A few miscellaneous questions...
Tracey
Looking through Breck's bulb catalog, I found some things that I
would like to plant and have grow, but I thought I would ask the
resident experts first. First, I seem to remember 'Breck's' not
being very highly recommended. If so (and the prices seem a
bit high to me, but what do *I* know???), where would I be able
to get some of the more unique things that I saw that I would
*love* to have??? Actually, where do I get *any* of them?? Do
nurseries start selling bulbs during the late part of the summer/
early fall? Or do I get them from places like KMart, Home Depot,
or maybe Franks Nursery & Crafts? And what do I do about things
like Crown Imperials or Parrot Tulips? Are they normally available
in the Twin Cities area? And, last but not least, has anyone ever
ordered anything from garden.com? I found Crown Imperial bulbs
for 3 bucks less than from Breck's. And why am I so into this
gardening stuff anyway??? <Never mind, that was my husband's
question. I don't CARE why.>
Tracey
Cheryl
also try Dutch Gardens http://www.dutchgardens.com
I've been happy with what I've gotten from them, as well as
from White Flower Farms.
--
Cheryl in SLC _>^..^<_
(to e-mail, make the obvious change to my address)
Tracey wrote in message <19990815191031...@ngol01.aol.com>...
JMooreTS
I seem to remember 'Breck's' not
>being very highly recommended. If so (and the prices seem a
>bit high to me, but what do *I* know???)
Tracey,
As far as I know the quality of Breck's is fine. But the prices are
significantly high.
where would I be able
>to get some of the more unique things that I saw that I would
>*love* to have???
Van Engelens and (sister company) Scheepers have the best prices for bulbs.
They also have good selection and good quality. White Flower Farm just bought
out a bulb supplier and are offering attractive prices and a nice selection
this year. Van Bourginons and Van Dykes also have decent slections and good
prices.
Do
>nurseries start selling bulbs during the late part of the summer/
>early fall?
Yes.
Or do I get them from places like KMart, Home Depot,
>or maybe Franks Nursery & Crafts?
We don't have all of those in this area. But, generally, the "Marts" have a
moderate selection of the most popular bulbs. Their prices tend to be decent
although I believe many achieve that by offering smaller sized bulbs. Buyer
beware.
Regardless of the store, be a bit wary about buying bulbs late in the fall.
They've been sitting out in less than ideal conditions for a long time. Plus,
some bulbs have difficulty establishing good root systems if they're set out
too late in the fall.
The exception to the above is when those bulbs go on sale for fire sale prices.
For example a dime a bag (it happens). Then throw caution to the wind, snap
them up and dig, dig ,dig. Even if only half come up in tyhe Spring you'll be
pleased.
And what do I do about things
>like Crown Imperials or Parrot Tulips? Are they normally available
>in the Twin Cities area?
I dunno about the Twin Cities. All the mail order places listed above carry
them.
John Moore
David Wlos
smaller bulbs, Experience has shown they perform poorly. It's not worth
the savings. The aforementioned mailorder cos are all good including
Brecks. Pay attention to size (usually stated in cm) , for daffs get
double nose. When it comes to bulbs you get what you pay for, there's no
nursing them on to size for the average gardener. Don't forget bulb
food/bone meal it really helps. Good luck!
Paul Onstad
> would like to plant and have grow, but I thought I would ask the
> being very highly recommended. If so (and the prices seem a
> to get some of the more unique things that I saw that I would
> nurseries start selling bulbs during the late part of the summer/
> or maybe Franks Nursery & Crafts? And what do I do about things
> like Crown Imperials or Parrot Tulips? Are they normally available
> ordered anything from garden.com? I found Crown Imperial bulbs
> for 3 bucks less than from Breck's. And why am I so into this
> gardening stuff anyway??? <Never mind, that was my husband's
> question. I don't CARE why.>
>
> Tracey
I have bulbs ordered from Brecks and the they're all doing fine--they're on
their 5th year now. I'd order more except there's no room left. The
originals are crowding as is.
