The scoop on 'Michigan Bulb'

Company Profile   Michigan Bulb Mailing Address: P.O. Box 4180 Lawrenceburg, Indiana 47025-4180 (United States) Phone: 513-354-1498 Fax: 513-354-1499 » E-Mail them » Visit their website Recent reviews: Past month Past 6 Months Past 12 Months Positive 5 18 23 Neutral 3 6 10 Negative 5 15 19 This company is affiliated with Gardens Alive! This company specializes in: Bulbs: Spring-blooming Plants: Perennial Flowers Other helpful information: Member of Mailorder Gardening Association

Feedback History and Summary   264 positives 142 neutrals 490 negatives

Comments:

Rating Author Content Neutral Lilithanne (1 review) On June 18, 2009, Lilithanne Pittsburgh, PA wrote: 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. Company representative comment on June 19, 2009: 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. Neutral alphiemom (1 review) On June 17, 2009, alphiemom Levant, ME wrote: 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. Negative wardawg3916 (1 review) On June 15, 2009, wardawg3916 Picayune, MS wrote: 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 Company representative comment on June 19, 2009: 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. Positive openspaces (3 reviews) On June 15, 2009, openspaces New Ringgold, PA wrote: 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. Negative sakimotokitty (1 review) On June 14, 2009, sakimotokitty Matthews, NC wrote: 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. Company representative comment on June 19, 2009: 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. Positive riv (2 reviews) On June 12, 2009, riv Pine Grove, CA wrote: My rating is positive, but I have one gripe: MB's shipping is awful. First, they use UPS. I have had nothing but problems with UPS and I really hate them. Yes, I hate them. I've had so many things delivered to the wrong address, never to be seen again, which leads to many hassles with companies you buy from and trying to get things replaced. UPS will do NOTHING to help, simply repeating, "The package was delivered on such-and-such a date and time," when you tell them you did not receive your package. When I got my shipment email, all it said was that my plants had been shipped. I had to log on to my account to find out *how* they'd been shipped. It said by UPS. OK...whatever. I would like to see MB put your method of shipment AND any tracking numbers in the emails they send out, but that really isn't a big deal. It would just be nice. I start tracking my package a couple days later. I notice that there is no estimated delivery date on the UPS page, like there usually is. I wonder about this. The email I got from MB said "estimated" delivery would be 06/08. On 06/10, I actually get an email from UPS saying at 11:09, my plants were delivered; however, the UPS tracking page says that my plants have left their facility in transit to final destination at 11:09. Hmmm... I wait all day and no UPS truck shows up. I'm starting to freak out now, having had so much trouble with UPS in the past. I email MB and get no response. This is pretty messed up, imho. To this day, I have gotten nothing from them, and I have sent another email since then. The next day, 06/11, our mailman puts a box on our porch. When I look at the address, it actually has the address of our PO as the delivery address! At the bottom, there is a note to deliver it to my house! WHAT? Why is that? What a waste of time! I live in a semi-rural area, but not that rural, and while UPS comes up the street every single day, the mail service does not come up our road as it's not a county-owned road. I have a mailbox down on the corner which is very small, with two larger boxes for when someone in the area gets a package. Normally, the PO leaves a little note in your mailbox and you have to go in to town to pick up the package. Lucky for my plants, the mailman actually delivered my package. OK, I know this is not a review of MB...yet, although it kinda is...but of UPS, whom I hate. So, that is my complaint. I wish they'd use FedEx or just the USPS. Now, as for the plants I received: They were excellent, except for the three William Guinness columbine, but I think they may bounce back. I ordered a Blue Girl rose and it is HUGE, with a really nice root system and large canes already sprouting new growth. I ordered candleflower and voodoo lily and sea holly, and they are all smallish, but the bulbs in the lot were very plump and healthy, the rooted plants had very nice, healthy roots, and they all have nice, healthy growth on them. Some of the plants will be in hothouse during winter, as it snows here, but I expect the other plants (foxgloves, meadow rue, evening primrose, tradescantia) will be fine outside with a nice mulch. I would like to see quicker response on emails, and I would like to see them using