Comments regarding Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com)

So far I am very pleased with Spring Hill. I have only ordered twice. Last year I ordered myself and my mom a Hardy Banana plant using a coupon (basically getting one for free).

Both Banana trees are doing fine, even through the winter. (Although Mom is mad that mine has already had a baby and hers hasn't.)

I ordered again this year, this time it was a Daylily collection. I just put those in the ground a couple of weeks ago, but already the green shoots of about half of them are shooting up through the mulch. I can't wait to see them bloom! Mom will be mad again.

So far so good!

I have ordered from Spring Hill numerious times over the past 8 years. The plants are usually always small when they arrive and a bit wilty, but considering that the plants are being stuck in a dark box and bounced around during shipping, I'm not surprised. Everything I have purchased from them has done remarkably well. I have an Iris collection from them that grow up to be around 3-3 1/2 feet tall and blooms bigger than softballs. I have a Clematis that looked rough when it arrived and now blooms much earlier than most and lasts most longer than most, same with a climbing rose, that one I have to trim back several times each year because it gets so big. I have had a few plants die, both part of collections and both were replaced with and entire new collection, no questions asked and I've never been "blacklisted" or had an order turned down. I've just placed another very large order with them and even after reading the negative feedback on this site I have no concerns.

I ordered from SH before I read the negative reviews. Had I read the reviews first, I wouldn't have ordered from them. However, I have been pleasantly surprised this spring to find that the plants are alive and growing. I am relieved my experience has been positive.

My first time with Spring Hill! I've been receiving their catalogs for years but since they were both pricey and rated poorly on this site, I never ordered. But recently I got the $20 free coupon (with no requirement to buy more like most coupons!) and couldn't let that go by so I ordered 6 of their Pink Freedom hedge roses. Wow - I couldn't be more pleased. They ended up being about $5 each with the coupon and they are beautiful healthy branched, nicely pruned shrubs. Amazing.

I ordered from Spring Hill a few weeks ago - before reading all of the negative comments on Dave's Garden. I was concerned that my order would be dead on arrival, but was very pleasantly surprised. Last Thursday I received an email letting me know that my order was shipping and I received the order the next day. The packaging was excellent. The plants were healthy and the soil was most. The plants are a little small - but all perennials are at this time of year. My whole order arrived -- nothing backordered. Great value for the price. I can't wait to plant!

I ordered over $200 worth of plants and bulbs from Spring Hill in March 2008. The products were delivered within 2 weeks of my placing the order. The plants were gorgeous, healthy and some very large. The live plants arrived fresh and well watered. Some of the plants cost a third of what they are now selling for at the local Home Depot. As for the packaging, unbelievably expensive; the little 3" pots were packed in plastic boxes that protected the plant. I also received more plants than I ordered.

From my experience, I highly recommend this company.

I feel compelled to write this review after reading all the negative reviews -- which I only read after having placed an order and was scared to death as to what dead monsters would be inside the box. Well I planted healthy plants, and blubs that were starting to sprout. Some of the bulbs had 12" roots on them. If my plants die or don't do well I'm going to blame those roots for reaching out and strangling the other plants or for drinking all the water. I won't be blaming Spring Hill.

I'd like to start by saying that I've worked for Spring Hill (and their affiliated companies) answering the phones for a number of years now. I've also been ordering through them since I started working there. Before that time I had never gardened in my life, and even now I am not what could be called a 'good' gardener. I'm not speaking as any sort of 'official representative', I was just reading the reviews out of curiosity and wanted to add my thoughts on the plants I've ordered, and also try to inform people of what can be expected if there is an issue with their order.

I don't amend my soil - or even prepare it by tilling or anything for that matter, I don't fertilize, I don't spray them for diseases or insects, occasionally I will water them but that's about it. From my first order I did lose a good portion of the plants, mostly due to picking plants that were not suited either to my zone or to the lack of attention they would be receiving. Making wiser choices in my orders after that, I've had a much higher success rate.

