Comments regarding Michigan Bulb

I emailed an order on 2/18/08, it was received in full today. I received updates from Michigan Bulb on shipment, and could track my shipment with UPS online. The order is mostly perennials, and they all were packed very well, are green and with good root systems. For the prices I paid, it is a very good deal. How I handle them now will have a lot to do with if they are going to survive. I would definitely order again, because of the different varieties available, the ease in ordering, the health of the plants received, and the sales and coupons I could use.

I put in a large order to MBC in January. I received the order in March. I unwrapped everything and put the potted plants in the bathtub to soak. I took pictures of everything. Yes, at first they are shockingly small plants but you have to keep in mind that dormant plants are not very attractive and sometimes look dead. My trumpet vines looked like dead brown sticks sticking out of a small container of wet dirt. I was very nervous about my bare root plants and bulbs because my yard was not ready to be planted in due to relandscaping. The bare root plants and bulbs ended up sitting in my closet for a week and 1/2. Well, after everything was planted in their appropriate spot the plants have been taking off. For example, despite my abuse to the bare root strawberries, after 1 1/2 weeks they started to develop buds. I wish I could put pictures up to show that MBC is completely reasonable when you keep their prices in mind. Don't expect an atractive plant when the description specifically say "bare root" or "bulbs."

I have used Michigan Bulb for several years now and overall I have been satisfied with the quality of the plants I have recieved. They were not my first mail order company, and they were definitly a step up from the other guys. They have honored their guarentee thus far, and have actually sent me extra plants. A lot of plants come in sets of three for x amount of money, and two thrive and one dies. In each case I have reported that two plants thrived and to please send one replacement, they have always resent three plants again! The only problem I have had is this past fall. (2007) I placed an order in late summer and they waited too late to ship it to me and our weather had already gotten bad. So far it doesnt look like any of the plants are coming up, (with the exception of some lily bulbs) however I am going to give a little more time for spring to sink in before I make a replacement request. If this experience is the same as I have had in the past, I do not forsee any problems. I hope I dont get "kicked out" like so many others have in the negative comments that I have read.

I received my shipment after approx. ten days. It is only a partial order. No word when the balance can be expected.
I was extremely disappointed with what I found in the box. It was filled with Styrofoam "peanuts" which is normally good packing material. Unfortunately the contents of two of the three packs of primroses and what I think is the remains of a hydrangea plant(s) was mixed in with the peanuts. These were so lifeless and dry that I could not easily identify which was which, The remaining plants and the potting medium in the clam shell still sealed packages were shaken out of the cups. The soil was in one end and the wilted plants in the opposite end of the clear container.
The blackberry "plants" and the grapes also look lifeless.
Compared to plants that can be purchased in the local nurseries at a lesser price this box of plants is a complete joke. No, I have not contacted them about the problem and I do not intend to waste my time doing so. Based on the size of plants and the method of shipping I would not take another item from them if the MIBULB.COM president pulled in my driveway and handed it to me. They beat me out of my money and I have learned a lesson about "Spectacular Offers" and mail order plant purchases. Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. They will not get the second chance.
jaas6uvk, Texas

Michigan Bulb was the first mail order experience I had... I ordered 10 Ligustrum shrubs for a privacy screening.... and two hydrangeas. That was a couple of years ago. The ligustrum were shipped, and as I tracked them via the website, it looked like the postal service got stuck with the package. When I contacted the company, a very nice representative told me to contact them again in x number of days if the package had still not arrived. So I did contact them when requested, the package still had not moved according to the tracking, so I was issued a full refund on the shrub part of the order.
As far as the hydrangea...they died. They were small plants anyway (which is expected with mail order companies) so I probably should have babied them a bit more in pots first before setting them in the ground.
I avoided ordering from any mail order company since then until recently, and have had some ok experiences with them.

I think I will try Michigan Bulb again this year, now that I know what to expect.

I received my order this morning from Michigan Bulb 4/3. The order was placed late evening on 3/25. I ordered the following: 6 Blue Moon Hydrangeas & 1 Deep Purple French Lilac.

All plants arrived packaged very well with information regarding planting and care.

The Hydrangeas are all about 3-6 inches and appear very green and healthy.

The lilac is semi-dormant about 6-8 inches with some new leafs sprouting on top.

