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I've always had good exeperiences with Brecks. If they ship me the incorrect plants, I simply call and get the correct plants. I also get to keep the incorrect ones. Double your pleasure! If something doesn't come up, I call and they replace it no questions, no problems! When something doesn't come up, I don't automatically 'blame' the company. Could be a cold snap during planting season caused the plants to have a delay in planting, which they don't like. Could be I didn't fertilize enough, too much, or not at all. It's called gardening people. You can't plant it and forget it. Plants need TLC to grow. Brecks has always been very good about working with me to replace plants that died, or are weak and unhealthy. Friendly customer service as well. Remember, you catch more flys with honey than vinegar, so if your nice, they will be too!
I just (this morning) placed large orders with both Spring Hill and Brecks; then, suspecting they were the same company, located this forum...yikes. I'm a little nervous about my orders after reading through these comments. I ordered oriental lilies, daylilies, bittersweet, and irises...I called back because I've received no e-mail confirmation from Breck's and the operator insisted my first name was different than it is, finally recognizing she had it wrong. Has anyone had good/bad success with these specific bulbs/plants? I'm wondering if I should cancel my orders.
On Jul 31, 2008, pagosagarden Pagosa Springs, CO wrote:
I purchased two orders of starlight lilly bulbs, and they were shipped on the date that was quoted on my order confirmation. After the bulbs arrived I was pleased with there size and condition. I planted them this spring as soon as they arrived. I have ordered bulbs from Brecks several times in the past and and have never been disappointed. Except this time. Most of the bulbs did not grow, and the ones that did bloomed yellow. Not the color I ordered, or expected. I e-mailed customer service with the complaint and requested the order be corrected and replacement bulbs.The next day I recieved a response from Brecks telling me a new order was placed at not cost, and the bulbs would ship next spring as I expected. I was very satisfied that it only required one e-mail to customer service to resolve this issue. I only hope I get the right color this time. As long as I recieve this kind of service I will be a happy customer.
My bulbs for tulips and Asiatic Lilies came for an Autumn planting. Winter was wet and warm (for Connecticut) and some of the rains made me wonder if my bulbs would even remain in the ground where I put them! They did and everything is blooming wonderfully.
Later I ordered some other plants including irises and ornamental grasses. The grasses are growing slowly but nothing has happened with the irises (except two of them so far died). I have not yet contacted the company but will do so if the whole season passes without them flourishing.
I expect good service from Breack's and so far have not been disappointed.
Ordered bulbs on 30 Apr 2008 and 30 days later they still have not shipped, and show an estimated receipt date in July. I will never order from Brecks again! I emailed them and received no response.
On May 29, 2008, Breck's Bulbs responded with:
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On Jul 31, 2008 3:04 PM, Breck's Bulbs added:
Contacted Customer on 6/16/08 for possible resolution; as of today have received no response. "
I have been ordering from mail order for many years. This year has by far been the worst year ever. We had cold weather until just recently and it has been hard on the plants, especially when they are seedlings to start with.
All the plants I bought from Brecks this year were tiny seedlings and they are not going to make it. They usually are excellent with replacing plants but I am unhappy with the size of the plants. Some were dried out and some were moldy.
They were shipped too early and did not like to wait in their little small containers even though I tried to save them.
It was not just Brecks but also Springhill and Michigan Bulb.
By the time I pay for the shipping and it will be at least two years before the plants that are left to catch up, it will be a long wait. Granted they were advertised as potted plants, which they were, but tiny does not work for me.
I learned a vauable lesson, you get what you pay for. Never again.
I placed an order with Breck's mid April. Since then, I have had the shipping date change 4 times and it may again yet! And I never receive any notification that the ship date changed. I only know from checking my order status. I also have no idea what is the cause of the delay. I'm currently scheduled to get my bulbs in July!. I doubt that I will have a chance to plant these and even have them flower this season. My email inquiries are responded to but most have standard explanations (i.e. coming from Holland) but nothing substantive. I'm contemplating canceling my order. I'm very disappointed.
On May 23, 2008, Breck's Bulbs responded with:
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On Aug 1, 2008 3:47 PM, Breck's Bulbs added:
Customer was sent a Gift Certificate, and I am also shipping her Allium and Cannas at no charge."
I have been very happy with the bulbs I've gotten from Breck's and have been a customer since 1993.
I've ordered all kinds of daffodils and they have been large and healthy. The customer service is wonderful, too. When I've had bulbs fail to come up I've never had any problem getting them replaced and when I had a mix come up as all the same thing I called about it and was given a mix without any problems.
Once I had a substitute daffodil sent and when I called to ask about it I was told to keep the substitute and had what I originally ordered sent to me the following year because it had run out of stock.
Had received emails, coupons, and catalogs from Brecks for several years after a Christmas gift of tulip bulbs I received a while back. Although I have had good success with the tulips I was wary of ordering from them because of all the negative reviews. I needed some daylilies, and seeing that none of my neighbors had any to divide, decided to place an order with a $25 coupon.
