Comments regarding Cold Stream Farm

Just received Blue Spruce, Giant Sequoas, Scotch Pines, Norway Spruce and Red/White Cedars.

All trees looked very healthy and got them exactly when I wanted them.

Only negative was trees were mostly at the smaller end of the range but thats more or less normal in my experience.

I have changed my order with this company too many times, being a royal pain in their---. However they were excellent in dealing with it and finally I have my small order in for spring 2011. I think they are great taking care of a small order of sixteen plants with just as much enthusiasm as a large order. I am very much looking forward to my trees and shrubs arrival. Thank you Coldstream Farm for all your support in my decision making.

Incredible Customer service and great product.

We ordered 50 sample trees last spring, they looked great out of the box and grew nearly 1' prior to fall. This year we have ordered 2600 various trees, Cold Stream split the order up into smaller groups to allow us time to plant each bunch prior to the next bunch arriving.

The shipping cost issue is no big deal. I was sent an email the same day I ordered with the tentative invoice attached showing the exact shipping fees. They require approval confirmation from that email before they will process your order. Contrary to what others have said I like this failsafe invoice, there is no guessing and you have a copy of the invoice in your hand before you are charged anything.

Great service and great product. we are reforesting 70 acres of farm land and all of our orders will be placed through Cold Stream.

Purchased 50 Red Twig Dogwood all arived fresh and healthy. It is obvious these people care about a high quality product and the manner in which it is packaged for shipment.

Ordered 33 18"-24" Norway pine and Spruce. Received them yesterday and none were under 26" with some up to 36". Arrived in very good condition. Helpful over the phone assistance. Could not be happier with the quality of the product.

I ordered trees and it turns out they were out of the size I wanted. They let me know right away and offered a different size. I decided not to take them up on the offer and they cancelled with no problem and no charge. Communication and customer service was very good.

I Ordered Chestnut trees. They arrived on time, and at the right planting time. Excellent job to who ever packed my trees. This is what I expect from a quality supplier. And thanks for the catalog you
sent. I will be using it in the future. I've been ordering by mail for well over 35yrs.

I have delt with many places and found Cold Stream Farms very enjoyabe to deal with. I have many Scotch pine trees and add every year. Some people have complained about check out. They maynot give you shipping at check out but always e-mail you an invoice for your approval, they will not ship till approved so send an e-mail back if you want your trees. The trees may be a little smaller than shown but are beautiful specimens. I have bought from several companies including VA DOF and found many bad, butchered trees till I found these guys. Had a bad planting last year but was a tough winter, not the products fault. This year I am planting later than norm and going for late spring. Thanks guys!!

Jim

The folks at Cold Stream Farm can't be beat for customer service and product! I placed an order in August to be shipped at planting time for my zone.I immediately got confirmation. Within several days I received a phone call from a very nice and knowledgable gentleman at CSF suggesting that I would save money if I purchased all my plants the same height. I had questions regarding fall planting and tree size, and we had at least a 20 minute conversation-very helpful!
Then I forgot to notify them when I changed banks prior to their charging card/shipping date- the charge didn't go through. They immediately contacted me by email and phone, and we were able to sort out the issue.. They held my plants for at least two weeks while I got these issues straightened out!
This nursery deals in huge orders of wholesale trees. My order was tiny-one Rowan tree, and three Rose of Sharon-arounjd $15 total w/shipping! The customer service I received was outstanding.
The box arrived two days ago. I am thrilled. Huge roootballs, and healthy plants and trees (much larger than anticipated!) with detailed planting/growing instructions.

Thank you so much Cold Stream for the healthy well-rooted stock, and well as your incredible customer service!

I was happy to find the exact trees that I wanted, and in various sizes. But when I went to check out, first I was told that shipping charges would be "Calculated During Checkout."

Then instead of them simply asking for my zipcode in order to calculate shipping charges, they wanted me to give all my personal information and register on their website-- with password and email address included. I rarely do that unless I'm actually about to place an order, and before I place an order I need to know shipping charges.

But-- I went ahead and registered on their website, expecting to be shown a final total including shipping. No-- I was then asked for my credit card and told "Shipping charges will be summarized in a pdf invoice emailed to you following checkout."

That's bogus. There is no way I'm going to give them my credit card and let them charge whatever blind fees they want for shipping, and then tell me afterwards. I do believe this practice violates their own state's consumer-protection laws.

