Comments regarding Nature Hills Nursery

I have ordered 155 trees from Nature Hills Thus far my service has been a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. I've had a very difficult schedule of delivery and the company has done everything in its power to please me. When I order again Nature Hills will definitely get my business.

DC WALLACE

Cindy was wonderful! I sent her a picture of the garden I wanted to plant, and she advised me what would look the best. The plants arrived on time, and in great condition. My husband and I planted them in December, and look forward to seeing them bloom in the spring. I would rate them 100%.

This past year I purchased 2 Red Maple trees from Nature Hills. 1 was an Autumn Blaze and another was an October Glory. The Autumn Blaze took off well the October Glory seemed to do the same but after 3 months went south and died. I contacted Nature Hills and was told when fall came I would get another tree. Fall arrived and the tree came but UPS had bent the box snapping the tree. Nature Hills sent out another 2 trees over a 2-month period because each time UPS had damaged the package. Finally I received a tree by Fed Ex and the tree was in great condition. In fact Nature Hills refunded my money for that one tree and still gave me a free tree for all the problems that I had. The problems were not caused by Nature Hills but to make sure I was happy and taken care of they did the right thing. I would and will buy from the again, thanks.

I recently ordered 225 bare root lombardy poplar trees from Nature Hills. The trees plus the associated planting aids were received in two separate shipments on time and when promised. All of the trees were in good condition. The roots were damp and covered in moss. The personnel at Nature Hills were very courteous and helpful with good advice on the proper handling and planting of the trees. It was a pleasure doing business with Nature Hills Nursery.

I purchased an Eastern Redbud, Ginko, Northern Catalpa, and one support stake on Saturday, December 4, 2004. I received an immediate response from Nature Hills Nursery confirming my order, showing an itemized statement with pictures and the total price. Quantum View notified me when the orders were shipped on December 12th and 13th including the tracking information. The trees were in excellent condition and are planted and doing great. This company is well organized and has its act together. I was well informed from start to finish. An error on my part resulting in the "eating humble pie/cake," was quickly resolved in a courteous and professional manner by Nature Hills Nursery's customer service. I highly recommend this company.

I noticed several negative posts about this company and thought I should post
with my positive experience. I got three fruit trees, three roses and a Chinese
Wisteria from Nature Hills Nursery last spring. This last summer the fruit trees
grew about 10 feet. I was amazed. They were very large caliper and I believe they
will produce fruit in only the second year of being planted. The roses were
hybrid teas and grew really fast after planting. They bloomed at about 5 feet tall
and my wife loves looking at them outside our bedroom window in the morning.
The Chinese Wisteria grew 2 feet in the first month I had it...I actually had to prune
it back several times during the summer as I want to use it more as a tree than
a vine. I would purchase products from this company anytime. I am very
pleased.

My experience with Nature Hills was great. I received all the info I needed concerning my order, ship dates etc. I did have a concern about 2 of the trees I had ordered and received great customer service from Cindy.
The trees arrived in good shape, packaged in a well designed cardboard box. I also got a couple of plants that were packaged well and in good shape. All trees and plants are doing fine and I have another order coming in the spring.
I would encourage anyone that has had a problem to give this company another try. If they had any problems in the past they certainly have been corrected, just ask for Cindy.
The web site is informative and easy to use along with a great selection of products.

I ordered 2 rose bushes from Nature Hills Nursery in summer of 2004. They were delivered bare root, but in decent shape with plenty of root. They were packaged well, in fact, the best I've ever seen a bare root plant packaged. I planted them promptly. One in a rose garden, and one in a pot. Both flourished this summer giving me many blooms. I expect them to grow bigger next year and do just as well.

When I contacted the company for planting instructions, I found them to be very informative and knowledgeable. They told me to call back if I had any problems or other questions concerning the plants.

I will definitely do business with them again when I decide to add more plants to my landscaping.

Thank you Nature Hills!

I have purchased several trees from Nature Hills over two different seasons. (Spring and fall). The trees (planted in the spring and the fall) all are doing very well. I had a few questions before I made my purchases so I called their customer service number and I found them to be very helpful. The plants arrived in good condition and they immediately took off once they were planted. I plan to order more trees from them next spring.

I ordered several plants from Nature Hills as gifts for my mother and grandmother. The service I received when I contacted them with questions was outstanding. The plants arrived when I expected them to, and were in great condition. I would definitely order from them again, and encourage everybody to do so as well.

I have used Nature Hills for three orders. Everything arrived on time and as described. So far, everything is still alive and healthy. I would certainly recommend Nature Hills to anyone (and I have already done so!). They've answered all my questions and done exactly as promised. They're my go to company!

I was going to wait till spring to post, but after seeing the negatives, and the couple positives, i believe i will post now.

