Need a source

Every time I buy oriental lillies they turn out to be somthing other than what was pictured on the package or in the catalogue. I would like some references to reliable lily vendors. Thanks

B&D Lilies.If they make a mistake they will fix it.
The Lily Garden she has beautiful ones
The Lily Nook in Canada,there is an extra charge for shipping from a foreign country.
Where had you bought lilies before?
Many growers darken their website photos especially when they want to sell a dark purple.They rarely are the correct color.
Check Plant Files to see the lily you want actually growing in a gardeners garden.I always check before I buy.
Also Garden Watchdog on this website.The place you are ordering from has a rateing .I never buy from any site that has more than 20% negatives.

macanter...Please add Far Away Flowers to the above list of great sources.
http://www.farawayflowers.com/
Excellent bulbs and outstanding customer service.

sorry I forgot that one.

macanter: Often times, mass marketing and profit get in the way of true quality. When a single new lily is discovered/developed that lily is often obtained by the major global plant developers/growers for mass reproduction by cloning and other means. In a relatively short time, variation upon variation can end up in the supply line. Add to that human error anywhere from begining to end in this daisy chain and on top of that the marketing people want their lilies to be real pretty on the cover of their catalogs. I have in the last few years been very dissappointed with global source quality, while during the same time have become more and more impressed with North American source quality. In this same lily forum there is a 'post' by member TABASCO dated 06/11/2011 that lists the web addresses of some North American sources. The sources that Member ge 1836 mentions are excellent North American sources. Their stock is about as close to the original as one can get. And, I've never had a single bulb failure, I should add.

Thanks for a better look at how mistakes are made roosterlorn.
There was a fantastic lily grower and hybridizer in Oregon.Alas she went out of business due to government regulations and other krap.
We all miss her. BuggyCraziez lilies went to members and Faraway Flowers.

Its worth it to pay a bit more for bulbs when there are great northern sellers as roosterlorn mentioned.
A neighbor loves to brag about how many plant specials she buys in bag lots.
Somehow she often finds out of the lot only a few actually bloom,are true tocolor or just dont rot in the bag duering shipping.

ge 1836: Buggy was well known in the lily circuit and yes, Far Away Flowers is very interesting source but I don't have experience with them. The Hartle/Gilman story is an interesting one in itself and now that Far Away Flowers offers some of their stock, it just keeps getting better and more interesting. I see your photo of 'Purple Prince' and that of Member 'pirl' photo. I had the same results. Nice pink lavender anyway. Others that I found a big difference between the commercial photograph and reality was Trebbiano and Landini. These were puchased from a famous Holland bulb source. You are right when you say check out the plant files to see a lily in real life. There you will see the variation and in general, have some idea of what to expect.

My Landinis are new and were really dark last year. I love the color but they certainly are not black.

Buggy was in a class by herself. Unfortunately, she is no longer able to provide her special lilies to us. I started using Far Away as a secondary vendor to Buggy about 5 years ago. I STILL have lilies I purchased from her (Ramona at Far Away) the first year and continue to order from her at least twice a year. My lilies go through a worst case scenario. Asiatics must survive temps as low as into the minus 50° temps. Orientals, Trumpets and hybrids get started indoors in a heated garage in pots. They then go outdoors (in pots) in June where they bloom throughout the summer. At the end of the summer they are un-potted, stored at 34° in a designated refrigerator from October till March when the process is repeated.
This is one example of a bulb (Santa Rosa) purchased from Far Away in Fall 2009. Because our ground is starting to freeze when fall bulbs are shipped, the box was immediately put in the fridge where it was stored through the winter. It bloomed in summer 2010. Stored through another winter and currently blooming today with 7 open and 3 more buds. Any vendor who can provide lilies that survive what I put them through to have them in North Pole, AK deserves a vote of confidence.
Because Buggy is no longer an option. I splurged and ordered from The Lily Nook in Canada for the first time. Their offerings are extensive and based on what has bloomed so far and the health of the many still to bloom throughout the summer, I think it was worth the extra Phytosanitary fee to order from a Canadian vendor.

Thanks to everyone for all the great info!

I suppose it is worth it to buy 1 lily bulb from a place like B&D for 6.95 rather than three for 6.95 from another place? Will one bulb produce only one stalk with several blooms on top? I have ever only bought the cheapies...

You may find the bulbs larger from a reputable grower. I have had 2 setms from a bulb. It all depends on the variety Asiatics put out more than 1 stem and the second year there are single stem,single blooms comming from the one bulb.
Orientals and hybreds dont multiply like asiatics. I hace some that didnt put out more than 1 stem for a couple of years.

Plus the chances are you will get the right bulb from a grower, if it's grown there. Some of the growers grow some of their own bulbs, and import some, and the ones they import they have no more control over them being right than any place else.

Most of the growers have unique bulbs, too. Not the same old, same old.

Personally I buy from both. For my nursery and cutting garden I buy from the importers, Ednie and ADR. For my special bulbs I buy from the growers.

But say I was to buy Stragazer. I would probably go for the bulbs that are 3 for 6.95. Now if I wanted some of those beautiful downfacing asiatics it would be The Lily Garden, or another grower.

I have bought my last "bargain" any plant.
In April( what was I thinking) I was in The Christmastree Shoppe.They had big displays of boxed plants, astilbes,Gloxinias,Lilies. The boxes said 4 bulbs.The boxes were 6"tall 4 "dia. I am guessing but certainly not bigger. I kept the plants until I could get them in the ground.
When I opened the Gloxinias they were the size of a fingernail and mostly peatmoss,some had rotted. It wasnt much of a financial loss because they were less than 3 dollars a box.
"You get what you pay for" certainly applies here.

I have had 100% success buying undersized bulbs that take 6 years to develop when I buy on the cheap.

April is a bad time for gardeners in our zone.I just wanted to get my hands dirty.

ge1836...I know the feeling of needing to get your hands dirty. That's why I start placing my orders with the online vendors listed above in very early January for delivery in March/April. It's my "New Year's" ritual ;-)

Yup.Many items are sold out by the time spring comes.

The other wonderful thing about The Lily Garden is that they throw in a free bulb. I've made requests for specific bulbs and gotten them (I ask for less expensive ones, not the $30 plants.) Last time they through in a Silk Road. It was huge I have also gotten gorgeous freebies from B&D lilies, like Acapulco, which produced three beautiful flowers in the first year..