Comments regarding Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com)

This is my first and possibly last time using this company, after reading posts I am very worried. The front page of the the wholesale website states "Free Shipping on ANY order" was charged shipping (even gave a promo code) I called customer service this morning after ten minutes of trying to explain to customer service of what ANY really meant. I was shut down, oh she apologized but what good does that do? I really wanted to cancel the whole deal but have not been able to find white feather hosta anywhere else (now I am wondering if any will survive the trip to MO) was wanting them for fathers day my father in law is a hosta lover and thought these would really impress him. I wonder if the Virginia Attorney General would know what ANY really means? I pray they are strong and healthy stock and it was worth the frustration and added expense. I apologize for being Windy, I am just so mad!

I am extremely disappointed in this company. In the early Spring I placed two orders with them. The first order totaled $46.83. It consisted of 4 hollyhocks, 2 Rose Duchess De Brabant, 2 Service berry trees, and 6 Sweet Williams. The hollyhocks and the Sweet Williams had nice root systems and were definitely alive. The 2 Service berry trees were smaller than the lead in a pencil and were DOA. I planted them hoping they were just dormant, but they were dead. The rose Duchess De Brabant were also DOA. The were of course bare root, but they were also dead.
The second order was for 3 Black Mondo Grass, a Clematis collection- consisting of 3 clematis, and a Giant Pretoria Canna-consisting of 3 tubers. The Black Mondo grass was canceled. Of the 3 clematis, only one was alive on arrival. And the canna pretoria, only one was viable. I placed it in a pot and babied it, and have hopes for its survival.
When I emailed about the items which arrived dead, I heard nothing for over a month. Then finally I got a reply that said their email had been down for over a month and nobody had checked it. When I called their toll free number, I was told, in effect, too bad, don't hold your breath until you get a replacement.
The one good thing I can say about them is that they do a good job of packaging--even if the stuff is dead.
I have learned my lesson. I will never order from them again.

NO RESPONSE TO EMAILS!!!!! I have emailed this company twice about an order I placed. I ordered 18 Double Pink Delight coneflowers and only recieved 11 and got 7 Sundown coneflowers (which are really ugly). I didn't tell this company I wanted substitutions They just send you whatever they feel like and charge you for it. DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY!!!!!!!!

I have ordered form this company more than once. I will not order again. Some of the bulbs I received from them in the fall were not what I ordered.

The little foxglove plants I received were tiny. Only one of the three survived. The loxglove plants I ordered from two other companies and planted at the same time all survived and are thriving.

WARNING! Please SAVE YOUR MONEY! I have order from many different companies and have had great success; THIS WAS NOT ONE OF THEM! Not much grew, bulbs were dry, tiny and shriveled. They did replace my order when I let them know. I did give them a fair chance to do right by me; they didn't get it right the second time either. Their products are inferior to say the least. They lure you in with cheap prices, well, you get what you pay for - cheap plants. Actually they weren't that cheap. Try your local garden center for the best deals. If you can afford the biggest and best then wait for a sale. Stay away from this company! You will be sorry!

I placed a large fall planting order in late August and contacted them via email to tell them that I needed the items in early Oct as I live in Zone 3/4. They offered to cancel part of the order as the tree peony wouldn't be available until after Oct 31. I accepted their offer - kept part of the order coming but canceled the tree peony. The rest of the order came in with no issues. In early Nov, I received the tree peony and was charged $30! I sent them an email and explained that it had been cancelled. I called them. I sent another email and threatened to give them negative feedback here if they didn't respond. They finally responded and basically said, "tough luck", even tho I sent them a copy of their email in August saying they had cancelled the peony order. If I sent it back, I would have to pay shipping both ways.

I have planted it and will use their refund policy if (when!) it doesn't grow in the spring and I will NEVER order from them again!

We placed several orders with Van Bourgondiens this summer and were not happy with anything received. One order for Canna was for 10 dwarf pink canna. We received 10 stubby roots, one died, six produced tiny leaf sets, and three blossomed. Two of the three blossoming plants were small flowered bright orange-red. They issued a credit for the order but when trying to redeem it, I find I have to ADD to the order to make their minimum. Since they also sent eryngium which were clearly advertised both in the photo and the description as Eryngium alpinum but were clearly Eryngium plamum I dug them up and tossed them in the compost when they flowered. I also ordered and received, six Sidalcea "Party Girl" only half grew and flowered, and three Gunnera - all died.

Never again.

I have tried for 3 years to deal with this company and I have recieved dried up or total mush for plants. I once even recieved a small bag of peat moss. Couldn't find a thing in the sack. My last order had 4 out of 9 plants that were dead. The rest were very small bare root and doubt they will make it When I called I was told that two replacements would be sent now but the other two were sold out and would be replaced next fall. They refused to refund my money. I could only substitute something else of equal or lesser value.

