Walmart Bulbs

What does your Walmart carry in the way of bulbs?
I know different stores carry different bulbs for fall planting.
I just picked up in New Jersey:

Purple crocus
Mixed orange daff's

I've been wanting some giant allium bulbs for some time now, but they were very pricey on the internet. I noticed some at our local Walmart today, 3 Gladiator Allium for $6.74, and couldn't resist them. They are supposed to get 4 foot tall and have 8 inch flower heads. When I got home I noticed one of the bulbs was shrivelled inside it's paper outer layer, so I should have checked them more carefully... I'm going back tomorrow to change for another package.
Natasha

I got gladiator last year 5 for $12 at Lowes, and they did very well.

I bought a HUGE fritillaria "imperialis rubra" yest at walmart for 4.88.
Jen

The Walmart in Old Bridge, NJ only had Iris, mixed Dafs, 3 Purple Sensation Allium for 2.53 (I think) and mixed tulips. There might of been some crocus and grape hyacinth, but I can't remember for sure. Nothing impressive. I keep looking for the gladiator or globemaster alliums or some named lilies (even some named dafs for crying out loud) and they don't have them yet.

We should start a swap where we all go out and get the named bulbs that is the cheapest at our local Walmarts or other cheap stores but rare in other parts of the country and then send them to each other.

Great place to get HUGE Elephant Ear bulbs in the spring! Theirs here in NC are better than the local nurseries!

I've had great luck with the bulbs and also the begonia tubers I have purchased at - of all places - Costco 8-)
Those I planted last year have all done really well and also have come true to the labeling.

I buy a lot of different ones from the store, just always remember to check them over !! but it will save you $$ in the long run as you dont have to pay shipping,,, and you have in hand !! gotta love that..

Costco - I've heard they have a good selection - have to get a friend to take me there - lol!
Speaking of Costco - Great place to do the holiday shopping

I found some great deals at home depot yesterday !!

I bought some dahlia bulbs at Costco with little expectations and they were fantastic, VERY cheap too. I also had good luck with their peony bulbs. I'm going to Walmart to look for the giant alliums today.

I have bought bulbs spring and fall at our local Wal Mart for the past couple of years. Sometimes the clearance rack will have some great deals. I got potted (already bloomed) asiatic lilies this year for 50 cents apiece. One time they had a 10 cent sale last year! Just moving out the excess stock and I loaded up a cartful.
This fall my Wal Mart has darwin tulips (red, pink, apelldoorn elite, yellow, orange, mixed) $4 a bag/12 ct. Also bearded irises (superstition, cherubs smile, and a blue) $4 abag/2 ct. They have daffodils same price range as tulips and crocus bag/25 for same price range. Great deals!
And if they don't come up you haven't lost much.
I am chilling the tulips I recently bought at Wal Mart---they are just about the only disappointment I've had from wally world. Last year I bought cannas, dahlias, stargazer lilies, and tons of other stuff.

Sounds like a great deal. What do you think about putting bulbs in a flower box - would that be deep enough over winter?

peonyrosegirl....your postive experience with Costco confirms what I read in Amy Stewart's book "Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers".

She followed the business from growers in CA, to growers in Ecuador, to the auction house in Holland, the import terminal in Miami and retailers across the country.

She said Costco is where major importers dump their excess inventory. One she quoted said Costco is brutal on quality and price. If the company finds out it didn't get the best price or the quality is not good, that wholesaler is dead. No more orders ever from Costco. Stewart also said florists buy at Costco as the prices are sometimes lower than they can get from their suppliers. Costco also knows how to handle the product. Unlike some supermarkets which put flowers near produce or cheese (both of which emit ethylene gas that shortens the life of flowers) Costco has its floral displays far away from danger.

That's really interesting - I always wondered how the prices could be so low, if there would be something wrong with the plant? I'm excited to hear that they're the same or better, the prices at most of these nurseries are just wallet-busting! I'd like to read Amy Stewart's book - would you recommend it?

David_Paul - did the book give an idea if there was any difference in what you buy from Lowes/Home Depot vs. what you get at the nurseries?

Peonyrosegirl...I really enjoyed the book. Amy also gives the history of the business. She starts with Leslie Woodruff, how he bred the stargazer lilly, the millions of dollars the Dutch have made on that cultivar and how Leslie was so obsessed with lillies he never got around to profiting from his work himself. Other chapters deal with the last commercial violet grower in America (in CA), the lady in charge of the flower import terminal in Miami, the companies which grow in Ecuador, a high end florist in Manhatten and why the Dutch are so good at what they do. The book flows well...in one part she follows a shipment of roses from the growers in South America to its final destination. The business is so huge, one problem shippers have is finding stuff to put on the planes going back to SA. Most, loaded with flowers on the way to Miami, return to Quito empty.

She didn't mention where other big-box retailers get their product. They could very well be as careful as Costco but I don't know.