Comments regarding McClure & Zimmerman Quality Flowerbulb Brokers

I hate to make a negative comment about a company I've heard good things about, but I ordered from them for the first time this spring and was very disappointed. First off, the bulbs were tiny compared to similar ones I've received from other companies, or can find in stores and nurseries. Tiny cut-up sections of Kniphofia rhizome with a single bud each barely grew, and finally gave up the ghost after putting out a few small leaves. Minuscule bulbs of Polianthes (tuberose) have put out foliage but I doubt they will bloom this year. Finally, the bulbs I purchased as Lilium 'Citronella' grew well and budded heavily but when they bloomed they were an obviously mislabeled orangish asiatic lily. I will not order from this company again.

MZ Bulb publishes a catalog twice a year. They have an extensive offering of bulbs - many more varieties than I have seen elsewhere.
My first order was placed over the internet, confirmed next workday, shipped on a timely and prompt basis (one week after order), and with notification and access to trace the shipment; but the exotic which prompted the order was not available upon shipment. I revisited the website, and identified that this status had not been posted to their website, and responded to their customer service e-mail line, as it was not clear if the stockout was a temporary issue. I also expressed disappointment in that the company offers bonus shipments on orders exceeding $20, but they did not comply with this offer in filling my order.
The response I received merely indicated that the website should have been updated, and that I was not billed for merchandise not shipped. No response was made regard the non-shipment of the bonus product.
The website was updated regard to product availability when I checked it again a week later.
It is apparent from other reviews that the stockout problem is not a unique one - I would recommend that orders be placed months before the shipping period, and would hope that in the future, product availability would be included as part of order confirmation.

Great place to find heirloom and unusual bulbs. Purchased many from them and they shipped quickly. All were large and healthy and are growing well. Good prices too. The catalog is for people that know plants - which is OK with me. Will buy from again. A+++

I've been ordering bulbs from McClure & Zimmerman for 2 years and have been more than pleased with every order. This is a professional company. I highly recommend them.

I ordered several amaryllis from this company and was very happy with my purchase. They offered many singles and doubles and the prices were very reasonable. The bulb sizes were very large. They were shipped quickly and all bloomed well. I'll definitely be back for more.

Order 4 dozen autumn crocus bulbs just 8 days ago and they arrived today, healthy and happy. Wonderful response!

McClure & Zimmerman has a great selection of bulbs: common and rare and Heirloom. Their prices are quite good (a lot better than many places who also have poorer selections, Brent $ Beckys Bulbs prices tend to be better but you must order larger quanities). The largish order I placed arrived in excellant time and the bulbs were all good size and good quality (a couple were soft, I called them and received repkacenents in less thana week!). They are professional and seem to be a very good outfit.

This is my second time ordering from them. I was happy with my first order. This time I'm ordering lily bulbs. The varieties I ordered are usually very expensive when I've been able to find them. Price has kept me from ordering them from other companies. Their prices were very reasonable. I'll have to wait and see how the bulbs arrive and grow.

Great place to order those hard-to-find bulbs, especially natives, some of which sell out quickly. Most of my bulbs didn't show up the first summer and I called them. They said to be patient as most natives take up to 2 years to start growth. This spring WOW, what a show. Worth the wait. Trilliums I ordered for this spring came right up as did the Virginia Bluebells (w/o flowers, which is to be expected).

I've ordered from McClure & Zimmerman over the years, and though I've generally liked what I've gotten, they can be unreliable and sloppy. One year I ordered ""Roman hyacinth,"" but instead they sent me regular Dutch hyacinth bulbs that had been split so that they would produce multiple stalks. Twice I have ordered Achimenes, both times they have failed to grow. And another year I ordered 6 mixed Early Spring tulips, but what I got appeared to be 2 Mentons (Single Late) and 4 Golden Apeldoorns - nice, but not what I ordered. When I've complained to them, they tell me they don't grow the product, they just sell it. But despite the problems, I keep ordering from them, off and on, because they have such a great variety of interesting varieties, and they sell small quantities at reasonable prices. I think that John Scheepers actually has the best prices, but they require a $35 minimum order, and I don't always need that much. That's when I order from M&Z.

I ordered Lily of the Valley late this spring when most mail-order companies were already sold out. McClure & Zimmerman filled my order with smaller than usual pips but gave me a discount for the reduced size. Every one of the 96 plants I received has flourished despite the late planting, and one even bloomed - in late June! I am more than pleased with their plants and service.

