hollandbulbfarms.comReviews of hollandbulbfarms.com

Very expensive for the size of the plants I paid $60.26 before tax for three pansy trios—nine plants total—which works out to $6.70 per plant. The plants are 2.5-inch starts. I contacted Holland Bulb Farms because I was surprised by how little plant material I received for $60.26. Their response was simply to explain that each item was a trio and therefore my order contained nine plants. While that technically answers the quantity question, it doesn’t address the issue I was raising: the value for the price. I understand that these are specialty varieties, and I was willing to pay a premium for them. However, I subsequently compared prices from other nurseries. For example, Burpee currently sells four Cool Wave specialty pansies for $13.95 ($3.49 each), and Needham’s Nursery lists 4-inch Majestic Giants II pansies for $2 each, including a four-pack for $4. Holland charged me $6.70 each for 2.5-inch starts. That is a substantial premium for a very small plant. I wish the listing had made the size and price-per-plant more prominent. I would have made a different purchasing decision had I realized I was paying $60 for nine very small starter plants.

My allium bulbs were planted and they are all coming up this spring. The peony root I ordered looked good when I planted it with 3/4 eyes but it still hasn't come up and all my other peonies I got from another company have been up for awhile .... so we'll see .. June 12th Peony still a no show ..dug it up and there was no life .

I placed three orders with this company for holiday gifts this year. So far only one recipient has received the delivery, so I will do further reviews later. But, in this case, I had sent a single "waxed" bulb in a "sweater" (a knitted covering). The website explains that the waxed bulb contains its own nutrients and water and needs no attention to grow into an amaryllis flower except some sunlight. However, when the recipient got the the bulb (as depicted on line) it apparently came with generic instructions that the company sends with their regular bulbs meant to be planted, informing the recipient to immediately plant the bulbs. There is no explanation about the bulb not needing additional care except sunlight. This was most confusing to the recipient, who is not in a situation to take care of a regular bulb with soil and water, and I'm just glad I intercepted the situation so that I could explain what to do. I really think the company should have separate instructions for waxed bulbs; otherwise recipients will be potting unnecessarily. I don't know yet whether the bulb will bloom as promised. More on that in a few weeks time. Meanwhile, I wrote the other two recipients about this problem prior to their deliveries, thus spoiling the "surprise" element of the gift-giving. Post-Edit Comment: I gave these bulbs as party favors at a small event and sent some to folks in rehab. The recipients were delighted. I kept one bulb myself to see how it worked out. It's only a week into the sunshine but the bulb is definitely sprouting - up about 3" now, so it seems to be doing its thing very nicely. The company wrote to tell me they had "run out" of the correct instructions and I appreciate hearing from them. Nonetheless the insertion of the incorrect instructions defeated the purpose of getting the waxed bulbs, which was to require no labor on the part of the recipients, some of whom as mentioned are in rehab etc. Instead, the instructions they inserted would have had people digging holes in pots and "planting" the waxed bulbs. Fortunately, I got to them in time to thwart that problem.