B&B Sale On Now

Aha, now you have a name for your little yellow daffs! ;-) I will give B&B a buzz tomorrow and see what they say.... if my order hasn't gone out, I may add them, and if not -- there's always next year!

I got all caught up on bulb planting this afternoon, so I'm no longer feeling quite so foolish for ordering more! Well, actually, I just realized I still have 10 crown imperials (red) out in the garage that I intend to scatter through the perennial beds, but against the hundreds that I've planted they hardly count, LOL.

loveshercowdog. Yes, tulip LW is a species.

Jill, I was doing some reading last night, and B&B's site said that Lilac Wonder blooms with Hawera and Quail daffs, both of which are late bloomers (I've grown Quail before), so I think the daffs I sent you will bloom too early to combine with them.

Hmmm.... I have 100 'Christmas Pearl' muscari (early blooming) coming.... perhaps I should put some of those with your daffs! I also got some more Anemone blanda 'Blue Shades', and was thinking of putting a couple handfuls of those around the mimosa also. I think somebody mentioned that A. blanda will self-sow to increase -- wouldn't that be lovely!

I bet Christmas Pearl would be perfect! I got 50 of each of the blue and white windflower anemones- its been years since I've grown them and I can't wait! I had them planted at my mother's house and a large tree completly shaded the area and sucked all available moisture out. The canapy was so thick that in summer it took a really hard rain to be able to even feel it if standing under the tree. All the grass even died there, so no suprise the windflowers faded away. Before the tree became such a monster, they had increased into the prettiest spreading clump.

Do any of you know if voles like anemones? The area I have planned for the blue ones is riddled with moles and voles.

Well, DANG. I just got my "real" order confirmation from B&B... They are out of stock on the amaryllis 'Baby Star' that I was so thrilled to get as well as being out of stock on the 'CP' grape hyacinths! On one hand, I saved 50 bucks, on the other hand.... well, I will have to get some of those hyacinths next year!

Have you seen the dried up little dormant anemone blanda bulbs? Like little rocks... can't imagine they're too tasty, even to a vole. I guess we'll see! I'm planting crown imperials all around as a deterrent...

Yes, are'nt they the nasty-est looking things? They look like black boogers to me, lol. Are you going to soak yours?

I got lucky, they were only out of the Barrs Purple crocus, Narcissus Itzim and Little Princess, and sadly Fritillaria persica :( But, the stuff I really wanted is all coming, so I can't complain.

critterologist, Now you have me worried about what isn't coming as I ordered Baby star and Christmas pearl that you aren't getting and I think your order went in before mine. I haven't gotten a notice today, only the order acknowledgment sent right after they received the order. Patti

Patti, I ordered mine 42 minutes after midnight on Sunday. I hope you get yours! Everything that was in your shopping cart at checkout will be in the order acknowledgement... be on the lookout for an email with an attachment detailing your actual shipment.

Neal, did the 'Little Princess' bulbs I sent not do well for you, or do you just need more of them? I may be able to round up a few stragglers again next spring.... another DG buddy wanted some also, but they do seem to multiply! I'm leaving the ones that are in my clump of blue woodland phlox because they just looked so cute together, but I know I missed several more clumps, and they've got to go! ;-)

I started soaking my Anemone blanda bulbs as per the instruction booklet, then got late night advice not to soak them in fall lest they be fooled into sprouting and trying to bloom... I snatched them out of the bucket, LOL, let them dry off, and planted them the next day. I think soaking is necessary for spring planting of Anemones, but it makes more sense that fall planted bulbs would be "soaked" more than enough by winter snow and spring rain!

BTW, DH saw the A. blanda bulbs drying on a tray and thought they were little "nuggets" from the litter box... he was sure I had lost my mind!

I did get more 'Woodstock' hyacinths and some late-blooming 'Yellow Cheerfulness' daffs, plus the A. blanda and 20 more Allium christophii, so I'll still have a bit more planting to do when my order arrives. I was sad that they were out of Iris reticulata 'George', as I'd ordered a handful of those thinking that our friend George must have them for his patio garden!

