Comments regarding Easy to Grow Bulbs

Last fall I ordered some freesia bulbs from this company and when they arrived they were both small and pretty papery...when you pinched the bulb there was a lot of dry husk and not much bulb. I have grown a lot of freesia and know that the bulbs should at least be firm and not swimming in their husks.
I contacted the company, sent pictures and they replied saying that you can't judge the plant by small light bulbs and to go ahead and plant them and see how they did. I did that.
This spring I sent them pictures of a lone straggling shoot from the pot, next to an order from another company which had a potful of healthy and tall green leaves, both planted at the same time. I requested a credit and got one.
Then I ordered several other small spring bulbs with the credit. Unfortunately when they arrived, they too are very small and some are no more than the husks that enclose them. I am not optimistic and I won't order from this company again.
I know that bulb size is not always indicative of plant size or health, and that some bare root plants appear positively dead when they are not. But as a seasoned gardener you come to be able to tell the difference between small weak bulbs and viable healthy ones.
Anymore I make a practice of photographing anything I order from on-line nurseries when they arrive, especially if they look stunted, damaged or weak.

Late February 2022, I ordered a bunch of flowers, tubers, and bare-root perennials, several of which needed to be planted in early spring.

Strike 1: I heard _nothing_ about my order until late May, when I was informed that one of the items would not be available, and I was refunded for that item. Apparently they had held off shipping my entire order because of this one item, and then... it wasn't available.

Strike 2: Finally, the rest of my order shipped in early June (very late for planting!) and one of the items was missing. It happened to be the one item I had placed the order for in the first place, so I was very disappointed. The other items I could have sourced elsewhere, and I had just tacked them on since I was ordering anyway. I informed EasyToGrowBulbs of the missing item, and was promptly refunded for it.

Strike 3: BUT (and this is where it gets even worse) when I pulled the other items out of their peat moss in plastic bags, they looked like they'd been languishing in a warehouse for four months, which I suppose they had. The bulbs, tubers, and bare root plants were dried out, half-rotted, or a combination of the two. They were so bad that I tossed them right in the trash and emailed customer service again, assuming it would be no problem to be reimbursed.

Strike 4: To my surprise, I was told "That's just what bare-root plants look like." So I pulled them out of the trash and sent extensive pictures documenting the terrible condition. (No, this is NOT "just what bare-root plants look like"!) I thought the customer service person (who was very pleasant and helpful the whole time, mind you) would see that this was definitely not viable stock, and I'd be reimbursed.

Strike 5: But no! I was told that I needed to plant them! They would perk up! So I dutifully pulled out pots and filled them with soil, and planted the pile of rotted and stringy roots, and shriveled corms.

I didn't bother making the intense effort of planting them in the ground around my garden. I needed to be sure where they were, so I'd know where they _weren't_ if they didn't come up. I also wanted to give them the benefit of nice potting medium, and private quarters rather than my mediocre garden soil, to give them the best possible chance of survival. If they came up, _then_ I'd plant them out around the yard.

Strike 6: (That's like two outs!) After almost a month of putting effort into trying to grow them, only one or two tiny sprouts had come up, and they looked pitiful. I contacted EasyToGrowBulbs again, and was finally refunded.

The only thing that was right about this was that I WAS finally fully refunded, but the amount of heartache, time, and effort I had to go through in this whole process was ridiculous.

This was just over a year ago, but it was such a bad experience from beginning to end that I created an account on the Dave's Garden site just to post this negative review. I will NEVER be ordering from EasyToGrowBulbs again, and I would warn others away as well.

I have been waiting for a month for my order to ship. All of the items were listed as in stock. I've reached out twice, and received form emails in response. I've done business with this company for many years, and it's been a mixed bag, but this was the last time I'll ever order from them. Hit or miss merchandise, excruciatingly slow order processing, and ineffectual customer service have finally added up to I QUIT! It's a shame.

Posted on June 19, 2020, updated April 19, 2023
Posted on March 29, 2012, updated June 19, 2020
Posted on January 25, 2012, updated March 29, 2012
I can't say enough good things about this company. I placed two sizeable orders this year, both with a little of everything, 13 different Amaryllis, 5 different Oxalis, wild tulips, some of the prepotted Amaryllis packages, and numerous other bulbs, and everything was absolutely perfect! Bulbs were huge, healthy and gorgeous. The prepacked Amaryllis would have cost me more to make with the quality baskets and pots they used. Shipped boxes are always packed as though they're shipping glass.. LOL Customer service is friendly, always keeps me informed, and shipping is prompt. The prices are great, too! This is how a company should operate. Take Note Everyone else!

I ordered Single Blue, Single Pink and Single Bi-Color freesia and each color was planted in separate pots.

Most of the Blue bulbs were viable and felt solid and healthy. However, it turned out that the flowers were not blue, nor fragrant. The buds were Purple and then Hot Neon Pink with a White throat when the flowers fully opened. They are single blooms ....just the wrong color.

None of the Pink nor the Bi-Color bulbs were viable. All of those bulbs felt like lightweight layers of crunchy bulb wrappers, with nothing inside. Therefore, two-thirds of my order was worthless.

I didn't have a good experience with this company. I spent close to $200 for ranunculus corms and they didn't ship my order for two months after it was scheduled to ship. I had to go back and forth with them for entirely too long for them to ship. I had to send them emails, call them, and message them on social media. And they still couldn't get their act together and ship the order. By the time they finally did, it was too late to plant the corms I had ordered and none of the flowers survived. Highly disappointing and a complete waste of money.

