Comments regarding Breck's Bulbs

Last year we ordered Breck's "Giant Tulip Collection" and planted the bulbs as instructed. At least 1/3 never came up even though we had a very mild winter. I tried calling but could never get through so I opted instead to send an email to their customer service citing the "Lifetime Guarantee" and asking for at least a partial refund. That's been several weeks ago and I've yet to hear from them.

My comments on Breck's are really negative and positive. I did mark the negative, though, because everything that I have ordered from them has had to be reordered either once or twice. 2 years ago I ordered hair allium, frittileria, checkered lilies, tritileia, and one other item that slips my memory. The first year none of them grew so I called them, and they sent them again. I planted them again. Again, nothing grew. I just got off the phone with them and had them credit the cost back to my account. I also ordered astrantia from them which arrived this spring in a mushy mess. I planted it in a pot with my fingers crossed, but it did not grow. I had also ordered one of their big iris collections, but only 2 of them grew this year. I will be getting a credit for the astrantia, and they will be sending a replacement iris collection next fall. I will try the iris one more time.

So my negative is for the product they send, and my positive is for their guarantee. They do follow through with their guarantee of replacing anything that does not grow or crediting back to your account. I do appreciate that part, but am really disappointed that the plants don't grow!

I have ordered bulbs form Breck's many times over the years. The orders over the last 10 years have been a virtual crap shoot! several years ago the company changed hands and many orders were never delivered, I was one of the luck ones and got my order.....finally. Anyhow they were very apologetic under new management and offered good incentives to order again, so I gave them another chance. 1st year was OK, and service/product quality have been going downhill ever since. This last fall's order was so slow in coming (it took 10 weeks in transit) I barely got them into the ground. not to mention that about half of what I had ordered in June never came at all....Sorry guys you've had your chance I'm done with Breck's!

I placed my first order for some lily of the valley, anemone poppies, and something else, a bleeding heart I think. The lily of the valley came up brilliantly, bloomed, the whole nine yards. The poppies were planted at the appropriate time, but they never did come up. I dug them up to see what happened and they had all turned to mush. I dont fault them for that, though. Im sure I did something wrong with the planting. The bleeding hearts never came to fruition either, but that is not the first time I have met with failure trying to grow that plant. I placed another order for english bluebells and crocuses, which I will get in the fall. Overall I like Brecks. They are expensive, but no more so than other places I have seen on the internet. I dont mind the delay in shipping, though they do get here at the latest planting time for this area. If I have good luck with the crocuses and english bluebells, then I will probably continue to order from them again.

In the fall of 2005, I received a “$25 off any order” coupon from Breck’s. I have ordered from them years ago when I was a novice gardener without incident, and despite the tepid reviews here on Dave’s website, I placed an order for a small quantity of Tulips and Dutch Iris. I’m sorry that other peoples experiences were negative, but I had no problems. The coupon was honored without hassle. The bulbs arrived timely in the fall, and in reasonably good condition. And this spring everything came up and looked/looks great. The tulips look just as nice as bulbs I purchased at local quality nurseries here in Connecticut.
I would never make Breck’s my sole supplier. Definitely shop around, especially at your local nurseries. However, if a deal comes your way, choose wisely (but don’t pin all your hopes on it). You may be pleasantly surprised.

I ordered 300 plus bulbs from them in September to try to fill out a new house/new yard. I ordered their value packs.

After ordering, I got onto to Dave's website, and I was thinking I was going to get ripped off by Breck's. However, I got the bulbs, though I did get them in mid-November, which is I thought was a little late to be planting in Zone 5, but it is actually at the end of the recommended planting schedule.

As far as I can tell, everything has come up and has come up beautifully. Some things are to come up in late spring, but I think I see that all are trying to poke up. The hyacinths were small, but this is their first year. The tulips have been gorgeous. I have three trees that I planted tulips around, and all the tulips came up and at the same time, too, making a very striking presentation. I am very pleased.