Taking the KMart, Home Depot... route for plants is like buying computer
supplies at a grocery store. If you know exactly what you want you might be
okay but they have no advice to offer. This spring, I visited the nursery
tent of our local Target Discount not intending to buy anything but then,
heck, why not a 4-pack of violas? I had also noticed marigolds and wondered
how they got them to bloom while they were still so tiny? Put to a group of
salespersons, the question just returned blank stares; the last thing they
wanted to talk about was gardening. The only comment supplied with the
violas was that, "They spread."
They didn't :)
-Paul
Tracey
carry
>them.
John
Thanks for all the tips. I had thought that Breck's wasn't very highly
recommended, but I guess I was wrong. That's good because they
have some things that I want <grin>. My mother's trying to talk me
out of the amaryllis bulb, saying I can find them for cheaper here,
but I've seen her amaryllises and they're not as big as the one Breck's
has.
I did talk to the people at my local nursery (small, family owned) and
they are going to have bulbs in at the end of August. I'll see what they
have, order a bit from a couple of catalogs/online mail order places,
and go from there.
--
Tracey
******************************
"You're just jealous because the voices choose to
talk to ME!"
Tracey
I WANT those Crown Imperials <grin>.
Tracey
Tracey
>okay but they have no advice to offer.
<grin> I know what you mean. I've had it happen even at nurseries
(of course, when you're asking questions of the teenager who's
watering the plants, I guess you shouldn't expect the most complete
of answers, eh?) But, then again, the department stores sometimes
have some pretty good deals, at least in the live plant department.
Over the past few weeks, I've gotten a couple of *huge* house-
plants for a fraction of the original cost that just needed repotting/
splitting and they're doing great. The huge pothos for 3 bucks and
the equally huge Boston fern for another 3.
Dennis R. Moore
Wlos) wrote:
>Skip the local retail outlets- they do indeed save on price by offering
>smaller bulbs,
A distinction might be made between the big discounters and
independent nurseries/garden centers. You should be able to find top
size bulbs of excellent quality at the latter.
Dennis
Michele Gray
the year, retail and wholesale. The best for cost and quality are Dutch
Gardens (1-800-818-3861) and The Daffodil Mart(1-800-255-2852)
Ann
>I WANT those Crown Imperials <grin>.
They can be a little tweaky to keep. They'll bloom the first year for
you OK, but then it's a crapshoot. When you plant them, tilt the bulb
a bit in the hole. When this year's bloom stalk rots off, it leaves a
depression that can collect water and cause the bulb to rot. Also,
keep in mind these bulbs (and plants) smell fairly like skunk, so
don't be surprised. I've planted five of them over the years, I
reliably get blooms out of only three.
--
Ann, Gardening in Zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
Fix the from: 9 is the spam trap!
********************************
If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.
~Chinese Proverb
C. A. Owens
Tracey wrote:
>
> Looking through Breck's bulb catalog, I found some things that I
> would like to plant and have grow, but I thought I would ask the
> resident experts first. First, I seem to remember 'Breck's' not
> being very highly recommended. If so (and the prices seem a
> bit high to me, but what do *I* know???), where would I be able
> to get some of the more unique things that I saw that I would
> *love* to have??? Actually, where do I get *any* of them?? Do
> nurseries start selling bulbs during the late part of the summer/
> early fall? Or do I get them from places like KMart, Home Depot,
> or maybe Franks Nursery & Crafts? And what do I do about things
> like Crown Imperials or Parrot Tulips? Are they normally available
> in the Twin Cities area? And, last but not least, has anyone ever
> ordered anything from garden.com? I found Crown Imperial bulbs
> for 3 bucks less than from Breck's. And why am I so into this
> gardening stuff anyway??? <Never mind, that was my husband's
> question. I don't CARE why.>
A great source of high-quality bulbs at reasonable prices is John
Scheepers [retail] / Van Engelen [wholesale]. They are the same
company, with two different divisions. The prices in the wholesale
catalogue are better, but the minimum quantity is ~100 for most things.
