Jodik,

I agree! Beware!

They are 'garden' amaryllis, and they are not labeled (usually) via the cultivar name, just by color which gives the seller an awful lot of freedom. However, it is extremely doubtful that they are hardier than zone 7.

When they bloom, they will most likely be your standard Tets, Appleblossom, Red Lion, Dazzler, Minverva and perhaps Amigo.

Certainly, you can plant them in the garden, and they will grow fantastically for you. However, if your ground freezes, they need to be dug up.

Will they bloom this year? It depends on the size. I purchased several and most look like they will bloom.

Don't get me wrong... I like the idea that amaryllis bulbs are being made available for spring planting in our northern gardens... but I do wish the companies that package these bulbs would make it a lot more clear on the packaging that these are tender bulbs requiring digging in the fall before frost hits!

The general public only see these bulbs at Christmastime, and they might not be aware that the garden amaryllis are the same things... without explicit warnings on the packaging, I think the general public will be disappointed that their garden amaryllis didn't make it through the winter, and the retail business of selling garden amaryllis will be short-lived.

It's a shame, really... with the proper instructions in large lettering on the back of the packages, garden amaryllis could enjoy the same popularity that cannas or glads or dahlias enjoy... I'd certainly be willing to dig and store a few bulbs to enjoy these beauties in my garden!

I didn't check the sizes of the bulbs in the package I looked at... but just by the amount the label said the box contained, I'd say they were rather small. If they were Sonatinis, then most were probably large enough to flower this season.

I may go back and get a package... and treat them like my canna tubers... lifting them for winter storage!

You're so lucky, Elizabeth, to be able to plant them in your garden and leave them to grow and bloom... and you're very lucky to have had a color choice! The ones I saw were all the same... looking very much like small Minerva-style flowers.

I bought these garden amaryllis bulbs from Home Depot for a little more than $3 per piece. They are small and look like sonatinis indeed. Time will tell. I will handle them as my other amaryllis bulbs. One of them is already showing a scape.

I wish the package size they are selling here were smaller... I don't want a large bag of the bulbs... just a few would be nice...

Soultan - Did you have your choice of color? And were they packaged in numbers of less than 10 bulbs?

They were packaged one bulb per package. White, Red, and Pink.

That's good... you're very lucky to have a color choice, and the option to only buy one bulb or as many as you like... Sam's Club just had the one color packaged in large numbers.

Hi Jodi,
Are you talking about the boxed bulbs with the awesome photos on the front & very little inside ?
I've bought some of those before & been quite dissapointed. Half of the caladiums were mush,goodness knows what the peonies really are & the clematis are -just- barely alive.

As for the zone not being listed correctly, yeppers, that is pretty common. The boxed fruit combo packs of grape vines only have 2 out of 4 cold hardy varieties, the 4 pack with the blueberries, blackberries,ect do not have a pollinator for the blueberry, Clematis montana will never bloom in zone 5,blah blah blah : ( And hydrangeas, don't get me started on the varieties sold here that will never bloom!
It is very much a 'buyer beware' kind of market and way too many people get stiffed. Turns a lot of new gardeners off and aggravates the dickens out of the more seasoned people. Lora

Our Walmarts have them as single bulbs. White, red, pink, Minerva-like. I bought one of the Minerva-like with a bud -- we'll see what comes of it!

Yes, Lora, and I agree that a lot of poor novice gardeners get completely turned off to gardening because of these deceptive sales techniques! And the racks of plant materials are placed right where impulse buys occur... and how can most people who fancy themselves gardeners resist the gorgeous pictures on the racks and boxes?

After looking through the rack of boxed and bagged plant material at Sam's Club, I get so angry at these companies who package and sell this stuff! You're right, Lora... half of the vines look dead or dying... the corms and tubers are either mush or dried up... nothing is labeled with the correct zone... it's appalling!

And if all that weren't enough, they put the stuff out way earlier than it should be! It's only March, for pete's sake! It's too early to do any more than start seeds indoors in the northern climes!

On the other hand, it's the customers' responsibility to check first and see if what they're buying are the correct plants for their zone... and they should have an idea of how to purchase the healthiest plants...

It's a shame... we're a society of ad-driven consumers in a disposable world...

Being a more seasoned gardener, I do want to get over to the Walmart and see if they have single hippi bulbs in different colors... at least I could take advantage of the low price... it would be nice to have a patch of hippis in the garden that could be dug and brought in for winter...