You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
They were fine in the past - maybe 10-15 years ago - when they only sold bulbs. A little expensive, but not bad, and their bulbs were always nice. But I've moved on to other bulb suppliers I like better, and in the meantime, they've figured out how to annoy me. Hadn't heard anything at all from them for many years, then I ordered something from their affiliate Gardeners Supply. Got put on GS's email list when I sent in a mail order. (Didn't see anything on the mail-in form to ask whether I wanted email ads or not, and I didn't give them my email, but they must have gotten it when I was less wary in the past.) Tried to get off with their unsubscribe link, and couldn't. A while later - you guessed it - I started getting email ads from Dutch Gardens too. And not just once in a while, but lots and lots of emails. Same story - clicked on the link to unsubscribe, got an acknowledgment, still get the spam. I really wish companies would respect the consumer and change their default to "no emails" unless you specifically give them permission. Especially when you haven't done any business with them recently, and have never given them any indication that you want to.
On Apr 26, 2009, kentstar Ravenna, OH (Zone 5b) wrote:
I ordered several plants from them last year, four bonfire euphorbia's, some veronica, some coreopsis and so far only a couple of the veronica's and one coreopsis have survived! I have ordered a Maria Stern rose for this year. We'll have to see how this goes. But I will not be back anyway. They send puny little plants (starter plugs) for high prices when I know now that I can get them in other more reputable places for much less and better quality plants. As I said, I will not be back...
On May 8th, 2009, kentstar changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
So far the Maria Stern rose seems OK. Buds are coming out all over the exposed part of the canes (rest is mounded up). So, I am changing my rating to neutral for now. If all goes really well I will change it to positive. On May 22nd, 2009, kentstar changed the rating from neutral to negative and added the following:
It seems that my "Maria Stern Rose" has Rose Mosaic Virus! Yellowed patterns on the leaves. Will it is growing well for now, I have no doubt this is RMV and the rose will go down hill from here out! I won't be back again! On May 25th, 2009, kentstar changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
Dutch Gardens has agreed to refund my credit card for the rose that is virused. They did respond to my email promptly too. So, that being said, that's a good thing anyway. Will I be back? Probably not, but I do understand stuff happens. But, they should have their roses virus indexed. On Apr 26, 2009, Dutch Gardens responded with:
We are sorry about the problems you experienced with your order and for the disappointment this has caused. All of the plants we sell are guaranteed 100%, and we are happy to stand behind that promise. We can either issue a credit to your account that can be used toward your next Dutch Garden's order, issue a refund to your credit card, or we can send you a replacement plants if available.
Please, contact us by sending an email to info-dg@dutchgardens.com or call us at toll free at 1-800-876-5520 so we can take care of this problem right away.
On Mar 4, 2009, 17decker Grand Junction, CO wrote:
Fall of 2007 I ordered approximately 200 bulbs and planted them that fall. The following spring none of the bulbs developed and 2 of the 6 iris's survived. I have placed another order of Glamini Gladiolus and I'll have see if it will be my final purchase.
I have had good luck buying bulbs through this company, but live plants have been a different matter. I ordered what was supposed to be a mix of Japanese iris, what arrived were three of the same Siberian iris. After a call to the company I was given credit, and ordered a Coconut Lime coneflower, it arrived just before winter as a shriveled, dried out plantlet that I tried to save but it died on me. Another call to them and I have credit, which I will try on bulbs instead of plants.
Like I said, great bulbs but beware of live plants.
I ordered about $130 of bulbs from Dutch gardens and wish I hadn't. I will not leave a negative rating because I did recieve the bulbs and they were not damaged, but they were really nothing special. The size of the bulbs was not any larger than what I have purchased elsewhere, not top size as advertised, just average.
I was enchanted with the beauty of their fringed tulips and and some of their fancier tulips and daffodils but was highly dissapointed in the blooms. They didn't look anything like those beautiful pictures and the fringed pinks were downright ugly.
On a side note I managed to pick up a clearance package of tulips at walmart, they were only 75cents for a bag of 30 bulbs which I planted down the row from the dutch garden tulips and they have outperformed the expensive Dutch Garden bulbs by far! Also picked up a discount bag of daffs and they are all doing as well if not better than the ones I bought from Dutch Gardens and just as pretty.
So I think what you are paying extra for is the pretty pictures in their catalog, the actual product is nothing special.