a different shipper. Also, packing peanuts are a great big NO-NO to me, and I can't believe there isn't something more earth-friendly they can use. What's wrong with shredded newspaper or straw or hay? at least you can compost those ingredients and recycle them. Packing peanuts are AWFUL. Positive Mnoriega777 (1 review) On June 12, 2009, Mnoriega777 Omaha, NE wrote: 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! Neutral mhoffman1978 (2 reviews) On June 11, 2009, mhoffman1978 Chicago, IL wrote: 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. Positive rmds (1 review) On June 10, 2009, rmds Grayling, MI wrote: 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 !!! Negative diamonddiva1954 (1 review) On June 10, 2009, diamonddiva1954 Indianapolis, IN wrote: 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. Negative eyfng (8 reviews) On June 08, 2009, eyfng San Gabriel, CA wrote: 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. Negative tmdono (1 review) On June 07, 2009, tmdono Huntington, NY wrote: 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. Positive thegladiator (5 reviews) On June 06, 2009, thegladiator Pottstown, PA (Zone 6b) wrote: 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. Negative AmyA26 (4 reviews) On June 02, 2009, AmyA26 Midland, TX wrote: 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. Positive windsocklady (2 reviews) On June 02, 2009, windsocklady Elbridge, NY wrote: 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. Negative thatstinks (1 review) On May 28, 2009, thatstinks Auburn, IN wrote: 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. Positive amf94597 (5 reviews) On May 25, 2009, amf94597 Walnut Creek, CA wrote: Like many people, I was slightly nervous about ordering from Michigan Bulb. In the last year, I have now ordered and received my orders three times. Overall, a very positive experience. Their prices are cheap, they have excellent coupons, although, yes, it's not as nice as popping over to my local nursery for some new plants. On the other hand, they tend to have a very different selection than my local nursery and-- yep-- they're a fraction of the cost. The bulbs I've received from them have done fabulously, as have the bareroot hostas and Valerian. The packaging is quite good-- the individual plants were shipped in protective cardboard sleeves in small pots with dirt. My only misses with them have been hydrangeas-- and the ones from my third order are doing very, very well, so I must come to the sad conclusion that perhaps the problem with the first lot of hydrangeas lay with the gardener and not the nursery. Potting bareroot/small plants up and then keeping an eye on the leaves has helped me enormously-- the plants get a good start (I have clay soil, which can kill plants super-fast) and I can make sure that I've really got them in the right amount of light before I commit them to the ground. Lastly, Michigan Bulb has been fabulous about replacements. This last order, two of the plants arrived dead (the other six were healthy and green) and one bulb was mushy (and I knew I was ordering on the very, very end of bulb season-- the ones in our local nursery are mush now). They've sent a very generous set of replacement plants and backordered an entire replacement package of bulbs for me for next year (and only one was bad-- so that's certainly very generous of them). Overall, it's a very good deal for what you pay and if you need to fill in in your garden. I will be ordering from them again. Positive WorcesterAnglo (1 review) On May 15, 2009, WorcesterAnglo Worcester, MA (Zone 5a) wrote: I've ordered several times from them in the past two years because - with the special offers that always seem to be available factored in - you can get a lot of plants for little money. I've had many more hits than misses, and they have willingly replaced plants that failed. It's true that their system for projecting shipping times can be frustrating, but when I've ordered by early March the plants have arrived by early April, which is as early as I want them in Zone 5. Of course, if money grew on trees I'd always shop somewhere like Bluestone Perennials, but with a largish garden to populate and limited funds, Michigan Bulb has been a useful resource. Positive uniblab (2 reviews) On May 14, 2009, uniblab Baton Rouge, LA wrote: 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. Positive CandL (5 reviews) On May 12, 2009, CandL Reynoldsburg, OH wrote: I really feel that Michigan Bulb Co get's a bad wrap. I have never had any troubles with this company. I just called them yesterday about a rose I purchased that isn't coming out of dormancy. They are replacing it, no questions asked. While there have been times that their plants don't come out of dormancy, I know I can call them any time and they will replace it for me. That's