What I don't like about Breck's is the wait time. I prefer to order and have the items here when I want them, but I think overall they have a good product for a good price, especially with the coupons.

Four weeks ago I ordered the spring instant garden from Breck's after receiving an email from them. I paid online, received order confirmation quickly and received my plants, already growing within 10 days. They were packaged very well and had no damage whatsoever. I planted them that evening. I am now enjoying beautiful hyacines (sp), daffodils and tulips. Thanks to Breck's, my lack of planting in the fall has been rewarded with their instant garden. I only wish I had ordered two!!

I ordered toad lilies on special and some water lilies. At the same time, I ordered a lot of day lilies from Paradise Gardens and some water lilies from Pong Megastore. I was unhappy with what Breck's sent when I got it, I was angry when I got the OTHER vendor's plants.

Both Paradise and Megastore shipped me huge, healthy plants. Both communicated well as to status, and both were prompt.

The items from Breck's were tiny. The toad lilies were barely one rhizome each, compared to the hand-dug ones from Paradise (and more expensive). The water lily was a tiny shrivelled carrot with no roots. Compared to Megastore which had a huge root system and some leaves (same price).

Lesson learned... The specialists do better at there speciality. Buy water plants from water plant vendors, and flowers from the breeder.

I think Breck's expertise is bulbs. I won't be trying tho.

I had not ordered anything from Breck's for several years since I found
better bulbs at much better price elswhere.

In 2003, a friend wanted a pink daffodil so much and I could not find that variety anywhere else, so I ordered them from Breck's. They came to about $1.00/bulb which to me was very expensive.

Those daffodils did not come close to the picture in the catalog and they flopped terribly. I called for a refund. Breck's insisted on replacement eventhough I said I did not want any more bulbs from them.

The replacement did arrive. They were still the same washed out peach color as the first shipment and flopped the same way. I still see the same doctored "pink" daffodils in Breck's catalog. My thumbs down to this false advertisement.

I won't order anything from them again.

Last fall I received a catalog from this company with a gift certificate $25 off any order. I never ordered from mail catalogs before and decided to give it a try.
I ordered red tulips, received e-mail confirmation that my order processed and bulbs will be shipped at right time to plant them. Everything worked as stated: in October I received bulbs. They were big and healthy. I bought some more bulbs from a store and planted all.
Now in a spring I am enjoying the most beautiful tulips I dreamed to grow and I am just a beginner. They are big, bright red color. The tulips grown from bulbs bought in a store can not be compared with Breck's.
I have very positive experience with this company and will probably order from them again, just the prices little bit high, but I think I will be willing to pay for such a beautiful tulips.

I used a gift certificate that came on the catalog and ordered some tulip bulbs. I planted them last fall and they were a little small, but healthy. I can't remember the name of them, but they were supposed to be white with blue edges. Well....they are cream with fuschia edges. And the flowers are tiny. The rest of our tulips are bigger than ever and these seem to be stunted somehow. I probably will not order from them again.

I received my bulbs,poppy and lavatera and they were in very good shape, I definitely will be ordering from this company again.

BE AWARE: I got a catalog in the mail from Breck's Bulbs this spring. I was on their mailing list from last year. A few days after I got the catalog I placed an order only to find out they won't be sending anything until five months from now. They were just lillies & a firecracker plant, not spring bulbs. Again, if you plan on ordering from them in the spring don't expect to get anything from them this season.

I ordered over 100 bulbs from Breck's last fall. I was a bit dubius when they arrived. Some of them were dry and papery, two were visibly rotten, smelling awful. I took my chances and planted them. About 50% of by grape hyacinths came up, all of the double snowdrops came up but looked absolutely nothing like the picure in the catalog. Only one of my dracunculcus vulgaris came up, and at $9 a bulb, I was none too happy. I went online but could not get the customer service site to open, so I finally called the company. The representative was very short and curt. Her tone was incredibly rude. She did say the bulbs would be reshipped, but her tone and manner so infuriated me, I don't know if I will ever do business with them again.

