Comments regarding Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com)

I placed on order 9 nine days ago and never received any shipping information nor have I received my product. I have now called several times and get people from the Phillipines that speak horrible english. The first person said there was nothing they could do then when I asked for a supervisor they said they would assist with "expediting" the order. Then when I called back they said I had to pay a "rush fee which I gladly paid in order to get my product. An entire week later I still have no shipping information nor have I received any product. When I called again I get someone else from the Phillipines who said there is nothing they can do. I ask for a supervisor or manager and he tells me they don't have any and it is not an option. Then I tell him just to cancel my order and he says that is not an option either:( I will be reporting this to my credit card company as a scam company and fraudulent charge. Their "guarantee" means absolutely nothing. I am not sure how this company actually stays in business?! The website looks beautiful and professional but they are quite the scam. Wish I would have checked for reviews prior to ordering:(

I ordered some bulbs, expected a delay because they'd be shipped in "Spring" and went back and ordered some ferns and flowers.

Meanwhile, I ordered a tree from a different place, and some plants from yet another. I received everything else I ordered from every other place, then realized I hadn't even gotten a shipping notification from dutchbulbs.com and it's been over a month.

Basically, they got my money, and didn't send anything I ordered.

I ordered bulbs over two weeks ago and am now being told that they are "still growing them" (??) and won't ship for another two weeks and then it will be two weeks for delivery. That will be too late for me to get them into the ground. I wonder whether what they offer is even in stock. I'm hoping I can find bulbs elsewhere and then will cancel this order.

Placed order and paid with credit card on June 2. Received acknowledgment on June 2. On June 8 received email that order was placed on hold because I did not pay although my credit card was charged. I have sent emails to firm with info the order was paid but never received any return correspondence. I have received several emails regarding expected ship dates. Also receiving emails stating items now no longer in stock. Absolutely terrible customer service as they do not return any emails. Will never do business with again.

Placed an order ion April 2019. Waited one month with no shipping. Called customer service, answered by a rep who didn't speak English very well. I was told that I can't cancel the order, that my order was "guaranteed" shipped the next 2 days. There was no show. Order arrived the next 3 weeks after I spoke with the rep, in June 2019. Planted them and more than half are dead (didn't grow). Send email to customer service multiple times, no respond. Please STAY AWAY from K Van Bourgondien. This company is very SHADY.

They did not hold my order until planting season. They shipped it in mid February with 16 inches of snow on the ground. Therefore, everything had to go into storage. 3 weeks later I was able to plant or pot up some of the items but many did not survive, possibly due to storage time. A few weeks later I was able to plant the rest but many had rotted.

Customer service replaced the ones I lost but this whole situation is not worth it.

When I ordered I was told my bulbs would be sent two days after
my order. That sounded positive.
What followed was the worst experience I have ever had with
a nursery, and I order bulbs from all of the major bulb companies,
generally, with great success.
After two or three weeks and no bulbs, I contacted the customer
service. They said the bulbs had been shipped. After waiting a month, I am told, "no the bulbs have not been shipped, but are
batched for shipment and they will expedite the order and I should
get the bulbs in 2 to 3 days"---Of course that never happened.
After waiting a month and a half, I am told they will definitely
go out by that Friday guaranteed! Of course that also did not happen.
The next thing I know they have cancelled the order!
I have never seen such lying, incompetent nincompoops!!!
I am usually a positive person. There is nothing I could possibly say good about this company.

Placed a very large order of fall bulbs over the summer. Bulbs arrived in a timely manner and were of decent (not excellent) quality. Some mold, and a smaller size than I'm used to for tulips, but the price was reasonable, so I wasn't disappointed. When things started to go on sale in early November, I decided to order some allium. It is now December and they haven't arrived, but it is too late to plant. I emailed their customer service 11/25 to inquire, and they told me they were scheduled to ship 11/29. Yesterday dec 6 I emailed again as I have not recieved any shipping info, asking them to kindly refund me since they were clearly unable to fulfill my order, and they responded saying that they couldn't refund it because they would "probably" be shipping out over the next few days. If reselling bulbs is your whole business, shouldn't it be reasonable for customers to expect that you'd at least do it with a minimum of competence? There is no way these bulbs will thrive with such a late planting, and it is obvious that they sold me a product that they didn't have in their inventory. Oh well- back to a more reputable source next year :(