On March 8, I ordered two items: a package of Gloriosa Lily roots and a Tacca integrifolia rhizome. Even with a discount code, the total came to over $50, which was not unexpected, since Tacca is expensive and difficult to find. What I didn't expect is that they didn't ship until the end of April, and the Tacca rhizome was completely dead and shriveled like shoe leather with no trace of moisture in it, so it had been dead for quite a while.

The Gloriosas look OK, but I placed the order mainly for the Tacca and the Gloriosas were just an afterthought. I have sent them an email with photos requesting a refund; am awaiting a response.

I have been ordering from Easy to Grow Bulbs since 2011, but never again. They used to send top size bulbs but this year’s order was tiny. But my major issue is that I ordered single pink and double yellow freesias, received packages that claimed to be these bulbs, but now that they have bloomed, all are purple. I reached out to Easy to Grow Bulbs and was informed it is too late for a refund. Until they bloomed, there was zero way of knowing they were incorrect. Disappointing.

Watch very carefully what you receive from them.. They will send you and invoice with your shipment and items are missing that is out of stock. They do not issue a refund unless you ask and they also want you to send them a copy of the invoice that is missing the item to verify. That is the stupidest thing. How can you not be able to verify on your end that the item is out of stock when you shipped. HORRIBLE service. has definitely gone downhill. I will need to try and find a better company next year. They stink

Easy to Grow Bulbs used to be a good plant company. In the last two years the quality of the plants has gone down to totally unacceptable. I just received a $ 222.00 order in a box about the 12" x 12". That says it all. I plan on contacting my credit card company and having them reimburse my credit card. These people are charletans. Don't buy anything from them.

Poor quality plants and customer service. I was sent a visibly dead peony root, and despite immediately reaching out to them by phone and email (including sending a picture), I have only had one response that dismissed my concerns, and have been given the run-around for 8 days. I know things are topsy-turvy during the pandemic, but sending out defective goods and then not attempting to remedy the situation is not acceptable.

Posted on April 24, 2019, updated May 28, 2019
Have been ordering from Easy to grow bulbs for 20 plus years. That has come to an end !!! Lately that company has been going downhill. On 4/5/2019 ordered 24 large ( as advertised) begonia bulbs. What I received was shameful, how and why they even shipped nickel size bulbs is insulting. Called and spoke to Trevor who acknowledge that others are experiencing the same. They did send a replacement order where I specifically asked if the bulbs could be inspected before shipping them... Well... another maddening experience, these are the size of a penny if that. e-mailed them pictures for what its worth. Shop elsewhere or be disappointed.

"On May 24, 2019 1:53 PM, Easy to Grow Bulbs responded with:

The first service request received by this customer was on April 5, right after the order was placed. The customer asked for the order to be shipped ASAP. We processed, packed, and shipped the order prior to the orders assigned ship date for climate zone 4 posted on our website [HYPERLINK@www.easytogrowbulbs.com] and upgraded the shipping method to Fedex 2 Day, at no charge to the customer.

On April 12th, the customer emailed us regarding the size of the begonia bulbs he received. He explained that the bulbs were small and that he wanted bigger bulbs. Trevor, our customer service rep, offered to replace them. The customer accepted, but requested that the bulbs be inspected for size prior to shipment.

Trevor and the owner of our company reviewed the bulbs and determined that the bulbs were all similar in size for the varieties the customer was not happy with (although completely viable product). To satisfy the customers request for bigger begonia bulbs, Trevor offered to replace with other varieties that were larger. The customer did not reply.

After not hearing back, our service team issued replacements on April 19th 2019 of the same varieties previously noted by the customer in hopes that twice the number of bulbs at no additional charge would make him happy.

Upon receiving the replacement order, the customer demanded a full refund and has made no efforts to return the items he has received to get a full refund.

In an effort to resolve this issue amicably we offered to extend the return period on his order and issue a full refund for a physical return of the viable product he is un-happy with. We have yet to hear back from the customer on this offer.


"

Easy to Grow Bulbs shipped multiple items incorrectly and even with photos took several “guesses” before being able to identify what plant they actually shipped. I accepted their offer for a refund, but now, weeks later, they tell me that they cannot issue a credit because too much time has passed. Fall bulbs. That came up in the spring. I was supposed to somehow know back August that the bulbs they shipped were wrong? All the work I wasted planting the bulbs – planting that will have to be repeated THIS fall – with bulbs from a reputable company – and I can’t even get my money back? Incredibly disappointed with the lack of integrity and would never recommend them to anyone.

Posted on May 20, 2008, updated April 6, 2019
I found this company searching for bulb sellers online. Having ordered bulbs from numerous companies over the years I was VERY impressed with the quality, size and condition fo the Gladiolus and Polianthes. I will continue to order from Easy to Grow Bulbs year after year.

I read the Easy to Grow Bulbs on-line catalog information and sent them a query asking about the size of the bulbs. They did not respond to the query. Despite the lack of response,I ordered several begonia bulbs and three tuberose bulbs. The begonia bulbs are very small (a little over one inch in diameter) and the tuberose bulbs look like dessicated daffodil bulbs very different from their ad: "The tuberose bulbs we sell are actually nice clumps of multiple bulbs. Plant the entire clump with 2-3" of soil above the top. Place clumps 8-10" apart." Today I sent them the above comments with my intent not to purchase from them again.

