Comments regarding Henry Field's Seed & Nursery

I WILL NEVER NEVER ORDER FROM HENRY FIELDS AGAIN. EVERY THING WENT WRONG. LOST THE ORDER 3 TIMES. IT WAS 6 WEEKS TO GET THE ORDER.

I have had some success with their fruit trees, but they are small and for the price you can find a better value at a home center. I've had below average success on everything else. Over 50% of their product is either dead or dies shortly after arrival. The other problem has been never knowing for sure when things will arrive. It's been my experience that they send to early or to late in the season, and thereby you have to make an extra effort to nurse it to life.

My positive rating is conditional. The condition is that you only order seeds or trees. I've been satisfied with their seeds and VERY satisfied with the fruit trees I've ordered.
Stay away from their plants, however. Like others here I've had disappointing results.
As far as customer service I've not had any problems. They've always been helpful and have gone out of their way to resolve the problems I've had.

Placed order on Jan 13, 2004. Order arrived complete within one week. I have had good luck with their seeds in the past and will continue to order.

My first and last order from Henry Field's was several years ago. I had placed a small order just to try them out, and I'm glad I didn't spend more than I did. I ordered a Joseph's Coat rose which put out three leaves, then died. Same with the Bleeding Heart- three leaves, dead. The plants that did live were mislabeled. The strawberries I ordered were supposed to be runnerless, but within no time at all they escaped the pot I had them in and took over a patch of the garden. They make a cute groundcover, so I guess it's not all bad. I also ordered a "Grab Bag mystery tea rose", which turned out not to be a tea rose at all. It's a monster of a rambler which has been named "Rozilla" and has torn down every attempt to control it. It's pretty, but not what I ordered. The worst part though, was the free gift with order they sent. It looked like dead sticks in a bag, and it was labled "Fragrant Pinks". Ever the optimist, I planted it anyways. It wasn't dead, but it turned out to be Lamb's Ear, and I'm still trying to get it out of the garden. I got suckered in by the pretty pictures in their catalog, but never again!

Last Summer I responded to their (Henry Field) "clearance sale" and purchased seeds and legume innocculent. The order came ( grab bag ) and were over-stamped as current, but clearly outdated. I complained ( via e-mail) but received no reponse. COMMENT: All of these mergers are killing us poor gardeners. Soon, some India office will attempt to explain my problems with early wilt on tomatoes???? BUY FROM FAMILY OWNED BUSINESSES, NOT THESE MEGA-MERGERS! The merger pile is also growing here in Indiana at Gardens Alive! Check address changes. I note that Shumway, that venerable old line-drawing heritage catalog company has "moved" from Rockford to South Carolina and back to Randolph, WI ( Jung). WILL IT NEVER STOP????

Ordered one blueberry plant and two different Daylilies
this past winter. The blueberry arrived on time in good shape but on the small side. Neither daylilly arrived. In fact they sent a letter saying they would not ship because I was short on the balance due (which I was). Next thing I know still no daylillies but getting past due notices. Tried to contact them with no results. This will be my last order with them.

I ordered one of Henry Fields Peach tree's and was really impressed with the quailty of the tree. For starters they up graded my order to the premium tree since they ran of the one I ordered for no extra charge. The tree had very large roots and was 5 feet tall. I planted it in May 2003 and its doing great. I'm looking forward to ordering more trees from them next year. Also here's a link that will save you $20 if you order $50 or more...

//henryfields.com/index.asp?sid=600260&AID=8069729&PID=1236529

I ordered a Tiger Lilly collection, and 3 bare root Columbine along with various other plants this spring (2003). I planted everything when it came in a very timely manner. Two Tiger lilly bulbs and one Columbine didn't come up. I called the customer service number and talked to a very nice young woman. Because I did not know which color of Tiger Lilly didn't come up they sent me the entire collection again,I received it within a week of the call (all of them have come up this time)when I went to plant the new bulbs I dug where the others were and found that they had been growing only they were not growing towards the surface, maybe I planted them wrong. They also replaced the Columbine. I had a good experience but really don't know if I will try them again because of all the negative feed back here. I will say that the bulbs were on the small size compared to some that I got from another company.

Ordered seeds last winter. Planted oregano, bunching onion, and parsley in flats and lettuce outside. Oregano and parsley survived, onion didn't even attempt to sprout and same with lettuce. I wrote them about onion (particularly noting that the onion seed wasn't dated for current year), they gave me refund. Thought I had ordered plants from them last fall but was confused to find in my files that they were from Gurney's. The dual companies thing probably makes sense. Plants are growing fine but seeds have major problem with viability.

