Comments regarding Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com)

I'm new to Dave's Garden site so my experiences with VB are a couple of years old but I wanted to add that I had the same bad results from them that so many others have had. I ordered from them twice, thinking my poor results the first time might have been a fluke. But no, both times I got the following from them: dead twigs in pots, rotted mush in bags and dried up, shriveled tubers. And when I called to complain, they argued with me and insisted I could only have a credit. I was not in the mood to be argued with by these people and argued right back, apparently forcefully enough that they decided I should be pacified and given my refund, which I got. But it puzzles me how they stay in business.

I ordered some daylilies, lilies, and daffodils last fall. Planted them in my garden near similar plants from prior years but other vendors. Some of the daylilies did not grow, neither did any of the daffodils. This spring I dug up the remainder of the plant material (dead bulbs and daylily roots) and sent them back.

They offered me only a credit that I could use for more of the same. Said I had only had 30 days to get a refund. How would you know in 30 days, in the fall, whether your daffodils were going to grow?

Wish I had known about this site BEFORE I ordered.

I discovered this site 2 years ago, just AFTER I'd placed a bulb order from VanB's wholesale catalog, and my heart sank. The following summer - before my "year" was up - I mailed a written complaint, from which I quote:

"On my initial order, I was sent only half the Asiatic lilies I ordered. When I called for them, I was promised they would be shipped out at once, but instead they arrived so much later that it was almost too late to plant. Fortunately, the weather was apparently accommodating enough to allow all of them to do well, and the net result is that I am pleased with those, despite my initial concern at the tremendous disparities in bulb sizes.

The Colchicums I ordered were never sent at all.

Other bulbs proved disappointing, but I was waiting for the daylilies to bloom, as their season is the last of anything I ordered. I was unimpressed with their puny size, and anxious for results. However, now that the new catalog has arrived, I must tally up the results regardless, as it is clear that those daylilies will not be flowering this year, which is NOT what I bargained for. Does "No.1 field grown divisions" actually mean "seedling size"? If so, you would do well to define it!

First, snowdrops. I ordered Galanthus nivalis. I received a substitution without notice, of Galanthus elwesii. I did not remark upon it, as I've grown that species before and am familiar with it.. However, given that only 13 of 25 bulbs grew at all, I am no longer pleased.

Guinea Hen Flowers / Mixed Checkered Lilies. I ordered 25 bulbs. Only 4 grew, and only 3 bloomed, in a site that previously grew them very well until someone mistakenly pulled up the foliage as weeds because they were unmarked. This site was very clearly marked this year!

Cyclamen. I ordered 10, but only 3 grew, and none of them flowered.

Feather Hyacinths. I ordered 25, and they all grew, BUT only 7 bloomed and 4 of them were Tassel Hyacinths! I have grown these before also, and I know what they are supposed to look like."

I received a phone call in reply, approximately 3 months later, in which I was informed that no refunds could be given, but they would send replacements that fall. I dared to think the company might redeem itself, so I held off on the negative commentary. But I just got more of the same.

They substituted for the 'Electric' lilies without asking, sending their most expensive variety, which would have impressed had that been what actually grew! But instead of 'Creme Brulee' I got what looks like 'Grand Cru'. The 'Vermeer' lilies look true, but 'Jacqueline' did not even come up Asiatic - they sent me orange tiger lilies, which was NOT part of my plan!

The replacement daylilies were miniscule again, supposedly because they are of a type propagated by tissue culture rather than division. Only 3 of 10 survived our mild winter, and none bloomed this summer. Of the 5 surviving from the initial order, only 3 bloomed at all, and one died, hardly "filling out their second year" as the CS rep promised.

Snowdrops had a 50% failure rate, and the ones that bloomed were the smallest I've EVER seen. NONE of the replacement checkered lilies grew, nor the cyclamen. Feather hyacinths grew foliage only, NO flowers, so I don't even know if they are the right type or not. But since I plant bulbs expecting a good show the first spring, and "whatever" in subsequent years, this is hardly satisfying!

I am not a novice gardener. When I think of all the digging I did for nothing, all the pretty blossoms I should have had if I'd gotten what I paid for, it makes me more than a little disgruntled! What a WASTE of TIME and MONEY.

I am prompted to share my experience, though it may run a little longer than preferred here, as I finalize a fresh bulb order for this fall - from John Scheeper's - so anyone who reads it will know NOT to be taken in by the pretty pictures in the Van Bourgondien catalog, which continues to show up in my mail even after I was told I would be removed from their mailing list when I requested it . (Though it does give the kids something to practice on with their scissors ...)

