Comments regarding Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com)

Items arrived in very poor condition. I ordered quite a bit from this company. Some things where very dry and brittle and still haven't come up. Some items where mushy. The size of every item is rediculously small. I ordered a Hosta and it was less then a quarter of an inch big. I had a hard time finding it in the huge bag it came in. It still hasn't come up yet. I ordered twice in the winter. When my first order came it was still freezing outside. The next order came in early spring and more then half of the items have still not come up. The company keeps telling me to give it more time. On some of the items I am suppose to wait until August.
They said they will replace the items but each time the waiting time is extended. I won't be ordering from them ever again.

wrong bulbs sent, mushy bulbs very expensive, customer service is terrible. It is the worst place to buy anything.

In late March I ordered 5 Picasso Calla Lilly bulbs and Green Envy Echinaceas from VB. The order was received promptly and safely, the Picassos have been planted in a pot but have yet to grow, but since I dont exactly live in zone 10 I expect it might take sometime. However the green envys (bareroot) never grew at all and ended up dead. Upon calling them, I was informed they were now out of stock and was given 2 other types of echinacea as replacements without any trouble and they were received promptly. They also sent 7 of one type of echinacea instead if the 3 that they were supposed to send so I was pleased with that, but as of now nothing has shown any signs of growth. Overall I can't complain about customer service and shipping but the quality of plants remains to be seen, I will adjust my feedback according when I see what becomes of my bulbs/bareroot plants.

I can only give a partial review since I just got my order from them last week (and not the crocus bulbs I orderred since they don't ship those until fall), but from what I can see I have no problems with them.

Shipping was reasonably fast, everything was packaged well (a nikko blue, bleeding heart and a doz everbearing strawberries). It's too early to tell about the nikko blue and the bleeding hearts, but the strawberries!

The strawberries were just a crown with roots. I planted them Sunday afternoon and when I went outside yesterday evening at least a handful of them had sprouted leaves!!!

Very impressive.

This is the 2nd year our Church has ordered bulbs for a fund raiser from Van Bourgondien. Both times the company has been professional on the phone and with the order. The bulbs have arrived in a timely matter and in great conditon. Everyone who ordered last year were very happy with their flowers, and have reordered again for this year. Our Church made 50% profit and received free lily bulbs for our garden.

I ordered from this company in spite of hit or miss results in the past because it was the only place I could find the "Orion" begonia that I like so much. I have moved and wanted to replace the ones in my old yard. Since everything was 1/2 off, I ordered a few things. The butterfly bush was dry and poorly packed. We'll see how it does. I had to soak the begonia roots, as they were dry as a bone. They are coming up okay. The lily bulbs were okay, sprouting in the packages, but neither rotting nor too dry. Order from this company knowing that there is a risk that you will not be entirely pleased, and only order when there's a big sale.

2 years ago I ordered a mass (100s) of two kinds of tulips in their catalong--one pale pink and the other purple. The bulbs looked fine when they arrived.

But when they bloomed the following spring, the "pink" tulips were not anything like their picture. They were not pink at all, they were a bright orange-red. The purple ones were similiar to the pic in the catalog. I phoned Van Bourgondian and told them that either they sent me the wrong tulips, or their catalog pic and description were grossly mistated. The lady in customer service was nice enough and offered me a credit.

So the following fall, I used my credit to purchase additional purple tulips (not trusting them to try to order the pink ones again).

This spring it is even worse. All the "purple" tulips they sent me turned out to be yellow and orange. So what started out as a particular color scheme I was trying for in my garden (pink and purple) is now a mishmash of a lot of glaring color. To dig up 100s of bulbs and transplant somewhere where their colors are more compatible is not a job I have the time for. Van Bourgondian will probably give me another credit when I call them to say they sent me the wrong bulbs again, but this does not cover the time and aggravation it will cost me to redo the garden. Besides, if I order anything else it will likely be mislabeled anyways.

What do they do, just throw all their tulips in one big bin and mix them up? The first "pink" ones I ordered I could sort of write off as a bad color description in their catalog, but to send me yellow & orange when I ordered purple is too much.