Plants arrived, bare root in peat moss. First impression, was disappointment but I also remember its called gardening, not growing or flowering. So I planted them and to my pleasant surprise they are doing very well. Growing vigorously and with a few blooms already.
Again, we're talking daylilies here so my 3 year old could probably grow them, but Id have to say that its safe to order daylilies from Brecks.
On May 11, 2008, gavinsmom Lakewood, OH (Zone 6a) wrote:
Just FYI, Breck's is currently offering $25 for free (no strings attached) if you rec'd the coupon in the mail. I used mine because what have I got to lose, BUT I ordered 2 "tree lily" bulbs 4 weeks ago and my ship date isn't until late May. A little late for lily bulbs, but maybe I can enjoy them next year. So far as I have seen, Breck's is the only place that has the tree lily bulbs.
Brecks is always hit or miss. That's why I only get what's free.
On May 27th, 2008, gavinsmom added the following:
It is May 26th and I am still waiting. A rep from Breck's contacted me through the forum and checked into my order. Apparently my bulbs are just now being "flown over from Holland." I'm supposed to get them in about 3 weeks. This is really aggrevating because I ordered in March and I will not get these plants/bulbs until June, far too late in the season to be much good for this year. While I appreciated the response from the rep, I am still not very happy. Maybe people who order the "freebies" get put on the backburner.On May 11, 2008, Breck's Bulbs responded with:
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On Jun 25, 2008 1:30 PM, Breck's Bulbs added:
Orders are shipped in the order they are received, whether it is a "freebie" order (this Customer paid about $3.00) or a $200+ order. Bulbs can only be shipped after they are harvested (we don't keep bulbs around from year to year - each shipment is freshly harvested and either transported by freighter or flown over from Holland). The Customer's order was delivered on May 29."
On May 11, 2008, lemonwater Mountain View, CA wrote:
I didn't read any reviews of this company until after I had already placed my order, so I decided to wait to see what would happen before commenting. I found their site through Google while searching for English bluebells. I couldn't the English bluebells anywhere else, so I decided to order them through Breck's, I thought they seemed reputable at the time. Along with my "English" bluebells, I ordered two different varieties of crocus. My crocus all came up fine, they were what I ordered, and I didn't receive any moldy bulbs. But the English bluebells which were the reason for my entire order, were unfortunately Spanish bluebells.
I'm not usually very picky about these things, and I hate leaving negative reviews, but I'm very very disappointed. I gave away some of my bulbs as a gift, to someone who grew up with in Britain with English bluebells and loves them, so I'm not the only person that's disappointed. Furthermore, only one bulb out of the 15 has flowered despite all being given the same care. I certainly won't be ordering from Breck's again.
On July 4th, 2008, lemonwater changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
Debbie from customer service contacted me regarding my negative experience with Breck's. I found her to be very helpful in trying to correct my problem of the mislabeled English bluebells, which I was told will be shipping during the fall. I am changing my rating to a neutral for now, and I will update it later after I see how everything goes.
Last spring I was excited to get the offer for Astible, and promptly ordered several. They arrived, but failed entirely. I have contacted Breck's for a credit or refund. They have not replied. I see now this is not uncommon. Last fall I ordered a lot of bulbs - over 100. Only about 1/3 have come up, and the plants are frail and not performing well at all. In contrast, I purchased five tulip bulbs locally from O'Tooles, planted at the time in the same conditions, and they are doing very well - large, healthy, strong, and blooming. I will not order from this company again. I had better luck with tulips I brought home from Amsterdam, forgot about for a year, and then planted at the wrong time of year! Those are thriving still!
On May 5, 2008, Breck's Bulbs responded with:
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On Jun 25, 2008 1:33 PM, Breck's Bulbs added:
I emailed the Customeron May 17 for a possible resolution (whether it be reship, credit or refund); have not received a reply as of today."
On May 3, 2008, hvannostrand1 Plattsmouth, NE wrote:
For those of you that cannot use the $25 coupon for free merchandise, you need to read the coupon. It says right on it that you must order $50 worth of products to receive the $25 discount. You don't just get $25 worth of products for free. It will not accept your key number until the order is $50 or more. That seems like a pretty good deal to me. It's not often that you can get a 50% discount.
I've purchased bulbs several times over the years from Breck's. For 8 years I've lived on a different farm that may or may not affect the growing of bulbs but, regardless, I have had poor luck with the bulbs I purchased from Breck's. I received some replacements or refunds but last year I emailed regarding some day lillies and I received two different email answers. One said I would be receiving replacements the other said "It appears that our company's products are not a good match for you....We're somewhat puzzled by this, because we do strive for 100% customer satisfaction, and in most cases, achieve it." This has angered me no end because it seems I'm being accused of trying to scam them. In the meantime I thought perhaps the email that said I would get replacements was the correct email but I never received anything. I now have received a catalog so I called to see why they would send me a catalog but not honor their gaurantee and was told, "No you aren't receiving any replacements." Gee, thanks a lot! Looks like if they really wanted to satisfy THIS customer they would've honored that guarantee or given me a refund of all plants that didn't live. And these plants didn't die the next year or something like that; it was the same season I planted them.
