Comments regarding Spring Hill Nursery (aka SpringHillNursery.com)

I ordered six hydrangea bushes from them; they arrived in perfect condition.

I stopped ordering from Spring Hill years ago because my foxgloves were only pink and white even though it said a mixture. This year, 2001, I ordered Springhill bulbs only from QVC and they came as advertised on T.V. They were big. Of course, the pink daffodils are still more peachy than pink. But since I'm satisfied with everything from QVC, these bulbs look like they will perform well. Two companies behind a product is better than one.

We put in 24 Red Freedom hedge roses from Spring Hill last spring. First our order was shorted by 8 plants. It took Spring Hill almost a month before we received the rest of our order. They had the nerve to try to charge us interest because I wouldn't send in the payment until Ireceived the rest of my order. I finally got that straightened out. Now, the roses did grow nicely because I babied them, watered them a lotand gave them startup fertilizer to get their root system going. However, 3 of the roses were pinks. Spring Hill is supposed to be sending us replacements this month. We'll see if we get them. But what peeves me off the most is that they told me that the hedge roses were hardy to -20 degrees and no covering was required. I thought, geez this is great. Well, I just spend several hours this afternoon cutting backmost of the roses to their crowns because the winter we had here in Wisconsin created a ton of cane die back. I'm upset because the literature claims that these roses will grow into a nice hedge and be 6 feet tall. Well, it's not going to happen that's for sure. So this fall I'm going to have to cover all of them will a soil mound or something. I don't think I'll be ordering anything from them for awhile.UpdateWell, this beats all. Spring Hill has garbage and diseased plants and I actually think they expect no one to notice! I just received myreplacement of 4 Red Freedom Hedge roses. Each one either had crown gall or galls on the roots!! I was flabbergasted! Crown gall spreads to other plants and eventually is fatal so these went out with the trash this last Thursday. So once again I called SH customer service and spoke to a very tired sounding, impatient rep. I told her that I was sent diseased plants and all she could offer me was a replacement for my replacement. I said sure, just as long as they send me healthy plants!I think after this, I'm ordering from someone more reputable or going to my local nursery.

I also agree with the Spring Hill comments. Very good products and wonderful guarantees. I buy every year from them.

My family has ordered from them for years and now that I am a homeowner I too have used them for almost every thing in my yard. I am truly a Spring Hill fan and their customer service is wonderful. And that says a lot, I am a customer service administrator and fully aware of what is good and what is not. All I can say is that I am happy and they will have my business for a long time. People who are not happy must have done something wrong or they are novice gardeners and did not know what they were up against. Please give this fine company a chance to prove themselves.

Spring Hill delivered a lot of plants that are really not good quality and some have died already.

I have been ordering from Breck and occasionally Spring Hill for the last 10 years or better. I have been amazed at the generally consistent quality of the products. Springhill is by far the more difficult, part of this is that they handle root plants and these don't withstand the wait I sometimes put them through. I have had relatively good luck with the plants. Admittedly some of the collections of root plants have clumps which are small and the blooming in the first year is sparse, but the price is quite attractive on these special offers. My response from customer service is always "What would you like to do?" Sometimes I replace and sometimes I order a different item. It never seems to matter to them. I receive what I have requested. The tulip bulbs and the iris have been quite hardy. I take a no fussing approach to gardening and still have had excellent results. I even have taking to planting the bulbs (not rizomes) a full 6 inches deep regardless of type and leaving them in since frost here does not reach that level. Even with not following the instructions closely I have good to excellent results. I have on occasion ordered glads from them on special order and have been quite well pleased with these also. I must admit that I haven't seen these collections for several years now. I just placed an order today and planted several things from them last year. I find them to be a good source for succulent plants. I normally do not choose to shop for bushes or trees from mail order since I prefer to see conformation andstrength and know the age of the plant before buying. When I buy from other sources I get no guarantee and therefore shopping with them is money saving in the long run when things don't go as planned. It is easy to complain, but spending money and having no recourse if quality isn't there isjust shall we say ill-advised. To clarify any cloudiness about references to these companies Breck's is a bulb company and handles bulbs, tubers, rhizomes. Springhill specializes in root plants and some fibrous root plants. Springhill also carries some bushes and shrubs. My comments above can be read with this in mind and should become quite clear. Both companies have given me good service when I request replacement and never question if my poor judgment in planting location or care could have been the problem. The results I have had with each company is comparable and I tend to look at them as almost one. I will even call one for the service number of the other and get customer friendly referral.