I ordered lots of bulbs from Breck's last fall, everything arrived on time and looked great. We already have a meadow of crocus and glory of the snow coming up, and the icicle tulips are about to burst open within the next few days. So far everything has done great (even the squirrels left these ones alone) and I am very satisfied. I can't wait till the cyclamen come up later! I also just recieved a large order of dutch glad bulbs which look very large and healthy despite being shipped from overseas, and I was pleased with the precise labeling- no mixups. I have ordered quite a few more plants that should be delivered this spring. Based on my experience, I will definitely order from them again.

I placed a large order last spring. I honestly don't remember everything I ordered although I do know that a few, such as the eryngiums never came up. They're getting a positive rating from me because I absolutely loved the eremurus, which are already starting to come back up this year. I'll certainly be ordering more to add to my garden.

When the brochures for their daffodil collections came in March, I read, re-read, and read again, everything in there. The glossy photos depicted beautiful plants, all growing and thriving, with gorgeous blooms. According to the letter they had included with the brochures, I had nothing to lose. I didn't have to pay until I received and inspected every bulb. If the bulbs weren't satisfactory, I could order a replacement and only pay for those which I liked. And in the case the bulbs looked fine, but didn't grow or bloom to my satisfaction, I was protected by their lifetime guarantee. I quickly filled out the order form, checking the box which stated I would not pay 'til I received the bulbs. I sent it in, and all was dandy.
Then, a few weeks later, I received a bill in the mail. It was only the last week of March.
Puzzled, I emailed them about it. I received a reply stating my bill was not due until the bulbs were shipped. Then when I asked why the bill was sent so early, she replied saying that it was because my bulbs had been shipped.
This REALLY puzzled me. Daffodils are supposed to be planted in the fall!
I emailed them back, asking if they had really shipped the bulbs in the completely wrong season. I have yet to receive a reply.
I rated this neutral, as seeing I didn't receive the bulbs yet. When I do get them, I will write a follow-up and possibly change my rating.

I placed two orders this season: one for spring bulbs and one for the astilbe collection. Though some of the bulbs were slightly moldy, they all sprouted and grew nicely. The astilbes were bareroot and were very large. One month after planting most of the astilbes have sprouted (it would have helped if I planted some of the bareroots right side up!!!).

I placed an order in early January for two of the Grandma's Cutting Garden and firecracker flowers (the order was also supposed to include a 'free' order of Border Gladiolus). I promptly received a confirmation email from Brecks saying that I'd receive a shipping confirmation email when the bulbs shipped. After waiting a few weeks without receiving anything, I checked the website and saw that my order was supposed to ship the second week of March. I checked back around Feb. 23rd and saw the same ship date. Okay, I understand slow shipping, etc.... I checked again today and see that my order has been cancelled WITHOUT ANY notice what so ever. I never received an email or anything. And to top it all off, the products are still listed as avaliable on their website. Not a happy customer and I'll never deal with the company again.

I ordered quite a few bulbs after my husband died to plant in his memory. I planted them, but none came up. I don't know if it was the bulbs or me, because I was quite discombobulated at the time and possibly planted them all upside down. The next spring only a few came up, and I called Breck's to complain, and they replaced my entire order. These came up beautifully. Last fall I dug up the bulb bed and made another bulb bed with the offsets of the existing bulbs.

I ordered nearly $450 in products from Breck's in October of 2005. I promptly received an e-mail confirmation of my order and an estimated ship date of Feb, 2006. By phone, I then confirmed that the unusually long fulfillment was indeed 3 months later so that 'I can receive the freshest product from Holland'. So I waited instead of going to a competitor.