On May 29th, 2008, blufour added the following:
To update my comments regarding Breck's Bulbs: I tried once more to get some customer service and get a refund on one day lily out of a collection that I had purchased in 2006. The first person (a lady who was not a "lady") hung up on me right after finding out my "history" so I tried again and talked to a very nice young man. There was no argument; merely an agreement to credit my card with the one day lily. I am waiting to see if the credit actually gets to my card. I have not changed my opinion of them. Their guarantee states that those plants are guaranteed to grow for as long as you garden so I recently emailed them to ask if that is exactly what it means and they wrote back saying it is exactly what they mean, "we will issue a replacement or a credit". I did not use my usual email address or anything so they assumed I was a potential new customer. There is no mention in their guarantee that they will tell you you have had too high a rate of failure and they don't want you as a customer any more. It used to be that there were only a few of these mail order nurseries that were no good. Now they all seem to have no customer service and send out plants that are more often than not poor quality.
On Apr 27, 2008, colliwobbles (Jana) Shoreline, WA (Zone 8a) wrote:
Breck's is part of the "trilogy" as I like to call it (the other two being Michigan Bulb and Spring Hill Nursery). I stopped ordering from the latter two after I figured out that the quality of the plants wasn't so great.
However, I have to say that I've had great results from Breck's. I ordered two dahlia collections from them, and they all came up except for two! They looked great too. I placed a small order with them this year, so I'm crossing my fingers!
On Apr 27, 2008, Miarka Ware Neck, VA (Zone 7b) wrote:
NOTHING I ever planted from Brecks came up. Beware.
On Apr 27, 2008, Breck's Bulbs responded with:
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On May 1, 2008 8:25 AM, Breck's Bulbs added:
Because we do guarantee our bulbs/plants, all we ask is that the Customer contact us if something does not grow. I did contact this Customer and asked for a list of plants; she did respond that her order contained bluebells. I issued a refund for the entire order. "
Last year we bought our first home and wanted to spruce up the yard. My girlfriend received a coupon from Breck's in the mail, and we decided to order a collection of 50 bulbs, 1/2 mixed tulips and 1/2 hyacinth. They were planted last fall, and all bulbs developed into large, healthy flowers. I'd buy from them again.
On October 21st, 2008, mikesmets added the following:
Additional feedback: I've continued to order products, especially bulbs from them and have been satisfied with the quality. They also have a really great variety of items.
One thing I've learned the hard way with Brecks, however, is that you can never count on getting an order quickly from them, even if the order is placed during the shipping season. If I didn't have to wait at least a month for everything I order from them I would probably order more. As it stands, when I need bulbs late in the season I order from another company that fills orders much faster.
As part of a larger bulb order that I am satisfied with, the "Persian Blue" blue alliums arrived and were planted. The alliums that are blooming now are not Persian Blue, but the shorter, smaller, magenta, more common (and less expensive) "Drumstick" allium. I am a bit upset - with the color not corresponding with the rest of my gardening, and with getting a less expensive plant after paying for a more expensive one. Fortunately because of their short height, they are not easily seen where they are planted, as I was counting on the higher allium.
I have contacted the company and am waiting for a response. Seems like a substitution was made without any notice - but the shipping receipt states "Persian Blue." Stay tuned for the company's response. I will change this rating to NEUTRAL if the company corrects this somehow.
On May 3rd, 2008, swimray changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
Changed to neutral because Breck's contacted me to arrange a remedy - I will need to wait a year to see. . .On Apr 26, 2008, Breck's Bulbs responded with:
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On May 1, 2008 8:02 AM, Breck's Bulbs added:
I have been in communication with the Customer; it appears he did receive the incorrect bulb. He will be receiving a reship (at no charge) in October."
I have ordered from Breck's for many years now and have always been a very satisfied customer. I previously ordered only from Dutch Gardens, but I switched to Breck's as I found the quality of their items similar to Dutch Gardens but generally at a lower price.
I particularly like Breck's selection and quality of daffodils.
I'm a first-time Breck's customer as of last fall. I ordered daffodils, tulips, day lilies, peonies and astilbes. I also ordered Breck's bulb food. My order, which was quite large, arrived in plenty of time for planting in October, although the various items arrived at different times. This was o.k. with me. I could see by following the tracking info on-line whether or not they had been packed and/or shipped and they arrived during the ranges of times stated. I even received e-mails from Breck's when they were on their way.
My daffodils and tulips are up and gorgeous! The day lilies have erupted and are growing toward their appointed heights, I believe. The peonies are coming along and I think the astilbes are out also (I'm a novice, so am not sure sometimes whether what I'm seeing is a beginning flower or a weed, so I tend to let things go until I'm sure). But, things are definitely coming up where I put them and the ones that have bloomed are stunning. I plan on using Breck's again this fall for more daffodils and tulips.