WHAT A JOKE!!!
I purchased over 36 pieces from the local Wal Mart.
NOT ONE...I REPEAT...NOT ONE grew.
They came in the biodegradeable pots and I was assured by the garden centre boy they had just arrived. This happened back in February and I haven't calmed down enough until now to respond.
DO NOT PURCHASE ANYTHING FROM THIS COMPANY UNLESS YOU WANT TO TOSS YOUR MONEY AWAY.
plantgirl333

In the past I ordered bulbs, mostly crocuses, tulips and lilies, two peonies, several times, and each time only about 30% of the tulips came up, none of the lilies, never the peonies. (I generally have a 90% or better success rate with bulbs of all kinds, so something is wrong with their bulbs - yea it took me a while to figure out it was not my fault.) I stopped ordering from this company several years ago and am very glad I did so. Their bargain prices just aren't worth it if the plants don't grow.

I had a special color theme intended for a particular garden bed. So I ordered daffodils which were to be whitish with very pick centers. (all turned out orange-ish. no pink there!) I also ordered 10 bags of 7 of a pale pink tulip. Needless to say there was no pale pink there either. I also ordered 5 bags of 12 of a windflower mix. (no mix there) It amazed me that I planted all this stuff in the fall of 2008 only to wait breathlessly for the arrival of spring to see the "pale pink" beauties that would come up in my special garden. Imagine my horror (and I have pictures) of all the plants that came up did NOT have one ounce of pink on them. Oh but lots of oranges and yellows. Pretty....but not what I intended! I did email them but got no response. I will find another company who can guarantee color and start again this fall. I'll dig up the other ones and put them somewhere else.

WARNING...CUSTOMERS BEWARE...WARNING...!!!

Catalog stated upright Blk Elephant ear bulbs would be very large, I did not agree to any substitues. So I was very disappointed to have been billed over $36.00 for two bulbs that were not even the diameter of a quarter. We were expecting as advertised 6-7" bulbs. A little note was sent along with the shrunken substitutes that stated...please forgive us there has been an earthquake in the tropical rainforest where these plants originate. I was unhappy that and contacted the company and requested a refund in full. I was told I would have to return the shrunken tiny bulbs so I asked them to send a UPS call tag so that I wouldn't get stuck with the return shipping fees. 5 phone calls and 2 months later I am still awaiting the refund to be credited to my credit card. Customer Service Reps are RUDE and unwilling to investigate my complaint, unwilling/refused to transfer my call to their supervisor or a superior. I am turning this over to the BBB and hope that they will investigate this, in addition to asking my VISA card to do the same. COMPANY IS CLEARLY IN VIOLATION OF FAILING TO ISSUE CREDIT, FAILING TO HEED CUSTOMERS REQUEST TO NOT PROVIDE OR SHIP ANY SUBSTITUTES IF ORIGINAL ITEM AS ADVERTISED IS UNAVAILABLE. FRAUD ALERT START TO FINISH.

Ordered four plants. All four came looking very rough. I was able to get two of them back to health again. Since I have emailed twice about replacements for the plants that didn't make it and still no answer back. If I could get my replace plants in good enough shape to make it I would seriously think about moving the rating to a neutral instead of a negative.

I ordered 4 coneflowers in Sept 2008. They were dead and nasty. I called the company and a gentleman stated they were a perennial and they should be fine come the following spring. Well spring has sprung no coneflowers. 6 weeks ago I called and spoke to a young gal who stated her name was Kathy (which I didn't believe her) and I also emailed this company to no avail. I did request to speak to a supervisor or manager . . they don't have any! This is what I was told by "Kathy." Interesting to say the least. I called on 6-8-09 and requested to speak to a manager again and the person who answered the phone was an assistant manager (Bev). Told her the whole story again and was very emphatic I didn't want a refund I wanted the product. Well she was happy to help me, however the original coneflowers (After Midnight and Double Pink) were no longer in stock or they no longer handled. Ok she went thru what they did have and I picked out my 4 coneflowers. She stated they would be shipped right out and they were. I received them on 6-10-2009. What a joke! I received 4 plastic baggies of what appear to be nothing but dirt. After inspecting them, there 4 tiny roots about the size of a small office rubberband! What a joke! I won't give this company the time of day as satisfaction is not a priority for them. I have a new home and money is tight but I did want to have a larger coneflower bed . . well it ain't happening with this place! I caution anyone who is contemplating ordering from them . . DON'T! $50.00 + s/h is a lot of money when you're younger and getting into that new home. NEVER AGAIN! Learn your lesson from my experience.