Employee orders are filled the same as any other order, and I've been both pleasantly surprised and sadly disappointed by how the plants have looked on arrival. I too have opened my packages and received what appeared to be a dead stick, or plants missing leaves or packages that looked like the postman had been playing football with it. I'll be the first to agree that some of the plants are anything but impressive looking on arrival!

However, following the advice we give to our customers, and the advice of the gardeners who work there who told me to just plant them and watch, nearly everything I have ordered has grown, despite my being sure they were already dead. The one exception was some coneflowers I had to ask for a replacement on. Other than that any plant deaths I have experienced were my own fault. As a customer I have been very pleased with the results of the plants I have ordered.

Regarding the guarantee, I truly believe it to be the best in the business. There may be those who are disappointed because the plants are not reshipped more than twice and feel they are being shorted on the lifetime guarantee, please understand that having tried to get those plants started three times already it is clear that for whatever reason those particular plants that they're sending you just aren't going to do well, and they can only absorb so much of the increasingly hefty shipping costs to continue sending them out when they have so spectacularly failed so many times. Your guarantee is still valid, that is why they can either send you a credit to try something else that might work better for you, or return the money you paid for it. They don't require you to Prove that anything has died, don't ask you to dig up the dead plants and ship them back to them as a number of other companies do, don't set any time restrictions, the most they may ask of you is to please plant them and give them the time they need to wake up and start growing.

I would like to try and explain a little about 'backordered' plants. Every single live plant that is ordered will show as 'backordered' in the order system until they are actually shipping. That is simply because these are not items that are stored on a shelf somewhere where they can just be picked up and shipped out and an exact inventory kept, they are out in the fields being grown. They are working with anticipated numbers of how many plants they expect to have, as well as anticipated numbers of how many people will order that particular plant, and also anticipated numbers of how many of those expected plants will require a reship. Unfortunately there is no way for the phone agents to see where exactly your order is in the line, or how many people have ordered any particular plant before you, and so all the agents can give is a general estimate of when that order will ship. Usually they go out about 2 weeks after the order is placed, assuming the zone is open. If there is unexpected demand for an item, or there is a supplier issue or a crop failure, or a plain old disaster such as the greenhouse collapses and the APX shipping debacle they experienced it can certainly push that expected ship time back.

The closer it gets to the end of the shipping season, the more likely it is to run out of some plants. If there is something similar you may get a substitute, if substitutes are not available the item will drop off the order entirely. Some people are thrilled to get a substitute, some not so happy. For those who are unhappy with the substitute they received they can contact the company and let them know. They would issue a credit to use towards a new order, or refund the money paid for it if that's what they want. As with any other plant sent out, everything is guaranteed.

It is very possible, especially for large orders, that your plants will come in more than one shipment. In part that's because the nurseries are in more than one state and they may very well be shipping from different locations, and also because when the plants are ready to go, they have to go. They can't simply hold them if the other plants on the order are not able to be shipped yet. They need to be hardened off for shipment and they need to fit in the shipping containers.

And yes, they will be small when you get them. It will take time for them to mature and look as lush and gorgeous as the pictures in the catalog. Depending on the plant some may grow to full height and bloom the first season, some may take years to get as large and bloom as profusely as the pictures.

It is definitely an investment in time, ordering plants through the mail. If you're looking for an instant garden in full flower, I do not suggest you order through the mail. But if you decide that mail-order is something you'd like to try, I think this is a good group of companies to try it with. I've found the plants to come through even with my sad gardening skills, and that guarantee can't be beat.

There was a lot more I wanted to talk about, but seeing how lengthy this has already turned out to be I'll just end it with this : I'm not posting this on behalf of the company. I'm posting it because I personally have had success with the products, and because I know for sure that the guarantee is not a scam, it's the real deal.