Azalea5
Kettering OH
I ordered plants. Plants did not arrive as scheduled. UPS tracking "had no information on shipment". Emailed Brecks 5 times and got no response. Spent over 1/2 hour on hold using long distance number, no answer. Their 800 number doesn't work. Their webmail customer form does not work. Finally got person to answer by calling the "place order" number. Person explained, "shipment must still be on a boat somewhere". Informed them to cancel order, which they refused to do.
Brecks and other alias (Audubon Workshop, Breck's Bulbs, Fields, Henry, Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co. , Henry Field's Seed & Nursery Company , Michigan Bulb Co., Rocky Meadow Orchard & Nursery , Springhill Nursery ) are all run from the same Gardens Alive boiler room operation.
There are currently 219 complaints in the last 36 months registered against this company, which the BBB labels as an unsatisfactory company.
Deal with them at your own risk!
On Apr 18, 2008, Breck's Bulbs responded with:
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On Apr 24, 2008 9:46 AM, Breck's Bulbs added:
Customer's order could not be cancelled as it had already been shipped and it was in transit from Holland. Since we do honor our 100% satisfaction guarantee, the Customer was refunded for his entire purchase price, including shipping and handling of $7.93. The customer used a Free $25 coupon and was told to keep the bulbs with our compliments. Although we are a member of the Garden Solutions Club along with the above mentioned companies, Brecks is not an alias and each company is it's own entity."
I have ordered from Breck's for the past two years and I plan to order again from them this fall.
I have ordered the 'Spring Rain' collection (tulips and grape hyacinths), Grecian Windflowers, Poppy Anemones, Mountain Lilies (Ixiolirion), and a 'Super Sak' of tulips.
All the bulbs have come up beautifully and I am very pleased by their size and intense color. I did have trouble with the windflowers the first spring. I don't know why, but they did not come up. I simply emailed Breck's and they replaced the bulbs which are doing fine this year.
The bulbs that are coming up for the second year are just as lovely, and in fact more so (bigger and more flowers) than last year. I have discovered that one flower bed is not doing as well as another one, but that is MY fault, not Breck's.
All the bulbs were large and healthy. I did not receive any moldy or otherwise unhealthy bulbs and I do not expect to do so.
I found that the catalog and website both are very clear in the time of arrival and place of origin (Holland) of their bulbs. I did not have any problem with the time that the bulbs arrived. In fact, I held them in the refrigerator for a week or two before I was able to plant them both years, and they did not suffer any ill consequences. All shipments have always come with a planting guide that clearly explains the best location and planting depth of every species. Also, with multiple shipments, I have only been charged one shipping fee.
I will certainly continue to order from Breck's this fall and in the future.
On April 19th, 2009, ratlover1 changed the rating from positive to negative and added the following:
Well, I've decided that Breck's is not so great. They have always been great about replacing bulbs that don't grow, with a lifetime guarantee. But I've found that over the years, the bulbs from Breck's either don't return in the spring, or aren't true to type when they do grow. This spring a group of tulips that I planted last fall are growing well and lovely, but abnormally small--a couple are only a few inches high. I'm sure they won't come back well, if at all, next year. Sure, I could have Breck's replace them all, but what would be the point of spending so much time and effort to plant a hundred new bulbs that probably won't do well either?
This spring I will order from Brent & Becky's bulbs for the first time, for bulbs to plant this fall. I suspect that I will be pleased. It's also funny to compare catalogs, for example Breck's to Brent & Becky's or McClure & Zimmerman's (not a top 30 on this site but has majority of positive ratings); and look at the prices--Breck's always charges much more for essentially the same product. We'll see how it goes!
On Apr 17, 2008, Jen_D Millerstown, PA (Zone 6b) wrote:
I ordered tulips from Brecks in the fall. They arrived in good time and looked great. They all appear to be up and growing very well. I had placed anouther order from them in January or Febuary from a buy 1 get 1 offer I had recieved from them. Here is the only problem I have with them: I sent an email the end of Febuary to cancel the order after changing my mind and never recieved any answer. The order was in my mailbox last weekend and the plants did look good. I am a bit upset that their costumer service ignored my email. Besides that my experience with them has been positive.
On Apr 17, 2008, Breck's Bulbs responded with:
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On May 17, 2008 2:20 PM, Breck's Bulbs added:
Customer has been contacted and told that her purchase price has been refunded, and she can keep the bulbs with our compliments."
For years we have enjoyed products from Breck's, that is until now when we started getting nasty calls from a collection agency stating we did not pay our bill to Breck's! A call to Breck's customer service informed us that they had turned over an unpaid balance of $26.94 to collection. I said we had not received any bills, after going around and around I requested a supervisor and tried to explain this was a mistake and just wanted to clear our account. The attitude of the supervisor (named Anne) became demeaning telling me that they had sent us 6 monthly billing letters, which she said, we ignored! Can you imagine that? The fact that we did not receive anything and were calling to clear things up meant nothing. The big issue here is that our good credit has been tarnished and there was no attempt by Beck's to help us resolve the problem. A call to the collection agency was greeted by a vial man who demanded the bill (now $62.27) be paid at once and that it was up to Breck's to clear our name with the credit bureau. Another call to Breck's was they would do nothing. They seem to have no customer loyalty and no desire to help in what was obviously a mistake on their part. So now I have to pay $62 to a rip-off collection agency and try to fix our otherwise stellar credit. What a terrible company Breck's is. AVOID this company!!
