Comments regarding Michigan Bulb

Posted on April 21, 2021, updated April 23, 2021
Posted on April 19, 2021, updated April 21, 2021
Ordered April 10th, said available to ship immediately. I was excited because it has bulbs complementary to ones I am planted that week.
Then I get receipt, shows shipping 4/20 to 5/08.
Last time I checked online it's showing shipping from 4/28 into mid May
Of course getting plenty of emails trying to entice me to buy more.....I now just want what I ordered, weeks ago. So frustrated.

I'm leaving a neutral review because I'm going off of my memory from the fall of 2018 and the spring of 2019. I primarily ordered super-cheap bulbs and bare-root plants such as ferns. I got a "free gift" of the tiniest rose plant I've ever seen. Another "free gift" never arrived. The rose is still living on my window sill and maybe this year it will be large enough to plant outside. The biggest issue in my opinion is that they usually ship the plants by throwing them in a big plastic sack -- what kind of way is that to ship living things? When they arrived the bags were all beat up. I suppose it's ok for daffodils bulbs, but not bare root plants. I ordered some pea plants which were very, very small and not worth the money. The orders arrived in bits and pieces and it's hard to keep track of what was ordered. I remember overall being disappointed and vowing not to order from them again, no matter how cheap. I never bothered with customer service, since I did receive product.

When I picked up the USPS box supposedly containing 3 tuberose bulbs, the package immediately felt light. When I opened the package, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It was empty. Michigan Bulb sent me some Michigan air.

To be fair, it wasn't entirely empty. It contained some packing bubbles and a brochure. But it was devoid of any plants. I called and had the shipment resent to me. Eventually I received bulbs that were 1/3 the size of tuberose bulbs I got from another online nursery.

I was lured into trying this company by their promotional discount. I got what I paid for. In addition to the tuberose, I ordered 3 types of lily bulbs, which were all smaller and less firm than the lily bulbs I got from Home Depot in a box of 5 for $10. One bulb was moldy.

Even if the quality of the plants were not an issue, I don't think I'll order from them again due to their tardiness. I live in Texas and summer comes early here. I placed my order for all the bulbs on 2/16.
Their reported delivery estimate was 02/26/18 - 05/18/18
By mid-March I asked their customer service when my order would be shipped. They said 2-3 weeks after the start of the delivery estimate. Hmm. Why didn't they just post a more accurate delivery estimate?
Actual date of shipment of the lily bulbs: 3/26
Actual delivery date of lily bulbs: 3/30
Date of shipment of my box of air, supposed to be tuberose: 4/2
Date of deliver of box of air: 4/7
Date of shipment of tuberose bulbs: 4/10
Date of delivery of tuberose bulbs: 4/17

By the time I received the lily bulbs from Michigan Bulb, my Home Depot lilies were already 6 inches above ground. Good thing I didn't wait for their tuberose delivery and got bulbs from another source. The silver lining from this experience is there won't be any disappointment if the plants end up not growing well. I already expect them not to do well! If I get a bloom here and there, it'll be like a bonus. If one of the plants actually lives, heaven knows I'll be propagating it myself and not needing Michigan Bulb ever again.

This place has always been hit or miss for me for decades. I've ordered from them since I was a kid but half the time the plants die and mostly fail to live up to the hype of the advertising. Their prices are fair and they do have a reasonable amount of unique and interesting items- but they seem to have a habit of misrepresenting some plants and don't give any information on growing them.
Sometimes they're perfect wonderful plants that grow true and beautifully, sometimes... they arrive dead....
In all I will still order from them when something they offer strikes my fancy, but I don't have great expectations. Their prices are reasonable enough that if it's a fail it's not an epic fail.

Most plants I ordered from Michigan Bulb were supposed to deliver by mid-end February but nothing was recieved. After a call March 1st they were supposed to deliver by March 8, this last week having gone by I just checked and now it says March 15th for the majority of them. If I don't receive them by the end of next week I will give it a negative review. To date I have received all the other companies plant/bulb/seed/tree orders. It makes it very difficult to plan help to put the garden in as I've bought so many plants this year to landscape almost a 1/4 acre yard. This is the 3rd time I'll need to reschedule but luckily as mentioned I can complete the stragglers this weekend that came in from other companies. They seem really slow with the delivery.

The two roses and the sedum I ordered arrived in a timely manner, however they were extremely tiny. The roses were literally single twigs approximately 3/8 of an inch thick at the base and one of them had blackspot on every leaf except for the top two leaves. The sedum was one single shoot. This would have been acceptable except that the price was almost the same as the prices at my local nursery for much bigger, potted plants. I consider it a live-and-learn experience and I'll know better than to order from them again.

