Comments regarding McClure & Zimmerman Quality Flowerbulb Brokers

Posted on July 11, 2023, updated July 30, 2023
I used to periodically order from McClure and Zimmerman many years ago, and while their bulbs were only moderately good I supported them after Old House Gardens ordered windflowers from them on my behalf.

Never again.

On April 24 of last year, I ordered Mrs Backhouse daffodils from them, They appeared to be the only source. They sent daffodils that were obviously not Mrs. Backhouse. I found that you cannot call them. You have to email them. They tried to blame it on their supplier and they asked for pictures of the incorrect flowers. Normally, when you inform a company that bulbs are incorrect they offer to ship you new ones or give you a refund, so this was a bad sign.

I sent them pictures on June 26. They didn’t respond. I forwarded the email (complete with the pictures) on July 8 They didn’t respond. I forwarded it again two days ago. No response.

OK, it’s simple. This company doesn’t give a damn what they send you. I wish that I had read the updated reviews. Happily, since I actually purchased the bulbs from Old House Gardens, I never wrote a positive review.

Posted on May 30, 2023, updated July 14, 2023
Posted on April 26, 2023, updated May 30, 2023
Posted on April 18, 2023, updated April 26, 2023
Posted on April 17, 2023, updated April 18, 2023
I ordered seven varieties of daffodils from McClure & Zimmerman this past year. I was very excited to see that they offered rarer varieties not available elsewhere. I have an enormous collection of daffodils and many varieties on my property, but I add more each fall.

When I received the bulbs, the proportion of rotten/unviable bulbs was noticeably higher than in deliveries of bulbs I've purchased elsewhere (and I've purchased from many companies). I was disappointed but planted the viable bulbs and decided not to complain to the company.

However, once the daffodils began blooming this spring I was incredibly frustrated to see that at least four of the seven varieties were incorrectly labeled (I'm still waiting on two more varieties to bloom - we'll see if these are correct)! The ones I received look nothing like the varieties they were supposed to be. I can understand the occasional bulb mislabeling but this is a bit ridiculous. I invested a considerable amount of money and time planning and planting, only to have to dig up all of the incorrect bulbs and then replace them this coming fall. It seems like they have a real labeling issue, as previous reviewers have noted.

I'm going to reach out to them to see how they'll resolve this, but have already decided that I'm not going to do business with this company again. I don't recommend purchasing from them when there are so many alternative companies offering a higher-quality product!

Wrong, mislabeled bulbs sent.

I ordered little blue, daisy-like Anemone blanda and was sent bulbs labeled as Anemone blanda. When they bloomed this spring, they were big, boisterous Anemone coronaria.

I ordered Tulipa praestans 'Shogun', an apricot-colored, 12" multi-flowering tulip and received bulbs labeled as such. When the bulbs bloomed today, they were Tulipa orphanidae 'Flava' a 6", red-edged green and yellow, single species tulip.

Both of these looked ludicrous where they were planted, the stocky, dark blue A. coronaria dwarfing the miniature daffodils in the planting and the red, sulphur yellow and chartreuse tulips screaming against the pale pink flowers around it. Way to ruin my reputation as a colorist, McClure and Zimmerman!

The expense of being sent the wrong plants is less important to me than wasting the time I spent planning and planting and that I will now spend digging up these bulbs and finding someone who wants them, as they won't work anywhere in our garden.

Reading other reviews about mislabeled bulbs from McClure and Zimmerman, I wonder if this is not a case of mislabeling, but of substitutions - without the buyer's permission - for bulbs that are out of stock. Either way, disappointing. Mistakes happen, but I won't risk my time and money with this company again.

I ordered seven bulb species from McC&Z last fall, and now that they have come up I see that fully three varieties are the wrong species. I emailed them more than 10 days ago and still have not had a response. Disappointed, since I have had good luck with them in the past.

Very frustrating. Searched for a hyacinth "mix" to have different colored hyacinths to force in the house. Got a "mix" which turned out to be 5 yellow and 1 purple, exactly what i didn't want.
So I wrote and they sent a store credit so I was forced to buy something else from them. But of course the store credit didn't work in the credit line. So they emailed to wait another day. Again today the number isn't recognized. They gave me a phone number which has been busy for 3 hours....I guess their idea of customer service is just to wear you down until you just go away.
By the way the flashing ad on this page is ridiculously annoying.

