Comments regarding Costco Wholesale

I have purchased bulbs and tomato plants from Costco and they have always come up. My problem this year with the lilies I bought was that as they came up, squirrels ate all their tops off! Very sad to see a stem and no top! I ended up with just two red Asiatics in the front yard but they smelled lovely. I will need to figure out how to protect my lilies for next year!

This is my first time purchasing bulbs from Costco. I purchased 1 bag of each: Lily of the Valley (24), Astilbe (6), Bleeding Heart (6), Star Gazer Lily (18) Lady Fern (6?) and Begonia(8). So far, I have planted Lily of the Valley, Astilbe, and Bleeding Heart in containers as they were already sprouting and I did not want to wait another month until the danger of frost has passed in my Zone 6. Here are my reviews of each:

- Lily of the Valley - Most of the pips already sprouted about 2 inches in the bag. Since they were packed tightly, some of the shoots were not growing vertically but rather grew almost horizontally due to space limitations. This is mostly a non-issue as most though not all of the horizontal pips have righted themselves once they were planted. Many of the pips now have small flower buds. A few thinner ones will likely not flower this first season. Although the package indicated 24 pips, I only saw 17 in the bag. However, since many of them will flower, the $12.95 price is still an excellent deal as I have seen flowering pips costing over $3 each in other online websites. Just be aware that 24 pips (or 17 in my case) will not cover a large area so you may need to buy multiple bags for under the tree planting.

- Astilbe - These six roots were already sprouted with about 3 inches of growth. They were in large clumps and are very vigorous. They have only been in the container for about a week and have already grown new leaves. I am very happy with these plants and look forward to beautiful flowers this summer.

- Bleeding Hearts - These were disappointing. Instead of the promised 6 pieces of roots, I only received 4 and they were puny - probably just one eye plants and not the 2-3 eyes that were promised in the package! Each clump only had 1 to 3 stems. They also do not show the same rigor as the astilbes that we planted at the same time. There were 1 - 3 weak stems per root and only a few puny leaves turned green so I do not expect them to flower this year. Depending on how they grow, I may request a refund for the Bleeding Hearts.

As the Begonia, Lady Fern and Star Gazer Lily have not shown any sprouts, I will plant them in mid-April to avoid transplanting. So far, there was a bit of minor rot in one lily bulb (which I cut off) but everything else looks to be in good shape.

Overall, I had a positive experience with the bulbs from Costco. The $12.95 price can't be beat and it is reassuring that I can go back to my local Costco for a refund if any of the plants do not grow.

Costco is great if they have what you're looking for (since their selection is somewhat limited). I especially like to purchase my bulbs there, since I can get a bag of 60 tulips for about $10 and a bag of 24 lilies for $15 or less. Their colour combinations are always nice too.

The bulbs I've purchased have always been very healthy, and a very good size as well...often larger than what I see at some local nurseries. I have never seen any mold growing, and in the case of the tulips, the paper covering is almost entirely intact on every bulb in the bags I purchased. Collections with different varieties always have each separated and clearly labeled. I haven't had any problems with the plants not coming up, and the lilies I purchased have been multiplying like crazy since I bought them a few years ago (many of the younger ones are even blooming!). The tulips are also doing very well.

They also offer some nice looking fruit trees (peach, apricot, nectarine and plum where I live) that are selected to thrive in your specific climate (in my case, low chill varieties) as well as bare root roses. I was tempted to purchase some fruit trees since they were a good size (but still a year old) and only $10! But then I realized I had no place to put them!

In short, very good products at a low price if you want to wait in a large line for them :)

Bought two bags of tulips, 50 bulbs each, for $8.79 each. The bulbs were healthy and large (12+ cm, as advertised). Their selection was limited, but the prices exceptional. Also had bags of 100 King Alfred type daffs for $16. Good sized DNI/II bulbs. They were in mesh bags, so I poked at a few to check them out, and they seemed healthy. I just don't need 100 daffs this year.

My neighbor bought the bag of daffs from Costco last fall for $20, and they all came up and looked great this spring. Will keep everyone posted on how the tulips do.