Posted on April 1, 2015, updated April 26, 2015
I read the warnings from the Tipp City resident that the company was going out of business this spring and was concerned, but decided to take advantage of an offer anyway. Wonder if this is a disgruntled ex-employee?

I understood that with the weather we have been having in the Midwest (temps far below freezing well into March) that shipping might have to be delayed past their usual posted schedule. (Think about it, west coasters -- YOU might have good weather, but in Ohio it might be still too cold to ship!)

I also understood that the plants would be small -- that was okay with me.

JUST LIKE MOST MAIL ORDER COMPANIES they don't let you stack offers -- it is either one discount or another (50% off, sale price, flat rate shipping, free plant etc), you choose which one works for you. I don't consider this a bait and switch.

Well, I was sent emails telling me when my order shipped, I was able to track the order, and it arrived right on time, well packed, big healthy plants and tubers, excellent condition. No items missing.

This was my second time ordering from MB and I am again perfectly satisfied. I had a problem years ago with the Spring Hill version of the company, but they resolved it to my satisfaction then.

I had a discount coupon to try Michigan Bulbs so thought may as well - at that price not much to lose.

I ordered their mixed asiatic lilies to use as a filler in some beds that need "some oomph". They arrived in widely variable size and condition. At least 2 or 3 in each bag were notably smaller (tiny for a lily) with several having some scales that could have looked healthier.

I don't have much hope that those bulbs are going to do much next year and some of those itty bitty bulbs - pfft - who knows?

I understand the need to have vendors for specimen lilies versus filler lilies with my budget. However - I wouldn't buy my filler lilies from MIchigan Bulb again. When I realized I needed additional lily bulbs to go into my beds - I placed my orders with other vendors - and did a MUCH better job researching on Dave's Garden first.

They delivered what I ordered in a timely fashion though - so I will mark neutral with a "You get what you pay for".

We ordered several hundred dollars worth of bulbs and other items including a bulb planter. For some reason, they think I don't need the bulb planter until the last of the bulbs is shipped. Go figure. Otherwise I am pleased at this point with everything else and the timing of the deliveries.

"On Nov 15, 2013 4:42 PM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for your feedback, we always appreciate hearing from our customers."

Posted on April 15, 2013, updated June 9, 2013
Wow, This company is a joke!! They keep pushing my shipping date back further and further into the summer. Spring is here and I won't receive my plants until The end of May! Something is wrong with this picture. I ordered my plants around the end of March. Stay away from this company. Don't waste your time or money with them!!

"On Apr 17, 2013 4:13 PM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for your posting. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and check on the status of your order."

I ordered three times from Michigan Bulb. One order in March, one in April and one in May. The first plant arrived DEAD. The plant was dry, flat, and crumbly! I contacted them and they did send another, which was better, but still too dry. The second shipment's plants looked great. It is very obvious that the plants are being mailed by the grower, as the method of packing was very different each time.

My complaint is that I had to wait so long for the shipments. The first shipping date was in March, but the first order was not actually shipped until mid May. Some plants arrived in May, some are due June 6th, but about half of them have not been shipped yet. My columbine are arriving June 6th, but all the columbine in my gardens have already bloomed and are dying back. So I guess no blooms this year.

"On May 30, 2013 11:30 AM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and check on the remainder of your order for you."

I ordered several plants on 03/25/13. Kept checking the status of my order on their main site about every other day and noticed that the shipped dates were constantly being pushed back.

By mid April I decided to call and find out what was going on. I was told that several things I had ordered were on back order, that he didn't really have a set date of when my plants would be shipped to me, though to resolve this he mentioned sending my plants in multiple shipments as soon as possible, even listing several dates my plants would be likely shipped.

Two of those suggested dates have already come and gone (along with their website still steadily pushing back the shipping date), and going by all the bad reviews that I see here I'll be lucky to get what I bought at all.

I plan on giving it to the end of this month for them to actually ship my order or I am requesting a cancellation. Which is why this feedback of mine is currently rated Neutral, though will change for better or for worse if/when I hear back from them.

I have ordered from them several times over the years with mixed results. I always have to order multiples of a product because not everything will grow. Out of 3 empress trees I have 1 big beautiful tree, the other 2 died shortly after planting. Recently, I ordered 2 banana trees, 1 looks great the other wilted and died both received the same care.
I love the selection but it is very disappointing to spend the money and take the time to plant only to watch it die right after.

"On Jul 18, 2012 3:31 PM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. We apologize for the problem you had with your plants. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information."