I ordered some plants last year from spring hill and was very impressed with the way they arrived in pots well started and they didn't bloom the first year but the foliage looked very healthy and the bases got really large. They are already looking good this year. Everything lived and survived the winter except a couple of the carnations due to the rabbits. I ordered again and more this year. Keep up the good work.

I have had bad luck with Spring Hill. Maybe sharing information on the Internet will help good quality nurseries to continue to send good stock and inform the not so good quality nurseries to send good stock. Shipping at the right time and packaging for ease of planting is a plus.

I have ordered several times from Spring Hill and have never once had a plant die. They turned out great for several years. I always had compliments from all of our neighbor son how beautiful our plants were. Gardening takes patience and a lot of time and energy. People cannot plant the bulbs, and do nothing and expect them not to die.

I ordered from these people last year. By this summer, none of the plants were living. I asked for a replacement, then a credit and finally a refund. I never heard back from them at all by the fourth request. Their "lifetime guarantee" is a joke. I would never order from these people again. They sell defective plants and obviously have no intention of backing their guarantee. I refuse delivery of their catalogs.

I bought my first house in the spring of 2000, and one of the "housewarming gifts" I got in the mail was a deal from Spring Hill Nursery offering some of their basic plants at a two-for-one price. I figured the price couldn't be beat, so I ordered a few plants -- my very first catalog plant order. The plants arrived quickly, well packaged, and I planted them the same day I got them. [Several plants] grew like crazy this summer, and I'm very happy with them. But the creeping phlox and lavender died within two weeks of planting, and the Canterbury bells produced only one bloom all summer.I know Spring Hill has a return policy for plants that don't perform, but I'm not going to bother with it -- The remaining plants are stilldoing very well, and I still saved a lot of money on them. I ordered Spring Hill's hosta collection for spring planting -- We'll see how they do. But so far, no real complaints about this company.

I have had good experiences when ordering from Spring Hill. I have purchased bare root perennials from them, and they've all performedbeautifully. The key word that customers need to read here is "bare root". Many of Spring Hill's plants are bare root divisions, and areoften shipped dormant to reduce stress to the plant. This is why it looks like you're receiving a dead plant. If planted immediately, as per their instructions, most plants will thrive. I will generally only order something from them that I can't find here locally. I'm happy to pay their low price and receive a division. One note about receiving a bare root division: you may not get results the first year. If I have to wait for bloom on a bare root plant that wasn't available for sale in myarea, I can live with that. Three years after my last order, my perennials from Spring Hill are huge, healthy clumps that I can now divide and move around in my garden. Don't rely solely on the opinion of the company's catalog when you see a plant that you are not familiar with. Do some research. Look that plant up in a book. See if it's everything that the company says it is.

We live in a new house and have lots of shade. I liked the idea of buying prepackaged gardens with size and color coordination as well as layout information and proper plant placement and spacing. They also offer comments on which plants are liked by deer or not. I knew that I could always add to that basic garden once it was established. And, no, I was not surprised by the size of the plants. I haven't seen this much information from any other catalog. If anyone knows of another service like this, please let me know. As for results - I ordered very late and didn't get my $350 worth of stuff until late May or early June, 2001. All but a campanula made it and now (mid-Aug)looks pretty good. The garden is beautiful. I also had the Flowering Shade Garden which was mostly bulbs and roots. Two ferns were growing plants. I had to wait nearly a month to plant them in early July. (I stored them in a plastic bag in the spare refrigerator.) Even though they were planted late, all of the hostas and astilbe are doing well (the ferns were not so lucky.) They might have made it, but I opted to purchase large growing replacements at a local nursery. Finally, I had ordered two Golden Chain trees. As I said, the order was placed late, and these trees were shipped in late June, probably too late to give such small sticks much chance to live. They did not - one never quite knows if constant care is what is required or some neglect - I watered every third day, but they didn't have much root system, and never developed any new growth or leaves, and finally died. My order was taken efficiently and shipped promptly even though late in the spring. They made one substitution that was OK. There were a few deaths, but the lateness of my order and my delays may have contributed to some of that. They were quite gracious in agreeing to send a refund as it was too late to send replacement plants. I got $72 in refunds for plants that must have cost less than $20. I was trying to call to tell them that they had refunded too much but that I had two dead trees when I ran into the constant busy signals and lack of access to the web site. I guess I am lucky to get what I got! I'm sorry to see them go because I think their catalog provides more information and help in selecting plants than most. Maybe they will return in a new life after bankruptcy. At any rate, I plan to keep my catalog and use it for other new gardens that I will plan for the future. I have ample sources for plants. The problem is knowing how they will grow and look when mature. I'll miss Spring Hill's help in that regard.

