I don't know what is the proper etiquette for this. Most vendors send bonus to the buyers. Do sellers want to know what the buyers want as bonus or do they find a wishlist offensive? Just would like to get feedback from both sellers and buyers of daylilies whether the sellers would like to know the buyers' wishlist or they prefer to give whatever they want. I know bonus is a gift not a requirement and as a buyer I really appreciate all the bonus, whatever they are. Just wondering what you all do in this situation.

When I just placed my order to
Maryotts they asked for my preference for bonus plants and said price didn't matter! I said they could surprise me since I always feel weird asking for a more expensive one than any of the ones I purchased. But if I remember correctly, the last time I bought from them they sent very expensive bonus plants so they aren't kidding!

Many places take requests but are not obligated of course to send those. Sometimes I request that my bonus plants be a certain color or height. That way they still choose, but I get something I can use.

I think it would be wrong to order 3 or 4 of the inexpensive ones and request one of the most expensive ones as a bonus. To me it says you do not value what they are doing. That being said, you never know what a grower has going on and they may want to treat you to a more expensive one. So I agree with Frillylily give a little in guidelines and pray to be pleasantly surprised! Many blessings for a wonderful month!

Or instead of requesting specific plants, you could always make a note that you are collecting, a certain color, height, trait, like bud builders and that you'd love your bonus plants to be in the category if possible.

When I placed my last order from Maryott's, most were toothy purchases. I told him that toothies were my interest and to choose whatever he would have available for bonus plants and that's exactly what he sent - toothies!

If a seller asks for you to suggest a list for bonus plants, they may not be able to accomodate your wishes, but they will have an idea of what you like and can use that as a guideline.

Usually, instead of offering names, I just mention that I can't do dormants when making suggestions for what I would like as bonus. It has worked well.

A friendly note saying you are looking forward to growing the plants your ordered and saying what you are collecting is a pleasant way. I would not say what you would like for a gift plant after all it is a gift unless they request a list for gift plants. Some don't send gift plants but may send extra fans of the plants you ordered. Sometimes I think the seller will send extras of what they may have already dug and cleaned for another order rather than replant them after all digging and cleaning a plant is extra work.

I have received some wonderful gift plants and never ask for or expect a specific cultivar, to me it is always fun to try a new plant if they send some that I may not have heard of, they can always be given to someone else if you feel it doesn't work in your garden. Adding to make it clear that I never ask for gift plants that is totally up to the seller.

Only if the seller asks! Once I saw a noted hybridizer "go off" on someone who innocently requested a specific bonus plant to him while we were visiting their garden. Yikes! That made an impression. The hybridizer's point was, "we don't HAVE to include gift plants and are doing it out of kindness, so it is greedy of you to ask for a certain plant." My order hadn't been dug at that point and I wasn't about to mention a bonus after that!

Often I send extra fans of the plants ordered, so buyers should always keep in mind that a gift is just that, a gift that the buyer can keep or if they don't want it, maybe give it to someone who does.

When I ordered last year from a place that couldn't send me any of my specific purchases until the following Spring, if even then, she sent me 3 gift daylilies just out of kindness when she returned my money and they have been some of my favorites! Needless to say I immediately found something to order from her in the Spring and she included an awesome gift daylily!!! I didn't even know about the gifting until I ordered from her! Kind of like Christmas - I'm ok with what I get providing I have room for it and if not, I can always re-gift it to a friend

kousa said:I don't know what is the proper etiquette for this. Most vendors send bonus to the buyers. Do sellers want to know what the buyers want as bonus or do they find a wishlist offensive? Just would like to get feedback from both sellers and buyers of daylilies whether the sellers would like to know the buyers' wishlist or they prefer to give whatever they want. I know bonus is a gift not a requirement and as a buyer I really appreciate all the bonus, whatever they are. Just wondering what you all do in this situation.

If the order form or catalog doesn't mention bonus plants, I just order what I want and don't worry about it. If the vendor asks for a list, I'll provide one, composed of moderately-priced plants I would like to grow. There's almost always something on their list that got past me, but I always wanted to try. I might even plug a $100 plant into that list if I'm spending $200. I've seen vendors state things like "50% of your order in bonus plants." I don't think they would be offended if you gave a list which included one $100 plant, four $25 plants and a couple of $50s.

From the seller's perspective, they might be in a generous mood, they might have just dug and divided a big clump of the nicest one on your list, or they may simply appreciate your return business. Remember that it doesn't necessarily cost a grower $100 to gift you a "$100 plant", but the $200 you spend with them most certainly buys $200 worth of things at the store. There is stiff competition amongst sellers, and a three-year old $150 intro may be multiplying out of control for them.

I don't have much experience buying DL's as there are not that many nurseries in Europe..
That being said, I've ordered from Spain, Belgium, Germany, Slowakia and the Netherlands itself

Buying DL's always seems to be a growing process for me..

