Comments regarding Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com)

Posted on May 20, 2013, updated June 12, 2013
Last winter, I ordered Forget Me Nots for spring shipping. I kept getting notices that my shipping was going to be delayed. This is understandable since they ship based on the best time for each person's zone, however, when an order did arrive for me, it was a shipment of 36 gladiolus meant for someone else. That person was sent my Forget Me Nots. When I contacted them they told me my plant was no longer available and I should just keep the gladiolus as a consolation prize- their words. No refund offered or given. This winter, I ordered pagan dance reblooming bearded iris- probably should have learned my lesson the first time. When the fans arrived they were tagged as Pagan Dance. Now, that they have started blooming it is obvious they sent the wrong flower. Pagan Dance is a black and deep purple iris. The iris I have is Let's Boogie- a purple and white/yellow bearded iris that doesn't rebloom. No apology or offer of a solution from them.

"On May 22, 2013 11:30 AM, Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com) responded with:

Thank you for your post. I apologize for the mix up with your order and there should have been a refund for the items you received incorrect. Also a reship should be processed for the wrong iris. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and take care of this."

Posted on August 23, 2012, updated March 27, 2013
Posted on August 13, 2012, updated August 23, 2012
Posted on June 29, 2012, updated August 13, 2012
I agree with many of the negative comments noted on the forum already although they have been pretty reasonable with replacements. I bought from them years ago and then this spring with two significant orders. I've called them 5 or 6 times already regarding the first order because of wrong shipments and wrong # of items. Most calls I was put on hold for 15-40 min. (They don't respond to emails -- you immediately get a ticket # but nothing happens). Now I have to call them because of problems with plant growth : I bought 3 types of trumpet lilies (5 bulbs ea) and for each type, only 2 or 3 of the 5 have buds on them. I bought 18 oriental lilies, 15 sprouted and of the ones that are growing it looks like very few have buds on them. I bought 40 lily of the valley and less than a quarter have sprouted (almost 2 mo). I bought 6 Virginia bluebells -- one was rotten on arrival, 2 of the 5 sprouted but never made it past the one-leaf stage. Only 1 of 4 ostrich ferns sprouted ; hoping they are just slow. A tree peony I planted 6 weeks ago hasn't sprouted (hopefully it's just slow because it is bare-root). It is curious that in contrast to other companies which ship bare roots in the fall, Van Bourgondien shipped them in the spring-early summer.

After much debate (because I didn't want to be put on hold) I called them about the tree peony, to my surprise the customer rep says they have no record of my purchases. After a bit of back and forth, I got a little annoyed (the rep kept saying "let me tell you...ma'am) and asked to speak to her supervisor, which is when I learned of the changing of hands and they have NO records of orders. Additionally all of their catalog#s have changed - no wonder the rep has no idea what I am talking about (but instead of 'fessing up about the new ownership, she kept ma'amming me).

I also agree with someone's point about the company charging our credit cards for the full order even when half the shipment isn't planned for several months. I don't know of any other online company that does that.

Since half of my order is still pending (fall shipment), I hope this changing of hands isn't going to derail that order.

"On Jul 19, 2012 10:33 AM, Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com) responded with:

Thank you for your posting and we apologize for any inconvenience. We are now under new ownership and a customer service representative will contact you for more information. Or if you prefer you can call us at 800-622-9997 and of our of customer service representatives will be happy to help."

I know it's tempting to order from them with their discount incentives and I have been guilty of purchasing from them when I knew that I would be taking a chance but this year I have put myself on a K Van B. ban.

I've ordered from both their wholesale and regular sites for years and for years had mixed results with the quality of the bulbs and their service. The biggest problem was always delayed shipping or completely lost orders. I order for my clients so I spend a lot of money here and place my orders very, very early but still 75% of the time they failed me.

Last year they simply broke the camel's back which ended up costing me a lot of money and delayed planting which made work look less than what my clients had come to expect. I consistently called to check on my order and was told they would be shipped "any day now" for weeks and weeks. Then finally they said they lost my order so I ended up frantically buying from retail places in town that had limited quantities and selection. They said I should put a new order in so I did put in a new but smaller order for the items I couldn't find in town and when the bulbs did finally arrive late they were shriveled and moldy. I was unable to get them to do anything about it while being put on hold for 20 minutes at a time.

