Comments regarding Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com)

I would not reccomend any one order from Spring hill after my experiance this fall.I order two Daylily Collections from them:
The winners Circle Collection and The dwarf daylily Collection.
The winners collection came first and the box smelled like mildew and a strong horrible order that made me sick to my stomach. I opened it to find my daylilies I order in slimy rotting
condition,so I called and they were nice on the phone and seemed surprised of the condition of the Daylilies so the lady offered to resend them and I agreed to it. She also told me the dwarf collection was on its way to my house. The second batch of winner's collection arrived in a worse condition than the first batch!No sign of the dwarf collection so since it was late Saturday I emailed them.I got no response so Monday I called and she apologized and while on the phone the post woman rang my door bell and the dwarf collection had arrived.they were all healthy to my surprise and the lady promised to send another winner's collection out to me.This all started on Sept.20,2004 and today Oct.12,2004 I recieved a winners collection in the same condition as the rest and this time one of the Daylilies was missing not that it matters much anyway since they are rotten mush pile.It is hard to imagine how a place can stay in business but they made a pretty penny off of me but never again.It is risky bussiness dealing with this company so be aware of the gamble.

I, too, went for the $50. worth of plants for $25 introductory offer, circa 2004. The herbaceous plants arrived in the toughest plastic packaging I've ever seen. All were in good shape, and only one Campanula didn't survive the summer. The shrubs were not as good. The leader of the Meyer lemon had been chopped off so it would fit into the box. The dwarf blueberry was on back order. Late in the summer, a very small, soggy, dead shrub arrived with a note that the original blueberry was out of stock and this was a substitute. Catalog prices were higher than local nurseries, and I had only placed an order because the picture of one flower showed an old variety that is difficult to find.

I agree with aforementioned points regarding "you get what you pay for," or rather, don't! I went for the "buy $25, get $25" and had to approach my satisfaction level with that in mind. I order variegated weigela, althea (rose of Sharon hibiscus), 3 iris bulbs & a six-pack of Anne Greenway lamium.

After 2 months, my order out of the blue (withOUT the prior email notification that it'd be shipped, as promised by their order confirmation email). Luckily, I was home. The weigela is of decent size, and was actually very well packaged....as was the althea......no dirt ANYwhere. The althea was, however, not much bigger than the cuttings I'd taken of my neighbor's altheas two weeks ago! Ah well......the bulbs weren't packaged well at all-were just loose and bare in the box. The lamiums were my notch down from "Positive." They were soggy, drenched wet, rotting and fell apart w/rot when I opened them.

I'm abstaining f/a "Negative" rating simply because I didn't expect my experience to be stellar after reading the reviews, AND because when I called about the lamium, a very nice customer service lady issued a certificate to replace my lamium order. Seems they're out of stock for this year, but the certificate will give me the $11.99 value for next year's crop of lamium.

I'll be watching my mail for the certificate!

Kathleen in TX

Let's all face it. You get WHAT YOU PAY FOR. I ordered several plants from Spring Hill Nursery (butterfly blue scabiosa, variegated weigela, improved Meyer lemon tree, purple wintercreeper and a bluebird rose of Sharon). With low prices I expected that I get live plants and not too much more. Yes, they are all very small! I expect that when I pay 1/3 of what a "normal" cost would be. They all arrived alive with the order complete. That is all I expected, and that's what I got. The plants (especially the Meyer lemon) were basically infants. They are all still alive 3 months later. They need T.L.C., but they are alive.

As an avid 'mail order" gardener, I ordered from Spring Hill in March, attracted by their coupon and reasonable prices (usually cheaper than other catalogs). As seems to be a common occurance with this company I was told that my order was back ordered. I finally received my order (almost three months later). The packaging was far inferior to that of the more expensive mail order nurseries;
the red hot poker primrose (I suggest not ordering this as it seems to be a consistant problem for them) was soggy and rotting, the monarda was bone dry and quite dead, 2 of the 3 lady's mantle have survived, and are still alive if not thriving, most of the strawberry plants have survived and I have high hopes for a good crop of strawberries next year, the phlox were alive when I received them, though have since died (I won't blame Spring Hill since they died weeks after being planted). I e-mailed the company about the plants that arrived dead and received a reply within 48 hours saying that I would be credited for those plants, which I was in a timely matter, so in my mind, no harm no foul.

