Comments regarding Michigan Bulb

I too ordered quite a bit from Michigan Bulb, spend a lot of time preparing the soil and planting all the bulbs and plants I received.95% of what I ordered was replaced with something completely different. I also purchased two rose trees and nothing! I am completely dissatisfied. I call to have my money returned, but can you honestly tell me how many people keep their receipts for plants? I know they can look this information up and return all my money to me, but their response is the "computer" is acting up and will only give the last order. I really enjoy planting and I won't mind ordering and working in my garden, but send me what I ordered and paid for. Send me quality plants, not dead on arrival and dried out bulbs.

Well, they say there is strength in numbers, however, I doubt we will be enough. I to ordered a large package of assorted bulbs and plants from MBC. As of now only approximately % of the products have produced. Some of the rose bushes I ordered were of greater costs, but they have fared no better. I am glad a few have had better success than I, but I feel they are in the minority.

I recently ordered a perennial garden, butterfly bush and mosquito plant from MB. Luckily I didn't spend a lot of money because half of my order died. I will say one good thing about the company, when I called to replace my dead plants the person I talked to was very nice and sent my replacements quickly. However when half of my replacements died and a few of my original order failed to come up 2 months after planting I called again. I think the first thing consumers should note is that not only is there no phone number listed anywhere, but what kind of company doesn't have a (toll-free) number for their customer service? When I finally got through and waited on hold for 10 minutes I began to explain my troubles to an operator and was practically accused of lying or deliberately killing my plants. She was extremely rude and made me feel as if I was the bad guy. After 5 more minutes she said "So basically what your telling me is most of your order didn't make it?" I thought about it and yes, half of everything I ordered either died or did not come up. Call - don't write - and demand replacement plants even if you have to call 100 times! And don't order from them again.

I ordered a lot of plants from Michigan Bulb in which that only the tulips bloomed. Total there were a list 200 and there is no way after hours of planting I am digging them up to return. I will never order anything again.

I too ordered from Michigan Bulb, prior to seeing comments online about the way they do business. My order was just over $45.00, and I was really excited about receiving plants. First plant was dead on arrival; had I known I would get some twig, I would have pruned off friends plant, which I wound up doing. Some seeds came up but most did not, Hostas did great, but still missing one. I called them and heard about their customer service online address. Had me looking everywhere to no avail. I would just like some plain customer service, does that exist, want to talk to human if possible not recorder. Until I see change, must take my business elsewhere. Quality of product still counts.

I have ordered from Michigan Bulb before and have never had any problems with the plants, or bulbs. I will order from them again.

I placed a large order with MB, and I did have to wait awhile to get them but I understand they ship them at the best planting time for your area. That way they can better stand behind their guarantee. I (finally) got everything I ordered. When they got here I was a little shocked to see they looked like twigs. But I planted them in April and it is now June 1st.Only 35 of the privet hedges haven't done anything. But only 21 {half} of the trees have seemed to make it. Because I found this site, with the customer service addresses I now have hope of getting the dead ones replaced.I'm probably in for a big fight but I have high hopes. I just want them replaced. [update] After reading these experiences yesterday, I took advantage of the e-mail address in one of the above letters, and told my story and asked for replacements for this planting season. I left my phone # and address and first thing this morning I got a phone call from customer service telling me they would be happy to replace them. I plan to buy a lot more tree and hedges from MBC in the future and encourage everyone else to.[second update]Well it is now 5 days after I first wrote. I have received in the mail my replacement certificates. They couldn't send the trees for this growing season but they did send certificates for not only my lost plants, but for all of them. So just keep trying. And I highly recommend MB to everyone!

I, too wish I had found this site before ordering from Michigan Bulb. I've been waiting for my order to be delivered for quite awhile now. I live in Alaska and planting season has started long ago. I received 3 twigs so far that won't even live in this area after the summer. I'm really interested in receiving my vegetables. I will never buy from them again. I'll go to the local nursery next time! From reading other customer complaints I understand I'll probably get a credit instead of a refund; I don't want credit.