Posted on May 8, 2012, updated May 16, 2012
Posted on April 30, 2012, updated May 8, 2012
Posted on April 26, 2012, updated April 30, 2012
Well... I have to admit all of these negative reviews have me worried. I made my first order to Michigan Bulb on Apr. 17. I received an order number email, but nothing more. With each day that passes, the "estimated delivery date" gets pushed back a day. (When I log into their website to check my order status that is.) I can only assume the push back is automated for each day the order isn't shipped.

I understand that I could be waiting for some time for my plants, and I'm ok with that as their prices were fantastic. What I don't like is that I have emailed them twice now requesting information about my order with absolutely no reply. I'll keep this updated when I receive a reply from them or when I get my plants in the mail. :3 I'm hoping for the best!

"On May 1, 2012 8:54 AM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Our site is having problems receiving emails and we are working very hard on fixing this and hope to have it rectified soon. We apologize for the inconvenience.

"

Posted on April 26, 2012, updated May 13, 2012
I ordered 3 blue moon hydrangeas, blazing star liatris bulbs, and a rainbow butterfly bush. The hydrangeas came and were wilted and all yellow. Most of their leaves had fallen off inside the box. The top was broken off the rainbow butterfly bush and it was yellow.

I have contacted the company 5 different times and received no response from them. Today I contacted them again and got an automated email response.

I recently ordered plants from Gurney's and they shipped a clematis and some daisy "roots" to me that were in bad shape. Along with an orange butterfly plant. I contacted them and they immediatly sent me out replacements and I got them within a week's time. They plants this time arrived healthy.

Not sure why Michigan bulb does not stand behind their gurantee or even contact you back once an issue is raised about a plant. This is my first time ordering from a mail order company and will be my last with Michigan bulb. Gurney's however has had excellant customer service and shipped me new plants right away! I have already gotten those and planted them all the while still waiting to hear back from Michigan bulb. I agree with all the others I wouldn't order from this company again.

"On Apr 30, 2012 3:50 PM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for your posting. A customer service representative will be contacting you for a reship. Our site is having problems receiving emails and we are working very hard on this and hope to have it rectified soon.

"

I am not entirely sure what to think just yet. Ordered A LOT of plants from them in several shipments.
Some plants (roses) came in looking great. They are also starting to show some growth. I am very pleased.
I was not so lucky with hydrangeas. I ordered 3 blue, 2 or 3 purple, 1 pink and 1 red. One pink, two purple and one blue died. Michigan Bulb replaced them (pink one will arrive in fall). I just received them and planted. They arrived in a better shape than those that died so I think they will do well. Many other plants I ordered also look great.
However, in my recent order they FORGOT my dwarf glads. The list of items in the order included these glads but they were not "checked off" and so were missing from the package!
I am in a bit of shock. I just emailed them and I HOPE they will believe that these bulbs are missing. I already planted lilies, both clematis, both roses and dwarf azalea. The other two items are coming in a back order. I just do not know what happened to glads. Mistakes happen so I hope to change my feedback to positive soon.

Order Number: 20810825900

I placed an order on March 21st and have watched as the delivery date progresses further into the month of April. I am hopeful that this experience will not be later deemed negative, as there appear to be many unhappy customers on this site who have encountered the same difficulties receiving their orders. The link to customer service on their website would not process my order inquiry.

"On Apr 3, 2012 2:08 PM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

We appreciate your feedback. One of our representatives will contact you for your account infomation and check on your order for you."

All I can say is that I am very frightened by the comments on this page....I wish I had seen this website prior to placing my order with Michigan Bulb. After further probing around on the website, I find it hard to believe that a company that is so well known does not have a phone number listed for customer service. Also, I placed my order and the ship date has already been move back a few days, but yet my payment has been taken from my credit card already! What kind of company takes payment before shipping? There is a full 3-4 week lapse between payment taken/shipping date. That is scary. I am very concerned about the plants I will receive and the time frame in which I will receive them. My zone falls within current shipping dates, so why has my order been pushed back again? We are having unseasonably warm temperatures, and planting outside at this time should not be of any concern. I requested a quick ship date when I placed my order, but from the sound of it, Michigan Bulb does not aim to please customers. Also, I wish I would have checked their guarantee better. Thirty days is not long enough to know if plants are going to survive. I will take this as an unfortunate and expensive learning lesson and at this point I'm thinking I will not be ordering from Michigan Bulb again. I guess we'll see if and when my order arrives, I change my mind. Will try to keep updating. Also, very confused as to why Michigan Bulb representatives are posting on this website??? What is that all about??? Maybe that time could be better utilized if they focused on their customer service.

"On Mar 27, 2012 4:21 PM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

We appreciate you posting your concerns about your order. If you have any probems at all please let us know and we will be happy to take care of it for you."