This company had a $20 coupon, so I thought I would try them. I ordered two items, an iris and a collection of 3 hellborous. Both items came in separate shipments. I would imagine this certainly does not help keep shipping costs down. The hellborous were smaller, but they were 3 for $12. The iris however was $8 and it came as a small (one tiny fan), nearly dead little plant. Did not survive. Emailed customer service. They responded within a day. Very nice and said that I would receive a credit. I emailed back and said that even if it had to be sent next spring I would rather have a replacement since getting a credit would require me to place another order and waste about $7 on shipping (for a $8 credit, hardly worth it). The customer service rep. said they would place it on next spring's order. However three days later I received a credit in the mail. So the customer service rep. flat out lied.

I know I only ordered two items and it may be a hastey decision, but I doubt I will ever order from them again, especially since there are so many companies out there to chose from.

I spent probably $200 with them and their companies this spring.....

I got one rose, came bareroot and was large. Blooming profusely right now, very happy.

Another rose was dead, but I think it might have been from some cold weather in early May.

Daylilies were all tiny fans.

Joans Blood Carnations, very nice, like them alot.

Hardy Glads, doing great.

Purple ice plant, doing great.

Eden's paintbrush iris? Oh my god this was so small. It is about the size of a piece of crabgrass. Its living, but I'm sure it'll be a couple years before it blooms.

Daylilies are the mainstay of my garden. Spring Hill's were bigger and better than the ones from home depot, but not nearly as good as those from independent daylily farms. Their prices were pretty cheap.

my order from springhill has been coming in bits and pieces...the bareroot red fairy rose came first...once i cut the canes back, and waited 4 weeks, it started to leaf out well...i'm reasonably pleased with that purchase. also, my rose of sharon that came last week looks healthy (albeit tiny) and i have high hopes for it. now, on to the other stuff....my 3 homestead verbenas arrived yesterday deader than a doornail....my 2 butterfly bushes came last week a little less dead than the verbena, but certainly not healthy....i am still waiting for my red freedom hedge roses (the order was placed in april)and i am worried that i will have spent all this time waiting only to be disappointed yet again with springhill. i spent many hours this winter poring over the springhill catalog and planning what i was going to purchase. i have eagerly awaited each shipment, and i have waited a long time for them!! i am very disappointed with my plants and i did call the company. the lady on the phone was very nice (and i actually felt sorry for her), she said today was the last shipping day for spring, but that they can send me new plants out in the fall, or issue me a credit to be used for the fall. i declined the offer and requested a refund which she immediately agreed to. i would rate my overall springhill experience as neutral, it would have definetely been negative if i had to fight for my money back. as it is now, i will not be ordering anymore stuff from springhill..i'd rather put my money into plants that come from a local nursery healthy and ready to enjoy.

The bareroot items have been doing well, but I don't think I will order any potted plants from them again. In spite of the larger holder that are supposed to contain the pots, I had a lot of damage to the plants, and it took a long time for a couple of mini-roses to recover.

I feel they shipped too early for my zone. I'm on the borderline between 6b and 7a. I think they should default to the more conservative shipping date.

They do try to make good on their guarantee. I'm still waiting for replacements for one thing, but they shipped out replacements for some violas right away. Unfortunately, the replacements suffered the same problem as the originals: slow shipping. They were mailed out via UPS on a Wednesday. No problem, Ohio to Maryland, that shouldn't take more than a couple of days. Nope. They didn't arrive on my doorstep until the following THURSDAY, so the plants had been in a box for over a week, and arrived pale and spindly. I've had them for over a month, and they still haven't recovered. SHN, give UPS a clue!

