Comments regarding Nature Hills Nursery

Well I wished I had read these reviews before making my purchase with Nature Hills.

THE GOOD: I ordered a bareroot Northern Red Oak back on April 21. Nature Hills had it ready for shipping around April 26, and actually shipped it on April 30th. It was delivered by FedEx on May 2. The box looked great and the tree was well packed in the box to minimize movement, shifting and damage.

THE BAD: Even though the box looked great, I thought the tree looked quite dry, including the packing material around the roots. I followed the directions in the box to prep the tree and then planted the tree later that same day that I received it. Western New York has received near ideal growing condition this Spring and Summer. Adequate rainfall, which I augmented when needed, lots of sunshine and not too hot temps. My garden has shown the results this year, except for this tree.

I first contacted the company on May 30th, as it was obvious to me that this tree was not going to break dormancy. It was dead. I contacted them again on May 31st and again on June 2nd. The finally replied on June 3rd. I received their boilerplate response "It can take up to 90 days for these items to break dormancy and the average amount of time is 5-6 weeks. The plants will establish their root systems before they will show physical signs of new growth above the surface (buds, leaves, etc.). Each plant is unique in the way that it will grow; even two plants of the same species could leaf out at different times (one tree could start to break dormancy two days after being planted while another of the same species can take up to 90 days to break dormancy). We have sent out thousands of plants this way over the years, and in most cases they will thrive if they are given enough time. Our nursery manager recommends a scratch test. Scrap away enough of the bark to actually see underneath. Scrap toward the top and bottom of the tree about 5-6 inches above the soil. If it is a yellow or green color, it is still alive."

I can't say that I've purchased 1000s or 100s of bareroot plants but I have purchased probably between 50 and 100 over the years and this is the first that didn't leaf out. EVER OTHER bareroot plant I've planted leafed out with 2 weeks once the appropriate growing season was reached. So I was befuddled by the need for 90 days. I also couldn't figure out the green scratch test. The wood of the tree will act like a wick and draw water up from the ground as long as it's in the ground. This could take a long time before the scratch test will show something other than green.

Well I gave it 90 days. You know the result ... still no leaves, still green after scratch test, but still dead. Contacted Nature Hills again on Aug 12, 13 and 14 to ask for a refund since I already purchased a replacement tree from Spring Hills Nursery (which leafed out in 4 days after I planted it). Finally got a reply referencing their replacement policy and that they do not offer refunds. But they'll be happy to sell me another tree at a discount along with regular shipping fees applied.

What a wonderful deal. They ship out a dead twig, make you wait 90 days and then offer you a deal to buy another dead twig at 1/2 price.

But why 90 days ... I called my credit card company to ask about getting the charges reversed. I called just in time. Visa only gives you 120 days to request a refund. hmmm ... delay shipment a few days to a week, drag out replacement/refund requests and hope that the 120 days to dispute a charge with your credit card company lapse first. Now I understand their business model. Buyer beware!

We received tree from Nature Hills as a 2012 Christmas gift from my parents. I immediately checked this site and was not super encouraged. I called customer service and asked about several things - one of them being cashing in the gift certificate. That was not possible (we didn't really think it would be) so we switched trees to one more suited for our yard. Our Lacebark Elm tree came in April 2013. We planted the barerooted tree immediately even though it appeared dead, knowing it would take some time for it to break dormancy. It showed no life by June so we called customer service. They told me to be patient and that it would take 90+ days to leaf out. By the 2rd of August there was still no life so I emailed them asking what the next step for getting a replacement was. I was told I needed to call them. When I did I was told I would need to pay half of today's cost (which is double what it was at Christmas) for the replacement plus shipping. They claim the tree was viable when shipped but I'm not convinced. I will not pay them again. We have purchased many trees, shrubs and perennials over the years (we have close to 1000 at last count) and never had an issue with a return. Don't be fooled by their low prices. I am sure there are some lucky people who have had success with them, but don't take a chance. There are many reputable companies vying for your business who offer a real guarantee - go with one of them.

I purchased a mimosa tree in April 2013. I planted the bareroot tree knowing it would be late May at the earliest for it to break dormancy. It showed no life by early June so I called customer service. They told me to be patient and that it would take 90+ days to leaf out. By the 3rd week of July there was still no life so I called them back. This customer service expert told me to cut the top half off the 5 ft tree to shock it to life. This sounded absurd but I did it. After 10 days I knew it was not coming to life. I called again to set up a fall replacement and was told I would need to pay half for the replacement plus shipping. They claim the tree was viable when shipped but I'm not convinced. I will not pay them again. I have purchased many trees over the years and never had an issue with a return. Most of my fruit trees come from Stark Bros and they are very good to deal with. I guess that is why they have been in business since 1814. The way Nature Hills does business they will be lucky to make 15 years of business. STAY AWAY. There are many reputable companies vying for your business.

If there was a stronger adjective to use than negative I would choose that! I placed an order with this company that was supposed to ship in 5-7 business days. After 6 weeks, I still have not received my order, nor has my account been credited with the amount billed. I have repeatedly tried to contact their customer service department via phone and email without response. I would NEVER use or recommend them!

Purchased two red oaks in November of 2012, we are in July of 2013 and trees have not leafed out. Contacted customer services and was told I would have to pay half price for the trees and shipping costs. Locally if you purchase trees and they do not leaf out in Spring you get trees replaced at no costs. This is a no lose situation for Nature Hills Nursery and a big lost for the customer. Will not be associating with this company in the future.

Nature Hills is TERRIBLE !!!

I purchased a tree from around a year ago, they charged my credit card immediately. Two weeks pass and no tree yet so I contact support who says the tree hasn't been shipped yet and that they should be shipped in a month. I stuck with it and month passes and yet no tree. I contacted Customer Support and ask to cancel and they respond saying tree is being shipped and I should have it in two weeks so I decide to wait it out. Yet again two weeks pass and no tree. I contact support and they say I can cancel but will get charged a fee for cancellation or the tree will be shipped right away and I can wait for tree to be shipped and get a $20 gift certificate. So not only did they lie that it was being shipped but they also try charging me to cancel on an order that took 3 months to even ship !!!

Stupid me decided to take the $20 gift certificate and wait on the tree. It finally arrived and looked like absolute $hit with bare roots and no leaves and practically dead. I planted anyways hoping to save the tree. No luck, the tree died. Contacted support and they stated they would give me a 50% discount for another tree. Like WTF is that bull$hit? You give me a George Burns tree and then want me to pay you to get another tree that would probably die right away too.