Ordered my bulbs on Oct 13, and was noticing they they wouldn't be shipped until the 24. Then, when I emailed asking to please rush, they were polite and re-assurring, only to have the order planned for the 26.. Today is Oct 30, and they still have not been shipped. Meanwhile, I have lost 2 weeks of forcing time, and numerous chances to buy locally at 50% off due to it being lat in the season

Ordered bulbs in the spring. Received mid-October; too late for this area of the country as a rule, but this has been a better year than many and I was able to plant what I could on a nice day one day before the snow flew in. I have to say I'm impressed with their math skills - there were exactly the correct number of bulbs in each bag. Unfortunately, too many of the bulbs were undersized and/or rotten/molded. I have a letter going back to vanBourgondian Monday expressing my displeasure and disappointment.

Shipping times are horrendously slow despite ordering months in advance. Customer service = diversionary talking points and not any taking responsibility to meet customary expectations for a nursery business that ships products out to customers.

When I ordered gladiolus and arum bulbs, I called to express concern about the early delivery date. Was told the the March delivery date was when the bulbs shipped from Holland, not Ohio. Well, my Bulbs arrived on March 15th and I have 8" of icy snow on the ground with night temps of 13 degrees! Who knows when I will be able to get these into the ground and how long I will be able to store these without mildew or dehydration. I was not offered a delayed delivery date. The bulbs seem plump now, but I resent being sent bulbs too early for planting and making me responsible for storage until I can plant. The instructions say to plant the bulbs immediately upon arrival. How am I supposed to do that with frozen soil? I anticipate the company saying they sent viable bulbs (which appears to be true) but ending up with rotten or dried out bulbs. So why can't they store the bulbs and send them at a reasonable planting time? I won't be ordering from this company again.

This is the second time I have ordered bulbs from this company and my experience has been poor in both cases. Last year it took them almost a month to ship my order because they said they were moving their warehouses.

This time I ordered 17 bags of anemone bulbs ten days ago. They still haven't shipped. I'm in zone 4 and running out of time to plant. I called their customer service and was told that "it typically takes two to three weeks to process and ship an order". WHAT?? Nowhere on their ordering page does it say you'll be waiting a minimum of three weeks to get your order. The customer service rep said she would put a note on my order to expedite it but couldn't promise it would do anything. I may well have snow on the ground by the time these things arrive. I won't be ordering from them again.

I don't even know where to begin. My first order from this company was worse than dealing with my local DMV or cable tv company. I would NEVER order from k. van Bourgondien again; I just wish I had read these Daves Garden reviews first. I would concur with everyone else who has written about the company's failure to ship, and complete and total lack of communication!

I ordered 2 bags of Dutch iris beauty mix spring bulbs on March 13th and was to have them by the first of April (to plant before it got too hot in Georgia). After sending more emails and making more phone calls than I can recall--and, writing a letter--bulbs finally arrived May 19th. The accompanying note said that I was receiving a substitute order, because they received overwhelming demand for the bulbs I wanted and had exhausted their supply. I am just dumbfounded. I cannot comprehend how a company that does business like this can, in fact, stay in business.

During my 10-week wait, customer service operators in the Philippines gave me wide-ranging order updates and numerous shipping estimates. I was told that the bulbs had not arrived from Holland, that they had arrived and were already sold out, that it would be another 4 weeks, and even that my order had been cancelled!!?! I got no response at all to my letter or first handful of emails. The email response I did eventually get said they would check into the matter and get back to me "that day or the next." THREE WEEKS LATER, having heard nothing, I made one more plea. It generated a meek apology, a $13 refund, and....shipment of an order of substituted bulbs.

As other reviews have noted, I, too, had to purchase my iris locally this year. With temps already in the 90s in Georgia, I'm betting these bulbs aren't even worth planting. In the future, and to preserve my sanity, I will take my online ordering business elsewhere. Don't say you haven't been warned!

