My experience is that their plants are so incredibly tiny that first, you have to be a highly dedicated gardener, willing to pot them up for a year and nurture them until they're big enough to fend for themselves in the garden, and then, it may be years before they are blooming size.

Before I try a new nursery, unless it's local, I check Garden Watchdog. I don't believe everything I read there, but do usually read through the comments and see what the experienced gardeners have to say. Michigan Bulb has an awful rating.

Here is a link that might be useful: Michigan Bulb at garden watchdog

wow. I am so glad that I posted this question before I click the submit button. The reviews are awful! I guess that old saying is right: you get what you paid for. I will have to shop somewhere else then.

btw, which online nurseries sell good-sized, healthy perennials? Any recommendations?

Thanks again!

Michigan Bulb is just a part of a large garden conglomerate, probably more responsible for filling your mailbox with glossy catalogs than any other. Just look at the other members of the club:

# Breck's Bulbs Good Rating
# Gurney's Seed & Nursery Caution
# Henry Field's Seed & Nursery Caution
# Michigan Bulb Caution
# New Holland Bulb Co. Caution
# Spring Hill Nurseries Good Rating
# Audubon Workshop Good Rating
# mySEASONS Garden Solutions Caution

I can recommend several companies that are excellent to deal with:
Greer Gardens (the biggest plants for the money in my experience)
Plant Delights Nursery: specialize in plants for hte south, but have a great selection and super good service
forest farm (probably the biggest catalog on the planet)
Brent and Becky's Bulbs are excellent and are beginning to carry a few perennials: excellent prices and size plants

I recommend looking at Bluestone if you want some nice, healthy plants. They are a little bit small but will grow well. Ask for their catalog as there is a 20% off fall coupon in it right now. All of the plants that I bought from them this spring have done well. The violets have been blooming ever since I got them out of the box, the coreopsis is huge and has so many flowers on it, and the astilbes are getting quite large although they haven't bloomed yet. I'm still working on what I want in my fall order but I'm definitely ordering some tulips and more violets.

Michigan's Bulbs feedback makes for some interesting reading. I always check Dave's Garden Watchdog now before I buy from anyone no matter how good the catalog looks. I've had to throw away a lot of nice catalogs, but I haven't lost any money.

I've been very happy w/ Bluestone and w/ Brent and Becky's (in Gloucester, VA). Bluestone has very good prices (a lot of 3 plants for 1 price deals). Also, I have been to Plant Delights open houses and have bought from them. I always look for perennials and shrubs in Bluestone's catalog/website first. For bulbs, I look at Brent and Becky's first. Brandy

Aagghh! Don't do it!

That was my first thought when I saw this thread! Luckily, others have beaten me to it in warning you!

You'd be much better off paying a bit more at Bluestone and getting good quality stuff. Michigan Bulb is definitely a place where "you get what you pay for". On the other hand, IMO, with Bluestone you get more than you pay for. Healthy thriving plants and great customer service.

I recently ordered from Avant Gardens and Forest Farm and was very happy with the quality of the plants. However, they are rather pricey. I only ordered from them because I couldn't find what I wanted elsewhere. That's the one downside to Bluestone - they don't have as wide-ranging an inventory of plants as I would like.

Good luck!
:)
Dee

Other fine nurseries include Klehms Song Sparrow Farm, Fairweather Gardens, Rare Find Nursery, Lazy S's. Other nurseries to avoid include Owens, Burgess, and pretty much any nursery that sends you a catalog you haven't ordered.

I always check the return address on the catalogs before opening them. If it is Lawrenceburg, IN or Bloomington, IL (another group of nefarious companies), they go into the trash. Also, best to avoid any of the online multiple company names that list Ty Ty, GA as their mailing address.
MHO
Rb

Ditto on Bluestone (planted their large pre-planned garden at our church about 5 years ago-GREAT!) and got good plants from them for home when we visited a few years ago in person.

Brent and Becky's sent nice lily bulbs....
I also recommend The Bulb Crate (owner has been wonderful)...great Orienpets!
Have gotten a FEW good things from Jackson and Perkins....
HUGE lily bulbs from BuggyCrazy's site....also some great ones from White Flower Farm (a little expensive) and The Lily Garden.

Oh, also recommend John Scheepers...have always been pleased with them (daffodils, lilies etc.) ! Great prices too.

Yes, tried Michigan Bulb once and never again...was lured by the "$25 off $25 or more" ad. :0( Everything was tiny, dried out or died the same year.

:0) Phyl

I wanted to second John Scheepers for bulbs. I use them all the time. The funny thing is, I *swore* I already recommended them in my above post, lol! One of those days...

:)
Dee

One thought before you buy on-line. When I was first gardening I sometimes bought things from catalogs that were not well suited to my area. With shipping,the plants were generally smaller than what i could find locally. I lost a lot of plants(and money) before I figured out the nurseries and plants that work for me.Often times the catalog pictures look so great, but the plant just won't ever look like that in your garden because of things you can't control much like super hot summers,super cold winters etc.. So unless you are a pretty experienced gardener(which since you are asking about Michigan Bulbs it looks like you are starting out in the world of gardening)you would probably have the most success finding a local nursery that can recommend a perennial for your area that will do great in your garden.Then you will have success with your hard work put into creating your garden.

Everyone is in agreement - I bought from them once and never ever again. Yes, a few things grew but yikes. I have been buying from Bluestone Perennials since I think the early 1990's. They are wonderful. If something doesn't live, they'll replace it. In all the years, I have lost only one flower. I can't say enough great things about them. I agree the size of their plants have gotten smaller but by July, they are the same size as any from a local nursery.

Good for you that you came here first to ask.

A great place for iris' is Schreiner's Iris Gardens. Beautiful, healthy, big tubers.

Cheryl

I came back to this thread and saw more responses! Thanks so much! :) YOu all are great resources and very helpful!

Ok, so, unfortunately I didn't come here before ordering from Michigan Bulb.

I ordered 3 Pampas grasses from them the Friday before Labor Day. I ordered a dwarf banana plant from Spring Hill Nursay before (I think Spring Hill is from the same conglomerate as Michigan Bulb) and that experience was fine. I knew that I was signing up for very small plants, but with grasses I figured they grow fast and would be only a couple of years before they reach good height.

So, after my order the website said that the grasses would ship late September. Then, I checked the order again and the shipping date was early October 8th, then October 11th and today it is October 20th before they are even to ship. I really don't think I will ever get them.

I will be more diligant to check your recomendations in the future. I feel stupid that I didn't before placing my order, but at least I have learned. I think I will check out Bluestone. Lots of great feedback from you all on them.

Thanks,
Tim

Don't feel too bad Tim. Almost every gardener I know has had that particular baptism by fire at least once.

Here is what I found out about mail order nurseries. I NEVER trust a catalogue where the pictures are paintings, where they are photos with the blooms looking like somebody painted them, where every plant has a cute name but no botanical names beside them (like hummingbird vine, rainbow flower), where all the bloom pictures are close-ups where you cannot see how large the bloom is in relation to the plant. I also don't trust companies who sell what I know are known invasives or suggest that flowers will grow in zones where they won't. I suspect collections of minor bulbs as a lure also. Most of the bulbs they throw in are cheaper than dirt and you'd need dozens of them to make any sort of an impact.

I don't trust companies who don't have phone numbers listed, either.