On Apr 16, 2008, Breck's Bulbs responded with:
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On Apr 22, 2008 9:11 AM, Breck's Bulbs added:
The customer's package was delivered to them on October 4, 2007 at 3:33 pm. The package included a bill, and it is our policy to send monthly statements/bills for six months before a collection agency is contacted. Because we received no response, the account was turned over to the collection agency. The collection agency charges additional fees for their cost. I have contacted the customer to let them know that this will not be reported to any credit bureau, so their credit is not damaged."
I ordered from this company before I came across dave's garden site. I was concerned after reading so many negative comments. I received my order quickly, everything labeled and planted last fall. I am happy to say I believe all the daffodils and tulips I planted are all blooming. I planted aprox. 40 bulbs and all seem to be very healthy. I am new to gardening so this is a very nice surprise. I have very large property and planted in all different areas some full sun some most shade and all are blooming beautifully. I also just received gladiolas to plant now. I hope to have the same results. I would buy from brecks again. My experience was 100% perfect.
I ordered from Breck's using the $25.00 coupon, so the actual cost to me was very low. I figured "what the heck", if the plants don't grow then I'm only out a few dollars. Naturally I was hesitant to spend more after reading all the negative comments. I ordered a collection of "mixed large crocuses" and it did take forever and a day to receive them. I knew they were coming from Holland ,but would be shipped in time for Fall planting. They did come, although I would have preferred to get them a few weeks earlier. It can be a bit cold here in NE Ohio in Mid October. I waited to post anything until now (the spring) , so that I could see if the crocuses would grow and bloom. I do see them popping out of the ground and some of them have started to bloom, so I'm quite pleased about that. The reason my rating is not positive though, is for two reasons: 1. The very long wait for the arrival of the plants. 2. So far my crocuses don't appear to be "mixed". They are all the same color, so that is disappointing. I will probably order again, but only if I have another coupon to use. I won't bother trying to contact the company about my plants not being what I ordered, because quite frankly, I don't need to deal with the hassle that I see so many others have dealt with.
On April 19th, 2008, newtohosta added the following:
I just needed to add an update concerning my previous comments on my Breck order: I did receive a message (through Dave's Garden) from a woman named Debbie who works for Breck's. She apologized for my crocuses not being "mixed" and wanted my name and address so she could check my order. I replied to her that since the date of my last post other crocuses have bloomed and were a different color, however they were still overwhelmingly yellow. I assumed that they would be more evenly mixed. I am not upset about the order, just disappointed that they were mostly yellow. I thanked her for her efforts to follow up on my comments. I did receive another catalog in the mail with another coupon, so I have placed another order for a different mixed batch of crocuses. We'll see how those turn out next year. If I continue to receive products that bloom that I order from Breck's then I will probably order larger amounts of plants in the future.
My first experience with Breck's was last fall, I ordered a Dafodil collection from them. I received them promptly, and was impressed by the size of the bulbs. I made a special raised corner bed for them, and they came up this year and bloomed beautifully along with several anemone that were in the collection.
So, I didn't hesitate to order two more orders from them for delivery this Spring. Well, I am making this neutral for a reason. I received two emails on March 15 that said my orders had shipped direct from Holland along with a UPS tracking number. The UPS site reported the tracking number was invalid, so I sent an email to the company, just to double check. (They do not get back to you within 48 hours like the auto-response email says.)
I did finally receive a few emails responding that my order shipped directly from Holland... and to allow 3 - 4 weeks to receive my order. UPS does finally recognize the tracking number, however the only information is that they have received the package information as of 3/26/08.
The information on the website regarding my order number still says the orders should be here between 3/29 - 3/31. Today is April 3...but I am waiting the appropriate 3 - 4 weeks. Unfortunately if they don't get here soon, it will be warm here in NC, and I will have to baby the plants a little more than I would have if they had arrived when promised.
On Apr 4, 2008, Breck's Bulbs responded with:
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On May 23, 2008 8:13 AM, Breck's Bulbs added:
On April 17, I emailed the Customer asking for her information so I could check on their order; no response."
I am a first time bulb buyer and grower. I did find Brecks through their coupon, and got online. I placed a modest order and used the coupon. My whole experience has been great! I just recieved the last of my order, begonia bulbs, just in time to get them started for this year. I had never even heard of this Co before and I was able to read where the bulbs came from Holland! The perfict place to get them from, the bulb cap of the world!!!!!!! My bulbs came to me packaged, labled and in great cond. I think we all need to remember that these are natural products, and not manufactured so the bulb companys have only so much control. Also customer service reps didn't make the bulbs either so taking your frustrations out on them makes no sense, they are bound by the Co they work for. You get more flys with honey than with crap! Lets all grow things and be happy!