As everyone has said the shipping date for my items was pushed back several times. I did receive all my bulbs in time to plant, however the box stunk of mildew and the bulbs were sooo itty Bitty! If you can't resist the prices, go ahead and buy, but for a few extra bucks why not buy from a small business who's invested in their product and really cares about what they send you and whether or not it lives? My spouse and I were in awe of the difference between Michigan bulb lily bulbs and ones we bought from another smaller company! One was as big as my fist, and the Michigan bulb (which has already sprouted, not good) was the size of a walnut! Buy elsewhere!!

"On Oct 21, 2011 2:32 PM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. Our bulbs may be economical and a little smaller in size but will produce the same quality and size plant as a bigger bulb. We also offer a lifetime guarantee on our products. Any growth development will stop once a hard frost hits. This will not affect the bulb, as any green growth will put nutrients back into the bulb for the spring season.

"

Posted on September 28, 2011, updated October 3, 2011
Posted on September 28, 2011, updated September 28, 2011
Posted on September 20, 2011, updated September 28, 2011
Posted on September 20, 2011, updated September 20, 2011
I should have known better than to place any more orders with this company. I placed a large order in August knowing they wouldn't ship till September. Sept. 26 to be exact-and they are up to their old tricks again consistently pushing the ship dates further and further into October. (most of this order are plants, not bulbs) I had placed numerous orders with other companies for fall shipping and the last of those orders are arriving this week) I sent an email to them 4 days ago asking where my plants are and if I don't get them by the end of September that I would no longer make any purchases with them or their co-horts, Springhill Nursery, Brecks etc. I get the following response:Thank you for your email. "Please accept our apology for the delay in shipping. I have forwarded the request to the appropriate department. We will try to ship the order as soon as possible." No other department has contacted me and yet again they pushed my ship date again. If they don't have the plants they shouldn't offer them for sale. And yet I continue to get emails advertising more plants and offers. I don't know how this practice is even legal. I will be reporting them to BBB and consumer affairs, as I am sick and tired of their fraudulent business practices, as they take my money upon placing an order and don't live up to their promises. I can't believe I was foolish enough to get sucked in by this company by their low prices. By the time I receive these plants I can't see how they will survive in the ground with winter just around the corner here in zone 6.DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY.

"On Sep 23, 2011 3:25 PM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

We apologize for the delay in the shipment of your order. We will have a custmer service representative contact you for your account information and make sure your order is shipped as soon as possible."

Order Date: 06/26/11
Order Number: 11770099400

Order Date: 06/30/11
Order Number: 11810474600

Order Date: 07/06/11
Order Number: 11870557700

Order Date: 07/14/11
Order Number: 11950490800


I have placed 4 separate orders and am really anxious to get it... First I thought I will just buy one of those gardens and see how it will do and maybe come back after if the experience is good but I keep finding deals so I keep buying more though I have no experience w/ this company. I've bought quite a lot of flowers from Lowes and Home Depot this year then later found this website which I thought they offer their flowers at a very minimal cost.. I know its a risk but I have had flowers bought from stores nearby that died/or didnt come back the following year and am just hoping that Michigan Bulb will stand w/ this lifetime guarantee that they offer...

"On Jul 25, 2011 11:10 AM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for your feedback and for all your orders. Your orders will be shipping out this September. Yes, we do stand by our lifetime guarantee. Happy Gardening to you!"

Posted on May 28, 2011, updated June 20, 2011
I was very excited about their end of season Spring clearance sale. Some of my order (11291478700) shipped quickly and arrived in good shape. However, my blue moon hydrangeas, of which I ordered 4 offers now has an estimated ship date in the fall. I ordered before the close of Spring shipping but I notice that the plants are now sold out. I imagine they sold me plants that they don't have. I have contacted the company and will update if anything changes.

"On May 30, 2011 9:50 AM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for your posting. We apologize that the hydrangea you ordered changed to a fall ship date. A customer service representative will be contacting you to see what we can do to rectify this for you."

Posted on April 27, 2011, updated June 19, 2011
A lot of the plants I bought from them died. When I asked for replacements, I didn't get a reply. So much for their guarantee.
While the pictures are nice and sometime they have nice sales, it's a little risky buying from them. I'd rather buy from a local nursery, this way I pick a healthy plant and don't pay shipping for it.

