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Gardening in the UK
almeria_gw

Anybody know of tuberose supliers in UK?

21 years ago

Hello,

I´m a Brit living in Spain and have only lately got into gardening (never had even a windowbox when living in London - our lease didn´t allow it!).

I am really interested in growing a tuberose (I think it should do OK in the climate out here - particularly as it is an agave relative and they are like weeds here.) Have any of you tried to grow them in the UK and, if so, did you manage to find a supplier there. I come over to England about once a year but also have friends who could post a bulb (or 8!) if the company doesn´t ship to other countries.

Any advice very gratefully received

Happy gardening to you and thanks for your time

Almeria

Comments (5)

  • 21 years ago

    I got some in B&Q last year. Amazingly, thy're still alive & have just started into growth. They didn't flower last year, though, and I don't know if the British season is long enough for them. I just can't resist anything scented.

    You'll find lots of stuff about polianthes tuberosa on the fragrant plants forum, largely U.S. in origin.

  • 21 years ago

    In B&Q????!!!
    Wow! You lot don´t know how lucky you are! It is pretty hard to get anything "out of the ordinary" in the local (SE Spain) nurseries. In fact, it´s pretty darned hard to find anything even labelled (let alone labelled properly) in the nurseries out here.
    Thanks so much for your help. I will try a B&Q when next over - or get friends/family to look out.
    Very impressed that yours is doing OK, GardenNerd.
    Thanks again and good luck with it - I´m the same as you, can´t resist fragrance and I also love white flowers. (Have you ever tried Four O´Clocks (mirabilis jalapa). Very easy (if I can grow them) and the smell is just gorgeous (I think). Also very pretty and they come in other colours if white is not your thing (friend of mine says that white flowers in her garden just look like some more litter has blown in!). Perrenial out here but a fast-growing annual in Uk, I think.
    Almeria

  • 21 years ago

    I haven't looked much in B&Q recently but I think they had them this spring. They come in bags with a bit of peat - alright if you buy them early, but a dead loss after they've been sitting in a hot shop for a few months, I should think.
    I have got a pot of Four o'clocks that I saved in the greenhouse from last year. They are just coming up nicely.
    I enjoyed looking round the garden centre when I was in Tenerife a few years ago, but they didn't seem to have the same range as British ones. You could get seeds posted out, though?

  • 21 years ago

    GardenNerd -
    I certainly do get seeds posted out to me. I am about to try a few (fragrant) exotics that I got off eBay (you know, the kind that take months and months to germinate and have to be taken in and out of the fridge and kept at ridiculously constant temperatures for certain periods of time, etc. Will let you know how I fare with THOSE!).
    The nurseries out here do have a great range of things, don´t get me wrong, it´s just that they provide very little in the way of information and when you are a novice, like me, it´s a little daunting. That´s why I love gardenweb!
    Thanks for your help - I´ll ask my UK contacts to keep an eye out for (fresh!) bulbs in B&Q.
    I see I am "teaching my grandmother to suck eggs" with the four o´clocks suggestion. They were a revelation to me as I had never in even heard of them. But then, as a newbie, quite a lot of this gardening lark is a revelation...
    Happy gardening
    Almeria

  • 15 years ago

    Thompson and Morgan and Suttons both now stock tuberose bulbs. Need 15C minimum and lift in winter to replant.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Polianthus tuberosa

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