On April 23rd, 2008, Pinkgardens added the following:
Update from my garden. All the bulbs from Brecks have come up and are beautiful. The heads of my tulips and daffs are sooooo big that they almost "tip over ". The colors are vibrant and close to the catalog pictures. I just can not say enough good things about this Co. Bulbs from Holland for me every time, over Home Depo etc.
On Mar 6, 2008, botanica37 Oakton, VA (Zone 7a) wrote:
I ordered 20 snowdrops in October 2007 and planted them as soon they arrived, I believe early November. Now is March, all my crocuses are blooming, the daffodils are halfway growing, but no sign of my snowdrops whatsoever, not even a single leaf is showing where I planted them. I had hesitations ordering from them based on the negative reviews and inflated prices, but decided to give them a try. Very disappointed.
On March 23rd, 2008, botanica37 changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
I am changing my rating from negative to neutral, because the company did contact me and offered to replace the plants. I declined - it is too late to grow snowdrops this year anyway and I would rather purchase bulbs that will grow next year from a different supplier.
On Mar 5, 2008, rah127 Dalton, GA (Zone 7b) wrote:
I ordered bulbs from this company in the fall of 2005. I am still enjoying many of them. I planted over 400, and all but the tulips and snowdrops have come back year after year. I am enjoying the daffodills now. I think it is too hot here for the tulips and snowdrops (and I wish the catalog would say that), but overall, my experience was positive...
On Feb 20, 2008, MorsisX Lockport, IL (Zone 5b) wrote:
I have worked with the Gardens Alive companies and specifically Breck's for years and can say that overall I am very pleased both with the product and the level of service offered. From Breck's in particular all of the plants and bulbs that have been sent have been of better quality (larger, healthier) than other Gardens Alive affiliates and I have experienced NO die off from any of their plants or bulbs.
Their customer service has been easy to work with and very helpful (same center for all Gardens Alive companies). I have canceled and modified many orders and they have always been very helpful, whether via the phone or email.
Wow, I am kinda new here at "Dave's" but they sure got the google bombing down as they seem to on the top page of about every garden company search. The reality, brecks might have some problems like the colors not being as advertised in the bulk bags, but all in all,this has to be in the better half of the mail order world.
On February 15th, 2008, rubberskull added the following:
I guess I have to give brecks some credit, a couple years back I got the 25 dollar free coupon without strings, and I entered it online and got $18 worth of merchandise and the rest covered my shippiing and I didn't even have to give them a credit card. I bought some crocus that I just put in the lawn in holes made with a spade bit in my cordless drill, it all worked out rather well.
I've ordered fall bulbs from this company twice. Both times I had a good coupon. I think their catalog prices are a bit high because they expect a lot of people to use the coupons and price accordingly (personally, I would rather know what I am paying for each item up front, rather than work out the cost after subtracting the coupon, but the deal was still decent).
On my first order they were out of a variety of daffodils I asked for and substituted "Avalon". These bulbs were quite large and got multiple flowers per bulb - really nice. The other variety daffodils I got did grow but the bulbs were not nearly as large, and there was only one flower each. I'm thinking they might have different suppliers for different varieties.
The crocuses were fine. All the tulips I got grew, some were better than others but some got rabbit damage in my yard so I couldn't quite know how they would have looked.
All the bulbs they sent me were viable and most came out quite lovely. I haven't tried their spring products yet.
In the past 3 seasons, I have planted 650 tulips, 167 daffodils, 80 grape hyacinths, 72 giant hyacinths and 180 giant crocuses.
I lost only 4 plants - and that was due to my neighbor's Golden who dug up 4 Giant Hyacinth bulbs and destroyed the bulbs.
They are most efficent. I place my order online and promptly get an email conformation which tells me that I will be notified when the bulbs are shipped from Holland. (How anyone could fail to figure out that the bulbs are coming from Holland and not the back storage room is beyond me.) Then the email comes that the bulbs have left Holland and detailin how many boxes and what is in each box. Given that they have to come on a ship and then clear customs, it is about 5-6 weeks from shipping to receipt.
Invariably they arrive in mid-late October which is right when spring bulb planting should start in my area.
I strongly suspect that those complaining about the bulbs either:
(1) left them in their box - probably in the house or another area that is warm - and didn't get them planted. SInce bulbs have to be kept cool or they get moldy and rot, odds are it is the fault of the gardener.
(2) didn't plant them correctly by either not making the holes deep enough for some or too deep for others; or by putting them in the wrong location (crocuses in shade etc.)
Problem with these internet comment things is that the poster does not have to establish their expertise before offerring criticism. FYI, I am and have been a garden club member for over 20 years and my gardens are nicknamed by the town as "The Botanical Gardens" or "The House with the Flowers."
On Nov 27, 2007, Eric_OH Columbus, OH (Zone 6a) wrote:
I'm a bit loath to rate this company negatively based on an order using a free coupon, but am doing so based on two things.