This place used to be my go to for bulbs both fall and spring. Last year I ordered and 3 months later had still not received anything. So I canceled that order. This year I thought I would try again. Ordered at the end of January, achimenes, dahlia, japanese iris and hanging begonia. A few days ago they notified me that the achimenes had a crop failure. Okay not a problem. But, the dahlia, begonia and japanese iris should have been planted last month in order to get them going before it gets hot. I mainly ordered for the achimenes, so I canceled the order. I don't want to receive bulbs that will rot in the heat during shipping after sitting around in cold storage for 6 months.

I don't know what happened between 2017 and 2018 but if you want your order in some sort of timely fashion or at all, don't depend on them.

While the tulips I received were healthy-looking, they are quite small. I'm disappointed in them. I've ordered bulbs from several different companies for many years now, and these are the smallest I've ever been sent.

Posted on October 24, 2017, updated June 8, 2018
Posted on October 24, 2017, updated October 24, 2017
Posted on October 17, 2017, updated October 24, 2017
Posted on October 16, 2017, updated October 17, 2017
I really feel odd writing a negative review of Easy to Grow Bulbs and I very much hope that I will be able to change it to positive soon and that I won’t have to seek out another vendor. I’ve happily shopped with them for a long time. I’ve also recommended them to A LOT of people—who asked where I got the spectacular blooming plants that I always brought as Christmas and hostess gifts or that made my apartment so welcoming in the long Chicago winter. Shipping was always prompt and accurate. Occasionally an amaryllis would bloom red when I ordered pink—but all I had to do was send a picture of the flower-along with my invoice and an even better pink bulb would be in the mail with a friendly note. I understand that there have been some horrendous natural disasters lately. The hurricanes in Texas, the wildfires in their own state. Yet, the most recent e-mail that I got from Easy to Grow Bulbs wasn’t a report of disaster and a plea for understanding on the part of their customers—but a promotion for the sale of Fall bulbs.

I ordered around $130 worth of bulbs and some live plants on August 29. I received an e-mail that explained that some live plants would ship immediately, Fall planted bulbs would ship in mid-September, and amaryllises would ship in mid-October. Very soon afterwards I received the tillandsia I had ordered—healthy and well packaged plants. I told a friend to hold off on buying Fall planting bulbs—and I would give her a portion of the ones I ordered when I came to visit in October. On Oct. 2 I e-mailed the company and inquired about my order. I got a prompt e-mail from Rachael with a shipping confirmation and tracking number. All seemed well. However, on October 13 I clicked on the tracking number and was informed that my bulbs had been received in WAILUKU, HI on October 6. I, unfortunately, live in Chicago. I immediately sent an e-mail and received an automatic reply stating that they “are currently experiencing exceptionally high volume of emails and phone calls” and to expect a reply “typically within 24 hours”. I initially thought that the company must be experiencing something unprecedented and terrible. Massive failure of their computer system? However, in the Garden Watchdog postings I see signs that service has been rather dramatically degenerating in the last year or so. I’ve been married to a small business man for 20 years and understand something about the difficulties that can plague small businesses—how easily one person’s illness or a small mistake can turn into a crisis. Still, I have been waiting for a response considerably longer than 24 hours. I think that it is important to respond promptly to customers who have received poor service with something other than an automatic reply—even if it’s just a personal assurance that their problem is acknowledged and will be addressed.

Posted on April 20, 2015, updated May 15, 2018
Posted on April 5, 2015, updated April 20, 2015
Posted on March 25, 2015, updated April 5, 2015
Posted on February 15, 2015, updated March 25, 2015
Love them.

I placed an order for about 900 for lily bulbs to be shipped to MA Feb 2012. They arrived within a few days. The Casa Blanca's were packed in plastic crates in peat and were clean with very little breakage and lots of white roots! White roots! The orien-pets were gigantic. Everything thrived.

Spring of 2013 I ordered gloriosa tuners. Great quality, size and price. All grew. I also ordered begonia tubers. Huge and grew and grew quickly. I wasn't so happy with the quality of the flowers as they were inconsistent and not fully double but overall I was still happy.

I just placed an order for cannas and dahlias to be shipped as soon as possible which will be the first week of March. Ive ordered dalias from other places before and have always been disappointed with all the broken clumps. I'm hoping ETGB'S dahlias will be much better quality.

I placed my first order with this company a year ago--3 different cannas, and a dahlia. Before shipment was made I got an email advising me that one of the cannas wasn't available, and they promptly issued a refund for that. No big deal, because I realize stuff happens and companies don't always get the shipment they were expecting from their supplier.

When I received my order, the dahlia Nuit d'Ete tubers were large and firm, and they grew very well--outstanding really, and they really took off. The canna tubers--one Tropicanna and 3 Orange Chocolate--however, were very small. Since they were so small I planted them in pots on my deck so I could keep an eye on them & make sure they were well taken care of during their first year, and to prevent the chance that critters would dig them up. Not one of them sprouted.

This wasn't a huge, expensive order, so I didn't bother contacting the company--I very rarely do that with a company I've never ordered from before; instead I typically just consider the experience a lesson learned.

I considered giving this a neutral rating since I had no problems with shipping, and the dahlias did so well, But I decided to give it a negative rating because 2 of the 3 species I ordered failed to do anything, so I don't plan on ordering from this company again. They offer a nice selection, but the quality just doesn't seem to be consistent.

I just want to say "ditto" to all the negative comments below. My order is way overdue, there appears to be no way to contact someone there. All normal ways from the website to contact them result in no response (emailing them) or in phoning them a stock recorded message that has been on there for months. I'm truly concerned I have lost my money to them.