I ordered
4 daylily varieties - looked terrible with very little green with the base of the plants soft which I gave very littlle chance of survial when they arrived
1 Japanese Iris - mushy - pitiful
1 Japanese Iris mix (Bag of 3) also mushy

Gladiolus bulbs in the order looked small but have sprouted.

My total order was 43.42 plus shipping 8.95

I notified them when the plants arrived that the daylilies and iris probably would not make it.

I have attempted to contact them by phone - no answer.
I have emailed this company several times requesting refund which has been ignored.

DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY.

This company has bad customer service and even worse products!!! They somehow manage to make the catalog pictures look gorgeous, but the actual plants that come out of the ground look nothing like them - height, size and especially COLOR of flower is way off. In 2004 I ordered some Queen of Night tulips and some daffodils (can't remember the name), which were advertised as "pink cup" (& the picture was a bright pink). Only about half of the tulips grew at all, and the flowers were very small & they were about 4 inches shorter than advertised. One-third of the daffodils came up completely yellow! and the rest weren't what I would consider "pink." I sent Van B's an email last July (of '05) saying that I wanted my money back for the tulips (I wasn't going to quibble about the daffodils). I never heard from them. Now I suppose I could have hounded them til I got some semblance of response, but, life happened - & I didn't get around to contacting them again until last week. Their response was that they could not do anything because they guarantee their stuff for one growing season only. Well, HELLO, I CONTACTED you people last year, which was still within the growing season when you plant bulbs in 2004! They say they have no record of my bulb order but will do some "investigating." They said that they probably can't do anything for me because the order is "so old." 2004 to 2006 is only 2 years. I will warn everyone I know about this company - don't be fooled by the pictures!!!

This place has customer service that seriously sucks the big one. I ordered 20 packages (10 bulbs each) of Crocosmia 'Lucifer' that was delivered in April. Absolutely none of these bulbs grew. It had to be some problem at the grower that they buy from. After sending 2 emails that were unanswered, I finally decided to call. The customer service representative gave me the impression that she might lapse into a coma at any moment. She took the information, put me on hold for 10 mins and then disconnected me. I called back and the second representative was just plain rude. She said my name was in their computer, but not the order. Since I could not supply the order number, I was told that I was just out of luck. I asked to talk to a supervisor and she refused. All she was willing to do was take my number and the supervisor would call me back at their convenience. If they return phone calls like they answer emails, I don't suspect that I will ever receive a call. The company may be ok as long as nothing goes wrong. If there is any problem with your order, good luck. I will never order from them again.

I just got my first order from this company and I am absolutely disappointed. I have ordered 4 plants: CLEMATIS JACKMANII , TREE PEONY RENKAKU and 2 DOUBLE ORIENTAL LILY MISS LUCY . The package arrived promptly and the plants were packed well. But the quality of the plants is completely unsatisfactory. The tree peony is dry, its roots are also dry and brittle, and I doubt it is alive. The clematis is container planted, but it does not have any active growth. Lilies' bulbs are WAY TOO SMALL! They were advertised as 16-18 cm, the actual size is about 10 cm! In terms of volume it means they are 4 times smaller. These bulbs are pretty expensive for the lily bulbs and the size of them was one of the main reasons I decided to buy them.
I called to their customer service today and did not get any satisfactory solution of the problem. The person I talked to only asked me how I measured the size of the bulbs. Apparently he was satisfied with my answer (well, I really do know how to measure bulbs). After that he just said that they stopped shipping and he does not know what to do to resolve my problem! I guess that I am too naive to think that customer service should know what to do with customers' complaints.
I really want to have these plants, and because replacement is not available now I decided to give them a try. Will try to claim refund or replacement later if they will fail.
So far it was my worst mail order experience.

I wish I had known about the Watchdog before I ever ordered from these people. Most of the items I ordered for planting last fall did not come up and Van Bourgondien is not responding to my e-mails. All I can say is this:

//www.oag.state.va.us/CONSUMER/CONSUMER_FRAUD/Consumer_complaints.html#Complaints%20about%20Virginia%20Business

I ordered from the wholesale side of this company. 2 of my 3 blushing bride spiderworts arrived dead & moldy(they were plants not bareroot), one of my sundown coneflowers died a week after planting, and I ordered a bag of 5 dahlias and it only had 3 tubers in it.