I sent of for $69 worth of merchandise from the Michigan Bulb and I am very dissatisfied with what I received. I got plants that I didn't order. When I order something, that is what I want; not a replacement of a plant that I ordered. This year only 10 of my 90 bulbs have come back as they were supposed to. My flowerbed looks sick. I've been looking for a phone number to get these other plants replaced since they are supposed to be guaranteed.

This year I have received over 1,000 Michigan Bulb. True to form, it was NOT what I had ordered. I have sent Michigan Bulb somewhere around $1000.00 dollars for plants. From that time till now, I received NO less than 7 boxes, bags per day! The plant stock is more than "inferior" stock. Now I am receiving planting stock to replace my entire order from last year, PLUS the planting stock mentioned above. At my expense, I called Michigan Bulb to speak to a customer service representative, who proceeded to keep me on the phone for over 45 minutes, just to tell me they were not even charging me for any of the stock I am receiving. Even though I had attempted to explain that I was looking at FIVE Credit Card Statements where Michigan Bulb had charged me, and that I wanted a FULL refund per their "Lifetime Guarantee." I received a letter two days later stating this was what Michigan Bulbowed me. The check was for $7.84. I discovered that MB had sent me 45 Black-Eyed Susans, when I only ordered 3 plants. Back to the phones I went. Three minutes the girl I spoke with stated, that she was arranging for a full reverse credit for everything. Then I received a letter 2 days later, the refunds on this message were for $64.60, and $13.98, which was WELL under the $400.00 dollars I have thus far spent with MB. I have just received 4 new mailings from MB in my mail and will more than likely trash them.

During the Fall and Winter or 1998 I ordered over $250 in bulbs and plants. So far less than 20% have shown signs of life. I returned two Bonsai plants that arrived completely dried up and have not yet heard a thing. I have never dealt with such a non- responsive company and have told everyone I can about the lack of Quality and Service I have experienced. I only wish now I could shut off the JUNK mail I am getting every week from this outfit.

For the last three weeks I have received nasty letters telling me that my credit would be destroyed. They tell me that they sent a package to my door but I have never seen it in front of me. I will not pay for something that I have not received. I have tried to call MBC and have either gotten a busy signal or the recording that are not in the office. From now on I am just throwing every letter from MBC in the garbage and if you ask me that is where this company belongs. Please, if you have not dealt with this company DON'T

Thank heavens I only spent $66.00 to find out what a fool I've been, guess I'll just wait, too much aggravation to pursue it further. Wish I had done the research first before ordering, thanks for this site, at least I know not to wait for the order and fume every day, I'll be going to my local nurseries.

I placed an order from their catalog and ironically my order got there and the money didn't, they sent me my order back asking me to pay when I placed my order. The very day before I got this letter I read this page and I was so very sorry for myself who as a novice gardener didn't know anything about this company and their lack of professionalism. The worst part of it all is that I was counting on these plants for my garden and now I don't have them; I have to buy somewhere else what I ordered from them! And spend more money that doesn't come from trees as you well know and fight with the with the people I bought the money order from because my money has taken too long for it to come back.

I too have ordered plants from MBC & they did not grow. I wrote & called with no results. They didn't replace my order or even reply to my correspondence. I have tried this two years in a row.

I ordered rose bush from Michigan Bulb Company but only thing I got is dead twigs!

Only because of the sweepstakes have I purchased anything from the above company. Their literature is totally deceptive - beautiful color and dead products. I suppose that at some point the plant material was alive, but the shipping and handling is so much worse than other mail order companies, one can only conclude that Michigan Bulb business is based on the hopes of those of us who look to the sweepstakes.

