had the plants or at least never intended to send them, but they sure didn't waste any time cashing my check! At this point I have neither the plants or my money back.
On June 1st, 2009, baminnem added the following:
On June 9th, 2009, baminnem added the following:
I did receive a refund check on June 3, but today, June 8, I got a post card saying because of a computer error my order was mistakenly cancelled. HOWEVER, they have corrected the problem and promise to ship the lilacs - at the proper planting time for my region. I think we're nearing the end of the proper time for planting for my region, that's why I ordered the bushes way back in March. We'll see if they show up or not. Anybody want to bet?
On May 29, 2009, elliemaescottag Lakeville, MA wrote:
I ordered some hollyhocks in early May from Spring Hill as well as from Bluestone. The Bluestone plants arrive within a week while I'm still waiting for my Spring Hill order to arrive. Yesterday when I checked the order status their website now says that the plants won't be shipped until late September! It's obviously they are out of stock and need to grow them first. I contacted the company and told them to cancel my order and to credit back from credit card. But they just keep telling me that the order has been expedited for early fall. This is so frustrating.... There website says that spring shipping was occurring until 6/12 for my zone. So unless the plants are out of stock there is no reason for them to wait until fall at this point. If they don't step up to the plant and refund my money I'll be contacting the BBB.
I purchased several plants on May 18. Everytime I log into my account with them, I find that the shipping date was moved up. I called them once and they told me that the plants were to be shipped out after Memorial Day because they did not want the plants to sit in the post office for a significant amount of time. Customer service explained to me that the shipping date on the website is incorrect. One of the ship dates was for June 16. They informed me that their last ship date was June 12. When I called them again, they informed me that the plants were on back order, and that they cannot ship plants that are too small. I will never be ordering from them again.
The two orders I received from them contained small, leggy plants in very poor condition. Of the plants that I ordered, many arrived in dormant, bare-root condition, but they were species that I would have expected to arrived live in 4" pots.
The orders were delayed twice and the plants were in bad shape. Don't be enticed by the discount. One healthy plant at a regular price from somewhere else is worth three poor quality ones from Spring Hill.
I placed an order w/SpringHill Nursery on 3/17/09. I received an email confirmation immediately but the estimated delivery date has since been changed several times, each one later & later. Two of the items I ordered would've been too late in the season to plant by the time they arrived, IF it ever would've arrived or survived. After seeing these reviews, I honestly don't know. I just got off the phone w/their CS & cancelled my order. However, I contacted my bank 1st to have them cancel out my current debit card BEFORE I cancelled my order w/SpringHill. Not worth the risk or hassle w/this company.
I ordered on-line. After several days without an email confirmation I called the nursery. The person I talked to checked their orders and said he couldn't find mine, so to please place my order again.
I did enter another (slightly different) on-line order and received an email confirmation. Later, I received emails stating they would soon ship both orders.
I cancelled the second order. The item I wanted most--a toad lily--was "out of stock" although I ordered it very, very early from their on-line catalog. I think they should concentrate less on advertising and more on consistent service.
I ordered 2 Josie lilacs for $19.99 last year. It took forever and a day for them to arrive. They were green but diseased, with the leaves all crinkled or shriveled. I had not paid for the plants, was to pay after arrival. I notified them by email that the plants were diseased. I did not want new plants, nor did I intend to pay for the plants. This was a year ago.. Now I am being harassed by a collection agency by phone and mail. They claim I owe Spring Hill Nursery $65 for the dead plants that were supposed to be $19. Needless to say, I do not intend to pay for those plants and I have contacted customer service again, this time telling them to remove me from all mailing lists including the email lists, and to straighten out that billing issue. We shall see what happens next.
On May 9, 2009, jmflorida Labelle, FL (Zone 10a) wrote:
As seems to be their standard they delayed ship date.
Plants were packed on a Friday got to UPS Monday night sent by dog sled arrived on Thursday I got email from UPS stating delivered.
I called UPS they told me plants were delivered to US Post office.
We finally received the plants Friday afternoon, They were in poor condition from being in a box for a week with no water. my wife asked if the provided a microscope to view plants.
We received a butterfly plant from another mail order nursery 2 weeks ago it took 2 days from packing until we received plants at our house they shipped via FedEx ground.
That butterfly plant is about 5 times the size of Spring hill plant
I did not see all the poor reviews posted on the web before ordering.
We will never use any company associated with Spring Hill in the future.
