Comments regarding Henry Field's Seed & Nursery

I recently ordered fruit trees from Henry Field. The communication was good, and the trees arrived timely. I will definitely order from them again. I was very happy with the quality and condition of the stock.

I placed my first order knowing they had a so called bad reputation, but I figured I would make a small order in case it was a bad experience I wouldn't be out a lot of money.

My order arrived quickly and sooner than I was told, everything came as expected. I am not at all disappointed. I would order from again. I am starting to think those who left negative feedback for this company might be competitors trying to give them a bad rep. They were very easy to deal with on the phone and I have nothing bad to say.

Although I bought late in the year, I can't say for sure if everything will survive, but that is a risk I was willing to take. Everything that came did come exactly as described, so if it doesn't grow come spring, it will be on Mother Natures hands- not the company.

With my first order from Henry Field's, I bought quite a few bareroot plants on sale. They arrived completely dry and mostly brown, and a number of the plants never grew at all, while some grew poorly. I contacted customer service, which replied promptly and courteously that replacement plants would be sent.

Though disappointed at first, I am now quite satisfied. The sale prices were very low and made the order worth my while. The replacements for the dead plants were nice and moist, and Henry Field's even included replacements for the poor performers. I would order from this company again.

I ordered & received blackberry & raspberry plants from HF last Spring. The success rate of these bareroot plants were much much better than the potted plants I purchased from a more reputable mail order company. These plants produced fruit the first summer. I've been ordering from HF for 25 years now -- mostly vegie seeds or small fruit. I'll most likely continue to order from this company as long as they have the varieties that I'm looking for & at reasonable prices. I've never had any problems that weren't resolved to my satisfaction.

I ordered from Gurney/Henry Field this spring after ordering in the past. All plants arrived alive, and all but 2 survived our very difficult spring. I planted hostas, raspberries, chokecherries, bush cherries, and burning bush. One plant remained dormant for 2 months!! but I knew it was alive because it was green under the bark. In all fairness, I got what I paid for, everything grew, and the company can hardly be responsible for extended hard freeze and days of heavy rain following.

I have ordered from Henry Field's for the past two years with no trouble whatsoever. Last year (2006) I ordered some seeds and bareroot material (hostas and astilbes) which did fine and are coming back with a vigorous vengence this year. This year I ordered some more bare root material and seeds. Germination on the seeds has been excellent as I will have far too many seedlings to deal with and, the bare root peonies are doing just fine. I used a coupon both years with no incident, and will order from them in the future.

After reading all these negative comments, I was scared to order from this company, but I had pretty good luck with them in the past, and the prices were good, so I sent in an order and used the $25 off coupon. My order arrived in two packages, the seeds came almost immediately at the price stated, and the blueberries and grapes arrived in plenty of time for spring planting. They were very well packed, and healthy. The grapes are already growing nicely, the blueberries looked good, but so far are just growing small buds. The $25 off coupon was subtracted properly. My experience with this company was just as positive as in the past. I sent my order in by regular mail, not online, so I didn't have any of the online problems I see that others have had. I will definitely order from them again.

I have ordered seeds - the prices/selection were better than what I could find locally. They have all done well. I also bought 50 strawberry plants. I nearly cried when they showed up - they were so ugly. Not like you get at the local nursery - but after a week in the ground, I had 48 plants that were beautiful. And they were at a fraction of what I would have paid locally. No berries yet - but lots of blooms. I also bought asparagus roots & rhubard, which are all doing well. The only thing that bothered me is I ordered an apple tree - and it never came. Every time I checked my order status the date would be changed. But I emailed them - and received a prompt response that the tree I ordered was a fall item and would ship then. I wish they had said that at some point, but they haven't charged my account for it either.

I've emailed them with questions over the last few months - trying to decide what kind of fruit trees I wanted to buy - and they have always been quick to respond & helpful.

I was thinking of ordering roses from them - but after coming across this website, think I'll get those somewhere else. While I've had positive luck so far - the postings had be concerned about something as delicate as a rose bush.

