Comments regarding Holland Bulb Farms

The tulips I ordered were the wrong cultivar. These things happen, but this company does not give refunds. Instead I was given a gift code for the amount I had paid. But the gift code did not work online. When it failed they told me I had to call them to redeem it. Not worth the hassle for a small amount of money.

Very negative experience I ordered a ton of bulbs from them all came with mold and the box was and bulbs were calling with aphids. I don't recommend at all.

Posted on July 18, 2023, updated July 18, 2023
I have no idea how this company survives. I ordered 1 mixed bag of 3 bleeding hearts and 1 mixed bag of 3 toad lilies. The red bleeding heart was completely disintegrated that there was no root in the bag. I found 2 completely dried up toad lilies in the other bag. The 2 surviving bleeding hearts looked pathetic. I planted them but not confident they'll grow. I contacted them about the order. They said they need to see the pictures before researching any solution. They didn't state that in their website. Had I known, I'd have taken some pictures (there wasn't anything to take a picture of anyway). I was a little concerned when I placed the order because the website gave me a bad feeling about it. I went ahead because of the 100% quarantine. They are so bad that I'd classify them as a scam.

I purchased Muscadet Oriental Lilies from this company, planted per package instructions after the freeze in late May 2023, and fertilized and watered them assiduously. They never pierced the surface of the soil--in other words, they were rotten! Holland Bulbs announces on their web page that they have a 100% guarantee or your money back. I have sent them emails, called their 800 number leaving messages, and used their chat line. No response after a number of days of trying. The company is completely unresponsive, and I suggest you avoid them. They'll take your money, send you defective merchandise, and then ignore you completely

There is no real customer service with this company. They reply to email with a prescribed standard company statement. There is no actual reply from someone within their "customer service" no matter how many times you send an email concerning an issue with your order. Their website option to chat with someone never opens. It does not open.

They may advertise some very attractive prices on their plants, BUT, once you buy you are on your own. BUYER BEWARE!

They shipped me shriveled and rotten tubers, and when I called this out, they responded that per their policy they would only return store credit (which means I'd have to spend even more money at their store to purchase and ship anything new). Absolute scam - I refuse to spend any more money for dead plant parts. Beware of what looks like a deal because it's probably not and their "guarantee" just guarantees you throw good money after bad :-(

I ordered two things: one a fall bulb set and the other a spring bulb set. The fall bulbs will not ship for a while, and I hope they are better than the spring ones. This post is about the spring cannas -- 3 'Pretoria'.

The bulbs looked okay when they arrived and I planted them according to the scanty instructions that came with them and other information from various websites. After what seemed an adequate time with no sign of the sprouts I exhumed them (and that's exactly what I did) and found one black and mushy, one black, but not yet mushy, and one mostly black, but possibly with a little life still in it. So I moved the two that weren't obviously stone dead into pure perlite to give them maximum drainage and air, but to no avail. Last week I re-exhumed their mushy carcasses and gave up.

After both "inquests" I sent photographs and explanations to the vendor, and pictures of the many other plants I have growing merrily in the same well-drained mix in containers on my back deck. Both times I was met with stony silence. Not even the arguments and stall tactics that some reviewers have mentioned, just no response whatsoever.

Belatedly, I looked at customer reviews here and at the BBB site. You'd think I would learn, but ...

I wonder what happened in 2016 and 2017. Before that the majority of their reviews were good to glowing, but after that most of them are like mine. Maybe they got as rich as they wanted and just don't care any more. Maybe something else happened, but it seems weird that it all collapsed in the mid teens. It can't have to do with Holland buying Tulip World because that happened in 2007. And, finally, we find something here that can't be blamed on supply chain issues related to Covid because it happened too early. It's strange how things just turn sour.

I hope my fall bulbs are okay, but I am not hopeful.

At least 3 items were mislabeled- so far- that I know of. I've sent messages and written reviews (which aren't published) but haven't received a response. Unfortunately, I spent a bunch of money on their site for this Spring's bulbs. It's like they don't care.

Bought 4 clematis. Arrived in bags with a draw string. The draw string opened during shipping and dirt spilled all over the inside of the box and exposed roots. The tops of 2 of them had died. The roots seem OK, so I'll plant and hope I get top growth in a month or 2. Not going to bother asking for a refund if any fail. After reading reviews, seems more trouble than it's worth.

