Comments regarding Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com)

Posted on June 6, 2007, updated July 14, 2010
The plants are far from the best. Replacements were readily forthcoming, but some of those were in very bad condition as well. Spring Hill is part of an incestuous group of companies that includes Michigan Bulb, Gurney's, etc. and they share the same stock, although prices and promotions vary across companies. I've had the best results with Michigan Bulb, the worst with Gurney's (although not this year or ever again). You get what you pay for, I guess. Maybe it should be a negative rating, but customer service (no 800#) did say they would replace the replacements - you will need stamina and patience to deal with this company and with so many better options, I would leave this one for a last resort or a very tight and limited budget.

"On Jul 21, 2010 11:41 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate the feedback to better serve our customers. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and take care of your reship correctly."

Even though I saw all the bad reviews on watchdog I thought to give it a try as I could get a bargain bag (one spring grab bag and one lily grab bag) and only paid the shipping fees (12$). I ordered from other companies before (santa rosa garden and bulbsdirect.com). Spring hill does not have a great packaging (brown bags) for the plants but the bulbs or roots are OK (labeled plastic bags). The plants were not in great shape. Some of them were dry sticks and few bulbs and roots were rotten. The lily bag was really a bargain as I received more than 40 lily trees for 12 bucks. I decided to contact the customer service and complain about the plants that were in bad shape. To my surprise they answer in less than 5 hours and on a Sunday and a 4th of July! They told me that they will resend both orders in full! one by the end of July the other next year. It's ok I can wait. So overall it's neutral because the customer service is good and fast and you get good bargains but the plant are not the best on the market. But for the price, you get a lot.

"On Jul 6, 2010 1:33 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate the feedback to better serve our customers. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information to check on your reship for you."

Posted on June 10, 2010, updated June 24, 2010
Last year I ordered two Cascadia petunia collections, one for myself & one for a friend. We each had bad experiences with the plants - slow, limited, or no growth. When I complained about the order, I was given a full refund, which I appreciated. But then, in addition, Spring Hill sent a duplicate of my original order this spring, at no charge. This year's plants are spectacular. The packaging was excellent and the plants were large & healthy looking. They started growing immediately and have already filled the planter
boxes. As a result, I've just placed another order.
Thank you, Spring Hill, from a very satisfied customer!
I've changed my rating from Positive to Neutral because when my latest order arrived, one of the three plants was in bad shape. One branch was dead and the other two were broken in half. I've reported the problem to Customer Service, so I'll leave the rating as is until I see how quickly they respond.

"On Jun 11, 2010 10:21 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We apologize for the problem that you had with your order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information."

I was a new customer to SpringHill Nursery when I purchased a perennial garden. I made the order on 6/5/2010 and the tracking information stated I should receive the garden between 6/15-6/22. When I didn't receive the shipment by 6/22, I logged back on to see if they contacted me about a delay and didn't see an email. When I went to check the tracking information again it still said my item(s) had not been shipped and that I should now expect it between 6/30-7/7.

I called customer service and the answer I received was "well, you ordered this pretty late in the season, so we're not sure if we will have all of your flowers. And since we don't just ship you what we have first, we'll need to see if we can find some more flowers." Really? I'm not sure how I was supposed to know that. So, I mentioned to the representative that it is poor customer service not to send some sort of notification email to a customer to let them know of a delay (especially when he/she may not even receive their order) and that the website should have a warning or a note to let a customer note that they are ordering too "late" in the season and that the Nursery might not be able to successfully gather their items. The representative's response was "I understand, but I don't run this place." I asked for my refund and just will not go through website/company again.

"On Jun 29, 2010 7:05 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We apologize for the problem that you had with your order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information,"

I have placed several orders with Spring Hill this year, and have had nothing but success. Everything I have ordered has arrived when expected, in good condition (considering shipping times), and established itself in each planting environment.

The only problem I had with one of their products was a Dwarf Banana Plant, and it ended up being mauled by my dog. I sent a note to SHN just to let them know that they should put a warning on the product description that this plant is attractive to pets, and in return I got a reply stating that they would replace the plant at no cost!

These folks have truly been helpful and considerate each time I have contacted them. I plan on using them many times in the future.

"On Jun 29, 2010 7:07 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate your feedback. Happy Gardening!"

I ordered perennials in early May, and was told they would be shipped by early June. I was also offered a special at the time I ordered and did order one of the specials. The special (lupine) arrived immediately and was fine. One kind of perennial I ordered (asclepias) finally arrived after a long time, and the other perennial (coneflower) never arrived. Instead, this week i received rudbeckia which they substituted without asking me. I did not want rudbeckia, and receiving anything this late in the summer is a problem as I will not have the time to water it as I would have had a month ago.

I emailed the company about this and did not receive an answer--apparently they are not interested.

"On Jun 23, 2010 9:32 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate your feedback. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and help with your order."

I have had only positive experiences with these folks. i bought a meyer lemon, a dwarf orange, an ice plant, and a pampas grass. All came in good condition and very big except the pampas grass. They replaced it quickly.

