Article 20019 of rec.gardens:
From: klier@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Revised bulb catalog list
Date: 19 Jul 93 12:58:38 -0600
Lines: 399

            BULB CATALOGS FOR NORTH AMERICAN GROWERS

                   revision of 19 July, 1993

       "One makes a mental note, or even a written note,
       and then the season changes and one forgets what
       one meant at the time.  One has written 'Plant
       something yellow near the yellow tulips' or "Plant
       something tall behind the lupins," and then autumn
       comes and plants have died down, and one scratches
       one's head trying to remember what on earth one
       meant by that."
       --- Vita Sackville-West

BULBS:  Included in this list are purveyors of bulbs, corms and
tubers, excluding Dahlia and Iris specialists.  Among the most
immediately rewarding, these "sure-fire flowers" are ordered in
late summer or early fall for spring bloom, in early spring for
summer and fall bloom.  There are often significant discounts for
ordering by mid-August for fall delivery.

If you have someone with an absolutely brown thumb, give them a
bulb of _Colchicum autumnale_, a fall-flowering species that will
bloom sitting on a bookshelf, producing a number of lavender-pink
trumpet flowers from a naked bulb.  Planted outdoors after bloom,
it will produce flowers autumn after autumn.

Another welcome gift from a gardener to almost any poor soul in
the [in]temperate zone winter is a pot of bulbs for forcing.
Most catalogs list cultivars especially suitable for forcing.

ABBREVIATIONS:
   Cat -- catalog
   cv -- cultivar (=variety)
   ? -- item of which I am unsure.
   "refundable" means catalog price is at least partially
      credited to first order (may be a minimum order for such
      credit)

CONSERVATION NOTE
      Dutch bulb growers/importers have agreed to label all
   *wild-collected* bulbs, corms and tubers by 1993 (most will do
   it this year).  US growers have NOT agreed to do this, and in
   1991 imported more than a million bulbs and corms (mostly
   snowdrops and cyclamens) stripped from their native habitat in
   Turkey.
      US growers also sell wild-collected native plants (esp.
   pink ladyslipper orchid, _Cypripedium acaule_, and many native
   ferns).  In general, if there is a cultivar name ('President
   Kennedy' tulip or 'Blue Pearl' hyacinth), you can assume these
   are grown in cultivation.  Those who enjoy growing
   "unimproved" species have to trust the source if they care
   about population destruction.  Some unscrupulous "growers"
   strip wild populations, park them in beds over the winter and
   then sell these "cultivated" plants in the spring.   CAVEAT
   EMPTOR.


_Herbertia_ is an international bulb journal on bulb
   identification and culture.  PO Bos 5355 Pasadena, CA 91107-
   0355

Should you decide to plant several hundred bulbs, you may wish to
   invest in a long-handled bulb planter (also useful for
   perennials), or an auger bit for an electric drill.   One such
   auger is the Daffodrill, PO Box 248, Salt Point, NY 127578

Bob Batson and Jim Bishop contributed most of the addresses and
   remarks; others from Kay Klier.

Compilers of this list make no warranties about the firms listed
   herein.

       ***** Please send all new addresses, changes, *****
        ****** remarks and corrections to Kay Klier *****
            ***** (in%"klier@iscsvax.uni.edu") *****

                     ----------------------


                         CANADIAN FIRMS
       

CA Cruickshank,Inc
     1015 Mount Pleasant Road
     Toronto, Ontario
     Canada M4P 2M1
         Cat $2
     One of the largest lists in N Am.  Strongest in tulips,
     scilla, iris, crocus, hyacinth, narcissus; fall catalog
     features much stuff from Van Tubergen of Holland (nice
     stuff!)

Gardenimport,Inc
     PO Box 760
     Thornhill, Ontario,
     Canada L3T 4A5
         Cat $4
     English perennials, lilacs, bulbs, seeds; N. Am. agents of
     Suttons Seeds of Great Britain; some European cvs

WH Perron
     515 Labelle Boulevard
     Chomeday laval
     Quebec H7V 2T3
     Canada
         Cat $?


                            US FIRMS

Bakker of Holland
     US Reservation Center
     Louisiana, MO 63353-0050
         Cat $0?
     Dutch bulbs

The Banana Tree
     715 Northampton St
     Easton, PA 18042
         Cat $3
     tropical bulbs and seeds

B & D Lilies
     330 P Street
     Port Townsend, WA 98368
         Cat $?
     Lily specialist?

BioQuest International
     PO Box 5752
     Santa Barbara, CA 93108.
     (805) 969-4072 (Dr. Richard Doutt);
         Cat $2
     South African bulbs especially.
     bulbs native to South Africa

Bluebell Lilies
     1432 Manor Lane
     Blue Bell, PA 19422
         Cat $?
     Lily specialist

Bonnie Brae Gardens
     1105 SE Christensen Road
     Corbett, OR 97019
         Cat $0
     daffodil specialist

Breck's
     6523 N Galena Rd
     Peoria, IL 61632
         Cat $0
     basic range of species

W. Atlee Burpee & Co.
     300 Park Ave
     Warminster, PA 18974
         Cat $0
     good general catalog for beginners; one of the oldest and
     best known US seed companies

Caladium World
     PO Drawer 629
     Sebring, FL 33871
         Cat $0
     caladium specialist
Cascade Daffodils
     1790 Richard Circle
     St Paul, MN 55118
         Cat $1
     daffodil specialist

Daffodil Mart
     The Heaths
     Rt 3, Box 794
     Gloucester, VA 23061
         Cat $1; Van Tubergen of Holland wholesale cat $5
     Hundreds of daffodil cvs; minimum order from Van Tubergen
     catalog is 100 bullbs, but VT is said to have one of the
     broadest lists of Dutch grown bulbs.