Called the company a month after I recieved my order to get replacements (was busy with the end of the school year). Was told I would have to wait 8 weeks before they would send me replacements as they may still come to life. Like moldy plants and non-existant plants are going to suddenly come to life. The person was very rude and treated me like I had no clue about gardening. My guess is they are hoping I will forget about calling. I also emailed them after this and have NEVER received a response. This is the worst experience I have had with any mail order company. Next year I am only ordering from Bluestone (whom I adore) and driving an hour to Jung's Garden Center to get what I can't from Bluestone.

Last Year, I received Glad Bulbs from Van Dyke's.
I ordered 1 variety, and received 6 stupid varieties. Not one of the one I ordered.
I called them and they gave me a credit. But I wasted my garden space And time growing them.
Then Last year, I ordered "Wide Brim: Hosta from Van B.
They came up some yellow & green leaf. Not Wide Brim.
So I complained, and they gave me credit, But another
year and labor wasted.
I talked to them this year and re-ordered Wide Brim, But the same old yellow & green.
Also Pretoria Cannas, I ordered 6 bulbs for around $20.00
I received 1 bag of roots with 3 roots, and l bag with 1 root. I called them, and they said they were sorry, and would send me 24 roots.
Out of the 28 roots I had - only 5 sprouted. The rest were just chunks of roots - with no eyes!!!!
Also I ordered some Oriential Lilies, and it looks like they are going to be asiatatic lilies. And not the variety I ordered. Another 25 spaces taken up, and another year wasted on garbage.
I want to report them to the DUTCH BULB COUNCIL,
for the crap they are sending out.
They put out a great catalog, But you don't get the varieties or quality you would expect.
I've been spending between $200.00/$500.00 a year with them, but always ended up getting a credit for something.
This year was arould $500.00 But NEVER AGAIN!!!!
They are right up there in my eyes like MICHIGAN BULB CO!!!!

One of the worst mail orders I have encountered!
Coneflowers arrived dead and included empty pots... replacements were also dead ... ordered replacement of callas that were ALL rotten... no resolution and customer service doesn't respond to numerous e-mails.
I wish I had read your garden watch before ordering... this was money down the drain

I wish I would have checked this site before getting sucked in by the pretty pictures in the glossy catalog.

I purchase about half my plants/seeds online/catalog and half locally. I have never had a`problem with any of the plants/seeds that I have purchased before (from other online/catalog vendors). I saw the Delft Blue Delphinium in the VonB catalog and just had to have it. The order arrived promptly. For the price ($12.99) I made the naive assumption I was purchasing a plant, so I was`surprised when I opened the box and saw a small mass of dead-looking roots. (The catalog did state that they were sending roots, I just missed that when ordering.) There was a note included that the roots were not dead, simply dormant, so I assumed they would be ok.

The roots did not include any planting instructions, however I am fairly experienced with gardening, and felt I could handle the task. I promptly planted the roots and gave it the proper TLC for growth. Four weeks passed with no results so I emailed customer service. A week passed and I had not received a response, so I emailed them again. No response after two days so I called today (which is what I should have done in the first place.)

Cassandra helped me today, and she was very polite and did all I believe she could do for me. When she saw that it was the Delft Blue Delphinium that I had ordered she was not surprised that it had not made it and stated there were a lot of calls on that particular plant. She then stated that it was out of stock for this year, but I could receive it next year or I could receive a credit. Well after reading a couple pages of previous posts on this site, I really wanted neither. I took the credit, because who knows if this plant would grow next year, assuming I ever received it.

Fortunately I only spent $13.00 (I had free shipping). I have too many good companies that I already work with to ever bother to use this company again (after I use my credit).

Last year I ordered from Van Bourgondien for the first time. I ordered ten types of plants all of which arrived promptly in their bareroot bags.

The toad lilies, two varieties of bleeding hearts, four columbines and two astilbe’s quickly came up and this year have far more than doubled in size from what they were last year. They are beautiful plants, which I’m extraordinarily pleased with.

The other plant in the order, however did not fair so well. On initial inspection the Dutch irises were notably molded. I went ahead and cleaned them off and planted them. They of course all promptly rotted and sadly none of the ten bulbs were viable. It was the same story for the Virginia Blue Bells for which both too soon rotted with no sign of life.

The Brunnera ‘Hadspen Cream’ quickly produced a beautiful plant, however it was not by any means the Hadspen Cream I was expecting. It was a Brunnera but with large solid green leaves, and as beautiful as it continues to be, certainly not a plant that monetarily equates to a Hadspen Cream.

I was not terribly bothered by the state of the order until I tried to ask for it to be fixed. Two polite emails requesting help from the company went wholly ignored. I did finally get a response via phone, but it was not one that was nearly as helpful as I had been hoping for.