So far I am extremely pleased with my order and for the price I paid. Considering the lifetime guarentee & the price I think I got a good deal. Again, so far so good :)

I got my plants a little early to plant but they came in good
shape and all show signs of life. I can't wait to plant them
we've had a long winter in mi. and it will be in the 50's this week. I'm happy with the plants I got for the price.

I have been ordering from Mich Bulb for a few years, altho I have one complaint of a wrong collored flowered hibiscus, my experience has been neutral/good. Last year I was at fault for waiting too long to plant my purchases, really didn't take care of them when they arrived. This year we have the spare bedroom set up as a greenhouse. All our plants are under grow lights, and everything from Mich bulb has already more than doubled in size in 2 weeks, really very impressive.
on the flip side
Last fall I planted several primrose & hellebores, I have 2 of 6 hellebores coming back, no Missouri primrose made it, and 3 of 12 English primrose coming back.

-They have sent me the wrong tulip bulbs before, and they were ugly and nothing like I had ordered.

-They replaced all of those tulip bulbs, but not all have come up.

-Fish emulsion seemed to work the best on my tulip bulbs in the fall. They are thriving this year... or at least what has come up is.

-Ordered "mixed" crocus and only their yellow ones have bloomed.
(which I will be writing them about after my tulips bloom)

-Their customer service people can really tick you off, but they are just following their company policy to protect their job. For those who complain about using the $20 coupon... read the terms and conditions found right on the coupon. It states that the ORDER must be of a certain value. Shipping is not part of an order....

-But overall, they have always replaced bad bulbs for me... I just don't know if they replaced them with the right ones yet. *sigh*

-Sometimes it seems like it takes forever to receive an order. This is because they only ship them at the appropriate time for planting in your zone. If I order tulips in January, I won't receive them till fall because that's when it's best for bulbs to be planted where I live.

-I would not recommend this company to someone who wants to just throw some plants in the ground and walk away. Their plants love lots of fertilization after planting and throughout the first year.

-However, if they hadn't replaced the incorrect order of over 100 bulbs that they had sent, this would be a negative, not neutral.

I think Michigan Bulb is for 2nd or 3rd year gardeners who can baby very small plants and ensure they make it though the first year. If you are a seasoned gardener and have the time, I think it is a great place to get inexpensive plants.

I find the plants come dormant but well packaged. I always give them a good soaking and I plant them in a bed rich in organic material and compost. They always make it.

Years ago, I just stuck them in the ground and they were slow to grow and 50/50 on long-term survival.

The few times I have called they were always prompt and polite.

One last thing, I would not pay retail. They always have coupons just look for them.

John...

For the last five years, I have always ordered from Michigan Bulb. I usually take advantage of the many money saving offers (buy 1 get 1 free, etc.). I have never had a bad experience with this company. I have always received perfect bulbs and starter plants, which continue to bloom and multiply year after year.

My mother has always ordered from Michigan Bulb Co and so when I decided to create a couple of flower gardens in my own yard, she suggested I start with them. I was so excited as I picked the plants I wanted to order and couldn't wait to start planting. Then I came upon this website and after reading so many negative comments about the company I was terrified. I was scared to think about what condition my plants would arrive in. I was kept awake wondering if my order would even arrive correctly. To my great relief I received my order and everything was in perfect planting condition. There were no missing or damaged plants. They were all healthy. The company even included some bonus plants ( I'm not sure if that was by mistake or not but I was grateful). I think that people are so quick to compain when something is wrong but not enough people take the time to make a compliment when all goes well. Perhaps that is why the number of negative comments about the company exceed the positive ones. So I just wanted to add to the positive. I will continue ordering from Michigan Bulb Co as has my mother since I was child. Thank you Michigan Bulb Co for giving me a great start on my flower garden.

I have ordered from Michigan Bulb many times so far I have only had to call to for replacements on 4 plants and they were helpful and courteous. I like their replacment policy since I am new at gardening and effective at killing plants. The replacements don't cost me anything for shipping and I don't have to worry about losing a reciept a year later and not being able to get a replacement from the local box store.

A few downfalls, they make sure there is $ in your account when you order the plants but don't actually charge it until they ship. Also, when Im looking for very specific fruit and vegetable plants for the short seasons in the northeast they dont usually carry it or have it by its scientific name.

I always use the coupons and its a good deal, I can usually find something I like or need.

