I don't have too many lilies and am hardly an expert, but I like B & D Lilies, and have only ordered from them when I did buy them. I have no experience with anyone else. They have top quality and healthy, plump bulbs, lovely service; and the lady I spoke to was more than nice, very friendly and helpful. Unfortunately, I lost one of the lilies as it was in a container and did not do well; she had warned me about no guarantees of them in containers so I knew beforehand; I just am limited on space so could not accommodate a lily garden just then. I may make one this year, though, because I love them.

At any rate, give them a try.

Here is a link that might be useful: B&D Lilies

I've been happy with the bulbs I've ordered from The Lily Garden and Buggycrazy as well as B&D lilies. You might also want to check and see if there's a lily society in your state. They often have bulb sales with members getting first crack at the bulbs. Check out the North American Lily Society, if there is a society in your state/region there will be a link for it.

This is my current favorite--

http://lilypadbulbs.com/catalog/

I ordered the oriental and orientpet collections, and they shipped promptly with Priority Mail, nice big healthy bulbs, every bulb labeled with variety. The ones that I started in pots in the greenhouse are about 18" tall now.

I love Jackson & Perkins... plus they have a good policy that f it dies or doesn't bloom the first year they replace it free and send it when it is time the following year to plant it.

Brent & Becky's Bulbs - good prices, quality bulbs.

Here is a link that might be useful: Brent & Becky's

Van Bourgondien better known as Dutch Bulbs

Here is a link that might be useful: Van Bourgondien website

I can not believe that someone still recommends Van Bourgondien. The worst online ordering experience I ever had. Not a single plant from them survived. Scam company.
Van Bourgondien's rating

Brent and Becky's and Buggy Crazy!

I've read many posts about problems from Van Bourgondien on several websites.

Never had a problem with dutch bulbs. Looking at the web link above there are some things to consider. Their shipping has windows that are clearly stated on their site. If I want an order released outside of the standard shipping times I must specify it. With concerns to sales and bargains, you get what you pay for
CV

Van Bourgondien sends dead plants (I do not think that sale can be an excuse for that). Their customer service people lie all the time. They are even worse than Spring Hill and Breck's IMO.
I've ordered online from many vendors. VB's plant material is the worst I've ever received.

Why bother to buy from them if there are so many reputable sellers?

The best bulbs dealers for me:

Brent&Becky's
John Scheepers
B&D
Hallson's Gardens

Lily Pad was OK, but they did not tell me that several varieties I ordered will not be available. These varieties were listed on the web site and in the paper catalog. By the time I received my order it was too late to order these cultivars from some other place.

I belong to the Lily Society here in Wisconsin and I get most of my bulbs from their sales and when friends of mine split up their beds. The Lily Society sales are good because they're relatively inexpensive and you get varieties that most greenhouses in the area won't have. The North American Lily Society has a web page with tons of information. Good Luck! Lilies are my favorite except when Hostas are. Cindy

Here is a link that might be useful: North American Lily Society (NALS)

I would have to add Faraway Flowers to that list. I got beautiful bulbs from her last year.
http://farawayflowers.vstore.ca/

Other favorites I would highly recommend
Buggy Crazy (fall shipping only)
B&D Lilies
The Lily Garden
The Lily Nook

The above are the cream of the crop. Being in a lily society chapter also gets you in on some pretty great sales.

Just a comment on lilies in pots: I've grown Asiatic (and 1 Oriental) lilies in pots for the last 5+ years, and my experience is the bigger the pot the better your bulbs will grow. I had some bulbs in 2 gallon pots. They grew every year, and they bloomed every year. BUT. Not enormously, just small, with a bloom or two.

About 2 or 3 years after I planted the two gallon pots, I put 1 or 2 bulbs in a large pot - a pot that is about 15-20 gallons, and used to have a 7+ foot tall ficus tree in it (died in a freeze, and freed up the pot!). Those lilies grew like nobody's business. Last year, one stalk had nearly 30 blooms on it, was over my head, and I had thinned the pot of dink bulbs to free up pot space (and give away littles to a friend). I probably pulled out 2 dozen small 1-2" bulbs, and 4 or 5 dozen garbonzo sized bulbs. They won't bloom for a few years, but they were proof to me that the parent bulb was happy and growing well.

Plus, big pots don't dry out nearly as quickly as the smaller ones do. I had to water the two gallon pots daily, even in my coastal fog belt. The big pot got watered about once a week, and sometimes I forgot and left it longer than that.

Just got an awesome order from B&D - in their Trumpet Voluntaire collection, a couple of the bulbs were as big as my fist. These are ready to take off!

brent and beckys are having a sale 50% off

Yep. I finally bought 'Anastasia' that was always so expensive. With lower price this year and 50% discount it is not that bad :-)

I ordered anastasia too. Along with quite a few others, I think I've developed my son's lily obsession to go along with my columbine and rose obsession. Or at least I'll blame it on him :D

Thanks for posting all this great info. I recently decided that I may try lilies, so it was good to see who to order from.

Michigan Bulbs drove me crazy a couple years back - not just bulbs, but seeds/plants that I ordered. I placed my order in Feb. They kept pushing back the shipping date till it was July. I told them to cancel my order!

Diana

I live in south east wisconsin, and recently planted 100 bulbs from The Lily Garden. All came up except for three ofthe same variety, in the worst drained spot, so I think not the bulb's fault. They even had several extra bulb thrown in by "accident" Excellent bulbs. Timely delivery. Responsive customer service. Highly recommended.

I went to Brent & Becky site and couldn't find sales. Can anyone tell me how to get to sales on their site now?
Thanks and Blessings, Margaret