In 2006 I ordered all my vegetable seeds from them and they all did well. Compared to other vendors, they are a few pennies more expensive but then you also get a lot more seeds per pakket. I still have left over.
I ordered one plant from them and it was DOA.
Usually when I try a new vendor I will put in a small order of seeds and one plant. So if the seeds are old and the plant dies, I don't lose much $$$.
I will only order my seeds from them in the next few weeks.

I've been using Field's seeds for years and have always had success with them. I've also used their onion sets and seed potatoes with comparable results.

I've never had to use their customer service or ordered bare root products from them.

In the last few years, I've ordered from Field's on the Internet. Orders have always arrived in a timely and accurate fashion.

This is my first year of ordering from mail catalog and I was worried especially after reading all negative comments. But with $25 off coupon I decided to try.
I have overall positive experience so far. Seeds have been sent right away. Today I received most of my plant order.
Plants look good. I was just little bit frustrated waiting for order without any approximate shipping dates. I looked on a website for shipping dates for my zone, but it stated Apr 2 - June 16. That was not very helpful. I send e-mail and received answer next day that my order already shipped. I was pleased with fast and helpful response.
I will come back later and post updates on how plants and seeds are growing.

First off the $25 off coupon drew me in to checkout the catalog. I ordered 13 items, bulbs, bareroot, and plants. I received them all in good condition: the bulbs looked fresh and good sized, the bareroots had growth on them, and the plants looked healthy. They sent them all together when they said they would. I'll right back later in the season to see how everything was coming along.

This is my second order from them. I have been pleased both times. They have a good price on supplies. As far as seeds and plants I have not had any trouble. On some seeds you get more for the same price than you would in some seed packets sold on display at garden shops and nurseries.

I have bought a number of items from Henry Field’s Nursery over the years, and I am pleased with the dealings that I have had with them. They seem to have perfected a method of treating the roots of the bare root plants that they ship, that keeps the roots from drying out. This allows them to ship by a slower method, and also the packages are lighter, because they need a bare minimum of moisture holding packing around the roots: thus their shipping charges are low. Also I have noticed that their plants break dormancy faster than the plants that I have purchased from some other nurseries.
Most of the plants that I have received have been larger than I expected, a few have been smaller, but healthy and vigorous plants none the less, and most of these plants were purchased at “on sale” prices. Also the nursery staff have always been friendly and courteous. Henry Field’s is one of my favorite nurseries.

I have done business with Henry Field's for several years now, taking advantage of their coupon offers. There have been a few problems with the plants, but they have always made it right ASAP, so I will continue to do business with them.

I ordered from them this spring 2005. The main thing I ordered was the gooseberry combo, which consisted of 2 different gooseberry plants. I was quite suprised to see how big the plants were with the well-established root systems they have. The gooseberries were worth my money and some.

I've always been happy with the seeds I get from Henry Field.

I ordered a Nikko blue hydrangea from this company. It was planted in March and is doing fine. However my 6 tomato plants arrived yesterday. The box was so small I thought it was one plant. The plants were all together and the root ball which was only as big as my fist had the roots of the plants quite tangled together. The plants themselves were only as tall as my index finger (I have small hands) and as thin as a drinking straw. I was quite disappointed. They also were quite yellow. I planted them and will wait to see how they do before I decide whether to make this comment negative, but this is the last order of tomato plants by mail. I have 6 pepper plants coming and I hope they will be in better shape than the tomatoes were.
Pat

I have ordered trees, seeds, and other gardening supplies from this company over the last few years. Some of their merchandise is overpriced, but with the twenty dollar coupon that is usually included, it makes ordering from them worthwhile. I will order from them in the future.

I placed an order, mostly comprised of seeds. I didn't have any luck with them, whether it be because that seeds I happened to get weren't healthy or because of my own inexperience. However, I sent an email to the company and requested a refund for the seeds, and was emailed very quickly saying the refund had been processed. The order was also shipped very quickly. I am still awaiting a shipment of ostrich ferns, and I will update about their condition when they arrive and establish themselves.