This company is an absolute joke and refuse to purchase anything from them again. I am also passing the word along to everyone I know and throughtout the internet so everyone knows how terrible this company is and prevent others from making the same mistake I did.

Marty, Forked River, NJ
On April 24,2013 I ordered some trees from nature hills nursery. They immediately charged my credit card. I was told I would receive a order number and a date when they would be shipped. I never received either. On may 1,2013 I cancelled the order through their cancellation web site. On may 15, 2013 I received a box from them, they shipped it after my cancelling the order anyway. I called and left a message asking them to pick up the box as I had cancelled it in due time. I called several more times and was sent to voice mail each time. I sent another email and still no response. The box sat here for two weeks and began to smell and I started seeing bugs in and around it . I had to discard it as I did not want them in my house. These people could care less about customer service as they received the money and just ignored my efforts to resolve this. I highly recommend people to stay away from this company as they are the most unreptable company I have ever dealt with.

THIS IS A WEB SCAM!

In October we ordered a 6'-7' Maple. We waited weeks to have the order fulfilled because they said they had to wait fo it to go dormant. In November, we received a thin box containing a 6' long twig with exposed roots. We called concerned, because this is not what we expected. The Customer Service Rep said it was dormant and would take until spring to leaf out. Spring came, and it is obviously not alive. Customer Service states that we waited too long because we should have known the tree was dead when it arrived. They offered to allow us to purchase another one 50% of the cost. Why would I do that, when the first tree obviously did not survive transit and customer service is so poor. Christian Hill, the "Customer Service" Representative is wholly unhelpful. How is a customer supposed to know that a dormant tree did not survive shipment?

OMG, WHY didnt I read these reviews before ordering with this company??? That is my fault. Also, I read the ridiculous Terms and Agreements and STILL ordered. I'm so mad at myself. The issue I have with them, however, is that I cancelled an order while my status read 'processing', according to their website. I found a hard-to-find tree at a local nursery selling a vital, healthy, 5 ft. tree for the same price as what I was paying (after S&H) at Nature Hills. I tried to call them but they close at 3pm (?!!) so I followed the cancellation instructions on their T&C and emailed. I did not hear anything from them until this morning when I saw a shipping notice for the tree. Wha??? I called them and spoke with a very rough customer service rep who kept repeating their Terms and Conditions. She cut me off so many times, I ended up raising my voice, which is always unfortunate. According to her, the status on their website may not always represent the true status, and my cancellation came a 'little too late' despite what the status said. According to their T&C, they accept no returns. So, I'm stuck. I really hope this tree is in good condition.

I highly question the integrity of this company and telling me that their website version of my order may not be accurate and that customers do not require knowledge of when a shipment is being prepared sounds shady to me at best. I feel I tried diligently to cancel and despite my efforts, they shipped anyway. Their T&C box people in, leaving no room to satisfy the customer in cases where things come up. I ordered from many other online nurseries and never found this to be the case anywhere else. DO NOT order from this company. They do not seem to care about their customers' satisfaction. Lesson learned.

"On May 29, 2013 11:23 AM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

We, of course, are very sorry this customer is so upset.
Ms.Lariza placed her order Friday afternoon. She had emailed us on Tuesday after business hours to cancel as according to her email "My husband already bought one of these trees for me, so I will not need this."
However, the packing slip for her order had already printed Tuesday and her order shipped Wednesday morning.
Normally customers are thrilled that their order has shipped so quickly.
However, I understand it is disappointing in this situation as a mistake has been made and they now have two trees.
Although the frustration caused by a simple mistake is understandable the review really is surprising.
I'm sorry that very fast processing and shipping did not work out in this case, but I do truly hope that she enjoys her tree for years to come. "

Last week, I placed an order for 1 ea. White Lady Peach tree. I placed the order on a Sat afternoon and by Sunday morning, after I learned that the tree would be too big for my aunt's garden, I promptly sent them a cancellation notification. Hoping to stop them from processing my order. During my entire ordering and cancellation process, Nature Hills was closed. Yet, when they opened on Monday, knowing full well that my order was cancelled, they still charged my credit card for the tree. When I called them on Tuesday, they agreed to refund my charge, however, they deducted $10 "cancellation" fee for the transaction. I have notified them before they could do any "work" on my order, they still insisted on charging me $10 (which is 17.8% of my order total) for performing no work. I just want to write this experience to warn any potential buyers out there about the hefty cancellation fee. I was not aware of the cancellation fee. Read their fine prints carefully before you placed any order with this store.

"On May 29, 2013 11:32 AM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

As I explained to Ms. Liu our cancellation fee which is 10% or a minimum of $10 is to cover our costs and fees.
As soon as an order is placed the items are removed from our inventory and reserved for a customer, that is why the credit card is charged immediately upon placing an order. These happen automatically within our system, not when we return from the weekend.
We do incur a fee from the credit card company, we also manually cancel and adjust inventory at the time of a cancellation.
Ms. Liu had stated that the tree she ordered was too large for her aunt. As I would have hoped that she still wanted to gift her aunt a tree that perhaps would work better for her I did offer her 10% off her next order to offset the cancellation fee.
We do hope that she will consider that as a tree is a lovely gift to give.
"

My husband ordered three hybrid poplars a few weeks ago and we've heard nothing. We've tried to call, left multiple messages, but no response at all. They have our money, but we can't even get the courtesy of a response. Extremely frustrating!

"On May 29, 2013 11:41 AM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

I emailed this customer twice through Dave's Garden with no response. We did however catch up to the customer on Facebook. We are sorry to hear that they had trouble getting through to us.
Their order has shipped and been delivered."

Posted on May 13, 2013, updated May 13, 2013
I have purchased several plants, shrubs and trees online and always received what I expected. I ordered 5 Barberry Crimsons from Nature Hills. They were to be shipped in gallon containers, so I knew they would not be very big, but expected them to be visible and have some form. They arrived and I couldn't have been more disappointed. There was just a few little branches sticking out of each pot. I planted them because I was on a landscape deadline and needed them to finish job. From 20 yards away you cant even see them in the mulch beds, up close they look like a little piece of branch that broke of a tree and landed in the mulch bed.....HORRIBLE!!!..DO NOT ORDER FROM THEM. Im just glad they didn't have the other bush I wanted so I ordered them from another company and received exactly what I expected.

