Where do you buy your Bulbs...

I paid £10 for 35 liatris bulbs in Dobbies... knowing they would be a tad expensive from there.

I almost collapsed tonight when I spotted 30 for £1.49 in Aldi!!!!!

Is there much difference? Enough to justify paying 10x the price?!

 

Kriss, for most everything I compare prices and quality before I buy anything
There are huge differences in prices......I have long avoided garden centres for plants; local nurseries, online suppliers, yes even Aldi and Lidl offer so much better value

 

I've vote garden centre but I do buy a lot online as well which I can't get in the GC. Reasons I like to buy from GC is that I like to inspect the bulbs - biggest size - no rot. I've recently bought some dahlia tubers, I want to numerous GC for specific types but couldn't get any so bought online , they arrived today I am not really over impressed tubers small and slightly dried out I wouldn't of bought them in the GC.

I looked in lidl for liatris bulbs and the bulbs were huge much bigger than what the GC were selling , but they were a mixed colour pack like the ones you've boguht from Aldi . LIdl are excellent for bulbs I raid the place when alliums are in stock.

Only place online I trust to get top quality bulbs everytime is Anglia Bulbs.

 

kriss

I posted yesterday about the 30 Liatris from Aldi last year . The quality was 100% ; plump and firm corms which grew very well .
Like German engineering , Aldi quality (food and plants) takes some beating !

 

I buy anywhere. I find Wilkinsons are good value. However Parkers ( either online or through their catalogue ) are excellent plus you get free gifts with every order.

 

Wherever I think is offering a good/fair value deal at the time, instore or online.

Dont visit garden centres personally. But if I was looking for overpriced tatt and a grim coffee my local Dobbies garden centre would be the place to visit.

 

GOOD QUESTION. Probably you buy on impulse. Meaning, you are out shopping and see bulbs,plants, shrubs in plastic/cellophane bags at a price that tempts you. Say for instance you see a bag of 100 rockery bulbs £2.50 Blimey, that's a bargain. So buy, take them home and plant. In due course a few plants appear. Oh well. Not too bad, after all they were cheap. IMO much depends upon you.

I might buy some mixed daffs etc from the local garden centre, all bagged up etc. If I am buying Liliums then I go to a specialist supplier.

Today most bulbs are fairly cheap. A few years back, and some bulbs would have cost you an arm and a leg. Imagine being a grower/supplier. Way back. You'd obtain stock plants/bulbs etc. To increase your stock, you might collect seed and sowit and nurture the results over perhaps three or more years. Or perhaps. Planting an area with bulbs , similar to planting spuds, and waiting for the crop. Nowadays many bulbs, plants etc are produced in laboratories by cell propagation.

 

Like KFF , I have found J Parkers a good supplier . Apart from that Ebay is my main source of bulbs.

 

Depending what I am after .... but you get what you pay for and I go for top size so the biggest I can get my hands on .... Gee Tee Bulb Company ,

Gold Medal Winning Lily Bulbs: Harts Nursery ,

Crinum - Anglia Bulb Company - Flower Bulbs Online from Anglia Bulbs - Importers of Quality Flower Bulbs 11

Flower Bulbs | Lilies, Anemone,Tulip Bulbs,Daffodils,Crocus Bulbs from an Award Winning UK Supplier

I occasionaly buy from a garden centre, B&Q etc but only when the stock has just arrived fresh in as I find leave it to late and the bulbs have dried out too much ...

 

Do Dobbies still sell plants ? We popped in last weekend and our local store is now more coffee shop and tat than a garden centre. Probably a bit of an exaggeration but the focus has changed significantly. I guess they go where the money is.

On bulbs, we tend to buy most from on line suppliers. Our planned garden style (it isn't there yet) does not lend itself to most traditional bulbs and buying something that isn't so mainstream usually means buying on line.