On Feb 9, 2008, ladyisle Bohemia, NY (Zone 7a) wrote:
I have ordered from you before and not been particularly excited. Now your prices for 4" pots are amazingly high. I'm not sure why. I will wait to order from more cost effective nurseries and/or shop local.
I placed 2 orders with Dutch Gardens and the plants looked like they came from 2 different companies. The first order arrived in 2 shipments with puny plants in poor condition, bulbs and plants reeking of mold. The second order arrived with only the slightest scent of mold and larger, healthier plants and bulbs. When I called and told customer service this they were very nice and apologetic and immediately sent out replacements for the first order. The replacements were much better, but there is still a problem with a moldy smell, so I have decided to leave a neutral rating for now, and when I see how the bulbs come up and how the plants do, I hope I can upgrade it to a positive.
On Apr 3, 2007, WaterCan2 Suffolk County, NY (Zone 7a) wrote:
I have been ordering from this company for the last 10 years. Admittedly the size of the plants leave quite a bit to be desired in comparison to the fully grown size shown in their catalogs. Their bulbs however have been outstanding for 8 of my 10 orders. I found the key to be to order well ahead of planting time so as to receive the best quality. I have restricted my purchases from this company to 'bulbs only', and I recommend them as such.
On Dec 30, 2006, Sarconti Durham, ME (Zone 4a) wrote:
Normally I had great experiences ordering from this company but not this last time. First order, I got all my lilium bulbs and daylilies on time and in great condition. My japenese iris collection was in great condition.
Encouraged I ordered again the german iris collection and the siberian iris collection. All were rotted except Avalon Bay and that was in no great shape. The Siberians were all dead or almost dead. Lady Vanessa was not even in the package, it was empty.
I contacted Dutch Gardens and they agreed to resend the order which I recieved June 1st. A note said they could no longer get the german iris collection and no refund was offered. The siberians arrived almost dead. Butter And Sugar and Lady Vanessa were dead. I think I saved the others but they are not in great shape.
Will not be ordering irises from this company again for I have better sources. I do like the daylilies and lilium bulbs so will risk ordering those. They have honored day lily mix up in the past and treated me well until this last order over the irises.
On Nov 16, 2006, calypsa Plymouth, MI (Zone 5b) wrote:
Although I did finally receive our bulbs, my experience was less than satisfactory. After weeks of no news, I called to check on the status of the order. I spoke with a very nice CS representative who assured me that my order had been received and that the bulbs were going to be shipped out the next day. This was 4 weeks ago.
I then called 2 weeks ago and was given the same story. I was even given a tracking number that never worked, despite being assured that it would activate shortly since the bulbs had just been sent (there was no mention of why they hadn't been sent 2 weeks prior, and this representative blatantly dodged my question). I thanked her and went back to waiting.
Finally, at the end of last week I called back. This time I was more than a little upset because I truly felt jerked around. I got a similar response to my questions, but at that time I actually got a valid tracking number. The bulbs had just been sent earlier that morning. That in and of itself upset me because of all the past promises about shipping time.
The bulbs finally arrived at my home yesterday. The packaging was TERRIBLE. Miraculously, all of the bulbs arrived and appear in good condition (this is the only reason I am giving a neutral rating instead of negative). We shall see what comes up in the spring... I will definitely not be ordering from this company again. I expected much better from a company that is linked to Gardener's Supply.
I have yet to see the results of my planting, but I am dissappointed because of the shipping times. I know it really can't be helped but I placed orders days apart. But their shipping times are weeks apart due to when my orderes were shipped. I would recommend ordering the daylilies from there. I have heard about people getting the wrong variety. I ordered a South Seas Daylily. It shipped from Canada and was the first order I received. The shipping time was a little long, about 15 days. The plant itself was beautiful, it was very dry when I received it though, I have no idea why. The shavings in the box were BONE dry and so were the roots. They left a few pieces of foliage so I could tell what was up from down. But the roots and clump size were huge. Not what I was expecting. I will see how my tulips arrive (i'm expecting a shipment today) I also have hyacinths and lilies on the way and I'm still waiting for one more order to be shipped from Holland to customs. I will be back in the spring/summer to tell you how everything went!
