The bulb fairy has visited - via RC (an ENABLER confesses)

14 years ago

I decided, after coming home from The Netherlands last month, that I needed to buy some of the bulbs I saw blooming (and to try for the 3rd time this year to get a RvR!!!). So, on March 30th I ordered online from Royal Colors. The box arrived today (the certificates were dated April 8th) and you've never seen such fat and happy bulbs! Lots of thick white roots, I think 3 of the 4 had offsets, and only 1 bruised area that was taken care of by removing a single layer! whooo hooo! More blooms!! Fairytale, Samba, ROSALIE!!, and maybe (it should be, RC is reliable) a Rembrandt van Rijn!

This is really late in the season, but winter lasted so long in The Netherlands...wonder if those tulips are blooming NOW! The price was really even less than ordering locally....I think $62 US for 4 bulbs with shipping. Check them out. And YES...I'm an ENABLER!!

:-)

Kristi

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Comments (3)

fishing_dentist
14 years ago
Hello Kristi!

Good to hear!
I buy twice a year by RC too and i had only 2 or 3 mislabeled bulbs. But my question is, why You did not buy in keukennhof directly? They have a shop directly in the Keukenhof area and to Ludwig is a short trip and some more breeders are around and most of them have a small shop or an outlet.
Bulbs are there much cheeper and You have more varieties to choose.
It is only a small suggestion for the next trip!
Best regards
Frank
kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
Original Author
14 years ago
Frank,

I also place 2-3 orders each year with Royal Colors. Since all the US distributors are either totally out of stock, or what you get is in bad shape, I just thought I would mention to the USA listers that RC still has great bulbs (they look freshly dug) and they are still shipping. It only took a week to get them here, so they didn't sit for long anywhere.

Frank, do you think I would go to The Netherlands for an amaryllis show (the whole point of the trip) and then not attempt to buy bulbs at either the Flower Market in Amsterdam or in and aroound Lisse?? I packed an extra EMPTY carry on bag and budgeted hundreds of dollars to bring bulbs back! I carried my import certificate so wasn't limited to 12, only limited to $800 for handcarrying bulbs! If you live in Europe, you can pick up a dozen bulbs and take them home; traveling back to the USA, we aren't so lucky that way!

None of the bulb sellers at Keukenhof would ship until the autumn. No one was selling for shipments to the USA now and none of the bulbs were packaged with the phytocertificate that is necessary to bring them back to the USA. Those are the main reasons I didn't bring home a suitcase full!

Also, I had arrangements to meet with a few people, but things happen (one was a sudden change of plans and the other happened a month or so back). So...now I have more contacts and sources for great bulbs (I've been in close contact with Ludwig staff for the last 3 years and they have promised a driving tour of The Netherland's amaryllis growers next time I visit).

It actually worked out fine. Since I have nearly 100 named varieties, I only saw a few at the show that really struck me and they will be available in the USA next year. I have my "pre-orders" in with a distributor here. They have my "wish list" too in case others are available on a limited basis...I have been told they will grab some for me.

It all worked out very well Frank and I honestly was just barely disappointed that I couldn't bring so many bulbs home. I had a RC bulb that I was really wanting hand delivered to my hotel...so I wasn't totally empty handed!

It was a great trip for so many other reasons, this didn't dampen it at all.

Kristi
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fishing_dentist
14 years ago
Kristi this is good to hear!
The Keukenhof show is on my list for the next year!
This year whas to busy for the visit.
Maybe we cam make a meeting there!
I whould be happy about!
Best regards

The bulb fairy has visited - via RC (an ENABLER confesses)

Comments (3)

fishing_dentist

kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
Original Author

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The bulb fairy has visited - via RC (an ENABLER confesses)

Comments (3)

fishing_dentist

kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)Original Author

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kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
Original Author