Healthy plants with sturdy roots and stems -- for a great price. If I could find the same plant at a local nursery for the same price, I'd go local.
I shop for bargains and besides their 50% off the total order deals; I also found BOGO deals on the same order. Shipping is reasonable. The packaging was FABULOUS each item was packed in plastic. I am very happy with my purchases.

Ordered 3 All Summer Beauty Hydrangeas which arrived last week. Not only are the plants in good condition, I'd even call them "lush." Of course, ony time will tell how they will perform, but I wanted to post how pleased I was when I opened the box. As healthy as these plants look, I have to believe if they fail to do well it will be my own fault.

Say what you will about Spring Hill Nurseries, but we bought one of their Perennial Garden collections over ten years ago when we bought our house. Some of those plants are still producing and have given us years of outstanding blooms. In particular, it is the only supplier where I have found the tall 48" (although ours was more like 65") Belladonna Delphinium which was absolutely spectacular for several years. They take a couple of years to come into their own and Delphiniums are short lived plants anyway but while they are in their prime, they are gorgeous. I'm ordering some again this year (the seeds I collected and nurtured ultimately failed) and hope others will consider doing so too because they seem to be hard to find and may become unavailable.

I purchased several plants from Spring Hill in Spring of 2007. They arrived very healthy, and within the time frame they had promised. Unfortunately we had an incredibly hot summer, and very little rain. Some of the plants didn't make it. I called Spring Hill, and had replacements within a few weeks without trouble. I am very excited to see how my young plants grow this season! I was very pleased with my Spring Hill experience.

The plants arrived on time and in good overall condition. I thought the plants were packaged well and directions for planting were well written. I bought some of the " sale items" and still was pleased. I will buy from them again this year.

I was really mad at myself for not looking here before I placed an order from Spring Hill, thought I'd just wasted my $$. When I came home today I had the box from them waiting (I just got the email yesterday saying they'd mailed it), and was eager to open it. I ordered crazy daisy, diamond grass, verbascum & blue ice phlox. All of the plants look to be in wonderful shape, need some light and to be in the ground, but really not too bad for the trip. I am very pleased so far & would definitly order from them again. Maybe they saw all the bad feedback they were getting from people & changed some things-I don't know, but so far I'm thrilled and can't wait to see everything in the spring!!

I ordered a number of roses and Mock Orange shrubs. I received the plants in a timely fashion this spring, and the plants were a reasonable size too. After growing for several months through the summer I cannot believe how well all of the plants are doing. The rose bushes are all 4 foot and have tons of blooms and the mock orange shrubs, 10 of them, are gorgeous and have already grown to 4-5 feet each. One of them seemed questionable after a late April frost but diligent feeding saved it. I would definitely recommend the products from this company.

So far my experience with Spring Hill has been positive. I placed a large order in April '07.

Shipping: The order did take quite some time to get here, and yes, the ship date did get pushed back at least once, but the plants arrived in plenty of time to plant them before hot weather set in (because of the slow shipping, I wouldn't recommend ordering as summer heats up in your area, even if they are still taking orders). Everything was packaged well, and was moist and green.

Replacements: My order included a few substitutions, but for the most part they just substituted something I bought bareroot for a potted version--a better value. The one exception was Hen and Chicks (sempervivum). They were supposed to be 3 potted plants, and they sent me 3 bareroot instead. I called Customer Service and said that the replacement was not equal or greater value. They offered a gift certificate for the full price I'd paid, but I asked instead for 3 additional bareroot sempervivums to be sent. They agreed, and the plants arrived within a week or so.

Growth: Almost all of my flowers are doing great 2 months after planting. I've gotten blooms from bareroot platycodon, from small monarda plants, and I will be getting them from a small hibiscus plant. Most everything else has significantly increased in size and seem to be doing well. My only problem, actually, was with Crocosmia bulbs that I was sent. I haven't seen life out of those yet, and plan to call and ask for a refund if nothing emerges by the end of the summer.

I would echo what others have said. The plants from this nursery are small--bareroot or small pots, but they have great potential, it's just going to take time!