1) The company does not state in its catalog (at least, nowhere prominently) that many if not all of its bulbs are shipped from Holland. This makes orders rather slow to be filled.
2) My order came with a multi-page ad circular for a quack medical treatment (a "colon cleanse" product), filled with false and potentially harmful information. Any company that participates in the dissemination of health fraud will not be getting my business in the future.
The few bulbs I got with the coupon looked viable. We'll see what may come up in the spring.
On Nov 27, 2007, Breck's Bulbs responded with:
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On Mar 26, 2008 1:23 PM, Breck's Bulbs added:
The Customer was contacted on 12/29/07 with the below response:
Dear Customer,
I apologize for any problem you have encounted with our company. Our catalog does state on the order page and on the Fequently Asked Questions that our bulbs ship from Holland.
I also apologize for the ad you also received in the package. This was not meant to be harmful in any way. I will certainly pass along your suggestion.
Brecks and Spring Hill are both owned by the same company. This is an email I received from Spring Hill today after sending a message to customer service about a cancelled order:
Dear Mark:
Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, we are unable to assist you in this matter, as your account has been closed because of more than 80% returns of our merchandise. Please accept our apology this may have caused to you.
If I can be of further assistance please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Nancy
Customer Service
So, if you take advantage of the 100% satisfaction guarantee, they close your account, and if you write to customer service to find out what is going on, they can't help you because your account is closed.
I have done business with many of the affiliated companies of Gardens Alive! for 20+ years. I placed one order from Spring Hill last year that arrived late and in very bad condition. After planting them, only 9 out of 24 plants survived. The CS agent I spoke with decided to credit me for the entire order, so that is the 80% returns they are looking at. They have not looked at the fact that I have spent thousands of dollars with their companies over the past 20 years!
The guarantee they offer is a joke and the products they are currently selling are of questionable quality. They used to have very good product, so I don't know how the CS used to be. I only know that, right now, they are not providing good products and the customer service is the worst I have seen in many, many years.
On Nov 27, 2007, Breck's Bulbs responded with:
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On Mar 26, 2008 1:49 PM, Breck's Bulbs added:
We contacted the Customer via email on12/10/07 for a possible resolution; still waiting for a reply."
I GOT MY FIRST ORDER (LATE SPRING SAMPLER COLLECTION) ON 08/25/05.THE FOLLOWING SRING, NOT EVERYTHING CAME UP, SO I CALLED & TRIED TO RE-ORDER ONLY 2 ITEMS FROM COLLECTION, ONLY TO BE SENT WHOLE COLLECTION AGAIN AT NO CHARGE ON 8/30/06.THERE ARE PLANTS THAT HAVE STILL NOT COME UP FROM BOTH COLLECTIONS!MEANWHILE, I GOT THE ASTILBES COLLECTION 4/11/06 AND 1 PLANT DIDN'T COME UP.THIS TIME THEY LET ME RE-ORDER THE 1 PLANT ONLY & I GOT IT ON 9/13/2006 AT NO CHARGE.AT THIS POINT, I ALSO GOT GROUNDCOVER TULIPS & 3 ASTRANTIA MIX ON 9/01/06.NOT ALL THE TULIPS CAME UP AND ONLY 1 OF THE 3 ASTRANTIA MADE IT.WHEN I CALLED TO RE-ORDER BOTH, I PLACED AN ORDER FOR ARUM ITALICUM AND WAS TOLD THAT THE TULIP GROUNDCOVER WAS NO LONGER AVAILABLE, YET IT WAS STILL IN THE CATALOG UNDER A DIFFERENT NAME AND #!THEY WOULDN'T GIVE ME A CREDIT NOR REPLACEMENT BECAUSE I HAD USED A COUPON AND SINCE THEY BROKE UP MY PAST ORDER IN DIFFERENT BILLING PERIODS, IT LOOKED LIKE I GOT THEM FOR FREE!AFTER SPEAKING WITH THE REPRESENTATIVE FOR 1 HOUR, WE FIGURED OUT THAT I HAD INDEED PAID FOR THE ITEMS, BUT THEY STILL COULDN'T DO ANYTHING FOR ME...A HUGE WASTE OF MY TIME.STUPID ME, I LATER GOT ANOTHER COUPON, SO IN GOOD FAITH..I DECIDED TO TRY THEM AGAIN!I GOT SUNNY TWINKLE ALLIUM & DRUMSTICK ALLIUM ON 8/31/07.I WAS STILL WAITING FOR THE DWARF DAY LILY COLLECTION & LILY TREES, WHEN I NOTICED THAT THE DWARF DAY LILIES WERE TO BE SHIPPED OUT AT THE END OF NOV. AND THE MIDDLE OF DEC. FOR THE LILY TREES!!I LIVE IN ZONE 