Three questions about bulbs...

I have looked through the watchdog and found several good ideas for places to purchase high quality, however I also need about 900 bulbs (for 243 sq ft of garden beds). Does anyone have a recommendation for a good place to purchase high QUANTITIES of tulips for as low $ as possible without sacrificing quality? I read that Van Engelen was a good place to shop for high quantity. Any other suggestions?? (I'm primarily looking for tulip bulbs, but I'll take other suggestions too!)

2nd question: What is the typical order of blooming for Fall bulbs: Daylilies, Tulips, and Daffodils, and Hyacinths? Since they bloom at different times, if I wanted two or three of them to bloom in the same garden area next year, can I plant the bulbs on top of each other?

And last question ..... (I'm a beginner at this!). What is the difference between a Daylily and a Lily?

Thank you!!!

Try www.whiteflowerfarms.com

Dear TNTTulip--

Let's see--where to begin?

(1) If you aren't too picky about the kind/color of tulips (for instance a nice red one or a tried and true hybrid) you can buy them at good prices at your garden center's end of season sales. (And don't cringe--even Home Depot or Lowes--if you check the bags carefully for good quality.) There are some nice bulbs on the racks at garden centers from distributors like Langeveld's, etc., if you shop around.

If you have to have exactly certain kind of tulip then VanEngelen's is a pretty good source for big quantities at good prices. I buy lots of bulbs from VanEngelen.. Most tulips will only bloom nicely for one year. I treat them as annuals here and yank their foliage when they are finished. Tulips are 'deer candy'.

I have never purchased big quantities of bulbs from White Flower Farms--only up to 50 of a kind, and while I think WFF has a good bulb supplier I find them quite pricey for what you get.

(2) Typically daffs bloom before tulips. Hyacinths can bloom with daffs and are generally on the early-mid spring bloom schedule. You can get some daffs to bloom with tulips depending on variety bloom times. Depending on the variety you can purchase daffs that bloom from March until May. Tulips generally bloom during May but can bloom earlier. (I'm always quoting the timetable for around our area-- Zone 6a)

Muscari (little blue bulbs easy to grow and critter resistant) are typical companion bulbs for tulips. To get various bulb bloom times to coincide for tulips and daffs and other companion bulbs you will want to study and look for suggestions in the fine print of a good bulb catalog (Brent & Becky or Scheepers) or go by trial and error.

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_bulbs_seeds_planting/article/0,1785,HGTV_3555_3150727,00.html

Also, did you look at Colorblends site? They have lots of companion bulb pairings to offer and offer nice quality bulbs.

(3)Daylilies are perennial garden plants and aren't grown from bulbs. They generally bloom in June until late summer depending on the cultivar. To learn more about them go to the Daylily forum. They are a favorite for gardens because they are pretty dependable and easy to grow. Often people plant them in the same bed as daffodils to disguise the aging daff foliage in late spring.

True lilies are the aristocracy of the garden and are surpisingly easy to grow--at least I was surprised! Check out the Lily forum for more info on them. They are grown from Bulbs planted in the Fall or even in the Springtime. They start blooming in late June and continue into August (around here, at least) depending on the type. The wild critters like to eat both the bulbs and the lilies so gardeners have to beware of that issue. There is a lot to learn about the different Lily groups but don't be intimidated. They are not that difficult and someone on the Lily forum will be glad to advise.

Oftentimes container gardeners plant different bulbs in layers (I do) and I think if you google 'bulbs layers' something like that you will get more complete answers to that.

http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com/spring-bulbs.html

Have fun designing your garden! We will want to see pictures next spring! t.

As far as I'm concerned, the very best bulb source, and one I've been dealing with for years, is Brent and Baecky's Bulbs. It's no accident the Wall Street Journal calls them "...the best bulb compant in America." The prices may be just a bit higher than other companies, but the qulaity far surpasses others. They give good price breaks for lerager quantities.

This very helpful. I appreciate the responses!! It's hard being a beginner at this.... so much that I want to learn!!
Thank you for the good information.

TNTulips, oh don't get discouraged. It is so much fun learning about spring bulbs and etc. Just keep doing it and before you know you'll become an expert. :-)

Also keep coming back to this site with questions & problems, I found that many people here are so helpful and they are definitely willing to help others and share their own hands-on experiences, etc.

