Mid-Atlantic Gardening: 2013 Group Buy for Fall Bulbs :-), 1 by critterologist

critterologist wrote:
Whether you’re brightening a new landscape or filling in a few bare spots, you might be “in the market” for some spring-blooming bulbs to plant this fall. I’m encouraged by how easily the lily buy went this spring, and I’m really enthused by the size and quality of the bulbs I got from ADR two years ago, so I’m taking the plunge. We’re going to do a group buy for daffodils and other fall bulbs this year!

The first few posts after will be for links and organizational details. We might even use a google spreadsheet (that we can all access) for this one. In the next post down, you’ll find a running list of bulbs that are available or being considered, with prices and numbers.
I may ask everybody to chip in a buck or round up a bit for bags and labels, but I’m not out to make a profit. For me, the benefit will be that many of the bulbs on our list will be ones that I want to buy for my garden!
The next several posts will contain descriptions and details about the bulbs being ordered or considered. I’m hoping that breaking this into multiple posts (1 for each type of bulb) will make it easier to follow along. Look for cultivars to be listed (in theory anyway) in alphabetical order.
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How this “group purchase” thing works:
I’ll either send out invoices or post a google spreadsheet so people can check their orders. The Lily group buy went so well this spring that I think I can count on people being similarly flexible and cooperative when we juggle things around to make the bulb totals come out even.

Why do we need to get the numbers even? Because the bulbs come in bags or crates… so we may be able to order 50 or 300, but we won’t be able to order 52 or 314. For that reason, I’ll also ask people to order in multiples – 10, 25, maybe 50 for some little bulbs. Our return for all of this jugging will be great prices on a nice assortment of bulbs for fall planting! So far, the ones that I’ve “shopped around” for comparison have been priced 30 to 75% off the retail price for quantities. When 10 of us get together and each order 10 of a certain daffodil, we get to share the discount on a bag of 100. Very nice!

In addition to being flexible to make the numbers come out, there’s another way in which this isn’t like placing an order with a retail company. We’re sharing the risk, here. I’ve ordered daffodil and tulip bulbs from ADR before and been delighted with their size & quality. I feel confident they will make it right if there are problems. But if aliens descend on the bulb fields at harvest time, gobble up the bulbs, and bankrupt the wholesalers, we might not be able to get our money back. Since I’m just a person and not a retail company, I won’t be able to give refunds if there are problems that I can’t resolve with the company.



This message was edited May 24, 2013 6:10 PM