If I could make up my own rating I would say neutral-to-negative. I just got my order a couple days ago. To me this was good timing for them. I was not going to plant my miniature rose and orange tree outside but if I had been going to it would have been right on time. I ordered the Purple Chariot minature rose. It arrived kind of pitiful looking but it is a miniature rose and will survive. The orange tree looked like it had been hacked at, the leaves were cut and torn though I believe it will also live. Still I think they should get someone to really trim the plant to fit in the box not just hack at them with something. One branch had been broken some time ago but not all the way through and started to regrow. I understand that this is a big company but $20 for these two things is a pretty good profit if you ask me and they could at least prune them decently.

I enjoy the catalogs, especially the garden designs. I keep the catalog garden designs for idea starters. I have not ordered from the company myself, probably because my mother had nothing but problems with the plant material she received in several orders.

I ordered twice in one year. This was 4 years ago. When I ordered in the late winter for early spring delivery, everything arrived alive. When I ordered again later that summer everything was dead upon arrival. I was given a refund but it was upsetting. Part of it was sheer heat and part of it was just poor packaging.

My first order should be commented on in full because even though everything was alive, it was not right. My butterfly bush was a twig in a cup. I recieved the wrong rose bush. There were things that were already on back order which I never recieved. I eventually got word that my order for those items were canceled.

I wish this site was around and well known 4 years ago.

My shipment from Springhill this spring came in two parts: the first box was an extreme disappointment. The plants (lilacs, hedge roses, russian sage, etc.) were nicely packaged but were tiny seedlings. The second package was like night and day. Three substantial bare root plants, 2 to 3 foot apiece. These were two climbing roses and a double mock orange. So the picture is not all bad. Yes the catalog is very seductive and they are expensive, but they also have some nice items. Look for catalog entries that explicitly state the size of what you're getting or phone the 800 number to find out.

I have worked for Spring Hill (6/95-8/98), and I believe that most of their problems started with employing seasonal help that had no interest or lack of knowledge of packing the Spring Hill product with the proper care it takes to send their customers the plants that they had ordered. First, I worked around individuals that were employeed as Exotic dancers. These dancers were up to 2:30 AM in the morning, and they would be at Spring Hill by 7 AM in the morning o work the Spring Hill eight hour shift. Clearly, any worker that works late at night and early in the morning had no attention to do their packageing effectively and securly to get the Spring Hill clients their order here in a timely manner.

Another problem was that the former owners never enforced an effective drug policy, and majority of the workforce condoned the use of weed, and other illegal substances. Well this note is intended to give a short explaination to all that had problems with their orders and is intended to explain why your orders arrived in poor condition.

The plants I purchased from Spring Hill were way too small and they have never performed well. I would have been better off going to the local nursery.

I was shocked when I read all the negative comments about Spring Hill. I'd been buying from them for years and had always received top notch plants and service. After reading the comments I contacted Spring Hill....here's the answer I received:
*********************************************

Dear Customer:

On June 30, 2001, our previous owners declared bankruptcy. Their
financial interests were "frozen" by the bankruptcy law. They had many
business interests and had made choices that put them so deep in debt
that they were not able to pay back their loans.

Because the debt of our previous owner was so great, no one could afford
to buy our business, keep it operating, and assume the debt so that all
suppliers could be paid what was owned to them, and customers could be
shipped their order or given refunds. As a result, our business was
sold at a bankruptcy auction hearing, and on October 26, 2001, we began
the reorganization process under new ownership.

We are honoring the merchandise that has perished or never arrived with
replacement certificates. I can offer a replacement certificate for
next season. Please provide me with the amount paid for the merchandise
and your complete mailing address. We are offering the certificate with
a maximum amount of $200.


Sincerely,

Toni
Customer Service

-----Original Message-----
From: LaNell Beil [mailto:labeil@albanymo.net]
Posted At: Monday, January 20, 2003 5:25 AM
Posted To: Spring Hill Customer Service
Conversation: Spring Hill Nursery Feedback: Placing an Order
Subject: Spring Hill Nursery Feedback: Placing an Order


1/20/2003 5:24:31 AM

Email: labeil@albanymo.net
First Name: LaNell
Last Name: Beil
Order #:
Account #:
Category: Placing an Order
Message: I'm not placing an order this year. Perhaps you should read
the reviews of your company on Dave's Garden. What has happened to the
Spring Hill I used to know? Has there been a huge corporate take over
or something? I was literally shocked to read the awful things about
your plants.
*******************************
I don't know if this will help any of you with getting a refund but please feel free to copy their message back to them if it'll help.