Ordered 35 evergreens on 4/4/09. Was apprehensive when my credit card was processed in about 10 days but the order had not shipped. I emailed twice to determine shipping date and response was somewhat slow with no specific dates. However, I did receive the order on 4/27. All the trees looked healthy with good roots. Some were smaller than advertized but I was sent an extra Scotch Pine. Overall I am pleased with my order and will assume that the weather was responsible for the time between placing & receiving the order. Generally, credit cards are not charged until an order ships. Perhaps this should be company policy.

bought 100's of trees from this company spring 2008 and fall 2008 with mixed results. first, make sure to count bundles as i have been considerably shorted more than once (on larger bundles of 25). second, size is almost always smaller than promised. for example, 3' -4' cedars are going to be mostly three feet with maybe one branch reaching close to four. in some trees, as the aforementioned cedar, there is MUCH size variation, and whoever is pulling them is doing a hack job on the roots. do not expect the full thick cedars from the garden centers. same goes for hemlocks with regard to size and thickness.
this company is positively responsive regarding replacements. i recieved about a hundred hemlock that were no good (sat in bags too long) and they replaced them with very healthy plants that were a size larger and i was happy.
all white pines, red pines, oaks, chestnut, white spruce, black spruce , balsam fir i ordered were good size and shape but shorted on some larger count bundles. avoid 25 count bundles and ask for bundles of 5 for everything and pay the extra stock fee for this.
this company is weather dependent so make sure to be flexible regarding arrival time of trees. spring 2008 was very late and so was available stock but that's not the company'ss fault.
overall, the stock is good, prices good, but there was always a count problem and unsatisfactory size variation with cedars and hemlock of larger size. i'm trying to find alternative sources but would buy again from them.

Received bareroot trees/native shrubs today. All had excellent root systems, buds just starting to break. All packed in peat mix ,good and moist. Would not hesitate to order again, Thanks Cold Stream

My first and thus-far only experience with Cold Stream was last Autumn. I ordered several trees with specific shipping dates. Their communication was excellent, the packing was very careful and all items arrived safely and dormant, though obviously with green wood and nice root systems. As this is Central New England, buds aren't showing yet even on long-established early trees so they haven't woken up yet, but the ordering, communicating, shipping and receiving experience has been excellent!

I'm a newbie to gardening and especially to planting bare-root saplings. On Sept. 21st '08 I ordered small (1.5 to 3 ft.) bare-root Washington hawthorn, red mulberry, Sargent crabapple, shadbush serviceberry, tulip tree, and American sycamore for a total of $26.27. The Cold Stream Web site said that fall shipping would be some time after Oct. 15th. Shipping costs seemed a bit high, so I economized with UPS Ground, knowing that the plants would spend more time in transit. My credit card was charged on Oct. 29th and my plants arrived on Nov. 5th. They were well-packed with small plastic bags around moist roots, larger than expected, and with apparent healthy buds. I planted them all 4 days later and chicken wire-caged all but the sycamore and hawthorn, since they were the largest. Bad move. Starting in December it got real cold here (classic St. Paul, Minnesota) and the squirrels/rabbits marauded more than usual. The sycamore and hawthorn were eaten to the ground -- nobody's fault but mine -- but the others look fine. Cold Stream Farm did exactly what they said and delivered what appear to be healthy stock. I'll report in about 5 months if it seems otherwise. Meanwhile I look forward to ordering replacment sycamore, hathworn, and more trees for the spring...

Very fast service. I bought Oregon Grape (Mahonia Aquifolium). They were out of the larger size I'd ordered and emailed me asking if OK to substitute the smaller plants. Plants were packed nicely and traveled well. They were partially dormant but starting to grow. I put them right in the ground and am waiting for some action. I would buy from them again.

I found Cold Stream Farm on this website and was very happy with my order. They shipped it around my vacation schedule and the plants (25 elderberries) arrived in great shape and health. Quality plants at a great price.

I have ordered from Cold Stream Farm 4 or 5 times now, all with positive results.
Had to cancell an order once, also with no problems.
I like this nursery because of the large amount of natives they carry and the friendly "mom & pop" service.
The only negative thing I can say is that they are one of the few nurseries that still sell the highly invasive (once highly regarded) Autumn Olive shrub which has slowly & quietly taken over our wildlands in Southern Michigan. (at least they provide a warning).

