Comments regarding John Scheepers, Inc.

I ordered a lot of bulbs from John Scheepers in 2010. Perhaps it was the weather, but they didn't do very well. I was especially disappointed that none of the 3 Eremurus bloomed; in fact only one sent leaves up.

I placed my first order with John Scheepers and have already placed a second for some Fritillaria.I rerceived the following CALOCHORTUS VENUSTUS, CAMASSIA CUSICKII ,CAMASSIA LEICHTLINII COERULEA, HYACINTHS FORCING & EXHIBITION COLLECTION and am very satisfied with the quality and service.The bulbs were huge,firm and healthy,no signs of mold or drying out.Worth it!T

I ordered from their winter sale and this spring all my lily bulbs are gorgeous with multiple blooms. Prices were fantastic. Would definitely order from again.

Posted on October 27, 2010, updated May 12, 2011
Just received my first order. In the past I had ordered from Breck's and had to wait for 2+ months to get my stuff which came dehydrated etc. What a refreshing experience this was. The order came in 2 days. All bulbs were plump and neatly packaged. And their prices are reasonable, cheaper than the large mail order companies even without the 50% discount which seems to be the hook that other companies are using. Will not hesitate to order from this company again.

I have ordered from scheepers/van engelen for a few years now, and must sing their praises. This year is my best spring ever!!! I ordered 1600 bulbs last fall and so far everyone has bloomed. This is my first year to grow scillia siberica, when I first received them I was sure that the bulbs were not in the best condition, I called them, to let them know and got the nicest rep on the phone, explaining that they looked like that and not to worry, I was skeptical, but agreed to plant them and wait, well they are up and they are beautiful, If you want great bulbs in good condition, look no further, I am a customer forever and would never buy bulbs at any other site....

Hello!

For several years I have intended to sing the praises of this company. Yet, since they only really deal in Fall planted bulbs, I tend to forget the passed joys of Spring as I work toward the future. I will admit that I am an addict of the Spring Garden. Summer and Fall are nice, but nothing compares to the joy I receive as I watch the earth break with the first efforts of bulbs reaching for the sky. I dance with the knowledge that all the colors imagined in life will born with the flowers to come. I have ordered many, many times from both Van Engelen and John Scheepers. From Van Engelen, I get waves of color at a good price due to their policy of taking large orders at a discount. John Scheepers allows me to order fewer bulbs of a single type. Though the price is higher than the bulk prices from VE, they are still often less than what I can find elsewhere. From both, I have never received less than what I consider high quality bulbs. Everything has bloomed true to color and type. Their shipping costs are fair (for these days), and everything ships quickly and is well packed. There are three companies (none in the "Top 30") with which I do the bulk (number of bulbs....not total cost) of my Fall ordering. If I were forced to stop with only one company, my choice to keep would be VE/JS. I only have two minor complaints. ONE: I wish that I could somehow combine orders from VE and JS instead of having to make two separate orders....but that is not a big deal since websites are pretty much identical and easy to use. TWO: It seems that each year, there are fewer selections of species bulbs....again, only a minor complaint since I use other sources to fill the gap. All in all, I feel that both companies do an excellent job and have an excellent product for the price.

I feel that I must make one comment, more for customers than for the company (but both JS/VE should take note). My personal policy as to using names of other companies in a review is that I don't. In this one case I must make an exception in order to make a point. As I read other comments about items not being true to zone, I wish everyone would take time to read High Country Gardens comments on "wetness" or xeric vs non-xeric plants. It is a well written and informative guide. Living in my climate, I can have a zone 4 bulb simply rot in the ground every year even though I place it in "well drained" sandy soil in a raised bed, etc. Until I started to truly understand bulbs and their cultural requirements, I lost many due to just going by zone and what I thought was needed to keep a bulb dry over winter. Another good place that describes cultural requirements very well, though in a little harder to assimilate fashion is Odyssy Bulbs. Old House Gardens also does a good, though limited, job. Since I have gained a little enlightenment , the survival rate of my bulbs has risen significantly. For fellow gardeners, you need to seek out the information in clear terms. As for VE/JS (and most other bulb companies), please post clear cultural information along with the product. Do it out of respect of your customers.

Back to my review: In summary, I will say that my experience with VE/JS has been very good and I would readily recommend them to any of my fellow gardeners.

