Got a full color, great deals catalog from Dutch Gardens (Bloomington Illinois). Has anyone had any experience with this company? The stuff looks good and the prices are within reason, but I'm always leery of buying plants by mail.

I don't have direct experience. But from what I've read in other places I would not order from them

Thanks. I've been reading some very negative reviews of Dutch Gardens. Apparently, they've changed management in the past couple of years and what had been a good company went bad. I'll hold off ordering from them.

What are you looking for ?

I had a few poor orders from them a while back, and have not ordered anything from them recently. It seemed as if they were buying bulk bulbs of poor quality, the bulbs were small and deformed, and the divisions were very miserly and dried out.

I wouldn't recommend them. Cheap is cheap, but paying a little more for good quality is always worth it. Everything in a catalog looks fantastic, of course.

I've heard great things about Brent & Becky's Bulbs and am going to order from them this year.

I highly recommend Van Engelen bulbs, especially if you're buying in large quantities. They sell in "big lots" only and their catalog is pretty bare bones (no color pics). However, they have a sister company "John Scheepers Beauty from Bulbs" where you can buy smaller quantities for slightly higher prices. I've ordered from both for many years and never had a complaint.

Dutch Gardens was once my prime source of plants. It's still good for bulbs but beware of their policy that they can substitute without your permission or without an Email to notify you. Due to that policy I wouldn't order from them. It's a sad loss to me.

Scheepers is terrific!

Yep, I fell asleep over the Scheepers catalog a couple of nights ago. Sadly, most of the bulbs won't work down here, but at least I can order a few each year for my kids' gardens in Salt Lake City.

Brent & Becky's aren't taking any orders until March, it appears.