So just bite the bullet and don't be tempted by the prices and pictures. Just don't do it.

"On Aug 16, 2012 1:03 PM, Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com) responded with:

Thank you for your posting and we apologize for any inconvenience. We are now under new ownership and a customer service representative will contact you for more information. Or if you prefer you can call us at 800-622-9997 and of our of customer service representatives will be happy to help.

"

Wouldn't be surprised if they go bankrupt - lousy customer service. I had ordered in the past but this last year, a small order in the Fall 2011 didn't arrive until after Thanksgiving! Some of the tulips were rather small and a lot had mold. I planted them anyway and lo and behold, they were almost all mislabeled - lavender and purples tulips came up red with yellow edges, a purple mixture sported such a range of variety it was obviously the wrong bulbs. And some of the flowers were about 1 1/2" while others were normal 4" tulips. I sent photos this Spring in an email, pics from their catalogue and pics of what came up - and my auto response from the complaint was supposed to be answered in 3 days, 3 weeks later nothing has happened. So just avoid, shop instead at Brent and Becky's bulbs!

Horrible experience. I ordered three plants, a blue poppy, a canna and ranunculus. Shipping was delayed repeatedly. When the plants finally arrived I was shocked that someone would have the gall to pack them up to fill an order. There were two leaves on the tiny poppy. Both were gray black and rotting. They canna was a tiny shoot, also with two tiny leaves,with mold and rot. I've ordered plants on line for 20 years and I can honestly say this is the worst experience I have ever had.

I have ordered from this company for years, with mixed results. In early March, I ordered dahlias for a cutting garden and rhubarb among other things. I asked if the dahlias could be shipped soon as I wanted to start them indoors for earlier blooms. They assured me, yes. The were not received until 4/27. Same day, I got an email saying rhubarb no longer available. I noticed the refund was not posted to my CC. I googled the company for the ph# to call them and found all the bankruptcy info!!! Called them....on hold for 40 minutes....and when I politely explained that I was looking for a refund....CSR hemmed and hawed....and disconnected me!!! Called CC and they gave me a credit for the appropriate amount. I guess I won't be ordering 500 paperwhites for Christmas from them this year!

I have read many of the most recent reviews and I thank those who took the time to type with such detail! I have had the same experience! I placed a rather large order, several of the items never came up, some even had mold when they arrived, and ever since I have been battling with "Mike" to get a simple replacement! They insist, rather "HE" insists that I am only entitled to an $8 credit (it should be more than $30) and then no matter what I choose for that $8, the shipping and handling is $8.75! I chose a $5 item and it's $8.75 for S&H even though the "postage" was only $3.10 on a box full that arrived! They're making you pay for the cost of the plant again yet they advertise full free replacement! I've written back and for at least 20 e-mails now and this "Mike" person lies and lies and lies. First he says he WILL refund the S&H then nothing for a month. Then he sent an e-mail stating "you will receive a letter with a pin number to be used for your credit in the mail." 2 months later, nothing came. I wrote again. He responded, "Sorry, I was really busy and had to work to get this resolved." Really? Another month and I finally wrote, "Just send me the pin in an e-mail!" He wrote back with a credit and pin and after I asked for the S&H credit because it's only fair, he wrote that he agreed and would. Three more weeks, nothing. I wrote again asking for the credit(S). He wrote back that my original $8 was there and another $2.55 for S&H! I asked where that number came from he wrote, "I had to beg to get that!"
This company lost my business for good along with many of my bloggers who have been waiting to see how this gets resolved! I asked for escalation many times but he does nothing, only refuses! I hope they do go out of business because with customer service like I got, no one deserves to be issuing paychecks to anyone! :-( TWO GREEN THUMBS DOWN for this one!

"On May 15, 2012 9:51 AM, Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com) responded with:

Where I come from stating company policies is not considered lying. I could publish the entire email string for you to see, I will not though, I know what it says and my manager knows what it says, that's enough for me to sleep well at night. This customer did get what she wanted in the end and then some; I don't see a follow-up from her though, funny eh? It's just another case of the squeaky wheel get’s the grease. Too bad customers that have good and positive things to say, rarely take the time to post them (I do see a couple of nice ones here, thank you); I guess they are content to wake up and smell the garden's fresh aromas and enjoy the blooms."