Since they are two websites and I am too lazy to rewrite this review, I have copied and pasted it to the VE site.

May the Moon light clearly your path even through the longest night.

boru

I ordered daffodils from this company last year. Many of the bulbs they sent had already produced a new "baby", and when they came up in spring, many of them had 2-3 blooms! Pretty good for the first year! They were ALL in good condition; I don't think I got a single blub that wasn't healthy, and I ordered over 100 bulbs, of about a dozen varieties. I noticed that one of the (few) negative comments said they were expensive. I compared their prices to other companies selling extensive selections of bulbs, and they were actually cheaper than the other companies. If you want cheap bulbs, you can go to Wal-Mart, but I guarantee you won't find the huge selection of unusual daffodils that John Scheeper's offers.

I ordered Casa Blanca lilies at short notice as I needed to plant them in a client's garden. Not only did they get them to me within the time frame specified, but they were (as usual) big healthy bulbs. Thanks, you did not disappoint me. I am sure my clients will be very pleasantly surprised when their lilies are blooming next year.
Marty Oostveen - http://www.martysgarden.us

Received my Fall Order of bulbs. I ordered 3 varieties of lilies, 3 daffodils varieties, 2 peonies, and 1 variety of tulip. All were firm, healthy and huge. I also sent an order to my Mother as a gift, and she raved about the size of the bulbs. I have found this company consistently sends high quality bulbs, and I always recommend them to my gardening friends.

Quality was not high enough in light of the price. Tulip and daffodil bulbs were OK, but alliums were dehydrated and already sprouting when they arrived. Also, the package of alliums was two short. Customer service said they were in stock and would be sent. Without any further communication, a credit for the missing bulbs appeared on my credit card a few days later. In late fall, credit is not a good substitute for bulbs!

EXCELLENT! I ordered 200 Spanish Squills for an incredibly low price. (less than $50.00- others list them for $75.00 per hundred!) Bulbs are huge and extremely healthy, I'm sure they will grow just fine. In addition, the packaging is very professional. Highly recommended!

Posted on June 19, 2010, updated October 18, 2010
Highly recommended! Scheepers has lots of varieties, the prices are affordable, and the bulbs received are excellent. BTW, Muscari 'Pink Sunrise' really is a true pink--a must have.

Just finished planting 200 beautiful bulbs I got from John Scheepers. They arrived plump and well packaged. The size was excellent and there were even a few extras in some of the bags. I have gardened for many decades and have found this company to be one of the best.

I Received my order consisting of 350 bulbs today. They were huge bulbs and very healthy! You wont see these in the box stores! They were shipped right on time. I will order from John Scheepers again!

I love Scheepers. Very economical and top quality product. I've ordered for several years in a row including obscure daffs, species crocus and other more common bulbs.

On my second order, the UPS man left the box in a puddle in the pouring rain. By the time I found them the next day, a number of the bulbs were looking sketchy. Scheepers replaced the whole order, no questions asked.

I've recommended them to a number of friends and all have had good experiences.

AVOID THIS COMPANY
READ their Policy carefully BEFORE spending your Hard earned Money with them... also Known as Van Engelen/JOHN SCHEEPERS.
I spent over $265 on various Allium: ie: GLADIATOR & SCHUBERTII Purple Sensation Pinball Wizard Shearocephalon ,Ambassador, Alopilosum.
I live in Zone 5b/6a. I planted all of the Allium according to the specific guidelines, I am NOT an amateur gardener. Of The Allium that Did perform fine were Purple Sensation Pinball Wizard Shearocephalon ,Ambassador,Alopilosum.
The TWO that did NOT perform were the 25 Gladiator & 25 Schubertii.
After several emails with Customer service Rep CHERIE I was only given a $21 dollar HOUSE CREDIT for $85.00 (part of $265), no offer to reship the NON Performing bulbs or replace with ones that will grow in my zone.
Their guarantee is written carefully and therefore since they say these WILL perform in my zone, her letter stated that they would NOT perform in my zone & that is NOT their problem. SO only buy one or two items and see if they survive you area before purchasing what it says WILL survive your zone only to be told.. TOUGH ..NOT OUR PROBLEM. BOO HISS on them I would prefer to have them replaced with something that will survive, not a peanuts credit. I will have to do business with a more reputable company with a better guarantee. This was a Huge disappointment. I am disgusted with their Customer service. I have never dealt with a company that was not willing to realize a problem and correct the situation. Their solution send me a couple of bucks off my next order.
PLEASE AVOID THEM!!! Do Your Homework =read the Fine print" BOY IT'S FINE" John Sheepers/Van Engelen You are not the business I want to do business with You failed to do the right thing. :(