terrific customer service. I recently had six bareroot plants in the vegetable drawer of my fridge for well over a month because of bad weather. I pulled them out in late April, and they had started sprouting while still in the bags. Once planted, all of them are coming up and looking great. I love ordering from this company. The price is right, and they have fantastic service. Neutral pcklz (1 review) On May 05, 2009, pcklz Oxford, MS wrote: 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.... Negative Capt_Paul (1 review) On May 05, 2009, Capt_Paul Pleasant Hill, TN wrote: 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) Negative tlc1418a (1 review) On May 05, 2009, tlc1418a Charleston, WV wrote: 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. Neutral wesdindm (1 review) On May 04, 2009, wesdindm Des Moines, IA wrote: 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. Negative Chezca (2 reviews) On April 23, 2009, Chezca Hayward (Z8b-9a), CA (Zone 8b) wrote: 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! :) On May 7th, 2009, Chezca added the following: I just got a note from their customer service rep. Anybody here got one? I guess ENOUGH NEGATIVES of the same complaint got their attention? But alas, the email was nothing more than a generic \"need your account info so I can REVIEW your situation/order\", same generic email I get when I complained not once, not twice, but three times before. Oh and btw, I cancelled my order. Admittedly, I\'m no saint to be that patient! (IMO when you order a plant from this company, they go and hunt down the seed and only start planting it when they get your order; THAT\'S WHY IT TAKES SO LONG:) Negative bookreader451 (6 reviews) On April 17, 2009, bookreader451 Waterford, NY (Zone 5b) wrote: 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. Positive 3ferrets (1 review) On April 14, 2009, 3ferrets Hopkinton, RI wrote: 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. Negative Random00 (1 review) On April 14, 2009, Random00 Rancho Palos Verdes, CA wrote: 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. On April 14th, 2009, Random00 added the following: I tried to email them from their OWN WEBSITE, and got an email delivery failure.... Lyris MailEngine was unable to deliver your email message to service@michiganbulb.com Negative maggiewine (1 review) On April 13, 2009, maggiewine Beaumont, CA wrote: 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. Positive texasyellowrose (1 review) On April 11, 2009, texasyellowrose Gainesville, GA wrote: 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. Negative trulyro (4 reviews) On April 08, 2009, trulyro Auburndale, FL wrote: 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. Positive shady_gal (2 reviews) On April 07, 2009, shady_gal Springfield, IL wrote: 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 On April 12th, 2009, shady_gal added the following: i planted my plants in some starter beds a few days ago that i can bring in if it gets to cold at night i was surprised to see that they have already started to come up all of the growth seems healthy so far i geuss i hope i can expect the same once they are actually in the ground i ordered 1 colorful shade garden which included 10 perennial lilies 3 lady ferns 3 widows tears 6 lily of the valley and 3 fern leaf bleeding hearts which were all sent bare root and are doing good i also ordered 1 peppermint twist phlox which was supposed to be bare root but instead i got one that was already potted which was fine 1 ghost fern 1 bogo toad lily mix and 1 bogo cinnamon fern all are great the only thing that disappoints me is i also ordered 1 blue and gold toad lily mix which was supposed to arrive when the others did but the shipping has been delayed 3 times i hope it is sent soon i wish to plant it before the heat of summer other than that i will order from them again unless i get bad service or the plants dont live up to what they promise. On April 15th, 2009, shady_gal added the following: i have more of a question i have ordered from mi bulb i recieve catalogs from springhill and brecks ive noticed that the account number is the same i have never ordered from either company are the companies affliated? if anyone knows could you let me know On May 16th, 2009, shady_gal added the following: i am pleased to say that after planting my plants i recieved from mi bulb that all but 1 which was a lady fern have come up beautifully and are growing strong some have even started to bloom i am pleased with the plants that i have ordered i finally recieved the blue and gold toad lilies that i had been waiting for, for about 3 weeks planted them and they are also doing well i will order from this company again i will also keep my orders small so i will not have to wait weeks for all my plants to arrive hopefully Negative cognackid (1 