Expert: Long Island Gardener - 11/7/2007

Question
QUESTION: I bought some tulip bulbs from Home Depot 11/1/07.  They don't look so good.  Some are completely dried out.  Others are "bleeding" something which looks like dried sap.  Others have one or two dark spots on them.  And others outer layer are somewhat dry.  I'm trying to select the good ones out of this batch and return the rest.  What does a good bulb look like.  Is it bad to take the "onion skin" off to inspect the bulb?

ANSWER: Tsk, tsk, tsk Catherine -- Home Depot for Tulips?  These are not cheap and they are not reliable!  There are some splendid internet suppliers who deal in tonnes of Bulbs.  Out with the old, in with the new!

But you have purchased these dried bulbs.  It is possible they are viable -- after all, you just purchased them, and Home Depot may or may not save its Tulips stock through the year to sell the following year.  It is hard to tell in person, much less from your description, whether these are that old or not.

Keep the Onion Skin on the Bulbs.  It protects them a bit.

A healthy bulb is firm, like a fresh onion before it starts to rot on the shelf.  It should not be shriveled and it should not have holes, lesions, or strange marks on it.  They do not ooze.

Pick out what you can, and get your money back on the others.  Then go home, turn on the p.c., and tune into the Van Engelen Bulbs website.  They have specials every year to rush the last of their unsold Bulbs out the door before it's too late.  I always go overboard with the Tulips.  Shipping is reasonable, and there's no tax, plus you get the best quality Bulbs on the market.  Brent and Becky's Bulbs may still be getting rid of its '08 stock; they too have a magnificent collection and recommend some of their favorite flowers right there, plus they're the Big Fish in the small pond known as the Daffodil Net.

Sorry I can't be more helpful, hopefully you won't do this again because these are too, too gorgeous to get it wrong.  Thanks for writing.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: VANENGELEN.COM SELLS LARGE QUANTITIES (FROM 50).  DO YOU HAVE AN ON-LINE VENDOR RECOMMENDATION FOR SMALLER QUANTITIES?

Answer
Sure, try Brent and Beckys -- but I would go for the 50's.  There's nothing like a big burst of bloom when it comes to Tulips -- dig a hole about 12 inches wide and put 5 or 6 down in the hole in a circle.  Give it a shot.

Brentandbeckysbulbs.com -- smaller quantities, but nearly the same price.