OMG! I am so nervous now... I placed an order with MB about 3 weeks ago and is due to ship mid Feb to the end of Feb. As I live in Fla. you would think that there are so many things to choose from for the garden. Well, I have in the front of my home the main garden area in complete shade. I spent 2 months researching a evergreen shrub that can handle that. And as there are so scarce available low growing evergreens that can handle complete shade, I was happy when I came accross the pachysandra and thought I got it! Well after reading all the info on the negative experiences fellow gardeners have had with MB, I am afraid of what I receive. I have been desperate to find the right plants to put in, as it is the front of my home and live in a very nice community where everyone has their manicured landscapes and I have been having such a hard time with this area, I have changed this bed around 3 times in the past 10 years and I have just about given up and if you knew me that is normally never in my vocabulary as far as gardening goes. So I truely hope that MB doesn't disappoint me as I have read from so many other DG members here. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

After my wife and I bought our first house, we were eager to get some landscaping in. Michigan Bulb had come highly recommended by both my mother and my grandmother, both of whom had used MB regularly in the past.

We quickly sent for an MB catalog, and received it surprisingly fast. We placed our first order for some "Wall of China" hedges, and also some Rose of Sharon trees. The order process was very simple, and our order arrived very quickly. We were surprised to even find that they'd sent a few extra plants just in case there had been some loss during shipping. (Not to mention they were crazy inexpensive!)

We planted our new arrivals and they took to the soil beautifully. They thrived until our move into our second house two years later.

Having moved during the winter months, we were excited to get planning for the new landscape, but we had to change our address for the MB catalog to arrive. Unfortunately, I hadn't unpacked the OLD catalog to get my account number, so I was afraid I couldn't change it. To my surprise, the folks at MB were able to change my account with just a quick email to the Customer Service department. The whole thing took ten minutes.

I HIGHLY recommend Michigan Bulb Company, and will continue to order from them again and again.

I had the near exact same experience as dagored. The plants they sent me were all fine and well except in the passed 2 years. Half of the plants in each order looked dead but had roots. So I didn't think much about it since they say they send them when the plants are hibernating.Then last summer it was one bad filled order after another. Even if they were replacements. My account had a lot of mistakes. Asked them questions about it then suddenly they said they had a meeting and were closing my account. I wouldn't do business with them again.

I placed an order with MB before I learned about this website. After reading the bad reviews, I had second thoughts and wished to cancel my order. I sent them an email stating that I'd like to cancel, which is what their website says to do. I got an automated reply saying someone would respond within 48 hours. No response. I sent another one, and still have gotten NO response. Absolutely ridiculous. I am having my husband call and deal with them tomorrow.

Wow, I didn't know so many had the same experience with Mich bulb.. Mine was many-many years ago, they had such an advertising biz I was suckered in. I remember thinking they were more of a sweepstakes co. than a plant co. Thanks for all the feed back. I remember our plants came sick and many dead. But the come on's were a New York ad agency's dream...

I am very pleased with Michigan Bulb. I ordered blue hydrangeas in the fall of 2007. They were shipped when promised and arrived in good shape. The plants were a little bit smaller than expected, but they are doing great. They have new growth all over them. I would not hesitate buying from them again.

I'm not quite sure what can be expected when prices are so cheap. I ordered an hydrangea years ago and it did ok but needed protection in Z-5. I don't order plants I can start by seed, ex. hollyhocks, foxgloves. These are easy to start from seed. As for bulbs, you can't expect top quality for the cheap prices this company sells for. If you must order, order as early in the season as possible, this goes for any company. You have to use wisdom. Finally if more people go to the BBB or the Atty Gen. in their state this may help.

I have been ordering from Michigan Bulb for five years now and have spent hundreds of dollars. Early on, I had very few problems with their plants. The last couple of years I have had to contact them about many replacements because of the poor arrival condition, which they usually complied with in either replacements, replacement certificates or refunds. During the fall (07) sale season I had a couple orders in with them but they didn't arrive. When I e-mailed the company about where my orders were, they e-mailed back that they were closing my account. They said that they had many satisfied customers but they apparently couldn't satisfy me. I had sent in several replacement certificates for these orders, which I lost out on. I have many more plants that need replacing which they will not honor, plus the certificates I still have that I can not use. I don't know what happened that their quality of product went downhill, they used to have nice plants, small, but they lived and grew. I would love to have the company respond to this, I never heard of a mail order company black-balling a customer.

I know that Michigan Bulb has not always enjoyed the best reputation, but I could not resist ordering some pink lavender plants and daylilies from them last spring.