In very late January, 2006 I received a post card simply stating that my entire order was canceled. By phone, I was informed that the company unilaterally cancelled the order since the collections had sold out on a first-come-first served basis. I asked: "Did they not know that last October?" 'No, sir.' I asked:” Can they not ship a partial shipment?" 'No, sir' I asked: "If October is not early enough for first come-first-served, how early do I have to order?" 'I can not answer that."

Sorry guys, my response to Breck's and all affiliated companies is: "You are fired!"

I used a coupon for $25 off my order and purchased a Spring Collection of Tete-a-tete Daffodils, Dynasty Tulips and Grape Hyacinths without any problem. The bulbs were some of the biggest and best I have ever received from an online nursery. The order was processed expeditiously and packaged very well.

I have placed many orders for this year and I hope to receive the same type of product as I did previously. However, I will note that the $25 coupon included with one of my recent orders was outdated.

I will update my comments as the time approaches for my bulbs to bloom.

NOTE: I posted this exactly for Michigan Bulb as well, since the companies are linked.

First -- they substitute at will -- and in my case without even telling me that the Eryngium wouldn't be sent. I got salvia instead! Salvia? Does this seem like an adequate "swap"? Why no call? Why no letter?

Then -- the billing fiasco! I paid both Mich Bulb and Breck's Bulbs by paying Brecks over the phone with a debit card, the total invoice amount for both (because they claim to be part of a parent company -- in fact the customer number on the catalogs is nearly identical).

All appeared to be fine. I got a confirmation number on the account that the bills were paid in full and assumed everything was fine.

Two weeks later, I start receiving mail notices (while I'm out of town) stating I failed to pay the account! And after 7 phone calls to both Brecks and Mich Bulb -- I get differing answers from each about what the status is. My bank shows the total was paid from my account. Brecks shows the entire balance to both as paid, but Michigan bulb does not -- they say I owe them still. ARGH!

BEWARE!!! Brecks (BTW) sent wonderful-looking bulbs, but failed to tell me that the Violacea Pulchella I ordered was on backorder and the order was cancelled. Nice, hugh?

BEWARE the bait and switch with Mich Bulb and their accounting/billing capabilities, which are not fool-proof evidently.

BEWARE Brecks seemingly random failure to cancel an order or notify me that the item was on permanent backorder! Leaves a person out in the cold with fall bulbs no longer available.

Fall of 2004 I ordered 'Joan of Arc' crocus, 'Blue Jacket' hyacinth and the 'Passion Tulip Mix'. All arrived when expected, well packaged and good size bulbs for their various kinds. I got them all in the ground a little late, but they came up beautifully the following spring. This year I ordered and planted dutch iris, and again my order was shipped timely and in good condition. I have dealt with Breck's in the past (before they came under Gardens Alive), and the positive difference in quality of their merchandise and customer service is noticeable.

I ordered several different varieties of tulips from Brecks including Queen of Night. I also ordered crocuses and their new "Glamini" bulbs. (a smaller version of gladiolus) The bulbs were all huge and in good condition. For the past two years, my tulips and crocuses have bloomed beautifully, and I've received many compliments on them. The Queen of Night variety is especially beautiful, however it isn't "black" like the picture in the catalog. It's more of a very dark purple.

The glamini's were okay. Three of them died from a disease, but the rest were very pretty. When I called customer service about the three that died, the lady on the phone wasn't helpful, nor did she offer to replace the bulbs. I called back the next day and spoke to someone who was more professional.

Overall, I was pleased with Breck's.

I used the $25 coupon & ordered two assortments on line: double daffodils & pink daffodils. They were absolutely gorgeous. The bulbs that arrived were clean, large, and heavy. All of them came up, some with more than one bloom, and they were enormous & very beautiful. My 90-year old mother, who is seldom impressed with anything (having seen it all by now), said they would be worth $3 per bloom as cut flowers! They were the nicest daffodils I have ever had & I have been buying them from various sources for many years. Also, even tho I ordered them early, they did not charge my credit card until shipping time. I felt they were well worth the price & would have been even without the $25 discount.