"On Jun 23, 2010 9:37 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate your feedback. Happy Gardening!"

Posted on June 6, 2010, updated June 17, 2010
Posted on June 4, 2010, updated June 6, 2010
Posted on June 1, 2010, updated June 4, 2010
Posted on May 29, 2010, updated June 1, 2010
I ordered their angel trumpet collection. Because it was being sent to a PO Box, I specifically requested US Postal Service. They sent it UPS. Even though my order got to its destination 10 DAYS LATER, the plants had lost all their leaves.

I did contact Springhill when I noticed it sent via UPS, but it was too late. The gentleman who was handling my call was very polite and extremely apologetic.

I am afraid my plants may perish and will need to be replaced. Will update my rating depending how the plants do and if they need replacing.

Sean

"On Jun 7, 2010 1:05 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate your feedback. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information to check on your reship."

I ordered a coneflower "bargain bag" on 4/20 and it has yet to ship. The ship date has continually been moved back. When I talked to customer service today, I was told that the coneflowers would either be shipped out on Friday or my order would be canceled. The representative didn't know if the coneflowers were available or not and didn't offer a substitution. If there wasn't enough stock of coneflowers, I would expect to have been notified weeks ago. At this point, most of the local garden centers don't have many coneflowers left and it's getting too hot/too late to plant.

I did receive the rest of my order, a butterfly garden and perennial sweet peas, though it was more than a month after my order. Some of the plants were in OK shape, some not. I'm waiting to see if they make it before requesting replacements.

"On Jun 18, 2010 8:23 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate your feedback. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information to check on your coneflowers."

I ordered quite a few plants. About 80 percent survived. My email informing them of the plants that died was answered in 2 days. Then my replacement order was sent out in another day or two.
Overall, I was pleased with the quality, prices and service.

"On Jun 14, 2010 11:48 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate the feedback to better serve our customers and Happy Gardening!"

ugh... Where do I begin? I ordered my plants from SH about 3-4 years ago. They were all quite small but with time some have done fairly well. Some died after the first season and one of the plants never came up. I decided to wait to see how the others did before contacting the company. I have contacted them now on at least 6 different occassions and received one replacement plant and two coupon credit slips that can only be used on mail in orders. I was never offered a refund. One of the credits was for blue toad lilies and was for $8.00 even though they are currently charging $19.99 for 3 toad lilies (I can't remember what I paid.) I originally asked about 3 other toad lilies and a hardy hibiscus that were unsuccessful, but have gotten no response from the company about these plants other than generic response emails and one to tell me they are not on backorder for my account. They have never responded with any offer to replace these plants or refund my money. Overall my experience has been pretty frustrating and I can't say I would ever recommend them to others.

"On Jun 14, 2010 11:49 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate the feedback to better serve our customers. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information."

I ordered two gardens on May 8th, a Three-Season Garden and a Three Season of Beauty Garden. After waiting for several weeks, I logged on the website and discovered that the shipping date was in the middle of June (of course this was after I rototilled the yard). I also noted that the last day to order plants was June 7th for this year. Today (June 11th) I received a postcard in the mail saying that my Three-Season Garden was out of stock, about 6 weeks after the order was placed. I called and spoke with Harvey, who stated that "sometimes these things happen." I asked why I had not been informed sooner, and he stated that this was not how things were done. When I asked if there was someone else I could speak to, he stated, "there really is no point to continue the conversation- you are not getting your flowers and that is the bottom line." I told him that he ought to be ashamed of himself for talking to a customer in this manner. He was unable to explain why I had not been refunded the difference on my order. He said that he would transfer me to payment services, for whom I held 10 minutes.

Regina from payment services refunded the difference to my account. She stated that normal policy was to wait until the items shipped to give refunds in order to allow the customer the opportunity to select different plants. I pointed out to her that the window of opportunity for me to place an order had passed, so even if I had wanted to order something different, I would not have had the opportunity, even though I could have been informed earlier. Interestingly enough, I would have added a Three-Seasons of beauty garden as a substitue and been perfectly happy.

The Springhill website has a policy on substitutions at //springhillnursery.com/article.asp?ai=168 which states for plant items, "If an item you order is unavailable or doesn’t meet our quality standards, we may substitute a like item of greater value. The substitute item will be identified on the packing slip that comes with the order or will have a substitution note attached." Nowhere does it say that things simply won't be sent. I asked Regina what would have happened if I had ordered each plant seperate, and she told me that substitutions would have probably been made.

The bottom line is this: if you want to be assured that you will actually have a company deliver on its promise to provide a service that you have paid for, Springhill is not the company for you. Hopefully my local garden center has some perennials left that I can use to fill my empty gardens.

"On Jun 14, 2010 11:53 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

We apologize for the problem you had with your order. Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate the feedback to better serve our customers. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information."