I ordered 3 Jade and 2 Green Jewel coneflowers from Van Bourgondien at the beginning of June: my local nurseries did not have these varieties and VB was offering them on clearance.

They arrived about 8 days later. The Green Jewels had no viable roots and each had a sprout smaller than my pinky nail. All three Jade coneflowers were dead and rotted. And shipping alone for these five dead sticks was $19. And to add insult to injury, their packing list included a note saying that they do not offer refunds on clearance plants. (Now why, I wonder, would they have cause for a policy like that?)

I'm appalled by their shoddy plants. VB might be a great company for bulbs but I'll never know since this first purchase from them is absolutely my last.

I am in a daylily club in SW Michigan and we always look for bargains for other "lilies." I found this site, filled my basket with bargain lillium bulbs and was shocked to see double the shipping rate for the cost of my order. I tried removing the fall shipping bulbs, still the shipping was approx. 50% of the cost of the order. I was confused so I called.

I was told it's their policy to charge the amount of shipping that I would have paid for the original price of the bulbs. How absurd! I've been using mail order most of my adult life an shipping has always been based on the price of the products in the cart. That's like paying sales tax on what the car's original price, not the discount. Is this legal?

Sorely dissappointed in Kalamazoo

I did not expect much from this company, but I ordered Bletilla (6) and Habenaria (really Pecteilis) "bulbs". They initially charged me $16.95 for 10 bulbs, and the size of Habenaria tuberoids (4) are about that of peas. Apparently, Habenaria is not available, but I only found this because they sent me an e-mail. Two of Bletilla rhizomes were shriveled. So I replied to the message asking about Habenaria and the quality of Bletilla received. No reply.

So I called the company and expressed a concern. She told me that I have to grow this 6~8 months before I get a replacement or a refund. She did not know what kind of plants I received but had a nerve to advise me to soak them with water "to give a chance", even I repeatedly told her that I have grown this one before.

I bought 2 hardy fuschias and 2 cana lilies. The fuschias arrived in plastic packaging with a faded label, and inside were roots with no visible signs of life and a few llimp, wasted roots. The canas were in similar poor condition. My email question about their condition elicited no response - I would definitely not order from them again or any "affiliated" site, as it appears to have several different sites/names.

FYI while I got no response, my inbox has been spammed every other day with 50% off sales and a variety of cheesy offers. Beware!

Very negative! This company ships dead plants. I ordered a clematis from them which was very expensive. They shipped it bare root. It never had a chance! If you don't want a bare root plant, you should stay away from this company. Their customer service is also very poor. In my experience bare root plants very rarely grow unless it's a bulb or tuber. I know for a fact that most of the plants they ship bare root will never grow. Some things aren't meant to be shipped in that manner!

Like many others, I had a poor experience with this company two years ago - about 25% of the bulbs failed to come up, and half of the others were not what they were labelled. This was especially true of the premium bulbs - madonna lilies turned out to be tiger lilies; poet's daffodils were ordinary yellow daffodils; and so forth.

Altogether, I think that my $200 order gave me about $75 worth of ordinary bulbs. (The good news is that I learned to pay attention to reviews of online retailers, but it was an expensive lesson.)

I fell in love with a double white Brugmansia in their catalog a few years back and caved to my desire by paying $20 for it. When I got it it bloomed single pink. They said they'd replace it, which they did, and it bloomed single YELLOW! So they again replaced it and the buds are starting to open now. I pried one open and I see that it is another SINGLE flower and NOT a double! Not sure what color it is, but I don't care at this point. I will be contacting the company and demanding a refund. I am tired of this charade. I guess I should've check with ya'll first!

This wasn't a mail order experience, I bought 2 grape vines from Home Depot but they are from Van Bourgondien. Seedless Suffolk and Seedless Reliance. I waited 3 years to get fruit and to taste the sweet seedless grapes that I had purchased. 3 years! After reading several of these reviews I'm sure you can figure out where this is going. The grapes were not seedless at all. Did they just dig up anything to fill up an order? And I am surprised that Home Depot got duped by this company. Home Depot has a 1 year refund policy but at this point we are way beyond that. It sounds like this company will just fulfill orders with anything they can dig up! I honestly don't know how I can trust any company with a plant that takes several years to develop!

On May 4th when I received the 6 plants I had ordered from this company they arrived looking quite dead. I emailed them explaining the problem and was given the same run-around that everyone else has gotten. Store credit only. I notified my credit card company of a dispute. Sure enough..they have
rebilled my account. I had taken pictures of these plants and
I can prove my claim. With all of the negative comments they get you would think they would try to change their ways.