Disaster!! We ordered buffalo grass plugs to plant- we made it clear we were planting them today, May 8, so they needed to arrive a day or two before. First problem - the website said 95 plugs/tray. The emailed invoice said 72 plugs/tray. Had to call Sabrina and straighten that out and order a bunch more trays to make up the shortfall. Then received no receipt for the new order. Had to call and get that straightened out. Then Sabrina calls me last week to say they can't get me the plugs in time - that if they leave NE early enough to get to IN, they will have to sit in the dark over the weekend, and we would have no guarantee on the survival of the plugs. I had a volunteer day all set with the help I needed to get >1,000 plugs planted - I asked them to find a way to make this right, as they had promised me I'd have them in time. Nope. Got a 10% price cut from Allison, which is ok but will barely cover the cost of the contractor we have to hire to plant the plugs since we couldn't set up another volunteer day in time. I never got a FedEx tracking number so had to call for that and I was told there were seven boxes and that they might be on different trucks and arrive on different days. Andrea was the one who told me that and was very rude - 'if you have a problem with that, call FedEx'. A really bad experience. Never, ever, again.

"On May 13, 2013 12:19 PM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

We are extremely sorry that this customer is so unhappy. We tried very hard to fix what was initially a representative's mistake.
Ms. Jacquart had initially wanted her grass delivered on a Monday. When we realized that her order would be in transit too long if we kept that delivery schedule we contacted her immediately so see how we could handle this for her.
We offered to hold the grass until a more suitable time we also offered Ms. Jacquart simple instructions so she could hold the grass and keep it healthy if she had to arrange for another install date.
Because Ms. Jacquart was a repeat customer we did offer a 10% discount as a courtesy and to help make up for any inconvenience this may have caused her. In this case that was a substantial amount.
I'm sorry we couldn't fix this to Ms. Jacquart's satisfaction. I really thought that we had as we did process the credit and she did accept delivery. Thank you."

Their prices were higher than just about every other online nursery. But in this case high price is not high quality.

I have been building up a small orchard on my property over the last 20 years and I have about 50 different fruit trees. I am not a beginner. I have dealt with several different businesses, buying both bare root and potted trees, so I know how these things should work.

I received a peach tree that was so severely root pruned that the leaves and buds dried out in 4 days, even though 2 of the days had rain. Since there were virtually no roots left, the tree could not get water to the leaves.

I thought that this was so obviously their fault that they would refund my money. All they kept repeating was that they shipped high quality trees and that the tree would recover. The answer is no on both points.

The issue is that the tree was root pruned too much and the entire tree will be shocked for a year or more - if it comes back at all.

Why should I pay a premium tree price for their mistake.

"On May 13, 2013 12:08 PM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

We have reached out to Mr. Rodriguez and offered a resolution. We are confident that we have satisfied him. Thank you."

I may be new to website plant shopping but when I received my very expensive "trees" they were nothing but twigs. They secured the money from my credit card approximately one month before shipping my twigs to me. I ordered some springtime plants. The website states that the plants will ship according to my zone. They are now stating that they are in a cold area and the plants will not ship according to my zone but according to their weather conditions. Again the money from my credit card was taken 2 months before the projected shipping date. I am very apprehensive of the plants that I will receive. I have already purchased plants at my home town nursery for cheaper than I paid for these "sale" plants form Nature Hills. I have received very poor customer service from this company also. I called in and when a person answered she put me on hold and then transferred me to her voicemail. Needless to say she never returned my call. The email correspondence to my complaints was very brief and unhelpful. I have spent close to $1000.00 with this company with two orders and they have treated me with much disregard. I will not shop with them again and urge anyone who is smarter than me who researches the company to find someone else to buy the plants from. I could have bought much healthier trees from a local nursery for less money. I am ashamed of myself for trusting Nature Hills Nursery to be all that they claim to me on their website.

"On Apr 29, 2013 10:15 AM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

We are very sorry that there was any miscommunication or that you are unhappy with the products you received.
Our sales people do tell customers regularly that their credit card will be charged at the time of the order this information is also found on our website. We do this because we actually remove the items from inventory so the items can be reserved for you.
Our spring shipping does typically start with trees as most are shipped bare root and dormant, potted material ships a little later depending on the weather. You had mentioned that the items would ship according to your zone and this is correct.
However, the nursery manager does consider upcoming temperatures in your area as well as the temperatures the product will be subjected to in transit.
You had also mentioned finding some items locally at a lower price.
Please know that big box stores purchase large quantities of greenhouse grown product very inexpensively. Our items are grown especially for us at outdoor nurseries making them better quality and more hardy.
We are sorry you felt that our customer service was not up to par as we strive to offer great customer service to each one of our customers.
We do hope that you will be pleased with the rest of your order. If not please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you.


"

I am a beginning gardener. I have ordered a Weeping Cherry along with some other trees and bushes. I am personally not familiar with Flowering Cherries and I never knew they didn’t produce cherries. I was looking for a fruit bearing tree, looked at the picture and read the description of "Weeping Cherry" on NH website and was under the assumption this was a real cherry tree as its title suggest. When the order was on its way I found out through a friend that "Weeping Cherry" might not be a fruit bearing cherry at all. I then contacted Nature Hills about it, and told them I would like to return it. Then I’ve got this strict email telling me that if I want to return that their "Terms and Policies" will apply. So to get a return on the "Weeping Cherry" that I bought for $59.98 plus shipping I would have to spend almost half of the price to send it back. What is the use? I contacted the customer service and said that I made a mistake buying this tree but also it didn’t say anywhere in the description of the tree that it wasn’t fruit bearing. Then I asked if they could be more lenient and if they maybe would pay for the return shipping. They refused and send me this reply:

"Thanks for your inquiry. It is a common practice for nurseries, botanical gardens, and gardening magazines when describing Flowering Cherry trees, to describe the flower color and size but will not list it as a non fruit producing tree. The reason for this is the catagory "Flowering Cherry" refers to deciduous flowering ornamental trees only. Fruit bearing cherry trees will be classified under "Fruit Trees-Cherry" just as you see on our website. Nature Hills Nursery realizes that our customers may not be able to locate the answer to their question(s) on our web site, and we provide a toll free telephone number for this purpose. If you are wanting to return the Weeping Cherry as indicated in your previous E-mails, our return policy will apply and can be found on our web site at the bottom of each page, under "Terms and Conditions". Best Regards, Sabrina"


I am not sure if this is a common practice, but as I said before I am a starter and I didn’t know. I also didn’t grow up with flowering cherries as my friend who lives in DC, did. I don’t think you can expect from anybody to know this unless only nurseries and botanical gardens are buying plants from you?