It has been a month since I placed my order (May 10th,2010).
The shipment date keeps being further pushed back each day.
I have called a few times and have been told the last shipment date for spring is June 11th. Well it is June 11th and now the "last" shipment date for spring has been pushed further ahead to June 18th according to customer service. I spoke with a floor supervisor a few days ago, she said she put a "rush" on my order. Both the floor supervisor and the various customer service agents I have spoken to tell me only the "warehouse" knows when the order will ship. I have been patient but I am now finding it impossible to believe anything the representatives of this company tell me. Also, they have already charged my credit card. I wish I could believe them

"On Jun 14, 2010 12:34 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate the feedback to better serve our customers. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information to check on your order for you."

Posted on June 5, 2010, updated June 10, 2010
My experienarden with SpringHill is similar to other individuals. I have received about 50% healthy and 50% not healthy plants from them. When I have requested replacements I did receive them (although these also died). My main reason for giving a negative review, however is the ability of the company to ship plants in a timely manner. I placed an order for a complete garden on 4/26. I inquired a few weeks later regarding the shipping date and was told it would be received in Mid-May. The shipping date continued to be pushed back. The most recent reply said if it did not ship by 6/11 it would be shipped in the fall. I replied I would wait the week to see if it shipped and if not would call to cancel (as I do not need it in the fall). They went ahead and cancelled the order now (I guess because they knew it wouldn't ship in a week). I think customer service is poor, quality of the plants is hit or miss, and the actual availability of plants is poor.

"On Jun 7, 2010 12:59 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We apologize for the problem that you had with your order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information."

I ordered from Spring Hill Nursery a couple of years back and loved their plants! My garden was beautiful. Since then I have moved to a new house that needs alot of work. I was so excited when I got an email from them for $100 worth or perennials for $20. I accidently deleted it. :( They ended up sending it again saying that the special expired at midnight. I hopped right on their website and added 2 to my bag 3 hours before the midnight cut off. I get throught the check out and realize that my price never adjusted. It said $200. I tried to call customer service, sat on hold for 20 min and just hung up. I emailed their customer service and still have not recieved a response. So yesterday I went to Lowes and bought a bunch of plants for my yard. Very disappointed with this company.

"On Jun 10, 2010 8:12 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate the feedback to better serve our customers. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and help you with your order."

Posted on June 9, 2010, updated June 9, 2010
Posted on June 8, 2010, updated June 9, 2010
Posted on June 8, 2010, updated June 8, 2010
Posted on June 7, 2010, updated June 8, 2010
Posted on June 7, 2010, updated June 7, 2010
Posted on June 6, 2010, updated June 7, 2010
Posted on June 6, 2010, updated June 6, 2010
I am disappointed with this website so far. I placed my order on 5/12/10 for 2 Three Season Gardens. My card was charged on 5/13/10, so I thought delivery would be quick. In checking the "Track Order" option on the website, I saw my delivery range was somewhere around 5/28/10. I didn't think that was too bad, so I started ripping out my front gardens, adding soil, etc...Today is 6/6/10 and still nothing. Everytime I check the "Track Order" my delivery dates are changed. This is what I found this morning:

Items Not Shipped:
2 THREE-SEASON GARDEN
Delivery Estimate: 06/13/10 - 06/20/10

As of midnight last night, it said delivery estimate 6/10/10 - 6/19/10....it seems to be changing daily, now it's almost a full month longer than the first delivery was scheduled. I have rec'd no email or even a phonecall that the items are backordered, or with even an excuse as to why things are delayed. All I'm receiving are emails with offers to buy more from them. I had figured I'd give them some time, with the weird weather going on, maybe they're delaying shipping etc...I'm going to contact customer service tomorrow. Depending on their answer, I may just cancel my order. I'll also have to see what the delivery estimate has been changed to in the morning. This is REALLY frustrating. Their prices are great, but at this rate, I'd rather spend more at a local nursery and have immediate results.

"On Jun 7, 2010 1:08 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate your feedback. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information to check on your order."

Posted on June 7, 2010, updated June 8, 2010
Posted on June 2, 2010, updated June 7, 2010
For now I am stating my feedback as neutral but more leaning toward negative. I ordered from SHN in april for about $92 inclusive shipping costs. Most of my order was shipped out after about 10 days. I got 1 Burning Heart as bareroots and its doing great. I just read about that you should soak them in water and I did not do that. I got 6 Hibiscus as roots. The 4 I kept are just getting leafs now. The Passionflower arrived nice looking and the Ginger Orchid roots are just starting to grow leaves. I also got a Bicolor Campanula. The first one arrived with the plant wilted off the roots. The quickly send a replacement. I put it into my yard right away but all thats left on that Campanula is 1 leaf and even that one looks like its going to fall off any minute. I have 7 other Campanulas in my yard with no problems at all. I also got Hardy Cyclamen bulbs that I put in the ground but nothing has grown yet. Not sure how long it will take with these so I don't complain about these yet.
A few weeks later I got my Show Lady Slipper Orchid. It looked nice when it arrived but as of this moment I am not so sure if it will make it. Some leaves are turning black :(.
Now to the very disapointing part. I also ordered a Toad Lily mix. The date was pushed back over and over again. Which upset me already since one was supposed to be a Mothersday gift. So after not checking and waiting for a while I checked the status yesterday and it said "CANCLED" ?!?!?!?!
Nobody from SHN informed me that it was cancled so I wrote them that I was quiet upset about this. No answer yet. This morning I checked my account and realized they had taken the full order amount but no refund was found for the cancled Toad Lilys. I send another Email this morning but did not get any response yet.
Hopefully I get this issue resolved quickly

"On Jun 8, 2010 8:38 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate you sharing your experience with us. Happy Gardening!"