Bulbs and plants ordered Spring '03 very small and in poor condition (fungus, black, dry, etc.) Many did not survive. About 15 items were ordered via charge card, resulting in nearly as many separate charges to my card as plants are shipped from different addresses. Moreover, they said I wasn't charged for blueberries they ran out of, but the total charged to my charge card was only $1.00 less than the amount that would have been charged had all items been shipped. I called them long distance to resolve, but neither telephone call or e-mails resolved the matter. (They no longer have a toll-free number.) This is not the Fields I dealt with in the past. And for those who don't know, Fields and Gurneys are owned by the same people, and the products and service has declined sharply.

I have had very good experience ordering bare root trees from Henry Field. They are always larger or better quality than expected. I have also had a lot of luck with their seeds. About two years ago I ordered peonies from them and they were beautiful. I also ordered some mums from them this spring and they have all grown nicely. What I have had problems with are their dormant perennials and shrubs. I would highly recommend this company if you are ordering trees, seeds or live plants, but suggest that bulbs or perennials be purchased elsewhere.

Odered sixteen trees in Febraury all 16 arrived in early March as bare root trees. All are growing well in June even the two that got topped (eaten) by the neighbors horse and cow. Quick service and exactly what I ordered.

Ordered raspberry plants,(Best Red Offer and Best Black Offer) rec'ved them at correct time of year to plant. Out of 18 plants rec'ved, 14 grew. That is good in itself because plants are shipped bare root and packed correctly. So I called Henry Field customer service. They promptly handled my call and will be sending a complete set of plants.(Both offers) I just wanted the ones that did not grow. I said that on the phone and customer service said it was ok. I was impressed with customer service. Above and Beyond what I asked for.

Ordered vegetable seeds, tomato plants, and a scarlet maple tree in late winter. All seeds arrived promptly and we are enjoying the early spring garden (onions, shallots, elephant garlic, snap peas, mesclun mix, red sails and buttercrunch lettuce, two types of spinach, and radishes). Also now growing very well, with high germination rates are three types of bush beans, bush cucumber, and spacemiser zuchini. The Sunmaster tomato plants arrived a tad early for my zone (but we are having a cold, wet spring) but are doing great with and without use of Wall-O-Waters. The Wall-O-Water ones have flowers already. The maple tree was unbranched as described and 5' tall with a good root system and is leafing out now. I am very pleased with my order. I also took advantage of the $20 off coupon for a $40 or more order. Will buy from again. Sorry to see so many negatives.

Ordered about 20 various trees and shrubs. Arrived later than I expected, but in good condition.

Two lilacs and a magnolia soulangiana didn't really establish, and didn't survive the following winter. I emailed customer service, and they responded quickly and courteously, refunding for those items without complaint or fuss.

I have ordered from Field's for over 20 years and had good luck with the merchandise until the past 6 years. Live plants and bulbs especially either died or would not come up. I ordered 10 Purple Asparagus Crowns, only 8 arrived and the roots were completely mildewed. They sent replacements, which were in the same condition. I made another phone call informing them of the plant's condition and was instructed to soak plants over night then plant them, that they would be fine. Wrong! Not one grew. The next year only 2 of the 6 Raspberry bushes made it and those died the following year. Last year, none of the flowering plants lived and only 1 of the 3 Astilbes made it (At $4.25 each) The whole order came to around $35. That was my last order with them. It's not worth the aggravation and loss of money.

Last year I took advantage of Henry Field's "Buy one, get one free" offer on fruit trees. I ordered an Elberta Peach tree and requested a Goldcot apricot tree as my free selection. Both arrived in timely fashion, but the Goldcot tree had 9 of 10 branches broken. I taped up the broken branches and planted both trees, but the Goldcot didn't survive. This year, just on a whim, I emailed H.F. on Feb. 24 from their web site and explained what had happened to the Goldcot tree. The next day I received an email reply stating that a replacement tree would be shipped out, no questions asked, and the expected ship date would be March 11. Sure enough, on March 12 a new tree arrived . The new tree was about 5' tall, in excellent shape, where the original was only about 3' tall. I certainly couldn't ask for better customer service than that. They have made a loyal customer of me.