I feel bad reading all the negative experiences. I've had 3-two ok and one alittle less ok. All orders were thru QVC and arrived timely, well packed, alive and well cared for. From there the problems started. 12 mini roses were bought 2 years in a row. I now have maybe 10 of them ( 24 originally) The 3 HT's I ordered have never responded the way they should have but I still have 2 of them.
Their stock is just not the strongest and could have spent another year or two in the ground before stressing by shipping. I don't plan on using them again. Do enjoy the catalog though

I have ordered from Spring Hill prior to the bankruptcy issues...and never had a problem. I stopped when I read all the problems. The website is back up and this is what the company is saying on their FAQs page: Q. I heard that Spring Hill Nurseries went out of business. Is this true? A. A few years ago Spring Hill was sold to a much larger direct-mail-oriented company, Foster and Gallagher. This summer, Foster and Gallagher declared bankruptcy, unfortunately putting thousands of people out of work, and leaving tens of thousands of loyal Spring Hill customers with no place to turn. A group of lifelong mail order gardeners bought Spring Hill at a bankruptcy hearing in September, and, with your help, we'll restore it to the glory days of old. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you've experienced over the last couple of years, particularly over the last couple of months. Please bear with us, and stick with Spring Hill. Together we'll make 2002 an historic season as we bring back Spring Hill back the way you remember it in the '90s and before. Q. I had problems with the handling of my order by Foster and Gallagher (also known as myseasons.com) last year. How do I know I won't have problems this year? A. We have heard reports that some customers weren't treated well by the former owners of Spring Hill, particularly those who ordered over the summer. Again, we apologize for this. Although we only took control in late October, we've done a top-down review of everything about Spring Hill. We've improved the quality of the plants and seeds we'll ship this year by being choosier. We've improved customer service because we're focused on just gardening (the former Foster and Gallagher had businesses from toys to gifts to prepared foods). Together, the group restoring Spring Hill have several hundred years of mail order gardening and nursery experience. We promise you won't be disappointed. Q. I ordered from Spring Hill last summer (when Foster and Gallagher/myseasons.com was running the company), they cashed my check and never shipped my order. What can I do? A. Unfortunately, when Foster and Gallagher declared bankruptcy, they owed several banks a lot of money. The final bankruptcy decree ruled that the banks got to keep the cash customers sent in, even if Foster and Gallagher never shipped an order. If you're one of the customers who had this happen, again, we apologize. We don't have your money . . . the banks to whom Foster and Gallagher owed money do. If you're one of these customers, you'll receive a catalog from us with a special savings certificate to allow you to make up at least some of your loss. Q. I bought a plant from Spring Hill (when it was owned by Foster and Gallagher/myseasons.com) last year. It hasn't done so well. What can I do? A. Again, unfortunately, when Foster and Gallagher declared bankruptcy, the courts put aside no money or resources to take care of customers who needed plants replaced. We promise you two things: 1) We're gardeners who have, together, several hundred years worth of experience shipping plants to customers. The quality of the plants and seeds you get this year will be better than 2001. 2) If you have any problems this year, we'll stand behind what we ship.

I placed my order through their website on 5/28/02 and had a problem receiving confirmation. I followed up with a phone call and the following e-mail.:

RE: Order #XXXXXXXXX

"I spoke with Sandy with your customer service (long distance call) today with regards to my recent order. I was told that even though my order is not showing on your website that it is indeed in your system and on backorder.

I was further told that some of your backorders date back to January, 2002 and that if your company could not ship by June 15, 2002 that the order would be not be shipped, without notification. This is unacceptable. Therefore, I am requesting that you cancel the above referenced order.

I hate to throw a word of neutral into a company everyone loves to hate, but although I haven't had personal experience with them in the immediate past, several years ago when I ordered perennials from a sister company, Brecks, the plants came from them. The plants were lousy quality, of course, but the company did refund the entire price on two separate lousy orders with no problem.

