Comments regarding Michigan Bulb

I too have had some unpleasant experiences with Michigan Bulb Company and wish I had consulted your web page before I placed any orders. I have orders not delivered and those that have arrived are of such poor quality and condition there is a higher than 70% failure rate. I have attempted to contact the company by phone but keep getting a busy signal…

I cannot get hold of them to get a refund for the dead plants and missing order of various bulbs. I'm sick of their sweepstakes and daily junk mail. Why don't they listen to us? They obviously know we exist. I think they think were going to keep ordering....NOT!!!

Check cashed within a few days and two months later, no order has arrived. I will not buy anything else from them.

I was just getting ready to sit on the phone to try and get replacements from Michigan Bulb for some dahlia's I ordered last year -- they bloomed well, I dutifully dug them up and stored them in the basement over the winter, but now only 1 of the 4 is blooming. But I think I'll just swallow my pride and rest my fingers -- I can't believe they still don't have email or a toll-free number! I once got so frustrated with them that I fired off a letter to the president of the company [once I finally got thru to customer service to get his name!] Got results -- I did get replacements for some daisies I'd ordered [the first 3 shipments arrived totally dead....'nother story!] and a credit which I used for bulbs -- no more live plants for me.

I wish I had seen this catalog site prior to ordering from Michigan Bulb. Three-fourths of the live plants arrived seriously damaged and half of those have died. The bulbs were the size of dimes & nickels. Their packaging is terrible, they bend the plants to fit the box and fit them heel to toe in the box. Considering what other people have gone through, I won't waste money trying to send them back for replacement. Nice catalog. Wish they'd put the effort into good plant care.

I have been trying to phone this company for a week and always a busy signal. I ordered thru the mail some plants and bulbs. My credit card has been charged three times and I have only received two cala lilies. I also received a letter telling me it was against the law to send the bulbs but no mention of a refund. I wrote down the fax # and hope this will help me. I have sent a letter requesting a refund. No reply.

I placed a big order months ago and only got a very small portion of it.

I also ordered from this company for the spring planting! I received a note that said that my order was received, but my payment was short by around $5.00 so I paid it and a few weeks later I began receiving partial shipments of what I ordered. All of what was sent to me looked bad, but I planted it and it grew just fine. I still have not received my blueberry bushes and I know that they hold off on sending products until time to plant them, but now is the time to harvest them so when will they come?

I got on the internet today looking for a phone number for Michigan Bulb to get credit or a refund for five very dead roses (assuming they were ever alive!) but after reading all the comments of previous customers it sounds like an exercise in futility now. Although I have to say that out of the seventeen roses I received from them, all but these five are alive. A few are on the scrawny side but where's there's life there's hope! Most are doing well however, and one or two are trying to outdo the rose I bought from Jackson & Perkins and planted at the same time. But I don't think I will be ordering again from them.

I also have had fine results with the glad bulbs and iris bulbs. Although I have spent $200.00 on bushes, shrubs, and flowers. These did not even make it through the week. I have also received several packages with 1 or 2 plants in them. With extra shipping charges on them. I was attempting to find the customer service number when I came across this site and now realize that I am in for a long fight to get my refund.

I wish I'd found this site BEFORE I made the mistake of ordering from MBC. Every complaint rang true for me...late shipping, plants in really poor condition, total frustration in trying to contact the company, inept service and getting the runaround from their "customer service department" - you name it. Had I been aware of so many others experiences beforehand, I would not have ordered from this company (and I would be far more inclined to take the word of those who have experience ordering from MBC, than from someone whose spouse works for the company.)

Like many of you I received a catalog and thought "What a great deal" I think I received 4 plants that grew. The plants never arrived during the proper growing season, usually arriving while there was still snow on the ground. What am I suppose to do with little twigs for spring planting when it's still freezing outside? Warn your family and friends throw their catalogs away!

Boy, I wish I would have done some research on the internet about Michigan Bulb Company before I ordered. They have lousy customer service. I ordered items in January and still have not seen them and it's the middle of May. I tried calling their phone number and can never get through. What are my chances of seeing the plants or my dollars refunded? Maybe I don't want the plants after reading the poor plant reviews on the internet!

I too received rotten plants; called and was told others would arrive - never did. No wonder they sell them so cheap - they're dead.

Thought the Michigan Bulb Company was a reputable organization. Too bad I don't think so anymore. Items were poorly packed and DOA. The FREE bulbs were substitutes and they too will not grow. Thanks a lot.

