There is a seller on eBay right now that is selling Amaryllis bulbs for $6.50 and up. I ordered a few and just received them. The bulbs are very nice and large. She is selling different varieties than what's listed in the preceding post.

Walmart had some different varieties for breast cancer including Grand Cru and a couple others.

Would you be kind enough to tell us what the sellers name is on ebay? Thank you. (I am a newbie and would like some large bulbs)

http://www.ebay.com/sch/flower_girlnflorida/m.html

When posting the above URL, I noticed that she does not have two of the varieties I purchased listed any more. I am a newbie with Amaryllis, but I thought they were nice large bulbs. After receiving the initial order, I ordered two more from her.

I got a magnificent Grand Cru from WM several years ago.
K

I often wonder why the larger stores order the same few, tired varieties year after year. One would think they'd sell more bulbs if they changed up the order now and again.

I don't shop at Walmart, but I'd go if they actually offered something more interesting than the usual.

I went today to our Lowes and bought Best Seller, Desire, and Susan. Last year, was a total bust they were almost all marked incorrect. I only bought 3 today. I hope to get more, after they mark them down. The bulbs I got today were hugh, comparied to the ones last year. Barbra

Honeybunny, which price point amaryllis did you buy? I looked at the cheapest bulbs, and they were pretty much the size of the $6.99 ones. I bought a few of the $3.99 anda few of the $6.99 ones. When does Lowes typically mark them down?

I bought the $3.99 bulbs for desire, and Susan( I am still trying to get a Susan). The Best Seller was $8.99, but it is a kit. They mark the amaryllis down right after Christmas, whenever they mark down the Christmas decorations. Just take a box to the cashier, and have her check the price, they are marked down before a sign is actually posted saying they are marked down. Then in January, they really mark down what has not sold yet, usually the more expensive ones. Last year in January I paid $1.75 for the $9.99 ones. I had to move two bunches in Oct, to make room for my new dayliles. I did not realize until I lifted up the bulbs that they were so hugh. I have never seen bulbs this size before. Boy did they multiply, and get big. I never would have thought they could grow that much in less than a year. I guess they like the heat. I can't wait to see them bloom. I will post pictures once they start to bloom. Barbra

I am going to a funeral today at 10am on the other side of town, and will check their Lowes to see what they have. I think I will pick up another Best Seller. I thought $8.95 was high, but after checking the web, its a steal. These all have mulit stalks bursting thru the boxes. I just hope they are true to color, this year they are from a diffrent company. The kits are simple, not those expensive boxes and vases they had last year. Gosh I got the fever again. Barbra

Honeybunny-thank you for answering. I bought mostly the 3.99 bulbs at Lowes, 2 Susan, 2 Desire, 2 Apple Blossom, and 2 Chrstmas Story. I am going to go and look today again for Best Seller-somehow that one got away from me-missed it! I also purchased 2 Gran Cru at Walmart which were very nice. I am unsure when to plant these for Christmas blooms- but since it varies with how far along the bulb has sprouted, I probably will just plant them today or tomnorrow. Thanks again!-Donna

My Lowe's is only carrying 'Susan', 'Appleblossom' and 'Christmas Gift' and they're in the exact same kits as last year!?

There's a farm oriented store near us called Rural King... I'm almost certain that the same box kits they didn't sell at the end of last season have reappeared on the shelf. I haven't checked the bulbs to be sure, but the boxed kits look kind of previously handled, if you know what I mean... and it's definitely not a new pallet or case of kits.

I haven't gotten out to check on any other store's offerings yet. But I'm not hopeful of anything different than last year.