I had gotten an Internet add from McClure & Zimmerman which stated no shipping charges on orders over $75. I went to the site found a couple unique items for the garden and placed them in my cart and went to check out. It was showing my total with no shipping charges and no taxes. I assumed this was my total as not all out-of-state companies charge tax. I enter my credit card info and paid. Still it showed only the cost of the items I ordered, no other charges. A few minutes later I received a confirmation e-mail. In this communication they had added $10 for shipping and $6 for taxes. What concerns me is that these charges were added after I had paid. This info should have been on the invoice prior to me submitting my payment. Secondly, they were advertising free shipping on orders of over $75. Mine was $99.90. The tax charges I will not complain about, that's a requirement of law, but, they still should have been listed on my invoice to which I was required to pay. Also, it's very concerning that I sent them an e-mail immediately after this occurred notifying them of what had happened and asked why. It has now been 6 days and I have yet to receive any response from them. I noticed Dave's has them listed as being affiliated with Jung Seeds, I'm surprised with their lack of customer service as I have always received great products and customer service when ordering from Jung. I see M & Z are open on Saturday morning. I shall attempt to contact them this morning. Worse case, I cancel the order. Like many gardeners, I am having to get creative in finding places to make new additions to the garden, not always needing what I order or buy in a store. Thanks for Dave's being an outlet for gardener's to share experiences, good and bad.

I have always been intrigued by McClure and Zimmerman's catalogs - both the beautiful illustrations and the information provided, so I decided to give them a try and am so glad I did! They carry a number of bulbs that I haven't been able to find lately, plus everything I received was even better than expected. As one who has often been less than impressed with some of the "top" companies' products, it was refreshing to get what I wanted at good prices and reasonable shipping rates. M & Z is my new go-to!

I ordered species tulips online last year. I called the next day to add two more items to my order. Then, later in the day, I'd changed my mind about the items I had added and emailed them to change it! :) It could all have gone south but customer service handled all of this with alacrity and most importantly, got it right.

The bulbs were excellent and all of them grew and bloomed. All. However, one of the varieties was not true to name. I took photos and emailed customer service immediately. I didn't receive a response. On checking the order receipt again, I found that I was to report problems via snail mail. So I did. That was back in June or July. Today, I got my replacement bulb package, and again, they got it right.

I couldn't be happier about the service and the bulbs. Thank you.

Best place I found to Purchase Canna Stuttgart. Two good size bulbs and great price.

In August I ordered a selection of fall-flowering bulbs. They did not send them till mid-October. This is too late for the bulbs to flower. I contacted M+Z, who said it was the growers fault. I would not have ordered hundreds of dollars worth of bulbs if I had known the company would behave like this.

I ordered about 5 different bulbs last spring. A trillium root, that was extremely small (I believe they are supposed to be, but it was so small I was concerned) sanguinaria, a ginger plant, a black dragon lily and 2 apricot fudge day lilies. Everything came up, but the sanguinaria. It was planted in a good location and cared for, but the plant never emerged from the bulb. The ginger was a decent live plant, that burned badly even in mostly shade. I wonder if it is grown under shade cloth, I've never seen anything burn that badly in just a few hours filtered sun per day. I finally planted it in total shade, and though it completely died at the top it did resprout, and is small but growing. The black dragon lily grew to about 3 feet, about half what it is supposed to be for height, and looks like it will not bloom this year. It is in full sun, decent soil, and I'm not sure why it is doing so poorly. The apricot fudge lilies did fine, no complaints at all.
I did email the company about the sanguinaria, which while much less expensive than other vendors - must have been a dead bulb as it did nothing. I had my doubts when I planted it as it was as small as the trillium. I never heard back. Some of the plants did ok, but I think I would be hesitant to order again given the lack of response / poor performance of 2 items.

I purchased a large order from McClure and Zimmerman for the first time this fall. The bulbs seemed in okay condition, some had spots of mold, but for the most part were fine. But when they bloomed I discovered that I was sent the wrong cultivars in some instances! For example, I ordered Lilium speciosum var. album and received an asiatic lily. I also received jonquils which were stunted in growth. I really wanted to like this company as they have a wide selection, but I just can't trust them. I will be directing my business elsewhere this year...

ordered 3 Itoh peonies -- 8 to 12 inch root clumps each with multiple eyes --$40 each. several Siberian iris with large root clusters . Daylilies -- 3 fans each and large tubers. Well timed shipment date of complete order. GREAT BUY!

