Spring Hill History

In 1849, while thousands sought their gold fortunes in California, Peter Bohlender started a small nursery in North Dayton, Ohio – Bohlenders Nursery. Peter had emigrated from Bavaria with his family at the age of 6. With few schools and no opportunity to attend, he went to work in a tobacco stripping house. Before he reached his teens he was employed by a nurseryman where he received his training for his life’s work.

Peter Bohlender moved his nursery to Tipp City, Ohio in 1889, and during World War I he renamed the nursery Spring Hill Nurseries. He derived the name “Spring Hill” from the hill located across the creek from the present day location of the garden store’s growing area.

Spring Hill Nurseries was originally a wholesale garden store nursery, owning nearly all the property surrounding its present location. Over the next 40 years, Spring Hill slowly began to move out of wholesale and into mail-order. Spring Hill shifted the majority of its focus to mail-order in 1930.

Spring Hill mails its catalogs in the spring and fall seasons. Orders are shipped at the proper planting time for each area of the country. Shipping Schedule. It is estimated that over 25,000,000 American gardens contain Spring Hill grown plants.


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