The new catalog is out and has some lovely new intoductions. If you're interested in their orientals, remember they only sell them in the Spring. Also, it looks like none of the Martagons are available until Fall.
I recalculated the break-even point for shipping to the US seeing as I haven't done that in awhile, and it looks like pricing has changed. The break-even point (shipping free) was 100.00. It now is 200.00. However, at 70.00, shipping is only 8.50. Below that, shipping becomes increasingly expensive. Here's a breakdown for anyone interested. This is based on US customers only paying 85% of the Canadian listed price plus 10% of Canadian price for shipping (minimum 9.00/max 25.00) plus 10.00 for phytosanitary certificate.
30.00 order will cost 44.50
50.00 order will cost 61.50
70.00 order will cost 78.50
80.00 order will cost 87.00
90.00 order will cost 95.50
100.00 order will cost 104.00
120.00 order will cost 124.00
150.00 order will cost 152.50
175.00 order will cost 176.25
200.00 order will cost 200.00
210.00 order will cost 206.35
As you can see, the more you order the more you save and it might be worthwhile to pool a number of orders to get the best pricing should several of you be intetested in ordering from the Lily Nook.
The Lily Nook Catalog Is Here
The Lily Nook is a place I haven't tried. How do the bulbs compare to say B&D Lilies or the Liliy Garden? The Garden Watchdog gives them a good rating, but I was curious particularly about size and quality.
I saw they have Elise from Mak-Leek that I bought from the PNWLS last fall. Nice bulb options.
So do lily bulb stores generally have the most selection in Spring or in Fall? I seem to be getting mixed results as to selection at various stores for Spring shipping.
intersessor ~ it can really vary from year to year. Some varieties are pulled for increase and then you'll see huge selections occasionally.
Being in Canada, the Lily Nook has a short growing season, only 110 days. They do not sell Orientals in the Fall because of this as they don't have enough time between bloom and harvest. Their bulbs are not large but are of excellent quality and I've never received a misnamed bulb. The Lily Garden's bulbs are a bit larger in my experience, and B&D's are larger yet. I don't think we can compare Buggycrazy's bulbs since hers are usually so far out of the norm.
They all have their plusses ~
Lily Nook ~ smaller bulbs, huge selection
Lily Garden ~ good selection and bulbs, several unique lilies
B&D ~ large bulbs, good selection, can be a little pricey
That's my 2 cents worth. It's a toss-up and I'm not sure any one grower is better than another. If one has something you love, then go for it.
Hi Andrew, all bulbs you buy in the spring have been held over in cold storage the previous winter. I think buying them in the fall for fall planting is preferable as, even in ideal circumstances, the bulbs suffer somewhat from cold storage. That doesn't mean you shouldn't buy spring offered bulbs, but they should be planted immediately and you shouldn't try to hold them over for any length of time.
Moby's partly right about the orientals. The Lily Nook will not sell orientals in the fall because orientals need time to put down roots before freeze-up or they will not survive. Most of their customers are in Canada. and I believe they got fed-up with replacing bulbs that didn't show up in the spring. As far as I know, they are the only web seller with that policy. As I have first hand experience with losing fall planted orientals, if I feel I have to buy them in the fall, I hold them over in my fridge until I can plant in the spring.
I think their bulb size is comparable to the Lily Garden. I actually prefer the smaller bulbs as I think they settle in better PLUS you don't have to work so hard to get them planted. However, if you're into instant gratification and are not willing to wait a few years for a bulb to mature, then you may want to buy bulbs from Buggy or B&D. Buggy doesn't have cold storage and does not offer bulbs in the spring. My experience with B&D regarding bulb size has been mixed. Some bulbs are huge, but some are also the same size as sold by the Lily Nook and the Lily Garden.
beaker_ch, I hope you get bags of lily bulbs for you Birthday. I always enjoy your input. Have a wonderful day. Patti
beaker_ch - I would have to agree with you on your assessment of the sellers. I have bought from all and have been happy with all.
Thanks for the birthday greeting, bbrookrd. I plan to spend the afternoon playing Bingo at the Legion. Yesterday, I bought a new puppy, but I don't get him for three weeks. I lost my old dog the Saturday before Christmas and wonderful DG folks in the Pets forum helped me find a new Westie to be my gardening partner. I can only guess how many lily stems I'll lose next season.....