I will never order from this company again. I had a credit for an item that was dried up when sent and when I tried to re-order was told that I again would be charged the shipping fee. I recently used the credit to order something else and received a notice that one item was out of stock, but call to order another item to replace it. When I called I was told that shipping charges had gone up and that there was no longer any "credit" amount available. So again I paid for something I will not get. I have not yet received the remainder of my order but am not expecting much.
CaTransplant

last summer i had seen an ad in a magazine for van bourgondien.. for their tango lillies.. well i had never seen a tango lily before and i thought they looked really interesting AND they showed the bulbs to be huge.. actually only 2 could fit in a hand.. that's what the pic showed anyway. well i ordered them and received them shortly after.. and i was shocked!!! the bulbs were about the size of a quarter and really dry!! not huge to where only 2 could fit in your hand. i i planted them in pots and only a few had come up. last year was a really hot and dry year, but bulbs really don't need that much water.. so i called and 1st complained about how small the bulbs were, and how i felt they were misrepresented in the ad.. and then i told them about 35 of the bulbs did not grow.. they said they would issue me a credit.. well today i called and said that the rest of the bulbs did not make it through the winter.. the guy was nice and everything.. but now i have a $45 credit which i really think i spent more than that... that i don't know what to do with. all these reviews say the same thing... and i have to agree. the bulbs i got were small and very dry! and most did not grow! and now all of them are dead! i of course spent my good money there and now i have 45 bucks trapped there! and i refuse to just forget about it.. i will keep ordering and keep getting refunds until i get what i feel is satisfactory

I ONLY order bulbs from this company using the wholesale catalog and I understand that a small percentage of the bulbs will be rotted or damaged and that sometimes they are mislabelled. I've ordered from them for over a decade and this is how I get 1,000's of crocus lining my driveway in a cost-effective manner. The prices are incentive for me to continue ordering from them knowing the negatives.

This company is a joke, sending half alive or dead so called bareroot plants out that should be thrown in the trash when you receive them. I can't for the life of me figure out how they stay in business other than the fact that there is a sucker born every day. Their slick catalog shows color enhanced photos that are unrealistic in color and that you will never be able to grow from the pathetic plants they send. A plant that has roots that snap like dried out twigs on arrival is never going to amount to much. Run Run Run Away from this company as fast as you can! Let any buyers be aware!

I got about $100 worth of bulbs last year. Most were moldy and rotten. The few that did come up were not what I ordered. ( got tiger lilies instead of Oriental lillies) Most of the glads I planted never came up. Won't buy from them again.

I've had similar experience as mjzajic. The bulbs I ordered from them were fine if a bit small, but perennials--specifically daylillies--were not. Several years ago I ordered what I thought were 3 blue daylillies (Prairie Blue Eyes) at what seemed to be a great price. They were in ok condition, but just tiny shoots and took 3 years to finally bloom. When they did finally bloom, they were not blue at all, but salmon w/ red in the center. They are not bad-looking but not even close to what I ordered. I have moved them several times because their odd color does not really go with anything else I have. Maybe this is "just me" but I have never really enjoyed them because every time I see them I am reminded of the fact they weren't what I thought I was getting.

Von bourgondien sends out two catalogs, one wholesale, one retail. Unfortunately they use a lot of gimmicks with their customers, but their prices are sometimes good. Last year I placed a large order that included achimenes. These arrived very late, in early summer! They needed to be started MUCH earlier. However, I did not complain and I started them in pots. Only one of thirty actually grew! I work at a plant nursery, and know how to start and take care of plants.

I have ordered and received bulbs and perennials from van Burgondien for several years. All the bulbs I ordered were both bargain priced, came on time, and were mostly fat and healthy and large. The bulbs have been all outstanding and the variety they offer is exceptional.