I would strongly discourage someone from ordering from this company. The customer service is basically non-existent and you'll be left wondering if you'll ever even receive the items you ordered. I placed an order of about 6 irises and 20 tulip bulbs on Sept. 24. In the confirmation email, it said that I'd be notified when my items shipped. It also implied that the items I'd ordered would likely be shipped soon. Well, it's been about a month and I've received no shipping update and no delivery. I've emailed the company twice and called twice, but only got voicemail, so I left two voicemail messages. The only response I've gotten from the company at all is an email saying that they're processing a refund for one iris (no explanation why) and a second automated email about how busy they are and they'll respond as soon as possible (that was over a week ago). Not only am I now wondering if I'll ever receive what I paid for, but I'm furious at the utter lack of communication and failure to respond to customer concerns. Additionally, I used a prepaid MasterCard gift card to make my purchase, but once I'd used the balance on the card, I threw the giftcard away. So any refund that's made cannot be put back on a card I don't have. I explained this in both a voicemail and an email, but still I've received absolutely no response. Also, it's getting too late in the season to even plant the irises I ordered and expect them to thrive. That's something else I mentioned in my email, but again, no response whatsoever. I am EXTREMELY disappointed with this entire experience. I'd been very excited to order those items, but now I definitely wish I had used a different company and I very much regret my "purchase" (if that's what you can call paying money but not receiving anything in return). Caveat emptor!!!

I've ordered hundreds of dollars worth of bulbs over the years, and have two very negatives to report about their customer service.

In fall of 2016, I ordered Lachenalia 'Rosabeth' but was sent 'African Beauty', which I discovered in Jan, 2017. I emailed and was told I would receive a credit on my account. I forgot about it until just after I'd finished placing another order on March 31. I emailed and asked for a credit in the amount I'd paid for the bulbs. I was told it was too late as I'd already placed the order and they couldn't issue a credit retroactively.

The most recent was about two Alstroemerias I ordered this past spring. They were very small with yellowed foliage and soggy root systems. I wrote to them immediately, including photos. I was told that I was to grow them on and they should improve. They did recover, but I felt they should immediately offered replacements, as, for I paid $9.95 plus shipping for each of them--a price I paid for
a fully-grown plant at a local nursery.

BTW, I still haven't received a credit for the Lachenalia.

"On Sep 8, 2017 2:06 PM, Easy to Grow Bulbs responded with:

Thank you for your review. I am so sorry to hear of your troubles and have checked into this matter. I understand the credit was processed recently. Our old system prevented us from issuing a store credit and we had to be notified beforehand to process. Thankfully we are now on a much better platform that easily allows us to make adjustments right away. My apologies for the miscommunication and frustration. Please do let me know if I can help further.

Very Best Regards,

Dena Grange
dena@easytogrowbulbs.com"

Worst experience with a nursery in 35 years of gardening. Final straw was when the yellow dahlias i ordered bloomed red. Clearly the wrong dahlias, yet when I asked for a refund was given only a credit. I would not make any further purchases from Easy to Grow Bulbs, so a credit is not of value. I paid for a particular dahlia, didn't receive it (among other problems), and the nursery won't refund my money.

Posted on September 17, 2016, updated May 30, 2017
Posted on August 30, 2016, updated September 17, 2016
As an experienced gardener I am surprised at all of the positive reviews when my experience has been so disappointing.
One week ago I sent the company an email after trying to call during business hours and getting voicemail. So far I've gotten no response. Guess I wasted my over $50. As I told them of the 4 products that I received none were satisfactory; Alocasia - months after planting just a small plant and it is a tropical here so no sense in digging up for next year. Canna's- bought two for my neighbor who is known in the neighborhood for his canna and alocasia displays. Two types, no blooms. Iris- this a pink re-bloomer but didn't bloom once-maybe next year? And finally Crocosmia- I should have know by how dried up the bulbs looked but not a single one came up.
I have purchased lots of plants online and I've never had such a negative experience.

"On Sep 2, 2016 10:02 AM, Easy to Grow Bulbs responded with:

We are so very sorry for the poor experience here! We contacted this customer within 2 hours of this review being posted. We sent the following email, and then telephoned the next day and left a message. We have not heard back, though I do hope we will... The refund for the crocosmia has been processed, and we would very much like to work on the other items to ensure the customer is fully satisfied.
--------------------------------------
This is the email we sent:
Dear [Removed for customer's privacy],

I have just read your negative review on Daves Garden. I am so terribly sorry for such a frustrating experience! My sincere apologies!

As you have noted - we have an excellent reputation in the industry for fast and personal customer service - and that reputation has been years in the making, and having customers like you essentially be ignored is not the way to keep that reputation.

A number of issues came together to create a "perfect storm" of sorts that had simply buried our Customer Service representative. Sadly, before we were able to bring on additional help, some e-mails and phone calls went unanswered for crazy long times. This should never have happened to a single customer, and I am sorry that it did. And so sorry you were caught up in it.

I understand that you will not be shopping with us again, but I do want to at least handle this last transaction the way it should have been handled from the beginning.

If your reblooming bearded iris is healthy and well rooted in, I am sure you will enjoy multiple blooms throughout the seasons for years to come. However, like many long-lived plants, they do need that settling in time before they begin to bloom well. Please be sure to have the top of the rhizome exposed above the soil to ensure best blooming.

I am terribly sorry to hear the crocosmia were in poor condition when they were sent to you. Sadly, at this late date, I do not have replacements to send to you. Did yours never grow, or have they not yet bloomed? They should all be growing well for you given the time they have had. It sounds like we should provide a refund for you on these.

