Comments regarding Dutch Gardens

Just recieved my order of Malva, Dahlia, and Campanula. All is well and I am pleased with the promptness and packing care of the order. The plants look healthy and large. BB

I've been looking for Malva Zebrina plants for a long time and finally found them at Dutch Gardens. I received the plants a few days ago and they're very nice --- a great deal! I've also purchased relatively hard-to-find bulbs (such as Aztec and Gloriosa lilies) from Dutch Gardens and was pleased with the bulbs and the price.

Timely delivery of healthy bulbs. One batch that was supposed to be a color mix turned out to be all one color. I didn't have a problem, but I thought they ought to know and emailed. They responded within 24 hours with an apology and an offer of refund or replacement.

I recieved my summer bulbs from Dutch Gardens this week, and as in the past was very pleased. One order was a replacement for mislabled lilies I got last year-whenever there is a problem, customer service has always been very friendly and accomadating. They have immediately offered my choice of refund, credit, or replacement any time I've had a problem. Out of 38 tuberous begonias, 3 were soft, and replacements are already on the way. The rest were nice big tubers(2-3"diameter), Dahlias are huge clumps, crocosmias,brodiaeas,chasmanthe, and gloriosas all large and firm. Had some problems with their perennials last year(all credited-no questions asked) and attributed it to being shipped all the way from Holland, so I prefer to get those from domestic sources. But for bulbs, I feel they can't be beat.

I have ordered successfully from this company for atleast 2 years. I just received 2 orders, a variety of spring plants and bulbs including lilies, calla lilies, daylily, amarylis, japanese iris, hostas, and Hellenium. I received shipment notifications by email. All items arrived well packed, fresh, and very healthy. In the interest of full disclosure, I should indicate that the amarylis was a b/o from around Christmas time; had I purchased it for Winter bloom or if I lived in a colder Zone this might have been a point of contention. But since Amarylis are hardy in my Zone, this is not a problem for me.

I withheld my comments until I had a chance to plant them and, hence, inspect carefully. I wanted to be sure that my comments would be fair to both the supplier and the reader. Here is what I found:

The Helleniums were noticably and suprisingly vibrant and healthy, and the package contained 5 plants instead of the 3 indicated on the label. The amarylis, a new and exotic variety sold at discount, was, none the less, large, unbruised, bursting with energy, and ready to get "growing". Most of the lily bulbs were quite substantial (3"+ diameter) and fresh. In short, all of the plants and bulbs arrived wonderfully healthy, with no signs of fungus, rot, dead roots, etc.

I was very happy with my order(s), and will order from this company again.

I ordered bulbs from Dutch Gardens for the second time this year. I ordered once before and recieved very large, very healthy bulbs. This year I ordered tulip bulbs. I requested early delivery because I live in So. CA and must prechill tulip bulbs. The bulbs were not delivered early as requested, and they were quite small, and several looked somewhat unhealthy. I planted them. First of all, several of the bulbs did not even come up. Secondly, some of the tulips are of a variety I did not order. Lastly, one variety is blooming on very short stems. I am very disappointed.

Highly Recommended!
I ordered some amaryllis bulbs at Christmas for some relatives and there was a problem with one of the addresses I gave. There customer service dept. went above and beyond and shipped the amaryllis twice to get it delivered. There was excellent communication and I was very impressed with how the whole situation was handled. I'll be ordering from them again next Christmas.

I have been ordering from Dutch Gardens for years. Their bulbs are very reasonably priced and good sized. They grow well. Occasionally, a bulb from a different variety may get in with the bulbs you order. They are happy to take care of any problem.

I would think twice about getting anything but bulbs from them. I think they must subcontract out the business. I have not had much success with their perennials.

I've been ordering from DG for a long time and while I had one shipping problem (that was partially my fault... we moved before the order arrived and they didn't get the address changed in time... free bulbs for my home buyer :-( ... but DG still refunded me for them) and just this week had a bulb problem. Several of the lilies from my Asiatic lily mixture have "tulip breaking virus" which can spread to other lilies and tulips in my garden and therefore had to be dug up and destroyed.

I emailed to inform them and the responded in less than 24 hours, had already talked to one of their horticulturists in Holland to verify the disease (I sent a picture of the plant) and were ready and willing to credit or refund or replace the bad bulbs. And when I asked, somewhat jokingly, for pain and suffering compensation, they even added a $25 credit to my account! And I just have to send them a tally of how many bulbs were affected (I planted 24 lily bulbs, but I can't tell if they have the disease until they bloom) and they'll credit me for that many lilies.

