Fall bulb sales when?

I always end up overloading on bulbs at the end of the season because I just can't resist the sales. :-)

I remember that the Brent & Becky's sale (half off) starts a few days after Thanksgiving.

It seemed to me that some other companies (van Engelen, BloomingBulb) started their sales a bit earlier than that... but does anybody remember the details?

:-)

the only one I remember is the B&B one right after Thanksgiving. It's even marked on my calendar.

Mine too, voss! :-)

I know there are others, just don't know when the "traditional" start dates might be. Perhaps it varies.

Of course, I'll post of any I learn about, and I hope others on this forum will do the same. Mutual enabling! LOL

In 2005, posters on another forum said they received the van Engelen "end of season sale" email on Nov 14th.

Thanks -- that helps! :-)

I should probably go to the web sites and make sure I'm on the email lists...

Critter: Have you checked out any of the deals on the Classified Ad's forum? I think I remember bulbs for sale, though I don't know what ones you are looking for. Seems to be a lot of day lilies on here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/bulletins/all/

Oh, I'm definitely keeping on top of the Classifieds! I've already got in a nice order with Bleek, from the co-op that 4paws did. Now I just need a few more things to fill in that new planting area.... :-)

My sale order for Brent and Becky went in on Nov 27 2006 and my Van Engelen order went in on Nov. 17 2006 and I assume that is when they started as I was waiting for them. I am going to be very vigilant this year to add to my already too big bulb placed orders for things that I hope will be still available for some mass plantings. Bot the Bulb Bug Big Time! Patti

I'm going to be vigilant, too! I "need" at least 400 giant crocus to toss around while I'm planting out all those daffs, and twice that number would not be a bad thing.

Do you remember what the % off was on van Engelen?

I looked in our bulb forum from last year and here is what I found for 2006 last year sale information Van Engelen

Thanks, Patti! I should've searched like you did....

I found this thread on sales dates from last year, http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/668588/

It looks like most of the sales start the second week in November (Nov. 9 last year for Blooming Bulbs, Dutch Gardens, Gurney's and others.)

I think I am going to make myself till and amend that planting area before I order more bulbs!

I just popped into the bulb forum and thought I'd checkout this thread because it's what I was looking for too! Critter, you always have the best ideas! ;-) How late can you plant bulbs in the fall anyway? I'd be afraid if I waited for some of the sales my soil would be frozen by the time I got my bulbs.

I did some searching, and with the help of the Garden WatchDog came across some places that look really good with good prices. Maybe you'd all be interested? Please just don't swarm them and leave nothing for me! lol! I've never ordered from any of these places...if anyone else has maybe you could share your experiences?

Not a lot of feedback in the WatchDog, but still looks good...
http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/3524/

This place looks great, and may be where I end up ordering from...
http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/3613/

I'm still looking for places, and if anyone is interested I'll post more if I find them...as long as Critter doesn't feel this is OT for this thread? I could start another thread if needed, just say the word :-)

oh, please post away! the more sources the better!

You can always plant during a thaw, and I know some folks who have pried up frozen slabs of soil and planted in loosened soil underneath, then replaced the slab over the bulbs.

Sounds good to me Critter! Here's two more places I've found that have good Watchdog reviews and good prices, however their offerings of bulbs are somewhat limited...but, if they have what you're looking for you're in luck! Since I've not decided on what type of individual Daffs, Tulips, Crocus, etc. that I want to plant yet I think I may just go with the best reviews and cheapest prices.

http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/2096/ - Vanveen Bulbs International

http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/1053/ - tulips.com (Roozengaarde/Washington Bulb Company, Inc.)

I wanted to mention that Vanveen's is the lowest price I've seen yet on Hyacinths. Oooh, love those Hyacinths!

Santa Rosa Gardens' prices are a bit harder to compare when you're in a hurry because they sell most of their bulbs in packages of 4. Did I carry that 2 when I was doing my math? LOL! Anyway, great rating on them...

http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/2257/

:-( None of those 3 have good prices on Crocus, and that's the "need" that's driving my next bulb purchase... now, once some crocus bulbs are in my shopping cart at a good price, who knows what else will jump in before I check out... :-)

critterologist . . .I'm looking for crocus too and plan on putting in 600+. Best prices I've found is Van Engelen. Anyone else I should look at? What types are you buying? This is my first time and I'm thinking half tommasinianus and half vernus. Have a large lawn I'ld like to naturalize. Any suggestions?

Van Engelen has the best prices I've seen so far, too... I'm wondering if I should gamble on their having any left by sale time... I might buy some now and hope for more later (done that before, LOL).

