Spring bulbs where?

countrywoman

Can anyone recommend where to buy bulk spring bulbs please. Online preferable as I am restricting my movements.
Good value, quality bulbs please

The Mr Middleton website always has a great selection. If you want to go organic Fruithill Farm but their bulbs are always in high demand and can sell out very fast, also a little more expensive due to being organic.

Bill Hook

This year I have got bulbs from Future Forests, Clarenbridge Garden Centre and Greens of Ireland (all bought online). The bulbs from Future Forests and Greens were the same bulbs (branded West Cork Bulbs). I'd use all of them again but Greens were my favorite because they offer free delivery on orders over 50 euro (and some free bulbs on orders over 20 euro).

Of course I won't know until next year if the bulbs were any good but apart from a few dodgy looking daffodils they all seemed to be in good condition.

JackPerry

Mr. Middleton's site will lead you directly to a Dutch site if you want to order bulp,. Good selection but high delivery charges. I used a different site, Gardens4you,also Dutch but cheaper. Awaiting delivery and hoping it will not be too late to plant tulip bulbs.

CelticRambler

countrywoman wrote: »

Can anyone recommend where to buy bulk spring bulbs please. Online preferable as I am restricting my movements.
Good value, quality bulbs please

What do you mean by "bulk"? I had a quick look at the Future Forest and Greens websites, and they don't seem to do "bulk" in the sense that I understand it! A few weeks ago, I ordered a "small" bulk order of 1000 bulbs (mostly Tulips and Crocus) from bulbi.nl, 162€ delivered (to France, 9€ flat rate for me, 16€ to Ireland).

Neither Future Forest nor Greens had the varieties I ordered, so I couldn't do a true like-for-like comparison, but overall, their prices seem to be noticeably higher, and I'd wonder if you'd be getting Dutch bulbs anyway (almost all our supermarket specials here in France come from NL which is why I went direct).

Bill Hook

CelticRambler wrote: »

What do you mean by "bulk"? I had a quick look at the Future Forest and Greens websites, and they don't seem to do "bulk" in the sense that I understand it! A few weeks ago, I ordered a "small" bulk order of 1000 bulbs (mostly Tulips and Crocus) from bulbi.nl, 162€ delivered (to France, 9€ flat rate for me, 16€ to Ireland).

Neither Future Forest nor Greens had the varieties I ordered, so I couldn't do a true like-for-like comparison, but overall, their prices seem to be noticeably higher, and I'd wonder if you'd be getting Dutch bulbs anyway (almost all our supermarket specials here in France come from NL which is why I went direct).

That bulbi.nl price is very good. IIRC Clarenbridge do bulk orders but I don't know how the prices would compare.


I'd say all the bulbs are coming from Holland apart from some of the daffodils/narcissi.

Just had a look at bulbi, gorgeous selection! what I wouldn’t give if they were organic!

monkeynuz

Due to poor service from mr Middleton and future forests over the years (rotten/mouldy and late/ slow delivery) I used Peter nyssen in the uk this year and they were very good better prices and great service.

_Brian

Another vote for MrMiddleton.

Bought some and they were good quality.

Bill Hook

SnowyMuckish wrote: »

Just had a look at bulbi, gorgeous selection! what I wouldn’t give if they were organic!

I feel a bit guilty about buying the ordinary bulbs but the organic ones are so expensive and there is not so much choice. I ended up buying about 1,200 assorted bulbs. Hopefully they will prosper but if they don't I am finished with spring bulbs!

monkeynuz

Bill Hook wrote: »

I feel a bit guilty about buying the ordinary bulbs but the organic ones are so expensive and there is not so much choice. I ended up buying about 1,200 assorted bulbs. Hopefully they will prosper but if they don't I am finished with spring bulbs!

A lot of the Peter nyssen are organic, alternatively you can buy from small specialist bulb nurseries in the uk, there is a reasonable choice of them, I didn’t have time this year to deal with them but will next year.

CelticRambler

Bill Hook wrote: »

Hopefully they will prosper but if they don't I am finished with spring bulbs!

As someone who was born and reared with daffodils as the only "spring bulb" (in my mother's garden, but which thrived despite next-to-no care and attention) I didn't realise until this last year how different are the conditions needed for the different species, and especially tulips.

My daffs (like my mother's) have done amazingly well over the last 15 years with no intervention at all; and a small batch of crocuses have held their own in one part of the bed, as have a few regular and grape hyacinths. This last week, I've created a completely new bed in front of the daffs, dug it deep and planted it with masses of tulips (in pots) and crocuses. I've seen other gardens in the area with great displays of tulips in the spring, so the weather and the soil can't be wrong - it must be (have been) me! :pac: I'm sticking to massive quantities of just a few species for now so that I can get used to properly managing them.

