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We were suppose to recive a dormant tree but what we received was a brittle dead stick.
We sent an email and were told no refund or replacement without additional cost. A second email to the company owner went unanswered.
It's too bad there are so many negative comments here that are treated like what people are saying are unreasonable expectations. It seems that each response from Nature Hills in regard to negative feedback is the same canned answer. I looked on the Better Business Bureau site and they have multiple complaints about people receiving dead items. The findings always end in their favor due of their guarantee.
I had a family member send me a tree and it came in the mail dead. Not dormant, dead. The answer we got back was the guarantee copied and pasted in an email. The similar story we got from most negative feedback on this site.
They also mentioned "Our trees are rigorously inspected for height, weight, coloration, pliability and root structure before they are sent out". In another response they said “Due to the volumes that we do, orders are sent to packaging by the hundreds”. It sounds to me like there’s plenty of room for human error.
I’m quite certain they have more success stories with what they do. No doubt they are still getting people to buy from them online. Where they lack is putting themselves in the consumer’s shoes. If you order something and it arrives dead and then never comes back to life you should be allowed to get your money back. You should at the very least be afforded a replacement.
Hiding behind a terms and conditions paragraph with no flexibility is not much of a customer service model. In a day when we’re all trying to save money this doesn’t fly. It’s their terms and conditions so they can choose to do what they want. I wished the person who sent us our tree read this site first. It seems to me it’s a good place to shop as long as you get a live product when it arrives. All I can do now is make sure I let everyone I know what happened and be sure none of them ever shop there.
If you feel lucky go ahead and order from them. Just be darn sure your expectations are set in the event you receive a live tree. You will find yourself feeling like someone who's been duped.
On Sep 22, 2009, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
We certainly apologize that you had a failure with your order and that you feel that we always responded with "canned answers." There have been a few instances (but only a few instances) where responses are reused. This only happens if the rebuttal fits the comments of multiple posts. We do review each case when issues arise.
As you may have read in our terms and conditions, and in other rebuttals on Garden Watchdog, the trees that we ship are bareroot and will arrive dormant. They are dug in the early spring before any buds sprout and they are kept in cold storage until they are shipped. This ensures that the material remains dormant until it arrives. The inspection process (weight, coloration, root structure, etc.) allows us to verify the viability of the product, even in its dormant state. If product arrives damaged from transit, or there are any other issues with it when it arrives, we ask to be notified within 48 hours so that a claim can be initiated. If you feel that you notified us right away of an issue and something was overlooked, we would be more than happy to review the notes on the order. Just e-mail us at info@naturehills.com with the name used for the billing information and reference this post in the e-mail.
You also referenced the line in our terms about the volumes of orders that we ship. We do package and ship hundreds of trees per day during prime planting times, and we have shipped hundreds of thousands of trees over the years. We pride ourselves on the quality of our material and the packaging that it receives. If a mistake is made, and sometimes they do occur, we will resolve the situation (again if we are notified in a timely manor to do so).
We do try to put ourselves in the shoes of the consumer, and that is why we have constructed the replacement policy that we offer. When transplanting live material, there is always the risk of failure. There are many outside factors (such as temperature, weather conditions, soil types, levels of nutrients in the soil, plant disease, insect, and animals just to name a few) that can have a negative impact on the result of the transplant. Even in perfect conditions, there is a risk of loss when you uproot a tree and try to plant it in a new environment. This is why our replacement policy covers you no matter what. Any failed item can be replaced for half price plus shipping and handling in the first year. This way your are covered if it doesn't take or even if you accidentally run it over with your lawn mower.
This information is stated in our terms and conditions that are clearly posted on the website and stated again in the check out process. We do not hide these terms and conditions. We encourage our customers to read them carefully before they agree to them when placing the order.
Of course, in this instance, the terms would have been agreed upon by the person that purchased the gift for you. Being the recipient of the gift, you may not have been aware of our policies. Again, if you feel that we have missed something and that we need to review this case, e-mail info@naturehills.com and we will look into it.
I was interested in buying a mayhaw tree and found Nature Hills to be one of the few sources. Online reviews sounded encouraging but based on my experience I would have to give them a definite negative rating. They sent me a very small dormant, bare root specimen that looked to be fried-dried. I followed the planting instructions and also installed drip irrigation for it. When it failed to show any signs of life they reluctantly sent me another one. It also had very fine branches that also seemed freezer burned. It was planted immediately after UPS rang my doorbell with the delivery. Again no signs of life after many months of waiting. Nature Hills has tried to convince my that it might take up to ONE YEAR for it to break dormancy! Talk about bogus! Today when I spoke with them their only consolation was to offer me a half-price replacement with additional shipping and handling. What a racket! I wish I had discovered this forum before wasting my money. I am wondering if they intentionally string you along so that it will be too late to have any recourse with your credit card company as well. I now agree with others who have suggested to only buy locally. I may not be able to find the species I am looking for but at least I can choose a live tree not a DEAD one!
On Sep 4, 2009, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
We are certainly sorry to hear that you had a negative experience with Nature Hills. Our trees are shipped dormant, and will not have any leaves or buds on them when they first arrive. They are kept in a cold humid storage at 38 degrees to ensure that they remain dormant until they are shipped. The trees are never frozen through the process, but will look like a tree will in the winter time (no leaves, buds, etc.). These seedlings can be small at the age and height that we ship them, depending on the species. For material shipped in the spring, the trees should start to leaf and bud within the first 90 days (often this happens within the first few weeks it is planted). We apologize if there was a miscommunication and you thought it could take a year to leaf out, as that is not the case.
From your description, it sounds like there was an issue with the first mayhaw tree when it arrived and we replaced it for you. If there is a problem with the item on arrival, caused by either the packaging or the shipping, we will certainly replace the item at our cost (as we did with the original shipment). We just ask that you notify us of the problem right away so it can be resolved. If your order arrives without damage, our standard policy is that we replace failed items in the first year for half the current selling price plus shipping and handling. This is stated in the terms and conditions when you order, and we highly recommend all of our customers read these terms in full before agreeing to them.
If you feel that the second tree that was sent was damaged due to the shipment, we would be more than happy to take another look at your account. Just e-mail info@naturehills.com with your name and mention this post in the e-mail. We can review the information on your account and see if anything was missed.
I ordered lots of gooseberries and currants, along with 2 Ranier Cherries and 2 Plum Varieties. The trees are all dead...checked the bottom for any green and it was all brown. They have only been in the ground for two months, and I put them in some really good soil and mulched them well for moisture. They source their fruit trees from Dave Wilson's nursery in California, and Ive had bad luck with many of their trees (VERY unhardy...despite the zone recommendations.
I will simply try my best to avoid buy bare root trees from ANYONE now. Willis Orchards is the same...90% of my plants from them did not make it, while 95% of the plants I bought locally did.
I would recommend Natures Calling for the gooseberries and currants, but I would never buy trees from them again. And the return policy doesnt even make you want to return them.
On Aug 21, 2009, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
We are sorry to hear that you had issues with your order from Nature Hills. Our fruit trees are grown by Dave Wilson Nursery. We have shipped hundreds of thousands of fruit trees and feel that their trees are among the best grown in the United States. Their material has proven to be very successful when transplanted.
We also take pride in the quality of our gooseberry and currants, as well as all of our small fruit offerings. Failure is always a possibility when transplanting, however 90% failure rate of all bareroot material planted is definitely excessive. This would lead one to believe that there are some other outside factors that are causing such a high loss of failure.
Regardless, we do offer a one year replacement policy. Any failed item (or items) can be replaced, without question, for half price plus shipping and handling (as stated in our terms and conditions). We could certainly set up an order for next spring if you want to try again.
