Southern Bulb Company

Posted on August 21, 2020, updated October 8, 2021 Wow, was that fast! I placed an order for the first time with the Southern Bulb Company on August 15th, 2020. My bulbs arrived today, August 21st. I am very happy with the speed of my order. I had made a note on the order I wanted them ASAP, and that is exact what I got. Thank You! I planted the Oxblood lilies this afternoon. I will get the spider lilies in the ground tomorrow. After reading the good reviews here at Garden WatchDog, I ordered 10 red spider lilies, 10 yellow spider lilies, and 3 red oxblood lilies. All were much larger and fresher looking than similar bulbs when they are offered for sale in mid to late September in the local nurseries. I also have not found any oxblood lilies in local nurseries. I used to have an orangy colored one, that came with our old house, that I didn't realize how rare it was, and it was sadly a hidden causalty in a demo for a patio expansion. The prices were very affordable for these hard to find items. I bought a few other spider lily bulbs three years ago at a local nursery and they are doing well in my garden, generally under summer drought conditions in SoCal. At the time, I was hesitant to spend lots of money on bulbs that might not like my climate, but the spider lilies were stunning last fall and it was time to buy more. I can not yet report on blooms, since it may take a few years for them to settle in and be happy enough to bloom. I will try post photos of the spider lilies at my blog, Hanbury House when they bloom. But based on freshness, packaging, selection to choose from, price, and speed of shipping, I am a happy customer and I would highly recommend Southern Bulb Company to fellow gardeners in SoCal. I will order from them again in the future.

Our bulb order arrived in one week, carefully packed. Fat, firm, healthy-looking bulbs, and a few extra thrown in. My husband and I enjoyed the owner's book, The Bulb Hunter, and appreciate Southern Bulb Company's offering fine-quality, heirloom bulbs.

I ordered only a few days ago, and my crinum bulb arrived today. That was FAST and packaging was exceptional. I only ordered regular, but received a nice large bulb with a green sprout already emerging. I promptly planted it after retrieving it form my dog. Fortunately it was securely packaged and no damage was done.😍😍 I love crinums as they survive every kind of weather that Deep East Texas can throw at them . In our climate they bloom off and on from late Spring until frost. I look forward to the bright colors of this Ellen Bosanquet variety.

I ordered a jumbo-sized Mrs. James Hendry crinum, just like the previous reviewer mentioned. It arrived within 2-3 days in great condition. It was the first of only a few of several crinum bulbs I've planted this season.

I just received my first order today. A jumbo “Mrs. James Hendry” Crinum bulb. It is a huge bulb with a sweet pup attached. I am very happy with my purchase and highly recommend this company.

Ordered some Rhodophiala bifida (Oxblood Lily) bulbs. They arrived quickly and were well packaged and very nice bulbs. Will order again from this company. Great communication, too.

I ordered 9 bulbs and was thrilled with the quality of their bulbs. They have hard to find heirloom bulbs for Texas. I will order from them again. The were out of the Tiger Lily. They are very proactive and professional in their business. Delivery was fast. Customer service is great.

Ordered some Rhodophiala bifida from this company. Bulbs still had some of the green foilage from the growing season so it doesn't get much fresher than that. All bulbs were healthy and prices for these bulbs were cheaper than I've seen elsewhere. Shipping was prompt and reasonably priced.

I have not received bulbs yet, but I experienced very good customer service regarding a gift order I placed. The company called to let me know that an order I had placed (to be shipped later in the year) might not work well, and suggested a couple of alternative solutions.

Last year I placed an order with Southern Bulb Company for daffs and tulips. The daffs performed beautifully, but the Texas Tulips failed. I received an unsolicited email from the company asking how the bulbs had performed, so responded with the Texas Tulips failure. They said they would send replacements and that it might take several months, and I didn't hear from them again. I forgot all about it. This morning a surprise package arrived from Southern Bulb Company. It contained replacement Texas Tulips bulbs, and numerous bulbs of five other varieties, all beautifully packaged. I'm so delighted with their service. There was a note saying that they have trouble with gophers destroying their stock, so this kindness is exceptional. I can't recommend Southern Bulbs Company highly enough and will be planting just as soon as the rain stops.