Placed an order in March - unfortunately, before I read the reviews on this site. I can echo every comment - they keep switching the "delivery estimate", did not answer e-mails, promised "rush" delivery after I complained, but still no plants. I have begun checking the delivery estimates daily - and every day they move 1-2 days. Now my credit card has been charged even though the plants have not shipped.
Two issues that I have NOT seen listed in this forum:
1) Their telephone number is not listed anywhere on their website. I did not have a catalog handy, and could not find the number. I actually found the number on this forum!!
2) The number I called is answered in India. The representative, "Brandon", tried telling me that the company headquarters was in Indiana - but when I asked him where HE was actually located, he finally admitted India. (Like I couldn't tell from the heavy accent that I could barely understand...) I will not support any company that uses overseas call centers for their customer service - especially since I doubt if he can answer any questions I may have about gardening in the south during the summer.
Nevertheless - "Brandon" claims that my order is not "in the shipping process" - which apparently means that it will be shipped within 2-3 days. He claims that the website is not updated regularly, and that what he is telling me is the most current info.
We'll see - if no tracking number appears within the 2-3 days, I am cancelling the entire order.
So - what is a good company to order perennials from??? I may need to replace the order!
Thanks!
On May 7th, 2009, NChorselover added the following:
After two more days of watching the "delivery estimate" change - I called again.
First customer service rep (Karen) was very rude - argued with me about why the plants were taking so long to ship, and would not stop talking over me when I tried to ask questions. (I am assuming this is probably because she receives a lot of call from irate customers like myself!!) I asked to speak to her supervisor, she said that the supervisor would just tell me the same thing.
I insisted on speaking to the supervisor, Crystal, who was very nice, but told me that the customer service reps from India should never have told me that the items would ship in 2-3 days because they have no idea when they'll ship. I cancelled the entire order. I have been misled and lied to by too many people. I have learned my lesson and will never order from Spring Hill or any of their associated companies again.
I COULD JUST REPEAT EVERY NEGATIVE , IT SEEMS ALL OF US HAVE THE SAME EXPERIENCES EXCEPT I DON'T KNOW THE CONDITION OF MY PLANTS- AS EVERY TIME I CHECK ON SHPIING DATE IT IS PUT OFF 2 WEEKS. A DIFFERENT THOUGHT IS - HOW CAN THEY BE A MEMBER IN GOOD STANDING OF "MAILORDER GARDENING ASSOCIATION" I WOULD GUESS THIS ASSOCIATION IS NOT DOING THEIR HOMEWORK.
DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY. Spring Hill is an abomination. And no that is not hyberbole.
How do I hate thee Spring Hill? Let me count the ways...
I cannot tell you how many plants I've ordered from this company to only receive wrong quantities, wrong plants, unfilled items, DOA (Dead on Arrival) or DAP (Dead After Planting) to coin a new acronym. Further they boast completely unreliable ship dates and never ending back orders. I find their customer service people unfriendly and the "Lifetime" warranty is completely bogus. What is the good of a warranty when they send you a laughably puny and pathetic version of the same plant?
About 90% of my plants from Spring Hill have FAILED. Replacing them does little when those replacements also DIE. I've received multiple DEAD versions of the same plant. You look at the rhizomes and you know that this plant is dead as a doornail. Call for a replacement and they either send you another dead one or tell you that it is on back order and they will ship in the fall (which means never unless you call them again) or give you a credit. Woo hoo! It's a trap to keep you hooked you see? You might call it "Spring Hell".
Ironically, it was the glorious photos in their catalog that really got me into gardening. I would stare at their catalog for hours enamored at the plant selections that I did not see at local nurseries and dreaming of what my garden would look like in a few patient years. Ha! Key word here is dream. After countless failures, needless to say I came to my senses.
I still have unclaimed credits which I can guarantee you will remain unclaimed at this point. Time to cut my losses and move on. I saw the bad reviews here on Dave's Garden and thought no need to post and add fuel to the fire because they were obviously a bad company. So why am I posting?
The straw that broke the camel's back for me was my primrose lilacs. Despite all the other plants that died I took small consolation that at least my primrose lilacs were doing well. They did not bloom yet but they were getting close and they seemed very healthy. For 3 years I've looked forward to being the only one in my area with yellow lilacs. Well guess what? This year they bloomed. And they're not yellow. Not even close. So are they going to send me more replacements in a 3 inch pot as per their lifetime warranty?