Posted on December 21, 2015, updated December 8, 2017
First time ordering. Placed a fall bulb order of mostly tulips. Most of the bulbs looked good. Although the bulbs are listed at 12cm+, I did find that the size of bulbs were not uniform. I found many varieties of bulbs that were still available late in the season, sold out elsewhere. Shipping was also next day, and shipping cost was reasonable. I will update in spring if I have any issues.

Posted on August 12, 2017, updated November 11, 2017
Posted on August 9, 2017, updated August 12, 2017
I have ordered bulbs from this company for years and have always been very happy with my orders. However there are only a couple of mail order nurseries that I order live plants from, so I'd not had them from McClure before.
Ordered two hard to find clematis hybrids with fingers crossed.
They arrived yesterday in the most remarkable packaging...a clear plastic clam shell that fastened up to 3 4" pots, had a flat bottom and several inches of head space for each plant. Wish I could post a picture but it's an awesome shipping solution.
And, of course, the plants....very plump, well rooted and UNCRUSHED by shipping.
A very good experience all around.
By the way their customer service has always responded to me when I have contacted them. No problem there.

The beginning of September ordered some specialty tulip and daffodil bulbs for a birthday present for a friend. Never received a confirmation of my order but my ccard was charged the next day. The end of September I called to find out where my order was and was told it had not yet been filled. I was told early October. Last week, after October 15 I called again and was told they had not yet received the items for my order but had part of it but were waiting. I did ask why my card had been charged and reminded them it is unlawful for a retailer to charge a card without the intent of fufilling an order in a timely fashion. I was told it was common practice in the industry they were in. I asked to cancel my order then was told they would FedEx it to me the next day minus the few bulbs they still did not have. I did not receive the FedEx the next day as promised, three days later my almost filled order arrived. My packing slip stated I could mail the packing slip back for a $.33 credit. I called to find out what the heck that was about and was told it was a mistake and not to worry about it. I am a master gardener, a HUGE fan of Jung's but will never, ever order from this company again. WOW. Terrible.

I want to like M&Z. I have given them far more chances that I'd give other sources, but that's wearing thin. I like their catalog and their offerings usually have some gems. So I get roped in just to be disappointed. Most recently I placed an order for some lilies, knifophia, and a cyclamen. The lilies were fine, but the knifophia and cyclamen were dead. I called to alert them to find out that they're sold out of the knifophia but they'd resend the cyclamen. It arrived a few days later, in worse shape than the first. The first was rotten, the second was completely desiccated. In 2015 I ordered 3 different Louisiana Iris, all of which turned out to be 'Black Gamecock' which is a perfectly nice plant, but I already have it in my collection. Since they took a full year to bloom, they said they weren't sure they'd be able to do anything about it, but did end off issuing a credit. Sadly, I don't think I've received a single order without a disappointment.

I have, with great satisfaction, ordered hundreds of bulbs from this company over the last 10 years. They have an enormous selection of unusual bulbs I have not found elsewhere. My shipments have been prompt and arrived in good condition. The prices and shipping are reasonable. I have very rarely gotten a bulb that was shriveled or mildewed . I do plant so many bulbs that I can't comment on just how many come up, but certainly the vast majority. I especially like their specie varieties of common bulbs, like tulips. The catalog colors are accurate. I will continue to buy bulbs from them. I do not have experience with their live plants. I buy live plants from my local nursery or Bluestone

Ordered some fall bulbs, and within a few days received my order. Very fast delivery, and the bulbs appeared to be top quality and ready to go. I appreciate the invoice within the box and instructions. I love mzbulb selection and variety. Their prices and shipping costs are reasonable too. I would definitely recommend!

Posted on October 26, 2010, updated November 4, 2015
Posted on June 15, 2003, updated October 26, 2010
I ordered a few bulbs from McClure and Zimmerman last year, since they had such a nice selection of fall blooming crocuses and some other things that are hard to find. Admit I was cautious and a bit skeptical, since I've had poor experiences with their sister company, Jung's, lately. But the bulbs were all VERY large (including some of the biggest daffodil bulbs I've seen in a long time) and healthy, and everything did quite nicely this spring. They even sent some nice little species tulips as an unexpected bonus. This company seems a little pricier than John Scheepers, which is my favorite bulb company, but a very good experience overall.

A gift order (confirmation MZ1887518) was received on time, but when I went to help the recipient to plant, I was stunned by the substandard quality of the six Martagon bulbs. The were just shriveled starters and it may be years before they bloom, if at all. I will never order anything listed under McClure and Zimmerman.

