I have a lovely collection of mixed oriental lily bulbs that I have way in the front yard. I got that from VB wholesale. I hate to go back to them now that I have discovered the lily forum and lots of nicer places to buy. But I want to put in the same idea, do a trench and put in multiple rows of oriental lily bulbs in an new garden area. Can't buy them one at a time, too expensive and need top do at least 3 rows. Looking for ideas on how to accomplish this at a reasonable price. Any ideas?
Looking for a nice collection of mixed orientals
There's a lily co-op going on right now at the co-op forum. Ranges from 59 cents to about $1.00 per bulbs with a wide variety of selections. The more bulbs ordered the lesser the cost.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1079222/
Rita, if you liked the mix from Van B, why not buy it from there again. They don't have a good rating, and they are known for mis named bulbs, but if you're looking for a mix of cheaper orientals, and you were happy with them, why not just get them there again?
And then get some special ones from some of the growers to put in a special prominent place.
There are areas were I like to do more of a mass effect. That is lots of bulbs, 100-200 in one area. The indivual ones may not be the most fancy but the group effect is showstopping. That is the way I had done my bulbs until last year when I got into the trumpet and various trumpet and orienpet hybids. I had a spotted oriental lily mix from VB Wholesale. I will look at them again and see but wish I could find some other options also before I buy.
I have had exceptionally good luck with bulbs from Costco. They have always been well marked, fresh, well packaged and ready to plant. Each variety is of exceptional quality and is separately packaged within the package. They have been more than fairly priced and are typically priced all the same. They usually have several beautiful varieties. The more expensive ones have fewer bulbs per package. One caveat: unlike the big box stores, they get one delivery, and when they are gone, that is the end. My biggest problem is that I buy more than I can plant. I cannot wait to see the fritillaries I put in for the first time last fall.
The only problem I have ever had was with specialty bulbs which (unlike Costco) were not hardy to zone 6, such a crinums.
Thats why mine didnt come up again
I looked in the VB Catalog and didn't see the spotted oriental mix that I got afew years ago.
Rita - did you check the lily co-op I was telling you about?
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1079222/
If you don't want to join/order from the co-op, check out this wholesale source. You can order directly from them in batches of 25 at very low, low prices:
http://gardenist.com/LILIES_.234_.cj60.htm
No, I never checked the co-op. I will check out the comercial link you just posted. Thanks.
I have only one issue with the lily bulbs from Costco...no mention about pre-chilled. I bought some and threw them in the fridge for a month. Just planted them last week, so I don't know if they'll do anything or not. All my other lilies are up already.
The Costco bulbs are all prechilled. They will all bloom for you this summer. No worries.
It would appear the Costco collection and the Van B one is the same, so I assume the Costco ones came from Van B. I noticed Costco carried the Glamini glads, so that was my first thought, and on checking the collection consists of the same lilies.
I absolutely LOVE those Gamini Glads. I bought them for the first time this past summer and they were just fabulous. The colors are vivid and striking. I used to plant the ordinary sized glads each year but no more. Since I have tried these I will never go back to the giant sized again. I am going to be planting the Gamini mix in all sorts of places in the yard late this spring.
I really liked them, also.
There are some pretty ones out there. I am not big on glads,dont have a really good reason.
Costco doesn't buy from Van B. Costco's lily bulbs come from Longfield Gardens LLC and their shipments come directly from the Netherlands. There are a whole host of places that carry the same bulbs, same mixes etc. The bulbs Costco carries are pretty large too, in comparison to Van B.
Ah, that's good to know, Tracey. Thank you. I noticed the bulbs from Costco had free shipping on them. I might try the Glamini glads from there then. The ones I got from Van B turned out OK, they were very pretty, but they were definitely small, and I know these are smaller glads.
I got an order of bulbs ones time from Park seeds, and it had the Van B logo on the bag, so I assumed Van B was a large wholesaler and maybe Costco was one of the places they wholesaled too.
Not being a big fan of Van B, those Costco bulbs would never make it into my cart if they were one in the same with Van B.
Van B wholesales to Farm and Fleet around here, so I definitely know what you are talking about Polly. It is a large company that supplies several places with bulbs, corms and roots. Thankfully not Costco though. Lol. Costco is usually pretty good about getting high quality items, so a partnership with Van B wouldn't make a lot of sense, especially based on the mail order DG GardenWatchdog reviews.
Well, I hope re-chilling them didn't hurt them. The ones I got are Boogie Woogie and Montego Bay. Very large healthy bulbs, and cheap!