I was initially quite pleased with my first order. It consisted of 160+ bulbs which I ordered sometime in August. I paid with a credit card, which was not applied to my account until October, when I received my bulbs. I planted in November and was pleased when they started popping up when Feb warmed up. Since the initial growth, we had at least 8 - 10 inches of snow, and I kept my small plants carefully covered. Of the 160+ bulbs, I believe at least 75% have come up and some have thus far produced beautiful blooms. I also ordered Crimson Rose Hedge plants that don't seem to fare as well, as well as some tomato, pepper, and onion plants which I just planted last week. I also received more bulbs with those orders, which I just planted 1 1/2 weeks ago - some of which are already coming up. The rose bushes, though are about 50%. One lilac bush ordered is doing quite well. (I am just about to check on replacements for the rose bushes…)

I only wish that I had found this web site before ordering from MBC! My initial order for $99.60 has almost been filled, except for the "fall" bulbs. I can say that most of these plants have started growing fine, but the 6 week lead-time between ordering, and all the "partial shipments" has been frustrating. My fiancée and I each have an order pending for the past 4 weeks, and I'm going to e-mail them to see if I can get any satisfaction on an on-time shipment for the $120 (combined) order outstanding. If MBC really wants to get into an improvement mode, perhaps faster shipping times might bring more "live" plants to their customers.

They offered to refund my money for the bushes I never received and they have no record of my order even though my check was cashed.

I have been ordering from Michigan Bulb for over five years. I've been very fortunate in that all the plants received have grown very well. Many of the plants left me doubtful upon their delivery but they are looking beautiful. The only real problem I have is I can't always remember where I plant the "freebies" they send. I've been satisfied and will continue to order from them year-to-year unless the circumstance should change.

Michigan Bulb just sent me 20 free hedges that failed to grow when I planted them 4 years ago. I sent them an e-mail and told them the problem. I wasn't sure how many hedges I originally ordered so I told them they would have to check their records. They did and in about four weeks, I received my replacement order, plus a few bulbs for good measure. They stood by their guarantee.

I have ordered several items from Michigan Bulb. I have been very pleased with everything. I did have 2 rose bushes to die after the first year. I sent Michigan Bulb a note, they immediately replaced them no questions asked. I am very happy with this company.

I received an order from them and one of the items, Carpet Bugle, was a mess so I contacted them by email requesting a refund. When I wrote, I didn't have my invoice number or any other information regarding the order, but they responded to me by the next day and I had a refund check in my hand within a week.

Most of the plants that I ordered are either dead or not flourishing. Any company who is serious about customer satisfaction and staying n business will provide customer relations and will include phone numbers and other pertinent information to insure customer satisfaction. MBC provides nothing.

I ordered over $70.00 worth of plants from the above and have received about half of my order and half of it was molded and dead. I will NEVER order from Michigan Bulb Co again. I have written to them stating that all of my order has not arrived and which plants were molded and dead but have heard NOTHING from them.

I sent my check for the Snowball Bushes and never received anything. I waited so long I can't even remember if they cashed my check or not. I sent them a letter about not receiving my order the next time they sent a flyer here and they did not respond to that letter either. I plan to send this most recent flyer back to them in pieces. We should have all head our heads examined for believing we would actually get these items, in those conditions, for those prices!

I ordered several items all of which arrived dead. I immediately started receiving the sweepstakes mailings. They were arriving about three times a week in various forms and colors. I sent them a letter stating I am saving all their sweepstakes packages and I will send them to the Postmaster General with a complaint. If they do not remove my name from their mailing list and reverse the charges for my purchase, I would take action. The next week I got a personal call from MBC and they did everything I requested.

I also wish I had read this web site before placing my order. I am novice gardener, but I have read a tremendous of information, gardening books and more. I planted in the fall a number of items from MBC. I simply ordered 50 tulip bulbs, of which only half have bloomed. I also received a bunch of free stuff, which does not appear to be growing at all. The bare root plants I also ordered arrived looking pretty dead. I am not impressed with Michigan Bulbs at all.