The cannas – have they grown, but no blooms? That is odd – I would love to help you to trouble shoot them, but it sounds like they were a gift for a neighbor? I can well appreciate your frustration!

The colocasia sounds like we should discuss – while that is a tropical, you should be able to dig and store and re-plant it for a beautiful display every year. If you have a brightly lit location indoors – it can be a magnificent house plant for the fall and winter. I am wondering if you have had excessive heat this summer? Or possibly excessive rain? I am just trying to understand your atypical experiences with these plants. Is the colocasia in a container or in the ground? I would love to help you with this, so you can enjoy this lovely plant.

[Removed], I would like to have our customer service representative call you tomorrow – will that work for you? And I would like to follow up with you to be certain this is handled for you. Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions or concerns.

I am embarrassed by the way this was not handled for you, and I honestly appreciate your bringing this to our attention.

Please let me know how I can assist you with the colocasia and any information you can provide would be appreciated!

Sincerely,
Kathleen McCarthy
--------------------------------------
We remain hopeful the customer will reply so that we can better assist with this very disappointing situation."

Some of the bulbs were quite small and definitely not 'clumps' as stated. When called about the issue, it took me 3 times to get it resolved with my own suggestion of a credit, when they could have easily done that in the first call in 5 minutes. I had to send photos too. A hassle, won't be ordering from them again.

Something has changed with this company and not for the better. This year's cannas didn't look good when received and performed poorly. Other items were similarly disappointing. Emails to company produced no response. Will not order from them again.

"On Dec 3, 2016 5:36 PM, Easy to Grow Bulbs responded with:

We are so sorry to hear of this terrible experience. I have searched our records for a customer in this city and state with cannas and have been unable to locate the order or customer here. So within 2 hours of the negative review being posted, we reached out to the reviewer with the following email:
---------------------------------------------------------------

Hello,

My name is Kathleen, and I work for Easy to Grow Bulbs.

I was so sorry to learn of your very poor experience with our cannas this season, and with the customer support! While we always want the bulbs and plants to flourish for our customers, I can accept that occasionally something goes awry with the plant. But there is simply no excuse for a lack of response from Customer Service.

I have brought your review to the attention of the head of our Customer Service, Dena, and she has hunted through our orders and her email correspondence to try to locate a trace of what you have described, and we have not been able to track it down. Would you please provide your name or your email address or order number? I would like to look into this further and have Dena contact you about this issue.

I do understand that you won't be doing business with us again - and I respect that. But I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to at least make this last experience right for you in any way that we can. As much as I hate to hear there was a problem, I am so grateful that you took the time to provide the feedback so that we can make it right and learn to provide better service in the future.

Thanks so much for your time. I do hope I will hear back from you!

Have a lovely weekend!

Kathleen
Easy to Grow Bulbs

-----------------------------------------------------------------

I very much hope the customer will contact us so we can make this right.
Kathleen
Easy to Grow Bulbs"

I placed an order in mid Feb and received an email saying it would ship the week of March 7th. It did not ship.

I followed up on March 10th via email to ask when my order would ship and received a very prompt response (much appreciated):

"Hello,

Thank you for checking in! Just received a few thousand bulbs this week and we just about have everything! There are a few items that we are still packing for immediate shipment. We appreciate your patience! We totally understand wanting to get started earlier due to the mild temperatures, the wait for your spring bulbs is almost over! Be on the lookout for your tracking information via email.

Many Thanks,"

Forward to March 19th and still no indication of shipment, so I followed up once again via email to find out the status of my order. I'm very disappointed to say that I have not even received a response and at this point I'm very concerned if I'll even receive my order.

I placed my order with this company because of the positive reviews on this site and have noticed other people receiving their orders, so...what's going on???

"On Mar 25, 2016 4:35 PM, Easy to Grow Bulbs responded with:

We are so terribly sorry for the delay in communication and in shipping this customer experienced!

I contacted her via D-Mail within an hour of the review being posted to both explain the weird circumstances that led to this terrible delay, as well as to assure her that I would take charge of her order personally. I gave my name, direct e-mail and direct phone number so that I could address any additional questions.

Within 12 hours, we shipped her order, and she received it the following day. I have attempted to follow up via D-Mail, email and by phone, hoping to learn the order arrived safely.

Strange weather across the country have vastly delayed many harvests, and our customer service rep has been simply buried. This is NO excuse to ever leave a customer in the dark, and we are working over time with new people brought on board to handle all of the communication.

It is our sincere desire to ensure each customer feels valued and appreciated, and clearly we missed the mark here.

I had hoped with the direct response that I provided, the customer might update her review, but hopefully she is just too busy enjoying the new bulbs and plants in her garden.

Thank you, tturner16, for giving me the opportunity to make this right for you.

Best wishes, everyone for a beautiful spring!

Sincerely,
Kathleen McCarthy
Easy to Grow Bulbs"

Posted on September 13, 2012, updated September 19, 2012
I ordered 4 volcano phlox with red eyes, one white and one Ruby. The ruby and the white are doing fine but two of the red eyes are not doing well. In fact one looks like it is going to die. I called the company and spoke with Kathleen, who tried to tell me it was the way I water altho the white and Ruby are in the same bed. Her attitude was very condescending. After going online and looking up their ratings I saw that all dissatisfied customers had encountered the same attititude from customer service, it is NEVER their fault or a bad plant!

"On Sep 14, 2012 10:33 AM, Easy to Grow Bulbs responded with:

We understand and share the frustration this customer is having with her Phlox. We always strive to provide responsive customer support to all our customers. If there is a problem, we always take the time to try and learn more from our customers what is going on and, if a plant is struggling and can be saved, try and offer suggestions to help.