"On May 5, 2011 4:02 PM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for letting us know about the problem you had with your plants. We will have a customer service representative contact you for your account information and have your items reshipped to you.
"

Posted on May 24, 2011, updated June 2, 2011
Posted on May 16, 2011, updated May 24, 2011
I placed an order for 3 preplanned gardens in April. The shipping schedule says that for my zone (5) they ship until May 27th. The website also states that things ship in 10-14 days. A fews days after placing my order, one item's shipping date was already pushed back into June. I called Michigan Bulb, and asked the customer service rep how they were going to ship something in June when it clearly states they only ship for spring until the end of May. She did not know what "shipping chart" I was talking about (the one right on their website) and it was made obvious that she didn't know much about what was going on. She stated that she was "assuming they would push the spring shipping dates until later so that things would still make it." Still haven't heard a word from the company, but according to my order, all of them have been pushed back well into June now. I noticed the spring shipping dates have been moved into the first week of June - This still is not going to help me, I am fearing. I am also fearing that like others who have commented on here, they are planning on shipping them in the fall, next year or not at all, without even letting me know. I have a huge empty spot where these gardens were supposed to go. Very disappointed. After reading reviews on here I still wanted to give them a chance. I think my stuff isn't coming, and that is really unfortunate.

"On May 16, 2011 3:19 PM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and check on when your order will be shipping to you."

In march, I ordered 14 Wall of china Hedges and a pack of Twinkle toes. The shipping was on-time, no complaints there. And the price was excellent! However, over 2 months after planting the bulbs, and hedges, none of the bulbs came up, and only 6 of the 14 hedges grew :( I sent a letter to customer service, and received a response within a few hours (Very Quick at responding). They told me that my entire order was going to be replace (Which was GREAT news)... However, it was not going to be shipped until next year!!! I am disappointed.. The spring shipping season does not end until June 10th, and today is the 1st. I waited as long as I could to give the plants time to grow. And now they are telling me I have to wait another year, even though the shipping season is not over! :( I really want the hedges, and am willing to wait if need be, but, (as others have stated), I now have bare spots along my property for another year :( I waited to give them a chance to grow, but tried not to wait too long so they could be replace if they didn't.. Despite of them offering to replace them, unfortunately, I'm still feeling a bit shorted. Other than this, Michigan Bulb has proven to have GREAT products and Customer Service. I would recommend them to anyone. Unfortunately, things like this happen sometimes. Perhaps I could find something in the mean time to fill in the blanks :(

"On Jun 2, 2011 10:25 AM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for your feeback concerning your order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information. We can check on your reship but we may not have any more of these items available to ship this season. We apologize for the inconvenience."

Posted on May 26, 2011, updated May 26, 2011
Posted on May 26, 2011, updated May 26, 2011
Most of my plants came, though much smaller then expected. I mean I can buy a gardenia, blooming and quite large here for $9, but the one from gurneys was tiny. The dancing dolphin plant has barely grown in almost 1.5 months. The others were OK, I will have to wait and see. The angel trumpet plant completely tanked. It can as a one finger long and one finger thickness and barely any roots. It's done for completely. I ordered April 26/11, and one plant has not been shipped yet. I was even astounded, as the climbing shell plant was puny, like half the length of my pointer finger, though its grown a tad.

Overall, disappointed - I have requested they either refund me for the angel trumpet or send another. Though honestly, I believe the shell plant, dancing dolphin, and blue fringe daisy's should also be refunded or sent a decent one that will grow.

"On May 27, 2011 11:36 AM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and see what options we have still available for you to fill up your garden. We apologize for inconvenience."

Posted on March 30, 2011, updated April 28, 2011
Placed an order on 2/23/11 (which was shipping season for my zone) and it wasnt shipped until almost 3 weeks later. When I started planting the Hummingbird/Butterfly garden I ordered, I was shorted in 3 different plants for this garden. I also ordered 3 of the Mixed Perennial Hibiscus plants only to have 2 of the 3 arrive alive. I have one entirely dead plant. I also ordered a Blue Rose of Sharon that just got shipped out today. Over a month later. I will NOT be ordering another thing from this company. They took my money immediately and the fact that I was shorted plants that I paid for and plants that arrived dead, I am utterly disgusted! Never Again!


Order Number: 10541357101

"On Mar 31, 2011 8:33 AM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

I apologize that some of the items you received were not viable and that you were missing plants. Our customer service representative will be contacting you to find out what plants you are missing as well as what items did not survive so we can get them reshipped out to you."

Posted on April 5, 2011, updated April 12, 2011
On March 28th, I decided to order a specific group of roses from Michigan Bulb company for a large bed in the space between my sidewalk, garage and front porch. I also needed a couple of climbing roses to finish a bed by my office window.

I ordered 4 miniature rose "bargain bags" to line the sidewalk, 6 tropicana roses, 3 double delight roses, one ebb tide rose, 2 blaze climbing roses, 1 Queen Elizabeth climbing rose, and 1 blue girl rose. I thought, and still think, that the total order price of $133.57, due to a coupon offer, was a very good price.