Last year, 2011, I ordered a number of dahlia bulbs and other plants from this company. Although the dahlias did grow except for one, out of the 5 that did grow, 4 were mislabeled and ended up being the wrong color, hot pink instead of shades of orange. This year, I placed an order on February 10, 2012 for some phlox and hibiscus, and just now received an email stating that the hibiscus was out of stock and that part of the order cancelled. (on April 26, 2012) I believe in 2nd chances, but this company will not get my business again.

Posted on November 29, 2011, updated April 26, 2012
Posted on June 8, 2009, updated November 29, 2011
I ordered peony and 6 lily bulbs this spring.

The packing is not that good. The box is a bit oversized. One root of peony broke when I got the shipment.

The peony is growing fast at the beginning. Now the leaves are getting thicker and bigger, but growing slowly.

The 3 gold stargazer lilies are healthy and producing bubs.
2 elodie asiatic lilies are growing healthy. One didn't grow, but I got the replacement within a week, They sent me a bag of 3 bulbs. One replacement is shooting out.

I have to call them for replacement because they didn't reply my emails.

The shipping charge is so high, so I only order when it provides special offer.

I order 2 kinds of bulbs for my wife for Christmas 2011 and was told that the items wouldn't be shipped until January. I have since been in contact with them twice and still not delivery and its almost May.

I urge people to stay away because it's obvious that there's a problem with the company and that they're either out of inventory of they're just plan bad at business.

Either way, I will never purchase anything from them again.

Ordered dahlia tubers on Jan. 4th . As of April 16th have not received tubers. Terrible customer service! It appears the Dutch Bulb Co. has taken over. I wonder if they will honor my order? I ordered dahlias from Eden Bros at the same time and they were delivered March 21 and are up and growing.

Do not buy from this company. I ordered bulbs and they arrrived in terrible condition. This company requires you pay before they can ship (I should have known!). STAY AWAY from the Bulb lady!!!

Placed an order for some bulbs 2 months ago. The expected ship date was 03/14. On 03/14, the date magically changed to 04/14 -- without any kind of notification.

Called them and found out that due to a "setback" they weren't going to get the product until early April. So I cancelled.

The lack of notification is what's irritating. I'm glad I checked.

Posted on July 19, 2011, updated February 25, 2012
At first I was hopeful, but I should have known that holding up my order for one fall bulb was a bad sign. Of all of the things I ordered, there isn't much that has lived or thrived. The foxtail lilies had only one sprout which has subsequently died. The 12 Blue and White Windflowers were planted and only 4 white ones came up. The iris has yet to even think about blooming. I contacted the company about the foxtails and the windflowers, the windflowers were out of stock so they issued a store credit. The foxtail lilies were replaced (but only four bulbs, not five, which was in the original order), and none of THOSE have surfaced either. I contacted them about the missing bulb and was sarcastically and condescendingly lectured, I was told told that they usually only replace what didn't work, so even by sending me four instead of five, I actually got more than I paid for because I had said that two out of the five had shown 'signs of life', when in fact not one of them has grown beyond a few inches. BTW I am not a beginner gardener, this isn't any mistake on my end. I think when the customer contacts the company about THEIR bad merchandise, they have no room to be snarky, condescending, or rude. I asked for the name of Harold's supervisor, meaning I wanted to communicate with her, he said "Her name is Beverly and she'll tell you exactly the same thing". I'll tell you something, Harold, good job losing a customer, you can bet this is the last time I will ever bother with this place. Customer Service training, anyone?

They charge as much or more for their perennials than what I can purchase locally or on other websites. Their plants are extremely small, poorly packaged, and most don't survive the first 6 months. I would never purchase from this company again.

Before attempting to order from this company, check my recent post on K. Van Bourgondien & Sons, Inc.. They are not answering their phones or e-mails and their websites are not accepting orders.