I went back to Lowes yesterday and bought another Desire bulb for $3.99, it was at a diffrent Lowes. They had 4 bulbs left. When I got home, I went to plant it, the entire bottom of the bulb was rotted above the roots, never seen anything like it before.It was dry, so be sure and check the bulb before you buy it. I am going back today to get another one. The box was open, went for the hugh bulb, instead of the one with the green stalks and roots. Barbra

I have to tell you, I went back today to a diffrent Lowes( Class A store) so I could exchange my bad bulb. I noticed that the bulbs in the kits were blooming. They were true to the name, I can't believe it. I am actually going to get what I am buying. The only problem is that all the bulbs in the kits that had blooms were soft. I tried to get the manger to mark them down 50%, but he said he just got them, and could only mark them down 25%, I still bought some. But the blooms are actually what is marked on the box. I am so excited. Barbra

Let's hope they don't have the same viruses as last year though! I wound up throwing away all my bulbs from Lowes and Wal Mart. Never again will I buy from there. Just not worth it in the long run.

Alana

Alana I bought over 40 bulbs from Lowes last year, none of my bulbs show any signs of viruses. The problem was I did not get the name variety listed. It was like a box of chocolates. I thought I bought 3 of every variety, when in fact I got alot of Soverign Orange, Apple blossom, and Red Lion. I even got a few that I cannot identify. They are healthy, and have multiplied. I moved a couple to make room for my new dayliles, I could not believe how hugh the bulbs have gotten. I am expecting great blooms this year. Barbra

Barbara, I guarantee you that they're all virused, it's possible you're not sure what to look for or they haven't been inspected close enough. They're all grown together, propagated from one another and from the same supplier and everyone else that bought bulbs from those places have confirmed so.

When you buy from BBS stores you're buying bulbs that are sold for 3.99 (bulbs alone), can you imagine what they're buying them for? I'm sure they make close to a 50% profit, in that case they're 1.50 a piece so you're getting the Grade F bulbs. It's possible to eradicate virus using certain propagation methods but these methods are pricey, they don't use those means on 1.50 bulbs, I'm sure they chop them up with dirty knives considering it would take too much time and energy to sterilize between each cut.

If you buy bulbs from places such as 'Royal Colors' you are buying quality, you get the top of the line bulb which are typically clean and MOST of the time true to name *excluding a few years ago*, if they're not labeled correctly they will send out a replacement! These bulbs are usually 12-20 USD plus shipping but they're much nicer.

HALF of the mislabels from Lowe's aren't even named varieties which is why I'm sure you couldn't i.d. them. The 'Oskar' they sold last year was just a hodge podge of red garden varieties and every single one was quite different.

These places sell these bulbs in these conditions because they're assumed to be 'Throw Aways', after they're done blooming they go into the trash heap of most households, sad but true... Many Americans wont spend the money on plants that give satisfaction for such a short period! Shoot, I've known several people that think that 'Amaryllis' only bloom once in their lifetime right before they kick the bucket!

Josh, I will post pictures, as soon as they start to bloom, I think that will be in March. Last year I only had one red amaryllis that had a white mark on the bloom, you mentioned that it might be virus, I destoryed that bulb. I was looking for white, yellow or red bloches or spots on the leaves and plants. I did not find any, so I thought I was virus free. What am I suppost to look for to see if I have virus on my amaryllis? Right now everything from last year, has large green leaves with no bloches of any kind. I did buy the $9.99 bulbs last year, after they marked them down to $1.75. This is the first year I have bought the $3.99 bulbs. These bulbs are beautiful big, and they have hugh roots, so it will be no time until I get blooms. I will keep these seperated from the ones I got last year, just in case. I was so excited yesterday, today I'm not. I was planning on sharing alot of the bulbs from last year with my garden buddies at the spring plant swap here in San Antonio, because they have multiplied. I think each bulb has at least 4 bulbs from the mother. I do not want to give anything that might have a virus. I will post pictures when they start blooming, and if you don't mind checking them out for me, since I do not know what to look for. Thanks Josh, Barbra

Oh no, I bought $3.99 and $5.99 bulbs from Lowes and really know nothing about amaryllis. I am in the learning stages and wanted to save the bulbs and grow them every year. I probably made a bad mistake....