Even without the benefit of reviews, I expected small plants, so reading that in the reviews here does not surprise me. What did surprise me was that each time I checked on the order, the "delivery estimate" was always moved back. As a matter of fact, some dates were moved back 9 days farther than the others.

This afternoon, I checked and saw that some of the dates were moved to the 19th. I called to cancel my order. After waiting on hold for 24 minutes, I finally spoke to a woman who was unable to articulate her name clearly.

Brace yourselves, this may come as a shock. I don't believe that she was in the United States.

She explained that the items that have the later ship date are popular and are out of stock. I pointed out that I didn't care because i was cancelling my order. She refused to cancel the order, which had not shipped yet. She swore that part of the order would ship within 24 hours!!! As if that fixed everything...

I told her that if everything couldn't ship at once, or, failing that, if she wouldn't cancel the order, I would just call my credit card company and have them cancel the payment. Whatever-her-name is pretended to speak to someone to see if the missing items could be added.

She forgot to push the mute button. I heard her breathing and the background noise. Then she muted when she tried to come back and had to take it off mute again. She told me that the plants weren't available and she couldn't cancel the order.

In this part of the country, that is called fraud.

She tried to appease me, however, by offering to refund my order once it had shipped! Of course, if I had believed for a second that the order was preparing to ship (within 24 hours!!!), that would have meant what? Absolutely nothing, it is still fraud!

Once I had her remove me from the Michigan Bulb mailing list, assured her I'd get my credit card company to cancel payment, and got off the phone, I actually changed my mind. I decided that I would wait to see if the main part of the order actually ships (with 24 hours!!!!) tomorrow. If it does, I will reconsider everything and find out when the other items ship. I mean, I love roses and some of those varieties are gorgeous.

If it doesn't ship tomorrow, though, I will call my credit card company, cancel the payment and just plant a bunch of knockouts. At least I'll have actual plants in the ground instead of bare roots that won't ever get shipped.

"On Apr 8, 2011 9:22 AM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for making us aware of the problem. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and find out if your order has shipped or if you have been refunded. I apologize for the trouble."

AS OF TODAY (2-24-11) NEUTRAL- I HOPE IT TURNS OUT TO BE POSITIVE. HERE IS THE STORY- I RECEIVE AN E-MAIL ABOUT A $80.00 COUPON ON $160.00 ORDER. LAST NIGHT I GO TO WEB SITE & COME UP WITH AN ORDER FOR $167.81, SHOWS A COUPON FOR $80.00 (WEB SITE STATES OFFER EXPIRES 3/25/2011). I GO BACK TO THE WEB SITE TONIGHT, BRING UP THE SAME ORDER AND THE COUPON COMES UP AS $40.00 (NOT $80.00). I CALL, I WAIT, I WAIT, I WAIT, I TALK TO A LADY (i would guess from a foreign country) SHE SAYS THE COUPON IS $40.00, I TALK TO THE SUPERIOR, I TALK TO ANOTHER LADY, START OVER WITH THE $40 vs $80. VERY LONG STORY- BUT- I WAS TOLD I WILL GET MY $80.00 COUPON. CAN NOT SHIP ON DATE I ASKED. ???????????? WE WILL SEE..

"On Mar 16, 2011 8:35 AM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for letting us know about the problem with your coupon. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information and make sure your order has been taken care of."

Posted on September 30, 2009, updated June 24, 2010
I also placed a large order of plants from this company, before discovering all the reviews posted here. Then I figured, well the prices were so good, I might as well see how it goes with what I've already ordered. Then, as many others reported, the ship date kept getting pushed back and pushed back. Every day, it was pushed back further. Finally it was pushed back so far, that I realized even if they were delivered on the day they are estimating, I can't get them into the ground and established enough before winter! So i got nervous and canceled my order. They were kind, and did so quickly for me. Then I started to hem and haw, and thought, I really, really want that 3-in-1 Rose of Sharon, so I went back and ordered a smaller group of just a few items.
And, lo and behold, they were shipped the following week! Weird.
The package came two days after they shipped, which I thought was great, considering other complaints about shipping. I went outside to retrieve it, and the box was so SMALL! I could hardly believe that 5 potted plants and 6 bareroots could fit in it! I was expecting styrofoam peanuts all over my house! I opened the box, and inside were the 5 potted plants all healthy, green, and beautiful (albeight tiny), packed with cardboard sleeves (from an environmental standpoint - brilliant!), and the bareroot plants in plastic bags. Not bad. I immediately unpacked everything, watered them, and then planted them this afternoon. The healthy potted plants look fantastic, so we'll see what happens this winter. The bareroot Phlox - one package was in great shape, easy to separate, no problem. The other one was a little moldy on the plant side (the roots looked great though), so I planted those right away as well. So far so good - better than I expected.
I've already placed another order for some lily bulbs. With these prices, and their guarantee, I think it's totally worth it.
But again, we'll see this spring how things look!!