They did agree to replace the Brunnera with an actual Hadspen Cream, though I must say that I am far more impressed with the vigor of the initial mistaken plant. The Blue Bell replacements were no different from the first and never came up either. The bulbs they said to be out of stock on though they said that they would send them when new ones arrived in the next year as long as I called and reminded them to send them, which in itself seemed quite odd to me. I own an internet business myself and I can’t imagine telling my customers who have paid for their products that it’s their responsibility as to whether or not they get the product when it becomes again available.

Without question the varieties offered in their catalog are gorgeous ones and like many would absolutely love one of each and if I had received replies to my concerns and successful replacements, certainly I would not have hesitated to order from them again. However, it’s hardly as if Van Bourgondien has a monopoly on these plants and rather the same plants can be found for the same price or in many cases less from companies that take far more care with both their plants and certainly with their customers.

Given their delightful offerings, I do believe that depending on what items were ordered, one could have a wonderful experience with this company, but I seriously question their ability to correct issues when they occur. It’s simply too abhorrent a thought that this company would be taking the time to boost its own ratings here apparently rather than replying to customer emails. Despite some of the beauties I have received from Van Bourgondien and as disappointing as it is, I unfortunately would not feel comfortable ordering from this company again.

I ordered over $100 worth of plants from this company the first week of May 2005. I was told the plants would be shipped at the appropriate shipping time for my area. I received my order with the exception of a Siberian Iris Bridal Jig which was part of a collection (it had a backorder date of 3/25/05 which didn't make sense to me). The bulbs/dry roots looked to be dead but I planted them anyway because there was a note that indicated this appearance was normal and they would grow (should have been my first warning). Nothing grew with the exception of a few Ranunculus (which sprouted and then died). I sent an email in July asking for some guidance as to how long I should wait to see the other plants come up and got no response. I followed up with another e-mail and got a call from "Ron" who indicated that the plants probably didn't grow because they were shipped so late in the season. He offered to reship the order in April of 2006. I asked for a written confirmation, he agreed but I never received it.

In January of this year, I received a letter from Van Bourgondien concerning my back order of the Bridal Jig Siberian Iris. They said it was out of stock. They said my order was closed because I had not been charged for the flower. However, this was incorrect as I had been charged the previous May when I placed my order. Additionally, there was no mention of my reshipment of the rest of the order. I was furious. I sent them an email and asked for a complete refund and I gave them a date by which I wanted it. They responded that they were sorry I was disappointed with the company and that I was a "valued" customer. I was told that my order was going to be reshipped in April as "Ron" had promised - they never addressed refunding my money.

This month I sent another email asking for a status of my order since I hadn't received it in April like I was supposed to. They responded that they "made it so my order would ship out in the next day or two". It did ship on the 9th with the exception of the Bridal Jig Siberian Iris which again was sold out for the season. I also did not receive my Ranunculus. I questioned why I did not receive the Bridal Jig again since the reshipment order was placed last July. They responded that by April they're sold out of a lot of stuff and I should place my order earlier in the season. Unbelievable! I asked how much earlier in the season I needed to place the order... I'm waiting on a response. In the meantime, of the replacement items I received, one Brunnera was rotten. The other 2 look dead again. The iris look slightly better but they're still nothing to write home about.

I will never, ever deal with this company again. I cannot believe how many complaints there are. I wish I had known about this website before I ordered....

The Japanese lilies I received look like dog doo and 45 days after planting i'm convinced it was. Nothing came up. Most of my order was of poor quality and some were not tulips as ordered, what I planted in my tulip bed came up as daffodils. After 4 different service reps with four different excuses and no return of e-mails, i'm shopping locally. At least you'll have it in hand and only yourself to blame if it fails to grow. And if I call home to camplain i'll get my lovely wife to chit-chat with. GROW AND BUT LOCALLY... Most mail order companies are scam outfits running under different names... Visit this site and see 'complaints.com' one of many watch dog sites with pathetic stories of shafted gardeners.

My order came five weeks after they said it would, well into the local growing season.

I checked over the invoice before signing for it from UPS, and noticed one large item was not shipped, but the invoice had check marks next to everything that was in the box, so I received delivery assuming that the missing item would be shipped separately.

However, VB support staff told me that they did ship the missing item in the original box. I went back and forth with them to no avail. They said I should have gone by the 'shipped' column on the invoice instead of the checkmarks.

Ordering from them was a $100 and 10 hours of my time mistake.