I bought three trees (~$100 with s/h). All arrived dead as doornails and stayed that way - no life whatsoever even after six weeks in the ground with lots of tlc. All nature hills will do is sell me three new trees at 1/2 price plus more s/h. no way they are getting more of my money. WHAT A TOTAL RIPOFF! order from somewhere else!
On Aug 13, 2009, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
Nature Hills sells bareroot trees and they are shipped dormant. The material is thoroughly inspected before it is shipped. We check the height, weight, coloration, root structure, and pliability of each tree that is shipped to ensure that viable material is shipped. Unfortunately, when working with live plant material there is a risk of loss.
Outside factors such as soil types, nutrient and pH levels of the soil, local climate, temperature conditions, and amount of water absorbed can cause items to fail. Failure can be also be caused by insects, disease, local wild life, or an act of nature (i.e. a heavy wind storm). Failure can also simply be caused by the plant/tree's inability to survive shock of transplant. That is why we offer a one-year, no questions asked, replacement policy.
It is stated in the terms and condition when an order is place that any failed item can be replaced within the first year for half the current selling price of the item, plus the shipping and handling. We are upfront about this policy, and these terms must be agreed to when an order is placed. We strongly encourage every customer to read these terms and conditions, in full, before they accept the terms and place their order.
Ordered a Sycamore tree, shipped dormant, but arrived dead, after 2 months in moist new potting soil, nothing. Company will not stand behind it, their policy is to give half off another tree if it dies within one year. My argument is the tree was never alive, they do not care, Buyer beware, They will sell you a dead tree then offer you another for half price. not much of a deal to me.
On Aug 10, 2009, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
Nature Hills sells bareroot trees and they are shipped dormant. The material is thoroughly inspected before it is shipped. We check the height, weight, coloration, root structure, and pliability of each tree that is shipped to ensure that viable material is shipped. Unfortunately, when working with live plant material there is a risk of loss.
Outside factors such as soil types, nutrient and pH levels of the soil, local climate, temperature conditions, and amount of water absorbed can cause items to fail. Failure can be also be caused by insects, disease, local wild life, or an act of nature (i.e. a heavy wind storm). Failure can also simply be caused by the plant/tree's inability to survive shock of transplant. That is why we offer a one-year, no questions asked, replacement policy.
It is stated in the terms and condition when an order is place that any failed item can be replaced within the first year for half the current selling price of the item, plus the shipping and handling. We are upfront about this policy, and these terms must be agreed to when an order is placed. We strongly encourage every customer to read these terms and conditions, in full, before they accept the terms and place their order.
buyer beware... I, too, ordered trees from Nature Hills Nursery last fall 2008. 1 Black Cherry and 1 Hazelnut. They arrived this May 2009, bare-rooted, but as expected. After planting them in amended soil and watering them diligently, the black Cherry showed no sighs of life and is nothing but a stick of dried out wood (aka dead). The Hazelnut just sprouted leaves at the root base (the rest of the 3-4ft "tree" is a stick of dead wood) hardly the plant I purchased.
I contact Nature Hills Nursery via email and was informed of their replacement policy -paraphrasing here- pay us again (1/2 price, plus shipping) and we'll send you replacements.
I've had good luck with bare-root stock from other suppliers - but will not use Nature Hills again. I recommend you find a vendor with 1-year full-replacement guarantee.
On Jul 17, 2009, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
We definitely dislike hearing about situations when our products do not survive the transplant, but unfortunately it is always a risk when working with live plant material. That is why we offer a replacement policy.
We are upfront about the replacement policy, as it is stated (in detail) in the terms and conditions that must be agreed upon before an order can be placed. When unforeseen circumstances occur, we do have the ability to replace failed items at half price plus the shipping and handling. This is a no questions asked policy, so items can be replaced regardless of the circumstance (as is not always the case with other on-line companies). We do recommend that the customer reads these terms and conditions in their entirety before submitting an order. That way everyone is on the same page and there are no surprises later on.
On Jul 14, 2009, Windmills Kernersville, NC wrote:
I ordered 8 trees from Nature Hills 2 months ago. 2 Japanese Red maples, 2 sourwoods, a tulip poplar, a weeping cherry, a weeping willow, and a red maple.
Both the japanese red maples were completely DOA, Everything else was hard to tell as they are just sticks bound together with twine. I went ahead and put everything in the ground anyway and waited to see. I had my doubts, especially since one of the jap maples was split from root to nearly halfway up the stem. To this day the Jap maples have not done anything, just sticks in the ground. One sourwood has put out a couple of shoots near the bottom, the other has not - just a stick in the ground. The tulip poplar also put out a shoot from the bottom, near the crown, the rest of the "stick" is dead. The weeping willow, weeping cherry, and red maple have put out some foliage, but they seem pretty sickly.
I called customer service shortly after my order arrived and expressed my concern for their health, especially for the jap maple split down the middle. The lady I spoke to assured me that they would grow in time, they are just dormant, etc. So I took the benefit of the doubt and put them in the ground. nearly 2 months later, I have the results above - 8 trees, all of them either dead or very sick. So I called customer service again and told them that I am calling back to report that I wanted a refund or replacement. I was then informed that they do not issue refunds, and that if I wanted a replacement I would have to pay half price for all of them, and I would not get them until next year in the spring. I asked if they would ship in the fall, and they told me no, since I had to have my entire order shipped again to me and they would not replace one tree at a time. I asked them that if they could not replace my order, then they should issue a refund, and they said it was not their policy. I am considering disputing this with my credit card company, since they took my money and gave me a faulty product, and will not do right by its customers.
Seeing from this list that I am not the only one who is recieving dead or nearly-dead trees from this company, and not being offered a refund or a no-cost replacement, it seems as though this is not just a one-time fluke. it's hard also to see how one could ship 8 trees all in this condition - I would expect 1 or 2 not to thrive, but all 8?
Based on this experience I will never buy from Nature Hills again. Very disappinted.
On Jul 14, 2009, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
The trees that are listed above (the Weeping Willow, Weeping Cherry, Red Maple, Sourwood, Japanese Red Maple and the Tulip Poplar) are all shipped bareroot and would arrive between 3 and 4 feet tall. Bareroot material is dug in the early spring and they are kept in a cooling facility (kept at 38 degrees) to keep it from leafing out until it is shipped. The species mentioned would arrive with little to no branching at the time that they are shipped, which can make them appear like a "stick." They are inspected for height, weight, coloration, root structure, and pliability before they are shipped to ensure that viable material is sent. We do ship in the spring, and that shipping has concluded as it is too warm to transplant bareroot material this time of year.
With that being said, it sounds like there may have been some inconsistencies with the customer service that you received. For that, we would like to apologize. In regards to the split in the Japanese Red Maple when it arrived, it should have been treated as a damage claim if we were notified right away. This item should have been reshipped right away. At this time, the fall would be the earliest time that we could ship you another one. The other inconsistency is that we can sent up an order with fall and spring items. The material would ship to you at the next available time, even if some items went in the fall and others went in the spring.
We would be more that happy to discuss the option with you if you would like to e-mail us at info@naturehills.com with your contact information.
Finally, there is concern about a loss of 8 trees. The species that you have mentioned are fairly easy to transplant and we haven't had any issues with those variety of trees. You said that the leaves looked sickly on the Weeping Cherry, Weeping Willow, and the Red Maple. There really isn't a way that a tree could be faulty or sickly when it is shipped dormant. If there is an issue with the leaves on the trees, then it would be an environmental factor. You might want to consult your county extension service to see if they have any thoughts. Loosing 5 out of 8 trees is a significant rate of loss, there might have been an issue in the area that they were planting that caused the issue. We do offer the 1/2 off replacement policy, but you will probably want to assess the area before attempting another transplant.