I start with going through the sellers webcatalog or -list, writing down éverything I would like to have
Than I go to the NGA and look at the "real photo's"
I find out the height and blooming season and add that to my list of wanna-haves.
Than I send that list to the seller, asking which of those they have enough of to sell
(I noticed that quite often their webcatalog shows DL they don't have (anymore), are sold out or are too small to divide )

Out of the ones they mark on my list as being "available" I usually have to make a choice, because there are still waaayy too many
Even than my orders are always over a couple of hunderd to over 1000 euros...

So all in all I have quite a lenghty conversation before we get to the point that I place an order, and they know exáctly what's on my wishlist
Up until now all nurseries have been extreemly generous in sending extra fans (or even entire clumps!) and bonusplants
I've been invited to visit most of them and next year, when things have settled down a bit for me privately, I even may take them up on it
(I would love to see Gerald Hohls' gardens (Boitzer) in peak bloom season!! )


Mayo

I've only ordered from Maryotts, & only the last time I ordered did I list some suggestions for bonus plants. I'm at the point that I would rather have extra fans of what I'm getting than something I may very well already have. Bill Maryott did send some from my list & one I wasn't sure I would like, but turned out to be a wonderful plant.

A bonus is just that "bonus". Only provide a list if the seller asks what your preferences are.

Sellers aren't obligated to add bonus plants, so bonuses are added out of pure generosity, therefore "beggars can't be choosers". Supplying a list without being asked is a good way to alienate a seller, because one is automatically assuming that the seller will add bonus plants. If they don't do that, then such a list forces them to inform the buyer that there aren't bonus plants included. Think of it from the seller's perspective.

If you get a plant that you don't want, trade it away or post it to give away for free on Trash Nothing or Craigslist.

When in doubt, err on the side of caution.

😃

If a grower asks, I may give a list, but I never ask for a current or recent introduction, even if I am buying a $100 or more plant. When I ordered from Curt Hanson this fall, I just told him what I liked in plants (heights, colors, rust resistance (if he knew), good opening, forms). I will either like what he sends me, or I won't.

Sometimes, especially on the Lily Auction, if the grower doesn't state either way, I will specifically tell him/her "no gift plants, please". Partly this is because I really am at the point of "daylily in, daylily out" (excepting seedlings, of course). Partly this is because more often than not, lately, I have received plants for which I have no use or desire: diploids (even though I only bought/won tetraploids, and am trying to minimize the dips in my garden), daylilies much shorter than I want (or that would fit into my garden), colors (or color combinations) that I abhor, daylilies whose blooms won't open well here, or highly rust prone plants (which maybe brought their own rust into my garden - the "gift" that keeps on giving ).

I do have to say that sometimes I forget to state the "no gift plants, please" mantra, and I have been pleasantly surprised with what I got ('Linda's Magic' was one such plant, and it was just what I needed). And sometimes the grower just ignores the mantra and sends gift plants anyway!

I love surprises.... I let the seller determine what if any bonus plants are included. I receive something I already have or the cultivar does not fit into my plans, I'll donate to my local daylily club.

Bob Selman has a bonus offer on The Lily Auction that if one spends $100, he will include a bonus of one of his 2014 intros. I figured that the bonus offer was based on 2016 purchases only bc this is the year that it was posted.

I had bought items from Bob this year (definitely not $100 worth), and never expected to receive an intro daylily, but he sent me two! I had spent a great deal of money with him over the course of 2 years, so this was his way of thanking me for the business. This was a gesture of pure kindness. It also made me realize how much I actually spent with him!

I was pleasantly surprised and thankful, so I sent him an e-thank you note.

Thank you all for your responses! I wasn't sure whether such a list would offend the seller or help the seller decides what to give as bonus to the buyer that would make the customer happy. I used to not request specific daylilies for bonus. As my collection grows and room has become limited, I have thought that the wishlist may help the seller to narrow down possibilities for bonus. Based on all the posts above, one should not ask for specific daylilies esp. new or recent intros for bonus but it is ok to let the seller knows what you wish to grow such as the form, or color, or height of daylilies. Is that right?

Remember, some sellers ask for bonus suggestions. Maryott's is one of those sellers....I just got my order from Bill today, and he gave me every bonus on my list, and included a special gift of Born in California, a 2016 introduction. I ordered six plants and got 5 bonus plants. I was not expecting all of the bonuses, but I am one happy camper.

If the seller does not ask for bonus suggestions, I do not make request for bonuses.

Pat, thank you so much for that! I also placed an order with Maryott's and for the first time, I listed some of his intros that I would love to receive as bonus. After I hit the Submit button, I felt really uncomfortable. I hope that I did not offend him for listing the bonus suggestions. I should have noted that they were just suggestions and not in anyway obligated him to honor it.

Bill has always been over-the-top, outstandingly, incredibly generous. He is also, in my experience, a very amiable gentleman. I don't see how your interest in his intros could offend him.