Anyone with more than a passing Holiday fancy for Hippeastrum bulbs would be well served to Google the various pests, fungi, and viruses that most often affect these bulbs, just so they are aware of any outward symptoms. When we learn what to recognize, it becomes fairly easy to choose the healthiest bulbs and know which ones to pass on purchasing... and also which ones may present a problem of possible spread to our other healthy bulbs. I would Google using key search words such as "Hippeastrum pests" or "Amaryllid pests".

I bought two from Lowe's last year and they both bud blasted, also had mosaic virus. Wal-marts are mislabeled but so far they are disease free.

For those of you who are unsure whether or not you have a virused bulb or just want to educate yourselves on this matter, just type virused bulbs in the search box for this forum..we had many lively and lengthy discussions on this subject last year..some disagreements also. Some pictures are in some of these posts also..a must see. But, you must be aware that if your bulbs are grown in optimum conditions they still might not show virus signs on the leaves..so since you can't ever be really sure about these Big Box Store bubs..go to a local nursery..yes, they cost more, but you've got a better chance of buying healthy bulbs.Most all of these online nurseries are great also.. especially if you plan to share them with others..most of us on this forum will only accept seeds from one another..as the virus isn't transmitted through the seeds. By the way, papilio appears to be virus free, but of course you'll never find those in a BBS...

I only bought 2 bulbs from either Lowes or HD last year and both were virused...Lady Jane and Oskar. The previous year I had bought several Minervas and others and they were fine and are still fine..so, I think this really all came to a head last year for whatever reason..

So, for those of you who can't wait to get a "good deal" on this year's Big Box Store leftovers after Christmas, I'd think twice if I were you...try and learn from the mistakes that we made last year..most of us ended up throwing bulbs away..don't get soft hearted and think you're rescuing these bulbs..they're better off in the dumpster!!

Donna

I agree with Donna... also, I will sit there in a big box store and open up every box to inspect the bulb inside before choosing the best ones. I never buy a boxed kit, bulb unseen. To me, that's just foolish. If the clerks or managers tell you you can't open the boxes to look, walk out without buying... it's not worth it.

I was in Lowe's within the last few weeks and I got into a conversation with one of the employees. Like Jodi says, I NEVER get a bulb without checking each one thoroughly (with the knowledge I have gained through this forum, :) thanks everyone!). Well, I had been going through several boxes because the poor bulbs were (trying not to be too crude) beat to Hades. I was stacking less-than-worthy bulbs to one side as I tried to find a decent one when an employee came up and asked, "Mam'm, might I ask what you are doing?"

I don't know if it was my defense mechanism, but he seemed to be insinuating I was doing something wrong. I then pulled out a bulb and went on about how terrible the bulbs were, etc., pointing out various parts and what was wrong (yeah, don't insinuate I'm stealing :P). He was slightly taken aback, and said as I thought, "Sorry. I thought you might be switching them around or something. And they shouldn't be that damaged, we just got them yesterday."

I calmed down a little and explained I wouldn't do that; it's just the fact that if I'm going to give the store my business, I'm going to get my money's worth. If that's a problem, you don't need to buy their bulbs anyway!

Well, that was a longer story than expected, haha.

-Kate

I've never been one to stand on ceremony, or to care much what other people think of me... as example, I frequently wear my hard soled house slippers or comfortable pajama bottoms out in public... depending on the occasion or where I'm going, of course... but still. I value my comfort over the opinion of someone I don't even know! Anyway...

When I shop the larger stores for the cheaper box kit bulbs, I've been known to make myself comfortable, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the display, opening boxes and inspecting the contents. I do exactly as Kate does, separating them into stacks of poor and decent bulbs... and when I've found the bulbs I want to purchase, I'll put all the others back exactly as I found them, and go on my merry way.

Several times I've been accosted by store personnel, wondering what the heck I'm doing. When I tell them I'm checking bulb health, that I don't want to buy a rotten or damaged bulb, they usually just nod and walk away.