Now I was stuck with the tree I had no use and place for. Sending it back was even worse, what was the use of losing half the money to return it? Also I had 2 more orders pending (over $200) (that would ship in 2-4 weeks) and I decided to cancel them all and never buy from Nature Hills again. Obviously to cancel my orders was a pain in the *** too. I first wrote them an email and never got a response, then I called and some vague person told me she needs to redirect my request somewhere and then they will cancel it. I waited a day and I, of course, didn’t hear anything from them on phone or email. On the website my orders were still processing and not cancelled. I had to call them again. The person on the phone said that the 2 orders will be canceled. Afterward I called my bank and they said that I have already been charged by Nature Hills for those 2 orders.

AVOID NATURE HILLS, THEY ARE NOT IN BUSINESS OF HELPING PEOPLE AND MAKING HAPPY CUSTOMERS.
THEY ARE OUT FOR THEMSELVES AND THE NASTY PROFITS BY SETTING UP THEIR CUSTOMERS.

"On Mar 6, 2013 12:43 PM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

I am very sorry this customer feels that we were not supportive or helpful.
We were very sorry to hear that Ms. Orr had ordered the Weeping Cherry by mistake and we truly did try to help by assisting her with a return.
We do understand that she was disappointed as a new gardener to have made such a mistake.
As noted above the the fruiting cherry trees and flowering cherry trees are listed separate on our site. We also have Plant Care Specialists available for our customers that may have any questions.
Nature Hills values each and every one of our customers so we were sorry that she felt her mistake warranted cancelling her other items with us.
We would like to assure her that her orders were cancelled and her credit card credited within 24 hours of her cancellation call. I'm not certain how she felt there was any misunderstanding regarding her cancellation.
In reference to Nature Hills charging her card for her other items, that is done at the time of the order as we had reserved those items for her.
Finally, if Ms. Orr would like to reconsider purchasing the other items we would like to offer her 10% off her next order as a courtesy.
We do hope Ms. Orr can find a place for the Weeping Cherry as it is a beautiful tree that we are sure will bring joy to her family for years to come.
Thank you"

Purchased 5 peach trees from Nature Hills. Planted them all in the same general location and put them all on the same watering schedule. 3 out of the 5 survived. When I contacted the company about getting a replacement for the 2, I was told I would be charged 50% of the retail value plus shipping. Every REPUTABLE nursery in the country offers a 1 year warranty on their plants with proof of purchase. This was the first and LAST time I will ship at Nature Hills!

"On Oct 23, 2012 10:25 AM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

dcmonda,

We are sorry that two of your trees didn't survive. We do guarantee that all orders for plant material arrive safely, and viable. Even so, when working with live material, there is a chance that a tree will not survive the transplant process. We try to offset that risk of loss by offering a no questions asked replacement policy. Any failed item can be replaced for half the current selling price, plus shipping and handling. We do explain this policy in our terms and conditions, listed on every page on our site and again in the checkout process.

Thanks,

Nature Hills Nursery"

I ordered a tree one month ago. They charged my visa immediately but I have yet to see the tree. When I asked for a refund they said the tree could not be shipped until the fall and that if I wanted to cancel my order they would charge a 10% cancellation fee. They also told me that I should have entered my zip code to get a delivery date. I did that and it still does not give a ship date. Be very careful when doing business with this company and read the "fine Print; I still can't find a reference to a cancellation fee!

"On Oct 15, 2012 7:29 AM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

kbuxtonok,

We apologize if there was any miscommunication with your order. We take care to ship all material at the appropriate time for planting. Some material that we send it shipped bareroot, and weather dictates when the material can be harvested and safely shipped. We like to try and make sure that all material has the best chance for a successful transplant when it is sent.

We do explain the time frame of shipping bareroot material, as well as the cancellation fee in our terms and conditions. These terms are linked to at the bottom of every page on our website, and in the checkout process. An order will not go through until the customer checks that they have read and agree to our terms and conditions for the sale. The shipping time is also listed on the confirmation page once the order is submitted online.

Nature Hills Nursery"

I received ALL ordered 4 peach trees dead without the root system at all. Customer service rep lied about her name (she is Sabrina), was very rude, all the time talked over me and even did not lesten the problems. I suspect there are many upset customers that she is just sending out... They rised prices more than twice this Fall; therefore, if you reordering half price replacement products, you are ending up paying 1.5 times more than originally was paid. Looks like a tipical scam to me. Upset customers, do you want to file class action lawsuit on this NatureHills? I am a lawyer, please contact me if you want to do that

"On Sep 11, 2012 1:44 PM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

allaA,

We are certainly sorry to hear that your trees did not survive. Every tree that we send out goes through rigorous inspection before it is shipped. Our nurserymen and women inspect each tree as it is dug, and when it is checked into our holding facilities. Trees are also inspected again when they are packaged. We check for height, weight, coloration, root structure, and pliability to ensure that every tree is viable when it is shipped.

We guarantee safe delivery of all material, and in the cases where a tree or plant was damaged during transit, we just ask to be notified of any issues within 48 hours. We apologize if you felt your case was mishandled, if we need to revisit the issues, we would be happy to look into the issues again.

If the issue was that the tree didn't survive a transplant, then we do offer a one year replacement for half the current selling price plus shipping and handling. Prices are determined by the type of material and the size of the tree. For many species of trees that we are carrying this fall, the sizes are significantly larger than the ones that we carried last spring. That could be the reason for the price increase. This is also something that we can look at again to be sure. Please e-mail us at info@naturehills.com is you would like us to review your order.

Thanks,

Nature Hills"

Simple. They sent me a dead plant. I reported it within the allotted 48 hours. They told me it was "dormant". I said "No, it is dead", but they would not listen. So, I planted it. Four months later..still dead. The "customer service" lady who always answers the phone is very rude and condescending. She actually told me that I did not report that I had scracthed the bark in April, so I had not reported it as dead. Of course I would have done that had she asked me to. I have ordered from them multiple times, but they refuse to do the right thing regarding this one plant. Unscrupulous.

"On Sep 11, 2012 1:53 PM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

gardener1124,

We are sorry to hear that you had an issue with your order, and that you felt your experience with our customer service representative was not up to our standards. We pride ourselves on offering excellent customer service.

Our trees are shipped dormant, but if there was an issue with your order when it arrived and you notified us, then we should have a record of that. Perhaps there was a misunderstanding on our end. We would like to review your order, and see if there was something that we missed. Please contact us at info@naturehills.com, and we will see if we can't satisfy the situation. You mentioned that you have ordered multiple times, and we would like to think that is due to our service and our quality plants. We would hate to loose a valued customer because of a shortcoming on our end in this one case. Please let us know.