review) On April 07, 2009, cognackid Saint Louis, MO wrote: 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. Positive doofy1 (1 review) On April 06, 2009, doofy1 Creedmoor, NC wrote: 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. Positive JMKM1976 (5 reviews) On April 06, 2009, JMKM1976 Hornell, NY wrote: 2- Shade Gardens $14.99 each 1- Tiger Lily Collection $14.99 I ordered from Michigan Bulb this year but my order has not been shipped. I was very disappointed when I went to track my shipping dates and realized that a "change" had occurred from the last time I had checked (I check weekly). The two shade gardens are scheduled to ship any day now (we'll see if that happens or if there is a delay) but my tiger lily collection is now pushed back to AFTER May second for shipping, which is irritating, because, for where I want to plant these bulbs (because of their height, I will now either have to delay planting the hundreds of dollars worth of new (shorter) plants I've purchased or save spaces for the taller lilies and attempt to plant them without smashing or damaging my other plants while doing so. I will be back to update my comment with details and a positive or negative rating as the items are received in April and (because of some bizarre reason) May. On April 10th, 2009, JMKM1976 changed the rating from neutral to negative and added the following: I checked my order status again today am agast that in addition to being shipped seperately as I stated above, more delays have been applied to my shipments! Order Date: 03/10/09 Items Not Shipped: 2 SHADE GARDEN/ 3P Delivery Estimate: 04/17/09 - 05/01/09 (almost 2 weeks difference from the earliest shipping date from the first porjection given) 1 TIGER LILY COLLECTION (an additional 3 days added to the earliest shipping date Delivery Estimate: 05/07/09 - 05/28/09 At this point, I would not recommend Michigan Bulbs to anyone though I will hold off giving a negative until I actually see the plants sent though. It\'s highly unlikely that they will still be dormant (and less susceptible to planting shock) when delivered so LATE! My shade gardens, if not sent until may, will have a difficult time establishing themselves in the heat in the partial sun location I have chosen and as stated before, planting the tiger lily bulbs will be a challenge. Items such as hostas, bleeding hearts and ferns, in my experience do best if \"hardened off\" and then given at least 2 weeks of cool weather in their new home to become established. It doesn\'t appear as if mine will have that chance because of Michigan Bulbs substandard shipping practices. Of course, my credit card has already been billed, though shipping has not occured! It\'ll take some mighty fine plants to turn this into a postive rating though I think, I would rather buy dry (but live) plasitc bagged plants from WalMart than ever buy from Michigan Bulb again. On April 10th, 2009, JMKM1976 changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following: Opps! It\'s not negative yet! On April 15th, 2009, JMKM1976 added the following: Big Surprise, more delays and changes from Michigan Bulb. At this rate, my order will be pushed back to next spring! Order Detail You may track most shipped packages (depending on the carrier used for delivery) by clicking the corresponding blue \"Track Package Here\" link below. For any items that have not yet shipped, please use our delivery estimate as a guideline. Order Date: 03/10/09 Order Total: $33.72 Items Not Shipped: 2 SHADE GARDEN/ 3P Delivery Estimate: 04/22/09 - 05/06/09 1 TIGER LILY COLLECTION Delivery Estimate: 05/12/09 - 06/02/09 this is lifted directly from the order tracking via their web site. On April 17th, 2009, JMKM1976 added the following: ANOTHER 2 DAYS added to the shipping dates, and I only checked yesterday! I sent MB a mail explaining that I want the items I ordered by May 1 or I will cancel the order entirely. After all, the pink and white bleeding hearts that are part of the shade gardens bloom in May to early June, at the rate they are adding delays, they\'ll never have a chance before the heat comes to grow at all before they start going \"heat dormant\", which means they may well die or rot in the ground before the next year. It\'s kind of hard for a plant to hibernate (and live through it) if it never had a chance to gain sun and soil energy after coming out of dormancy. Photosynthesis is a must for plant life, I suspect a plant that goes many months without completing these cycles will starve and die. Order Detail You may track most shipped packages (depending on the carrier used for delivery) by clicking the corresponding blue \"Track Package Here\" link below. For any items that have not yet shipped, please use our delivery estimate as a guideline. Order Date: 03/10/09 Order Total: $33.72 Items Not Shipped: 2 SHADE GARDEN/ 3P Delivery