I ordered four trees from Nature Hills in May. The first one I got was bent at a rather odd angle in the box and ended up to be dead except for some growth that eventually came back from the bottom near the roots.
I sent an email explaining the problem with the tree and got no reply at all. I called them today and the man told me I would have to pay for half of the cost of the tree and shipping and handling. I was amazed that I am going to have to pay for replacement of a nearly dead tree which was that way when I got it. I have never heard of such a customer policy.
I ,too, wished I had read more carefully on their replacement policy before I ordered anything from this company. I would highly recommend that NO ONE ORDER A THING from NATURE HILLS!!!!!!!!! What a way to run a company. I am disgusted with this company and want to alert other people not to waste their money or time on them.
On Jul 13, 2009, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
The trees that are shipped from Nature Hills are bareroot, and they will arrive completely dormant. We inspect the trees thoroughly before they are shipped for weight, height, coloration, root structure, and pliability to be sure that viable material is shipped. However, when working with live plant material, there is always a possibility of the plant or tree not taking to the transplant. That is why we offer the 1 year replacement policy.
We certainly apologize if there was damage to the tree when it arrived. If a product arrives damaged, we ask that you notify us within 48 hours so that we can set up a damage claim. If we are not contacted within that time frame, we assume everything arrived safely and the standard replacement policy comes into play.
We also apologize that you didn't receive a response to your e-mail. We do typically reply to e-mails within 24 hours of receiving them. It may have been an issue where the e-mail never made it to us.
Hello
Like most on here I wish I would of found this site before I purchased from Nature Hills. Every negative comment is excatly how I feel. Here is my story.
I purchased online 15 raspberry plants and 3 apple trees. What I didn't realize is that it would take 2 months to ship. It never once told me that it wouldn't ship right away. I finally had to call and find out what was going on. I was ok with that. Next, we finally got them planted as per the instructions. Now we have noticed that some of them aren't alive. I would like to know how you are supposed to know that they are DOA? They come as just sticks anyway. It is not like they have leaves on them. But 5 of the 15 didn't live. Also when we recieved the apple trees, one of them didn't even have roots on it. Giving the benifit of the doubt we planted it anyway.
Now two months later the apple tree has just barely started to show signs of life and 5 of the raspberries are dead. So I called the customer service number with no answer. So I finally called back again and got a fine lady on the other end. (I say that very sarcasticly) I explained the situation and she explained that we had to pay to get the replacements. I guess I should of read better. That is my fault. But I would never purchase from them again. But after explaining to her that it seems to me that their policies only benifit them she said she was not going to argue with me. (I was just stating my opionion and never raised my voice once) And then it came.... SHE HUNG UP ON ME..... I would never order from them again. They seem to be running a scam. I am going to start up a online nursery and make people pay for dead plants. Seems like a great idea.
I do not reccommend this company to anyone. Unless you want to end up paying 1 1/2+ times for your plants. Cause that is what it boils down to here.
On Jul 2, 2009, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
We certainly apologize for the way you were treated. Our customer service representatives do reserve the right to hang up the phone if the customer is vulgar, but should not hang up if you were simply asking a question. We would be more than happy to review the situation and would appreciate the opportunity to try and correct the situation. If you could e-mail us directly at info@naturehills.com with your name (and a mention of the post above), we will do our best to correct the situation.
This is a company with a serious customer service problem.
I ordered 5 dogwoods, 2 pink, 2 white, one lavender (Kousa). The first two came fairly quickly (>2 weeks?), and I got them in the ground, with extreme care and preparation, right away. I'm in VA, state tree the Dogwood, and this spring conditions were nothing short of ideal. When the last tree still had not arrived about three weeks later, I went up to the website in the morning, and confirmed that the status was still "not shipped". Later that day I called and inquired with perfect politeness and absolutely no rancor, about the order status of the final tree. The woman with whom I spoke seemed positively annoyed by my query, and when we both looked at the website the status had indeed changed to "shipped". I apologized cheerfully but this did not improve the customer service representative's attitude.
About 40 days after the first trees had arrived and been planted, it became clear that one of the Pink Dogwoods was DOA; all the other trees, including the late arrival, were coming along very nicely. I know well this is how it goes with trees, especially mail order bare stock, and figured it would be pretty routine to get a replacement. No such luck. I really wanted to get the replacement as soon as possible so that I could get the tree in before the days turned too hot. I emailed the address provided on the website for replacement requests, and heard nothing back for over a week. Finally, I went ahead and called customer service. I believe I once again got the lady from the previous call. What I expected to be a routine business transaction turned into quite an unpleasant experience. Rather than spending our time discussing arrangements for a replacement, I was forced into a circular argument about whether or not the tree was actually dead. Think about it -- someone nearly a whole continent away from the tree was disputing the opinion of the person literally standing next to the tree! At one point, when I tried to refocus the conversation on the business at hand as she was expressing her opinion about the health of the tree for the third time, she told me to "stop talking and listen".
In replies (most of which are just boilerplate) to complaints on this forum Nature Hills representative(s) state that Nature Hills has a "no questions asked" replacement policy (notice, though, how the rep. at one point qualifies this "policy" with language about not requiring a picture or "submitting a claim" -- whatever that means). I can affirm from personal experience that this is absolutely false -- I was asked questions until I finally put my foot down!
Keep in mind that Nature Hills "replacement policy" requires you to pay half price for the replacement tree in addition to shipping and handling. So, for my replacement, I would have been paying a total of about $23, versus about $35 for a brand new order -- not exactly a bargain, considering the first tree was a total loss!
Anyway, I finally got my request (and payment information) for the replacement processed. Remember, I was now in a race against time to get this tree into the ground before hot summer conditions set in. Over two weeks after submitting my replacement request, by which time I was beginning to wonder when my tree was going to arrive, I received an email informing me that Pink Flowering Dogwoods were now out of stock, and offering me the waiting till the fall, or the next spring. It seems to me that if you cannot replace a faulty product you are obliged to offer a refund, but I'm sure Nature Hills has language somewhere that frees them from this basic common sense customer service obligation.
I replied with a message expressing my displeasure, to which I have not received a response.
What we have here is one of those companies that only take customer satisfaction seriously when complaints reach a public forum like this one, so if you need to vent, this is really your only option. I too wish I had found this forum before ordering from Nature Hills Nursery.
Nature Hills reps on this forum repeatedly state the following: "We have to work within the terms and conditions that were agreed to upon at the time of the order." My advice to prospective customers: Work within the terms and conditions of another company.
I've written of the cost of dead tree and am looking locally for a replacement that I can get in the ground as soon as possible.
And yes, the tree is still dead.
PS -- to the person whose Green Giant Arborvitae from Nature Hills didn't do well - I ordered thirty 12' bare root Green Giants, five 12" Wintergreens, and five 6" Fraser Firs from Musser Forests and EVERY SINGLE ONE is doing great!
On Jun 4, 2009, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
We would like to sincerely apologize. We try to speedily respond to e-mails and were unable to do so in this case. It sounds like the biggest issue was the customer service call that you placed.
This is certainly not how we strive to conduct ourselves at Nature Hills and this issue will certainly be addressed internally. The replacement process should be smooth, and it was anything but in the case.
We would like the opportunity to try and make this right. If you could please e-mail us your name to info@naturehills.com, we will try and amend the situation as best we can (given the trouble you have already been through). Again we apologize for the inconvenience you experienced.