I ordered some Vermeer Calla lillies from them. I purposely had a small order, to get familiar with the company before placing a larger one. The lillies arrived towards the end of April, and the bulbs were all soft, and some even rotten. I immediately called, and they said they'd send out some more lillies, free of charge. I was impressed at how they didn't argue with me, and last Friday they were sent to Fed Ex. Delivery was scheduled for tomorrow, however, they arrived today.

However... This bag was WORSE than the previous bag. Some bulbs were so soft, I stuck my finger through them. Thankfully Phil from Van Bourgondien was very quick to refund me. But it's sad when you place an order, and they can't even fix their first mistake, but make it worse.

Posted on April 14, 2015, updated April 15, 2017
What I received is similar to others. Broken, rotted and unviable plant material. This company should be sued for fraud. This is absolutely ridiculous to pay money for what they picture on their website and then send something that could not possibly produce. I'm done with them! Stay away from Gardens Alive and its subsidiaries! These people are crooks only concerned about your money and are no friend of the gardening community.

Perhaps it's unfair of me to say something at this late date, but many years ago I ordered some "on sale" Thalia daffodils and lycoris squamigera from Van Bourgondian. When they finally came up, the leaves on both species had "snowflake-like" white spots on the leaves. I had never seen this before. The foliage was weak, they did not thrive or bloom well, and after researching the issue on the web, I found out that these were virus-infected, and would never do well. To keep them from spreading virus to the rest of my daffodils and lycoris, I ended up having to dig up every one of those bulbs from Van Bougondian and dispose of them in the trash. I thought, how reprehensible of Van Bourgondian to offer up diseased bulbs as sale merchandise! The daffodils I have purchased before and since from OTHER suppliers have done very, well, thank you, but I swore right then that I would NEVER again order from Van Bourgondian. And I haven't. They lost me as a customer forever.

I placed a few medium size orders for last season from this company and there were several problems. Of 5 Lilium 'Landini', 2 were the beautiful black-purple Asiatics, but 3 were much taller gold and orange inverted blooms, clearly the wrong bulbs. Another more subtle issue was the Lilium 'Trebiana', offered as pale greenish yellow, but was instead a bright true yellow. I emailed them 3 times, once even including a picture of the incorrect 3 Landini bulbs. They never responded at all.
As I send this, I pulled out my order and noticed that the Begonia 'Switzerland' I ordered last year was from them too. Of 5 bulbs, two emerged, but only one of the 2 had dark foliage. Not a good experience.

Ordered bulbs beginning of sept. Bulbs est delivery by end october. Still havent received all order and now NOV !8 ground is very frozen solid with inches of snow. Weather colder and colder . How am i supposed to plant bulbs . VERY crazy delivery - one package after another randomly and very LATE. I am avoiding in future .

Negative experience. I ordered 4 different bulb collections 5 days ago and was told they would all be shipped in 18 days; no back orders. My credit card statement arrived 3 days after my order was placed with the bulb transaction charge. I had not received my order. I contacted van bourgandian, and was told they had a new policy of immediately charging the credit card, even if the order will not be completely shipped until 6 months later, which, oh-by-the-way, I'd have to wait until spring for part of my order. I have ordred from the van bourgondian company for years, they'd never charged prior to shipping, what's up? Oh, didn't you know, van bourgondian sold out to gardens alive. A company i would never have done business with if i had known.

Years ago, when I was an active IA State Ext Master Gardener, I purchased from K.Van Bourgondien often and until recently had some of their excellent bulbs. When I decided to replace my dahlias,tuberose, freesias, lilies and glads I did not hesitate to order from them. The prices are good and they arrived promptly, the lilies and glads were wonderful, the freesias ok but the dahlias and tuberoses were sad! The 10 dahlias I received might have had 3 viable pieces, and the tuberoses looked chewed on!
When I emailed them hoping for replacements or partial refund all I received was a "we care and will respond' email, that was over a week ago and I'm still waiting for a real response.
Very disappointed and will make sure to let gardening friends know.

