white lilies, Wild & Son Co.

18 years ago

I recently received a catalog from Gilbert H. Wild & Son, Sarcoxi, Mo. There are lilies with prices that seem too good to be true. One is Arctic Ice, "crystal clear pure white Asiatic lily, late June, 3-4'tall." A package of 3 bulbs sells for $3.00. The other is Royal Respect, "creamy white LA hybrid, late June, 3-4' tall." A package of 3 sells for $3.50.

I checked Dave's Garden Watchdog site. There are many more positives than negatives about the company, but, oh, are the negatives frightening! Besides poor quality, mold, shriveled bulbs/roots, and rude customer service, there were many complaints of the wrong color. So I don't think I'll be ordering from them. However, if I find these varieties elsewhere, how would you rate Arctic Ice and Royal Respect? The colors and bloom time are what I'm looking for. Will the LA hybrid have more fragrance than the Asiatic? Thanks for sharing your knowledge (and perhaps experience with this company.)

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Comments (8)

susiq
18 years ago
The company sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't remember why! Sorry! Is this the same one that is/says "Plantsman of ____", (presumably, America)? Somebody, but I think that person is in NM or AZ somewhere, has a goofy/weird catalog, that lists seeds for EVERY plant, or at least a whole bunch of 'em. Not sure if that person and the Wild co. are the same. If they are, all I know is that the seeds guy seems/appears friendly/goofy--maybe mixing politics and obscure horticultural info into the same description for such and such seed? I can't remember the specifics.

Alas, can't help you w/ the lilies, either.

$1.00 per bulb seems high, imho. Germania, Ednie's, AMG, or somebody else surely has them for at least .25 each, maybe even cheaper! Not sure if any of them carry that variety, but just lilies in general.

Susi
Noni Morrison
18 years ago
Jackson and Perkins is selling Royal Respect this fall. Check their website for details. I like the photos. I can't find the other one on Google.
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purplepinkpolka
18 years ago
Susi,

I think you're thinking of JL Hudson, Seedsmen. They're a very good and interesting company that specialize in hard to find and open pollinated seeds. Very fast service and good germination rates. The downside is that a lot of the plants are warm weather plants or better started with offsets or plants. They're based out of La Honda, CA.

With Gilbert Wilds. It seems the rule comes down to: you pretty much can't go wrong with their peonies-esp. on sale, hostas and daylilies are cheap but has some reliability issues, everything else is why bother. John Scheeper or Brent and Becky Bulbs will offer comparable or lower prices during their sales, for better varieties and near ironclad quality. Wal-mart or Home Depot or Costco will have lilies in spring for less than $1/ each. (be sure to buy them ASAP, sitting in hot stores do not agree with lily bulbs) $1/each is definitely not too good to be true unless they're selling Silk Road or Scheherazade at that price.

I don't know about Germania or Ednie's or AMG, don't they deal largely with growers? I'd love to buy from them, but without enough land or budget, I'll be shopping at Costco in the foreseeable future.
susiq
18 years ago
purplepinkpolka--

You're right, it is JL Hudson. I got one of his catalogues a few years ago, but never ordered anything from it.

Germania, Ednies, and AMG DO deal w/ larger growers, but also small ones, too! I've gotten a few bulbs from AMG, and lots of seeds and a few trays of various seedlings from Germania.

Welcome to our forum, hope you visit often. Tell us more about your growing areas and plants you grow & if & to whom you sell. Not being nosy, just chatty!

Susi.
purplepinkpolka
18 years ago
Thanks Susi, for the welcome. I do visit but lurk mostly. I'm gardening in a rental townhouse with 6' x 10' plot right now. The only reason I can use up a couple Costco bags of bulbs a year is because I pot them up and give them away around bloom time.

On the other hand, if you ever need someone to commiserate about deer and Japanese beetles, I'll be here.
aliska12000
17 years ago
I have been wracking my brain trying to find the name of that company in Missouri. I used to get their catalog every year, but wasn't in "gardening" mode so never ordered from them.

I was thinking about ordering some plants from them if I could find their address again. At least I now have that.

I came on this thread because I was looking for info about "Arctic Ice" clematis fro a tresllis I'm working on, wondered how hardy it was, etc. By and by, I may post on the clematic forum.

This gardening gets to be too expensive combined with my photography and everything else going on in my life, so I can afford a few really nice plants but am going to have to scavenge for the rest.
Jeanne_in_Idaho
17 years ago
Doesn't Gilbert Wild & Son also call themselves "the wilds of Missouri?" I ordered some peonies from them years ago. Although all were tagged, some of them turned out not to be the varieties their tags said they were. I think I ordered bearded iris from them too, and was VERY disappointed. Rhizomes were very small, dried out, and/or diseased. They were cheap but not cheap enough, considering that most of them didn't grow. Even free rhizomes aren't worth the bother of planting them, if they're that bad! I called them and asked whether they sent their smallest, worst rhizomes to those who bought them at very cheap prices, but they said no, everybody got the same quality, at any price. Pretty bad.

Jeanne
rhodie_chick
17 years ago
I know this first entry was 1 year ago but white Flower Farm (kinda expensive) and Dutch Gardens 9pretty good prices) have been exceptioal for huge and very healthy lily bulbs-as well as otehr tupes of bulbs and corms-the one issue with these lily bulbs is that they never go fully dormant so they are hard to ship. My White Asiatic and pink Asiatic lilies that I planted 2 - 3 years ago are now 7-8 ft tall and full of 10 inch aromatic blooms in late summer. I never saw such beautiful flowers. Of course that was in my sandy LI soil, not this blight of NJ clay and vermin such as chipmunks which will turn you off to gardening as sure as a potato blight

white lilies, Wild & Son Co.

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susiq

Noni Morrison

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