Larry
High Failure Rate of Plants
I ordered 9 Siberian iris rhizomes from Tulip World in March 2020. The rhizomes and roots arrived totally dried out. Roots were soaked in water and rhizomes properly cared for. Only two survived with 4 never growing at all and 3 barely showing 1" high foliage then dying within six weeks. I contacted Tulip world informing them of my college education in botany & horticulture informing them that their dormancy process of drying the rhizomes was responsible for their high failure rate. I received no response from TW. I asked for a refund but they sent a replacement order in accordance with their policy even after I indicated the high failure rate of their first order would be repeated if I did not receive bare root live plants which I requested. The replacement rhizomes and roots arrived totally dry again and had a 100% failure rate and never grew at all after an additional 6 weeks as TW required for growth. I asked for refund and was only given a credit for the plants according to their policy. I only received a refund after informing them I was turning the matter over to my credit card company and after sending them written documentation from the American Iris Society and two Iris Specialty Nurseries stating that iris roots must be kept moist or wet during transplanting and shipping directly contrary to TW’s dormancy process of drying out their iris rhizomes and roots and shipping them in a dry, dormant state. Tulip World demonstrated no knowledge or understanding of the basic propagation methods and shipping methods for proper iris survival and growth throughout our entire communication process and never replied to any requests I made for an explanation from them for their high failure rate during the entire communication process as well from early April to late June 2020.
Response from Tulip WorldNov 9, 2020
Hi Larry, Thank you for your review of our company and the Siberian Iris roots you ordered in Spring. We are sorry to hear that the roots did not grow for you and that they seemed dry upon arrival. All of our bare-root products are kept in cold storage where they remain dormant and cool prior to shipping. It is not our intention for any of the roots we ship to arrive overly dry or overly moist. We are sorry that we weren't able to get these items to you in a way that would allow for success in your garden. It appears we have resolved the matter regarding the refund of the order, and we wish you the best of success in all of your future garden endeavors!