After looking all over the web, this website offered the cheapest trees. That is what initially drew me to them. I got my trees on April 2nd, which is perfect for my area, and they were packaged in a way to keep the roots moist. All in all, this is the best tree sapling company on the web. I will buy from them again next year.

I ordered several trees. The shipping was a little later than expected. When I sat down to e-mail them, I realized that they had already e-mailed me to explain that shipping would be slightly delayed. Due to warmer than normal weather, the plants had not gone dormant in time for shipping and would be sent as soon as possible. Imagine that, customer service contacting me to tell me they have a problem. The plants arrived well packaged and in good condition.

Ordered 56 Lilacs and 26 White Pine. All arrived in GREAT shape. Got everything planted and the lilacs are doing great. I have lost quite a few of the pine trees, but since I ordered the larger ones, I knew that was a risk I was taking as they don’t guarantee the larger Pine trees. After first order, I ended up needing 5 more lilacs to finish my hedge, they arrived within a week after I had placed the order already having started to leaf out. I have now placed an additional order for 26 poplars, and plan on trying a smaller pine tree next year. I will defiantly continue to order from this company and recommend them to those who ask.

In the fall I ordered evergreens, dogwood, serviceberry, hazelnut, coral berry, oak, snow berry, bear berry and bittersweet. Most of the evergreens are recovering and the serviceberry, oak and one hazelnut leafed out. The coralberry, snowberry, bearberry, and bittersweet died. One of the hazelnuts and and the dogwood never grew leaves. i contacted customer service and they said they would send out replacements. I recieved a large box with a small bag with the bearberry in it. I contacted them again and they said everything should have been in the box and I told them it was not. Then they sent out a second box which contained the bittersweet, coral berry and snowberry. There was no packing in the box and the coral berry was broken. From the position of the bag, it looked like they had a piece of cardboard stapled over the top of the plants (the thinnest part). I wrote to them again and sent them pictures. They then sent out a coral berry dogwood, and hazelnut. These were secured with two strips of cardboard across the lower part of the plants and arrived safely.
They have good prices and a good selection, but seem to be having shipping problems. Their customer service did respond and send replacements, so I am giving them a neutral rather than a negative. It is a shame because I would have liked to order other plants, but I fear what condition they'll arrive in.

I ordered 6 grape vines and they arrived right on schedule, and in great shape. They were just starting to break dormancy and not a branch was broken.

I will definitely order from this company again.

Plants arrived as scheduled. An email was sent to me with the UPS tracking info on ship day, so it was easy to keep track of the shipment. I found the company easy to communicate with via phone or email. All of the various trees I ordered were well rooted and in decent condition. They were healthier and more robust than stock I had received from another online company that charged more than Cold Stream. The one negative might be that though the trees were packed and wrapped securely, I wish they could find a way to secure the trees within the box. They were not secured inside the box and I believe this led to a couple of broken limbs. Overall, a positive buying experience.

Placed an order back in October.
E-mailed to find out when my order would be shipped.
Their answer was "sometime this month" (November).
E-mailed them twice since then about cancelling my order and they would not acknowledge me.
Had to notify my credit card company to not accept any charges from them.

"

Unless a specific target date is given for shipment, orders are shipped as soon as the bare-root plant material is safe to harvest, which is weather dependant.

Any ship date can be scheduled for a customer. If material is not safe to harvest, the customer is then contacted and asked how to proceed.

Any order can be cancelled at any time prior to shipment, with no penalty."

I ordered 5 trees. The box had been torn open (probably UPS's fault), but the trees arrived with moist but brittle roots and brown leaves. The trees were smaller than I anticipated, but perhaps I didn't read their website carefully enough. I contacted the company about the leaves and they claim that this is normal for winter-time. I'm going to place another order with a website I have more experience with.

My experience with this company very positive. I ordered 7 trees from them by mail and they send me invoice confirmation through e-mail as soon as they received it.
I was very pleased to receive my trees on Friday so that I can plant them over weekend. May be it is just a coinsidence but I like to believe it is planed.
I would only make one suggestion: It would be nice If I have been notified about approximate shipping date.
The trees little bit small but I hope they will grow well.
Thank you for a good work!