I wanted to order some plants from Spring Hill before the spring early summer season this year. I contacted their customer service department for a total of five times, each time requesting that a catalog be sent to my new address. After 2-3 weeks between each request I would call them again asking where my catalog was and they gave me excuses each time. I told them I had been a very good customer in the past ordering large amounts of plants and spending a good sum of money. They kept telling me it takes about 8 weeks to get a catalog and I should order online. I kept explaining I wanted to order from the catalog. I asked to speak to a supervisor on three different occasions and finally after 4 months of requesting a catalog received both the fall and spring/summer catalog. By that time of course I could no longer order from the spring catalog which is why I called them in the first place.I order many things by catalog and online, and have never been so disappointed with a customer service department before. My next order with this company will not be in this lifetime.

I also placed an order with Spring Hill. The packaging is very professional, everything is so well protected and boxed. Out of 8 hydrangeas I ordered 3 did ok at first and then died. I called customer service and they just put me down immediately for fall replacements. I definitely would re-order again from Spring Hill.

I ordered, for the first time, flowers from Springhill. First, I called to find out when my order of plants would arrive, since my check cleared. The woman handling my phone call could not tell me where my order was only that it was in processing. She could not tell me if it had been shipped or not. Second, my home address was correct on the catalog label I used to order my plants. The letter I received notifying me of my order has been placed had the wrong address. Last, my phone conversation got me nowhere. The following Tuesday I received my order. The plants were half dead. I have written a few letters with no response from the nursery I feel this is a huge rip-off to me and the public to order a product to get bad service and product.

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!

Yes, their plants are immature/small but prices are good, and they have ALWAYS honored my requests for replacements, refunds or credit. I do agree that the "Pollyanna" routine is given in the catalogue and good basic advice is lacking. I use books/magazine sources for information (a bit more objective and pragmatic) and repot/nurse plants along for part of the season and once they have a substantive root system, THEN I plant them. I have a GREAT success rate with their merchandise…

I was very concerned when I learned that the parent company of Spring Hill Nurseries is the same as the New Holland Bulb Company. My concern is that the lavender plants I ordered from Spring Hill Nurseries might end up being a dud too. One wonders if the same companies are tricking consumers with constant name changes. Consumers would be wise to contact their newspapers to inform them about companies that they are advertising are ripping consumers off!

I ordered red freedom hedge roses from Spring Hill - got a good price through QVC - and ordered 6 sub zero roses, joans blood carnations, primroses and violas directly from Spring Hill. The bareroot roses are terrific - they have been in the ground about 6 weeks and have survived 2 unexpected frosts and are doing well.The perennials though were all pretty much dead when they arrived - they had been shipped the day after the Northeast got slammed with a late April snowstorm so they had to travel through frosts. Bad timing on Spring Hill's part (although they assure you they monitor weather patterns). Even if they had arrived alive it was another week before the snows melted and the ground was ready for planting.Called Spring Hill and they told me they would send replacements for the flowers. It took 4 weeks to get them - they arrived the day I left for a three day trip and by the time I got home they too were dead. Have called again and asked for a refund -they are very nice and are crediting me for the flowers. The flowers come well packaged and perhaps these two instances were flukes but the plants did look awfully small compared to things I have seen in localnurseries (although 3 times the price but for next year probably worth it). The hedge roses arrived in the typical Spring Hill (great) packaging - they were very small and I think perhaps 3 years for full hedges will be a bitoptimistic - Have had 2 flowers in 2 months and am suffering black spots right now in all of these plants but they look pretty healthy otherwise and hopefully they will morph into plants resembling hedges sometime soon.Am pretty pleased with the experience on the whole (their customer service made the dead plant thing not such a big deal) and will continue to order roses and perhaps try my hand at other types of plants next year from Spring Hill.

I have made a big order from Spring Hill last year. I was very disappointed by the size of the plants that were shipped to me. I planted every thing but I did not believe that some plants would survive because they looked weird. I called and complained they promptly shipped me more of what ever I asked for. There was no shipping fees for replacements. Everything took finally. I would order more from them if their plants were bigger. I returned a weigela and a dwarf Lilac, which were just ridiculous in size. They do not ship bare root which makes it easier to plant for novice gardeners.