When we moved to this home, we received all manner of garden catalogues. After viewing the pollinator-attraction of the local Botanic Garden's eremurus, I wanted some. Got a bag of 4 from a local hardware-store garden center, and they come up every year like billy-oh. I loved the possibilities in the McC&Z, so ordered many eremurus to attract pollinators to our little back yard 'wild' area. The goods arrived, and of the dozen or so in the plastic bag, some were very very moldy. (Since this company does not provide instructions for its eremurus, I planted them according to instructions that came with a hardware-store package of eremurus which I'd planted the season before.) I planted the lot, & waited 2 years for any of them to come up, thinking perhaps this group needed to acclimate or something...
Then made an inquiry to their c/s that there was nothing in sight, do they need so much time? & was told 'oh, sorry too late -you should have told us a year ago. Nothing we can do.' I complained that if it was my company, I'd want to know what was going on at all, and hey I was giving the eremurus a chance to prove itself by being patient with them, sorry to bother you, but out of twelve there should have been at least one to thrive in our well-nourished yard. After this, someone got back to me with an apology, promised to send out replacement ones. Therefore, in fall, last year, I received a package of 6. Planted again according to the hardware-store instructions.
Nothing this year. Not a sign.
So - I would give them a zero/negative for failure-to-thrive product, and neutral for c/s making sure I got partial replacement but not making sure they were viable.

Posted on February 24, 2011, updated April 13, 2015
I think when you see companies with reps like "Summerwynde" of McClure & Zimmerman purposely and deceptively falsifying postings on here in an attempt to boost their company's poor image rather than making an effort to be honest with people and honest with themselves, and improving public relations and perception through hard work and genuine customer care, well, it kind of speaks for itself. Who in their right mind would want to do business with someone who lies to your face on an open forum in order to deceive people about an experience they've had? It makes you wonder how many other positive ratings on here are legitimate for McClure and Zimmerman.

Truthfully, this used to be one of my premier "go-to" companies for top quality bulbs and somewhat hard to find plants. But, after Jung took ownership a few years ago as the parent company of McClure & Zimmerman, Roots and Rhizomes, and several other online plant nurseries and seed companies, the past performance and methods for conducting business for all these companies changed drastically and went noticably down the tubes. They've had nothing but complaints since this time and for good reason. I hope you don't have to experience this for yourself. Let the other bad experiences shared here be a sign for you that, in the case of McClure & Zimmerman, the grass IS probably greener on the other side.

Good luck and Happy Gardening!
Sincerely,

Paul R. Lewis

I ordered 24 'jumbo Starburst caladium bulbs,' status (per MZ website): "In Stock." I got 24 'substituted' Sweetheart bulbs, definitely NOT jumbo-sized, more like a mix of #1 and #2 sizes. The company never inquired as to whether I was okay with the sub (I'm not, would never have gone ahead with the order had I known the Starburst weren't available); and MZ certainly does seem to have over-estimated the grade/size of their bulbs. I believe I have overpaid for the grade I received.

Buyer beware, though these bulbs are healthy, I'm not going to be ordering from MZ in the future, since this all seems a little bit sneaky, to me.

Posted on December 4, 2014, updated January 23, 2015
Posted on December 4, 2014, updated December 4, 2014
Ordered General De Wet bulbs from MZ bulb on 11/11/14. Since I was already on their site, I threw in some Christmas Marvel and Riding Hood tulip bulbs. The package arrived 11/19 but did not contain the General de Wet bulbs. No explanation and no mention of them. I emailed and called the company. No response. I sent my email 11/12./14 It is now 12/4/14. Also, have a look at the condition of the Red Riding Hood tulip bulbs. See link below. Now....I am sure someone from the company will get on this site with some kind of explanation. But, there is no excuse for failing to even mention the bulbs I ordered from the company, and no excuse for failing to reply to an email (yes, it was sent to the right place, not to the "no reply" address). This company hoses customers and waits to clean things up only if the customer takes the time to post on websites or publicly complain. The average gardener that isn't tuned in to all these resources like Dave's Garden? They are just SOL.