They happen to be located in my state. I belong to a volunteer herb society that had expeditions to their Springhill gardens in 2000 and 2001. While I did not go on either trip, some of my friends brought back plants for me. The plants were beautiful in size and quality. Of course, they were grown in normal size pots, etc. instead of bareroot. On site, they had many plants that are very difficult or impossible to find elsewhere locally, and all were the same price as comparable plants in their catalogues, minus, of course, shipping charges. Very different to dealing with them mail-order. Many of our volunteers would only deal with them in this way: never by mail. Since the bankruptcy, I have no personal knowledge of this company's on-site garden. Some of my friends are planning an expedition next month: I will add comments then. In the meantime, if anyone can drive there (Tipp City, OH, near Dayton) it might be well worth the trip.

I ordered several plants over the years, some of which have bloomed beautifully, others of which have simply died. I called them recently for a refund, and they said they'd filed for bankruptcy and could offer me a double my money back replacement certificate. I'm waiting for it now.

I contacted SpringHill today and asked them if they were honoring any of the left out in the cold customers from SpringHill prior to the bankruptcy. They are offering what they called double your money back. It is in all reality a rather odd way to phrase it. I lost let's say $25.00 in a replacement for an iris collection. They are giving me the option of spending an additional $25.00 in order to get the original $25.00 back. I am not losing the original $25.00 this way but in order to recover it I will need to spend that same amount again. They said this is the only way they can try and make nice to the old customers without going bankrupt themselves. At Least it is something.

SpringHill will be re-opening this spring. I believe the garden center in Tipp City, Ohio is opening on March 1st. I worked in the garden center last summer, so it is nice to see the place re-opening. The new owners have promised better plants, and better customer service. You can visit their website at http://www.springhill.com

I have not had problems with this Nursery before so I do not know what is going on if anyone knows could you please unlighted me. I order plants for Fall planting I have not received and I have tried to contact SpringHill in all the ways I know and it has not been possible.

I ordered some plants June 14, 2001 from, which were supposed to be delivered in the fall to be planted during the fall planting season. I never received them. If SpringHill is doing fine why aren't they filling orders that have been taken? I hope they contact me, as that would be the polite thing to do. They need to let customers know what is going on.

Well, I must say that after reading all the postings, I am worried. I placed an order in August, the check was cashed in early September and it is now mid October, getting past the time to plant and I have received NOTHING. I will, of course, call the number provided, but I am nervous already. I never had these kinds of problems with Springhill.

I found your web site by accident, and thought I would make comments about my Spring Hill purchases. Three years ago I ordered two of the lifetime peony collections (6 bulbs) and only one of them even sprouted a leaf. I also ordered twelve red freedom hedge roses. I asked their customer service representative to tell me when they would be shipped so that I would know when to start preparing my soil. I was told that they would arrive at the end of March. However, they showed up the first week of March and there were only six in the box! I called the customer service number and had to speak to several people to convince them that I only received six plants--each one practically called me a liar and said that the order was double checked before it left. They finally agreed to send me six more. It was quite an inconvenience to receive the roses three weeks before I was told because I hadn't even begun to prepare my soil! By the way, the roses looked beautiful the first two years. This year they looked terrible! Only one plant actually has leaves. They also have lots of spots on them. I thought they were supposed to be insect and disease resistant! I was just getting ready to call them for replacements, but now after reading the comments on your site, I'm not so sure I'll get anywhere.

Well now I understand the constant busy signal I have gotten for the last 3 weeks. They owe me a refund and I wanted to ask about it. Guess I know the answer to that question. I hate losing the $60-$70 refund I was promised for failed plants...but in all honesty I hate losing the source for plants that are guaranteed.I have had 2 more plants fail since I talked to them regarding the last refunds Promised because they could not replace the plants, scratch those too huh!I found that even though it was inconvenient when something did not make it they were always very good about standing behind their guarantee. And in general I found the quality good as far as size etc. At least with Breck's/Spring Hill I received answers. Although bankruptcy was not one of the answers I sought. I really hate to see them go out of business. But from what I gather they were part of Michigan Bulb which I stopped dealing with years ago because of the poor quality, lack of customer service and ignoring letters regarding refunds. I guess all in all if they were affiliated with Michigan Bulb I was lucky to get the quality and service I did from them.

