Good Morning MBT,
You aren't the only one to notice.
There are less Dutch bulbs this year. The weather extremes across Europe during the last growing season put a big dent in the hippie crop. Expect prices to be increasing steadily too. This has allowed Brazil, Isreal and South Africa to gain a foothold in the market. It will be very interesting to see how this settels out in the next few years. I am personaly expecting South Africa to be a major market player . Lora

well last year was my first year as a bulb fanatic but i did notice a drastic reduction in availability here in san diego compared to last year. there is only 1 walmart in town that has a huge stock. i haven't seen any pretty christmas packaged bulbs at any other walmarts. all the other ones got in bare minerva bulbs thrown in a big box back in Oct and have sold off by now. the home depots that had huge leftover stock last year after christmas don't have any this year. i fell in love with amaryllis after seeing them deeply discounted at Target last year after christmas. this year, target didn't have any Christmas packaged amaryllis aside from the few Smith & Hawkens brand which went available in Nov and have sold off by early Nov. That could mean we'll see a reduction in bright eyed newbies showing up on this board this season.

Thanks Laura.

TM Pretty much the same with me. Although I still see the Smith & Hawkens bulbs available in my local Target. I am tempted to buy one but they're so expensive and I'd be really upset if I paid 13.00 for the bulb and it wasn't what the label says.

We have 6 Walmarts, I think. Two Lowes and two Home Depots, and only know of one Target, but there may be two.

I've only checked the Lowes and Home Depots and 2 of the Walmarts. There have been very few bulbs (including other types).

In the spring, our Walmarts usually have the bagged, generic ones. You know, Red, Pink, Red & White, Orange, Etc. They don't usually bloom the first year and sometimes don't bloom the second, but that's okay. They are called 'Garden Amaryllis'

I finally broke down last year and bought some of these. I hope they will bloom for me this year. In any event, they are definitely going in the garden!

I hope that next year, more varieties will be available before Christmas.

I guess I spoke too soon.

I went to HD today and found two of them which I won't know what they are until they bloom. They're suppose to be Mont Blanc and Minerva-with my luck they'll be "Red Lion."

I also stopped at Target and got one of their Smith & Hawkins bulbs because they were on sale for 6 bucks with a ceramic pot. Again I'll have to wait and see what it comes out to be...the funny thing is that I've been wanting a "Black Pearl" really bad. And I saw one already blooming (but a broken scape) that had been labeled as a "Red Lion".

My question is for you experienced buyers

They had two large boxed bulbs. One was labeled Minerva and one Calgary. They both were about 2-3 times the size of a baseball and both already had pups growing and with the best roots I have ever seen on these plants. They came in a large glass container with beads and were originally 29.99 but were on sale for 20.99. Assuming they both come true are those bulbs worth the 20 bucks for them or are they more common? I'm thinking of buying the "Calgary" but I'm torn because if I see them for half (or more) off after Christmas I'll kick myself, but if I wait someone else may buy them.

Would you buy it?

I would not. Calgary is usually available for 9. If you have someone to give the glass container as a gift for Christmas, then buy it. :o) You keep the bulb and give the glass container away.

Our Target had the same Smith and Hawkins boxed bulbs. They were in a huge bowl, and the bulbs were some of the biggest that I have ever seen.

The bowls were clear glass (cylinders) and did not appear to be special crystal, just glass and sort of thin glass for the size of the bowl. The beads appear to be colored glass marbels and adds a lot of weight to the package.

They had Calgary, Red Lion and Minerva, and I have to emphasize that the bulbs were absolutely huge with fantastic roots.

Since I already have all 3, $29.99 was a bit much, but if it were one that I really, really wanted and didn't have, I might consider the $20.99.

If you look at the packages closely, you will find that the pictures of the bloom are somewhat distorted and do not look like what we know them to look. It appears to be an attempt to make them look more exotic and different.

Good luck on your decision.

Just picked up a small Red Lion [supposed to be blooming size] at Lowes for $2. Had looked earlier hoping to find Picotee but, alas, no luck this year.