"On Jun 29, 2010 6:54 AM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for your posting. The feedback we receive from our customers help us to correct problem areas and ensure better service and product. A customer service representative will be contacting you for more information on your plants."

Posted on February 20, 2008, updated May 26, 2010
After reading all the negative press on this company I felt I had to chime in, enough already! I have ordered many times from Michigan Bulb and their sister companies and will continue to do so! My first comment is that my rating would be positive-neutral, leaning toward positive.

That said, here is the skinny on my experience with them. I like that the do not charge my card until the ENTIRE order has shipped. When it does, the time from notification to receipt is only a few days. Their products are definitely 2nd tier. With the plants and bulbs I have ordered they are smaller and there is die off. The packaging is barely adequate and the plants need to be soaked immediately upon arrival. Success rate is 3/4 survival. They start off slow (small size plant/roots) but do take off once established and given the proper conditions and TLC.

My most pleasant experience has been with customer support. I frequently order collections and when I experience a die off with part of it, they ship the whole collection to me. Yes, I have had collections resent multiple times, but never once was I given any hassle and the re-ships were very quick.

The underlying theme here is the cost, you don't pay much for this stock and as such you are receiving a lesser product. Understand full well what you are getting into! You WILL have die off, but they DO replace them and stick to their guarantee.

"On Jun 9, 2010 9:39 AM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you taking the time to post. We appreciate your feedback to better serve our customers."

Posted on April 22, 2010, updated May 20, 2010
Although I am familiar with the ads for this company, this is the first time I have ordered from them. My order arrived yesterday, and the plants were in excellent condition (two butterfly bushes and two Candy Stripe roses), beautifully packed--and although I expected very small plants for the price, they were healthy and well-sized specimens. Very happy with this purchase (and surprised, I have to admit!) I have spent much, much, MUCH more on both plants and shipping and not been half as satisfied with with a delivery as this one.
Fran Nicholson

"On Apr 22, 2010 12:24 PM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

We appreciate you taking the time to post your experience. We look forward to serving you in the future. Happy Gardening!"

Posted on April 21, 2010, updated May 19, 2010
I took a chance with Michigan Bulb and ordered a lot plants. I received most of them yesterday. Almost every plant looked wonderful except the drawf asters. I am going to plant them and see what happens. I am very pleased so far with most of these plants. I will keep everyone posted on how they are doing.

"On Apr 22, 2010 11:34 AM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

We appreciate you taking the time to post your experience. We do offer a lifetime guarantee so if the aster do not make it please let us know. We are always here to answer any questions you may have or assist in any way we can. We look forward to serving you in the future. Happy Gardening!"

I have not yet placed an order and am already frusterated. When I logged and and selected all that I wanted (much of it was on sale) everything seemed to be going great. I clicked update totals and all of a sudden ALL of the sale prices were GONE. My order was more than double what it was. I tried to get the sale prices back by going back and fourth, but nothing. I called the company. What do you know...it's not the company at all. They told me if I e-mailed them a screenshot of my screen with the sale prices, they would honor them. I did this immediately. Then I got this e-mail :"Thank you for the screen shot. However I am unable to duplicate what you sent me. My suggestion to you is place the order on the website." I immediately e-mailed back and said I would like to speak with someone else regarding this matter as they promised me help, and now offer me none. If I could place the order on the site with those prices I would have already done so. I'm still waiting to hear back and am not at all happy.

"On May 19, 2010 8:00 AM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for posting we appreciate your feedback. I apologize for the trouble you are having placing your order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your order information."

Honestly I'm having a hard time choosing Positive or Negative on this company so here I am Neutral. I have just as many good things to say about this company as well as bad.

Positive
They are a 24 hour customer service line.
They stand by their satisfaction policy.
They use UPS shipping and give tracking numbers.
They send you an email letting you know when your item was shipped.
75% of most bulbs and bare root plants they send you do grow.
Yes I will still do business with them again.

Negative
Don't buy trees from this company without knowing the following:
1. If you think your going to get a nice thick healthy tall tree. Your in for a rude awaking. Buy your trees where you can see them in person.
2. Most plants they send are bare root. That means they send you a tree that is sleeping. It arrives as a twig/stick with NO dirt. This can be quite alarming if you never ordered before.
3. Their shipping / quality assurance department, You would think they have the visually impaired working for these departments. The quality of the trees are very poor. And often arrives broken, dis-formed, shorter then advertised or dead.
4. They do stand by there satisfaction policy however it takes awhile for the item to be reshipped.
5. I had my order reshipped quite often from this company and it's partner company's 4 to 5 times. The percentage rating I give is 3 out of 10 or a 30% chance of getting a tree that will be satisfactory at best.