So, I'm rating this a positive experience. I've rarely seen such wonderful "above and beyond" customer service. And normally the bulbs I get from them never fail to live up to my expectations. After reading here, I'll probably resist the urge to buy perennieals from them, but I can usually get what I want in that regard from local nurseries, so that's not big thing.

I ordered bulbs for fall planting and was very happy with the size and quality received. The order did take a little while to arrive as it had to come from Holland, so in the future I will try to order a little earlier, but overall I was happy. I ordered some of the same items from another company and received bubs that were about 1/3rd the size, so next time I'll just order bulbs from Dutch Gardens instead.

I can't comment on perennials as I've never ordered any from here.

I ordered 2 different varieties of daylilies and had a 50-50 experience. My Spacecoast Starburst was wonderful. I bloomed heavily, was very healthy and quite beautiful. But my Blueberry Sundae was a diasaster. When it bloomed is was obvious it was the wrong variety. It was to Dutch Garden's credit they were cordial. They refunded my money promptly. Later they even sent me a statement they had been cheated by THEIR grower. I feel they did try to make it right but I lost a whole growing season. No wonder Blueberry Sundae was such a good price. I would hesitate before buing from them again.

I purchased tuberous begonias from this company in 2003. The tubers were nice and healthy, and large. They grew and bloomed nicely. Their customer service was very friendly, too.
Can only recommend them.

I have ordered a lot of bulbs, roots, and rhizomes from Dutch Gardens. Despite some total failures, I still like the company. Maybe it's because they are a little cheaper than one of the other companies that I use. This year, I managed to grow 3 out of 4 roses, although one did not bloom at all and one did not bloom in the color that I expected. Half of my Lily of the Valley did not grow at all. I got a verbascum substitute for a geranium that I really wanted, and the verbascum didn't even bloom. My iris didn't bloom. The monarda and the pulmonaria didn't bloom. Maybe they will all bloom next year. On the other hand, five of their other plant varieties did bloom this year. Maybe I like DG because they ship my orders when I expect them to. Or maybe I just like them because they are the ones who fill the orders for my Memory Garden.

I bought 150+ bulbs from Dutch Gardens last fall. Out of those bulbs, most were tulips. All the bulbs were fresh and of good size, and all came out this spring. I did notice during the spring that about 20 tulips were mislabeled, and not what I ordered. I sent an e-mail to their customer service and was very pleased with their responsiveness. Two weeks ago, I received the replacement for the mislabeled bulbs. I have to say that I am very pleased with the efficiency of the company. Btw, I noticed that most complaints about the company were with regard to the daylilies order. My experience with daylilies/perennials is that you should always go with the companies that specialized in that. As for bulbs, I believe DG is a pretty reliable source.

I just wanted to commend Dutch Gardens on their wonderful customer service. I had a small problem with one of their items. I e-mailed them with my problem and in almost no time at all, they replied and fixed the problem. It is good to know that a company that I choose to purchase from cares enough to reply to my e-mails quickly and also to help to solve any problems I may have with their products. Thank you Dutch Gardens!

Recieved DG's beautiful catalog early this spring and was very impressed with their variety and competitive prices. I was reworking my "red/white" area and found several roses that I was charmed by. I purchased 5 spending approx. $80, 1/12/04. They were 6 weeks getting here and when I got into my order I was terribly disappointed. The "Queen O' The Lakes" had a split crown. All only had paper tags and I expected that as most premium roses I had ordered over the years, they came with durable metal tags. The other 4 were not impressive but I planted them. Called DG's, nice lady, could not replace for 6 weeks!, offered credit to Visa and I took it. Mentioned to her the disappointment of quality and paper tags. To date, the roses I purchased that same day and immediately received from Perkins are thriving as their stock always does. The DG roses are growing very slowily and are very unimpressive to say the least. Friend & I had compiled an order of $150 plus of bulbs we were going to place with them. Was glad I hadn't done so for needless to say it was placed with others.

Early this spring I ordered some summer bulbs (Crocosimia) and some Orange Glory Flower. Very prompt delivery and all arrived in good condition. One small problem, the Orange Glory Flowers are NOT. They are very obviously very healthy and blooming geraniums. (Methinks perhaps Johnson's Blue.)

