Breck's Dutch Bulb Catalog Since 1818: Offers, Credit, Shipping

calendar Nov 11, 2026 / · 7 min read · catalog history print catalogs loyalty programs  ·
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Breck's Dutch Bulb Catalog Since 1818: Offers, Credit, Shipping

Breck's began in 1818 as a seed, lawn and garden store owned by Joseph Breck, and that store grew into a catalog company. Today Breck's is the largest US importer of Dutch flower bulbs and ships its bulbs direct from Holland. Four rules decide what a Breck's catalog order gets you: one offer code per order, a lifetime guarantee paid in replacements or credit, a shipping fee set by order total, and last-order dates set by planting zone.

Breck's

Breck's sells flower bulbs, perennials, and bareroots sourced from Holland.

Visit Breck's →

How It Works

The printed catalog has an Offer Code on its back cover. Enter that code on the Breck's website and the offer applies across the site. Breck's applies only one offer per order. Breck's also offers a free catalog by mail.

At checkout, the code goes in the box labeled "Discount code or gift card" on the right side of the page. Merchandise credit numbers and e-gift certificate numbers go in the same box. With an email promotion, the discount is usually applied automatically when you use the link in the email. Only one coupon or discount can be used per order, and offers cannot be combined.

The store loyalty program is Breck's Bloom Rewards. Joining earns 200 points and a purchase earns 5 points per $1. Points are redeemed at checkout at 100 points per $1, starting with a $5 coupon for 500 points, so purchase points work out to about 5 cents back per dollar. The page's FAQ has an entry on whether points expire; read it before you leave a balance sitting.

Some printed catalogs also carry a Breck's Credit offer, a buy-now-pay-later account. It works by mail only, on the Express Order Card in the catalog. Every order is subject to approval. The first payment is due 25 days after you receive the merchandise, and late fees apply to overdue balances. The full payment terms come enclosed in the catalog.

What You Can Earn

  • Catalog offer code — one per order, entered online or in the checkout discount box; the discount amount is not listed on the offer page.
  • Bloom Rewards — 200 points on joining, then 5 points per $1 spent, redeemed at 100 points per $1.
  • Guarantee merchandise credit — if a bulb, bareroot or potted plant fails, Breck's replaces it or sends a merchandise credit, with no time limit and no need to return the plant.
  • Rewards on your own card — Breck's accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express, plus PayPal, Shop Pay, Google Pay and Venmo.

How to Stack

  1. Request the free catalog by mail and keep the Offer Code from its back cover.
  2. Join Bloom Rewards to collect the 200 joining points.
  3. Pick one discount. The catalog code and an email-link promotion cannot both apply to one order, so use whichever is worth more on your cart.
  4. Add any merchandise credit or e-gift certificate in the same "Discount code or gift card" box. Whether a credit counts against the one-discount rule is not listed, so check the cart total before you pay.
  5. Pay online with a rewards card or wallet. Breck's Credit is a separate, mail-only option on the Express Order Card.
  6. Expect the charge on the day you order. Breck's charges the card when the order is placed, not when the bulbs ship. A fall bulb order shipped from Holland can sit for weeks between the charge and the shipment.

Cashback sites such as Rakuten may also offer a rebate; check before you buy.

Worked Example: A $75 Fall Bulb Order

Breck's sets shipping and handling by order total:

Order totalShipping and handling
Up to $40.00$10.95
$40.01 to $60.00$14.95
$60.01 to $80.00$16.95
$80.01 to $100.00$18.95
$100.01 and over$20.95

A $75 bulb order falls in the $60.01 to $80.00 band, so shipping is $16.95 and the order comes to $91.95 before any discount. Adding $10 of bulbs to reach $85 moves the order into the next band at $18.95, so the extra $10 of bulbs costs $12 at checkout. Past $100, shipping is $20.95.

These sums leave out the catalog discount. Whether the bands use the total before or after a discount is not listed. Check the shipping line in the cart after the code applies, especially on a cart near $60, $80 or $100.

When to Order

Breck's times its shipments from Holland so that bulbs and bareroots arrive at the right planting time. Bareroot perennials stay in the ground in its nurseries until they are fully dormant. Breck's cannot ship outside the 48 contiguous states.

Each product line has its own last order date, and some vary by planting zone. For fall 2026 and spring 2027 the dates fell in this pattern:

  • Fall bulbs shipped from Holland close at the end of November in every zone. Shipping starts in mid-August in the coldest zones and early September in the warmest, and runs into early December.
  • Bareroot perennials close in mid-November and ship from early October.
  • Bearded iris and daylilies close in October in colder zones and mid-November in warmer ones.
  • Greenery, amaryllis and bulb gardens close in December, bulb gardens last.
  • Spring bulbs shipped from Holland close at the end of May, with shipping starting in February in the warmest zones and March in the coldest.

Check the shipping schedule for this season's exact dates in your zone before you order.

The Lifetime Guarantee and Returns

Breck's gives a no-risk lifetime guarantee on all its bulbs, bareroots and potted plants. Other goods have shorter windows:

  • Tools and yard decorations: send them back within 60 days of purchase for a merchandise credit or exchange.
  • Décor: return within 60 days for a credit, refund or exchange.
  • Potted amaryllis and bulb gardens: if one does not perform within 30 days, Breck's replaces it or gives a merchandise credit.

Only décor lists a refund. Plants and tools come back as credit or an exchange, so the value stays at Breck's. A merchandise credit goes in the "Discount code or gift card" box on your next order.

From Seed Store to Mailbox

Joseph Breck of Boston established Joseph Breck & Company in 1818. His 1840 catalog, New England Agricultural Warehouse and Seed Store Catalogue, was a small book of 84 pages with 72 black-and-white engravings. Long essays on gardening ran next to the products. He also put together seed collections for specific markets such as the West Indies.

Breck was one of the founding members of the American Seed Trade Association. He was president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society from 1859 to 1862. By 1886 the firm was called Joseph Breck & Sons, the name on that year's catalog cover.

Breck's now keeps a full-time team in Holland that works with bulb growers there on quality. The same team looks for new European perennials that could join the greenhouses Breck's runs in the US. The catalog sells top-size bulbs. Gardens Alive, Inc. runs the business, doing business as Breck's, and it now also sells to wholesale shoppers.

Bottom Line

Breck's works best as a fall Holland Direct Ship order: order before the end of November with the catalog code, as a Bloom Rewards member, and pay with a rewards card. A cart just over a band edge ($40, $60, $80 or $100) pays $2 to $4 more in shipping, so trim it under the line or add enough to make the higher band worth it. Only one offer applies per order, and Breck's ships only to the 48 contiguous states. To start, request a free Breck's catalog for the Offer Code, then place the order at Breck's.

References

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