Well, I see from this site that they are filing for bankruptcy, and I'm not surprised. I guess I'm out my $83.
I ordered plants and bulbs in July of 2011. I asked that they be shipped before the end of September, as our average first frost date in Cheyenne, WY is 9/30. Their acknowledgement stated ship dates on/before 9/14 and 9/27. My first shipment was packed 10/17, and I received it 10/28. The poppies were back-ordered, and I received them on 11/1 in 8" of snow. In addition, one supposed pkg of 3 Black-eyed Susans only had one plant, and all 7 plants in the three "pkgs of 3" were about 1/2" x 1". I wrote to them in complaint on 11/1 and received an e-mail stating that I would hear from them in 3 business days. I heard nothing further. I wrote again on 11/8 and they e-mailed back that they were behind, and would get to me in 4-5 days. As of February I have heard nothing from them.
I rather doubt that poppies, camassia, and black-eyed Susans are going to survive being planted in half-frozen ground in the snow.
I had been ordering from them for years, but obviously I'm done with them. I'm entering this comment on the chance that they restructure and try again. At the very least, make small orders so when you have to write them off you aren't out a lot of money.

Have ordered numerous times from van Bourgondein. I don't remember a single shipment which did not contain dead plants. We ordered several well known daylilies. If alive, plants were so small (new seedling) that they took 2 sometimes 3 years to bloom. When they finally bloom, rarely are they the varietiey purchased. Classic example: 3 years after planting seedling size Night Embers, it bloomed last summer and was variety Night Beacon, which we already had in our garden. Same thing with 2 other daylilies. The catalog looks beautiful. The company needs to invest more and focus on quality control. When plants are received that are mushy or fungus covered, those conditions existed at the time of shipment and should have been culled out. I've written this company off my list as has everyone in our local daylily club based on similar experiences.

I recently ordered tulip bulbs from Dutch Bulbs. When they arrived, over half of them were mildewed. Since it was December,heat was not the cause of the problem. I am still waiting for a call back from them.

I was initially very excited when I received a catalog and visited the website. This is my first purchase experience with Van Bourgondien.

I have a specific and limited budget for my gardening. I placed an online order after hours, and shortly after I hit the confirmation button, I realized I had erred twice in my selections. (example: I ordered purple Sensation Alliums instead of Giant Purple Sensation Alliums). The company was having a very limited buy one get two free sale. I ordered several items other than the alliums.

As soon as I realized my mistakes which was shortly after placing my order, I sent the company an email requesting the changes to my order.

Later the next morning, I received a response indicating that my order would be cancelled because they cannot make changes to the "buy one get two free sale" items. I was okay with that. I figured I would simply re-order my selections.

Just to make sure my order was cancelled (nothing had yet been shipped) I called Van Bourgondien.

To my astonishment, I was told that my credit card had been billed, that my order was not cancelled as the email had indicated, but had been placed on hold. I then asked that the order be cancelled and my money refunded but I was told that if I wanted a refund it would take a couple of days to refund money to my credit card because they were busy. I have no idea if the sale prices would be in effect by the time the refund goes through (If it goes through).

While on the phone, I explained that I really didn't want to miss the sale, and that my credit card could not accommodate a second order. I then provided my phone number, requesting a call back. (I was not given a time frame for the call back....but I did ask for one.) Two days later, no callback, no refund.

This does not amount to good customer service. I do not like that I was told my order had been cancelled when it was not. Additionally, I have already had my credit card billed although nothing is being shipped, yet refunding my card in a timely fashion seems problematic.

I wish I had read the feedback on this board before ordering, I could have avoided all of this trouble.

I originally ordered about $300 worth of bulbs and plants. Bulbs arrived looking ok, but the other plants were minscule and dried out. Most disappointing was the Echinacea (Coneflower) collection-$152.00 for 18 plants. Each came the size of a toothpick and 2/3 were dead.
I notified the company, they sent replacements. Same thing! Two were about 3" high, the rest teeny-tiny and dried up. Of course none thrived, no matter how much TLC I gave the (almost invisible) plants.
I also ordered four collections of Re-blooming German Irises. "Pink Attraction" (supposed to be baby pink but was peach colored when it bloomed)."Victoria Falls" supposed to be blue-bird blue, but the bulbs they sent bloomed a variety of purples, some bi-color. Obviously NOT the colors I ordered. "Pass the Wine" (burgundy) turned out pale lavender, and only ONE of the "Orange Harvest" bulbs bloomed orange! It's as if they kept all the iris bulbs in a barrel and just send you whatever they grab.
I sent them a letter about what happened, they issued a store credit for about $32, not anywhere near what I had spent. And wouldn't you know? A minimum order is $50, so I had to order more plants, PLUS shipping! What a rip-off. I'll never buy from k.van Bourgondien & sons (KVBWholesale) again.

