Bulblet swap in fall. Would these procedures work for you ??

I hope we can have a bulblet lily swap in fall ??

Last year, before joining DG, I hosted a bulblet swap which went well, but I leaned a lot of things which I hope to do better this time around.

I have thought of the below procedures/guidelines which please let me know if you think will work, or if you have better ideas I would love to hear those, too. I know I am out a bit early here (the swap should not be done until the fall) but I just wanted to run the proposed procedures past you...

Past experiences
+ generous traders, bulblets were good quality, many participants
- delay in shipment by some, the high costs of postage by traders engaging in multiple trades (5 or more envelopes), also some quality issues.

Last year, each trade had to be 4-5 bulblets per envelope and anyone could enter as many envelopes as they wanted. Traders who entered, say, 10 envelopes, had to buy 10 padded envelopes and pay 10 x postage (say $3.95 x 10) which obviously made this more expensive than intended. I put together a trading grid and everyone mailed directly to the other people.

I was thinking of a way to simplify this trade for 2005 fall season and has following ideas to which I would like to hear your comments:

MY IDEA:
1. Every trader should send a small cardboard box. Inside this cardboard box you would put the number of evelopes with bulblets (trades)you are entering PLUS a self-addressed shipping lable. Included in the box must also be stamps sufficient to cover mail back to yourself (or funds to cover).

2. The organizer would then gather these boxes from all participants, arrange the trades by switching evelopes between the boxes, and return the boxes to the original senders (by putting their shipping lables on the outside of the boxes and return the same boxes to the original senders).

Example:
Say Mr. Lily and Mrs. Flowers are two of the participants. Mr. Lily mails a box with 8 envelopes, each containing 5 bulblets. Inside his box he has also enclosed a shipping lable and $4.50 in stamps (same amount required to mail it to the organizer in the first place). The trade organizer receives a similar box from Mrs. Flowers and the other participants. The trade organizer will now return 8 trades to Mr. Lily in his self addressed stamped box and do the same for the others.

The advantages:
- you only have to pay postage twice.
mailing and receiving. If you are entering more than 2 trades, this saves you money compared to last year where you were potentially mailing 8-10 different people. Because USPS charges the same price for sending bubble envelopes (wider than 1/4") as for small cardboard boxes, there really is no great savings by using bubble envelopes. Shipping in most cases will be $3.50 - $4.75 per box.

- the trade organizer would be able to inspect the quality of the lily bulblets received.
Last year quality was generally good, except some unfortunate few circumstances where too moist packaging had lead to decline in quality for individual envelopes (we will address this in more details this year)

If quality is clearly lacking, the organizer can either make up with extra (bonus) envelopes supplied by generous traders (always encouraged) or as last resort return the box to the trader with the quality issue, or otherwise try to make it up amicably.

Say, the organizer finds rot in two of Mr. Lily's envelopes. The organizer could in this case mail back 6 traded envelopes and there would be no impact to Mrs. Flowers or others. The organizer would then return the two "problem envelopes" and could even add a bonus envelope to Mr. Flowers, if available. Just ideas/examples...

- trades all happen at the same time
Last year some complaints were registered by nothern growers who shipped early and who did not receive their trades until early winter from southern growers. The organizer could expedite the early packages first and then keep a few trading envelopes, bonus envelopes, plus his or her own for the traders in warmer zones who would need to wait for flower stems to die back first.

-Savings on postage and delivery confirmation
Last year, almost everyone used delivery confirmation for all their packages. With more than 60 envelopes changing hands, we spent jointly in excess of $25 on delivery confirmation. Delivery confirmation will be reduced to less than $5 (approximately) and the individual traders can even choose if they want to pay for such (it is only their own box to worry about).

WHAT DO YOU THINK ??

I would like to know your opinion of the above proposal.

If it can be done smarter, please feel free to suggest alternatives, too.

Is there even an interest in such a lily bulblet swap ?

Kenneth

This sounds just FAB> But, - being a grouch, will you be including any of your 'family' lily? or even a scale or two?

Can see that I'll be taking a trip across the border to do my mailing.

Just returned from a trip to NYC with no probs at all so am sure I won't have any probs taking bublets across.

Will everyone list the bulblets they have. Is that how you will do it?

Inanda

I have not worked out all the details yet, but I suppose you can either do a blid swap (no-names) and/or a named lily swap (or atleast.. a "I-know-the-color" swap). Maybe we can do both at the same time.

The lilium speciosum var. clivorum is hanging on .. but only barely ..... I have one good sized plant which was almost killed last year by slugs ... but the bulb is small-small-small... I dug it up last year to scale it, but put it back.. it was too small.. I guess it does not match in size the hybrids of today. I have two more very small tiny, skinny plants growing from miniature bulblets. I am moving them to a protected spot with highly organic soil hoping it will prompt them to grow and multiply. Scaling may be next year. I was simply too afraid of loosing the lily. My parents (in Denmark) had their original patch wiped out by the red lily beetle last year, so mine is the last one in existence (that I can get my hands on). Therefore I am very afraid of doing anything until I am sure it survives..

Eventually, I will propagate it and at that time I will give it away freely because I think it is the only safe way to ensure it's survival.

Kenneth

Another year - another year. Protect it carefully. You might want to self it to get seeds. If so, just do it before the bees get there.

Yes, spreading it around. That is what we do here with very special lilies. Last year we got our hands on some tango hybrids from Denmark. We scaled the lot and then sold the centres to MRLS members. Mine are all up and growing well, though of course no bloom for a couple of years.

Had never even THOUGHT of swopping bublets. What a great idea.

Inanda

Sounds good to me...I have a few bulblets cooking from scales last year and I expect I'll get some from the bulbs this year too...

Ken, I would like to partiscipate in your bulb swap. I have lots of scales that have set on, and now must get them in the parcel that I have set aside for growing out the babies.

I would be one of your northern growers, so would not appreciate delivery by the end of Oct. Even then I am flirting with Mother Nature, but would mulch quite heavily to protect them.

Maxine

I would be interested, as well.

Q - I have a bunch of bulblet that I have and more that I will be taking off several of my co-op lilies. They have already started growing. Will this make a difference in being able to swap them? Size wise, that is.

Normally bulblets would be the size of a pea or larger.

Oh, thanks Ken for clarifying that. I wondered how you were going to judge.


do you plan on asiatics for asiatics and so on, or just an assortment?

Maxine

Asiatics is the most common lily for this kind of swaps due to the prolific swap, but I don't see why other types can not be included also.

The babies that I gain from scales are all pretty special ones, not for swopping really.

What I'm going to do is to go down the stem CAREFULLY !!! and take off the bulblets that have formed underground on my lilies.

This is what I do now, when somebody wants a lily and I don't have enough blooming size bulbs to give them.

I agree with Maxine that end of Oct. is pretty late for us northern growers. I tend to dig/move most of my lilies mid Sept.

Inanda

Last year it happened in September.

I have not traded scales lilies.. I have only traded stem bulblets. It is not meant as a way to distribute rare lilies. Rather just a way to increase the number of lilies you grow.

Say you trade 10 envelopes (packages) that could give you 10 different lilies in another year or two.

That sounds just perfect for everyone. Thanks for taking this on, Ken.
Inanda aka Ginny

I would be interested...

-=LuLu

I would be interested as well. My calla liilies also produce bublets, would anyone be interesed in those? Or just orientals? Thanks for a great idea!