Every once in a while, though, a store clerk or manager will tell me I can't open the boxes, to which I reply, "Excuse me? You want me to buy YOUR merchandise, sight unseen, that may or may not be in decent condition? I don't think so."

I continue what I'm doing, and if they give me further issue, I stand up and say, "In that case, sir, if you have such a low level of confidence in your products that you don't want me to see what's inside the box, then I won't be spending my money with your store. You, sir, have succeeded in losing another customer."

If they are rude about it, I won't even bother to put the boxes back... I'll leave that for them, and I'll walk out. I'm not getting paid to shop in their store, and I certainly don't deserve to be treated rudely for just trying to get my money's worth.

Then, there's always corporate contact information on the store's website... frequently with links for Human Resource Departments... if I am treated rudely, you bet I send a letter of complaint! And I aim as high as I possibly can up the corporate ladder with such letters. That's how things get done.

It's not a crime to want your money's worth, to want a quality product from any store... we're the consumers, the customers... and there was a time when we were always right. :-)

I no longer buy at Big Box Stores, let alone boxed bulbs..but at nurseries what I tend to do is take my fingernail and start scraping off the outer layer to see what's underneath on bulbs I'm interested in buying..having good long fingernails helps..I do feel a little guilty as sometimes I make a mess on the floor..but no one around this neck of the woods seems to cares what I'm doing..a good think I guess...I've even been able to train my husband to scrape around the neck and basal plate on these bulbs too..he's learning..;-) Sometimes I'll have to peal 3 or 4 bulbs of a single variety before I find one that suits me.

Earlier this fall I tried to take Lowes up on their one-year plant guarantee. I phoned the nursery department and tried to explain that all my bulbs had virus, I had receipts and wanted to bring them in for a refund. I told her they all had mosaic patterns on the leaves. The woman on the other end kept telling me that my bulbs shouldn't have leaves in the fall, I needed to cut the leaves off and let the bulbs rest, and when the leaves grew back the bulbs would be "fine." Um, no! Local trash disposal charges by the pound, so I had to pay for my bulbs again, this time to have them hauled off to the landfill.

This year I went to Agway and paid $12 per naked bulb. I bought "Blossom Peacock" and "Moonlight." That's it for me this year. We had snow before Halloween so it's already too late and too cold for me to mail order this season.

Edie

This is one of the problems with big box stores, though... their clerks aren't normally very knowledgeable about the items they're selling. They're only worry is keeping the plant material alive until it sells.

I'm very surprised that Lowe's wouldn't take back bulbs for a refund, though... especially if they were diseased.

I'm glad you were able to get good ones, though, from Agway.

I was surprised too. I think the woman I spoke to wasn't familiar with virus, and since the bulbs were not dead, they didn't qualify for the guarantee. Maybe if I carried them all in and deposited them on the return desk it would have gone differently.

I tend to think of Agway as another big box store, but the bulbs certainly were packed differently and they look great. Hope they're healthy. The local nursery I frequent is only open in spring and early summer, and doesn't carry bulbs, so I'm still learning what my shopping options are here. (Two years in this area, still figuring it out.)

Sometimes, it's worth it to pay a little more and order what you want from elsewhere, through catalogs or websites... from company names that other bulb growers recommend.

I tend to think of the big box stores as the ones usually offering the worst in quality and variety choices... and I keep my eyes open for what the popular forums say, and what ebay has to offer, as examples of what's new or popular or quality, and what others have tried. I try to research it a little, and I find this helps.

It seems to me that the quality in some areas of big box store offerings has slipped considerably within the past few years.

Boy, did I get deleted? I cant find my posted experience at the big stores. I went to Lowes and all of their bulbs are bloomed and done IN the boxes, at $8.98 a box! No markdown. Then I went to Target and I manage to get 2 RedLion huge bulbs in great shape, for $7 total!, in a jute bag, unique. Both have 2 bloom stalks peeking out of the bulbs. The ones that they put on sale in their weekly ads, in ceramic pots and soil for $7 each were all bloomed out in the boxes and looked like Lowes bulbs, basically dead in the box. Talk about a rip off. Some 'Sale'...$7 plain old Red Lion,Minervas, all bloomed out in the boxes,and the bulbs starting to rot in the boxes.

