Comments regarding Michigan Bulb

I've ordered from this company off and on for years. Most of the time everything worked out okay but this year wasn't so great. I ordered asters, red mini hollyhocks, and a Josee lilac. Only the asters arrived: one is healthy, one is iffy, and the third looks dead. All were extremely root-bound. Nevertheless, I planted the three and time will tell if they live. Shipping on the hollyhocks were pushed back to the end of September. :-( The packing slip says that the Josee lilac is out of stock but they made no mention of a refund, so I had to email. Last year I ordered peach double hollyhocks. They grew but didn't flower. This year, nothing, not even leaves.

I've found this company to be hit or miss, so I never spend a lot of money with them, although I'd like to.

"On Jun 19, 2009 10:26 AM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

We do offer a lifetime guarantee on all our products so if you have any problems with your plants let us know and we will be happy to reship."

I have ordered from Michigan Bulb on and off for 20+ years and the quality of their plants have been hit and miss.

BUT, they do stand behind their guarantee. I have requested a reimbursement for plants that died years after I ordered them and Michigan Bulb has always sent me replacements, or given me a credit or returned my money. No questions asked.

My advice, if you order from them, keep a copy of the Invoice.

"On Aug 6, 2009 2:34 PM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Please know that we can always look up an order if you do not have your invoice. Our company is based on 100% Customer Service - we strive to keep our Customers happy. Please let us know if we can ever be of assistance to you."

i guess i'll be getting my money back sorry just remember
MB if you would not buy it dont sell it.....its that easy
sick to see what i got for the money IF YOU WOULD NOT BUY IT DONT SELL IT

"On Jun 19, 2009 10:22 AM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team is checking into the issue you had with your order and will do our best to rectify the problem in a timely manner. We will be contacting you directly with a resolution. "

I have been dealing with Michigan Bulb for several years and have always been pleased with their plants and service. They just sent me a replacement clematis in great condition and quickly.

"On Aug 6, 2009 2:35 PM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for your kind words; it is greatly appreciated. Our company is based on 100% Customer Service; if you are not satisfied, then we have not done our job. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance. We look forward to serving you in the future."

I had a pretty large order from Michigan Bulb. However, I have had around 30% success with the plants I finally received (around 50+ plants). In addition-the site leads one to believe that an order will ship in the spring only to ship in the fall (I ordered 6 under this assumption). I guess I'll try to get the plants that died replaced-but I just hate to get my hopes up again for plants that will very likely die-again.

"On Jun 19, 2009 10:22 AM, Michigan Bulb responded with:

Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team is checking into the issue you had with your order and will do our best to rectify the problem in a timely manner. We will be contacting you directly with a resolution. "

I just received a fairly large order of perennials from MB Co and was pretty happy with the quality of the shipping. The plants were either potted in small pots with soil, or were bareroot. The leaves were green and all plants seem pretty healthy so far. The bareroot bleeding heart plants are very tiny, but I got them for a great price, so I just plan to plant them in small pots inside for now and then put them in the garden this fall when they are a little bit bigger and stronger. I also ordered from this company about 10 years ago and had many plants die when I put them in the ground (I realize now that it was probably more the inexperience of the gardener than the fault of the plants) and was extremely frustrated that they don't have a 1-800 number so that I could contact them about it. However, now that email is so much more common than it was then, it's not as much of an issue since I can contact them through email now. I do still have 3 absolutely gorgeous climbing roses on trellises from that order 10 years ago that are thriving to this day!

I'm another person who consulted this page after placing an order for the first time on June 4. I'll update when I'm able to evaluate shipping and plant quality.

I'm indoor gardening in Chicago, so these plants will go into pots whenever they arrive and won't freeze outside. Still, when I order online, I do want "instant gratification" - I wait for these things to get here. I've just noticed that one of the plants I added to my cart is listed in its description as shipping only in the fall, yet my order predicts it will be shipped out in a few days. This leads me to wonder whether the online order status page bears a meaningful relationship to my actual order. I'm hoping all goes well. If this site delivers as promised, it will have given me a very nice deal for some specimens I can't easily find at local garden stores.