I've been mostly planting tommies because they seem to multiply a bit faster for me. I've also had fairly good multiplication with C. sib. 'Tricolor'. But in the new shrub border I'm planting with bulbs this fall, I think I'm going to go with C. vernus ("giant crocus") because they'll be near the back of the yard and I want to see them better from the house.

Actually, half and half sounds good to me... are you putting in a mix, or are you thinking of planting in drifts of colors? I've mostly done drifts before, but this time I'm going to go mixed, although I may slant the color balance by adding extra 'Pickwick' and purples.

That tricolor looks nice. I'll get that too. Haven't decided on drifts or mixes yet. One day I think drift, the next mix. Problem is, of course, I don't have the budget to fill the yard. I settle on drifts but then, because its a big yard I wonder if I'll end up with weird looking splotches rather than drifts. So I dunno...probably go out at the last minute and poke them in anywhere.

Got a problem with the soil too. Almost no potassium, below optimum in phosphorus and a pH of 5.7. Fixed the area I carved out for a vegetable garden but to do the entire lawn will take some time (and money). Not sure how well anything will naturalize in that soil--it looks good...nice loam. Grass is doing OK So maybe the bulbs will naturalize but maybe not. We shall see.

Van Engelen is sold out of one thing already: The Tall Globe Allium Collection.

Drifts work better in a big yard if they're around some sort of focal point... like a swoop of blooms across the front of a tree, leading up and over to the front walk... remember that your eye is going to follow the color, so give it somewhere to go.

I think from a price-to-value ratio, Van Engelen/John Scheepers is the best, hands down. You get great value and quality - but V.E. is designed more to buy in bulk, while its sister company, John Scheepers, is designed more for the average gardener and offers smaller quantities of nearly the exact same selections. Not only are the prices good, but you have to look and bulb size and quality - and I have found that these companies offer just about the best stuff out there. I order from them every year. Some of the other "volume" sellers send small, shriveled up bulbs. After several years of heavy bulb gardening, I have ordered from most of the major players at some time.

This message was edited Sep 29, 2007 8:06 AM

Thanks Steve. I have yet to buy from them but looking around Van Engelen/John Scheepers seems to be the best. Noticed the other day that if I buy 200 of a crocus, the price is the same at Scheepers as at Van Engelen. A nice deal as I can pick up small assortments of minor bulbs and discounts on larger orders of one cultivar without paying two shipping charges.

Is Van Engelen/John Scheepers associated with ColorBlends?

I don't think VanEngelen/John Scheepers is associated with Colorblends. Best prices over all from Colorblends but some exceptions and depends on quantity ordering. Reviews on this site been very good for Colorblends. Sent in first order from them but not received yet so can't give you feedback yet.

I agree that the quality/price of John Scheepers can't be beat! Also the amaryllis bulbs I got from them were the best I've ever seen.

For some interesting hard to find bulbs also check out Old House Gardens. This is great site if you want ones that are a little different that aren't found in every garden out there...

www.oldhousegardens.com

Sue

Hey there critter! Crocus are at the top of my "need" list too. Mr.Cheap here has been scouring for the best deal possible because I hope to put in 1000 crocus, about 1/2 C.vernus and the rest C.chrysanthus and tommies. If you see a great deal for bulk perhaps we could split an order. I'm looking to plant in drifts of single colors, at least 100 of each color. Been looking at Aaron's deals (rarebulbs) on ebay and snow crocus are offered again this year at a good price. I got the collection for the old house and all were gorgeous, so I'll definitely be replacing those. Oh, and C.tricolor is on my list too...well, I guess any crocus out there is on my list, LOL (since there are none in this garden yet).

Happy hunting!
Neal

VanEngelen/John Scheepers is out of all the tommies except Ruby Giant and the one which costs twice as much as the others: Crocus tommasinianus roseus.

Some alliums are sold out as well.

Just my luck. Had the order all planned out this morning, they had everything and this evening when I went to buy, almost half of what I planned on getting was gone. Here is what the crocus part of the order tonight turned out to be:

SIEBERI TRICOLOR--200
SIEBERI FIREFLY--50
LARGE GRAND COLLECTION--250
TOMMASINIANUS ROSEUS--100
CHRYSANTHUS GOLDILOCKS-100
BIFLORUS PURITY--50
CROCUS SPECIES MIXTURE--100

Ordered from Scheepers because I wanted to get an assortment of minor bulbs in small amounts.

I really like OHG too, and they offer lots of bulbs that are well adapted to the south - probably more than anyone. But, their stuff is not for the budget minded. I order bulbs from them every year but keep my bulk buying to the big guys like John Scheepers.