I have had two terrible experiences with this company and no longer order from them. In one case, they did not ship out my (very ordinary) order for EIGHT weeks, cutting down significantly on the planting time I had available. In the other instance, they were going to hold the fall clearance bulbs I ordered until mid-March to ship, a good six weeks after I ordered them. ??! I have no idea how they stay in business with their shipping policies. They do NOT tell you about their long shipping delays, by the way, not when you order and not in your rder confirmation or account history. Nor do they offer tracking of your orders. You have to contact them every time you want to check on an order.

In addition, they will send you emails every single day with endless offers of free shipping -- but when you try to use a free shipping code, it has always expired. Tried to use one sent to me only two days before and it had already expired. The customer service rep argued that the expiration date was clearly marked. She was wrong. There was no mention of an expiration date in the email that advertised the code. I sent a screen shot and she tried to argue the point again. Found two great mail order aternatives and intend to use them instead going forward.

I made the mistake of ordering Louisiana Iris from this company. And I really made a mistake ordering three batches of them. They arrived late, very late. They were completely dried up and desiccated. Just garbage. But like a fool I went ahead and planted them thinking maybe there might be some life left in them.

Well I looked them today. Soft mushy rotten garbage. I will never order from these thieves ever again. They promise delivery times and then they put it off over and over. They send dead material.

I have planted iris for years and never have I ever seen something like this. How hard can it be storing iris for shipment? How hard can it be keeping them fresh for planting?

DO NOT EVER ORDER FROM THEM

After two months, repeated emails, and TWO complaints to the BBB, this company FINALLY refunded my money. It took serious coercion.

I ordered four types of decorative Dahliias, three each. Only one of the four bloomed correctly. The other three were cheaper single garden dahlias! I emailed this to the company with full photo documentation. They tried to blame the distributor but really. Three out of four?

I would’ve let things slide perhaps but the company lied. They said I had only told them one of the four was correct because apparently they can’t tell the difference between the words correct and incorrect.

Honestly, I just want to prevent other people from having to go down this road. Please do not order from Holland Bulb Farms.

Some of my orders were fine, but they were mainly hosta roots and some dried bulbs. When ordering may night salvia and sedum roots, autumn joy sedum and lily bulbs that had gone on sale the roots were dried out beyond the point of return and the bulbs were rotting. I have emailed them for refunds. The only roots that were find were the hosta. All others were too dried to revive. The only bulbs that were fine were the ones that come dried out. Anything that has some moisture was rotting and gross. Perhaps I should never trust sale time items as they probably aren't packaged well enough to survive for months in plastic bags. Repainting my first floor had me tied up until Mid may when I then began on my gaden. But one would think items should come in reasonable condition and able to survive. What a waste of money. Never again.
Do not order from this company or if you do, do not trust items once they have gone on sale. That probably means their shelf life is up and they will be beyond the point of return.

DO NOT order from this company!! Wish I had read the reviews before I ordered 2 White Lava Elephant Ears. I guess they were actual bulbs, but they were basically dried up clumps of "something." I planted and watered them anyway but the chances of them growing anything green are slim to none. I emailed the company but like so many reviews they didn't bother to respond. Since I only spent around $20 I'm done. But BUYER BEWARE.

Do NOT order from this company. You'd likely receive dead plants, and worse yet, they would ignore you when you contact them.

I ordered three honeysuckles from Holland Bulb Farms. Two of them arrived dead, twiggy things with dry leaves. They were poorly packed and the soil was completely dry when they arrived. No wonder they were dead. The third one was barely alive. I contacted the company but heard nothing from them. I wish I'd read the reviews on this site first before placing the order.

I ordered 10 Major Wheeler Honeysuckle plants on February 28th and received them mid-March. The plants were in horrible condition when I received them as they were wilted, dried out, and bare root in loose packing. I have never received plants in such horrible condition. I reported this to Holland Bulb Farms immediately and was told that they were in shock from shipping. I was told to plant them and the roots would still be viable and would begin to grow new growth. Two weeks later, all previous growth had completely died and no new growth has appeared so, I contacted them again, only to be told it could be 6-8 weeks for the dead plants to recover from the shock before they begin to grow again (are you kidding me, dead plants never recover). I was told to contact them again in a couple months if there is no growth and they refused to send replacements or issue a refund . No one plants in the spring to wait until summer before growth even appears. They could have easily replaced them but wouldn't. Their 100% guarantee is just lip-service to make you feel as though they will stand behind their products... they won't.