I ordered from them last March, a "perennial garden", 24 phlox, and 3 butterfly bushes (about $40, +freebies!) My perennial garden &freebies came in about 5 different shipments, but no sign of my butterfly bushes. I planted the perennials. I called repeatedly about my butterfly bushes, and were told they were onbackorder due to "low quality received - plants not acceptable". I finally got them in June, which in North Carolina is pretty hot. They still looked pretty low quality to me, and none survived beyond a week of planting! Of course, none of the freebies grew AT ALL! I cringe to think how much time I wasted planting bulbs and perennials last year, and all I have to show for them this year is one shasta daisy and one carnation. I did get in touch with MBC, who sent me a "merchandise credit" for about $25 - meaning I would have to order more of their low quality plants to get my money's worth. NO THANK YOU!

My husband and I have had a very bad experience with this company. My husband drove me crazy with all the contest entries he piled up. In most of them they promised he had won any where from $250-$5000, and if he responded on time he was guaranteed to win, unless there was an over-printing of winners. We discovered they overprint EVERY TIME. We also spent several hundred dollars on plants that died. Now we get threatening letters from their Flower of the Month Club for orders we have told them are dead and to credit us and they won't.

Back in February 1998, I received a mailing from the Michigan Bulb Company informing me that I was a guaranteed winner of $250.00 (I had the right color mailing label). I double-checked everything, mailed in the requested paper-work and never received my prize or a response to numerous inquiries.I posted my story on the web and recently received the following e-mail from the Michigan Bulb Company: "Dear Valued Customer: Thank you for taking the time to share your unfavorable experience with Michigan Bulb Company. We apologize for the inconvenience this caused you. Please let us know how we can resolve the problem by replying to me at: or by calling Jeff Lee at: If you would like us to call you, please include your phone number and your full address with your e-mail. At Michigan Bulb Company we value you as a customer and are committed to customer satisfaction. We look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you and have a great day! Timothy Deloy, Michigan Bulb Company, Customer Relations Specialist" I replied by telling Mr. Deloy that he could resolve my problem by paying me my, promised, prize money. That was two months and I have yet to receive a response.

For the money I spent I could had got very nice big tree I will never order again.

Three years ago, I ordered a climbing yellow rose bush from Michigan Bulb. This is the first year it has actually bloomed, not with roses either. They are tiny white flowers, about 1/2 inch big or smaller; I am very disappointed. I also planted 118 bulbs from them last year and only a handful of gladiolas came up, but never did bloom. I am very glad I found your site as now I have a email address to write them and a phone #. I will never make the mistake of ordering from them again.

I have actually won $250 from Mich Bulb Co. I have ordered many time and most things were dead. But I called them and did get replacements. I had good luck with the Red Maple. I ordered Hybrid Poplars that were sticks and dead. I can't sing their praises in terms of their plants. But you can enter without purchase and win - I did.

My father ordered 14 rose bushes from them and all but 3 thrived and that has been 2-3 years ago. It PLAINLY states that plants are shipped in DORMANT state…I can't say I agree with the customer service, but then again I have never dealt with them myself, so I don't think it's fair to comment on that.

I have to say how disappointed I am to see all this about MBC. I just purchased $30 worth. This are very few good comments about this place, but one thing I have to comment on is, everyone HAS to realize that when you receive plants from mail, especially far away, they are going to be looking pretty bad (however I have not received mine yet.)

Several years ago I ordered from MBC and received some roses and a few other plants. The roses did beautifully and I had no trouble with them. However several of the plants arrived in such poor condition that they died shortly after planting. With MBC's great advertisement about returning the purchase price of dead plants, I sent them the letter for a refund. What I got back was a letter stating that even though I had not responded in a timely manner, they would be good enough to send me the refund.I took this as an insult since I had returned them almost immediately. So I wrote them a letter stating that I HAD returned them in time and should not have received the response I did.Stupid me. It didn't matter WHEN you sent for a refund, you always get the same response!I hate being made to feel guilty about something, and this was one of those! So it was good finding this site. I just got the sweepstakes thing in the mail and almost ordered. I'm a slow learner.

I only ordered some lilies of the valley from these people, but still have held off doing the rest of planting after they have arrived. So far, my check has cleared the bank, and I've gotten junk mail from them, but no plants at all, and no word on when they will arrive.