However, my experience with ordering perennials from van Burgondien is not one I will repeat. All three times they made a mess of the order, one batch of pink double hollyhocks being delivered a year later, after I had already re-ordered it and received the re-order thinking they had lost my original order. None of the perennials ordered came at the best planting time. One batch of very expensive new cultivar of a violet daylily was a disappointment I am still angry about. The root they sent is a single tiny one which I ordered and planted three years ago. Last year one of the six plants was big enough to produce one flower. After waiting two and a half years I discoverd they had not shipped me the variety I had purchased and desired, but a very ugly brown and dark purple one. The money lost was bad enough but the disappointment after nurturing the pathetic starts for so long and finding they were the wrong one was infuriating. I will continue to order bulbs from van Burgondien, as long as they continue to be good, but never again will I risk ordering any perennials which come late, mistaken, and often in very poor condition.

My calls to them about problems were answered with smooth assurances without any follow up. mjzajic.

My son ordered a couple of amaryllis bulbs for me in early July 2007. I did not get the bulbs until November, and one was obviously damaged. However it was starting to sprout so I planted them both. Since then, neither bulb has grown beyond the initial sprouting stage. I have never had amaryllis grow so slowly and I believe they had been improperly stored. The bulbs were a gift so I didn't fuss too much, but I will not order from this company myself. The product is inferior and the delivery abysmally slow.

I fell for their ad for fall planting of an order of Phlox. After getting a place ready in my garden by getting rid of some plants I had grown tired of I waited for the arrival of them. And I waited, and waited, till it was getting close to the end of the fall planting in my area. I called them and asked where my order was and the lady said they didn't have any in stock. When I asked why they didn't let me know she said she didn't know and is there anything else she could help me with.

I ordered Daylilies and gladioli ,so far so good.The "Blues" -glads were even more spectacular than the pic in the catalog.

I spend $5,000 every Spring on my gardens. I spent about $1,000 with this company. What drew me in was the huge variety. What came up was really great, pink heart shaped leaves, don't recall name ,maybe calladiam. The Canna were also spectacular. I have always wanted Gunnera Manicata and the 3 came up and are doing well. Asian Lillies were also very nice and bloomed at a time when everything else was done. Sea Holly was a bust, I think housekeeper thought it was a weed. Will try again. I took a chance on V-B, did not use a coupon, did not let them know about plants that did not come up (about 30%, most of the shade plants) I just assumed that it was my fault. Waiting too long to plant or putting plants where conditions were not ideal. They were out of a lot of items because I ordered late, but my order was accurate and price was correct. It was my goal to have more perennials rather than annuals. I am going to try some of their Spring bulbs. Will keep you posted. heirai1

I was getting ready to order from the Virginia store (aka the bulb lady) when I saw all these posts. I couldn't believe it because I grew up on Long Island where the catalogue used to be based. They were considered one of the premier nurseries, and I have ordered from them in the past with good results. So I googled Van Bourgondien Long Island and came up with the website for what I think may be their original nursery--www.vanbnursery.com . They do mailorder, so may be worth a try.

I had SEVERAL problems with this company. First of all, I placed an order with them early in the season, and never received any confirmation email or other information about this order. My inquiries by website were fruitless and I received no answer over email regarding the status of this order. I assumed I made a mistake and reordered the bulbs.

Several months later (now that it's appropriate planting time in Florida) I received an email notifying me that most of my order is out of stock, and in fact my orders were being HELD until some of these items "backordered" plants came back into stock (i.e not this year). Ultimately, the company wound up sending me a bunch of crappy, dried out, practically dead bulbs/bareroot plants, and I got twice as many after they "found" my original order (all of which I was charged for).

Do yourself a favor and AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS.

In July I ordered plants from van Bourgondien. When it was time to plant them in my area I received my plants in hard box packed with such a care.All plants of daylilys were there in peat moss. All plants irises & bulbs were the top quality no one has the size end quality like them. All plants which I ordered were there. I was thrilled, I pick up the phone & I called to thank them. Will the plants will grow? This depends how I plant them & take care of them. Most of the time good planting material grows for me very well. I'm sure I will enjoy all of them in blooming time.I'm giving them the highest possible score. This is the best catalog which I ever ordered from. I will order from them again and again.