Last year I placed two large orders for bulbs and plants which were on Clearance. I have been very disappointed with the company response regarding bulbs/plants which did not perform. They are not willing to replace them. Their policy is not to give a refund, but to give the customer a credit to be used only at Van Bourgondien.
I do not want a credit, I want the bulbs/plants which did not perform replaced!
Because the items were on Clearance, when I order again (as I must if I want to recoup anything) it will be at full price. I am on a fixed income and would not have ordered these items at full price. I love to garden, but I must shop sales.
If Van Bourgondien had replaced the faulty items I ordered I would have been pleased that they stood behind their products. They would have gained a long term customer. As it is, I do not plan to do business with them again after I use my "credit."

Did not send all of my plants but would not refund my money, instead gave a credit and argued with me about it. I planted the bulbs and the other plants last Fall. Maybe 10 of the 50 bulbs came up. 2 of the 8 plants came up and they are tiny and struggling, not blooming. Very poor quality plants. Very poor service too because now I have to buy from them again the get my money back becasue of the credit which means I have to pay shipping again too. Terrible company wish I'd read the reviews first.

I ordered three tree peonies, (Yoshinogawa) in a soft pink color to frame my light yellow home. The three peonies were all tagged as the variety I ordered. After waiting two seasons for the plants to establish, this spring I was delighted to see flower buds growing on the peonies. Much to my horror, I arrived home from work to see that Van Bourgandien had mislabeled my peonies. Instead of a soft pink the blossoms were a harsh red that made the house look tired and the rest of the landscape washed out. It completely clashed with the hues I had carefully selected for the front garden. If they make good on their mistake, then I will change my rating and update this post, if not, it stays negative and I would recommend you steer clear of a nursery that cannot properly track and label the varieties it sells.

This Spring I ordered some Birch's Double Hardy Geraniums. These plants were kind of expensive for their promised size, but I felt that it could be worth it for the beautiful double pink blooms all summer long. When they came, all were rotted and mushy. I called right away to let them know and was instructed to give them a chance, I explained that I had been gardening for many years and could tell a poor quality plant when I see one! Some of these plants did struggle and make it. I called and asked for replacements for the dead ones and was told to give them a little more time. After arguing and finally speaking with a supervisor, I was sent replacements. (By the way, I was also charged more for shipping than I had originally agreed to and the customer service rep I spoke with was extremely rude.) This evening I noticed that two of the buds had actually opened on two different plants. Much to my surprise and chagrin, neither is a double pink flower. One is a common single purple and the other is a single white. I could have gotten either of these for free from fellow gardeners. I can't wait to hear what they have to say when I call tomorrow. I checked online tonight and, of course, the Birch's Double Hardy is sold out for the season. I will never buy from them again. I wish that I had seen the reviews on Daves Garden BEFORE I dealt with them.

I placed an order in early February for some hardy fushias, soapworts, crocosomia and tree peonies. I spent $70.00. I waited for eight weeks without recieving a thing. I live in Ca and everything in my garden was already pushing out new growth and coming out of dormancy by then. I called and the lady advised me my order had been delayed due to my tree peonies not being in stock. Another month went by, and I received my package. I opened it excitedly, hoping to plant my costly new plants. One fushia was bone dry and clearly dead. The root was limp and soggy. The other had come out of dormancy during its month long shipping ordeal, was sallow white from lack of light, but alas alive. The soapworts were all mush. The crocosomia were moldy and smelly. Both tree peopnies were out of dormancy and pushing leaves out through the bag. One obviously stayed in the box for over a month; the leaves were twisted indicating the cramped quarters of the shipping box. I planted everything anyway, doubtfully. One tree peony grew (unfortunately the one w/ gnarled growth) and one fushia grew but is weakly(4 inches high, no flowers...all my other fushias are flowering). Nothing else grew. I waited a month, nothing changed, so I called and complained asking for an exchange. Well my exhange (minus the peony, which I have to wait 'til fall for) arrived today.....soapworts again are mush, definately dead. The fushia roots are mushy, with the main roots having been busted during shipping somehow. Not that it matters, there are no dormant buds on the dead moldy twig anyhow. Needless to say I am frazzled! Not to mention, the lady replaced a duplicate fushia (I ordered two varieties) AND she sent out only 5 crocosomia to replace the 10, furthermore I was billed for rising gas prices for an order that is the replacement order for very low quality items fo which I already paid shipping. The plants shipped to replace have likely been in the warehouse box since early spring, it is now summer. The customer service lady was totally lame, she was not apoligetic or sympathetic to me as a paying customer. She even said "everyone has their day to complain" when confronted with the question of why poor quality items were shipped! Unbelievable. Save your money and throw away these catalogs. DO NOT BUY!

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.

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

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.

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 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.