We ordered blue hostas and have been overwhelmed by how well they have done. We have neighbors stop and ask where we got them. We are glad to direct them to Spring Hills.

"On Jun 8, 2010 8:31 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate your feedback. Happy Gardening!"

Posted on May 5, 2010, updated June 3, 2010
Posted on May 3, 2010, updated May 5, 2010
I had been looking forward to ordering from Springhill Nursery for quite some time. Unfortunately, I had a horrible experience! They debited money from my account, send me the majority of my order, and left out at least five plants (which I paid for). In addition, another 4-5 of the plants have died. I have e-mailed 4 requests to their customer service about their sending me the remainder of my order, which I paid for, and when they never sent. They have repeatedly ignored all of my inquiries. They have additionally ignored all four of my e-mails regarding the plants which died. I understand that plants can die, but to pay for something, never receive it, and for them to just ignore me makes me feel like I was ripped off. Now when I try to contact them, my e-mails bounce back to me as having been blocked! DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY, YOU WILL GET RIPPED OFF, AND IF YOU RECEIVE THE PRODUCT, IT IS EXTREMELY POOR QUALITY!!!!!

"On May 3, 2010 6:22 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

We appreciate you taking the time to post. We strive for 100% Customer Satisfaction. We are always here to assist any way we can. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information."

Posted on June 2, 2010, updated June 3, 2010
Very disappointed - I was preparing to redo my landscape and wanted to add some special plants.

I placed my original order placed April 21 for two varieties of plants,Espresso Geranium and Little Blue Wonder Dwarf Sea Holly - three plants each. There was no indication that a shipping date could be longer than a month. The first shipping date was approximately the first week in May, no problem, I was still putting my new landscape together.

However, the shipping dates kept changing. When I called the second week in May I was told it was a busy time for them and orders do get delayed, but it was shown on the system that the items were scheduled to be shipped around May 13th.

When I checked on May 16th and the shipping date had changed again, so I called canceled the order. At that time the customer service person was very apologetic and indicated my card would be credited, but it would take about a week.

Today is Wednesday, June 2 and my card has yet to be credited. I emailed customer service, who were also very apologetic and indicated on May 27th that they would expedite.

What's frustrating is that the company is so nice, but still doesn't deliver the merchandise or fulfill the promises made.

"On Jun 7, 2010 12:57 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We apologize that you were given the wrong information. We appreciate the feedback to better serve our customers. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information."

How hard can it be to ship the following order in a week?
4 Golden Hakone Grass
1 Japanese Red Maple
1 Red Perennial Garden
1 Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden

Well I knew it was going to be trouble when I didn't get an order confirmation email and my credit card was charged the next day and the stuff had not shipped. No reputable company charges your credit card until they actually ship. Charging for goods you don't have to sell is called forward selling and is a from of fraud.

It took about 3 weeks for the Hakone Grass to arrive. For $13 a bunch it is scrawny looking and tiny. It was packed in about 1.5" square cardboard tubes and there are 4 to 8 stems of grass per bunch. Some of it had good roots and some of them had very small roots. If I'd known that's what it was going to look like I wouldn't have paid $3 a bunch for it. So I feel ripped off on his one. I planted it and we will see how it grows. Even though it's had good rain it doesn't look like it's doing that well.

Then about 4 weeks after the order date the Red Perennial Garden arrived. Most of it was packed dry in a plastic bag with saw dust and two small potted plants. My only complaint here is that I was charged for this stuff long ago and it took forever to show up.

They say they have shipping the Butterfly & Hummingbird Garden but it hasn't arrived. The Japanese Red Maple still hasn't shipped and it's been 5 weeks now.

Needless to say I will not be doing business with Spring Hill Nurseries or anyone related to them again. This is all material that should have been in stock and shipped within two days not weeks and again my credit card should not have been billed till my order was shipped.

"On Jun 7, 2010 12:50 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We apologize for the delay in your shipment. We appreciate the feedback to better serve our customers. A customer service representative will be contacing you for more information."

I received my order and discovered one of the double blooming day lilies was mushy. I emailed Spring Hill thinking maybe Tuesday someone would read it. Within a half hour I received notice that my replacement plant was scheduled to ship. I am still amazed because it is Saturday night of Memorial Day weekend!
I have purchased plants from Spring Hill off and on for about 15 years. I have never been disappointed in the service I received. I also appreciate they do not ship plants until the time is right. Living in MI we need to be concerned about freezing.
I definitely plan on buying from them again.