Nature Hills Nursery - Shipments Dead on Arrival (TWICE)
I am a farmer with a large vegetable and cash crop operation in Michigan and have been farming for over 30 years. I was looking to diversify my farm woodlot with a fifty American sycamore trees. I decided to order trees from Nature Hills Nursery early in 2008. The entire shipment showed up on my farm dead on arrival. The trees had no roots and arrived bone dry. Nature Hills literature found in the boxes advised the customer to plant them anyway as according to Nature Hills their trees arrive dormant and you need to plant them as is. My orchard has automatic irrigation with injects water directly into the roots. These Nature Hills Nursery sycamores were watered and never came out of the so called "dormancy". Nature Hills representative agreed to replace the entire shipment as long as my farm operation paid for the shipping cost - I agreed to this additional cost. The trees arrived two weeks ago (May 2009) again bone dry with very little roots. They were all promptly planted in highly fertile soil and set up with automatic irrigation. I was only able to revive about half of them. I called them back today for their advice and they told me that Nature Hills Nursery has a "ONE TIME REPLACEMENT POLICY". I offered to pay the shipping for a third shipment - the manager WOULD NOT do anything to help me.
As an highly experienced farmer who has transplanted thousands of vegetable plants and trees, worked with major live plant suppliers, I would not recommend Nature Hills Nursery products to anyone. Their delivered product have poor quality (bare roots, roots that have been trimmed, roots that are dry with no soil) and their warranty is very poor (you must pay for the shipping of replacement products and they only replace dead products once.
On May 29, 2009, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
Our trees are rigorously inspected for height, weight, coloration, pliability and root structure before they are sent out. This ensures that viable material is shipped to our customers. It is recommended for bareroot material to be planted within 48 hours of arrival. We do include a note when we ship the product that bareroot material is shipped dormant for those who may not have worked with bareroot material before. As we state in our terms and conditions, if there is an issue with your order upon arrival you must notify us of the issue with 48 hours of it arriving. We would then asses the situation and act accordingly. If you did not notify us right away, then we would not have known that there was a problem with your order. Because there is a risk of loss any time you work with live plant material, we offer a replacement policy. It is stated at the time that you order that it is a one time replacement. We apologize if you didn't see that when you ordered, but we do have to abide by the agreement that we set when the order was placed.
Ordered 4 maples. The shipping was $9.95 for the whole order so I thought this was a good value. I didn't look carefully at the symbol that these were bare root. I don't think they make it clear. They were shipped in 2 boxes. 3 trees were okay sized, but hard to tell it they are alive or not. The 4th tree that was supposed to be 3 feet tall is barely 1 foot and I at first missed it as it was so tiny and it was packaged in plastic with another normal sized tree. The roots were dry. It is less than the thickness of a pencil or straw...a tiny twig. I first called and left a message to customer service that it was missing. They never called back. I called again to tell them it is here after all, but to complain of the size and ask for a refund or replacement. Haven't heard back. Not a good value at all. Disappointing!
On May 29th, 2009, sandpoms added the following:
They called back and apoligized for shipping the wrong size and are sending a new one at no additional fee. They said it will be here next week.On May 29, 2009, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
Sorry that there was a delay in getting back to you from your first call. We hope everything is satisfactory for you now. Please let us know if there is anymore we can do.
BEWARE!!!! I will do business elsewhere next time around and wish I would have found this link prior to placing my order with Nature Hills. Their communication is HORRIBLE. Don't expect to ever hear back from these people once they take your money. I ordered 2 bare root lilac bushes. I realize these were bare root plants but 90 days is way too long to see if something will come out of dormancy. We are already into the peak of our summer here. Come to find out, after much research on bare root plants, they DO NOT ship their plants correctly which could possibly be a good reason as to why so many people have bare root failures with this company. I feel that the amount of money I spent on shipping that they would have been properly packaged, instead, I received 2 bushes shoved into a cardboard box that spent a week in transit. I think this company makes all of its money on its policies......1/2 the price of the plant and you pay S&H. Total ripoff. If I do ever receive a response from this company I will not bother wasting any more of my money with them. Could anyone suggest a quality company to order plants from?
On May 29, 2009, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
Nature Hills ships hundreds of thousands of plants and we package each order with care. If there was an issue with the packaging or the the plants arrived damaged we would certainly take care of the issue. Have you contacted our customer service department? Please let us know and we will look into the situation. We have the 1/2 off replacement if there is failure in the first year, but if it arrived damaged we would cover the replacement. We just ask that you notify us within 48 hours of the issue, as per our terms and conditions. Just let us know and we will see if we can get this issue resolved.
IT is pretty obvious that this is a poorly run company with an average of 50% negative feedback.I would not have ordered if I could have found my items somewhere else...so I took a chance..despite the feedback.
I ordered two willow oak trees on 07/08/08 expecting to recieve them immediatly..BUT I did not read the fine print which said they would not ship till fall....I recieved them in December.DEAD. they never leaved out...
The warranty is 50% of price plus shipping,,,,why should I take the chance to pay for more dead trees....
On May 28, 2009, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
We certainly apologize that you have had an issue with your order. We try to post our shipping times in several places to make it appearent when your order will ship. After the first week of July, it is generally too had to transplant in most areas of the country. At that point last year, it just wasn't safe to ship material. With that being said, if there was an issue with the order upon arrival, then we need to look closer at the situation. If you could please e-mail us at info@naturehills.com. Please include the first and last name used for the billing information and reference this post in the e-mail, we will review the situation and see if there is anymore we can do. Most of the positive reviews we receive on this sight are about the quality of our products. Please give us a chance to review this.
When I ordered $183. worth of trees over phone I was advised of their no hassle guarantee, of 13 trees 4 outright failed,and 1 was D.O.A, it happen to be a $38.00 Cimaron ash, one of two. After planting it in rich soil, with planting soil in hope it would survive. when Spring broke it was outright dead, while the others were budding, the other 5 did not survive. I called N.Hills Whomever I spoke with, told me to give it another month then e-mail photos of dead trees. Even after giving a few more weeks hoping for a sign of survival, it was obvious the trees failed. when I called back I was told I can only re-order at 1/2 price plus S+H. They refuse to give even a 1/2 credit on the failed trees. Bottom line N.H. is a Rip off. If You order from them Its Buyer Beware, Never Again from N.H. Managing Supervisor is Bryan, and very quick to throw out their buyagain 1/2 price policy. Some no quibble.
On May 18, 2009, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
We do have a policy to replace failed items in the first year, no questions asked, for half price plus shipping and handling. With bareroot material, we do need to wait to make sure that the plants have enough time to break dormancy (this can take 60 days or more). They might have had you do that if there was questions about the plant prior to the 60 days. If you had issues with a tree when it arrived and it was reported within the appropriate time, we can certainly revisit the issue. If you would like us to investigate it further, please send us an e-mail to info@naturehills.com
I purchased (25) 1 foot bare root Green Giant Arborvitae and all but (1) died within a month. I emailed the company and got a run-around the "terms and conditions". Instead of standing behind the plants they sell, they want me to pay half of the cost of the plants again plus S & H. What a joke. I will never buy from them again. Recently we also found that a cherry tree we purchased with the Thuja's has died as well. They will not see my money again. Buyer beware!!!
On Apr 21, 2009, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
We certainly apologize if you feel that you were given "the run-around." We do have to abide by the terms and conditions that were agreed upon when the order was placed. If this was a case of damage and it was reported to us, we might have other options for you.
Because there is always a risk that a plant or tree will not take after being transplanted, we do offer a blanket replacement policy. Failed items can be replaced within the first year, no questions asked, for half the price paid plus the shipping and handling. That way you are covered no matter what happens to the plant or tree.
