The scoop on 'The Lily Pad'

I first bought bulbs from them when visiting relatives in Olympia, Washington. I have since ordered numerous times and have always been impressed with their bulbs. They are also very friendly and will answer any questions quickly!

My order from the Lily Pad was fabulous. Enormous
bulbs. Couldn't be happier.

I ordered from The Lily Pad for the first time this spring; normally I order my lily bulbs from The Lily Garden (which is unsurpassed in service and quality, in my book!), but because I was having difficulty contacting them this year & was in a rush to place my order before traveling, I decided to give The Lily Pad a try. It was - for me, at least - a substantial order of ~$250.

They offer a good selection of lilies, including the Oriental Trumpet hybrids that have done so well for me in the past. Prices were rather high, compared to most mass-market suppliers, but my experience with ordering the more expensive bulbs from the grower (The Lily Garden, specifically) has given such supreme results that for me it is worth the cost. Because we were traveling and going to be away most of the spring planting season, I needed my bulbs to arrive within a very narrow window, and indicated this when I ordered. Unfortunately (for me), this part of my message was disregarded, and the bulbs arrived within a couple of days of placing my order. Incredibly fast, but extremely inconvenient & not what I had requested. This caused a big problem for me, but I sucked it up and managed to get all of them in the ground between trips. Many of them were sprouting in their bags on arrival, with the predictable results that the flowering tips broke off. Packing was not as careful as that from The Lily Garden.

As of now (mid August), my results are mixed, but overall I have to say that The Lily Pad's bulbs have not fared as well as those from The Lily Garden. Some didn't come up at all, while the growth of many others was spindly and anemic. The flowering tips of some were either nipped off by critters (OK, that's not their fault!) or never developed properly. Some of this may have been my own fault, due to the fact that we were not home to assure an even level of moisture during the spring & early summer.

My main complaints, though, are 2: the stems of many, especially the Trumpets, have been consistently puny & weak (those from The Lily Garden have always been like small tree trunks from the moment they emerged), and most of the Orientals & Oriental Trumpet hybrids have remained ridiculously short. I'm talking 4-6" stems here, with gorgeous flowers 6-8" across - ridiculous! So apart from being disproportionately short, this has screwed up my design scheme, because I plant lilies to emerge through lower-growing plants in order to hide their less-than-attractive stems and keep their root runs cool in the summer heat. A glorious 8"-diameter Casa Blance lily just shouldn't be blooming under a dwarf marigold - it just ain't right!

To be fair, I am gardening in a new location, and conditions may not be identical for comparison. I am, however, fairly experienced with growing lilies, and conditions here in my new garden seem even more favorable than those in my old one. The lilies (originally from The Lily Garden) that I moved from my former garden have continued to be spectacular, despite some misadventures with the lawnmower. I'm hoping that my problems with this year's crop from The Lily Pad are due to it being their first year in my gardens, and that next year they will really take off for me.

For now, I'm going to give The Lily Pad a Neutral rating, with the benefit of the doubt & hopes that next year my beloved pet lilies will have settled in; I'll update this when I see what happens. In the meantime, though, I'm going to stick with The Lily Garden for my future lily bulb purchases.

Nice place to do business with. Great Lilies

Last spring, I heard on QVC that Roberta's Unique Gardens was the only company in America that sells Sumatra lily bulbs. Therefore, I placed an order. Afterwards, curiosity got to me so I searched online for Sumatra bulbs. I found that THE LILY PAD also offered them for sale! So, I ordered bulbs from them too. I divided the flower bed in 1/2 and planted Roberta's bulbs on one side and LILY PAD bulbs on other. I was surprised to see the results! The Roberta's bulbs grew no more than 12" with a few leaves and NO flowers, while the LILYPAD bulbs grew up to 36" with numerous leaves and MASSIVE flowers. The results shocked me, since I paid a much higher price per bulb from Roberta's than LILY PAD. So far this spring, the LILY PAD bulbs are showing rapid growth, while the Roberta's bulbs have yet to grow a millimeter! Buyers beware of Roberta's products!! Trust LILY PAD instead!!

I'm very pleased with the Lily Pad. I ordered several types of lilies (Red Arabian, Landini, American Ingenuity, Robina, cernuum album, midnight trumpet strain, Red Dutch, etc.) and without exception the bulbs were large and perfectly healthy. I also ordered some daylilies, which I've been pleased with. Many of the varieties they offer are quite rare, and in many cases they only sell single fans. Of course, they let you know how many fans you'll receive in advance on their website. The daylilies I've ordered from the Lily Pad have done very well so far. Great products and great service!

The Lily Pads' bulbs arrived in perfect condition. And they were quite a nice value for the money. Along with the ususal suspects, The Lily Pad features the American series of Orienpets, which are absolutely striking. Also, ordering online was easy.

I received my order from the Lily Pad earlier this week and was a little dismayed to find that two of the bulbs had stems already growing that were broken off. I sent a note requesting replacement. They responded immediately that new bulbs would be sent out that same day. They arrivied today in good condition and the bulbs looked to be bigger in size than the ones originally sent. Very good customer service.

I ordered a variety of lily bulbs. The bulbs were good size and the service was excellent.

I ordered on Saturday, March 11 and received all my bulbs (I went slightly overboard!) today, March 15. All of the bulbs are large, fresh and individually labeled. The two extras were a nice surprise. I especially like the detailed planting instructions.

This is the first time I have purchased through mail order and I am extremely pleased.

Kimberly

March 2006 Daylilies received were small single fans.
Customer service is very good.

Excellent service and bulbs. Was very Happy with my order and the Quality and size of Bulbs.