Most of what I ordered was seeds and fertilizer, and my order was handled promptly. The roses I ordered were very small whips, but they were also fairly cheap. Like people say, "You get what you pay for." I'm not a huge fan of the company, but I don't have a negative feeling about them either. I'll do business with them again, I'm sure, especially if a come-on's involved!

I have ordered from Henry field's since 2000 and I have never been disapointed because they have always corrected any problem I have had quickly and curtiously.I order asiactic lily bulbs(field grade bulbs)They are always a good size and healthy and give me beautiful results.I ordered from them two weeks ago and recieved my bulbs today03/14/2005.Much to my surprise even though I ordered field grade bulbs I recieved Labeled bags of
Golden Stargazers,
Stargazers
Magenta Star gazers
White Star gazers!
15 bulbs per bag!Usually when I order they are in an unlabeled box so to know I recieved Star Gazers just tickled me pink!I can't speak for their other products but their asiactic bulbs(field grades) I have luck with.

My first time ordering from this place. Ordered two 4-5' Red Maples. They were delivered last week and well packaged in a box. They have a nice shape and are the size stated. I used a coupon to get 'one free', otherwise I thought they were a bit pricey.

I have ordered from Henry Fields for 3 years now. Several observations:

1. Plants are smaller - but you pay less - so obviously you get what you pay for and the deals were well worth the extra time that I had to wait for the plants to 'catch up'.
2. Some of the plants did not make it because they were either not for my planting area, were shipped too early and not kept fresh until planting, or the weather did them in. Most of these problems were not company generated and they were more than happy to refund or issue me a substitution if they were still available.
3. Absolutely no problem with any seeds that I ordered. Good germination and healthy seedlings. Hint - order early so that you don't have to worry about backorders. Catalogs come out in January. If you wait until March there's a good chance that you'll be wishing you didn't.

I will continue to order from them but I will do more research on my part as to what works and what does not. I see a lot of the negative responses and wonder if some of those are from the first two observations above.

Know your zone and your soil's capabilities. If your plants arrive early (weather changes you know) make sure that you have a place to keep them until they are ready to plant and that you keep them moist and cool (or whatever they require to be kept healthy and alive).

Over the last 5 months, I've placed several orders with Henry Field's and its related company, Gardens Alive. I've ordered seeds, plants, gardening-related items, and humane mouse traps from them. Each time, I've received good-quality products and prompt, courteous customer service. I will definitely order from either or both companies again. I have no affiliation with either company, other than being a satisfied repeat customer.

I ordered several items from this company as usual this spring. I have always recieved good service and good quality plants. Any plants that died within the one year period have always been cheerfully replaced immediately if my report went in during the proper shipping time and they were not out of stock on that item. This year the service has been exceptionally good and I want to publicly praise them for it.

I tend to be able to overlook many mistakes made by nurseries this time of the year because of the volume of work being done by so many different people. Not all employees(especially part time temorary ones)are careful when doing their jobs. This is NOT the companies fault. Work ethics everywhere at really bad.

I will continue to do business with Henry Fields for many years to come.

Ordered a nectarine, plum, and seeds, with a $20 off $40 coupon, got the seeds almost immediately, the trees very early for zone 5, they shipped a differnet nectarine due to being out of the one I wanted. I called them to let them know I did not want the substituted variety, I told me to keep the tree and mailed be a voucher for the cost of the tree to use before july next year, very good service, although if they would have called first they could have not needed to send the substituted tree. I will continue to order as long as they keep sending the coupons, pretty good trees, and seeds.

I ordered two grapevines from Henry Field via the internet on April 19. They arrived today. The root systems made up at least 75% of each vine. The vines were wrapped in plastic and appeared to be dry, but when touched the roots were moist. I really liked the order confirmation and the tracking number emailed to me so that I could schedule time to plant the vines. The package arrived one day early. Would I order from Henry Field again? Yes!

recieved my plants in the mail today--beautiful green plants and healthy!! I think this company is trying to rebuild . I have bought from them in the past and never had any problems.

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.

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.

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.

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.