"On Jun 7, 2010 1:22 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate the feedback to better serve our customers. Happy Gardening!"

Posted on May 18, 2010, updated May 28, 2010
Posted on May 17, 2010, updated May 18, 2010
Posted on May 15, 2010, updated May 17, 2010
Posted on May 12, 2010, updated May 15, 2010
Posted on May 10, 2010, updated May 12, 2010
Posted on May 7, 2010, updated May 10, 2010
My experience with SHN is very much similar to most in regards to first time order and shipping date kept changing. I placed an order with SHN on 4/22/10 and till now I still have not received my order or any partial shipment at all. I've been very patience and have emailed them twice and called them once. From the call, I wasn't very happy with the customer service rep. I stated my case and asked her when my order will ship. I need to know the time frame so that I can schedule my work (I travel quit a bit) days to be home when it arrives and also schedule the gardener to come and help plant them for me. The CSR response was, she can see my order in the system and sometimes it takes months to delivery, and she gave me an example as to an order that was placed last December is just now schedule to be shipped. I told her, maybe that order has a different delivery date than mine... since mine specify a date of delivery. I also mentioned the delivery date kept changing. All she can tell me was that she sees my order in the system and my delivery is up to the shipping department. I was very upset, therefore I didn't want to carry the conversation any further. In regards, to the emails I sent them... the same response was replied to me. It seems to be an automated message... First response was May 3 and the 2nd response was May 6th.
*****************************************************************************************
From:
service@springhillnursery.com
Subject:
Re: Order Status
Date:
May 03, 2010 06:27:50 PM CDT
To:
t.ngo@mac.com
Dear Gardening Friend,

Thank you for contacting Spring Hill Nurseries. Your questions and comments are very important to us. Rest assured one of our Customer Care Representatives will respond to you as quickly as possible. As always, we pride ourselves on our world class customer service and we back all of our plants with a lifetime guarantee.

Frequently Asked Questions:
What is my Hardiness Zone?
When will my order ship?
What should I do when my plants arrive?
How do I cancel an item from my order?
How do I process a return?
How do I subscribe or unsubscribe from the Spring Hill Newsletter?

Please visit SpringHillNursery.com often for the latest news from Abigail Merriweather, as well as, tips for your garden!

Sincerely,
Spring Hill Nursery
Customer Care Team
***************************************************************************************
From:
service@springhillnursery.com
Subject:
Re: Spring Hill Nursery Feedback: Order Status
Date:
May 06, 2010 10:35:39 AM CDT
To:
t.ngo@mac.com
Dear Gardening Friend,

Thank you for contacting Spring Hill Nurseries. Your questions and comments are very important to us. Rest assured one of our Customer Care Representatives will respond to you as quickly as possible. As always, we pride ourselves on our world class customer service and we back all of our plants with a lifetime guarantee.

Frequently Asked Questions:
What is my Hardiness Zone?
When will my order ship?
What should I do when my plants arrive?
How do I cancel an item from my order?
How do I process a return?
How do I subscribe or unsubscribe from the Spring Hill Newsletter?

Please visit SpringHillNursery.com often for the latest news from Abigail Merriweather, as well as, tips for your garden!

Sincerely,
Spring Hill Nursery
Customer Care Team
*****************************************************************************************
I wanted to cancel my order, but I hesitated because in the back of my mind I give them benefit of the doubt they are processing my order after I spoke to the CSR. But till now, no concrete answer to when my order will ship. I really don't know what to rate them since this is my first time ordering from them. I'll just rate it Neutral and updated in a week or two if there's any changes. This is what I order from SHN:

Items Not Shipped:
2 THREE SEASONS OF BEAUTY GARDEN
Delivery Estimate: 05/14/10 - 05/21/10
5 PILL FOR PLANTS
Delivery Estimate: 05/14/10 - 05/21/10
2 ORANGE CARPET BORDER LILY
Delivery Estimate: 05/14/10 - 05/21/10
6 WHITE DELIGHT CARPET PHLOX
Delivery Estimate: 05/14/10 - 05/21/10

The day after Nashville was hit with the worst flood in its history, I received an email from Spring Hill Nursey that it was shipping a Showy Lady’s Slipper (Cypripecium) I had ordered. A day later, UPS tracking indicated that the package had arrived in Nashville. The next day the package was “out for deliver” but wasn’t delivered. Tracking indicated that “emergency beyond UPS’s control” prevented delivery. The same situation the next day. On the third attempt I received the package late in the evening, five days after shipping. The package outside appeared to be OK, but inside was a plant with a broken-off bloom and the main stem broken in three places, all scrambled with loose soil. The leaves looked scalded. Apparently it had undergone a lot of rough and tumble. I notified Spring Hill of the situation via email, without requesting any adjustment. They immediately scheduled shipment of a replacement at no charge. This time I received a less mature (without bloom) but very healthy plant. It’s been in the ground a few days now and looks quite established. If it doesn’t make it, I won’t fault either Spring Hill or UPS.