In searching to better understand the circumstances around her phlox plants, this customer was not willing to take any of our advise or make any modifications to the care of her plants in an attempt to help them along. We were willing to replace the plants next season (they're not available now) if she was still having problems at that time after making some of the changes we requested. This offer was refused and so we are left not knowing what more we can do for her or the 2 of her 4 plants that are having a tough time.

We remain hopeful she will reconsider and work with us to try and help her phlox along and allow us to do whatever we need to ensure success.
"

Placed a small order for 4 kinds of bulbs. Almost 100% mortality rate. Very unhelpful when requesting replacements. My opinion: bad bulbs, bad service.

"On May 1, 2011 2:35 PM, Easy to Grow Bulbs responded with:

We contacted this customer (twice) to learn more about his situation. His single brief email noted that the order was placed 4 years ago by someone else in the family and that he had no further information about issues with the products or service.

Research on our end uncovered his family's order which was placed at the tail end of the spring 2007 season. The items selected are ones we've offered for years; they have a solid performance record with our customers and with a broad range of gardeners across the country (gladiolus, perennial geraniums, coreopsis, etc.) While timing - planting in late June in Richmond, VA - may have been a factor because of the heat, there's now no way to know. Years have passed and scant information is available.
"

I ordered an amaryllis bulb from ETGB for my wife for Christmas. It never sprouted. This is the first time in almost 25 years I have had an amaryllis bulb from any source that did not flower, never mind not sprout! Yet, one month later, after repeated attempts to obtain a replacement and receiving nothing but repeated implications that I was nothing more than an impatient fool with no understanding of how to cultivate a bulb, I have given up. This company does not provide customer satisfaction.

"On Jan 28, 2011 8:39 AM, Easy to Grow Bulbs responded with:

This customer selected an amaryllis variety that typically takes 30-40 days to bloom and purchased 2 weeks before Christmas. This timing is too tight for Christmas bloom under the best of circumstances, especially given the shipping to the opposite side of the country required for the order. We received 3 emails from him explaining that the bulb had been slow to sprout and that it had not bloomed by Christmas and "our Christmas has already been somewhat spoiled" by this.

Our customer service responses (sent day of receipt or next business day) sought to help with tips on bloom timing including this link [HYPERLINK@www.easytogrowbulbs.com] amaryllis growing details and troubleshooting for the particular situation.

According to the customer's information, the bulb is firm and has started to sprout, so his claim that the bulb is "defective" is not supported by his own observations. Yes, the bulb is taking it's time. Amaryllis sometimes do that, as we note in a number of places on the website. This is the primary reason the cut flower industry shies away from growing these flamboyant beauties - 15-20%, depending on variety, flower earlier or later than the typical window.

Based on the last email received, it now seems this is no longer about amaryllis flowers but about being angry: "So far I have left three negative reviews of your company on various web sites. More tomorrow! I'll keep you posted! Cheers!"

One of the things about the web is that people can post anything they choose . . .
"

I bought a set of 9 hardy geraniums and a bleeding heart from Easy to Grow Bulbs during a sale they had. Only two of the geraniums came up. Being an optimist, I waited a long time to see if the rest would come up before e-mailing the company. They refused to credit or refund.

These are 'easy' plants and I planted them in a nice spot. I am quite unhappy with this 'service' and will never order from them again.

"On Oct 15, 2010 5:35 PM, Easy to Grow Bulbs responded with:

This customer bought these plants in late spring 2009, 18 months ago. In early 2010 she emailed with a quality concern about that June order. We responded with an offer to help her figure out what was happening with her plants. She suggested a reconnect in spring.

After the winter email we heard nothing more for another 10 months. Yesterday, this customer emailed to say that the goods had been received DOA. And to ask whether we planned to replace or refund.

Our guarantee, noted on the website and printed on each packing slip, says to let us know within 10 days if there are any problems. This allows us to address the situation promptly. At this late date neither is an option and we emailed back saying this; the customer found this unacceptable.

After 18 months . . . . really? Her expectation/demand is way outside our guarantee. And outside what most gardeners would consider reasonable.
"

I ordered from this company last year. All of these items were listed as hardy in my zone. I planted and tended them as directed. My soil is very good and boosted by natural fertilizers.
When bulbs didn't pop up or arrived looking sickly, I e-mailed them to ask for a refund. The lady asked me to poke into the soil where I had planted the bulbs and tell her what they looked like. Some were rotten. She immediately insinuated that I was overwatering. I was actually underwatering at the time, I had discovered and we live in the high desert, so that wasn't an issue. Some appeared to be deeply peeled and others just stagnated. I threw them all away and asked once more for a refund. She pointed out that I had to return the bulbs in "saleable condition." Like I'm supposed to wrap and send rotting/molding, torn, and lifeless bulbs back? And how are they resellable if they're in this condition?
Then she suggested that I don't take time on gardening when it is the favorite thing aside from taking care of my family that I do.
Bottom line is, after several (4, to be exact) months of back-and-forth about whether I should be refunded or not, she ineffectually offered to send bulbs if I covered the cost of the shipping. The problem is that by this time, I had bought from another nursery who honors when their customers tell them that something didn't grow within a year even when that customer does not send the bad bulb back. I didn't *want* bulbs from Easy to Grow Bulbs because chances are good that they wouldn't work well either and I didn't want the annoying runaround if the second set of bulbs didn't work. I need to work with companies that trust that what I'm saying is true. I wasn't asking for a million dollars. It's all about faith in your customers.