I am a novice gardener - and a lazy one at that. However, I ordered three garden collections from Springhill two years ago, and am more than happy with the results. My butterfly garden draws butterflies, my red garden attracts hummingbirds, and my mailbox garden draws bees, much to the dismay of my mail carrier. Out of the 50 or so plants that I received, I think maybe one didn't came back the following year? I don't think they deserve the placement in your "avoid" list at all.

I have one major complaint about this company: while I understand that they ship from different places and ship according to growing season, they still need to demonstrate a little logic with how their partial orders are shipped. 1. My butterfly/hummingbird garden was shipped sans the butterfly bush and the garden plan. Since this is a corner plan, the butterfly bush needs to be planted at the very back and I'm not expert or agile enough to try planting the bush after everything else. The entire garden had to wait for four days for the bush and garden plans to arrive.2. My container plants: a lemon tree and 2 sets of Goliath everbearing strawberries were all shipped without the containers. It was over a week before the containers arrived and I *still* haven't gotten one of the strawberry containers.I called them to place an order for two more azalea bushes and spoke to them about the missing container. To Spring Hill's credit, they air-freighted me 25 strawberry plants (I had only ordered 3 + the container) to replace the ones sitting in my fridge. These plants arrived six days ago, but I STILL don't have the missing container! They say it's in route along with the two extra azaleas I ordered and should be here at the beginning of this week (it's already Wednesday and they'd better be here today).In summary, I'd rate Spring Hill four stars. Their plants were well-packaged and arrived in excellent condition via US Mail Priority Post. Of all that I ordered, two complete gardens, six bushes and the container plants, only 1 item I planted seems to be dead -- one of the strawberry plants.

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 only ordered for the first time this fall and received my order on time. I was sent one plant in error, with one plant that I ordered not received. I called their customer service and was able to keep the plant sent by mistake and had the correct plant in a few days. The packaging was very good and all of my plants were in good condition. A little small, but it is my understanding that they establish better that way. While the true test will be this Spring, it seems as if everything established before Winter and most of the plants are still pretty green now (in February - Zone 6). I read several comments about how the garden pictures are deceiving since all plants do not bloom at once. However, the individual plant descriptions do include the bloom period. I placed a large order for delivery this Spring based upon my good experience with them. I hope my luck holds out!

I have ordered with good results from Breck's and Spring Hill. Both have good customer service with prompt refunds of plants that aren't satisfactory. Plants usually arrive in excellent condition for planting.

DO NOT RECOMMEND - I ordered about $300 worth of pre-assembled garden arrangements last year and was very disappointed with the results. I placed several orders and every order arrived with at least half of the plants dead. Yes, they were good about replacing the plants but the problem was that after you plant half of the plants, you forget where exactly to place the ones that come later on. Subsequently, I have large unsightly gaps in my gardens and will probably unearth all the bulbs and start from scratch with another company. In addition, the garden does not bloom anywhere close to the colorful illustrations in their catalog.

Never again with Spring Hill! I have asked them to remove my name from their mailing list. I ordered 2 years in a row. First year was ok.Plants did fair and they will go ahead I think and do well. Last spring I ordered in plenty of time. When my plants finally came, every one was moldy. I called them, had trouble with customer service and asked them to cancel the rest of my order since it was too late in the season. They told me to repackage everything and return it for a refund. Later I get the bill. I call them again and tell them I was paying for only the 2 lilac bushes and the 6 plant hoops and to cancel the rest of the order. She told me she couldn't do that…She said their software wouldn't let her do a cancellation. I told her I was refusing to accept them with USPS. This billing and me calling thing went on for 2 more weeks and I finally called again and I got a young man customer service rep. I explained the dilemma to him. He checked in the computer for my order and canceled the remainder of the order…Finally after many weeks and much frustration and me practically threatening with the local State's Attorney, they did what I asked. My general opinion is buying where I can pick them out myself is more expensive but that way if I bring home bad plants, I am the one responsible for spending my money on bad stuff. I doubt I'll order plants and stuff by mail again, from anyone. Too much hassle.