On Jun 19, 2006, faganpb Theodore, AL (Zone 8b) wrote:
The Dutch Gardens staff was exceptionally friendly when I placed my order and again later when I called to check the delivery status. I ordered one each of 16504 Double Begonia Mix (8) and 16605 Flamingo Casgading Begonia (8). The bulbs were uniform in size and of seemingly good quality. I ordered them in January, received them the first of March, and planted them immediately per the instructions. All bulbs have produced beautiful leaves, though some quite sparcely, only two (one each) have actually flowered. I rate the experience moderate because I took great pain in properly caring for the plants but remain sadly disappointed in the results. In hindsight, I suspect the problem is the climatical difference; therefore, will not order from Holland again. I live in zone 8b.
On Jun 15, 2006, sherrinbull Derry, NH (Zone 5b) wrote:
Mixed success. I ordered Razzmatazz Coneflower "NEW FOR 2006: Our Blooming Power! perennials —the largest size we offer! These beefy, extra-large plants are guaranteed to fill out quickly and bloom this summer."
and recieved a letter stating that the seedlings needed more time to stretch and that they would be late. No biggie. But when I received my "beefy extra large plant" it was under 1" tall had two leaves and was severely shrivelled. Knowing that tender things may not travel well I have babied the surviving item. The two leaves are still there - but it hasn't grown and its definately not the *beefy* potted plant I was promised or paid for. I admit I haven't called because the item is no longer available and I really don't care for anything else from them.
On the flip side - I also ordered some Fanfare Gaillardia. These did indeed come in 3" pots and were hardy and healthy and getting ready to bloom despite our "flood season" in the northeast. They do have some unique items and the jury is still out whether I would order again.
The bulbs I recieved from them were big and healthy. The perennials looked a little rough, though I was able to revive most of them. However, my bare root geranium was dead. When I contacted them, they did get back to me pretty quick. However, the shipping for the season was done. So I could either wait until spring for another one, or I could get a credit on my account. I took the credit on the account. Unfortunately, there isn't anything "seasonally available" on their site that I want right now, and I won't be credited for the shipping and handling charges on the geranium. I don't think that's fair at all. Especially since the shipping and handling obviously wasn't good enough to keep the plant alive. I think when I use up my credit I will probably not order from them again.
On May 16, 2006, bloomheaven South, LA (Zone 8b) wrote:
I ordered 2 things last week from Dutch Gardens. The first part of my ordered arrived looking really bad. I ordered 3 clematis plants that had no growth and really didn't look good. I'm waiting to see if any growth appears before I contact the company with my complaint.
The second part of my ordered arrived yesterday and boy was I surprised. The bulbs looked excellent! They were nice and healthy and even had babies on all of them except 1.
I chose a neutral rating because the first part of my order looked bad, but the second part was definitely positive.
While the customer service reps have been very helpful through several emails, the web site does not really inform the customer that all plants are ordered and shipped internationally; bulbs from Holland and other plants from Canadian growers. It would have been helpful to know that when anticipating delivery/planting times. Not a negative, just a 'wish I would have known that before I ordered' comment.
On Apr 20, 2006, marksfox Austin, AR (Zone 7b) wrote:
Just this spring I purchased the bicolor butterfly bush and the border dahlia mix. I actually mailed in the catalog order form, so for doing that they seemed to arrive quickly enough. The butterfly bush arrived first and seemed healthy, though small. it is in the ground and so far it is doing fine. The dahlia tubers arrived a week or so after, and I am waiting to see how they do. Part of one of the tubers was a bit soft and damp. I removed that part and planted the rest. We will see how things turn out. I will update later.
On Apr 5, 2006, BjsBloomers Lewiston, CA (Zone 7b) wrote:
I ordered some Pereinnals from them in Feb. They arrived last week. I thought that the plants were awfully small for the prices they charged. 2 of the plants didn't look to happy. I called the Co. Explained that I was unhappy with the 2 plants not doing well, they are sending out 2 new ones, ASAP.
Other than the plants being puny, the service was good, & they seem willing to please.
I probably would not order from them again if this is the size of the plants they send. I will follow with 2 pics of the two plants in question.
On April 5th, 2006, BjsBloomers added the following:
On Jun 5, 2005, djm906 Mount Prospect, IL (Zone 5a) wrote:
My plants arrived promptly. I ordered 2 kinds of perennial phlox and 2 different hardy geraniums. The roots on all seem to be generous, but there isn't much sign of upper growth. I've planted them and will be watching them. This is my first time ordering from this company and if these plants start to grow I would order from them again. I liked their catalog.