I ordered some bulbs early this year from Southern Bulb. The main reason I ordered early, was that some bulbs (Lycoris) needed to be planted in late summer for fall bloom and because they put on foliage early in the fall. I ordered some narcissus at the same time for fall delivery. Time passed and I began to panic about the Lycoris. Upon contacting the company, I found that they had lost the order or some other excuse. In any event, the Lycoris finally came in June or July and I got the bulbs planted. They subsequently bloomed and now have leaves (Nov. 2009). October passed and I had not received my fall bulb part of the order from them. So again, I contacted them. They emailed me and indicated they were "investigating" the matter. One day early in November, they called and said they could find no record of the order. Of course, I had saved my receipt at the time I ordered the bulbs, so there was certainly a record on my end! The fellow I talked to, asked if I still wanted to order. I said "No, it's too late here." The long and short of it is that I doubt I'll ever deal with this outfit again! The bulbs I received were of good quality and have performed, but their business operation appears to be slack. They seem to lay orders about and lose them. I ordered fall bulbs from several other companies and got the bulbs within days of my orders! Caveat emptor for Southern Bulb!

On April 24, 2009, I ordered three 4 inch pots of Prairie Sunset rainlilies, $11.00 per pot. They were advertised as 3 bulbs per pot, but all three were bursting open with 15-18 bulbs! I had the first bloom yesterday - beautiful! The bulbs arrived less than a week after ordering, in great condition.

First, I love that I can buy bulbs that will grow and flourish in the heat and humidity of Florida. SouthernBulb deserves kudos just for addressing this overlooked niche of plantdom. Second, their bulbs arrived on time for planting and were nice plump, well developed, mature bulbs. They have already had spectacular blooms, especially the red spider lillies. Third, the customer service is clearly based on the idea of exceeding expectations. I, too, received a couple of extra bulbs in my order; and the folks running the company and filling the orders are so very helpful and personable, I felt like they were old friends. Highly recommend! otter, Tampa, FL

great service and excellent products... they even threw in a few extra bulbs

I have placed 3 orders with Southern Bulb. Most of the bulbs I purchased bloomed their first season, which was a surprise as I expected to have to wait a year to see results. The bulbs are packaged nicely, and I received an email for each shipment to let me know when to expect it. I have emailed the company a few of times with questions and have always gotten a personal reply to my questions with complete answers. I am so impressed with the quality of the product and the quality of customer service from these young folks. I recommend them highly.

My experiences with Southern Bulb have been excellent. I started by reading about the company and following the company through the Internet, newspapers and magazines. I even emailed the company directly and was so pleased with the knowledgeable, friendly response I received. They truly seem to be interested in quality heirloom bulbs. I am also pleased they are so interested in preserving southern bulbs. Last Fall, I purchased some of their bulbs and they are performing beautifully. They appeared to be of remarkable quality and are already showing. I cannot wait to see the blooms and how they multiply. I have told everyone I know they should try Southern Bulbs and how to reach them. I am positive you will not be disappointed.

Received my Fall Order (my first) right on time...uniform, healthy bulbs, well-packaged...was pleasantly surprised by the bulb stories on the packaging. Made my second order about a week before Christmas...set to ship in February...will definitely be ordering more!

I recently recieved a fall bulb order from this company. The shipping methods were excellent and the bulbs appear to be of excellent quality. I would reorder from this company in the future.

This was my first order and I am very impressed. My bulbs are all large and healthy and the order was complete and there was even a little something extra! I love the packaging with the story of the bulb history on it. Great first impression. Was my first order but you can be sure it won't be my last!

Finally a company with quality heirloom bulbs just for southern gardeners! I couldn't be happier with my order.