Hi I really have to say I am suprised by the many negative comments such a great company has received. First, let me say if you want to "grow" plants and not just look at the beautiful results then Spring Hill is for you, you buy very young plants often those that WILL NOT BLOOM this year because they are so young, part of the joy of gardening (for me anyway) is to plant something and nurture it until it grows up and produces flowers. Secondly, the guarantee CANNOT be beat. My husband weed wacked three aster plants and they replaced them, my husband "weeded" 6 foxglove plants and they replaced them, my husband pulled up my virginia blue bells when creating a border fence (hmmmm I seem to notice a pattern) and they replaced them. Not only do I really enjoy this company I am almost embarassed to have contacted them so many times for their return policy never to be turned away. The prices are extremely reasonable for the smaller plants. I love them no problems except they did cancel one of my orders because the delphinium I ordered was sold out but hey really no big deal, (my husband probably would have accidentally eaten it or something!)

I placed an order in April, 2007. My plants arrived and I was very impressed with the quality. I ordered 6 monardas and 6 red scabiosas, which I purchased during the 50% off sale. All the plants arrived in 3" pots and were huge, with healthy foliage and large roots. I would definitely order from them again. My only suggestion - and my sister told me about this - they seem to do better with Spring shipments that Summer shipments. I guess its the heat. I'm just happy that my order arrived in great condition. Also, the plants were much larger than Bluestone Perennials. If you're thinking of ordering from them, pick stuff that's sold in a pot and consider placing a small order first. I find that getting some of the field grown perennials to grow is kinda of tricky. Hope this review helps you!

I took advantage of "your order ½ price” coupon and “double for 1 cent" specials this spring and was very pleased. I somehow expected all the plants to be potted versus bare root; I think the description of the plants is a bit hidden in the catalogue, but I just had to wait a bit longer to see flowers.

They have plants I cannot easily buy where I live and it is so easy to order online.

Biggest disappointment: 3 Eryngium species – 1 arrived a gooey mess and other 2 grew 2 leaves, then got same rotted root mess. They came in separate bags, but I have to wonder if they all had some disease.

I called customer service and got immediate credit for them as well as some verbena that did not make it. Most of my order has done spendidly - I am very pleased with Spring Hill Nursery so far.

I first heard of this company via QVC and ordered some rose bushes back in 1996... My poor gadening skills led to their demise and Springhill not only sent me the 3 relacements, but an additional 3 as well. I got 6 for the price of 3... 5 lived..

I have shopped with them extensively this year and they ALWAYS, without question have replaced any and all plants that died due to my poor gardening skills.

Once again with their "Sub-Zero" roses I manage to kill a few and all were replaced.

I can make an extensive list of plants that were replaced. I almost feel guilty about costing them the extra plants and "FREE" S&H costs they absorb.

I can not reccomend a company more highly as customer service and suppot that was provided to me. Buy with the utmost confidence.

James Cross

I have ordered from Springhill numerous times. Most recently, I ordered a hybrid rose plant (Caribia). It arrived nicely packed and was HUGE. It was healthy with new growth shooting out everywhere. I have never purchased a rose in such great condition, even from the local nurseries. They tell you the general size of the plant that you're ordering, but I was still not prepared for such a healthy rose! I think some people complain just to complain...and sometimes you have to wonder what their motive really is. I continue to order from Springhill and just placed another order this evening. I wouldn't do that if I had any doubts about them!

I just received my order the other day. It was very well packaged and did arrive on time. They were offering a deal that could not be beat-- $25 off on orders over $50! My only twinge of disappointment is that my plants were kind of on the smallish size, but they do seem healthy and considering the deal I got, I feel very pleased overall!