"On Aug 30, 2010 2:41 PM, Easy to Grow Bulbs responded with:

At Easy to Grow Bulbs we believe that growing plants - which are perishable, living things - is a shared responsibility.

We're responsible for providing good, healthy stock that's true to name. We offer planting information and special tips to improve gardeners' success rates. And our customer service folks help with individual trouble shooting/advice to sort out customer's cultural questions.

Customers are responsible for choosing items suited to their growing zone and garden conditions, and for following the planting guide information provided. They are also responsible for notifying us promptly if problems arise. And for reading our guarantee.

This customer:
1) Waited 5 1/2 months before contacting us to report the stock wasn't healthy upon receipt. Our guarantee requires notification within 10 days; this is so we can address issues quickly, during the same planting season.
2) Stated that she discarded a number of bulbs before contacting us. This leaves us without any way to research/recommend/troubleshoot for to those plants.
3) Stretched this communication over a 4 month period by taking an average of 3 weeks per email response. (We responded in 24 hours or less.)

Still, we offered to absorb the cost of replacing the bulbs in question, asking just that the customer cover the shipping of the second group of bulbs ($8.85). This falls outside our guarantee but we chose to extend the courtesy. (BTW - there were no reports from other buyers having issues with these bulb varieties.)

We feel this was more than fair and are sorry the customer didn't agree.
"

Posted on April 9, 2010, updated April 15, 2010
Last year I ordered 22 carpet roses from them, followed the watering directions and soil prep directions on their website and got 14 dead sticks sticking up from the ground in front of my house for a year. I contacted them and they were nice enough to replace the dead plants...but when I opened the box of replacement plants they sent me I found 10 of them were COVERED in white fuzzy mold, all the branches were black and limp. I tried to cut them back to salvage them, but it was no use, I threw them out with the moldy bags they were in. Strangely enough, there were 4 plants in a separate bag that were in great shape. I threw them away too however, because honestly I don't feel like wasting my time planting them only to have 4 more dead plants staring at me for the rest of the year. I will just order carpet roses from a local nursery and get a one year guarantee on them.
I honestly don't see how they stay in business. I guess I have learned my lesson about online nurseries. BUY LOCAL so you can SEE what you are paying for!!!

"On Apr 13, 2010 3:07 PM, Easy to Grow Bulbs responded with:

We received an email from this customer last Friday night, 1 hour before he posted this review on DG. Had the customer's intention had been to resolve the issue his timing didn't support that.

Mold on roses is rare, but does occasionally happen. We do a visual check on all plants and bulbs as they are packed, pulling anything that doesn't look good. Because roses can dry out, they are packed in plastic bags and need to be planted upon receipt. In his email this customer mentioned leaving the roses unplanted (and presumably bagged) for several days which could explain the development of mold. We didn't see what he did, nor photos of same, so it's hard to say.

The logic of throwing out replacement plants that "were in great shape" eludes us.

Email is a great way to communicate and this customer's messages were answered personally, completely and quickly. Still, sometimes email isn't the best approach if something is still puzzling or unclear. Or, as in this case, it needs our further attention. We wish this customer had called us so we could have made this right.

Ordered 2 bags (advertised as each containing 10 bulbs) of Narcissus Bells daffodils, as well as 4 bags saffron crocus. Unfortunately, one bag only contained 9 bulbs. The bulbs weren't cheap after shipping.

My letter to Easy to Grow read:

"Hi, Received my order just fine--nice bulbs too. But one of the Narcissus Bells had only 9 bulbs in the bag rather than the 10 bulbs listed on the package. The other five packages had 10 bulbs as listed. Send me another Narcissus Bell bulb? Thanks"

Their response was:

"Hi, I am so sorry we made such an error! That never should have happened. Unfortunately, I have no way to send you just 1 bulb, as we order and pack them in sets of 10. I will be happy to refund the amount for the bulb you are missing. Will that work?"

I replied, "I'd've preferred the bulb. Thanks, Dave"

I have not received bulb or refund since my email September 28. That's a fact.

"On Dec 8, 2009 9:59 AM, Easy to Grow Bulbs responded with:

This customer was accidentally sent 59 bulbs instead of the 60 he purchased. When he alerted us to this we:
- Apologized for the error
- Explained that we order and pack these varieties in lots of 10, so don't have loose bulbs to send
- Offered to immediately credit his account for the missing bulb

After receiving his second email on the afternoon of 9/28 (see above), we responded that evening. Echoing his concern about shipping charges, in this case for a single bulb, we offered the customer the following, in addition to the original offer of a refund for the missing bulb:
- To send a full pack of 10 bulbs at half price if he'd cover the shipping ($5.85)
- Or to include a full pack of 10 additional bulbs free with any other order

The customer was given three options to address the situation and we awaited his response. He did not call or email again. This customer service ticket has been "open" since late September.

It's now the end of the fall gardening season and the narcissus variety ordered is sold out, so only one option remains. This customer's account has been credited for the one missing bulb. Again, we apologize for the original miscount and the inconvenience it caused.
"

Only 3 out of 10 ranunculus and none out of 5 crocosmia babylon bulbs sprouted that I ordered from Easy to Grow Bulbs. I asked for the refund. I was told that it was my fault that there were too much heat, water and a wrong kind of soil. I had a very disappointing experience dealing with this suppler.