I ordered 1/ea if the following on Aug 23rd 2004
Hibiscus - Crown Jewels
Hibiscus - Eruption
Hibiscus - Fireball
Hibiscus - Old Yella

i also emailed the company, i explained that i was worried and was going to keep an eye on the order, seeing as there were negatives posted here that left me feeling uncomfortable.

i was sent a return email, Pete Sharp @ 1-888.864.7663 x 102 (v) responded requesting i call him directly. He not only answered all my questions. The personal phone call, follow up, left me feeling warm n fuzzy about the order being fine.

All was great. I rec'd my plants in late fall. The packaging was by far the most protected i had ever seen. The plants inside were A-ok, one was a little dry but that was more from the transit than anyhthing else, he perked up right away.

All the plants are currently in the ground, and have gone dormant for my chicago winter. they should break ground again late in the spring, and i look forward to their rising.

i must say, i will definately order from this company again. The personal touch was there. The plants were just as strong and healthy as my local green house. i was very pleased.

Should they not survive my winter... thats another story

i will update this should they not survive.

About a week ago, we got a big box from Nature Hills Nursery. I've been ordering lots of stuff for the garden, so I wasn't very surprised -- I just didn't remember what I'd ordered from this particular place. Opening the box, I found five Variegated Weigela and a Red Prince Weigela. Nice healthy plants, carefully packaged and all intact.

But I, for the life of me, couldn't remember ordering weigela!

I dug through everything until I found the packing slip, and discovered that the shrubs were supposed to have gone to a lady in Fairfax, New Jersey. Ah, a shipping error. But what had I ordered that probably went to the New Jersey lady?

Fortunately, I keep all of my online receipts. I dug through them to find out that last June I'd ordered a witch hazel, a lilac, and a false indigo bush, all scheduled for fall delivery.

I called Nature Hills and talked to Pete, in customer service. Who apologized profusely. Took all my information and asked if I could use the weigela's since it would be too expensive, and not good for the shrubs, to ship them back. And that he would track down my order and get it right out to me. He was very nice.

On Monday, Pete called me back. Said he was working on getting my shipment out, but, he apologized, the witch hazel was all gone for the fall -- did I want to cancel it or backorder it for spring delivery. I really want the witch hazel, so I told him to just send it in the spring. Then he said, "please go online and look through the catalog and pick out something and we'll send that to you free." Wow! That's a great way to apologize! I didn't need to look -- I just asked him if he had a mimosa tree (silk tree). That's my choice. He said, "Sure, but I might not be able to ship it for fall planting." Fine by me.

The bottom line is Nature Hills does customer service right. I didn't expect the free plant as a gift, just courteous service as they fixed the mistake. This company went above and beyond and, as a result, they've earned my loyalty and my future business -- I have a lot more to order in the spring.

I bought 9 Betula nigra 'Heritage' from Nature Hills last spring (5/2004); they came as bare root whips about 4' tall, and had not broken bud yet. True, they weren't the best root systems: nice big "J"s that you get when things are planted in a furrow, but I dusted them with root stimulant (mycorrhizae and kelp etc.) and they have done beautifully: the largest is now (10/2004) over 8' high and the bark is already exfoliating a bit; the rest are 5'+ to 7'.

I had bought from them this spring and the ones I selected were sent as sticks, poor root systems. I spoke to them and was told to wait until fall if I was still unhappy!

I am about to call them now,and I will see what the wait period is now as they refused to refund as I was more than willing to send the sticks back! Poor roots isnt the word! All are dead as I expected I bought the bigger plants also and all were very small sticks! Over $100 is nothing to throw away. I will not buy again, and I see why they did change there name also! I feel they are very unproffesional and will not see me again!
Cindy

"We just found this great website and your feedback. We will be monitoring all posts frequently and responding on a more timely basis. As to your specific post, admittedly we did experience some unforeseen growing pains this last year. I知 sorry you did not receive the service you had expected. As evidenced by our Positive posts, we strive to offer excellent customer service and quality plants. May we have a chance to prove our company once again? May I send you a gift certificate at our expense? We truly believe we can meet your expectations! We await your decision. Thank you for the opportunity to address your concerns. "

I ordered from them last Fall. I did not see the no- cancellation policy either. They shipped my trees way later than they had indicated that they would. When it got later and later in the year I became frustrated and wanted to cancel the order, which I was not allowed to do. They were also rude about this. When I got the trees they had poor root systems. I did a search on them here last yeat but they were then 2shoptrees.com and I did'nt see them listed. I looked them up tonight and realized that they had changed their name. Little wonder with their crappy customer service!

"We just found this great website and your feedback. We will be monitoring all posts frequently and responding on a more timely basis. As to your specific post, admittedly we did experience some unforeseen growing pains this last year. I知 sorry you did not receive the service you had expected. As evidenced by our Positive posts, we strive to offer excellent customer service and quality plants. May we have a chance to prove our company once again? May I send you a gift certificate at our expense? We truly believe we can meet your expectations! We await your decision. Thank you for the opportunity to address your concerns. "

I ordered 3 trees and 6 nandina shrubs from these people. I expected potted plants, but I received them bare-root. Only one of the trees had a good root system. But that one had the top cut out of it! It will never have a good shape. The others appeared to have been yanked from their growing medium and were too frail to plant in the landscape. We potted them. The dogwood promptly died, but we able to plant the bald cypress after 2 1/2 months being nurtured in the pot.