5..ILLINOIS, TOO LATE TO PLANT ANYTHING!I CALLED THE COMPANY TO ASK IF THEY COULD BE SHIPPED OUT IN THE SPRING INSTEAD AND I FOUND OUT THEY WERE CANCELLING MY ORDER BECAUSE I CALLED TOO MUCH FOR RE-ORDERING PLANTS!!!I TOLD THEM TO COME SEE MY GARDEN AND/OR I CAN E MAIL PICTURES TO SHOW THEM THE PLANTS DIDN'T COME UP.I WAS THEN TOLD I SHOULD MAKE MY FUTURE PURCHASES AT A NURSERY SINCE THINGS WEREN'T GROWING AS THEY SHOULD!KEEP IN MIND I HAVE ORDERED FROM OTHER MAIL-ORDER COMPANIES AND HAD NO PROBLEMS GROWING THINGS!! (AUDUBON WORKSHOP & SPRING HILL NUSERIES)BRECKS LIFETIME GUARANTEE STATES "IF, FOR ANY REASON, YOUR AREN'T PLEASED WITH ANY PLANT UPON RECEIPT, AFTER PLANTING OR ONCE IT GROWS, JUST CONTACT BRECKS ANYTIME, (NO TIME LIMIT), FOR AS LONG AS YOU GARDEN.NO NEED TO RETURN ANY PLANT.WE WILL REFUND YOU EVERY CENT YOU PAID FOR THAT PLANT OR SEND A REPLACEMENT WITHOUT CHARGE-WHICHEVER YOU PREFER." I TRIED TO GET THIS COMPANY TO HONOR THEIR GUARANTEE BECAUSE NOT EVERYTHING CAME UP AND NOW I CANNOT ORDER FROM THEM AGAIN...BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY!!!!I WILL BE HEARING BACK FROM A SUPERVISOR AND I WILL UPDATE YOU ON HOW THEY HANDLE ME...I AM ASKING THEM FOR A COMPLETE REFUND SINCE I DIDN'T GET ALL MY PLANTS TO GROW AND THE HORRIBLE SERVICE I HAVE GOTTEN FROM THEM....BEWARE OF BRECKS!!!!
On November 20th, 2007, MINNEPOOH added the following:
THIS IS A FOLLOW-UP EMAIL FROM THE COMPANY:
Ms Hansen,
I attempted to call you this morning but was unable to reach you. I have reviewed this order and find that although the ship date was changed to March 30, 2008 it will not be shipped. The reason is that your account has had too many reships for product that has not grown. It appears that a lot of our products are not a good fit for your property and do not grow well there. Gardens Alive wishes all of our customers to be successful gardeners and it appears that you are not achieving that goal with our products. I would suggest that you work with a local nursery that supplies products that will be successful in your area. While Gardens Alive regrets the loss of you as a customer, we want you to be a successful, happy gardener. I have cancelled the above mentioned order and will issue refunds for the open reship orders. Gardens Alive will no longer reship plants to you. We can refund your money if you are not satisfied with a product.
Sincerely,
Chuck Van Buren
Coordinator
F.Y.I. I HAVE ALSO ORDERED ITEMS FROM SPRING HILL, AUDUBON WORKSHOP AND MICHIGAN BULB.BRECKS & MICHIGAN BULB ITEMS ALWAYS SEEM TO HAVE PROBLEMS GROWING IN MY YARD!YET, PLANTS FROM AUDUBON WORKSHOP, SPRING HILL, (BOTH MAIL ORDER) WAL MART, HOME DEPOT AND LOWES ARE GROWING WELL.IF MY CHEAPER BULBS FROM WAL MART ARE COMING UP EVERY YEAR AND BRECKS LATE SPRING SAMPLER COLLECTION DIDN'T ALL COME UP BOTH TIMES IT WAS PLANTED...WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE BULBS???THIS TIME YOU DON'T GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR IF THE CHEAPER BULBS PERFORM BETTER (FROM WAL MART) AND THE CUSTOMER SERVICE WAS RUDE & HORRIBLE ON THE PHONE (BRECKS) BUYER BEWARE..LOOK AT HOW THE NEGATIVE POSTINGS ARE ALMOST THE SAME NUMBER AS THE POSITIVE!!
On Nov 17, 2007, celticevents Midlothian, VA wrote:
I received a catalog, like many others with the $25 coupon on any order. I couldn't get the website to accept it, so I called the 1800 number and placed my order easily with the operator. I received my bulbs in about 6 weeks as promised and they looked in great shape. I was pleased with the service and they are now in my yard awaiting spring.
This is the first time I used this company. I figured I'd nothing to lose as I only ordered $25 dollars worth of bulbs so I owed them nothing. If the bulbs don't show next spring, I'll be posting an update then. But so far, I'm happy with the service and product from this company.
Overall my experience was positive. I received very healthy looking bulbs packed well and delivered on time for a good price. The one problem with my order was that after I ordered, I realized the picture in their catalog was not of the same type of iris being offered. I was OK with it this time because I liked the type I got about as well as what was shown. I do think the company needs to be more careful in the future though. I certainly hope that this was the exception and not common for Breck's.