Our fruit trees and our Arborvitaes ship from different centers, so it seems unlikely that there would have been damages to both shipments (although stranger things have happened). We ship hundreds of thousands of plants per year, thousands of which are the Arborvitaes. We just haven't experienced a loss of this magnitude with those trees. A loss of that size could have been caused by other underlying factors such as weather, soil, insects, etc. It may be beneficial to have a soil test preformed in the area, or to consult your local county extension office.
We would be happy to discuss the issue further to try and determine the cause, if you like. If you feel this was a case of damage during shipping, certainly let us know if you would like us to revisit that issue as well.
Beware! You cannot cancel orders with Nature Hills. Their order confirmation email says you can, with a small fee, up until your product is "shipped"...but you really can't.
When I tried, I was told there is a longer and more restrictive policy somewhere on their site that states you can't cancel if there is any kind of packaging process going on.... I guess I wasn't supposed to trust the emailed policy they sent me.
It gets worse, because "selecting items from inventory" is a "packaging" activity according to them and, therefore, creates an uncancelable order. So, they have been "selecting items from inventory" for a month now...and won't let me cancel the order. Think about it...when are they not "selecting" items or doing something that they can consider "packaging" or "shipping"?
I was shocked at how they treated me when I sent them the language from their own order confirmation email. They got defensive instead of trying to provide customer service.
In short, I will never do business with them again. Any company that is misleading like that and then follows up with classic customer-no-service is not to be trusted again.
PS - My only other purchase there arrived with half the plants dead. I considered this a risk of mail-order plant purchases and wasn't upset (they were inexpensive). Of course, after this current issue I am upset. :)
I hope these new plants arrive alive!!!
On Apr 3, 2009, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
I want to apologize that you had a negative customer service experience. We would be more than happy to take a look at the situation for you. If plants arrived damaged, then we can try and set up a damage claim (that will depend on how long ago the damage occurred).
When it comes to cancelling orders, we can up until they are sent to the warehouse. Due to the volumes that we do, orders are sent to packaging by the hundreds and it can take a few days for the warehouse to get through a pile. Once it gets to that point, we would have to halt the entire shipping process to manually search through hundreds of orders. It is just isn't feasible to hold up shipping on a large number of orders to try and stop one from going. That is why we don't cancel once it gets to that point.
However, if your order has been "gathering items" (which means in packaging) for that long of a time, then there might be an issue with the order. If you could send us an e-mail to info@naturehills.com with "packaging issue" in the subject line, we would be more than happy to look into it. If we can cancel it, we certainly will. If not, we can try and get a status on the shipping. Let us know and we will try to resolve the situation the best we can. If it was a mistake on our part, we would like to try and make it right for you.
My purchase from Nature Hills turned into the single worst customer service experience I have ever suffered. I received bad products and could not get anyone to help. Oh, they know their "terms and conditions" by heart, but they have a LOT to learn about taking care of their customers. It seems they at least are now paying attention to the folks who use The Garden Watchdog as witnessed by the many recent "company representative" responses. It makes you wonder why they didn't just give good customer service from the start.
On Nov 3, 2008, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
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On Nov 4, 2008 9:17 AM, Nature Hills Nursery added:
We certainly apologize that you had such a negative customer service experience with us. We would be happy to review the situation and see if there is anything we can do to assist you. We do have to work within the terms and conditions that were agreed to upon at the time of the order. If you feel that these terms were not met, please e-mail us at info@naturehills.com with your name and order number (you can reference this post also) and we will see if there is something more we can do.
On Sep 26, 2008, DeeCee_4 Chicago Park, CA (Zone 8b) wrote:
I am now into my 13th day of waiting for my plants to be shipped and am already disgusted. Although it does say shipped in 10 to 14 days, that is generally the worst-case-senario for most mail order companies during a very busy time.
The first ten days my order was being "processed". For the past three days my plants have been being "pulled from inventory." (MInd you, I'm talking about 5 groundcover plants in 3 inch pots and a 1 gal. perennial flower) but for some reason, they're still being pulled from inventory. Absurd!
I hold little hope that when, and if my plants finally get here they will be anything worth planting and the $77 shelled out.
I had hoped to get some sort of root system started, but that's not likely to happen at this late date. I am enjoying the 4 and 8 foot trees I ordered from a more reputable company on the same date and which arrived and were planted with-in 5 days.
If you smoke, you are at a much higher risk of getting cancer. If you order from Nature Hills, seems you've got a pretty high chance of getting burned.
On October 11th, 2008, DeeCee_4 added the following:
Plants arrived Oct. 3rd. Pathetic and puny. A variagated grass I ordered is not variagated. None of these are well grown, well cared for plants.
I've planted them, but they are definately not what I paid for. I would have been ripped off at half the price. I've seen better at a back-lot, throw-away clearance sale.On Sep 26, 2008, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
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On Oct 21, 2008 3:04 PM, Nature Hills Nursery added:
We want to apologize that you had such a negative experience with Nature Hills. Feedback, whether it positive or negative, helps us to identify our strengths and weaknesses.
Sometimes it can take the full 10 to 14 days for an order to ship. We try to ship orders at the beginning of the week and devote the last part of the work-week to preparing orders for shipping the following week. Once an order goes to the shipping center, your account will display that the items are "being gathered from inventory." At that time, our crews are pulling plants from the greenhouse and moving them into the packaging center. At the packaging center, the plants are being prepared to be boxed and shipped. Depending on what day you order, it can take closer to the full 10 to 14 days to ship.
This might explain why the status said that items were being gathered for several days, but it does not explain why the plants arrived in the condition that you described. We pride our self on shipping quality plants. I am not sure of the details surrounding the shipment, but it sounds like we failed in this case. Again we apologize, and we certainly want to make this right for you. If you could contact us with your name and order number, we can do our best to resolve the situation. We would appreciate it if you give us the opportunity to make it up to you.
I ordered a Shamrock Linden tree on June 11, 2008. It arrived a week later dried out, leafless, with the tip folded over. When I contacted Customer Service, the representative said that the tree was "dormant" and would break dormancy within 90 days (also that the tip would straighten out). I planted it immediately. After 90 days, the tree had not changed appearance. When I again contacted Customer Service, I was told that that item was not in stock, and I would not receive a refund. I would recommend never dealing with this supplier. They ship bad product and do not stand behind it. There are thousands of other nurseries that ship excellent goods, and gladly.
On Sep 3, 2008, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
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On Oct 22, 2008 8:57 AM, Nature Hills Nursery added:
It is not uncommon for bareroot material to take several weeks to break dormancy, and it can take up to 90 days. Since bareroot material is shipped and harvested when it is dormant, we are limited on times that we can ship. For those in cooler zones, material is only shipped in the spring as this is the safest time for transplanting bareroot items.
Through conversations with this customer, we were able to reach an agreement that fell within the terms and conditions posted on the site. A new plant was shipped and the issue has been resolved.
I too was duped, Very sad that a company that seems to have so many positives would not care about the negative experience of others so that they may in turn shop with them again. Bryan explains the return policy with such ease, I am at fault I should have read the return policy myself I bought 2 plants a pontiella, and petit blue that doesnt bloom until late in the year not one bud or sign of life. The pointiella came with green leaves, and brown stems, by July all brown. Why would Nature Hills think someone would want to buy plants that failed at half price with a shipping fee? Because they don't think, they know you won't.
On Aug 29, 2008, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
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On Oct 22, 2008 9:27 AM, Nature Hills Nursery added:
Unfortunately, there is always a risk of failure when it comes to transplanting live material. Temperatures, soil conditions, water levels, and other environmental factors can impact the growth (or lack of growth) with a newly transplanted item. That is why we offer a no questions asked replacement policy. We can sent replacements in the first year for half the price paid for the failed item plus the shipping and handling. This policy is stated in the terms and conditions.
