Hi Kristen! Welcome back! Yes, the list has shrunk considerably and I do not check it nearly as often.

The best bulb source I have found is Colorblends. My Tulips this year were beautful with very little blight. Colorblends French Blend tulips are totally amazing! I also bought Daffs from them through their Daffodil Depot and had the most wonderful harvest. This year I
have ordered more of their alliums and more french tulips as well as other kinds.

THis year I am also checking out Van Bourgoundian's bulbs. I have had mixed results form them but they are listed as the wholesale store for Dutch Bulbs, and I have gotton some amazing things from them. USually I get a packeage of 5 plants and figure at the price if 3 of the 5 grow then I will have enough at a decent price. They have some wonderful viridiflora tulips advertised and they do well and stay really healthy for us. So if the bulbs are OK to start with then we shall see. I will be running a comparison between Colorblends and VB. I order other bulbs from Van Engelen but not tulips if I can get them anywhere else. However their prices on Alliums are about as good as you can get and I have had no trouble with quality on those. In fact, my christopherii and Purple Sensation, and Schuberti come back well from year to year, so I do not need to buy many of them.

Hi, Kristen! It's nice to hear from you! I'm not on here much any more either.

For good bulk prices and big healthy bulbs, Ednie's for lilies, AMG for everything else.

I've mostly grown Single Late (aka Scheepers, aka French) tulips, but find they are WONDERFUL for cuts, since most of them make a very long stem. If you can give them the dry summer they want (put them in a bed you can stop irrigating when they start to turn brown) they perennialize well. They ARE late, as tulips go, so they're unsuitable for the very earliest markets.

Of the cutting alliums, I've only grown Purple Sensation and liked it very much. I didn't realize how early they bloomed until they opened at the same time as the last of the Single Late tulips and the first of the lupines. They perennialize and multiply well if you can give them a dry summer.

For peonies, Mons. Jules Elie (pink), Shawnee Chief (red), Ann Cousins (white), and Sarah Bernhardt (slightly paler pink) have long, strong stems and perform best for me. Kansas (red) has a substandard vase life, Duchesse de Nemours (white) is skimpy on blooms. I haven't cut enough from the other thirty or so I've got to evaluate them. Be aware that peonies just poke along, buds slowly getting bigger and bigger, then KABOOM! they all open at once in the first really warm weather and will open too fast. To REALLY get the best yield from peonies, if they start opening when it's hot, you need to check them and cut daily, sometimes twice daily, or they'll be too far open and either shatter and/or have a poor vase life. If you cut at the right stage and then refrigerate, you don't have to waste a single one. They handle refrigeration very well.

I got most of my cutting peonies through Germania, and I think they came from Walter's, but I could be wrong about that. I know there were ten of each kind. No doubt that was the minimum. They all put out a flower or two in their first season, when the plants were still too small to cut, but it was enough to tell that I had the right plants.

Jeanne

Does anyone have a source for Dutch Iris? I know they are very common, But I had been growing them until I stupidly tilled them under. I know there is a wholesale bulb dealer in Conn. I believe it is on Tulip Drive(or something like that) I can't remember the name of the company, though. Any otheer suggestions. Heidi

VanEngelen is a source for Dutch Iris, as well as other spring blooming bulbs. I have ordered tulips, daffodils and Dutch Iris from them. The bulbs were all good size and I have been very pleased with them for most things. I did order the paperwhites from them one year and was very disappointed in their display. I complained to them and they refunded all my money. So, they were very good about that, too.

If you are looking to plant things outside, then I believe they are a good source for bulbs. I ordered the Passionale daffodils and the first year, they had 2 - 3 flowers per bulb. I ordered the Sheepers collection of 350 bulbs (aka french tulips) and they were fantastic. I had so many rants and raves about them and the stems were wonderful in length. The dutch iris were also a nice size and I had a lovely display the first year.

You only have to order $50 worth to be considered a wholesale customer and their prices are good if you are looking to buy in smaller quantities. I am not sure how comparable they are in larger amounts to some of the other companies.

Sharon

Sharon,
Thank you, that was the company I was looking for, they are located on Tulip Drive in Conn. I had ordered from them a few years ago, but never got a new cataloge(or I misplaced it). Thanks again, HEIDI