When the order came in the fall I was very disappointed at the condition of the bulbs. These were not quality bulbs by any means. No directions for planting. The pink daffodil collection were a bright yellow when they blossomed.The customer service girl told me that they would turn pink, which did not happen. The Foxtail Lillies have never come up. They did say that they would give me a credit. I will try to use the credit but will not pay out of pocket to them again.

I ordered several items from one of their catalogs that had a $25 discount coupon. Nice photos, glowing descriptions, and following the order, frequent e-mails from "The Bulb Lady." The order, to be shipped "at your proper planting time," arrived this week. What was labeled a fuchsia plant was a desiccated twig that I'd bet money is dead and will never grow (shades of Interstate Nursery!). Ditto for a Russian sage. Dahlia tubers were sub-standard; they may actually live, though I'm not optimistic I'll see any blooms. I could have bought better dahlia plants, potted and already growing at the Wal-Mart Garden Center. Two daylilies were pathetic, little more than seedlings. They'll never bloom this year, if they even live. For the same money I could've got huge, vigorous plants from Oakes or another reputable daylily provider. Needless to say, I won't be making any more purchases from this outfit, discount coupons or no. Though their invoice says plants can be returned, cost for return shipping would be throwing good money after bad.

In the winter of '04 I hunkered down with the Van Bourgondien catalog to order all those plants I just had to have. While I waited through late winter, early spring, other items, ordered from different growers started to arrive. By mid April I called VB to see when my order would arrive, and I was told it would be send around late April. I waited. By mid May I was still waiting. At this time I received their e-mail catalog, showing that just about everything I had order early, was now on sale. I called to see if I would qualify for the lower prices, after all, I had ordered 4 months earlier, but was still waiting for the goods to show up, while they were pushing lower prices on customer enticing them to order. However, I had to pay the regular price, even if my order still hadn't arrived. By late May I called to see where my order was, and I was told it would be shipped shortly. Finally I received my order on June 8th, and I was surprised with the lack of quality. Extremely small plants, and the three fuchsia plants I had ordered arrived "dormant" as three little sticks with dried up roots. I planted them in the hope to coax some growth out of them, but they were, as I had already thought, deader than a doornail. Other items failed to thrive, but I hope in subsequent years they will take off. I asked for a refund on the fuchsias, but was sent a credit instead. Now I look at their catalog to use up this refund and will probably buy some bulbs, hopefully something they can't screw up too much. Nevertheless, after this refund has been used up I will never buy from this company again, and I have made a point of warning my friends away as well.

I placed an order with van Bourgondien last summer and waited patiently for my bulbs to come in the fall. They never did.

I called, and the person with whom I spoke said my order had been cancelled. This was news to me; I had not cancelled the order.

After some discussion with others, she/they decided that what must have happened is that a VB employee ran the summary of the day's orders during that 10-second window after I hit "submit payment" but before the credit card company authorized the transaction. So my order got stuck somewhere in limbo--it appeared on the order summary for the day but WITHOUT payment, so someone at VB later cancelled the order, since according to the summary it wasn't paid for.

They were sorry, but this had never happened before (hard to believe, since they figured out the "problem" fairly quickly), and of course since it was now late October, they were sold out of everything I'd ordered, so sorry, but I was out of luck.

My credit card was never billed, so I have no financial complaint against them, but my gardens have lots of empty space in them right now where I should have bulbs emerging. A company that offers online ordering ought to have the technological know-how to prevent this sort of thing.

This incident would have earned them a neutral rating had they made any attempt to compensate me for THEIR mistake, but they get a negative b/c I was offered no discount on future orders, no "try us again next season and we'll throw in some free X", nothing except "huh. sucks to be you, I guess."

Wow! This company is trying to slide under the radar.

Just look at the way they have tried to boost their ratings here versus what real customers have had to say about doing business with them!!! IT IS SHOCKING!

And they have now taken VanDyke's down with them!

Yesterday I received a catalog from VanDyke's, which I eagerly opened...

Only to find a paper cover with a note inside from VanDyke's...

Covering a VanBourgwhatever catalog!!!!? What tha heck?

VanB and VanD can "affiliate" with each other all they want, but I am now done with BOTH of them. BAH HUMBUG!!!!

I hate to complain, but to save a few dollars I bought 4 varieties totalling 1500 tulip bulbs last year at the "end-of-season-sale". Three quarters of the bulbs were rotten and moldy and of course neither grew nor bloomed. I should have known better than to buy these bulbs, but I can at least now urge others not to buy at end-of-season.