//i127.photobucket.com/albums/p147/spacemyphoto/mzredridinghoodtulipbulbsnovember2014.jpg

"On Feb 6, 2015 4:42 PM, McClure & Zimmerman Quality Flowerbulb Brokers responded with:

Hello Charlenenj,
I apologize for all the miscommunication. We do respond to our customers quickly through direct contact to our company and don't always monitor 3rd party sites such as Dave's garden here. In regard to your order, we did send an email on 11/13/14 stating unfortunately we were not able to supply the Tulip General De Wet bulbs and we would be issuing a refund for these items. We refunded on 11/13/14 for those bulbs along with part of the s&h that you were charged. I did check our email logs and do not show a response to your email on 11/21/14 and I will be addressing that here as this is unacceptable.
Please check for a refund it would have been applied directly to the card you used when you placed the order and should show anytime from 11/13/14 to 5 business days after. I do have transaction numbers and the exact amount of the refund if this would help, but don't want to post those on a open forum.
Please feel free to contact me directly and I will gladly resolve any issues with the refund as well as work to resolve any other issues or concerns you had with your order and the entire process.
My direct email is Aronh@jungseed.com and direct phone number is 920.463.1002

Sincerely,

Aron Hill
Contact Center Manager
(920) 326-3121 Ext. 4102

"

I have ordered bulbs from McClure and Zimmermann for years. Yes, I have had an occasional dessicated bulb in a batch, but never a whole batch dried up or moldy. On the contrary, I have found their bulbs to be large and healthy, true to type. There are 3 things I like about them: they do carry bulbs you won't find elsewhere, they sell only nursery cultivated bulbs, and often there is a surprise "extra" thrown in. This year I got a number of fall blooming bulbs -- they were amazing! Every one of them bloomed true to type and the neighbors were amazed at the display!

I appreciate a small company willing to take risks with unusual offerings. Mistakes are all too human. And e-mails can get lost, so keep at it until you get an answer. We need to support them -- and make sure they give us their best!

I ordered early in March for this fall not knowing what to expect, and just received my order without any problems.

I am very pleased with the 48 Iris latifolia I have. They are healthy, firm, large (about the size of tulip bulbs), and most are even double or triple "nosed". Sure, there is a little superficial mold here and there, but they are all viable.

This once loved species is seldom seen even in Europe and almost impossible to find in North America. The bulbs have a distinctive appearance resembling shallots, so I am certain I have received true stock.

It is also known as Iris xiphioides or as "English iris".

Posted on November 29, 2013, updated May 17, 2014
I ordered four dozen tulip bulbs and some hyacinth bulbs.
They all arrived quickly, packaged well and were good sized firm bulbs.

Posted on April 5, 2014, updated May 10, 2014
I have ordered bulbs and plants from M&Z for over 20 years without significant problems. A few bulbs are sometimes rotten, some plants are very small or dead, but the fact that they offer unusual native wildflower plants (especially recently) made up for that for me. But as they offered more of these native plants, I noticed that they sometimes noted "Cultivated stock" in a few of the descriptions; I was unable to find any statement about the source of their other plants in their catalog or on their web site. So I wondered about the sources of the rest of the species plants and bulbs; it is extremely important to me that species plants and bulbs I pay for be "nursery-propagated" (and not just "nursery grown" after having been collected.) I emailed them (through their own "Contact Us" page) and received no reply. A few weeks later I sent another email and still have received no reply. I am concerned that, given no information to the contrary, M&Z may offer plants and/or bulbs that have been collected from wild habitats. I hope this is not true but I cannot get them to respond to my concerns. After so many years, I hate to stop ordering from them, but I will have to do so if I cannot get a response from them. (Of course, my concerns do not apply to their many hybrid bulbs and plants, which are by definition almost always nursery-propagated.)

"On Apr 7, 2014 12:15 PM, McClure & Zimmerman Quality Flowerbulb Brokers responded with:

Mitchella,
We are very sorry to hear about the email. All of our plants and bulbs are indeed nursery propagated and absolutely none of our products are collected from the wild. We only purchase through reputable suppliers that only have nursery propagated plants and bulbs.
As for your emails I would like to look into this further. I have personally checked any past emails and I am not finding any in regards to this, but I also don't have your email address directly to search by. I want to make sure all of our customers' emails are answered and in a timely manner.
Please feel free to email me directly Aronh@jungseed.com as I would appreciate the opportunity to check into your concerns further, but as for our plants and bulbs I want to assure you they are nursery propagated and not collected from the wild.

Sincerely,

Aron Hill
M&Z Contact Center Manager
1.800.883.6998
"

I have ordered bulbs from many sources. I return to M&Z as they offer an excellent selection of varieties & competitive prices. I have placed 2 orders with M&Z this fall. Both orders were delivered promptly & bulbs sent are of an excellent quality. I did order Spring Snowflakes, which have been back ordered. No other vendor that I am aware of even lists them. They seem to be difficult to get.