I ordered bulbs most of two months ago. Finally, they sent email and told me this order was canceled. No substitute items was mentioned.

If they did not have enough items, why did they accepted the orders for such long time? So disappointment.

On April 15, I bought $32 worth of Arium Metallicum, or red candle lily. The first order arrived in 2 pks of 5. Both packs were dried up, hollow chunks that could be crumbled. I complained through email and a customer service emailed a replacement certificate. I reordered the bulbs and they arrived worse than the first. They were so dry they were crumbling to powder like chalk. I don't understand why my order left both times like this but it's obvious this company is not in business to stay in business.
Pic here: //s270.photobucket.com/user/cmitchprint/media/imagejpg1_zpsa9b9e1ec.jpg.html

Be aware that Dutch Gardens no longer warranties their products past 10 days. My fall shipment arrived late in the season. Because of the early winter in MN , most of it failed to grow except for the bulbs. I was willing to pay their prices because of the guarantees. But without warranties it will be cheaper for me to by locally.

Ordered alstroemeria bulbs from them and when they finally arrived they were shriveled. They never even came up. Never purchase from them again!

Want to place an online order with a company and never get your order #, order summary, and order details emailed back to you? Want to order plants that are supposedly available, but then find out after several calls that they are not ready? Want to wait a month after ordering to have to call and say what's going on? Look no further than Van Bourgondien! I will never order from them again. Apparently trying to order some Dicentra is like asking someone to part the Red Sea. Terrible customer service. I would tell anyone to run from them company.

I ordered Great American Lakes Dahlia Blend tubers last spring from this mail order company (not the nursery on Long Island with a similar name). Several of the tubers were damaged in shipping. Poorly packed, in my opinion. The damaged tubers never sprouted. Replacements were shipped; only half sprouted.
Once they bloomed, I found that NONE of them were actually Great American Lakes Dahlias. Some other variety I could not recognize. I will never again order from this company or any of the other Gardens Alive! companies.

"On Feb 11, 2014 1:11 PM, Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com) responded with:

We appreciate your feedback. I apologize for the problems with your order. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information."

My company ordered dahlias from Van Engelen last spring. We only discovered that their product was mislabeled after growing them. We'd also had problems in the past with unacceptably frequent incidents in which what arrived was not what we ordered. We've given up dealing with this company.

"On Feb 3, 2014 11:53 AM, Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com) responded with:

Thank you for your posting and I apologize for the problems you have had with your orders. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and take care of this for you."

A recent Spring mailing offered 50% off making many selections attractive if not competitive. Upon checkout the shipping was $19.95 on a $55 dollar order - even if it really was worth $110 that is almost 20% for shipping - I moved on. Found everything elsewhere for same price or better with some offering free shipping.

I placed an order with Van Bourgondien on October 3rd for a poppy, foxtail lilies and hosta, as well as another order October 16th for Bearded Iris (their end of season sale)

Well...Its November 12th now .. I have 2 inches of snow on the ground. The poppy arrived last week but I have no lilies, no iris and no hosta I will plant them when ever they do arrive (I pre-dug the holes and have thawed soil to fill them) but I do not expect much survival

Learned a lesson on this - next time I will check Dave's Garden reviews before ordering.

"On Nov 16, 2013 2:44 PM, Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com) responded with:

Thank you for your feedback. Have you received your order. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and check into this for you."

Awful....I ordered from them....after I ordered from them, the email I received from them mentioned that the items would ship in about 4+ weeks....yet I was already in prime bulb planting season, and 4+ weeks from now is "Frost City" where I live....I realized, after reading reviews of the company, that this was a DUD of a company...I called the company and cancelled out...why wait WEEKS (or more) to have your item shipped, when you can have your item shipped from a different company almost immediately?...this company was giving me flashbacks of another company, Michigan Bulb...they seem to operating in the same bizzarro fashion...find a better company than this one...

Never again....

