I also have had a bad experience with the single kit I bought! I don't know who the "maker" was, but the pot was white with a Dutch scene on it. This one too also had the disc with the hole, but mine was already potted up and the neck was sticking through the disc. I got to the car and popped that disc off, and saw mold all around the bulb where it met the soil. When I poked a finger into the soil, and felt the bulb, it was very mushy. I marched (really did march) right back to the cashier and asked for a refund on the spot. I was pretty miffed...for what I paid ($12+).
Kristi

After learning what I've learned, any bulbs I want to buy as gifts are checked before purchasing, and the first thing I do is dump the soil or coir disk that comes with any kit, and I also get rid of the pots... I buy clay pots, one for each bulb, and I clean up the bulbs and pot them right before giving the gift. I usually add a little bamboo stake with a Christmas decoration on it, or a ribbon...

It's unfortunate, but most kit bulbs are meant to be enjoyed and tossed. Most people won't go through the hassle of growing the bulb and giving it a rest so it can bloom again. I think the poor soil and the poor pots sold are meant to make it difficult to keep the bulbs alive and well, so you have to buy a new kit the following year. What a racket!

Oh, crap. I ordered a gift box amaryllis from them the other night. It was a pink (they didn't give the actual name. weird.) and I'll be so ticked if it makes it here on Thursday with mold setting in. Bummer.

I have bought Pasadena kit, the bulb is good. but other bulbs, not the kits are not in good condition. Carnival and Rock n roll are not in good condition. They are replace them with new bulbs. I think that they do have couple of old bulbs which are not in good condition.

Larchar, hopefully your bulb will be OK if they just took it out of cold storage to send. Just check it the minute you get it, and remove the plastic bag of soil it is sitting on so it gets good air all the way around the bulb.

Thank goodness you caught yours when you did, lizalily. Mine is going to be potted up the minute it gets here, so hopefully I get lucky. Other than the mold, were you happy with the gift box bulbs? How were their size?

Pay attention to the boxed gift bulbs at Home Depot. Hubby and I were there tonight and I had to DIG to find one that wasn't affected by mold. How sad.

THe boxed Pasadena gift set from Van Engelen had super bulbs...nice big firm ones. Just wish I did not have to pay for the unusable pot, box and soil. I would rather just have bought the bulb! Not only bought the other items but paid 20% shipping to get them out here to Washington State. Still, their price for the bulb itself is the lowest I have seen of good quality bulbs this season.