Posted on December 19, 2008, updated April 27, 2010
I buy from John Scheepers every year now. The shipments are accurate; the quality, among the best. Oh, sure, there may be a couple of gnarly bulbs, but overall the yield of blooms is among the best, the first year. And the ones they say will naturalize, do, better than bulbs from other sources. Their Narcissus Ice Follies are especially prolific, as our any of their Muscari armeniacum. It is interesting how many bulbs from other sources do not reappear. Dig them up and discover bulb rot in this relatively wet climate even though the soil here is sandy.

And the prices are competitive; some items lower than the discount 50% places without having to have such a discount.

So I am trying their peonies for the first time. I found in Sunset’s Garden Book to plant them 1 to 2” deep to the top of the roots. I hope to log back on and report how well they have done.

Consistent, consistent, consistent. This is a very positive review . I've yet to receive an order(after several years of ordering a sizable variety of bulbs) that didn't have nice, fat healthy bulbs that grew well, come spring.

Just happened across my receipt for $150 order of bulbs, etc. Place large order from Colorblends at the same planting time. Just realized how many of John Scheeper's products did not produce. Some did and were beautiful. Not sure why so many items did not survive. Wish I had realized this earlier.

Beautiful bulbs. They emailed me to thank me for my order. These people get it. Great product. Great Service.

I recieved HUGH, fat, clean amaryllis bulbs at a good price. They filled up my 6 inch pots. I will have to pot up next spring. I had compared the prices and size with bulbs sold at local nurseris. These were at least half the price and twice the size. Even figuring in the cost of shipping I came out way ahead.

Posted on October 26, 2009, updated October 26, 2009
I ordered from this company because of their ratings and excellent pricing but I was disappointed with my order. First, the order was placed on September 8th but didn't arrive until October 19th (which is still within the planting window but I placed orders with Holland Bulbs and Brent and Becky's on the same day and they shipped weeks ago). Second, the bulbs I received do not seem to be from the same stock as what others customers are getting.

For example, the checkered lillies did not look very healthy (I planted them and crossed my fingers). Of course these are the bulbs I was most excited about and I would estimate that only half looked healthy. Now these are a rather fragile bulb and I don't expect them to look like as firm and round as a scilla but some were shrunken and shriveled.

My order of 10 Cordyalis had only 8 bulbs.

The other bulbs I ordered looked fine (erythronium pagoda, fritillaria michailovski, and the gladiolus). Maybe I just got unlucky with this order as everyone else seems so delighted. In the future, I will stick with Brent and Becky's and Holland bulbs as the quality of bulbs I received from these companies were outstanding.

Received my order recently and have planted most of the bulbs; they are big, fat, healthy bulbs that I'm sure will grow quite well. Even though I added two peony roots onto my order in September, they sent the whole order of various bulbs and roots on time and at once. (In the past other vendors have sent my order in various shipments, weeks apart, which can make planting inconvenient.) I am very pleased with my order and plan to order more in the future!

I've tried so many places for my bulb orders over the years and have had a string of disappointments, small and large. Scheepers is the absolutely the best in every way. Their bulbs are as large or larger than anyone else's; the snug double-box packaging prevents damage; they are responsive to rush requests (I forgot to order the bulb booster and it was shipped the next day!); the selection of tulips, narcissi and allium is superb, and there are all sorts of other unusual bulbs to spice things up in June and July. And best of all, their prices are better than all of the other reputable companies so I can afford more bulbs.

As in past years, I recieved outstanding bulbs. I called and asked that my order be expedited as I wanted to over plant the daffs with other flowers. The order was here 4 days later. Cn't say enough about them. Will be ordering again.

The BEST!!! I just received & planted my latest batch of beautiful bulbs from Scheepers. Like my previous orders of the last 4 years, my bulbs arrived big, healthy, fresh & well-packed. They have a great selection of bulbs, along with reasonable prices & shipping.

Very efficient customer service notified me the next day when an item I ordered was out of stock. Large, well packaged bulbs arrived very fast. Great company.