I ordered $80.00 worth of plants from them; half did not make it after waiting 2 months for the order. I was to get a couple bonus packs; I received one & of course they did not grow. The plants I wanted most from the order are the ones that did not make it & of course I got a credit for them. I placed a second order; I had to contact them for 3 months before I finally received the plants. They were only 4" new clones; of course they perished in two days. I again wrote them and received two more 4" new clones they perished in a week.

I'm glad I found your site about the Michigan Bulb Company. I ordered the Perennial Starter Garden, half the phlox look dead, the carnations look good; one of the three Sweet Williams is alive. I'm still waiting for my bushes and hedges and Rose of Sharon tree. I'm glad I found the site, I probably won't order anything else from them.

I sent them $42.04 back on March 27 1998. Have yet to receive my order, Sending them a demand for refund, lets see how they respond. Sending my demand by fax, do not know what else to do.

I have ordered from Michigan Bulb Co too. So far what I have received is all in good order. But I am tired of their contest. I called the number that was listed on the web page and talked to a real nice lady there. I told her I wanted to be removed from the contest mailing list and she asked for my name and ZIP code and found my info immediately. She agreed with me that the contest was a nuisance too. So I will let you know if the mailers for the contest ended!! Other than that the orders I have received are all doing fine.

Today I check the mailbox for the 30th day in a row, looking for the remainder of my order from MBC. I'm looking for 18 hybrid poplars and 45assorted bushes. It took a long time for the first part of my order to arrive - pathetic little plants with only a few roots and many were mildewed. My daughter also ordered and surprisingly her order has completely arrived, however pitiful the plants. In trying to find a phone number in the catalog I was completely left in the dark. I tried the net. Thank you for being here. I wish (like most of the participants) I had looked up this company before I sent them my $100. This was all the money I had for my yard and I thought I was going to have something very special. Instead I have a few tiny little bulbs, some straggly rooted carnations and phlox and NO trees or shrubs. Companies like this have got to be stopped. I will never order from any mail order catalog again.

I feel better that I'm not the only person that is not satisfied! I think MBC is so wrapped up in their sweepstakes that they forgot what they are all about. I've had mixed results with their stuff. No luck with any of the bare root items, and 50-50 on the other stuff. The big problem is you order in the spring and don't get it until the snow is on the ground in November. Good luck planting then. I get some sort of sweepstake notice at least twice a month.

…I was willing to hold the 8 minutes to tell them) that the replacement roses they sent were as anemic as the first order and that I was giving them 2 weeks to grow. I think they were all dead. What kind of nursery sends bare root roses to Texas in May and June? The first planting all died after following their planting guide and putting up shade to keep the pitiful rose stock from boiling in the ground. None of the 20 roses I ordered lived. They sent me 12 replacement roses, 4 of which I did not order and the stock was near death, so in an attempt to allow their "customer service" to work I called them on two occasions and was greeted with the phone message. I held on the phone for 15 minutes each time, then hung up. The cost of the phone calls would have paid for local stock.

I was VERY disappointed with Michigan Bulb. I ordered a Dwarf Banana tree, a Juniper bonsai and a carnivorous collection. ALL the plants died due to poor condition. They arrived looking dead and even after intensive care, they died. I sent the guarantee slip back when the banana tree died for credit. I bought Power Pills - due to my fear of buying any more plants - and then found all my other plants dead weeks later. I had already sent in the one guarantee slip thus having no more to report my other dead plants. DO NOT BUY FROM THIS HORRID COMPANY!!!

I am astounded to find such a heightened level of complaints about this company. The very reason for my web search here, was identical to those who have already expressed their discontent. Unfortunately, most these honest folks who have HAD problems with Michigan Bulb have failed drastically from some resolution.…I own 3 fast food restaurants, and find it UNCONSCIONABLE to treat customers this way. The man necessary to contact, at Michigan Bulb Co is JOHN HOLMQUEST, who is the purported CEO of Michigan Bulb Company. I intend to send Holmquest 1 (one) letter only...wait 1 (one) week. I would like to encourage the folks, who complained, to stop wasting time writing letters and complaining to those who won't get anything effectively done.

I ordered one of their special orders of 50gladiolus bulbs last year. They were supposed to be multi-colored. When I finally received them, too late to plant, they were the size of a dime. It will take a few years in the ground for them to bloom. They also sent me perennial geraniums as a free gift. They were nothing but dry, bare, dead roots when they arrived. My husband suggested that I plant them anyway, because MBC must know what they're doing. Well nothing came up! I won't ever order from them again. I feel like I've been taken but good.

