At $9.95 for some, that's not a bad price. Is shipping bad??? It's hit and miss with sales. You'll learn to buy what you want when you see it as it may not be available later! Maybe THAT'S what makes this hobby so exciting! OK..one aspect!
Kristi

I was thikning of ordering an Chico bulb, but after shipping it was 19 dollars. Shipping is 6 or 7 dollars... :-\

Anything under $20 that includes shipping is a deal! I've learned to grab them when I see them, and worry about what I paid later! If I have the funds available, I go for it... you never know when you'll find the same varieties again.

I've paid upwards of $30 or more for bulbs, if it's one I really want bad... I don't often have the money to spend, so when I do, I grab the varieties I really want.

In the world of bulbs, you get what you pay for... finding the smaller, common bulbs at Walmart for $5 or less isn't considered bulb shopping once you've seen the large beauties from actual bulb companies!

I consider the larger, more expensive bulbs as investments. Sort of like buying rose bushes or named perennials... you spend more to get the larger, healthier plants with their future growth in mind.

Hi Samantha -- Where are you located? $19 for a cybister is reasonable, but can definitely be beat if you can find the variety locally (minus shipping costs). If you can find the bulbs locally, a cybister is usually $12-$14.

Good luck! =)

Is it really a good deal? Thanks PaxFleur and jodik - I appreciate your responses. I had made a post in a bulb asking if $19 was pricey, and I got responses that it was. I'll keep them in mind for next year!

This forum contains the diehard Hippeastrum collectors and growers, so this is more than just a disposable Christmas purchase to us! We're often willing to pay more for the larger, healthier named varieties, just as you would for any other plant type that was special.

There are your common varieties that are available every season at the same places for the same low prices, but they're not always healthy, not always large, and don't always bloom. These are the Minerva, Apple Blossom, and Red Lion bulbs. Walmart, Lowe's, Meijer's, and other large retail stores carry them every year, just before Christmas.

Don't get me wrong... the common varieties are every bit as lovely as the more expensive varieties, but these are usually the ones everyone begins with, so we all have them... in numbers! They're still worthy of collecting, but are always available.

The cybisters, some doubles, and some of the other varieties are harder to find sometimes... different bulb companies carry different ones, and though many are relatively the same price, others are more and others are less. How much you're willing to pay is dependent on how bad you want the bulb, and how available it is. The offerings of many companies changes from year to year, so we normally grab 'em when we see 'em!

I bought a LOT of bulbs this year. I have a lot of fun :-) What I did learn is that you indeed get what you pay for. At the beginning of the season I balked at paying 29.99 at a Garden Center in Topeka. Now that we're in full blooming time I really wish that I would have invested in one of those gorgeous giants.

Don't get me wrong, I bought a bunch of beauties this year but none over 15.00. Next year I will be more adventurous. Oh, also....next year I am only buying doubles. I bought all singles this year so next time I'm going to talk a walk on the wild side.

Yep. That's about as "wild" as a mother of two small children can get.

Last year, I bought a variety of singles and doubles, with a couple of cybisters thrown in for good measure... I, too, balked at some of the prices, but I soon learned that we get exactly what we pay for! I'd love to grab the giant mother bulbs, but I can usually only afford the normal sized bulbs, and grow them to specimen size.

I'm concentrating my purchases mostly on singles, cybisters, and species types because I'm more interested in the breeding aspects. Most of the doubles are very iffy about producing pollen or having all the necessary reproductive parts.

If we shop around, we can usually find what we're looking for at a decent price we can live with... I would only caution on collecting too fast! I went gung ho last year, and this year I'm about out of growing room!

Heads up! All the amaryllis bulbs on EasytoGrowBulbs.com are currently on sale but they're going fast. Two varieties that I saw yesterday are gone now. Should have moved faster. . . darn.

There's another thread here with the same sale notice... we're all either trying hard to avoid getting too may bulbs, or caving in and buying more, not worrying about where we'll put them until the box arrives!

I'm guilty... CHAD got the better of me last night... I have 4 on the way!

If it was "Pink Surprise'...that was me that got the very last one I think...oops! I really wanted it though!

-Frank