I was leary about placing as order after reading the reviews, but decided to give MB a try again since I ordered from them nearly 12 years ago. I received healthy and larger plants than I expected to receive for the price. I paid approximately $ 1.25 a plant after their specials and 2 for 1 sale. They sent my plants very early in April, ( I did not specify a shipping date ), which was much too early for my Zone 4. I went ahead and planted them anyways since I had the plants all over my windowsills. It is now the beginning of June (after 4 hard frosts and a light snow) and all of the plants are doing great!! The yellow pincushions have actually bloomed!! I have been ordering perennials by mail-order for over 15 years and MB was just as good as many of the larger higher priced companies. I am so happy that I went ahead and ordered from them. I ordered Moonbeam Coreopsis,Knautia,Scabiosa,Clara Curtis Daisy,Coneflowers to name a few and every one of their plants have doubled in size and I ordered over 40 perennials!! What a great bargain!! And I need to mention I must have dug up and replanted some these poor babies in different sites at least 4 to 5 times until I was happy with their placement. I am placing another order this week I am that pleased with their perennials and they certainly fit into my budget. After not being able to perennial garden for over 8 years ( and this is my passion ), I wanted to start again with many plants as money allowed and my MB order has filled my new garden beautifully for a mere $ 47.00 !!!

Twice I have recieved Rembrandt Tulips from this company, 1x as gift, another order I purchased. They grew well the 1st year or 2, in a nice sunny, southern exposure. The 3rd year? I have NO Rembrandt Tulips anywhere to be found. OTHER kinds of tulips I ordered from here grew well. I just have to assume that either the Rembrandt tulips were not meant for this zone, altho the paperwork said they were, or else they're not as hardy as advertised. Either way, my days of buying from Michigan Bulb are gone-ppfft-no more. I expected those beautiful tulips to last longer than a couple of years, & I'm soooo disappointed. I have also received TOTALLY DEAD tomatoe plants as a gift from a friend who ordered them from Michigan Bulbs. It wasn't worth the effort to get replacements. Mark this company OFF your list, folks.

I placed an order with Michigan Bulbs last October.

The gold stargazar lily is not available until this fall. On the website, it didn't say "out of stock". I cancelled this item and ordered it from another nursery this spring, the plants are growing healthy with big bulbs now.

All other bulbs of lilies and irises do not grow well and are not producing flowers. It just waste my time and work of planting them.

One good thing is that they do a fast money refund with email confirmation.

I am a lifetime gardener and understand the risks in buying bareroot plants, but have not been happy with Michigan Bulb. My plant order from April arrived on June 4th to Zone 7 Long Island. The plants in plastic bags appear dessicated already. Summer snow plants in pots look awful too. Some reviewers say "they replace dead plants and have a lifetime warranty" but that ignores the loss of, in some cases, weeks or in some cases, now that the spring is closing, a full growing season for next spring.

On 3/19/09 I took a chance on MB because they are the only ones that sell the Nearly Black Rose bush that my wife has really wanted ever since we bought our house. So, I ordered it along with some strawberry plants, purple Verbena and Josee Reblooming Lilacs. Their shipping time for my area is 4/6-6/12. As I started to receive my plants form other catalog/online orders I began to wonder if I would ever see this order as the shipping time on my order was changing daily and getting closer and closer to the 6/12 date. So, in April I called (long distance since they don't have a 1-800 #). about my order and was told my items would be put on priority shipping list except the Lilacs. I was OK with it as it is still early enough for a good planting time. I received my order on 5/20 and everything is growing very well. I did have 3 Strawberry plants that were DOA that I will be calling to get replaced and the Rose plant still has not come out of its dormancy and the Verbena looked ragged but they are surviving. My Lilacs however, showed up on 6/1/09 and were in great shape and are doing wonderfully. I gave them a positive response since my plants are alive and doing well so far. I hope the Rose comes out of it dormancy stage as my wife is starting to seem disappointed about the quality of the plant. Like I read in one of the other comments, you must have lots of patience with this company. I may try them again, Maybe.