Firstly, I think it highly ironic that the response to VanB employee's rating-inflating has been that previously happy customers have rethought their experiences and changed the overall rating from slightly questionable to perfectly horrid!

Here's to shady businesses! Cheers!

I've had a mixed bag experience with them, moldy bags as well. Rotten bulbs are a norm that gets immediately replaced (and again, perhaps) until they send a good one or don't get a complaint back.

I won't stink the air with a thorough list of their mishaps, but I must say that Van Burgonsomething has broken my heart when I had it set on Arum maculatum and Helleborus argutifolius in my garden. They didn't break dormancy and promptly rotted. I still haven't filled those voids in my heart like so much good-quality swiss cheese. I'll find them offered by a better company one day.

Until then, Down with Van Buggerbollicks
And Up with the Watchdog top 30!

RIP OFF!!! they have a nice catalog but that is about it. thier customer service never gets back to you. they never ship on time. their prices are twice as much as other companies that sell the same quality bulbs.

I had always thought of them as high quality but...........
that was when I was naive. For our first wedding anniversary I received the "paper" gift of a very handsome gift certificate to Van B's. That was 1991: nothing is alive now. Some lived, some never made it but I have nothing left.

I imagined I'd receive the best of plants and bulbs since we live four houses away from a Van B who is retired. No way.

The specials were all horrid and no matter how often I gave them another chance and another order, I have had no luck with this company.

If anyone orders and needs help just call and ask for Debbie. She's even featured in their catalog as "The Bulb Lady", so it's not like this is some big secret. Don't scream and yell and you may get better results. She was very nice to me.

I ordered Ranunculus, Fuschia, and anemone from this company online. I recieved order confirmation. And then I waited. And waited. I finally emailed asking where my bulbs were and was told that they were on the way.(Does it always take over a month to receive bulbs?). This is my first mail order experience with bulbs, but I have beed gardening for years. I planted everything in large containers and waited. One of the fuschia came up. Four of the Ranunculus came up, but nothing has ever bloomed. The anemones were damp and soft, so I didn't even bother planting them. Never again!!!!!!!

Awful! I wish I had found this site before I placed my order. The only upside to it all is that I did find this site while I was looking online for some assistance with my situation.

Long story short - placed order online. Confirmation was completely wrong, so I called them. Very rude woman in Customer Service tells me my order didn't go through. I question that I received a confirmation. Weeks later I receive notification that they are sending a duplicate order, when I check I see they've charged me again too. I call, they tell me to refuse the package. This was in April, it's August and I still have no refund. They tried to pull that "credit only" B.S. w/me and I flipped out. Still waiting on that refund. Top it all off? NONE OF THE BULBS EVER GREW! I agreed to replacement order just so I don't have to deal with them anymore.

I requested that they remove my name from their database immediately. I don't want to be tempted by their catalog ever again.

Really - they are not worth the aggrivation. Their prices can be competitive, but you have to ask why. Lousy product and worse customer service.

This spring I placed an order over the telephone with this company, for a very specific gladiolus. I would absolutely not have placed an order with them, but for their advertisement in their catalog for this item. When I placed my order, I was not told that the item was unavailable, nor was I told that the company would substitute something else without contacting me first. When I received my order, the glads I had ordered had been replaced with another "similar" variety of their choosing, as those I ordered were not available. At no time had they contacted me to tell me that my order could not be filled and to ask me whether I wanted something else substituted.

Since I had placed the order very specifically for the glads that I ordered, I asked for a refund for that part of my order. I received an e-mail from them telling me that I could not get a refund without returning the substituted items. I then requested from them a return postage-paid mailing label, since I had already paid shipping and handling to have the items I had ordered sent to me. So far, they have not sent me a return label so that I can send back the items I did not order and do not want, so that I can get my refund.

I will absolutely never do business with this company again. There are plenty of other bulb sources that I have dealt with over the years that understand the concept of customer service. Other companies that I have dealt with in the past and will continue to do business with in the future have either asked me at the time of my order whether I want to accept substitutions if something becomes unavailable, or have told me that they would never do a substitution without contacting me first. Charging me for something I did not order and do not want, then refusing to send me a return label so that I am forced to pay the return postage in order to get a refund has convinced me that this company should be avoided.

Summary: I won't use them again, did not ship on time, but good quality for the begonias -

I ordered begonias and astilbe in March; both were to ship about the first week of April. By April 20, I had nothing; I called, and was told they had no idea why it hadn't shipped but would put me on immediate shipping and I shoud get them the next week.