If an item arrives damaged due to the shipping, we will replace it if we are notified of the issue in a timely manor. Damage requests have to be submitted promptly so that an investigation can be conducted if needed. If the damage is reported after we are able to put together a claim, then we are only able to rely on our standard replacement policy."
On 5/7 I received and planted two dormant bare root dogwood trees. After a month I saw no signs of life and contacted the company and got a response back from Bryan who advised me that it can take 90 days for a dormant bare rooted tree to break dormancy. Well I still have two "dormant (dead)" trees. For a one time replacement I would have to pay half price, plus s/h. No guarantee on the replacement. I lost $48 dollars and wasn't about losing more. Wish I had found this web site prior to my ordering.
On Aug 7, 2008, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
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On Oct 22, 2008 10:39 AM, Nature Hills Nursery added:
One of the risks when working with live material, is that there is the possibility that a the item will not survive the transplant. There are so many factors that can contribute to the loss of a plant, including extreme temperatures, less than ideal soil conditions, or unpredictable weather patterns. We try to offset these obstacles by offering a no questions asked replacement policy for half the price paid for the item lost and the shipping and handling. This allows are customers to replace items without having to submit a claim, send in pictures, etc."
Nature Hills has a very liberal return policy--for themselves, not for their customers.
In May I ordered 5 plants (bare root). They arrived mid week so I heeled them into a raised bed planter until I could put them in their own pots. They broke dormancy and everything was looking fine. Then one by one the leaves started withering up. Out of the five only one is alive.
When I called to discuss replacement or refund with the company I was informed that I could replace them by paying 50% and shipping. Refund is not an option. After I expressed my dismay I was told that it is clear what the policy is in the guarantee section of the website.
Well, that's fantastic except for my plants never made it into the ground before dying so basically they were shipped, heeled in, broke dormancy, potted and then died. Nature Hills thinks their solution to this is acceptable. I don't and I hope you don't either. Save your money and don't spend with a company that won't honor the customer or back it's product's viability.
On Jul 29, 2008, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
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On Oct 22, 2008 10:45 AM, Nature Hills Nursery added:
When shipping bareroot items, we can ensure that the material is viable when it leaves the warehouse. However, it is impossible to guarantee the growth habits once an item is planted. Environmental factors, among other things can prohibit the growth and success of a plant.
We try an offset these unforeseen issues by allowing the customer to replace any plant that doesn't make it for half the original cost that was paid, along with the transportation fees. We certainly will stand behind our products as stated in the terms and conditions that were agreed upon at the time of the sale.
Ordered 3 rose bushes, received about a month ago. 1st - although some were described as possible container plants, NH could not tell me anything about whether I could grow them in containers and overwinter them inside in zone 5. (Later, it turned out Home Depot could even tell me more about this re: their rose bushes.) Worse - 2 of the 3 have shown no signs of life, and seem if anything to be deteriorating, although the 3rd is "coming out of dormancy" under the same conditions. At one point someone at NH told me the plants might just need more time to come out of dormancy, but if they didn't, they would be replaced. More recently I have been told I will have to pay 1/2 the price again, PLUS shipping, for any replacements. In contrast - I ordered a rose bush from another online grower. They have not shipped it yet b/c they watch the plant for a couple weeks to make sure it is healthy and ALIVE when they ship it - I prefer this, although it causes later shipping.
A more minor criticism - the 4th plant I got from NH - a cherry tree - looks like it was grown up against a wall, w/growth exactly on 3 sides, on a very even plane. It is very young and I don't want to overprune it to even it out, even if it begins to get branches on the 4th side - I hope it will not end up w/most or all of its growth on 3 sides and a balance problem.
On Jul 14, 2008, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
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On Oct 22, 2008 10:54 AM, Nature Hills Nursery added:
Unfortunately, there is always a risk of failure when it comes to transplanting live material. Different environmental factors (such as temperatures, soil conditions, and amounts of water) can impact the growth, or the absence of growth, with a newly transplanted shrub. If a plant it unable to survive the shock of being planted, then we can always replace the item for half the price paid plus shipping without question.
If an item arrives damaged due to the shipping, we as that we are notified immediately so that the proper course of action can be taken. If the damage is reported after we are able to put together a claim, then we are only able to rely on our standard replacement policy."
Please head warnings for this company! They use your money immediately and make weather excuses for not shipping product in time frame listed on their site just as many other negative experiences list. My experience: Placed approx. $100 order June 9, 2008. All items showed will ship in 10-14 days. My credit card charged immediately for full amount June 9th. June 25th contact company for when final 3 of 5 items will be shipped. Company rep, Bryan, replied sent to packaging.......ship any day. No emails as to items shipped and no product, so contacted June 30th. July 1st email said had delays of product due to flooding in other states. Also said wanted to wait until after July 4th. How is product delayed AND in packaging??? It is now July 9th, no emails, money gone, no product. I have notified Patti I will be contacting BBB upon no product by end of next week. Too hard to get plants going in July and August around here and the company is only a three hour drive from me and knows this.......would have ordered another place knowing the shipping would be so late. Also had an issue with charge for one tree. Sale was changed to better price the day I ordered, but was charged previous price. Said can't do anything about it but give me discount on next order. Not a chance on another order after all this!!!
On Jul 9, 2008, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
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On Oct 22, 2008 11:13 AM, Nature Hills Nursery added:
Weather delays are certainly an issue when shipping plant material. Mother Nature can sometimes offer up conditions that restrict us from safely sending viable material. We try to adhere to the shipping times posted as much as possible, but we want to make sure that the order is received in a satisfactory condition for the customer.
Better communication between the warehouse and the call center certainly could have improved this situation by allowing us to keep the customer informed. That is an area that has improved and will continue to improve as order volume increases."
Bought a tree from them, dead on delivery. I email them and did not get any response. I am not going to waste my time trying to get half credit for $25 tree. I am glad that this happened in my first order.
I ordered 2 shrubs from Nature Hills in late March with a confirmation of shipping in late April. They shipped them on June 3rd and I received them June 9th. When I opened the boxes up I discovered that both shrubs had leafed out but the top half of both of them had died. the leaves and blossoms had withered up. I immediately emailed the company. after 4 emails and no response I called them. I took pictures of them and sent them to them. I received an email from them that they would send replacements in about 10 days. yesterday I received a phone call from a Patti who explained that they were just dormant and it would take 60 days to come to life...they are not dormant..they are dead. one was a viburnum and the other a hydrangea..after spending $78 dollars on them. please beware of this company and their useless guarantee..they do not stand behind it. I have registered a complaint with the Nebraska Better Business Bureau and perhaps they can get somewhere with them..do not buy anything from them. I have learned that it pays to investigate a company before you spend your money. I will be buying at Lowes or Home Depot from now on..
I ordered a "beauty bush" from this company. The bush arrived looking quite dead without any leaves . I planted the bush anyway (thinking it was dormant) and sent the company a quick email to let them know what happened. They agreed that the bush was dormant but that it would take up to 90 days to "wake up". I don't know how everyone else feels but I thinks its absurd to ask a customer to wait 90 days to see if a plant that looks dead is in fact dead. So far, they have not replaced the bush or given me a refund.
Material send was not packaged properly virtually all the$1200 worth of material is now dead. I know how to plant and maintain, you are better off throwing your money away. Warrenty- I got about 1/2 replaced , but I got a call saying some things woudld not be in until next year do you want to change material. Turns out the replacement is not exchaged by cost but by piece so my $22 plant got replaced with a $5 plant. By the time I was done taking pictures , paying for shipping, replanting what is probably the same poorly extracted material I would have been much better off buying local higher quality, less quantity or going to Home Dpot and getting better quality. Dont be ripped off, this place is a scam.
