Hmmm. Well, VanZyverdens (they supply retailers all over the country) here in Meridian had their final clearanace sale all through the month of November. I went the first day and promptly took home 2 or 3 hundred and planted them. THEN a friend of mind called me to accompany her to the final day of the sale (last week) to "help" her. Came home with MORE. Naturally, it has rained everyday since. No matter. I put the tulips in the refrigerator and the narcisus are out in the garage. We had a killing frost the day after Thanksgiving, so as soon as it dries out, I'll "roll up" the last of the lantanas, cupheas, and hyacinth beans. That will make room for the new additions. I'm going to be out putting up Christmas decorations anyway...:) By the way, get a load of this. At the sale, I bought 100 Spring Green tulips, and 15 dozen named jonquils for $26!!!! Of course, this is why my addiction is so out of control...

Dee RAnders is referring to the bulletin Board of the ASCFG. I have posted the topic entitled "Succession Planting Lillies" - each poster begins with >>>> and ends in >>>I'm guessing that when pre-cooled lily bulbs are shipped, they "wake up," and cannot be further delayed by placing in a cooler for a few weeks. In other words, I can't receive a shipment of 200, and immediately plant just 50 in crates and store the rest in the cooler to plant in batches every couple of weeks or so. Has anyone been able to do this?>>>zone 5 Nebraska on Tues, September 27, 2011 Yes, you can do it! There is of course a limit to how long you can hold them and that can vary by variety.They can also be planted into bulb crates and put into the cooler and then pulled out at intervals to stagger them out.>>>>Zone 7, MD on Tues, September 27, 2011 Depending on how long lily bulbs are in transit, and the temperature during transit, lily bulbs may still be partially frozen when they arrive. You'll want to let them thaw completely before planting - don't try to pull them apart while frozen. Once they thaw out, the'll "wake up". You can plant some and hold some in the cooler for a short period of time. You want to get them planted before stem shoots start to sprout. Every variety is different, with some sprouting in a few days, and some taking much longer. The same variety can change throughout the year depending how long they have been held at the suppliers freezer. If you hold some bulbs in the cooler to extend your planting time, be sure to keep an eye on them and be ready to plant them if they start to sprout.>>>>>>> >>>>>Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - 02:09 am: Can someone advise me on a lily problem I had? I received some lily bulbs several weeks back, but didn't check each bag thoroughly upon arrival. I immediatly did open the crate and set each variety out in a dark air-conditioned room. Upon opening a couple of the varieties a couple of days later, some of the bulbs looked dry and freezer burned. Needless to say most of those didn't come up and the ones that did turned brown. I planted them in Promix-BX in very clean/bleached crates. The other lilies are doing good. In the 106-110 F. weather that they arrived in, the bulbs on the outside edges of the crate were warm. Can someone advise me if I should have done something differently? Could the freezer burn have been from the shipping conditions? Should I accept bulbs like this in the future? Since I didn't inspect them closely enough the 1st day, I didn't bother to call the supplier. I am not always sure what should be acceptable.>>>>> Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - Does anyone have experience with programming their own lily bulbs? I can no longer use the pre-programmed ones until I find an organic source. What are my chances of success if I re-plant those I have in crates, put them outside, place in cooler probably Feb/March,and bring out in succession? Any resources you can point me to? Experience with this? Not sure I'll have a big enough cooler!>>>>>>>Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - If you replant the lilium bulbs you have outside then they will naturalize/perenialize and will be starting to bloom in their natural cycle next spring. Most of the lilies bloom from late spring into the early summer period. If you want to time crops, then you have to give lilium bulbs a minimum of 1000 hours of cooling and after that you need to freeze them in at 28-29 fahrenheit to keep them stored for a prolonged period, and bring them out on a planned forcing schedule. A BIG enough freezer is what you will need, NOT just a big enough cooler. The cooler you will need for your flower storage. And for the question above about the lilybulbs, by all means please contact your supplier and discuss the issue you have. The day when a customer thinks that a supplier should not be bothered, is NOT the day that I want to see happen.>>>>>Thursday, September 29, 2011 - I get a shipment of lily bulbs every two weeks. I plant all the bulbs into crates as soon as they arrive. During warmer months I put half the crates into the cooler for one to two weeks and half the crates go into the greenhouse. The cooler slows down the time the lilies take to sprout which helps stagger their bloom time. The longest I've kept planted lilies in the cooler has been three weeks. I have noticed that some varieties, especially when it's very hot catch up to the other lilies and they all bloom at once anyway. Sorry, I don't know which varieties.>>>>>Iowa, Zone 5 on Friday, September 30, 2011 - We do the same as K..., except that we put all of them in the cooler for two weeks as that gives them more time to develop roots before they hit the heat. This year because we had a very cool time, which slowed the early ones, and then a very hot spell which accelerated the later ones, we picked three separate plantings is about a weeks time. Nuts!!!!!!!>>>>>Zone 7, TN oanon Monday, October 03, 2011 - I also store in cooler a week or two and then plant out to stagger, but another method we use is to cut when in bud and store in refrigerator. I can delay bloom a couple weeks that way. We have to keep our cooler at 44 or it frosts over and lilies open at that temp so we use extra frig at lower setting >>>>>Iowa, Zone 5 on Tuesday, October 04, 2011 - ? at what 'bud stage' are you harvesting? I know that the ones that are brought in are usually cut green and are not as nice as 'vine ripened'. I usually try to harvest about the day before they open naturally and then can hold some varieties for over a week or two in the cooler (38). There are a few that do not like that treatment.

The last 4 years I found the best deal at Walmart and Home Depot. I plant thousands and the box stores are my inventory. I used to order ahead of time and do all the paper work, etc. Store the bulbs and so on. Now I just pick them up in the bulk bags. They are just as cheap (cheaper?) or the cent or 2 difference for a bulb doesn't translate into enough to make a difference. No quality problems and I'll be doing the same this year. Planting bulk bulbs can be quite a profit maker. The key, I find, is not to get too tied up in selection. Offer the client a range of colors and a few varieties but most folks just want a good display in the Spring. All my clients are pleased and most just leave the bulb selection up to me. A 10 cent bulb is every bit as good as providing a 50 cent 'specialty' bulb unless the client asks for a specific variety. I do have a couple of clients who are a bit more keen on varieties and Ill work with them on their expectations.

Also, check for your local iris and daylily societys - if it is like here in Dallas, they have sales twice a year to get rid of their overstock - here, I can get daylilies that usually range 15-50 bucks for a double fan for 5-15. Go early, like be standing at the door when they open, you can get some great stuff - and the members are very helpful with what will grow in your area....I found one sale mentioned in the attached link, but do a search on Houston texas daylily society, you might find more... terry Here is a link that might be useful: daylily sale