I'm hoping this year's planting will fix a problem with my daff bed... I initially planted "yellow jonquils for naturalizing" along the back portion, and 'Geranium' daffs along the front, with a "river" of Muscari latifolium running down the center... the yellow jonquils turned out to bloom much earlier than the Geranium daffs, which wasn't really the effect I was trying to achieve! So now I have earlier-blooming 'Ice Follies' daffs in front, and I've ordered the later-blooming 'Yellow Cheerfulness' daffs for the back... hopefully that will produce a more balanced result! At one end, Neal's yellow N. pseudonarcissus and a few clumps of 'Minnow' daffs circle around the mimosa, and at the other end I've just added 'Tricolor' crocus and 'Gordon' Iris reticulata to circle around the red maple.

Critter
Don't forget to soak your anemones overnight before you plant them. I learned that one the hard way.

cynthia who went from 80 degrees this afternoon to 40 and dropping

brrr,

LOL! Litter box nuggets! That's a hoot.

Oh yes, the tulip Little Princess did great (coming up through gold lysimachia), I meant daffodil Little Princess. Your bulb display sounds like its coming along beautifully. I see why you wanted the early river of Iris reticulata with the early daffs, and the muscari with the late daffs- a nice, extended season of color. Have you grown I.reticulatas before? Before you get them next year, remember while the flowers are short, the leaves grow tall and grassy afterword. They would work well for the central part of the "river".

Ice Follies is so pretty and reliable- perfect for what you're doing. I find them very long lasting- through mid spring.

Cynthia, don't tell me that! I've been round & round half a dozen times over the question of whether or not to soak fall-planted Anemone blanda bulbs! I don't see why I wouldn't be able to rely on the winter weather to take care of it... we've been getting lots and lots of rain lately... I didn't soak the first 100 that I planted last weekend, but I guess I could hedge my bet by soaking the ones coming from B&B!

Neal, you always have such wonderful ideas for bulb combos! I've got a few Iris reticulata in my front garden and added another 50 there last weekend. I didn't actually add the 'Gordon' Iris ret. to the river of Muscari latifolium -- instead, I put them around the maple tree, at one end of the bed, with the river flowing down to them. (I giggle every time I type "river" -- "rivulet" is more like it!) 'Gordon' is supposed to be early-ish, and 'Tricolor' is a slightly later crocus, so I'm hoping their bloom times may overlap. They do need a little early yellow daff to go with them, but I may just have to wait until your N. psuedonarcissus at the other end of the bed have multiplied enough to need dividing! :-)

My bulbs from B&B that I ordered after midnight Sunday arrived this afternoon!

Looks like it stopped drizzling for a bit, so I may try to get the Anemone blanda planted... tomorrow's forecasted thunderstorm should give them a good soaking, LOL.

critter
Maybe things are so much wetter where you are that it doesn't matter. I have to remember I'm in Texas.
c

Wow, you guys have got to post pics this Spring. I love the comment about the DH ordering another auger. I could only wish mine would get into gardening. He understands it about like I understand fishing for 8 hrs a day.

What is VE? Could someone post a link?
Thanks,
Teresa in KY

http://www.vanengelen.com/

Van Engelen is in the Watchdog too

I went to the VE website and the sizes are so large 300 plus tulips? Anyone have extras to trade? I shouldn't have looked at the amaryllis page....they have a wonderful variety of items.
Thanks claypa

bluegrass, you missed out on a good deal. we just had the most wonderful amaryllis coop w/ VE. Prices were great and as you say, selection wide.

This message was edited Dec 2, 2006 2:12 PM

Van Engelen has a sister company that sells smaller quantities, called John Scheepers



http://www.johnscheepers.com/index.html

I had no idea about soaking my anemone bulbs. Just planted them last fall and they put on one heck of a show this spring, and went on blooming forever. Maybe I was just lucky. I don't remember whether we had a lot of rain around that time or not, but they sure didn't get any extra watering by me.