I have never used them before, but SAM's Wholesale club had good prices on their bulbs. After opening the package they look good and healthy. Now if they come up as labeled we will wait to see. 70 bulbs for $15 - not a lot of choices to pick from, but might be worth the money. I know it is a little late, but FYI for next year the co-op forum has been a buzz with bulbs.

I've had good luck with Blooming Bulb Co. ~ bloomingbulb.com.

TNT, you have come to the right place to learn!! I have learned so much from DG in just a little while, and look forward to learning much more. And there are so many generous and helpful folks here! I planted a small garden of Asiatic and oriental lilies just for cutting recently, and am slowly filling my yard with dozens of daylilies, many of which I got from one of the coops here. I also bought a great assortment of spring flowering bulbs from another coop. I am getting ready to try tulips for the first time, and I think I am going with a local source since I'm not planting hundreds like you. That will be beautiful, good luck!!

I just found your thread. I love planting all sorts of bulbs on top of each other.
I once saw this referred to as "fruit cake" gardening - the soil is just chock full
of all sorts of bulbs. I love putting in the minor bulbs (crocus & Iris reticulata),
tulips, and lilies. This gives you bloom from Mar til June/July. Another nice
bulb to interplant is spanish blubells (hyacynthoides hispanica). They bloom
in May/June. OH and anemone blanda - bloom for 4 wks in eary spring.

Tam

Van Engelen has a high Watchdog rating, and I think they deal in large quantities.

I've used them for years. Never a problem. I do believe they have the best prices
for large quantities though Brent & Beckies do occasionally have better.

Watch the van engelen website - they put their bulbs on sale in early Nov. Typically
first 30% and then 40% and at the end 50%. Obviously much reduced options since
many go out of stock but still, a very nice thing, bulbs really cheap!

tam

Thank you for the great tips! I ended up buying from Van Engelen, ColorBlends, Wayside Gardens, and from a neighborhood group that was selling tulip bulbs as a fund raiser! I'll post the results and the winners in the Spring!

I have found so many great websites in my search to learn more about gardening, and I also found an excellent deal that I'll share to try to pay back all of the helpful advice givers on this site! It's a deal on a book called "Flora", which I'm told is THE book of all books for gardeners. Most of you reading this are probably already familiar with this book, but just in case you're not or you are interested in taking a look, you can buy it right now from www.booksamillion.com for 1/2 price, which means you will save FIFTY DOLLARS!! That is a bargain because it looks like it will be a book that I'll use over and over for years to come. It's a heavy two-volume book with LOTS of pictures and very clear descriptions of every plant you can imagine. It also comes with a CD that I can't wait to play with this weekend. =)

Thanks again for the great suggestions!

Flora; one small step for a printing press but one giant leap for the gardener's experience. It is the most comprehensive of the major plant encyclopaedias:
>"Flora:" two big volumes, has it all.
>"A-Z Garden plants:" Very popular, doesn't include edibles, just ornamental. One 12lb $80 volume.
>"Botanica:" one $20 volume, has edibles, but not quite as informative and complete as the above, but still a good deal.

I can tell that you'll be an expert in no time. Having no shame for asking questions now equates to having tons of experience and knowledge soon. But if I could have changed something when I was a "budding" bulb lover years ago, I would have strayed earlier from the ubiquitous Daffs, Darwin Tulips, and Hyacinths and started growing species tulips and other small bulbs sooner. (Like Chionodoxa, Galanthus, Scilla, Muscari, etc) Small, easier to grow, cheap and powerfully glorious.
Have fun planting!
Cheers,
K. James

Who is the author of "Flora"? I cannot find it in your reference to the Books-a-Million website. I would love to add it to my library. I already have the other two books to which James referred. Thanks!

Marilyn

ISBN: 0881925381
Sean Hogan, editor:
http://www.amazon.com/Flora-Gardeners-Encyclopedia-Sean-Hogan/dp/0881925381

Thanks!!

And, it appears to be on sale right now for $63. Kenton, you enabler!

Actually, it's on sale for much less than that if you'll take a used volume. Just be careful that you get the CD with it.

Marilyn

So sorry, really, GreenJay. It's because I didn't succeed in enabling you to buy more things at the DBG spring sale. At least, I didn't see you go back with your cart...