"On Nov 16, 2013 3:21 PM, Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com) responded with:

We appreciate your posting. We use the USDA shipping chart so we know the best time to ship our products. I apologize for the delay. "

Took a chance and ordered fringed coral lace gladiolus and a lavender daylily. The gladiolus bloomed pink - not coral (had several times before and know what the correct one looks like). Will not know until next year if daylily is also mismarked. Contacted them - they gave me a code to use with another order. Last year, black landini asiatic lily bloomed orange - they also gave me a code to use with next order (but the code did not work, so I did not order then). They do not refund. You must order more and get stuck with a shipping charge. Never, never again. Good grief - why can they not send the correct items? If the daylily is wrong too, I will be screaming.

"On Sep 20, 2013 11:32 AM, Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com) responded with:

Thank you for letting us know about the problem with your order. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and we will take care of these problems for you."

I ordered 12 items in May and they shipped 8 of the items in June.

Today I looked up my Order Status on their website and it said one of the 4 remaining items had been cancelled but made no mention of the other 3 items that I have email confirmation of having ordered in May.

I called Customer Service and the first person I spoke to said she didn't know why the one item was cancelled but the other 3 items were out of stock. I asked why I was able to order out of stock items? Why these items weren't showing up on the Order Status page? And why I hadn't received notice that 4 of my 12 items would not be shipped? She again said she didn't know so I asked to speak to a manager.

The manager (Sheryl) said she doesn't know why 3 of the items were not showing up in my Order Status on their webpage but that she could see them in her system. She also said that they send notices when items are out of stock -- implying that it is somehow a failure on my end in receiving no notice.

I asked how I can have confidence in ordering through them again given that so many items were out of stock, she doesn't know what is wrong with their Order Status webpage or their notification system, and is not communicating an intent to find out? Her response...I don't know.

Enormously unhelpful. I do not recommend this company if you want to receive more than 2/3 of your order or any semblance of customer service.

"On Sep 12, 2013 12:31 PM, Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com) responded with:

I am so sorry to hear about the problem with your order. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and check into this for you."

I was looking for daffodil bulbs to order for the fall and reached this company's page by referral. It was July and they were running July specials. The problem began when i started looking at the different subtitles of the daffodils such as pinks and doubles. I found they had a buyers favorite and had a price and a buy button. When i went to the cart to look at what i had listed to purchase the number of bulbs in the package had changed. with 50 to 75 % fewer bulbs for the price quoted. I emailed the company and they offered me a special offer which was less than what was on the web page. When i called their customer representative offered no explaination or adjustment. This seems to be bait and switch at its worse and completely illegal.
When i checked the web site the next day after not hearing anything back from the company they had changed the pages i had pointed out but there were other pages that still showed this misrepresentation. I have copies of emails that have copies of the pages in question. There is no way i would deal with this company with such shady business practices.

"On Aug 23, 2013 8:59 AM, Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com) responded with:

Thank you for your feedback and I apologize for the confusion over the pricing on the web site. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and make sure this is taken care of."

My Grandmother, mom and I placed an order together. Here was our order and what happened with each flower/plant:

-BLEEDING HEART - Blooomed nicely
-ORIENTAL LILY CASA BLANCA - Bloomed nicely
-DAHLIA NICK SR. - Bloomed nicely
-HARDY GERANIUM JOHNSON'S - Got Purple instead of Blue flowers when it finally bloomed.
-BLUE HARDY GERANIUM LAVENDER PINWHEEL - Bloomed nicely
-HARDY GERANIUM PRATENSE SPLISH SPLASH - Got plain white flowers when it bloomed
-YELLOW GINGER LILY- Did not bloom at all

So 42% of our order was unsuccessful. I think that is a high percentage. I was disappointed when my geraniums blossomed and were not what I ordered. I will probably order from them in the future because I have had great experience with them in the past with tulips, daffodils, and irises, I guess maybe just stay away from the geraniums. They are unpredictable. Even the ones that blossomed nicely didn't have anywhere near as spectacular a color as shown in the photo.

"On Aug 15, 2013 11:10 AM, Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com) responded with:

Thank you for your feedback we appreciate you letting us know about any problems you have with your orders. The Johnson's Geranium usually bloom a purple/blue color, they are not a true blue. The Splish Splash should have a purple color as well as the white. I will have one of our customer service representatives contact you for your account information and we can reship the items that did not perform as they should have."