I was unhappy with my experience ordering from this company. The roots of one of the clematis I ordered were extremely dry and brittle. I'm sure it was dead. It didn't grow. One of the canna rhizomes was rotten and moldy. The crocosmia bulbs, few grew, and the ones that did were not impressive. I won't be ordering from them again.

In January, 2007, I placed an order for plants to be delivered in May. I ordered a purple shamrock plant, a package of 10 Lily of the Valley pips, and 3 cinnamon ferns. The purple shamrock bulbs grew but weren't purple. The 3 cinnamon ferns died even though I watered them regularly (although to be give them the benefit of the doubt, it was probably too dry for them where I live). The 10 Lily of the Valley were only seven and of those only a few of the pips were not mushy. I called VanBourgondien and they were to give me a credit for the shamrock and send me an additional package of 10 lily of the valley. The next package of pips was one large pip or grouping of pips which I could not separate without damaging the pips so I planted it whole. Nothing grew from either 10-pack. Called them again and they said they would give me a refund which I have yet to receive (not holding my breath). Very disappointed with this company.

In nearly 40 years of gardening I have never come across another garden company where the quality of everything we have gotten from them is so poor. The peonys never grew leaving us with a credit we are trying to use up. A full 30 % of the dahlia tubers didnt send up shoots and many of the ones that did produced flowers that were either far smaller than they should have been or not the color described. The flock roots were so small and dry we could hardly tell them from the packing material - their growth was clearly stunted. The company is living on its no longer deserved reputation and should be avoided at all cost.

I ordered some bulbs and they were just received (promptly after ordering) and are all good-sized, healthy, nice looking bulbs. Local, hardware store-(Menards)- also sells the Van Bourgondien bulbs- but they do not have the extensive selection you can get thru the catalog. They have Beautiful Items!! I have no idea why this company doesn't have a better rating--I don't know about the plants--but the bulbs are nice. I am very happy with them.

I ordered 9 25-count bags of hyacinths and tulips from the wholesale catalog, which requires a minimum order of $50 and sells multipacks at a great discount.

When they arrived, I opened the bags to examine the tulip bulbs, and saw that 4 bags contained 1-8 rotten bulbs. Half of the bulbs in the the hyacinth bag appeared to have been damaged during digging, as if they were cut by the machines.

I called the company and the representative asked me if I wanted replacements or what. I said replacements, and before I could tell her how many of each type were unsatisfactory, she told me I would receive a new bag of 25 of each variety that contained rotten ones.

She didn't try to argue with me at all, and I have complete faith that my replacements will arrive soon. I've ordered from them before, and whenever I've had problems, they've been happy to send replacements or refund my money.

DON'T BE TEMPTED - Throw their catalogs away

Things hit bottom them about five years ago when they sent dried out plant roots that looked like they had been in storage for years. I complained and they sent more of exactly the same dead roots. That was the last dealing I had with them

In March of this year (2007) I placed an order with Van Bourgondien. I was entranced by the pictures in their catalogue and did not think of googling them. My mistake, and I am still paying for it. This is the chronology:

In late April my order arrived. The most expensive piece (a tree) was quite obviously dead. I called in early May to request a replacement and was told that the tree was dormant, not dead. I explained I could tell dead and requested a replacement. They told me that they were out but they could send credit or a refund. I asked for a refund and was told it would be soon.

Having received nothing, I called again in mid-July. A young man (Joe) told me that they were busy issuing refunds in the order in which they generated, that they had many to do, and mine would be gotten to Really Soon.

In early August I called them. The young man (whose name I didn't catch but it wasn't Joe) said that my refund must have been mistagged, and I should get it next week.

Two weeks later I called them. I got Joe again. He gave me exactly the same song and dance routine: they were issuing refunds in the order in which they were generated, that they had many to do, etc., etc. I told him that they must have an enormous number of unhappy customers, and I was certainly one.

As I said, I let myself be taken in by the glossy pictures in their catalogues. This was my mistake; it shall not happen again.