I'm beyond disillusioned. I'm thoroughly disgusted but my wife says I need to laugh about it. I'm not. Spring Hill should not be allowed to be in business. And I feel it my duty to try and protect others from their shoddy business practices.
You have been warned.
P.S. Please be advised that if you order from them you will get added to their telemarketing list. It's a machine that calls you periodically, not a human being and there does not seem to be a way to get off.
Every year about this time, I am so tempted to order something from this company. Then, I remember the many times I opened the carton of plants to find them dead or dying or not even the plant I ordered but a substitute. After one spring of receiving bad plants TWICE, I gave up and vowed never to order from them again. Rule of thumb for me...buy locally.
The ordering process is fun. Ordered online, got confirmation that the order will be shipped in a week (that's good, I thought), but then the online tracking system showed that the order will not go out for another 3 months. Called Customer Service who promised to put a rush on the order. I called back a few days later to be told that the order was not going to be shipped for four months (that's our standard timeframe, said the supervisor)
Postives: nice friendly customer service, eager to help you cancel your order.
Negatives: curiously detached supervisors. Forget about getting any plants.
On Apr 28, 2009, artcats1 Salt Lake City, UT wrote:
I ordered a large order of plants on july 17. I got a computer generated response after my order with order number etc. It said I could track the order using this info. I tried and the website did not work. I checked a few days later and again got nowhere. I then sent two e-mails to customer service- and again no response. So this morning I called and talked to Micky who told me (it is now July 29th) that the order had not yet been processed and that it would be shipped "in a few weeks." I live in Utah- In a few weeks it will be HOT here. I asked for a more specific time and she said she would not get me one. I canceled the order. I will check with my cc card company to ensure that the money has not been sent to them.
Now. My Dad managed one of the largest wholesale cactus growers in the world for about 25 years. Wholesalers sell their plants for pennies to distributors who then turn around and sell them to retailers who then sell them to us. Every time the plants change hands the costs goes up like sunflowers. The worst part is one of the largest distributors is in Canada. So it is likely that that cute little plant you are buying from HD was shipped from SOCAL to Canada then back to the US. Little wonder they don't grow so well sometimes by the time you get them home.
Buying direct makes sense. You are giving the money to the grower and they care about their plants. They are also getting A LOT more from you than they can get on the wholesale market- especially now with all the big box stores. So if you are dealing with a grower who also does retail YOU should be treated like Royalty. Buy a few things from Noursefarms.com and you will then know how you should be treated if you are really dealing with a good grower. It is pure speculation on my part but my instincts tell me SpringHill is a distributor or retailer pretending to be a grower. Their prices are in line with a grower but their lack of service to a retail consumer placing a large order is not. It's a busy time of year but Micky from Springhill should have known exactly how long it would take to ship my plants if they were in their greenhouse. Hope this helps. I should have checked here too before I placed my order. This forum is great!
On Apr 25, 2009, eileentibet Center Barnstead, NH (Zone 5a) wrote:
In February 2009, I placed a order with Spring Hill Nursery. It was for a Spring delivery. I have already received that order minus my Lily Nego Monte. I have emailed Spring Hill Customer Service (Tracy) numerous times that I want my Lily right now. Other companies have already sent me similar Lily plants. Each time I see that particular Lily in other companies offered as buy one now and get the next Lily for one penny more. I finally told Tracy I want it now, I bought and paid for it with the rest of the order, that is here.Even Lowe's and Home Depot are selling those Lily's now, right now and I asked Tracy to speak to her supervisor. Ashton sent me the same email that Tracy uses, a form letter. I ordered this item in Feb. and I cannot even get it until after August 31 2009. I am the customer. It is paid for. What is going on here. How can Spring Hill get away with it? Eileen.
Not to sound like a broken record, but I've had the same experience with them not sending plants in a timely manner.
I ordered about $200 worth of plants in early March. To date, none have arrived. When I checked the shipping status some had been moved to June and some had been bumped to Fall! Since I'm in zone 7 this is simply too late for planting. I contacted customer service and was given a refund. Short but professional. I sense they do a lot of these.
Considering all the 50% or $25 off ads, they are not capable of shipping to meet the demand. I would have paid more just to have my plants on time and in good condition.