I was SO disappointed with this company! I placed two separate orders, both in March the 8th and the 21st. The first was tuberose, summer cheer daffodils. Lord Lieutenant anemones. The second was Lord Lieutenant anemones, purple ranunculus and mixed ranunculus. The ranunculus was for my mother for Mother's Day. Well, Mother's Day came and went with no order arriving. The anticipated delivery date kept getting pushed back every week - finally in mid June I lost my patience because the order for tuberose was cancelled as they were out of stock. Really? You couldn't have figured that out 3 months ago when you put it on sale? So I sent a strongly worded letter letting them know they dropped the ball on the ranunculus, and seeing as I had already paid for the tuberose I wanted my money back. They did respond same day - and my money was refunded to my checking account the next day. My ranunculus order magically appeared in the mail 2 days later. However, they had substituted my anemones I wanted with blue and white anemones.

Never again will I purchase anything from a nursery that claims they have the right to substitute items without notice.

"On Aug 6, 2013 4:12 PM, Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com) responded with:

I apologize for the problems you had with your order. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and see what we can do to rectify the problem."

First, everything charged on credit card upfront, months ago. No one else does this, they charge as they ship. Second, shipping in mid June to St. Louis? It's pushing 100F; lilies in bloom everywhere here. Third, quietly updating statuses to 'cancelled'. No email, no offer of replacements. (Of course I still get a daily junk mail regarding their special deals). Stuff just out of stock, which I had to learn by going back to the catalog. It was not offered up as a cancellation reason. Fourth, $51 worth of elephant ears just dropped off the order. Of course, I was charged for them, but now they've apparently been cancelled along with everything else, not apparent on invoice. So, approximately $240 worth ordered, only $85 shipped. Amount credited back to my card does not match missing stock. Everything else now out of stock, almost all out lilies, and all my elephant ears. Got the beds tilled up and waiting, now too late to find good stock at local nurseries. NEVER AGAIN, I would rate them right there with Michigan Bulb CO, the 'dead stick' people. I don't care how beautiful the catalog is. If you can't provide the product, don't offer it. If indeed they are located in Ohio, I could have driven there in late April/early May and picked the stuff up. It would have gotten a proper start, although it remains to be seen whether the few items that we actually received are going to grow. Hard to say, now that the tender stuff has to face extreme heat. I would suggest a revision of the zones shipping schedule. But I will not be around next year to find out. Absolutely the worst online/mail order experience with a nursery, ever. I wish I had read here first, live and learn.

"On Jun 20, 2013 11:27 AM, Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com) responded with:

I apologize for the problems you have had with your order. We would be happy to check this out for you and make sure you are taken care of. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information."

I ordered from Van Bourgondien for the first time this year. My order was fairly small and late in the season (May 1), but everything was listed as in stock, and my order confirmation said the estimated delivery date was 5/15-6/5. One item, 3 egret flowers, shipped on time, but they failed to grow. Everything else was delayed. I received a couple of geraniums Friday, but I am still waiting for some hostas and irises. I just noticed today that the White Feather hostas which were the primary reason I placed this order were quietly canceled at some point. A refund was issued to my credit card, but since pricing information was not included in my order confirmation, I have no way to verify that it was the correct amount.

I probably won't bother with this company again.

"On Jun 20, 2013 11:24 AM, Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com) responded with:

We appreciate you letting us know about any problem you have with your order. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and check this out for you."

I sent ihs company a rather sizable order on 5/1 and started getting "pending status" updates almost from the first day-moving the shipping date farther and farther into spring.

The latest pending status had dropped three items (all of which I had planed in my garden) and when I asked why, I got this:

"Thank you for your email. Due to the popularity of these items and the conclusion of our shipping season, we are unable to process your order ..."

6 weeks after they accepted my order and I designed my plan, they are sorry.

I was at a local garden center the last week in May and could have bought the PLANTS. Called them today, none are available.

NEVER AGAIN

"On Jun 14, 2013 1:11 PM, Van Bourgondien Dutch Bulbs (dutchbulbs.com) responded with:

I apologize for the problem with your order. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and check into this for you."