I ordered from this company, even after reading the mixed reviews, because of a great cupon deal. I recieved small but healthy plants. Unfortunately because of the terrible spring weather 3 lilacs and 3 shell plants frooze and died within 2 days.
I emailed the Co. and got an instant automated reply, telling me that a customer service rep. would contact me.When I didn't get a response in two days I emailed again. Before the end of the day I got an emailed appology with info. that replacement plants would be shipped. I got them 4 days later. These plants were bigger and healthier. And even with one more spring frost are doing well.
I am warry of really big comercial nurseries. I'm a new gardener and have read a lot of reviews here but I was impressed with this companies customer service. And the coupon couldn't be beat. (half off price of orders over $50. Which by the way I sent in,accidentaly, after the cut off date-they honored it anyway)

There seem's to be a lot of pissed off people out there who's actual problem seem's to be more climatic than with Spring Hill.........I have purchased several hundred plants from them and with the exception of one rose bush that appeares to be dying, I have never had a problem. They ship the plants when they are ready (seasonally speaking), they arrive quickly, and customer service will glady take care of any problem you may experience.........

Lighten up people.....they are doing a good job.

I had a very good experience with Spring Hill. Because of the size of the plants and how early they ship, I probably will order only bushes or trees in the future, but almost everything is growing. The first time I called to get a few replacements, the woman I spoke to acted as though she had never heard of such a thing as one of their plants not growing. She sighed and said, "Let me check on something" and put me on hold. Then, the battery on my phone started to go (luckily) so I hung up. However, when I called back a few days later, I got a very cheerful woman who teased me about killing my banana tree. She was very nice and the plant arrived quickly. With the great coupons and quick replacements I would order from this company again.

I have ordered several times and a variety of items, I find the prices to be reasonable and with the coupon quite good. I ordered the naturalized shade garden among other items this is the second season for that garden and other than a few of the lillies which I am sure the squirrels dug up everything is doing extremely well! The customer service is excellent and the one item that did not work out was replaced.

I ordered 4 Lilac Bushes and 10 Dwarf Burning Bushes. They all arrived in great condition. All 10 Burning Bushes are doing fine. One of the Lilac's is failing, but I think it will snap out of it. They were all very small plants, but then the price was really good too. So I'm happy!

All I can say is "So far, so good!" I ordered a set of mums last year as my first order. Since I've never had luck growing them, I thought I'd take a chance. They came back this spring and are growing fast! This spring I ordered a red azalea,the ice plant collection, and a few more mums. The plants arrived in great condition - packed well! They all appeared healthy and have shown growth since planted. I did have a problem with this year's order though. Two items were missing. I e-mailed SpringHill, and they sent replacements out within a week. I'm impressed with SpringHill so far. I've had terrible experiences with Cottage Farms and Roberta's (both on QVC), so I've found SpringHIll to be a much more reliable and pleasant company to deal with. I plan to replace the dead (and never received!) items from QVC's companies with new ones from SpringHill.

I've ordered from SpringHill in the past, but I was happier this year. The plants were in better condition- the potted plants had substantial growth, and they included a bag of bulbs as a bonus. I will continue to use them.

I have done business for 5 years with Spring Hill and have been very satisified with their product and guarantee. If I ever got anything that failed to grow I had no problems getting a replacement plant. I recently had an collection of lilacs delivered, in which one out of four lilacs plants was missing. The representitive at the customer service line was very friendly and apologetic, and told me that I would enjoy the "free" plant I got by mistake. He quickly took my replacement order. I GOT THE LILAC WITHIN TWO DAYS! I would recommend this company highly! I have done business with several catalog companies and this is my favorite. You can see my not so positive posting for House of Wesley.

I placed my first order from their website before I found the Garden Watchdog. I was a bit worried, but all items arrived in good shape. I planted them immediately, and after about 3 weeks all items are doing well. The Amethyst Astilbe has gone from rhizome/root to about 10 x 12 inches already. I have no problem with small plants that grow, as I have had more than my share of larger rootbound plants from Garden Centers that underperform. They are a bit slow on processing the orders, but so far that is my only criticism. I have another order on the books, so we'll see how that one goes.