Last year (2008), I really got hooked on true lilies. Didn't know much about them and didn't know which companies were reputable to by from (also didn't know about this site!!). Found Michigan Bulb and loved the prices.I ordered over 30 bulbs from them. It is now June in Texas. Most of my asiatics are about 1 foot tall (these are varieties that are supposed to be 3-4 ft. tall). There are no signs of buds on 95% of them. I did get a measly two flowers. Lilies I ordered from B& D Lilies this spring are already taller than these awful specimens. Payed $15 for an Allium Globemaster that never came up also. These people are terrible. Don't even know if it's worth to call and complain. Very disappointing.

I just received a large order from Michigan Bulb. Most of the plants were the "potted" variety and looked very good. There were a number of bareroot plants and so far, so good. Before I plant in my garden, I put them all in 4" pots with potting soil to make sure they will grow before I expend all my energy planting them and having them die. MB is very good about replacing any plants that do not grow, and I have had them do that many times. They do have a lifetime warranty on all of their products, so I do not hesitate to buy from them.

on april 29 I order some sub-zero mixed hibiscus from them .received them on may 02. and they looked like little twiges . they looked like the stuff they packed them in dead as could be. i planted them any way, but they still have not showed any signs of life. this is the 30 day of may .and they are still looking dead.

I ordered nine raspberry bushes and three hostas. These were all bare root. They arrived on time and healthy. I will order again in the future.

This year is the first time I've ordered from Michigan Bulb Company - and although I've checked off neutral -- that neutral is bordering on a negative at this point. The projected delivery dates seem to be readjusting each day. On my order, out of about 8 items 3/4 of them now show the latest shipping date as being after their company shipping policy's last spring shipping date. More worrying is that by mid/late June, it's getting too hot to ship plants into the Mid-South. Willing to wait and see what happens..but I'm getting awfully suspicious that they can't deliver, and if they do ..what arrives will be burnt to a crisp, or cooked like spinach....

Pretty much the same as most others here. Ordered the stuff a month ago. I called this morning to find out they had to "grow my plants" and they wouldn't be "big enough to ship" 'till 5/12. They said nothing about this on the phone when I ordered. At least now I know they will most likely delay me further. I will grow my own from seed from now on...it will be much faster! (cheaper too)

I ordered flowers in early March and they were on the shipping schedule for my zone for April 1. The ship date changes every time I go to the website to check the status and i mean every day it gets farther out. As of this morning the new ship date is between 6/2 and 6/22. I really wanted to plant THIS year. If I didn't want these so bad, I would have cancelled already and I am still considering it. DON"T order unless you are a very patient person.

Nearly everything in my order from last May either died, didn't come up or grew and did not bloom. I had always relied on them for quality bulbs and usually got questionable results from other plants. However, they did replace all items in the order when I called them. (No 800- number). I ordered a few more items and really hope these replacements will do better.

Just don't order from this company. They keep pushing my order back to JUNE! I ordered on April 9th... Nothin' on their website that told me that the plants were on WAITLIST, otherwise I would never have ordered them. I should've listened to the comments here... Oh well... shudda-wudda-'cudda! :)

As of today all the mixed pink daffodils I ordered for the front of my house have come up a lovely yellow.

They did come up but they certainly don't match the colors in the rest of the garden.

I will contact Michigan bulb but I have been waiting to see what else does/doesn't come up.

I have ordered from Michigan Bulb on a few different occasions. Last fall I ordered blueberry bushes and some flowers. Just as they had stated, it was to late in the fall to plant and the plants arrived here the first week of April. I then ordered more plants this spring, when I didn't receive them after having been shipped I called the customer service number. I spoke with a very nice lady, who took the time to resend the order to me which I received in a very timely manner. The plants were in very good shape. The size is a little small, but I didn't expect them to be to much bigger. If I wanted bigger plants I could have gone to the local garden center and bought them for a lot more money. And any ways, I want to watch my plants grow. I will definitely order again from Michigan Bulb.

