store: WALMART
time of year: JANUARY 2008
rating: ACCEPTABLE (lots of blooms per bulb, kits were not mislabeled, $1)

store: LOWES
type of store: HOME IMPROVEMENT
time of year: OCTOBER - early JANUARY 2009
rating: ACCEPTABLE / GOOD (many mislabeled bulbs,manager did not like me opening boxes... but I got the attention of other customers who purchased many bulbs just because they saw me so interested in them. Lowes should thank me for increasing their sales!. $1.50 - $2.97)

store: KMART
time of year: JANUARY 2009
rating: ACCEPTABLE (I couldn't find the display before Christmas. When i finally found the kits the display was hidden in a corner and the kits were ripped open. Smaller but healthy bulbs. .74 cents)

store: SHOPPER's FOOD WAREHOUSE
type of store: GROCERY STORE
time of year: December - January 2008 2009
rating: ACCEPTABLE/ GOOD (I have found both potted Amaryllis for $1 and bulb kits for $2 after I asked the manager to reduce the price. Both were good size bulbs. Lots of scapes / blooms)

NOTE: I talked to someone at Home Depot today and asked him about their Amaryllis Kits. He said they threw them away!!!! He said it would cost the store to sell them at a reduced price... then how do the other stores do it?

store: Aldi
type of store: grocery
time of year: November 2009
rating: GOOD None were mislabeled. Average sized bulbs but all produced 2 scapes with 3 to 4 blooms each. All rooted right away. What I liked was the selection. My favorite was Cinderella, a lovely orange color. Price was $3-$4.

Guess I need to start shopping Aldi's when hippie time rolls around!

Store: Ace Hardware 2007
type of store: Hardware
time of year: November
rating: Only one bulb bought, labeled "pink", was appleblossom, was a bit dried out, but did bloom and has improved over the years. Cost: $5. Bulbs were listed as from Israel

Store: Safeway 2009
type of store: Grocery
time of year: November
rating: Only two bulbs bought: both were average size, one was Red Lion as marked, with two scapes with six and four flowers, one was not "white" as marked, but a sort of purply red with a bit of a white star in the center. Cost was $6 ea. These were also listed as from Israel.

I opened boxes and selected the best looking ones, in spite of the floral dept lady giving me the evil eye. She asked me what I was doing, so I told her why. I showed her a "good" bulb, and a rotting one. She said she hadn't ever tried one of these plants. I showed her some things to look for. Maybe she tried one!

Kmart had some bulbs in December, no label at all, small and in VERY BAD shape. Price $10. I wouldn't even buy them marked down to three dollars. UGH. Plus the boxes were designed to be hard to open and check.

WalMart had bulbs of various labels, potted up too deeply and rotting away, and in boxes very dried out. I don't remember the cost, but they didn't look to be in good shape any of them so I didn't buy any.

Hey ASEEDISAPROMISE...I bought my White Giant (which wasn't) at Randalls, which is a Safeway store. Look at my recent thread about white giant NOT and tell me if your bloom looked at all like that!?
Thanks,
Kristi

Store: Walmart
Time: Nov. 2009
Rate: $2.50 (clearance) to $6.98. Good, all the bulbs were big and healthy, most were true to name, good surprises on those that weren't

Store: Toms Thumb
Type: nursery
Time: Nov 2009
Rate: Excellent, bulbs were all true, Evergreen & giraffe, $16.99 each. Only had 4 types this year

Store: Maas Nursery
Type: nursery
Time: Nov. 2008, Nov. 2009
Rate: Excellent, nice big bulbs, all loose, labeled, no surprises, $14.99 to $19.99. They had a very nice selection this year.

Store: Lowe's
Type: hardware
Time: Oct. - Dec. 2009
Rate: Good, a lot of mislabels but they turned out to be great flowers so don't mind. Prices ranged from around $5 for basic kit to $19.99 in a fancy ceramic pot.
Tally HO!

Here's the first Cinderella bloom from Aldi's brand, Gardenline. I love the back of the petals even more than the front:

{{gwi:378934}}

However, here's what the box looked like (front left image):

{{gwi:378935}}

So maybe it was mislabeled? The image on the box resembles a Minerva but not exactly.
Jennifer

Big Lots has a kit for $7 that has an amaryllis bulb and 4 paperwhite bulbs, 2 containers and 2 coir discs. The amaryllis bulbs were very small and some were very dried out looking. I bought a bulb with a scape and am putting it in the yard this week. A rescue really.
Tally HO!

I forgot that I also purchased a bulb at ALDI.
The bulb was White Christmas.
Paid $2.00 (reduced).
No surprise. Very lovely, large white flowers.

Kristie, sorry I haven't been online for a while. I posted a pic of my alleged "White Giant" on your post about yours. It is very like yours. I have no clue what it is, though. Dirtybloomers, I'm glad somebody got a white bulb that really was white. I was sort of disappointed, but it was the first one that was in error, so I guess I should be happy!

Barb