Posted on May 28, 2011, updated July 28, 2011
Last yeart I ordered 2 plants--an amaryllis which was supposed to bloom in December, but did not bloom until March. and an echinacea. The latter was a scrawny plant which did not grow, nor survive the winter. Last week I received a replacement plant which was dead--leaves completely wilted with the root ball totally dried out. It was soaaked in water then planted, but has no signs of new growth. For what I paid, I would expect better quality plants than that.

Oh how I wished I had checked the Watchdog before I ordered last year, but I was desperate to get bulbs late in the fall season for my newly planted garden! I placed 3 separate orders in fall of 2010.

The first order arrived and most of the bulbs were mush, having obviously been frozen. When I called CS, they were pleasant and agreed to send replacements immediately. Placed a second order of mostly perennials, and while they arrived unfrozen, they looked distinctly substandard. Planted them anyway and then placed a 3rd order of bulbs, taking advantage of the 2-day shipping special for the price of regular shipping so I could get them in the ground before Christmas. I am in zone 8, so I can plant late. I didn't receive them in 3 days, by which time they had closed for the holidays and there was no way to contact them and they don't answer e-mails. My order finally arrived more than a week later.

Since then, of the 32 items I ordered (bulb sets and perennials) only 17 either came up or were the correct variety. I requested credit on June 8, 2011 and when I sent a follow-up message on the 28th, I got a reply saying they were very busy and would get to it as soon as they could, and then requested that when making claims in the future (!) that I not combine the orders. Apparently the table I sent listing the item number, name, and associated order numbers was too much for them.

It is now more than 6 weeks since I requested credit and have heard nothing. Don't be suckered in by their low prices, unless you really don't care what you get or by when. When I get my credit I am going to use it up on cheap and disposable bulbs and then be done with them.

A substantial number of irises ordered in August arrived last week of October - too late for planting in my area - and they were all completely dried out, brown, totally dead. Contacted customer services immediately, who suggested that I plant them anyway and if they did not come up in the spring they would replace them. Anyone who provides such poor merchandise and then treats me like a fool no longer gets my business.

I bought lily Monte Negro last fall and planted it. Out of 5 lilies, I got two (2) 7" lily instead of 48" tall so I called the CS and they replace the 3 that did not grow. I received the replacement planted it and now they bloom, ( WRONG COLOR ) Instead of deep red lilies, these are orange lilies. I called the CS and they said that ---WE ALREADY REPLACE THIS WITH OUR WARRANTY--- WE CANNOT HELP ANYMORE. Just because I bought the flowers with coupon, ($10) when I sign up for newsletter, they will not give me a credit...I DO NOT WANT CREDIT, I WANT WHAT I BOUGHT 5 MONTE NEGRO RED LILIES not orange not pink. Yes they replaced the lily but it's the wrong color and they want me to just shut up because THEY ALREADY REPLACED IT (WITH THE WRONG COLOR). Bottom line they want you to buy their product BUT when you need replacement they want you to just be happy that they replace it, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER IT'S THE RIGHT ONE they replace it so JUST SHUT UP. THAT IS JUST PLAIN BS. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY.

I ordered a canna. It arrived rotten. I contacted the company and they did replace the roots. One of the replacement plants was rotten and one has grown but the living plant is NOT a Red Furturity canna. Additionally quite some time ago I ordered Little Business day lillies. They are diseased with LEAF STREAK. Now my healthy day lillies are diseased. Stay away from these guys.

Beware of purchasing clearance plants!!! You will only receive a merchandise credit if the plants do not survive.

I purchased 6 Himalayan Blue Poppies and 3 Pulmonaria Raspberry Splash. The plants were packed well but upon opening the Himalayan Poppies all six appeared quite dead. The leaves look like they were freeze dried. A document came with the items indicating that if they look dead, they are only dormant. I should have sent them back but I would have had to pay the postage and would have still received a merchandise credit. I called the company and they were scheduled to send me 6 new plants. I was later e-mailed that they were sold out. I called again and was advised that I could not get a refund, only a merchandise credit. I asked if anyone inspected the plant before they are shipped. I was advised that when you buy clearance plants that some of them don't live. So basically, I felt that they intentionally shipped me 6 dead plants.