On Jun 3, 2008, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
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On Oct 22, 2008 1:57 PM, Nature Hills Nursery added:
Nature Hills has worked with this customer and a solutions was reached to replace the failed items. "
Beware of this nursery! My experience is like the other negative comments. I ordered a ginger gold apple tree. The 4' tree came with a single 8" root. When it failed (big surprise there), I called for a replacement. The amount of effort to get a new tree is amazing. Two phone calls, multiple emails - but the worst part is that I have to pay again for shipping and handling. In more that 30 years of ordering plants from mail order nurseries, this is a first. DO NOT BUY FROM THESE PEOPLE UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO THROW YOUR MONEY AWAY!
I ordered 2 serviceberry trees last year. I opened them immediately upon receipt. There was no root system at all on one, very little on the other. One had already broken dormancy. I notified the company by email that I was not satisfied. No response. I planted immediately per the instructions. Both plants promptly died. I requested replacement; they insist that they must receive a photograph for proof. I am not able to get an adequate picture of 2 dead sticks about 4-6" high. I will never do business with them again and recommend no one else do business with them either. I am out my money since they refuse to replace these items or refund the money without a photograph.
I have ordered from Nature Hills Nursery several times, and have frequently run into problems. My latest order was typical: two Lonicera maackii shrubs that turned out to be riddled with a disease that is causing leaf necrosis and premature drop. I have also had items arrive dead due to shipping delays. We order large numbers of a wide diversity of plants for research purposes and house them in University greenhouses and experimental gardens, and I only use Nature Hills as a last resort due to quality issues.
Please see the link to a different website where I have posted my problems with Nature Hills. Customers here could possibily post comments here and have their problems resolved. I won't EVER purchase from Nature Hill again, but at least I got my money back plus the 10% cancellation fee they impose.
Good luck with this company.
When I first put an order in, the girl on the phone was very nice. I ordered 3 hardy hibiscus @ 20.00 each. When they arrived, there were only 2 plants, they were dormant sticks. I planted and called the company, they said they would send a 3rd one out. I didn't recieve a plant, a phone call or an email for 3 weeks, so I called them back. The girl that answered the phone had a bad attitude problem, definately not the one I talked to on the phone before. She was hateful and nasty, yelled so loud I couldn't understand anything she was saying and then she hung up. I called back a week later, after I still had not recieved my plant or an email and a guy answered the phone. I explained everything to him and he said one would be shipped within 3 weeks. Still nothing 3 weeks later so I emailed them and got no response for a week. By this time I had all I could take and rewrote them a letter telling them to either ship my plant or refund my money. I re-sent this same letter every other day for 3 weeks and nothing. I emailed them again the following spring, no reponse so I called them and was told I would get a store credit and that I could order anything I wanted. Finally, at least I got a store credit. At this point I was going on vacation and thought I would order something when I got back. A month later when I came back from vacation I called to use my credit and was told I was not in their system so I had to explain everything all over again and then was told Sorry, you must have ordered through someone else because you arent in our system. No refund... No store credit... No phone calls returned... Nothing! And I notice this company has only got worse. Plant loving people out there, DON'T order from this company unless you enjoy the run around, major headaches and being ripped off. If they have something on their website you decide you want, chances are someone else has it too and you will have a much better experience so go somewhere else and buy it. This company is on a downward spiral and they are only getting worse.
On September 12th, 2007, Ice_Angel added the following:
After posting this comment I recieved an email from Jeff asking me to email him my name and order # so that he could make it right. I don't have a clue as to what my order # is anymore and I am not interested in any more plants as I have ordered from elsewhere and now have over 300 perennials in my yard. That was back when I was just starting out so I learned early on to ask multiple questions and look here for other vendors. If I were you I would worry about your future customers and make sure those kids you hire to answer the phones are not snobbs. I realize finding good help these days is hard because not many people want to work, they only want to recieve a paycheck but the people you have working for you are the ones who are going to earn you a name, along with your products and one is not good without the other.
On April 29th '07, I ordered 10 Hardy Hibiscus plants from Nature Hills Nursery. Weeks went by with no plants or tracking number. I called the company to get a ball park idea of an estimated arrival date. A very rude person explained that the weather, coupled with a heavy volume of calls from people inquiring on their orders, was taking up so much of their time that it was causing shipping delays. I then received an email wich included these comments :
For those of you who have sent emails or phoned us concerning your order status, we ask you to please be patient. Because of the shipping delay and number of order status inquiries, we have been unable to reply to many of the inquiries in a timely manner. We do apologize for this and you can be assured that your order is in queue and will be shipped to you as quickly as we can with plenty of time for planting in your zone. We anticipate having most pending orders for zones 5 thru 10 shipped out within the next two weeks. If you are in zone 3 or 4 we will begin shipping your order once we get caught up on the higher zones.
We also ask that you do not reply to this email or inquire as to the status of your order while we are catching up, as this will allow our customer service staff to serve all customer inquiries appropriately.
Eventually my plants showed up, in two shipments, weeks apart. They were packaged very nicely. The second bunch that arrived looked like dead sticks.
We followed directions for planting and installed a soaker system. Despite our best efforts, the 4 dead sticks never showed signs of life, one plant turned brown and died within the first couple of weeks, another died several weeks later. Two don't look well and I can't imagine they will survive winter. Their stalks are no bigger than a Q-tip. One plant has lived up to the companies description and is stunning. It's stalks are 50 cent piece to silver dollar size diameter. One plant that looked like it would die has bounced back, is blooming and I feel hopeful it will survive.
I contactedd Nature Hills by phone on June 20th to describe my dead and dying plants. I was told to wait 60 days from planting, then contact them. July 24th I sent a detailed description of of the condition of these plants on the companies 'on-line customer service request form', which took an hour to complete, only to get an 'error in sending' message, then a 'page not responding' message.
I then retyped and e-mailed the whole description again.
On Aug. 14 I got this unsigned response:
Good Morning,
Thank you for your detailed message that you sent on the plants. If you would please send over pictures I can file the claim for you. The bad part is that we will not be able to replace them with the same product as we are not going to be carrying them anymore. I would go ahead and get the pictures in so that you can at least get an in-store credit and look for something else.
Thank you
We don't want to substitute these plants we want to replace them. I certainly am skepticle to order plants from Nature Hills after a 60-70 % loss in our only order from them.
August 14 I responded:
I will be happy to forward photos of all 6 dead plants. We will be planting hibiscus in place of the ones that are dead. Are you no longer carrying these exact hibiscus or no hardy hibiscus at all? If you cannot replace the dead ones I want a full refund credited back to my credit card. Store credit is unacceptable unless it is in the form of replacement plants. Thank you and I hope you understand.
August 15 I got this response:
Good Afternoon,
I am sorry to report we will no longer be carrying any of them. I can only do the in-store credit as we do not have a refund policy.
Thank you
CIndy
I will not do business with a company that sells defective merchandise and then offers store credit for more merchandise. The Nebraska Chamber of Commerce suggested I contact the BBB and the Nebraska Secretary of State. I would really like to resolve this with Nature Hills but I don't feel they have given a reasonable resolution to this problem.
This experience has demonstrated some of the worst customer service I have ever encountered.
PS
We have found the exact plants that were sent dead from Nature Hill's at another nursery located through Dave's Garden. The plants each cost $5.00 less, are fully guaranteed and the company has NO NEGATIVE ratings compared with the 21 Nature Hills has earned.