And I was very pleasantly suprised at the quality of the plants and the packing when they arrived just in time for planting. Everything grew nicely last summer with the exception of 1 daylily (it can happen to the best of plants).

Early in my gardening years, I placed a couple of orders with Michigan Bulb. This would have been in the early 1990's. Michigan Bulb was one of the first catalogs I received, and not knowing any better, I sent my money and got my bulbs and plants. Many of them did grow, but many of them were dead on arrival. Most of what did grow was not true to variety. I didn't bother with refunds or replacements, because just about any plant material was good plant material at that point in my new and very large garden. It wasn't until my second or third year gardening that I realized how poor Michigan Bulb's products were, because by then I'd found other suppliers and seen what good products look like.

Michigan Bulb and their partner companies are crooks that don't honor their " lifetime guarantee". They send half dead twigs and then act indignant when you ask for a replacement or refund. I think they believe that most people won't follow through and ask for replacements when they get junk plants. I should have known they where bad news when the professional gardeners I told I was going to a 1000sq ft garden using Michigan Bulb plant laughed hysterically. Live and learn . I will never to business with them or their other Companies, Breck's and Spring Hill, and I advise anyone who doesn't want to waste their time and money not to use them either.
I'll never be able to get all the growing time I wasted trying to cultivate their half dead sprigs.

Call it strange, but I had a great experience with Michigan Bulb in 2007. I ordered a large variety of spring planting bulbs from them, and also fall bulbs. One item was substituted for another, but I liked the substitution even more than what I originally ordered! I have not had any problems with Michigan Bulb!

I just tried calling Michigan Bulb, but both the phone order and customer service numbers are apparently disconnected. Does anyone know what's going on?

I have to say I'm afraid to see what gets delivered? OMG Because I ordered about 2 weeks ago before reading the scary reviews! Does anyone know the time frame for shipping?

Lured by the coupon savings, I've placed a couple of orders from Michigan Bulb. I understand the concept of "bare root" plants, but some of the "bare root" plants looked like pieces of frayed twine, with no indication of which end should be pointed toward the sky. For just a few dollars more, you can order from another company and receive a plant with leaves and everything.

I have placed several orders with MB because of the coupon savings and am not thrilled with the plants or customer service. I just got off the phone with "customer service" to change somethings on a recent order because I found out that some of the stuff I ordered really wont do well where I live. These companies should adopt the Heat Zones map as put out by AHS. Well anyway. The person on the other end tells me that my product order has to be $50 without the shipping to use the coupon but according to previous orders and the confirmations that I am currently looking at clearly shows the $20.00 taken off when the products only totalled 4$42 and the shipping $7. I actually had 2 orders with them for fall shipping and they both had coupons that were counted before the product total hit $50. She told me this is not so while I was looking at the confirmations. I told her to cancel the orders and send me email confirmation that they had been cancelled and she told me that she could not confirm that the orders will be cancelled. What does that mean? I thought customer service meant "customer service". I sent 2 emails to them to cancel so I could have proof that I asked them to cancel well before shipping and attached the confirmations to show that what she said was not true. Needless to say I will not be ordering from them again. I can get this kind of grief for free.

Last year I decided to get into gardening and I went to Michigan Bulb because my husband got a $20 off of $40 or more. Here is what I purchased 3 Purple Stella Daylily, 24 Grape Hyacinth, 5 Quail Daffodils, 12 Anemone Windflowers, Rainbow Tulip Collection - 40 bulbs, and Red Storm Border Lilies 7 bulbs.

Out of that, I got not one bit of growth out of the daylilies or the lilies. My Tulips grew but were stunted there stems were too short and the leaves were misshapen. I saw a few grape hyacinths no quails, and maybe 1 or 2 of the Anemone.

This year I decided I'm going to get bulbs from three different places to see which grow the best and whom is the best to order from (Michigan Bulb, DirectGardening.com, and Home Depot. I also contacted Michigan Bulb about last years order and they replaced three of the things immediately, but could not replace the anemone, the quail daffodils, and there is no word on the grape hyacinths. Either way after this season I will know for sure if it was my fault (poor drainage, insects, or something). But the garden has been here longer than me and my husband says it was here before him and for the past 9 years everything was blooming perfectly (except for the hybrid tea roses). So, for now neutral but time will tell.