Don't be lured in by low prices.

"On Jun 16, 2011 8:36 AM, Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com) responded with:

If you were to read the terms of sale on our website you would have saw that we do state that if clearance items do not grow then you will receive a refund. Also if you wanted a refund, you should have returned the items, dead or alive. You cannot expect us to issue you a refund and you do not return our product. I feel that is not fair.

Attention all buyers!
If you have purchased or received any blueberry plants from Van Bourgondien, Dutch Bulbs, or Simple Pleasures this season, then we have news for you! Van Bourgondien has chosen not to pay for the plants received. Van Bourgondien does not grow any of their own plants; they just buy from growers and resell to you, collecting your money in the process. But this year, they have chosen not to pay for the plants, and simply keep the money you have given them. Several companies from growers, to trucking firms and even the widows of growers recently passed away are now suffering the losses of their time and hard work at the hands of Van Bourgondien. Here is a link to the Better Business Bureau complaint against them, //norfolk.app.bbb.org/complaint/view/48027658/c/3c982f , and also a copy of the letter sent to us threatening bankruptcy, //www.theblueberrypatch.org/Van_Bourgondien_letter.pdf .

I purchased over $100.00 On May 9 on line website. When I completed my order which was a lot of buy one get one free items I keyed in a coupon code for free shipping and it was accepted. I have a printed copy showing the FREE SHIPPING> Then I received an email confirmation of my order and they had added shipping (ridiculously High) and my credit card was charged EXTRA FOR SHIPPING CHARGES without any notice of any kind from this company, STATING THAT SHIPPING CHARGES WOULD BE APPLIED AND FOR WHAT REASON. No explanation, so I emailed and reply email stated they would respond to me within 72 hours and gave me a support code number; so I called and talked to Roger and he said if I wanted free shipping to delete all the free items. I disagreed and he left the phone to check with management supposedly. After awhile my phone went dead. No return phone calls. Never contacted me back until today May 17; although email said contact would be made within 72 hours. WARNING: while this is going on and I am awaiting a final decision from Van Bourgondien, I got an email that my order had been shipped. Some customer service. The "backup" they have is that they have stated on their website (finally located under Terms of Use) they won't be held responsibile for price changes sold out items and practically anything they want to do to you is up to their discretion. SO PLEASE BEFORE YOU ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY READ THE TERMS OF USE ON THEIR WEBSITE. I wish I had paid attention to all the negatives here because I could have ordered for the same prices elsewhere and gotten free shipping as well. THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE STINKS!!! We shall see how the order looks when it gets here since I was given proper opportunity to cancel before they shipped. They ship quick before you see what they have done to you.

In the summer of 2009, I ordered several hundred dollars of bulbs and hostas. When the lilies came up the following spring, they were not what I had ordered. After several e-mails, they sent replacements. Again, the wrong bulbs. I also ordered a (rather expensive) cobra lily , some toad lilies, a half dozen hardy ground orchids and virginia bluebells. I've yet to see signs of life out of any of these. Of the 6 hostas I received, only 3 came up. Of these, one was the wrong plant entirely and one has not thrived. Since I haven't had problems with plants/bulbs from other companies not thriving (including some planted at the same time), I can only conclude that they sent junk. A huge waste of money -- I won't be ordering from them again.

I didn't get to the part where I actually got the plants. I put in a large order and used a couple of coupons I found. Although the order form said they were valid, I was charged full shipping on the order. The shipping is very high, considering about everything I bought was bulbs. It was higher than any other online nurseries that were selling the same things. I tried to tell them and got an invoice with no response to the information about free shipping. I wrote them a second email telling them to cancel the order if they were not going to honor the free shipping. I finally got a very rude response and was told the order wasn't charged and wouldn't be until this was cleared up. I saw on my bank statement they charged my order anyway and tied up a lot of money for me. Then they wrote and said they wouldn't honor the coupon on the sale items, which was all there was left at that time. I canceled the order again, but don't have the money back in my account and they were rude. It was my first time, but will give them a miss for the rest of my plants/seeds/bulbs. Customer service if very important to me. If you have problems, then these are the people you have to talk to.