This company must be related to Gurney's. They both offer coupons, are in Indiana and offer very small plants. Forget the coupon and go to your local Wal-mart or Lowes and get bigger plants for half the cost...oh and did I mention I placed my order in January and half of it is still on backorder...and you cannot contact them via their site do to an error and you can spend some of your hard earned cash waiting forever on their long distance line...you get what you pay for....if you get it at all

I won't order from Henry Field again. I have ordered from them for several years and have been very satisfied with my plants and seeds. This year I placed my order via the internet and was told I should receive my seeds within 7 days - after 10 days I called them and it took over 30 minutes for them to find my order. They kept insisting that I hadn't really ordered from them. Once they found it, they couldn't tell me when my order would ship. A manager was supposed to call me back within 4 hours but no one ever called. I waited a couple more days and called back and went through the same thing again, they kept insisting that I had never ordered. They finally found the order and had no idea why the seeds had not shipped. I told them to cancel the order and I'd buy from someone else. So far, my credit card has not been charged for this order, but I would not be suprised if the charges show up at some point.

When I ordered from them a few years ago everything came in great shape. I got their tea rose special for $1.99, which turned out to be the hardiest, healthiest rose bush I have ever grown, and without any sprays or fertilizer. Some shrubs I got from them grew very strongly too. I also got ornamental cotton seeds from them, and when they grew they turned out to be quite the attention-getter in my garden. I grew their mesclun mix seed too which was absolutely the best. I failed to order from them in 2001 because of the mess they were in, but I have heard they are doing better again, like Gurney's, and I think I'll give them a try.

I ordered quite a bit of seed from them and then found this site so i was very nervous about what i would get. The seed all came and looks to be in good shape. The live raspberry bushes i ordered will be shipped at a later date when I can plant them outside. It is too cold here to plant right now. The customer service was very good and overall I was very pleased with what i received for the money. I will do a follow up after planting and let you know how everything grows but so far I am happy and would definitely buy from them again.

I placed an order in February of last year, oh what a mess,I ordered apples tress, never received them, I ordered a peach and a plum tree, received two and charged for two
each. I also ordered strawberry plants (50), never received. The company did send a note about the middle of july to let me know that I would not receive the rest of my order, but I feel they should have done that a lot earlier. I was very disappointed and will never order from them again.

I received my order in parts over two years. The first part I received the seeds did fair and about half the bulbs grew, but they replaced the bulbs the next year. My rose grew but wasn't a rose. To this day I have no idea what it was. I called and they even said it wasn't a rose but they had no idea what it could be. I was to take it to my extension office and see if they could tell me what it is. However they would send a replacement in the spring. I asked if I had to keep the papers that came with the order and was told that it was in the computer so I wouldn't have to keep anything. The rose would be shipped at planting time. Well it never arrived so I called. Was told it had been shipped and should be here in 10 to 14 days. When it didn't arrive I e-mailed them. They said that it had not been shipped and they don't show a order to do so. They had conveniently lost the order. Finely I just gave up but will never place a order with them again.

I've ordered from Field's three times in the past four years. Seeds (and seed potatoes) always did well but plants and trees are another story--some arrived in good condition and are growing well; some were dead on arrival; twice they sent wrong varieties. I'll order seed from them again but not live plants.

Last year (2002) I purchased most of my garden seed from Henry's; it all arrived on time and all grew well. The only trouble I had was that one type of onion seed was back-ordered, and in June they sent me a credit voucher for this year because they said they had run out and could not get any more seed this season. Every company I have ever ordered seed from (with the exception of Pinetree) has had at least one item back-ordered, I've learned to order early enough to be able to place another order with another company before the growing season; so I don't consider one item to be a negative. Henry's also sent me a questionnaire about their service, explaining that they were under new ownership and would like to know what to improve.

I've been a long customer of Henry field's with general satisfaction. Recieved only part of order last year order. Late into the spring, I cancelled since it was past planting season for the items concerned. They said they would give credit, but did not and I forgot about it.

Last week an Email offer prompted me to inquire and they said the late items hadn't been charged to my credit card. Perhaps, those records are history and it's not worth my time to argue.
These are not the same folks who have historically run Field's. In time they may get their act together but for now shop elsewhere.

I again decided to give them a second chance. Never again will I buy anything from Henry Field's. I tried to take advantage of their offer-$20 off coupon. My seeds came and not even half off what I planted grew. I looked at the other seed packets and they had a 2002 sticker on top of a 2001 sticker-old seeds. My columbine's and bee balm roots looked dried up and never grew. I had ordered 30 asparagus plants and they arrived around end of June, suppose to plant that in end of April here, that never grew. Purple pincushion was all yellow and wilted that died also.
STAY AWAY FROM HENRY FIELDS!!!