"On May 25, 2010 8:26 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate the feedback to better serve our customers. Happy Gardening!"

Posted on May 12, 2006, updated May 22, 2010
I used the coupon on the catalog that was mailed and ordered the "complete summer magic garden"... the plants arrived according to the shipping schedule they had on their website, were packaged very well (all well labled as well) and none of the plants were damaged, a bit small but healthy. I was sceptical about the dormant ones with just the roots, but so far everthing seems to be coming up well. I was a bit afraid since I did not find the comments on this company until after I had placed my order. So far it seems like it was well worht my money. I don't know if I was just lucky this time, butI will see next year if they all come up.

"On May 24, 2010 7:15 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate your feedback. Happy Gardening!"

I've never tried to purchase something online and ended up completely furious for almost 2 weeks. First, using their $20 off $20 coupon code brings shipping up to a flat rate of $12.99. It doesn't say that anywhere. I contacted customer service 3 times through email and Facebook to see why this was, and they simply said that using that code makes shipping a flat rate. No apology, no nothing.

Then for the following 10 days, my shipping date has been moved back a day. I've heard that they do that when something backordered, but they should tell their customers. I'm sitting here waiting when I could buy these plants from a company that uses common cents and appreciates their customers.

Now I'm trying to cancel my order and customer service can't FIND my order. This was after I gave them all my information 5 times over the course of 10 or so emails. They said I need to send in a copy of my credit card statement so they can credit my account. Shouldn't they know if they charged me?? This company makes my blood boil. Never ever ever again.

"On May 24, 2010 7:20 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. I apologize for the inconvenience. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information."

I placed moderately large orders with three mail order nurseries this spring. The reputation of SpringHill was, well, less stellar than that of the other two but they had the plants and collections I wanted while others were sold out or much pricier. My order arrived promptly, with healthy littlle plants. Most importantly, though, those little plants are all presently thriving, even the two that the raccoons kept digging up and I kept replanting. I have to think that if they weren't good stock, they wouldn't have made it through *that* episode! Anyway, I am very happy with my experience and will definitely order from them again.

"On May 24, 2010 4:43 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

We appreciate you taking the time to post this.Thank you for your feedback and Happy Gardening!"

I ordered a "Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid." It took over 2 months to get my order. It turns out it was on back order (very understandable) but no one bothered to ever let me know that this was the case until I eventually contacted them. When I did contact them they were prompt about getting back with me.

The plant I received was healthy...albeit with one dead and one nearly dead bloom which means I will have to wait a whole year to see my $50.00 plant bloom. Luckily I used a coupon.

"On May 24, 2010 5:28 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate you taking the time to let us know your experience with our company. It is information like this that helps to provide better service to our customers."

I ordered a Mimoso tree and when it arrived it was a 3 ft long trig with no branchs. I WILL NEVER ORDER FROM THEM AGAIN.

"On May 24, 2010 5:25 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for taking the time to post. We appreciate your feedback. A customer service representative will be contacing you."

Posted on September 16, 2009, updated May 16, 2010
I used to be bothered by plants from Spring Hill which did not make it, then I read the book "The Ever-Blooming Flower Garden" and was struck by the author's account of how many she planted which didn't make it, and her's came from local nurseries, cost more, and should have been in better condition because they didn't have to go through the mail and because they were usually in pots and already off to a good start.

I saw a garden show yesterday where the landscaper paid $10 for a single daylily. Of course, it was in a pot and already had a bloom on it (gimmick). I recently got a reblooming daylily collection from SHN. After discounts, I essentially paid $15 for 10 daylilies. They are all doing great, but even if 8 of them had died, I would still be ahead of the TV landscaper.

Since I usually buy plants at half price from SHN and then get a $25-off the order total more often than not, I'm getting a LOT of plants for the money. On top of that, they replace plants that don't make it. So, yes, you're going to have some dead plants -- maybe even all of one type, which may be the plant's fault or it *might* be your/garden's fault, but I think it is still a very good value. I've looked at a lot of online places and have ordered from Wayside and Breck's, but I have not found any sites which are as consistently inexpensive as SHN, and I really haven't found their quality overall to be any worse than any place else, so I continue to buy from them.

"On Sep 17, 2009 10:01 AM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Dear Valued Customer:

Thank you for your kind words; we greatly appreciate you taking the time to post this. We strive for 100% Customer Satisfaction. We are always here to answer any questions you may have or assist in any way we can; just give us a call or email us. We look forward to serving you in the future. Happy Gardening!"

