I've never *bought* Daffs but I have a TON of them that I've found or have been given. When drought made our grass go dormant a few summers ago, bulbs in the lawn were so obvious. For years, I'd been mowing Daffs - and Alliums, Crinum, Gladiolus, Lycoris. When an abandoned house next to us was razed, the property owner said I could dig whatever I wanted. Many of the bulbs I excavated were ones I knew were there. Others were 'found' as they got a chance to rise above the no-longer-mowed areas. There were clumps of Daffs in many places though I'd never seen a bloom over there anywhere before. Some of the bulbs were almost a foot deep, where bulldozer had shoved extra dirt over them. (No I haven't dug up anything that wasn't in my yard, or for which I didn't have permission.) Simply separating them from the grass and giving them a chance to grow unmolested has filled many square feet with 'free gardens.' Daffs are often one of the clues, along with a ring of trees and/or now-free-standing chimney, that a house used to occupy a particular spot. They are also an extremely common sight in the yards of abandoned houses. These bulbs can be decades old, and obviously happy, a known quantity, a sure thing. In some cases I think they are found in spots too shady for them to bloom because the Daffs were there before the trees. Those in a bag at the store are totally unproven, though knowing how tough and long-lived Daffs are, it would be surprising to me to hear about packaged daffs that didn't live well and long if planted in a suitable spot under acceptable conditions. I have no idea how different packaged cultivar Daffs are (or are not) from those found in the wild. They all look the same to me, either yellow or white, so my opinion is from that direction. I've never bought a plant (Daff or otherwise) because it had a different name, unless it looked different enough for my eyes to appreciate it as a something other than what I already have. Not that I would find anything wrong with this for those who would find it pleasing. Unless it's an unrealized heinous weed you didn't know well enough to reject, exotic invasive, and/or something other than what you thought, a free plant is always worth it! Unless, I guess, if you hurt yourself digging them up or replanting. I face that possibility every time I pick up a shovel. Clumsy, previous injuries to back.

I Like SouthernBulb.com I first heard of them in an article in House and Garden Magazine and then heard them speak at a Master Gardener Conference. The company is run by several Texas A&M graduates. The horticulture major spent several years developing his stock of bulbs that do well in warm southern climates. They specialize in heirloom bulbs. I like that. :) I've place orders with them and am very happy and they impress me. I told them I would try to spread the word.

i will trade you daffs for you red spider liles sending you a e-mail

Hi Becky! Right now on the Round Robin we are having a NO ID Iris Swap. If you have 3 extra iris to swap you could get some new ones. Hope you check it out. And I see you are in Upstate NY...so am I. Where are you located? And so nice to "meet" you! :0) vina