I normally try to avoid ordering plants and other materials through the mail, but I make an exception with John Scheepers. Their prices are competitive, and the quality of their bulbs is superior to anything I've found. I've ordered from them multiple times, and I'm always impressed with the size and health of their bulbs. First-rate.

Along with its sister company, Van Engelen, this company has provided high quality bulbs and has promptly replaced the few bulbs that were problematic. Prices are also among the best.

I was quite pleased with the quality and shipping of the bulbs I received, and I will order from them again.

Bulbs are generally of excellent quality and properly labeled. Selection is very good. Customer service is polite and responsive. Shipping is at the proper time. Prices are among the lowest. Best of all is their catalog--far and away the best in the industry--well arranged, attractive, and totally worthy of being pored over voraciously all spring and summer till planting time. The only negative I'm aware of is their $35 minimum, which one might expect from their volume-oriented sister company Van Engelen but which must be unreasonably high for many people who only need a few bulbs.

I ordered numerous lily bulbs from them this Fall and they arrived promptly, well-packaged, plump and fresh. Their prices are very reasonable and ordering was easy. I am very satisfied with this company and plan on ordering from them again.

I have been using this company for years. It is the only place where I buy my bulbs. I have never had any problems. The price and quality of the bulbs can't be beat!!!

I was nervous about ordering from this company as there seem to have been several CS problems. Since I've had CS problems with a top 30 company, I thought a big company would be a problem. But so far no problems. The bulbs seem fine and I will see how they come up in spring before I reorder. There was a confusion about a gift certificate which I sent to a friend. He may have tossed it as junk mail because he never rec'd it. When I called to ask for a replacement to be sent to me directly, they incorrectly sent it to him again. Which was annoying. However, since he's near me it wasn't a big deal. And I will say that a woman actually called me about it later and was very helpful in attempting to get the problem resolved. So it may be that the first line of CSRs are not so on the ball (and who can blame them since they probably get paid $6/hr.... another issue).

This was my first order. I didn't receive an immediate email confirmation of my Saturday night order, although I received it Monday, and my order arrived on Thursday. The bulbs are big and healthy, and I'm looking forward to a weekend of planting. I will definitely order from John Scheepers and Van Engelen again.

fast shipping, good packing, and good size bulbs. great first order will be back.

Bulb quality: positive
Customer service: so-so
Overall: positive

I placed my first order with John Scheepers last fall after reading reviews on Dave's Garden. I ordered a number of tulip varieties, some hyacinths, allium, and narcissus. The bulbs arrived in good quality and aside from some tulip mixes leaning heavily towards particular colors, I have been really pleased (and even those mixes were lovely).

However, I did find that I ordered a Fringed Tulip Mixture and ended up with orange tulips - no mix, no fringe. I sent an email to customer support and received this reply:

...Since we sold thousands of this mix and have had no other complaints on it, we do not know how this could have happened. But, we have given you a house credit in the amount of $12.50 which you may use towards a future order. We apologize for any disappointing flowering results...

I am happy with the credit but wasn't thrilled with the first sentence of the reply as it sounds a little accusatory. I called and spoke with a different manager and offered to e-mail pictures and then did so. I wish there were a way to complain without someone being suspicious of my honesty.

That said, I will buy from them again and was happy with the quality. That is why my experience is being rated positive.

This past year was the first time i ordered bulbs from scheepers....i've had a great success rate and some stunning flowers....working on bulb order for this fall :-)

lynda

I've had wonderful experiences when ordering from both John Scheepers and Kitchen Garden Seeds. I tried KGS after a rather minor problem (bulb variety mix up where all in a mixed bag were same color, I think) with some amaryllis bulbs was made right with a credit. After they bloomed and I noticed the issue, it was naturally too late to replace them, hence the credit. They did not make me send the bulbs back, even though I offered.

I had absolutely NO problems with customer service. They said nothing about a minimum order, so that may be a new policy. Instead, I was given the choice of their companies to use my credit, and everything was handled with cheerfulness and attention to the customer. Their customer handling and their products have been top notch in my experience, and I am just about to go to their website to order again.

I noticed that most of the negative or neutral reviews seem to have happened close to the same time. Perhaps there was a reason on their end, say a reorg or move, that contributed. I know my experiences with them over the past 5 years have been just great.