Adorableblackkitty_small
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Tulip bulbs: is there a continuum great to bad places to buy bulbs?

I want 'nice' ones as wedding favors & not cheapies...if there is such a thing. I am not a gardner but boy is there a difference in cut flowers; from the worst, where buds never bloom while the outside browns, to the best when cut flowers last what seems to me an unusually long time and are vibrant.

any thoughts? also there isn't much space on the table for these favors but I'd really like tulip bulbs--what would you use that may not even be a pot, but looks good...pots are fine but thought to explore other stuff :-)

Elle Elle asked in Flowers about 1 year ago | Report

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  • Dsc_0148_small
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    whiskeypony

    you're going to have a hard time finding bulbs that are not already planted in soil this time of year - i hope sprouted and planted is what you're looking for!

    the discontinuity you see in cut flowers doesn't really follow with live flowers - especially tulips. the bulbs themselves are little life-support packages with nearly everything that tulip needs to bloom. cut tulips were most likely separated from the bulb too soon, and they starved before the bud developed or the flower opened.

    that being said, if you want great tulips, you're gonna have to pay for them. regular old tulips are fine, but lily-flowering, double-petaled, parrot and exquisitely colored tulips are jaw-dropping and have a price to match. a few garden shops that won't disappoint you as far as selection goes are swanson's, molbak's, well's medina.

    and, since you're going to have to give these bulbs away planted in the  dirt you bought them in, pots would probably be best - but if you've got a glass-drilling bit you could  plant them in mason jars with ribbon around them as long as you made a drainage hole.  it could kill a few of them, but you could also wash all the soil off the bulb and put them in cheap ikea vases with lots of colored marbles and some water.

    whiskeypony answered in Flowers about 1 year ago | Report
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  • N1022796599_2051_small
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    Stick to good nurseries - such as Swansons, Sky, and Molbaks, City People's, Furney's. If you want quality, avoid big box stores like Home Despot, Lowe's, Fred Meyer, and Walmart. They buy cheap to sell cheap, and their quality is dismal. Plus, who knows what kind of pesticides and crap they've been spraying on them - they'll do anything to keep their cheapoh merch salable for as long as possible. A reputable nursery will only sell you quality plants.

    There are some online retailers as well, such as Michigan bulb that seem to have good quality. You might try popping onto Myfolia.com and asking in the forums there. It's a gardening website full of smart people who would have opinions about such things. I typically get all of my bulbs from the Arboretum's annual bulb sale, but that is already done this year.

    Tabitha Borchardt answered in Flowers about 1 year ago | Report
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