Next week, nothing; called again, and was told that there was no record of my previous rush ship request, and that the first week of April was only a "ship after date" not the actual shipping date. Of course, begonias need 6-8 weeks of start time in my zone 6, so to plant by memorial day (my frost free date) the first week of April is, well, correct. WFF ships to my zone starting mid March.

So, I received them the first week of May; behind by 2-4 weeks, but I have to admit the quality of the begonias is pretty good. Only one of the three astilbe was any good, though.

Actually, I am changing my rating to negative because I will never order from them again. Based on the other posts, it's not worth a call, either-

I ordered a collection of karma dahlias because they were the only US retail supplier this year. I knew they had a reputation for bad handling so I specifically on the order "absolutely no substitutes." LOL and behold, they substituted karma naomi with "dark red" dahlia and billed me for karma naomi.

I am very very disatisfied with this Company. I will never order from them again. I had a credit for $30.88 from almost two years ago. The credit was for their poor quality plants back then. I decided I had better use my credit this spring, because as a matter of fact when I went to use my credit they had no record of it on their computer system. I had to wait a week and call back while they retrieved the info from their old system. No problem with that. Well approximately two months or so ago I ordered their Monk's Cap Collection and their Astrantia Ruby Wedding. My order came to more than my credit, but that's okay. Well, my bareroot plants arrived in
extremely poor condition. They were either totally black and mushy, or a couple of them had some signs of life. Being an experienced gardener I looked at it as a challenge to try and nurture these poor litttle guys back to health. I potted them up and nurtured them along. Of the 6 plants I received I could only nurture two of them to start to grow. The rest rotted in their pots. I contacted Customer Service one day last week and spoke to this very sarcastic lady. She tried telling me to give them more time. She wanted to know how I knew they were dead. Duh! Isn't rotting plant material a sign of being dead? Duh??? We continued to argue about this. I finally told her I want my replacements now, not later on! She then told me that she would only replace them once. I specifically asked her if she could put a note on my replacement order to ask for some nice healthy looking bareroot plants. She said she would. I have dealt with other companies and they have offered to do this so I just thought I would ask.

Well, today my plants arrived. I am in total shock and disbelief. The plants are smaller than the original ones. In fact one of the Monk's cap bags there is not even a plant in it. The other monk's cap is mush. The Astrantia Ruby might? might? make it with lots of TLC. I am so angry at this company. I have friends that will never order from them again. I wish this site would allow pict's. I would love to show all of you these poor poor plants that Van Bourgondein sends out to people. I am going to take pic'ts and send them to the Bulb Lady. Sorry about my rant, but do not buy from this Company! I repeat do not buy from this Company!

Ordered fall sale items including Phlox Collection (16 plants), Coreopsis Collection (4 plants), Iris Siberica Collection (3 plants) and Leucanthemum Becky (1 plant). I planted the plants the day after they arrived. They were labeled so I could find them in the spring. I also planted similar plants from OTHER vendors at the same time. Needless to say, none of the previously noted VanBourgondien items came up. So, out of 24 live plants ZERO survived. Plants from the other vendors are 6"-8" across and growing beautifully. I called VanBourgondien today to report and they say they will reship again in the fall. But I know, I'll get similar INFERIOR quality product that will be a waste of time to plant because I am sure these also will fail to grow. I fell for their slick catalogue and e-mail offers. But won't be ordering from this company again. I've requested to be removed from their mailing list and e-mail list. Beware of this company!!!

I ordered about $100 worth of plants and bulbs from these folks.

Half the stuff was dead on arrival and three of the plants came up the next year in a different color than I had ordered. (Species tradescantia rather than the special cultivar I had ordered and paid extra for.) When I dealt with Cust Service, they were rude, condescending and reluctant to refund/replace. (Duh - I know the difference between a dormant plant and a dead plant.) It took at least three calls, two e-mails, and finally a regular letter to get the matter resolved.

They haven't managed to take me off their mailing list either - which I requested - and I always feel that twinge of regret when I see the catalog (and think about the trees that have died on its behalf!)

I would avoid these folks like the plague. There are many other reputable companies that provide much better products and service.

The reblooming irises I ordered last Fall looked bad, but I planted them with hope. When Spring finally arrived, some had no growth so I contacted the company via e-mail in hopes of replacements. I sent the company THREE e-mails over a two week period requesting replacements or a credit with NO REPLY; however, when I finally was able to reach a customer service rep during business hours by phone, she was VERY nice and said they would replace them--the catch, they don't ship until Fall, so I'll have to wait until next year to see if they take!!!