I placed an order of about 50 asiatic lillies. They arrived in good condition; however, after they were planted I realized they were not the variety of bulbs that I wanted because the blooms were different than the variety I had purchased. The worst part was contacting them afterward when they told me even though they sent me the wrong bulbs they would not refund my money. They would only give me a credit for a future order, and then only if I dug up the bulbs and sent them back to them, at my expense. I did not trust them to send me the correct bulbs in the future, so I just disputed their charge through my credit card company, who gave me a credit. Geesh!

Terrible service. I told them from the beginning I had to have the plants in seven days. If not I would not order. Everyday they say order is printed and being packed. It is being packed on Monday. Now on Friday it is being packed. Their customer service rep told me on Thursday she was expediting my order and was being shipped that day by FedEx. I would receive on Friday. Of course on Friday no shipment. Now I have landscaper coming but no flowers. They did not have to lie that it was sent when it was not.

I will NEVER EVER order from this catalog again. I have been ordering from it for several years- all plants came dead and nothing grew up, although their prices are very high!
Plus , typically all the palnts came very late.

One of the most frustrating aspects of ordering from VB is that they so often send things that are not true to name. Of the four tree peonies I ordered, three were not true to name, and of course, what they sent was not nearly so nice as the cultivars they were supposed to send. Don't count on anything being what they claim it to be! By the way, they did send a replacement on one of the peonies not true to name. Guess what? It too was not the cultivar advertised. I even got in an expert who showed me what the real cultivar looks like. What a waste of time and money!

I would not recommend doing business with this company. I have order from them many times in the past and all the Daylilies I ordered were not what they were labeled as.After doing research on the internet I did find out what the correct names of each flower was, but nobody wants to order something and then when it blooms it is not what you thought you were buying!!

Part of my order from this catalog was several plants of 4 types of Hardy Geranium. When they bloomed, all but 2 were "Orion" (ironically one of the cheaper types). I called, recieved some replacements - also "Orions"! I had also planted Anemone "Lord Lieutenant" bulbs which failed to grow the following spring. Looking this plant up on other sites, most stated zones 7- 10, while Van B. claimed 5-10. I called again, stating the info I'd read elsewhere, but the rep claimed their info was correct (therefore, everyone else was wrong). They sent more, and none grew again. Well well, their 2011 catalog now shows zones 6-10, and a totally different bloom time! I also don't like their high prices when what they send is a bag of roots. My other catalogs send actual plants at lower prices.

This past spring (2010) I ordered $200 worth of plants with the 50% off coupon. I did get the discount and I did get all the plants. All lived except the bare root clematis florida Sieboldii, which never came up even though it was potted and placed in the house because it was so tiny, and the Iron Cross Oxalis which never came up. My main problem was that several of the plants that I ordered were not the correct varieties. The variegated canna Stuttgart was a plain orange flowered canna that could be purchased at any big box store. The Blushing Bride tradescantia grew well but was not varigated, just a plain green variety. The Stereo and Zizane glads grew nice size plants but had tiny flowers not anything like the catalog illustrations. The Upright Black Elephant Ear grew well, to about three feet this first year, and had black/purple leaves, but they were not upright at all. A couple of other plants, Crinum Alfa and Bicolor butterfly bush, didn't bloom the first year so I don't know what to expect from those next year. I did call about the clematis and they said they would replace it in the spring of 2011. We'll see. I didn't bother with calling back and complaining about the rest. I just know I'll throw away catalogs from this company from now on.

I really wanted to give this company a chance in hopes that there was some good in them. I placed an order for bulbs in early fall. The items I did receive seemd to be in good condition. After asking about the items that were not shipped, I finally received an email stating that those items were sold out and I had not been charged so the issue was closed.

I WAS charged, however, and I have been trying to get a refund from them for over a month. I have sent them 2 emails total over the last 5 weeks and had been told to "be patient" and someone from the refund department would follow up with me. When I wrote again to inform them that the refund department still has not contacted me, this was the response I got (literally - not altered AT ALL). - "I have sent you 2 other emails regarding your refund. There is nothing more we can do at this point. We are waiting for the refund to be processed, this takes time. i am sorry that it is taking too long for you."

Their customer service is very poor and I question whether or not I will ever get that refund at all. Most companies charge you when items are actually shipped, however, this company charges you for your entire order when the order is PLACED- regardless of what is actually sent to you. BEWARE WHEN ORDERING FROM THIS COMPANY