I placed an order online to Spring Hill Nursery on 3/7/09. The expected ship date was around 3/28. As the date got closer I kept watching the order status. The anticipated ship date was continually being moved out from 3/28 to 4/1, 4/3, 4/10, 4/17, and finally 4/20/09. I finally called on 4/10 to see what could be done to get my order here since I need it by April 17th. They put a “RUSH” on the order and said it should ship on 4/13 and get here by 4/17. I called back to verify on 4/13 and they told me there was a credit card issue (gotta love it when VISA gets their information stolen and you get replacement cards). I gave them new numbers and they said they would process the order ASAP. The next day I get an email and a voicemail from them saying there was a credit card issue, I called them and they said the order was being processed and was shipping and the issue was resolved. I again told them I needed this by 4/17. (I also informed them that their customer service email on their website kicks back as undeliverable). I checked the website today (4/16) and the order had still not shipped. I called them again and they said it hasn’t shipped but was “printed” at the warehouse. I finally asked to speak to a supervisor “Debbie” who was going to email the warehouse to get a status and email me back in a few hours as well as see if they could overnight them. I told her all of this needed to be shipped overnight because I needed it by 4/17, which is why I ordered early. So far customer service has been “mostly” pleasant (the supervisor was a bit short) but also mostly unhelpful and I keep getting the runaround. I called back 3 ½ hours later to check on status since I had not heard anything back and was told “Debbie” was in a different location but my order should ship and be here next week. I told them I needed it tomorrow which is why I have been calling. I ended up cancelling my order even though they offered free shipping and 10% off. I told them I needed the plants not a discount, get me those by tomorrow and I would be happy. So the cancellation went through. We’ll see if they credit my credit card back – if not I will have lots more comments to post. I will be getting some of my plants locally and for the one’s I can’t get here (about half of them) I will order from someone else OUTSIDE THE SCARLET TANAGER LLC umbrella of companies (Gardens Alive Inc., Audubon Workshop, Breck's Bulbs, Henry Fields, Gurney's Seed & Nursery Company, Henry Field's Seed & Nursery Company, Michigan Bulb Company, Rocky Meadow Orchard & Nursery, Scarlet Tanager LLC dba Michigan Bulb Company, Spring Hill Nurseries). I won’t ever order from these companies again and will make sure I spread the word to my friends and neighbors about my experience.
On Apr 16, 2009, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
"On Jun 19, 2009 10:02 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:
We contacted the customer 4/20 and offered a gift certificate for all the trouble they had with their order, they declined the offer 6/12."
I live in Michigan (Zone 5). I contacted Springhill the summer of 2008 about some perennials that I purchased that did not survive the winter of 2007/2008. They sent me replacements that finally arrived this spring (2009), but way too early in the season. They were delivered March 23 when the temperatures were still dipping into the twenties at night. I have kept them refridgerated ever since waiting for warm weather. Now will I have to ask for replacements for my replacements??
I cut a coupon for "black elephant ears" out of March 1,2009 Sunday newspaper and sent it and the money for 6 elephant ears (roughly $39.00) to Spring Hill on March 3 through the regular postal service. My check was cashed on March 13, 2009. I never received the bulbs. I emailed the company to inquire about the status of my bulbs. Within several days, I received a generic email from their customer service department asking for my account number (didn't have one-I ordered thru the regular mail), my phone number, address, and a copy of my check that had been cashed (I sent it as an email attachment). Several days later, I again received a generic email from customer service department of SpringHill with exactly the same questions. I then called the customer service department in the last days of March to talk directly to a customer service rep. They cashed my check but did not have any ordering information for me. The person I talked to asked me to fax or mail a copy of the cancelled check.to an address in Lawrenceberg Indiana. Having no fax machine, I sent it through the postal service on April 4. I have a really bad feeling about this and know that I will never order from this company again
On April 22nd, 2009, jtwaldie added the following:
I received my black elephant bulbs on Tuesday April 21. I received an email Monday telling me that my order would be shipped out on April 21. This company doesn't seem to know what hand is doing what. I will NEVER order from them again!!!
I had been a return customer of Springhill for many years going back before they seemed to have closed the business because the catalogs stopped coming and the phone number didn't work. They state a satisfaction guarantee which attracked me, but when I excercised the guarantee claim once too many times I got a letter saying they no longer wanted my business. Well, if they would send out quality plants with secure packing that can survive the shipping abuse and not die, I wouldn't have to call back for a replacement. And, I ordered the plants they taged as suitable for my zone 9, but they would die regardless of me building raised garden beds and trucking in special mix of garden soil.
New to the forum. Discovered it while getting ready for Spring season. Great site!