My Grandma and I split an order from Michigan Bulb and we both had negative experiences. Her and I both have a reputation for being a green thumb - however this nursery has wasted our time and money. My original order - I ordered 8 blueberry plants - I got only 7 and one of them was a black dead labeled stem/stick with no root. (I still planted the other 6 - of which only 3 have survived) I let them know and they were professional and issued a credit certificate. I reordered different items (a rose of sharon and 9 young perennials and guess what.. only 3 little perennials have survived even with my excellent care and wonderful soils. I don't even want to waste the time to call and reorder and replant thier junk again.

Everything I've ordered from them has died. NOTHING has lived. I have a green thumb and a lot of the things I ordered are pretty easy to grow. All were seasonal, well cared for, and basically, there was no reason why they shouldn't have lived. I won't order from them again. I'll spend my $45 somewhere better.

A GIANT WASTE OF MONEY! Ordered the climbing rose bush collection. 3 of five arrived moldy. I've contacted them, written them, no response what so ever. Of the two tiny bushes that weren't moldy, only one has grown a tiny bit. The other never sprouted a single leaf.

It isn't worth the cost to ship the dead bushes back to them for replacement. I believe this is what they count on. So by using the "savings" they offer, I ended up paying WAY more for one tiny bush that hasn't reached the bottom of the trellis. So much for a flower covered arbor.

I ordered from MB and recieved my items early spring. I planted everything right away, and kept them watered. I was very unhappy to see that my so called hardy carnations were not the kind in the picture. They were very tiny tiny flowers instead, two of the three lived. The yarrow that I ordered was supposed to be multicolored and it was all white, only one out of three lived. I ordered pinksundrops which did good but looked nothing like the picture. Then I found out they were very invasive, there website said nothing about that so now I am getting rid of them. My daylilies have not bloomed yet but when they do I really hope thay are purple like they are supposed to be. The butterfly bush I ordered is supposed to be tricolored and so far it's only purple, keeping my fingers crossed. Overall I was very unhappy with MB.

I have to agree with the vast majority here. Michigan Bulb isn't a very good company to order from. I've ordered from them from time to time, usually only if they offer a really good coupon with at least 50% off... because you can figure that at least half of what they send will not survive. My two most memorable experiences were the Dancing Dolphin vine (which was only about an inch tall to begin with, arrived broken off at the ground, never grew, and finally died) and the Madonna lily bulbs (which put out leaves but then promptly withered and died). I wrote to them about the Dancing Dolphin vine, and they sent a replacement without argument, but the replacement arrived in *exactly* the same condition as the original and survived even less time. I'm afraid that this really is a case of getting what you pay for. Their prices are unbelievably tempting, but their plants are unbelievably cheap and bad.

RUN!!! RUN FAR AWAY!! BEWARE!!! I have ordered twice this year (BIG MISTAKE!) from Michigan Bulb and both times have asked for my money back-the first time I ordered the plants came all black-they sent me replacements-they came half dead again but this time no packing material was in the box so they may have arrived alive had that happened. Second order (placed a day or two after I placed the first one-had I waited I would have not ordered from them again) the ranunculus bulbs came moldy and black. After calling (ON MY DIME since this company has no 800 number) twice and on hold for about 10 min each time I requested a refund. I'll post again if I don't get my refund soon. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!!!

Sort of disappointed my Jacob's ladder all had root rot and died it was a buy 3 get three free, and they all sort of stunk, the company said they would replace them when it got closer to the fall planting season, but we will see, I will update my listing depending upon if they pull through. I did recieve three lupine which look like they are ok

Stay AWAY from Michigan Bulb! I ordered 40 hedges from them in April. 6 of them looked like strips off a twig and 4 just had no buds on them, all were 6 in tall at best. I called to express my concern that 10 out of the 40 (not a horrible ratio) were just not growing. I explained it has been 2 months and felt I had given it enough time and at this point they just were not going to grow. I also told the rep I would like to place another order for 40 more. The rep said no problem, we will send you the 10 replacement hedges next year. So now when my original order is 3 ft tall (what they told me yearly growth rate is) I am supposed to put in these replacements that are 6 in?? When I said forget it I will just go buy some elsewhere the rep kindly said “okay thanks” and hung up.

I got snagged by the great coupon offer too. The plants come 1/2 rotten. And make sure you know that 'bareroot' means no flowers for almost 2 years! And that 'potted' refers to a plant about 2 inches tall that probably won't flower for a year. I would bet about 50% of my orders have survived. They do have a garuntee policy so make sure you keep your paper work and SEND THEM BACK!