"On May 12, 2009 7:04 PM, Easy to Grow Bulbs responded with:

We have been communicating for several days with this customer. The complete story is:

- The customer's order included many bulbs; most have sprouted well according to her.
- Crocosmia bulbs are slow to break dormancy, the customer's are within the normal sprouting window and she was advised of this.
- The "rotted" ranunculus bulbs were shipped rock hard (that's normal for these bulbs) and are now "squishy" per the customer. Heat and excess moisture will cause this outcome; this was explained.
- The customer planted in a combination of peat and pine bark. No soil, compost or other nutrient-rich material was included to supply food for the plants or a well draining mix. We suggested that soil with organic matter would produce better results.
- The customer admitted that her planting containers are infested with transparent white worms and asked what these might be. Since they could be fungus gnat larva, young horsehair worms, large nematodes or parasitic worms of some type, we requested a photo in order to help with identification. The customer declined our offer.

Early on this individual threatened "If I do not receive a refund and an explanation, I will have to leave negative reviews on gardening forums, such as Dave's Garden." Well, she received a detailed, personalized (485 word) explanation addressing every concern raised and offering lots of information and assistance. As for the refund, suppliers typically don't refund for dormant bulbs still likely to sprout. We'll echo the customer's take on the situation – we're disappointed, too.

"

I'm giving this company a neutral rating until I see how the plants do but I wanted to rate them to give others a heads up on what to expect. I ordered hardy geranium and chose the mix of 6 plants because my garden is broken down into distinct sections - shady, dry, sunny, wet. Also I'm a bit of a control freak so I've been planting by color and size since the garden is only a year old. I was excited to have 6 different geraniums in 6 different colors and with 6 different personalities. The difficulty is they did not come with any identification so I had to plant "blind". This means I could not put the plants where I want them to grow. I had to find a neutral spot and will have to wait for them to bloom, dig them up and move them to the spots they will most likely thrive in. Annoying.

What has me writing is the difference between the promise and the fact. The promise was that the plants would be "Freshly harvested divisions ship late February through June". What I received were plants that had been harvested long ago, packed in wood shavings and stored long enough the pale yellow leaves had shriveled and died or were ghostly and thin. These were not freshly dug and were not looking healthy. The roots were mostly dried up. Perhaps this is just fine for hardy geranium as this is a new plant for me. I don't feel "freshly harvested" should be part of their sales pitch.

When everything blooms beautifully and I have 6 different geraniums moved to their proper locations I'll consider changing from neutral to positive. They did ship quickly and they notified me by email that the package was on its way.

I purchased freesias and phlox at the very end of the spring selling season. Both arrived very shriveled in appearance. I planted them anyway, thinking the company must know their business. Only one freesia sprouted. My complaint was met with a response that essentially said, "too late; you must have done something wrong."

No offer to replace or refund.

I won't use this company again.

"

It's disturbing to hear that this customer did not have a satisfactory experience buying from us. We've reviewed the transaction and found the following.

This order was placed at the end of the spring season, on 6/18, and it shipped promptly. The first communication from the customer was sent two months later, on 8/22, stating that the plants and bulbs were received in poor condition and had not grown well.

Our website, packing slips and customer service agents all stress that visible problems with any order should be raised within 7 days. This allows us to correct the situation promptly. While the customer was aware of this, she waited months to raise her concerns.

Our customer service staff asked several questions in an effort to troubleshoot the situation. (Unlike most in the industry, our service goals include helping to figure out what went wrong so gardeners can enjoy future successes.) We awaited the customer's response and another month passed with no further communication. Then the customer sent an email demanding a refund.

The email stream concerning this transaction does not support the customer's account of the situation. The statement that no replacement offer was made is contradicted by written records which show otherwise. We are sorry this buyer is unhappy with the situation, but do agree that she is probably better served by sourcing her future plants elsewhere."

I sent an e-mail to easytogrow.bulbs on 1/5/2007, requesting the address where I should return the merchandise I was unhappy with. (It had arrived at noon on 12/23/2006 right before the Christmas break.) "The owner" , never introducing himself by name, called me on 1/10/2007. He told me that it didn't matter if I was unhappy. Even if I paid the return postage ($70), he would not accept the return. It was an extremely disturbing phone call because no matter what I said, he was right and I was wrong. I decided to turn the matter over to American Express. I didn't want to speak to this man ever again. American Express sent him a fax on January 12,2007, requesting information about this transaction. "He" waited 18 days to answer the fax. His reply was "The customer did not return the items within the 30 days required". He lied to me on the phone and then deceived American Express by waiting until 30 days had expired to reply to them. Unfortunately by law, AmEx has to give the merchant 60 days to reply. He must have known this and used it to his advantage. I hope to spread the word about this company to all the groups I speak to as a master gardener.
I doubt this will ever appear on the web site. "He" does not to be found wrong. As you would find out, if you have any problem with the merchandise you receive.

"

This post surprises us (and other customers, too, based on incoming email here). We’ve pulled out and dug though last Christmas’s records, and talked with staff members; three staffers recall communicating with this customer. Records show the following:

• This order was placed one week before Christmas, late afternoon on 12/18. It was shipped out the following day and received by the customer on 12/22.

• Our guarantee asks that order problems be brought to our attention within 7 days. This notification policy ensures that 1) any problems are addressed quickly so customers get immediate resolution, 2) live bulbs/plants aren’t left in shipping boxes indefinitely, and 3) returned goods are not out of temperature/humidity controlled environments for more than a few days. The first contact from this customer was 13 days after order receipt.

• Returns must be received within 30 days. The customer never returned the goods.

• American Express determined that the customer’s claim was without merit.

We never are pleased with a customer experience that ends with dissatisfaction and are sorry this one turned out that way."