I ordered over $500 worth of shrubs, trees, and flowers, since they were running a half off special. Afterwards I came across this site and became a bit nervous after reading all the negative reviews.

So far I have received half of my order and was pleasantly surprised at how good all the plants look. I even received some Azalea bushes that already have big pink flowers on them.

I also ordered the sub-zero rose bush collection. 2 of the rose plants are not looking that great out in the yard, but I will continue to water them and keep an eye out. The other 4 are sprouting new branches and leaves like crazy!

For now, I have absolutely no complaints.

We used their $25.00 coupon for new customers just had to pay the $8.95 shipping. We got a nice size in pot Black Magic EE and some tubers all free . We received healthy plant and tuber four days after ordering. Email Thanking us for our order, email when shipped with tracking number. We like when companys do this. We were very impressed and suprised on the large size and good quality of plants. Will shop again.

I have ordered twice from Spring Hill Nurseries, both times with a coupon.

I was pleasantly surprised--what I got was better than I expected. I knew the plants would be small, and they were, but they had extensive root systems and arrived extremely well-packed and hydrated. So far, except for a couple of ice plants that didn't make it (possibly due to gophers), everything is doing well.

Another plus is that my order was shipped very quickly.

I couldn't beat the price anywhere else, and with patience, I expect to see lots of beauty in the years ahead!

This is the second time I order plants from them, and it arrived well packed and the plants are small but they look healthy. The liatris I ordered last year came out beautiful and I just received some more yesterday - and it arrived ahead of schedule!

I ordered some miniature roses last year and they were very twiggy by they all made it... they are really baby plants... but for the price it was ok!

Having grown up just a few miles from Spring Hill Nursery in Tipp City, Ohio I was always used to their great selection, beautiful nursery site and friendly staff. A few years ago, (I am terrible with time) the original owners went out of business. The community was very happy to see that after a year or so, another company purchased Spring Hill and re-opened the local nursery. This might be why some have had wonderful experiences and some poor ones. The old management was great, and the local nursery is still good, although some stock is often low. The mail order part of the company seems to be the weakest part.

I was a first time customer of Spring Hill. Their catalog was so beautiful, I couldn't help but to give them a try. I mostly ordered flowers already potted (some semi-dormant) and some rhizomes, but I was pleased with the purchase. My order also arrived quickly. Their items are of course small, but it is a good deal for what you pay. You've got to have patience to let things grow mostly when ordering from most mail order nurseries and not after instant gratification in your garden. I look forward to seeing these beautiful flowers blooming !

not only did spring hill replace any plants that died (without question), but the ones I planted got so huge the first season that I have to thin them out this year.I prepared the soil very well- I believe even small plants will thrive given the proper conditions.I suggest to those who haven't had good success to test their soils & amend appropriately. also, I would rather buy small plants that are guaranteed than larger more expensive plants from a local nursery that are not. How can you loose with a lifetime guarantee?

I have dealt with Spring Hill and their affiliate, Brecks, several times. I have always received quality plants and bulbs. The thing to consider here is the price and size of plants. Do you want instant gratification with large plants and massive blooms right now? Don't mail order anything then. Go to a nursery or garden center and buy an adult plant. When you order through the mail you are going to get what you pay for. Mail order is good for people like myself who enjoy planting small things and watching them grow larger each year. Another thing-you guys who have issues with shipping need to research the plants you are buying and find out if they are SPRING or FALL shippers. Duh. If your plant doesn't get put in the ground until November why would they mail it to you in July? Research,research,research. Then pore over your catalogs and web sites and garden centers. Then make sure you have the right place for the plants. Then order them at the right time.

A year ago (spring) I reluctantly placed an order and was very pleasantly surprised by the care in packing and the healthy plants I received. I must have got my package before this issue with shipping last spring (I'm in the south so that would make sense). Anyway, I was again reluctant to order again this year just because others have had bad things to say about spring hill. But I did order and was, again, very please with the package and big, healthy plants I received. I WILL order from them again.