Sincerely,

Nature Hills "

The tree I recieved was obviously dead upon arrival. I planted and cared for it anyway hoping for the best. After 2 months I gave up all hope. I called Nature Hills Nursery and they instructed me to scrape some of the trunk off to verify if it was dead and it was. They said they don't offer refunds but would send another tree at 50 percent off the going price. Guess what... the price for the same tree is now three times what it was when I bought this one. So in order to get the same tree I would now pay more than I did in the first place. Sounds like a big scam to me. I'm reporting this company to the Attorney General's office an the Better Business Bureau.

In April of 2012 I ordered a Pluot tree (Flavor Grenade) that I had read about - it sounds like a terrific cultivar. It arrived and when I opened the box I was immediately dismayed. I planted it right away as instructed but it appeared to my eyes (Master Gardener) to be dead. I immediately e-mailed the company and they opened a ticket. I was assured the tree was alive but could take up to 90 days to break into leaf. I waited a while and contacted them again. I received the same info and was told about their pathetic replacement policy. My bad! I should have made sure ahead of time that they stand behind their products. I finally gave up in early July when it was still 'dormant' and pulled the tree out of the ground. It was beginning to rot and had never formed a single root. We have beautiful soil, and I gave it lots of TLC. The plant was just dead from the start - I'm convinced of it. I would never order again from Nature Hills.

"On Jul 19, 2012 12:57 PM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

We are certainly sorry to hear that you had an issue with your order. In some cases, trees can take several weeks to break dormancy. We do guarantee the safe delivery of all of our plants and trees. If there was an issue with the tree upon arrival, and you notified us right away, then we would certainly want to review the case. If you are within the recommended planting zones for the tree, then there might be reason to review this order. There is a bit of concern, as it looks like you are signed in from Canada. Pluots are warm climate trees, and we don't ship internationally. Perhaps it was sent somewhere within the states? Please contact our customer service department and we can have another look.

Thanks,

Nature Hills"

Ordered a Scarlet Oak back in February (2012), which they said would ship within a week. After almost a month with no shipment or contact from them, I tried via e-mail and phone to finally get hold of someone, who said the tree was "scheduled" to ship in April, seven months after I bought it. They had already charged my card back in Feb, and were now giving me attitude over the phone as I was requesting the status of my merchandise that they had previously stated would be in my hands long ago.

Tree finally arrived, but was poorly packed and was ALREADY NEARLY DEAD! I planted it anyway to try to save it (about 25 feet away from an existing Scarlet Oak in my yard), but it promptly died and dried up no matter how much I watered and nurtured it.

Sabrina at Nursery Hills told me they didn't guarantee their plants (the first time I've ever encountered a nursery that operates under this policy), and said not only would they charge me for a new replacement tree, but I'd have to wait until July (now) before they could process the order. Well, now it's July, and they won't have any replacements until 2013! Huh??

This is easily in the top five worst online purchasing experiences I've ever had, from a company that operates with rude customer service on the phone and horrible product policy. I lost money dealing with them, and possibly an entire year in the planting spot in my yard since now I'll have to search out a new source for a Scarlet Oak.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY! THEY WILL TAKE YOUR MONEY UP FRONT AND THEN LEAVE YOU BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.

I join the long list of individuals with serious complaints about this company. I received a near dead Mars grape this spring. It was very small for the price and the leaves had yellow veins. I was ignored by the company though I sent numerous emails and phoned them.

A disreputable nursery/company that does not stand behind its products. I recently ordered a white oak tree from Nature Hills. The tree was in-transit for 7 days. When opened, the box contained a "brittle to touch" tree, possessing shriveled brown leaves and bare, dry (to the extreme) roots. I immediately planted the tree, as instructed.and contacted Nature Hills about the condition of the tree - the company representative stated that the tree was shipped in elite, pristine condition and that it would respond favorably within 6 weeks, as it was dormant (are shriveled brown leaves, brittleness and dry roots indicative of a dormant state, I wondered).

Nine weeks later the tree remains completely inert and is obviously dead, just as when it arrived. When I again contacted Nature Hills, I was informed that their unbending replacement policy requires that the customer pay for a second tree, plus shipping and handling, in order to have the defective product replaced with another "guaranteed "shipment. Apparently, while the "shipment" is guaranteed, the purchased product isn't. Avoid doing business with Nature Hills unless you feel that a 50% negative rating (per the recent comments on this website) presents a good and viable service-oriented company.worthy of your trust and business.

Recommended course of action for any potential customer of Nature Hills Nursery: Find a company with better than a B- BBB rating; one that has a reasonable and fair replacement guarantee and whose customer service can’t be defined as “thick as manure and about half as useful”.

I placed a late season order for seven roses totaling just over $300, including shipping. Unfortunately, they were dormant upon receipt with dried buds and branched falling off. I couldn’t judge if these were going to be healthy plants and of course two of the seven didn’t come back. I spoke w/ Bill in customer service who told me I could have two replacements at half price plus shipping. What a rip off. They wanted to charge me $50 to fix their inability to ship healthy plants. Oh, it is June and I was told they also wouldn’t ship until “mid-fall”.

I have to take some of the blame for the problem above. They have an awful replacement policy and I should have gone to one of the many competing operations that will make it right. Based on the poor plants I received, their lousy customer service and self stacked service policies, each order is a potential disaster and I can’t advise anyone wait around for the train to jump the tracks.

I ordered two trees from this company in April. They sent two 3-foot trees that had clearly been in cold storage since late in the fall. They had very little signs of life. When I opened the package, twigs actually snapped off they were that dry. I immediately contacted the company, something you have to do in order to get a refund, and began "sweating" the trees as they instructed. After a month with no sign of life they finally refunded by money. It appears that they keep their stock bare root in storage far too long. I will probably never order from them again, but if I were to order from them I would order only in winter or early spring.

MY order was placed on May 23 (W) for four Dante Gold's and processed immediately. My charge card reflected an immediate charge on Wednesday, yet, I had to contact the selling business on May 25th to even get a receipt-confirmation of my order, even though my charge card had been charged two-days earlier on the 23rd. Using the internet for years for purchases the standard practice is an immediate e-mail response-confirmation of the buyers order to their e-mail account and in a rare instance there's a delay of fifteen minutes. But this was not the case with Nature Hills and I had to mail a request for it two days later on the 25th.

Nowhere on the receipt-statement does it disclose any details of a 7-day wait on shipping or 10% penalty if the order is canceled. The information on the website indicates that the product was available on 5/23 (W) and there was absolutely no shipping of the product over a period of 6 business days: 5/24 (TH), 5/25 (F), 5/26 (SA), 5/29 (TU), 5/30 (W) or 5/31 (TH). The order was canceled the evening of 5/31 (TH) as it's evident that I was being strung along by a business that didn't have the product I ordered on 5/23 (W) as advertised on their website.