Estimate: 04/24/09 - 05/08/09 1 TIGER LILY COLLECTION Delivery Estimate: 05/14/09 - 06/04/09 On April 21st, 2009, JMKM1976 changed the rating from neutral to negative and added the following: I am giving Michigan Bulb a negative. Today, I recieved an email response from them about my order saying that my plants are still \"growing to specifications\" and will be shipped when they are ready...whatever that is supposed to mean. Either they have what I ordered during the season and planting time needed, or they do not. I guess they don\'t. I then checked the shipping dates again, as with EVERY time I have checked, they are further delayed (each day seems to bring abour 2 to 4 additional days of delay!): Order Detail Order Date: 03/10/09 Items Not Shipped: 2 SHADE GARDEN/ 3P Delivery Estimate: 04/28/09 - 05/12/09 1 TIGER LILY COLLECTION Delivery Estimate: 05/18/09 - 06/08/09 I can order the items elsewhere and save myself the bother of dealing with Michigan Bulb though I doubt they handle cancellations any better than they handle shipping items in a timesly manner. This has to be the single most ridiculous ordeal I have ever experienced with ANY mail order company EVER and I won\'t squander the few gardening months I have each year on places like MB again! As the saying goes, one dissatisfied customer will tell ten more and I intend to do just that. My entire family gardens, it\'s a cultural thing in the area, we\'re raised to grow food and beauty alike. MB won\'t be getting any positive word of mouth advertising from me! On May 1st, 2009, JMKM1976 changed the rating from negative to positive and added the following: The day after I sent a cancellation request to Michigan Bulb, I recieved an email saying that it would be impossible to cancel my order because it was already packed to ship. I went to the site and logged in to track and the estimated date of delivery had been changed to 4/47 to 4/29 on both packages. So, I waited. On 4/29 I recieved the first package containing two shade gardens. ABout the items in the gardens: 1. The Astilbe are big roots compared to some others I have recieved via mail order 2. The White bleeding hearts are fair sized, bot too smal but not exactly advanced in size 3. The varigated hostas aren\'t the tinest I have ever received via mail order but they are pretty small. I\'m hoping they will love their location and thrive despite their size. 4. The bleeding hearts are by far the tinest roots I have ever seen for this species in my entire life! I\'ll be amazed it they managed to put up more than a stem or two this year. 5. The delphinium roots are also extremely tiny but also very dry. I don\'t know if they will live but have planted them anyway to see what happens. Today, 5/1/09 I received the tiger lily collection and as suspected, the bulbs have already broken dormancy and have grown 1 to 3 inch stems already. However, they are good sized bulbs, bigger than the white tiger lilies that I bought at the local nursery. I\'m changing my rating to positive because I am, for the most part, happy with what I received and if it all lives it\'s a great deal for the money... if it doesn\'t, there is a lifetime guarantee on everything. Still, if you want your plants at a specific time, don\'t deal with Michigan Bulb, it\'s just not fair to have to fight with a mail order company (and go as far as cancelling the order) to make certain that you get the merchandise in time to plant. It ruins the gardening experience. On June 2nd, 2009, JMKM1976 added the following: Most of the plants are up in the ground, no sign of the the lady fern, delphinum and some of the tiger lily bulbs. It will probably be years before the bleeding hearts fill their places in the garden. I\'ll request replacement for whatever hasn\'t emerged because they have been in the ground for a month and should have shown at least some small sign of life by now. After the ordeal involved with getting them in the first place, I cringe at the thought of requesting replacements and battling over those as well. BUT, if people do not stand up for themselves then poor sales standards will continue. Positive kaiteylady (1 review) On March 21, 2009, kaiteylady Wichita, KS wrote: 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. Positive VBLJC (1 review) On March 18, 2009, VBLJC Parlin, NJ wrote: 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. Neutral moradventurous (1 review) On March 06, 2009, moradventurous Dallas, TX (Zone 8a) wrote: 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. Positive PattyPerrenial (1 review) On January 28, 2009, PattyPerrenial Idaho Falls, ID wrote: 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. Positive xantres (2 reviews) On January 02, 2009, xantres Indianapolis, IN wrote: 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.

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