Purchasing bulbs through mail-order

Sometimes you just don’t have enough time to get to a retail store or you want a particular variety of bulb that’s not commonly found in your local garden center or home supply store. This is where buying from a mail-order supplier can be a real advantage.
Here are the perks of sending away for your bulbs:

• Quality: Mail-order bulbs are frequently bigger and fresher. Every step of the way, from climate-controlled storage to the cushioned box they arrive at your door in, mail-order bulbs get premium treatment.
  
• Selection: Catalogs and Web sites devoted especially to bulbs are impressive: You can browse beautiful bulbs you’ve never seen at your local garden center. The selection of cutting-edge varieties also comes into play, because bulb merchants often work directly with Dutch growers to get the new and improved bulb varieties that sometimes aren’t produced in enough quantity to be distributed by mass merchants.

Take a look at the disadvantages:

• Wait time: There’s a lag between the time you place your order and the day you receive your bulbs. When you order the bulbs matters. If you order bulbs in spring or summer to be sent the coming fall, you may wait many weeks. It you order them in the fall, delivery usually just takes a few weeks, sometime less. Wait time also depends on the supplier. If the seller has the bulbs in his or her warehouse in the U.S., the bulbs are usually shipped faster than if they have to be sent to you directly from Holland.
• Inability to inspect the merchandise: You can’t handle or inspect your bulbs until they arrive. However, all reputable mail-order suppliers guarantee their wares and will replace bulbs or refund your money if the bulbs don’t meet your expectations. Find and read the guarantee and return policies, just in case you have to use them.

Buying bulbs from home stores and nurseries

You can buy bulbs in so many places these days. If you’re a novice and need some planting information, want top-size bulbs, and need help with your selection, garden centers and nurseries are often your best choice. Home centers have a reasonable selection but usually sell smaller bulbs, and they rarely provide much gardening information.
Here are the advantages of buying bulbs in person:

• Instant gratification and impulse buying: You can get the bulbs you want, or come across others that tempt you, and buy them on the spot.
• Immediate planting: Shopping and planting on the same day is an option if you have the time and are feeling gung-ho.
• Poor storage conditions: Normal display-rack or display-box conditions aren’t ideal for bulbs. Some may dry out; others may sprout prematurely. The smaller the bulb, the faster it dries out. In spring, summer-blooming bulbs are often displayed in home stores weeks, if not months, before the soil is warm enough for planting them.
• Lack of variety: Selection isn’t all that varied. Buy spring-blooming bulbs early for late-summer to early-fall planting. That way, the bulbs will be fresh and in the best condition, and you’ll have the biggest selection.
• Questionable contents in the bin: Bulbs may get into the wrong bin as customers pick through them. You may end up with the wrong color or a completely different type of bulb.
• When selecting your bulbs, read bin or packaging labels with care so you know the names of what you’re buying as well as something about the plants, like how tall they get, when they bloom, whether they grow in sun or shade, and how far apart and deep to plant them.

The Search: Where to Get Your Bulbs

Making a successful, beautiful bulb display doesn’t begin at planting time. It begins when you go bulb-shopping or bulb-swapping. Neighbors can be a great resource for extra bulbs when they’re dividing their bulbs. But do be picky: Free bulbs aren’t a bargain if they aren’t strong and healthy. Bulb quality can vary, so starting with good ones is important. Here’s what to look for:

• Appearance: A fresh, good-quality bulb is plump and clean, without obvious damage to its outer layers. Avoid bulbs with disfiguring dents or blemishes, which can let in rot-inducing bacteria. Bulbs may contain a small amount of green penicillin mold, which is rarely harmful. Some bulbs, like anemone and ranunculus, always look dried up.
  
• Heft: Pick up a bulb and handle it for a moment. Then pick up a few others from the same basket or bin (of the same variety) and compare their weights. Bulbs that feel lightweight relative to their peers are likely to be dried out and not viable (they may even be last season’s leftovers, for all you know). While you’re at it, gently squeeze the bulb. A squishy texture indicates rot, but a good, firm feel means the bulb has sufficient moisture content.
• Size: With bulbs, bigger is better. A larger bulb has more stored reserves and therefore can produce larger and more flowers on more substantial stems. You get what you pay for; you can get incredible deals on bulbs, but they may be too young and small to bloom.