Check your time zone if you want a clear, knowledgeable speaking person on the phone. They out source there calls.

All the positives are good enough for me. Buying tree's are a nightmare. There customer service can be a little more knowledgeable but over all there policy and hours make up for it.

"On Apr 28, 2010 1:18 PM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

We appreciate you taking the time to post. We use our customers feedback to provide better products and service to our customers. Thank you for your feedback."

Posted on April 15, 2010, updated April 27, 2010
Even with the mixed reviews, I was enticed by the low prices and the offer of $25 off my order. I ordered several pants, a few bare roots, and a Kousa dogwood. The plants were little, but I knew that would be the case since the prices were so low, and almost all had a BOGO. The bareroots on the other hand were pretty pathetic. I ordered a praire blue daylily, and the free one was dead. It never has done anything, although I keep hoping. The bareroot sweet william were very small and all but dead. They are surviving as is the candytuft, but may take some time to look like anything. Quite honestly, I could have bought the bareroot plants locally for about the same price with better results. I was shorted on a few of the free plants as well. As an example, I bought a blue dianthus, which was supposed to be a BOGO, but ony received one. The kousa dogwood was dead, is dead. I didn't complain to the company, because all in all, I received some nice plants which are doing well, and I did not shell out much money. I am disappointed in the Kousa though. I might buy plants from them again, but would avoid bareroots of any kind.

"On Apr 16, 2010 11:57 AM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for posting we appreciate your feedback. We do pride ourselves on our lifetime guarantee. We do our best to ship quality plants to our customers and in a timely manor. A customer service representative will be contacting your for more information. Happy Gardening!"

Posted on March 26, 2010, updated March 26, 2010
Posted on March 26, 2010, updated March 26, 2010
i was in the middle of making my order online and had the items in my cart. i had started the process to check out when i went to go get my credit card. i wanted to make sure i had everything thing i wanted in my cart and the prices just changed like that. i lost all my sale prices and i was shocked. in a matter of seconds. when i called customer service they said they could not help because they were just a call center and did not actually work at michigan bulb. i find this very unfair that they would not try to fix the problem.

"On Mar 31, 2010 2:51 PM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

We apologize for the trouble you had on our website with the pricing. A customer service representative will be contacting you and will be happy to honor the sale pricing for your items."

I live in south/central Florida, and planting times are very different here than in the rest of the country, yet MI Bulb only ships plants during their standard shipping times, not taking into consideration the differences required here. I begged them to send the plants earlier, but they refused. They instead sent me a $5 coupon toward a future order (which I have misplaced during the year between orders, and they will not replace it, they told me). My first order consisted of a mixture of potted plants and bareroot roses. Every one of the potted plants died (they were unbelievably tiny and in hindsight I should've put them into pots for a year or so before putting them in the ground). Fortunately the rose is doing well, has even bloomed a bit after a year in the ground. I called MB about replacing the dead plants and they issued a replacement certificate. After reading the reviews posted here, I will stick with bulbs and more bareroot roses and hopefully have better results. It is sad to lose a year of growth and have to wait for replacements, and it is frustrating to not have plants shipped at the right time for my zone. But the replacement guarantee is big, so if the bulbs don't work this time, I will stick to bareroot roses for future replacements. I will post again after I see how my replacement order does.

I have ordered from Michigan Bulb numerous times in the past year. Live plants, bareroots, bulbs, etc. Each order is usually fairly large (within the $60-$80 range). I have had, as others noted, numerous shipping delays. And, although a fair portion of my orders have arrived in decent condition, it seems that every order has numerous D.O.A. victims. I recently received 2 'Dancing Dolphin Vines', and one was as dead as Lincoln (the other has produced one bloom, but no vegetative growth). I also ordered 2 Egret Flowers, and both were mush when they arrived and never grew. Out of 10 Hardy Glads, only 4 grew. 6 Corina Lilies produced 3 small starts. 5 Sterling Star Lilies produced 2. 5 Monsella Tulips produced 0!!!

I have also received "substitutions" more often than is acceptable.

And, when I ordered 2 fragrant "Vigna Caracalla", I received non-fragrant Phaseolus Caracalla (the one with the double lilac flowers instead of the clusters of multi-colored flowers). Only one of the vines thrived.

Im still waiting for a few replacement plants to arrive before I switch this to a Negative feedback. If they arrive on-time and in good condition, then I'll keep it Neutral.