What a headache! A waste of money and time! DON'T ORDER FROM THESE PEOPLE!

I just ordered from Michigan Bulb for the first time, only ordered two things though, received both within two weeks, one was creeping phlox. I was very disappointed in its looks. I also ordered Canterbury Bells, and put them in a bucket of good peat/humus, and they are thriving. I'm hoping when I transplant them, that they will live. As far as the phlox, I really don't think they're going to make it.

My experience with Michigan Bulb Co: terrible. I took their bait on an offer for Stargazer Lilies. What did I get: Asiatic Lilies "due to crop shortage." They didn't offer a refund; they substituted without my permission. I'd send them a nasty letter, but I'm sure they're too busy putting in new crops to answer!

Why Michigan Bulb has not been put out of business by now is beyond me. I guess because there's a sucker born every day and I was one.

Most of the flowers that were ordered arrived barely alive but are now DEAD. Have tried tirelessly to contact MBC, but of course no answer. What a shame that we get stuck with them trying to recover what they owe us.

Nothing but TROUBLE! Would never order from them again even if they paid me to take the merchandise! When I wrote to them about plants not growing, they told me I had to go out and dig them up and send them back (there was nothing to send back). My advice.....STAY AWAY!

I ordered the hardy blue geranium from the spring 1998 catalog from Michigan Bulb Co. What I received was 3 pieces of root each approximately 3 inches long. I was shocked that these would be considered 1 year old plants. I tried planting the root pieces and got zilch. It seems that I just wasted six dollars.

We ordered one of Michigan Bulb's Cocktail Fruit Trees but instead got two Apple Towers. We bought a perennial garden sampler with twelve plants, which are all dead, except one Candy Tuft and one Dragon Flower. We ordered five Hollyhocks but received four. And the lavender we ordered is almost dead. We tried calling them and listened to the message saying that the average on-hold time was 8 minutes. We were on hold for over 35 minutes. We would have stayed on longer except we realized in a panic that it was not an 800 number. So our next phone bill is going to show that we were on the phone to Michigan for almost three quarters of an hour listening to cheap elevator music and some woman saying, "Your call is important to us. Please stay on the line." We looked for an address to email them but couldn't find ANYTHING.

I recently ordered a number of plants, and cannot complain yet. However I did receive a shriveled up Rose a week ago and nothing else since.

No satisfaction will ever come from this company. Avoid at all cost!

Wish I would have known about this company before I ordered. I haven't gotten the rest of my order yet. The bushes I did receive are so small, I can't see them above the grass, almost cut them down with mower. I won't order again; thanks for the info.

I placed an order with them in January 1998; not a seed or a plant have I received. I thought if I ordered early I would have my plants early, and that the seeds I ordered would be ready to plant in May. There is no way if I get my seeds now that anything will be ready or useable for this year.My order was for around $40.00 - it's everything I would be planting for this year's garden. My grandchildren and I do this project together so they are also disappointed. I will make it known to everyone I know, that orders plants, not to order from this company. Several of my friends that order seeds and plants have offered to share their plants with me. So there is some hope left for this season.I wish I had seen this web site before I had placed an order. It also makes me wonder if I should ever order anything from any company by mail again. You know that old saying once shame on you, twice shame on me.

I ordered several different items from them including trees, bulbs and plants. None of what I purchased measured up to its advertising. Most of the bulbs never bloomed. The trees either didn't leaf out or died soon there after. The plants arrived dead. My advice is don't waste your money here.I ordered several plants from MBC not to enter the contest, but to get plants. It was surprising how wonderful they looked in the catalog and how pathetic they looked when they arrived in the mail. Oh well, maybe I should read fine print more closely.I received a merchandise credit for the plants that did not make it, but not for the total amount that I believed I paid for them. I suppose I should make sure to hold on to old receipts.My wife and I get a chuckle every time we get another MBC notice or catalog in the mail. It seems that MBC is giving us a million chances to screw up and not send in the correct paperwork with the correct information, or to incorrectly respond if we were not placing an order. I used to think that I didn't have anything to lose; but I think better start counting postage stamps.

I ordered over $100 worth of plants in February and, so far, all I've received is the climbing roses, which looked so beat-up that I'm not at all sure they'll make it. I too have received 2 more contest packets encouraging me to order more plants. Phooey!