Happy New Year's to all and may there be many bags of Lilies for all of you.
Also Patty
beaker_ch, What a terrific Birthday gift to get. I am sorry about the your loss of your old garden pal. Here is a picture of a special gal who is part of our extended family. Her name is Twinks, and she is a special friend of our border collie, Nell, so she visits often when she is on Island. Her winter home is NYC. She loves running free in our garden, far better than Central Park! What are you naming your new dog? Patti
Haven't a clue, Patti. I won't know until he "tells" me. My sister thinks I should call him Larry. I live across the alley from the VFW and I can just picture calling " Here Larry, Here Larry" and winding up with some drunk by the name of Larry on my doorstep.
Yeah, I was pretty upset about Reggie passing. He was 15, but I wasn't expecting it. I lost another Westie about 3 years ago and he was 20 years and 4 months when he died. I was going to get a new puppy then, but Reggie seemed very happy to be an only dog. They were great buds outside, but in the house they fought quite a bit over me. Use to drive me crazy. This is the first time in 35 years I've been without a dog and, even though I have 3 cats, the house seems so empty. I knew I had to get another dog right away. I was just so happy to be able to find one locally. I've promised to post a new thread in the Pets forum when the new puppy arrives with lotz of pics. I'm picking him up on the 19th, so sometime around there check out the Pets forum for a thread called "Introducing (Insert Name)"
Twinks sure is a cutie. All Westies seem to know how cute they are! Here's a pic of Reggie just before the 4th of July this past summer.
beaker_ch, Reggie was a dashing little fella. I am sorry he is gone, but trilled that you and your new guy have made that instant new connection. If you can visit him between now and the 19th that would be wonderful for you both. I am not loving the name Larry, or its possible ramifications! How about VET, then you could have a whole platoon show up? I also spy in this picture a magnificent clematis. I planted seven last year, so I am a total newbie with them. I cut the bottoms out of pots and slit them up the sides and staked the pots to keep them in place this fall. They all seemed to be doing fine. I figured this winter collar gizmo would mark there location clearly and to keep the mulch and debris away from the base. This could have been one of my dumb ideas. I am hoping that I will be successful. That swath of purple is luscious. Which one is it? Patti
That's Jackmanii, Patti, and at least eight years old. This one gets cut down to about a foot each Spring in late April. Last year, there were what seemed to be about a hundred vines that came up. I'm sure it was only 30 or so, but it was just loaded.
Did you make sure the crowns of your new Clematis were about an inch underground? The vines will only form underground, so C needs to be planted a bit deeper than what common sense would dictate. If you didn't, you can mound up some dirt and get the same effect. Also, some C are slow to show, so don't become discouraged this spring if you don't see them right away. In fact, a C can seem to disappear altogether and then a year or two down the road make an appearance. If this happens to you, try to keep from digging up that spot for at least two years.You can use pots to fill in the bare space until certain of the fate of the missing Clamatis.
In Minnesota, I winter mulch all my Clematis, so I wouldn't be concerned about causing crown rot especially if planted correctly. Come spring, and before I remove most of my winter mulch from my gardens, I go around and brush the mulch away about 2 inches around from the Clematis. I think the surrounding mulch will still offer some protection from late freezes. Also I fertilize with rose fertilizer and at the same times when I fertilize my roses. When I plant a new Clematis, I dig a big hole and then replace the dirt with rose soil. Don't worry about the soil on your new Clematis, but remember this for next time. If you get hooked on Clematis, there will be a next time. I started with one and now have twenty-some.
Beaker_ch, I bought all type 3 (c) clematis so I would remember when to whack them down if I am so lucky to get them that large. I think I planted them deep enough, but I will give them all a nice new pile of dirt, just in case. Now I need to look up about rose soil and rose fertilizer. I do have a few roses, but I am sort of a generalist when it comes to doing the garden. I water and fertilize everything together. I guess I am just lazy. I copied your information into my new diary notes on clematis. I am sure I will be ordering more clematis, certainly Jackmanii, which I have always loved from afar, if the ones I ordered from Garden Crossing do well. They didn't do much last summer except not die. Always a plus! Here is hoping you have a wonderful new year with your new little Dave's Garden Pal. Patti
Check out Silver Star. Huge root systems, reeasonably priced and the shipping is flat rate for about three or four plants.