I have ordered from a variety of gardening catalogs for years, among them Henry Fields. Admittedly, my orders were never huge or costly, but they were a splurge for me. At first all was well. I had bought many things from them in the past, had a couple things that did not grow and they had replaced them with no problem. So I thought I had a good company here and would deal solely with them. When later on, a few more things died, and I sent a request for replacement along with yet another purchase order as well, I was REALLY upset to get a letter from them saying THEY had declared bankruptcy and could not be responsible for past purchases. It also said they were now under new management and offered me a discount coupon worth only a small fraction of what they owed me. I cannot help but think this is all a game with them I was so distraught I looked up both companies on the internet and was totally surprised to find out they were both owned by the same parent company: Foster Gallagher. The article I read said Foster Gallagher owns, Breck's and Henry Fields (and oh, I am so pained to lose these two companies I thought so reputable), but also Michigan Bulb, Spring Hill Nursery, Stark Brothers, Garden Solutions and Vermont Wildflower. I wrote them a letter of complaint which they have not (at least as yet) acknowledged and told them I would try to warn others about them through internet sites, which is what I am trying to do now. Personally, and unfortunately, I now distrust ALL mail-order gardening catalogs and will NEVER use any again. I've been burnt TWO-- and TOO-- many times. I urge any who read this to use caution when ordering by catalog and apologize to those gardening catalogs (which must be out there SOMEWHERE) who do care about their customers and keep their guarantees and run impeccable businesses.

Please alert your readers/gardeners about ordering from Henry Fields. Never have I received such poor service, customer care or treatment. I ordered nursery stock on or about May 14th for shipment in "10 to 14 days". Not until June 7th and three emails did I receive any word from them and then that the items were back-ordered and would ship by June 15th or the order would be cancelled. All other nurseries stopped shipping on or around June 1st, making it impossible to order from anyone else. I still (June 18th) have no word from them as to whether the order shipped --- guess I will have to wait 10 to 14 days to find out! The last email I had from them was addressed to another person and said simply they had received my letter and responded.

Last winter I ordered strawberries. Half the order arrived in early May with a ship date of 4/27 for the remaining backorder. It's now June and I have yet to see those strawberries. Contacting this company is not easy. I don't have an 800 number for them so I faxed my concerns and did receive a response to some of my questions seven days later. I still don't know where my strawberries are and I have a feeling they don't know either.

I too decided to give Henry Field's a second chance--what a mistake!!! Order was place the first week of February; plenty of time I figured...well, I figured wrong. One item did arrive last week (dead) and four others, including a rhubarb plant that needed to be in the ground long ago is yet to arrive. I have tried to get my money back, but as of this evening not even the common courtesy of a reply. Stay far, far away from this company--it is the pits.

I have ordered from others companies like Spring Hill and Henry Field's and was please with the results, more with Henry Field's because the bushes were bigger but they are all alive and healthy.

Another F&G company proves that they are not good businesses to order from. After the problems I had with Michigan Bulbs last year, I decided to give Henry Fields a chance. I asked for a heating pad for seedlings, to be sent ASAP. After 2 weeks, I requested an order status. It took them 7 days to respond, with a form letter saying that they would send my tree when the weather was right!!!

I won't spell out their lack of logic or their incorrectness -- it WAS a form letter --, or their slowness.

I wrote again, and am still waiting for an answer. Tomorrow, it will be 70 degrees outside and I'll spend my first early moments cancelling my order. I was fair. When I ordered, I told them that I was giving F&G companies one more chance by making one order with them.

My favorites are Plant Delights (expensive, but unique, weird and wonderful), Park (tried and true) and Van B, who really came through this year, after a small mistake last year, that they handled very quickly and professionally.

Their seeds performed fine, but I would definitely not buy live plants from them again. Almost all of the plants that I purchased from them on several different occasions died. I think one problem is poor packing and/or slow shipping.

They said they are under new management and try to get back their reputation. They still have a mirror companey names Gurney's. Both has some format catalogs and websites. Good thing about them is that they have trees.

Last Spring I ordered many items from Henry Fields; however, I did not receive a few things, which I had paid for. I attempted to call them; however, I could not reach anyone. I also wrote a letter to the company; however, I did not get a response.

Even before this company went bankrupt I never had much luck with them. I got part of my order which never survived. I never did get the rest of my order. Poor quality and bad service.

I moved into my new house last Feb. 2001, I was looking forward to planting a garden so I had the Henry Field catalog sent to my new address. I looked through the catalog and made my pick of the fruit trees and grape vine and other seeds and bulbs to plant in my new yard. My order was not as big as I am sure some orders are but to me an order around $150.00 was to much to pay for the king of merchandise I received. My fruit trees looked like small sticks with some roots, one of which died. My graph vine looked questionable one of which died. The trees and other plants that they sell looked so healthy in their catalog. That is why I wanted to order from them against advise from other who knew better. I have learned my lesson and will only buy what I can see from now own.