I've purchased plants from Spring Hill annually for several years with very good satisfaction and results. The plants are small, but I prefer this over large plants that tend to get broken in transit or set back more easily. This year I had a slight problem ordering a collection of mini daylilies. I requested billing upon delivery, but was a bit surprised to begin to get 'second notices' and warnings about debt collectors even before I got the shipment!!! I phoned and got an immediate apology, plus a request as to whether I still wanted the plants. I said yes, and received an excellent, and very reasonably priced collection, about a week later. I have had perhaps a 1% loss rate from Spring Hill plants, or from any mail order nursery for that matter. Spring Hill replaces upon any complaint. Heck, they sent me a partial replacement shipment when I complained that my mixed color spiderworts all came out pink. The replacements at least included one blue among the pinks. But mixes can be like throwing dice: You can still get a run of snake eyes!Spring Hill's roses are the biggest, huskiest plants I have ever seen offered. I continue to buy roses from them, with great satisfaction. They are at least 1-1/2 times as husky as J&P's roses, and are quite nicely labeled, shipped, and priced…

I have had extreme success with Spring Hill and will continue to go to them for my flowers, trees and shrubs. They're available 24hours/7 days a week with an 800 number! When placing an order they offer you several payment options and also a credit option with their company. The items I've ordered in the past came at the correct time for my zone planting and in great shape. Once, I even received the incorrect flowers and they immediately shipped me the correct ones and I even got to keep the incorrect items as well!I have recently moved into a new home and have sent in a $200 plus order with Spring Hill. They will continue to get my business whether I stay in this home or move again. Call and request a free catalog. It's worth it. Maybe if more companies listened to customer complaints they would realize that word of mouth is the most effective and inexpensive way to advertise.Plus, it makes us all feel better in the end!

Although I realize they are not a quality plant company, I have found that for your most basic and common selections, nobody can beat them price-wise. I only order plants which I know are hardy and not too fussy as to conditions. I can get a lot of bang for my buck, so-to-speak, especially when it comes to ground covers. I haven't had anything I've ordered from them die yet, and I can't say that about any other mail-order company I've used!

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 ordered rose hedges from Spring Hill. Of the 24, only 12 were growing. I notified the customer service dept. and they replaced the entire order. Best of all, the replacements were older, so they were already growing quite well. They look great and have grown as advertised. The customer service dept. can sometimes be inconsistent- one employee will seem much more knowledgeable than another but that is any business.

I have had very good interactions with Spring Hill. Their plants are healthy when delivered and are blooming well in their first flowerbeds. When 2 of them did not thrive, I called Customer Service, stated that the plants did not bloom, and was promptly sent 3 plants even though I only had 1 wither away; this was executed without a lengthy inquiry about my care of them, soil condition, etc. I have found their staff to be courteous and pleasant. I also am pleased with the options for payment and have not yet been charged on a credit card prior to receiving my plants. While I'm at it, I would like to offer an endorsement for one of Spring Hill's products -- the Advanced Formula Plant Food. THAT STUFF IS GREAT! I mix some of it into the planting hole or my peat pots and my plants are thriving.

On my brother's advice I tried some other companies who send you a bill when you receive your plants and you don't pay if you are not satisfied. One of these companies is Spring Hill; I have had very good experiences with them, and when I did have a problem I called the 800 number and was treated with respect and sent a replacement immediately.

From Springhill I received many perennials from way, way too early for this part of Georgia. I called and said it was too early but they said it was ok to put in the ground. I put everything either in the refrigerator, the basement or in a sunny window spritzing with water. Then planted when I felt it was right - around Easter time frame. Everything except one Russian Sage and 2 Red Husker Penstemon has perished and 2 Canna, which are now up to 1 foot tall and healthy looking. The Russian Sage died before I even got it in the ground - I called and they sent replacements but it took around 2 months).I did order a special (Wiegela); they came in larger 4" pots. I gave one tree to the neighbor and then planted the other. It is doing very, very well.As far as the Russian Sage goes, because they took so long to send the replacement I did not have time to put it in the ground and it has perished as well.I will still purchase bulbs from Spring Hill… and will only purchase 4" pots from Springhill.

After receiving Spring Hill catalogs for several years, I thought I would place a order for a variety of plants. What a disaster. The firsthoneysuckle that was sent was about 4 inches tall and half dead. They gladly replaced it with a taller honeysuckle that was completely dead. I had placed quite a large order ($300) and canceled the entire thing. Customer service said that they had caught my cancellation in time and I would not be receiving any of the plants but boxes started showing up anyway. In their defense, they gladly credited my credit card for the entire amount and did not want the plants returned to them. They said I could throw them out, plant them or give them to charity. In the condition the plants are in, I'll be throwing them out. I went to several local nurseries in our area (Denver) and found the exact plants, bushes and vines that I had ordered - much bigger, healthier and cheaper. My advice - unless you are buying seeds or garden implements, stay away from buying live, perishable plants through the mail. Spring Hill informed me that one shipment was sent May 6 and I didn't receive it until May 13 - a full week without air, light or water. No wonder they were dead upon arrival. Buyer beware.