Yes, I noticed those great prices at VE... I've almost convinced myself to change the plan and go with C. sieberi rather than C. vernus for the area I'm planting this fall. Neal, I could use 500 easily, so I'll keep my eyes open, and let me know if you spot any good quantity deals also. Aaron has given me some great deals on tommies in the past. :-)

Oh its bulb frenzy time again! I've been purchasing from VE for a very long time.
I find they have indeed sold out a lot of the things I want by the time they go on sale
so I usually end up findng just a few things this way.

I just put in my order. I was disappointed the many of the lilies I wanted were sold
out. But I managed to find just a few things I did want. LOL

Tam

Hi there Tammy! So good to hear from you- I was hoping you'd be popping in :)

Thats been the experience I've had with VE too, so I usually wait and order from Brent&Beckys sale. They have typically sold out of a lot, but carry such a big selection, there is usually still some good stuff left to choose from. Its the way I pick up some of the more expensive stuff (which usually doesn't sell out).

How's the new digs working out Neal? Did you get to see if there were bulbs already
there? (I forget when you moved in. Sorry) What's your plan for this first fall bulb planting?
Tam

I'm finding myself very content here, its a gardeners dream! Our official move in date was May 1, but I was moving the garden in March. Strangely, there are only a few daffs here and there, and tons of Ornithogalum in the lawn. The first plantings are daffs and crocus so that they can start naturalizing, and hopefully some other small bulbs. I think I'm going to concentrate most bulb planting in the lawn areas this time around, that is if I can get past my OCD tendency to want everything within defined borders, LOL.

Tam, what are you looking to add to your garden this fall? Inquiring minds want to know, lol.

I am working on a huge daffodil display in the grassy area along the roadside of our property. I
put in 300 last year and will do about the same this year. I also am adding crocus to a planting bed
near the entrance to the driveway. I have deciduous azaleas & lilies there now. I'm putting crocus
to echo the colors in the azaleas. Plus more anemone blanda & other misc little stuff to add in
existing beds.

Here's the area where I'm planting daff's. I put 300 tulips in there 2003 (picture is from 2004)
but the critters found the tulips and they are no more. No blooms in '05 so I switched to daffodils.
In this area, there were naturalized muscari & buttercups so its kinda fun trying to get the bloom time
lined up to catch a dual display.

And here's the area last spring (Apr 07) You can see some of the muscari here.
I definitely need more daffodils to make much of an effect!

Tammy.....you mow the slope later in the spring? I was thinking of putting species tulips in the yard. Your red looks very nice. Just what I need. If I can eventually mow....what do you think? I could always tuck them somewhere but the main part of the yard is best. Do you recall the cultivar?

It takes a long time for species tulip foliage to die back... I'm trying to remember when that happened last year, and I'm thinking we may have been into June, maybe somebody else will have a better recollection! However, the foliage isn't all that tall, so I'm wondering if it would really do any harm to mow it shorter, especially if it's had a few weeks of growth after bloom. You might not get as many new bulbs (species tulips can increase like mad when they're really happy), but I'll bet they'd still do fine.

?

Tammy, that slope just gets prettier every time you post a photo! I've decided I'm going to start planting daffodils in clumps (at least 5 and probably more like 15 at a time) to make more impact... they'd get there eventually by dividing, but I want them to look more established sooner.

Tammy, looking good! Are you doing naturalizing mixtures? I have my varieties separated, and am going to plant in drifts planted densely in the center with bulbs sprinkled further apart toward the edges. An attempt to achieve the look of a mature stand that has reseeded and is gradually spreading out.

David_Paul, most of the species tulips I've tried have foliage that hugs the earth and doesn't achieve much height, so I think they would be safe in the lawn. I had a patch of 'Little Princess' (or maybe it was 'Little Beauty') growing in with yellow evening primroses. Just after blooming the evening primroses would completely cover them up. I thought this would over-shade them and require them to be moved, but they next spring they bloomed beautifully. They love to be bone dry in summer, so growing them in the lawn keeps them away from frequently watered beds; I'm trying this with species tulips this year too.

critter, I found myself unable to wait; stuff is selling out so fast. So, I've got the large flowered crocus collection and 100 C.sieberi Tricolor coming from VE and a snow crocus collection coming from Aaron. And got such good deals that I was left with a bit more in my "bulb fund", so I filled in with some species tulips to replace some of what I left behind at the old garden :) Temps are dropping and already dreaming of spring!

Neal, I think I'm going to go ahead and order too, probably today if I can make up my mind! (Or I won't make up my mind and I'll just move a little extra $ into the bulb fund, LOL... crocus bulbs are so easy to plant!)