Thanks for the reassurance, gardengram! I think mine got a good soaking after planting... that was quite a front that went through here!

To soak or not to soak, that is the question? I didn't, but the directions said plant on edge. Pray tell, isn't it hard to plant something on edge as deformed as something critterologist's DH accurately described as "nuggets" from the litter box...???
My DH did get his new auger, so he helped drill away today. We managed planting another 320. The best of the bunch was 5 huge foxtail lilies cleopatra eremurus from Tulipworld. I needed to get out the big shovel! I have only one last order coming from B&B and most of those bulbs are for a virgin spot, so it should be easy ( no trying to miss bulbs I planted last month). We did manage on drilling one today. I hope it was a cheap one! I have another 50 anemone blanda coming on the B&B order, so I think I will soak these as an experiment. We are off on a road trip for 10 days, so I will be planting bulbs when I return in mid Dec. I will take an empty suitcase just in case I find some nice bulbs on sale along the way! I keep telling my husband, that some bulbs and tubers, during hard times can be eaten. Patti

ROFLOL at the idea of bulbs being "hard times" insurance!

I didn't even try to figure out how to orient the little Anemone blanda nuggets! I just shoved them into the soil with my thumb, which I believe puts them at about the right depth.... They will just have to figure out which way is up, and I doubt any of them were placed so perfectly "flat" that water will collect on their tops... hahaha... that is, if you could even figure out which side was the top... I couldn't!

I didn't know about planting them on their sides either. Oh well...............

It's hard to figure out which side is the side! Maybe we need to soak them because they have to start growing right away. I have some that are already up nicely and others that need to get in tomorrow! They need time before it gets too hot for them here.

We just had our first freeze of the year. I am a bleeding heart gardener so I waited until the freeze to cut back lantana and pentas. They were in full bloom on Wed this week. So sad but now bulb planting can speed along.

We planted 455 daffs today. Those from Sam's were so much smaller than the VE bulbs, they went in faster. But the VE's were the size of my fist. ..and I'm not small.

Anyone ever planted Arkle daffs? Supposed to be a 5 inch flower so I went for 50 of them.

Wow, that would be one huge daff! (How'd I miss those.... LOL)

Critter
I don't know how I saw it, guess those hours of sitting and waiting for the sale to begin .

Isn't it about time for VE to go to 40% or even 50%? Several years ago, they did the big discount in early Nov.

Not that there's much left, but if memory serves me, they drop them and get rid of the minimum order....but maybe I dreamed that waiting.

Darn it all. I thought I had finished all my bulb plantings... until I happened to pop into Dave's Garden to this Bulb forum. Am fairly new to bulbs (not enough sun really) but when I saw about B&B sale I took a look. Wow. 50% off until tomorrow. So I've now ordered another 150 or so. Couldn't resist at those prices. Guess I'll put them in containers. At least I can move those around the yard!

Well, they didn't ship half of my order, and are not answering their phone. And they didn't issue a refund for the items they didn't ship. I don't know why I bothered. It's happened before. Customer service matters.

That's odd... they were out of stock on some of my items but my invoice reflected the changes. I am guessing you may have a second box on the way. I talked to a customer service rep earlier today at B&B, and she was helpful but sounded exhausted... If you don't get the rest of your order soon, I would call back in a day or two... Today is the last day of their sale, and they're just swamped.

And yes, that means I ordered more bulbs... 50 purple 'Miss Saigon' hyacinths and 25 little yellow 'Montana' tulips, which I'm thinking will go very well with the 50 Muscari comosum 'Plumosum' bulbs in my garage! LOL, we will see if they make it from the garage to a garden bed this fall or end up in pots for spring planting!