Posted on May 15, 2010, updated May 15, 2010
I really wish I had come here prior to placing an order with this company since so far, I haven't received what I would call good customer service. I placed my order on April 19, 2010 and was given a delivery date of 5/09/10-5/16/10. Since then I have checked the delivery date and it keeps getting bumped back. This is the current delivery date:

1 STELLA DE ORO DAYLILY
Delivery Estimate: 05/22/10 - 05/29/10
1 CHOCOLATE COSMOS
Delivery Estimate: 05/22/10 - 05/29/10
1 CLARA CURTIS FALL DAISY
Delivery Estimate: 05/22/10 - 05/29/10
1 BONFIRE BEGONIA
Delivery Estimate: 05/22/10 - 05/29/10

I called customer service today and was told that these were/are on backorder and that's why they haven't been delivered yet. This whole experience has been very disappointing because this company was recommended by some women on a message board I belong to. We all placed orders around them same time and several of them have received their orders while some like me are watching their delivery dates getting bumped back every week. Now it looks like I'll have to wait 2 more weeks, that is unless I check back next week to find that the delivery date will be bumped yet again. Overall this has been a very disappointing experience esp. with the lack of customer service. It would have been nice to know that the flowers were on backorder, just a simple e-mail would have been sufficient. But waiting 6 weeks for 4 flowers to be delivered is not what I expected.

Last year i ordered the Banana Plant deal, with blueberry, and a few other Odds n Ends. . . .All are thriving beautifully. SpringHill i believe is somehow related to Gurneys, as they seem to have the same deals, just SpringHill is maninly Flowers, no Fruit/Veggies.

Posted on May 13, 2010, updated May 14, 2010
Posted on May 11, 2010, updated May 13, 2010
Posted on May 6, 2010, updated May 11, 2010
Posted on May 6, 2010, updated May 6, 2010
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Posted on May 2, 2010, updated May 4, 2010
Posted on May 2, 2010, updated May 2, 2010
I'm trying out a host of new mail-order nurseries this Spring. Today, I ordered (for the first time) the following from SpringHill Nurseries (this is the order status as of last i checked):

1 MIXED FOXGLOVE
Delivery Estimate: 05/09/10 - 05/16/10
1 CLIMBING SHELL PLANT
Delivery Estimate: 05/09/10 - 05/16/10
1 GAY BUTTERFLIES BUTTERFLY PLANT
Delivery Estimate: 05/09/10 - 05/16/10
1 FORSYTHIA LYNWOOD GOLD
Delivery Estimate: 05/09/10 - 05/16/10

I have been reading a LOT of NEGATIVE comments about their shipping practices and I'm a little worried. BUT I promised myself that just for this season, i'll give them the benefit of the doubt and try to at least be patient. I will update when I receive this order as to the promptness and condition of the package. And once the plants have either established themselves or (hopefully not) die off one by one, I will give my overall rating. (wow, that paragraph there ma friend, is as close to being a professional and UN-psycho gardener as I'll ever be ^_^ I'm usually nitpicky about online nurseries and their shipping practices, but oh well we're gettin old :-)

"On May 3, 2010 6:24 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

We appreciate your feedback. We strive for 100% Customer Satisfaction. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information so we can check on your order for you.

Not Impressed!!!

I placed an order back on April 20, 2010 and today is May 14th and I have yet to receive my order. SHN customer service department e-mailed me back on May 8th stating that they were shipping 4 out of the 8 plants that I purchased, and that it should be arriving between May 11 - 13th. When I contacted customer service this evening to inquire about my delivery, all she could tell me was, "that it is still in transit." Great Help!

Considering my order "ALLEGEDLY" shipped nearly 7 days ago I hope that the plants are still alive when I finally do receive them. I can't understand why its taken nearly a month for them to ship my order. I'm not impressed with the lack of service, and I will more than likely stick to buying from my local nurseries in the future.

I am very happy with SHN. True, the shipping date did keep changing, but when I emailed them about this, I recieved a prompt (within 3 days) response, and all my plants shipped safely. I recieved my first two orders today, one more tomorrow. And I am elated! There is nothing like opening a box and seeing green, healthy green at that! All were packaged well, no shipping damage at all. I can't wait to see the plants coming tomorrow! I understand about shipping delays, but if it means I will get my plants more safely, 10-4, I have no problem with it. All my plants look strong, soil was moist, and no mold whatsoever! I am very happy with everything. One thing I might add, is that I had one slug and one snail in the soil of my hydrangea (I don't know if this is normal), I am not at all worried, plant is fine, and my garden is not at all mullusk friendly (they just dont survive well here), but it might be worth looking into for those gardeners that DO have slug issues... Thank you so much SpringHill, I am gonna order some more from you tonight! :)

I am going between positive and neutral. Overall my experiences with spring hill nursery (SHN) are positive, however there have been a few things that have bothered me. But I will start with the pros:

1. Lifetime guarantee, this is the reason I shop at SHN, I know if I mess something up or it doesn't work out I can call them and they will ship out a new one, with no hassle.
2. Quality products, most of the items I have ordered from them have grown well.
3. Great prices on items if you have a coupon. There is normally some sale that will get me to buy an item or 2 for my garden. It brings the price down to a regular nursery price but again, I would pay the little extra for the Lifetime guarantee. I don't know how many hydrangea's I have bought from a regular nursery only to have them fail leaving me to buy them again the following season.
4. Great phone support, anytime I have called about a question or issue the customer service has always been helpful.