DO NOT ORDER from this company unless you're willing to gamble with your money and delay project plans. They do not stand behind their products and you're almost treated like a criminal, for their negligence, when you report issues.

Posted on December 11, 2020, updated December 18, 2020
Posted on December 11, 2020, updated December 11, 2020
Posted on December 8, 2020, updated December 11, 2020
Posted on December 7, 2020, updated December 8, 2020
Don't order from them!!

I placed an order on November 18th. I did not receive any email confirmation of the order. (Thank goodness I took a screenshot of the confirmation page of the order, so still have that). They state that their orders ship within 3-5 business days. The following week, Wednesday Nov. 25th, still with no communication from them and no package received, I called Holland Bulb Farms to inquire about the order. First, I asked if the product was in stock, and was told yes, it was in stock. Also was told that the shipping would be the following week. I was not thrilled with the info that it would take this long to ship, but at least believed I would be receiving the package.

It is now December 7, and still have not received the package, nor any email communication (was told that an email would be sent when the package shipped). I called their telephone number and can't reach customer support (during their stated business hours). I've learned previously that leaving a voicemail gets absolutely no response, so didn't leave one this time.

If I can receive the bulbs ordered THIS WEEK, I'll consider the issue solved. But I'm doubtful that this will happen, given the history. If not shipped this week, I want the order cancelled. And I certainly won't be ordering from them ever again, and caution anyone else thinking about ordering, especially very late in the season.

Some bulbs received were rotten. Left email and phone messages over several days and have never received a reply. Poor customer service and bulbs were small as well as some being rotten. Buyer beware!

"On Nov 16, 2020 10:35 AM, Holland Bulb Farms responded with:

Hi Bobby,

Thank you for your review of our products. We are sorry you did not get a response from our customer service team. During peak season we get a high volume of customer contact and do our best to get back to customers as quickly as possible. Please let us know if you have received a reply and a resolution to your problem. We certainly want to make sure you receive the correct amount of healthy bulbs that you ordered. "

Bought 12 daylily bulbs back in 2018. I spent over $64. The bulbs were small but I planted them as soon as I received them following the directions fully. I keep waiting for them to grow. I have a very hard time understanding why none of them grew. I've been a gardener for over 15 years. While I understand they won't guarantee after the first year I kept hoping, was struggling with polymyalgia rheumatica so was overwhelmed by health issues so didn't follow through. My recommendation is to pay more for plants and avoid bareroot.

"On Nov 16, 2020 10:30 AM, Holland Bulb Farms responded with:

Hi there,

Thank you for your feedback on the daylilies you ordered from our company. We are sorry to hear your disappointment in the growth of the daylilies. To understand why they did not grow when they were planted in 2018 we will need more information. When were they planted? Where were they planted? How deep were they planted? With more information, we will be able to provide some input as to why they did not grow. Please feel free to reach out to us via email info@hollandbulbfarms.com to provide more information on the planting of these daylilies and hopefully we can provide some additional insight as to why they did not grow. "

Holland Bulb Farm does NOT care to send the right products.

They do NOT care to give good customer service.

= they do NOT care about their customers!!

"On Nov 16, 2020 10:26 AM, Holland Bulb Farms responded with:

Hi Anna,

Thank you for your feedback, we really appreciate hearing from you. We are sorry to hear that you feel this way about our company and services. Holland Bulb Farms is a small family run business, and our customer's satisfaction is very important to us. If your communication with our company did not represent our care and concern for our customers, we are sorry that we have missed the mark.
2020 has been a challenging year with the increase in online ordering, combined with staff shortages in spring and early summer as well as shipping challenges. We have taken steps to improve these situations by increasing staff to communicate at a quicker pace with our customers. Therefore, we encourage you to give us another try as we do take our customer's satisfaction seriously and aim to send quality flower bulbs and perennials. "

Posted on June 13, 2019, updated June 23, 2020
I ordered 3 bareroot poppies and 1 peony at very low cost. The roots were all very small, which didnt surprise me given the pricing. I planted everything out in the garden immediately upon arrival in spring. 2 of the 3 poppies failed to grow and after a month of care i contacted the company. They sent replacements right out. 3 poppy plants and one peony are now growing nicely, although they are small plants. Good value if you are a patient gardener.

