BEWARE OF

J C Hill Tree Farms

There are many honorable businessmen and Tree Farms in the Schuylkill County Area.

J C Hill is not one of them!!

As we learned too late, we have become part of a chain of buyers who have been ripped off & swindled by
J C Hill Tree Farms.

Many have experiences similar to what happened to us in 2007-2008.

In late fall of 2007, we purchased 10 maple trees from J C Hill Tree Farms. The trees were planted around November 1st, under the supervision of Jeff Hill, the owner of J C Hill Tree Farms.

We understood we had a one year warranty. However, Mr. Hill never put anything in writing. In fact he never gave us a receipt for the payment we gave him.

By August of 2008, while still under warranty, the trees dropped most of their leaves. We contacted Mr. Hill and he assured us that the trees were perfectly fine, and that he would replace the trees if they died. Hill told us all we needed was some 10-10-10 fertilizer to revive.

We immediately purchased the fertilizer and applied it around each tree.

By the Spring, 2009, the trees were all dead!
All 10 of Them!!!

You can imagine our disappointment when we called Mr. Hill, and he told us, "Sorry, your year is over!! The trees probably froze to death over the winter. Under those conditions, we cannot honor the warranty.'

We learned that Mr. Hill was a swindler, when we discovered trees identical to ours on his tree farm, just 5 miles on the other side of the mountain from our home...doing just fine. (We live on the South side of Hawk Mountain. Mr. Hill's Tree Farm, where our trees were dug, is located on the North Side of Hawk Mountain).

So, why did all of our maple trees die, while all of Mr. Hill's trees continue to thrive?

We soon learned the answer. We called Penn State Extension and spoke with 2 master gardeners, and studied all the information they sent us. After looking at the trees, noticing that all of them had some foliage on the bottom and none on the top, Penn State told us that Mr. Hill never unwrapped or removed the metal baskets used to transport our trees. The Penn State experts told us, that the roots "girdled" or bundled together, actually starving the trees of nutrients.

Penn State forwarded to us Bulletins, warning growers not to plant trees without first opening or removing these metal baskets

We were stunned!! We immediately dug around our trees, and sure enough...Penn State was correct. We found metal baskets tightly wound around all the trunks, beneath the soil line.

Mr. Hill refused to provide us new trees. He refused to refund our money. He even refused to supply us new trees which we would have gladly planted, by a local and reputable landscaper, at our expense.

Mr. Hill is a swindler!! Avoid doing business with him at all cost. You will be sorry!!

Many landscapers, as we have found out, avoid buying stock from him because of his business practices.

A word to the wise; Avoid financial loss. Don't do business with J C Hill Tree Farms.