Anyway I called these folks and spoke to a very pleasant lady that apologized, offered to replace the plants next spring, refund my money or receive a credit. I opted for the credit because I will absolutely order more from them this fall.

Well done- a mistake corrected and a customer impressed.

I purchased two daylilies of Blueberry Sundae from this company. They finally bloomed today 6/27/04 and they must have substituted without my permission. The color was not even close. It was pink instead of white with a dark eye and trim. I waited a year for them to bloom and what a disappointment. I would never trust this company again.

Neutral leaning to negative. This is the second year I've purchased from this company. Last year I received a poor quality Blueberry Sundae Daylily which Dutch Gardens themselves compensated me for before I complained. (Big positive.) Bulbs I've received have been of acceptable quality and perform well. Perennials, however, are another story. Last year I received Trollius that had no crowns. This year while I received everything I ordered in decent shape I've noticed that when you order a perennial and there are three in a bag, two are of better quality than the third and they generally do not perform well the first year. A positive for this company is that they do try to satisfy you if you report poor quality by refunding or replacing selections. I might purchase bulbs from this company in the future but I do not think I will order any perennials from them again.

I have ordered from this com. for the last two years. The plants have always arrived in very good shape and big.

I recently received 3 of the 4 plants I ordered from this company. First of all, I only ordered from them because I really wanted 2 particular plants even though I knew better after reading the ratings other have given to this company. My order consisted of three separate and different bare root plants packaged in plastic packages with their names and growing instuctions on the outside of the packages. The one variety I really wanted, Monarda Fantasy, when the package was opened had this little folded piece of paper tucked inside with the large root...stating that due to a high demand they were substituting another plant and sorry! Sorry indeed, I knew that monarda didn't have a root that looked like a carrot but how many wouldn't have found the little folded piece of paper to know it was a substitution? The plant I most wanted was backordered and is suppose to be shipped soon. I do not have a complaint about how my bare root plants actually looked, just the sneaking a substitute in a package that carries another name. I won't order from them again, there are too many reputable companies out there.

This spring I ordered several day lily collections from them. I can't offer either a positive or negative. For the money the plants are healthy but less generous than I've gotten from other places for less and I find it a bit problematic that since these plants are shipped from Holland you can't really bre sure when they'll arrive. Otherwise, everything I've planted so far is doing well.

Overall it was pretty good. My Blueberry Sundae daylily arrived dead so I called and it is going to take about three weeks before I'll get another one. There wasn't a hassel about anything and I didn't even have my account number with me. Everything else seems to be doing great.

I've ordered from Dutch Gardens for years. Their catalog really pulls me in. I have never had a problem with their bulbs-- they have always been big and beautiful. I did have a daylilly,(Blueberry Sundae) arrive dead. I called and a new one was sent to me-- took about 3 weeks. I wouldn't hesitate to buy bulbs from them (especially when they are having an online sale!!) but I am more cautious about ordering perennials from them now.

Some of the best prices around, but you also get what you pay for. I've ordered from them often through the years enticed by their glossy thick catalogs. Inevitably I dog-ear lots of pages and whittle down my choices eventually ordering a few.

I've decided to steer clear of any bare-root or potted plants from them and only order bulbs. While their bulb sizes are on the smallish side and sometimes there are bad, rotted bulbs in the large-count bags; it's still usually a good buy especially if you're naturalizing or needing alot of a cultivar for a mass planting.

I have ordered bulbs every year from Dutch Gardens with great success. Last fall I took the plunge and ordered some perennials. When the plants came they looked dead, but I planted them anyway. This spring they are bursting from the ground and look well on their way to blooming this year. Great job.

I ordered a few plants last spring and was disappointed - the perennials they sent were so small and the lily of the valley and violas died. The daylily was small, but grew and bloomed - it turned out to be the wrong flower. When I got the catalog this spring and looked at the daylily photos, some looked heavily retouched, not how the real flowers would look. The only reason this rating is not negative is that when I complained to customer service, they were nice and refunded all my money. I will not order perennials from them again.

I have placed several orders with Dutch Gardens with mixed results. Several of the items (specifically Turks cap lillies) I received in the last order were moldy and rotted. One of the items I ordered last year was out of stock and were replaced with "items of equal value" even though I had requested this not be done. The replacement items in their opinion may have been of equal value (Pervuian daffodils?) but they did not perform as promised. Buyer beware.