"On Aug 20, 2019 10:32 AM, Holland Bulb Farms responded with:

We are happy to hear that the replacement poppies and peonies grew! Thanks for updating us and for being patient while we got the replacements sent out to you! "

I placed a small order this past spring for lilies and dahlias. The items arrived on time and looked fine. However now that they have bloomed, I see neither are the ones I ordered. The Salmon Party lilies turned out to be bright yellow solid type and the Orange Glory dahlias turned out to be a burgundy and a different smaller form. I also ordered a honeysuckle which has not bloomed, so I cannot comment on it. I will not waste my money here again.

"On Nov 16, 2020 10:16 AM, Holland Bulb Farms responded with:

Hi Pinetucky,

Thank you for your review of the order you received this past spring. We are sorry to hear that the lilies and dahlias in your order did not bloom as expected. If you have not already we encourage you to reach out to us via email info@hollandbulbfarms.com so we may work out a way to compensate you for the incorrect blooms.

Thanks,

Holland Bulb Farms Staff"

***DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY*** Wow. This company has THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE. They sent a package of bulbs, uninsured, which was delivered to the incorrect address by an incompetent USPS worker. The company then insists that since the post office delivered a package to somewhere (not the correct address), they are absolved of any responsibility. We spent over $400 this year with them and will never use them again. I tried both via phone and via chat to reach someone that was interested in customer service. Here's a sample of what i got:

"Then since the Post Office delivered it to the wrong address, then that is their fault and you can file a claim with them. That was not our mistake."

"Sounds like they delivered it to the wrong address, we did not send it to the incorrect address.
There is not anything we can do on our part. It was the carriers fault."

What they don't tell you (and apparently can't get through their thick skulls) is that you CANNOT file a claim on an UNINSURED package. So it WAS their fault for not insuring a package shipped at the cheapest rate. Terrible people in 'customer service". I have proof from the post office that it was delivered to the wrong address and now will be able to get the credit card company to chargeback the amount of the order. Loss is part of doing business and can be claimed on their taxes. They left us out to dry and frankly they should pay me for the 5 hours spent dealing with their idiocy.
***DO NOT BUY FROM THEM.***

"On Nov 26, 2019 9:41 AM, Holland Bulb Farms responded with:

Hello. Thank you for your past business and for leaving a review. I'm so sorry to hear you were not satisfied with the service you received from our company. Here at Holland Bulb Farms we strive to offer the very best in quality products and customer service. It appears you had 4 order this Fall with the first 3 being delivered in good quality and in a timely manner. Unfortunately it appears the 4th package was delivered to the wrong address via USPS. The address was correct on our end, unfortunately the carrier made a mistake. After several conversations, it was established that since USPS delivered the package to the wrong address, you would have to file a claim with them. We did reach out to USPS to help resolve the situation for you. Since the package was just delivered a couple doors down from you, they suggested we call your local post office, filing a claim would not be necessary. They would be more than happy to retrieve the package from the wrong address and deliver it to you, since it was their mistake. Unfortunately your local post office does not answer the phone and their inbox is full. We are continuing to try to reach them with no success. Again, we do apologize and as soon as we are able, we will have the post office retrieve the package that was delivered to the wrong address and sent to you. Our customer service department is working diligently to try to resolve this for you and hope we are able to get in touch with your local post office soon to make sure that package gets to you. Thank you."

I ordered Lily of the Valley.

When they arrived they had already sprouted and had six inches of new growth. I notified them the day the plants arrived but they ignored my email. I contacted them again after three weeks when most of the plants had died They insist that the plants were stored appropriately, and want to reship them next year.

There's no reason to believe that the plants will be in better condition next year, and I want a refund.

"On Aug 20, 2019 10:38 AM, Holland Bulb Farms responded with:

We are sorry to hear your disappointment in the original shipment of the Lily of the Valley. Some plants are eager to grow even when stored in our coolers. We know that the roots for next year would be sent out in great condition, however also understand you not wanting to wait until next year. Our customer service team issued a refund for the entire order amount on June 6th. Again, we are sorry that these didn't work out, but we have done all we could to make the situation right. "