My experience overall was positive. Buyers should be prepared when ordering....when they say 3-4 ft lilacs, for example, they mean a 4-foot-long stem and nothing else. Yes, there are many nice buds, but one shouldn't expect to receive a leafy, plant in a 3-gallon plant like those found in a garden center. I think this type of supplier is perfect for those who need to do a large amount of planting without a lot of digging. It will take time for the plants to grow in, so don't expect miracles in just one season. The quality of these bareroot plants was excellent. Sizes were a bit smaller than those promised.

A++
Great stock. I ordered about 100 trees and shrubs this spring and they are all doing well.
Beautifully rooted. Even on the smaller plants the root systems are very well developed.
In addition, the woman who picked up the phone was pleasant and helpful when I called.
I understand some people's frustration about having to reply to the confirmation email but they do it to avoid hassles in case of a need for a replacement or something out of stock. The woman I spoke with explained that sometimes things go out of stock very quickly and they can't keep the site up to date that fast.

OUTSTANDING!!!

I have to honestly say that it was a pleasure to do business with these guys! I ordered two Serviceberry tree's/shrubs back in January after "discovering" the Farm here. My order was immediately confirmed via email with the attached invoice. You MUST confirm the invoice or your order WILL NOT go through, however all is explained on their website

Communication with these guys was great, my emails were ALWAYS replied to within 48hrs which I find more than acceptable for a business

My tree's arrived VERY well packaged in a sturdy box, well taped together. The plants were shipped bare-root in a heavy duty plastic bag, roots were nice and moist and appeared to have only been dug out the ground a couple of days previously, the stems were taped together around a bamboo cane to prevent breakage. The stems already had buds on them and I look forward to watching them open over the coming days and weeks

AAA++++++++++++ for an outstanding experience, will definitely buy from them again

Superb company to buy from. All the trees and shrubs I bought from Craig were fresh, uniform, healthy and superbly packed and moist upon arrival to my door. Once in the ground they took off with fresh growth. They will have all my business in the future.

Mixed review on company. Email ordering caused a problem - they do NOT note in return email that if you don't reply to them they will not send your order. We waited weeks, finally called them, found out our order hadn't been processed. Too late/no time to plant 100 redbuds by then. I did order American bittersweet. Was asked when I wanted it to arrive - and it came as promised. Only one broken whip out of a dozen. Some sprouting, will see how they do this summer. Delayed planting after arrival for two days to avoid a late frost. Husband was very upset by communication problem, which they acknowledged had been an ongoing issue for other customers. The CS guy said they hoped to rework the site/form to be more specific about replies for processing. Seems like an added hassle, but their prices may make it worthwhile.

I just received my merchandise from Cold Stream. I ordered in April, and they got my hawthorn and lilac hedges to me just after the last freeze. Pretty good service what with the crazy spring in Michigan. Everything's alive, healthy looking and in good shape. Most of the bareroot shrubs seem to be larger than the advertised sizes. Very good experience, I'll buy from them again.

I ordered 5 hazelnut trees from Cold Stream Farm. Because of the low prices, I wasn't really expecting much. Well, I received my order today and was really impressed. The trees were as nice or nicer than anything I've ever purchased from a seed company at 5 times the price! They are in the ground now and I'm sure that they'll thrive.
I will definately be ordering from this company again.

I ordered 19 trees from this company (9 species ranging in height from 6" to 2'). They arrived at an appropriate time for planting in my area and are of the utmost quality. All trees have great root systems and the 18-24" giant sequoia I ordered is beautiful with full branches and a calliper almost greater than my thumb. I will deffinately order from this company again. They have a great selection of species at various sizes and offer high quality stock for very low prices.

I purchased a small quantity of White Spruce for reforestation purposes. My order was shipped to me in a matter of days. Best of all, they offered the best price that I could find anywhere online.

I order giant sequoia, bald cypress, and dawn redwood. All arrived in good order in time for spring planting. The company included some extra trees at no cost. Cold Streams offers unique species at very rasonable prices. I am interested to see whether the ginat sequoia will servive here at in south western Michigan

I received 25 snowberry shrubs, 1 American mountain ash, 2 buttonbushes and 1 juneberry seedling from them this spring for only $30. EVERYTHING survived and is doing great, except for the juneberry (due to rabbits, not the company's fault). This fall I am definitely going to order from them again. Prices are more than reasonable, and the plants I received were in excellent condition. The juneberry was a little smaller than listed, but all the other plants were just as listed on their website and had wonderful root systems.