Placed and order with them via phone (03/01/09). Was not told that items were not in stock. 30 days go by so I called back (04/02/09) and found out the items are "estimated" to ship on 05/01/09 to 05/15/09. That's nearly 30-45 days!!!!

On a hunch, called them back to day, and now they are "estimated" to ship 05/20/09-06/06/09 That's 60+ days!!!

If you need/want your plants in SPRING, don't order from them. If you want your plants months later, give them a try.

BTW. When I ordered, they never informed me of the out of stock status/delayed shipping. When the shipping date changed, they never notified me of the change.

If they delay shipment again, I'll come back and update the status.

I feel disappointed for this company, as I spent a lot of time to planted the bulbs in Oct, 08 but a lot of bulbs still not come out.
1. I ordered 20 pcs of Branching Tulips n the quaility is not good cos I only see some leaves but no blooms.

2. I ordered 72 pcs hyacinths grape, around 50 pcs bloom but only bloom once. I also plant some hyacinths from the other company, they all bloom again n again.

3. I ordered 40 pcs Amemones Double, only 3 blooms, they are beautiful. however, I'm not expect only 3 came out from 40 bulbs. So sad!!

4. I also ordered 20 pcs of blazing star liatris but only one blooms n all other dead.

5. 20 pcs Twinkle Toes delayed n I feel angry cos I can't plant all bulbs in the same time. I only got it last month n plant it in the same time. I really want to see the flowers. But I know it will make me disappointed again.

I will not place order to Michigan again, it is not only waste money, the important thing is waste my time n now I need to buy flowers from HomeDepot to replant in the backyard. Otherwise, it looks empty.

Ordered butterfly garden and phlox from MBC and arrived in March. Carefully replanted each individual plant in PRO mix and water carefully from bottom to prevent drying. Some of the plants had no apparent green but root systems looked healthy. Was unsuccessful in saving these, but called Michigan bulb to see if I needed to return these for replacement. I spoke to the nicest customer service (George) who assured me they did not want my plants back and that they would be replaced, giving me a new order numb er and date for shipping.

I ordered $50 worth of roses for my garden in March. When I received them, I noticed that they were very small-about 3 inches tall. Much smaller than any other rose I've ordered online.
I moved them over to a gallon pot so that the roots would take-no different than I would any other rose I order-and within 3 weeks 4 of the 6 roses had died. It is now April and the remaining two have also died. I've treated those roses no different than the other I received. While those are flourishing, the ones I received from Michigan Bulb did not. I don't want to waste my time calling them to have them send a replacement. I'm honestly disappointed that the time I spent taking care of them was wasted.

i ordered about 100 dollars worth of plants i recieved all but 1 . when my plants arrived they where in good condition healthy and pest free have not planted yet due to weather so hopefully they will due well once in the ground if they flourish i will order from them again if not i will take my buisness elsewhere so i guess time will tell will write back in few weeks with how plants faired once they where planted

This is my second experience ordering from Michigan Bulb and I am dissappointed again. You'd think that I would have learned something from my first experience. I am tempted each year by their unique offerings, discounted prices and coupons (we all like a good deal). I pray that next year I come to my senses!!!

To be honest this year was better than last year as the packaging was much better and the plants were healthier. My chief complaint is that everything was so small. The azeleas plants were small twigs and it will be years before they mature. None of the small bushes/cuttings (miniture roses) that I purchase last year survived and I fear the same for the azeleas. Also the bulbs were smaller than the same bulbs purchased locally. It would be nice if the glossy catalogs showed actually items rather than what could happen in the distant future! If you want small, inferior plants and bulbs this would be the company I would highly recommend.

I ordered a lot of BOGO plants. I knew from ordering from other mail order companies that the plants would be small. I was e-mailed when the plants were shipped and they all arrived very well packaged and in good condition. I did lose three of my mini rose bushes and one Blue Fusion geranium. I called the company and talked to a very friendly and helpful customer service person and told them what had happened. They verified that I had ordered these plants and told me that I would shortly receive replacements for these plants. In less than two weeks I was e-mailed that they had been shipped. When I received them they were again well packaged and seemed to be even larger( the rose bushes.) Instead of sending only the one geranium, they sent a package of three like originally sent. All of the rest of my plants have lived and grown great. I have really had a very good experience with Michigan Bulb. I have recommended them to all of my friends for getting good plants at a good price.