The address for both is 23 Tulip Drive, Bantam CT 06750. VE's phone
860 567 8734, JS's 860 567 0838; although, IME, if you call one, they
will be glad to take [separate] orders for both.
Also, IME, the selection of bulbs available at most garden centers and
all home improvement centers is abysmal.
Chris Owens
Tracey
>all home improvement centers is abysmal.
Thanks for the numbers. I'll check them out. But what exactly do you
mean by the above? Are you talking about the quality of the bulbs or
the variety of selection? I'm the type of person, I've found, that
prefers
'different' plants, rather than the standards. For instance, since we're
talking about the spring now, I rarely get 'excited' about tulips or
daffodils or hyacinths. They're pretty to look at, I guess, but they
just
don't make me stop and go 'Wow!' Now, there have been some varieties
that did that for me. For instance, the 'Rembrandt' tulips I think look
nice, I like the mostly-green irises, parrot tulips are cool, etc., but
I'm
more impressed (and thereby want to grow) things that aren't seen
in 10 other yards in my neighborhood. I think that's why I like the
Crown
Imperials so much. I'd never *seen* them until I saw them in Breck's
catalog.
NAearthMOM
parrot tulips are very nice but last year I tried the "fringe" tulips & bought
a lot of white ones from Dutch GArdens this year.
Love Caryn
"Come into my garden, my flowers want to meet you!"
C. A. Owens
Tracey wrote:
>
> >Also, IME, the selection of bulbs available at most garden centers and
> >all home improvement centers is abysmal.
>
> Thanks for the numbers. I'll check them out. But what exactly do you
> mean by the above? Are you talking about the quality of the bulbs or
> the variety of selection?
The quality is generally just fine. The selection sucks little blue
bunnies. Very much run-of-the-mill, most-popular-flowers type of thing.
Chris Owens
Andrea M. Elkins
Any chance you could show us your garden? :)
-Andrea E.
Michele Gray <pagar...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:19990817134648...@ng-cg1.aol.com...
Sue
I tried Bachman's last year and was very pleased with the bulbs. I had
never seen tulips so small in my life. All came up this spring and looked
great. They had great prices here in Rochester. You might want to take
look in a couple of weeks.
Sue
Zone 4
>would like to plant and have grow, but I thought I would ask the
>resident experts first. First, I seem to remember 'Breck's' not
>being very highly recommended. If so (and the prices seem a
>bit high to me, but what do *I* know???), where would I be able
>to get some of the more unique things that I saw that I would
>*love* to have??? Actually, where do I get *any* of them?? Do
>nurseries start selling bulbs during the late part of the summer/
>early fall? Or do I get them from places like KMart, Home Depot,
>or maybe Franks Nursery & Crafts? And what do I do about things
>like Crown Imperials or Parrot Tulips? Are they normally available
>in the Twin Cities area? And, last but not least, has anyone ever
>ordered anything from garden.com? I found Crown Imperial bulbs
>for 3 bucks less than from Breck's. And why am I so into this
>gardening stuff anyway??? <Never mind, that was my husband's
>question. I don't CARE why.>
>
>
>
Gandy Dancer
Gandy
Our President Taught Us to Pay Close Attention to Words
madgard
small local hardware in Morristown just 14 miles over from me (which is
much closer) carries Dutch Garden bulbs in their rather huge display
boxes that I have seen Roger Swain with on the fall planting episodes of
Victory Garden in the past shows. I figured out the prices and the
little local hardware store was more profitting, they sold the
selections by the bulb, netting them more money, Home Depot sold in
netted bags of assorted unusual varieties, and the more common bulk.
Given the choice, I will still order my different bulbs from Sheepers,
Dutch Gardens, and McClure and Zimmerman for diversification and huge
varieties and guarantee of nursery propagated stocks. This is just my
own opinion though, madgardener