I like October. I've never bought a bulb online...usually the big box stores or the local nurseries do me just fine.

I would suggest that you purchase the bulbs as soon as you see them, and keep them inside in the AC, especially if your source has them in an outdoor display. Excess heat can "blast" bulbs, destroying the flower buds - you'll get leaves, but no flowers. And if left for too long, bulbs can dry out or start to sprout early, so keep an eye on them, even in your home. (If they begin to sprout, leaves or roots, pot them up in some potting soil, and keep them cool and damp - you can plant them soil and all in Oct.. And if you miss them, you can still plant bulbs into the beginning of Jan. and hope for some flowers, if later than normal - I've done it!)

If buying tulips, or some of the other bulbs that need to be chilled, putting them in the fridge isn't a bad idea - but if it's a frost-free one, make sure they don't dry out, nor rot if sealed up tightly!

If you want something out of the ordinary, you will have to go to a catalogue, either mail or on-line, but if you want the old stand-byes, then the local sources are as good and maybe less costly.

Thanks folks!! I've got a small, not frost free dorm size frige in my weight room for cold water and drinks. Sounds like a good use for the crisper on it!! Also, one more bulb related question. I saw in one of my catalogs a little basket called a bulb basket. The catalog says it helps keep pests away as well as makes the bulbs easy to lift. Have you ever used a "bulb basket"? Is there a need in this area to lift any particular type of bulb (thinking spring flowers, tulips, crocus and such)? I know my Grandmothers and Mom never did. I think maybe my lack of success in the past has been from incorrect handling. I didn't keep cool or put them in the fridge before. And I'm going to keep my eyes on the garden dept. at HD and Lowes for the fall stock!! I need to build a base this year before going to anything really unusual.

Some bulbs, depending on your location, need "chilling hours" to flower properly - some don't - so I would check with your local extension agent/garden columnist, etc., as well as checking a good regional garden book to see what zone you are in and what bulbs need pre-chilling and what don't need it for you. The species tulips seem to be able to handle the warm-ish winters and flower, while many of the hybrids are better treated as annuals, esp. in the milder-winter areas, and enjoyed for the one year. Here in northwest Spartanburg County, I get flowers from my 'Angelique' and other tulips most years, but the flowers last for varying periods of time - very short if we get a suddenly warm spring. I expect them to peter out eventually - I may or may not replant, as it is spotty as to whether I get a good display or not - but it is GOOD when I do!!!!. Grape hyacinths do well usually - growing their leaves in late fall, and then flowering come spring - while the bigger Dutch ones may or may not come back at all, never mind do well. Crocus usually do pretty well with minimal care, but may not spread and may need to be replenished after a few years. Daffodils can usually get by with the degree of cold we get - and in the warmer areas, the paperwhites that in colder areas are indoor forcing bulbs only, can be outdoor bulbs.

For me, I find that the most of the bulbs that are listed in catalogues or on the bags/boxes, as late season flowering varieties get hit with the sudden warm/hot spells of late spring, and flower for too short a time for me to feel they are worth growing. But the early and mid-season ones can start going in early Jan. (late Dec. sometimes!) and go until April, maybe May.

About the "bulb basket" - if you have a vole problem, or a mole/vole problem, then you may have your fall-planted bulbs eaten over the winter, or in the summers. The baskets protect the bulbs from hungry little teeth. You don't really need to lift the bulbs, but you may need to prevent them from being food!

dibbit, thanks for the advice!! I do have a vole,or mole problem. Being a virgin house on former tree farm property, I see tunnels all over. Into the edge of the yard, across my drive way, you name it. They aren't running up to the foundation on my house any longer but that isn't a guarantee. The basket may be a good worthwhile investment for me. My area, 7B by some maps, 8A by others. I do know I run a little warmer than the Charlotte area and do as a rule have less hard cold weather in winter. Being on the edge, I think a good consult with an extension agent may be a good thing for me. I had bananas overwinter with no extra mulch last year, but who knows what this year will bring. Again, some great info and thanks so much!!