On Sep 5, 2007, limegreen777777 Wallingford, CT wrote:
My children bought me a cherry tree from Nature Hills which cost over $40 and did not survive despite following all their instructions and watering for 60 days. According to Nature Hills, trees can be in dormancy for 60 days or so even in the summer and they would not consider replacement during this period. I think you should know what their policy is on replacement. You are at their mercy on what they charge for shipping!! even if you go through the hassels of all the documentations.
This is their replacement policy.
Copy of the warranty:
As with all living plants, containerized or bare root, you can expect a death loss. It is virtually impossible to achieve a 100% survival rate. When you have properly cared for (as posted on our site) your newly purchased plants, and you experience an excessive loss (40% or more of your order) in the first year, just write to Nature Hills Nursery, Inc., 3334 North 88th Plaza, Omaha, NE 68134 detailing your loss and include a picture of the plants you are seeking replacements on and we will ship you replacement plants of your loss. All warranty claims must be received by Nature Hills Nursery, Inc. within one year from the delivery of your plants to the address specified on the order. Claims received by Nature Hills Nursery, Inc. after one year of delivery will not be honored. Product replacement will only be sent to the original shipping address. Claims will not be accepted if the shipping address is different than the original shipping address. If we are currently out of stock of that item we will gladly offer a substitute or you can choose to wait until the next shipping season for your area. You will be responsible for standard shipping and handling for the replacements as posted on our web site.
Replacement order information
Please read carefully
Dear Valued Nature Hills Customer,
Thank you for your order. We are working each day to make our products better for you the customer. We ask that you follow the steps we have provided so that we can learn more about the products we are providing. The Quality Control department will review this information to determine what may have happened. This will aid in the plant failure process to our customers in the future. Thank you so much for your important help in this matter.
1.) You will need to take a picture of the items that failed.
2.) Send the pictures of the failed item(s) with a short letter telling us what happened.
3.) Make sure you include your full name and a phone number.
4.) Warranty will not cover the shipping cost of your new items so we will need to collect your credit card information. You can send it with you letter or feel free to give us a call at 402/934-8116 we would be happy to take it over the phone. We cannot deviate from this policy.
5.) If you have received a gift item, we will need the name and phone number of the person whom purchased the plant. This will help us to access the account.
6.) The claim processing time is about three weeks. We will send you an email to let you know we have received your claim.
7.) All items be planted in the ground for no less then 6 weeks before a claim can be submitted. Any claim that maybe received before this is subject to being denied.
8.) Be sure to make a list of each item that failed and include this in your letter.
9.) Please be sure that you give us a good email address to contact you at.
10.) We will need the full name of the person whose credit card is being used for the billing.
11.) Please refer to the website terms of the sale for all information.
Please note we do not have a money back Guarantee so the only thing that we can do is replace the items the next planting time for your zone.
Please send your claim via the United States Postal Service.
Nature Hills Nursery
3334 North 88th plaza
Omaha, Ne 68134
Original order was placed on 5/18 for a japanese willow. The only e-mail I received was an "order receipt" e-mail containing a confirmation number. Four weeks later, I called about my order (after receiving everything I had ordered from other online nurseries). They couldn't give me any kind of status and didn't know where it was in the process (told me they had no way of checking on it).
With that, and not knowing if I would ever receive the order, I requested that it be canceled and sent them my official e-mail request. On 6/13, several days later, I received an e-mail from Cindy notifying me that my request had been received and "if we are able to get the order stopped it will take about 10 to 15 business days for the credit to show on your statement."
After 15 days, there was still no credit, so I again sent an e-mail to Cindy. No response, so I called. It happened to be the week of the July 4 holiday and the "entire accounting department was on vacation." Whoever I spoke to told me she wouldn't be able to tell me anything until the following week.
I called again the next week. As before, Cindy had to check on it and get back to me--which meant by e-mail, never a phone call. (Too personal, I guess.) Yet another week later, I was informed (by e-mail) that the credit had been run on 7/17. It was for $39.90. The original charge was $49.90. On 7/24 I e-mailed Cindy about the other $10.
After a-n-o-t-h-e-r week, I'm now informed via e-mail that a $10 cancellation fee was deducted from the credit. (Are you kidding me?) This company had my money for nearly three months, could not give me any information about my order, and I'm being penalized?! Completely unacceptable. I didn't decide on a whim that I didn't want this plant or go buy it somewhere else cheaper. I hung in there waiting and waiting, and only canceled when it seemed inevitable that I would never receive it and that no one there could answer my questions.
Thank you to Dave's Garden for a place to vent. I have requested a credit of the $10 cancellation fee (via e-mail to Cindy--who I think is the entire accounting department). I hope a resolution comes soon, but I suspect it'll take another week--and I'll be the one calling them. And no, I would never attempt to do business with this company again. If you're that busy, hire more employees to handle customer service concerns. I'm sure other nurseries are just as busy, and they seem to handle it just fine. I don't get it.
Similar to another users reply on here, I placed an order for several items in late March. I began contacting them about a month later when nothing showed up. I have received a few pieces of my order( I was happy with what did show up), but I am still waiting for the lavender that I ordered. Their website shows out of stock if someone tries to order. That's understandable this late in the year, but according to their shipping/purchasing policies once an item is ordered and paid for, then they "reserve" one. I have recieved communication from them 3 times and each time I am told it will be 7-14 business days. I'm in my 3rd month of waiting 7-14 business days. I have NEVER been told the delay is due to them not having the item. It is always that they are behind and another 7-14 business days comes and goes with no delivery . To be fair, I have ordered in previous years and have had good luck. I just would like an honest, dependable, realistic shipping time frame or a 100% credit for my money that has been tied up for 3 months.
On Jun 9, 2007, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
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On Jun 13, 2007 6:42 AM, Nature Hills Nursery added:
Thank you for your post. This forum is a great way to judge a company such as ours. While we strive to never receive a negative post we do learn from them and in this case we did not respond quickly to your requests. We continually strive to meet our customer’s expectations and will continue to do so. As indicated via an email sent to you the plants were not shipped due to a crop failure and while we were assured a second crop would be ready to ship soon that never did materialize. We have credited your account and have also issued you an in-store credit, which is available now for your use, which hopefully will take some of sting out of not receiving the plants, you ordered. "
I ordered 2 lavender bushes and, on a whim, 4 prairie dusks in late April. They took my money immediately. Unless, I contacted them, I never heard from them.
I did inform them that it's the law in Maryland that you cannot charge the consumer until you ship. It took threatening to cancel the transaction or having the Attorney General look into their charging practices to get them to ship - at the end of May.
And then, it wasn't even the lavender bushes... I just demanded my money for what wasn't shipped. We'll see what happens.
On Jun 3, 2007, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:
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On Jun 6, 2007 8:35 AM, Nature Hills Nursery added:
We are sorry you encountered problems with your order. There are rare cases when plants are backordered and we try our very best to fulfill each order completely. We have refunded your credit card for the backordered plants. Our customer service department has been overloaded this spring with an unprecedented amount of phone calls from customers inquiring to the status of their orders, as the weather did not permit us to ship plants for a couple of weeks due to extreme cold temperatures. To be honest, our fulfillment department was backlogged. We did email all of our customers of the circumstances but that did little to relieve the call volume. Fortunately, the majority of our customers understood the circumstances. So, we have been catching up all spring with the orders. I assure you we are a reputable company and try our best to satisfy each and every customer. We would like to offer you an in-store credit for the exact dollar amount of the plants that were backordered, in addition to the full refund we have already applied. All you would need to do is call in your order; a note has been placed in your account for the credit. We trust you will find this an acceptable solution and we look forward to assisting you in the future. "