I placed an order for the first time last Fall. My eremurus and iris are coming up now right on schedule. This is a bare bones catalog in that it is black and white paper with only random sketches of plants.
This is not the catalog to go to if you are unfamiliar with botanical names or need a picture to identify the plant. However, you will receive great descriptions of plants and their requirements. You'll also see lower prices than other companies! Your order will be shipped at proper planting time, too. I'd rather know what I'm shopping for, find it in a catalog and then pay a lower price for a quality product from a trustworthy company.

I really like the McClure and Zimmerman catalogue, and placed an order for spring planted bulbs. I got three kinds of bulbs and a small species iris. I was very disappointed with the results. One kind of bulb never came up at all. Another kind came up, but not a single plant bloomed. The third kind came up, but only one of the six plants bloomed. The iris was perfectly healthy, but had been stored upside-down before shipping, so the leaf sprouts were facing the same direction as the roots, making it very hard to plant. It is doing fine, but is growing at a strong slant. I called and complained, and they have refunded most of my money. However, the woman I spoke to did not apologize for my disappointment. She did not act as though she cared that their company had disappointed me. I will not order from McClure and Zimmerman again.

In the fall of 1999, I ordered a variety of bulbs from McClure & Zimmerman. The bulbs I promptly received were large, fresh and well-packaged to protect from shipping damage. Although I still don't have the results of the bulbs I planted, those that I forced produced lush, fragrant blooms.

Another one of my favorite catalogs--a wide variety of unusual bulbs, many of which I can't order from other bulb catalogs at the proper planting time (many spring-planted bulbs are planted in the fall here in my zone 9 Gulf Coast garden). The bulbs I've received have performed beautifully, arrived at the proper planting time and were reasonably priced. The customer service staff couldn't be nicer or have a better sense of humor (I called back four times after my initial order to add to it.) Great catalog, great company, order from McClure & Zimmerman if you've never tried them.

I recently ordered in excess of $400.00 from McCLure & Zimmerman and I couldn't be more satisfied. Not only do they have a beautiful, well-organized catalog, but their service can't be beat. When I had questions about which bulbs I could force indoors the operator almost gave me too much customer support! (I'm fairly sure I was speaking to a master gardener.) Although my order has not yet arrived, I have heard the praises of McClure & Zimmerman from many friends and family, I can't wait for my order to arrive.

I recently ordered from them as well. This was my first garden, even though I come from a long line of big gardeners. My mother remembers ordering from this company when they were operating out of an apartment building a couple of blocks from her house in Chicago. She has always loved them and told me to order from them. Because my yard had not been tended to for some time before we moved in, I had large,empty flower beds. I ordered in excess of $100 in bulbs in August. Because I was doing my bulb beds in layers, I needed to have everything in order to begin planting. I received one package here, and one package there for 2 ½ months, but I still had not received everything.After 2 months had passed, I began calling and e-mailing every week, only to be told that the rest of my order would arrive the following week. After more than three months since I had placed my order, I was informed that the rest of my order would not arrive because it was not it stock. Not once during any of the 8 or 10 times that I called and e-mail did anyone mention this. Each time I was told that the items were in stock and would be arriving the following week. If this wasn't bad enough, I never once received an apology, nor was there any attempt to make it up to me. Because they had waited so long to inform me that they were out of stock, I was unable to purchase what I wanted anywhere else because other nurseries were, by then, out of stock. As a result, I will have huge holes in my garden next year. I guess the holes will keep me from being tempted to order from McZ, because each time I look at them, I will be reminded of this experience. I guess this is just a case of a small company trying to grow, and losing sight of what made itsuccessful in the first place. Incidentally, a few days after I sent this, I received a notice that I would not be receiving the rest of my order. In short, that means that in the first week of December they decided to let me know ( I live in Chicago) that they weren't shipping the rest of my bulbs. That doesn't make any sense since it would have been too late to plant by then anyway.

When I made the decision to make only one bulb order each Fall, I choose McClure & Zimmerman. Although there are no color pictures, they include detailed plant descriptions, good zone information and excellent cultivation instructions. I find this last point unusual where bulbs are concerned. There are many things which wont grow well where the soil doesn't drain in the winter and you will find this information in the M&Z catalog. The bulbs are top size and I have had mostly good results from things I planted. In addition they offer many items that you won't see elsewhere.