The nandinas were match sticks about 8" long. Only one had a leaf. Three survived. Eventually they may be of quality to plant in the landscape. (These sticks were more expensive than one gallon size nandinas at our local nurseries.)

The first time I called they refused to even talk about it until a month after delivery. When I called back the customer service person had to refer me to someone else, who called back. Then they had no authority to refund any money. (I don't want any more rootless sick plants from them.) They had to talk to the "boss." Days or weeks later we got a message on the answering machine that they were going to send some nandinas in November.

The whole experience was an expensive mistake. Local nurseries would have provided the same varities potted and larger for the same or a lesser price.

"We just found this great website and your feedback. We will be monitoring all posts frequently and responding on a more timely basis. As to your specific post, admittedly we did experience some unforeseen growing pains this last year. I知 sorry you did not receive the service you had expected. As evidenced by our Positive posts, we strive to offer excellent customer service and quality plants. May we have a chance to prove our company once again? May I send you a gift certificate at our expense? We truly believe we can meet your expectations! We await your decision. Thank you for the opportunity to address your concerns. "

I received my plant material shortly after placed an order with Nature Hills.
The packing materials used were difficult to disentangle from some of the plants. Within two weeks of planting two thirds of the plants were dead.
Correspondence with Nature Hills was prompt and pleasant. My money was returned within a reasonable amount of time.

"We just found this great website and your feedback. We will be monitoring all posts frequently and responding on a more timely basis. As to your specific post, admittedly we did experience some unforeseen growing pains this last year. I知 sorry you did not receive the service you had expected. As evidenced by our Positive posts, we strive to offer excellent customer service and quality plants. May we have a chance to prove our company once again? May I send you a gift certificate at our expense? We truly believe we can meet your expectations! We await your decision. Thank you for the opportunity to address your concerns. "

I'm very disappointed in this company, and have had the absolute worst online mail order experience with them. I ordered an Autumn Purple ash tree (from 2shoptrees.com) in the summer of 2003 for fall delivery. When November came and I still hadn't received my tree, I e-mailed them to find out what the problem was. I received a rather nasty e-mail back telling me that shipping for zones up to 6 had ended, and shipping for zones 3-5 (I'm in zone 5) wouldn't occur until Spring of 2004.

In January of 2004, I received an e-mail from Nature Hills Nursery stating that they would ship my tree in mid-March. First of all, I didn't have any idea who Nature Hills Nursery was - I ordered from 2shoptrees.com. Second, shipping to zone 5 in mid-March is a death sentence for a plant. I told them to ship the first week of May instead; to their credit, they did wait.

Now for the real issue. Between when they sent me the shipping schedule and when the tree was to be shipped, ash trees in SW Michigan have been devastated by the Emerald Ash Borer. There is a ban on purchasing or selling ash trees in this area, and thousands of trees have been cut down and destroyed. As soon as I found this out, I e-mailed this company, TWICE, explaining the situation, and requesting either a different type of tree or a refund; I never got any response whatsoever, and yesterday, I got a lovely 4' Autumn Purple ash tree in the mail. If I get caught with this tree, I will be in trouble. If it gets infected with borers, it will be cut down. Thanks for nothing, Nature Hills Nursery!

"We just found this great website and your feedback. We will be monitoring all posts frequently and responding on a more timely basis. As to your specific post, admittedly we did experience some unforeseen growing pains this last year. I知 sorry you did not receive the service you had expected. As evidenced by our Positive posts, we strive to offer excellent customer service and quality plants. May we have a chance to prove our company once again? May I send you a gift certificate at our expense? We truly believe we can meet your expectations! We await your decision. Thank you for the opportunity to address your concerns. "

Outstanding dealing with this company.

They let me know when my order shipped and when it would arrive. It arrived on time as I requested and as they said.

The trees were bigger than I expected and, so far, appear outstanding.

I have been around and around with this company in regard to a rather large order. They were unable to tell me when the order would be shipped - even what YEAR all the plants would be shipped! So I told them I wanted to cancel. It was only then that I was told about a "no cancellations" policy. This policy is indeed in the fine print which you only see during the check-out process, but I hadn't seen it. (The fact that all the plants are bare-root is similarly difficult to find.)

Since I had paid by American Express, I told them I would be asking them to handle the refund. Finally, the person at 2shop trees said I could have 75% of my money back, but no more because Amex charges him 3% for refunds. He did refund 75% of my order price (after about 25 e-mails from both myself and my husband) and I am now pursuing the remaining refund through Amex.

I have yet to discover another garden company which refuses flat-out to give refunds. The 2shoptrees site is all over the web, and it makes me sick to think that other people might have to go through the same thing I did.