Now there comes a HIDDEN 10% charge for order cancellation from out of the woodwork, which is not disclosed on the company's receipt/statement or during the internet purchasing process that I went through. Nothing more than a 'Den of Thieves' and an inept business with no concept of business civility to customers.

I ordered a Salix Flamingo this spring. The plant arrived with upper leaves and stems that were blackened from some disease. I buy all of my plants mail order and this was not the usual minor distress in shipping. In 1-2 week's time, this blackening of the stems and leaves spread all the way down the plant and it was dead.

I brought this attention to the company and their only offer to resolve the problem was to suggest I buy another at 50% with full shipping cost. While that may be a fair policy if a plant arrives healthy and dies over the course of a year due to the gardener's fault or nature's, it is not fair when a diseased plant is received.

My experience has been that the company does NOT live up to their statement in response to a previous customer's complaint -- , "We do guarantee that our products arrive to you safely and in viable condition.... Other than that, we do offer a one year replacement for half price plus shipping and handling if the plant dies after it is transplanted." If I had seen the volume of complaints about diseased plant shipments from this company on this website, I would never have ordered from them.

Stay away. Their products die in the short term, and they don't offer a fair resolution. You will be throwing your money away. Avoid at any cost. Buy local.

"On Apr 26, 2012 8:33 AM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

sooopr,

We are certainly sorry to hear that you experienced a loss with your order. We do guarantee that our products arrive to you safely and in viable condition. If there was an issue with the shipment, we would certainly be happy to look into the matter. Other than that, we do offer a one year replacement for half price plus shipping and handling if the plant dies after it is transplanted.

Thanks,

Nature Hills"

Posted on March 13, 2012, updated April 9, 2012
Posted on March 4, 2012, updated March 13, 2012
I ordered a Northern Red Oak from this company, was sent a 4.5 foot twig with no branches. I read the return policy before ordering, but was really hoping I would get what was described. Considering I paid almost 40 bucks for this twig all told, I did not.
I did not contact this company, they know what they sent me. I just cut my losses, I didn't not want another tree at half price, I should never have been sent this stick to begin with.

"On Mar 6, 2012 2:49 PM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

We are certainly sorry to hear that you were disappointed with your tree. When planting bareroot trees, it is not uncommon to have a 4 to 5 foot tree that has minimal to no branching. In fact, branching is often pruned on younger trees in order to keep the branches higher on the trunk. This promotes a more upright tree at maturity, which is typically desired when planting what will become large shade trees like an oak. We do send out 4 to 5 foot Red Oak trees, and that is the measurement of the leader above the root system. Typically, it only takes a season or two for significant branching to take place.

Thanks,

Nature Hills Nursery

Nature Hills is overpriced and have poor quality products. You do not get what you pay for. You just pay more and get less.

I bought a peach tree in April. We had plenty of moisture in the spring and summer, but it never took off. The tree may have gotten 4 leaves. It never branched out or did anything. I was very disappointed, since I paid almost twice what I could have gotten the same tree from another company for. When I called the customer service, they said they needed a soil sample. I had one taken just that spring, so I had that. After looking it over, they determined the soil was fine. But I couldn't get a full replacement - they only offered me 50% off if I ordered another one and I had to pay the shipping. The problem I have is that I can get a tree for half their price and that company will give me a full replacement, no questions asked if the tree dies. So why would I pay twice the price to get nothing.

I will never buy anything from them again - even if it is 50% off.

"On Jan 12, 2012 11:28 AM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

Management is attempting to contact the customer, in order to try and resolve the issues with the order.

- Nature Hills Nursery"

I purchased a variety of trees, shrubs and roses from this company in mar 2010, totaling close to $300.00. I now have only three holly tress, still alive. Almost everything I received was bareroot stock, just a brown stick and many months later it was still just a brown stick. I have replaced all of these from a local supplier. I originally wanted to get a few more holly trees with my store credit, so to speak, but they did not have any available of the size I had purchased earlier. I then sent an email to the replacement web site to see if I could get tulip and daffodil bulbs for the credit I supposedly had and I was told NOooooooo, that I still had to purchase brown sticks as I had done the first time. As they say hind sight is alway 20/20 and what do I find when I look at the Better Business Bureau web site, they are listed at a (F). Now why does this not surprise me. I will never do business with this company again and you can believe that I will not have anything good to say for them.

"On Nov 4, 2010 8:05 AM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

nogrowjoe,

We are sorry if you do not like our replacement policy, however it was stated in the terms and conditions that you agreed upon when you placed the order online. Any failed items in the first year can be replaced for half the current selling price plus shipping and handling, no questions asked.

As stated before, typically we only replace item for item. When you originally lost 2 trees, we were willing to offer a different "like item" at half price to send in its place. When you e-mailed back 7 months later to report a total loss from the original order, we stuck with our no questions asked policy and again offered to replace the failed items with different species, as long as they were "like items" (so you would have to select bushes and shrubs). This is well above and beyond the standard replacement policy that you agreed to when you placed the order online. Bulbs are in a different category and they can not be sent as replacements for trees and shrubs.

If you no longer have a need for trees and shrubs because you sourced them elsewhere, that is not grounds for Nature Hills Nursery to change the replacement policy that you agreed to when you place your order with us. I assure you are standing with the BBB is not and "F" rating, and we have been more than fair with you regarding this order.

Thanks,

Nature Hills"

Posted on July 30, 2010, updated October 15, 2010
Posted on July 28, 2010, updated July 30, 2010
Buyer beware! DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY!!! Do not be fooled by the selection or the free shipping. My complaints are the same as the other 65 negatives: this company is in the business of selling dead plants and then charging you 150% and double shipping. I ordered 6 lilacs; one was dead ( not dormant) upon arrival, the other three had green buds, which immediately wilted and fell off after only 9 days! The customer service people seem to love to spend their whole days either giving or writing lengthy boilerplate defences for their shoddy products and their even worse "guarantee". It's not a guarantee, it's a set-up: if your dead plant stays dead, you can pay an additional 50% plus shipping to get another dead plant. The BBB gives this company a C-, they lost their accredidation on 6/03/2010, and they have had 36 complaints.
Their sacred "terms and conditions" run over 1,000 words and it's purposely misleading and obtuse- the refund policy is hidden in the middle; it's surrounded by lengthy disclaimers and it's a true marvel of legalese to make suckers out of many of us.
Considering the 65 negatives, Nature Hills has had plenty of opportunity to make their terms and conditions transparent and concise: their refusal to do so is a clear indication that the company has no intention of being a reputable business.