Bill Hook

I had a grand plan for all my bulbs before I realised that where I intended to plant the tulips was completely unsuitable. I've planted all the daffodils, crocus, anenomes, grape hyacinths and reticulated iris but I am left with over 300 tulips, 200 dutch iris and 200 gladiolus byzantinus. I happened across an article by Sarah Raven where she describes planting the tulips and dutch iris fairly deeply in a bed and overplanting with lettuce in the spring. I have a long narrow bed (approx. 15m x 1m) where I'm going to give that a go because it would work quite well with my no-dig system. I'm imagining a Dublin Corporation St. Stephen's Green type bed with loads of flowers!!

I'll put the gladioli in clumps in some of the borders and I am considering planting a few of them at the bases of the fruit trees in the orchard.

The Continental Op

OP, your question might have been better if it said "Spring bulbs when". You are a little late in the year now. I start looking around for bulbs in July. I ordered a load of Colchicums in July from Peter Nysenn which arrived in the first week of August.

There are still some stocks of bulbs around but start looking or ordering much earlier next year. I've just checked Peter Nysenn web site and the bulbs I ordered are now all out of stock.

Graces7

Bill Hook wrote: »

This year I have got bulbs from Future Forests, Clarenbridge Garden Centre and Greens of Ireland (all bought online). The bulbs from Future Forests and Greens were the same bulbs (branded West Cork Bulbs). I'd use all of them again but Greens were my favorite because they offer free delivery on orders over 50 euro (and some free bulbs on orders over 20 euro).

Of course I won't know until next year if the bulbs were any good but apart from a few dodgy looking daffodils they all seemed to be in good condition.

I will be interested to hear how the West Cork do? I bought some last year and they failed dramatically.

I have bought elsewhere this year and they are doing better; these are indoor hyacinths and paperwhites.

monkeynuz

Graces7 wrote: »

I will be interested to hear how the West Cork do? I bought some last year and they failed dramatically.

I have bought elsewhere this year and they are doing better; these are indoor hyacinths and paperwhites.

+1 we have had terrible problems with west cork bulbs in the past, impossible to contact the company directly to complain.

Bill Hook

Oh no, most of my bulbs were West Cork Bulbs:mad:. Both Future Forests and Greens of Ireland supplied them to me. They all looked fine apart from some daffodils which I complained to Future Forests about and got a refund.

monkeynuz

Bill Hook wrote: »

Oh no, most of my bulbs were West Cork Bulbs:mad:. Both Future Forests and Greens of Ireland supplied them to me. They all looked fine apart from some daffodils which I complained to Future Forests about and got a refund.

Oh, I got a refund from future forests but wanted to discuss the problem with west cork bulbs, but they don’t really exist.

Bill Hook

A refund is not much use when you've wasted hours planting the fecking things! And I can't complain in advance so I will just have to wait until next spring to be disappointed and annoyed.

monkeynuz

Bill Hook wrote: »

A refund is not much use when you've wasted hours planting the fecking things! And I can't complain in advance so I will just have to wait until next spring to be disappointed and annoyed.

I know as I have thousands to do a year

Graces7

monkeynuz wrote: »

+1 we have had terrible problems with west cork bulbs in the past, impossible to contact the company directly to complain.

Thank you.

When I googled, the last reference on eg facebook is 2017 so maybe they are out of business and the places that stock them are selling off old stock?

Last year I ordered from Future Forests who I knew and thought well of when I lived in West Cork ... and maybe the bulbs had not been well stored?

But all failed totally. I cannot afford many such things so it was so disappointing. This year's are better! Not sure the hyacinths will be out at Christmas and the paperwhites flowered too early but the weather has been odd.

Graces7

monkeynuz wrote: »

Oh, I got a refund from future forests but wanted to discuss the problem with west cork bulbs, but they don’t really exist.

I didn't think to ask for a refund... Stupid I am!

ellee

Ordered from Peter Nyssen here. I understand they are only selling bulbs which are NOT treated with Neonicotinoids. However I'd say stock would be low now. I ordered in late August and they had sold out of lots of bulbs even then!

johnsparkexile

Have used Farmer Gracy for the last few years, good size and quality to the bulbs and a great selection, price isn't to steep either. So far no complaints.

Sign up for the news letter and they send you discount codes, makes it hard to stop buying.

PS. I'm no way connected to the company, just a satisfied customer

Graces7

A dreadful yen for a few tulips..