Would rate this as a mild "negative."
I live in the upper Midwest. I spend a lot of time gardening, and keep track of each plant, where I got it, survival rate etc.
Spring Hill plants rate among the lowest survival rate of any nurseries I've ordered from via mail order. However, I will say that they did replace orders per their guarentee when I was a customer.
When I moved into a new home in 2004, I purchased a large quantity of plants from Spring Hill and others. Although several plants were not in good shape when received, they always lived up to their replacement guarentee.
We water our plants routinely, and mulch them during the winter to enhance the survival rate of our zone 4 plants.
As we expanded our gardens, we ordered more and more plants. Unfortunately, several orders were received in a row where the plants were basically DOA. No rhyme or reason, as sometimes there would be plants that were in good shape in the same box as brown, wilted plants. My guess is that they sat in their shipping or packing room too long, or it was too warm in the delivery truck.
We always gave it the old "college try" to resurect any plants. I made the comment to my wife that although I liked Spring Hill's replacement guarentee, a lot of their plants seemed to be either not surviving the winter here (compared to local nursery plants planted along side them) or not surviving transit.
In Dec 2007 I received the same note as Carmon (from SD below). It was short, sharp (from someone in customer service named James) and basically saying that they wouldn't be shipping any more plants due to the high replacement rate.
My take on them would be this: If you have a few items to order take a chance with them. If the product dies, you will probably get a replacement. However, if you live in a severe climate, realize that whether they ship you dead plants, or it doesn't survive the winter, they are tracking the # of replacements and will eventually tell you to buy elsewhere if you ask for replacements too often.
On Mar 27, 2009, Oceana928 Lake Stevens, WA wrote:
I just placed an order and it isn't starting out good. My order total was $109.00 and the online discount gave me $25.00 off in my shopping cart for orders over $50.00. When I submitted the order, it didn't give me the discount. After reading all of these reviews, I'm concerned! I have to question if I'll ever see this discount. I wish I would have checked this site first. I haven't heard back yet from Springhill about this. I'll update my feedback according to how this works out. I will also be keeping my fingers crossed on the condition of my plants when they arrive. The negative comments on this website have me concerned.
I have been using Spring Hill website as a reference for choosing the proper plants for my growing areas for a couple years. I saw several plants on the site that I couldn't find at the largest nursery in the area or some of the smaller ones we visit for that matter.
So I decided to place an order and figured a month ahead of Easter they would arrive in time for Easter (I know this was taking a little bit if a chance -but Spring is Spring). I spent about $150.00.
Anyway, I copied the invoice at the end of the ordering process along with my order number. A couple days later I hadn't gotten a confirmation email, so first I went to the site to check on my order. The order number I had been given was not recognized and I never got an account number or created a password....nothing that I had applied to getting in the system to check my order, so I emailed them.
I provided my order number and contact infomation and I attached the invoice that I had copied. I recieved an email (from James) that told me they couldn't find my order with the information provided could I provide my order number, address and name!?! Also they wanted the original email, which they did not 'reply' to mine, which would have included the original email -(they started a new email) . So I replied and provided the information again.
I get an email response the next day (another new email - not a running reply), that says my order has been recieved and processed, gives me a new order number, and an account number.(With an order date 3 days after I actually placed my order). (This email was not signed).
Then 15 minutes later I get an email that says my order can't be processed because of some technical error and I have to call with a check or credit card number, (invoice attached). This email was from Vincent and did not include any of the previous emails.
Well first of all -the total cost was different. The $25.00 off for an order $50 or more was not applied and 2nd the shipping was more. So I email them back and ask what is actually happening with my order?? I was given ship dates and was told all is in process less than 15 minutes ago!
3 days later I still have not recv'd an answer as to what is happening with my order........so I email again (in reply form to the confirmation I rcv'd) and imbed the email that told me I have to call to make payment.
That was yesterday and I got no response. I think I'm going to have to do without feather hostas and find bittersweet elsewhere.....wish I had checked them out and read this site first!
On March 15th, 2009, huha17 added the following:
OK -I should have checked the website and my order so I could give the latest......NOW THERE ARE 2 ORDERS UNDER MY NAME UNDER 2 DIFFERENT ORDER NUMBERS FOR THE SAME ITEMS AND THE TOTALS DIFFERENT. I have emailed them both in reply to emails I have recv'd and thru the website. I'm done.On March 16th, 2009, huha17 added the following:
March 16, 2009 First thing I did when I got home today was call Springhill to cancel (BOTH ORDERS). Spoke to a man with a southern accent who advised me that I had called in the second order on 3.11.09 -my call was taken IN INDIA! I told him I did no such thing - if I had known they were routing emails through INDIA I never would have ordered from them in the first place.