"On Jul 29, 2010 1:59 PM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

uhw,

This response is longer and more in depth than what we would typically post in this forum. However, there were false statements made in your post that we simply could not leave unanswered. We will start by saying that we are sorry that you felt that your experience with Nature Hills was such a negative one. We have attempted to resolve this matter with you, even to the extent of going well above and beyond the terms and conditions that are stated on our site. We understand that it is your right to post your views on public forums such as this, but we do not appreciate using false information in your post.

We are most certainly not in the business of "selling dead plants and then charging you 150% and double shipping." First and foremost, you stated yourself that all but one of the lilacs from your order arrived with buds (and you stated in a phone conversation with our customer service manager that the one that didn't initially have buds had budded within the first 2 weeks of being planted). Obviously, the material was not dead when it arrived to you. Secondly, our replacement policy states that material can be replaced for half the current selling price plus shipping and handling within the first year. The figures of "150% and double shipping" are absurd, and completely false. We offer a replacement policy as there are many factors, such as soil composition, moisture levels, insects, disease, weather conditions, as well as many other factors, that could lead to the failure of an item(s). We can ensure viable material arrives to your door, but we cannot guarantee growth (especially with such a wide array of variables). Because there is always a risk of loss when working with live material we offer the replacement policy of half price plus shipping and handling.

Nature Hills Nursery, as a company, has been in business since 2001, and has shipped millions of plants (tens of thousands annually). We staff our Customer service department for at least 9 hours a day, with a trained staff to offer assistance to any customers having issues with their products. Within the industry, we offer the longest amount of customer support on the phone than any of our competitors. While it is discouraging to receive negative feedback, 65 comments over nearly a decade of business is relatively low. We have worked in accordance to the BBB guidelines to resolve all issues that were presented to us through their organization. We have taken ownership of the times when mistakes have been made on this end, and offered resolution to several of the posts in this forum.

In regards to this situation, it is clearly an instance where there was loss due to transplant. Our replacement policy is spelled out clearly in our terms and conditions, despite your comments, and you agreed to these terms and conditions when you placed the order online. The terms and conditions, as a whole, is slightly over 1,000 words long. It includes the topics of our guarantee, issues with shipment, returns, cancellations, loss claims / replacements, and information on dormant material. That averages out to less than 200 words per topic, and all of the information included in the terms and conditions is pertinent to placing an online order. Considering your post is close to 250 words, that doesn't seem unreasonable. Furthermore, during our phone conversation you stated yourself that you did not read the terms and conditions when you ordered. It seems to be a stretch to call the terms "obscure and obtuse" and to go on to blame us for making you a "sucker" over something that you didn't even read. And despite all of this, we offered a solution that was well above and beyond of the previously mentioned terms and conditions to resolve the matter (a detail that seems to have been conveniently left out of your post).

We will take this post as you opting not to accept the offer that Nature Hills has extended to resolve the matter. You made good on your threat to post negative comments about Nature Hills Nursery online. Although it is your right to post your thoughts, shame on you for purposefully posting false information and excluding details of our effort to resolve the matter. It is easy to paint our company in a negative light when you don't offer the truth, or the whole story. As a company, we feel strongly about being true to our word. That is why we spell out our policies in our terms and conditions, and why we work within the terms and conditions when issues arise. We expect our customers to work within the terms that they agreed to them when they ordered online. In this case, we even went as far to going above and beyond the said terms, in an effort to mend the relationship with you, our customer. And as a company that stays true to its word (regardless of the nature of your post), we will leave that offer open should you choose to take advantage of it.

Thanks,

Nature Hills"

I ordered a Mandarin Honeysuckle Vine from Nature Hills Nursery in March 2010. I was assured it would be shipped when it was safe to plant in my area. It arrived in April. I live in western Massachusetts where anything planted before Mother's Day is in danger of frost, so I immediately put it in a pot adequate for the size of the plant, with good potting soil. The plant looked like a dead stick on arrival but that didn't worry me because I was told it would be shipped "dormant". Religiously, I put the plant out on my sunny deck on nice days and brought it back in at night. I did this for 6 weeks, with no sign of life. Not a speck of green. When I contacted Nature Hills, I was told that their policy on "failed" plants was for me to pay half price and full shipping for a replacement. I told them it did not fail, it was dead on arrival. I even sent them a picture of the completely brown, shriveled plant. Now, I already paid $22.95 plus $11.95 shipping for a dead stick, and they were asking me to send them another $23.45 so they could possibly send me another dead stick. I don't think so. I offered to pay full shipping, again, but I felt they owed me a replacement plant. My repeated emails were ignored, but I did still get their advertising emails!! I have since special ordered a Mandarin Honeysuckle Vine with a local nursery (which I should have done in the first place) and it is happy, healthy and about 4 feet tall now. I cannot wait to see it bloom next year! So...I am only adding my entry here in hopes of preventing other gardeners from making the same mistake I made. Nature Hills will never see another order from me.

"On Sep 9, 2010 10:30 AM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

whiteowl333,

We are certainly sorry to hear about the issue from the order. We do offer the one year replacement for half price plus shipping and handling on all failed items. However, if there was an issue from the start, it may qualify for a full replacement. It sounds like you notified us right away about the issue and sent a picture. We would be happy to review the case and see if there was something that was missed ont this end.

Please let us know. Just e-mail info@naturehills.com and mention this post (along with the name on the original order). Again, if it was just that the plant didn't take, it would fall under the standard replacement. If we were notified of issues from the start, then we will review the account and try to resolve the issue.

Thanks,

Nature Hills"

Posted on August 31, 2010, updated September 7, 2010
Posted on August 28, 2010, updated August 31, 2010
Everything that was said recently about this company is true. In June I ordered a tree that arrived with virtually no roots. After 6 weeks there was no growth, despite daily watering. Bare root stock is one thing, but dead is another. Their replacement "guarantee" is absurd and it is not a guarantee at all. It is merely a way of selling you another dead plant at half the amount plus the full amount of the inflated shipping (which can be almost as much as the item itself). It is meaningless to the purchaser.

There is no reason to tolerate defective merchandise or such clever "policies" of slick merchants. There is a very simple solution in dealing with a company like this: simply explain it in writing to your credit card company and request a chargeback. I did, and I was refunded the entire purchase price of the tree and the shipping. Needless to say I will never deal with this company again.