I have planted daffodils amd tulips as late as February and had them bloom, although I wouldn't recommend it.I read somewhere that it's best to plant once the weather turns cooler. I know there have been some Octobers that were still very warm. I buy both in the local stores and online depending on what I am looking for.I have even had some good luck with Ebay. Tulips for me tend not to come back a second year and are considered an annual for me so I don't plant them.(too expensive). I have been buying irises this year as they bloom in spring as well.

Tammy

One note on storing bulbs in the fridge: do not store fruit and vegetables in the fridge at the same time. This is because some (not all) fruit and vegetables produce ethylene gas which can be very detrimental to the bulbs. Since the bulbs are in the process of producing next years flower inside, and exposure to ethylene gas at this time can cause the flower buds to dry up and die, and also affect growth performance.

I pretty much order all my bulbs from www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com. I think they run a stellar business. They also won't ship the bulbs until its planting time anyway. For ease of care, Daffodils are the best there is, starting w/ the lent lily (N. pseudonarcissus). It's bloom time often coincides with Veronica 'Georgia Blue'. I also like winter iris (I. reticulata 'Harmony') and Scilla sibirica 'Spring Beauty' for their bright blue color and ease of care. You always know that Spring is not far behind.

My Dutch irises, Spanish bluebells and daffodils came from Van Engelen (Scheepers for smaller quantities). My order confirmation email from two years ago was in October, so I planted in October or November.

I adore the Dutch irises. They bloom the first year, stand tall without support and deer/rabbits don't touch them. They make great cut flowers and the blooms last a long time. Mine bloom in April, per the dates on my photos.

I intend to add many more colors this year. I didn't plant any bulbs last fall due to our drought. I'm going to make up for it this fall!

Cameron

Here is a link that might be useful: my irises

Cameron, those are absolutely beautiful!! Iris is one of my favorites as well. A definite on my list for this fall!! I also LOVE that Rose Queen Saliva!! I'm very partial to purples, blues, rose in my garden. I picked up one of the Plum Crazy Hibiscus at PDN this year and can't wait to see it bloom!! You guys have some great suggestions and ideas as always!! I'm going to be a bulb planting fool this fall!

All those iris pictures this spring really had me inspired as well. I promised myself I would plant bunches this fall. Unfortunately the heat got to me and I just placed a big daylily order at Marietta Gardens. Maybe I'll just hit the iris house at BB's this fall and be content with that. We don't carry a ton but we do have some nice ones. Adele

Soneone on one of the threads last year suggested species tulips, so I gave them a try. I planted them in October last year along with some grape hyacinths and some of those little blue star-shaped things whose name I've forgotten. It was so warm last fall that I was afraid that I put them in too early, but everything did really well. I'm going to put in more species tulips this year since I like them so much. I"m also going to plant a bunch of irises. Schreiner's is having a 50% off sale and I went a little crazy - they sure have some gorgeous irises (schreinersgardens.com in case anyone needs to be enabled).

Oh catc, you are enabling me!! :-) Going to check them out. Thanks for the tip!!

For Irises I get mine from several places. I purchased bunches from a few great sellers. Greenhorn valley Irises have excellent prices, as does eflowergarden.com. I have far exceeded my iris budget for the year. And now I am working on spring bulbs, really looking for good deals on grape hyacinths and trying to find a good early blooming white daffodil. I am gonna try Brent and Beckys and Colorblends this year.

Tammy

I did a lot of research last night looking at a lot of bulb companies to compare prices for myself, and to look them up on the watchdog site.

I put all the information in a spreadsheet, but GW won't let me embed a spreadsheet here in a thread. I can publish the spreadsheet in my next blog (probably later this week). It's real interesting to see the price per bulb. I picked a common daffodil, tulip, allium and generic Dutch iris to compare prices across online companies.

I put up a POLL on my blog to find out where folks order bulbs online. I couldn't list every company, but I did a web search and included the most common results from the search.

Please vote so we can see the people's choices easily. You can vote for more than one company. This topic comes up across several forums and if we can acutally tally some results, it will be pretty interesting.

Cameron

Here is a link that might be useful: poll for online fall bulb companies