Now the cons:
1. Shipping, there is a lot to be desired here. First there is no express or overnight shipping option, second, it seems no matter what they claim the delivery date will be on the order it will always change to a later date. I place an order in august of 09 in hopes all items would come in the fall, this was not the case. I received a few items but not my Josee Re-Blooming lilacs, I called customer service and they informed me they would ship in a couple of weeks. By the time the spring came they still did not ship and the date kept on moving back. I emailed customer service and they said they would ship by a certain date, the date came and went, so I emailed customer service again and they finally shipped.

2. Slow email response time, When I emailed customer service it seems it always took 3-5 days for a response. This makes it hard to communicate you questions back. If you want a response, call them they have always been really friendly on the phone, but I am normally a calm guy and try not to sound to frustrated.

"On May 13, 2010 1:28 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

I placed two orders with SpringHill this spring. One for two citrus trees and one banana tree and another with strawberries and perennials. The ship date did move about a bit, but as I am not terribly in need of the plants and comfortable enough to plant them when they got here so I didn't stress. Once they shipped and I got the UPS tracking number I was concerned, as they started from OH midweek and while its normally only a couple days to ME from OH, the weekend allowed the plants to sit in a warehouse instead of moving constantly. I've never seen a live goods company ship midweek or later, most strive for Monday/Tuesday. I was further concerned when I realizes the cheap UPS ground shipping is the one that ends up at the local post office for delivery. My mail person isn't the greatest, but I was able to meet her at the mail box since I knew they were coming.

The bare root poppy is starting to sprout but its a bit early to tell if it will take. The coneflower has doubled already, even though a couple leaves were yellow when I got it. The strawberries are doing well so far as well, although it was hard to separate out 25 plants from the bundle you get.

The orange tree is doing well, seems to be adapting and no leaves were lost. The banana is doing ok, couple leaves were yellowed and damaged in shipping, waiting to see how it does. The lime came with super wet soil and flies and molded over the first full day out of the box. After stripping it of soil and re-potting its doing well, no leaves lost and no flies so I will wait and see if it takes as well.

I'm a very happy customer, and will remain so providing my flowers come out the proper colors. Definitely a bargain compared to the local greenhouse or home improvement store when looking for specialty plants or exotic varieties.

"On May 13, 2010 12:11 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for feedback. We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with us. Happy Gardening!"

I placed some orders last year: spring and fall arrival, and then another I just received last week. Last years orders were packaged so beautifully, the plants looked healthy. However, many of these plants failed to survive and were very healthy when I planted them. Had already placed another order in Feb.--arrived last week--to put it mildly, the difference between this shipment and the others were like night and day! One bareroot plant was so scrawny--$8 of $10 for a twig. I emailed them, and told them that b/c majority of last year's perennials did not survive, and due to the state of most of the new plants, that I would no longer do business with them. I had requested only replacements of a few, willing to take a loss--I received 3 emails w/in 24 hours(after the confirmation of my first email)-they were actually invoices for all of the plants they are replacing--from 3 different shipments-which totaled 8 replacement plants, not just the 3 I asked for! said I would not seek reimbursement for all of them, as I did not want to take advantage-but, they really do stick by their 100% guarantee! I hope the replacements will do well! I'll keep DG members posted! Some won't arrive until next year, but at least for now, I don't need to spend extra money to fill in the empty spots in my garden--that makes me very happy!

"On May 13, 2010 12:08 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for posting. We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with us. Happy Gardening!"

I chose Spring Hill Nursery because of several people in my area that purchased items from them and had those items THRIVE. I'm not a novice gardener, yet I was not so lucky with my purchases. I got 2 different items, both well suited for my zone, yet the live plants died and the roots molded over! Repeated emails to them asking for a REFUND went unanswered; when I finally got a response I was told that refund checks had been ordered. I had specifically asked for a credit card refund. I called the company directly, who proceeded to give me several different stories in 15 minutes:
1. sure - a credit card refund is no problem. Please HOLD while I look for instructions on how to do this.
2. sorry - upon further review, we can see that the refund check order was entered incorrectly so we have no choice but start from scratch and issue a credit card refund. Please HOLD while I get those instructions.
3. congrats - upon even futher review it seems that your refund is bigger than you initially thought! we'll begin processing your credit card refund if you can HOLD.
4. sorry - it seems that once a refund check order has been placed we are unable to issue a credit card refund.

WAIT A MINUTE!! You just told me that the refund check order was entered incorrectly...are now you're telling me that it's valid???

5. well, it now appears to have been entered correctly.

This company has shoddy products, incompetent customer service, and I STILL have not received my refund checks!

Steer clear of Spring Hill Nursery!

"On May 13, 2010 1:27 PM, Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com) responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. I apologize for the mis-communication and a customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and take care of your refund for you."