I ordered several perennials from Dutch Gardens. The plants were bare roots packaged in peatmoss and sealed in clear plastic bags - 3 roots to one bag. I planted them the day they arrived but noticed that only 1 out of 3 roots were what I would judge to be "good". The others were small and not what I would call vigorous-looking. The plants I purchased were: Old Fashion Bleeding Hearts, Gladwyin Iris, 'Hollywood' Geranium, Blue Star Sea Holly.
I ordered 2 different varieties of daylilies and had a 50-50 experience. My Spacecoast Starburst was wonderful. I bloomed heavily, was very healthy and quite beautiful. But my Blueberry Sundae was a diasaster. When it bloomed is was obvious it was the wrong variety. It was to Dutch Garden's credit they were cordial. They refunded my money promptly. Later they even sent me a statement they had been cheated by THEIR grower. I feel they did try to make it right but I lost a whole growing season. No wonder Blueberry Sundae was such a good price. I would hesitate before buing from them again.
On Oct 26, 2004, SugarMaple Southbridge, MA (Zone 5b) wrote:
I have ordered a lot of bulbs, roots, and rhizomes from Dutch Gardens. Despite some total failures, I still like the company. Maybe it's because they are a little cheaper than one of the other companies that I use. This year, I managed to grow 3 out of 4 roses, although one did not bloom at all and one did not bloom in the color that I expected. Half of my Lily of the Valley did not grow at all. I got a verbascum substitute for a geranium that I really wanted, and the verbascum didn't even bloom. My iris didn't bloom. The monarda and the pulmonaria didn't bloom. Maybe they will all bloom next year. On the other hand, five of their other plant varieties did bloom this year. Maybe I like DG because they ship my orders when I expect them to. Or maybe I just like them because they are the ones who fill the orders for my Memory Garden.
Neutral leaning to negative. This is the second year I've purchased from this company. Last year I received a poor quality Blueberry Sundae Daylily which Dutch Gardens themselves compensated me for before I complained. (Big positive.) Bulbs I've received have been of acceptable quality and perform well. Perennials, however, are another story. Last year I received Trollius that had no crowns. This year while I received everything I ordered in decent shape I've noticed that when you order a perennial and there are three in a bag, two are of better quality than the third and they generally do not perform well the first year. A positive for this company is that they do try to satisfy you if you report poor quality by refunding or replacing selections. I might purchase bulbs from this company in the future but I do not think I will order any perennials from them again.
This spring I ordered several day lily collections from them. I can't offer either a positive or negative. For the money the plants are healthy but less generous than I've gotten from other places for less and I find it a bit problematic that since these plants are shipped from Holland you can't really bre sure when they'll arrive. Otherwise, everything I've planted so far is doing well.
On Feb 24, 2004, JWB Silver Spring, MD (Zone 7a) wrote:
I ordered a few plants last spring and was disappointed - the perennials they sent were so small and the lily of the valley and violas died. The daylily was small, but grew and bloomed - it turned out to be the wrong flower. When I got the catalog this spring and looked at the daylily photos, some looked heavily retouched, not how the real flowers would look. The only reason this rating is not negative is that when I complained to customer service, they were nice and refunded all my money. I will not order perennials from them again.
On Sep 9, 2003, nevadagdn Sparks, NV (Zone 7a) wrote:
My rating should more correctly be neutral-plus. I learned after my first order that their bulbs are very nice, but their perennials leave a great deal to be desired. While everything that wasn't planted in impossible conditions grew, the perennial plants were small and slow to establish. Better values for perennials can easily be had.
I have absolutely no complaints with Dutch Gardens' shipping, service or the quality of their bulbs for fall planting. The only reason I've shifted to other bulb suppliers in recent years is that my tastes have become impossibly esoteric, running more to the offerings from Odyssey Bulbs and Paul Christian.
On April 20th, 2005, nevadagdn added the following:
No change in rating with a recent purchase: I ordered online, using a $10 off coupon, and everything went well. I received appropriate confirmations and shipping notices by email. One of the perennials I ordered was very good--Lysimachia purpurea 'Beaujolais'; A package of three plants actually had four plants, and all look very healthy, just barely breaking dormancy. The other item, Cyclamen neapolitanum, was not nearly so successful. Two out of three corms had soft spots, but no sign of rot. I planted them anyways--I'll see what comes up.