And -- on a thoroughly ironic note! -- I mentioned my problems to my 87 year old father. His initial response? In so many words, "they're a bunch of crooks." Many years ago, he had been given the same kind of treatment when his merchandise had arrived dead. He wrote to the Better Business Bureau; Van Bourgondien apparently told the BBB representative that Dad had withdrawn his comments and was happy, which was not the case. This went back and forth, and Dad did finally get a refund.

Me, I'm still hoping.

I,too, was enticed by the "free" $25.00 worth of plants. I spent a lot of time choosing just the right things to order. I sent my check on April 29th. Of course, they were "out" of most of the items on my order. I sent it all back as I was very disappointed as I was so looking forward to receiving my complete order. I received a letter dated May 11 that I would "be receiving an adjustment shortly" to use their exact phrase from the letter. I waited until I thought "shortly" had passed and started calling. I did always get to speak to a real person but got the runaround each time. There are many phases to their process of issuing refunds and I learned them all. There supervisors are always "busy" as well. I got my check today, August 20!! A lesson well learned. A word to the wise is sufficient!

I had used V-B for nearly 20 years, pretty much exclusively after having bad experiences with other growers My orders were usually $ 400- $1000 an order, for top level bulbs and live plants roughly every two years, so I only used the wholesale side of their business.

Up until five-six years ago, I am hard pressed to think of any plants or bulbs that were not outstanding and beat the competiton hands down -
Then, entire bags of bulbs in an order didn't grow while the another bagful planted next to it came up fine - maybe two bags out of 25. I don't mind a couple missing bulbs in a cluster of 25, but a "hole" in the plantings is unacceptable. 3-4 bulbs in every bag of 25 was dried out, most of the potted plants were slow to start and rooted poorly.

It was like some accountant bought the business and decided that instead of culling the bad bulbs or adding root stimulator in the pots, that a bulb was a bulb, that value meant low price, and that customers wanted low prices and didn't care that much about product or time lost - and like so many companies today, the company's poor managment would be ok if they guaranteed the product. If their CEO worked for me, he'd be fired.

So if you want low price and don't mind replanting some things and having the plants show two years from now instead of next season, they might be an option.
But they are no longer a reliable source for me.

I have ordered two years in a row and I won't be ordering again. None of the plants look anything like they do in the catalog when they come out of the ground. And other plants never come up at all. I twice planted Habenaria radiata, but they never came up. The 'lord liutenant' Anemone that sprouted in my garden were a pathetic comparison to the image in the catalog; all washed out in color and small in size. I planted 6 hardy cyclamen in the spring of 2006 and only two put out leaves last fall and I doubt they will be back this fall. The white and pink asiatic lilies arrived this spring already growing, but I planted them and they did manage to flower. However they were actually white and such a dark burgundy that it was nearly black. The hardy gladioli never came up this spring.

The only thing I have received from them that have been successful have been the summer blooming daffodils. But in general daffodils are extremely hardy in and of themselves. Also, they were listed a fragrant. However, it was a fragrance only a stink bug could appreciate. Basically, I've had better luck with bulbs purchased on a whim at the super market.

This is a fraudulent company. They are liquidators for stock that is typically dead, diseased, or culls, and resell it to unsuspecting customers at full retail prices. They expect to make a profit from people who forget what they planted, blame themselves for their failures not realizing the bulbs arrived dead or diseased, or who simply give up fighting for their money back.

I would like to point out that several of the "positive" ratings were posted by people who use vocabulary and sentence structure suspiciously similar to that used by "Debbie van Bourgondien"--if that is even a real person. Read the positive ratings carefully, and notice the lack of details, the exuberant generalities, similar comments and choice of words, and similar sentence structure. I suggest that the Dave's Garden staff check the IPs of these posts, which I suspect are as fraudulent as the company. Note that several of the positive reviewers have ever only contributed positive reviews of van Bourgondien to Dave's Garden!! I am not stupid.