I've ordered bulbs every year for the past 10 years. Every year I'm thrilled. Huge healthy bulbs, often at least one extra bulb in a bag, and every one of them sprouts, without fail. I have only ordered daffodil, tulip, and hyacinth bulbs, not perennials, or summer bulbs. I think they are tremendous value for the money and I'm 100% happy with my bulbs. I intend to continue ordering more from them every year.

I placed an order for $50+ using their promotion of $25 off. While shipping is quite steep I was pleased with my order. Two of my Abbigail tulip bulbs were soft and when I called the customer service they were apologetic and sent me a new bag of bulbs (they can only send full bags). I received the replacement in a timely matter and everything was great. I'm looking forward to seeing everything grow in the spring and I was VERY impressed- Dutch Garden is the top of my bulb experience so far. Very well done!

I placed an order with Dutch Gardens and I must comment on
their Jumbo Perennial Tulip Collection. Each variety is packaged separately and I could not believe the size of those bulbs. If they will just grow tulips that look as good as the bulbs it will be wonderful. I can't wait for spring!

I placed a fairly small order in the summer of tulips, arum itallicum and received free shipping and Purple Sensation allium bulbs. The tulips and allium bulbs I received were all in excellent shape and great quality. The only minor problem is that I was shorted one tulip bulb from a pack. The customer service was very nice and I am was told that they are sending me a new bag of the tulips that had one missing. I am still waiting for the arum. So far so good.

My rating should more correctly be neutral-plus. I learned after my first order that their bulbs are very nice, but their perennials leave a great deal to be desired. While everything that wasn't planted in impossible conditions grew, the perennial plants were small and slow to establish. Better values for perennials can easily be had.

I have absolutely no complaints with Dutch Gardens' shipping, service or the quality of their bulbs for fall planting. The only reason I've shifted to other bulb suppliers in recent years is that my tastes have become impossibly esoteric, running more to the offerings from Odyssey Bulbs and Paul Christian.

The plants I received were in wonderful condition! I was actually surpised at how nice they looked right out of the box.

Ordered about $80 worth of daylilies ... THEY SENT ME THE WRONG VARIETY!!!!!!!!!!!!! They were labeled incorectly and I only realized after they had gone to bloom.

BEWARE!!!!!

Rating is actually positive to neutral..first they are a bit expensive (not as bad as some but still). All the plants they sent were in pretty good shape and EVERYTHING was viable which was great! They did screw up on delivering the correct variety for one of my orders - I didn't bother complaining so I don't know how good their customer service is. The website is not always accurate about the quantities you will be receiving - for my orders, I ordered "one" of several things which turned out to be packages of three - had to scramble for space to plant everything but hey, that wasn't too bad!

I ordered from this company in the spring and received the order in two seperate shipments. The order was a $70.00 order and I had great expectations. The plants were all bare root and very small in one case dried up and not worth the time or effert it would take to plant them. I emailed the company the day they were delivered and they issued a credit that I could use on my next order for those plants.
After a month or so of waiting for the other plants to show some green with nothing happening I again emailed them and said I did not want a credit but a full refund credit sent to my credit card and that I expected to hear from them immediatly as to the disposition, they did email me back the very next business day telling me they would credit my charge account for the full amount of the order.
I waited until now to let you all know about this because I wanted to be sure that in fact they had credidted my account and my bill just arrived yesterday and the credit had been made.
Their customer service is the only reason I gave them a neutral instead of a negative as I do not have the plants I wanted and I lost several months of growth and time that I could have put to other use.
I am so glad for this foram as I check any and all companies here before I order from them now.

Of the $70 worth of plants - I have one sickly grass and a small hydrangea. The roses never too root and when I received the replacement roses they went right into the garbage - they were black and completely, branch-snapping dry and dead. These roses didn't just die in transit, they had clearly been dead for quite some time. I couldn't believe they wasted postage sending something so appauling. I will NEVER, NEVER buy anything from this company again. I had better luck with Direct Gardening's products which is saying alot.

received my order after placing it two weeks ago. It was worth the wait. Blue Rose of sharon bushes were good size. The violas were very large and in great condition. Very please with the quality of plants. Definitely would buy here again!