Placed order for callas and cannas in March 2019. Received dead rotten bulbs/rhizomes. Contacted customer service day after delivery and they requested pictures of bulbs. Sent pictures that same day and CS said they would contact me with their findings of whether I would get replacements if their findings deemed it but would not get refund.
Never received any further contact from Holland Bulb Farms. Two weeks later got a package of bulbs. Thought WOW! I got new bulbs/rhizomes. I did get a new shipment, but again, the exact same condition as before dead rotten bulbs/rhizomes. Cannot believe they even ship these out as there is no chance since they are all moldy and stringy. How do you do this not once but twice? Never again, spent close to $100 for absolute garbage. Even on ebay I have gotten bulbs/rhizomes but never rotten.
They sent me an email today 4/19/19 for a review but I'm sure it will never get on the website since after you actually fill out the review it tells you a moderator will determine if it is posted...WOW so don't look for 1 star reviews on their site, they don't get posted.
PLEASE SAVE YOUR MONEY AND BUY ELSEWHERE. THE WEBSITE PICTURES ARE BEAUTIFUL BUT THE BULB OR RHIOZOME YOU SEE IS NOT WHAT YOU WILL GET

"On Aug 20, 2019 11:29 AM, Holland Bulb Farms responded with:

We are so sorry to hear your disappointment in the canna and calla bulbs you received. We see a note in your account from 3/25 that the first shipment was bad, and it appears we as you stated made a replacement order. We did not know the replacement order was also received in poor condition. Please contact us info@hollandbulbfarms.com and we will be happy to issue a credit for the value of the original order. So sorry about these errors, we certainly would not want to send you 2 orders with bulbs you were not satisfied with. "

Do not order from this company. I added a message to their order form to ship my order the first week of May. They sent it much earlier. I requested this date because I would not be home until this time. The bulbs sat in the cold on the porch for weeks. When I wrote to get a free replacement as their guarantee states I was told that those messages are rarely read. The bulbs have not grown and I still cannot get a replacement from these nasty people. Bulbs are sold everywhere so choose a company that reads requests they put in the order form and from companies who really willing to back up their guarantee.

"On Aug 1, 2018 2:22 PM, Holland Bulb Farms responded with:

Dear ikenobo:
I want to follow up with the same information we provided you regarding the similar BBB Complaint you initiated. You placed your order on our website on February 11, 2018 we shipped your order April 26th and have confirmed delivery via USPS to your door on April 28, 2018
We have provided you all the tracking information and confirmed delivery of April 28th. I apologize that it arrived 2 days before May.
To state, "The bulbs sat in the cold on the porch for weeks" this seems a bit odd, since your request for delivery (as you stated in the above message) for May delivery and we confirmed delivery April 28.
I am very sorry you are so upset with our company, we are a family business and have been shipping flower bulbs and perennials for over 30 years. We do everything for our customers.
Kind Regards,
Jon "

I have ordered personally and have had good luck... but I ordered for this year for the company I work for ... It wasn't the biggest order ever. but I ordered poppies in the middle of April. yeah late I know but I really wanted to start establishing them and maybe get a late flower or two. well I wait a month and nothing. so I call the company 3-4 times before I got a hold of someone. well this is what I got from Jenny the operations manager who has no superior apparently cause when I asked for a number or to speak to them she refused. She told me the poppies had not made it through the winter and they over sold them due to not finding the issue until about the time I ordered. They ended up refunding my money and gave a credit.... so the biggest problem I have is the way this was handled. They took my money and did nothing else to contact me about their inventory issue. she did apologize for the problem but that came with all kinds of excuses from they are a fall planted item- to they fill thousands of orders with only 6 employees- to im not sure who didn't contact you to let you know the situation - to explaining to me about how perennials grow. but the biggest kicker was near the end of the conversation she asked if there were anything else I wanted to tell her because she had other customers waiting and I was taking up her time...

long story short if it is something time sensitive or a must have for the growing season. or if you order from a bunch of vendors skip this one.... if takes to much work to ensure your order from this company.

"On May 14, 2018 2:03 PM, Holland Bulb Farms responded with:

James-- We did speak earlier today and I sent you an email about this. We are still sorry we weren't able to fill your order, and that we don't have record of you being contacted about us not having any more of the poppies you ordered. We were under the impression that all the orders with these poppies that weren't able to be filled were contacted by one of our customer service agents, we apologize if we some how missed contacting you. We did refund the order today and issue a $25 merchandise credit, as you were very upset with us. We were doing what we could to try to resolve the matter. We did have other customers waiting on the lines, and after we offered the refund and credit to you, we felt we had closed the order and could not provide any further assistance to you. I did not say you were taking up my time, but I did ask if there was anything else we could help you with, as I had other customers to help. We know you aren't happy with us, and we really do try to do our best to fill orders and communicate with our customers, however sometimes mistakes happen and we are sorry that this mistake happened with your order.