I haven't seen as many bulbs, either. In fact, my mom and I went to 6 different Targets trying to find just FOUR S & H brand amaryllis starter kits for gifts. Lots of paperwhites and hyacinths (bor-ing!) but very few amaryllis bulbs. Except the $29 dollar ones. :(

I have one of the S&H ones that's supposed to be Mont Blanc, but is Minerva. The bulb wasn't switched out of the wrongly labeled pot, either, I'm pretty sure. So while it's got 2 really nice scapes and is going to be quite lovely, it's not what I wanted! At least I won't feel too bad if it ends up dying after being moved outside.

I do hope the Pink Diamond from Wallyworld will turn out nicely. The roots were a bit mashed and moldy, but it cleaned up nicely and is settling in.

i think $20 is a fair price for the huge monster bulbs especially since it comes with the nice glass container with marbles (that wouldn't be used for plants). i like the calgary white though i wouldn't be a buyer for the red lion or minerva. i have minerva bulbs that same size in my backyard but none of my red lions are that large. i brought one box to a scanner and saw the ones on the floor are the only stock each store carried. i saw these in all the target stores i went to. yes, the roots were very nice and white.

If you look at the packages closely, you will find that the pictures of the bloom are somewhat distorted and do not look like what we know them to look. It appears to be an attempt to make them look more exotic and different.

You know I wondered about that too. I'd never seen a pic of the white one but the Minerva looked so different to me that I figured it had to be an error.

A few weeks ago, like right after Thanksgiving, I convinced my hubby to make a 2 hour drive to Knoxville, TN. I told him I was going to do some early X'mas shopping for the kids. Of course I had to pass by Lowes, HD, Target and Walmart. There was practically no Amaryllis bulbs. I don't know if they got sold out or if there was just not much stock this year. I went home very dissapointed that day.
Today I have very good news though. I went to Food City, a local grocery store, and was so surprised to see blooming and about to bloom amaryllises. They were all Hadeco bulbs grown in Canada with 2 to 3 scapes per pot and got leaves too. Very nice and healthy ones. The varieties were Wedding Dance, Candy Floss, Razzmatazz and Blushing Bride. I asked the florist when they arrived and she said like 3 days ago and that most probably they won't have anymore of them. They were selling them for $10.99 and I got all 5 of them(that was all that was left). I was thinking, if I'm going to give amaryllises as gifts, this was a better buy than the $5-$8 boxed ones that you don't even know if they would bloom or bloom true to its name if ever. The florist called their other branch, 30 mins away, and was told that they still have 10 pots of those amaryllises. I will definitely be there tomorrow morning right after I drop off the little ones in school. By the way, I'm keeping the Wedding Dance and Blushing Bride...hehehe!

Here's a pic of those amaryllises I mentioned above.

{{gwi:438956}}

Our Walmart & the one in Texas City had a lot of Minerva, red lion, etc. They also had the more exotic ones. BUT, Target had just a few, very limited, of the $29.99 ones, Home Depot had one rack of bulbs, I think they were $16.99, Red lion & Minerva only. Lowes in Texas city didn't have any when I was there. The local nursery usually has a decent selection of doubles, about $12-$14.99. They got in 24 bulbs.
Walmart marked down all the package ones the first of December. The really big bulbs were $3.83 & the smaller ones $2.49. They had Red lion, Minerva, white Christmas & I forget the other white. A week or so ago they still had plenty. I'm going to try & get the manager of that dept. to sell them to me cheaper.

Maria, I would have bought all those too!
Tally HO!

Ack! I bought a bulb in a box at WalMart, and it shot out several leaves and a tall flower stalk. But now the flower stalk is turning yellow and starting to wither. It hasn't even bloomed yet! Is the smallness of the bulb to blame?

Brenda

my walmart didn't even mark down their bulbs after christmas. they're still the same price! they even have the christmas packaging with the snow crystals on it. i'm so disappointed. not that much since they're just red lion, minerva and whites but they're still fun.

Oh, Walmart is a terrible place for plants! They never mark them down here in Maryland, because they return all unsold plants to the vendor for full refund. Poor bulbs are all sprouted, some of them even blooming... They all are goners I'm afraid :(((

I know, I feel terrible for them and every time I go to Walmart I buy more! At least they are marked down here and they will do fine in the garden. However, one day I'm going to wake up and find out there is nothing else growing out there. I have to go there tonight so I'm going to try & get them even cheaper. Last year I bought a bunch at Target at 90% off. They are sprouting all over the yard.
Tally HO!