It's amazing that Costco can charge something like $12.99 for 18 bulbs of good size. It makes filling pots on the deck very reasonable. They've all been true to name over the years that I have done this. A pleasant surprise.
I wish we had a Costco around here. And our local Sams Club just went out.
Carol, Lisa--BuggyCrazy just gave me some advice on keeping some bulbs I got early, and she said re chilling them should work. She told me to keep them at 29. I can't do that as we use the fridge for drinks, but I'm keeping them at 34, and so far so good.
If you have them in a frost free fridge, I would keep checking them to make sure they don't dry out, though.
good information
It seems reasonable to think as long as the bulbs are dry they would be OK
But you can't let them dry out too much, that's what I'm afraid of with the frost free fridge. Wish I had my old non frost free one just for bulbs.
Do you have a Costco in Rochester, Jo Ann?
no
We have BJ's a Wholesale store like Sams Club,until you realize the prices are as reasonable as any other place.
I used to like the large packages of stuff. I was never impressed with their plant life.
We have a BJs here too. I liked Sams Club a little better. I agree the plant life is not a good life there.
They dont have a big selection.
Rita, how many lilies do you want to put in there? Would it make sense to buy bags of 25 from some place like Wooden Shoe or Sunshine Flower Bulb and mix them? That would be around 80 -100 dollars for a 100 bulbs, of four different varieties.
Also consider the lily co-op and making a mix of your own.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1079222/
Thats a nice collection
Since I was the first to mention Costco, I did check online, but there is no question that the varieties and prices in the warehouse are the best. The online selection is very nice but very limited in selection. I prefer the small bags that say "bulbs to blooms" on the front and "bulbes á fleurs" on the back, which are small white bags. The small purple bags say "enduring blooms" but those are plants. I have to reiterate: get them when you see them or they will be gone in a flash.
Indeed they vanish in a hurry. Apparently we aren't the only ones that know a good deal when we see it. Lol.
I have been looking all around. I think I will just order orientals from VB Wholesale again. They do not have the spotted mix so I will just get indivual types of the ones I like of the orientals listed and make it my own mix. more expensive that way but not too much and I haven't found any other option that I really like. I will also get the Gamini Glads while I am ordering. Still have to decide what else to get because if I spend $200 in merchandise then you get $50.00 off. I get the $50.00 off each year as I spend so much. So have to decide yet on what to add for afew bucks I am short.
I am not much for co-ops so skipped that idea.
No co-ops for me either.Plants are too small. The best 2 co-ops I have done ate RosyDawn coleus and Caladiums 4 less.
My other option is to make up a collection of orientals at the place with the link above, Sunshine Gardens. They look to be similiar to Woodenshoe in that they sell in 25 lots of precooled lililies. I am not familiar with them, new to me but I loved the bulbs I got from WoodenShoe last year.
In fact I just checked WoodenShoe and they are up ready to order also. They other place might have more selection. Have to go look carefully now.
Problem is that If I try to go for a selection by getting 25 at a time, I am going to end up with lots more bulbs than I have room for in my spot.
http://woodenshoebulbfarm.com/default.htm
http://www.sunshineflowerbulbs.com/default.htm
If anyone has bought from both of those pre-chilled places, I would love to know comparision thoughts. Otherwise for those that tried Sunshine Gardens, please let me know about their bulbs and quality. I already know woodenshoe is great. Thanks!
Woodenshoe and Sunshine are retail outlets for Ednie. I have had very good luck with Ednie, with the exception of a bag of mis named bulbs. Andy Slater that runs Sunshine was the manager at Ednies.
Again, I'm not comparing them with places like The Lily Garden that grow their own. These are Dutch bulbs. But for the mix you are looking for, it's probably the cheapest way to go. And if you do get a bag of mis named bulbs and you are using them for an Oriental mix, it would not be so bad, anyway. Or go with Van B, like you origionally planned. I ordered lilies from Van B once, and the quality was fine. They were mis named, though, all of them, but again , if you're looking for an Oriental mix that would be fine. Their plants are horrible, though.
Sunshine Gardens and Woodenshoe would be equal in quality.
Rita, the source of the co op mentioned is eflowergarden, an excellent vendor with good prices. Unlike joining a co op, it's really just buying from the vendor individually.
I think there's a co-op going on here with Sunshine, Neal.
The source vendor for the current co-op is Sunshine Flower Bulbs. It will end tomorrow (11th) at midnight.