I ordered from Breck's because of the coupon offer. I fell in love with a couple of their pink daffodils ('Replete' & 'Pink Charm'), Grecian Windflowers, and Blue Parrot Tulip.

They arrived in a timely manner, and I was excited to see them the following spring. However, the pink daffodils weren't pink, the windflowers were nearly all purple (not mixed as in the photo), and the Parrot Tulip was not feathery looking.

I emailed them about it, and was told the daffodils were supposed to be "apricot" not pink. None of the other items were mentioned, but I was told I could get a refund on anything I was not happy with. I asked for a refund on all items, and was promptly given a refund for the total amount minus the $25 coupon and S&H.

I doubt I will do business with them again. Their pictures are definitely touched up (and in my last catalog the daffodils were still listed as "pink"), and I don't like being lied to. I wouldn't tell anyone else not to shop there because they did make it right. But, if you do shop there, look at the items from other sources to see what they really look like!

I have placed several orders with Brecks. While their products seem to be of good quality. Their service is very poor. My orders for fall planted spring bulbs were all received too late for planting (ground was frozen). They claim that they will ship at the proper time for planting in your area. This never happens. When they finaly email you to tell you your order has been shipped. It takes 6 to 8 weeks for it to arrive.

I ordered three sets of spring bulbs on 11/22/05. Almost two weeks later, I received an email that only one had shipped and the other two would be shipped in January or February, which seemed too late for planting. When I contacted customer service via email, I received an unresponsive preformed email to my first inquiry; no response to my second inquiry; and third, a customer service-written response that answered none of my questions and said the two late bulb sets were sold out. Upon my fourth inquiry, customer service acknowledged that the bulbs were not sold out when I placed my order, but she could not explain how Breck's decided not to fill my order and decided not to ship comparable replacements. When I asked why Brecks failed to notify me of the sellout (I only found out through my customer service inquiries), she said Brecks sent a letter (I received no letter). The next day I received the one shipped set of bulbs, which had been replaced with something else. I will never shop with unreliable Brecks again.

Ordered over $150 worth of bulbs on Sept 3. Two months later, I checked on the order status on the Breck's website, and the projected delivery date was Dec 7. I checked the order status again yesterday (Dec 9) and learned that the entire order had been cancelled. I was never notified of this cancellation, and now I'm trying to figure out if my my credit card has been refunded. A total hassle, and I have completely missed bulb planting season. I will never do business with these folks again.

I ordered bulbs from Breck's because of a $25 coupon that was available this season; they took a long time to arrive and the bulbs were in poor shape. I ordered from Spring Hill, Hirt's and Van Engelen and all of them were better (and faster) than Breck's. Breck's bulbs come from Holland, so the shipping took forever (3+ weeks). I contacted "customer service" via email and received a form letter reply that had nothing to do with my question (this happened twice). When I called about my late order I was told they were unable to cancel it. My tulip bulbs arrived moldy, were mostly missing the onion skin stuff and there was at least one undersized one slipped in with each bag of ten. To be fair, the grape hyacinth bulbs seemed fine. They would have been very expensive without the coupon. The bulbs are in the ground now, so no word yet on the final results!

I ordered online on the Brecks website on September 7 2005. After waiting for a very long a time (10 weeks) the bulbs arrived today November 23rd. I opened the box to discover that Breck's shipped replacement bulbs that do not in any way resemble the bulbs I ordered. I ordered white tulips with blue edges and they sent violet tulips. Could it be that some of the folks at Breck's are color blind? Interestingly enough I went into the Breck's website today and they are still listing the Tulip Sagit Valley (the bulbs I wanted) as available. They are still taking orders on items that they obviously do not have. I called Breck's several times in the past weeks to ascertain the estimated ship date and at no time was I advised of the fact that they did not have the bulbs in stock. I find the practice of taking orders on items which do not exist (which is obviously good for cash flow) to be unethical and unprincipled. I had another order with Breck's which I promptly cancelled. Over the past 8 months I've placed over 30 orders with other internet flower companies. All expereinces have been rather positive. This one stands out as one of the worst expereinces to date because it is so late in the season and I have very few options open at this point to find replacements. I called Breck's and they claim they will credit my account if not in this billing cycle then next billing cycle. I've heard that one before too. I will never do business with Breck's agan! I advise the same to anyone reading this post.