I am not upset that all of the irises did not do well--it happens, but I was shocked that there was no response to my e-mails. Customer service should be more important. Again, I do want to stress that when I reached an actual person, she was understanding and helpful.

If the irises which did come up are true to variety and as described when they bloom, AND I actually receive the promised replacements this Fall, I MAY order from them again...they do have a beautiful selection of rebloomers. I'll let you know!

I ordered from VanBourgondien in the past and received good quality merchandise, so I was quite surprised by my experience in 2003. I ordered a number of items which arrived in poor condition. The Calla bulb was broken and had mold on it and never grew. The Madonna Lily was rotten and never grew. The Josephine Clematis was tiny and died soon after planting. I contacted them and explained this to them, providing the original invoice and requesting a replacement, then waited and waited and never heard from them. By now it was the end of the season and I didn't want the merchandise, so contacted them again and explained the problem. Still no response. Early in 2004 I emailed an angry note, describing my experience and was contacted with instructions to list the items I had a problem with and they would refund. Appreciatively, I sent them this information and guess what........I never heard from them again. I will never do business with this company again, which is a shame, since they carry some great stuff that I don't see elsewhere.

I will NEVER order anything from this company again!!!!!!!!
The first order was sent after a long delay. The bareroot plants were dead and the Strawberry Candy daylilies are maroon. The free lilies were nice though.

Then it got worse. They were out of the tree peonies I had ordered but billed me for them anyway. Finally when I called customer service, which was nice but clueless, I was told that they didn't refund money but preferred to give customers merchandise credits. No other company I have ever dealt with expected me to pay for items they didn't ship. Finally I got a $5 credit on my credit card bill for $40 worth of merchandise. I called customer service who explained that I now had merchandise credits for the balance.

Well at this point they had the tree peonies back in stock so like a fool I made an order to buy them and utilize the credit. When I printed out my internet invoice the total was $114 less the merchandise credit. When they finally shipped the items the charge to my credit card was $160!!!!!!! Buyer beware.
Oh, and the irises were pitiful. I HOPE the peonies grow. So far, so good.Now after reading all this I hope they are the right color.

My comment for this company is same as my rating for Van Dycks which apparently is related.

I used their end of season sale and received a very mixed quality. The martagon and tenuifolium lilies were sold as 10-12 cm bulbs and they were hardly that. The Asiatic vermeer bulbs were ok, and the hit parade lilies (16-18 cms) were very large and plump.

This is not an example of only poor merchandise. The "hit parade" bulbs were very large. Generally, their oriental lilies appear to be of excellent quality and size. Almost too good to be true. I got some "casablanca" bulbs from their sister company "vanDycks" and they were similarily very large and healthy (hydrated/plump).

I suspect the vendor they use for the oriental bulbs is local and supply fantastic merchandise whereas the vendor(s) for the other bulbs may be abroad or are stored longer.

The species lilies (maragton/tenuifolium) were very very small. Interesting that their packing list misspelled "maragton" ("martigon"). Similar experience with quality I experienced early with their sister company van Dycks who shipped very very small "citronella bulbs".

Due to year end, most of the bulbs - not all - were very dry and dehydrated.

I will plant them, but wont hold my breath.

The prices were very good, and based on past experience I did not expect more than I got (I also used their end season sale in the past). However, I would probably not go to this company first unless the prices were very very good.

I see a lot of negative responses, but my own experience has been good. I have not purchased any perenials, only bulbs and dahlias. Perhaps this is the area that they excel in?

We just ordered a fall shipment of bulbs from their end-of-year sale, which arrived promptly (two weeks) and in good condition. Back-ordered items arrived only a couple days after that.

I will post again in the spring if I have any problems with this purchase, but based on past experience with their bulbs, I'm not expecting trouble. I've never needed to call their customer support for a replacement.

I would stay away from this company with one exception:their relatively inexpensive Japanese Tree Peonies I bought a collection several years ago at about $15 per plant and each grew and some blossomed even when neglected and even when planted in the spring. If you want to spend more $$$, I highly recommend Golden Tree and Cricket Hill for Chinese Tree Peonies. (Note: Japanese Tree Peonies are almost always grafted and can revert to the rootstock.) But at VB's prices you can add to your collection and stay within your budget. I bought six more plants from this company today for the cost of a single plant at the more serious peony sellers. You aren't getting the fancy varieties but the size of the bare root plants I received was just as big as what I've gotten from Golden Tree. My only other happy experience with VB was a honeysuckle that smells like jasmine but out of the six plants I bought only a couple made it. . I won't buy anything from this company except for Tree Peonies.