"On Aug 31, 2010 10:23 AM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

RufousDog,

We are certainly sorry to hear that you experienced a loss from your order. If there is an issue with your plant material upon arrival, we need to be notified within 48 hours so that the appropriate actions can be taken (typically a reshipment). If we are not notified of any issues, we assume the order arrived in an acceptable conditions and our standard replacement would take place.

One thing that is alarming from your post before was your statement saying: "After 6 weeks there was no growth, despite daily watering." There aren't many situations where a tree would require daily watering. In fact, in most cases that would be way too much. Over saturation can cause the soil to compact and the roots will never set (therefore the tree will never break dormancy). I would suspect that was the cause of the failure of your plant / tree, and not the viability of the stock.

If there wasn't an issue with the material on arrival, and the tree didn't just take to the transplant, then it would fall under the standard replacement policy (half price plus shipping and handling). This policy was stated in the terms and conditions that you agreed upon when you placed the order online. However, if you filed with your credit card company we would have to handle the situation according to their processes and resolve the issue in that manor. We are sorry that you felt that you no longer wanted to work with us and contacted your credit card company. We will respond to your credit card company's chargeback with the terms and conditions that were mutually agreed upon at the time of the sale.

Thanks,

Nature Hills

I received an order the first part of June and made the following two observations: 1- The flowering pear tree had no roots - it was just a bit of club growth at the base of the tree. I followed the instructions to "sweat" the tree before planting - which I did, but all to no avail. I then planted it anyway to see if the sunshine would help it bud-out, but after 8 weeks it was obvious that it would never leaf-out. 2- I also ordered two varieties of blueberries. The "Northblue" blueberries looked fantastic, and they leafed out right away. The "Northcountry" plants, on the other hand, were so small I almost didn't recognize them as plants - they were more like dry twigs. In good faith, I planted them anyway having full confidence that they would leaf-out, but never did. Once it became evident that the pear and blueberries were defective stock, I called Nature Hills to get replacement stock. They told me if I have defective stock I have 48 hours to notify them. The problem is that there is no way of knowing until you plant something if it will grow or not. So once I knew that these plants were not going to grow, I called customer service and was told that I had to pay half the original price plus shipping to get replacements. I was told there were no exceptions. My perspective is the following: 1- The stock was defective to begin with. 2- There is no way to know if something is going to grow in 48 hours. It appears that their 48 hour notification policy is simply engineered as a method to side-step any fiscal responsibility in "guaranteeing" their stock. In other words, Nature Hills Nursery, simply does not have a viable guarantee - there is really no way for a customer to know if stock is good or not in 48 hours. So the question I have is if something doesn't leaf out within a few weeks of planting, then why won't Nature Hills make good? If I bought an appliance from Wal-Mart and it wouldn't turn on after I unboxed it several weeks later, Wal-Mart would make good and exchange it for a model that works. Why won't Nature Hills do the same?

"On Aug 31, 2010 12:02 PM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

KortB,

We apologize that there were issues with items from your order. When we spoke yesterday, I explained that we have time frame to work with when submitting a claim for defective plants. We state in our terms and conditions (and state in bold print on the front of your packing slip) that you need to notify us within 48 hours if there are any issues with the material upon arrival. Your yesterday was 10 weeks after the material was delivered.

The argument from our quality control department would be that there is no way that we can verify the condition of the plant upon arrival so long after the time the material was delivered. Unlike your analogy of an appliance, plant material is perishable. We are not trying to "side-step financial responsibility." A plant could dry up within weeks after arrival, even if it arrived in perfect condition. If we are notified right away we can check the remaining plants on this end for any issues, double check with the person that packaged the plants, and potentially could send a return label (should something need to be inspected). After 10 weeks, we don't have that ability. If there was concern with the material from the start, it should have been reported.

With that being said, you stated that one pack of the blueberries was dry and brittle when it arrived. That is not typical of blueberry plants. I will authorize to have them replaced at our cost. In regards to the tree, our crews inspect each root system before the trees are packaged. If they don't meet our standards, the material is discarded. We cannot determine if there was an issue with tree based on your description, so that will fall under the standard replacement policy (half price plus shipping and handling). You call customer service number (1-888-864-7663) so we can reference the original order, arrange delivery of the blueberries, and decide whether or not you would like to replace the tree.

Thanks,

Nature Hills"

Nature Hills sent me a dead plant too, and I tried to resolve this with one of their rude, sarcastic reps, but the rep claimed that the plant shipped dormant. The plant they sent me never came to life in spite of me babying it and trying to breathe life into it...dead is dead and based on what I've read on this site, this is a common problem with them. Furthermore, I believe the plant was dead when they shipped it instead of "dormant." I will never do business with this company again. They got my money once but never again.

"On Aug 17, 2010 7:51 AM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

Good Morning,

We certainly apologize that there was an issue with your order and that you feel you mistreated on the phone. Some of our material does ship dormant, this would be the case with any bareroot material that would be ordered.

If there was an issue with the plant upon arrival, and we were notified within 48 hours of the arrival of the order (as stated in our terms and conditions), we might be able to submit a damage claim and have the item reshipped. If you would like us to look at the order again, feel free to call 1-888-864-7663 or e-mail info@naturehills.com.

If there wasn't an issue with the plant upon arrival, and it simply didn't take to the transplant, it would be eligible for our replacement policy of half price plus the shipping and handling. We still have that to fall back on if there wasn't an issue with the shipment.

Thanks,

Nature Hills"

Like most people here, I received a dead tree from this company and was not given a refund or even a credit. I bought several other trees and shrubs with this order and they were all of poor quality. I would recommend that you thoroughly explore your local nurseries first.

"On Aug 9, 2010 3:10 PM, Nature Hills Nursery responded with:

robdodi,

Thanks for the post, and we are certainly sorry to hear that there was an issue with your order. It looks like you had the same user name in our system, so I was able to pull up your order and look at the notes.

It seems the Tulip Poplar never broke dormancy. You had called a couple weeks after it had arrived, and the rep spoke with had you lightly scratch the bark. At that point, there was a greenish coloration below the bark indicating that the tree was most certainly alive. It looks like in a later note, the tree had never leafed out.

Unfortunately, sometimes tree don't take to the transplant (as was the case here). We do try to offset this risk of loss with a one year replacement policy, as stated in the terms and conditions. Any failed item can be replaced (no questions asked) for half the current selling price plus shipping and handling in the first year. We are offering the Tulip Poplar tree for fall shipping. If you would like to replace the tree at the half price discount, just call our customer service department at 1-888-864-7663. We would be happy to assist you with placing your replacement order.

Thanks,

Nature Hills"