I ordered 3 items on September 21, 2005 (ordering deadline listed on the catalog), using the $25.00 coupon from my Breck's catalog. It is now November 19th, and I still have not received my order. Repeated emails to Breck's have yielded conflicting information. One email indicated that the order had shipped on November 4th; the order status on the website at one point indicated that it had shipped on November 16th (with only 2 items, not 3); then the order status became unavailable. I received an email from Breck's stating that I could plant the bulbs in my area any time up until November 12th. I spoke with a customer service representative at Breck's just moments ago, who said It appears that the order was shipped on November 15th, and that only two items were listed on the order. I had previously emailed Breck's to find out what happened to the missing item because it was no longer listed on my online order summary, and received an email response this morning that the item was no longer available and would not be shipped. The online order status now states that the estimated date of delivery will be sometime next week. This experience has most definitely not been a positive one. The email I received this morning also indicated that the order had been delayed due to a back ordered item. Breck's did not inform me that there was a problem with the order until I inquired about it. I don't plan to order from Breck's again, nor would I recommend them to others.

I couldn't pass up the first timer's deal, even though there seemed to be a lot of negative feedback on this website.

My tulip bulbs arrived in a timely fashion and they are some of the biggest, healthiest bulbs I have ever received from any company. I will be happy to do business with Brecks in the future.

Just got my order from Breck's. Not the freshest bulbs I've ever seen but definitely not mushy or moldy. They took over a month to get to my house so perhaps this is the cause. As long as most come up it's fine with me. I was sent a substitute for the ones I wanted most, Lemon Glow Daffodils, would rather have just had a refund and tried to get them elsewhere, but otherwise the order was complete. I contacted customer service to see why they were taking so long, received an email in a few days saying the bulbs had to come through US Customs and sometimes it took awhile. Maybe this is the reason for alot of the negatives here about Breck's, the stuff just spends so much time in transit sometimes it goes bad. Wouldn't you know it, they sent me another $25 coupon so yes, I'll probably order again.

I also took advantage of the coupon. I was very pleased with the bulbs that were sent. I placed my order early in September knowing they would arrive in October. I called to see if they received my order. The representative was very polite and knowledgeable. She said the Dragon Arums and daffodils were coming from Holland and were in port as we spoke. I am very satisfied with the results.
Linda

I received my bulbs yesterday after 2 1/2 months of waiting. I order oriental lily collection ($29.99 + shipping). I was sadly disappointed by what was sent to me. The bulbs were in transit for over 10 days and were basically mush and the ones that were not look as though half the bulb had been broken in half with no roots attached.

I called customer service and they are going to replace the bulbs but I am greatly disappointed that they would send something like these to any customer let alone a new one like myself. The women I spoke with said it would be 6-8 weeks before I get my replacement bulbs. I just kind of chuckled and said by then we should have snow on the ground. Her reply was first date of availability. I will just have to hope that old man winter comes later this year.

I will not be purchasing from them again. Lesson learned!!!

I purchased 2 types of bulbs using a $25 off coupon. It took over a month to receive the order. The bulbs look fine. So far so good.

I may order again and if I do I will use one of their coupons. It looks like they offer $25 off coupons often.

If you have patience they may be worth a try. After reading other people's feedback, I would keep any order simple.

I redeemed my coupon for $25 worth of free bulbs, which I used for 3 sampler packages of bulbs (prices are kind of high). They arrived today and seem to be in fine condition. Who knows what will happen come Spring, but as of right now it was a positive experience.