Best Wishes,

Jenny San Filippo"

I ordered about $100 worth of flowers for the 2017 growing season. Some of them either did not grow or were not the colors I ordered, so they credited my account. I will say those that grew did amazing. The largest issue came when I contacted the company regarding a new order that I had placed. It had been multiple weeks and I needed to get the order in the ground before fall. The representative who answered the chat was SO RUDE and SNIPPY. She actually claimed that I "interrupted her" ... It was a CHAT... You CAN NOT "INTERRUPT." That was just the first of many snide comments she made. I sent and email to the company and instead of doing anything about the horrible service, Jennifer San Filippo the Operations Manager did not even acknowledge the issue.

This is the complaint I sent: She made snide comments to me prior to her sending me the long detail of fall shipping of bulbs. I did not order bulbs, I ordered roots of plants so how why would I correlate that as something else (a bulb, which is a bit different). She accused me of interrupting her ... HOW DO YOU INTERRUPT CHAT? Do you commonly approve of a customer service rep accusing your customers?

I am quite angry. Her attitude was rude, unprofessional and after that, I did not care what she said because her entire attitude was rude. I told her I was frustrated and I even put a sad face to show that I was sad about the process. She later asked if I was reading her responses, to which I said, how could I respond if I did not read it? I told her how she was acting. She was being bitchy and I called her out on it. I also apologized and she said she would not forgive me. LOL that just PROVED her ATTITUDE FROM THE BEGINNING!

I deal with customers too and it does not matter if they are happy, sad, confused on terms, mad, frustrated... I DO NOT CARE.... I HELP THEM with 100% pleasure in doing so. If someone is mad, I find out why and reassure them, help them and even if I can not changed things, I let them know I care. By the end, the customer is happy irregardless of the situation. Your REP, did NOT!

If this is the behavior you condone, then I think you should credit my bank card for the full amount. I will not be making another purchase. I ordered from 6 other companies too. I can do business elsewhere. Justifying her attitude is not ok. Your explanation below would have sufficed, but that is not what she gave me. The snippy accusations set the tone!

Her snide reply was this: Thank you for your reply. We have refunded and canceled your order, and attached a copy of the canceled order for your records and review. Based on your correspondence with our company we think it will be best if you continue to enjoy ordering from the other flower companies that will satisfy your customer services needs better than can. We wish you the best of luck in your future garden endeavors.

The Operations Manager did not care about how horribly I was treated and told me to order elsewhere. They also deleted my account information. So they seem to not only tolerate but support the customer service rep in treating customers like trash. You won't get my business or the local growing groups and communities.

"On Nov 6, 2017 10:52 AM, Holland Bulb Farms responded with:

Hi Iamlilygirl,

We are sorry that your customer experience was less than satisfactory, and that the customer service rep was not fully understanding your questions and needs. We did as you asked and issued a refund to your account. We closed your account as you seemed utterly disappointed in our company and that you would not be ordering from us in the future. We certainly don't condone any of our employees speaking in a way that would upset our customers, we also do not condone any customer who may verbally abuse our customer service representatives.
Again, we wish you the best of luck in your future garden projects, and hope you are able to find a company that can live up to your customer service needs and expectations.

Best Wishes,

Jenny"

Posted on May 9, 2017, updated June 2, 2017
Posted on May 8, 2017, updated May 9, 2017
I ordered four plants on 2/15/17.

The quality of the plants was acceptable. However, at least two of the plants ordered are not as labeled.

1. "Stuttgart" canna has sprouted with RED leaves. The true Stuttgart is green/white variegated.

2. "Beach Boy" hosta is growing well, with SOLID BLUE leaves. The true Beach Boy is variegated.

The other two plants are clematis, so I'll have to wait until at least next year to see the blooms. At this point I'll be surprised if they are as labeled either.

Buyer beware!

"On May 8, 2017 11:33 AM, Holland Bulb Farms responded with:

Thank you for your recent order and for leaving a review on the items you ordered. We are sorry to hear that the Cannas and Hosta are not coming up as they should be. We certainly did not intend for this to happen, and would like to offer a refund for those items or replacements for those items at no cost to you. Please let us know which you prefer!

Thanks,

Holland Bulb Farms Staff

I placed a fairly large order for bulbs near the end of the spring growing season. When I received the box from Holland Bulb Farms I received fewer salvias and calla lilies than I had ordered. The reason: HBF ran out of inventory. This is a big problem for me, I had placed the order for a specific quantity and color combination because I have a specific space I am trying to fill. Having fewer items is a big problem. I can no longer fill the space and the color motif no longer flows.

