27 September 2010

Another reason to mail order your bulbs?

I got a flower bulb catalog the other day from Colorblends. It was a bit late for me as I always put in my bulb orders back in June to take advantage of early-bird sales from my prefered source, McClure and Zimmerman, but I never turn down a chance to browse a catalog. One thing caught my eye: They had a little essay explaining that most daffodils sold in stores in the US are harvest and shipped too early, before they've had a chance to mature and dry properly, because big box stores demand early shipment to get their displays up early, and most independant garden centers feel forced to follow suit in order to compete. They say this makes the bulbs significantly more succeptable to fungal damage in shipment.

I always mail order my bulbs anyway (aside from a few impulse purchases) for the better selection and better prices. Guess you can add "not harvested too early" to that list as well.

3 comments:

scottweberpdx said...

That's really good to know! I've found that mail-order places also seem to have more than the run-of-the-mill bulbs that you find at the big box stores.

Dirty Girl Gardening said...

You can always find the best varieties online... half the time when i buy my bulbs from a nursery they get forgotten about in my truck!

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Thanks for the info. As Johnny Carson used to say, "I did not know that."