Until this year I have had very good luck with the plants I have ordered from this company. this year, whoever is packaging the plants forshipment is doing a very poor job. Most of the plants I got this year were barely put into their little containers, so fall out duringshipment and die. The last plants I got were so wet, they rotted before they got to me, and although the company is always willing to replace the plants, I got tired of reordering.I will still consider ordering bulbs and bare root plants from them.

In agreement with the former comment about Spring Hill's color mistakes, I have had that happen several times with pink and red colored blooms. Otherwise, they have been good about customer service.

I think the service dept. is excellent; the production department needs a complete overhaul! Fully 50% of this years order was dead within 3 days after planting! Although I was offered replacements or a refund, the replacements died. I have good soil adequate rainfall and plant in a garden 140 years old. I was less than impressed with their stock!

We have been ordering large amounts of seed, perennials, fruit and shrubs for the farm over the past decade. Spring Hill was not a good value for the money except for roses.

This seems to be the place that first time gardeners order from because of their colorful catalogs. As one gains experience, one will find more economical sources. You may want to check them out on QVC. Should any new gardeners want to try them, QVC prices better and stands behind the entire transaction.

I received some daylily collections from Springhill (thru Garden Solutions). They were ok although 1 collection had one missing and one was mush. Even though the price was good, I would have rather paid more and got them from Oakes. I also got some Asiatic Lily bulbs and tulips. The bulbs were large and good quality.

I have ordered twice from Spring Hill Nursery. The first year I received my rose hedges they were in excellent condition and have continued to thrive excellent since I planted them. This year, however, I placed an order with them in May, and it never arrived. Mid-June I called their customer service and was told there was no order on record for me. Although disappointed, again I placed my order. I was told my orderwould arrive in approximately one week. Three weeks later, still no order had arrived. Again, I called customer service and to my surprise I was again told I had no record on order. Computer input error was the only explanation I was told. For some reason, they just don't want my money. I told them to remove me from their mailing list if they don't want to send me my order. I am still receiving their catalogs in the mail.

I have only purchased mail order bulbs once before and they never arrived. I believe this was from Spring Hill. They tried to charge me a late fee, but when I called their 800 number they quickly removed the order and I didn't have to pay anything. This experience left me cautious in ordering again…

I am new to gardening, and began my garden two years ago with plants I ordered from Spring Hill. The hostas, daylilies, and "Peace" rose Iordered did great. The delphiniums, primrose, lily, clyclamem etc. all died. I assumed mostly from my inexperience, but even I don't have athumb as black as that. I have noticed, that the pictures in their catalog are somewhat misleading. Their garden packages typically show flowers all in bloom together, when in fact they all bloom at different times of the year. The Grab bags are just that. Do not assume anything from the picture displayed along with them. Also, when I cross reference Spring Hill's descriptions of plants with plant encyclopedias, the plant height, hardiness, and sometimes picture are completely different. Now, when I order from Spring Hill, I am much more careful to research the plant and variety, and it has only been through trial and error that I have learned what can grow in my yard.

Have not had any problems with Spring Hill. BUT I have found Holland Bulb Farm to have better prices on the same item, and size of plants are of the same size and quality.

I have been ordering from Breck's & Spring Hill for the better part of 25 years. The plants are usually great & when there is a problem I have no trouble getting replacements/refunds. My only complaint about them is lately they seem to have a problem with "billing". If I order early & am billed with shipment I start receiving bills immediately after & then comes reminders & thencomes nasty letters even though I am paying for the shipments as they arrive! I called last week & was told that customer service has been trying to get the big guys to stop doing this to their regular, longtime customers as they've been getting a lot of complaints. The same old answer comes back"BLAME IT ON THE COMPUTER". My husband & I recently decided to stop doing business with companies that we have ordered from & spent money with on a regular basis & receive no consideration in return & there are a lot latelyit seems. These two (especially Spring Hill) may be next.