I made 3 plant orders from different companies this year (Gurney's, Henry Fields, and Michigan Bulb). I was not expecting much from Michigan Bulb since they were the cheapest out of the three. Michigan Bulb really surprised me because they turned out to be the best value and had, by far, the best quality plants shipped. The live plants healthy and vigorous, they literally looked like I could have picked them up at the local nursery. The missouri primrose was huge. The bareroots were large and in good shape. I used the $20 off coupon and buy-one-get-one-free and for $34.68 plus S&H this is what I received:

2 CLARA CURTIS DAISY (LIVE)
2 MOONBEAM COREOPSIS (LIVE)
6 PICOTEE BEGONIA MIX (BAREROOT)
1 VICTORIA RHUBARB
2 MISSOURI EVENING PRIMROSE (LIVE)
2 WHITE CLIPS CAMPANULA (LIVE)
1 BAREROOT SHADE GARDEN INCLUDING:
1 Lady Fern
1 White Old-Fashioned Bleeding Heart
3 Mixed Delphiniums
1 Fernleaf Bleeding Hearts
4 Variegated Hosta
3 Mixed Astilbe

I am really impressed with the level of quality I have received from them, will definitely order from them again, but probably not Gurney's or Henry Fields.

I hesitated to order since I'd seen so many negative reviews, but took a chance with the coupon offer. I was very pleased with Michigan Bulb. They stated an email would be sent when my order was shipped - and it was - one week after I placed the order. The bulbs were large, bare root plants in good shape, and the plant (size as stated) budding with still moist soil.

If the plants don't make it through the year, I can only blame it on my own laziness, not through any fault of the supplier.

I have ordered twice from Michigan bulb and had mixed feelings. I ordered two rose bushes, one grew and one did not. I ordered a variety of bulbs. Some grew (glads) and some (most) did not. I can't complain too much, because I've been issued a refund for the plants that did not grow, but next time I'll try somewhere else to avoid the inconvenience.

I had the best experience with MB. We bought a house two years ago from a very avid gardner. Within a year most of her work had been killed by my black thumb. I decided to turn things around. I read books about gardening and decided to start with some perennials. I orded 6 Rose of Sharon shrubs, 4 hydrangeas, and 2 Pink Parasol Clematis from Michigan Bulb. I was expecting them to come in two weeks. I called when my shipment didn't come and was assurred my order was there and was being shipped according to my areas planting schedule. I was really glad they didn't ship it until the ground was ready for it. I wouldn't have known any better. They all came together, really REALLY well packaged. They were small but the catalog said they would be. I planted them immediately, watered, and nurtured them and in a week or two there was new growth and flowers grew on my Rose of Sharon and Clematis in the first year! I've called with gardening questions and have always been helped and given lots of good tips and advice. I am a dedicated lifelong customer and am looking forward to placing my next order.

I ordered several plants from Michigan Bulb in 2008. Early in the year, probably late spring or early summer, I ordered the dwarf citrus collection - orange, tangerine, lemon, and lime. They arrived promptly and were all lush and green right out of the box. The lemon even had sweetly-scented flowers on it. They are thriving now (January 2009) in a sunny window; the tangerine, lemon, and lime are getting really big. The orange is still really small, but I believe it is root-bound, and I believe this to be my fault due to my lack of experience gardening.

In the fall I ordered a number of flowers for next year's garden - grape hyacinth, tulips, pink daffodils, poppies, hollyhocks, lillies. It all arrived promptly and in the same shipment. I planted right away and after some unseasonably warm weather the grape hyacinth started to sprout. So, the bulbs were definitely viable! Hopefully they will survive until spring.

Spring shipment of plants did very well. Most were a replacement for a fall order that did not do well; probably not enough time for roots to develop before winter. No problems with their guarantee being met. Plants received in healthy condition and grew great! A few plants that were slow to grow were relocated to a different place in my yard where the soil texture and lighting were more likable to the plant; I called customer service to get this info and found them to be very helpful. I ordered hollyhocks, foxglove, a butterfly bush, asiatic lilies and lupines.