No one from HBF ever attempted to contact me to let me know that they had run out of a number of items!
It should be noted that the items I ordered showed specific and sufficient availability when I ordered them (e.g. "11 bare roots left").

Obviously this is frustrating because now I have plants I cannot use and I could/should have just ordered from another company two weeks ago. Now my window for planting is closing/closed.

I wrote to HBF to request a postage-paid mailing label so that I could send back the bubs I could no longer use. They said they would not do that because they have a written policy on the website to fulfill all orders regardless of how much of the order they can fulfill. This seems like a TERRIBLE policy for a company like this. Who wants half a garden?? Plus, who reads every policy a company has on its website. I should be able to expect HBF to: 1) simply be reasonable and 2) have an accurate handle on its inventory, which is the impression the website provides.

A two-minute phone call from them two weeks ago would have verified that I did not want half an order.

DO NOT BUY FROM HOLLAND BULB FARMS!

"On Jun 27, 2014 2:52 PM, Holland Bulb Farms responded with:

Hi there,

We are sorry to hear your dissatisfaction with our policies in regard to items missing from orders. In an ideal world our inventory of perishable items would be 100% accurate all of the time, we would have a team dedicated to contacting our customers when and and if an item becomes unavailable, and all of our customers who have items that are unavailable would be ready to reply to our phone call or email right away at first contact. Unfortunately those three factors do not happen often, and therefore we have adapted the policy when an item is missing, to simply offer a refund of the items price and include a free shipping coupon. We include this free shipping coupon with no minimum in case the customer wanted to order something else in place of the missing items, we won't charge them for the shipping on the next order, since we did make mistake by having inaccurate inventory.

By refunding the order, we can ship the order quickly within the 3-5 business days after the order was placed. If we call or email a customer and they do not get back to us for whatever reason that could delay their order further while we are waiting to get a hold of them.

In regard to our accurate inventory due to the nature of our products (being that they are perishable goods) sometimes bulbs or perennials go bad and we are no longer comfortable shipping these items to our customers, when this happens it can be sudden or at the bottom of a crate which we are not able to recognize immediately as we are busy shipping orders and tending to other duties. If we do notice a bulb or perennial is no longer in acceptable condition we will certainly adjust our inventory quantities, however as much as we would like to we simply cannot catch every package of every item as it becomes unable to meet our quality standards. At the end of a shipping season, which is when your order was placed this happens much more frequently, as these items are eager to be planted, and have been in our warehouse for a few months. We completely understand your complaints about this policy and hope you can understand the reasoning behind our policy.
In regard to your request of expecting us to simply be reasonable- we feel as though by refunding your credit card for the products we could not supply as opposed to shipping you substituted items of our choosing is a reasonable procedure. When we replied to your first email and informed you that we would refund you for the products you returned, but we could not refund the postage paid for the products. We feel as though offering to refund you for the products is very reasonable considering our Spring planting and shipping season is over, and by accepting the return once we got them back they would not be usable in any way. Also, since we have stated on our website our policy about unavailable items and how we proceed with them, we were making an exception for you, and were trying to compromise.
We would also like to note that we did offer to send you a return shipping label after our first correspondence and hearing your disappointment, but have not heard back from you.
We would like to thank you for bringing this matter about our missing items to our attention, we are looking into adding an option at checkout that allows our customers to check a box, to let us know how to proceed if an item is missing from there order. We hope to be able to implement this feature within the next week to avoid further disappointment from customers who like you would prefer to be contacted, as opposed to having a partial order that was shipped in a timely fashion.

We are very sorry that this situation could not have been resolved sooner or in a better way, we certainly did not intend on making this such an unpleasant experience for you.

Enjoy your future gardening endeavors, best wishes to you!"

Be aware, Holland Bulb Farms is just one of many websites that the milwaukee company has. American Meadows, Holland Bulb Company and who knows what other websites belong to the same company, charge the same fee to mail plants, and always ship tiny plants.