I ordered Habenaria radiata. It showed up quite dead. I was told it wasn't dead and that I needed to give it a chance. Months later it was still dead, and rotting.

I asked the company to make good on their "customer satisfaction guarantee". Their customer service representative stated that they were "unable" to issue a refund but that I would receive credit for a replacement. No credit memo ever showed up.

I told them that this was completely unacceptable, that I am not interested in any more dead plants, that they were indeed able to refund my money, and that I expect them to do it. Moreover, I pointed out their so-called "customer satisfaction guarantee" and reiterated that I am NOT satisfied.

I for one never got any $25 coupons. I paid full price for unsalable merchandise which was marketed in violation of implied warranty of merchantability laws.

I ordered madonna lilies and something else in Fall 06. When I received lilies (6), 5 of them were sprouted 4 inches or more. I emailed and was told to plant them, they would be fine. Spring came and 2 managed to send out an inch or 2 of leaves. Nothing else. I just emailed ,enclosing my original email, and they have issued me a full credit to be taken off my next order. (I have since learned that they would not likely survive in my zone, also they have increased price, likely dueto all the refunds they have to issue) Now, what to do with the refund! Should I order something as simple as a daffodil? Seems in past years I didn't have a great experience, but they keep sendlng catalogs, hence I forgot! I never did see a $25 off $25 order. Must have been a special mailing, or a misprint somewhere. I have always seen $25 a $50 order or more, hence why my mind halves all their prices.
Need suggestions on what to do with my credit!!! They were prompt via email!

I placed my first order with Van Bourgondien this past spring. I ordered many $5 items along with some beautiful cannas! I was so excited when I received my order and was anxious to plant them.

I did have a couple of items that did not grow and I called Van Bourgondien and spoke to a wonderful customer service representative who was more than happy to issue me a replacement for the plants that did not grow for next season.

The rest of my garden is gorgeous! I am so happy to have placed my order with Van Bourgondien!

I have read many of the negative comments in this forum and can not believe what is being said!

I have had nothing but a fantastic experience with this company and can not wait until I order my fall products.

The quality of the customer service and the plants are the poorest I have ever dealt with! Their catalog is one that should immediately go into the garbage.

My whole experience with Van Bourgondien was disgusting. I would never recommend this website to anyone and would warn anyone from purchasing anything from their website.
I ordered two times from this company and both times the bulbs sent to me were horrible. They put up an impressive catalog, but their bulbs are always in a bad condition. They put up a lot of their stuff in clearance which are rotten. Don't be fooled into buying them because of the low price. You can getting nicer stuff at your local nursery or some other mail order companies.
I myself will never be shopping with them ever again.

I have been gardening for a long time, and mail ordering just as long and never had such a awful experience! I used the $25.00 off $50.00 order coupon,( which they have gotton from another company I have had very good experience with), any way I ordered 8 items (Some with multiple bulbs) I did receive them in a timely manner, well 2 of them anyway. My invoice stated they were "sold out" of 6 of the items I had ordered. There was no explanation on what would be happening to the rest of the money, just "Sold Out!" I had to hunt down the answers myself and called customer service. I did reach someone who told me I HAD to take store credit, out of the same cataloge. I ordered what I wanted, and did not appreciate being told that the only way to receive my money back was through the products they had left, (And by the way my tall Pholox was dead!) She did mention that the had sent the two packages at the discounted price, considering the pholox was dead and that I had used the coupon, that was very nice of them. Having talked to a lawyer, since I paid by cash (check) and it was not a return I can and should get my money back! I later received a letter saying I would get a refund for the items I did not recieve. Still waiting! Save yourself a stressfull situation and do not buy from this company, There are many good mail order companies out there, Van Bourgondien is not one of them!

Wow - I am clearly in the minority here. I've only ordered from Van Bourgondien once. I got a half bushel of daffodil bulbs last December - which is quite late. They were a great price, shipped quickly, and they bloomed beautifully this spring. Nice size flowers, all bloomed... I'm a little worried now, though, about ordering from them again. I'll have to think about that some!!