Just rec'd my fall shipment of bulbs and was very satisfied with the bulbs all around. Customer Service was also very pleasant!! A++

I was leery about ordering from this company after reading the negative comments posted here. However, my experience was fantastic! The bulbs were healthy and well labeled and they even sent large lily bulbs as a bonus. MZ carries difficult-to find bulbs, including new cultivars from Terra Nova, at a great price. I will definitely order from them again.

When i see the negative comments, I think it is only fair that I add my positive experience.
I ordered some Thai caladiums last year and was disappointed that one was missing from my order. I called them, and within one week they sent the missing variety and actually sent 2 plants to replace the one missing plant.

I had a mixed experience last Fall. 24 each of Cyclamen Cilicium, Cyclamen Coum, and Cyclamen Neapolitanum. I thought at the time, some of the nicest cyclamen corms that I'd ever seen. These are blooming now (or sending up leaves for the C. Coum) and are strong plants with good yield. I also ordered 50 or 60 each of Eranthis Cilicica, Erythronium Dens-Canis Mixture,and Corydalis Solida. These were very poor quality bulbs, mostly dried out, and no more than 10% came up.

Never again!
I ordered 9 Tropaeolum tuberosum bulbs. 6 Ken Aslet and 3 of another type.
Only one of the 9 looked like it would live. 4 were soft or shriveled or both. Thought I should give all a chance as I had not grown these before.
Only two came up. One died within two weeks.

Called company. They were quick to send replacements. Reassured me that replacement would be looked at to make sure they were in good condition before sending.

Replacement arrived last week... all were of type and size of the ones that didn't make it the first time. ..and two were worse than any of the first batch.

Called company.. could not get refund. Will receive credit letter. Hoping they sell supplies so I can use credit...AND pay more shiping.

Looking at "positives" here to see if there is anything they sell that is of good quality.

considering not even using credit..not sure if it is smart to pay shipping for more things that will not live!

Got an email from M&Z that things were on sale. Ordered 3 kniphofia Nancy's Red (saw them at Wisley and wanted some) for $4.25 each. Also ordered one Lemon Sherbert Gloriosa @ $6.25. I was so disappointed - the kniphofias came in little plastic bags with totally dry peatmoss/shavings mix. They are dried up scraggly little roots about 4 inches long with 1/4 inch shoots coming from a growing point. Will probably take 3 years to get to blooming size. The Gloriosa is also about 4 inches long and smaller around than my pinky finger. The Gloriosas I have grown are about 8 inches long and as fat as my middle finger. Frequently they are two roots joined to make a V!! Altogether a ripoff of a good customer. This is the kind of presentation you see at the dollar store!! And, if someone above was concerned about the $6.00 postage, my order totaled $19.00 and I was charged the same $6.00. :-( What was their buyer thinking when they okayed the size, price, condition and packaging of these items? Did they think the customer would be happy about it? NOT!

Posted on April 28, 2012, updated May 4, 2012
Posted on April 28, 2012, updated April 28, 2012
Posted on April 26, 2012, updated April 28, 2012
I ordered several agapanthus, an alocasia, a vigna caracalla, eucomis, and a canna. The packing was one of the worst I've ever seen. The plants were placed in a box, on their side, with nothing to prevent the soil from falling out. Some of the plants still had all their soil around them, but half were showing bare root because the soil had fallen off. Even though I ordered in January, one of the agapanthus was backordered and then not available. MZ sent me some free bulbs, a gladious, but when I contacted them, couldn't tell me anything about these bulbs. The "bulbs" I ordered were actually plants in small pots, extremely root-bound. So I couldn't plant them as deep as recommended for my zone, because I would had to have planted part of the plants under the soil level. I wouldn't order from them again. There has to be better bulb companies.

I have ordered from M&Z for years now, and never had a problem, so I'm really surprised to read some of these comments. I have not ordered live plants, and mostly I order more "common" bulbs. But I've always been pleased by bulb size and quality, price and service. I've been fascinated by their selection of exotic or uncommon items, and I'd be curious to know if those are the items people have had problems with.

Have been ordering from them, mostly small orders of species and standard tulips and unusuals like camassia, for over 10 years. I don't think I have ever had to throw out a dried or moldy bulb, even after my refrigerating them too long. I gave up on some other firms because they mislabeled/represented their products.

I've only had to call once because my shipment wasn't arriving as quickly as usual. An order from another company was also late; both arrived soon after. I think you do have to consider that the weather where you are is not the same as the states being shipped through. I avoid ordering when temps elsewhere are extreme.