"On Apr 16, 2013 3:52 PM, Holland Bulb Farms responded with:

Although this you may believe we are associated with other companies such as American Meadows, Holland Bulb Company and others, we are a stand alone company and are not affiliated with any other mail order bulb companies. We are a small family run business, who strives on honesty, integrity and customer satisfaction. We are sorry that you feel our plants are small. While some of our value bag and jumbo pack items may use smaller bulbs, they tend to be very affordable, and we do list all the bulb sizes in our items, so our customers know what they are getting at the time of purchase. If you are concerned about the size of the bulbs you order from us, we suggest ordering top size bulbs, which are available in our smaller quantity packages. If you are unsure if the bulbs you are ordering are top sized you can always call us 1-800-689-2852 or email us info@hollandbulbfarms.com and we will be happy to assist you in purchasing top sized bulbs. If you have concerns or complaints about a past order please contact us and we will be certain to resolve the matter, as we want to make sure you are satisfied. Thank you again, and we are happy we were able to clear up the confusion you had about our company."

Posted on April 2, 2012, updated April 2, 2012
I ordered three Fritilaria bulbs from this company-aside from paying almost $30 for three bulbs and shipping-I planted them according to their directions-at an angle so as not to rot and waited for the temps to be cool enough. This spring two broke ground, one is now a foot tall-the other is about 4 inches tall the third a no show. I was told to wait for the plants to "catch up" what the heck does that mean. they are in the same area getting the same sun, planted at the same time. Catch up to what? is one going to have a growth spurt? Then I also got this as a response to my complaint:
"If you continue to have an issue with your fritilaria: please take photos of the plants, and if no plant -please unearth bulb to tell us of your findings. This information helps us for future issues and/or to what went wrong with yours"
ARE they kidding me? dig up a dead bulb & photo it and tell them its condition before I can get either a credit or new bulbs. They can keep their bulbs as well as their ridiculous policy regarding failures of their material. Will not spend another cent with them. I advise you all to not bother unless you like digging up dead bulbs.

"On Apr 2, 2012 1:18 PM, Holland Bulb Farms responded with:

Dear Valued Customer,

We are very sorry to hear your dissatisfaction with our policies and the fritillaria bulbs you ordered and planted from us last year. We hope we can offer a solution and explanation to the problems you are experiencing.
In regard to the growth rate of the 2 that are growing, this is a factor that we really don't have any control over. Since bulbs are living things they all grow at different rates, even if they are planted in the same growing conditions. I believe the representative you spoke with was trying to explain this, by saying that one of the bulbs will catch up to the others. Please understand that the growth rate is a factor that is beyond our or your control, is a factor of nature.
In regard to the bulb that has failed to sprout completely, we are sorry to hear this and know it really can have an affect on your garden. We often ask our customers to unearth bulbs to see what possibly happened to them. If they are mushy and soft they most likely received too much moisture. If they are disintegrated and crumbly they may have not received enough moisture, or experienced other issues prior to planting. If you dig in the area and nothing is there they could have been taken by some critters or completely rotted away. By knowing what happened to them we can help to prevent future problems on our end as well as the customers end.
In regard to our policies, the representative you were emailing with earlier today will be emailing you to offer a merchandise credit or refund. As your satisfaction is top priority to us and we really do not like to see someone like your self so frustrated and angry with our company and the results you experienced. We hope by offering a credit or refund we can change your opinion of us, and hope to do business with you again soon!

Sincerely,

Jennifer San Filippo
Operations Manager
Holland Bulb Farms

I had an extremely negative experience with this company.
I bought a new house and spent more than $600 on flowers with this complany which promised 100% grow guarantee.
Only few plants grew and only some of them survived the first season. I asked for replacements. They made me to dig dead bulbs and describe what happened to each one of them . I did, however replacement plants were never sent to me. I requested a refund and they refused to refund my money. Very rude customer survice. So as a result I have less than 10 flowers which cost me more than $600. Do not order from them.

"On Nov 14, 2011 3:33 PM, Holland Bulb Farms responded with:

Dear Olga,

Thank you for providing us your feedback and sharing your experience on Dave's Garden. Please remember we did refund $194 dollars to your credit card for the items we had on record that failed to grow plus we issued a $30.92 merchandise credit for items you stated failed to grow. We did require that you dig into the planting areas to see the condition of the bulbs, which we often require on warranty claims. The reason we require this information is so we find out more information about the planting location and find any clues as to why the items would have failed to grow. This information is very beneficial to us especially if you plan to order similar items and plant them in the same area, that way we can hopefully avoid the same problems in the future, we hope you do understand our reasoning behind this. We are sorry that you are still dissatisfied with our company, we did follow our 100% Grow guarantee when dealing with your account and various orders. We do respect all opinions and feedback from our past, present and future customers and wish you the best success with your gardening endeavor in the future!

Sincerely,

Holland Bulb Farms Customer Service"