I ordered 5 hippaestrum on the 27th. I got my delivery notice yesterday, they should get here on Friday the 8th. I'm in TX and B&B don't ship to us unless they can do it on a Monday so the bulbs don't sit in a freezing truck somewhere. If they are like previous years, the bulbs will be lovely. So still have my fingers crossed.

I ordered from VE on the 28th, they arrived last Friday the 1st. The bulbs are enormous! I got Charisma and San Remo. Take your thumbs and longest fingers, put them together to make a circle. You'd have to stretch to get around this bulbs. The first time I ordered Charisma, they were much smaller. I can't wait to see what these beauties produce. San Remo is new to me. (You know I have to keep one of each for myself).

cynthia

My bulbs arrived today! I couldn't plant them and it's going down to 18 degrees tonight and tomorrow night (then will moderate back to our normal temp ranges). I was going to just leave the bulbs on our unheated side porch but am concerned that that will be too cold for the unplanted bulbs. So I stuck them in the fridge for a couple of days. Is that the right thing to do? They're tulips, daffs, dutch and dwarf irises and some oriental lillies. Thanks for any advice!
jo

I don't see how that could hurt, but I've heard to be careful not to store bulbs in the same fridge as fruits and veggies, as the ethylene gas they give off while ripening can harm the bulb. Maybe a garage or a sheltered place right against the house? I also don't think it would hurt to have them at room temp for a couple of days, would think it would take longer than that for them to really break dormancy, so if you have fruit in your fridge then I'd suggest just putting them in the coolest corner of the house.

well, they're already sprouting (is that what you mean by breaking dormancy?) I have some lettuce and other greens in the fridge, but took out all the fruit except some lemon wedges in a baggie. Do you think that's a problem?

I think they'll be fine in there, but I think they'd also be fine in a cool spot in the house... Greens just don't seem like they'd be giving off any ethylene gas, and neither do lemon wedges... I've just never ended up putting bulbs in my regular fridge, so I can't say for absolutely certain.

Thanks. Greatly appreciate the advice. We have a little house so the temp doesn't vary much. I might take them out after we go to bed and turn the heat way down. They'll stay nice and cool until morning, and then I can put them out on the porch for a day where it'll be around 40-45. Then repeat the ritual tomorrow evening. Don't know why I got so nutty about it --- I know that they'll do fine (plants always try to, don't they?). :-)
jo

LOL, I do th same thing... but you're right, they'll be fine regardless!

I think your bulbs will be fine too. Last year I did store a bunch in the fridg for about a month, and they were fine too. I was sure not to have fruit in there. This years bulb planting is done! I finished up in yesterdays pretty weather as it got dark, and this morning it was cold and snowing (still is). Today I've felt so relieved, I actually had energy to fluff up the house and put up the tree. I have this weird mental block- I can't decorate for Christmas till I've got the fall garden stuff done. As I was still planting tons of bulbs last year at Christmas time, the tree did'nt get put up, LOL!

Hah! I've been trying to deck the halls this week, but you're right... it doesn't seem "right" to me to be making holiday preparations with about100 bulbs still out there in the garage! I'm going to hole up in the kitchen for the next couple of days, though, and I'll get back in the yard next week when it's a little milder again. I was out yesterday as the sun was setting (brrrrr), managed to get about 75 bulbs in the ground (half of the 'Miss Saigon' hyacinths & companions mentioned above). If I had stopped before placing that one last order, I would be done by now.... LOL at self. :-)

I couldn't resist a trip to Sam's last Sunday and have 4 boxes of mostly small bulbs waiting to plant.
Yesterday, I planted 100 Dutch Iris that I got from VE. I let them sit for 2 weeks in the house and some were dried out....darn! I still have some Camassia remaining from that order. The lilies got in yesterday too and they were still wonderful, whew!

Moral of this story: better to keep them on the cold porch than in the house.

Waiting for 2 more weeks to start on the tulips. They've been in the fridge since October 10th. I thought the only fruit to worry about was apples.

cynthia who would like to know what's cooking in critter's kitchen....I think I smell spices....