bulbs from Costco

Rodger Whitlock totototo@pacificcoast.net
Thu, 02 Sep 2004 03:35:13 PDT
On 30 Aug 04 at 8:01, Diane Whitehead wrote:

> The garden centres here have had large bins of "King Alfred" for
> sale for a week or so, but they are from our local fields.  The
> bulbs might be any of about a half dozen cultivars, but everyone
> knows the name "King Alfred" so they use it. These are extras from
> the cutflower fields which get dug up during the summer, the bulbs
> sorted, some replanted in fallow fields, and the extras sold at low
> prices.

I would not be surprised if these bulbs were widely distributed
across North America. The "King Alfred" daffodils Judy Glattstein
saw in "sticky icky humid New Jersey" may very well come from BC.

As Diane says, that there's no telling what cultivar you are actually
getting. I've heard remarks to the effect that the real King Alfred
is long gone and anything now sold under that name is some other
cultivar; very similar to KA, yes, but not the same.

There is some reason to be leery of overly cheap daffodils, as they 
may be infested with bulb fly, nematodes, or viruses.
-- 
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
"To co-work is human,
to cow-ork, bovine."


More information about the pbs mailing list