Luckily I am not 'hoarding Papilios from all over the USA,from EBay. I am getting 3 HUGE ones now. The first one arrived yesterday, with a peeking bloom stalk,over 24cm,and rock hard AND a bulblet on it! That was a great buy.
The next one says the bulb is 32cm! I won it last night. I tripled checked with the seller about the size, I never had one THAT big. She promised me it is that big! And it is forced and ready to bloom, at least 1 stalk is showing now. I managed to get it for less than the huge one that arrived already. And that one is beautiful. Then I have a 3rd one coming, at 22-24cm with a bud stalk peeking out as well. Getting them from all over the USA. Some say they are the 'new' type that have 4 blooms per bloom stalk, instead of only 2 flowers.
And I bought an 'EverGreen' from Park Seed! For only $10.69,plus $9 shipping! Half the price I was going to pay from a catalog. And then my big 'Green Dragon' bulb is suppose to be shipped this week. So i will have a flush of unusual colors and types in a few months. Plus two Red Lions with 4 bloom stalks, maybe right at Christmas.

But the big store 'deals' are a joke! At least in Ft.Lauderdale. Be careful, open the boxes.

Yep... this is exactly why it's recommended to check inside the boxes and packaging before purchasing... some of the sales and deals are not deals, at all!

Glad you were able to find what you wanted, all healthy and large!

I've had good luck buying papilios from Ebay too. In general I've had good experiences from Ebay..only in the beginning I got a rotten bulb (which I was able to save) from the same vendor that "borrowed" Maria's picture.. I have had mislabels though, but one that bloomed immediately was replaced no charge to me. The other's two I had to wait until the following year and of course it was too late. But, I got my Desire this way and I certainly wouldn't send her back!!

Well, I finally got back on the computer. Our email was highjacked, when we changed the password, they corrupted our computer. We had to order a new one, it just came yesterday. I have to tell you, that I planted my bulbs from Lowes in my garden at the coast, then went back in 2 weeks. They were in bloom. Best seller is just beautiful! The $3.99 bulbs were mislabeled. I do not see any sign of virus on the leaves, or blooms. I checked the leaves of the plants I got on sale last year. Maybe the 27 degrees last Feb, or the 100 plus degree days we had this year, cleared it up. I do not see anything that show any signs of a virus. I went today and bought more Best Seller, and bought some of the $5.99 boxes, they were all 1/2 off managers special. Still trying to get Donna. Barbra

Barbara

Remember when you had your son take some pictures on his cell phone and I posted them for you..well about a month ago I had several emails from that same email that sent me your pictures and when I opened the first email thinking it was you wanting me to post pictures for you again, there weren't any pictures instead it sent me to a site in Canada where they sold drugs..I deleted 2 more that came in 2-3 weeks ago. So,we are much more careful opening emails now. You might want to have your son check his phone..maybe that was the source of your corruption. If you need help learning how to post pictures, we'll help you.:-)

Donna

Donna, I typed a reply last night and its not there. All I can say is it was horrible, we got so many calls from all of our friends telling us about receiving x-rated emails from us. I hope it never happens to any of you. There were so many of us from the brugmansia forum that were highjacked about the same time, I don't know if there was a connection. I posted on all the forums I vist, as soon as it happened, not to open any emails from me. This is the first time I heard about the drug email. Barbra

Hi Barbara, I never open the other 2, only the first one. Maybe the others were the x-rated emails like your friends. And of course it may have depended on what one link one clicks on. The first one that I did receive was offering me up the male enhancing drug "V" and I suppose from there, it might have ended up x-rated..always something isn't it??

Donna