Peter De Jager Bulb Co.
     PO Box 2010
     South Hamilton, MA 01982
         Cat $?

Dutch Gardens,Inc
     PO Box 200
     Adelphia, NJ 07710
     908 780-2713; fax 908 708-7720
         Cat $0
     Good selection of basic Holland bulbs; good prices, esp in
     quantity (group order program esp.).  Excellent color
     catalog with pictures of all cvs.

Fairyland Begonia and Lily Garden
     1100 Griffith Road
     McKinleyville, CA 95521
         Cat $0.50, refundable
     hybrid oriental and asiatic lilies

Gaybird Nurseries
     PO Box 42
     Wawanesa, Manitoba
     Canada R0K 2GO
         Cat $?
     Lily specialist

Gladside Gardens
     61 Main St
     Northfield, MA 01360. List $1
     gladiolas, dahlias, cannas, unusual bulbs

Holland Bulb Farms
     PO Box 127
     Westwood, NJ 07676
         Cat $0
     Dutch bulb importer

Kelly's Plant World
     10266 E Princeton
     Sanger, CA 93657.
         Price list $1, refundable
     cannas and other summer bulbs

Kent Lilies
     2009 Edgewood Rd NE
     Grand Rapids, MI 49505
         Cat $?
     lily specialist

Kester's Wild Game Food Nurseries
     PO Box 516
     Omro, WI 54963
         Cat $2
     Specialist in species favored for food and cover by game
     animals

Louisiana Nursery
     Route 7, Box 43
     Opelousas, LA 70570
         Cat $3 (daylilies, LA irises); $5 (magnolias, trees,
     shrubs, vines); $3 (crinums & bulbs); refundable

McClure & Zimmerman
     108 W Winnebago
     PO Box 368
     Friesland, WI 53935
         Cat $0
     Excellent list of bulbs, esp. species and uncommon
     cultivars; also
     uncommon species.

McFayden Seed Co.
     30 9th St, Box 1800
     Brandon, MB
     Canada R7A 6N4
         Cat $?

Messelaar Bulb Co.
     PO Box 269
     Ipswich, MA 01938
         Cat $0
     good cvs of commonly available species

Michigan Bulb Co.
     1950 Waldorf NW; Grand Rapids, MI 49550
         Cat $0
     Quoth a rec.gardener: "Everybody buys from here ONCE".
     Cheap prices, cheap plants.  Caveat emptor.

Mileager's Gardens
     4838 Douglas Avenue
     Racine, WI 53402-2498
     800 669-9956
         Cat $?

Grant Mitsch Novelty Daffodils
     PO Box 218
     Hubbard, OR 97032
         Cat $3 refundable
     daffodil specialist/breeder; many cvs available here only

Oakwood Daffodils
     2330 W Bertrand Rd
     Niles, MI 49120
         Cat $?

Pinetree Garden Seeds
     RR 1, Box 397
     New Gloucester, ME 04260
         Cat $0
     Good seeds (many op) in small packets at very reasonable
     prices; small selection of bulbs (many row-run or smallish);
     pretty good book and tool
     selection.

Pleasant Valley Glads
     PO Box 494
     Agawam, MA 01001
         Cat $0
     gladiolus, dahlia specialist

Quality Dutch Bulbs
     PO Box 225
     Hillsdale, NJ 07642
         Cat $?

Rex Bulb Farms
     PO Box 774 2568 Washington St
     Port Townsend, WA 98368
         Cat $1
     200+ cv hybrid and species lilies

Royal Gardens
     Box 588
     Farmingdale, NJ 07727
         Cat $0
     Nicely illustrated catalog of common species

John Scheepers,Inc
     PO Box 700
     Bantam, CT 06750
     203 567-0838
         Cat $0
     Nice range of bulbs; probably of more interest to
     specialists.  Well-established firm with exhibition size
     bulbs

Smith and Hawken Bulb Book
     25 Corte Madera
     Mill Valley, CA 94941
     415 383-2000
         Cat $0
     Ask for "Wilma Kay" for advice.  No seeds, but bulbs, good
     tools, garden furbelows.  Mostly expensive stuff for trendy
     gardeners, but they do have sturdy English tools.

Strahm's Lilies
     PO Box 226
     Harbor, OR 97415
         Cat $0.50
     Oriental lily specialist

Trinidad Bay Bulb Co. (1992): PO Box 974
     Trinidad, CA 95570
         Cat $?
     Lily specialist

TyTy Plantation
     Box 159
     TyTy, GA 31795
         Cat $0
     Cannas, crinums and other bulbs esp. for S US gardens

Van Bourgondien & Sons Inc
     PO Box A245 Farmingdale Rd
     Babylon, NY 11702
         Cat $0
     Mixed reports on quality

Mary Mattison Van Schalk
     Box 181
     Cavendish, VT 05142
         Cat $1
     established importer of Dutch bulbs

Van Tubergen of Holland
     See CA Cruickshank and Daffodil Mart for
     N Am distributors.

Veldheer Tulip Gardens
     12755 Quincy St
     Holland, MI 49424
         Cat $?

Mary Walker Bulb Co.
     Box 256
     Omega, GA 31775
         Cat $?
     specialist in southern US adapted bulbs

Wayside Gardens Co.
     1 Garden Lane
     Hodges, SC 29695
         Cat $0
     Pricy, but interesting and well illustrated color catalogs.

White Flower Farm
     Rt 63
     Litchfield, CT 06759-0050
     800 888-7756
         Cat $0
     Informative catalogs you may wish to keep for reference.
     Carries several strains of long-lived tulips (their
     "perennial tulips")

Kay Klier   in%"klier@iscsvax.uni.edu"