I said that I had emailed that day to ask what was happening because I had recv'd an email that said the order was processing and then a second email less than 15 minutes later saying I had to call a payment in AND the prices were different. I told him I never got a response then found 2 DUPLICATE ORDERS on the site yesterday and at this point I was calling to cancel the whole thing.
It was cancelled promptly and I double checked the site and the orders were cancelled. I have not been charged -TG
Thank you guys for posting your troubles. I'll check here 1st the next time I think about using an online nursery!
On 3/12/09 UPS delivered my $165.92 order (minus 6 plants) and left them outside in the snow and sleet. When the frozen plants were found, I immediately called Spring Hill Nursery to request they send a call tag to pick up the frozen plants and told her I also was not pleased that roots had been substituted for some of the plants, and that I didn't order roots and didn't want roots. I told her that I specifically ordered only what I thought were plants...but apparently #1 field grown plants (strawberries) are just bare roots with a couple green frozen leaves attached. I was told to plant them, that I ordered them. Spring Hill also substituted roots for 14 plants that upon checking their website again, I could not find listed as #1 field grown plants. Because only one plant was marked as a sub on the invoice the rep. assumed the rest were roots that I ordered.
I fought to be able to speak with a supervisor, was placed on hold several times while the service rep. said she was trying to get a supervisor to take the call but that they were all unavailable. Short of her hanging up on me, I refused to end the call until I could speak with someone who could help me if she couldn't. Much later, when I finally did get to speak with someone who identified herself as a supervisor, this person was actually ruder than the service rep. The self proclaimed supervisor offered to reimburse me $18.95 if I shipped the plants back. Big deal. I wanted her to put the Spring Hill guarantee in action, reimburse me for the order, and take the dead plants and unwanted roots back. No such luck. I am very angry.
I called back again after totally unpacking the boxes in case I might be able to reach someone who could help me. I again requested Spring Hill send a call tag to have UPS pick up the entire shipment. Again I was told that they would only reimburse the shipping cost of $18.95 and that I would have to ship it back on my dime. I told this rep. that the plants were frozen and would be mush soon, that Spring Hill had enough of my money and I wasn't putting out any more as their promise to reimburse probably was about at good as their guarantee, that I was not pleased with the roots, that I did not want them and read the guarantee to her. Their No Risk Gardening Lifetime Guarantee prominently posted on their website states they will refund every cent you paid if you are not pleased with any plant upon receipt, after planting it, or once it grows. This service representative told me the plants arrived alive, so it didn't apply.
What kind of a company is this???? How can they get away with this?
On Feb 28, 2009, momma24 Cambridge City, IN wrote:
This company sucks! In August of 08 I placed an order online using a "free $25.00 worth of product" that popped up in a google ad while I was surfing the internet. All I had to pay was shipping. Total cost of my order was $8.41 cents and my items were to be shipped in spring of 09. Well here we are 6 months later and I get a little post card in the mail telling me my items are out of stock and for any inconvenience they were giving me five dollars off my next purchase!? My husband called the company asking if we could apply the coupon to items that may be in stock and we were told no. Then she tried telling him that when I used the coupon to begin with it was expired! BULL! So he wants to know why they are advertising expired coupons on google. No answer. I think it's ridiculous that it takes them six months to figure out they are out of stock of an item that doesn't ship until spring...and I think they are just plain stupid telling me my coupon code was expired. Expired coupon codes don't even work online when placing an order. They made no effort in trying to please me as a costumer. They were like...too bad soo sad for you!
I ordered $106.00 worth of plants this spring. When they arrived they were either rotten ot died within 2 weeks. I didn't pay because I wanted the plants. I sent emails, called (mail box was never opened) and a certified letter with no response. They turned me into the collection agency, well I talked with everyone and I paid the portion of the bill that the plants didn't die and said i'm not paying for dead plants, they said ok. 11-6-08 I get a bill from the collection agency and told them again what happened and they basically said to pay or it would be on my credit report. I got hold of springhill that said I need to pay but that they can't garantee that I would get replacements. So, I'm not paying it can stay on my credit report and thats the last time I will ever buy from them or Becks/brecks they are the same co.