On Jul 23, 2003, Lizzytish Wareham, MA (Zone 7a) wrote:
I ordered from this company in the spring and received the order in two seperate shipments. The order was a $70.00 order and I had great expectations. The plants were all bare root and very small in one case dried up and not worth the time or effert it would take to plant them. I emailed the company the day they were delivered and they issued a credit that I could use on my next order for those plants.
After a month or so of waiting for the other plants to show some green with nothing happening I again emailed them and said I did not want a credit but a full refund credit sent to my credit card and that I expected to hear from them immediatly as to the disposition, they did email me back the very next business day telling me they would credit my charge account for the full amount of the order.
I waited until now to let you all know about this because I wanted to be sure that in fact they had credidted my account and my bill just arrived yesterday and the credit had been made.
Their customer service is the only reason I gave them a neutral instead of a negative as I do not have the plants I wanted and I lost several months of growth and time that I could have put to other use.
I am so glad for this foram as I check any and all companies here before I order from them now.
On Apr 18, 2003, ecobioangie Mableton, GA (Zone 7b) wrote:
I have ordered bulbs and bareroot perennials from Dutch Gardens. The bulbs seem to be good. The bareroot perennials came tiiiiiinneeeeeeee. I mean, like 3 roots. I'm waiting to see if they come up. I did have two bareroot peonies that are up and healthy and one is blooming already after only a few months. Only problem is it isn't the one I ordered. *eyeroll* I did call and recieve a refund though (they offered to replace it). Customer service was excellent.
I ordered perennials from this company. I felt their prices were a bit high, but they had some rare items I was interested in. I was satisfied with some of the root systems I received, but a couple of the more pricey flowers were very, very small, and I am concerned as to whether they will survive. I probably will not order from them again. Just not worth the price.
Have been satisfied with their bulbs--quality and size are usually pretty good and success rate is high. A large perennial order I placed 2 years ago was a disaster. At least half of the plants were mislabeled and I received varieites that I did not want. Other plants were missing from the order. I wrote a detailed letter to customer service and my money was promptly refunded. Will not order perennials again but may order bulbs again in the future.
We order both tulips and dahlias from this company and have been quite satisfied with the results of both. We have been less satisfied with the more unusual summer bulbs and have been displeased with the quality of their perennials which are usually shipped bare-root in bags & with high mortality.
On February 2nd, 2006, cowgardener added the following:
We were pleased to discover that this company is now based in Vermont and they now have an excellent customer service department. You get to speak to a real person & they were willing to accomodate a special shipping date which the company has been unwilling to do in the past. We still shy away from purchasing "bare root Dutch grown" perennials however.
On Jan 1, 2002, MaryArneson Minneapolis, MN (Zone 4b) wrote:
I've been ordering from Dutch Gardens for years and have been impressed with the good prices and the nice size of the bulbs. In the Fall of 2001, though, the catalog suddenly reverted to erroneous hardiness listings that they had corrected many years ago. All the tulips were listed optimistically as Zone 3, no daffodil or narcissus was listed at higher than Zone 4, Eranthis, oxalis, English bluebells, and Grecian Windflowers (certainly Zone 5 or 6) were listed as Zone 3. Anemone coronaria, ranunculus, calochortus, cyclamen, and ixia, which are very tender, were listed as Zone 4. I decided not to order anything, since that sort of sloppiness, when the previous year's catalog had given correct information, suggested a big fall-off in quality.
While the bulbs I received from dutchgardens.com this year were in mostly good shape (out of a box of about 100 tulip, hyacinth, and daffodil bulbs, I had about 5 moldy or otherwise unplantable ones) I did have a big complaint about their service. My bulbs were shipped, from Holland, in mid October -- and then took four weeks to be delivered! By that time, my yard was so soggy there is little hope of getting more than a handful of the bulbs in the ground. They may have shipped the bulbs at the appropriate planting time for my area -- but they certainly didn't take into account how long shipping would take!
Just wanted to let you know that I ordered bulbs this year from Dutch Gardens--I've heard good things about them BUT imagine my surprise when the gladiolas I ordered that were supposed to be blue, lavender and purple came up bright yellow and red!
My dahlias did not do well in pots. My windowbox collection was a nightmare - grew way too tall and didn't flower. I finally massacred them. My freesia hybrids - no flowers. My cascade flamingo begonias - well, some are pretty - the others have trouble holding onto the bud long enough to open.