I placed an order on 08/04/08 for the "Endless Bloom Perennial Garden", which contained 54 plants. The original ship date started in September and kept being pushed back until mid-October, which is when I actually received the order.

The contents of my order were all there, and very carefully packaged. Each of the "potted" plants (Foxglove, Coral Bells, Mums, etc) were much larger and healthier than I expected. Most had a good 4-5" of green growth, and the Mums had tiny buds on them. I am expecting most of the "bareroot" plants (Daisies, Hollyhocks, etc) to survive the winter, as the majority of them had good root systems, although a couple might not make it, which is to be expected. Out of the 54 plants I received, I would say maybe 3 of them I am not sure if they were dead or alive on arrival. I'll have to wait until Spring to find out!

Overall, I am VERY pleased with this company, and as long as they honor their Lifetime Guarantee, I will continue to order from them for years to come. If you are new to "bareroot" plants, keep in mind they are supposed to look like dead sticks/root systems, as they are shipped in the DORMANT state -- At least give them a chance to grow before rating the company poorly.

I can relate to others who experienced the same issue with ultra-delayed delivery. I placed the following order on 08/16/08:

Items Not Shipped:
1 PINK FLAMINGO PLANT
Delivery Estimate: 10/26/08 - 11/09/08
1 CHINESE LANTERNS
Delivery Estimate: 11/15/08 - 11/09/08
1 INDIAN LILY
Delivery Estimate: 10/26/08 - 11/09/08
1 ORANGE CANDLEFLOWER
Delivery Estimate: 10/26/08 - 11/09/08
1 RUSSIAN SAGE
Delivery Estimate: 10/26/08 - 11/09/08
1 CHINESE LANTERNS
Delivery Estimate: 11/15/08 - 11/09/08
1 INDIAN LILY
Delivery Estimate: 10/26/08 - 11/09/08

The items have been postponed for shipment countless times. The first shipment date was early Sept. Now I am canceling my order because the cold weather will be in WI in 2 weeks and I wanted to plant all of my bulbs at the same time. I am especially worried about the quality of the order as mentioned in several previous comments. I am not willing to wait any longer. I guess you get what you pay for!

I placed an order with Michigan Bulb on 9/27/08 for :
LILY CHECKERED
FRITILLARIA DWARF PURPLE
FERNLEAF BLEEDING HEART
TULIP GREEN MYSTERY FAVORITE
ORANGE CANDLEFLOWER
SEDUM CREEPING RED
LILY TROUT
TULIP VARIEGATED FIRESPRAY
WINTER ACONITE
LILY LOLLIPOP
BLEEDING HEART COLLECTION

I ordered by phone because I wanted to make sure the things I was ordering were in stock. I was using some of them for a themed swap box. I was told that everything was in stock, and that they could put a rush on the order so I would receive them in time to ship my swap box out by the due date. By the end of the weekend, I noticed my order kept being pushed back further and further. I called and was told that everything would ship out within two days except the bleeding heart collection, which was on back order. I was fine with that, since the collection was for me and not part of my box. I received the order as promised and was very excited :) Then disappointed to find that the lollipop lily bulbs were NOT in the box. That was to be my "candy plant" for my swap partner. Called to notify them and the young woman was a little snarky, but said they would ship replacements out quickly. While we were on the phone, I noticed that the bare root fern leaf bleeding heart only had one in the package as opposed to the three it should have had, and that one was extremely dry and brittle. So that was added to my reship as well.

Hopefully I will receive the reship today or tomorrow. The Bleeding Heart collection keeps getting pushed back further and further.

All that said, aside from the fern leaf bleeding heart being very dry and brittle looking, everything else looked good. We'll see in the spring when I should see growth, so I'm reserving full judgment and leaving my rating as Neutral until I see what happens in the spring.

Really a shame that so many have had really bad problems with this company, I remember my Dad and I ordering from them when I was younger with no problems, and they usually added a bonus.